Throwing Bad Money After Good - the EFL and Beyond 2017-18

also, hope they smash us

from what i've heard (from other charlton fans), fleetwood is actually a very pleasant place to watch football - friendly stewards, decent food and a good atmosphere. getting there being the problem

I suppose not so bad in terms of getting knocked out, but a pain to get to and their attendance not setting the world on fire (about the same as ours). Might make a weekend in Blackpool out of it.

I would have liked to have been in with a shout of tv, but doubt they'll be on again. I am just being grumpy about it tbh.

On the other hand, when the last eight balls were still in I was sure it was going to be Carlisle away. That would have been worse.

at least you're not having to play a team you played two weeks ago, in possibly the dullest match you've had for two or three years, except now at their place, which is a sunken pit they nicked off another club

(sorry blandford)

xp Fair enough. Although Carlisle away is always a pleasure.

I was looking down the list and it just made me clearer that there'd be no good away draw in the second round for us, none of the bigger clubs would be excited enough about us to mean a bumper payday, everyone else is a source of fear. Just gotta hope we get through with a chance of a glory day out / big payday (recognising that it's far more likely that we get drawn away to0 Burton and have neither, no disrespect to Burton etc).

For the first time in ages, however, we're not looking at the cup thinking it makes the difference between financial comfort for another year and financial ruin. We've had a really good run of selling players on and it seems like things are steady just now. That's before the fee for Ethan Ampadu is agreed with Chelsea (rumour has it we've asked for £3m, which doesn't seem like very much for a player who's already getting into their matchday squads at 17), they won't go north of £1.5m.)

Rumours beginning to circulate we're a Sunday kickoff, which makes the weekend away look like the best bet.

I don't know why I'm so miserable about it to be honest, it'll be a great day out and we've made a good amount of money out of the cup so far. I reckon our away form is better than home in any case so we probably have a very outside chance* (although they looked far too strong for us last night).

* if we can solve the fact we still don't have a left back (currently playing a right back on the wrong side of the pitch) and all our central midfielders are injured (currently playing a left winger as DM - ignoring the fact it means we are then missing a left winger - and Bobby Purdie, zimmer frame and all, as AM).

It seems like a long way to go and a lot of money to pay to watch us get spanked, then again, Wembley two years ago.

Sorry imago that you have to make a trip to the very much legitimately purchased home of the last bastion of morality in football/Britain. The only thing purer than our souls is our commitment to never ever take a shot.

Seriously. That striker you had who got the hat-trick the previous week - are you sure it wasn't a collective hallucination?

I do apologise, though - it's boring without Millwall and Gillingham barely count - one finds one's South London rivalries where one can, even if they must be somewhat artlessly manufactured. I'll probably come to the cup game. Depending on my experiences and the exact wording of your Karl Robinson banner this time around I may even return for the League fixture ;)

I'm fond of AFCW obv but watching from that away stand is never the best (NB it's not like our lot are any better, we're doing a little redevelopment now and our away end will be covered for the first time).

Gillingham 7 - Reading (u23) 5

(cup)

those poor bastards needed something I guess

Anyone remember Reading's first team losing to Arsenal by that scoreline in the League Cup?

Watching FA cup matches between lower league teams that look like they're playing on school playgrounds is surprisingly fun.

:)

milo do you follow an english team, if not then you can get a season pass on iFollow for any EFL team* and watch the match in full either live or later on

*except Charlton, amusingly enough, who opted out. and a couple of others did that too

i was not aware of that (although fuck if i'm paying $140 to watch sheffield united for a year)

there's a way of choosing individual matches for $6 a pop

Kanye is unbelievable pic.twitter.com/JxL3VXiFvN

— mark haight more like mark fake (@thebasedparker) November 16, 2017

lol

Looks like Merthyr Town are in serious trouble, 80% of the playing staff told to leave because there's no money to pay them. 4 directors resigned in the past week.

Cavaleiro finishes an absolute peach of a team goal with a sick little dummy, 1-0 to the Wanderers

could've been 2 down tho, Ruddy is having a mare

What happened to Reading? They were top six like all season last year no? Did they lose key players?

they were giving us a game before i turned the stream off because the site kept trying to Trojan me

:(

Here are the shots from the opening goal as @Ivancavaleiro17 put Wolves in front. @sambagnallphoto #REAvWOL

📸👇 pic.twitter.com/aYdvLrnSnR

— Wolves (@Wolves) November 18, 2017

📸👇

SCOTT GOLBOURNE OWN GOAL SCREAMER ALERT

bless him :)

toe to toe with the Blades, what a season

jfc anyone watching this blades fulham game?

just following the updates :/

still trying to work out who's had the plastic surgery to look like Leon tbh

barmy game

wtf! That seems more like the Fulham that put 9 past us over two games last season and made Town look like amateurs. Only they didn't have to contend with SuperLeon!

it's the magic of the Champo

big game for us tonight vs dutty Leeds

GL against the Champions Of Europe, their away form is pretty shit but you don't get many easy fixtures in the Champo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grlOImCXqW0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmYud4adHtw

Viera sent off for 2 yellows, Alioski booked almost straight after, cue Wolves' fans having a quick sing of the Joy Division classic "Leeds, Leeds are falling apart, again"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3tU4JTDf8U

enjoy this season tbh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX_iUXGk0js

ha ha! nice

Leeds had threatened to get back into it before Vieira went off but in the end karma was the winner

cue Wolves' fans having a quick sing of the Joy Division classic "Leeds, Leeds are falling apart, again"

luv2laugh@leeds

I put radio Leeds on for some massive club lols afterwards, but it was all very annoyingly restrained and sensible. There seems to be a bit a Christiansen love-in going on and he has "work in progress" protection at the moment.

they were threatening to equalize until Vieira got sent off, tho we cd've just as easily hit them on the break. one or two of the comments on the stream I was watching were sour grapesy, it's really fun being the only club in the country with foreign owners who've splashed some cash around.

but ultimately there's no shame in being beat by the best so what can they say?

dang - jodi jones, our best player by far, out for the season :(
only 20 yrs old too, hopefully there'll be no lasting damage