Comprehensively outplayed and out thought by a much better Cheltenham Town team who deserve all the credit for the three points. Even their timewasting was top class.
Oh for a Darren Pratley to kick a few people and shake us up. Not that I'm seriously suggesting we bring him back but his oft overlooked qualities were in short supply today.
Too slow, no cohesion, no short passing game, too many passengers.
Looked better with Washington and Leko on but Cheltenham soon snuffed that threat too.
Too early to judge the new players but Lavelle looked uncomfortable on the ball while Sourare looked up for it.
A thoroughly depressing and worrying performance and result.
Do anything to have Pratley back. Ridiculous decision to let him go and nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise.
Michael Duff was on my personal shortlist of options to replace Bowyer in the spring... I’d have him back on that shortlist to replace Adkins if things don’t pick up over the next 6-8 games.
For all our shortcomings, I thought his side looked very well drilled and hungry. That will ensure that they stay well clear of the relegation places this season.
Agreed
When a team with the fraction of our resources beats you with a well organised and executed plan, you take notice. They played some decent football at times too
Well, it doesn't take a genius to work out that attacking down the right might gain dividends when your opponents left back is right footed and has just played in the WC qualifiers & might be a bit tired.
Both goals came from attacks down our left. You might as well give me my coaching badges now.
Starting Watson and Morgan in central midfield what an absolute pile of shit. No more chances for Morgan he is shit wherever he plays. The boy is no where near good enough. Watson is a sack of shit as well. The whole set up of this team is crap. Absolute sick of it now
i couldnt agree with this more Morgan - not good enough Watson - pay him what his contracted and cancel his fob
May aswell do away with the midfield and keep on practicing famewo hoofing it up to stockley. It may pay off one day.
Something Adkins has said he doesn't want us doing.
Bowyer said similar.
But we're stuck in Groundhog day from last winter, conceding 2 goals in FOUR out of SIX games. - We need to get comfortable at this level until the tally against "goals conceded" each game reads ZERO
I'll say it until I'm blue in the face.......
Letting in goals is not a problem IF YOU SCORE MORE THAN YOUR OPPONENTS.
3 of the current top 6 have conceded more than us. We are 5th from bottom.
Wimbledon conceded 3 today and WON. JUST FECKIN SCORE MORE GOALS. 1 shot on target today. The same against Sheff Wed. We pushed the boat out against Oxford when we had TWO shots on target. Its not rocket science that the more shots you have on target the more you will score.
Such a Jekyll and Hyde show for Gunter following his last game in which he played very well. This time out - dreadful dreadful first half, marginally improved in the second but damage already done. Kirk clearly not settled yet but came with rave reviews so give him time.
Only positive for me was Leko who clearly has a lot more to offer than a League One standard player.
A very frustrating afternoon and the next 4 games aren’t going to be easy either.
Gunter shouldn't have been in the team after travelling long distances and playing for Wales.
Like how Washington started on the bench. But NA says that Soure is not fit enough to start & we dont have another fit left back (apart from Roddy).
Now if only we had 3 months to sign a left back before the transfer window shut.
I'm still up as I was watching Emma from Bromley and Beckenham, take on and BEAT the world! So now onto today's game. As I said in my previous post it was shit in the first half and not quite so shit in the second. Morgan needs dropping end of! Souare should start instead of Gunter, Leko instead of DJ, and get Arter in the side! Stockley needs help up front, we need to go 442, we need to change our plan from hoofball. I'd also swap Watson for Dobson, and get Clare on the bench. NA has a few matches in my opinion or he might find himself back on the dole! Overall there was no fight, no passion and no fucking clue!
Same every week. In all 6 games this season the opposition have had more shots on target.
Disgraceful.
In the 8 halves of football at the valley, we’ve gone 5 without a shot.
#disgraceful
Unbelievable. I'll be back in the UK for my first matches in 25 months in two weeks.
I have not waited that long to watch a team that won't even have a decent go. As a Charlton fan I'm generally patient with the team, but that stat is intolerable.
Posting after reading just 4 pages as reading anymore I'll slit my wrists.......
Adkins can moan all he likes but he chose the players & the formation. Imo there is no point bringing in players only to leave then out and play inferior ones in their place. If they aren't fit enough then firstly why not & secondly why sign then in the first place. Answer to the 2nd is because we panicked when the original transfer policy backfired.
I said the the preview thread we would lose if we started with Watson & Gunter. When we resigned Watson we were told he would be back up & only playing when necessary. More bollox then.
If it were me I'd drop Stockley & play Washington & Lee up front. Stockley did nothing today & plainly lumping it up front for him to try to out muscle 2 defenders isn't working. Play the ball on the floor & let Leko, DJ, Kirk & Blackett-Taylor run at them (not suggesting all start btw).
Only players to come out with any credit were Lavelle, Leko, Lee & MacGillivray. If Gunter plays one more match at left back then Adkins needs sacking. Same for Watson.
Still dont think we will get relegated but we are so far off being an automatic promotion side its unreal. Powell's all conquering side from 2011/12 lost just 5 matches all season. This lot have already lost 4.
And you stick your 25 clean sheets up your arse. Sheff U, Lincoln, Bolton & Wimbledon let in goals this afternoon and they all WON. 3 of those teams let in at least 2.
Yes, don’t always agree with your comments golfie, but I absolutely do today, good post. I certainly think giving Stockley a bit of bench time will change the dynamic maybe for the better?.
Just walked in!! Another very long day, but met an old buddy of mine for the first time in 52 years @Redrobo, we were with @TCE, @DaveStorry, @foresthillred and little TJ, his mum and Keith from Radio Sheppy a great bunch of people! Then we come to game... first half we were shit, second half we weren't quite so shit! I'm annoyed that the game ruined an otherwise great day!! I'm still that bloody fuming about the game I'll post my thoughts tomorrow!!
Good night!
Great to meet you before the game @Redmidland, but after that, it was pretty much all downhill apart from the crossbar challenge celebration!
Getting to the point now where I wish Jackson had been given the job. Adkins record is good and his a very positive man, but if he leaves I hope Jackson gets it because it’s the only way I can see him wanting to stick around, if he is number 1.
Anyway, on to today. It was one of the worst first half performances I’ve seen. It was horrible and they were crap.
I don’t know how Morgan continues to get so many people defending him, he’s had long enough now. He can’t defend, he continuously losing his man or gives up tracking him, he offers nothing offensively, he doesn’t score, he doesn’t have dribbling ability or take players on, he doesn’t get stuck in, he doesn’t show for the ball, and what is meant to be his strong part of his game, his passing is inconsistent.
Stockley was awful today. If he plays up front on his own again this season, Adkins will have shown he does not learn. He said he must reflect and take responsibility, well do the basics yourself and put a team out to get the best out of each other, play to your strengths.
Washington and Leko have to start next week, we are a much better team with Washington playing and Leko brings us something no one else in the squad can do.
Thankfully, we still have a number of players to come back or into the team properly. Inniss, Purrington, Souaré, Gilbey, Arter, Clare, Davison, Schwartz. 6 of them I would have in the squad, 100%.
Was thinking the same @Sage about Jacko. Adkins absolutely deserves and should get more time. But if things don’t improve the right man is already at the club imo.
We looked totally off the pace from the off and I'm wondering if it was a case of the players being a bit complacent, expecting to beat little old Cheltenham, then struggling to match the physicality and desire they showed throughout. I understand that sometimes things go wrong tactically, but some basic desire and urgency would have countered much of that, something that hugely frustrates me as a talentless footballer who nonetheless ran his nuts off! Even the ball boys were lounging around looking at their phones!! What we saw at the beginning of the second half, was a group of players taking quick throw ins, taking on opponents, getting some meaty tackles in, just looking a bit like they cared, and it really got the crowd going. It took a combination of game management and weak refereeing to allow Cheltenham to take the steam out of the situation and hold on, comfortably in the end, for the win.
I felt sorry for Stockley. He has obviously been told to act as the focal point for any balls up the pitch, so he pretty much has to allow himself to be marked and try to out-battle two big centre backs. So far this season, he has done this pretty well but he was properly roughed up today and received no protection from the ref to counter the consistent shirt pulling. Also, I bet he would much rather be getting on the end of a decent cross, something that has been almost non-existent due to our talented but extremely lazy wingers. They need to be sat down in front of some footage of John Robinson to understand what Charlton fans expect of a wide player.
As for midfield, where we used to have the Pratley/Watson argument, it is now Morgan/Watson. It has to be one or the other, not both, because we just lack pace and energy when the two of them play together.
For me, there are too many players not giving their all at the moment. Adkins needs to put out a team with all eleven giving 100% next week and make that a benchmark for the season.
Did anyone else notice that there were 6 minutes added time. And on 95 minutes the ref had a word with their player for wasting time and then blew the whistle on 95:45.
Someone on here said DJ is a dud. I agree. Not consistent and loses most 1 on 1's. We got the wrong player from Crewe....Lowery and Dale were better. Criminal that we did not get another striker in the Window. Stockley is a donkey with little or no technical ability. That was embarassingly poor. How Washington was on the bench I don't know. Adkins is hopeless and hasn't got a clue and I don't buy his last of the summer wine act. We are going nowhere this season. Said it once and will say it again....the one person who can get us back to where we want to be is sitting in the Charlton TV studio and his name is on the old East Stand.
May aswell do away with the midfield and keep on practicing famewo hoofing it up to stockley. It may pay off one day.
Something Adkins has said he doesn't want us doing.
Bowyer said similar.
But we're stuck in Groundhog day from last winter, conceding 2 goals in FOUR out of SIX games. - We need to get comfortable at this level until the tally against "goals conceded" each game reads ZERO
I'll say it until I'm blue in the face.......
Letting in goals is not a problem IF YOU SCORE MORE THAN YOUR OPPONENTS.
3 of the current top 6 have conceded more than us. We are 5th from bottom.
Wimbledon conceded 3 today and WON. JUST FECKIN SCORE MORE GOALS. 1 shot on target today. The same against Sheff Wed. We pushed the boat out against Oxford when we had TWO shots on target. Its not rocket science that the more shots you have on target the more you will score.
Yup and lets wait and see what the Goals Conceded column reads when the three teams get promoted
If you want to go up, you need a decent defence as well as a decent attack
You seem to about just one one of those things Golfie - We keep going 2-0 down and have done since last winter, we're making the job impossible for ourselves as no team will score three times every bloody week.
I dont pissing care how many shots we have on target either unless it goes in the bloody net. If we'd had eight shots on goal today, one of the biggest complaints would have been about how wasteful we were because we still only scored one!!
This is the same core group of players that had Bowyer spitting feathers last season. It's why there was a big clamour on here to do a total rebuild in the summer but instead we opted to keep the core and just build on top.
We've all spoken about not being able to identify with any of these players. There are experienced pros in there who are getting caught ball-watching, letting their man go, misplacing every second five-yard ball... They repeatedly haven't done the basics and have cost us so many times that it's predictable. Something rotten about this group.
Getting to the point now where I wish Jackson had been given the job. Adkins record is good and his a very positive man, but if he leaves I hope Jackson gets it because it’s the only way I can see him wanting to stick around, if he is number 1.
Anyway, on to today. It was one of the worst first half performances I’ve seen. It was horrible and they were crap.
I don’t know how Morgan continues to get so many people defending him, he’s had long enough now. He can’t defend, he continuously losing his man or gives up tracking him, he offers nothing offensively, he doesn’t score, he doesn’t have dribbling ability or take players on, he doesn’t get stuck in, he doesn’t show for the ball, and what is meant to be his strong part of his game, his passing is inconsistent.
Stockley was awful today. If he plays up front on his own again this season, Adkins will have shown he does not learn. He said he must reflect and take responsibility, well do the basics yourself and put a team out to get the best out of each other, play to your strengths.
Washington and Leko have to start next week, we are a much better team with Washington playing and Leko brings us something no one else in the squad can do.
Thankfully, we still have a number of players to come back or into the team properly. Inniss, Purrington, Souaré, Gilbey, Arter, Clare, Davison, Schwartz. 6 of them I would have in the squad, 100%.
If you are hanging your hat on those players making a difference, you are going to be disappointed.
The way we play is over reliant on Stockley. I'm confident opponents prioritise stopping him. The problem for us is if they manage it, we seem to lack other attacking options.
Comments
Both goals came from attacks down our left. You might as well give me my coaching badges now.
Just lob it up to "Roy of the Rovers" Stockley and he'll beat the blighters and score some goals.
Incredible that any team of professional people can be so f**ing useless at their job!
Morgan - not good enough
Watson - pay him what his contracted and cancel his fob
You must have missed all the "Come on, lads. We need to raise things" gesturing.
Credit where it's due.
Letting in goals is not a problem IF YOU SCORE MORE THAN YOUR OPPONENTS.
3 of the current top 6 have conceded more than us. We are 5th from bottom.
Wimbledon conceded 3 today and WON. JUST FECKIN SCORE MORE GOALS. 1 shot on target today. The same against Sheff Wed. We pushed the boat out against Oxford when we had TWO shots on target. Its not rocket science that the more shots you have on target the more you will score.
Now if only we had 3 months to sign a left back before the transfer window shut.
Too much beer.
So now onto today's game. As I said in my previous post it was shit in the first half and not quite so shit in the second.
Morgan needs dropping end of! Souare should start instead of Gunter, Leko instead of DJ, and get Arter in the side!
Stockley needs help up front, we need to go 442, we need to change our plan from hoofball.
I'd also swap Watson for Dobson, and get Clare on the bench.
NA has a few matches in my opinion or he might find himself back on the dole!
Overall there was no fight, no passion and no fucking clue!
I have not waited that long to watch a team that won't even have a decent go. As a Charlton fan I'm generally patient with the team, but that stat is intolerable.
Apologies in advance if I end up booing.
Please listen to these two lifers M.Adkins
Possibly be a good thing now if Stockley gets a knock and he’s forced to play Washington and Leko up top together.
Adkins absolutely deserves and should get more time. But if things don’t improve the right man is already at the club imo.
I understand that sometimes things go wrong tactically, but some basic desire and urgency would have countered much of that, something that hugely frustrates me as a talentless footballer who nonetheless ran his nuts off! Even the ball boys were lounging around looking at their phones!!
What we saw at the beginning of the second half, was a group of players taking quick throw ins, taking on opponents, getting some meaty tackles in, just looking a bit like they cared, and it really got the crowd going. It took a combination of game management and weak refereeing to allow Cheltenham to take the steam out of the situation and hold on, comfortably in the end, for the win.
I felt sorry for Stockley. He has obviously been told to act as the focal point for any balls up the pitch, so he pretty much has to allow himself to be marked and try to out-battle two big centre backs. So far this season, he has done this pretty well but he was properly roughed up today and received no protection from the ref to counter the consistent shirt pulling. Also, I bet he would much rather be getting on the end of a decent cross, something that has been almost non-existent due to our talented but extremely lazy wingers. They need to be sat down in front of some footage of John Robinson to understand what Charlton fans expect of a wide player.
As for midfield, where we used to have the Pratley/Watson argument, it is now Morgan/Watson. It has to be one or the other, not both, because we just lack pace and energy when the two of them play together.
For me, there are too many players not giving their all at the moment. Adkins needs to put out a team with all eleven giving 100% next week and make that a benchmark for the season.
If you want to go up, you need a decent defence as well as a decent attack
You seem to about just one one of those things Golfie - We keep going 2-0 down and have done since last winter, we're making the job impossible for ourselves as no team will score three times every bloody week.
I dont pissing care how many shots we have on target either unless it goes in the bloody net. If we'd had eight shots on goal today, one of the biggest complaints would have been about how wasteful we were because we still only scored one!!
We've all spoken about not being able to identify with any of these players. There are experienced pros in there who are getting caught ball-watching, letting their man go, misplacing every second five-yard ball... They repeatedly haven't done the basics and have cost us so many times that it's predictable. Something rotten about this group.
but curbs would be first choice.
As a few others have mentioned Adkins doesn't have the respect of the dressing room.
Time for Curbs and Jackson.
We are absolutely doomed and destined for league 2 with this god awful squad and staff, absolutely NO to Jackson getting the gig.