Bad news about Marshall. Deal for Stewart is a no brainer now and chance for KAG to finally step up after what sounds a pretty good preseason from him.
JFC in amongst the goals is very encouraging. Need to see an average of 10 to 15 goals each spread out between him plus the front 4.
Decent game for a friendly - negatives - we had a short team which was a worry defending set pieces, Phillips distribution on the floor not good enough, Marshall injury of course, should have scored more. Positives, Solly and Kashi looked fully fit. Fosu looks a terrific player - his touch on the ball is excellent and great balance, KAG looked good, should have scored more as we were a class above Stevenage. Magennis much more effective than Novak.
Bad news about Marshall. Deal for Stewart is a no brainer now and chance for KAG to finally step up after what sounds a pretty good preseason from him.
JFC in amongst the goals is very encouraging. Need to see an average of 10 to 15 goals each spread out between him plus the front 4.
This is the key for me. On paper the team looks good but I'm not yet convinced there are enough goals in the team.
Given the football Robinson wants to play the focus is about how we attack, what we do on the ball, how we press high up the pitch etc. We probably won't be the best team defensively but that won't be such an issue if we score enough goals.
We've seen Holmes and Magennis get 10-15 but the question is can whoever takes up those other 3 midfield spots do the same.
Kashi could make a real difference, if he's fit and performs like the player we think he was he'll be a huge improvement over Crofts and help free up other players to attack.
I think Marshall will be very frustrated as to me he reacted too slowly to the ball and this caused him to get to it at the same time as the Stevenage player. No blame, but turned it into a 50-50.
Hopefully he will recover quickly, but if it forces us to sign Stewart, it may be a good thing in the long run. We need options.
Decent game for a friendly - negatives - we had a short team which was a worry defending set pieces, Phillips distribution on the floor not good enough, Marshall injury of course, should have scored more. Positives, Solly and Kashi looked fully fit. Fosu looks a terrific player - his touch on the ball is excellent and great balance, KAG looked good, should have scored more as we were a class above Stevenage. Magennis much more effective than Novak.
First thought that came into my mind after reading this was "no shit Sherlock" & we'd be stuffed if Big Josh got injured for any length of time & we had to rely on Novak.
Sounds like we should have scored more though. That was our achilles heal last year - couldn't score when we should have and then let goals in to lose the game. Felt a bit same ol' same ol' to me.
Sounds like we should have scored more though. That was our achilles heal last year - couldn't score when we should have and then let goals in to lose the game. Felt a bit same ol' same ol' to me.
I would contend that from the sounds of things we didn't create enough clear cut chances last year, and that was why it felt like we didn't take our chances. It also didn't help that sometimes those chances fell to Lee Novak.
We don't know how good or bad Stevenage are. The next two games may hep us get a better sense of where we are. I thought Novak had lost a bit of weight - but he didn't play any differently because of it. Only one game though.
I'm going to say this, and it will almost certainly relegate us.
I think hope (for @SE7toSG3) we're going to be good this year. I think we're going to be fitter than most teams in the league, I think we're going to press high up the pitch, and I think we're going to be very good in possession, but also more purposeful than last year. I think that unlike any manager we've had over the summer since Powell, Robinson, for whatever you think of him, is building a system, recruiting players to fit it, then ensuring players understand their roles in it. I think today was important in that we beat a team who looked to do two things: kick us up in the air and score from set pieces (even if they're a division below us).
I think Norwich on Tuesday will be tough as they should be a promotion contender next season, but Ipswich on Saturday will be very interesting. They're a bogey side and like any McCarthy team will be direct and physical (even if they have Emyr Huws and Bersant Celina who are both nice footballers). I think between that game and today we'll get a good feeling for where we are.
Think Kashi is going to be targeted -hope he is fit enough to stand up to it and refs protect him. We did have good energy and tempo and passing was good.
Think Kashi is going to be targeted -hope he is fit enough to stand up to it and refs protect him. We did have good energy and tempo and passing was good.
Could be true but wasn't Kashi's injury an Achilles one. In all honesty its very hard to injure someone purposefully when they have an injury of that nature. I think we just have to pray he can keep himself in shape.
Think Kashi is going to be targeted -hope he is fit enough to stand up to it and refs protect him. We did have good energy and tempo and passing was good.
Could be true but wasn't Kashi's injury an Achilles one. In all honesty its very hard to injure someone purposefully when they have an injury of that nature. I think we just have to pray he can keep himself in shape.
Having had Achilles injuries, the worry is bad and uneven pitches, and the general wear and tear of the league. It's also often the case that if you have a serious injury, your body can compensate and put extra pressure on your ankles, knees, etc. so they'll need to watch for that. I don't think we should expect him to play Saturday-Tuesday for at least the first 2-3 months of the season, and it seems KR et al have been smart about not over-exerting him and Solly.
I don't hugely rate Crofts, but he seemed to improve second half of last year and I think he'll be okay with a more mobile player like JFC next to him. And to be fair he was very good in the second half against Dover. You'd struggle to find a better fourth choice central midfielder in this league. And the bits I've seem of Dijksteel he looks like he could be ready to step in if needed as well.
Think Kashi is going to be targeted -hope he is fit enough to stand up to it and refs protect him. We did have good energy and tempo and passing was good.
Could be true but wasn't Kashi's injury an Achilles one. In all honesty its very hard to injure someone purposefully when they have an injury of that nature. I think we just have to pray he can keep himself in shape.
Having had Achilles injuries, the worry is bad and uneven pitches, and the general wear and tear of the league. It's also often the case that if you have a serious injury, your body can compensate and put extra pressure on your ankles, knees, etc. so they'll need to watch for that. I don't think we should expect him to play Saturday-Tuesday for at least the first 2-3 months of the season, and it seems KR et al have been smart about not over-exerting him and Solly.
I don't hugely rate Crofts, but he seemed to improve second half of last year and I think he'll be okay with a more mobile player like JFC next to him. And to be fair he was very good in the second half against Dover. You'd struggle to find a better fourth choice central midfielder in this league. And the bits I've seem of Dijksteel he looks like he could be ready to step in if needed as well.
You can test an achilles by ankle nibbling. If I was RobinsonI would have a word with refs before the game. But He did look fit. as did Solly which was a good sign.
Comments
JFC in amongst the goals is very encouraging. Need to see an average of 10 to 15 goals each spread out between him plus the front 4.
Given the football Robinson wants to play the focus is about how we attack, what we do on the ball, how we press high up the pitch etc. We probably won't be the best team defensively but that won't be such an issue if we score enough goals.
We've seen Holmes and Magennis get 10-15 but the question is can whoever takes up those other 3 midfield spots do the same.
Kashi could make a real difference, if he's fit and performs like the player we think he was he'll be a huge improvement over Crofts and help free up other players to attack.
Hopefully he will recover quickly, but if it forces us to sign Stewart, it may be a good thing in the long run. We need options.
I
thinkhope (for @SE7toSG3) we're going to be good this year. I think we're going to be fitter than most teams in the league, I think we're going to press high up the pitch, and I think we're going to be very good in possession, but also more purposeful than last year. I think that unlike any manager we've had over the summer since Powell, Robinson, for whatever you think of him, is building a system, recruiting players to fit it, then ensuring players understand their roles in it. I think today was important in that we beat a team who looked to do two things: kick us up in the air and score from set pieces (even if they're a division below us).I think Norwich on Tuesday will be tough as they should be a promotion contender next season, but Ipswich on Saturday will be very interesting. They're a bogey side and like any McCarthy team will be direct and physical (even if they have Emyr Huws and Bersant Celina who are both nice footballers). I think between that game and today we'll get a good feeling for where we are.
Now that I've written this, go lump on us for relegation at 14/1.
I don't hugely rate Crofts, but he seemed to improve second half of last year and I think he'll be okay with a more mobile player like JFC next to him. And to be fair he was very good in the second half against Dover. You'd struggle to find a better fourth choice central midfielder in this league. And the bits I've seem of Dijksteel he looks like he could be ready to step in if needed as well.
https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/27405/charlton-boss-karl-robinson-makes-claim-2-1-friendly-win-stevenage/
Robinson sticks up for Novak and talks up JFC
Let's hope he does it quicker than Sheffield United took.