Reading 1 (Sharp 13) Charlton 0.
Kevin Nolan reports from Madejski Stadium.
Kevin Nolan’s Match Report sponsored by Grant Saw Wealth Management
More than a hundred years ago, Mark Twain bitterly expressed his contempt for statistics. There are three kinds of lies”, he declared, “lies, damned lies and statistics.”
The wily old codger had a point but nobody can be right all the time. Even he would have to concede that statistics prove, among other things, that the world is round, a cat has nine lives and that both of the Mayor of London’s sizeable feet are more often than not found in his even more sizeable mouth. And they can also help in putting together a valid, number-crunching analysis of Charlton’s faltering progress through the season so far. Do your best to keep up with me as I present the case for the judicious use of statistics.
The Addicks’ sixth 1-0 defeat at Reading lends substantial weight to the mathematical equation that if you score at least once against them, preferably early in the first half, you’re better than evens to beat them by the only goal of the game. They just can’t score themselves, this latest blank being their eighth of the season in nineteen tries – that’s somewhere between a 40% or 50% ratio, according to my abacus. And if it’s goals you’re after, steer clear of Charlton because there’s been only 35 scored in 19 games. These are numerical facts, which I invite you to absorb while I extricate myself from a statistical morass of my own making.
Armed with the figures, it was safe to assume that this second 1-0 setback within four days was all but certain as early as the 13th minute, when dependable lower league goalscorer Billy Sharp put Reading into the lead. Picking up a loose ball after Dale Stephens’ poor touch and unconvincing attempt to redeem his error conceded possession dangerously near Charlton’s penalty area, Sharp moved smoothly into shooting range before placing a crisp drive into the bottom left corner.
Sharp’s clearheaded finishing inserted daylight between two otherwise evenly matched sides. It looked even more decisive when Charlton’s Simon Church failed to match his marksmanship before the interval.
Church had been his usual, hardgrafting self, willing to run himself into exhaustion for the cause. Minutes before Sharp pounced, his ceaseless running had panicked Reading right back Stephen Kelly into a poorly judged challenge as they disputed a raking delivery down the inside left channel. It felt like a penalty, looked like a penalty, probably was a penalty. Not so ruled referee Darren Sheldrake, which meant it wasn’t a penalty. Apparently Sky TV
disagreed with him, which will console Chris Powell no end.
Undeterred by his ill-fortune, Church was presented with an excellent opportunity to balance the books as the first half entered added time. Played through a square defence by Yann Kermorgant’s finely measured pass, he outstripped his pursuers, let fly on the run but placed his shot too close to advancing goalkeeper Alex McCarthy. Based on bitter experience – not to mention the statistics we’ve already expounded – there was justification in concluding that his miss would prove costly.
Not that the Addicks went quietly. Impressive willpower forced them on top as the Royals’s self-assurance began to waver, though Garath McLeary almost derailed the process by clipping the bar soon after the break. But the running was generally made by the resurgent visitors and when, with 20 minutes left, Powell went for broke with the bold introduction of three attacking substitutes, a clear statement of intent had been made.
With a massive point to prove, Marvin Sordell was one of the newcomers. There is clearly a talented player lurking beneath the diffidence he has shown in Charlton’s colours and he was eager to make an impact. Twisting, turning, protecting the ball expertly, he surely did enough to nail down a start in Saturday’s crucial engagement at Yeovil. Likewise, the almost completely forgotten Danny Green threw himself, with renewed enthusiasm, into the fightback. Benched skipper Johnnie Jackson was the third sub but though his influence was felt, he fluffed his lines with a botched attempt to exploit Kermorgant’s set-up.
To be honest, Charlton came up with little else but effort despite the modest pressure they exerted. There were bits and pieces but nothing clearcut. Which is where we came in.
So to Yeovil on Saturday, where the natives will be even more restless than usual after two impressive wins recently. A re-vamped line-up, geared for attack, might be the way forward in the West Country but we’ll see. Something has to change before freefall sets in. With his keen insight into the proletariat’s pastimes, that’s something that London’s flaxen-topped Fat Controller (wasn’t he hilarious when he rugby tackled that bloke during a football game?) will be keeping an eye on. Meanwhile, I’ve just finished my last two propositions with prepositions, liberties which betray the pressure I’m feeling. I’m cracking up just when I need to impress my new sponsor most. Swear to God I can do better!
Kevin Nolan’s Match Report sponsored by Grant Saw Wealth Management
Reading: McCarthy, Kelly, Pearce, Guthrie, Cummings, McAnuff, Gorkss, McCleary (Blackman 90), Williams (Akpan 64), Pobrebnyak, Sharp (Robson-Kanu 67). Not used: Federici, Le Fondre, Drenthe, Obita. Booked: Kelly, Gorkss.
Charlton: Alnwick, Wilson, Morrison, Dervite, Wiggins, Stewart, Stephens (Jackson 70), Cousins, Evina (Green 70), Church (Sordell 70), Kermorgant. Not used: Pope, Hughes, , Pritchard, Wood. Booked: Morrison.
Referee: Darren Sheldrake. Att: 18,149.
N.B. This report is the first filed under the new sponsorship of Grant Saw Financial Management, managed by canny Glaswegian Ian Starkey from his premises at the Royal Standard in Blackheath. I haven’t actually met Ian and there are those who might recommend, from his point of view, that we leave it that way but his interest and involvement are sincerely appreciated. I look forward to sharing many a riveting conversation with him concerning financial planning and wealth management, two topics which keep me awake at night.
My encyclopaedic knowledge of Glasgow Rangers, which dates back to Willie Waddell and George Young, will no doubt cement our new relationship and I look forward to a fruitful future.