Good to feel that winning feeling again at the Valley. Key points for me:
a much improved performance, albeit against weaker opposition. The tactics were much better, giving Stockley the kind of support he needs.
almost everyone played better but it was especially good to see Morgan, Watson, Matthews and Gunter have good games after all the criticism that gets levelled at them
Albie in particular played very well. That slightly deeper role suits him better, despite his defensive frailties. He is able to use his great eye for a through ball. The one he pinged first time to Conor Washington in the right hand channel was sublime.
Taking of Conor, I thought he had a tremendous game. Never stopped running and dragging their defenders out of position. Great assist for Jayden's goal too. Shame he didn't get the goal he deserved. Perhaps should have done better when through late on but it was a good save from their keeper.
Worried about Ryan Inniss. He is very good at this level but his susceptibility to injury is a major weakness. Young Deji did well when he came on but I don't think he's ready for a starting role yet. We badly need another RCB before the transfer window closes.
Saw plenty from Elliot Lee's substitute appearance to be assured that he will be a good acquisition.
One win doesn't turn it all around but it's a start. As the saying goes, let's see where we are after ten games. I think we'll be in the top half by then and we can hopefully gain confidence and push on through the rest of the season.
Edit: Have now read the whole thread. I can't remember many post match threads where there is such a close alignment of opinions. Something's wrong, very wrong
The team's we have played ( mostly very poorly) against currently occupy places 2,3,4 and 11 in the table. Crewe are second bottom. Obviously that doesn't tell the whole story at this early stage, but maybe throws a little perspective on the good and the bad in our start to the campaign. We learned that Nigel is prepared to change the system, although I imagine it was just a "horses for courses" change Be interested see how we line up for the next league match, with a complete squad including new boys to choose from. Our bench certainly promises to be strong compared to the season opener! As for yesterday, everybody stepped up to the plate and we were at them from the off. It was great to watch us playing well for a change and we really should have won that by 4 or 5 goals. Still a lot more to come from Kirk I think and now with Lee on board and Arter and others to follow we look much better equipped for the challenge. Shame it has come a month into the season, but it's clearly been a hard slog for SG and team. Onwards and upwards hopefully, but I enjoyed my Saturday night bottle of red this week
A lot better than last week. I know Crewe were not at the races but it’s nice to us dominate the opponents for vast portions of the game. Hopefully we can build on this result and kick on up the table.
Good game. One of those matches that easily could’ve ended 6-3. We carried much more goal threat which is largely why we looked better. Some of that is undoubtedly because Crewe were not great but you beat what’s in front of you. You could see the confidence growing and that shone a light on some of the potential in this team.
Lots an lots still to work on… we needed 4 good saves from CM and two goal line clearances from Albie to preserve the clean sheet and, in particular, although we got in behind a lot we were very wasteful with the ball come the final pass, especially in the second half. There was one fantastic save from Stockley’s header and Washington should’ve done better with a couple of opportunities but other than that we didn’t covert enough of our good positions into shots. It was one of Bowyer’s main criticisms of the players last season as well.
The green shoots of recovery were there though. Hopefully a few more reinforcements in the next few days to complete the puzzle and this can become a launching pad for the rest of the season.
I thought everyone had a decent game, my only slight disappointment was Kirk wasn’t more to the fore given how open the game was, but he wasn’t anonymous either. Morgan I thought had an excellent match and hopefully quietend some of the criticism which hasn’t been unfounded but has definitely been overblown. Gunter’s beat game for us as well, I think he largely been highest disappointing for us but was great today. CM looking much more like the good keeper we were told we’d be getting, some good saves, dealt with a couple of crosses and soils with his kicking.
Now I understand the "Yooouuu've SHIT aaaah" chant
Got to Liverpool Street early (boys unable to go with me yesterday) and walked the south bank Thames Path from Tower Bridge to Greenwich.
Stumbled across 'The Dog and Bell' in Deptford so had a few pints in there, including a really pleasant (but punchy) craft IPA (Fergal - I think?) at 6.5%!
Carried on to Greenwich and had some lunch and a few beers at the 'Trafalgar' (first time in there, loved it) and 'The Yacht', before jumping on the train at Maze Hill and heading to the game.
My point is?...... Thanks for the comments in this thread because I don't remember too much about the game!
Well that was better,I though a very entertaining game,incidents both ends,plenty of goal mouth action,a home clean sheet. At last we saw how good Morgan can be,some lovely passes,plenty of hard work,and the set pieces were a lot better.Pleased with Gunter and Watson,both get a lot of stick from the"stealing a living brigade".Gunter was superb yesterday,great cross for the goal,Watson controlled a lot of mid field play,also some very good interceptions to set up attacks.Washington,unplayable at times,we need to keep him fit,he is 10-15 goals a year.There will now be plenty of competition for midfield places,which can only be good.Kirk will come good,he looked a bit subdued ,maybe playing against his mates so soon,was not ideal for him.
No sign of @golfaddick on the post match thread tonight.
He's usually quite vocal after matches, so I hope he's ok. Hope his eye surgery went well.
Sorry......not much to say about the game. Wasn't there obviously & followed it on Soccer Saturday & updates on here, which were very sparse and nothing like what I was used to when we were all watching it on Valley Pass.
Sounds like we had the first & last 20 mins but in between that could have got back into it. Still think we are light up front & looks like we are hoping to get away with Gunter as cover at left back.
Hoping by the time we play Cheltenham (which is Golfie jnr's 18 birthday @!) my eyes will be better & I can be at the match......although you all might want me to miss it again seeing as the only time I dont go we win !!
I did watch it, the only available stream was Charlton TV and so it was quite interesting watching with the home coms.
Couldn’t get out of our half for 15 mins and it looked pretty grim from a Crewe perspective. However, we then found a foothold and started to play some football and even tested your GK.
The two quick fire goals killed Crewe though and I felt that Charlton coasted through the second half to some extent. However, our keeper had to produce an incredible save to keep it to two. As usual we rallied in the last quarter and could have snatched a goal but it wasn’t to be!
Charlton are the best side I’ve seen, take that as you will as I’ve seen Oxford, Accrington and Cheltenham!
The lad who scored the first goal was a real threat but disappointingly Kirky was anonymous. I’m sure he’ll come good though.
Over seven hours since Crewe last scored…..long season ahead.
I missed the game, having had a suspected transient ischaemic attack. I’m pleased we won, annoyed to have missed it, and now conflicted as to whether I attend the next match or spend the day in Lewisham Hospital.
Got to Liverpool Street early (boys unable to go with me yesterday) and walked the south bank Thames Path from Tower Bridge to Greenwich.
Stumbled across 'The Dog and Bell' in Deptford so had a few pints in there, including a really pleasant (but punchy) craft IPA (Fergal - I think?) at 6.5%!
Carried on to Greenwich and had some lunch and a few beers at the 'Trafalgar' (first time in there, loved it) and 'The Yacht', before jumping on the train at Maze Hill and heading to the game.
My point is?...... Thanks for the comments in this thread because I don't remember too much about the game!
The Dog and Bell is a great pub. Back in 1992, when you had to live in the locale to get married at a particular place, Ms AA and I supposedly lived there so we could tie the knot at St Nick’s over the road.
On reflection: 1. The line-up of 442 as yesterday but with Lee and Arter as the midfield 2, and Purrington at left back might be good enough for the playoffs but not automatics. 2. Automatics would require a better left back than Purrington and a natural goalscorer up front with Stockley. 3. Morgan and Clare would both benefit from coming on as impact players than starters. 4. Matthews still has a good turn of pace and should get forward more. 4. Elerewe, gone by end of January.
A far better and more possible performance all around even though we were playing a poor team. why the fuck we try to hang onto a 2-0 lead at half time beats me? if one of Crewe’s well defended goal line clearances had gone in.....then it potentially becomes a draw? having said that it was still a great improvement with some news guys to come 👍👍👍
On reflection: 1. The line-up of 442 as yesterday but with Lee and Arter as the midfield 2, and Purrington at left back might be good enough for the playoffs but not automatics. 2. Automatics would require a better left back than Purrington and a natural goalscorer up front with Stockley. 3. Morgan and Clare would both benefit from coming on as impact players than starters. 4. Matthews still has a good turn of pace and should get forward more. 4. Elerewe, gone by end of January.
Lee is a striker/number 10. No way we’d play him in a midfield two
I was pleased with MacG’s distribution yesterday, especially a couple of his quick long throws, something which seems surprisingly rare these days with the obsession with keepers being able to kick.
On reflection: 1. The line-up of 442 as yesterday but with Lee and Arter as the midfield 2, and Purrington at left back might be good enough for the playoffs but not automatics. 2. Automatics would require a better left back than Purrington and a natural goalscorer up front with Stockley. 3. Morgan and Clare would both benefit from coming on as impact players than starters. 4. Matthews still has a good turn of pace and should get forward more. 4. Elerewe, gone by end of January.
Lee is a striker/number 10. No way we’d play him in a midfield two
A striker with 1 goal every 6 games, 5 if you only include league 1, 7/8 a season max average? Really?
Great performance all round. 1st 3 pts and hopefully the season starts here. Yes Crewe were poor but you can only beat what is in front of you. How many times last year did we drop points against poor teams ?. I have been vocal in my criticism of Albie but yesterday he was great playing a more suited role. I really hope we can hang on to Deji the lad has a big future imo. The composure he shows to pick a pass will be immense as he develops. Would be gutted if he is poached away from us
On reflection: 1. The line-up of 442 as yesterday but with Lee and Arter as the midfield 2, and Purrington at left back might be good enough for the playoffs but not automatics. 2. Automatics would require a better left back than Purrington and a natural goalscorer up front with Stockley. 3. Morgan and Clare would both benefit from coming on as impact players than starters. 4. Matthews still has a good turn of pace and should get forward more. 4. Elerewe, gone by end of January.
Lee is a striker/number 10. No way we’d play him in a midfield two
A striker with 1 goal every 6 games, 5 if you only include league 1, 7/8 a season max average? Really?
His previous two seasons in league 1 are fine. 6 goals in 20 games and 12 goals in 38 games.
Admittedly Crewe will be a bottom half club this season but, with less than a full squad, in our first five games we have played three of the top four teams in the division. I would suggest that few other teams have had as difficult a start.
Comments
Good to feel that winning feeling again at the Valley. Key points for me:
- a much improved performance, albeit against weaker opposition. The tactics were much better, giving Stockley the kind of support he needs.
- almost everyone played better but it was especially good to see Morgan, Watson, Matthews and Gunter have good games after all the criticism that gets levelled at them
- Albie in particular played very well. That slightly deeper role suits him better, despite his defensive frailties. He is able to use his great eye for a through ball. The one he pinged first time to Conor Washington in the right hand channel was sublime.
- Taking of Conor, I thought he had a tremendous game. Never stopped running and dragging their defenders out of position. Great assist for Jayden's goal too. Shame he didn't get the goal he deserved. Perhaps should have done better when through late on but it was a good save from their keeper.
- Worried about Ryan Inniss. He is very good at this level but his susceptibility to injury is a major weakness. Young Deji did well when he came on but I don't think he's ready for a starting role yet. We badly need another RCB before the transfer window closes.
- Saw plenty from Elliot Lee's substitute appearance to be assured that he will be a good acquisition.
One win doesn't turn it all around but it's a start. As the saying goes, let's see where we are after ten games. I think we'll be in the top half by then and we can hopefully gain confidence and push on through the rest of the season.Edit: Have now read the whole thread. I can't remember many post match threads where there is such a close alignment of opinions. Something's wrong, very wrong
Obviously that doesn't tell the whole story at this early stage, but maybe throws a little perspective on the good and the bad in our start to the campaign.
We learned that Nigel is prepared to change the system, although I imagine it was just a "horses for courses" change
Be interested see how we line up for the next league match, with a complete squad including new boys to choose from.
Our bench certainly promises to be strong compared to the season opener!
As for yesterday, everybody stepped up to the plate and we were at them from the off.
It was great to watch us playing well for a change and we really should have won that by 4 or 5 goals.
Still a lot more to come from Kirk I think and now with Lee on board and Arter and others to follow we look much better equipped for the challenge.
Shame it has come a month into the season, but it's clearly been a hard slog for SG and team.
Onwards and upwards hopefully, but I enjoyed my Saturday night bottle of red this week
Hopefully we can build on this result and kick on up the table.
Lost against Peterborough (Understandably perhaps), the just about got away with the performances against Crewe and Accrington.
Stumbled across 'The Dog and Bell' in Deptford so had a few pints in there, including a really pleasant (but punchy) craft IPA (Fergal - I think?) at 6.5%!
Carried on to Greenwich and had some lunch and a few beers at the 'Trafalgar' (first time in there, loved it) and 'The Yacht', before jumping on the train at Maze Hill and heading to the game.
My point is?...... Thanks for the comments in this thread because I don't remember too much about the game!
At last we saw how good Morgan can be,some lovely passes,plenty of hard work,and the set pieces were a lot better.Pleased with Gunter and Watson,both get a lot of stick from the"stealing a living brigade".Gunter was superb yesterday,great cross for the goal,Watson controlled a lot of mid field play,also some very good interceptions to set up attacks.Washington,unplayable at times,we need to keep him fit,he is 10-15 goals a year.There will now be plenty of competition for midfield places,which can only be good.Kirk will come good,he looked a bit subdued ,maybe playing against his mates so soon,was not ideal for him.
Sounds like we had the first & last 20 mins but in between that could have got back into it. Still think we are light up front & looks like we are hoping to get away with Gunter as cover at left back.
Hoping by the time we play Cheltenham (which is Golfie jnr's 18 birthday @!) my eyes will be better & I can be at the match......although you all might want me to miss it again seeing as the only time I dont go we win !!
1. The line-up of 442 as yesterday but with Lee and Arter as the midfield 2, and Purrington at left back might be good enough for the playoffs but not automatics.
2. Automatics would require a better left back than Purrington and a natural goalscorer up front with Stockley.
3. Morgan and Clare would both benefit from coming on as impact players than starters.
4. Matthews still has a good turn of pace and should get forward more.
4. Elerewe, gone by end of January.
why the fuck we try to hang onto a 2-0 lead at half time beats me?
if one of Crewe’s well defended goal line clearances
had gone in.....then it potentially becomes a draw?
having said that it was still a great improvement with some news guys to come 👍👍👍
I have been vocal in my criticism of Albie but yesterday he was great playing a more suited role.
I really hope we can hang on to Deji the lad has a big future imo. The composure he shows to pick a pass will be immense as he develops. Would be gutted if he is poached away from us