Northampton 0 CAFC 4 (POST MATCH THREAD) 30/03/2018

"The kid is unplayable and I just gave him a free role," Bowyer said. "Out of possession, he didn't really need to do anything because they started with three at the back; their spare man was a third centre half and he wasn't going to hurt us."

I love seeing this from Bowyer. Under Robinson we set up the same way every week and tried to do the same thing regardless of what was we were up against. It's great to see Bowyer looking at other teams and making adjustments based on what's in front of him. We're not warping our style every week because of what the opposition is doing, he's just spotting gaps and exploiting them to our advantage.

That's also two weeks in a row where we've been 1-0 up, survived a close shave in front of our goal and then gone down the other end and punished the other team's miss with another goal of our own. It's a far cry from when we used to dominate the first 20 minutes of games without scoring then lose in injury time

ross1 said:

Bowyer on a perfect away performance


The Addicks led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Ben Reeves and Tariqe Fosu and after the break the latter bagged his second before Josh Magennis completed the thrashing.

Charlton could have scored more - and it would not have flattered them - and afterwards caretaker boss Bowyer was full of praise for his side, who have now secured back-to-back victories in Sky Bet League One.

He said: "To come away from home - against a team that are fighting for their lives - and to come away with a clean sheet and four goals is brilliant.

"It could have been a lot more than four. The lads took everything on board again, moved the ball well, defended as a team and worked hard as a team, which is what we demand of them.

"In possession, we were outstanding as well. We created so many chances and I don't think our own goalkeeper made a save. It was perfect."

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Bowyer was asked about Fosu, who bagged his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign during the rout.

"The kid is unplayable and I just gave him a free role," Bowyer said. "Out of possession, he didn't really need to do anything because they started with three at the back; their spare man was a third centre half and he wasn't going to hurt us.

"I said to him that he didn't need to do anything defensively and asked him to try and get himself into areas where we could find him once we won the ball.

"I wanted him to go out there do what he does. He just glides past people, he's so strong for a small player and, as for his finishing, you saw the quality of that today."

The victory made it two wins from two for the caretaker boss, whose team sit two points off the play-off places.

"That's down to the lads," Bowyer said. "We set them out to play a certain way but to keep clean sheets you need to work as a team.

"In our last two performances, we have done that. We have hunted down in packs and then you get rewarded for that.

"If you work hard, everything else will fall into place, especially with the attacking ability we have got. I'm over the moon for the lads and I'm very proud of them too."

The Addicks now move on to Monday's clash against Rotherham United. Charlton won 2-0 at the New York Stadium earlier in the season and another win could edge them closer to the top six.

He said: "We have got eight games to go. We have to have the same attitude and we won't let that drop.

"We have got people on the bench who are quality players as well. If anyone thinks that they can just stroll around, which they haven't done, then they know there is someone else to take their place.

"We're exciting to watch at the moment because the lads are on it, they're hungry and they know what the reward is at the end of it. A potential place at Wembley and promotion."

Supporters can watch Bowyer's post-match interview in full on Valley Pass

I didn’t go but really enjoying reading the thread so far and pleased for the travelling fans

The bit I’ve highlighted in bold is the difference between Bowyer and KR for me. He looks like he does his homework and will adapt accordingly. Seems in these 2 games to show more versatility than KR did in his whole time. Another example, not playing Magennis from the start. A couple of things about it that were good. A) the guy has been needing a break for a while and b) he saw how well the team played last week and didn’t feel it was necessary to change it even if Magennis is first choice above Zyro. KR I’m sure would’ve thrown him straight back in and the stale 4-2-3-1 would’ve been back

I appreciate that a new owner may want to bring his own man in, but it would be madness to not have Bowyer take charge until the end of the season

Everyone is buzzing

So pleased we won and played well. but would be nice to remember John Jackson is also playing a part in our great improvement.
Lovely to have this nice feeling that a win gives us all.

thickandthin63 said:

May I make an impassioned plea to all boycotters to ,for the last few home games,forget RD,and help get us promoted,15000 plus crowds could well inspire the team to play even better than they are at the moment,and get us over the line.

Sorry, but no can do.
Much as I'd like to attend on Monday and have a beer or two with family and friends that I've missed meeting up with, I just cannot do that whilst Roland's name remains above the door.

It's great that everyone is buoyant after the last two matches but the most important thing at the moment is what is happening off the pitch, not on it.

So, for me, it's still a case of until the sale is officially confirmed I can't bring myself to support the team (my heart wouldn't truly be in it). I'd hate to return only to find that the shitbag from Belgium has changed his mind about selling or is hoping/waiting for promotion so that he can screw a few more million out of any potential buyers.

One hot day doesn't make a summer. Normal service will be resumed.

Despite beating them 2-0, you could see Plymouth are a decent si de at this level. But we outclassed them, which is no exageration, and the way we have totally outplayed an admittedly lesser team has shown me enough. Bowyer is clearly convincing the players of their ability and they are going out knowing they are better than the players they are facing. We shouldn't fear anybody and that includes Shrewsbury and Blackburn.

ShootersHillGuru said:

Last week Bow was on the case of “their sitting midfielder” and this week about “their spare man was a third centre half and he wasnt going to hurt us”. Proves to me that he’s very tactically aware and a student of the opposition. Very impressed so far with the cut of his jib. Monday will be fascinating and I suspect quite a lot tougher. Can’t wait.

Yeah I genuinely look forward to hearing what he says about Rotherham in this respect.

Its the little things like this that most fans wont pick up, and is informative rather than the usual cliques

Callumcafc said:

1-0 Reeves 14'

Been banging on about it all season (and probably longer than that), but that is how you score goals from crosses - shift it, cross it. Minimal number of touches and get it in there as early as possible. Defenders aren't set, and the attacker is arriving to meet the ball with a running jump, allowing smaller players like even Reeves to get above and out muscle big centre backs.

We scored some belters today, but this is the absolute peach for me because we should be able to score goals like this almost every week. It is a simple, repeatable skill that works as this level, whereas Fosu's individual brilliance, a joy to see as it is, is less likely to come off every week.

It's a perfect illustration of what was wrong with us under Robinson it was all about the sluggish build up. Even for Fosu, the movement of the ball and the decision making was much sharper - he was shooting on sight, rather than trying to work the perfect angle, although there was definitely still a bit of that from him and Aribo, but at three nil rather than nil-nil.

LoOkOuT said:

I predicted this.

So did Happy Valley!

ForeverAddickted said:

Chippycafc said:

One hot day doesn't make a summer. Normal service will be resumed.

Surely thats two hot days though seeing we won on Saturday?

Have as many hot days as you like... How many false dawns do you want in a season... Same people were saying the same thing for the last few seasons after a couple of wins on the trot. Happy to be proved wrong for the the first time ever here but i wont be.

Eldest first away game - Arsenal win 4-2
Youngest first away game - Northampton win 4-0

Charltonparklane said:

Eldest first away game - Arsenal win 4-2
Youngest first away game - Northampton win 4-0

You haven't mentioned the 11 kids in between!