Awful run sees Charlton play-off push fade
Liverpool have reaped the rewards of bringing in a club legend to succeed a manager that failed to truly win over supporters and have since enjoyed victories over Chelsea and Manchester United.
Charlton hoped that their decision to replace the unpopular Phil Parkinson, who inherited a club already destined for relegation from the Championship in 2008 and fell short in the League One play-offs in his first full season in charge, with Addicks hero Chris Powell would have a similar impact.
It looked like being the case at first as his appointment gave fans demoralised by their side's rapid fall from grace and a lack of new icons at The Valley a lift and the result was an encouraging draw at Sheffield Wednesday in the rookie boss' first game followed by four successive victories.
Things have declined dramatically since though as the south Londoners have collected just one point from seven matches. The feel-good factor has vanished as rapidly as their chances of second place to leave supporters wondering if hiring Powell was a huge blunder, the presence of Alan McCormack in most starting line-ups being particularly badly received.
Fan opinion appears to be divided between those who believe he shouldn't be judged until being given an opportunity to sculpt his own squad in the summer and others who feel the new owners should admit that they've made a mistake and act quickly to get someone more experienced in.
This is staggeringly only the fourth season since Charlton's relegation from the Premier League but even a return to the Championship is considered very unlikely right now, with the Addicks currently trading at [15.0] to gain promotion having at one point been backed at [3.0] a month ago.
The play-offs are far from unobtainable, as while they trail sixth-placed MK Dons by 13 points, they have three games in hand, however such an accomplishment will require a drastic turnaround in fortunes.
Can Charlton should go up? Should Powell be given time? Tell us below...
Published: 14 Mar 2011
kevin (March 14, 2011 9:29 PM) said:
I wanted Parkinson replaced, but was never in favour of Powell replacing him. He has no experience and too much of a 'nice guy' which is exactly what we didn't need right now. Many fans had been chanting for him to replace Parky, well they say you should be careful what you wish for !!!
Betfair Football (March 15, 2011 8:03 AM) said:
Thanks Kevin, and very true. I guess it's not quite as controversial a switch as Curbishley for Dowie but so far the initial impact has been similarly underwhelming.
Will be interesting to see if he can turn it round but looking at Charlton's next six matches, it's not the easiest run of games to start stringing together wins on. Interestingly, fellow rookie boss Dougie Freedman at your rivals Palace was adamant on Late Kick Off last night that Powell will come good.
John (March 15, 2011 1:51 PM) said:
While Chris Powell was a hero in his playing days the managers role is above him at the moment and charlton need some who has the no how to get the team promotion