Well that was all rather fun wasnt it... First half weasnt the best BUT it wasnt as bad as everyone made out, certainly wasnt as bad as the Blackburn game
Was clear looking back that Luton rushed into the game eager to get daylight between themselves and us going into the second half, they pressed and harried every time we got the ball and typically played like a team that are at serious threat of relegation - Ultimately though they didnt do enough when they did have the ball, Phillips certainly wasnt at fault for their goal - Second half and they appeared a team that seemed jaded from their first half, they certainly gave our players more time on the ball and again for all their bluster only forced Phillips into one serious save, for the rest of the game Dillon was a spectator (which made that particular save all the better)
Of course it doesnt mean we played like a team 100% comfortable throughout, Davis struggled in the first period whilst Oshilaja was extremely disappointing at the base of the diamond and was right to be subbed
You have to remember though that even whilst it was 0-0; it was Charlton who created the better opportunities with Doughty forcing a save and Sarr hitting the bar
As already mentioned though it was Lapslie who changed the game, unsurprisingly bringing balance to the team and allowing Davis to drop into the base where he was a lot more comfortable - Lapslie on the other hand surprised me slightly, I thought he'd put in a typical defensive display (like the one against Portsmouth) yet instead was wisely given a free role by Bowyer which enabled him to be the typical Yorkshire Terrier that we know him to be
Ulimately felt that Bowyer's tactics were pretty spot on today, the formation (a return to the diamond) worked whilst his subs which often come under scrutiny were spot on, was certainly nice to see Bonne come on and cause their defence problems, it was obvious that Taylor was giving them a hard day so to bring on Bonne and double those problems (like what we saw against Bristol City on boxing day) was pretty obvious, would have been curious to see what calls were forced on him as cant imagine Doughty (Left-Back) and potentially Oshilaja (CDM) being set to start today
Like I say, certainly room for improvement; Luton at times played like a team that shouldnt be in the relegation zone but end of the day proved why they are in there
Setup for Sheffield Wednesday will be interesting what with bigger relegation battles against Huddersfield and Middlesbrough coming up, dont see why we cant aim for seven points minimum
One final point, why are we singing: "We are staying up"... Its never been in doubt!!
Told you guys it was too defensive with Oshilaja playing too. Lapslie made a huge difference and changed the game in our favour. I also called the 3-1 win the preview.
Huge 3 points. Moves us nicely forward and only around 8-10 points and that should be enough. Repeat our form from last 5 or 6 and we will be safe by April. More twists and turns to come but we will be fine.
Love it.
So how did we setup? I couldn't get to today's game.
Pretty dreadful first half. Usual defensive frailties, really struggled to clear our lines, poor decision making on the ball, and no clear link between midfield and attack. Thought we looked very poor and a moment of magic from Taylor saved us going in a goal behind. Thank goodness Luton are such a poor side otherwise it would’ve been another Blackburn or Stoke.
Two big let offs early in the second half - free header from a corner and then, probably, a wrongly disallowed goal after more ponderous possession in midfield.
Finally, though, Bowyer made the much needed change to the midfield and everything changed. Lapslie changed everything. Suddenly we had energy in midfield, everyone looked comfortable with their roles, and we had links between all the lines. Our early season balance was back. The fact he won the penalty and scored the clincher were just icing on the cake.
Strong showing from Dills, dealt with everything he could reasonably be expected to. Matthews was good and best of the defenders. Doughty looks to have lost his early fearlessness and looks a bit tentative to me, but was far from dreadful. Lockyer was ropey as in the first half, better second (no coincidence that the midfield was providing better protection), Sarr very unlucky not to score and generally decent otherwise. Cullen played well, very busy and getting his touch and sharpness of turn and passing back, more to come from him as he finds that last 5% of fitness. Deji, he’s a trier but absolutely no need to have in that midfield with two other defensive minded players. Davis looked lost on the right of the diamond, but much better at the base in the second half. Ozzy, in and out of the game but nearly unlocked them a few times, overdue a goal now. Green tried but didn’t really affect the game that much and missed an absolute sitter, his pace is an outlet though. Taylor, only one to put on a full 90 minutes of good quality, and a magic goal. Without him we’d already be down. Bonne looked decent when he came on, another assist and a physical handful for their defence - he’s learning more and more tricks from Taylor.
What Exiled has said sums it up for me.
Just got in and going out for dinner tonight so I am being lazy.
COYR's
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Not a great performance but the result was all that mattered and is all that will matter for the next couple of months.
We looked so much better with the ball on the deck, those hopeless long balls in the channels were a waste. Luton struggled when Taylor, Green, Oztumer and Bonne started running at them. Still not convinced by Davies though he looked slightly better when Oshilaja went off. Great energy from Lapslie, delighted he scored. Thought we were gonna throw away the points after the terrible Green miss and the more difficult Oztumer one, from my position the pass to him was slightly behind him.
Next few are key, get the ball on the deck and keep the pressure on please.
It's not all his fault though. All he's done is show he's not a midfielder.
Square pegs in round holes. Play a player in his own specialist position. That's what he was developed to do - and where he will play best.
No not all but but he was treating the ball like a hot potato and passing it to the opposition whenever possible ( he was not the only one guilty of misplaced passes ).
Not going to dig Deji out as not necessarily his natural position. But for me he is one of these players who gets better when he is not in the team. Our defence has been prone to a bad mistake for most of the season, and it's natural to think he is the solution and we should get him in.
When he played CB in a back 3 I thought he got bullied, though that view was very much against what most people saw.
I actually thought the best I have seen him play was at right back.
Yep, first time I saw him play was against Forest at home, as RB ...... and I thought he had a storming game, strong in the tackle and positionally sound, and worked up and down the line supporting the play and adding width.
Sssshhhh Lee. You need to be telling the press how mentally weak Taylor is and how he hates fans and players trying to get under his skin, and how much it puts him off his game.
Looked off the the pace at times but worked out way into the game and deservedly took the lead only for a defensive lapse to peg us back. The turning point was their offside goal. Graeme Jones is convinced it was onside but that is the luck you get. After that there was only one winner, Clear penalty and a lovely third. All in all very happy indeed!
First half wasn't that bad, we hit the bar and scored a good goal then fell asleep immediately after. Turning point was their disallowed goal - it was close and had their player left it would it have crept in anyway? After that with Lapslie on we did well. Davis looked good changing position and we did look a threat. Luton looked like a team which had won its last two but I think it was the sort of performance from us that was needed. Massive three points and now we have brought a number of teams into it. Boro look to be in freefall at the moment. I could see them going!
Funniest thing happened from Sky Sports. Just before we were awarded the penalty they alerted me that George Lapslie had missed a penalty! Just glad it wasn't an omen. Not sure if anyone else got this?
On holiday in Tangier and just caught up with the match thread. Many thanks to all who posted and to those rip-roaring, free scoring boys in red and white.
Davis got a lot of grief for his clearance attempt for their goal. It wasn't great, but in mitigation it was a clearance on the turn that he had to screw his body round to get away and didn't quite manage to pull it off. Far more important there though is where the hell was Doughty? When you watch it back he's absolutely nowhere, I'm not even sure he was still on this planet when they broke down our left. Considering it was 2 minutes after we'd scored and reset it's insane that he was so far out of position for that goal. Granted he's not a natural left back, but even for a player who's not as comfortable there, 'don't be in outer space' is a pretty standard positioning tip that most players should be comfortable with. Bonkers.
Comments
Was clear looking back that Luton rushed into the game eager to get daylight between themselves and us going into the second half, they pressed and harried every time we got the ball and typically played like a team that are at serious threat of relegation - Ultimately though they didnt do enough when they did have the ball, Phillips certainly wasnt at fault for their goal - Second half and they appeared a team that seemed jaded from their first half, they certainly gave our players more time on the ball and again for all their bluster only forced Phillips into one serious save, for the rest of the game Dillon was a spectator (which made that particular save all the better)
Of course it doesnt mean we played like a team 100% comfortable throughout, Davis struggled in the first period whilst Oshilaja was extremely disappointing at the base of the diamond and was right to be subbed
You have to remember though that even whilst it was 0-0; it was Charlton who created the better opportunities with Doughty forcing a save and Sarr hitting the bar
As already mentioned though it was Lapslie who changed the game, unsurprisingly bringing balance to the team and allowing Davis to drop into the base where he was a lot more comfortable - Lapslie on the other hand surprised me slightly, I thought he'd put in a typical defensive display (like the one against Portsmouth) yet instead was wisely given a free role by Bowyer which enabled him to be the typical Yorkshire Terrier that we know him to be
Ulimately felt that Bowyer's tactics were pretty spot on today, the formation (a return to the diamond) worked whilst his subs which often come under scrutiny were spot on, was certainly nice to see Bonne come on and cause their defence problems, it was obvious that Taylor was giving them a hard day so to bring on Bonne and double those problems (like what we saw against Bristol City on boxing day) was pretty obvious, would have been curious to see what calls were forced on him as cant imagine Doughty (Left-Back) and potentially Oshilaja (CDM) being set to start today
Like I say, certainly room for improvement; Luton at times played like a team that shouldnt be in the relegation zone but end of the day proved why they are in there
Setup for Sheffield Wednesday will be interesting what with bigger relegation battles against Huddersfield and Middlesbrough coming up, dont see why we cant aim for seven points minimum
One final point, why are we singing: "We are staying up"... Its never been in doubt!!
https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-boss-lee-bowyer-reckons-more-sides-will-get-dragged-into-relegation-fight-and-praises-expectant-father-george-lapslie/
Much better second.
Taylor exceptional, George coming on made a big difference, Bonne looked very good and thought Green looked better when he dropped into midfield.
come on you reds.
No, wed be aiming for the playoffs
We looked so much better with the ball on the deck, those hopeless long balls in the channels were a waste. Luton struggled when Taylor, Green, Oztumer and Bonne started running at them. Still not convinced by Davies though he looked slightly better when Oshilaja went off. Great energy from Lapslie, delighted he scored. Thought we were gonna throw away the points after the terrible Green miss and the more difficult Oztumer one, from my position the pass to him was slightly behind him.
Next few are key, get the ball on the deck and keep the pressure on please.
https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/lyle-taylor-will-have-enjoyed-silencing-the-abusive-luton-town-fans-says-charlton-boss-lee-bowyer/
Then he got injured, of course.
It looks like it's Lapslie who's pregnant.