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Very Disappointed tonight

edited November 2007 in General Charlton
Not to sure what to make of that to be honest.

We started well, first ten to fifteen we looked lively, had a good pace to our attack and used it wide well. And then we seemed to completely dry up and let Sheff U work their way into it. By half time they looked the more comfortable team. Definately pen, Thomas got on the wrong side (though i'm not sure what he was doing on the right), and a deep cross from the left was going to a player on the far post and Thomas went through the back of him.

We raised it a bit 2nd half, had 2 or 3 very good opportunities to score, most notably ZZ from five yards who sadly put it onto the bar when it was easier to score. Would of been the one player i wanted it going to as well.

Midfield was completely out of sorts tonight. Sam had a poor first half, Reid was completely missing and looked well below par both fitness and touch wise. They got tight to him, and he didn't have enough to be an influence on the game. ZZ was also well below his best.

If we had equalized, we would of won, no doubt about that. But we just weren't good enough all over the park tonight.

Though Thomas was our only real create outlet, and was impressed with all three subs when they come on, but it still wasn't enough.
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Comments

  • Mate, to be honest, would you swap any of their players like for like.......thought about it? I couldnt, we were the better team but still managed to not make their keeper make a save. If I would have seen another QPR performance (dont think anybody had that bad a game, other than Reid tongiht, and maybe Zheng Zhi who was well off the pace, especially for their second) then I would be worried.

    Thomas is shit, sorry an all that, not my most costructive sentence but hey, cant stand him, pussy.

    still enjoyed the game though funny enough, would rather watch us attack for 70 minuted than defend for 90.
  • That's what i mean by i don't know what to make of it.

    I put the Plymouth game down as 'one of those nights', but they can't keep repeating themselves time and again. We completely lacked a cutting edge tonight, both from supply and ahead of that.
  • edited November 2007
    'One of those nights' is fine when you win 4 on the bounce but we can't keep doing it or can we. Win 4 lose one or two, win four, lose one or two. It might work but certainly won't be good enough for top 2.
  • Dread to think how bad we would be without loan signings this season.

    Just cant put my finger on what we need, we seem to have it all but dont know how to use it? does that make sense?
  • I couldn't go tonight but you just get games like this sometimes. We give away a pen - can always happen. We fail to take a chance or two. They get a dodgy goal. We're chasing it and they get a third. The divide between success and failure is often very thin.

    It may be that one or two players need a chance to rest. We have a big squad, time is perhaps upon us to use some of our fringe players like Racon, and maybe Moo2 as a wing back/winger.
  • Reidy looked the shadow of the player he did a month ago. Whether he has overplayed, or teams are learning how to shut him out, i'm not sure.
  • id say reid definitely looks like he could do with a rest before the christmas period.
  • They were a big, strong, physical side & they won the important battles all night long. Sodje was basically beaten up by Beattie & was struggling badly towards the end. Reid & ZZ both went missing, while Thomas had a shocker. Sheffield Utd were the better team & I thought they totally controlled the game, apart from that 15 minutes spell when Big Chris somehow hit the keeper instead of the net & ZZ hit the bar.

    I felt the crowd turn after 12 minutes, which was sad. Too many balls were just lumped route 1 towards Big Chris. We basically ran out of ideas pretty early on.

    We now have to make sure that we don't repeat what happened after we lost to Plymouth in a similar game, & lost to QPR. Burnley will be flying on Saturday & I can easily see us slipping to another defeat. Reid looks like he badly needs a rest. Give Ambrose a chance to prove himself.
  • "wouldn't swap any players, like-for-like".........I would.

    Beattie for Ilwelumo for starters. When will we get a striker who can rough 'em up a bit? When we will get a striker who will shoot from outside the box?

    same old same old.

    as i keep saying.......if you don't score , you wont win. No good playing pretty football for the first 20 mins - need to get a goal, then you can play.
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  • If you think about it. Reidy hasn't played much first team football for a few years. He's not been getting a break either during the International periods. He is such a talent, he will benefit from a rest. Difficult for Pards to do it given the last four games but probably justified now. I'd probably leave him on the bench and bring him on for impact midway into the second half. Big Chris is carrying some injuries so maybe he's due for a rest as well.

    I'd like to see Moo2 in midfield/wide right. I don't see why not. Give Sam a breather as well.
  • Big Chris won everything in the air and the back four looked solid. It fell down in midfield. Sam wasn't great but more signicantly Reidy had a shocker other than that beautiful ball threaded through to Thomas about five minutes or so from the end.

    In my view Pards was once again mistaken in replacing Semedo with Holland. He should have replaced Reid with Ambrose. ZZ was unable to get forward to support Big Chris and Luke beause with Reidy AWOL he had to cover for Matty's lack of mobility. When that fat lump Beattie outpaces you then you have a problem!

    The crowd was disappointing although with the A2 hassle I can sympathise having got in about 15 minutes ago or so. What is annoying is the way so many turn on the team. Yes I know they pay their money blah, blah, blah but so do I and I'm allowed an opinion too!

    Burnley are on the up after winning at Watford so not the best time to play them.

    Am I Golfie in disguise?:-)
  • I'd bring Mou2kil back in for Burnley, as I don't think Mills has really been on the boil for the last couple of games.
  • Sorry Len, but Big Chris did NOT "win everything in the air" - nowhere near it. What game were you watching.

    Golfie - bet you couldn't wait to get home and start typing away, eh. I can see the steam coming off your keyboard from here.
  • He seemed to win plenty in the air from what I could see tonight.

    A few of us commented because in earlier games he hadn't won as much.

    Were you watching through a Youngs glass Offy?:-) I had a nice pint of Youngs in The Bugle tonight as an aside.
  • I wish Len. Actually, I had a few Ordinary's lunchtime and another couple in Greenwich before the game and was in a pretty tip top mood - until the game started. We just weren't at it today - end of. Very disappointing, but unlike some people I try not to get too carried away when we win and also not get too dispondant when we lose.

    Come to think of it, wasn't that a favourite saying of someone we used to know? Can't remember his name now ...... but didn't he say "praps" a lot?!
    :o)
  • I didn't walk away from the ground thinking we're in a crisis like I have after other defeats. I honestly didn't think we were that bad. After they went in 1 up at the break they obviously had enough time to organize the fact they were going to get 10 men behind the ball for the duration of the second half. The Charlton boys didn't hide, granted Reid and Zheng looked off the pace and thats going to hamper any side. We controlled possession and could have had 2/3 goals notably Zhengs miss and a few unlucky bounces. I firmly believe that if one of those had have gone our way we'd have won the game but when you push forward you're susceptible to break away goals which we were on the wrong side of tonight. But i'd have rather that than we left 4/5 men back and were less productive going forward. Maybe i've got my happy head on tonight but like I said I really didn't think it was that bad and I don't think its the end of the world just yet!
  • I'm of a similar mindset as AFKA and Redarmy, I am not pissed off like I was after some defeats a couple of which recent that I have witnessed. It just didn't happen tonight, and lets recognise Sheffield United looked very well organised. It could easily have gone our way, it just didn't. Shit happens so what, Reidy may need a rest but we have plenty in the starting XI and sqaud to get by without him for 90
  • All credit to Bryan Robson he matched up against us 4 - 5 -1 their midfield was so tight on ours they won the battle. No space for our players to operate.
  • Think I was watching a different game to you Len.

    I thought Iwelumo had a shocker, barely won anything in the air all night. Varney looked more dangerous when he came on.

    Holland played well when he came on. I would have taken Reid off at half time though. Quite simply, Andy Reid cannot play in a 4-4-2 system.

    Credit to Sheff Utd, got their lead and defended well and hit us on the break, just like we have done lately.

    Still think we will finish above them but they had a good night and we had a bad one.
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  • Before the match (on the match thread) it was noted that both teams were going 4-5-1, a formation that has worked well for the last four games - all won, no goals conceded etc, but maybe that made us a tad predictable and easy to counter. After all close down Reid, mark Iwelumo and you cut a lot of the creativity out of the game and so Robson stuck five in midfield. By the sound of things that broke the game up. After all this is what we've done in the Premiership away from home over the last few seasons - try and stop the other team from playing and grab a goal or two and maybe the points.

    Reid by the sound of it needs a break - he hardly played in the six months or so prior to the season after the hamstring operation and since August hasn't had a week off if you include the games he's had for Ireland and all the travelling in between. He doesn't strike me as being a naturally fit athlete type in the first place. We have a big squad and there's no point in having players like Racon, Mou2, Ambrose, Holland etc in the squad if they aren't going to play, I know the latter has been injured but Pards has got to rest some of the starters occasionally.
  • I felt as though they wanted it more. First to most tackles and chasing/closing down relentlessly. Our midfield went missing in this battle. Thomas had his most effective game for a while, but as soon as I saw him at right back playing everyone on side I knew there would be trouble and so the pen proved.

    Definitely one of those nights, but we still haven't got to grips with aggressive teams. A night that called for leadership and it wasn't there for me.
  • I too felt it was just one of those nights. We started the half well but then proceeded to get progressively worse. Gave away a really soft penalty (which there was no disputing) and then panicked at 1-0 down and fired balls towards Iwelumo's head for the next 30 minutes.

    It became so predictable. At one point Fortune had the ball in our half and Sheff Utd lined up as two banks of four about two yards apart from each other near the edge of their own area. What did Fortune do? Fire the ball straight at them. There wasn't one person in the ground who didn't know where that ball was going and what the end result would be. That said I don't blame Fortune as last night there was very little between him and Iwelumo, there was no shape and no-one really looking like they wanted the ball, he just didn't have the option to do much else.

    Finally we switched and started playing it around a little bit, I thought both Holland and Varney did really well when they came on, we were unlucky with a few chances and I kind of struggled to see what happened with their second to be honest.

    The third was irrelevant, we were chasing the game, it was a calculated risk.

    Overall, I think key moments ruined us, not panic stations but I do think we need to get out of the habit of lumping the ball to Big Chris's head, we become way too predictable and it's ridiculous excluding the midfield from the game when we have such quality there.
  • edited November 2007
    [cite]Posted By: golfaddick[/cite]"wouldn't swap any players, like-for-like".........I would.

    Beattie for Ilwelumo for starters. When will we get a striker who can rough 'em up a bit? When we will get a striker who will shoot from outside the box?

    same old same old.

    as i keep saying.......if you don't score , you wont win. No good playing pretty football for the first 20 mins - need to get a goal, then you can play.


    I may be wrong Golfie but I am sure you were one of the "beattie is shit brigade" when he was being linked with us. Apologies if I am wrong.

    There were quite a lot of you that did and few that didn't - i said i thought he'd get at least 15 goals in this league and he will sail past that. He's ideal player for this division and I thought we should have signed him.

    Pardew went the cheap route with the free transfers AND now we are being linked with £2 bid for Zamora.


    ***edit*** just checked past posts and Golfie i apologise you wasn't on there so please accept mu humblest apologies LOL
  • I thought iwelumo won most things, he just had no way of directing it to someone else who was near him because there was no one there. at times there were movements that could have been great, but they were read incorrectly. just one of those nights.

    it wasn't so bad, 3 goals flattered them as we weren't that bad, boo'ing the team after 4 straight wins and 1 lost, is a bit ridiculous.

    Bring on Saturday!
  • Was there anyone left in the ground by the time the final whistle went?

    If ZZ scores, we go on and win that game, he misses, and they go up the other end and get the goal.

    Does anyone actually know what Halsey was doing for the second? He disallowed it, gave, disallowed it again, and then finally pointed to the centre spot
  • A Sheffield Utd fan came up to me outside the Oak last night after the game as he remembered me from there last season. I asked him about his teams performance & he said that's the first time they have really played well all season, just our luck I suppose.

    Personally I think we were just outworked all over the pitch last night. Also think we should consider leaving the 4-5-1 to away games where it clearly works & switching to a different system at home ones where it clearly does not.
  • The problem is that with 4-4-2 we always look like conceding
  • [cite]Posted By: Rothko[/cite]Was there anyone left in the ground by the time the final whistle went?

    If ZZ scores, we go on and win that game, he misses, and they go up the other end and get the goal.

    Does anyone actually know what Halsey was doing for the second? He disallowed it, gave, disallowed it again, and then finally pointed to the centre spot

    me!

    we saw a replay when we got in, mills stormed in to get the ball as the sheff u player had it and was trying to keep hold of it, so it looked like a bit of a ruck, he managed to get the ball away and get it to weaver, who kicked it out, which made it look like he hadn't scored.

    Halsey spent quite a lot of the night looking like he was directing traffic!
  • [cite]Posted By: suzisausage[/cite]

    Halsey spent quite a lot of the night looking like he was directing traffic!

    At one stage, parking planes would of been more accurate
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