It’s fast becoming a season of missed opportunities for Charlton. The Addicks 1-1 draw with Birmingham at The Valley helped the club avoid three straight defeats, but as in the past two games, it was Powell who was the more frustrated manager at the final whistle.
Two weeks ago, Charlton were 1-0 up against Sheffield Wednesday. Two last-gasp goals saw their miserable home record continue, and the Owls stole a 2-1 win, taking all three points back up to Yorkshire. In last weeks hotly contested South-East London Derby, Charlton were not only the better side, but once again were leading the game, until two late Glenn Murray goals saw the Addicks leave Selhurst Park empty handed.
They returned to The Valley against Birmingham on the back of two fine performances, and yet again for 80-plus minutes they dominated the opposition. Fuller, Stephens and Kermorgant in particular were imperious, not only restricting the Blues to very little, but also creating chance after chance at the other end.
Powell has been critical of his teams’ recent inability to take their chances. Whilst the same could be said this weekend, it was one of the Championship’s finest goalkeeping performances from Jack Butland that kept the game goalless, saving from Fuller, Wagstaff and Kermorgant. On a frankly awful pitch (something that Hamer pointed out earlier in the week) Charlton continued to dominate, playing some of their best football of the season. Their hard work finally paid off, when just minutes from the end, Yann Kermorgant nodded home Solly’s cross to send the home fans delirious, and grab his 7th of the season.
As in the last two weeks though, the team capitulated, and with almost the last kick of the game, Wade Elliot restored parity. Whilst Charlton stopped their losing run and took a good point at home, the inability to close games out could become a big worry with some tough games coming up in the next few weeks.
The reaction of Kermorgant at the end of the game said everything anyone needed to know. Whilst the rest of the team trudged off dejectedly, he remained on the pitch, hands on hips, a little stunned with their failure to take all three points.
What’s worrying is that on the whole the team (who are essentially the same players who won the league title) were unequivocally praised last season for their robust defence. However, it’s that same defence this season that are letting games slip away. Charlton haven’t always taken their chances, but they have scored goals, and if it weren’t for the world-class display from Butland, they would have got two or three today.
Perhaps the strikers in this league are just a step up in class from the majority that were faced last season. Whatever it is, with the loan market open, Powell needs to strengthen his defence. Hamer continues to perform well, and Solly is probably the first name on the team sheet, but the centre pairing need to take a look at themselves.
Of course it’s not just the responsibility of the back four, the midfielders need to learn to support them more when looking to close games out. Perhaps Powell needs to spend a day on the training ground teaching them all the art of a good ‘Row Z’er’!
Had Charlton held on in all of the previous three games, they would currently be sitting in the play off places. Whilst 6th spot remains only 7 points away, Charlton are only 6 points off the relegation zone. In addition, the recent good form of some of the teams down at the bottom will have Powell and his men looking worriedly over their shoulders.
It’s without question the away form of the Addicks that has kept them in mid-table. However the next two away are Leicester and Hull, two sides who are still in the hunt for automatic promotion, and if Charlton cannot hold on to leads at either of those games, March could well be a ‘squeaky-bum’ month for the fans and players alike.
So February has been a month of not taking chances and not defending leads. The boys now have a week to figure out the problems, and put something in place as they visit Hull. Any realistic fan knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but with support I still think Charlton will be okay. In Powell We Trust.
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Comments
Good post
I'd really like to see us say, "we've already shown we're the better side, now we've got the lead we're going for the throat". If we were to push on rather than sit back we wouldn't end up doing that deep defending that so often gets us into trouble. And you never know, we might just get the extra goal to put the game out of reach. Now, maybe the stattos and the trainers and the footballing illuminati are correct and that for most teams, in most situations, sitting back and defending a lead is a more effective approach. But that doesn't mean that it's right for all teams and it doesn't mean it's right for us. Our record with this style of play is awful. We know it, the players know it and the opposition know it. When the defensive change is made (in today's case bringing on Dervite) there is a collective sense that goes around the ground, a sense that is best described as "oh flip" or words to that effect. The crowd gets tense, the players get worried and the opposition smell the fear. From that moment on it is all one-way traffic.
I'd like to stress that I don't have anything against Dervite. I think he's a very good player and I don't blame him at all, it's just that as soon as such a defensive substitution takes place it's like a signal that we won't score again (or even try to) and so the opposition are free to attack at will with no fear of a counter. Until we can break that hoodoo and get everyone feeling confident again that we can defend a lead, I think we'd do far better trying to get out of sight rather than trying to hold the opposition back.
Is there really a defensive problem? It seems that the defence do their job well until they are joined at the back by the rest of the team usually after a goal. This must inevitably cause some confusion in open play as to who is picking up which player and their individual roles. Is the problem more a lack of organisation?
Or is it that they just haven't got a clue against teams that play all out attack.
I have only been to one game this season, Derby at home, and the pattern was the same as the last few games by all accounts. If the game had gone on another few minutes I am sure Charlton would have lost it. But with ten men, you could look at that as a point gained rather than any lost.
Apparently we have played well and come away with just one point from the last three games. Will that lead to a loss of confidence? Maybe. Is it a consolation that we often play poorly and come away with a point or three? And is that any different to what our opposition have done over the past three weeks?
Let's see what happens in the next two away games before bringing the razor blades out.
Looks more a combo of lack of collective self belief when holding a lead, and some bad luck with the oppo taking advantage of slim pickings.
People highlight runs of saying playing well but that's x points dropped, when in reality that happens all the time. Last season it worked the other way when taking full points through games that could easily be draws, Jackos back to back free kicks v the Sheff clubs a prime example where 2 points became 6.
What I mean is that the inability to hold on and the frail nature of the side late on needs to be addressed. If more players were like Kermorgant, tracking back and fighting all over the pitch, we may have taken more points.
Stig made reference to Dervite coming on as sub giving the wrong signal ...... I'm not sure I agree with that, as he came on to play his defensive destroyer role in front of the back 4, rather than as an additional CB.
Maybe also to counter Zigic's height at set pieces, but primarily to clog up the midfield and deny the chance for runs at the soft underbelly of our CB's.
Beating my drum a little, if only our back 4 hadn't dug in on our 18 yard line (stretching the midfield space between our defenders and strikers), the tactic should have worked perfectly.
I don't think our defence has suddenly worsened from last year just that the quality of opposition is better and strikers are more likely to take the chances they get offered in the CCC than strikers would in L1 and that's why they are playing at that level rather than in a lower league.
We need as a priority to find a goalscoring striker to play alongside Kermogant next season, ideally Haynes would be the right guy but as well know his dodgy hamstrings won't give us more than half a season.
That said though, the worrying thing for me it that on no occasion did we improve our position. Not one goal has been scored after making a defensive substitution, in that time we have conceded five. So a bit of a mixed result over all, but given that we've picked up 19 points from such situations I think I'm going to have to tone down my criticism of such subs.
(Critiques of my method: 1. It's not always clear whether a substitution is a defensive or not; I based this purely on my understanding of the players concerned. 2. It takes no account of other factors such as formation, oppositional changes, fatigue or injury. 3. The desired outcome in these circumstances is normally to hold on to what's been gained, not to improve on the situation, so whilst the goals conceded looks poor, the points retained is probably pretty good).
I think the number of late goals conceeded speak for themselves and it is something we need to address. Of course sometimes it is bad tactics and sometime bad luck - but those being critical of Chrissy (as I have been too on occassions) but realise what a great job he has done in bringing the players in that he has and sometime the luck hasn't gone with us. Tactical naivity 25%, bad luck 75% - IMO - but Chrissy will get it right - I'm sure.