Ambrosia

(Left: Charlton fans mourn departure of Darren Ambrose)

Darren Ambrose has returned to Ipswich on a two-month loan, presumably with a view to a permanent signing.

He was signed from Newcastle for £1.5million in July 2005, and thus his arrival coincided with Alan Curbishley's final anti-climatic season as Addicks boss.

Before I launch into a tirade of criticism, I suppose this unfortunate timing ought to form the basis of the 'case for the defence'. Indeed, perhaps aware of the pressure on his shoulders, he was sent off on his debut.

Now aged 24, Ambrose should be in the prime of his career and given his talents, frankly a cut above the rest of the Championship. Instead we are comfortable loaning him to one of our rivals.

The biggest problem with Ambrose, as has been debated ad infinitum, is his inability to be pigeon-holed. Is he a winger? Is he a goalscoring central midfielder? Is he a striker?

The truth is that he's none of the above, which is why such a promising player with ten England U-21 caps is now so easily disposed of despite our League position.

Another factor is probably his wages, with Ipswich's new owners presumably willing to take on all of his contractual demands. As I joked back in July when I hacked into the club's email server, it was perhaps a surprise that he remained for so long.

He was mainly utilised as a wide midfielder by all four Charlton managers that he played under. Given that he could never remotely perform the task of a more defensively-minded industrious wide midfielder, it is reasonable to suppose that he could at least occasionally beat a full-back.

Unfortunately he lacked the tricks and the pace to do so, and thus we were left with a usually anonymous luxury player, whose very rare high moments came when he cut in from either flank. His left-footed equaliser against Manchester United in November 2005 was a very clear high point.

It was perhaps his two goals against his new club at The Valley last season, which reignited Jim Magilton's interest. Interestingly they arose when Ambrose was utilised at the tip of a midfield triangle, the only position in which he threatened to fulfil his potential.

Unfortunately this position is tactically restrictive since it requires managers to opt for a 3-5-2 or 4-5-1, and moreover in recent seasons Ambrose had some very able competition for this role, in the shape of Zheng Zhi.

One way of assessing Ambrose's disproportionate number of first-team starts as a wide man, is in terms of the tactical flexibility that he can help engender.

After all, it improves a manager's options if you can shift from say 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 without making a substitution (by for example moving Luke Varney wide right, and shifting Ambrose inside).

Seen in this team-oriented context, perhaps one can forgive him some of his inadequacies. Is it any wonder he was signed by Curbs given his obsession with flexible players?

The whole disappointment with Ambrose however, ought perhaps to be seen as yet more proof that there's never a 'free lunch' as a Charlton fan.

When he signed for Charlton, many Newcastle fans bemoaned his departure and told us we'd bagged a bargain. Young, English, talented......we'd get two or three seasons out of him, then flog him to Spurs for £10million.

Instead he joins the illustrious recent list of Charlton signings whose excitement I felt upon learning of their signature, was matched only by the sheer scale of my disappointment once they actually wore the red shirt.

Others recently added to that list include the likes of Dennis Rommedahl, Jonathan Johansson, Neil Redfearn and Francis Jeffers.

In Ambrose's case, it's a particular shame because he seems such a pleasant unassuming chap. It's so much easier to hate the likes of Marcus Bent.

It reminds one of an important lesson that every Charlton fan needs to learn at an early age. It's one that I fully intend to impart upon my own children, just as soon as they are old enough to fully digest it, "Son, if he was really any good, he wouldn't be playing for Charlton."