I don’t remember our formation being as rigid as some are suggesting. Small seemed to spend most of his time pushed up really high with Ramsey not far behind. I felt that out of possession we moved to a back four with Edward’s left back and the other three moving across, depending on whereabouts of our midfielders and their attacking players. It seemed very organised but fluid.
A formal back five with two wing backs seems unlikely given the players we now have IMO.
Last word on Thierry Small before we speculate on probably our 'one over the 8' signing.
When Jones took Small off and not TC at the Valley when Thierry was looking fit and just needed a decent ball to skin the Wycombe defender it was crystal clear that TS was gone and TC swapped sides despite his poor form.
A decision made with lots of risks attached by Nathan who found it difficult to accommodate the Maverick Thierry despite our form and defensive stability being transformed with him at RWB, Edwards at LWB and the trio of Ramsey, Jones and Gillesphey as CB'S.
A 4 year contract is massive for a 20 year old at Preston who had seen his career stutter since making his debut at Everton when only 16 and 176 days.
Admittedly I've not watched much of knibbs but have always seen his name mentioned about as a potential signing for a good while,if he can play centre mid what's his passing like ?
If you’re hoping for a creative passer it doesn’t sound that’s what he’s about, everything I’ve seen suggests he’s a hard working goalscorer who presses well.
On his technical ability I’ve seen some Reading fans have doubted his touch, passing etc is good enough for the Championship.
Sounds a proper NJ player - for Reading he has the output he wants in terms of running, ball winning, goals and a few assists, but not the flair, creativity, dribbling etc fans in general want in a more typical attacking midfielder.
I obviously can't say I have watched as much as a Reading fan, but is that sour grapes?
Knibbs moves with the ball and off the ball very well and had a great understanding with Sam Smith, if he can replicate a same understanding with Kelman, we are in for a right treat.
Watch some of his play here, he is brilliant
He looks class tbf. Comes across as someone who can dominate the middle of the pitch which I think we have lacked a little.
Dare I say he reminds me a bit of Gallagher in his workrate and attacking ability.
I think the squabbling over Apter and his exact position basically comes down to the fact that the "Small position'' isn't exactly a winger or a full back or even a wing back but a weird hybrid thing.
So maybe Apter has or hasn't played as a WB before, but essentially he has been bought in specifically to play in Small's role/position and Jones clearly sees that as his main role.
Admittedly I've not watched much of knibbs but have always seen his name mentioned about as a potential signing for a good while,if he can play centre mid what's his passing like ?
If you’re hoping for a creative passer it doesn’t sound that’s what he’s about, everything I’ve seen suggests he’s a hard working goalscorer who presses well.
On his technical ability I’ve seen some Reading fans have doubted his touch, passing etc is good enough for the Championship.
Sounds a proper NJ player - for Reading he has the output he wants in terms of running, ball winning, goals and a few assists, but not the flair, creativity, dribbling etc fans in general want in a more typical attacking midfielder.
I obviously can't say I have watched as much as a Reading fan, but is that sour grapes?
Knibbs moves with the ball and off the ball very well and had a great understanding with Sam Smith, if he can replicate a same understanding with Kelman, we are in for a right treat.
Watch some of his play here, he is brilliant
He looks class tbf. Comes across as someone who can dominate the middle of the pitch which I think we have lacked a little.
Dare I say he reminds me a bit of Gallagher in his workrate and attacking ability.
He is a dream for Jones. Great work rates, big, strong, has goals in him, can get stuck in, covers a number of roles, can play most minutes of most games.
It's so hard to pick a singing of the summer for us, as the competition is severe, but this is my pick. I reckon he will be POTY.
What I will say , we are going to be horrible to play against for a lot of the league. Full of players that will run themselves into the ground but also have the technical ability to cause problems. Assuming it's the lopsided 352 i can't see sides fancying coming up against a nominal front 4 in possession of Apter , Knibbs,Kelman and Leaburn.
Admittedly I've not watched much of knibbs but have always seen his name mentioned about as a potential signing for a good while,if he can play centre mid what's his passing like ?
If you’re hoping for a creative passer it doesn’t sound that’s what he’s about, everything I’ve seen suggests he’s a hard working goalscorer who presses well.
On his technical ability I’ve seen some Reading fans have doubted his touch, passing etc is good enough for the Championship.
Sounds a proper NJ player - for Reading he has the output he wants in terms of running, ball winning, goals and a few assists, but not the flair, creativity, dribbling etc fans in general want in a more typical attacking midfielder.
I obviously can't say I have watched as much as a Reading fan, but is that sour grapes?
Knibbs moves with the ball and off the ball very well and had a great understanding with Sam Smith, if he can replicate a same understanding with Kelman, we are in for a right treat.
Admittedly I've not watched much of knibbs but have always seen his name mentioned about as a potential signing for a good while,if he can play centre mid what's his passing like ?
If you’re hoping for a creative passer it doesn’t sound that’s what he’s about, everything I’ve seen suggests he’s a hard working goalscorer who presses well.
On his technical ability I’ve seen some Reading fans have doubted his touch, passing etc is good enough for the Championship.
Sounds a proper NJ player - for Reading he has the output he wants in terms of running, ball winning, goals and a few assists, but not the flair, creativity, dribbling etc fans in general want in a more typical attacking midfielder.
I obviously can't say I have watched as much as a Reading fan, but is that sour grapes?
Knibbs moves with the ball and off the ball very well and had a great understanding with Sam Smith, if he can replicate a same understanding with Kelman, we are in for a right treat.
Yeah it happens with every good player he leaves a club, including us. Fans start focusing on the players limitations, but you don’t have his output without having some ability. We know he doesn’t need to be a classy technical player for the role we need him to play.
Cawley’s sources are people at the club, been quite clear that we want to do our business quietly and that there’s a gentlemen’s agreement that he won’t share things unless told explicitly he can. Knibbs is nearly done.
I think the squabbling over Apter and his exact position basically comes down to the fact that the "Small position'' isn't exactly a winger or a full back or even a wing back but a weird hybrid thing.
So maybe Apter has or hasn't played as a WB before, but essentially he has been bought in specifically to play in Small's role/position and Jones clearly sees that as his main role.
I asked the Blackpool FM researcher about Apter playing RWB, he could only recall him playing there in preseason two years ago before he joined Tranmere. So if he has done it before, it’s never been for a long run of first team games for Blackpool.
IF Knibbs does become the 9th signing in this summer window and no regular 1st teamer leaves (I refuse to give oxygen to the bed wetters 🥴) then this is a great effort by the owners to say we want to establish cafc in the Championship and be a progressive team and keep the momentum going from January 2025 onwards to the Wembley win and onto the 25/26 season.👏🏼
Long may it last as that is rare at Charlton Athletic 💪🏼
Cawley’s sources are people at the club, been quite clear that we want to do our business quietly and that there’s a gentlemen’s agreement that he won’t share things unless told explicitly he can. Knibbs is nearly done.
Exactly this. Given how Rich is having to work these days there is no way he will want to burn his bridges with the club by breaking their trust. Frustrating for him given the way fans demand any info these days
I think the squabbling over Apter and his exact position basically comes down to the fact that the "Small position'' isn't exactly a winger or a full back or even a wing back but a weird hybrid thing.
So maybe Apter has or hasn't played as a WB before, but essentially he has been bought in specifically to play in Small's role/position and Jones clearly sees that as his main role.
I asked the Blackpool FM researcher about Apter playing RWB, he could only recall him playing there in preseason two years ago before he joined Tranmere. So if he has done it before, it’s never been for a long run of first team games for Blackpool.
Four stand out summer transfers for me - managed to sneak in and watch the Cambridge pre-season game, while my family went shopping...
KAMINSKI - class keeper how we managed to grab him well that is a masterstroke!!! his positioning, saving ability and distribution is a different level. (clearly our best summer signing so )
OLAOFE - Wow fantastic positioning, deft touch and skill, fantastic control beautiful through balls and very strong - he will not be fazed by the Championship level of players. (our best outfield signing this summer - this player is everything we ever imagined Chuks would turn out to be - but quicker and more skilful)
COSTELLO - solid player with the ability to pick a accurate quick pass at any distance, great awareness of team mates movement, strong in a tackle will bring great experience to the centre of the park
APTER - Jesus this guys pace is rapid - very skilful with the ball and not afraid to get in where it hurts, although he is slight and will sometimes find it hard against very physical players he is tough and has that can do attitude, very good passing and knows where the goal is - may take him time to settle but this guy is streets ahead of TC
so far so very good. Mix these with the championship quality players we already have such as JONES, BELL, COVENTRY and RAMSAY then we are nearly there to a strong Championship squad as I have not seen KELMAN yet. and not seen enough of CAREY. plus BURKE wasn't even in the building.
FULLAH will be the surprise package for us this year and LEABURN played very well (best I have seen him play in a while) so he is showing encouraging signs he has the potential to step up.
The Players in the balance for me are DOHERTY not sure he has enough slow and commits need less fouls. GILLESPHEY solid strong however may be a bit one dimensional. ANDERSON makes silly mistake although still developing not sure he will get enough game time. TC he looked way off it and struggled against the league 2 outfit and a right back smaller than him, also his formed dipped in last few games of the season when the pressure was on.
I think talk of formations based on last season fall because we have different players, will be playing better teams and we will no longer have the expectation to win every game as we did in League one.
An away point at, for example, league 1 Cambridge would be seen as failure, an away point just about anywhere in the Championship would, IMHO, be seen as a decent return.
Unless we start steamrollering teams I don't expect many teams to sit back and hope to catch us on the break or score from a set piece as we saw frequently last season, especially at the Valley.
We'll play with width, we will press and work hard but I can see it being us who play deeper and on the counter using Apter and Tanto.
We were strong defensively because of Small though, not despite of him. I will be amazed if Apter can defend as well as Small which is why he was such a unique asset, despite his attacking flaws. Severely underselling Small and what he did for us there (An attacking role with 'some' defensive discipline) we wouldn't have got promoted if we didn't have Small, his versatility and movement out wide while also being able to defend changed our dynamic.
We are up a league and we have signed a pure winger to play a role that requires an engine and to be able to defend, just doesn't make sense.
Even if he does end up being this all action right sider, it still doesn't mean he has successfully done it before as there is no proof of it. His whole career shows he is a winger, and a good one.
We still need a right wing back if we persist with 5 at the back/want to be more defensive minded, away from home particularly.
I think if we’d had Apter instead of Small, which we do now, we’d have been a better team last season
Four stand out summer transfers for me - managed to sneak in and watch the Cambridge pre-season game, while my family went shopping...
KAMINSKI - class keeper how we managed to grab him well that is a masterstroke!!! his positioning, saving ability and distribution is a different level. (clearly our best summer signing so )
OLAOFE - Wow fantastic positioning, deft touch and skill, fantastic control beautiful through balls and very strong - he will not be fazed by the Championship level of players. (our best outfield signing this summer - this player is everything we ever imagined Chuks would turn out to be - but quicker and more skilful)
COSTELLO - solid player with the ability to pick a accurate quick pass at any distance, great awareness of team mates movement, strong in a tackle will bring great experience to the centre of the park
APTER - Jesus this guys pace is rapid - very skilful with the ball and not afraid to get in where it hurts, although he is slight and will sometimes find it hard against very physical players he is tough and has that can do attitude, very good passing and knows where the goal is - may take him time to settle but this guy is streets ahead of TC
so far so very good. Mix these with the championship quality players we already have such as JONES, BELL, COVENTRY and RAMSAY then we are nearly there to a strong Championship squad as I have not seen KELMAN yet. and not seen enough of CAREY. plus BURKE wasn't even in the building.
FULLAH will be the surprise package for us this year and LEABURN played very well (best I have seen him play in a while) so he is showing encouraging signs he has the potential to step up.
The Players in the balance for me are DOHERTY not sure he has enough slow and commits need less fouls. GILLESPHEY solid strong however may be a bit one dimensional. ANDERSON makes silly mistake although still developing not sure he will get enough game time. TC he looked way off it and struggled against the league 2 outfit and a right back smaller than him, also his formed dipped in last few games of the season when the pressure was on.
Agree with this but I think you're missing Bell, I was pretty impressed with him on Saturday and can see him being a mainstay in the side this year.
Comments
Small seemed to spend most of his time pushed up really high with Ramsey not far behind.
I felt that out of possession we moved to a back four with Edward’s left back and the other three moving across, depending on whereabouts of our midfielders and their attacking players. It seemed very organised but fluid.
When Jones took Small off and not TC at the Valley when Thierry was looking fit and just needed a decent ball to skin the Wycombe defender it was crystal clear that TS was gone and TC swapped sides despite his poor form.
A decision made with lots of risks attached by Nathan who found it difficult to accommodate the Maverick Thierry despite our form and defensive stability being transformed with him at RWB, Edwards at LWB and the trio of Ramsey, Jones and Gillesphey as CB'S.
A 4 year contract is massive for a 20 year old at Preston who had seen his career stutter since making his debut at Everton when only 16 and 176 days.
Dare I say he reminds me a bit of Gallagher in his workrate and attacking ability.
The official club announcement signing Harvey Knobbs must be pretty imminent
So maybe Apter has or hasn't played as a WB before, but essentially he has been bought in specifically to play in Small's role/position and Jones clearly sees that as his main role.
It's so hard to pick a singing of the summer for us, as the competition is severe, but this is my pick. I reckon he will be POTY.
I am actually ecstatic, we're staying up.
Long may it last as that is rare at Charlton Athletic 💪🏼
KAMINSKI - class keeper how we managed to grab him well that is a masterstroke!!! his positioning, saving ability and distribution is a different level. (clearly our best summer signing so )
OLAOFE - Wow fantastic positioning, deft touch and skill, fantastic control beautiful through balls and very strong - he will not be fazed by the Championship level of players. (our best outfield signing this summer - this player is everything we ever imagined Chuks would turn out to be - but quicker and more skilful)
COSTELLO - solid player with the ability to pick a accurate quick pass at any distance, great awareness of team mates movement, strong in a tackle will bring great experience to the centre of the park
APTER - Jesus this guys pace is rapid - very skilful with the ball and not afraid to get in where it hurts, although he is slight and will sometimes find it hard against very physical players he is tough and has that can do attitude, very good passing and knows where the goal is - may take him time to settle but this guy is streets ahead of TC
so far so very good. Mix these with the championship quality players we already have such as JONES, BELL, COVENTRY and RAMSAY then we are nearly there to a strong Championship squad as I have not seen KELMAN yet. and not seen enough of CAREY. plus BURKE wasn't even in the building.
FULLAH will be the surprise package for us this year and LEABURN played very well (best I have seen him play in a while) so he is showing encouraging signs he has the potential to step up.
The Players in the balance for me are DOHERTY not sure he has enough slow and commits need less fouls. GILLESPHEY solid strong however may be a bit one dimensional. ANDERSON makes silly mistake although still developing not sure he will get enough game time. TC he looked way off it and struggled against the league 2 outfit and a right back smaller than him, also his formed dipped in last few games of the season when the pressure was on.
An away point at, for example, league 1 Cambridge would be seen as failure, an away point just about anywhere in the Championship would, IMHO, be seen as a decent return.
Unless we start steamrollering teams I don't expect many teams to sit back and hope to catch us on the break or score from a set piece as we saw frequently last season, especially at the Valley.
We'll play with width, we will press and work hard but I can see it being us who play deeper and on the counter using Apter and Tanto.