Lukewarm boycotter here attended first home game of season (post-Meire but admittedly not post RD).
Shocked rather than surprised at first half defensive display. Shocked that on return to my old seat in North Upper that the familiar faces from previous seasons were all gone. Literally, empty seats - not replaced. Shocked this morning to see the attendance given as over 11k - what?
Not really surprised at current mid-table position as was one of those who predicted mid-table finish in the recent CASTrust survey but not expecting another flirtation with the relegation places like last season which, if current form continues is now a possibility perhaps.
Robinsons single way of playing was always going to be found out relatively quickly as we don't have the depth in every position and lack a striker who can put the ball in the net. You can't rely on the midfielder to get all the goals.
I've said from day one this season the best we'd do is 7th-12th. He has been unlucky with injury, but I don;t think that is only down to luck. How many players have been out injured, come back for one game and been injured again straight away and worse? Did you see Best warming up at half time, I don't keep fit but I exercise better on my way to work. Youngsters get away with it, older players or players carrying an injury don't.
He's rushed back players as he's needed to as the 'reserves' aren't good enough to fit his system.
The recent form is down to a) not having the right players to play his system and b) the opposition doing their homework.
We also lack leaders and fight on the pitch, look at today;
Konsa too young to lead and still needs direction, ditto for Lennon, Sarr and Dasilva JFC is too lightweight and goes missing too often, inexperienced Kashi will never be a captain/leader and is inexperienced in this league Aribo, great prospect but young and needs experience alongside him Marshall, Reeves & Holmes - good players on their day but again, not leaders Magennis, doesn't even lead the line.
Who was skipper today, JFC then Holmes? Please........
Then look at the bench.......
Without Pearce and/or Jackson on the pitch we lose shape far too much and the midfield to defence can be too far apart, the heads go down and the opposition get their tails up.
My bigger worry is that we won't bring in what we need, as we need at least 4-5 players if Robinson persists with his formation, it's going to be a long old slog to May, at the moment 12th will be about as high as I can see us by then. If he adapts the formation we still have a chance of the play off's.
Saturday against Oldham assuming no one is back from injury then he needs to play both KHG and Magennis in a front two, keep Marshall and Holmes out wide with Aribo and Jackson in the middle. But put kashi on for the last 20/30 minutes. You could chance keeping Jacko on the bench and put Kashi on to start, but on the basis we seem to fall apart at the beginning i'd personally start with Jacko...... except his legs have gone
Depressingly accurate analysis.
As an optimist I always feel that things can improve but it will need a lot to recover a automatic promotion place.
Play-offs still doable IMHO but change in management ( either style or personnel) needed.
When did we first lose Clarke? How did that correspond to the downturn? Ditto Fosu?
Fosu & Clarke have been major losses as they in their positions haven’t easily been replaced. Marshall is different to Fosu and is a good out and out winger, and so far Reeves isn’t fit to clean Clarke’s boots.
Play offs is still possible of course, we aren’t that many points away, but to do so KR needs to strengthen the squad and adapt, both of which IMHO aren’t likely, 1) due to RD and 2) KR himself. Automatic is a pure pipe dream now this season, 0% chance.
Unless he very quickly changes we are bottom half and it’ll end the same as last season.
When you then add in the sale of the club, unless it happens this week you add in the fact both existing and potential players know that Robinson is unlikely to be here for long, recipe for disaster......
I’ll go back to this time last year and what I said then, get leaders and fighters on the pitch, number 1 is Jacko and let him decide the other 10 players he needs around him and the style they need to play. If we do that we have a fighting chance.
I think a major issue is Robinson's rigidity to go 4-2-3-1. With the right players, and form, it will work, but with Magennis so badly out of form, we have no goal threat. If the oppo nullify Holmes by double teaming him and pushing him wide down blind alleys, we are pretty much stuffed.
It would be much better to go back to a 4-4-2, as we did second half yesterday and have done against Peterboro and others when behind, and at least give Magennis some support.
The other point I wanted to make was that often you need luck when coming up with the right players and/or formation. Sasa Ilic got in the team through injury then kept a whole run of clean sheets; Lee Bowyer he had to start out wide, and only an injury (to Steve Brown I think?) got him a central midfield spot, which he quickly made his own. We have good youngsters, and maybe it is time for KAG to be given an extended run alongside Magennis, with the option to switch back to 4-2-3-1 if we need to later in the game? Similarly, Dijksteel is a better right back than Konsa, so play him there when Solly is injured, or in midfield when Kashi is unfit, and leave Konsa to be a centre back. Marshall will do a good job backing up his full back defensively (as John Robinson and Shaun Newton used to), and can fit into a 4-4-2 easily. Holmes works hard so can do the same for DeSilva on the left.
We don't have to be so rigid, I just wish we kept the oppo guessing on occasion how we will shape up.
We relied on Fosu, Holmes and Forster-Caskey scoring from midfield. Not having a striker who can score tap ins was always going to stop us ending up in the top 6. ( I predicted 7th in August if we had no injuries !!!!)
literally start of october we were booking hotels in Manchester with last game of the season in mind and night out on the piss to celebrate promotion/playoffs, ill likely be cancelling as numbers will no doubt dwindle, likewise with other away trips to pompey, mk dons, peterboro and bristol, dont blame people why would you want to part with 100s of pounds to watch a shit team with a shit attitude then be told by some gobby scouser we should of taken our opportunites.
It’s all the Duchatalet effect. Yes, Robinson is mediocre at best - but he’s far from the worst we’ve had. We’d be further down the pan if we still had that tool Fraeye. We need the right owner - “A’s hire A’s and B’s hire C’s” as it’s said, and our owner is considerably further down the alphabet so it’s no wonder we don’t get the right managers AND the right finance and support for them.
Can you honestly believe just how badly things have regressed in the last two months??
It feels like the carpet is being yanked from under us. A bit like how Liege regressed before their sale.
but why should the ongoing sale of the club make the players play this bad ? It makes no sense.
Many of them probably realise they're not Nick Pope or JBG and their likely path is this league or worse. The uncertainty would be very distracting IMO. Or they dislike Karl, or they just aren't confident right now.
Can you honestly believe just how badly things have regressed in the last two months??
It feels like the carpet is being yanked from under us. A bit like how Liege regressed before their sale.
but why should the ongoing sale of the club make the players play this bad ? It makes no sense.
Just another excuse from this bunch of pant-sniffing bed-wetter's representing Charlton Athletic currently.
This lot train at the best facilities, have a home pitch like a snooker table, yet will find a reason that they cannot, as professionals, perform the most basic of fundamentals whilst playing what is a beautifully simple game. And the shill of a manager endorses that behaviour in my eyes with his fucking rentaquote nonsense after every non-event of a display.
"I'm going to drag them in at 7am" "The opposition were too quick for us" "We looked tired out there"
Here's one, maybe try getting the weasels to desire the ball, to commit to tackles and 50/50 aerial challenges, make them be a bit mobile around the pitch and show for each other, we've played with 3 fucking number 10's all season, players whose sole job is to make stuff happen, therefore should want the ball, not get themselves as far away as they possibly can from it or to isolate themselves for the millisencds we are in meaningful possession.
As I watched last night I saw a bank of 4 split down the middle, the 2 players in front of them, then a void of about 35 yards, then three players lined up without a hint of anyone looking for space or to do something different, then a 10 yard gap and Magennis on his own. So when the poor fucker does win a header nobody is anywhere around him to pick up the second ball. Besides that I naively assumed playing 5 in midfield would mean we aren't all about launching the ball at the big fucker up top and looking to get on scraps.
If you sign crocks, don't be blaming an unfortunate injury list.
OK they (Reeves & Marshall) are slightly more suitable, in terms of fitness, or professional football then some of the network jokers.
Curbs and Son of Curbs both relied heavily on squad composition. 70% of the squad could be relied on to play 80% of the games. It's not luck, it's knowing who in the squad is the mercurial ball player likely to be injured more often than the "week in, week out" types that you need at this level.
Reeves has never played more than 30 league games in a season. Marshall is slightly better and has been ever present twice but averages about 70% availability throughout his career as a whole.
Of course we can afford these types of players because we balance it out with fit and reliable players such as Leon Best and Lewis Page.
Horses for courses. Understanding the composition of a squad. Main reason that Curbs did so well over a long term period. And the main reason clueless managers like Pardew and Robinson will never succeed long term because they have no clue how to assemble a squad.
Karl Robinson is a shockingly bad manager. Not saying we can get much better but shouldn't distract from the fact he is atrocious.
Early in the season I texted a mate that I was quietly confident that we would be in the play offs at least. Now I'd be surprised if we finish higher than ninth.
Comments
Shocked rather than surprised at first half defensive display.
Shocked that on return to my old seat in North Upper that the familiar faces from previous seasons were all gone. Literally, empty seats - not replaced.
Shocked this morning to see the attendance given as over 11k - what?
Not really surprised at current mid-table position as was one of those who predicted mid-table finish in the recent CASTrust survey but not expecting another flirtation with the relegation places like last season which, if current form continues is now a possibility perhaps.
Play offs is still possible of course, we aren’t that many points away, but to do so KR needs to strengthen the squad and adapt, both of which IMHO aren’t likely, 1) due to RD and 2) KR himself. Automatic is a pure pipe dream now this season, 0% chance.
Unless he very quickly changes we are bottom half and it’ll end the same as last season.
When you then add in the sale of the club, unless it happens this week you add in the fact both existing and potential players know that Robinson is unlikely to be here for long, recipe for disaster......
I’ll go back to this time last year and what I said then, get leaders and fighters on the pitch, number 1 is Jacko and let him decide the other 10 players he needs around him and the style they need to play. If we do that we have a fighting chance.
It would be much better to go back to a 4-4-2, as we did second half yesterday and have done against Peterboro and others when behind, and at least give Magennis some support.
The other point I wanted to make was that often you need luck when coming up with the right players and/or formation. Sasa Ilic got in the team through injury then kept a whole run of clean sheets; Lee Bowyer he had to start out wide, and only an injury (to Steve Brown I think?) got him a central midfield spot, which he quickly made his own. We have good youngsters, and maybe it is time for KAG to be given an extended run alongside Magennis, with the option to switch back to 4-2-3-1 if we need to later in the game? Similarly, Dijksteel is a better right back than Konsa, so play him there when Solly is injured, or in midfield when Kashi is unfit, and leave Konsa to be a centre back. Marshall will do a good job backing up his full back defensively (as John Robinson and Shaun Newton used to), and can fit into a 4-4-2 easily. Holmes works hard so can do the same for DeSilva on the left.
We don't have to be so rigid, I just wish we kept the oppo guessing on occasion how we will shape up.
Not having a striker who can score tap ins was always going to stop us ending up in the top 6. ( I predicted 7th in August if we had no injuries !!!!)
We need the right owner - “A’s hire A’s and B’s hire C’s” as it’s said, and our owner is considerably further down the alphabet so it’s no wonder we don’t get the right managers AND the right finance and support for them.
This lot train at the best facilities, have a home pitch like a snooker table, yet will find a reason that they cannot, as professionals, perform the most basic of fundamentals whilst playing what is a beautifully simple game. And the shill of a manager endorses that behaviour in my eyes with his fucking rentaquote nonsense after every non-event of a display.
"I'm going to drag them in at 7am"
"The opposition were too quick for us"
"We looked tired out there"
Here's one, maybe try getting the weasels to desire the ball, to commit to tackles and 50/50 aerial challenges, make them be a bit mobile around the pitch and show for each other, we've played with 3 fucking number 10's all season, players whose sole job is to make stuff happen, therefore should want the ball, not get themselves as far away as they possibly can from it or to isolate themselves for the millisencds we are in meaningful possession.
As I watched last night I saw a bank of 4 split down the middle, the 2 players in front of them, then a void of about 35 yards, then three players lined up without a hint of anyone looking for space or to do something different, then a 10 yard gap and Magennis on his own. So when the poor fucker does win a header nobody is anywhere around him to pick up the second ball. Besides that I naively assumed playing 5 in midfield would mean we aren't all about launching the ball at the big fucker up top and looking to get on scraps.
If you sign crocks, don't be blaming an unfortunate injury list.
OK they (Reeves & Marshall) are slightly more suitable, in terms of fitness, or professional football then some of the network jokers.
Curbs and Son of Curbs both relied heavily on squad composition. 70% of the squad could be relied on to play 80% of the games. It's not luck, it's knowing who in the squad is the mercurial ball player likely to be injured more often than the "week in, week out" types that you need at this level.
Reeves has never played more than 30 league games in a season. Marshall is slightly better and has been ever present twice but averages about 70% availability throughout his career as a whole.
Of course we can afford these types of players because we balance it out with fit and reliable players such as Leon Best and Lewis Page.
Horses for courses. Understanding the composition of a squad. Main reason that Curbs did so well over a long term period. And the main reason clueless managers like Pardew and Robinson will never succeed long term because they have no clue how to assemble a squad.
Karl Robinson is a shockingly bad manager. Not saying we can get much better but shouldn't distract from the fact he is atrocious.