Charlton rest on their lawyers

I watched this one in an Irish pub in San Francisco - the expected rush of West Coast-based Charlton and Fulham fans never materialised so, not for the first time, I watched it alone surrounded by the sort of people who think their Beef & Ale Pie is more important than events at The Valley. Thanks to the lack of moral support, I was forced to watch it with no sound, aided only by the subtitles which were a source of mirth throughout the game. I'm not too sure whether they are generated by a typist, or by a voice-recoginition system, but they offered the following insights:

(after Fulham took the lead) "Charlton appear to be resting on their lawyers."

(after Bent mistimed a header) "Bent rose bitterly." [as opposed to a 'bit early']

Genius. Anyhow, it was a funny old game - if anything, Fulham were set up to do to us, what we try to do when we play away, namely defend in numbers, but break with pace. It made for an exciting game, but one which neither team quite did enough to win, hence the fair scoreline.

There were a few positives and a few negatives to take from the game. On the positive side, we looked lively for the full 90 minutes and never lacked for effort (maybe this is taken-for-granted these days?). Rommedahl was my man-of-the-match, and whilst he probably should have scored in the first-half, rather than hit the post, it was only his sharp feet and positioning which created a chance out of nothing in the first place. Smertin was everywhere and in the space of just eight games, it has become hard to imagine the side without him - he must be a nightmare to play against.

On the negative side, we look unbalanced defensively, and unfortunately, as much as he remains a true Valley hero, in my view Chris Powell should have played his final Charlton game this evening. It is sad to say so, but on at least two occasions he lost possession in vital areas, not due to a wayward pass (forgiveable) or over-ambition (forgivable), but because he was quite simply off the pace, and at his age, this is not a trait that can be worked upon. It would be in the interests of both Powell and the club if he was quietly taken aside and offered a non-playing coaching role.

Murphy meanwhile was also guilty of giving the ball away, but he is also capable of winning matches in the final-third, and his finish for the goal was as accomplished as it was timely. Four goals in eight games from midfield is a great tally, but credit must surely go to Smertin for allowing him the freedom to express his undoubted talent.

Darren Bent was strangely off-the-pace though perhaps it wasn't surprising that two weeks under the guidance of Sven might not have him returning fully motivated, inspired and brimming with confidence. Indeed one wonders if clubs might not sue the FA when players return from two weeks with the gormless one, thinking they are worse than Peter Crouch.

Nonetheless, whilst we might be a little aggrieved that our four home games have only yielded four points, 16 points from 8 games is a highly respectable total and one which reflects the genuine improvements made by the new signings and the more expressive tactics.