Watson was very tidy. I think the danger is to be wrongly critical of Watson and Pratley, when the issue is not with them at all, but the perceived need for a more attacking midfielder in the side.
I imagine myself as a half decent League One defender (we can all dream!) and I think, I wouldn't fancy playing against Aneke at all. I wouldn't mind playing against say Washington in the same way.
It's a bit like with recent Southgate England teams that have had 2 defensive midfielders, it's not that the likes of Rice, Henderson, Winks and Phillips are bad players, it's more the decision to play 2 of them against teams like Denmark which is being questioned
Looking like to me at least that we’re going to be half decent. Defence is looking good already and will benefit from game time. That’s a solid foundation. Midfield looks to be filled with talent so again once together should be very competitive in league one. We all know that it’s up front we might still be a bit deficient although Aneke is looking the part and I’m sure Bogle and Washington will chip in. Will it be enough ? On that basis January might make the difference between promotion and just missing out. I’m sure that Thomas will sanction the purchase of a top striker but the real issue is can we fit him in with the budget restrictions ? I sure Gallen and Bowyer are already on the case but making it work will be difficult.
Looking like to me at least that we’re going to be half decent. Defence is looking good already and will benefit from game time. That’s a solid foundation. Midfield looks to be filled with talent so again once together should be very competitive in league one. We all know that it’s up front we might still be a bit deficient although Aneke is looking the part and I’m sure Bogle and Washington will chip in. Will it be enough ? On that basis January might make the difference between promotion and just missing out. I’m sure that Thomas will sanction the purchase of a top striker but the real issue is can we fit him in with the budget restrictions ? I sure Gallen and Bowyer are already on the case but making it work will be difficult.
Agreed, I think top-6 is eminently achievable ... but autos will depend on transfer window.
Taylor played a lot of games in our promotion season. It was vital to our success. I think the more of Aneke we see, the more success we will have. Who would I swap him for in this League? Absolutely nobody.
the disallowed goal WAS offside and Purrington was unlucky to get a second yellow Bogle looked to be a threat, at least from looking at the brief highlights Doughty put in a very clever and very brave header for the goal
All in all a good performance, no, goals conceded and three more points
I am not sure, why our non goal was struck off. Was it for off side or as the Blackpool official page says for an earlier foul.
The position of the linesman's flag (straight across the pitch) indicates off-side. Had the linesman been indicated an earlier foul, the flag would have been pointing up the pitch
I am not sure, why our non goal was struck off. Was it for off side or as the Blackpool official page says for an earlier foul.
The position of the linesman's flag (straight across the pitch) indicates off-side. Had the linesman been indicated an earlier foul, the flag would have been pointing up the pitch
That’s what I thought, I was further confused when I read the Blackpool official report.
I really want to know who the extra vocal guy on the highlights is. You hear him early on with “he’s off, he’s off, it’s a red card” and then when Chuks scores, he ends with a “woooo”
I know we are only a couple of games in but I'm finding it really hard to understand how we managed to sign Innis, he has already shown imo that he has the potential to be one hell of a CB. Makes you wonder why some of the Championship clubs didnt pick him up
'Charlton feel odd to me in so much that no matter where they are in the
league, I feel like they should be somewhere else. They seem far too big
for League One, but when they're in higher divisions it always seems a
bit incongruous, like they're a bit too homely to be up there. They also
don't feel like a London club to me, despite being very Londony. I file
them in my mind as 'a bit like Ipswich' even though I know full well
they aren't anything like them. I don't know why. They're also filed in
my head under 'clubs I don't mind in general'
I think this might be the truest thing I've ever read about Charlton from an external perspective
I know we are only a couple of games in but I'm finding it really hard to understand how we managed to sign Innis, he has already shown imo that he has the potential to be one hell of a CB. Makes you wonder why some of the Championship clubs didnt pick him up
Bit of a troubled past, maybe that has been the problem, Andy?
I know we are only a couple of games in but I'm finding it really hard to understand how we managed to sign Innis, he has already shown imo that he has the potential to be one hell of a CB. Makes you wonder why some of the Championship clubs didnt pick him up
Possibly that he’s only ever played 22 games at most in a season, and has been pushed out on loan every season by Palace. Gallen and Bowyer have seen something in him that he can contribute a lot to our season. Agree with you he shows a lot of potential.
I'd forgotten that Blackpool boss Neil Critchley was previously Liverpool U23 manager, which probably helped in getting Woodburn in
They were pretty powerpuff yesterday, sometimes really good youth coaches struggle to adapt to men's football, where "firing up the players" can sometimes be just as important as all the technical skills.
Didn't watch the match so had to rely on the reports from here plus Neil Mellor on Sky.
Good to grind out another 1-0 win but its not the way I like to see my team play. Once again we set up too defensively & can't believe we kept Watson & Pratley on together for all of the 1st half. Williams might as well look for another club as he wont be needed here much anymore. Also hoping that once Gilbey & Maddison are fit then we might at least have some attacking threat from midfield.
Still don't think we are good enough for top 6, especially if we can only score 4 goals in 6 games. Doncaster scored that amount tonight in 1 game.......against the league leaders no less !!! But enough of the whingeing for now & hoping that once the players have had a few more weeks to settle in, bed down & find their feet then we might see a bit more positive play. I might even be tempted to spend £10 on Saturday to see what Chelsea's left back looks like.....
You didn't watch so your opinion is worthless 😛😉
Another ten quid on top of the ten you'll be owing me when I win our bet. You need a good financial adviser.
A very decent away performance. Really happy with that.
We never looked like conceding, our defence was excellent, especially Inniss and Famewo.
Felt that Watson controlled the midfield with Shinnie showing some excellent touches and finding some clever space.
Doughty had the beating of their full back all game and had him scared.
Maatsen came on and done fantastically well. Great debut for the youngster. Should have a good season.
Bogle and Washington worked hard up front, Bogle unlucky really not to score.
Aneke came on and caused havoc again. Really been impressed with him this season and very much deserved that goal.
We’ve now kept 4 clean sheets in 6 games, 3 in a row. That’s a solid foundation to build on, especially with such a new team and a completely new defence.
The only game you can 100% say we deserved nothing from was Doncaster, who will be up there this season. Lincoln away would’ve been a completely different game without the wrongly allowed goal before half time.
Still have Oshilaja, Pearce, Gilbey, and Maddison all to come back in, with Williams set to feature more and the others like Forster-Caskey and Levitt who were on the bench too.
We have real potential this season and with a bit of luck they gel quickly. Wins like last night will do the confidence and team spirit the world of good.
We’re onto something here, and it’s exciting, I can sense it.
@Sage, what are your views on Pratley and Watson starting in midfield?
Last season Bows said that Pratley and Field are too similar to play in the same team so will interchange. Im surprised this past concept has not been applied to the current squad?
Perhaps it's a matter of start the season solidly and build up a points tally then move forwards from there in team selection and attacking play.
I actually don't think we should always play Gilbey, Watson and Shinnie all at once. I think there are other permutations and options. All three are worthy of our best XI but I think they could (at times) get in each other's way a bit if we play all three. I'd be in favour, in some circumstances, of playing an extra striker or Williams instead of one of them.
That said, playing all three at once might still work, as they are all slightly different sorts of player. Watson, even though I'm not convinced by him yet, is probably the undroppable one (or at least, plays in the most fixed position, until the glorious Coming of Levitt) so at times we might have to choose between Gilbey and Shinnie. A good choice to have to make.
@Sage, what are your views on Pratley and Watson starting in midfield?
Last season Bows said that Pratley and Field are too similar to play in the same team so will interchange. Im surprised this past concept has not been applied to the current squad?
Perhaps it's a matter of start the season solidly and build up a points tally then move forwards from there in team selection and attacking play.
I was surprised to see it last night to be honest.
But I think the idea was that the defence is new and without Pratley, we wouldn’t have had any continuation of leadership, someone who knows the club, the standard Bowyer sets. It was important that he started as captain last night.
Yes, he came off at half time, but by that point we needed to change it up and make use of the strengths we had, he was the natural change.
Watson, seems like someone who will drop deeper, collect the ball and tell others where to go, where to run, encourage our defenders to venture forward into midfield whilst being very comfortable on the ball. Pratley is slightly different, someone who will happily get up and down the pitch no problem but a little more awkward on the ball.
I actually see Watson as a different type of player to Field.
I think for a game away from home on a Tuesday night, having that initial bit of experience done us no harm. We won’t see them play together too often this season, but we will until players like Gilbey, Williams, Shinnie, and Forster-Caskey are all up to speed, fit, and gelled into the squad.
It might’ve been slightly negative, but I actually think it worked in a way.
Had we started with someone else in the middle and went down to 10 like we did, how would you have changed it? It would’ve been harder in my opinion.
Really enjoyed that. Proper old school supporter. All the optimism, wry humour and resigned reality check, based on years of expectation and frustration. We know that feeling too!
Comments
the disallowed goal WAS offside
and Purrington was unlucky to get a second yellow
Bogle looked to be a threat, at least from looking at the brief highlights
Doughty put in a very clever and very brave header for the goal
All in all a good performance, no, goals conceded and three more points
https://mclfoot.blogspot.com/2020/10/pegs-holes-and-2-man-midfields-mighty.html?m=1
They were pretty powerpuff yesterday, sometimes really good youth coaches struggle to adapt to men's football, where "firing up the players" can sometimes be just as important as all the technical skills.
Another ten quid on top of the ten you'll be owing me when I win our bet. You need a good financial adviser.
It's a palindrome, innit? The palindrome of Bolton would be Notlob."
Everybody knows that.
We never looked like conceding, our defence was excellent, especially Inniss and Famewo.
Felt that Watson controlled the midfield with Shinnie showing some excellent touches and finding some clever space.
Doughty had the beating of their full back all game and had him scared.
Bogle and Washington worked hard up front, Bogle unlucky really not to score.
Aneke came on and caused havoc again. Really been impressed with him this season and very much deserved that goal.
We’ve now kept 4 clean sheets in 6 games, 3 in a row. That’s a solid foundation to build on, especially with such a new team and a completely new defence.
The only game you can 100% say we deserved nothing from was Doncaster, who will be up there this season. Lincoln away would’ve been a completely different game without the wrongly allowed goal before half time.
Still have Oshilaja, Pearce, Gilbey, and Maddison all to come back in, with Williams set to feature more and the others like Forster-Caskey and Levitt who were on the bench too.
We have real potential this season and with a bit of luck they gel quickly. Wins like last night will do the confidence and team spirit the world of good.
We’re onto something here, and it’s exciting, I can sense it.
Amos
Gunter Inniss Famewo Maatsen
Gilbey Watson Shinnie
Maddison Aneke Doughty
Last season Bows said that Pratley and Field are too similar to play in the same team so will interchange. Im surprised this past concept has not been applied to the current squad?
Perhaps it's a matter of start the season solidly and build up a points tally then move forwards from there in team selection and attacking play.
That said, playing all three at once might still work, as they are all slightly different sorts of player. Watson, even though I'm not convinced by him yet, is probably the undroppable one (or at least, plays in the most fixed position, until the glorious Coming of Levitt) so at times we might have to choose between Gilbey and Shinnie. A good choice to have to make.
But I think the idea was that the defence is new and without Pratley, we wouldn’t have had any continuation of leadership, someone who knows the club, the standard Bowyer sets. It was important that he started as captain last night.
Yes, he came off at half time, but by that point we needed to change it up and make use of the strengths we had, he was the natural change.
Watson, seems like someone who will drop deeper, collect the ball and tell others where to go, where to run, encourage our defenders to venture forward into midfield whilst being very comfortable on the ball. Pratley is slightly different, someone who will happily get up and down the pitch no problem but a little more awkward on the ball.
I actually see Watson as a different type of player to Field.
I think for a game away from home on a Tuesday night, having that initial bit of experience done us no harm. We won’t see them play together too often this season, but we will until players like Gilbey, Williams, Shinnie, and Forster-Caskey are all up to speed, fit, and gelled into the squad.
It might’ve been slightly negative, but I actually think it worked in a way.
Had we started with someone else in the middle and went down to 10 like we did, how would you have changed it? It would’ve been harder in my opinion.
We know that feeling too!