This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Those are some strange comparisons though. Why are you comparing Pearce to Bauer and Sarr when he played in the same play-off final defence as those two? When you compare Bauer and Sarr (who wasn't a regular in our L1 defence) then it should be to Inniss and Famewo. Pratley was also in the same team as Cullen and Bielik and was the key player in our play-off run. Probably better to compare Cullen and Bielik to Shinnie and Watson. Not a winning comparison there but we were very lucky those players were available on loan when they were. I agree that our team isn't a strong as that year but you can't compare the best players in a squad with the worst. Equally you can compare Josh Parker with Chuks Aneke, or Ben Reeves with Marcus Maddison and we look brilliant
The reason being Garry, Peace as a passenger with a much better CB behind him in Bauer just about allowed us to get through. Pearce's individual mistakes have cost us the last two games. I'd compare Famewo and Innis (who I actually think are better than we had that year), but how much of the season are we having to play without them? I'm only comparing to what we have available now.
Pratley was a super-sub for us when legs got tired, and he can do that position well, but again - as a central player he simply isn't good enough - he's also 2 years older from then and he wasn't good enough to begin with! No, it wouldn't be better to compare to Shinnie, Watson and Pratley play in Bielik/Cullen's position so if anything you'd compare them to Gilbey.
Facts are, overall we are a weaker side. Dijksteel, Aribo, Taylor, Bielik, Bauer. You can say what you want and compare how you want, but I'm telling you now we will not make promotion this year - simple as.
EDIT: Afterthought, Shinnie you'd compare to Aribo - which is why I haven't because I don't believe there's too much between them - maybe Aribo slightly ahead because of his trickery and goals.
But that's what Pearce is now. He's behind two far better centre halves (and two years older, he's 33 now). He actually steadied us in the final after Naby had had a real pig of a half, though I doubt he'd be able to do that now. Our problem is more that we've been victims to really unfortunate injuries rather than the squad being nowhere near as good. If we'd been without Bauer for a longer period that season we would have struggled, just as we are now. You can't expect to have a team where you have four centre backs all at the same standard, particularly with this cap. Famewo and Inniss will come back from their injuries, which is why we're still within a shout this season. Pratley was one of our best players last season a league up, I don't think it's fair to say he's never been good enough. In fact, I think most people would agree he's improved massively from the first season he spent with us. Bielik and Cullen did not play the same role. Our best midfield was Bielik holding, Cullen creating from deep, Aribo going box to box and Williams at the tip. That's why I've made the comparisons I have. We might be weaker than that season, but injured players will return to make us stronger, like when we were winning games earlier in the season, and we've still got half the season to go. It's not over.
I agree with you for the most part - injuries have plagued us but that just shows our quality in depth isn't up to it. Also bare in mind the only reason I've said that I don't think we'll do it this year is Innis is over a month away, Famewo a few weeks too - and with the defence we have I really don't see us picking up many points in the next month. If we're playing two matches per week for the next month that's 8 games or 24 points up for grabs, our record over the past month or two without them speaks for itself. I don't think we're out of touch at this moment, but I think we very soon will be.
RE Pratley, that's all perspective, I think he's a real grafter and adds something to our game for sure, but he doesn't have quality. Somebody like that lad from Bournemouth would hopefully bring the physical presence with the skill too. I'm sorry I just don't think Pratley has enough quality, he tries but hasn't got the touch or distribution to make a real difference - runs alot and gets stuck in, that's his game. But like Beilik, who had all of that and the quality - that's the difference.
Watson is a deep-lying playmaker and Pratley is what you'd consider a natural CDM, so I don't know why you're getting so caught up on them being compared to Bielik and Cullen??
I agree we'll be stronger when the players return, but I think it'll be too late by then.
I don't think that you're right about Watson though. That might have been his role in his younger years but these days he's a spoiler put there to shield the defence, block shots and move the ball on.
Which is exactly what Pratley did very well last night.
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
That was all down to square pegs in round holes and Bowyer's constant experimentation with tactics and formations.
He seems to have learned a lesson since.
MK Dons outplayed us, and we defended terribly against Burton. Bowyer hadn't gone for odd tactics at that point
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
That was all down to square pegs in round holes and Bowyer's constant experimentation with tactics and formations.
He seems to have learned a lesson since.
MK Dons outplayed us, and we defended terribly against Burton. Bowyer hadn't gone for odd tactics at that point
We had both Gunter and Pratley at centre back for both those games - a fullback and a midfielder, square pegs in round holes?
Bowyer's rotation system was in full swing, nobody seemed to know what they were doing; and we were playing about 3 different formations during each game.
We were pressed high and given no time on the ball. And couldn't cope with that.
This is the transfer thread. Please please can we stick with it.
This is Charlton Life, where nobody stays on topic for long ...... and anyway, there's no fresh rumour of any rumours, apart from what's already been discussed to the nth degree.
If you want to discuss fresh rumours ..... you'll have to read the "Bowyer has lost" it thread or something. They'll all be there, I expect!
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
Yeh I said top half teams. The bottom half teams I (hopefully) wouldn't consider as competition. Terrible performances, nonetheless.
Sorry so you don't count the shittier teams in the division as competition, even when we lose to them?
Wonder if it isn't Ofoborh, was on the bench for Bournemouth last night away at Derby. Could be one that needs another in at Bournemouth for him to come to us.
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
Yeh I said top half teams. The bottom half teams I (hopefully) wouldn't consider as competition. Terrible performances, nonetheless.
Sorry so you don't count the shittier teams in the division as competition, even when we lose to them?
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
Ok let's rattle through these than shall we:
1- Who cares about what? I've already said this is a rebuild year in my comment - I'm also fully aware we're still Charlton with the same management team, so thanks for pointing that out but hardly relevant.
2- Bielik and Cullen were out starting defensive players promotional year, Watson and Pratley are our first choice CDMs when fit - Morgan, Shinnie and JFC have all been in rotation and playing a less defensive role, so no reason to compare to them. And as I responded to another, Innis and Famewo aren't in the scene right now and haven't been for a while, so I'm comparing to who we have available.
3- If you check our points without Innis and Famewo, you'll see why I'm worried. Not to mention 24/69 points at least we're without them as its minimum three weeks til either are back, a month for the partnership to return without any setbacks.
4- Just because you have a memory, doesn't mean you aren't living in the real world this season. Teams being blown away and completely dominated by MK Dons, Plymouth Argyle and Burton Albion are unlikely to be promoted.
5- Competition this year shows not only the 'big' teams in Pboro, Sunderland, Ipswich, Hull are doing well, but so are many 'lesser' teams such as Accrington, Fleetwood, Lincoln and Doncaster. If you were to look at PPG as things stand, we're mid-table.
6- For the record, I'm very happy we can focus on the football - that doesn't mean that I can't identify poor tactics, play and form and summise that we're unlikely to go up with this taken into account. If we had Innis/Famewo back tomorrow and Schwartz/Chuks were fit to start every game we'd be in with a shout. But they aren't. So thanks for your attempted dissection of my points - but they stand.
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
Yeh I said top half teams. The bottom half teams I (hopefully) wouldn't consider as competition. Terrible performances, nonetheless.
Sorry so you don't count the shittier teams in the division as competition, even when we lose to them?
Wtf
I was referring to competition for promotion
Ah,so we only need to beat the the teams around us, like Hull Peterborough and Accrington.
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
This is truly pathetic. Sat in 6th place, 6 points off top spot in January and the season's over after a bit of bad form. Come on, cheer up. Bloody hell, we're not in the relegation places!
We may be in 6th on the current table but on PPG we are more likely to be 8th or 9th. I know teams don't always pick up points with their games in hand but I'm pretty sure we wouldnt be in 6th now if everyone had played 23 matches like us.
Yeah its the biggest frustration at the moment as would prefer to know exactly what it is we need to aim for in terms of points
Stating the obvious I know but as many as possible. We just need to try and start winning and see where it takes us.
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
That was all down to square pegs in round holes and Bowyer's constant experimentation with tactics and formations.
He seems to have learned a lesson since.
I wonder....no doubt losing CBs and Doherty has hurt bt not using Osilaja when available was a big error
Was it though? Deji had a bad injury and wasn't fit for some of the time he was on the bench, and then was brought in to replace Pratley who had been doing ok there. Deji has done alright there too, but he went full Deji last night, which is the frustration with him. He can be strong for 85 minutes but there will be a point where his concentration completely goes and he'll offer up a chance to the opposition, which usually leads to a goal. Alongside the current version of Pearce you can see why he wasn't put in straight away
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
That was all down to square pegs in round holes and Bowyer's constant experimentation with tactics and formations.
He seems to have learned a lesson since.
I wonder....no doubt losing CBs and Doherty has hurt bt not using Osilaja when available was a big error
Was it though? Deji had a bad injury and wasn't fit for some of the time he was on the bench, and then was brought in to replace Pratley who had been doing ok there. Deji has done alright there too, but he went full Deji last night, which is the frustration with him. He can be strong for 85 minutes but there will be a point where his concentration completely goes and he'll offer up a chance to the opposition, which usually leads to a goal. Alongside the current version of Pearce you can see why he wasn't put in straight away
If he had played Oshilaja he could have played Pratley in midfield, that would have made a difference in its self.
Let's not forget when we kept all those clean sheets not only did we have "the two center halves" we also had Watson AND Pratley in front of them, for most of it.
The focus has been on our defensive mistakes lsst night. But which of our strikers would you have confidence would have taken the two chances Smodjic scored last night? Aneke, Schwartz and Bogle all missed easier ones than that in the past 2 games. We are not very strong in any department just now.
The focus has been on our defensive mistakes lsst night. But which of our strikers would you have confidence would have taken the two chances Smodjic scored last night? Aneke, Schwartz and Bogle all missed easier ones than that in the past 2 games. We are not very strong in any department just now.
This. We might get the "big two" back in defence but we then still have not great strikers up top. From what I've seen Aneke is our best striker but he can't play game in & game out and none of the others have the confidence in front of goal (Washington imo has scored 1 decent ones & a few pens) - 1 in 1's are still our main weakness. Hand on heart could you see any of ours scoring their 2 last night.
The focus has been on our defensive mistakes lsst night. But which of our strikers would you have confidence would have taken the two chances Smodjic scored last night? Aneke, Schwartz and Bogle all missed easier ones than that in the past 2 games. We are not very strong in any department just now.
Marcus Maddison?
Szmodics was effectively Maddison's replacement in the Posh team, as an attacking midfielder, rather than the centre forward (JCH replaced Toney)
The focus has been on our defensive mistakes lsst night. But which of our strikers would you have confidence would have taken the two chances Smodjic scored last night? Aneke, Schwartz and Bogle all missed easier ones than that in the past 2 games. We are not very strong in any department just now.
We equal both Peterborough and Doncaster in third for most goals scored this season so far. All on 35. Hull are two ahead on 37, Pompey one ahead on 36.
Meanwhile we sit 16th in goals conceded. Teams worse than us defensively sit in 24th, 23rd, 22nd, 21st, 20th, 19th, 18th and 11th.
The focus has been on our defensive mistakes lsst night. But which of our strikers would you have confidence would have taken the two chances Smodjic scored last night? Aneke, Schwartz and Bogle all missed easier ones than that in the past 2 games. We are not very strong in any department just now.
You've got to give Schwartz more of a chance. He smacked in a great goal against Rochdale. Let's see him fit, playing the full 90 minutes and look at his chance conversion. I've got confidence he'll be the best we have.
The focus has been on our defensive mistakes lsst night. But which of our strikers would you have confidence would have taken the two chances Smodjic scored last night? Aneke, Schwartz and Bogle all missed easier ones than that in the past 2 games. We are not very strong in any department just now.
This. We might get the "big two" back in defence but we then still have not great strikers up top. From what I've seen Aneke is our best striker but he can't play game in & game out and none of the others have the confidence in front of goal (Washington imo has scored 1 decent ones & a few pens) - 1 in 1's are still our main weakness. Hand on heart could you see any of ours scoring their 2 last night.
This season's over. We ain't going up. Rather than make rash decisions now wait until the summer and rebuild the squad
Are you joking... We're sixth (albeit just) and we're halfway through the season. Halfway. People have short memories...
It's not about a short memory, it's about comparing Cullen/Bieliek to Watson/Pratley, and Bauer/Sarr to Pearce/Deji, Taylor to anybody we have now...
Anybody who thinks we're still in with a shout are delusional given the competition this year.
That said, I'm not devastated about it, let's begin next year hopefully with Amos/fit Innis/hopefully Ofoborh and Schwartz as our spine and build around it. We were carrying far too much journeyman driftwood and legacy contracts this year to realistically be competitive under the salary cap.
Who cares, we're still Charlton. Same management team, just this time with a supportive owner and a functional club.
You're comparing some strange players as well - why not compare Cullen (who, btw, I believe was overrated by many on here) and Bielik to Forster-Caskey, Shinnie and Morgan? Why not compare Sarr and Baeur to Innis and Famewo? Yes they're injured but they're still in the squad with 23 games remaining. A possible 69 points. Yes we had Taylor but he also lined up at Wembley alongside a one Josh Parker (We have Schwartz, Aneke et. al, aka a decent sized squad which we didn't have two year ago.)
Please don't call me delusional for 1) having a memory (especially when it comes to CAFC -we never do things the easy way) and 2) being supportive. For gods sake, we nearly lost our club over the summer. Back them and enjoy the football. I'm just happy I'm not reading about court cases anymore!
Also, please point to the 'competition this year.' I am genuinely interested because I've watched every game and we blew away Portsmouth and Ipswich. Imo we've been in every game (top half teams) apart from Hull and Accrington. We were the better team last night and some of the attacking football has been a joy to watch (Wimbledon & Rochdale.) Have some faith - sport never ends at the half-way point.
We were out played by MK Don's, Burton, Plymouth, Rochdale for a big part of the game , for a start
That was all down to square pegs in round holes and Bowyer's constant experimentation with tactics and formations.
He seems to have learned a lesson since.
I wonder....no doubt losing CBs and Doherty has hurt bt not using Osilaja when available was a big error
I was alluding to "a lesson learned" since Half Time against Rochdale. That was the nadir.
Since then, apart from Gunter having to cover Pearce's suspension for 1 game, we have had players players playing in their own specialist positions and a proper balance to the team. And despite last night's disappointing late defeat in dreadful conditions, the side has played very well as a team.
Evidently Bowyer wasn't willing to trust Oshilaja at CB, but Deji has proved his capabilities in the last couple of games. But yes, of course, Deji should have played sooner ..... instead of playing square pegs in round holes. But we've both already agreed on that.
Comments
We had both Gunter and Pratley at centre back for both those games - a fullback and a midfielder, square pegs in round holes?
Bowyer's rotation system was in full swing, nobody seemed to know what they were doing; and we were playing about 3 different formations during each game.
We were pressed high and given no time on the ball. And couldn't cope with that.
And then it got worse.
If you want to discuss fresh rumours ..... you'll have to read the "Bowyer has lost" it thread or something. They'll all be there, I expect!
Wtf
1- Who cares about what? I've already said this is a rebuild year in my comment - I'm also fully aware we're still Charlton with the same management team, so thanks for pointing that out but hardly relevant.
2- Bielik and Cullen were out starting defensive players promotional year, Watson and Pratley are our first choice CDMs when fit - Morgan, Shinnie and JFC have all been in rotation and playing a less defensive role, so no reason to compare to them. And as I responded to another, Innis and Famewo aren't in the scene right now and haven't been for a while, so I'm comparing to who we have available.
3- If you check our points without Innis and Famewo, you'll see why I'm worried. Not to mention 24/69 points at least we're without them as its minimum three weeks til either are back, a month for the partnership to return without any setbacks.
4- Just because you have a memory, doesn't mean you aren't living in the real world this season. Teams being blown away and completely dominated by MK Dons, Plymouth Argyle and Burton Albion are unlikely to be promoted.
5- Competition this year shows not only the 'big' teams in Pboro, Sunderland, Ipswich, Hull are doing well, but so are many 'lesser' teams such as Accrington, Fleetwood, Lincoln and Doncaster. If you were to look at PPG as things stand, we're mid-table.
6- For the record, I'm very happy we can focus on the football - that doesn't mean that I can't identify poor tactics, play and form and summise that we're unlikely to go up with this taken into account. If we had Innis/Famewo back tomorrow and Schwartz/Chuks were fit to start every game we'd be in with a shout. But they aren't. So thanks for your attempted dissection of my points - but they stand.
We just need to try and start winning and see where it takes us.
Let's not forget when we kept all those clean sheets not only did we have "the two center halves" we also had Watson AND Pratley in front of them, for most of it.
Szmodics was effectively Maddison's replacement in the Posh team, as an attacking midfielder, rather than the centre forward (JCH replaced Toney)
Meanwhile we sit 16th in goals conceded. Teams worse than us defensively sit in 24th, 23rd, 22nd, 21st, 20th, 19th, 18th and 11th.
Scoring goals is not the problem.
Wait until the summer and rebuild for next season
Since then, apart from Gunter having to cover Pearce's suspension for 1 game, we have had players players playing in their own specialist positions and a proper balance to the team. And despite last night's disappointing late defeat in dreadful conditions, the side has played very well as a team.
Evidently Bowyer wasn't willing to trust Oshilaja at CB, but Deji has proved his capabilities in the last couple of games.
But yes, of course, Deji should have played sooner ..... instead of playing square pegs in round holes. But we've both already agreed on that.