Rival Lines
Match Preview: Charlton v AFCB
Blogger Interview: Chicago Addick
Twitter @ChicagoAddick
You didn't expect me to have a quiet week when the Cherries have secured promotion did you. No, well with a final chance to squeeze in another Rival Lines with a Charlton blogger before we depart the Championship. Chicago Addick has been kind enough to spare Cherry Chimes a few moments of his time from his Bermuda hide away to let us glean a greater insight into Charlton Athletic.
CC: What will you remember most about Charlton's 2014-15 season?
CA: The early promise under Bob Peeters, playing some of the best passing football I have seen in 40 years. The realisation that Peeters was useless tactically and after we got found out, he became clearly out of his depth. The utter derision that Guy Luzon’s appointment was met with after having the wool pulled over our eyes. The utter helplessness as we dropped down the table. The realisation that Luzon was actually his own man, a decent coach, played a simple game and got the best out of the players. Been quote a topsy-turvy season!
CC: Did you think that the teams that came up from League One last season made the Championship a tougher division?
CA: Very much. Wolves were always going to do well. I rate Jackett very highly. I also thought Brentford would adjust well, so that leaves Rotherham who became the league’s only ‘minnows’ if I can call them that. I always thought one or two of the ‘bigger’ clubs would struggle. Although how bad Fulham, Brighton and especially Wigan were surprised me.
CC: Do Charlton fans need to feel a common bond with their manager like they did with Chris Powell and Alan Curbishley?
CA: Yes. I think part of the tough adjustment we have had under our new owner and his network philosophy is that the club’s fans and owners and management was always pretty connected, and that is no longer the case. The game has changed of course and it is hard to form a connection with four managers in less than a year, but Addicks’ will always point to the club’s most successful times and the relationship they had with those managers – Jimmy Seed, Lennie Lawrence, Alan Curbishley & Chris Powell. It would be nice to have that again, but I can’t see it.
CC: Can you see qualities in Guy Luzon that you like?
CA: I think so. He got off to such a bad start that the initial rapport was exceptionally frosty. I still question his career and how he has got himself his jobs, but on face value he has instilled a stronger mentality playing players in their right position and using their best attributes. He simplifies things and is a straight talker. I doubt if The Valley will ever be serenading him from the rafters, but in tough circumstances he has stood up well. His second season at Standard was a disaster though, although mostly undone by the owner (our owner) selling his best players from under him. This summer is very important and Addicks’ will watch on carefully.
CC: Are there any early rumours of players that Charlton might bid for over the summer or are you more concerned with losing any of your players?
CA: Wikipedia Standard Liege, Sint Truiden, Upjest or Carl Zeiss Jena and help yourself! Seriously I sincerely hope that the management have learnt their lesson that The Championship is beyond 90 per cent of the network cast offs. The club need to sign players better than what we have be they from Belgium, Britain or elsewhere. Our immediate concern is who will stay? Yoni Buyens and Frederic Bulot will probably go back to Standard, then there are others out of contract. Most fans will be praying that Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Igor Vetokele and Joe Gomez stay and the club builds on what we have now, and not dismantles it. The summer will no doubt be as rocky a road as it has been since Roland Duchatelet took over.
CC: Sixty points is only six less than AFCB had last season when they were 10th so are Charlton not far off being a top six side?
CA: Probably only a couple of players as it stands. A big striker (that French bloke you’ve got will do), a commanding central midfielder who can grab a goal and a centre-half would probably have us competing for top six.
CC: Guy Luzon talked of a lack of quality after Charlton's last game against Birmingham but do you see that some of the Addicks' players have improved this season?
CA: Very few of them were around last season. Out of those that was is young Callum Harriott, but he has gone backwards and has had injury problems. Your old favourite Rhoys Wiggins has missed the bulk of the season to injury too. Morgan Fox has steadily improved at left back in Wiggins’ place and Joe Gomez has come into the first team at 17-years old and looks as if he has 300 appearances! The biggest improvement has been from Jordan Cousins, now playing in central midfield with Luzon, after Peeters insisted on playing him out wide.
AFCB have clinched promotion but is the game against Charlton more worrying for you now knowing that the title is still a possibility for the Cherries or do you believe it will give the Addicks more of a reason to play well and try and deny the Cherries something they want.
The last few games have been a struggle as Luzon tries to get them up for games that frankly don’t matter. Our last four games have been against other teams with nothing to play for, so I sincerely hope that AFCB bring the best out of us. I am personally glad you are already up, which takes the pressure of the day. My hope is that we turn up and not just roll over. Especially as I fly in from Bermuda Saturday morning just for the game. Congratulations to you and all Bournemouth fans and I look forward to being part of a great day out on Saturday.
CC: That has to be one of the biggest exile journey's to make - Bermuda to The Valley! How about that AFCB fans and Charlton aren't even going up. That's dedication and while I know Chicago Addick can't make every home match you won't find many more informed followers of the Addicks - some great answers. You can read more views on Charlton at Chicago Addicks' website.
Sadly, AFCB did not quite come out top in the football league ground awards but were highly recommended. They can rip the pitch up now I suppose as undersopil heating is a requirement of the Premier League!
Cherry Chimes' May Newsletter is out today and features the top stories from the blog in April to recall how AFCB reached the top flight. Stories include 90 minutes away from the Premier League and Fairy tales really do come true.
To subscribe to the Newsletter sign up here
Rival Lines
Match Preview: Charlton v AFCB
Blogger interview: Dr Kish
While AFCB fans were biting their nails last weekend wondering whether the team was about to fall out of the automatic promotion places and wondering whether the result against Sheffield Wednesday had scuppered the Cherries' promotion charge, I took a few moments to send over some questions to regular Charlton blogger Dr Kish who as more than happy to calm my nerves and provide some clarity on some of the decisions taken at The Valley this season.
CC: Charlton changed their manager this season. Do you feel that the owner, Roland Dutchatelet, is dabbling with the club and risks alienating supporters and what happened at the fan meeting in February with him?
DRK: Well, Watford are in a similar situation, four managers in 36 days for them this season, with an owner who has other clubs under his command. I'm sure Charlton fans would like to have emulated the Hornets. Though Duchatelet is accused of interfering by some fans, there's nothing to substantiate the claims. He is a businessman and does not get involved with the day-to-day running of the club.
Nobody from the club was present at the fans' meeting. Since then, the team has been in reasonable form and the worries harboured by some have eased.
CC: Charlton sit in 10th place ahead of the last two games so are you fairly pleased with how the season went for the Addicks on the pitch?
DRK: I'm a firm believer that the table doesn't lie. In September, we would have been hugely disappointed with tenth, in January we would have been delighted with it. The 14 game win-less streak ended any hopes we had of ending in the top six, consistency is the key to success in football and we didn't have it in the middle of the season.
CC: Do you see much change in the way the team has played since Guy Luzon has been manager and can you see him lasting any longer than Bob Peters?
DRK: Peeters, like Chris Powell, was a defence minded coach. During his time in charge, all the six wins Peeters achieved were by a single goal and only once did the team score more than twice in a game. Luzon is much more attack minded, we have scored three in a game on several occasions, have come from behind to win - something we never did under Peeters - and continue attacking even if we are leading late on in a game. Luzon's team is much easier on the eye and his future looks assured.
CC: Who has been Charlton's best player this season?
DRK: Our Icelandic midfielder, Johann Berg Gudmundsson. He is capable of scoring spectacular goals.
CC: Charlton still doesn't have a 20 goal striker and do you think that is the main reason why you have not made it higher in the league this season?
DRK: Not really. When Cardiff and Hull went up a couple of seasons back, their top scorers netted eight and nine goals respectively. Inconsistency and an overly cautious approach earlier in the season are the main factors behind us not being higher in the table .
CC: Charlton have only lost three of their last 10 home games so this is not going to be an easy game for the Cherries is it?
DRK: It will be an open game, Eddie Howe worked out that scoring more than the opposition - rather than trying to concede less - is the key to success. Two talented wingers, good strikers, pace and speed of thought have served you well. Luzon will also attack, both sides will have chances and it is down to who has the composure to take them on the day.
CC: How has Stephen Henderson been in goal and do you think he is one of the better keepers in the Championship?
DRK: Stephen missed 14 games in the middle of the season and it is no coincidence that we did not win any of them. He was also out for a short spell earlier in the season. He is a top keeper at this level and key to our chances of success next season. I have not seen any keeper in the Championship I would swap him for, but as you guys know, he is injury prone. But for that, I think he'd be playing in the Premier League.
CC: The Addicks were a bit reluctant to give AFCB more than 2900 tickets for the final game of the season but conjured up another 1400 after AFCB chairman Jeff Motsyn pleaded with Charlton Athletic to release more tickets - any reason why can think why Charlton were so slow to agree to a bigger allocation of tickets for AFCB fans for such a special game for our supporters?
DRK: A few words on the figures to start. The Jimmy Seed Stand (the stand behind the goal which will house the Bournemouth fans) has a capacity of just under 3300. Watford, Millwall and Leeds have all brought well over 3000 fans. I assume the 2900 figure you quote is because the club (Bournemouth) had to reserve more than usual for players' families etc, given the importance of the game. Also, despite both clubs announcing the release of an additional 1400 tickets, I believe the figure is actually closer to 1500. There was never any reluctance to allocate more tickets, but there were a number of issues that had to be resolved. The Met Police are strict with segregation at London grounds and this is the first time that The Valley in its current form, has housed away fans anywhere but in the Jimmy Seed Stand. For the FA Cup ties with Brentford and Leyton Orient a few years back, the end two blocks of the East Stand (the one to the right of where you guys will be sitting) were given to the away fans. This was relatively easy, there were no season ticket issues, the stand has turnstiles at both ends and the two blocks have their own toilet and catering facilities. This season, Charlton sold season tickets in the end block for £150 and sold it out. I'm not sure of the legalities involved in moving season ticket holders but there is not enough room in the East Stand to relocate them all. The Upper West, where your extra tickets are, gives a fine view of the action and is normally fairly sparsely populated in the blocks you have been allocated. However, there are a number of season ticket holders in these blocks and Charlton contacted them all individually and gave them food vouchers by way of compensation. Also, the Met are unhappy about housing away fans above home fans and I believe the local council had to be contacted regarding the safety certificate. I think (correctly) both clubs did not want to say anything until all the issues had been resolved. I think Katrien Meire (Charlton CEO) deserves credit for making the release of extra tickets possible, and also Jeff Mostyn , for paying the considerable additional costs incurred.
CC: Do you think Charlton fans would be pleased to see the trophy at the ground should Bournemouth win the league and do you think such scenes could help inspire Charlton for next season?
DRK: Bournemouth's elevation to the top flight is a modern day fairy tale that any true fan will enjoy. The lifting of the trophy would not be the inspiration, you have already given that with the season you've had. A few years back Bournemouth were in the bottom tier of English football with a 17 point deduction. Now you are on the cusp of the Premier League, you have no debt, a summer spend of just £3.5m (and I guess most of that was recouped by the sale of Lewis Grabban?) and you have the smallest capacity in the division. If that's not inspirational, I don't know what is.
CC: What do you make of Eddie Howe's talent?
DRK: One of my favourite 'if only's' is how different things might have been had Eddie come to The Valley back in 2011. Fantastic manager who gets his teams playing the right way. Eddie's a cunning so-and-so, the season we signed Simon Francis he had been in dispute with Southend and missed most of pre-season.
First game of the season, we were at home to AFCB and Francis' fitness level being below par, a young Chris Solly played at right back. Eddie isolated Brett Pitman at the far post with Solly and exposed his lack of height.
Francis was ushered into the team before he was ready and had a poor season and had the crowd on his back. Eventually Franny left to fulfil his potential with you guys. Say no more. CC: What is your score prediction for the game?
If both teams play like they did in their weekend games, Bournemouth will win in a canter! I'm hoping Charlton will be back on form and Eddie and the boys spend the week celebrating! I think there will be a few goals in the game.
I would like to thank Peter for giving me the opportunity to answer theses questions. I am typing these final words whilst watching the celebrations after the Bolton game!
Congratulations to everyone connected with Bournemouth. Enjoy the euphoria, the party at The Valley on Saturday, the summer, the sleepless night before the fixtures are released on 17 June and then you will know for sure it's not a dream. I will miss my favourite away trip next season but hope to witness a little bit of history on a sunny afternoon in August 2016, when Bournemouth entertain Charlton in the first ever top-flight clash between the two teams.
Good luck to you all, enjoy the Premier League! You will - like us for a few years - be everyone's second favourite team.CC: We couldn't have asked for a much better farewell from the Championship than some of the kind words spoken by Dr Kish there. I think I can speak for most AFCB fans that we have thoroughly enjoyed being in the Championship and should the Addicks do an AFCB, and score a bucket load of goals next season, I am sure we will remember the day we are about to have at the Valley, especially the 1400 who already have Katrien Meire down to receive the first congratulations when the Addicks come up to join the Cherries!
As for the trophy I don't suppose SkyBet has a helicopter and a heli-pad at Charlton and Watford - it could be a bit of a hard decision where to land at half time on Saturday. Make sure you check out Dr Kish's site which has some excellent views on matters Charlton and Championship chat.
Tomorrow we'll be releasing the Cherry Chimes' May Newsletter which picks over the top stories from the blog in April to reflect on how AFCB reached the top flight.
To subscribe to the Newsletter sign up here
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