Any Players Turn Up Today? Charlton 1, Hull 1

Image © Charlton Athletic

One thing I can thank the team for today after this terrible match is the fact I've got bugger-all to write from it. Until Bougherra equalised in the second half, our best and only effort on target came from a wayward back-header from a Hull player.

I'm not sure what's worse – the fact that Hull couldn't beat a team down to ten men for 20 minutes, or the fact that we can't beat a poor Hull side that can't beat a team with ten men!

What the hell was going on today? It was as if both teams were thinking more about shooting to Oxford Street after the match to finish the Christmas shopping. Did either side actually turn up?

Lack of efforts was worsened only further by a clear lack of effort. In fact, there was only one Charlton player putting in any effort at all – Danny Mills doing his best to get every Hull player sent off.

I've been a big fan of Mills, but today he showed the ugly side of his game that you hoped he'd left behind at his previous clubs. He made the most of every bad tackle, fell over at each opportunity, and spent more time talking to the Ref than Pardew had to the team about tactics. He got his just desserts in true pantomime when Bates finally had enough and sent him off.

It wasn't only Mills at it though – Phil Brown had clearly instructed his players to waste time at every available opportunity, it was disgraceful. At one point it took a full 30 seconds for a simple throw-in, and to his discredit Bates did nothing to keep this behaviour under control.

Hull took the lead after Frazier Campbell was the lucky recipient of a ricochet off the Charlton defence as McCarthy attempted to clear. It was a cool finish past Weaver, and should have been the spur the game needed.

The home team didn't appear to have read the script today though, and never got into the game. Reid's absence highlighted the lack of creativity in the rest of the team, the sideways-passing of the Curbishley days rearing it's ugly head. This was the ideal opportunity for Ambrose to stake a claim to the playmaker role, but put in another anonymous appearance.

Another downside to Mills' sending off was Chris Dickson missing out on a much anticipated debut. The match was all set for him to come on with 20 minutes to go, but instead we had to make do with ten men instead.

An early Christmas hangover or the shape of things to come? We'll find out on Boxing day...