Accrington Stanley v Charlton AthleticSaturday 1rd May 2021 ... 3pm Kick-OffReferee: Alan YoungAlan Young takes charge of his very first Charlton game this Saturday afternoon, although will be his second visit of the year to the Crown Ground after taking charge of Accrington v Shrewsbury which ended 1-1... He does like his cards, 135-yellows and 3-reds in just 32-games an average of four per game.IntroductionI've probably covered this before but football outside the Premier League really does have a habit of throwing up both some inconsistent results and inconsistent performances, just a week ago we were recovering from the shock of a 6-0 win at Plymouth Argyle, this week we've been recovering from the frustration of a last second goal which saw Crewe taking a well earned point back up to Cheshire. Thankfully other sides didnt want to capitalise on our misfortune on Tuesday night, meaning that the Play-offs remain in our hands, albeit like a man clinging to a rock knowing they could slip into the abyss of League One for another season at the very least.
The OppositionName: Accrington Stanley (11th) |
Manager: John Coleman
Ground: Crown Ground
Previous Meeting: Charlton Athletic 0-2 Accrington Stanley
The next team standing in our way, and perhaps the one game we really must win is Accrington Stanley... We should be thankfully really, their last two games have seen them stealing a point at the death against both Sunderland and Portsmouth, the latter proving extremely important on Tuesday night... The fearful factor is they also faced Doncaster, Blackpool and Oxford in April taking seven points from nine, what a way to bounce back from a 7-0 defeat at Peterborough United.
Of course it could have been very different at the turn of the year, Stanley after all visited the Valley as a side that were gunning for the Play-Offs themselves, they were partly in that position though (like others) because COVID had cancelled games, unlike Blackpool though their small squad meant that they were unable to sustain their impressive form. But as we've seen in midweek, this is a team that like Crewe, wont be thinking about the beach just yet, the Play-Offs are gone, but with one of the lowest budgets at this level will see the likes of Charlton Athletic as a chance to show that club size and budget isnt everything.
Naturally it means that Accrington tend to have to wheel and deal in the market more times than others, often bringing players in from Non-League such as top scorer: Colby Bishop, signed from Leamington in the National League North two years ago, the Striker has another ten goals to his name this term including both neat finishes at the Valley last time out. Perhaps a move even higher will be on the cards for a player who not long ago was combining his playing duties with that of a PE Teacher.
Charlton Team NewsIts naturally not taken long for a small amount of fan frustration to come to the fore with Nigel Adkins. For a Football Manager life is easy when you're winning games but as we've especially seen from draws against Ipswich and Crewe, there will always be questions as to why others havent played in front of certain selections, even when minimal changes are being made each week.
Its a good time though to judge Adkins' approach to this team and for the most part it looks like we're setting up as a 4-3-3 with Jayden Stockley as our sole Striker, whether thats because Chuks Aneke and Conor Washington have needed to be eased back (and so avoid that other fan frustration of recurring injury) we'll never know, but both have continued to gain time in recent fixtures so the former may well be chosen to lead the line alongside Stockley as we look to change tactic, maybe even to a 3-5-2 approach as we saw in the latter stages on Tuesday night.
Diallang Jaiyesimi is the sole confirmed absent player ahead of this Saturday yet may well be joined by Adam Matthews who went down needing treatment early on Tuesday evening, naturally you'd expect Chris Gunter and Ian Maatsen to come into the team if we do stick with the tried a tested 4-3-3 once again.
Amos
Matthews - Inniss - Pearce - Purrington
Forster-Caskey - Pratley - Gilbey
Maatsen - Stockley - Millar
Substitutes Bench: Maynard-Brewer - Famewo - Gunter - Aneke - Washington - Watson - Morgan
PredictionAs its been said on another thread this morning, "
Its in our hands, yet given our current form you wouldnt expect us to beat Accrington Stanley. Yet on another day, we are capable of winning on our day" - Unfortunately since the dawn of time there have been many questions asked, whether the chicken came before the egg and more recently, why the hell are Charlton Athletic such a Jekyll and Hyde team. On the showing of the last game you'd think our Play-Off hopes are about to disappear over the horizon, maybe though it was just an off day, if we can replicate the type of display we showed against Peterborough and Plymouth, well it should be difficult for any team to keep up with us.
Comments
Hoping we scrap through this with a 2-1 win, to keep our hopes alive for another couple of games.
I feel that Gunter should return . Not because Matthews has done badly but because he needs a rest . Similarly I would pair Inniss and Fanewo in the central defensive positions and bring Pratley back for Watson . Shinnie for JFC ? Another possible change could be Aneke and Stockley . We need to be fresh ,
We looked very lacklustre on Tuesday and if we go with the same team as we did on Tuesday then I can't see us taking anymore than a point, consistency is great but when we're going Tuesday/Saturday for the rest of the season some rotation is required, JFC looked like he was blowing throughout the second half, Watson was way too slow, Maatsen was anonymous, and I don't think Matthews will be able to play either.
I'd like to see us go back to the 3-5-2 we ended the game with, Chuks and Wash are too much to handle for a lot of these L1 defences.
Have to admit to still feeling sucker punched from Tuesday night (even if we didn’t deserve to win or even draw for that matter), so thinking a draw for this game. Hopefully will feel a bit more optimistic once I see Minto, Curbs and Leaburn chatting at 2:15 Saturday.
I would drop Pearce and Watson for this one for Famewo and Pratley, but as long as the rest of the team are suitably recovered, keep the rest consistent.
Found Aliwibble's mention of Southall's attention to detail quite funny on here
https://forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/88469/cafc-bonkers-shenanigans-confidential-stuff-lex-dominus-sold-to-a-craig-freeman-p1534#latest
I think we will start with two up top or maybe a three of Millar, Stockley, Washington. Adkins won't risk both Aneke and Washington from the start and I think Aneke would make more of an impact off the bench than Stockley hence Stockley starting.
Scrappy, nervous 2-1 win.
What this great Tweet shows is both why we're not higher up the table, but moreover where Accrington's weakness is
We need to be positive on Saturday and test Accrington's weak defence. I really believe Adkins really needs to rethink his team, as his favoured lineup and formation is becoming too predictable, and several players a bit tired.
We have 2 must win games in 4 days, and the selection will need to take into account BOTH matches
This!
You will expect the Addicks in time honoured fashion to step up to the challenge.
You will be disapointed. 1-1 with a Stanley equaliser in 90+15th minute off of a defensive bollocks up to be talked about for centuries to come...