Ipswich Town v Charlton Athletic
Saturday 28th November 2020 - 15:00
Portman Road
Pre-Match Thoughts – Mike
Here We Go Again......
They say a week is a long time in Football and man is that true, I think it is fair to say a Day is an even longer time in the life of Ipswich Town as the last few days have shown. Prior to Tuesday's game against Hull City things were relatively ok, even though some had misgivings about Paul Lambert and Town's chances this season, a bit of slack was being afforded the team due to the ridiculous and lengthening injury list and the fact we were playing games with a fair few youngsters in the team, fast forward to Wednesday morning and it's all change following what can only be described as a very poor and disappointing effort against the high flying Tigers. It isn't even down to the poor result or performance, we were always going to lose at home sooner or later, I think a lot of the doubt and dare we say it anger was fuelled by some bizarre mismanagement over the Ninety minutes, add to that serious concerns that things look like they could possibly follow the same depressing path as last season, taking all this into account we find ourselves back in familiar surroundings, fans forums awash with Lambert out messages, banners being strewn across the gates of the training ground insisting on change while we are still "in the mix", pundits calling for change etc etc, yes here we go again !!!!
My take on it is this, I believe what Paul Lambert did when he walked into Portman Road was nothing short of superb, the club had very much lost the fans, that cannot be argued, the terraces at home games were toxic and getting worse by the week, away from home I witnessed Town fans fighting and arguing with each other on several occasions, it had to stop and he did that. We can argue all day long that we still got relegated and that is true, I firmly believe we were going down no matter who came in. the team was a shambles in every sense of the word, not to mention off the pitch and behind the scenes. To this end I felt going into the new season with Lambert at the helm was totally the right thing to do, I also had no issue with the Five year contract which seems to irk many fans, I have no idea why as it means nothing, there will be clauses on both sides.
What is worrying me is the similarity with last season and the strange and bizarre decisions made during Tuesday's defeat, add to that comments in the media after the game suggesting his own team is "useless" at playing a certain formation is just something you do not say. To take off your two best players when chasing a game and replace them with like for like when every man and his dog could see we needed help for Norwood smacked of negligence. We also have the odd interviews every week insisting we have been excellent when we have at times been ok at best, it all looks to me like the pressure is mounting and he is not handling it, expectation is massive this season and while we have not had a lot of luck, some of which is out of our hands you can at least do the things that are in your control correctly, Lambert is not doing that. In a nutshell I want some form of success this season and by that it really has to be promotion, failure to secure that will result in years in the wilderness, I don't believe that is being dramatic, I can see it happening. To get that success we crave I am sadly now of the opinion that because we are still in a very strong position we have to make a change now, letting in rumble on until Christmas could see us fall away and it would be too big a gap to close, I am sorry Paul but it's now Lambert out for me.
I don't think there is any point in going over the Hull debacle again, enough has been said and while for Thirty minutes of the first we looked the better side it has to be recognised we were well beaten by an average team. The only thing that matters now is beating Charlton Athletic to get ourselves back on track and at the same time lay to rest the ghost of not being able to beat the top sides, they have had a good run and won't be easy, we are on a stuttering run with our pride dented, we look threadbare in numbers and all the pressure will be on us. Of course it is a bit of a double edged sword because if we win Marcus Evans will probably be thinking what is all the fuss about, we would be sitting in the top Three in the division with Six wins from Seven at home, hard to argue on the face of it, it is under the surface where we should now be looking. Everything about the current situation just feels like deja vu and I really don't want to go through that hell again. Low scoring draw for me. COYB'S.
The Opposition – Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C. were formed on 9 June 1905 by a group of 15- to 17-year-old boys near to the present-day site of the Thames Barrier.
Charlton spent the years before the First World War playing in local leagues. After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before becoming professional. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the Football League.
In 1923 it was proposed that Charlton merge with Catford Southend to create a larger team with bigger support, however, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1924.
Charlton finished second bottom in the Football League in 1926 and were forced to apply for re-election which was successful.
Three years later the Addicks won the Division Three championship in 1929 and they remained at the Division Two level for four years.
After relegation into the Third Division south at the end of the 1932/33 season the club appointed Jimmy Seed as manager and he oversaw the most successful period in Charlton's history either side of the Second World War.
Seed, an ex-miner who had made a career as a footballer despite suffering the effects of poison gas in the First World War, remains the most successful manager in Charlton's history. The organisation Seed brought to the team proved effective and the Addicks gained successive promotions from the Third Division to the First Division between 1934 and 1936.
In 1937, Charlton finished runners up in the First Division, in 1938 finished fourth and 1939 finished third.They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before the Second World War.
Charlton reached the 1946 FA Cup Final, but lost to Derby County.
When the full league programme resumed in 1946–47 Charlton could finish only 19th in the First Division, just above the relegation spots, but they made amends with their performance in the FA Cup, winning the 1947 FA Cup Final.
In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only thirteen English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season. The Valley was the largest football ground in the League, drawing crowds in excess of 70,000. However, in the 1950s little investment was made either for players or to The Valley, hampering the club's growth. In 1956, the then board undermined Jimmy Seed and then sacked him, and Charlton were relegated.
From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained a mainstay of the Second Division before relegation to the Third Division in 1972 which caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the second division did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances.
In 1979–80 Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division, but won immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980–81.Even though it did not feel like it, this was a turning point in the club's history leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and shortly after a change in club ownership led to severe problems and the club looked like it would go out of business.
In 1984 financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd. But the club's finances were still far from secure, and they were forced to leave the Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season, in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire after its safety was criticised by Football League officials. The club began to groundshare with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Despite the move away from the Valley, Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985–86, and remained at this level for four years (achieving a highest league finish of 14th). Eventually, Charlton were relegated in 1990 however Manager Lennie Lawrence remained in charge for one more season before he accepted an offer to take charge of Middlesbrough. He was replaced by joint player-managers Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt who started to achieve results, however, the club was forced to sell players to help pay for a return to The Valley, which eventually happened in December 1992.
In 1995, new chairman Richard Murray appointed Alan Curbishley as manager of Charlton. Under his sole leadership Charlton made an appearance in the playoffs in 1996 and the following season brought a disappointing 15th place finish. In 1997–98 Charlton's they reached the Division One playoff final against Sunderland which they won on penalties and were promoted to the Premier League.
Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly but they were unable to keep up their good form and were relegated back to Division One on the final day of the season. The club's board kept faith in Curbishley, and were rewarded with the Division One title in 2000 which signalled a return to the Premier League.
After the club's return, Curbishley proved an astute spender and by 2003 he had succeeded in establishing Charlton in the top flight. Charlton failed to build on this level of achievement and Curbishley departed in 2006, with the club still established as a solid mid-table side.
In May 2006, Iain Dowie was named as Curbishley's successor, but was sacked after twelve league matches in November 2006. Les Reed replaced Dowie as manager, however he too failed to improve Charlton's position in the league table and on Christmas Eve 2006, Reed was replaced by former player Alan Pardew. Although results did improve, Pardew was unable to keep Charlton up and relegation was confirmed in the penultimate match of the season.
Charlton's return to the second tier of English football was a disappointment, with their promotion campaign tailing off to an 11th place finish.
On 22 November 2008 Charlton suffered a loss to Sheffield United at home, which meant that the club had gone eight successive games without a win and had slipped into the relegation zone—particularly disastrous considering they were among the pre-season favourites for promotion. Hours after the game, Alan Pardew left Charlton by mutual consent.
Matters did not improve under caretaker manager Phil Parkinson, Charlton's were relegated to League One.
After spending almost the entire 2009/2010 season in the top six of League One, Charlton were defeated in the Football League One play-offs.
At that time, Charlton went through a change in ownership. The new owners decided to remove both Parkinson and Charlton legend Mark Kinsella after a poor run of results and another Charlton legend, Chris Powell was appointed manager of the club in January 2011.
In a busy summer, Powell brought in 19 new players and after a successful season, on 14 April 2012, Charlton Athletic won promotion back to the Championship.
In the first season back to the Championship since the 2008–09 season, the 2012–13 season of the Championship saw Charlton finish ninth place with 65 points, just three points outside of the play-off places to the Premier League.
In early January 2014 during the 2013–14 season, Belgian businessman, Roland Duchâtelet took over Charlton Athletic football club. On 11 March 2014 , two days after a disappointing FA Cup quarter-final loss to Sheffield United, and with Charlton sitting bottom of the table, Chris Powell was sacked by Duchâtelet.
New manager, Jose Riga, despite having to join Charlton late into the season, was able to help Charlton survive relegation and the club ended the season in 18th position. Riga resigned at the end of the season to take charge of Blackpool which saw Bob Peeters taking over the managers role.
In January 2015 Guy Luzon was appointed head coach from Peeters and he saw the season out with the Addicks finishing in 12th place on 60 points
On 14th January 2016, Riga was appointed head coach of Charlton Athletic for the second time, but could not prevent Charlton from being relegated to League One for the 2016–17 season. Riga resigned at the end of the season. To many fans, the managerial changes and subsequent relegation to League One were symptomatic of the mismanagement of the club under Duchâtelet's ownership and several protests began.
Lee Bowyer was appointed Manager in March 2018 on a one-year contract and after finishing third in the regular 2018-19 EFL League One season, Charlton beat Sunderland 2–1 in the League One play-off final to earn promotion back to the EFL Championship after a three-season absence. Bowyer later signed a new one-year contract following promotion, which was later extended to three years in January 2020.
On 29 November 2019, Charlton Athletic were acquired by East Street Investments (ESI) from Abu Dhabi, subject to approval from the English Football League (EFL). Approval was reportedly granted on 2 January 2020. However, on 10 March 2020, a public disagreement between the new owners erupted along with reports that the main investor was pulling out, and the EFL said the takeover had not been approved.The Valley and Charlton's training ground were still owned by Duchâtelet, and a transfer embargo was in place as the new owners had not provided evidence of funding through to June 2021.
On 20 April 2020, the EFL announced that the club had been placed under investigation for misconduct regarding the takeover. In June 2020, Charlton confirmed that ESI had been taken over by a consortium led by businessman Paul Elliott, and said it had contacted the EFL to finalise the ownership change. However, a legal dispute involving former ESI director Matt Southall continued. He attempted to regain control of the club to prevent Elliot's takeover from going ahead, but failed and was subsequently fined and dismissed for challenging the club's directors. On 7 August 2020 the EFL said three individuals including ESI owner Elliot and lawyer Chris Farnell had failed its Owners' and Directors' Test, leaving the club's ownership unclear;Charlton appealed against the decision.
Meanwhile, Thomas Sandgaard, a Danish businessman based in Colorado, was reported to be negotiating to buy the club.After further court hearings, Elliott was granted an injunction blocking the sale of ESI until a hearing in November 2020. On 25 September 2020, Sandgaard managed to acquire the club itself from ESI, and was reported to have passed the EFL's Owners' and Directors' Tests; the EFL noted the change in control, but said the club's sale was now "a matter for the interested parties".
Charlton had been relegated back to League One at the end of the 2019–20 season after finishing 22nd.
The Manager – Lee Bowyer
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – currently in 5th with 25 points
27 Oct Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Gillingham
31 Oct Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Crewe Alexandra
3 Nov Sunderland 2 - 1 Ipswich Town
21 Nov Ipswich Town 2 - 1 Shrewsbury
24 Nov Ipswich Town 0 - 3 Hull City
Charlton Last 5 Matches – currently in 6th place with 23 point
31 Oct Portsmouth 0 - 2 Charlton
3 Nov Charlton 3 - 2 Fleetwood
14 Nov Charlton pp. Rochdale
21 Nov Gillingham 1 - 1 Charlton
24 Nov Burton Albion 4 - 2 Charlton
Match Referee – Craig Hicks
IPSWICH TOWN 1 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 1
——> things can only get better, (Cue Brian Cox on keyboards) 
or will all 3 start? 
