ALEX MAKES THE MOST OF FRESH START FOR ADDICKS
WHEN Nigel Adkins took charge of League One Charlton with ten games to go, he called it a new season – and no one is relishing that fresh start more than Alex Gilbey.
The midfielder had jumped at the chance to join the Addicks last summer after winning back-to-back player-ofthe-season awards at MK Dons, but playing time under previous boss Lee Bowyer had been limited.
After biding his time, Gilbey has become a key part of Adkins’ play-off push. ‘For me it is like a mini ten-game season from when the gaffer came in. I have to take the opportunity with both hands,’ the 26-year-old says.
‘Hopefully I can be like a new signing to get them over the line.’
Despite not being picked for long spells, Gilbey still travelled to all the games and would gee up team-mates in the dressing room beforehand.
He says: ‘We are all in this together. I am not just going to sulk and throw my toys out of the pram. The lads stuck by me when I was going through a tough period which I am thankful for.’
Injuries did not help Gilbey to settle in at The Valley. ‘I came in after two really good seasons and thought I would hit the ground running, but I had an issue with my Achilles,’ he says.
‘I rushed back too quick. I wasn’t ready, the team weren’t really performing and I was nowhere near where I should have been. But now I am in a good place and the new manager has come in and told me how I can play at my best. He has been brilliant for me.’
Team-mate Conor Washington calls Gilbey a dying breed in the way he looks to run beyond strikers and he is also keen to pressure opposition players out of possession.
‘I am happiest when I’m involved in a bit of everything,’ he adds. ‘Nowadays players are told “you’re a defensive midfielder” and it gets stuck with you, rather than express themselves and see where they flourish the most.
‘But when I was coming through coaches wanted me to play in all the
1STCHARLTON
GOAL FOR GILBEY TURNED OUT TO BE THE WINNER IN THEIR RECENT 2-1 VICTORY AT SUNDERLAND. HE HAS PLAYED 20 TIMES THIS TERM
272CAREER
APPEARANCES, TAKING IN STINTS AT COLCHESTER, NEWPORT, WIGAN AND MK DONS
‘Coming through I was taught to play all roles, so I know I can play everywhere’
roles. Now I know I can play everywhere and do a job.’
Charlton had off-field problems for years but under new owner Thomas Sandgaard have signed virtually an entire new team since the summer.
‘We should be higher in the league with the amount of talent we have,’ Gilbey says. ‘When you sign as many new players as we did it takes a while to gel.
‘We couldn’t really go anywhere or get to know anyone – even going out with your team-mates for a coffee or a meal. But everyone is in the same boat.’
It was a shock when Bowyer left for Birmingham last month with the Addicks challenging for the play-offs. But Gilbey has no hard feelings about him quitting at such a crucial time. ‘Once an opportunity comes up, he is entitled to take it. He’s a legend at Birmingham,’ Gilbey insists. ‘I had a year left of my contract at MK Dons but I pushed to come to Charlton.’
Adkins has won promotion to the Championship three times – twice at Scunthorpe before guiding Southampton all the way into the Premier League with back-to-back successes.
‘He is the perfect man to come in and kick-start our season after a bit of a slump. He is so positive,’ says Gilbey. ‘We are starting to hit form now at the perfect time of the season.’
The Addicks host a Peterborough side looking well set for promotion tomorrow and Gilbey sees no reason why they cannot make an instant return to the Championship now.
‘Charlton are a sleeping giant who have been through a lot in the last few years and the fans and the people behind the scenes deserve to see the club where it should be.
‘With the new chairman, new manager and the players coming through we have a good chance of being a big team in the Championship next year.
‘The sky is the limit. If you are scared of your dreams there is no point having them. It is an exciting time.’