Saturday was a disappointing result. Not half as disappointing as seeing the Valley with so many empty seats. When it comes down to sorting out the true fans from those who just come to see teams that have a pedigree, I`m afraid those fans will have a long wait on their hands.
Judging on our display in the last few minutes when we should have sealed the win, I`m becoming more sceptical about whether our team has the correct attitude and togetherness to push the last few games to the limit.
It is all very well producing a goal or two to give yourselves advantage, but this advantage has to be capitalised on to ensure the outcome merits the effort.
We lack composure at the back. Discipline has to be maintained throughout the game, any slackness would be punished as it was on Saturday against Oxford United.
Punishment, this a word that many supporters have inflicted unto themselves. The Valley once a fortress has seen many of these supporters boycott home games to show the owner Duchatelet what they thought of him. This feeling of self-inflicted agony should have subsided in the wake of what has occurred in the last weeks. Duchatelet is selling the club. This assurance alone should have given renewed hope for all who turned their backs on the club. But judging on the last games at home, there seems to be no influx of missing support nor has the stadium suddenly become bursting at the seams.
All the show of unity when supporters staged demonstrations against Duchatelet and Meire who has since left the club to force him to sell up and go back to Belgium. All the demonstrations that brought games to a halt when pink pigs, flares, and all manner of objects were thrown on to the pitch to cause as much disruption on match days as possible made the point.
All this was done because many where unhappy at the club. The excuses came thick and fast. The best of them always had Duchatelet as the forerunner. Well now that there is no more need to use the owners name as a reason to stay away, what about showing some support to the team, they can really use it.
Whether the sale goes through this month, next month, are all who have said they will return when the club changes hand could come back now and give the team a lift, otherwise I can see our season nosedive. The reason I`m going make a comparison between our support and those from the away fans is. The level of encouragement they receive outshines ours by many decimals. This sort of support lifts a team that rewards their fans with a late surge and pulls off an unexpected win. Oxford were a classic example down at the Valley in the last game.
We can`t afford to be this generous especially at home. So how about stopping this boycott and show that we really care for the Addicks to finish the season well. But they can`t do this alone. They need the support to lift their spirits. Do we have a deal?
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