It’s a huge if, but if TC starts adding goals to his game he is going to be a monster. Already so important to what we do. I’ll eat humble pie as I didn’t rate him at all before last season
He's only 21!
I know, very easy to overlook that fact as it feels like he has been around for ages!
Watched the match in the West Stand with a Barnsley supporting mate. Also met a Preston fan from Cornwall so between us we covered a lot of bases. It wasn't our best performance yesterday but I was never really worried until about the 92nd minute before we got hold of the ball again in the 93rd and ruined the game til the whistle. Barnsley looked a lot like us earlier in the season; some decent defenders who I'm told have good pedigree who sometimes looked good and sometimes looked worrying, a midfield made up of former Championship talent and shrewd purchases that should be dominating the game on paper and a front line that didn't trouble the opposition. It was like watching us out-maneuver our old selves which was interesting to watch. Once we scored it felt like they'd need a piece of individual brilliance, like that Keilor-Dunn run where he should have done the easy part after the incredibly difficult part, or a brain fart from Charlton like Jones ducking a header in the box. We weren't punished in either of those moments luckily and we didn't need to step up a gear.
We had our chances. Berry had two good chances, Leaburn should have scored and Coventry was unlucky. Our worst attempt was our goal but on balance we created a lot more and deserved the win. TC was the difference the whole game. We nullified Keilor-Dunn second half and never allowed Connell any control or Benson to get into the game, they made sure they got onto Godden's flick-ons and stopped Small and Ramsay breaking through them but they could not lay a glove on TC. He was always an outball and he was the player we increasingly played through as they tired. I think Barnsley made their subs too early and when we brought on Anderson to terrorise the midfield and Leaburn to create a new problem up front they couldn't react. I was disappointed not to see Gilbert but a word on McIntyre, I don't think he touched the ball with his feet once but he won so many headers in that midfield to stop Barnsley being able to put anything together in the middle as they tried to build up some momentum and I thought he made an outsized difference in winning the physical battle in midfield. I'm also at the acceptance stage with Chuks. I remember he came back around this time last year for the Lincoln match and it was such a relief. Straight away he was causing them problems and helped force our goal but he's just not what he was now and I'd honestly rather we started throwing Ahadme in to try to rebuild his confidence in a winning side. It's tough adapting to the expectation when Chuks gets the ball compared to the new reality. He's not completely useless but he's not the player he was either sadly.
I'm worried about TC as well. He looked tired all game and I was hoping we would get a second early in the second half so we could take him off. He grew into the game but that last brilliant burst to put Leaburn through clearly did some damage and we're on borrowed time if he keeps feeling his hamstring at the end of every game. I wish we'd been able to bring someone with pace in to fill in for him against someone like Wigan or Mansfield. If he makes it to game 46 like this I'll be amazed and there might even be more to get through after that. Fingers crossed.
A great win against a very decent side in fairness. We restricted them and Mannion wasn't especially busy but that midfield got through so much work last night. You have to salute Nathan for the way he has them drilled but you also have to raise a glass to the medical department for keeping out players fit meaning we've barely had to make any changes in the last 3 months. And that's been the key - consistency or personnel
It looks like the investment in coaching staff is starting to pay off now. We are THE form team in the league and we have a chance to really stamp our authority on this division this weekend against Stockport - followed by Crawley and Wigan which are definitely winnable.
Who knows where this season will end up but it's never dull being an Addick is it!!
Barnsley first half showed why they had won 10 away games this season and sit third in the away league, behind Wycombe and Brum, who, of course, we also beat. Fourth best away team is Huddersfield.....
To see out the second half so comfortably was really impressive from us. We were able to play the defensive shape we employ for away matches, and this nullified Barnsley. I guess that is why they are so poor at home.
Some massive performances, especially after the emotional high of the weekend. Jones was an absolute colossus at the back. TC looks tired to me, despite a magnificent performance.
Eight victories in the last ten matches. Brilliant second half season. The Club has come back to be competitive and is managing to get excited to the fans again. That’s fantastic 💪🏻💪🏻.
A great win against a very decent side in fairness. We restricted them and Mannion wasn't especially busy but that midfield got through so much work last night. You have to salute Nathan for the way he has them drilled but you also have to raise a glass to the medical department for keeping out players fit meaning we've barely had to make any changes in the last 3 months. And that's been the key - consistency or personnel
It looks like the investment in coaching staff is starting to pay off now. We are THE form team in the league and we have a chance to really stamp our authority on this division this weekend against Stockport - followed by Crawley and Wigan which are definitely winnable.
Who knows where this season will end up but it's never dull being an Addick is it!!
I'd say it's pretty dull the majority of the time! The last few years in particular. It's so refreshing to be heading into the business end with something to play for. Heady days.
Promotion winning teams find a way to win when they aren't playing particularly well. That was us last night. Long way to go but we're the form team at present and the Charlton juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down.
I'm worried about TC as well. He looked tired all game and I was hoping we would get a second early in the second half so we could take him off. He grew into the game but that last brilliant burst to put Leaburn through clearly did some damage and we're on borrowed time if he keeps feeling his hamstring at the end of every game. I wish we'd been able to bring someone with pace in to fill in for him against someone like Wigan or Mansfield. If he makes it to game 46 like this I'll be amazed and there might even be more to get through after that. Fingers crossed.
This is my main concern. Currently we have no replacement for TC and, as could be seen last night, anything good came from him. Dont you think it's time we had a replacement on the bench such as Dixon ? Real folly not to bring someone in during January & I just hope we dont regret doing so should TC miss a few games because of a muscle injury.
When you are the players in the team like Small and TC you will get tired or look tired as they are the players that go past defenders. Both are playing on their standing foot side ! But it's quite effective plus both are given licence to either switch sides at times or get on their stronger foot by cutting inside. Thierry is still erratic with his shooting but I'm confident a left foot shot will rip the net soon instead of folk in Row Z taking cover like one effort down the Jimmy Seed last night.
Tyreece Campbell was double and treble marked and it was frustrating that Berry was weak with his shooting as he was getting into the space created by the defenders going to TC and also a sublime pass from Gillesphey that he couldn't control on his chest.
No coincidence that since we have had Ramsey and Small working together and Edwards and Campbell with Macca and Jones combining well we have improved so much and reached 15 clean sheets with both AMB and Mannion proving decent keepers at League 1 level.
We play as a team with relationships all over the park and have each others backs, mistakes that defenders make in the mediocre 3rd tier, 30 yards from goals won't result in goals conceded. 🤞🏻 Some great blocks in recent matches and only Orient's Brown's excellent strike getting through despite two players trying to negate the shot.
As @Henry Irving & @Addick Addict have said above, Barnsley looked like one of the best teams to come to The Valley this season. First half they wee popping to ball around, always having a man in space & all good on the ball. 2nd half they faded but I think that was due to all the subs & changes they made. Imo they were better than us & I dont think we deserved to win. But we did & that's all that matters.
I appreciate that I probably sound negative as I did on the match thread. Just feel that players are running out of steam & playing on fumes. Most of our play came down our left as TC seems to be our only threat with the ball. Small is on his wrong foot & about the only decent ball he put in was in the 2nd half when he cut inside on his left & his cross ended up with Berry having a soft shot on goal. Really feel we need more options & it's no surprise that the forwards have stopped scoring. God help us if TC gets injured, even if just for a game or two.
As for our overall position. Never thought we would be in 5th at the start of March and now thinking too far ahead at the play offs. Top 2 is too far away, especially as both Wrexham & Wycombe won tonight. Cant see them both slipping up enough that we could pinch 2nd. Think we will need at least 78 points to get 6th......and maybe even 80 points. Thats another 19 - 21 points, so 5 or 6 wins & 3 or 4 draws.
It's now in our hands.
Hey I thought you were going to post only in the positive ! That didn't last long. Can't say I agree that Charlton didn't deserve to win it, they controlled the second half and created chances, the move between Tyreece and Leaburn finishing with Leaburns shot was excellent. I think there is a point to made for both teams not producing their best, these midweek games now seem like a game too far, have a look at our performances midweek over the season, Bristol Rovers away and Crawley at home, both midweek games and they were arguably our worst performances, and although we beat Burton, that was no classic. We now play, Crawley and Mansfield, in midweek, both away games, then the only time we play within three days is Easter. Don't think that this doesn't affect other teams, it does, and the Barnsley managers comments bare that out, which is probably why after the first half, Barnsley couldn't maintain that performance.
I can't remember the last time we scored early and then were comfortable for the rest of the match without getting a second. In previous seasons, a late equaliser would have felt inevitable but yesterday it never seemed likely. Roll on Saturday and another huge game at Stockport.
Also, have to say well done to Jones for keeping the players feet on the ground after Saturday's high. His management has been superb for the last 3 months.
In fairness it's been good for more than 3 months, but we are seeing the fruits of his labour and the squad adjusting to his style.
We look so much better than earlier in the season because the coins have fallen into place.
It wasn’t a fluid performance last night but I’m pleased we got through it with a 1-0 win. Neither team offered much going forward, we can do better. That’s one of my bogey teams out of the way. Onto Stockport this coming Saturday. Another huge match in our ever evolving season. At the turn of the year - 8 weeks ago - we were in 9th on 33 points - 15 points off Wrexham. Now we’re within spitting distance of Wycombe with a game in hand. Game on !!
Bit of an odd one for me. Got on the wrong branch of the northern line, which meant much stress and missing the beginning of the game. So at least missed the tykes dominant start. But wasnt feeling 100% and even Macca ‘goal machine’ Gillesphey’s goal didn’t change things. My watch told me my heart was racing (145bpm) and I sadly couldn’t put that down to the excitement of the match.
Lasted til about 70 mins but had to head home.
Heart rate was going from 38-165bpm, so saw the doc this morning. Atrial fibrillation confirmed after ECG at the GPs. Now on blood thinners and beta blockers. Life’s a b*tch sometimes. 😩 I imagine there’ll be quite a few Lifers with similar issues, so I’m in good company! Thought they all played well in the second half especially. Listened to the commentary on Charlton TV after leaving, and the final whistle blew while I was at London Bridge Station. Another big three points, which again takes some of the pressure off for the Stockport game.
Barsley midfield was very lively. Surprised we stuck with Berry in the middle for so long. There was a case for changing it at half time and the way Jones was berating just before HT, I thought it was a given. But we stuck at it and ground it out, as all good teams must.
Anyone else think it's painful watching Chuks these days when he comes on?
He was only on for a few minutes. And is often trying too hard. But our record while he is on the pitch is outstanding and his strength scares opponents. I still want him on that pitch if we’re 1-0 down more than anyone else.
I feel quite the opposite : I don’t think he’s worth his place on the bench. If you think he ’scares’ opponents then he really is just a circus act (my 14 year old son was laughing at him yesterday).
He did cause a bit of a nuisance last night (and against Peterborough)but that’s as far as it goes. Take any fit, determined, heavyweight striker from tier seven upwards, and tell him to cause a nuisance and you’d get the same result. Aneke doesn’t actually do anything with the ball; he just bullies but with no tangible effect on the game.
Bit of an odd one for me. Got on the wrong branch of the northern line, which meant much stress and missing the beginning of the game. So at least missed the tykes dominant start. But wasnt feeling 100% and even Macca ‘goal machine’ Gillesphey’s goal didn’t change things. My watch told me my heart was racing (145bpm) and I sadly couldn’t put that down to the excitement of the match.
Lasted til about 70 mins but had to head home.
Heart rate was going from 38-165bpm, so saw the doc this morning. Atrial fibrillation confirmed after ECG at the GPs. Now on blood thinners and beta blockers. Life’s a b*tch sometimes. 😩 I imagine there’ll be quite a few Lifers with similar issues, so I’m in good company! Thought they all played well in the second half especially. Listened to the commentary on Charlton TV after leaving, and the final whistle blew while I was at London Bridge Station. Another big three points, which again takes some of the pressure off for the Stockport game.
Nullified Barnsley in the second half, although I suspect their fans will be saying the wholesale changes they made disrupted them more than we did.
Solid ugly win.
Slight concern that certain players look like they are running on empty. Perhaps time to start rotating and using the squad. High energy pressure is fundamental to our game plan at the moment and it felt like (at times) this evening we didn't have the legs to execute it.
Agreed. Was surprised that Alex Gilbert didn't get any minutes at all, given that Luke Berry looked a bit off the pace. I would have brought him on rather than Karoy Anderson, with Karoy replacing Greg Docherty later on.
That is one of the biggest keeping howlers I’ve seen for a long time. Chocolate wrists
I’m sure it took a deflection of a defender. I said so immediately and couldn’t understand why the commentors didn’t pick up on it, and why no-one on here has mentionned it. The original shot was gping to go just wide or hit the post.
I agree that Chucks powers appear to be diminishing but i'd still always have him on the bench if available - Kanu (and Mitchell) must feel a bit hard done by atm but i think he'll only come back on the scene this season if one of TC or Small get injured, due to his pace.
I think if you swap Huddersfield and Bolton positions, then the top six will be there at the end of the season, but which positions I would not like to guess
Well, it wasn't the greatest game to watch, and we never looked completely convincing, but it was a very important win and a great battling performance.
I am not sure what was wrong with our midfield in the first half, but Barnsley bossed it. We were giving them too much space and time and seemed slow to press. It improved second half, but still nowhere near our best performance.
I really think it is time to rest Luke Berry. He seems to have lost his shooting boots, and he gets knocked off the ball much too easily. The close range header miss against Orient was a shocker. Time for Alex Gilbert to be given a start I think.
I think we will need to play better than that against Stockport if we want to get anything from the game, but I think we will up our game for what is another crucial game.
Bit of an odd one for me. Got on the wrong branch of the northern line, which meant much stress and missing the beginning of the game. So at least missed the tykes dominant start. But wasnt feeling 100% and even Macca ‘goal machine’ Gillesphey’s goal didn’t change things. My watch told me my heart was racing (145bpm) and I sadly couldn’t put that down to the excitement of the match.
Lasted til about 70 mins but had to head home.
Heart rate was going from 38-165bpm, so saw the doc this morning. Atrial fibrillation confirmed after ECG at the GPs. Now on blood thinners and beta blockers. Life’s a b*tch sometimes. 😩 I imagine there’ll be quite a few Lifers with similar issues, so I’m in good company! Thought they all played well in the second half especially. Listened to the commentary on Charlton TV after leaving, and the final whistle blew while I was at London Bridge Station. Another big three points, which again takes some of the pressure off for the Stockport game.
Was going to PM you but seems I can’t. Just experienced similar to you. I bought a new smartwatch and discovered my heart rate was around 145bpm. Had an ECG at the GP and been confirmed as having an atrial flutter. Was already on blood thinners but the dose has been doubled and I’m going on beta blockers too. Have had an echocardiogram too to ensure nothing else going on. If after six weeks the tablets have not brought it down they will shock my heart back into rhythm. Scary times. Difference is I had no symptoms at all and my consultant said that ultimately the new watch may have saved my life.
Glad your getting treatment and hopefully we will both be fully sorted very soon.
Bit of an odd one for me. Got on the wrong branch of the northern line, which meant much stress and missing the beginning of the game. So at least missed the tykes dominant start. But wasnt feeling 100% and even Macca ‘goal machine’ Gillesphey’s goal didn’t change things. My watch told me my heart was racing (145bpm) and I sadly couldn’t put that down to the excitement of the match.
Lasted til about 70 mins but had to head home.
Heart rate was going from 38-165bpm, so saw the doc this morning. Atrial fibrillation confirmed after ECG at the GPs. Now on blood thinners and beta blockers. Life’s a b*tch sometimes. 😩 I imagine there’ll be quite a few Lifers with similar issues, so I’m in good company! Thought they all played well in the second half especially. Listened to the commentary on Charlton TV after leaving, and the final whistle blew while I was at London Bridge Station. Another big three points, which again takes some of the pressure off for the Stockport game.
Take it easy Mr Seed. AF can be really debilitating and make you feel very unwell. Life certainly is a bitch at times. Charlton will keep you going......😬
Comments
It looks like the investment in coaching staff is starting to pay off now. We are THE form team in the league and we have a chance to really stamp our authority on this division this weekend against Stockport - followed by Crawley and Wigan which are definitely winnable.
Who knows where this season will end up but it's never dull being an Addick is it!!
To see out the second half so comfortably was really impressive from us. We were able to play the defensive shape we employ for away matches, and this nullified Barnsley. I guess that is why they are so poor at home.
Some massive performances, especially after the emotional high of the weekend. Jones was an absolute colossus at the back. TC looks tired to me, despite a magnificent performance.
Onwards and upwards COYA
I agree, Louis is really concise and progressing nicely. 😄
Tyreece Campbell was double and treble marked and it was frustrating that Berry was weak with his shooting as he was getting into the space created by the defenders going to TC and also a sublime pass from Gillesphey that he couldn't control on his chest.
No coincidence that since we have had Ramsey and Small working together and Edwards and Campbell with Macca and Jones combining well we have improved so much and reached 15 clean sheets with both AMB and Mannion proving decent keepers at League 1 level.
We play as a team with relationships all over the park and have each others backs, mistakes that defenders make in the mediocre 3rd tier, 30 yards from goals won't result in goals conceded. 🤞🏻
Some great blocks in recent matches and only Orient's Brown's excellent strike getting through despite two players trying to negate the shot.
We look so much better than earlier in the season because the coins have fallen into place.
But wasnt feeling 100% and even Macca ‘goal machine’ Gillesphey’s goal didn’t change things. My watch told me my heart was racing (145bpm) and I sadly couldn’t put that down to the excitement of the match.
Thought they all played well in the second half especially. Listened to the commentary on Charlton TV after leaving, and the final whistle blew while I was at London Bridge Station. Another big three points, which again takes some of the pressure off for the Stockport game.
Surprised we stuck with Berry in the middle for so long. There was a case for changing it at half time and the way Jones was berating just before HT, I thought it was a given.
But we stuck at it and ground it out, as all good teams must.
He did cause a bit of a nuisance last night (and against Peterborough)but that’s as far as it goes. Take any fit, determined, heavyweight striker from tier seven upwards, and tell him to cause a nuisance and you’d get the same result. Aneke
doesn’t actually do anything with the ball; he just bullies but with no tangible effect on the game.
I am not sure what was wrong with our midfield in the first half, but Barnsley bossed it. We were giving them too much space and time and seemed slow to press. It improved second half, but still nowhere near our best performance.
I really think it is time to rest Luke Berry. He seems to have lost his shooting boots, and he gets knocked off the ball much too easily. The close range header miss against Orient was a shocker. Time for Alex Gilbert to be given a start I think.
I think we will need to play better than that against Stockport if we want to get anything from the game, but I think we will up our game for what is another crucial game.
Glad your getting treatment and hopefully we will both be fully sorted very soon.