Chris Powell has come under much criticism lately, and quite rightly so. It would be a very strange world if a manager who's team had collected just 3 points from a possible 33 was not open to criticism. It seems to me that being critical of his team selections, his tactics or his seeming inability to motivate some of the squad is perfectly fair. But to decide at this stage that he is not the man for the job, for me takes such criticism way too far.
The latest calls for Powell's head come after the Rochdale game where we lost 2-0, yet despite the pain of losing, many of those who went actually reported that the team played better and that it was an unlucky result.
Every day we see people bemoaning the fact the Parky has gone. They tell us that he was a good man, an under-rated manager and that he was treated shabbily by the club he tried so hard to get promoted. They are right. They point to the facts that we were very close to getting promotion last season and were still in the play off positions when he left us this season. They speculate what he may have been able to do had he been given the resources that Mr Powell has. Yet for all this there are two very salient points about Parky. 1. He has gone. 2. He ain't coming back. We need to forget about him now. He is history just as much as Pardew, Dowie, Curbs and Albert Lindon. We need to stop this hand wringing, because it's getting us nowhere.
It is almost 5 years since Curbs left. In that time we have had six different managers. Compare this with the previous 86 years of our history which saw the average manager tenure at over four years. It is perhaps not surprising then that this period has coincided with our sharpest historical decline. For whilst many will recognise such high turnover as symptom of our malaise, it is equally a part of the cause.
Constantly chopping and changing managers, creates instability. It makes it very difficult to build something viable as each new man tears down what was done before in an attempt at building something new before they are in turn replaced. It means that players do not know where they stand, both in terms of style to play and in terms of who's going to be the boss in six months time. It makes the club look fickle and short-termist and less attractive to good quality players who want to come to a club to develop their skills and enjoy a good career move. Instead we become the target for mercenary agents to foist their less able, less willing players on to.
It has been speculated that a part of the current problem is that many of “Parky's players” are not motivated to work for the Powell. That hints about the need for a big summer clear out have unsettled some resulting in worse performances. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it certainly seems feasible. The trouble is, if you got rid of Powell now the players that he's brought in may end up feeling just as insecure. So there is a danger that the whole pattern could repeat. At some point we need to break this cycle by sticking with the man who's been chosen as manager and giving him the opportunity to start a team from scratch, not just tinker with the old one.
The fact is that it takes time to turn a football club around. It is not a simple job and not one that there are are any magic solutions too. Chris Powell was brought in as a part of a long term strategy. Making the necessary changes isn't going to be something that could be done overnight. If it could be done so quickly, the board would have taken someone on with the remit to get promotion this season or else. They didn't. They didn't for a very good reason: the state of the club, and of the first team in particular, was not capable of meeting such expectations. Getting the right people and processes in will take time. Inevitably there will be some mistakes and some setbacks along the way. For this club to be successful it is necessary that we achieve some sort of stability. As fans we can play our part in this by exercising patience. Sure, it is painful seeing us lose to the likes of Rochdale and Dagenham, but if we never give anyone both the time and the resources to turn things around then we risk always rushing from one crisis to the next. It's time to keep the faith.
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Keep the Faith
I was critical of our performance at Rochdale but no way would I suggest that we change manager, he has to be given time and it appears that he will be given money. What we must do, as fans, is support him and the team.
Hopefully, rational talk like this and Michael Slater's letter will help to tone down the air of hand-wringing and wrist-slitting in these pages.
It would be nice to win a game as well, though.
After four nightmarish years, I find myself really looking forward to next season (but wishing this one would end soon!)
Can't wait to see what Powell will do with a decent squad of players. Keep the faith, indeed, because better times are coming.
Constantly chopping and changing managers, creates instability. It makes it very difficult to build something viable as each new man tears down what was done before in an attempt at building something new before they are in turn replaced. It means that players do not know where they stand, both in terms of style to play and in terms of who's going to be the boss in six months time. It makes the club look fickle and short-termist and less attractive to good quality players who want to come to a club to develop their skills and enjoy a good career move. Instead we become the target for mercenary agents to foist their less able, less willing players on to.
Totally agree with this. charlton have gained little success in chopping and changing and we enjoyed our biggest successes following years of stability. I would be so pleased to see us back in the premiership in a few years, but if we're not i'll still go and cheer the players, and sing the anthems with as much enthusiasm as i always have, as i did on tuesday. All of us on here have Charlton in our blood. Distressed at seeing the recent decline, we all are, fickle we are not!Powell is a great bloke that to a man we all want to achieve success. Keep the faith.
Knee-jerk short termism rarely works in any walk of life.
Good work, Stig.
I've just renewed the STs which hopefully counts.