Charlton Athletic v Oxford United
Tuesday 23rd October 2018 … 7:45pm Kick-Off
Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire)
IntroductionSaturday saw an impressive 2-0 win at home to Barnsley yet as is the way with the Football season there is little time to relax and enjoy that victory – Tomorrow night will see the Valley bathed in floodlights as midweek action returns to South East London, old faces will return on and off the pitch as Oxford United make the short trip down the M40 looking to kick start their season
The Opposition
Name: Oxford United |
Ground: Kassam Stadium
Manager: Karl Robinson
Of course, the Oxford manager needs no introduction in these parts… Manager of Charlton until March last year; Robinson would decide to jump what he would have thought a sinking ship for pastures new. Days after that resignation he would land himself the Oxford job, with just two wins this season he may well be regretting his decision to leave South East London.
Oxford though despite their injury problems (ex-Addicks: Jon Obika and Ricky Holmes are expected to be absent with the former out for the season) are a bit of a bogey team for Charlton and may well be confident of picking up a win tomorrow night – 1997 was the last time Charlton kept the three points in London, and despite there being a eighteen year League gap between the two sides; Charlton are winless in five against their opponents.
Managers Comments: Karl Robinson was in a buoyant mood when asked about his return to the Valley and expects to receive the full red carpet treatment upon his arrival tomorrow night… When asked about the possibility of a win for Oxford; Robinson casually shrugged off the task by declaring that he taught Bowyer: “
Everything he knows” and wouldn’t be surprised if it was a draw seeing that “
Charlton are filled with his players” – Strangely he ended the interview by saying that IF he had Dele Alli again, the Oxford season would be very different.
*These comment may or may not have exaggerated a littleCharlton Team NewsI doubt there was a Charlton fan unsurprised when Anfernee Dijksteel was picked in defence ahead of Naby Sarr yet going by the defensive performances it was the right call to ensure there was a balanced back line – Of course there has always been question marks over whether Chris Solly can play twice in a week, yet the club stalwart appears be managed by Bowyer better than previous Managers so it shouldn’t be a surprise if the back line remains the same as Saturday, despite Krystian Bielik suffering with cramp
Further forward and Jamie Ward made an important contribution for the first goal against Barnsley – The 32-year old admitted after the game that it’s a struggle for him to remain fully fit now and will be restricted to 60-70min games going forward, you’d expect a swap in the team between the Northern Irish International and Tariqe Fosu as Bowyer looks to keep his team fresh and fighting for limited spots.
Igor Vetokele will no doubt remain side lined after picking up a slight injury in training last Thursday yet should be back in contention ahead of the trip to Rochdale this Saturday.
Steer
Dijksteel | Bielik | Pearce | Solly
Aribo | Cullen | Reeves
Fosu
Grant | Taylor
Substitutes Bench: Phillips | Sarr | Marshall | Pratley | Ward | Lapslie | Ajose
PredictionEx-Charlton Managers don’t have the best of records when it comes to returning to the Valley with their new clubs – L3 / D4 is the record going back to Bob Stokoe – Can only hope that Karl Robinson joins that list and with Oxford in relegation troubles you’d hope that Charlton don’t take a step back after Saturdays win by failing to record back to back victories.
Comments
Phil Parkinson: Charlton 1-1 Bolton
Chris Powell: Charlton 3-0 Huddersfield
Alan Pardew: Charlton 1-1 Southampton
Alan Curbishley: Charlton 4-0 West Ham
Lennie Lawrence: Charlton 0-0 Middlesbrough
Alan Mullery: Charlton 2-1 Crystal Palace
Bob Stokoe: Charlton 1-1 Carlisle
Slade | Dowie | Bailey havent been back to the Valley in charge of another club (League games)
Anyway, definitely looking forward to this after Saturday’s performance, sticking to a 4-0 charlton win prediction again, law of averages says it must be right once...
You right though, without a player like him; Oxford will get players behind the ball - Yet they shouldnt be too worried about Karlan Grant as he's not a Striker dont forget so will probably expect us to play 4-5-1
I think Pratley may start instead of Ward and save Fosu for the last 20. I really hope we crush them.
Therefore I’m predicting 0 - 1 to Oxford.
@ForeverAddickted - This is funny. I would be laughing at it were it not for the fact that it's far too plausible and I actually believed he'd said that the first time I read it, and I'd worked myself into an angry strop by the time I realised it was a joke.
I didn't like Karl when he arrived at Charlton, but over the following year and a half my opinion of him gradually changed. By the time he moved on to Oxford, my feelings of mild dislike had all but disappeared and been replaced by an intense, pathological loathing for the tubby, Scouse halfwit. His stupid, droning, nonsensical, contradictory waffling haunts my nightmares. Sometimes, when I'm driving, my mind drifts towards memories of pitiful defeats to the likes of Gillingham and Northampton, and I have to pull over to the side of the road until the urge to drive my car into a fence has subsided.
Please win Charlton. Please.
On a side note I should apologise to an extent for that paragraph in the first place - I usually try and write my Previews from a completely neutral view point, yet in respect to Robinson I just couldnt resist adding the joke
I've got the same opinion with regards to Robinson though - I didnt like the fact we were linked with him and didnt want him, felt he liked the sound of his voice too much and despite warming to his initial style of Football I didnt like the fact that:
(1) He decided to do a bunch of Sky interviews ahead of the Millwall midweek game
(2) He refused to go two up front against Blackpool or Fleetwood, 4-pts would have seen us avoiding Shrewsbury in the Play-Off Semi-Finals, facing them at Wembley may have been the case yet it would have been a completely different challenge
(3) The way our form picked up the instant Bowyer took charge proved to me that Robinson was the issue
Because of the last two my dislike of him has really returned, I wont boo him like Pardew was treated when he returned with Southampton yet will boo him if he responds to the Covered End like Pardew did at the end of that game
Will be very disappointed if we don't win. If we play well I can see us winning 4 or 5 nil but unfortunately I don't think we'll turn up and Oxford will scrape a 1-0 victory with a winner in the 12th minute of injury time.
I will leave the ground in tears.....
3-1 Charlton
2-0 Charlton against Oxford
CAFC 2 v Oxford United 0
Charlton are managed by Bowyer.
That's all I have to say.
3.0 Charlton.
charlton 2 oxford 1
Please accept my apologies.