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Northampton v Charlton | Post-match thread | 24th October 2020
Comments
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Very clever.Sage said:
What’s that coming over the hill, Inniss a monster, Inniss a monster!AFKABartram said:Great result in awful weather.
Quite a few people’s comments from just a couple of week ago already starting to look a bit silly.
Innis is a monster
I do hope he's sorted himself out after that difficult childhood and less than exemplary behaviour whilst at Selhurst. Fingers crossed we've taken the boy out of Palace and Palace out of the boy.4 -
Paints a slightly bleaker picture really.Callumcafc said:
Two thoughts:
1) Shouldn't Williams be part of the front 3 on either side, instead of being part of the midfield 3? With Doughty out, I hope Williams can show some form in 1 of those wide forward positions.
2) Are cramp and a hamstring pull really that similar feelings?1 -
Although it's in Dutch, this gives the AA pronunciation - it's not quite Mat and it's not quite Mart, it's a little in between.Briston_Addick said:
The double a in his name would indicate something like MARTsen or maybe even MORTsen.LenGlover said:Is it MATsen or MARTsen I think we should be told!
Even once the pronounciation has been confirmed you can bet your life that it'll still get mangled during his time with us!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnhKZu8gfrw
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That save by Amos is outstanding. Having the presence to kick the ball away while lying on his back adds the icing to the cake.ross1 said:4 -
The pictures of his 'goal' at Blackpool show him about 2' (60cm) above all the others.soapboxsam said:I went for a 1-1 draw in the preview because I couldn't see how Charlton could win because they struggle to get more than one shot on target !
I was right and wrong.
I forgot about the consistent OG and Innes who can leap for England.
Great win in poor conditions.
Creating more chances will be for another day.0 -
The rules say the ref has to be look out for the welfare of all the players so presumably he can stop the game at any time if he considers something to be serious enough. "What's that, you've broken your leg? As long as it's not your head, son, we'll just carry on."ForeverAddickted said:
But then dont the rules state the game should only be stopped for a head injury?CatAddick said:
Not sure if it was silly. I think he stopped the game cos he was concerned about a serious injury so drop ball was the only course of action. Considering the conditions and the wilyness of L1 players I thought he did pretty wellForeverAddickted said:
Made one silly decision to give a drop ball to us when we were already in a better position in the first halfOggy Red said:I thought the referee had a very decent game today.
And to think it was his first ever game at this level. Seems to have a promising future, maybe as a top ref?
Anyway, good luck to him.
If he continues to have good games like today then he doesnt stand a chance of rising up the league given the standard of officials higher up
Otherwise I agree, thought he was probably the best official we've had in a long time in any EFL League, Andrew Madley at Wembley is the only one close1 -
As soon as the midfield was announced you knew that we were in trouble... Watson and Pratley one or t’other and for the tougher games both have to be in the side .
Levitt looked decent enough to me at West Ham in the cup but has looked a proper nothing lightweight since , very Matt Smith of last season .The league is shit and in general we were shit but with more nous than the oppo.
Ive not seen a replay but Doughty does everything time and again but his final ball is pony , we’ll take the rub of the green with a decent finish from their defender .
Tougher tests to come and my only fear is when Charlton fans get punchy they’re usually wrong but this time I can see why because there’s not gonna be many goals conceded by as solid a back 5-6(we need a Pratley or Watson there) as we’ve seen for years .
I’m optimistic well for me so can see the play offs being reached (before defeat in them) but with an attacking threat hopefully arriving in January that may be the edge to push towards top 2 .5% Automatic promotion70% Play offs25% 7th-12th0% 13th-20th
0% Relegation
enough of this happiness
palace 5th in premiership
millwall 7th in championship
Charlton Athletic 8th in shitty League One
Fucking shameful times to be so far below these smug twunts for the years it’s been, shameful , probably the longest time in our history from when we initially got above them (someone look that up )3 -
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.0 -
Cramp can be appallingly painful. When I tweaked my hamstring it did feel similar.balham red said:
Paints a slightly bleaker picture really.Callumcafc said:
Two thoughts:
1) Shouldn't Williams be part of the front 3 on either side, instead of being part of the midfield 3? With Doughty out, I hope Williams can show some form in 1 of those wide forward positions.
2) Are cramp and a hamstring pull really that similar feelings?1 - Sponsored links:
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Until Maddison is fit maybe.oohaahmortimer said:As soon as the midfield was announced you knew that we were in trouble... Watson and Pratley one or t’other and for the tougher games both have to be in the side .
Levitt looked decent enough to me at West Ham in the cup but has looked a proper nothing lightweight since , very Matt Smith of last season .The league is shit and in general we were shit but with more nous than the oppo.
Ive not seen a replay but Doughty does everything time and again but his final ball is pony , we’ll take the rub of the green with a decent finish from their defender .
Tougher tests to come and my only fear is when Charlton fans get punchy they’re usually wrong but this time I can see why because there’s not gonna be many goals conceded by as solid a back 5-6(we need a Pratley or Watson there) as we’ve seen for years .
I’m optimistic well for me so can see the play offs being reached (before defeat in them) but with an attacking threat hopefully arriving in January that may be the edge to push towards top 2 .5% Automatic promotion70% Play offs25% 7th-12th0% 13th-20th
0% Relegation
enough of this happiness
palace 5th in premiership
millwall 7th in championship
Charlton Athletic 8th in shitty League One
Fucking shameful times to be so far below these smug twunts for the years it’s been, shameful , probably the longest time in our history from when we initially got above them (someone look that up )I was certainly surprised that neither Pratley or Watson started. Pratley was great when he came on, and once again the second half was way better than the first. Ironically last week it was partly because Pratley was subbed.0 -
If you were called happy Addicks rather than grumpy, your would have taken the weather into account, we are still a very new team, 4-5 games behind the rest of the league with 4-5 first team squad players injured or not fully fit.grumpyaddick said:That was utter dross.
Our defence is very sound but the rest pretty much clueless despite the effort.
Smyth looks like Simon Church but with a weaker shot and Bogle like a slower version of Magennis if if that's possible. If either of them score more than five goals this season it will be a miracle.
Pretty much no midfield until Pratley appeared.
No chances created and two goals.
Don't be deceived by the score. That was bang average league 1 rubbish but we won.
if smyth had a weaker shot than church, he wouldn’t have blasted it over. Bogle is a work in progress who I don’t rate but giving credit where credits due, he put in a shift and was holding the ball up in the last 10 minutes which relieved the pressure. That was the issue last season with all the late goals, we couldn’t stop the ball being pumped into our box. Bogle keeping the ball stopped that
we didn’t create much, but we will. This team is 3 games old! Played 3, won 3, conceded 0. Can’t understand the grumpiness18 -
What I liked was that we didn't sit back. In a far from entertaining game, due in no small part to the conditions, it is easy to forget that. Subbing off an offensive player for a defensive one sends a message to sit back. We didn't do that yesterday.1
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I think Levitt will look better against the footballing sides when he might have a little more time to pick his passes. Yesterday was not a day for long, accurate cross-field balls; even Naby would have struggled!It clearly wasn't a game for Levitt and I called the substitution after about 20 minutes. Glad Bowyer did it when he did as he has at times not been as proactive as we'd like.But no one was a passenger in that second half, with Bogle holding the ball up well, Smyth making himself available and Jonny Williams tracking back and involved defensively. JFC worked hard and Pratley was a game-changer. The defence looks as good as we've had in a while and a couple of classes above what we saw at the start of the season (Barker, Oshilaja, Pratley, Purrington).All in all a scrappy game in dreadful conditions but I quite enjoyed it.6
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but one would hope that supporters would have a better understanding of the game.grumpyaddick said:That was utter dross.
Our defence is very sound but the rest pretty much clueless despite the effort.
Smyth looks like Simon Church but with a weaker shot and Bogle like a slower version of Magennis if if that's possible. If either of them score more than five goals this season it will be a miracle.
Pretty much no midfield until Pratley appeared.
No chances created and two goals.
Don't be deceived by the score. That was bang average league 1 rubbish but we won.7 -
AddicksAddict said:
The pictures of his 'goal' at Blackpool show him about 2' (60cm) above all the others.soapboxsam said:I went for a 1-1 draw in the preview because I couldn't see how Charlton could win because they struggle to get more than one shot on target !
I was right and wrong.
I forgot about the consistent OG and Innes who can leap for England.
Great win in poor conditions.
Creating more chances will be for another day.
That was an amazing picture.
Ryan Innes leaps like a top Basket ball player and he is our major attacking threat.
It is paramount that our set pieces find him.
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When TS said that the aim was to be a mid-table Premier League side in 10 years it gave me a warm feeling inside.oohaahmortimer said:
enough of this happiness
palace 5th in premiership
millwall 7th in championship
Charlton Athletic 8th in shitty League One
Fucking shameful times to be so far below these smug twunts for the years it’s been, shameful , probably the longest time in our history from when we initially got above them (someone look that up )
When a relative jokingly said to me, so in 10 years time you hope to be like Palace, it suddenly depressed the hell out of me.
(Obviously nobody would want to be "like Palace")
Will have to focus on catching the spanners first. At least they won't do anything stupid like getting promoted will they? 😧1 -
We had two shots on target the whole gameRedrobo said:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but one would hope that supporters would have a better understanding of the game.grumpyaddick said:That was utter dross.
Our defence is very sound but the rest pretty much clueless despite the effort.
Smyth looks like Simon Church but with a weaker shot and Bogle like a slower version of Magennis if if that's possible. If either of them score more than five goals this season it will be a miracle.
Pretty much no midfield until Pratley appeared.
No chances created and two goals.
Don't be deceived by the score. That was bang average league 1 rubbish but we won.0 -
That's a fair point, but that's not enough to persuade me that Robbo's got his number.golfaddick said:
Not beaten his Oxford side yet. Last season it was a draw at home & a defeat away. Robbo's got 1 up on Bows atm.Six-a-bag-of-nuts said:
I honestly think you are overstating Robinson's capabilities FA.ForeverAddickted said:Oxford on Tuesday night will be our first serious test under this new Charlton team, worries me more than Portsmouth next Saturday
Robinson seems to be the one man who knows how Bowyer thinks with his teams / setup - Is why I'm so relieved that we got a result today!!
I suspect Bows has a better insight of Robbo's one-dimensional outlook
We'll see I guess.0 -
The answer is simple, have a few quid on and games pay for themselves.ct_addick said:The difference between league one and the championship is huge. I am having trouble getting excited about games. Shitty weather and a shitty ground today. Won’t watch too many away games this year At 10 quid a pop but 3 points is 3 points.
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You’ve moved on pretty quicklyLeuth said:"The change in the second half with Prattley in the midfield re-energised our attack and we became more fluid despite the worsening conditions."
No, we didn't. This is the fakest of news. The entire game was a truly dire shitfest played in gale-force winds against a team of brutes. We created even less passing play in the second half. The impact Pratley had was to offer us another big lad to stick in the box for a set-piece, and he duly Brexited one in from a decent knockdown and a Bogle random-ball-direction-generator. The actual game was a continuum of horror, and I'm very glad we came out on top, because fuck me, if we hadn't won that, I'd be a little glum right now. Glummer than I am. Which, given my various pronouncements on the match thread, is not as glum as I should be
Ryan Inniss changed the game. He was our X-factor in both boxes. He has The Force0 -
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.2 -
Given the other attacking options we have in midfield at present I would pick Pratley over Levitt every time.Leuth said:
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.8 -
For some games, yes. But on a good pitch in decent conditions, Levitt would be the player you want if we wanted to be on the front foot. He'd receive the ball from the back four and make play. Pratley receives the ball from the back four and returns it to the back four.blackpool72 said:
Given the other attacking options we have in midfield at present I would pick Pratley over Levitt every time.Leuth said:
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.
But Pratley as pivot isn't so bad. He can play a simple ball to a half-decent standard. What I mean is the hellish spectacle of him trying to play as one of our box to box midfielders. At least yesterday he was just the DM spoiler. I don't want Bowyer getting any ideas of returning him or Watson to a position higher up the pitch2 -
Excellent distribution from Amos to Doughty for the 2nd.
It's been a while since we've seen a Charlton goalie send a flat and accurate ball out to set a counter attack. Amos and Doughty made that (own) goal from nothing.
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Of course Pratley did actually rock up in Northampton’s box to score a very tidy goal. Box to box perhaps he ain’t but he does pop up with a few goals.Leuth said:
For some games, yes. But on a good pitch in decent conditions, Levitt would be the player you want if we wanted to be on the front foot. He'd receive the ball from the back four and make play. Pratley receives the ball from the back four and returns it to the back four.blackpool72 said:
Given the other attacking options we have in midfield at present I would pick Pratley over Levitt every time.Leuth said:
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.
But Pratley as pivot isn't so bad. He can play a simple ball to a half-decent standard. What I mean is the hellish spectacle of him trying to play as one of our box to box midfielders. At least yesterday he was just the DM spoiler. I don't want Bowyer getting any ideas of returning him or Watson to a position higher up the pitch3 -
He rocked up in their box as we had a bloody corner!ShootersHillGuru said:
Of course Pratley did actually rock up in Northampton’s box to score a very tidy goal. Box to box perhaps he ain’t but he does pop up with a few goals.Leuth said:
For some games, yes. But on a good pitch in decent conditions, Levitt would be the player you want if we wanted to be on the front foot. He'd receive the ball from the back four and make play. Pratley receives the ball from the back four and returns it to the back four.blackpool72 said:
Given the other attacking options we have in midfield at present I would pick Pratley over Levitt every time.Leuth said:
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.
But Pratley as pivot isn't so bad. He can play a simple ball to a half-decent standard. What I mean is the hellish spectacle of him trying to play as one of our box to box midfielders. At least yesterday he was just the DM spoiler. I don't want Bowyer getting any ideas of returning him or Watson to a position higher up the pitch4 -
And scored from it.Leuth said:
He rocked up in their box as we had a bloody corner!ShootersHillGuru said:
Of course Pratley did actually rock up in Northampton’s box to score a very tidy goal. Box to box perhaps he ain’t but he does pop up with a few goals.Leuth said:
For some games, yes. But on a good pitch in decent conditions, Levitt would be the player you want if we wanted to be on the front foot. He'd receive the ball from the back four and make play. Pratley receives the ball from the back four and returns it to the back four.blackpool72 said:
Given the other attacking options we have in midfield at present I would pick Pratley over Levitt every time.Leuth said:
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.
But Pratley as pivot isn't so bad. He can play a simple ball to a half-decent standard. What I mean is the hellish spectacle of him trying to play as one of our box to box midfielders. At least yesterday he was just the DM spoiler. I don't want Bowyer getting any ideas of returning him or Watson to a position higher up the pitch
Would Levitt have done the same0 -
If you bring in a slew of players some won't work, some will be injured, some will be a success.
That goes for the whole squad.
I hope there is no tacit or unspoken agreement with anybody over game time.
I personally want to see players who are a) not a liability, and b) can have a positive effect on things.
So far in my view there has not been a positive enough contribution from Watson, Williams and Levitt and Shinnie is borderline. I hope they all improve.2 -
No! But there's more than one way to score a goal. The change worked because set-pieces were more or less out only hope (second goal was brought about by Northampton having to attack more and leaving space)blackpool72 said:
And scored from it.Leuth said:
He rocked up in their box as we had a bloody corner!ShootersHillGuru said:
Of course Pratley did actually rock up in Northampton’s box to score a very tidy goal. Box to box perhaps he ain’t but he does pop up with a few goals.Leuth said:
For some games, yes. But on a good pitch in decent conditions, Levitt would be the player you want if we wanted to be on the front foot. He'd receive the ball from the back four and make play. Pratley receives the ball from the back four and returns it to the back four.blackpool72 said:
Given the other attacking options we have in midfield at present I would pick Pratley over Levitt every time.Leuth said:
Uh oh. We've got a live Watson And Pratleyer.AddicksAddict said:
At Blackpool, Watson was much better further up the pitch after both teams went down to ten men. I don't think defensive midfielder is his best position, especially given how easily he picks up yellow cards.Davo55 said:
Agree, but I think we look too pedestrian with both of them in the team. I can see Pratley keeping Watson out of the starting eleven because, however good Watson is, Pratley is making himself a must pick. Probably, the reality is that they'll be rotated in that role shielding the back four.ShootersHillGuru said:One of Pratley or Watson should always start in my opinion.
Against Blackpool, Watson was still the pivot, but he was able to get forward a couple of times due to the shape of the game.
Yes, we need 'a Watson or a Pratley' in our side. I still think Levitt has a bit more steel than it seems, or at least, has the potential to, but as it stands, yes, we need someone who'll win the ball.
But we also need someone who, having won the ball, will do something even faintly useful with it.
That we have two footballers as limited as these two to do it, as opposed to Cullen and Bielik, is the single biggest advantage our last promotion squad has over ours. Bigger than Taylor for mine.
There was a moment yesterday where Pratley miscontrolled a simple ball about five yards, ran after it and basically fell on his man, fouling him. Yes, he gave us the set-piece threat we needed to win that game as we weren't getting a first goal any other way. Yes, he's probably a right pain to play against. But he is slow, clumsy and only suited for destruction. He can play pivot at a push, but the notion of having the similarly slow and not entirely cultured Watson alongside him with the options we have is vandalism, pure and simple.
But Pratley as pivot isn't so bad. He can play a simple ball to a half-decent standard. What I mean is the hellish spectacle of him trying to play as one of our box to box midfielders. At least yesterday he was just the DM spoiler. I don't want Bowyer getting any ideas of returning him or Watson to a position higher up the pitch
Would Levitt have done the same0
