The Gap is closing

Hey, all you so called supporters, where are you? It is not the team that is embarrassing the club, it is the supporters. The game against a struggling side like Rochdale, had the support for the Addicks at an all-time low. 8,335 bothered to cheer on the team. Now. I don`t know about any of my reader`s feelings on how they see the Valley emptying more each home game and why this might have a huge implication in how the season is going to conclude.

I can only conclude my own views on why this might be and why we are now seeing the fruits of all the upheaval of previous seasons that has killed any prospects of Charlton regaining past glory days. A reminder is still echoes around the Valley from the recorded past sounding out of the sound system on match days.

A reminder from by-gone-years how the Valley used to be filled to the brim. Filled long before a ball was kicked. Filled that on many occasions the queue outside the ground was fifty deep trying desperately to get in, so not a minute of football was missed. What have we now? The streets towards the Valley, empty. The turnstiles hardly overworked. The terraces sparse with more seats vacant that resembles a none-league ground and not a team and club that is going somewhere.

I personally can`t see how support is going to return to the Valley. The excuse of blaming past mistakes is wearing a little thin. It is true to say, stay away long enough it becomes harder to rekindle the love affair that once stood firm, unmoved no matter what has come between to tear it apart.

I`m surprised the team is doing well considering they must feel somewhat underappreciated by the minority of supporters who have still stayed away and reduced the Valley to a whimper than a roar that could be heard some distant away from the ground.

Our league position is no accident. We are there because there is determination amongst our players to prove to all the doubters that the past has no place in the now. Our football has not been pretty and sometimes annoyingly wasteful. But in the end, the Addicks are grinding out a result which shows a lot of character. We are sitting forth with two games advantage over our front runner Shrewsbury Town who we yet have to play. Their season has developed a cliché. Losing the last game against bottom club Bury is not exactly a confidence booster.

We need to capitalise on our two games in hand and make them count. A difficult trip to Scunthorpe Utd this weekend will test the boys resolve. I`m banking in them feeling pretty good about themselves after coming through a long ball opponent`s that was the opposition in Rochdale on Tuesday. Our position is clear. Play the football that has served us well. Try not to get drawn into reckless passing. Many teams that we will play would have done their homework and will try to stop us playing our football on the ground.

The modern game is full of individuals who will stop at nothing. We saw a lot of this hacking down a player against Rochdale. Not football in my mind and it needs to be stamped out. I`m an old fashion spectator of this wonderful sport and don`t like what has crept into our national sport. Hard thought, hard play with no nonsense approach that`s what I call football not the primidone`s it has now in the game we all love.

Onwards and upwards is the way forward and there is no reason why the Addicks cannot achieve the ultimate goal.