I didn't think it was great, but it wasn't terrible. We need to identify why we lose key second balls so often. I think a lot of it is we don't take enough care of clearances. There is a lot of Kamikaze about us and has been for some time. We were the better team but when they had a short spell, they got a goal. That isn't good enough.
Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of my first Charlton game, the FA Cup 5th Round match against Dipswitch Town at Portaloo Road.
We were third division then, we're third division now.
Today just about summed up the last 40 years: promised much, fleeting glimpses of sunny uplands and potential joy ... but ultimately disappointing, drifting to yet another defeat against a load of crap like that.
I will be surprised if we can push on for a play-off spot now although, given how unpredictable the season has been, it's still a possibility.
The worrying thing for me is that it took us three years to get out of this cesspit of a division on the last two occasions. Assuming we don't go up this year it's imperative we're successful next season otherwise all the off-field momentum we've picked up courtesy of Mr Sandgaard will be lost.
I want that success to be with Lee Bowyer ... but he's got a lot of hard work to do to realise that success.
We were the better side but,once again, we are not potent enough in attack & don't capitalise when on top. Didn't help with the sending off (which was very harsh imo) but weren't in trouble after that & looked like if anyone was going to score it would be us. Should have headed the warning when they hit the bar but we didnt & they punished us.
As a few posters have just said- no idea why they brought in Smith if we aren't going to play him - he started almost every week for Swindon & is now getting splinters. And makes it even more puzzling especially as we are crying out for a defender. Are you seriously telling me there is no-one better than Pearce - and there is no guarantee that Famewo and / or Innis wont break down again before the end of the season.
Might have to revise my 8th -10th finishing place as even top half is now looking iffy.
You knew when we went to so much effort to get the game on we were bound to lose. It’s textbook Charlton. Gills are becoming a bit of a bogey side as well.
Attacking play is basically fine could be better but we score goals. It’s defensive issues that have cost us once again. Yes all three finishes were excellent (special in the case of their second) but each one we could’ve defended better - closed down faster, cleared our lines better. IMO, only a handful of our players are really interested in defending properly. I also don’t care how bad the players available in the transfer window were, they had to get a big physical centre back in in January - Deji and Pearce are both small for centre backs and when we play sides like this (of which there are many at this level) it really shows. Akinde just bullied them and when you’re on the back foot physically you can’t win your headers and tackles cleanly, which means you don’t clear your lines well and pressure builds. Pearce in particular is trying his hardest but he’s always been a little bit carthorse like and now he looks past it as well. Innis and Famewo don’t get bullied like that, but who knows when we’ll see either of them again. Gunter I don’t rate, sorry - not special 1v1, positionally suspect, not quick, and not great going forward. Purrington is ok most of the time but that was terrible from him for their third today.
You look at Gillingham and they wanted it more - lots of really great blocks and last ditch tackles that were made by busting a gut to get to the ball in front of our players. We just don’t do that enough and that’s why we concede so many. MK Dons, Rochdale the midfield stood tall and competed, kept shape, worked hard and we kept a clean sheet.
I think we’re a side that believes we’re too good for this league and plays with according complacency.
If you want a comparable - think Pardew’s team the first year out of the Premier League. Sadly that’s not a compliment.
We’re potentially good enough to get into and even win the playoffs still but I worry the issues are more mental than down to ability or tactics and that is harder to change. Sudden turn around a do happen if football but if we’re to reach the stated minimum aim we’ll need a turn around very soon followed by a hell of a run.
Come on Charlton, do the right thing and save our season. Get rid and do everything you can to get Paul Cook in.
What if Paul Cook doesnt work? - Seems to be a bit of a given that he'll do the job seeing he's done well at this level himself before now, there are no givens in this Sports
Forever, are you Lee bowyers agent?, if not what has bowyer got on you?. Face facts he is doing a shite job and you are still defending it through sentimental bullshit. The most terrible manager would address our underperforming, terrible defence by now and he hasn’t. Start being real!!.
We need a complete rebuild in he summer. We can finally do it in the summer. I don't know if he would come to us but there was a Manager that it out of work at the moment. Got pipped at the post by Powell in 2011. Thomas wants to get it us promoted and get to the Premier League. I know someoe who will fit that bill will match Thomas's ambitions, be allowed free reign, will attract good players, who would want to play for him? 4 letters beginning with H
Come on Charlton, do the right thing and save our season. Get rid and do everything you can to get Paul Cook in.
What if Paul Cook doesnt work?
Bowyer isn't working.
You do realise the next man could do even worse right?
Its one thing that hasnt been given ANY consideration by the majoity who want Bowyer In or Out
This is fucking crazy logic.
Let's stick with a manager who's clearly underperforming because you never know, the next manager might do even worse.
If that was the case, no manager would ever get sacked.
Of course your right, its equally not crazy logic though
Its about taking responsibiility if you're wrong though - If we sack Bowyer now because results arent up to scratch and bring in someone who sends us to League Two, whose fault is it then?
Come on Charlton, do the right thing and save our season. Get rid and do everything you can to get Paul Cook in.
What if Paul Cook doesnt work?
Bowyer isn't working.
You do realise the next man could do even worse right?
Its one thing that hasnt been given ANY consideration by the majoity who want Bowyer In or Out
But, surely, you don't decide to keep a manager on (in any field of activity) because his replacement might do just as badly? Sometimes you have to trust your judgement and make the tough decision. Of course it's a roll of the dice but if you don't gamble you don't win. You just have to manage the risk.
How on earth can anyone blame the manager for that performance, when players consistently play below their ability level, it’s down to them. We didn’t close them down in our final third, they scored two cracking goals and we gave them the third. We hit the post and the bar in the first twenty minutes and Chuks should not have been dismissed, but all the supporters saying Bow should go need to have a little think...
Due to LB's management, we are wallowing in negativity and mediocrity. Rudderless leadership is what you get if you don't have a clear plan and I for one cannot see any concrete semblance of one from him. It looks far too much like he is making it up as he goes along.
This cannot be how TS envisioned his stewardship of Charlton; he is a very positive person and wants positive, attacking, entertaining football - pretty much the opposite of how LB goes about things.
A change now is arguably too late when it was fairly clear months ago the way that we were heading football-wise; however I don't blame TS for not wanting to pull the trigger and invite comparisons with other footballing disaster areas that sack managers, get worse, rinse and repeat. Take a look at the bottom of the Championship for a number of examples; expensive mistakes, the lot of them.
However, I think it is now clear that if we are to move forward, we need a completely different approach on the pitch, a positive manager who revels in attacking play and entertains us and TS rather than making us all depressed pretty much every week..
Ultimately, TS bought the club to give him something to enjoy and match his passion for football; at the moment we are a million miles away from that. This dissonance cannot continue; nature abhors a vacuum. He will not want his ambitious project to effectively stall in its infancy. I think that it must be becoming increasingly clear to TS that LB is not a good fit for the project to bring us all a brighter football future.
I expect we will end up with someone with a track record of 'project management', i.e building a team based upon a clear, positive philosophy and then playing football that people will actually want to watch. The question is when, not if, IMHO.
I like Bowyer , but I now believe he is out of his depth . How can he be happy with that performance? . He is delusional and I think it is time for a change .
Woeful, as a team we just can't defend. I don't only blame the back four as sometimes the gap between them and the midfield is ridiculous.
Realistically we are 9th/10th once Accrington, Ipswich and Oxford games catch up. You have to go down to Rochdale in 18th to find a team that's leaked more goals.
It really is a crap league, no one has lost less than 5 (Sunderland) and it should have been a decent year to make a go for the top two, but sadly I don't see us even making the play offs (but is still possible of course) and we're set for another year in this god awful league.
How on earth can anyone blame the manager for that performance, when players consistently play below their ability level, it’s down to them. We didn’t close them down in our final third, they scored two cracking goals and we gave them the third. We hit the post and the bar in the first twenty minutes and Chuks should not have been dismissed, but all the supporters saying Bow should go need to have a little think...
We've got 21 points in 18 games and we're in L1. Presumably the manager/coaching staff have to take some responsibility?
Did we actually manage an off side in our favour, seemed to me every time the ball from the Gills went long our back four were stood with their forwards?
Comments
Let's stick with a manager who's clearly underperforming because you never know, the next manager might do even worse.
If that was the case, no manager would ever get sacked.
We were third division then, we're third division now.
Today just about summed up the last 40 years: promised much, fleeting glimpses of sunny uplands and potential joy ... but ultimately disappointing, drifting to yet another defeat against a load of crap like that.
I will be surprised if we can push on for a play-off spot now although, given how unpredictable the season has been, it's still a possibility.
The worrying thing for me is that it took us three years to get out of this cesspit of a division on the last two occasions. Assuming we don't go up this year it's imperative we're successful next season otherwise all the off-field momentum we've picked up courtesy of Mr Sandgaard will be lost.
I want that success to be with Lee Bowyer ... but he's got a lot of hard work to do to realise that success.
We were the better side but,once again, we are not potent enough in attack & don't capitalise when on top. Didn't help with the sending off (which was very harsh imo) but weren't in trouble after that & looked like if anyone was going to score it would be us. Should have headed the warning when they hit the bar but we didnt & they punished us.
As a few posters have just said- no idea why they brought in Smith if we aren't going to play him - he started almost every week for Swindon & is now getting splinters. And makes it even more puzzling especially as we are crying out for a defender. Are you seriously telling me there is no-one better than Pearce - and there is no guarantee that Famewo and / or Innis wont break down again before the end of the season.
Might have to revise my 8th -10th finishing place as even top half is now looking iffy.
Gillingham scored some good goals, but we have a habit now of making teams looking better than what they are.
Wish it had been postponed now
You look at Gillingham and they wanted it more - lots of really great blocks and last ditch tackles that were made by busting a gut to get to the ball in front of our players. We just don’t do that enough and that’s why we concede so many. MK Dons, Rochdale the midfield stood tall and competed, kept shape, worked hard and we kept a clean sheet.
Perhaps we should all start to think about building for next season with or without LB. If the Play Offs come as a result of doing that then so be it.
Its about taking responsibiility if you're wrong though - If we sack Bowyer now because results arent up to scratch and bring in someone who sends us to League Two, whose fault is it then?
We hit the post and the bar in the first twenty minutes and Chuks should not have been dismissed, but all the supporters saying Bow should go need to have a little think...
This cannot be how TS envisioned his stewardship of Charlton; he is a very positive person and wants positive, attacking, entertaining football - pretty much the opposite of how LB goes about things.
A change now is arguably too late when it was fairly clear months ago the way that we were heading football-wise; however I don't blame TS for not wanting to pull the trigger and invite comparisons with other footballing disaster areas that sack managers, get worse, rinse and repeat. Take a look at the bottom of the Championship for a number of examples; expensive mistakes, the lot of them.
However, I think it is now clear that if we are to move forward, we need a completely different approach on the pitch, a positive manager who revels in attacking play and entertains us and TS rather than making us all depressed pretty much every week..
Ultimately, TS bought the club to give him something to enjoy and match his passion for football; at the moment we are a million miles away from that. This dissonance cannot continue; nature abhors a vacuum. He will not want his ambitious project to effectively stall in its infancy. I think that it must be becoming increasingly clear to TS that LB is not a good fit for the project to bring us all a brighter football future.
I expect we will end up with someone with a track record of 'project management', i.e building a team based upon a clear, positive philosophy and then playing football that people will actually want to watch. The question is when, not if, IMHO.
Realistically we are 9th/10th once Accrington, Ipswich and Oxford games catch up. You have to go down to Rochdale in 18th to find a team that's leaked more goals.
It really is a crap league, no one has lost less than 5 (Sunderland) and it should have been a decent year to make a go for the top two, but sadly I don't see us even making the play offs (but is still possible of course) and we're set for another year in this god awful league.