Not So Happy Valley

They gave Alan Curbishley 15 years and, like all good managers with time on their side, he made Charlton Athletic an established Premiership football club. So why is it that when ‘Curbs’ left, Iain Dowie only got 15 games, plus an internal review of his performance, to which he wasn’t invited?

Everyone knows that Charlton is not one of those clubs who seem to traffic in managers, changing them on a whim like a wealthy driver who feels the need to change his car because the ashtrays are full. All the more reason, then, to wonder what exactly has happened in this instance. Did Iain upset the players? Was he (as has been suggested) stabbed in the back? Or is this simply an uncharacteristic ‘knee-jerk’ response by the board to a very disappointing start to the season? And if it was, is the appointment of Les Reed - a managerial virgin who is better known at The Football Association than he is in the Premiership – yet another ‘jerk’?

What we do know is that Iain Dowie, a man who is respected by managers of the calibre of Arsene Wenger, was dismissed and at present Charlton Athletic are rooted at the bottom of the Premiership. And on top of that, Les Reed’s first game in charge did not produce the kind of reaction often experienced by a change in management, because they were well beaten by Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

It will be interesting to see how Reed responds to the challenge that lies ahead.