Watching the game on live stream. Bruges pushing forward and Liege trying to hit on the break. Bruges looking the better team. Leige passing in midfield a bit astray so far. Bruges need the points and playing more like the home team. Notably, the Liege goalkeeper punched the ball on a not particularly difficult cross. Maybe they needed a goalkeeping coach to teach their goalkeepers to catch the ball.
OK. Liege have been pushing forward but are a bit all over the place and lacking in composure. Not looking like league leaders at the moment. 0-0 so far. Game a bit scrappy. A couple of yellow cards. Commentator said 4 sent off in Lieges last game against Zulte Waregem.
Watching the game on live stream. Bruges pushing forward and Liege trying to hit on the break. Bruges looking the better team. Leige passing in midfield a bit astray so far. Bruges need the points and playing more like the home team. Notably, the Liege goalkeeper punched the ball on a not particularly difficult cross. Maybe they needed a goalkeeping coach to teach their goalkeepers to catch the ball.
Liege midfield will be more convincing next season with Poyet and Cousins!
Some shots on target from Liege. All the Liege players trying to be heros on the own, and going for goal, either scuffing the shot or shooting widely. Liege have got to some good positions, but lacking in composure and quality so far. Mid Championship quality game so far. 37 mins.
Dangerous cross from free kick - liege kanu in good position connects but misses great chance, not helped by being a bit off balance. Boku cuts in but shoots wide.
42 mins another free kick in good position from bruges..... straight into the wall again. Free kicks direct on goal poor so far from both sides.
Liege midfield will be more convincing next season with Poyet and Cousins!
I reckon that the Charlton team that played against Watford would beat Standard Liege. Standard are looking a bit disjointed. Created more going forward but lacking composure and quality in the final third.
It is notable how much space the Belgium players have on the pitch. There is much more pressing on the pitch. Liege appear to lack a little team cohesion, more a collection of individuals. Maybe they have got a couple of players sent off in the last game or are missing a couple of injured players.
Half time. 0-0. Anderlecht are flying. Liege really need to get a victory in this game to sustain their championship challenge.
Second half. Good header from Liege forces a tip over from the goal keeper.
At other end, Liege defence looking somewhat ropey. Bruges (in a intermilan strip) could easily get a goal with a bit of quality. The marking is a bit shocking from Liege.
52 mins - another freekick shot at goal hits the wall. Thats about 4 now (2 from each side).
53 another wild shot from just outside the box from Liege.
Liege supporters bouncing up and down, looking chipper.
54 - another good chance with shot in the penalty area but straight at keeper who blocks well.
Good finish from Bruges Serbota who buries a shot from just inside central to the penalty area.
Liege 0 Bruges 1.
Cousins / Poyet covering would make a massive difference to this team as they are large gaps in the Liege defence. Not impressed with the Liege midfield.
Bruges will go top of Belgium league. Liege will drop out of the Championship places into the Europa League spot if things stay as they are. 86 mins. Poor performance. Commentator said that Liege were the best team in regular competition but have fallen away in the end stages.
Liege only won one playoff game to date drawing a few...and yet their coach gets a two year extension. I wonder about the comparison in standards - we will know more over time if players move between clubs. I'd like to think Charlton can become the best team in the network and will have a fair crack at recruiting through the scouting network.
5 mins extra time. Liege would be lucky to be mid table championship on this performance. Sorry for the Liege supporters who have turned out in good number and have stuck with the Liege team throughout the match.
All over. Poor game. Final score Liege 0 Bruges 1.
Liege only won one playoff game to date drawing a few...and yet their coach gets a two year extension. I wonder about the comparison in standards - we will know more over time if players move between clubs. I'd like to think Charlton can become the best team in the network and will have a fair crack at recruiting through the scouting network.
On watching a few Belgium games, the standard in the league is not as good at the top of the championship. The Belgium teams (with no disrespect) would not be in the play off places in the championship. Technically good but any Belgium team playing in the Championship would struggle with the intensity of the championship. They would also need to work on their fitness. The Belgium teams have a lot more time on the ball. Would like to see Charlton improve their passing and for that to take place with decent coaching at Charlton and not for any Charlton players to go to Belgium.
Standard Liege are not streets ahead of Charlton thats for sure. Disappointing for Liege fans for it to fall away at the end. You would have to ask the Liege fans the reasons why. Not sure what that means for Charlton.
Few months back there was a rumour Roland might sell Liege
I heard that, Roland was reportedly offered 40 million Euros but wanted 50 million Euros. If Liege don't make the Champions league, as seems very possible, Roland will have to revise his figure down (if he sells).
Hmm. It's not good for us. Standard in the UCL means more revenue into Staprix which owns us.
Or a shift in priorities ?
The two might be competing for investment or resources (new players) but that is impossible to analyse without seeing Liege and Staprix accounts. What is clear is that Liege are attempting to qualify for Champions League and have failed to establish themselves when it counts whereas CAFC goal must be to grow a young team which can compete for the playoffs. Securing 6th position in theory secures a value of 25% of a premier league place or £25m as well as adding transfer value to the squad. I promote this not just as a Charlton fan but as a logical business case... If Derby and Burnley can secure promotion with budgets which don't break the bank then why not Charlton?
There was a Belgian journalist (& Liege fan) whom Ken from Bexley first met and he wrote for the Trust. If it's not too raw perhaps he can update us on Liege? I remember him commenting on the pace of football at the Valley and that was the cup game vs Oxford when the pitch was at its worst!
As before, I applaud Trust efforts to understand the network but really think we should focus on the last three years at Liege to understand how Duchatelet operates.
I was looking for Liege to do well. I was disappointed with how poorly they played. The thing that should concern them was the lack of team cohesion. There was a lot of individual charging about up front with speculative / wild shooting. Liege seemed to lack team spirit. There was no Johnnie Jackson type character / leader, definitely no one with the quality of Cousins or Poyet. The defensive marking was poor.
WIth Liege and Roland, before I had an opinion that elevated Liege similar to Liege being stronger than Charlton, Liege akin to a Premiership club. Charlton supporters should watch a couple of Belgium games to fully understand that Belgium football and the Championship are very comparable. Championship football is definitely faster and more competitive. The fact of this should set Charlton supporters thinking about being a feeder club, as with contracts renewed, the midfield retained and decent strikers, Charlton would be stronger than Liege.
(No disrespect to our Liege, Belgium supporting cousins).
The other thing to note is that there is quite a few good quality african players who seemed to provide the creative spark for quite a few teams. It would not surprise me to see a couple of these at Charlton in the close season.
Comments
Dangerous cross from free kick - liege kanu in good position connects but misses great chance, not helped by being a bit off balance. Boku cuts in but shoots wide.
42 mins another free kick in good position from bruges..... straight into the wall again. Free kicks direct on goal poor so far from both sides.
Liege midfield will be more convincing next season with Poyet and Cousins!
I reckon that the Charlton team that played against Watford would beat Standard Liege. Standard are looking a bit disjointed. Created more going forward but lacking composure and quality in the final third.
It is notable how much space the Belgium players have on the pitch. There is much more pressing on the pitch. Liege appear to lack a little team cohesion, more a collection of individuals. Maybe they have got a couple of players sent off in the last game or are missing a couple of injured players.
Half time. 0-0. Anderlecht are flying. Liege really need to get a victory in this game to sustain their championship challenge.
At other end, Liege defence looking somewhat ropey. Bruges (in a intermilan strip) could easily get a goal with a bit of quality. The marking is a bit shocking from Liege.
52 mins - another freekick shot at goal hits the wall. Thats about 4 now (2 from each side).
53 another wild shot from just outside the box from Liege.
Liege supporters bouncing up and down, looking chipper.
54 - another good chance with shot in the penalty area but straight at keeper who blocks well.
Liege 0 Bruges 1.
Cousins / Poyet covering would make a massive difference to this team as they are large gaps in the Liege defence. Not impressed with the Liege midfield.
61 Liege keeper punches again.
62 Bruges double substitution.
Liege need to do something to turn it around - they are bringing on a sub.
Stream gone. I think that has something to do with the UK premiership games starting.
Not looking good for Liege, who do not look like a league winning side at this stage. Maybe the sub will help.
Another chance wasted from Liege 88 mins.
All over. Poor game. Final score Liege 0 Bruges 1.
Standard Liege are not streets ahead of Charlton thats for sure. Disappointing for Liege fans for it to fall away at the end. You would have to ask the Liege fans the reasons why. Not sure what that means for Charlton.
What is clear is that Liege are attempting to qualify for Champions League and have failed to establish themselves when it counts whereas CAFC goal must be to grow a young team which can compete for the playoffs.
Securing 6th position in theory secures a value of 25% of a premier league place or £25m as well as adding transfer value to the squad. I promote this not just as a Charlton fan but as a logical business case...
If Derby and Burnley can secure promotion with budgets which don't break the bank then why not Charlton?
There was a Belgian journalist (& Liege fan) whom Ken from Bexley first met and he wrote for the Trust. If it's not too raw perhaps he can update us on Liege? I remember him commenting on the pace of football at the Valley and that was the cup game vs Oxford when the pitch was at its worst!
As before, I applaud Trust efforts to understand the network but really think we should focus on the last three years at Liege to understand how Duchatelet operates.
All the results from the Network this weekend can be found here.
WIth Liege and Roland, before I had an opinion that elevated Liege similar to Liege being stronger than Charlton, Liege akin to a Premiership club. Charlton supporters should watch a couple of Belgium games to fully understand that Belgium football and the Championship are very comparable. Championship football is definitely faster and more competitive. The fact of this should set Charlton supporters thinking about being a feeder club, as with contracts renewed, the midfield retained and decent strikers, Charlton would be stronger than Liege.
(No disrespect to our Liege, Belgium supporting cousins).