Yes Green took a couple of good crosses and corners and one decent effort on goal but his all round play was poor and you could see Solly getting frustrated with him. Offered nothing defensively, kept drifting out of position and offered no outlet on right don't remember him taking on full back once. Can just about carry him for his quality crossing but not if rest of midfield have a poor game. Tempted to bring Waggy back and make him compete for his place.
There was always a danger that after several high profile games we'd drop our form for a match that was seemingly easier and of less importance. It needs to be stressed to the team that no game is easy and that every point counts. I expect to see a lot better v Rochdale on Saturday.
The positives: We didn't give up, we had a lot of efforts and in the end we got a stunning equaliser.
The negatives: Challenges seemed a lot more sluggish than recently. Too many balls given away unnecessarily; sometimes through having a poor touch, sometimes because players didn't seem to be on the same wavelength. We let their goal change our play: before the goal we were passing the ball and moving forward together as a team. After the goal there were too many times when we looked panicky and one or two players ran at them and then just took a long shot rather than looking for a pass. Kermorgant, Jackson and Wiggy all blasted shots up or wide when they should have done better.
We seemed to be trying too hard. The wide players, actually Green, was very poor. We created chances without really getting going and Bury had two decent chances one of which Hamer let through him. Not bad over all on another day we would have won, firast goal was important as I believe we would have got better
started well, bury sat off our midfield a bit giving us time to knock the ball around. after Clarke's miss, they grew into the game more and did well up front by holding the ball up & relieving the pressure on their defence. they also seemed to me to win a lot of 2nd balls.
frustrating 2nd half livened up by Haynes' introduction whose pace made a big difference.
thought it was going to be one of those nights until Stephen's thunderbolt.
wiggins was brilliant 2nd half as was solly.
i do worry that we're relying on Yann's flick ons a bit too much, primarily because no-one seems to read them, hence possession lost. we do play decent stuff but I think we need a bit more imagination going forward.
I notice that a lot of you are questioning the 21 shots last night, I was at home with a netbook watching BBC Sport where they give you a written commentary of notable incidents. It seemed to me as if Green had almost that many on his own, and I started to wonder how he could have that many without scoring. Can't wait to see our goal.
A point gained in the circumstances on a poxy cold evening. There will be better days for sure but for now we are still unbeaten in the league this year and at home all season. We have a team that will not throw the towel in, hates getting beaten and therefore our team will be champions of League 1 come May.
Another point in the bag and we move on to the next match on Saturday!
I sat them numb most of the game, with the oh no not again feeling. I wish we could play 18 games on consecutive days and find out whether we are going up or not.I don't think I can take the final few months. God we need out of this league. I didn't think Stephens had that good a game but the 95 minutes will have done his fitness the world of good. Saturday is a big game we need to pick 3 points up, don't want to go into MK Dons at home & Stevenage on the back of 2 winless home games.
It was an uninspired and sometimes tired performance. Hardly going to get the juices going on a freezing night against one of less fashionable teams in the division. The team huffed and puffed but looked short of quality in the final third. They scored with their only effort and everything we did fell to a black shirt in the box. Thought it was going to be one of those nights especially when Stephen's first shot in injury time went wide. What a strike for that goal though, the way he shaped up and hit it so true. Great tekkers! As regards the team, Hollands looked leggy in the second half, Clarke was awful - didn't hold it up, poor touch and no pace. Simply didn't work with him and Yann up top. Green tried but nothing he did came off and he ended up cutting quite an abject figure come the end. I was emploring us to create more down the left as going down the right simply wasn't working. When we did Wiggins was a class above as he came into his own as we went for it at the end with JJ coming more inside. Solly was his usual dependable self, winning tackles he had no right to and using strength that belies his frame. A potential banana skin avoided and a point gained. Bury looked a decent enough side and should stay up easily. They did try to play at times and defended admirably for the whole game. The keeper was lucky not be cautioned and their 7 was a joke. If you're injured get off, if not get on with it. Will be interesting to see the team against Rochdale on Saturday. Up The Addicks!
This isn't a diss on Clarke but I never want to see him partnered with Kerms again. It doesn't work. Hamer kicks up to Yan, Yan wins it and flicks it on, Clarke is nowhere near the flick on. Kerms/Clarke/Hayes with Haynes/BWP. That's the recipe.
Managed to get a ticket from a friend, so a rare trip for me to the Valley this year (4th visit) On a cold night the A2 was a nightmare?.... Took me an hour from Bexley village to park up the car, got in just before ko. The ground seemed half empty to me?..... I thought the ko had been delayed. Okay it was a cold night? After a decent start, I thought the team performance was not impressive.
I will refrain from the comments on Clark, but I am unsure what this guy gives us? He looks the part, but just wants to lay the ball off. Haynes took his chance the minute he came on?. Obviously easy in hindsight to say he should have come on earlier, but I am afraid that is my opinion. Solly looked very impressive, and linked up well with the midfield. Great strike in the end, and a bit of a 'get out of jail card' really? What was all that about the player at the side of the pitch, coming on, sitting down lark?. Not keen on Durso, just do not like his take on the games he refs? Have to remember that one to waste time?.... Stop the game to change boots as well? . Try that one a Saturday league side, and see what happens?, without asking the ref, before and after. A night when Charlton were not at there best shall we say.....
Thought Clarke was no worse than Kermogant. Yes he made several mistakes, but it was because he was trying to make things happen. 'Ironic' cheers from the crowd when he completes a pass, or from some morons near me when Hamer made his first save, do not help at all. It's not funny, it's bloody infuriating. Can't believe how quickly some fans jump on the players' backs. Most Charlton fans haven't seen us lose this season.
It was a tired performance, sloppy passing, Green was awful in my opinion, and no idea why we started with two big men up top as we lacked a bit of pace going forward. Haynes looked very useful when he came on, and he could be a good buy. BUT, we got a hard fought point, at least it wasn't a defeat so we can look forward to promotion (hopefully)
I have not read all the posts but from what I have skimmed there seems to be mixed feelings.
From my own point of veiw I thought it was a dier game as did those around me, our midfield gave the ball away too much in the first half and as soon as we went a goal down it was by-passed due to "hoof ball", 21 shots "your aving a larff".
I am not sure where the nice passing free flowing football has gone that we were playing at the start of the season but I would like it back.
Hamer was at fault for their goal and once again flapped at and dropped crosses.
We do not appear to have the ability to break teams down that pack the midfield and that concerns me, we have been found out in this league and teams know how to play against us now.
Either the players are not capable or Powell is lacking in the knowledge to make it happen, this needs correcting and quick.
Our lack of punch up front is also a concern, if BWP does not find his scoring boots soon and the goals from midfield dry up we will be in trouble.
Kermit wins a lot but it never seems to fall into the right space and Clarke makes Carl Leaburn look like an international footballer.
Happy with a point but we did not deserve it and very happy to be 10 points clear but we need to address some of the above so we hit the ground running in the Championship
Well Sir Chris got it a bit wrong last night but I'm sure we can all forgive him. I don't think it was so much the personnel (although I'm not sure Leon and Yann worked as a partnership) but the way we set up. It is one thing against top teams and in away games to have a defensive focus and seeing as the defence is a major strength you can undertsand it, but I think home games against the likes of Bury have to be approached slightly differently.
That isn't to say we shouldn't show them full respect. but we could expect that they were going to have bodies behind the ball and not threaten much and we were not getting enough bodies forwards.Ok, had we scored from one of our intermittent chances we would probably have won easily as they would have been forced to open up but there is always a risk any team can conjure up a goal out of the blue. That it happened when it did was a good thing IMO, we had time to change things and have a go, but Chrissy waited a bit too long to do that. When Haynes was introduced you could smell the fear in their defence and a goal was suddenly in the air.
We probably needed that to happen 10-15 minutes earlier and a victory would have ensued. Either that or have a ref that can see but whilst if we were Bury and they were Charlton, it wouild have been a travesty had we not won the game, considering we were Charlton at home and they were Bury, they deserved their point. I would like to see us learn from that game and go for it a bit more against Rochdale though.
The positives are that this was our spare game so we picked up a point over Huddersfiled and the gap has increased to a whop[ping 10 points. Also, despite teh disapointing scoreline, we ended the game on an up which we can take into Saturday. Also, our recent run of wins afforded us the luxury of that draw not being a bad result.
Form means something but not everything. Beware the strugglers as sometimes they play like they have everything to lose. To put this result into context, just look at West Ham's thumping last night. they too are top of the league and their fans would also be expecting a consistent run of good results. no team can keep performing at the highest level every week. last night was very much a result of a team that is trying to win by doing 'just enough' to win ala the 3, 1-0 wins recently. well more effort, determination, concentration, skill and tenacity is required. complacency can begin to creep in if a team becomes a bit too confident. i don't think SCP will want to tinker with this team too much. if it aint broke don't try to fix it. 10 point lead with 18 to go, no complaints are possible. just asked any other team in this leagues' fans if they would swap with us? a point that must have felt like a win for those driving home. move on to Rochdale and hope for another 3 points.
Agree we need to give it a bit more of a go at home, rest of the season not many teams are going to come here and play football, they'll sit back and quite happily take a point, especially if they get the first goal. Still don't think we've learnt how to do that too well for a few years now.
Did Bury play that well? I think the problem was we approached the game wrong - it is horses for courses and we needed a bit more attacking intent against aside that would be set up defensively. Their goal was an out of the blue bonus for them.
Form means something but not everything. Beware the strugglers as sometimes they play like they have everything to lose. To put this result into context, just look at West Ham's thumping last night. they too are top of the league and their fans would also be expecting a consistent run of good results. no team can keep performing at the highest level every week. last night was very much a result of a team that is trying to win by doing 'just enough' to win ala the 3, 1-0 wins recently. well more effort, determination, concentration, skill and tenacity is required. complacency can begin to creep in if a team becomes a bit too confident. i don't think SCP will want to tinker with this team too much. if it aint broke don't try to fix it. 10 point lead with 18 to go, no complaints are possible. just asked any other team in this leagues' fans if they would swap with us? a point that must have felt like a win for those driving home. move on to Rochdale and hope for another 3 points.
I would not class Bury as "struggling", they are just outside the play offs, the strugglers come to The Valley on Saturday i.e. Rochdale who incidently beat Bury 3-0 last week, could be interesting?
No pace going forward other than the overlapping full backs. Clarke instead of Haynes was a mistake. Just seems so obvious that 2 target men can't play together - even more so when no pace either side on the flanks. Maybe CP was trying to say to Clarke, you were first in so i'll give you first go but whatever the reason, it was wrong and 2 points dropped but everybody gets it wrong sometimes. Hopefully see a bit more of Waggy as well soon if he hasn't gone - has really surprised me how far out of the picture he is. Good to see Stephens back. No panic, put last night in the cupboard marked experience and move on to Saturday. We know we can always refer to plan A (the 1-0 grind) whenever we need to.
A couple of points after reading the thread. Firstly I think it harsh to say Clarke didn't put in a shift. He ran and worked the channels and got into some very good positions but I'm afraid that's where it ended. His first touch and awareness were very league one but I for one am not going to write him off on the basis of his debut where the entire team misfired and the crowd more edgy by the minute. Haynes was much more effective but as always hindsight is a wonderful thing. Second point more about tactics. Why oh why have we started taking free kicks from out wide that are curled towards the GK and not curled away from him. Green and Jackson both did it and on the whole it's not the way to deliver the ball into the box to best advantage to your forwards. Basic stuff and frustrating when the GK just takes every ball. An off night by everyone bar Wiggins and Solly out of the starters including Chrissy.
Obviously "got out of jail" to some extent but despite being below par, we did enough to merit a point. As said elsewhere, well done Bury, who came to play from the start, rather than stick ten behind the ball, even after scoring.
One minor concern, perhaps more for next season than this - until Haynes came on that particular line-up didn't possess a great deal of speed, leaving Wiggins as our most pacy threat, but that was probably compounded by the two big men up front option. We're not alone in this though; plenty of modern teams to use their full backs as their widest attacking options, and a fit Dale would usually be closer to the oppo box to add numbers.
When Haynes came on his pace made a huge difference but it was also his tenacity that unsettled them, and v nearly led to a pen. At this level in particular it scares the hell out of ponderous defenders. With Green not quite on it last night, Waggy would've been a useful option but five on the bench has clealy affected his chances.
I wasn't alone in thinking Dale might've gone off instead of Hollands but what an equaliser - he had to completely adjust his body to get that onto his right foot as it was coming at an awkward angle for a clean hit. Clearly needs a bit of match time but what a great way to remind us all of his quality. When he's passing well at a higher tempo he's a class act - and a goal threat!
Comments
The positives: We didn't give up, we had a lot of efforts and in the end we got a stunning equaliser.
The negatives: Challenges seemed a lot more sluggish than recently. Too many balls given away unnecessarily; sometimes through having a poor touch, sometimes because players didn't seem to be on the same wavelength. We let their goal change our play: before the goal we were passing the ball and moving forward together as a team. After the goal there were too many times when we looked panicky and one or two players ran at them and then just took a long shot rather than looking for a pass. Kermorgant, Jackson and Wiggy all blasted shots up or wide when they should have done better.
frustrating 2nd half livened up by Haynes' introduction whose pace made a big difference.
thought it was going to be one of those nights until Stephen's thunderbolt.
wiggins was brilliant 2nd half as was solly.
i do worry that we're relying on Yann's flick ons a bit too much, primarily because no-one seems to read them, hence possession lost. we do play decent stuff but I think we need a bit more imagination going forward.
we missed BWP-goals or not.
Another point in the bag and we move on to the next match on Saturday!
God we need out of this league. I didn't think Stephens had that good a game but the 95 minutes will have done his fitness the world of good. Saturday is a big game we need to pick 3 points up, don't want to go into MK Dons at home & Stevenage on the back of 2 winless home games.
It doesn't work.
Hamer kicks up to Yan, Yan wins it and flicks it on, Clarke is nowhere near the flick on.
Kerms/Clarke/Hayes with Haynes/BWP. That's the recipe.
On a cold night the A2 was a nightmare?.... Took me an hour from Bexley village to park up the car, got in just before ko. The ground seemed half empty to me?..... I thought the ko had been delayed.
Okay it was a cold night?
After a decent start, I thought the team performance was not impressive.
I will refrain from the comments on Clark, but I am unsure what this guy gives us? He looks the part, but just wants to lay the ball off. Haynes took his chance the minute he came on?. Obviously easy in hindsight to say he should have come on earlier, but I am afraid that is my opinion. Solly looked very impressive, and linked up well with the midfield. Great strike in the end, and a bit of a 'get out of jail card' really?
What was all that about the player at the side of the pitch, coming on, sitting down lark?. Not keen on Durso, just do not like his take on the games he refs?
Have to remember that one to waste time?....
Stop the game to change boots as well? . Try that one a Saturday league side, and see what happens?, without asking the ref, before and after. A night when Charlton were not at there best shall we say.....
From my own point of veiw I thought it was a dier game as did those around me, our midfield gave the ball away too much in the first half and as soon as we went a goal down it was by-passed due to "hoof ball", 21 shots "your aving a larff".
I am not sure where the nice passing free flowing football has gone that we were playing at the start of the season but I would like it back.
Hamer was at fault for their goal and once again flapped at and dropped crosses.
We do not appear to have the ability to break teams down that pack the midfield and that concerns me, we have been found out in this league and teams know how to play against us now.
Either the players are not capable or Powell is lacking in the knowledge to make it happen, this needs correcting and quick.
Our lack of punch up front is also a concern, if BWP does not find his scoring boots soon and the goals from midfield dry up we will be in trouble.
Kermit wins a lot but it never seems to fall into the right space and Clarke makes Carl Leaburn look like an international footballer.
Happy with a point but we did not deserve it and very happy to be 10 points clear but we need to address some of the above so we hit the ground running in the Championship
COYR
That isn't to say we shouldn't show them full respect. but we could expect that they were going to have bodies behind the ball and not threaten much and we were not getting enough bodies forwards.Ok, had we scored from one of our intermittent chances we would probably have won easily as they would have been forced to open up but there is always a risk any team can conjure up a goal out of the blue. That it happened when it did was a good thing IMO, we had time to change things and have a go, but Chrissy waited a bit too long to do that. When Haynes was introduced you could smell the fear in their defence and a goal was suddenly in the air.
We probably needed that to happen 10-15 minutes earlier and a victory would have ensued. Either that or have a ref that can see but whilst if we were Bury and they were Charlton, it wouild have been a travesty had we not won the game, considering we were Charlton at home and they were Bury, they deserved their point. I would like to see us learn from that game and go for it a bit more against Rochdale though.
The positives are that this was our spare game so we picked up a point over Huddersfiled and the gap has increased to a whop[ping 10 points. Also, despite teh disapointing scoreline, we ended the game on an up which we can take into Saturday. Also, our recent run of wins afforded us the luxury of that draw not being a bad result.
One minor concern, perhaps more for next season than this - until Haynes came on that particular line-up didn't possess a great deal of speed, leaving Wiggins as our most pacy threat, but that was probably compounded by the two big men up front option. We're not alone in this though; plenty of modern teams to use their full backs as their widest attacking options, and a fit Dale would usually be closer to the oppo box to add numbers.
When Haynes came on his pace made a huge difference but it was also his tenacity that unsettled them, and v nearly led to a pen. At this level in particular it scares the hell out of ponderous defenders. With Green not quite on it last night, Waggy would've been a useful option but five on the bench has clealy affected his chances.
I wasn't alone in thinking Dale might've gone off instead of Hollands but what an equaliser - he had to completely adjust his body to get that onto his right foot as it was coming at an awkward angle for a clean hit. Clearly needs a bit of match time but what a great way to remind us all of his quality. When he's passing well at a higher tempo he's a class act - and a goal threat!