Time for change as charlton miss out on play-offs

Indeed, it took 86 minutes before they even managed a shot on target. Afterwards, there was nothing left to cling to and Pardew was forced to confront the uncomfortable truth.

“We just weren’t good enough,” he conceded. “I knew we weren’t going to be good enough earlier in the season and I took a chance with some loan players but it just hasn’t worked out.”

Pardew has already held his hands up to his own mistakes this season – bringing in those loan players, for example, upset the rhythm on the pitch and morale off it – and the travelling supporters made their views known against QPR, subjecting their manager to shouts of “Pardew, sort it out”.

For Charlton to finish the season in mid-table is very poor given the resources the club had available, and there can be no doubting just how vital next season is in shaping the medium-term future of the club.

It is the final campaign in which the club will receive a ‘parachute payment’ after relegation from the Premier League, and squandering that advantage would leave them in danger of being stuck in the Championship for years.

The likes of Coventry City, Leicester City and Southampton are all reminders of what can happen if you fail to win promotion during those first two seasons.

Already, Charlton’s task next season appears more challenging than it should have been this.

Derby County may be the worst team ever to grace the Premier League but they remain well set up for Championship football and with two of Fulham, Bolton Wanderers, Reading and Birmingham City likely to be joining them, the league will be even more competitive.

If there is a lesson from this season it is that this division requires a very different mentality and a far more physical approach.

This is a time for bravery at The Valley. The majority of that parachute payment should be reinvested in new players, proven at Championship level rather than ailing Premier League stars.

Pardew believes he has already identified where and why his team failed this season and given his experience in this league it would be rash for the board to consider a change at the top.

“We have worked hard this season but it’s been a season of frustration,” he said. “There are some flaws in the side that we did not correct in the last window; we will in the summer. Now we have a chance to have a look at a couple of things and make sure we get a head-start on everyone else.”

Part of his strategy for next season appears to revolve around the club’s younger players. Pardew named both winger Scott Wagstaff and 16-year-old Jonjo Shelvey in the squad against QPR, and both players will make their debuts in the remaining two games of the season.

In addition to bringing in new faces, there should also be more opportunities for fringe players like Yassin Moutaouakil, Therry Racon, Chris Dickson, Izale McLeod and Dean Sinclair, who have yet to be given a fair chance at the club.

There will also be players leaving the club, with Lee Cook, Leroy Lita, Greg Halford and Sam Sodje all set to head back to their parent clubs and others likely to have played their way out of Pardew’s plans.

Charlton still have games against Barnsley and Coventry to negotiate. But with the play-off dream finally over and a busy summer ahead, the end of the season really can’t come soon enough.