As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
perfect sporting weekend .. Charlton win a thriller and England give Wales a right hard smack at Twickenham, the England reserves I might add against the supposed welsh first team .. get in !!
We were very good! Impressed with a number of the new players. I spent mist of yesterday flipping between "Williams/ Cullen/ keeping Lyle/ Gallagher was the best bit of business we did. And we haven't even seen Kayak and Field (and hopefully Hemed) yet.
Starred in what seemed like a 4231 with Pratley and Cullen in the 2. Williams left, Leko right and Gallagher down the middle. It worked fairly well. Leko has pace and scares defenders, I'm confident Bowyers coaching and playing alongside Taylor will get the best out of him. If we are gonna play that formation regularly I would sign Harriott just to give us a back up option out wide.
Word for Pratley he kept Joe Allen quiet all game. I didn't even notice he was on the pitch until his strop at the ref. I've been critical of Pratley in the past but he is gonna be a big player for us this year.
Cullen was exceptional. Did well dropping in and covering fullbacks and when we switched to the diamond in the second half he showed what he is capable of going forward. Genuine class player but we've come to expect it from him.
They started the game strongly but by 10 mins in we had grown into it. Taylor's goal was very well worked but Butland should have done better with it. Their goal can after a period when the game had got a bit scrappy. Seemed their players heads had gone, they were getting frustrated and Allen had his strip at the ref. We had to stay calm and keep doing the same but instead we got drawn into it a little bit. Tried to do too much and lost the ball in a dangerous area. Lockyer should probably have done better.
Second half we were the better side. They had plenty of the ball but didn't really threaten too much. Both goals were very well worked. Special moment for Gallagher getting his first senior goal infront of the covered end.
I like the look of Lockyer class and very composed on the ball, not the tallest but gets up well so dont think we have to be worried about him getting beaten in the air.
Williams - too good. Keep him fit for 40 games and we may well do something special this season.
Taylor his usual self. Incredible.
Gallagher was everywhere. So technical and deserved his goal. My MOTM. Imagine being that good at football that young and that good looking as well. Kids got everything!
Aneke looked gpod when he came on even though the game had started to break down a bit after his goal. I can see why Bow wants to play him as a 10 but I would be more than happy with him up front. He's a unit as well so helpful in both boxes. Even if Taylor gets injured and we don't get Hemed (fingers crossed) I wouldn't be worried about Aneke leading the line either alone or with Leko.
Momentum and good feeling in this league are so key. If we can keep this up for a while then anything is possible. Playoffs anyone?
disagree with this, was hugely at fault for there goal, cos he got beaten in the air
And I said as much earlier in my post. I was talking in general though rather than one incident. As I said that particular period of play the game was a little fraught. Stoke players had lost their heads a bit and instead of rising above it we tried to overplay it. Lockyer went for a challenge and was caught too far up the pitch. And went for a header he wouldn't have had to if he had held the line.
In general when defending as a unit in and around our box I was pretty impressed with how he got up and competed with much taller players. I don't think it's something we will need to worry about too much. The goal was more about the need to keep a cool head and stay composed when the game gets fraught and stretched. That goes for the whole side not just Lockyer.
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
Why do so many people jump on comments dare criticising our home grown players. I agree that Phillips made a mistake yesterday, not as glaringly obvious as the one in the play off final, but a mistake none the less. Lockyer also made a mistake with a poor pass and I'm sure others did too.
From what I have seen nobody is calling to Phillips to be dropped or saying he isn't allowed to make mistakes, they are just stating it happened. I have only seen the highlights so not sure on the wind or Phillip's eyeline but at first glance I disagree many keepers wouldn't have saved it, or at least got a decent hand to it.
I will back you up a bit, here.
After watching the highlights on Valley Pass, the camera behind the Charlton goal shows that Dillon ends up running back quite a lot, and never really gets his feet sorted out by the time Ince gets his shot away.
A mistake that I'm sure plenty of keepers have made in the past, and will make in the future.
Does Dillon deserve to be dropped? No! Has he made an error? Yes.
If he was error free: 1) He wouldn't be playing for Charlton. 2) He would be an England international.
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
Why do so many people jump on comments dare criticising our home grown players. I agree that Phillips made a mistake yesterday, not as glaringly obvious as the one in the play off final, but a mistake none the less. Lockyer also made a mistake with a poor pass and I'm sure others did too.
From what I have seen nobody is calling to Phillips to be dropped or saying he isn't allowed to make mistakes, they are just stating it happened. I have only seen the highlights so not sure on the wind or Phillip's eyeline but at first glance I disagree many keepers wouldn't have saved it, or at least got a decent hand to it.
I will back you up a bit, here.
After watching the highlights on Valley Pass, the camera behind the Charlton goal shows that Dillon ends up running back quite a lot, and never really gets his feet sorted out by the time Ince gets his shot away.
A mistake that I'm sure plenty of keepers have made in the past, and will make in the future.
Does Dillon deserve to be dropped? No! Has he made an error? Yes.
If he was error free: 1) He wouldn't be playing for Charlton. 2) He would be an England international.
Exactly, keepers are unfortunate as their mistakes are lot usually way more obvious and often lead to goals. Lockyer's terrible pass in comparison went unpunished.
But this is a post match thread where I think people are allowed to say Phillips made a mistake and it's probably going to happen again this season. Doesn't mean he is being criticised or slated, just opinions/facts.
For anyone who was booing or have remarked about the tackle on Williams. The Stoke player got to the ball first and the ref was right to give a throw. First time I have seen it despite being at the game.
I spent yesterday afternoon at a BBQ, it was a fire-fighter colleagues do. He and his whole family and most of his mates are Millwall, I had a cracking afternoon telling them the score updates.
As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
Good win for England in the end but we have a pact in our house that the winner will not gloat. What goes around comes around!
I’m not worried about a few bad passes from Lockyer because they’re the sort of errors he can learn from and cut out. He needs to adapt to the Championship, not completely change his game.
Spot on. Some of the errors, particularly those related to us passing around the back 4 under pressure, were things that wouldn’t be an issue in League 1 because teams either wouldn’t be pressing us like that at all, or wouldn’t be able press with such pace and aggression. I believe it will still be possible to play that way but the players just need some time to adapt and judge situations better. They’ll soon learn you get a crucial second or two less on the ball in this league.
That said, even in the Championship, not all teams will have as much mobility up front as Stoke or be coached by someone like Nathan Jones who likes the high press.
That is what is so impressive about this start - we’re winning and competing while we’re still adapting. And I don’t particularly think Stoke or Blackburn underestimated us either. Certainly not Stoke who were straight out of the blocks yesterday.
Brilliant work from the coaching team and great execution from the players. Gallagher had a post code all to himself. Even before his late run into the box he was totally unmarked, very poor from Stoke.
For anyone who was booing or have remarked about the tackle on Williams. The Stoke player got to the ball first and the ref was right to give a throw. First time I have seen it despite being at the game.
For anyone who was booing or have remarked about the tackle on Williams. The Stoke player got to the ball first and the ref was right to give a throw. First time I have seen it despite being at the game.
As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
Good win for England in the end but we have a pact in our house that the winner will not gloat. What goes around comes around!
As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
Good win for England in the end but we have a pact in our house that the winner will not gloat. What goes around comes around!
in other words, keep the missus sweet ((:>) .. I understand lol
As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
Good win for England in the end but we have a pact in our house that the winner will not gloat. What goes around comes around!
It was an enjoyable game ... look forward to the return next Saturday
Brilliant "Christiano Ronaldince" "The ball bounces of a garden gnome and falls to this geezer" "There's kids in the crowds you bastards. The FA need to step in"
Its just so good to be back in this division. The gap between Championship and League 1 is so much bigger than the gap between Championship and Premiership. Playing the Stokes, Leeds, WBA',s is a world away from Rochdale, Bury and Sunderland.
I’m not worried about a few bad passes from Lockyer because they’re the sort of errors he can learn from and cut out. He needs to adapt to the Championship, not completely change his game.
Spot on. Some of the errors, particularly those related to us passing around the back 4 under pressure, were things that wouldn’t be an issue in League 1 because teams either wouldn’t be pressing us like that at all, or wouldn’t be able press with such pace and aggression. I believe it will still be possible to play that way but the players just need some time to adapt and judge situations better. They’ll soon learn you get a crucial second or two less on the ball in this league.
That said, even in the Championship, not all teams will have as much mobility up front as Stoke or be coached by someone like Nathan Jones who likes the high press.
That is what is so impressive about this start - we’re winning and competing while we’re still adapting. And I don’t particularly think Stoke or Blackburn underestimated us either. Certainly not Stoke who were straight out of the blocks yesterday.
I don't mind us taking some pace out of the game when we pass it around at the back. It gives our attacking players time to breath and forces teams to come onto us which suits our counter attacking style.
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
I still think people are forgetting or are unaware that Ince's shot was assisted by a 50mph wind.
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
I still think people are forgetting or are unaware that Ince's shot was assisted by a 50mph wind.
It looked like the water from the sprinklers pre match was ending up in the West stand.
As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
Good win for England in the end but we have a pact in our house that the winner will not gloat. What goes around comes around!
As a proud Welsh lady my wife was pleased to hear the Stoke fans singing Delilah yesterday. Intrigued, I checked this morning as to why and it appears it has something to do with the police asking them to stop singing "sweary" songs in a pub back in the 1980's. At which point someone piped up with Delilah and the tradition continues.
Could be a difficult afternoon in our household today given the team England are fielding against Wales at Twickenham.
Jones (note the irony in the name) has picked a team of English tyros to put the pressure on the aging welsh outfit .. the score will be close and could go either way .. it's on Sky .. shame as I'm in a 'skyless hotel' and will have to listen on 5LiveX
Good win for England in the end but we have a pact in our house that the winner will not gloat. What goes around comes around!
in other words, keep the missus sweet ((:>) .. I understand lol
What an enthralling game and great occasion yesterday at The Valley. An official attendance of just under 18,000 in the ground, including around 15,500 Charlton supporters (less season ticket holders on holiday) and a cracking atmosphere throughout. Some of those who came along to the Donny game and Wembley are clearly being lured back and performances like yesterday’s can only encourage that trend - that, plus the inspirational leadership of Lee Bowyer.
I thought we played extremely well and that Lee got his tactical approach absolutely spot on - both in the way we were set up initially and in his change of formation during the second half. Stoke started quickly and we found ourselves on the back foot, although we worked our way back into the game and, finding space between the lines, started to keep the ball and control more of the game. Stoke responded well after Lyle’s opener and hit the woodwork twice before Tom Ince’s equaliser - I haven’t seen it again but I didn’t think there was much Dillon Phillips could do about that sort of thunderbolt. With Stoke in the ascendency, the half time break was most welcome from a Charlton perspective.
Lee Gregory’s appalling miss early in the second half felt like a pivotal moment and, sure enough, Chuks Aneke showed him how it was done about 15 minutes from the end after great work by Williams and Cullen. That was followed by a superbly crafted third, which Gallagher finished with aplomb for his first ever goal. What a great moment for the lad. Thereafter, we saw the game out fairly comfortably and Stoke - for all their talented players - looked a well beaten team.
We had a few shaky moments defensively in the first half and Chris Solly found himself overloaded on occasions in the second, as Stoke focused their attacks down the left. We got ourselves into difficulties playing out from the back on a few occasions, although that should improve over time and we will also hopefully mix up our game when required. A more direct style is not how Bowyer wants to play and nor is it really feasible with just Lyle up against two centre defenders.
In midfield, I thought Cullen was first class and carried on exactly where he left off last season. Getting him back - hopefully for the whole season (and, ideally, beyond) - is absolutely huge for this club and our season. He knits our play together and I find him an enormously reassuring presence, in much the same way as Mark Kinsella was for us back in the day.
Darren Pratley - another who carried over last season’s form - had a fine game, breaking up the play and using the ball economically. Jonny Williams was excellent and his ball-carrying skills were deployed to great effect. He took one heavy challenge in the first half but will hopefully get less of a clogging this season than he did in League 1. Conor Gallagher also had an excellent game and looks a hell of a prospect on that showing. Apart from his intelligent movement and use of the ball, he has good physicality, defended from the front and is very happy to close players down and get stuck in. His impressive work out of possession is probably the sort of thing that Lee Bowyer wants to see more of from Albie Morgan. A very mature and talented performance from Gallagher and I thought that he and Jonny Williams were probably the pick of a good bunch.
A good debut from Leko, whose pace, ability to beat men and directness gave Stoke plenty of trouble. He provided a lovely chipped pass to Lyle for the first goal, which our main man lashed home to maintain his 100% goals to game ratio. As well as a lovely assist for Gallagher’s third, Lyle - commensurate professional that he is - put in his typical hardworking shift for the team.
Overall, I felt that we deserved the win, albeit we had to ride our luck at times. We were certainly clinical (or, as Jose Riga used to say, "efficient"), with 3 shots on target and 3 goals, one of which came from our sole corner. Lee had promised that the side would be fitter than ever and their intensity, work rate and commitment over the 90 minutes was quite outstanding, drawing a deservedly fervent response from the home crowd.
Following an anxious pre-season, it’s certainly been an excellent 8 days for the club - the sale of Dijksteel aside - with 6 points, the vital re-signing of Josh Cullen, some further promising loanees and, critically, the retention of Lyle Taylor. If anyone had told be before Thursday that Roland would have turned down a bid of £4 million, I’d have thought they were hopelessly naive. Thank goodness he listened to Lee Bowyer. Maybe Rich Cawley’s “portals of hell” warning also hit the spot.
Once we’ve sorted out the position with Hemed and explored the free agent market for full back cover, the priority must be to try and agree a contract extension with Lyle Taylor. We cannot afford this one to drag on. In the event that we ever get new owners (I wish), the permanent signing of Josh Cullen - a player we can build a team around - would surely also be at the top of our wish list.
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
Why do so many people jump on comments dare criticising our home grown players. I agree that Phillips made a mistake yesterday, not as glaringly obvious as the one in the play off final, but a mistake none the less. Lockyer also made a mistake with a poor pass and I'm sure others did too.
From what I have seen nobody is calling to Phillips to be dropped or saying he isn't allowed to make mistakes, they are just stating it happened. I have only seen the highlights so not sure on the wind or Phillip's eyeline but at first glance I disagree many keepers wouldn't have saved it, or at least got a decent hand to it.
I will back you up a bit, here.
After watching the highlights on Valley Pass, the camera behind the Charlton goal shows that Dillon ends up running back quite a lot, and never really gets his feet sorted out by the time Ince gets his shot away.
A mistake that I'm sure plenty of keepers have made in the past, and will make in the future.
Does Dillon deserve to be dropped? No! Has he made an error? Yes.
If he was error free: 1) He wouldn't be playing for Charlton. 2) He would be an England international.
That's not true. Butland is an International and has made mistakes two weeks in a row which have led to goals. Can't work out what he was trying to do ? Have no problem with the goal we conceded as it was a freak goal.
I just hate this playing one, Two's in the penalty area. Everyone does it now, But when Pearce nearly did a Naby Sarr I thought the Lunatics have taken over. There was a slight breeze as well !!!
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
Why do so many people jump on comments dare criticising our home grown players. I agree that Phillips made a mistake yesterday, not as glaringly obvious as the one in the play off final, but a mistake none the less. Lockyer also made a mistake with a poor pass and I'm sure others did too.
From what I have seen nobody is calling to Phillips to be dropped or saying he isn't allowed to make mistakes, they are just stating it happened. I have only seen the highlights so not sure on the wind or Phillip's eyeline but at first glance I disagree many keepers wouldn't have saved it, or at least got a decent hand to it.
I will back you up a bit, here.
After watching the highlights on Valley Pass, the camera behind the Charlton goal shows that Dillon ends up running back quite a lot, and never really gets his feet sorted out by the time Ince gets his shot away.
A mistake that I'm sure plenty of keepers have made in the past, and will make in the future.
Does Dillon deserve to be dropped? No! Has he made an error? Yes.
If he was error free: 1) He wouldn't be playing for Charlton. 2) He would be an England international.
That's not true. Butland is an International and has made mistakes two weeks in a row which have led to goals. Can't work out what he was trying to do ? Have no problem with the goal we conceded as it was a freak goal.
I just hate this playing one, Two's in the penalty area. Everyone does it now, But when Pearce nearly did a Naby Sarr I thought the Lunatics have taken over. There was a slight breeze as well !!!
That strengthens the argument that the initial comment was correct. You can make mistakes and still be a quality goalkeeper. Cut out the mistakes and you are almost the complete package.
Although even if Phillips did not make any mistakes, not quite sure he is of England quality, certainly not yet. But I really hope he kicks on this year, at least we have Amos waiting in the wings if not.
On Friday I relented and, after 2 years without, I bought season tickets for my dad and myself. He’ll be 79 at the end of the year and hadn’t been well in recent months, but feeling much better now. I just decided that whilst we both want Duchatelet gone, I wanted to make sure we got as many of these days out as possible. To see the joy on his face and him jumping up & down like a kid when our goals went in, particularly the third, were special moments.
I watched the full game again earlier with him, thanks to a link on the Stoke forum. Funny hearing the Stoke commentators (including Denis Smith) views, but they were relatively fair until the 2nd & 3rd went in. Although I can understand why.
I watched the Liverpool/Norwich game on Friday night and wondered why any team would want to use the new goal kick rule so much. It’s just inviting pressure on yourself and we persisted with it as well. Dillon is a young keeper who will only get better, but his choice of passes at the back sometimes is very poor. I know we’d like to play out from the back, but you need to be aware of what’s around you & clubs are just going to push higher now, with this new rule.
Across the back, I think only Lockyer was a little shaky. Not too worried as he has to grow into this division & it will come for him, particularly with the likes of Pearce alongside him. After all the talk about Solly, he had a very decent game. We know he can’t do 2 games a week, but he’ll still be a big part of this season and won’t let us down (I doubt Bowyer would play him left). Purr-ington (as the Stoke coomentators called him) is looking at ease in this team. Excellent player.
The midfield looked amazing. Cullen is so composed on the ball. Got himself out of a few tight spots as we played the ball round and, just when you thought he was about to just poke a ball forward, his football brain kicks in, he pulls the ball round a Stoke player and then has space for a great pass. Gallagher was quiet in the first half, but this is his first senior game and he just grew and grew into it. What a finish for the goal and awareness to be there, knowing he’s only been in the house for a few days.
Darren Pratley...excellent game. Roamed around and popped up everywhere, breaking up play and generally being a great pro. Jonny Williams...I don’t think there’s a Charlton fan out there that does not love this fella. Plays with a massive smile on his face, huge enthusiasm and sublime skills. Will win us a lot of games this season. Leko looked like a right handful. Can see what Bowyer means about him getting him on the edge of his seat. The ball to Lyle was excellent.
And Lyle...just an amazing player. Not claiming he’s the greatest, but he’s connected with this club in a way like only a few do. Butland should have done better, but there was power and a wicked dip on that shot and his layoff for Gallagher’s goal was perfect. Seeing Bowyer walk over and put an arm round his shoulder & the smiles as he was teaching Leko the tunnel jump. No problems there at all.
Loved being back and seeing a group of players putting in a shift like that. We may not always have a lot of possession this season, but we press with energy and have no end of skill to make something out of it when we have the ball.
Kicks long and then ball watches for a long time. Starts heading back to his goal only when their keeper clears it long, but at no great speed. He then has to rush back which means his weight is on the wrong foot when the shot comes in so cannot push off to save it.
I am sure he is learning from his mistakes, and the Championship is a hard place to learn them. He will be fine though.
I would add that I thought he got a hand to the shot that hit the post.
Would love to have one of these imaginary keepers that saves everything and never makes a mistake - trouble is they don't exist. Don't think many keepers would have saved Ince's shot.
I still think people are forgetting or are unaware that Ince's shot was assisted by a 50mph wind.
It looked like the water from the sprinklers pre match was ending up in the West stand.
It was. I was in the first row if west upper and we were getting wet! Thank god for tartan blankets.
Comments
Funny
In general when defending as a unit in and around our box I was pretty impressed with how he got up and competed with much taller players. I don't think it's something we will need to worry about too much. The goal was more about the need to keep a cool head and stay composed when the game gets fraught and stretched. That goes for the whole side not just Lockyer.
After watching the highlights on Valley Pass, the camera behind the Charlton goal shows that Dillon ends up running back quite a lot, and never really gets his feet sorted out by the time Ince gets his shot away.
A mistake that I'm sure plenty of keepers have made in the past, and will make in the future.
Does Dillon deserve to be dropped? No! Has he made an error? Yes.
If he was error free:
1) He wouldn't be playing for Charlton.
2) He would be an England international.
But this is a post match thread where I think people are allowed to say Phillips made a mistake and it's probably going to happen again this season. Doesn't mean he is being criticised or slated, just opinions/facts.
The Stoke player got to the ball first and the ref was right to give a throw. First time I have seen it despite being at the game.
Ps. Don't you just love that potteries accent !
That said, even in the Championship, not all teams will have as much mobility up front as Stoke or be coached by someone like Nathan Jones who likes the high press.
That is what is so impressive about this start - we’re winning and competing while we’re still adapting. And I don’t particularly think Stoke or Blackburn underestimated us either. Certainly not Stoke who were straight out of the blocks yesterday.
"Christiano Ronaldince"
"The ball bounces of a garden gnome and falls to this geezer"
"There's kids in the crowds you bastards. The FA need to step in"
What an enthralling game and great occasion yesterday at The Valley. An official attendance of just under 18,000 in the ground, including around 15,500 Charlton supporters (less season ticket holders on holiday) and a cracking atmosphere throughout. Some of those who came along to the Donny game and Wembley are clearly being lured back and performances like yesterday’s can only encourage that trend - that, plus the inspirational leadership of Lee Bowyer.
I thought we played extremely well and that Lee got his tactical approach absolutely spot on - both in the way we were set up initially and in his change of formation during the second half. Stoke started quickly and we found ourselves on the back foot, although we worked our way back into the game and, finding space between the lines, started to keep the ball and control more of the game. Stoke responded well after Lyle’s opener and hit the woodwork twice before Tom Ince’s equaliser - I haven’t seen it again but I didn’t think there was much Dillon Phillips could do about that sort of thunderbolt. With Stoke in the ascendency, the half time break was most welcome from a Charlton perspective.
Lee Gregory’s appalling miss early in the second half felt like a pivotal moment and, sure enough, Chuks Aneke showed him how it was done about 15 minutes from the end after great work by Williams and Cullen. That was followed by a superbly crafted third, which Gallagher finished with aplomb for his first ever goal. What a great moment for the lad. Thereafter, we saw the game out fairly comfortably and Stoke - for all their talented players - looked a well beaten team.
We had a few shaky moments defensively in the first half and Chris Solly found himself overloaded on occasions in the second, as Stoke focused their attacks down the left. We got ourselves into difficulties playing out from the back on a few occasions, although that should improve over time and we will also hopefully mix up our game when required. A more direct style is not how Bowyer wants to play and nor is it really feasible with just Lyle up against two centre defenders.
In midfield, I thought Cullen was first class and carried on exactly where he left off last season. Getting him back - hopefully for the whole season (and, ideally, beyond) - is absolutely huge for this club and our season. He knits our play together and I find him an enormously reassuring presence, in much the same way as Mark Kinsella was for us back in the day.
Darren Pratley - another who carried over last season’s form - had a fine game, breaking up the play and using the ball economically. Jonny Williams was excellent and his ball-carrying skills were deployed to great effect. He took one heavy challenge in the first half but will hopefully get less of a clogging this season than he did in League 1. Conor Gallagher also had an excellent game and looks a hell of a prospect on that showing. Apart from his intelligent movement and use of the ball, he has good physicality, defended from the front and is very happy to close players down and get stuck in. His impressive work out of possession is probably the sort of thing that Lee Bowyer wants to see more of from Albie Morgan. A very mature and talented performance from Gallagher and I thought that he and Jonny Williams were probably the pick of a good bunch.
A good debut from Leko, whose pace, ability to beat men and directness gave Stoke plenty of trouble. He provided a lovely chipped pass to Lyle for the first goal, which our main man lashed home to maintain his 100% goals to game ratio. As well as a lovely assist for Gallagher’s third, Lyle - commensurate professional that he is - put in his typical hardworking shift for the team.
Overall, I felt that we deserved the win, albeit we had to ride our luck at times. We were certainly clinical (or, as Jose Riga used to say, "efficient"), with 3 shots on target and 3 goals, one of which came from our sole corner. Lee had promised that the side would be fitter than ever and their intensity, work rate and commitment over the 90 minutes was quite outstanding, drawing a deservedly fervent response from the home crowd.
Following an anxious pre-season, it’s certainly been an excellent 8 days for the club - the sale of Dijksteel aside - with 6 points, the vital re-signing of Josh Cullen, some further promising loanees and, critically, the retention of Lyle Taylor. If anyone had told be before Thursday that Roland would have turned down a bid of £4 million, I’d have thought they were hopelessly naive. Thank goodness he listened to Lee Bowyer. Maybe Rich Cawley’s “portals of hell” warning also hit the spot.
Once we’ve sorted out the position with Hemed and explored the free agent market for full back cover, the priority must be to try and agree a contract extension with Lyle Taylor. We cannot afford this one to drag on. In the event that we ever get new owners (I wish), the permanent signing of Josh Cullen - a player we can build a team around - would surely also be at the top of our wish list.
A very long way to go, but a wonderful start.
Butland is an International and has made mistakes two weeks in a row which have led to goals. Can't work out what he was trying to do ?
Have no problem with the goal we conceded as it was a freak goal.
I just hate this playing one, Two's in the penalty area. Everyone does it now,
But when Pearce nearly did a Naby Sarr I thought the Lunatics have taken over.
There was a slight breeze as well !!!
Although even if Phillips did not make any mistakes, not quite sure he is of England quality, certainly not yet. But I really hope he kicks on this year, at least we have Amos waiting in the wings if not.
I watched the full game again earlier with him, thanks to a link on the Stoke forum. Funny hearing the Stoke commentators (including Denis Smith) views, but they were relatively fair until the 2nd & 3rd went in. Although I can understand why.
I watched the Liverpool/Norwich game on Friday night and wondered why any team would want to use the new goal kick rule so much. It’s just inviting pressure on yourself and we persisted with it as well. Dillon is a young keeper who will only get better, but his choice of passes at the back sometimes is very poor. I know we’d like to play out from the back, but you need to be aware of what’s around you & clubs are just going to push higher now, with this new rule.
Across the back, I think only Lockyer was a little shaky. Not too worried as he has to grow into this division & it will come for him, particularly with the likes of Pearce alongside him. After all the talk about Solly, he had a very decent game. We know he can’t do 2 games a week, but he’ll still be a big part of this season and won’t let us down (I doubt Bowyer would play him left). Purr-ington (as the Stoke coomentators called him) is looking at ease in this team. Excellent player.
The midfield looked amazing. Cullen is so composed on the ball. Got himself out of a few tight spots as we played the ball round and, just when you thought he was about to just poke a ball forward, his football brain kicks in, he pulls the ball round a Stoke player and then has space for a great pass. Gallagher was quiet in the first half, but this is his first senior game and he just grew and grew into it. What a finish for the goal and awareness to be there, knowing he’s only been in the house for a few days.
Darren Pratley...excellent game. Roamed around and popped up everywhere, breaking up play and generally being a great pro. Jonny Williams...I don’t think there’s a Charlton fan out there that does not love this fella. Plays with a massive smile on his face, huge enthusiasm and sublime skills. Will win us a lot of games this season. Leko looked like a right handful. Can see what Bowyer means about him getting him on the edge of his seat. The ball to Lyle was excellent.
And Lyle...just an amazing player. Not claiming he’s the greatest, but he’s connected with this club in a way like only a few do. Butland should have done better, but there was power and a wicked dip on that shot and his layoff for Gallagher’s goal was perfect. Seeing Bowyer walk over and put an arm round his shoulder & the smiles as he was teaching Leko the tunnel jump. No problems there at all.
Loved being back and seeing a group of players putting in a shift like that. We may not always have a lot of possession this season, but we press with energy and have no end of skill to make something out of it when we have the ball.