Charlton Athletic captain Johnnie Jackson reveals his fear after making scoring return
Johnnie Jackson admitted he had doubts about whether he would ever be the man of the moment again for Charlton after he helped spark a late fightback in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Fulham.
The Addicks’ club captain came off the bench with 10 minutes to go and scored with his first touch seconds later - heading into the net - before Jordan Cousins levelled just before full time.
And Jackson, who has seen his game time limited by niggling knocks and not being selected by Charlton head coach Guy Luzon, said: “I’ve had my moments [at the club] but I probably started to think there might not be anymore - you can’t help but think that way when you’re not involved.
“All I’ve done is shown him [Luzon] I’m ready to play my part. Whether or not he had reservations before today then maybe he won’t after and he’ll know I’m there willing and ready if I’m needed.
“I was a bit emotional when I scored - it was a bit of an outpouring. There were a few months of frustration coming out there.”
Jackson hasn’t started a league game since February, when injury ended that campaign.
And since coming back he has still had the odd untimely niggle along with seeing Ahmed Kashi, El-Hadji Ba and Jordan Cousins selected ahead of him in the middle of the park.
“I’ve been a little bit unlucky with a couple of games,” he said. “I think I would have started Peterborough in the cup and probably at Palace as well. I rolled my ankle two days before Peterborough - a complete freak - and it was the same with Palace, I pulled my groin.
“That was frustrating but it’s also been the case I’ve been down the pecking order for the league games. That’s the game, I understand that.
“We’ve spoken openly about it, there is no problem there. Obviously I’m frustrated when I’m not playing. I still feel I can and I’m capable of it.
“I had a bad injury at the end of last season which hampered my pre season. It didn’t help not being 100 per cent fit for the start of the season and that probably played a part in the management decision-making as well.”
Jackson also reckons his side don’t capitalise enough on dead ball situations.
He powered onto Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s corner to halve the deficit.
“It’s a bit of a bugbear of mine - I don’t think we score enough from set-pieces,” he said. “ I don’t think we are aggressive enough when we attack the ball. We sometimes let opportunities pass us by and they are goalscoring opportunities.
“I’m capable of scoring and every person attacking the ball should think like that. You have to be aggressive and really attack it. Sometimes we’re guilty of not doing that.”
Comments
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He made me very happy yesterday! Didn't think Luzon was ever going to bring him on
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I reckon by the sound of things that if he gets fully fit he'll move ahead of Ba in the midfield order... Watching Luzon's comments on Sky when I got home and it seems the Manager is full of admiration of Jackson and isnt just keeping him around for the fans.
Watched him a lot yesterday and see him playing the Quarterback role for us, just sat in the pocket of Midfield, far enough away from the Fulham area which allowed him to pass the balls about whilst also having that Johnnie look about him of someone who would make a late invisible run into the box if possible.
Is a perfect position for him if he doesnt have the spring in his legs as can have Cousins doing the nitty gritty stuff to win the ball back, he wont be our Pirlo but he's a man who shows how he can adapt his game once he loses a bit of pace4 -
I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now. (edit 33)
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.26 -
Great to have one the bench when chasing a game or when you need to see out a win when there is one goal in itHenry Irving said:I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now.
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.3 -
exactlyHenry Irving said:I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now.
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.1 -
He's recently turned 33, not 34, not that it matters that much. His football brain and passing ability are both excellent - I think he could still play a major part if we can find a role for him that isn't overly dependant on pace.
That's a long held view, by the way, not a kneejerk reaction to yesterday.8 -
Given what happened yesterday, and having been always one of the more vocal ones to question whether or not he's still got something to add on the pitch, boy do I feel silly. I'm not suggesting we all get carried away and automatically he starts every game, as I stand by earlier comments that it wouldn't work. However, the team just looked a whole lot happier when he came on. Obviously, the first touch being the goal really helped, it set the scene. He seems to be the one person that can instill a bit of unity by the looks of things. That's what we've been missing since Hull imo. That and leadership. These are the two things he brings in abundance, as well as his ability to score.Henry Irving said:I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now.
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.
So we have a bit of a challenge around possible line ups and team selection going forward. The only way I could see him fitting in is as part of a 5 man midfield. Kashi & Cousins eitherside. Both of those two like to sit deep anyway (Cousins infuriatingly so). If you let Jackson just ghost and and have a free role like he did when he came on, maybe there is an argument there.
It will certainly give GL something to think about as we couldn't go on playing the way we did post Hull. We've been awful. And contrary to a few opinions on the post match views thread y'day, I thought we were terrible up until the point JJ came on.2 -
Terrible?? No I don't agree with that. I thought up to the point of going one nil down we were playing well moving the ball around nicely, keeping the ball down & we even carved out a few half chances. The problem was when we conceded our heads dropped, we only grew in confidence after Jackson came on.6
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A natural leader - the goal yesterday lifted the place.
Need to make use of JJ this season.6 -
If JJ is not going to start games, and I accept he's not going to start every game.Henry Irving said:I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now. (edit 33)
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.
I hope he's a frequently used substitute. Not by putting him on to try and run down the clock in the 89th minute. Nor by putting him on to bail us out in the last ten minutes (even if worked Saturday)
Put him on for 30 minutes, give him sufficient time to work his magic.3 -
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I can see based on the post match views that some people felt we played well, I just couldn't see it myself. I appreciate you have a young team there short of confidence and going a goal down never helps, but we were so slow at times. We really lacked leadership and as JJ said in his article about set pieces, aggression. There were a lot of careless balls and misplaced passes. The last 15 was a great effort and to be fair they kept going when others would've given up. Yet everything post Hull has been poor for me. The good thing is that drawing a game when you are 2 down feels like a win, so let's hope some confidence will kick in because of thatCharlton Road James said:Terrible?? No I don't agree with that. I thought up to the point of going one nil down we were playing well moving the ball around nicely, keeping the ball down & we even carved out a few half chances. The problem was when we conceded our heads dropped, we only grew in confidence after Jackson came on.
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2 more goals and the half century will be up. The last players to score 50 or more goals for Charlton?
Leaburn 66
Lee 653 -
In a squad short of leaders as well as next to no championship experience, Jackson's presence in this side will be pivotal.3
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He can always be our impact man, bring him on with 15-20 to go and let him re-stoke the teams fire.
He would be a great choice as a future coach, sadly though the main attribute that JJ has you can't really coach.4 -
Interesting remarks from Jacko about attacking the ball at corners. He sounds frustrated that we aren't doing enough work on this in training. To some extent this is a gift that cannot be taught. Tim Cahill is still probably one of the best around. Jacko is similar in that he seems to instictively know how to time his run and where to go. I hope Jacko has input into training sessions and that he can pass on his knowledge.5
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When the club was Imploding between the TJ/slater and RD/KM period
who was the main person and conduit for the fans.
When Riga took over, who was the captain who played 3 games a week for 7 weeks and inspired us to stay in the championship from 24th place.
When Luzon took over and the fans thought he was just a puppet of Roland's who was the person who said Guy was good on the training ground and give him a chance.
Last season was JJ poorest because having 2 players in midfield with no pace
(The penalty king YB) the balance was wrong and Jackson wasn't getting into goal scoring positions.
By the time Johnnie got on the field for the corner the clock showed 80 minutes.
should've been on after Fulham's 2nd goal, like others, i said so at the time.
He is known as skipper, he was born to be a Captain.
The sad truth is there won't be too many more 18 minute cameo's like Sunday's.
I Wanted JJ( player coach) and Riga as Joint head coaches before Peeters and Luzon. A thread from last year on who we wanted.
Would Tony Watt get the hump with JJ teaching him to head the ball
or work harder on his fitness ? I hope not if he wanted a proper career in the game and fulfill the talent he has.
This young team would benefit so much from JJ on and off the pitch (they do already but even more so with the added status) and if RD/KM can't see that then they really would be clueless on the dynamics of football and leadership.
I have no problem with Colin having his views on JJ, but it's very disingenuous
not to give credit when the man made the difference between a game that was
heading for a 3-0 defeat and yet because of his influence finished 2-2.
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“It’s a bit of a bugbear of mine - I don’t think we score enough from set-pieces,” he said. “ I don’t think we are aggressive enough when we attack the ball. We sometimes let opportunities pass us by and they are goalscoring opportunities.
This!
“I’m capable of scoring and every person attacking the ball should think like that. You have to be aggressive and really attack it. Sometimes we’re guilty of not doing that.”
Scoring from set pieces isn't about having giant players in the box, it's about movement and desire, attacking the ball. Hopefully the others can follow his example6 -
That photo is hilarious.1
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I was lucky enough to present him with his MoM in the Keith Peacock yesterday.
Steve Brown is now only my joint favourite all time CAFC player.10 -
Did JJ Break two CAFC records on Sunday ?
He scored 3 seconds after coming on from the corner.
Plus he wins CAFC MOM after being on the field from the 80th to the 98th minute.6 -
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whatever happens to him (and I still think he has a playing role for us), I really hope they get him involved at a coaching level at the club and keep him in that capacity, still feel we should've done the same with Hughes and it'd be such a waste to let Jackson go somewhere else.
However I think he'll be involved a bit more on the playing side over the coming weeks now8 -
My guess, and it is just that, is that he'll leave at the end of the season for a coach/player role in the lower divisions. Southend or Colchester maybe.Elthamaddick said:whatever happens to him (and I still think he has a playing role for us), I really hope they get him involved at a coaching level at the club and keep him in that capacity, still feel we should've done the same with Hughes and it'd be such a waste to let Jackson go somewhere else.
However I think he'll be involved a bit more on the playing side over the coming weeks now
I certainly hope he tries to begin a coaching/management career but he does seem to do a lot of radio work so he might feel that is an easier life.1 -
Jacko, I was there for your goals at Sheff Utd, Sheff Weds, Norwich, Cardiff and Fulham yesterday.
They were all key goals.
As long as you can keep going - I will keep going.
Love Jacko to bits - proper footballer, proper Captain, proper Charlton.11 -
Didn't Kermogant do the same at Sheffield United scoring as he came on?soapboxsam said:Did JJ Break two CAFC records on Sunday ?
He scored 3 seconds after coming on from the corner.
Plus he wins CAFC MOM after being on the field from the 80th to the 98th minute.1 -
Yann either came on for the corner or 20 odd seconds before ?paulsturgess said:
Didn't Kermogant do the same at Sheffield United scoring as he came on?soapboxsam said:Did JJ Break two CAFC records on Sunday ?
He scored 3 seconds after coming on from the corner.
Plus he wins CAFC MOM after being on the field from the 80th to the 98th minute.1 -
Colin's busy telling Glynne's list it was Bergdich and Moussa who made the difference and Jackson nearly cost us the points with his reckless play.Henry Irving said:I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now. (edit 33)
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.2 -
He deserves better than to manage under Duchatelet.Showmetheway2gohome said:Next manager
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But he won't say it on here because he knows he'll be laughed out of townrikofold said:
Colin's busy telling Glynne's list it was Bergdich and Moussa who made the difference and Jackson nearly cost us the points with his reckless play.Henry Irving said:I don't think JJ will or should start every game. He is 34 now. (edit 33)
When Kashi is fit then I expect him and Cousins to be the starting pair.
The point is that JJ still has a lot to offer. Always had even though some people were writing him off 4 seasons ago. Were is Colin today?
He is a class player, leader, motivator, passer, defender and goal scorer at this level. And he has the experience too that we need with such a young squad.2 -
Was only a month or two ago there was a discussion as to whether JJ was the stuff of a Charlton legend. I thought he was then and as far as I'm concerned what happened on Sunday was just another moment in a long line of special JJ moments that help cement his legend status. "An outpouring of emotion" just shows how much he cares and wants to do his bit. Johnnie Jackson my son you are a Charlton legend. FACT20
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JJ seems to have scored a number of really important goals in his career with us, it's as if he is fated to make an impact. Yesterday for example, his goal could have been a meaningless consolation in a 2-1 defeat, quickly forgotten about. Instead it was the start of the fightback.3
