Shrewsbury Town vs Charlton AthleticSaturday 30th September 2023 - 3pm Kick-OffReferee: Ed DuckworthIntroductionMichael Appleton has enjoyed a pretty positive start to his tenure as Charlton Manager thus far... Four points from a possible six, well in all honesty you probably couldn't ask for much more. The League table may still look grim reading, with the Addicks in 16th, but we're still days away from October, and this feels a League One campaign that'll have no run away teams... Brace yourself for a slog of a Marathon season, rather than a desperate sprint.
The OppositionName: Shrewsbury Town (17th) | Manager: Matt TaylorGround: The New MeadowPrevious League Result: Leyton Orient 1-0 ShrewsburyNext up on our travels is a trip to Shropshire.
Suppose its never ideal when a Manager like Dean Holden gets sacked so early into a League campaign, equally I'm sure replacing your Manager in June isn't much better either - Well that's what happened with Shrewsbury; Steve Cotterill left on 6th June, with ex-West Ham Midfielder: Matt Taylor confirmed as his replacement almost a month later, this his second Managerial job having previously taken charge at Walsall... a job that lasted less than a year, ending in February 2022.
Shrewsbury's start, almost like Charlton's has been very black and white, they sit a point behind the Addicks and either win... or lose... Their last three fixtures have ended in defeat, with the last of those being a 1-0 loss at newly promoted Leyton Orient - Scoring goals, as well as conceding them appear to be Salop's issue this season... They've found the net on just four occasions (all coming in August), whilst their defence is only slightly better than ours, having conceded just nine, compared with our eleven.
Charlton will be hoping a repeat of last seasons 6-0 win at the Valley, which'll truly kick start our season
Charlton Team NewsDean Holden will no doubt be looking at our current squad options with a rueful expression on his face - It appears as though our injury problems are easing (for the time being), with Michael Appleton getting to the point of having a selection headache... Tennai Watson came off the bench to make his Charlton debut against Wycombe, and showed how much we need at least one proper Right-Back, so could well start tomorrow's clash.
It means that James Abankwah will either have to settle for a place on the bench, or we could see him move across playing in his more natural role - Elsewhere and Terry Taylor now becomes available once more, having recovered from a concussion that he received at Stevenage, whilst Scott Fraser continues to inch towards a return... If he is available, it'll be a difficult job to find a place in the matchday squad for him at present.
Isted
T.Watson - Hector - Jones - Thomas
T.Campbell - Dobson - L.Watson
Leaburn - May - Blackett-Taylor
Substitutes Bench: Maynard-Brewer - Abankwah - Ness - Fraser - C.Campbell - Aneke - Tedic
Comments
4 - 0 to Charlton and even a defender scores.
So we win by a single goal and get a clean sheet with Isted actually diving a couple of times.
Notwithstanding that, I get the sense that Appleton has more about him.
May of course be an element of new manager bounce, but I am going to let myself believe it is a head coach on the cusp of transforming the group into a more cohesive, confident and effective unit.
2-0 win for me as well
Winning the opening two against Cheltenham & Burton and losing the following two against Lincoln (0-1 & Bristol Rovers (0-2).
1-2.
0-2 May and Blackett Taylor
Then with two winnable home matches coming up next this really is an opportunity to kick start our season.
Please don't cock it up Charlton.
0.2
Appleton confirmed Terry Taylor (concussion) is set to be available for selection this weekend, while Nathan Asiimwe (quad), Tayo Edun (hamstring), Conor McGrandles (knee), Panutche Camará (foot) and Scott Fraser (calf) will all be assessed.
https://www.charltonafc.com/news/match-preview-shrewsbury-town-v-charlton-0
7 or 9 points from the next 3 games will take us to Derby right on the cusp of a playoff place. Knowing us we will get 3 or 4 and then beat Derby.
2-1 Charlton (Leaburn & Watson)