Offside or not.....these things do even themselves out over a season. We got a dodgy pen up at WBA & Cardiff could easily have had a pen 1st half last saturday. Dont think VAR would make any difference.....just same shit different day.
As for the game itself. Wasnt there so no comment from me other to say that we have been dealt a poor hand with injuries. Hopefully in a week or 2 a few will be back & we can stand a fighting chance of getting something from a game. It's no coincidence that our poor run has come when we've had no Taylor or William's and other players out (Field, JFC and Kayal) has meant no rotation or formation changes are possible.
Oh well......saturday is going to be a bundle of laughs !!
Earlier in the season, through sheer grit and balls and also other teams not really hitting their straps yet we were able to hold on and surprise a few teams...
Now we are looking paper thin and the belief is ebbing away, we need some bodies back big time, Bowyer's job is becoming increasingly difficult, let's hope everyone sticks together and we can find a win from somewhere, anywhere... and fast.
Watched at home. Luton were the better side. As mentioned above we don’t look like keeping a clean sheet. I believe it’s a team issue rather than blaming the back 4
Huge fan of Pratley & Morgan but they were poor today. The back 5 doesn’t work, especially with Purrington playing as left wing back.
We surely must be close to having some of the 10+ injured players back ready for selection soon.
Watched on Sky, I thought we were pretty awful. Yes we have an injury crisis, but last night it seemed we had a problem with the basics; we seemed a yard off the pace and our passing, in the main, was abysmal. Once they equalised I thought we would lose, sadly, they upped their game, and lets be honest could easily have had a few more. Our defending of set-pieces and corners is poor, their first goal came after a corner for them when we didn't clear it properly and Sarr gave the ball directly back to them. We had a couple of dodgy moments in our own area, where Dillion had to hurry up and clear the ball as we pissed about with it at the back. Overall it was a poor showing, and now we have lost Connor for this Saturday's Sky Live game....thats another big loss!
Watched at home. Luton were the better side. As mentioned above we don’t look like keeping a clean sheet. I believe it’s a team issue rather than blaming the back 4
Huge fan of Pratley & Morgan but they were poor today. The back 5 doesn’t work, especially with Purrington playing as left wing back.
We surely must be close to having some of the 10+ injured players back ready for selection soon.
Watched at home. Luton were the better side. As mentioned above we don’t look like keeping a clean sheet. I believe it’s a team issue rather than blaming the back 4
Huge fan of Pratley & Morgan but they were poor today. The back 5 doesn’t work, especially with Purrington playing as left wing back.
We surely must be close to having some of the 10+ injured players back ready for selection soon.
Just wondering if Oshilaja can play in the middle of midfield. Don’t want to see 5 at the back again on sat, but appreciate we might not have much choice. For me, a large part of that formation is the role the wing backs play when getting forward, and as you mention, Purrington for me isn’t his most effective in that position
clutching at straws here, but sort of team I’d hope for on sat is
Philips
Solly/Matthews Lockyer Pearce Purrington
Leko Pratley Oshilaja Morgan Doughty
Bonne
Only one up top, but I think that just gives a bit more balance and won’t require Purrington and whoever of Solly/Matthews to be expected to get forward as much
For all Morgans spraying about 50 yard balls etc, I don't think its always necessary with this team we have and the way we play. He desperately needs to learn the aggressive, tenacious side that Cullen and Pratley have because, bar his passing I really don't think he offers much else currently, hence why he was on loan in non League. Gallagher looked below par, but I don't think a rest on Saturday will do him any harm. Leko played well. Took his goal well and got involved, as did Bonne who is great with his feet at times. Defensively, we were terrible. Torn apart on various occasions in the first half. As for Solly playing RWB, when you look to have someone going up and down the wings and you see Solly standing there, you know you are in trouble. Don't think he made more than 2 forward passes last night, love the guy but he isn't right in that system.
Still could be worse, imagine living in Luton and having to visit that shitehole every other week. We will be okay when our players start to come back, but at the minute, that seems a long long way away..
Disappointing and can't see it improving anytime soon with the options.
Defence is being singled out but you defend as a team and we gave it away cheaply in midfield many times.
Players look out on there legs but we have no viable options like earlier in the season when Bows rotated often.
This group deserve our backing they gave ourselves a better start than expected and due to bad fortune we find ourselves in a poor run, but I don't think you can angle at any of them they are not trying there best in the circumstances
completely agree with Redmidland and I'd add for the 2nd goal Pratley, an experienced player, got dispossessed fo the ball in mid field which lead to the goal, if he hadn't then off side wouldn't have come into it - a poor performance all round.
Difficult to be critical of the endeavour but it was frustrating watching us in possession. We were not brave enough in the middle of the park both physically and wanting the ball in difficult areas. Bowyer will need to think how we can play without Cullen. We probably will need to go longer and Leko will be needed to play like he did last night, he was excellent and certainly our best attacking player. Also, Alfie is good enough.
Massive, massive expected over reactions. The injuries are a huge reason we haven't beaten these.
We have 10 or 12 first teamers out or whatever it is, 7 academy products in the squad. Yeah we look tired, nervous, lacking a bit of energy, no shit sherlock.
We struggled to get that side out last night against a side with a history of a good home record, desperate for points, and put into perspective the side we put out that had a 4nil home written all over it. A typical Charlton side would have got totally dicked, we didn't, could have been a 4 or 5 nil but it wasn't, 2-1, so what, they weren't head and shoulders above us last night, probably deserved the win
Now I'm not RDs biggest fan by a long shot but to blame him for 'paper thin squad'. The squad is big enough but you couldn't make up the bad luck with injuries, how can we do anything about it until January?????
Expectedly it goes rather quiet whilst we were riding the wave with no injuries but a few bad results and minimal squad the moaning about RD starts again.
As stated I'm not a supporter of RD but acting childish and starting to blame him for everything going wrong the past 2 mknths is cannon fodder to him and all the talks port clowns as there is clear and obvious reasons for the decline in this period and it ain't RD.
Championship is what it is and anyone who thought we could stay top 6 all season without a care in the world is fucking blinded.
Sadly I predicted this and knew we would lose soon after we scored. The team lacks three C's. Composure, Confidence and Courage. Luton were on the ropes when we scored, so what sort of tactic is it to stand off them and allow them to rebuild their confidence? It seems to be our stock tactic when we go ahead and I don't blame Bowyer for that, it is a collective player mentality thing. Having said all of that, any team would struggle with the number of key players we have out. But those on here that sing Morgan's praises saying he should be in the team, he showed yesterday that he has potential but his game is too lacking as it stands. Sadly he is a passenger player at the moment and it is something he needs to address. The defence are put under too much pressure from a weak midfield and they have shown they crumble under that pressure. I'm sure things will get better when players start coming back though.
Too many injuries and also too many soft defensive errors are costing us. We'll be fine when we get a few bodies back, until then it's going to be a struggle
Are we having a laugh? Weve only got 2 fit strikers and only 3 fit midfields. Was in the pub before the game and said to him you seen the team. No he said , but started naming the line up. Youve seen the team i said. He then named 10 of the 11 saying its got to be the line up because THERE IS F@CKING NO ONE ELSE. No one else weve got to play a 34 yr old every game, weve HAD to recall a player from a non league team to start against a championship team. And above all this we are still over achieving. Not one time this season has any other team taken the p!ss out of us.
Even the best teams in the league will struggle if you have 13 players out, nearly all of which would be in the squad, and 8 or 9 of which would probably be in the starting 11.
Taylor , Cullen , Williams and the rest are subjective I can’t see 8 or 9 of those missing tonight in the starting line up
Even the best teams in the league will struggle if you have 13 players out, nearly all of which would be in the squad, and 8 or 9 of which would probably be in the starting 11.
Taylor , Cullen , Williams and the rest are subjective I can’t see 8 or 9 of those missing tonight in the starting line up
In terms of every single player who is out, I think you could probably say if everyone was genuinely fit, in some situations Page would play instead of Purrington if we need to attack more. Midfield wise, Cullen, Field, Williams, Kayal, Gallagher, Aneke, Oztumer, all would be pushing for a start and have a case to, and similar with up front, Taylor would start, and Hemed with his experience, once fit, was probably thought to have been a starter by Bowyer as well.
It’s not like we have been getting injuries from players who would be more on the fringes. Yes Lapslie, Forster-Caskey are injured, but it’s the first choice players, our whole midfield is out, our best striker, another good striker who has done it at this level.
Look at squad sizes on back of Millwall programme. Even the most half sensible of their supports know that 4 injuries and they are fcked, 12 and they wouldn't have a bench
Watched at home. Luton were the better side. As mentioned above we don’t look like keeping a clean sheet. I believe it’s a team issue rather than blaming the back 4
Huge fan of Pratley & Morgan but they were poor today. The back 5 doesn’t work, especially with Purrington playing as left wing back.
We surely must be close to having some of the 10+ injured players back ready for selection soon.
Just wondering if Oshilaja can play in the middle of midfield. Don’t want to see 5 at the back again on sat, but appreciate we might not have much choice. For me, a large part of that formation is the role the wing backs play when getting forward, and as you mention, Purrington for me isn’t his most effective in that position
clutching at straws here, but sort of team I’d hope for on sat is
Philips
Solly/Matthews Lockyer Pearce Purrington
Leko Pratley Oshilaja Morgan Doughty
Bonne
Only one up top, but I think that just gives a bit more balance and won’t require Purrington and whoever of Solly/Matthews to be expected to get forward as much
Was thinking the same thing only maybe Matthews right midfield (if Solly okay to start), Leko left.
Admittedly we didnt play well and the injuries are without a doubt the main reason for this dip. Doesnt help when you get decisions going against you as well. How for the life of me their 1st goal was given i'll never know,awful,their player is offside,standing directly in front of Phillips and the goal stands? Righto. The 2nd goal handball shouldve been seen but,granted,probably a bit more difficult at normal speed but the 1st goal is criminal. Pretty sure,for all its faults,VAR wouldve chalked off both their goals.
We are giving away too many soft goals at the moment, which is the frustrating thing. We've not being played off the park, which is reflected in how close our games have been, but conceding too many preventable goals. It wouldn't be fun to watch, but nil nil on Saturday would be an achievement to show we can defend as a team
For me, the biggest issue of the ridiculous injury list is the knock-on effect that it has on our confidence.
Last night we spent most of the game backing off Luton, trying to desperately contain them and play long balls. On the rare occasions we pressed Luton, they didn't look great and misplaced passes. We were poor, their first goal should have been disallowed but Luton definitely deserved the 3 points, we just weren't up for it at all.
Compare that with the start of the season when the side including the likes of Williams, Taylor, Cullen etc instilled so much more confidence into the team.
No injuries but another loss from a winning position.
sums it up .. Luton looked far the better team on the night .. we are down to the bone marrow let alone the bare bones .. (Doughty again showed promise and is worth a start)
For me, the biggest issue of the ridiculous injury list is the knock-on effect that it has on our confidence.
Last night we spent most of the game backing off Luton, trying to desperately contain them and play long balls. On the rare occasions we pressed Luton, they didn't look great and misplaced passes. We were poor, their first goal should have been disallowed but Luton definitely deserved the 3 points, we just weren't up for it at all.
Compare that with the start of the season when the side including the likes of Williams, Taylor, Cullen etc instilled so much more confidence into the team.
I totally agree with this. And it is understandable given the weakness of the team we are fielding in certain areas.
Doughty showed promise against Cardiff. less so last night. Maybe worth a start for the benefit of his experience but it won't make us more likely to win. Nothing against the lad, he is clearly down as a player I will be keeping an eye on.
Comments
As for the game itself. Wasnt there so no comment from me other to say that we have been dealt a poor hand with injuries. Hopefully in a week or 2 a few will be back & we can stand a fighting chance of getting something from a game. It's no coincidence that our poor run has come when we've had no Taylor or William's and other players out (Field, JFC and Kayal) has meant no rotation or formation changes are possible.
Oh well......saturday is going to be a bundle of laughs !!
Now we are looking paper thin and the belief is ebbing away, we need some bodies back big time, Bowyer's job is becoming increasingly difficult, let's hope everyone sticks together and we can find a win from somewhere, anywhere... and fast.
Huge fan of Pratley & Morgan but they were poor today. The back 5 doesn’t work, especially with Purrington playing as left wing back.
clutching at straws here, but sort of team I’d hope for on sat is
Philips
Solly/Matthews Lockyer Pearce Purrington
Leko Pratley Oshilaja Morgan Doughty
Bonne
Only one up top, but I think that just gives a bit more balance and won’t require Purrington and whoever of Solly/Matthews to be expected to get forward as much
For all Morgans spraying about 50 yard balls etc, I don't think its always necessary with this team we have and the way we play. He desperately needs to learn the aggressive, tenacious side that Cullen and Pratley have because, bar his passing I really don't think he offers much else currently, hence why he was on loan in non League. Gallagher looked below par, but I don't think a rest on Saturday will do him any harm. Leko played well. Took his goal well and got involved, as did Bonne who is great with his feet at times. Defensively, we were terrible. Torn apart on various occasions in the first half. As for Solly playing RWB, when you look to have someone going up and down the wings and you see Solly standing there, you know you are in trouble. Don't think he made more than 2 forward passes last night, love the guy but he isn't right in that system.
Still could be worse, imagine living in Luton and having to visit that shitehole every other week. We will be okay when our players start to come back, but at the minute, that seems a long long way away..
We need to go back to 4-1-2-1-2 away from home.
Defence is being singled out but you defend as a team and we gave it away cheaply in midfield many times.
Players look out on there legs but we have no viable options like earlier in the season when Bows rotated often.
This group deserve our backing they gave ourselves a better start than expected and due to bad fortune we find ourselves in a poor run, but I don't think you can angle at any of them they are not trying there best in the circumstances
Cullen, Gallagher, Taylor and Williams missing on Saturday so we'll really have to battle.
The injuries are a huge reason we haven't beaten these.
We have 10 or 12 first teamers out or whatever it is, 7 academy products in the squad.
Yeah we look tired, nervous, lacking a bit of energy, no shit sherlock.
We struggled to get that side out last night against a side with a history of a good home record, desperate for points, and put into perspective the side we put out that had a 4nil home written all over it. A typical Charlton side would have got totally dicked, we didn't, could have been a 4 or 5 nil but it wasn't, 2-1, so what, they weren't head and shoulders above us last night, probably deserved the win
Now I'm not RDs biggest fan by a long shot but to blame him for 'paper thin squad'.
The squad is big enough but you couldn't make up the bad luck with injuries, how can we do anything about it until January?????
Expectedly it goes rather quiet whilst we were riding the wave with no injuries but a few bad results and minimal squad the moaning about RD starts again.
As stated I'm not a supporter of RD but acting childish and starting to blame him for everything going wrong the past 2 mknths is cannon fodder to him and all the talks port clowns as there is clear and obvious reasons for the decline in this period and it ain't RD.
Championship is what it is and anyone who thought we could stay top 6 all season without a care in the world is fucking blinded.
Having said all of that, any team would struggle with the number of key players we have out. But those on here that sing Morgan's praises saying he should be in the team, he showed yesterday that he has potential but his game is too lacking as it stands. Sadly he is a passenger player at the moment and it is something he needs to address.
The defence are put under too much pressure from a weak midfield and they have shown they crumble under that pressure. I'm sure things will get better when players start coming back though.
Weve only got 2 fit strikers and only 3 fit midfields.
Was in the pub before the game and said to him you seen the team.
No he said , but started naming the line up.
Youve seen the team i said.
He then named 10 of the 11 saying its got to be the line up because THERE IS F@CKING NO ONE ELSE.
No one else weve got to play a 34 yr old every game, weve HAD to recall a player from a non league team to start against a championship team.
And above all this we are still over achieving.
Not one time this season has any other team taken the p!ss out of us.
It’s not like we have been getting injuries from players who would be more on the fringes. Yes Lapslie, Forster-Caskey are injured, but it’s the first choice players, our whole midfield is out, our best striker, another good striker who has done it at this level.
No team in the league would cope with this.
Even the most half sensible of their supports know that 4 injuries and they are fcked, 12 and they wouldn't have a bench
.
Last night we spent most of the game backing off Luton, trying to desperately contain them and play long balls. On the rare occasions we pressed Luton, they didn't look great and misplaced passes. We were poor, their first goal should have been disallowed but Luton definitely deserved the 3 points, we just weren't up for it at all.
Compare that with the start of the season when the side including the likes of Williams, Taylor, Cullen etc instilled so much more confidence into the team.
Doughty showed promise against Cardiff. less so last night. Maybe worth a start for the benefit of his experience but it won't make us more likely to win. Nothing against the lad, he is clearly down as a player I will be keeping an eye on.
https://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/2019/november/graeme-jones-on-the-2-1-win-over-charlton-athletic/