I like the way Garner is happy to mix up the formation and the tactics. A refreshing change.
It took Garner too long to realize this season that you play to the strengths of the players you have available. The first corner we had was a wind up ? We had the giants Leaburn, Stockley and the doorman Inniss and we tried some routine and the ball never got played into the box. We had the breaks last night but still great to see the ball go in the net 4 times and the faithful few rewarded with 3 points.
I like the way Garner is happy to mix up the formation and the tactics. A refreshing change.
It took Garner too long to realize this season that you play to the strengths of the players you have available. The first corner we had was a wind up ? We had the giants Leaburn, Stockley and the doorman Inniss and we tried some routine and the ball never got played into the box. We had the breaks last night but still great to see the ball go in the net 4 times and the faithful few rewarded with 3 points.
Mid table R'us.
He did mix it up some time ago with two stabs at playing three/five at the back, and he’s switched to 442 during games. But without Aneke and Washington it might have been reckless to start both Stockley and a very young Miles so early in the season.
The other thing that I think is evident is that CBT and Payne are similar to Aneke in that they make a bigger impact coming off the bench. Neither have the consistency for me to start and although they probably won’t be too happy to play that role, that’s the only way we’ll get the best out of them.
Aneke obviously has to be managed from a fitness perspective, but with Payne and CBT it’s more of a consistency problem for either to do it anything but 20 min cameos imo
Interesting that we have put our two best performances of the season in against two good footballing sides. Like Pymouth, Exeter wanted to keep the ball on the ground and play through the channels. We deservedly got the rub of the green for the first two goals, a lovely cool, calculated finish by Leaburn Jnr and a wonderful cross by Fraser. The first 30 minutes were terrific.
But Exeter then gave us the runaround with several Charlton players looking knackered. The levels of fitness remain a concern and the team will not progress when a substantial number of the squad can't last 90 minutes.
Fair play to Garner for putting on the right substitutes at the right time. The provided pace, skill and, most importantly, confidence to a flagging side. CBT looks back on form and it's great to see Chuks back on the pitch, although unlike Stockley who is an effective defender, he should perhaps stay away from our penalty box in future.
First live game last night since Wembley... was a bit shocked as I sat on the coach from Hythe to realise that. Of course I watch 90 % of our games home and away on Charlton TV but it's not quite the same as being there.
I thought Exeter were excellent despite our flattering score line. We deserved the win undoubtedly, but they were a very good side. I'd take two of theirs, Key and Hartridge both good young footballers.
Egbo and Sessignon have improved us tremendously. Don't like Clare as a full back as I often think he's just a bit too casual.
Thought Stockley played well for a change. Dobson was absolute class last night. Leaburn looks like he improves game on game. Great composure and I love his arrogance up against seasoned pros. Better last night from Fraser. The little bloke's bullet header was class from the smallest bloke on the pitch. Lovely goal by Stansfield. Great support from the tiny home crowd and the commendable away support from City,
Don't see the issue with the penalty. Foul outside the box but referee played advantage. Aneke was then silly enough to make a similar challenge inside the box.
I'd like to defend Stockley (someone has to). He put in a real shift last night, back to winning headers and crucially got back to defend well when required.
Agree. First time I’ve seen a game live in a few weeks because of work and although he was pretty poor, there’s no lack of effort. The guy clearly cares and is going through a dip in confidence. He’ll get back to it.
Fantastic relief to get a big win at home and overall, it was well deserved.
But let's not kid ourselves about the improvements that are still needed.
We still look very imbalanced with a one man midfield. Dobbo was superb but if he gets injured we really will be in trouble and even with him, Pompey will slice through our middle like a hot knife through Flora.
Fraser is clearly a good player but it's a waste of his talent to play him as a lightweight version of Dobbo. He tried really hard but it's just not his strength. Kirk contributed very little and I have just about given up on him, Clearly an intelligent footballer but one classy cross every three games is just not enough. I can't remember him ever executing one effective tackle.
I suspect we are are just a tweak or two from a solid line up but despite the fabulous win last night that starting 11 is not quite it.
Was impressed with Exeter who play a bit of Garnerball themselves.
Like the combo of Egbo & JRS. Dobbi was excellent at protecting the back four. Leaburn is a baller.
Am not as down in Kirk as many are. Made some poor decisions in the 2nd half, like expecting Stockley to have any pace, but he has the class for the quick pass that Leaburn has. I just don’t like we get him the ball where we should. Accusations of laziness also not merited. Was right to sub him though.
Hope Miles is OK. We need him - and Chuks - as Stockley isn’t on the same wavelength as the rest of the team and isn’t even winning headers anymore.
I think if you watch a replay of the game you would be surprised at how many headers Stockley won.
Absolutely. The excellent Ali on Valley Pass has all the stats and said Stockley won 70% of all aerial duels, and then said that in L1 that is a very good figure to achieve. He also said Inniss and O'Connell were dominant in that department too.
The thing with Kirk is that he seems to have nothing in his locker to take a man on. That is pretty odd for an attacking wide player for whom we paid a tidy fee. Egbo seems more ready to take on his man than Kirk does. Maybe it's confidence. Did anybody see footage of him at Crewe where he had some more trickery we haven't seen yet?
Otherwise, well, I needed that, we all needed that. Pompey will be a big ask though, especially if Miles is out. We should brace for that.
And finally my speciality grouse. In the first half there were two minutes of additional time. There were of course no subs, and I'm pretty sure no injury related stoppage. Am I wrong? Miles was on the deck first half but got up and carried on. That should not therefore incur any extra time. Nothing happened asa result but Exeter were on top as we got to H-T. This is just so random, reeks of some kind of "personal interpretation" by somebody, and this whole thing can and needs to be automated, ASAP, and in a transparent way.
Fraser is clearly our best option to partner Dobson in a midfield two. Has put the JFC debate to bed these last few games imo (although I think JFC could make the bench ahead of the seemingly doomed McGrandles). Stick with him, he's doing well.
Kirk....I don't get it. I don't think I ever will get it.
I like the way Garner is happy to mix up the formation and the tactics. A refreshing change.
It took Garner too long to realize this season that you play to the strengths of the players you have available. The first corner we had was a wind up ? We had the giants Leaburn, Stockley and the doorman Inniss and we tried some routine and the ball never got played into the box. We had the breaks last night but still great to see the ball go in the net 4 times and the faithful few rewarded with 3 points.
Mid table R'us.
I doubt there's a manager in the Football Legue who doesn't realise that, but it's not that easy in practice as there are so many variables to consider on any given match day and sometimes, quite often in our case, the options are limited.
Great win. I thought Exeter were well organised and more composed with their No 2 looking particularly dangerous, but we defended well to prevent them making it count. We gave it away too often on the edge of their box I thought, but overall, I was impressed with the team, especially some of the newer recruits. I was hoping for a bit more creativity from Kirk, but thought he looked quite lively when he was on the ball. He was unrecognisable from the player I last saw and at least he put in a shift this time.
Based on that display, we don't have team that should have relegation worries.
There was one attack second half we had where we poured forwards, here we go, ball out left to...Clare. It was like Kirk didn't exist - he'd wandered inside at half the speed of everyone else. He hides. He doesn't affect play, he merely gets on the end of things if the ball comes his way
Yeah i dont rate Kirk at all. His main attribute is meant to be his ability on the ball in terms of creativity, control and passing yet he doesn't seem to ever want the fucking thing.
I'm definitely going to games now I have the time available for February and March. Win lose or draw, I'm not going to complain or whinge or moan about the performance and the ticket cost etc
Simply just shit to see a photo of an empty valley for a league game. Me turning up by myself for a few games would roughly increase the home attendance by 0.07%!
Watching the goals back, they are the type of goals that get scored against us usually, 2 of the 4 were deflected and bobbling about, the shortest man on the pitch scoring a header, etc. Etc.
Kirk just wants to do a few nice things and leave the rest to the others. We've all known and played with similar players, am sure. You can just about get away with it when at your boyhood/local club.
Kirk just wants to do a few nice things and leave the rest to the others. We've all known and played with similar players, am sure. You can just about get away with it when at your boyhood/local club.
I thought he chased around reasonably well yesterday, and seemed to be making an effort to get back and defend. But he clearly doesn’t know how to tackle.
It's a shame our two wide players don't have defensive nous. I like Kirk's delivery and link up play and RS is an absolute handful but we need a John Robinson type on one of the wings to stop Frazer and Dobson becoming overun.
Wollacott: beaten by another long shot and erratic distribution Egbo: excellent throughout Inniss: dreadful hospital passes into midfield throughout, decent when just defending O'Connell: his best game yet, which is a low bar, but fewer errors Sessegnon: decent even when tiring R-S: energetic for about 50 minutes but with little final product, checked out a good while before he was rightly subbed Dobson: did all the heavy lifting in midfield, must be battered all over after a night of non-stop hospital passes from Inniss and O'C, almost error free and joined in up top Fraser: a few glimmers of his much heralded quality, especially early on but another lightweight, underpowered performance, is he really fit? Kirk: robbing a living, allergic to space and running, doubly annoying because he can use the ball but does his best to avoid it, constantly bollocked by teammates Stockley: energetic and determined, so much more useful when support is close by Leaburn: superb Clare: acquitted well in a role to which he's not best suited Morgan: a decent contribution when so obviously out of position Payne: the goal rather guilds another headless chicken display, he'd do so much better of he ever looked up when he has the ball B-T: a valuable cameo Referee: best we've had in ages
PWR. Thought it was a really enjoyable game and both teams played their part. City were easy on the eye, but lacked a cutting edge - a bit like some of our performances this season! We looked much more threatening with 2 up top. But that midfield was wide open! Dobson doing all the covering for the three more attack minded players, but something he dies very well. That in turn left our centre halves a bit exposed, but they didn't do too much wrong. Thought o'onnell had a good game and egbo impressed. Great to see Chuks back doing what he does and Payne grabbing a fantastic goal. The quality on the bench last night was good. We need to avoid injuries and hopefully that little bit of depth and the ability to rotate a few players will see us climb the table.
Fraser is clearly a good player but it's a waste of his talent to play him as a lightweight version of Dobbo. He tried really hard but it's just not his strength.
I don't think he's wasted there when he can receive the ball, turn and get out of tight situations. He loses the ball sometimes but when it works it opens up plenty of space for us to start an attack. Don't see any other of our centre mids being able to do this, including JFC.
Reading Player Marks I'm struck once again, as usual, by how Charlton fans simply hate centre-backs and love to blame them for anything
Whereas real heads (me) recognise Inniss and EOC as our best CB pairing in absolutely ages. If Inniss had a non-broken body and EOC had pace, neither would be in League One
4-4-2 is our best system and we have a long way to go, but tonight we deserved tonwin and we deserved a little bit of luck/ rub of the green. I have great faith in Garner given the lies and bullshit he was fed my our wanker of an owner and silver spooned son. Charlton Fans deserve a bit or luck also but make no Bones about it, we still need a proper striker and we need investment next January 👍👍
Comments
It took Garner too long to realize this season that you play to the strengths of the players you have available. The first corner we had was a wind up ? We had the giants Leaburn, Stockley and the doorman Inniss and we tried some routine and the ball never got played into the box.
We had the breaks last night but still great to see the ball go in the net 4 times and the faithful few rewarded with 3 points.
Mid table R'us.
Aneke obviously has to be managed from a fitness perspective, but with Payne and CBT it’s more of a consistency problem for either to do it anything but 20 min cameos imo
But Exeter then gave us the runaround with several Charlton players looking knackered. The levels of fitness remain a concern and the team will not progress when a substantial number of the squad can't last 90 minutes.
Fair play to Garner for putting on the right substitutes at the right time. The provided pace, skill and, most importantly, confidence to a flagging side. CBT looks back on form and it's great to see Chuks back on the pitch, although unlike Stockley who is an effective defender, he should perhaps stay away from our penalty box in future.
Definite penalty
But let's not kid ourselves about the improvements that are still needed.
We still look very imbalanced with a one man midfield. Dobbo was superb but if he gets injured we really will be in trouble and even with him, Pompey will slice through our middle like a hot knife through Flora.
Fraser is clearly a good player but it's a waste of his talent to play him as a lightweight version of Dobbo. He tried really hard but it's just not his strength. Kirk contributed very little and I have just about given up on him, Clearly an intelligent footballer but one classy cross every three games is just not enough. I can't remember him ever executing one effective tackle.
I suspect we are are just a tweak or two from a solid line up but despite the fabulous win last night that starting 11 is not quite it.
Kirk....I don't get it. I don't think I ever will get it.
Great win. I thought Exeter were well organised and more composed with their No 2 looking particularly dangerous, but we defended well to prevent them making it count. We gave it away too often on the edge of their box I thought, but overall, I was impressed with the team, especially some of the newer recruits. I was hoping for a bit more creativity from Kirk, but thought he looked quite lively when he was on the ball. He was unrecognisable from the player I last saw and at least he put in a shift this time.
Based on that display, we don't have team that should have relegation worries.
Simply just shit to see a photo of an empty valley for a league game. Me turning up by myself for a few games would roughly increase the home attendance by 0.07%!
Addicks to victory!
Good to be on the other side of that for once
Egbo: excellent throughout
Inniss: dreadful hospital passes into midfield throughout, decent when just defending
O'Connell: his best game yet, which is a low bar, but fewer errors
Sessegnon: decent even when tiring
R-S: energetic for about 50 minutes but with little final product, checked out a good while before he was rightly subbed
Dobson: did all the heavy lifting in midfield, must be battered all over after a night of non-stop hospital passes from Inniss and O'C, almost error free and joined in up top
Fraser: a few glimmers of his much heralded quality, especially early on but another lightweight, underpowered performance, is he really fit?
Kirk: robbing a living, allergic to space and running, doubly annoying because he can use the ball but does his best to avoid it, constantly bollocked by teammates
Stockley: energetic and determined, so much more useful when support is close by
Leaburn: superb
Clare: acquitted well in a role to which he's not best suited
Morgan: a decent contribution when so obviously out of position
Payne: the goal rather guilds another headless chicken display, he'd do so much better of he ever looked up when he has the ball
B-T: a valuable cameo
Referee: best we've had in ages
I have great faith in Garner given the lies and bullshit he was fed my our wanker of an owner and silver spooned son.
Charlton Fans deserve a bit or luck also but make no Bones about it, we still need a proper striker and we need investment next January 👍👍