Charlton 2 - 5 Manchester City

JUST as Charlton prayed their slump could not get any worse, along came out-of-sorts Manchester City to turn their disintegrating season into calamity on Sunday.

Knocked out of the Carling Cup five days earlier by Blackburn, having let slip a two-goal lead, Charlton were smacked across the rump by a City side who had lost their previous three games on the road and were without a goal in 200 minutes.

For the second time in five days, Charlton were booed off at the end by their own supporters. And who could blame them ?

They have witnessed only three wins at The Valley this calendar year and now six consecutive defeats in all competitions. A far cry from the heady months of August and September when those same supporters enjoyed the sweet smell of success and perhaps dreamt of UEFA Cup qualification.

Manager Alan Curbishley now has the enormous task of turning a side, so vibrant a matter of months ago, into something resembling an organised unit. Charlton’s next match is at home on Saturday to relegation certainties Sunderland. On present form it is suddenly not an inviting prospect.

As the annual Charlton collapse starts earlier than usual and the club tumbles, seemingly out of control on a downward spiral, Curbishly and Co are left once again wondering why history continues to repeat itself.

In the 2001-02 season, Charlton took 41 points in their first 30 league games - three - three in the last eight.

Season 2002-03, 45 points from the first 28 games _ four in the last 10.

Season 2003-04, 37 points from the first 22 games _ 16 in the last 16.

Season 2004-05, 37 points from the first 24 games _ nine in the last 14.

This season, 15 points from the first six games, four in the subsequent eight.

Heaven forbid, but at this rate Charlton are at serious risk of being sucked deep into the Barclays Premier League’s relegation vortex. They cannot defend, as the 17 goals conceded the last six games underlines, while they struggle to score goals.

And for all the manager’s tinkering, he is failing to draw the desired response from a set of players whose early season confidence dissolved with the change from autumn to winter. What’s more he is fast exhausting permutations from the club’s biggest squad for years.

Newspaper speculation strongly suggests that Lee Bowyer is one his way back to The Valley from Newcastle. Charlton supporters will be hoping the stories are accurate.

As in Wednesday’s Barclays Cup eclipse by Blackburn, Charlton’s need for a midfielder enforcer is becoming all the more urgent as the present incumbents, after a bright start to the campaign, have shown themselves to be too lightweight and unable or incapable of imposing their will on games.

Only Alexei Smertin played with both heart and skill against City whose midfield four of Jihai Sun, Claudio Reyna, Joey Barton and Trevor Sinclair overran Charlton in that department, despite the Russian’s dogged resistance.

City, like Charlton, are among the Premier League’s out of form teams but the manner in which they started the match suggested all that was about to end against timid opponents.

Darius Vassell and Sinclair all went close in the opeing five minutes and in the sixth it needed a courageous save by Dean Kiely to prevent Vassell from breaking through. Inevitably, City opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Andy Cole struck his sixth goal of the season after Vassell flicked on Sylvain Distin’s header.

Four minutes later, Darren Ambrose missed a sitter after Darren Bent had layed the ball into his path. Bent took goalscoring into his own hands when he levelled in the 35th minute from skipper Luke Young’s pass. Yet again, Charlton lacked the concentration to hold on to the equaliser and a minute later Sinclair restored City’s lead.

Jerome Thomas replaced Matt Holland for the second half in an effort to sharpen the attack. But City, with their superior pace and fluency, continued to make all the running and create all the best chances.

They increased their lead in the 69th when Hermann Hreidarsson pulled back Vassell. Kiely saved Barton’s penalty but the City midfielder followed up to score.

Striker Jay Bothroyd, who had replaced Jonatan Johansson in the 53rd minute, scored his first league goal for the club with a blistering 72nd minute free kick. That should have shaken Charlton from their lethargy, instead City promptly reasserted their authority.

Vassell produced a clinical finish from Cole’s pass to make it 4-2 in the 79th before Cole pounced on Chris Perry’s weak back pass in the 84th to round off the scoring.

City manager Stuart Pearce remarked afterwards that he was delighted to come to such a difficult venue as The Valley and win. Perhaps he had his tongue in his cheek.