Let’s be clear. If that starting line up is what we play with next term we will be cannon fodder and probably get a record low points level. But it won’t be. In LB we trust.
Superb timing BBW as usual, but even in the 2-1 defeat at the den when we played with 10 men after Solly's red card early doors we were 1-0 up mid way through the 2nd half. Being middle age/Old now I can recall a match at the old den that my Bermondsey Born Dad ( supported both the spanners and Cafc !) took me to when Charlton were 2-0 up at HT but lost 3-2
The good news for Charlton fans is I don't intend to go to the den this season because I have been to 23 out of 26 matches at the den since 27/08/66 and You've guessed it,the only 3 away games I missed were the 3 wins
28/10/78 Tonsillitis 02/09/92 working (Anglo Italian cup) 05/12/95 car broke down when running late !!
Seen home wins against Millwall, wins home and away wins against Palace.
But I can only put it down to Nature punishing me for not supporting the club I was born nearest too !
Until the last 3 games last season, Pratley looked out of his depth in League 1, He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
In retrospect, it does seem an odd choice of team to pick ? An eastern European side who had already played a number of games and who turned up for a competitive game when we wanted an ultra friendly ( no hard tackling) for our first warm up kick about.
In retrospect, it does seem an odd choice of team to pick ? An eastern European side who had already played a number of games and who turned up for a competitive game when we wanted an ultra friendly ( no hard tackling) for our first warm up kick about.
Strange.
Maybe it was just fluke. Maybe they were staying in the same complex, and it became as simple as "Why not?"?
Superb timing BBW as usual, but even in the 2-1 defeat at the den when we played with 10 men after Solly's red card early doors we were 1-0 up mid way through the 2nd half. Being middle age/Old now I can recall a match at the old den that my Bermondsey Born Dad ( supported both the spanners and Cafc !) took me to when Charlton were 2-0 up at HT but lost 3-2
The good news for Charlton fans is I don't intend to go to the den this season because I have been to 23 out of 26 matches at the den since 27/08/66 and You've guessed it,the only 3 away games I missed were the 3 wins
28/10/78 Tonsillitis 02/09/92 working (Anglo Italian cup) 05/12/95 car broke down when running late !!
Seen home wins against Millwall, wins home and away wins against Palace.
But I can only put it down to Nature punishing me for not supporting the club I was born nearest too !
STOP MESSING UP THE QUOTE FUNCTION!!!!!!
I thought you spanner bad boys liked living outside the rules.
Superb timing BBW as usual, but even in the 2-1 defeat at the den when we played with 10 men after Solly's red card early doors we were 1-0 up mid way through the 2nd half. Being middle age/Old now I can recall a match at the old den that my Bermondsey Born Dad ( supported both the spanners and Cafc !) took me to when Charlton were 2-0 up at HT but lost 3-2
The good news for Charlton fans is I don't intend to go to the den this season because I have been to 23 out of 26 matches at the den since 27/08/66 and You've guessed it,the only 3 away games I missed were the 3 wins
28/10/78 Tonsillitis 02/09/92 working (Anglo Italian cup) 05/12/95 car broke down when running late !!
Seen home wins against Millwall, wins home and away wins against Palace.
But I can only put it down to Nature punishing me for not supporting the club I was born nearest too !
STOP MESSING UP THE QUOTE FUNCTION!!!!!!
Don't shout at me Dad
And when I was 4 years old and said I wanted to go and see the Lions and Tigers did you take me to Millwall v Hull.
Until the last 3 games last season, Pratley looked out of his depth in League 1, He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
Until the last 3 games last season, Pratley looked out of his depth in League 1, He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
Is your judgment any good ?
At least he sees better without rose tinted goggles.
Until the last 3 games last season, Pratley looked out of his depth in League 1, He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
Is your judgment any good ?
I think so. If a player near the end of his career can't get into a side in League 1 unless there are injuries. How is he good for a Championship side when he is 34 ? I thought Darren was decent in the last 3 matches and used his experience well. .
Until the last 3 games last season, Pratley looked out of his depth in League 1, He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
Not sure that’s totally fair. He was decent v. Sunderland at the SoL for a start. Played decently in quite a few games. You might be right that he’ll struggle in the Championship, but worth giving him a run out at least?
DP not only scored that cracker at Shrewsbury but without his Second goal at home to Donny in play-offs we were stuffed.
If and when he plays next season he gets 100% support from me, just like Josh Parker, Morgan Fox or back in the day Peter Shaw. I will give my opinion on players after games but only support during a game.
I also think that some are discounting a bit of an intangible that DP has. The bloke is a natural leader. Watch that 1st half at Wembley again. After the shock of the OG, he practically drags the team back into the game single handedly.
When we scored the equaliser, he pulled the huddle apart, not to get to Purrington, but to make "think!" gestures to Aribo.
He seems to, also, have become Dillon's de facto minder.
All things that could be vital next season, that are just as important as how many tackles he makes, successful passes, interceptions etc.
Pratley was a very good senior player who should have been used sparingly as, at 34, he shouldn't have been expected to play 90 minutes every week.
When he played, he showed the fight, aggression and leadership needed.
He was excellent when the pressure was on, no more so than in the play-off 2nd semi and the final.
At his age, the team shouldn't be reliant on him but just as some were years too quick to write off Jackson some are over eager to dismiss Pratley's huge contribution last season and his potential contribution to come.
I hope further signings mean he is used sparingly but don't undervalue his experience and leadership.
Until the last 3 games last season, Pratley looked out of his depth in League 1, He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
Is your judgment any good ?
I think so. If a player near the end of his career can't get into a side in League 1 unless there are injuries. How is he good for a Championship side when he is 34 ? I thought Darren was decent in the last 3 matches and used his experience well. .
I think he wasn’t first choice to play but was mostly on the bench was because he isn’t a natural fit for the game plan that LB has the team playing but when we need a plan B or somebody to get a grip of a game we’ve let slip then DP is The Man. I also think he will shine in the Championship as we make our way to the PL because Plan B might get rolled out a few more times, it’s that type of league
Pratley was a very good senior player who should have been used sparingly as, at 34, he shouldn't have been expected to play 90 minutes every week.
When he played, he showed the fight, aggression and leadership needed.
He was excellent when the pressure was on, no more so than in the play-off 2nd semi and the final.
At his age, the team shouldn't be reliant on him but just as some were years too quick to write off Jackson some are over eager to dismiss Pratley's huge contribution last season and his potential contribution to come.
I hope further signings mean he is used sparingly but don't undervalue his experience and leadership.
When we're trying to close out a 1-0 win at The Den, he's exactly the type of person you need out there...
The point I was making was there was the DP who played for 2 thirds of the season in League 1 and made late tackles and got yellow cards or was a liability. Then when the injuries to Cullen,Williams, Reeves and Bielik occured the water carrier became a very important player, on and off the pitch with his nous and 100 % commitment. Plus that mega important goal against Donny. I have doubts about this coming season for Darren BUT in Bowyer we trust.
Darren Pratley had his best 3 games for Cafc in his last 3 games.
Unfortunately Naby Sarr after being superb nearly every game after covering for Pearce reverted to the Naby on ice of his early career at Cafc in his last 2 games. On CL as all football web site it seems yours as good as your last Game.
Pratley's stock has risen and Sarr's has fallen. But the Nabster can bounce back as long as he doesn't do the Cruyff turn when last man against the Spanners !
Nabs will be ok in the C, just need to watch his discipline.
There will be occasions this coming season when our post match chat says: “As soon as Pratley went off, we looked shaky and they were always going to get the winner/equaliser”.
The best financial option is Cullen or an equivalent on loan. Pratley is an option off the bench, although I think his decent performances are being exaggerated as they happened to come in important games, and it doesn't harm his cause that the Donny keeper handed him a goal.
What it shouldn't mask is that he offered next to nothing going forward in a creative sense (cross for KAG's late winner at the start of the season aside) and consistently stuck his passes out of play or at opposition players. He was very, very slow and often found himself arriving a second late - an automatic free-kick.
Yes, he offered fight. In the final he pushed someone over and got some tackles in. By some miracle the other players pieced together a goal of the season contender (which he was also a second late to tap in, unlike Purrington behind him). But we didn't look like creating anything until he came off. As for the semi final, that whole second half was total backs-to-the-wall stuff when we should have been exerting our natural dominance over Doncaster, and we came extremely close to paying for it. Pratley's role in that game, apart from accepting their keeper's gift, was to tackle one Donny player, only for the ball to roll to another Donny player and the attack to continue. It certainly wasn't to put a foot on the ball and move it around - his game just isn't about possession.
If he had his former mobility he'd be useful, of course. He's physically imposing and aggressive. But as he is, with him on the field we can ONLY sit back and grimly hope for the best. Our shape becomes completely defensive-oriented. We barely look like scoring (one game against a completely demoralised and apathetic Shrewsbury aside). I don't mind a player without one of passing and mobility but without both? Experience, size and aggression can only get you so far.
Keep him as the emergency fourth centre-back (yes, fourth, Henry, he hasn't snuck ahead of Naby as you always like to pretend) and last-ditch midfield option. But the Championship will expose him and us so cruelly if he plays.
To me the surprising thing with Pratley is that he seemed to get fitter as the season progressed. At the start of the season he was constantly half a yard behind play, hence the regular bookings, but towards the end of the season he seemed sharper and much more up to speed
Some people on here don't seem to get what Pratley brings to the squad overall, indeed in the dressing room - and to the team when he's given a job to do.
People quick to judge him earlier in the season when he had a succession of injuries and niggles that he couldn't quite shake off, wasn't able to train full on, which kept him out of the team or ended up playing not 100% fit or match fit - because we had a major injury crisis for long stretches during particularly the first half of the season and we needed bodies in the squad.
Some people never shake off their first impressions of a player, regardless of his total contribution to the team and gameplan. And regardless of his form as the season progresses.
We all hold Bowyer in high regard. If he plays Pratley, it's because he knows he can rely on the player to do the job expected.
Pratley appears to have a great attitude and will put his body on the line and i'm sure is great around the training ground etc but there is no way he should be anywhere near our match day squad before injuries and suspensions start to play a part - the midfield signings / re signings we make in the next month will dictate how we do this year.
If we're not allowed to joke about the chinese, surely we shouldn't be able to joke about any nation...
From your resident poster with an italian Romanian father.
It's a Big Issue for me to see such piss taking.
I'm with you Dazzler, all jokes should be banned. Life is very serious and it's about time everyone stopped joking, messing around and trying to have a bit of fun.
Interesting points raised by Dazzler and Covered End, so I thought I would check with the official body set up to monitor what jokes are allowed in 2019.
Politicians and inanimate objects. EG. Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are mandatory if you are a budding young Comedian. Supermarket trolleys, milk in sashets, Farting Jokes are still allowed but will be banned next year because of the rise of people with IBS. Swearing is fine as long as you have your membership card of the Tourettes Society. No jokes on folk who have glasses, false teeth, halitosis, obesity and suffer with small penis syndrome. That rules out jokes on Palace, Millwall, West Ham and Chelsea.
Comments
STOP MESSING UP THE QUOTE FUNCTION!!!!!!
He had a great impact in the semi final and final, trust my judgement that at 34 Pratley will struggle big time in the Championship.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48879439
Strange.
And when I was 4 years old and said I wanted to go and see the Lions and Tigers did you take me to Millwall v Hull.
The opposition should not be an issue as this game was for limbering up.
If a player near the end of his career can't get into a side in League 1 unless there are injuries. How is he good for a Championship side when he is 34 ?
I thought Darren was decent in the last 3 matches and used his experience well.
.
You might be right that he’ll struggle in the Championship, but worth giving him a run out at least?
If and when he plays next season he gets 100% support from me, just like Josh Parker, Morgan Fox or back in the day Peter Shaw. I will give my opinion on players after games but only support during a game.
That's our I roll.
When we scored the equaliser, he pulled the huddle apart, not to get to Purrington, but to make "think!" gestures to Aribo.
He seems to, also, have become Dillon's de facto minder.
All things that could be vital next season, that are just as important as how many tackles he makes, successful passes, interceptions etc.
When he played, he showed the fight, aggression and leadership needed.
He was excellent when the pressure was on, no more so than in the play-off 2nd semi and the final.
At his age, the team shouldn't be reliant on him but just as some were years too quick to write off Jackson some are over eager to dismiss Pratley's huge contribution last season and his potential contribution to come.
I hope further signings mean he is used sparingly but don't undervalue his experience and leadership.
Plus that mega important goal against Donny.
I have doubts about this coming season for Darren BUT in Bowyer we trust.
Darren Pratley had his best 3 games for Cafc in his last 3 games.
Unfortunately Naby Sarr after being superb nearly every game after covering for Pearce reverted to the Naby on ice of his early career at Cafc in his last 2 games.
On CL as all football web site it seems yours as good as your last Game.
Pratley's stock has risen and Sarr's has fallen. But the Nabster can bounce back as long as he doesn't do the Cruyff turn when last man against the Spanners !
There will be occasions this coming season when our post match chat says:
“As soon as Pratley went off, we
looked shaky and they were always going to get the winner/equaliser”.
What it shouldn't mask is that he offered next to nothing going forward in a creative sense (cross for KAG's late winner at the start of the season aside) and consistently stuck his passes out of play or at opposition players. He was very, very slow and often found himself arriving a second late - an automatic free-kick.
Yes, he offered fight. In the final he pushed someone over and got some tackles in. By some miracle the other players pieced together a goal of the season contender (which he was also a second late to tap in, unlike Purrington behind him). But we didn't look like creating anything until he came off. As for the semi final, that whole second half was total backs-to-the-wall stuff when we should have been exerting our natural dominance over Doncaster, and we came extremely close to paying for it. Pratley's role in that game, apart from accepting their keeper's gift, was to tackle one Donny player, only for the ball to roll to another Donny player and the attack to continue. It certainly wasn't to put a foot on the ball and move it around - his game just isn't about possession.
If he had his former mobility he'd be useful, of course. He's physically imposing and aggressive. But as he is, with him on the field we can ONLY sit back and grimly hope for the best. Our shape becomes completely defensive-oriented. We barely look like scoring (one game against a completely demoralised and apathetic Shrewsbury aside). I don't mind a player without one of passing and mobility but without both? Experience, size and aggression can only get you so far.
Keep him as the emergency fourth centre-back (yes, fourth, Henry, he hasn't snuck ahead of Naby as you always like to pretend) and last-ditch midfield option. But the Championship will expose him and us so cruelly if he plays.
People quick to judge him earlier in the season when he had a succession of injuries and niggles that he couldn't quite shake off, wasn't able to train full on, which kept him out of the team or ended up playing not 100% fit or match fit - because we had a major injury crisis for long stretches during particularly the first half of the season and we needed bodies in the squad.
Some people never shake off their first impressions of a player, regardless of his total contribution to the team and gameplan. And regardless of his form as the season progresses.
We all hold Bowyer in high regard. If he plays Pratley, it's because he knows he can rely on the player to do the job expected.
Life is very serious and it's about time everyone stopped joking, messing around and trying to have a bit of fun.
Politicians and inanimate objects.
EG. Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage are mandatory if you are a budding young Comedian. Supermarket trolleys, milk in sashets, Farting Jokes are still allowed but will be banned next year because of the rise of people with IBS. Swearing is fine as long as you have your membership card of the Tourettes Society.
No jokes on folk who have glasses, false teeth, halitosis, obesity and suffer with small penis syndrome. That rules out jokes on Palace, Millwall, West Ham and Chelsea.
Is that you or is it your brother.
RIP