Hands up, I thought we would be lower mid at best. Not worried about relegation but thought it very unlikely that we would be challenging even for the play offs. All credit to LB and SG for the great job they did on recruitment this summer. With Duchatelet in charge still there's no knowing exactly what will happen in January but if he can resist the temptation to cash in on our better players we look a good bet for at least the play offs. If he has a complete brainstorm and actually invests in January, then maybe even automatic promotion. You have to say that looks unlikely with his track record.
Cast your mind back to the morning of the Sunderland game. A summer of frustration and uncertainty about the ownership. No permanent manager, no CEO etc. Only four players on the bench, had just lost JFC for the season and even our bleeding season tickets hadn't even arrived. Better than expected beyond any doubt.
To be fair, Bowyer made some last ditch improvements to the squad in the loan market. We weren't really expecting that to happen and nor was Solly according to another thread I have just seen.
I said top six and I stand by that . Top two is a possibility if we strengthen in January .
From last season's squad .
Quality has remained the same broadly for the first eleven . The back is a problem in my view . Most of the youth players breaking through seem to be in midfield which has given the squad some depth there and up front we have four good strikers for this league .
Amos / Steer . Not as bad a downgrade as I had feared .
Konsa / Bielik . Would be neutral if the Pole wasn't so injury prone although he can't cover right back in the way Ezri could .
Lennon / ? . Maybe we signed the wrong Ward . Elliott Ward would have been a good cover centre back . I feel we are not short of options going forward but are short of options at the back .
De Silva / ? . We could do with a backup left back / left sider .
Kashi / Pratley . Upgrade for this league . He has a presence which we missed on Saturday . I do not feel Kashi was suited for L1 .
Cullen / JFC . I know JFC is still with us but his injury meant we were short for the first few games . Josh is a similar standard . Maybe that is why we didn't get another defender .
Kaikai / Ward . Upgrade . Like the look of him against Plymouth and as a player against us for Derby .
Zyro / Vetekele . Upgrade . Especially if he can get fitter .
Bartlett / Taylor . An upgrade with the exception of defending corners .
Mavididi / Grant . Grant has come back from Crawley a better player
The emergence of Lapslie and Morgan also need to be factored into this as positives .
I agree with this analysis, though you might want to replace Bartlett with Magennis!
4 CBs isn't enough if one (Sarr) is LB cover and another (Bielik) is also expected to play sometimes as a defensive midfielder. Or if we want to play 3 at the back.
Once Clarke returns, to me we'll have too many players in that area, I'm not sure we'll need Clarke, Reeves and Ward
I said top six and I stand by that . Top two is a possibility if we strengthen in January .
From last season's squad .
Quality has remained the same broadly for the first eleven . The back is a problem in my view . Most of the youth players breaking through seem to be in midfield which has given the squad some depth there and up front we have four good strikers for this league .
Amos / Steer . Not as bad a downgrade as I had feared .
Konsa / Bielik . Would be neutral if the Pole wasn't so injury prone although he can't cover right back in the way Ezri could .
Lennon / ? . Maybe we signed the wrong Ward . Elliott Ward would have been a good cover centre back . I feel we are not short of options going forward but are short of options at the back .
De Silva / ? . We could do with a backup left back / left sider .
Kashi / Pratley . Upgrade for this league . He has a presence which we missed on Saturday . I do not feel Kashi was suited for L1 .
Cullen / JFC . I know JFC is still with us but his injury meant we were short for the first few games . Josh is a similar standard . Maybe that is why we didn't get another defender .
Kaikai / Ward . Upgrade . Like the look of him against Plymouth and as a player against us for Derby .
Zyro / Vetekele . Upgrade . Especially if he can get fitter .
Bartlett / Taylor . An upgrade with the exception of defending corners .
Mavididi / Grant . Grant has come back from Crawley a better player
The emergence of Lapslie and Morgan also need to be factored into this as positives .
I agree with this analysis, though you might want to replace Bartlett with Magennis!
4 CBs isn't enough if one (Sarr) is LB cover and another (Bielik) is also expected to play sometimes as a defensive midfielder. Or if we want to play 3 at the back.
Once Clarke returns, to me we'll have too many players in that area, I'm not sure we'll need Clarke, Reeves and Ward
Holmes too.. (replaced by?)
He was replaced by Kaikai who was replaced by Ward
Better than expected. Not so much for the position we are in (which seems about what I hoped for) but the performances/team spirit is higher than I thought it would be
When I saw the line up on day 1 against Sunderland, and then the bench, I phoned my dad and said we will lose this match and will be relegated by March.
I was right on count one (just!), felt so low as I thought we looked sh*te that day. Loads of effort and desire but clearly not enough going forwards and no back up. Roll on a month and we have a bit of depth, a striker in Grant who is transformed, a toughness I havent seen in ages backed up by loads of bookings and a manager who seems to inspire and have everyone's respect.
Still a long way to go and with this owner there is no real future ahead, but if we can get promoted, sell up and start next season in the Championship just may be we will have our Charlton back.
Even before the flurry of signings I thought we’d do better than most people were predicting. Upper mid table but with the playoffs just slightly out of reach. After a great start I now expect playoffs minimum, but a shot at the top two isn’t out of the question. I don’t think we should be worried about facing any team in this division tbh.
Injuries, suspensions and / or Roland selling important players in January were factored into my original assessment so I'll enjoy the good times while I can but won't be surprised if (when) it all falls apart once more.
As expected,we always had a good first eleven,but now have a strong squad which will give us an edge when we play twice a week,quietly confident of top 2
At the start of the season I thought we'd be mid table especially with the thin squad we had at the start of the season. I believed in Bowyer as manager and the players we had, but I didn't believe we had the depth or quality to be much higher than 7-12th.
Since then, we've added more depth and seem to be performing better as the season goes on, the players we've brought in have seemed quality and the feeling around the squad (not the club in general) seems to be at its highest since the SCP season. Even if people were thinking we would be in playoffs, I can't see how they thought we would have a front two with 10 goals in 10 games and be on a good run of form with more quality to come back in to the team as we progress through the season, especially after JFC got injured.
Lets hope after another 10 games i'm feeling as positive.
Good point - Taylor is better than I thought he was and Grant has stepped up when that was a serious doubt previously. That has made a difference along with the loan signings.
Better than expected. Thought we would be there or there about for playoffs come the final reckoning but our start suggests that when everybody is in contention we might be able to aim at the top two. If I’m honest though I think we concede too many sloppy goals to get autos. I’m thinking filth or sixth.
That is a concern as is an injury crisis. Positively, I think we can still improve defensively and offensively. I do think we are much better when we attack games - I would always try to win 3-0 and see where it takes us - go a bit defensive and we can give opponents who have to go more offensive chasing a game a head of steam.
Much better than expected. It looks promising that Roland will eventually get his long-awaited opportunity to strengthen the side in January to help the push for promotion.
Much better than expected. It looks promising that Roland will eventually get his long-awaited opportunity to strengthen the side in January to help the push for promotion.
Don't be silly. We haven't had a January transfer window under Roland where he hasn't sold key players and derailed what little momentum we did have.
Better than expected. Thought we would be there or there about for playoffs come the final reckoning but our start suggests that when everybody is in contention we might be able to aim at the top two. If I’m honest though I think we concede too many sloppy goals to get autos. I’m thinking filth or sixth.
We've played 10 matches ......but the first 5 games were played while we were still adding to the squad and the quality of the team was depleted.
If you compare the performance of the team during the past 5 games, it's a stronger starting 11, plus much stronger bench. Big difference to the threadbare team that started the season, where we didn't even have a full bench.
We've played 10 matches ......but the first 5 games were played while we were still adding to the squad and the quality of the team was depleted.
If you compare the performance of the team during the past 5 games, it's a stronger starting 11, plus much stronger bench. Big difference to the threadbare team that started the season, where we didn't even have a full bench.
2 season ago Sheff Utd started poorly, I remember us "laughing" at Wilder for choosing the wrong club. Slow starts can be misleading (not that we are as good as that Sheffield United team)
I couldn’t see Duchatelet funding any decent loans and I think that Bielik, Cullen and Ward will prove excellent additions at this level. If we hadn’t got a replacement in for JFC and a fourth centre back, we’d have been up shit creek. Lapslie (in particular) and Albie Morgan have also stepped up to the plate and given us a bit more depth. Very impressed that we’ve been able to ride out the early season rash of injuries (and Fosu’s subsequent 3 match suspension) and still harvest 13 points out of 15 in September. On paper, the three away games at Southend, Bradford and Luton were all tricky. Let’s hope that the ‘Manager of the Month’ curse doesn’t bite.
Great credit to Lee Bowyer, Jacko and Steve Gallen for pulling the squad together and instilling a fighting spirit and belief into the players. We’ve learnt how to come from behind and win and we’re also more than happy to dish out a bit of stick when necessary, which is important in League 1.
A long way to go and, although it is high quality in terms of personnel, the squad is still a bit thin on numbers (albeit that is an issue for practically all League 1 teams). The January transfer window also makes me feel nervous, given the unpredictable and irrational behaviour of Duchatelet. Hopefully, if we’re in contention (which I think we should be), he won’t look to cash in on players like Fosu, Bauer and Aribo but who knows.
With a defence like that, we'll do well to get into the play offs, at very best.
Teams that are successful don't score 5 goals in two away games but let in 7. The best teams- in whatever league - start by having a good defence assisted by a midfield that is both physically strong but also blessed with a little flair.
One plus is that at the moment we have a decent strike ratio.
It's a long season so sooner or later we are going to get a settled team which will include one or two key players back that are currently injured. If we can achieve this then the play-offs are a distinct possibility.
If not then we will probably see some entertaining, high scoring games but will most likely finish mid-table.
Looking back over the years, lots of decent teams doing well have tripped over their bootlaces with a horrific result or even a thrashing. And it's proved to be the tipping point of their season, turning a decent side into a title hunting one.
Comments
Better than expected beyond any doubt.
I'm also expecting Roland to sell at least one of the better players in the transfer window, if an offer comes in of course. To scupper things.
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I was right on count one (just!), felt so low as I thought we looked sh*te that day. Loads of effort and desire but clearly not enough going forwards and no back up. Roll on a month and we have a bit of depth, a striker in Grant who is transformed, a toughness I havent seen in ages backed up by loads of bookings and a manager who seems to inspire and have everyone's respect.
Still a long way to go and with this owner there is no real future ahead, but if we can get promoted, sell up and start next season in the Championship just may be we will have our Charlton back.
Injuries, suspensions and / or Roland selling important players in January were factored into my original assessment so I'll enjoy the good times while I can but won't be surprised if (when) it all falls apart once more.
Autos are possible, imo.
Since then, we've added more depth and seem to be performing better as the season goes on, the players we've brought in have seemed quality and the feeling around the squad (not the club in general) seems to be at its highest since the SCP season. Even if people were thinking we would be in playoffs, I can't see how they thought we would have a front two with 10 goals in 10 games and be on a good run of form with more quality to come back in to the team as we progress through the season, especially after JFC got injured.
Lets hope after another 10 games i'm feeling as positive.
Fifth not filth
We've played 10 matches ......but the first 5 games were played while we were still adding to the squad and the quality of the team was depleted.
If you compare the performance of the team during the past 5 games, it's a stronger starting 11, plus much stronger bench.
Big difference to the threadbare team that started the season, where we didn't even have a full bench.
I couldn’t see Duchatelet funding any decent loans and I think that Bielik, Cullen and Ward will prove excellent additions at this level. If we hadn’t got a replacement in for JFC and a fourth centre back, we’d have been up shit creek. Lapslie (in particular) and Albie Morgan have also stepped up to the plate and given us a bit more depth. Very impressed that we’ve been able to ride out the early season rash of injuries (and Fosu’s subsequent 3 match suspension) and still harvest 13 points out of 15 in September. On paper, the three away games at Southend, Bradford and Luton were all tricky. Let’s hope that the ‘Manager of the Month’ curse doesn’t bite.
Great credit to Lee Bowyer, Jacko and Steve Gallen for pulling the squad together and instilling a fighting spirit and belief into the players. We’ve learnt how to come from behind and win and we’re also more than happy to dish out a bit of stick when necessary, which is important in League 1.
A long way to go and, although it is high quality in terms of personnel, the squad is still a bit thin on numbers (albeit that is an issue for practically all League 1 teams). The January transfer window also makes me feel nervous, given the unpredictable and irrational behaviour of Duchatelet. Hopefully, if we’re in contention (which I think we should be), he won’t look to cash in on players like Fosu, Bauer and Aribo but who knows.
With a defence like that, we'll do well to get into the play offs, at very best.
One plus is that at the moment we have a decent strike ratio.
It's a long season so sooner or later we are going to get a settled team which will include one or two key players back that are currently injured. If we can achieve this then the play-offs are a distinct possibility.
If not then we will probably see some entertaining, high scoring games but will most likely finish mid-table.
I'd look at the Scunny result as a marker.
Looking back over the years, lots of decent teams doing well have tripped over their bootlaces with a horrific result or even a thrashing. And it's proved to be the tipping point of their season, turning a decent side into a title hunting one.
As Bowyer says, time to regroup and sort it out.