Article in the Daily Mail this morning
What do you give a caretaker-manager who has not won in eight games in charge?
Answer: the job.
Many Charlton fans are bewildered by the decision to give Phil Parkinson a permanent contract.
Then again, they reason, this was the same board which put Les Reed in charge and then sacked him less than 40 days later.
Well, yes, except that during a catalogue of disasters, the south London club could also claim that good intentions have been undermined by an unforeseeable collapse of managerial talent.
Parkinson said: ‘When I joined Charlton as assistant to Alan Pardew, the board looked on it that Alan would eventually move on and they wanted continuity.
‘They basically said the job would be mine. Richard Murray and the other board members said they had had a period of upheaval after Alan Curbishley left and they didn’t want that again.
‘They didn’t have to hold themselves to that promise and I understand that supporters maybe felt it was time for somebody else, but it’s my job to turn that mindset around.’
What he needs to do now is persuade the players, who have not won in 17 games and are four points adrift at the foot of the Championship table, that they can beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Alan Pardew was sacked as Addicks boss after a sorry start to the season
Parkinson said: ‘We have had periods of games in which we have been outstanding, but we need to find a resilience from 1-0 up to make sure that we can see a game through.
'There’s more resilience and character in this group of players and we need to see it.
‘Players respond to being treated with respect. They need to be told what you expect of them but there are ways of doing that.’
Just as Charlton are in the recovery business so, too, is Parkinson.
An outstanding spell in charge of Colchester was offset by just 24 games as manager of Hull City.
‘I was itching to get back into the game, but also I was very aware it should be a club where I felt I had a chance and where the board understood the game.
'I wanted to make sure it was the right appointment. It is a sentiment that is widely held at The Valley.
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Comments
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This sounds like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Let's get this right - so Parky is saying he was promised the succession by Richard Murray way back in Dec 2006 ???
I think this is a pretty crucial comment as well.
Basically, Murray offered them both the job in December 2006 and, as good mates and up and coming managers, they both agonised over the decision of who should lead the team.
So Pardew and Parky had a meal in a restaurant on Upper Street in Islington, Granita, and it was decided that Pardew would get the first stab at it, with Parky in the wings.
Months later they were sent a dodgy dossier on Izale McLeod and Luke Varney by one of their scouts. Allegedly, it was claimed both could score a goal within 45 minutes...
There have been a few comments on here in the last few days suggesting that Parky was frozen out of major decision-making by Pardew and so should not be blamed for any of the sins of the old regime. I thought that was a bit of spin, to be honest. But perhaps it's true?
Not trying to be impolite in any way shape or form or poo pooing your comments but this managerial stuff had been done to death on here over the last couple of weeks.
Appreciate I might only be talking for myself here but IHMO today is NOT the day for deep analyses/speculation of the why's and wherefores...It's about the match.....and nothing but the match.
I wouldn't normaly say such a thing but I suspect that 'most' of us today have woken up with a knot in the stomach and a mixture of high hopes and profound trepidation, so important is today game...and much as I'd love to take in your no doubt pertinent views I just can't concentrate on much beyond 3.00pm!
Can undertand why Bart put the post up though, as it's his and admins job in general to put up interesting topics from the media as soon as they come to their attention.
COME ON YEW RED BOYS!!!
This is the biggest/most important game since Blackburn...I simply cannot understand any red blooded Addick saying he's indifferent about today....I'm most surprised to hear that from you...sounds like you're one of the glass half empty and given up hope brigade....I wouldn't have thought of you in that way for one moment nss.
I do take your point, SoundAs. It is a match day (hopefully - what's the pitch looking like this morning?) But it was Parky who chose to give an interview to the Daily Mail for match day which contains a very interesting - and potentially significant - new revelation.
And, as the two posts that immediately follow yours show, the one way to fan the flames of any issue is to try to tell people not to discuss it !
I know sad isn't it that's what this club has done to me over the last 2 years.I just want the season to finish re-group with some players
who want to fight for the cause and start again.
like ''ee-ay-ee-i-o, it's up the football league we go'' !!!
That's better nigel with ya 100%....I'm getting in the mood just sitting here at my keyboard...for me the match day started the moment I woke up...COME ON YEW REDS....COME ON!!
To be honest Nigel,
I think Parky's comments about how, 'one day', he'd take over, is just more spin. Less than two weeks ago, we witnessed the rather desperate 'strategic review' and, thus, the decision that he was the best man for the job. Derek Chappell himself, in his comments about the review, referred to how appointing a new management team would be 'expensive' and so it's best we use our limited money on improving the team - which is the right decision in my opinion. No that it changes the fact we shouldn't be in such financial straits in the first place.
Maybe Parky believes what he says about the 'succession' but I think if we weren't skint, he'd now be out of work. It might allow some elements of our support to once again push the rather discredited line that the Board is smoothly going about its business - rather than merely reacting to poor results on the pitch whilst hampered by the fact we have very little financial clout to do much about it, which is the view held by most supporters, in my opinion.
But I think SoundAs has a very valid point. Today is a big, big game and we really need to win this one so very badly.
We are all Charlton fans and while a lot of us are unconvinced by how Parkinson got the job and by some parts of our squad, if our new manager doesn't start winning some matches, starting as of now, we'll be relegated. A win today gives us a chink of light and we have to back his team 100% - as I know you do of course.
Spring is a good signing I believe, Brown may be another and I hope a couple more come in in due course. But let's take a deep breath and cross our fingers!!
Too wound up to argue the toss Spanish...I know what I mean, even if you don't.
NOW I FEEL BETTER COME ON YOU RIP ROARING GOAL SCORING ADDICKS
Steve, at this stage of the season, it doesn't do anyone any good to say we need 33 points from 20 games.
That just creates a huge psychological mountain to climb.
Nobody knows how many actual points we need to be safe.
But in truth - we need just 1 point more than the side that finishes 22nd. That's how many actual points we need.
And we can only play one game at a time - so 3 points in the next game is the actual points needed to stay up.
I do. Very much a mistake and one they realise, to their cost, they made.
at the varous meetings at the AGM, at Bromley, at City Addicks, with the bloggers and now with the accounts (not all clubs publish accounts BTW) they have been saying all along that we have to cut back, we need to sell to balance the books, we need to raise more money thru the bond.
How about winning the next two league games. Easier said than done but I can see it as a way of doing it.