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Darren Pratley (Page 25 - Detailed interview with the SLP pre Leyton Orient match )
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His presence on the pitch for the play offs was pivotal in our promotion a proper man and one who will always hold a special place in my Addick heart .
Good luck Pratley , bloke3 -
Thanks for your efforts Darren much appreciated a real pro good luck for the future0
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Ditto all that has been said before. Always gave 100%. GL in the future whatever it brings0
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Thanks mate, for all of your commitment over the last 3 years. You gave it all for the cause during ESI’s near fatal involvement with our club.Wish you all the very best for your future.1
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Thank you Pratters a great innings for our club.
Good luck.0 -
Leaves with a massive a round of applause from my seat. His 3 years have not been the greatest in our history. BUT, could have been even worse without him.2
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Best of luck Darren, always gave everything you had to give and had one massive moment in a Charlton shirt with your play-off goal.Would rather he was staying and Watson being released, but contractual status probably prevented that option.0
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A model pro,not always the greatest on the ball,but left nothing on the pitch,I thought there might have been a place for him for another year as he certainly didnt lack fitness,and you do need his kind of experience at this level.Not to be,I wish him all the best and heartfelt thanks for the effort he put in for our club.0
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Correct decision, good luck to him.0
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Absolutely this with bells on , gutted he's gone to be honest, if Watson replicates this season, we could be stuck in league one longer than TS would like.AFKABartram said:Think he’s been a good servant, would much rather retain him than Watson tbh
Watson has to improve big time for our performances to take an uptick, unless he's going to be sitting on the bench.
Maybe a proper preseason will see an improvement in his performances?1 - Sponsored links:
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Mendonca In Asdas said:
Absolutely this with bells on , gutted he's gone to be honest, if Watson replicates this season, we could be stuck in league one longer than TS would like.AFKABartram said:Think he’s been a good servant, would much rather retain him than Watson tbh
Watson has to improve big time for our performances to take an uptick, unless he's going to be sitting on the bench.
Maybe a proper preseason will see an improvement in his performances?
I would be very surprised if Watson is anything more than a bit part player next season. If he is, it will have been a failure of recruitment or due to injuries to others. We must hope he can be as positive an influence around the training ground as a backup player as I suspect Pratley would have been.
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Wish him nothing but good things. Thanks Prats.0
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A good man and a decent player.
But there comes a time when you can't keep giving players another year, just because they've been good servants. Maybe the playing budget isn't going to be as big as some might have thought and some trimming needs to happen before new blood can be bought in.
On balance, it's probably time for DP to move on but it wouldn't be a surprise if he did really well for another club next season.0 -
One of those players who you hate to play against, Pratley "old manned" teams with his cunning style of play. He would run through brickwalls for his team mates and always always gave it everything he had.
Best of luck1 -
A true team man, thanks for your time at Charlton, Darren. Probably my favorite moment was when we were 1-0 down at Wembley, the team playing nervously, the ball was cleared out of our area to the half way line. A Sunderland player picked the ball up and started showboating. Pratley absolutely smashed into him, leaving him on the floor for several minutes. For me that was the turning point in the game, we settled down and started to play. Darren, you were a Charlton warrior.19
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Absolutely huge for us for what he did in the promotion season but the right decision. Good luck Prats.0
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Right decision. Did a decent job for us. hopefully he gets fixed up elsewhere, even at 36, he still has a bit left in the tank.0
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Boycotting meant that I didn't see as much of Pratley as I'd have liked. Always gave his all, though I did sometimes think his antics crossed the line from 'professionalism' into 'silliness'. Nevertheless, I wish him all the best.1
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I'd rather have Pratley in the squad than Watson, as he can do a specific job if we want to go defensive/dirty. Pratley gets booked because he gets stuck in, Watson gets booked because he's lost half a yard and is late in his tackles.
Watson might be a better footballer, but we should have enough passing elsewhere in the squad anyway5 -
Thanks Darren. Superb servant in some awful times . Equally, I’m not unhappy we are moving on.0
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Cheers Pratters, I'm gonna miss your shitehousery. Can definitely do a job elsewhere1
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A proper grafter who played every game with the same effort and determination and desire to win that a fan would do.
Not the most technically gifted but every team needs a Pratley to break it up and get things moving.
Donny at home in play offs probably in my top 5 Valley moments and he was a huge part of that.
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Proper fighter and you need a few of those in your squad.
The home playoff semi vs Donny, hat a moment. Single handedly dragging us through in the final at Wembley, incredible. Then showing some real class in that 10 game run at the start of the championship. Some great memories!
Most if all his effective "game management" in the dying stages and all the tines he would up the opposition into losing their heads or kept the ref in line. Invaluable. The sort of player you hate to come up against which is a pretty high compliment.3 -
Also 100 appearances, how many yellow cards? 30?
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Despite having played most of his career there, I was surprised that Pratley was a much better player in the Championship than League One.4
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A great club servant that deserves resect on his return. His shithousery antics used to have me grinning from ear to ear. To play that way was always going to wind up opponents and very often the ref. A Wiley old fox I think. Thanks for the feel good moments.5
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97cantersaddick said:Also 100 appearances, how many yellow cards? 30?
Though in reality you are close.
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Looked at his best in a role limited to winning the ball and playing a simple pass to someone close to him. Looked at his worst when LB insisted on playing him as a general box-to-box midfielder, which could be very frustrating to watch. Not his fault, though.
Best of luck DP2 -
For me Pratley will always encapsulate everything that was good about a Lee Bowyer team, and everything that was bad.
No one can question his desire, or when he was in that CDM role, his ability to read the game and make timely interceptions and tackles. We've seen on many occasion him completely nullifying oppositions midfield threat.
However, especially towards the end of LBs reign, I felt we played some of our worst football with an over reliance on Pratley (not his fault) to have to link up play.
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It was hard to watch at the end, but then I think that was a lot to do with Bowyer having lost control of everything on the pitch in general. It’s not a criticism as either. Both should be thanked for all their hard work over the time they gave us. I agree with you that the two seemed to symbolize everything about the team that I hated last season. Bowyer would play him every game, we were crying out for more creative football, and Pratley couldn’t give it to us.FishCostaFortune said:For me Pratley will always encapsulate everything that was good about a Lee Bowyer team, and everything that was bad.
No one can question his desire, or when he was in that CDM role, his ability to read the game and make timely interceptions and tackles. We've seen on many occasion him completely nullifying oppositions midfield threat.
However, especially towards the end of LBs reign, I felt we played some of our worst football with an over reliance on Pratley (not his fault) to have to link up play.I am 100% thankful for everything they both gave, but I am grateful we moved Pratley on and Bowyer chose to leave. Sometimes things just run their course. I hope they both go onto to have a good next step in their careers2
