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POST-MATCH THREAD: Charlton Athletic v Preston Nth End: Saturday 11th April 2026: KO 15:00
Comments
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Josh Friedman was in attendance today so would presumably had conversations with JR & co regarding what the plans/requirements for next season's squad are . And would have his own views on today's performance of course.
Nothing like having one of our Main Men at The Valley to see for himself how things are playing out on the pitch...6 -
We need to spend a lot of lolly to get this squad out of a relegation battle.1
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Campbell and Jones our best players. Without Campbell who else consistently takes the ball to the opposition, beats his man, and creates chances. Jones should have taken the knackered Dykes off for Leaburn, not TC. Not for the first time today, at the end, we had loads of strikers on the pitch but no one able to deliver the ball to them. Give me the talent of Campbell any day than unskilled "effort". Every team needs a touch of class. We have one young player with it.last_line said:
He was abysmal. Lack of effort positional sense and impact. He's not a scapegoat, he's just consistently woeful.Radostanradical said:
Idiots because they have an opinion taht is different from yours (which was correct). He had a decent match today, if anyone scored him a 5 or lower, I could take a good guess why and If we are all honest we all know why. Its became fashionable to scapegoat TC.last_line said:Some idiots have scored TC above 5 on the marks post. Unbelievable!!26 -
We are the 3rd lowest scorers in the league and it’s a pattern of our season that we can’t put the ball in the net - once again we had more than enough chances to score more than the one goal & couldn’t, also concerningly though I don’t think we made Preston or Bristol City really work that hard to beat us… hopefully we can return to winning ways in Sheffield0
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No, I was watching Charlton v Leedsct_addick said:Everyone saying we will be ok and wouldn’t want to be in the trenches with people on here etc….Did you watch that final Brentford v Barnsley game in 2019/2020 season ? I will forever have PTSD about that….its Charlton and can happen again so don’t know how folks can be so passive…a bit like our team at the moment3 -
Absolutely love the bloke and his finishing ability but feel like he’s regressed from the beginning of the season. Very rarely picking the ball up and running with it and pinging balls for people to run on to (part of apter’s strong performances was Carey knew if he floated the ball to his right apter would be steaming on to it). Think it coincides with knibbs getting his ankle broken and a lack of competition. Also I guess teams have identified him as a threat, but still he needs to push on and adapt.cabbles said:
If Carey doesn’t score he offers nothing. He’s got progressively poorer as the season has gone on for me.Beckboy said:Still bloody pissed off Carey did nothing but JRC was taken off .He was having more impact in the penalty area then Carey .MUST ,MUST win nxt Saturday my heart cant take another final day fight outJRC was great once again, but I can see jones probably wants a bit more athleticism from him.2 -
We do have a team - manager, coaches, players, all of them collectively - who can step up when the pressure finds them. It possibly needs to find them.
Going into Oxford at home in Dec - that was the first time this season pressure struck. Midtable security had drifted. Lose and Oxford would close the gap to a couple of points. We won and extended it to 8.
Norwich away, followed by the events at Pompey away - that was followed by a home draw vs Coventry and the best performance for months.
The dismantling at Millwall - winning at Leicester was next.
Abysmal at home to Pompey - worked hard for a point at Southampton next.
OK, we haven't been abysmal recently, thankfully for the goal difference. But weak performances at home have given us zero points. The Pompey and Oxford wins today have lit a fire beneath us.
Pressure - real pressure - has found us again. Sheff Wed next.
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Not a coincidence that our wage budget is in the bottom 3 tooSheedyCAFC said:We are the 3rd lowest scorers in the league and it’s a pattern of our season that we can’t put the ball in the net - once again we had more than enough chances to score more than the one goal & couldn’t, also concerningly though I don’t think we made Preston or Bristol City really work that hard to beat us… hopefully we can return to winning ways in Sheffield1 -
I thought JRC was shattered when he went off. Didn’t think he was covering the ground he needed to.Lovely player, maybe not a Jones one.
Doc was Doc as usual. TC was okay I thought.
Carey poor again (a few have been saying this for months now, many are now seeing it too).
I also haven’t seen much from Fuller to suggest that I should agree with the clamber for him to be in the side. Has seemed a bit all over the place to me. I think some just want a bit of excitement in midfield, which he was today, for PNE.1 -
Thought he was absolutely woeful. Misplaced a string of passes and they had plenty of joy down his sideDiebythesword said:Personally think chambers had his best game for us today. Linked up really nicely with TC and generally made some good passes and was good defensively.1 -
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First 20 minutes apart very few of them were on their game today. NJ should be brave enough to rest LJ. Put young Gough in-or Collins if fit. Chambers looked v weak. Fev did well going forward but also poor defensively. Bell and Ramsay looked tired and not up to their usual standards. It’s a lot for Doc to run the whole midfield when JRC runs through treacle and Carey is so off the boil. TC our bright spark. Dykes unfortunately is looking like the limited player I feared he was after initially flattering.
As for finishing with four / five strikers (with LJ also up top) it just smacks of desperation and chaos. They were more likely to score on the break than we ever were. Felt like playground football where there are no tactics and everyone just chases the ball.
It is always concerning to see players having a go at each other on the pitch and that happened several times today especially when they were getting in each other’s way.
NJ didn’t get much right today other than saying post match that Chef Wendy is MUST WIN.
Added to this having listened to Charlton Live - think it was Nathan who said he worries NJ still doesn’t know his best team. That really resounded with me. We have so few working partnerships as the starting line up has chopped and changed a lot. Appreciate sometimes it is due to injury but it is pretty late in the season still to be experimenting.8 -
And to add to all that this season we had 48 points with 7 games to go. If we get relegated then there is no excuse.......NJ has to goPragueAddick said:I'm as angry and pissed off as anyone else. I'm not going to argue tonight with anyone who is worried we might blow it and go down. However I have something to say about comparisons with 2019/20.
People forget exactly what we were dealing with then. We were "owned" by a bunch of low-lifes who had no interest whatsoever in anything other than extracting cash from the club - and stitching each other up in the process. We had Conor Gallagher ripped away from us. He was replaced by a "footballer" called David Davies. We all know what Lyle Taylor did, but we have little clue about whatever else was going on when it came to the football side, we were all too pre-occupied with who the hell was owning us and why. Heaven knows what toll that took on Bow and his ability to get a tune from his players. I haven't mentioned the weirdness of Covid as that affected all clubs, but that on top of our own unique shit must have made things even worse.
We are in a much better place now than then. The Board enabled decent signings in January. I'd much rather be where we are now than where we were then.It doesn't make me feel much better writing that, I just hope that we'll get over the line and then it will make a bit more sense.
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I dont think the 2 correlate that much.fenaddick said:
Not a coincidence that our wage budget is in the bottom 3 tooSheedyCAFC said:We are the 3rd lowest scorers in the league and it’s a pattern of our season that we can’t put the ball in the net - once again we had more than enough chances to score more than the one goal & couldn’t, also concerningly though I don’t think we made Preston or Bristol City really work that hard to beat us… hopefully we can return to winning ways in Sheffield
We spent money on strikers....just the wrong ones. (Ahadme for one).2 -
The fact that Blackburn are now 1 point behind us says it all.4
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By Championship standards we really didn't. £4m or so (Ahadme, Godden, Kelman) is nothing, you need to be dropping near to £10m or unearth a gem really. We just played a middle of the pack side with two strikers on loan from PL clubs and another multimillion pound one on the bench. Dobbin cost £9m 2 years ago and only has 1 more league goal than Kelmangolfaddick said:
I dont think the 2 correlate that much.fenaddick said:
Not a coincidence that our wage budget is in the bottom 3 tooSheedyCAFC said:We are the 3rd lowest scorers in the league and it’s a pattern of our season that we can’t put the ball in the net - once again we had more than enough chances to score more than the one goal & couldn’t, also concerningly though I don’t think we made Preston or Bristol City really work that hard to beat us… hopefully we can return to winning ways in Sheffield
We spent money on strikers....just the wrong ones. (Ahadme for one).4 -
As a club we're obviously way ahead of where we were in 2020. In terms of what we are producing on the pitch though, are we any better?Callumcafc said:
Yes we have. What a silly question.CAFCTrev said:PragueAddick said:However I have something to say about comparisons with 2019/20.
People forget exactly what we were dealing with then. We were "owned" by a bunch of low-lifes who had no interest whatsoever in anything other than extracting cash from the club - and stitching each other up in the process.I think comparing this to 19/20 only makes where we are now look even worse. Back then, you could at least point to instability off the pitch and a constantly shifting squad. This time, we’ve got relatively stable ownership and a more settled group of players.
So the question is: have we actually moved forward at all in terms of league position compared to then?
In the summer of 2019 we spent peanuts under Roland, whereas in the summer of 2025 we spent a load of money. Big money.
But most of it was wasted.
Apter and Tanto, loaned out after 6 months.
Kelman, on the bench and not brought on.
Knibbs, didn't make the bench
That's £8m? of acquisitions that didn't play today. Not because of injuries, but because NJ either didn't rate them or because they were the wrong buys. Bowyer made mistakes in his last year, but imagine Bowyer and Gallen with the budget we had last summer.
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We’ve only managed to score more than once in 5 games this year. I understand why Jones has set us up this way - to keep us up on a low budget. But if we stay up, we need to invest in more creative attacking options. Anyway, four games to go. We need to get behind the team. COYR5
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I can't bear to read the thread this week.
I've felt like some wise old sage recently, shaking my head at the numerous posts in proclaiming our safety. I've watched Charlton for over 60 years and what may serve as a norm for the majority of teams doesn't apply to us. I've known (sorry to sound like a know all) but I have known with the certainty of Solomon that we could still f$ck it up. After all is said and done this is Charlton - and if we survive by the skin of our teeth - we must be truly grateful.24 -
Amen to that ...Raith_C_Chattonell said:I can't bear to read the thread this week.
I've felt like some wise old sage recently, shaking my head at the numerous posts in proclaiming our safety. I've watched Charlton for over 60 years and what may serve as a norm for the majority of teams doesn't apply to us. I've known (sorry to sound like a know all) but I have known with the certainty of Solomon that we could still f$ck it up. After all is said and done this is Charlton - and if we survive by the skin of our teeth - we must be truly grateful.0 -
It is our play off final all over again?twiggyaddick said:That 2nd Preston goal was the most obvious thing I've seen in ages.
Fullah isn't strong enough for championship football, and we've stopped doing the things that made us hard to beat at home, concede 2 a game we won't get any points.
for me, next Saturday is the most important fixture for a long long time...
I know it's not "a must win or we go down", but we really do need all 3 points from it as, like many have said, I can't see us getting points from the other games.
Their confidence us ebbing away and I worry that L Jones is injured. If we did lose their confidence will be totally shot.
We MUST see the Wendy game as our one ticket to survival in this league and have a proper go at it. We can't say a point will be enough.12 -
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Surely Godden is fit enough now to start next week, TC just isn’t working as a forward and playing him as one just leaves Dykes as a lone striker.
Midfield are like walking in treacle trying to get up and join any front play, it’s embarrassing to watch them at times, I sincerely hope NJ has a plan B for next week cos we can’t afford another defeat there…🙏7 -
Every team I watch in The Championship plays so much quicker than us.31
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I dont do the markings but if I did I would certainly have marked him above 5.Unbelievable?,he is the only outlet we have that can hold on to the ball and maybe get a cross or pull back in.Did you not notice how many times in that 1st half he done the full back,and crossed the ball to a vacant penalty area.Some people are saying he cost us the 2nd goal.He was involved in a move in their area,the ball was lost,and before you could blink they scored,almost identical to the Watford goal.So if a forward loses the ball in the opposing penalty area,attempting to create a goal,is he then responsible for the fact that the ball moved unchallenged for 80 yards.resulting in a goal against.If Harry Kane,Lionel Messi and co lose the ball,do we suddenly see them charging back to the left back position to recover it.I suggest you and your like are the idiots.I am just off to Peppa Pig world with the grand daughter,hopefully might have a conversation with someone who knows a bit more about football than you do.last_line said:Some idiots have scored TC above 5 on the marks post. Unbelievable!!18 -
Agree 100%killerandflash said:
As a club we're obviously way ahead of where we were in 2020. In terms of what we are producing on the pitch though, are we any better?Callumcafc said:
Yes we have. What a silly question.CAFCTrev said:PragueAddick said:However I have something to say about comparisons with 2019/20.
People forget exactly what we were dealing with then. We were "owned" by a bunch of low-lifes who had no interest whatsoever in anything other than extracting cash from the club - and stitching each other up in the process.I think comparing this to 19/20 only makes where we are now look even worse. Back then, you could at least point to instability off the pitch and a constantly shifting squad. This time, we’ve got relatively stable ownership and a more settled group of players.
So the question is: have we actually moved forward at all in terms of league position compared to then?
In the summer of 2019 we spent peanuts under Roland, whereas in the summer of 2025 we spent a load of money. Big money.
But most of it was wasted.
Apter and Tanto, loaned out after 6 months.
Kelman, on the bench and not brought on.
Knibbs, didn't make the bench
That's £8m? of acquisitions that didn't play today. Not because of injuries, but because NJ either didn't rate them or because they were the wrong buys. Bowyer made mistakes in his last year, but imagine Bowyer and Gallen with the budget we had last summer.
Most of this money that Nathan had to spend last summer was totally wasted.
Jones must have realized early on that Apter & Tanto, wasn’t good enough because they barely played. Likewise, Kelman was played, but it soon became apparent that his ceiling is League 1. In fact the only player bought in who was any good was Carey.The American owners will be very weary of handing over another transfer budget to Jones, after he pissed the best part of 8 million pounds down the drain. Unless of course, we are back in League 1 and the League 1 buys he made, can once again play football in a division that they are best suited to.4 -
Pets are pets,guinea pig, dog cat,they are part of the family and it is painful to see them go.Dazzler21 said:Had a pet die today, ignored everything about everything to console our daughter. Luckily it was only a guinea pig, but she's properly pained by it.
Shit to lose again, but fuck it at least we're still fighting.5 -
I do wonder whether this issue is just the players or if their instructions are "if we get one up, let them have the ball and try and nick another one"?Nadou said:
Absolutely, and how often do kitchen sinks score? It's a terrible tactic. But Jones doesn't seem capable of learning that lesson, since his whole philosophy is stopping the opposition scoring (ha ha) and then nicking a goal with hopeless chaos in the opposition box for the last ten minutes.BigDiddy said:We could get relegated, so we must get that one win.
We should have won today - after going in front, we stepped back and allowed them to control the game until the last 15 mad minutes where we threw the kitchen sink at them.
Keeps happening...........0 -
Drives me insane. We play quite well, then go one up, or sometimes one down and even if oppo dont change their positioning significantly we seem to treat it as a signal to completely change our stlye of play. Whh not keep with what was working and score more goals?0
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The pattern of home games is becoming tediously repetitive and highly worrying, having now clocked up 5 defeats in the last 6. We are overrun and out-passed in midfield, often concede a soft goal, throw forwards on from the bench towards the end and hurl the kitchen sink at the opposition, to no avail.
Three consecutive home defeats (the last two against very average and out of form opponents) have enabled Oxford and the other teams below us to close the gap and we are now very much at risk. The direction of travel is concerning and Ipswich and Hull will fancy their chances coming to The Valley later this month.
The net result is that there is big pressure on next Saturday’s game against Wednesday. A win at Hillsborough would certainly alleviate that pressure but, for a team now leaking goals and who have only scored more than one in 5 of our 42 league games thus far, that is far from a straightforward assignment.
We started the game well yesterday but couldn’t get the second goal and, once Preston scored with their first effort on goal, we were second best. They were able to run and pass through our midfield with ease, we looked vulnerable at the back and largely ineffective up front after that promising opening 20 minutes. The game finished, as it so often does now, with us pumping high ball after high ball into the opposition’s box, with Preston content to sit deep and look to spring us on the break.
Nathan doesn’t have too many options personnel wise and I don’t know whether Collins and Clarke will be fit to resume (although I thought that Fevrier did well in place of the latter). We might see Coady and Knibbs come back into midfield, as we looked far too porous in that area and Carey is hopelessly out of form.
We should still be ok but one thing’s for sure - we can’t rely solely on the ineptitude of the teams below us, most of whom (Leicester excepted) are showing signs of life. Towards the very end of 2019/20, Luton and Barnsley looked dead and buried with 4 or 5 games to go and look how that ended.
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Huge summer coming up if we stay up, shame we completely wasted the last one and all of our good signings in Jan were loans.1
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Going into Easter I looked at the Bristol City & Preston games and thought we'd get 3 points out of one of them making the rest of the season a comfortable watch!
My guess is we will stay up by the absolute skin of our teeth which obviously we've will all take. Thank god Leicester had a point deduction. I can't see us winning again but a draw against Sheffield Weds & Hull should be enough to keep us up but nothing for granted. A horrible few weeks are upon us!9
