Upon Reflection

Surfing the message boards this morning, plenty of fans have had time to reflect on last night's debacle and comments are more reasoned this morning. If I had to summarise my own thoughts, it would go something like this:

- Fans are right to be concerned that Curbs is no longer able to motivate the team - it's been pointed out that the team lacks an obvious leader, but surely that begins from the top?

- Fans are also right to be concerned at some of his team selections and apparent favouritism for certain players despite so-so performances. Why has Perry suddenly disappeared for example? Was Rommedahl really any worse than anyone else?

- Our home form is in short, not acceptable. Losing two 2-o leads suggests the team had no clue how to strangle a game.

- It's clear we have made no progress for two years now despite about a dozen new faces coming into the club. We still have obvious weaknesses in certain areas eg. left-back, a 2nd striker, etc.. Some current squad members have no place in the Premiership, eg. JJ.

- However, in light of how far clear the top three clubs are (still), perhaps bouncing around mid-table is the future for Charlton for the foreseeable future? The problem is that this will be deadly dull and crowds will drop as a result - last night's half-full stadium should serve as a big warning for the Board with regard to their (flawed) expansion plans.

- Something needs freshening up - if it's not Curbs yet, then surely it's time to say goodbye to Mervyn Day? What on earth does he do with El Karkouri on the training ground for example?

In my view, only four players in the current squad have to play every game - Young, Murphy, Smertin, and Bent. Around this core, Curbs somehow has to make it clear that no-one else's place is safe and he's ready to throw in the kids if necessary. If we have not turned things around by the New Year, not only will we be in a relegation battle, it will be time to think the unthinkable.