Phil Parkinson

[Cavalry Trouser Tips]

So, as Charlton caretaker, he's got a record of played 8, won 0, drawn 3, lost 5.

They're rooted to the bottom of the Championship.

I bet he turned up to this press conference to announce he's got the gig full-time. One question - how and why?

How much trouble are Charlton in?

[Guest]

Phil Parkinson

What effect would relegation have on Charlton's finances?

From being the supposed best run club in the country to probably going into administration, in 3 short years perhaps shows the precarious nature of football finance, or at least that the gap between premier league and the rest is still as large as ever.

I blame Ian Dowie. For everything.

[David Agnew]

Phil Parkinson

Relegation in itself wouldn't cripple them - the TV money doesn't drop that much - as long as they retained the attendances.

The whole 'best run club in the country' stuff was mainly because they were a small club overachieving in the Premiership. Like that other supposed well run club, Ipswich, they were only well run while they stayed in the top flight. Charlton of course, had the benefit of seeing Ipswich make the mistakes first, but instead of learning from them, they repeated them. Almost identically. Ipswich found that wages were the main undoing, yet Charlton not only spunked as much on wages, but on the very same players that had been at Portman Road when Ipswich went down - Darren Ambrose, Hermann Hreidarsson, Matt Holland and Darren and Marcus Bent all dropped with both clubs.

Charlton were running at 99% of turnover to wages ratio the season they got relegated. That is not a well run club, especially not for one that did not have a sugar daddy.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Phil Parkinson

Last time Charlton were in this predicament they bought former European Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen to help them out.

I expect to see Michael Owen, or at the very least Rivaldo, jogging around in the warm-up for the next game.

[Guest]

Phil Parkinson

Did Charlton really look to Ipswich as an example? The latter were only in the Premier for two seasons, overachieving in the first. Spunking money on big wage earners like Finidi George was one reason given for their relegation, though personally I suspect playing in the UEFA cup with a small squad had rather more to do with it.

Also if CRonaldo keeps declining at his current rate perhaps he might be persuaded to warm the bench down the Valley, which admittedly sounds like some sort of cottaging metaphor.

[David Agnew]

Phil Parkinson

Charlton didn't look to Ipswich, but both had similar models (and both of their chairmen were involved in the ITV Digital negotiations).

There were many reasons why Ipswich went down, the size of the squad, wasn't one of them. And we only had two big wage earners (Matteo Sereni, who went straight back to Italy and Finidi George, who pissed his agent off by agreeing a heavily reduced payoff and returned to Spain). We had far too many medium sized earners.

We had very few injuries, no suspensions, a core squad of 20, and of the other six fringe players who played in the league that season, only two haven't made it back to the top flight, and of those retired at the end of that season.

[Guest]

Phil Parkinson

Well then that shall teach me to actually read other people's posts rather than indiscrimately blame finidi george for everyone's problems.

[Guest]

Phil Parkinson

Sorry for butting in all cocky with my first post and all that, but I remember a few years ago that the Charlton Chairman said Southampton should be used as a role model for these middle tier sort of clubs. Charlton seem to have taken it a bit far now I fear.

Rupes did use it as his propaganda for a year or two as well, saying how Saints are looked up to by clubs like Charlton. Hmmm. We are currently looking up to Donny.

[erwin]

Phil Parkinson

Parky did quite well with a sow's ear at Colchester, didn't he?

(He's a minor legend at Reading).

[Guest]

Phil Parkinson

Also if CRonaldo keeps declining at his current rate perhaps he might be persuaded to warm the bench down the Valley, which admittedly sounds like some sort of cottaging metaphor.

Ronaldo never got a cruder or heavier kicking than the one Radostin Kishishev gave him at The Valley a few weeks into his first season in English football. At one point he was literally shoulder-charged over the advertising hoardings and into the crowd.

Kishishev somehow made it to the end of the game without being sent off. United won, though I can't remember the exact scoreline.