Quite a day. Phil Parkinson was indeed a good bloke, decent and hard working but after yesterday evening the writing was on the wall and the difference between this week and last, is that the board could afford to pay him, Breacker and Kinsella off.
Let’s deal with the backroom staff first. It is sad to see Kinsella go, but as a coach, I don’t think he has anywhere near the qualities he had as a player. Very different skills of course. As for Breacker, well he was a Parkinson appointee and as in 99% of cases a new broom sweeps every corner of the room as it probably should have done two years ago. I wonder how long Phil Chapple w
ill last when a new managerial team come in?
As for Parky, many Addicks will point to our league position, last season’s play-off finish and a 39% win rate, but despite the club’s ongoing financial situation, he’s still had one of League One’s largest budgets and free-reign and support in the transfer market from his chairman.
But for me and a growing band of other Addicks it was the dour style of play (and I mostly only get to listen to it on the radio), lack of ambition in games, especially at The Valley plus more and more glaringly obvious, Parky’s tactical limitations. Sadly too many times he has stood on the side lines and been out-thought by his fellow managers, some or most of whom, have a fraction of the resources that he has had.
You need four things to be a successful manager. There are probably more, but these four came to mind first: Motivational man-management skills; coaching ability; transfer acumen; and a bloody boat load of luck. Parky may have ticked one of those boxes.
Hopefully last night on the way home following his meeting with Michael Slater, Phil Parkinson fell into the same barrel of shit that his old boss fell into and come out smelling of any remaining roses that Pardew may have left behind. Unfortunately there can’t be many.
The new board may have misled us the other day about their managerial plans, but I for one am delighted that they have acted swiftly, something as Dave points out we have hardly been used to. They obviously came with a plan and remember they have been around the club for a number of weeks. Yesterday’s performance, and to some degree Saturday’s gave Slater and Jimenez the opportunity to make the change. Parky didn’t help himself and to be honest, with perhaps one or two exceptions, the players who played yesterday could do with taking a long look in the mirror.
So what is Slater and Jimenez’s plan? And is there someone else in the equation calling the shots? And how much money is there? I suppose if we appoint Keith Peacock as permanent manager, then that will tell us not a lot but there is an evolving school of thought that there is money, not silly money, but enough to change our ambitions.
Ladbrokes stopped taking bets on Dennis Wise being the next manager within 45 minutes of Parky’s dismissal. He is the obvious favourite but why not appoint him now? Are the club really going to try and pair Wise and Poyet? Jimenez lives next door to Poyet, his son plays for us and he applied for the job after Pardew was sacked. Is it that far-fetched?
And is Wise such a favourite that no one else will apply for the job? Coleman, Hughton, Southgate, Hart, Ferguson, Tilson, Strachan? And the new owners would be doing us a disservice if they did not consider approaches for people like Eddie Howe, Paul Tisdale and Sean O’Driscoll.
Quite a day indeed and lots to think about as Charlton Athletic proved unequivocally that they have well and truly moved into a new era.
