As much as I hate Roland, we can’t blame him for everything (although we can blame him for a lot). Our loss today and our draw against Oxford are not his fault. Our squad is stronger than both Oxford and Rochdale so why can’t we beat them? I hate to say it but we have to question Bowyer
Lacknof strength in depth, caused by funding cuts... By... ROLAND.
Our only starters who are injured are Page and Bauer. Doesn’t explain why we can’t score goals
Yup and who wouldnt sanction us getting a backup Left-Back?
And then in both the Oxford game and today we started with Pierce and Pratley at CB even though Bielik was available. And Pratley has never played at CB before! Too much tinkering at the back I feel. Trying to be too clever? Who knows.
The two goals conceded against Oxford and Rochdale havent been the fault of either Pratley or Pearce though and is understandable he wants a Right and Left Footed defender as neither Pearce or Sarr play well on the right hand side of the centre back position - Unfortunately both goals have come down Solly's side failing to either stop the cross of shot... Simply because a Right-Back on the wrong side is easy to target because they have to switch their starting position to deal with the winger.
On the other hand I wonder if Bowyer would like to play a 3-5-2 formation yet again you've got the issue of no natural Left-Back which'll be exposed even more because they dont have midfield cover in front of them
Not seen any of the last 3 games but one thing I fail to understand is why not play Sarr at Left Back and put Solly back over on the right. A better balance at the back must surely help?
Is Bowyer and Jacko trying to be too clever. Football is a simple game and when we do that (From the first few Bowyer games in charge) we look a good team.
As much as I hate Roland, we can’t blame him for everything (although we can blame him for a lot). Our loss today and our draw against Oxford are not his fault. Our squad is stronger than both Oxford and Rochdale so why can’t we beat them? I hate to say it but we have to question Bowyer
Lacknof strength in depth, caused by funding cuts... By... ROLAND.
Our only starters who are injured are Page and Bauer. Doesn’t explain why we can’t score goals
As much as I hate Roland, we can’t blame him for everything (although we can blame him for a lot). Our loss today and our draw against Oxford are not his fault. Our squad is stronger than both Oxford and Rochdale so why can’t we beat them? I hate to say it but we have to question Bowyer
Lacknof strength in depth, caused by funding cuts... By... ROLAND.
Our only starters who are injured are Page and Bauer. Doesn’t explain why we can’t score goals
Not seen any of the last 3 games but one thing I fail to understand is why not play Sarr at Left Back and put Solly back over on the right. A better balance at the back must surely help?
Is Bowyer and Jacko trying to be too clever. Football is a simple game and when we do that (From the first few Bowyer games in charge) we look a good team.
Hopefully just a tactical blip.
If you don’t have at least one of pace, low centre of gravity or a sharp change of direction you cannot play full back. And that is why Sarr is not at left back, he would get roasted.
Not seen any of the last 3 games but one thing I fail to understand is why not play Sarr at Left Back and put Solly back over on the right. A better balance at the back must surely help?
Is Bowyer and Jacko trying to be too clever. Football is a simple game and when we do that (From the first few Bowyer games in charge) we look a good team.
Hopefully just a tactical blip.
If you don’t have at least one of pace, low centre of gravity or a sharp change of direction you cannot play full back. And that is why Sarr is not at left back, he would get roasted.
what's wrong with playing Mascoll there. I believe he is a LB ( saw him play there in the PSF against Brighton) and its not as if he's 16.
Not seen any of the last 3 games but one thing I fail to understand is why not play Sarr at Left Back and put Solly back over on the right. A better balance at the back must surely help?
Is Bowyer and Jacko trying to be too clever. Football is a simple game and when we do that (From the first few Bowyer games in charge) we look a good team.
Hopefully just a tactical blip.
If you don’t have at least one of pace, low centre of gravity or a sharp change of direction you cannot play full back. And that is why Sarr is not at left back, he would get roasted.
what's wrong with playing Mascoll there. I believe he is a LB ( saw him play there in the PSF against Brighton) and its not as if he's 16.
Depends how he's doing in training as well though, if he's not great positionally or well timed with his tackles in training games then Bowyer's not going to throw him in is he
As much as I hate Roland, we can’t blame him for everything (although we can blame him for a lot). Our loss today and our draw against Oxford are not his fault. Our squad is stronger than both Oxford and Rochdale so why can’t we beat them? I hate to say it but we have to question Bowyer
Lacknof strength in depth, caused by funding cuts... By... ROLAND.
Our only starters who are injured are Page and Bauer. Doesn’t explain why we can’t score goals
Clarke and JFC
We have known about them for a long time now though. Bowyer was able to sign plenty of CM's to minimise the loss of JFC. It is not going to be easy fitting Clarke into our formation anyway. We can all laugh at Robinson's 4231 persistence, but it did suit Clarke a lot more then playing 2 up top.
As much as I hate Roland, we can’t blame him for everything (although we can blame him for a lot). Our loss today and our draw against Oxford are not his fault. Our squad is stronger than both Oxford and Rochdale so why can’t we beat them? I hate to say it but we have to question Bowyer
Lacknof strength in depth, caused by funding cuts... By... ROLAND.
Our only starters who are injured are Page and Bauer. Doesn’t explain why we can’t score goals
Clarke and JFC
We have known about them for a long time now though. Bowyer was able to sign plenty of CM's to minimise the loss of JFC. It is not going to be easy fitting Clarke into our formation anyway. We can all laugh at Robinson's 4231 persistence, but it did suit Clarke a lot more then playing 2 up top.
Agree we've known about them for a long time but JFC is more of a goal and dead ball threat than Reeves or Cullen and Ward, who does score a few, isn't fit while Fosu isn't doing it.
I think Clarke would suit this system fine as he can play at the top of diamond.
I also think we've had some good performances with 352 but we need three good centre backs (JP, KB, PB) and mobile full backs to make that work.
It’s absolutely obvious as far as I’m concerned. Firstly the loss of Page means that we have no natural width in the team. Solly is doing ok at left back but he doesn’t have the pace or skill to be a proper wing back and Dijksteel has obviously been told not to cross halfway. As a result the entire defence is unbalanced and our attack is neutered. Page is absolutely critical to the way we play as was Da Silva last season. Secondly, and I’m sorry to state the bleeding obvious, we are simply not as good as we believed/hoped. All this talk of automatic promotion and we are better than this is claptrap. We are a mid table league one side and that’s funnily enough where we are right now. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I have a humble pie in the freezer just in case I’m wrong but I’ve seen nothing so far to suggest that we are any better. The games that we have won have been largely a struggle. I’m confident that we won’t be anywhere near a relegation struggle but this squad is brittle and, as the loss of Page has proved, full of potential single points of failure. Just wait till Lyle gets injured.
The results have tailed off since losing Bauer & Page to injury. A settled & solid defence gives stability to the rest of the team.
The defence is weakened by playing the best right back at left back. It is preferable to play players in their natural positions. Maybe it is better aerial ability but Prately is not a central defender. Apart from managing to go through the game without getting booked, I am not sure why Bielick played as defensive midfielder yesterday. Cullen played well in that position on Tuesday against Oxford.
One of Robinson’s many failings, apart from being a near total gobshite, was to stick to a rigid formation & style of play when not having the players to make it successfully work. I have a lot time for Lee Bowyer & I hope he is not falling into this trap with the diamond.
Hopefully, Bowyer also does not fall into that crap Robinson habit of digging out players.
Solly & Dijksteel are not able to get forward & there is a lack of width in the team to get forward & leaves too much space for the opposition to play into. Reeves did ok at right midfield against Oxford. Having Billy Clarke back at the tip of the diamond will help, but he is coming back from a long lay off & it is a lot to expect that he will pick up quickly.
The main problem is Duchatelet & his complete misunderstanding of how a decent squad is built & the underestimation of the importance of cover for injuries, competition of players & loss of form. Also the disruption that selling off of the best players causes. The drop off over the last few games is unsurprising.
With return of Bauer & Billy Clarke back hopefully things will pick up. Bowyer will need to show some tactical flexibility. The issue is, does he have the available quality in the squad or tactical ability. This is the same position every coach under Duchatelet has found themselves in over the last 4 years.
Was wondering this myself and would like a time when its the same for everyone else or we dont have to worry about them
Yet you could argue they came at the right time with Bielik and Ward not being fit
Winning teams keep winning, games can’t come quick enough and they cope with injuries. Break that momentum and they they have to start all over again. We haven’t started again yet.
While Bauer is out, keep Bielek at the back. I've seen him twice there, against Peterborough and Barnsley, and both times he's been excellent. If Bielek is fit to play midfield then he's definitely fit to play centre-back. Just a week ago, our goalie and defence looked really sound v Barnsley.
Away from home, go for your most hard working physical midfield and maybe lose a striker; 4-5-1 say...
Reeves-Pratley-Cullen-Aribo-Fosu.
I pick Fosu because of his proven away goal scoring record. I pick Pratley for experience, power and extra height at set-pieces (especially defensively).
Grant, Igor, Ward, Sarr, Marshall etc on the bench;
Home games, I think we need to find a space for Ward and Grant, which may mean losing Pratley and Fosu to the bench, which is where they were v Barnsley.
Solly is ok at left-back and has played there quite a bit in the past (didn't his two previous goals come when playing there?)
This is a strong squad of players, who if used wisely, could get some form going and move up the league.
I do think some on here over estimate how good some of our players are. I think we'll finish top half with but we're too inconsistent to do any more than that currently.
I'm not sure I can agree when people talk about lack of squad depth
On our bench yesterday we had Dillon, Fosu, Igor, Ajose, Sarr, Reeves and Lapslie. Marshall was left out completely again.
The squad is slightly unbalanced, with lack of defensive cover, but with the attacking players we have at our disposal, we should be a threat to any defence in this league.
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
Tactically have we been found out? The Robinson 4231 became easy to play against as everyone knew how we played, but the same can be said about out diamond formation.
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
Didn't he get the heave ho at the end of 10/11?
I think he went out on loan before Xmas but was certainly there at the start of the season.
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
Didn't he get the heave ho at the end of 10/11?
I think he went out on loan before Xmas but was certainly there at the start of the season.
After 55 years some of the seasons blend into each other.
Fox was regarded as a centre back / left back at one time so perhaps he was regarded as the fourth centre back being that bit older than Lennon.
EDIT: Just looked it up as curiosity got the better of me! Doherty made 6 appearances and one Yado Mambo 2 as effectively 'fourth' centre back that season
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
Didn't he get the heave ho at the end of 10/11?
I think he went out on loan before Xmas but was certainly there at the start of the season.
After 55 years some of the seasons blend into each other.
Fox was regarded as a centre back / left back at one time so perhaps he was regarded as the fourth centre back being that bit older than Lennon.
EDIT: Just looked it up as curiosity got the better of me! Doherty made 6 appearances and one Yado Mambo 2 as effectively 'fourth' centre back that season
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
Didn't he get the heave ho at the end of 10/11?
I think he went out on loan before Xmas but was certainly there at the start of the season.
After 55 years some of the seasons blend into each other.
Fox was regarded as a centre back / left back at one time so perhaps he was regarded as the fourth centre back being that bit older than Lennon.
EDIT: Just looked it up as curiosity got the better of me! Doherty made 6 appearances and one Yado Mambo 2 as effectively 'fourth' centre back that season
Yes, we did seem a bit light in that position, however back then you could still loan players when you wanted, so if we had lost 2 CBs I'm sure we would have brought someone in rather than play Mambo!
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
You are forgetting about the class act that was Doherty.
Didn't he get the heave ho at the end of 10/11?
I think he went out on loan before Xmas but was certainly there at the start of the season.
After 55 years some of the seasons blend into each other.
Fox was regarded as a centre back / left back at one time so perhaps he was regarded as the fourth centre back being that bit older than Lennon.
EDIT: Just looked it up as curiosity got the better of me! Doherty made 6 appearances and one Yado Mambo 2 as effectively 'fourth' centre back that season
Not as many painful years for myself.
Remember Doherty being there at the start of the season. Recall believing Powell was losing the plot when Doherty came on and played holding midfield in the first couple of games, albeit not for very long!
When you look at the bench yes it's a fair argument to say we have strength in depth.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
but we do have a left back at the club. Mascoll. play him. if he isn't any good then why is he still at the club ?? Not many other League 1 clubs have a better squad & back up (U23's) than us. Sunderland & maybe Pompey. Rochdale certainly don't.
Comments
On the other hand I wonder if Bowyer would like to play a 3-5-2 formation yet again you've got the issue of no natural Left-Back which'll be exposed even more because they dont have midfield cover in front of them
Is Bowyer and Jacko trying to be too clever. Football is a simple game and when we do that (From the first few Bowyer games in charge) we look a good team.
Hopefully just a tactical blip.
I think Clarke would suit this system fine as he can play at the top of diamond.
I also think we've had some good performances with 352 but we need three good centre backs (JP, KB, PB) and mobile full backs to make that work.
Yet you could argue they came at the right time with Bielik and Ward not being fit
The defence is weakened by playing the best right back at left back. It is preferable to play players in their natural positions. Maybe it is better aerial ability but Prately is not a central defender. Apart from managing to go through the game without getting booked, I am not sure why Bielick played as defensive midfielder yesterday. Cullen played well in that position on Tuesday against Oxford.
One of Robinson’s many failings, apart from being a near total gobshite, was to stick to a rigid formation & style of play when not having the players to make it successfully work. I have a lot time for Lee Bowyer & I hope he is not falling into this trap with the diamond.
Hopefully, Bowyer also does not fall into that crap Robinson habit of digging out players.
Solly & Dijksteel are not able to get forward & there is a lack of width in the team to get forward & leaves too much space for the opposition to play into. Reeves did ok at right midfield against Oxford. Having Billy Clarke back at the tip of the diamond will help, but he is coming back from a long lay off & it is a lot to expect that he will pick up quickly.
The main problem is Duchatelet & his complete misunderstanding of how a decent squad is built & the underestimation of the importance of cover for injuries, competition of players & loss of form. Also the disruption that selling off of the best players causes. The drop off over the last few games is unsurprising.
With return of Bauer & Billy Clarke back hopefully things will pick up. Bowyer will need to show some tactical flexibility. The issue is, does he have the available quality in the squad or tactical ability. This is the same position every coach under Duchatelet has found themselves in over the last 4 years.
Away from home, go for your most hard working physical midfield and maybe lose a striker; 4-5-1 say...
Reeves-Pratley-Cullen-Aribo-Fosu.
I pick Fosu because of his proven away goal scoring record. I pick Pratley for experience, power and extra height at set-pieces (especially defensively).
Grant, Igor, Ward, Sarr, Marshall etc on the bench;
Home games, I think we need to find a space for Ward and Grant, which may mean losing Pratley and Fosu to the bench, which is where they were v Barnsley.
Solly is ok at left-back and has played there quite a bit in the past (didn't his two previous goals come when playing there?)
This is a strong squad of players, who if used wisely, could get some form going and move up the league.
On our bench yesterday we had Dillon, Fosu, Igor, Ajose, Sarr, Reeves and Lapslie. Marshall was left out completely again.
The squad is slightly unbalanced, with lack of defensive cover, but with the attacking players we have at our disposal, we should be a threat to any defence in this league.
Unfortunately we've been unlucky in the one area of the pitch where we are lacking strength in depth is where we are currently hurting and being exposed is at left back.
All teams in the league probably have one position they could do without injury to and most are likely getting away with it just in the meantime all the while Page is out our weakness is exposed.
Even the great CP 11/12 team had it's vulnerabilities in particular at CB we only had Morrison, Taylor and Cort but I don't recall this lack of depth being exposed in the same way we've already lost Bauer, Pearce and Bielek to injury. How would the 11/12 team have coped in the same situation?
Fox was regarded as a centre back / left back at one time so perhaps he was regarded as the fourth centre back being that bit older than Lennon.
EDIT: Just looked it up as curiosity got the better of me! Doherty made 6 appearances and one Yado Mambo 2 as effectively 'fourth' centre back that season
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011-12_Charlton_Athletic_F.C._season
Amazing how many players played more than 30 times.
Remember Doherty being there at the start of the season. Recall believing Powell was losing the plot when Doherty came on and played holding midfield in the first couple of games, albeit not for very long!