First game I've been to in a long time (think the last time I made it The Valley was to herald the bright new dawn of ESI...), what great entertainment and a good advert for L1 football. Got mad man love for JJ and just could not resist seeing him bossing the dugout.
I felt we edged it (need to be more clinical!) but on balance I think you could argue a draw was a fair result and if you'd offered me that before the game I'd of taken it.
Got to say MacG's save at 0-1 was HUGE, as good as a goal, if that had gone in it was game over, thought he made a couple of good stops 2nd half when R'ham had the pressure on to keep us in the game.
DJ was excellent tonight, pretty much everything you could ask for in a winger, had the beating of his man most of the game and his delivery was consistently good.
I do love Washington, deserved his goal but could've easily had 1-2 more but we all know that already. Proper Charlton player in that he never gives up and runs for days.
One step at a time but JJ has got this whole team putting a shift in and we made R'ham look ordinary, if this continues I think we'll only be looking up the table from here.
Might even be tempted to go a few more games this year if we keep this up.
100% commitment from both sides, a bit frantic at times, with periods of poor football, but great heart and desire from us to get a point against a well drilled Rotherham side. 2 weeks ago we capitulated against Accrington, the turnaround since then really highlights how much we had underperformed under Adkins.
What AMAZES me is how Jacko in 3 games has converted not one "lightweight" winger into an effective wingback, but two. DJ was excellent in his new role, and combined really well with Gilbey, with DJ cutting inside and Gilbey going on the outside. Indeed when Leko is fit, maybe he'll be used as one of the front 2 strikers, a position where we don't have much depth.
Washington is a frustrating player, as he works really hard and does great pressing, but isn't clinical enough in front of goal, so it was good for him to get the goal.
The ref was awful all match, the worst I've seen for a long time. Consistently inconsistent...
Great volumes from the Covered End, even in the first 5 minutes VFR was incredibly loud.
Everyone battled well, but DJ needs to work on his game.
Poor performance by the ref, who booked Stockley after 3 minutes and then had a further word with him on 5 - again nothing. Then failed to give their defender an obvious 2nd yellow in the 2nd half.
Didn't think anyone had a particularly good game but we still battled well against the form side in the league. That bodes well!
Rotherham were really impressive. Thought they looked like an old Dortmund side in the way they press and how direct they are going forward.
A few gripes. Namely the way that Jacko opted to leave Wash upfront and let Stockley drop back to close people down in the first half. How is Jaden going to close anyone down? Presumably JJ wanted to catch them on the break by leaving Wash high but we just ended up trying to play Hollywood passes every time we got the ball and so never worked our way into the game.
I thought Stockley was really poor today in general and should have come off. His pass in the last minute summed it up. He is not much of a footballer, it's like a CB has been stuck upfront. We lack that bit of quality there, crying out for a striker who can put his foot on the ball, turn and bury one.
Things didn't go to plan but we never gave up. That's the Charlton I grew up with. It was a good second half performance and more than happy with the point. If that was the true test of where we are, I'd say we did bloody well.
pet peeve......i've been watching opposition throw-ins against us and we don't mark the thrower. we were taught that as kids. half the time we leave players open. if we had a guy in front of their player for the throw-in there would be no cross and no goal.....
If Rotherham aren't weakened in the January window I feel they are a good shout to be Champions/Automatics. I thought we matched them and both sides were very impressive.
3 great Charlton performances under Jacko. Give him the job.
A game that we would most certainly have lost a few weeks ago.
Although we could have won it in the second half, it was ultimately a well earned and thoroughly deserved point against a very tough and streetwise side. Rotherham were thoroughly difficult and awkward opponents, in the sense that they can play, are very well drilled and coached and are, to a man, experts in the art of shithousery.
They largely negated us in the first half with their high press and their three big central defenders gobbled up most of the resulting high balls, with Stockley outnumbered. It also meant that our wing backs were pushed back for much of the time, although DJ got forward to good effect on a couple of occasions and was our main outlet.
One big contrast between the sides were their respective corners in the opening period. Rotherham varied theirs between flooding the 6 yard box, adopting more conventional starting positions and having a number of 6-footers charging in together from outside the area. For our part, Lee and Washington tried an ill-conceived and executed one-two, which conceded a tame throw on near the corner flag.
I thought that Rotherham were the better side in the first half, although there wasn’t much in it on chances, and the goal in injury time was a gut punch.
We were much better in the second half, really getting after Rotherham and putting them under some serious pressure. We started to win more second balls, refused to be bullied and began moving the ball better.
Macgillivray’s excellent reaction save kept us in it and Connor Washington’s expertly struck equaliser was thoroughly deserved for a much improved and thoroughly committed performance. He needed that after not converting a couple of earlier opportunities.
We could have won the with a bit more composure - especially near the end with Lee failing to play Gilbey in - but I felt a draw was ultimately a fair result.
In terms of performances, I thought that Pearcey played a real captain’s role tonight, especially given Famewo’s less than impressive performance. Akin gave the ball away a few times in dangerous positions (including shortly before their goal) and it is something that he needs to eradicate from his game.
Our midfield three worked hard but found it difficult to find space against doughty and aggressive opponents. DJ had an excellent game and was our main offensive threat but everyone across the team gave their all and contributed to an important point.
A word about the referee, who I thought was diabolical. Rotherham did a real number on him with their gamesmanship and time wasting. They persistently surrounded him en masse to complain about anything and everything - emboldened by their success in getting Stockley booked after 3 minutes - and somehow managed to persuade him not to send off the already booked number 20 when he cynically tripped Gilbey. The piece de resistance was, however, allowing their player to lie on the turf 3 yards from the East Stand touchline and subsequently amble across to the opposite side of the pitch to be substituted. That incident alone took about 3 minutes, yet he and his colleagues saw fit to only add on 5 minutes of injury time, notwithstanding Rotherham successfully eating up time on several other occasions.
Putting those frustrations to one side, 7 points from Jacko’s first 3 fixtures is an excellent return given what went before. He and Jason Euell now have two and a half weeks to work with the players before the Green Army come to The Valley for the next league game. Let’s hope we can get players like Leko, Matthews and Arter fit during that period and maintain the momentum gained over the last fortnight under Jacko’s leadership.
Watched the game via the stream. Thought a draw was a fair result as they were the better team 1st half & we clearly won the 2nd. If we had a decent striker (or 2) then we would have won it. A priority in January but dont think we'll get one.
Thought Dobson & Gilbey had good games & DJ put in some good crosses. I thought Jackson left it too late with his subs - should be coming on after 70 mins not 80. I expect Tommy will give JJ the gig but I'd give it a few more games just to be on the safe side. Yes we played well 2nd half but still too much long ball to Stockley & not convinced that Leko or DJ are wing backs.
Still think play offs are out of reach & somewhere between 8th & 10th would be a good finish seeing the start we had.
Sitting in AC stand block H the ball crossed by their defender went out and came back in for their goal that’s what incensed Gunter and especially me. Linesman was worse than useless couldn’t keep up with play . That’s if it wasn’t a foul throw beforehand.
Proper match under the lights. Love a midweek fixture like that.
Would have taken the point beforehand - Rotherham easily the best team to have come to The Valley this season, worked hard and were devious bastards. They would have ripped an Adkins side to shreds.
Loved the moment at towards the end when a Rotherham player (didn't clock which) appeared to feign cramp and Jayden Stockley did a chop massage on him. Shows the spirit that Johnnie Jackson's brought to this side. Heaven knows what was going on under Adkins.
Ref was atrocious but glad that Jackson played that element down.
I am so happy. The draw was the least we deserved, but it was the performance rather than the result that's cheered me so much.
We've seen three totally committed performances in he last three games, we've been a pack hounding the ball, winning the seconds. We can always forgive mistakes but we demand that level of commitment. I'm starting to feel like I can relax and enjoy the game knowing I'm gonna get it.
Great noise in the North Upper, really good performance on the pitch. Thanks Thomas, thanks Johnnie. It feels like we're all pulling together and we're going to get the results to go with all the good things we've seen off the pitch.
Had good spells.,but our balls into the final third were shocking. Stockley got no change out of a very resolute centre pairing. Thought DJ was excellent first half. Faded second. The game passed Purrington by a bit and I think Jacko should of thought about bringing Kirk on.
Fam,Gunter and Pearcy solid. Love Fams charges out of the box with the ball. He can play a bit that boy.
Elliott Lee. I'm not completely sold on him. Does a few good bits but I think we need a bit more quality in that area if I'm honest.
Everyone battled well, but DJ needs to work on his game.
Poor performance by the ref, who booked Stockley after 3 minutes and then had a further word with him on 5 - again nothing. Then failed to give their defender an obvious 2nd yellow in the 2nd half.
If you had read, you’d see your second point is a minority view, not that I have a problem with those btw.
Thought DJ both attacked and defended (especially) very well. Feels to me he is choosing to cross earlier which in turn is making it easier to beat his man next time. Delivery generally pretty good too.
No doubt it was a foul throw but they are very rarely pulled up now and they may as well just change the rule. The issue was, for the players at least, was did the cross go out of play?
We made a good game of it but I thought Rotherham edged the first half and probably just about deserved to be leading.
Really encouraging the way the team reacted second half though, keeping the ball on the deck and coming back strong. In fact we were so good second half that I don’t think Rotherham could’ve complained too much if we’d gone on to win.
Draw was a pretty fair result though and it was a good game played out between two good sides. If tonight was a true test, as many said after Saturday, then we passed it, if not with flying colours.
Play like that every match and we will pick up a lot of points including against the better teams in the division.
Ref was atrocious but the bad decisions probably roughly equaled out as he was just inept rather than favouring one side over the other.
CM one fine save and even claimed a couple of crosses. Back 3 we’re pretty solid, Pearcy the pick of the bunch for me as he relished the physical battle with Smith. Gunter still found room for some iffy decisions in possession but he looks much better at right side of a back 3. Dobson played well I thought, battled away against an tenacious Millers midfield and used the ball well generally, with one excellent burst forward in the second half. Lee grew into as we got the ball down and played. Gilbey should’ve scored - reckon he will soon. DJ did pretty well defensively and well going forwards. Purrington was quieter because Rotherham offered more of a threat but he still got into the box to attack DJ’s crosses and was not found wanting defensively. Stockley battled but got less change out of their defence, the point is though he worked them over and they didn’t get an easy ride. Washington earned his goal through sheer determination.
Just so nice to look like a proper team again. Keep this up and there’s no one we should fear, the question is have we given ourselves too much to do thanks to the appalling start to the season?
Great to see we now have a team playing with so much belief. We played against probably the best team in the league and controlled the second half and even tried to get a winner when Rotherham had settled for a draw with their time wasting. Well done JJ and JE for turning things around. TS to make JJ permanent manager with immediate effect please.
Stockley should have been replaced at half-time; that Yellowcard meant the rest of the game for him was different as he didn’t want to be sent off.
He’ll have to rethink how he does things as I think he’s getting a reputation. Dobson is such an important player but special mention to Famewo who was very good. Perhaps StockleyWas kept on for his defensive capabilities as he defends very well for us. Well done team and fans.
Proper game of football that. They won the first half we won the second and in my opinion a draw was a fair result. Let's keep our heads down, keep picking up the points and let's see where we are at the start of March. If anyone can do this Jacko can!
Our best performance of the season by some distance. Not much pretty football and no clean sheet but that was never going to be feasible against an excellent Rotherham side. Their two central midfielders were top half Championship standard.
We showed real determination, discipline and an effective game plan that everyone understood. I love Washington and would pick him for every game too but let's be honest. he missed three easy chances and his shot for the goal was a classic Simon Church going nowhere that took a lucky deflection. If only we had a natural goal scorer. Even one like Chuks who we could bring on for 20 minutes at the end.
I doubted Pearce's ability to handle Smith but he just gobbled up their top scorer up for 90 minutes. Superb centre-back play from the man I had written off. My apologies to Captain Pearce.
Still don't understand the scepticism about the new manager. Jacko is the true messiah who will lead us to the promised land.
Good enjoyable game, with everybody working hard. Rotherham we’re a well drilled and organised team. Ref well to be fair, he was totally incompetent to both sides. Anyone notice when DJ came off both their manager and assistant manager went out their way to shake his hand and congratulate him on his performance, don’t often see that.
Comments
I felt we edged it (need to be more clinical!) but on balance I think you could argue a draw was a fair result and if you'd offered me that before the game I'd of taken it.
Got to say MacG's save at 0-1 was HUGE, as good as a goal, if that had gone in it was game over, thought he made a couple of good stops 2nd half when R'ham had the pressure on to keep us in the game.
DJ was excellent tonight, pretty much everything you could ask for in a winger, had the beating of his man most of the game and his delivery was consistently good.
I do love Washington, deserved his goal but could've easily had 1-2 more but we all know that already. Proper Charlton player in that he never gives up and runs for days.
One step at a time but JJ has got this whole team putting a shift in and we made R'ham look ordinary, if this continues I think we'll only be looking up the table from here.
Might even be tempted to go a few more games this year if we keep this up.
What AMAZES me is how Jacko in 3 games has converted not one "lightweight" winger into an effective wingback, but two. DJ was excellent in his new role, and combined really well with Gilbey, with DJ cutting inside and Gilbey going on the outside. Indeed when Leko is fit, maybe he'll be used as one of the front 2 strikers, a position where we don't have much depth.
Washington is a frustrating player, as he works really hard and does great pressing, but isn't clinical enough in front of goal, so it was good for him to get the goal.
The ref was awful all match, the worst I've seen for a long time. Consistently inconsistent...
Great volumes from the Covered End, even in the first 5 minutes VFR was incredibly loud.
Deserved point.
Poor performance by the ref, who booked Stockley after 3 minutes and then had a further word with him on 5 - again nothing. Then failed to give their defender an obvious 2nd yellow in the 2nd half.
Rotherham were really impressive. Thought they looked like an old Dortmund side in the way they press and how direct they are going forward.
A few gripes. Namely the way that Jacko opted to leave Wash upfront and let Stockley drop back to close people down in the first half. How is Jaden going to close anyone down? Presumably JJ wanted to catch them on the break by leaving Wash high but we just ended up trying to play Hollywood passes every time we got the ball and so never worked our way into the game.
I thought Stockley was really poor today in general and should have come off. His pass in the last minute summed it up. He is not much of a footballer, it's like a CB has been stuck upfront. We lack that bit of quality there, crying out for a striker who can put his foot on the ball, turn and bury one.
Things didn't go to plan but we never gave up. That's the Charlton I grew up with.
It was a good second half performance and more than happy with the point. If that was the true test of where we are, I'd say we did bloody well.
I thought we matched them and both sides were very impressive.
3 great Charlton performances under Jacko. Give him the job.
A game that we would most certainly have lost a few weeks ago.
Although we could have won it in the second half, it was ultimately a well earned and thoroughly deserved point against a very tough and streetwise side. Rotherham were thoroughly difficult and awkward opponents, in the sense that they can play, are very well drilled and coached and are, to a man, experts in the art of shithousery.
They largely negated us in the first half with their high press and their three big central defenders gobbled up most of the resulting high balls, with Stockley outnumbered. It also meant that our wing backs were pushed back for much of the time, although DJ got forward to good effect on a couple of occasions and was our main outlet.
One big contrast between the sides were their respective corners in the opening period. Rotherham varied theirs between flooding the 6 yard box, adopting more conventional starting positions and having a number of 6-footers charging in together from outside the area. For our part, Lee and Washington tried an ill-conceived and executed one-two, which conceded a tame throw on near the corner flag.
I thought that Rotherham were the better side in the first half, although there wasn’t much in it on chances, and the goal in injury time was a gut punch.
We were much better in the second half, really getting after Rotherham and putting them under some serious pressure. We started to win more second balls, refused to be bullied and began moving the ball better.
Macgillivray’s excellent reaction save kept us in it and Connor Washington’s expertly struck equaliser was thoroughly deserved for a much improved and thoroughly committed performance. He needed that after not converting a couple of earlier opportunities.
We could have won the with a bit more composure - especially near the end with Lee failing to play Gilbey in - but I felt a draw was ultimately a fair result.
In terms of performances, I thought that Pearcey played a real captain’s role tonight, especially given Famewo’s less than impressive performance. Akin gave the ball away a few times in dangerous positions (including shortly before their goal) and it is something that he needs to eradicate from his game.
Our midfield three worked hard but found it difficult to find space against doughty and aggressive opponents. DJ had an excellent game and was our main offensive threat but everyone across the team gave their all and contributed to an important point.
A word about the referee, who I thought was diabolical. Rotherham did a real number on him with their gamesmanship and time wasting. They persistently surrounded him en masse to complain about anything and everything - emboldened by their success in getting Stockley booked after 3 minutes - and somehow managed to persuade him not to send off the already booked number 20 when he cynically tripped Gilbey. The piece de resistance was, however, allowing their player to lie on the turf 3 yards from the East Stand touchline and subsequently amble across to the opposite side of the pitch to be substituted. That incident alone took about 3 minutes, yet he and his colleagues saw fit to only add on 5 minutes of injury time, notwithstanding Rotherham successfully eating up time on several other occasions.
Putting those frustrations to one side, 7 points from Jacko’s first 3 fixtures is an excellent return given what went before. He and Jason Euell now have two and a half weeks to work with the players before the Green Army come to The Valley for the next league game. Let’s hope we can get players like Leko, Matthews and Arter fit during that period and maintain the momentum gained over the last fortnight under Jacko’s leadership.
Thought Dobson & Gilbey had good games & DJ put in some good crosses. I thought Jackson left it too late with his subs - should be coming on after 70 mins not 80. I expect Tommy will give JJ the gig but I'd give it a few more games just to be on the safe side. Yes we played well 2nd half but still too much long ball to Stockley & not convinced that Leko or DJ are wing backs.
Still think play offs are out of reach & somewhere between 8th & 10th would be a good finish seeing the start we had.
Now for that elusive cup run.......
Would have taken the point beforehand - Rotherham easily the best team to have come to The Valley this season, worked hard and were devious bastards. They would have ripped an Adkins side to shreds.
Loved the moment at towards the end when a Rotherham player (didn't clock which) appeared to feign cramp and Jayden Stockley did a chop massage on him. Shows the spirit that Johnnie Jackson's brought to this side. Heaven knows what was going on under Adkins.
Ref was atrocious but glad that Jackson played that element down.
Onwards and upwards.
Listening to that was an absolute joy.
Great game.
Johnnie Jackson’s Red Army ❤️
We've seen three totally committed performances in he last three games, we've been a pack hounding the ball, winning the seconds. We can always forgive mistakes but we demand that level of commitment. I'm starting to feel like I can relax and enjoy the game knowing I'm gonna get it.
Great noise in the North Upper, really good performance on the pitch. Thanks Thomas, thanks Johnnie. It feels like we're all pulling together and we're going to get the results to go with all the good things we've seen off the pitch.
Happy Days.
Had good spells.,but our balls into the final third were shocking. Stockley got no change out of a very resolute centre pairing. Thought DJ was excellent first half. Faded second. The game passed Purrington by a bit and I think Jacko should of thought about bringing Kirk on.
Fam,Gunter and Pearcy solid. Love Fams charges out of the box with the ball. He can play a bit that boy.
Elliott Lee. I'm not completely sold on him. Does a few good bits but I think we need a bit more quality in that area if I'm honest.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/four-takeaways-from-charltons-draw-with-high-flying-rotherham-a-top-of-the-table-clash-missing-one-vital-ingredient/
Really encouraging the way the team reacted second half though, keeping the ball on the deck and coming back strong. In fact we were so good second half that I don’t think Rotherham could’ve complained too much if we’d gone on to win.
Play like that every match and we will pick up a lot of points including against the better teams in the division.
CM one fine save and even claimed a couple of crosses. Back 3 we’re pretty solid, Pearcy the pick of the bunch for me as he relished the physical battle with Smith. Gunter still found room for some iffy decisions in possession but he looks much better at right side of a back 3. Dobson played well I thought, battled away against an tenacious Millers midfield and used the ball well generally, with one excellent burst forward in the second half. Lee grew into as we got the ball down and played. Gilbey should’ve scored - reckon he will soon. DJ did pretty well defensively and well going forwards. Purrington was quieter because Rotherham offered more of a threat but he still got into the box to attack DJ’s crosses and was not found wanting defensively. Stockley battled but got less change out of their defence, the point is though he worked them over and they didn’t get an easy ride. Washington earned his goal through sheer determination.
all you can ask for is 100% that’s exactly to a man what they gave.
That was a proper gritty Charlton performance and the turn around in such a short space of time is mind blowing.
Our best performance of the season by some distance. Not much pretty football and no clean sheet but that was never going to be feasible against an excellent Rotherham side. Their two central midfielders were top half Championship standard.
We showed real determination, discipline and an effective game plan that everyone understood. I love Washington and would pick him for every game too but let's be honest. he missed three easy chances and his shot for the goal was a classic Simon Church going nowhere that took a lucky deflection. If only we had a natural goal scorer. Even one like Chuks who we could bring on for 20 minutes at the end.
I doubted Pearce's ability to handle Smith but he just gobbled up their top scorer up for 90 minutes. Superb centre-back play from the man I had written off. My apologies to Captain Pearce.
Still don't understand the scepticism about the new manager. Jacko is the true messiah who will lead us to the promised land.
See you all at Wembley for the play-off final.