Charlton Athletic Bristol Rovers
Tuesday 15th August 2023 - Kick-Off: 19:45
Referee
Charles Breakspear - previously officiated Charlton in our last game of the season in 2021/22 against Ipswich.
Introduction
After the opening day weekend win against Leyton Orient, we’ve since been dumped out of the League Cup and lost away at Peterborough. Although the performance in general against The Posh was encouraging, it consisted of very little threat to really hurt them. 0 shots on target all game… it seems most of our play also goes through one player right now and he, CBT, is quickly going to be double or even tripled up on. I think it’s fair to say the last two results have highlighted the lack of squad depth, and we can only hope for a positive end to the window if we are to make a right good go of it this season. For now though, we have another match to think about. Up next, Bristol Rovers.
Opposition
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Manager: Joey Barton
Previous result: 1-1 draw at home to Barnsley. Their line up was:
Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Charlton Athletic v Bristol Rovers | Tuesday 15 August 2023 | Match Preview
Sage
Posts: 7,278
Cox
Hoole | Taylor | Crama | Gordon
Finley | Ward
Thomas | Evans | Collins
Marquis
Bristol Rovers have started the season unbeaten (in the league) and against two of the better teams. An opening day draw at Pompey was followed up with a draw against Barnsley, a team who put 7 past Port Vale last week. On paper, it would be classed as a challenging start for The Pirates, but they’ve shown to be competitive. This is going to be a difficult game for us, especially with some key players out of our own.
Over the summer, Bristol Rovers notably signed Jevani Brown from Exeter. The forward played 27 times last season before an incident that involved assault charges. Brown missed the weekend’s fixture against Barnsley, but a record of 12 goals and 9 assists in 27 last term shows that he is a threat if he is to be involved this time round. Aaron Collins is another player we’ll to have to keep a close eye on. Like Brown, he scored and assisted a lot of goals last season, 16 and 12 respectively. If Asiimwe is to play right-wing back again, this is likely to be his toughest test yet.
Charlton Team News
News was shared about the extent to our ever growing injury list, and it’s only mid August! Fraser is out with a calf injury that is likely to keep him out for a number of weeks, we probably shouldn’t expect to see him back until mid to late September. Campbell is out with an ankle injury that will see him out until around the end of the month, a similar timeframe for Leaburn and hopefully Aneke too. Taylor missed the weekend with a knee problem but I think he is the one we are hoping to see involved on Tuesday, if not, it could be Egbo. On positive news, this is Elerewe’s last game suspended so he will be hoping to be in the squad on Saturday against Port Vale.
Holden has a bit of work to do to find a way that gets the best out of May and gets us scoring goals. At home, we can expect Bristol Rovers to sit off us and aim to hurt us on the counter with the spaces we leave at the back. It’s with this in mind, I would aim to have Blackett-Taylor as close to May as possible, keeping them on their toes and stretching the defence as often as we can. With no one to partner May, we need to be creative to cause them problems.
I am also unsure whether Jones is going to be able to play two 90 minutes in such quick succession after little pre-season, so Hector coming in might be a change we also see. I hope to see Edun to be named in the starting 11 too. I think it would make our left hand side very strong. The only issue is, just as we had on Saturday, there’s no one on the bench to come on and make a difference. It’s going to be down to the 11 who start to get the job done.
Over the summer, Bristol Rovers notably signed Jevani Brown from Exeter. The forward played 27 times last season before an incident that involved assault charges. Brown missed the weekend’s fixture against Barnsley, but a record of 12 goals and 9 assists in 27 last term shows that he is a threat if he is to be involved this time round. Aaron Collins is another player we’ll to have to keep a close eye on. Like Brown, he scored and assisted a lot of goals last season, 16 and 12 respectively. If Asiimwe is to play right-wing back again, this is likely to be his toughest test yet.
Charlton Team News
News was shared about the extent to our ever growing injury list, and it’s only mid August! Fraser is out with a calf injury that is likely to keep him out for a number of weeks, we probably shouldn’t expect to see him back until mid to late September. Campbell is out with an ankle injury that will see him out until around the end of the month, a similar timeframe for Leaburn and hopefully Aneke too. Taylor missed the weekend with a knee problem but I think he is the one we are hoping to see involved on Tuesday, if not, it could be Egbo. On positive news, this is Elerewe’s last game suspended so he will be hoping to be in the squad on Saturday against Port Vale.
Holden has a bit of work to do to find a way that gets the best out of May and gets us scoring goals. At home, we can expect Bristol Rovers to sit off us and aim to hurt us on the counter with the spaces we leave at the back. It’s with this in mind, I would aim to have Blackett-Taylor as close to May as possible, keeping them on their toes and stretching the defence as often as we can. With no one to partner May, we need to be creative to cause them problems.
I am also unsure whether Jones is going to be able to play two 90 minutes in such quick succession after little pre-season, so Hector coming in might be a change we also see. I hope to see Edun to be named in the starting 11 too. I think it would make our left hand side very strong. The only issue is, just as we had on Saturday, there’s no one on the bench to come on and make a difference. It’s going to be down to the 11 who start to get the job done.
Maynard-Brewer
Ness | Hector | Thomas
Asiimwe | Anderson | Dobson | Camara | Edun
May | Blackett-Taylor
Isted, Jones, Taylor, McGrandles, Payne, Kirk, Kanu
Charlton Athletic 2-1 Bristol Rovers
May
Blackett-Taylor
Ness | Hector | Thomas
Asiimwe | Anderson | Dobson | Camara | Edun
May | Blackett-Taylor
Isted, Jones, Taylor, McGrandles, Payne, Kirk, Kanu
Charlton Athletic 2-1 Bristol Rovers
May
Blackett-Taylor
16
Comments
-
A must win.7
-
Not sure if CBT will be ready to go again after playing 90 on Saturday. Might be too risky to start him again as we really can’t have him being injured.Really don’t think it’s a good idea that he is a striker either, he is best out wide where he can go 1v1 against the full back. Playing him centrally he’d be way less effective. If we want to play Edun and CBT then it’s got to be a 3-4-3 which I would like to see us try while Fraser is out:AMB
Ness Hector Thomas
Asiimwe Edun
Camara Dobson
Payne CBT
MayIf CBT isn’t fit to start then I’d probably go for the 3-5-2 and just try Kanu up front5 -
Can't see us winning sadly. Just not enough in this team yet0
-
CBT seemed to come through fine. We absolutely have to start him and bring him off when he tires. Him and Dobbo have been our best players so far.4
-
Didn't realise we had a Midweek game on Tuesday until I saw people mentioning it after yesterday's game0
-
1-1 draw. Think Tuesday will be another tough game. Fancy Bristol Rovers to be near the play offs come end of the season.1
-
I’d take 4 points from the 2 home games this week. Think that’s a decent return with what we have available and agree with your view on Rovers. They’ve picked up 2 good points so far against strong teamsSouthWest_Addicks said:1-1 draw. Think Tuesday will be another tough game. Fancy Bristol Rovers to be near the play offs come end of the season.0 -
No truth in the rumour that you are after an improved contract FA after an 'Athletic' scout was chewing over your words from the weekend 🤷🏻♂️
0 -
Think I’d try and put a bit more nous in the middle of the park. Try someone like McGrandles to play the Andy Hughes role and free up Dobson and Camara to get nearer the box.
Think Anderson isn’t quite ready for 3 games in a row.
AMB
Asiimwe
Jones
Hector
Thomas
Edun
McGrandlesDobson
Camara
CBT
May3 -
Thanks for a quality preview.Most of us said it pre-season.A thin squad to play 3 games a week ?
No chance of top 6.As for this game, if Payne, Kirk or McGrandles start - forget it.May is a tap-in striker, and we don’t create enough.We will know after 10 games, but I fear we have had our expectations falsely raised.3 - Sponsored links:
-
1-00
-
0-1, no goals from us, defensive gift for them.
Heading for a meltdown...2 -
Will be toughest game yet I think.ni think we all know our shortcomings. Hope for a home win rather to than expect. 1-1.0
-
Good time to play us. 0-2.0
-
It sounds as if Jevani Brown might be missing through an injury he picked up in midweek. He wasn’t involved at all in Bristol R’s game against Barnsley yesterday.
Nonetheless, they do have other players that can hurt us and they’ve picked up two 1-1 draws against Barnsley and Portsmouth so it won’t be a walk over.
This is the sort of game we would need to get three points from in order to show we are genuine promotion contenders and I hope we can deliver that.0 -
The current available players cannot score goals sthey can. So 0-1 to them.0
-
I'm amazed that Collins is still there, indeed I'm still expecting him to depart this window when Rovers get a bid they can't refuse.
I REALLY hope that we announce someone tomorrow, who goes straight into the squad because they're match fit and not recovering from an injury...6 -
M.Brewer
Ness - Hector - Thomas
Asiimwe - Camara - Dobson - Payne - Edun
May - T.Blackett
I don't like it, but I think it's all we have.3 -
I do agree, he’s never had a run in the team and therefore can’t really make much impact, I feel he’s always been asked to play in so many different positions. He is best more centrally, not stuck wide right where he doesn’t have the pace to play there. Not saying he’s good enough for a promotion winning team, but he’s never really had the chance either to show us what he can do.mendonca said:Marquis beat us at the Valley last season.
I like your team @Sage. I'm wondering whether we need to give Payne a run of games to prove himself. He's getting the Albie treatment of start/drop/sub.
4 - Sponsored links:
-
I know that Holden is a big admirer of Collins. Think he’ll cost us more than we can pay unfortunately.killerandflash said:I'm amazed that Collins is still there, indeed I'm still expecting him to depart this window when Rovers get a bid they can't refuse.
I REALLY hope that we announce someone tomorrow, who goes straight into the squad because they're match fit and not recovering from an injury...3 -
0-0 written in the stars - scoring so few, letting in so few, on paper we should win…0
-
He's another player I'd expect to go to the Championship. Cardiff, Blackburn, Sheffield Wednesday type of signing.Sage said:
I know that Holden is a big admirer of Collins. Think he’ll cost us more than we can pay unfortunately.killerandflash said:I'm amazed that Collins is still there, indeed I'm still expecting him to depart this window when Rovers get a bid they can't refuse.
I REALLY hope that we announce someone tomorrow, who goes straight into the squad because they're match fit and not recovering from an injury...0 -
I disagree that May is a tap-in striker, have you seen some of his goals?Valiantphil said:Thanks for a quality preview.Most of us said it pre-season.A thin squad to play 3 games a week ?
No chance of top 6.As for this game, if Payne, Kirk or McGrandles start - forget it.May is a tap-in striker, and we don’t create enough.We will know after 10 games, but I fear we have had our expectations falsely raised.7 -
Bristol Rovers haven't managed to keep a clean sheet so far in their first 3 competitive fixtures, so it will be rather telling if we can't manage manage to score...
I think if we are to win this we need at least 2-3 goals as I can't see us keeping a clean sheet, we have lost 2 on the trot to these lot and in the last 5 managed 2 wins ourselves. I am gonna say 2-1 or 3-2 but I am leaning (more hoping) towards 2-1 as I can't see us scoring 3 goals in a game yet, particularly against a decent side like Bristol Rovers. Got these down as my dark horse for play-offs.
I think the 352/532 is promising, but I would like use to use it and chuck our best players available at the game. I would have Hector closest to Asiimwe's side cause I think the young lad is gonna need an experienced head nearby to deal with a dangerous Aaron Collins, I would also keep Camara nearer that side and have him covering the wing. Thomas gets the nod over Ness for me, just think he's looked decent so far and imagine Ness could do with a bit of a break, need Jones for what will be a physical test up against Marquis. Rest of the line-up speaks for itself. Our biggest current headache is having a good winger but not playing the formation to utilise him, I would still start Edun though as he looks like he may be one of our better players on the ball and can slot into midfield if we need a change of formation.
Really hope Alf opens his account on Tuesday, Bristol Rovers are leaky and at home it should be a good chance to get it done. COYAAMB
Hector - Thomas - Jones
Asiimwe - Camara - Dobson - Taylor - Edun
May - CBT1 -
Why does everyone keep putting CBT up front in their line ups? He’s been arguably our best player this season doing what he does best, which is getting the ball out wide and taking on the full back. Why on earth would you move him central???He has to play out wide whether that be at wing back or maybe as a winger with Edun behind him in a 4-3-3, 3-4-3 or 4-4-2. Surely we’ve learnt by now not to try putting players in positions that don’t suit them?6
-
Tough team Bristol Rovers , they’ll be there and thereabouts, not many teams will beat them this season.
1-0 0-0 or 0-1 and as dull as me
1 -
Because we don’t have another credible striking option. He can start up front but drift wide .NabySarr said:Why does everyone keep putting CBT up front in their line ups? He’s been arguably our best player this season doing what he does best, which is getting the ball out wide and taking on the full back. Why on earth would you move him central???He has to play out wide whether that be at wing back or maybe as a winger with Edun behind him in a 4-3-3, 3-4-3 or 4-4-2. Surely we’ve learnt by now not to try putting players in positions that don’t suit them?0 -
We really need to get six points from the two home games this week if we are to stay in contention at the top end of the table.
Sadly I can't see this happening because of our lack of goals.
Leaburn got injured 6 weeks ago and we still haven't signed another striker.
If we don't address this problem soon we will find ourselves in a mid table position the same as last season.
I shall be going on Tuesday but more in hope than expectation that we will win the match.10 -
Being an exile ... I saw Rovers against Barnsley on Saturday, and after giving away a sloppy goal early on thet were the better side. If they'd taken their chances in the first half they would've won, but the crowd seemed happy that the side displayed the Div 2 promotion spirit, energy and fight after last seasons hangover.
They looked brighter and more energetic than I'd seem them last season, Collins and Evans back in form, Marquis putting in a shift up front, and confidence building as the game went on. Barnsley were decent too, notably Callum Styles was an ever-present menace.
Rovers played 451/433, Marquis with back to goal, the talented Evans floating about with Collins and Thomas hugging the wings and driving at goal. They're a bit right footed, but find their wingers with long diagonals. Finley tirelessly works the middle with Ward just behind. Once they got close to Styles they saw plenty of the ball, though of course it might be different away from home. Marquis might be knackered and not play, never seen him run so much, nor play 90 minutes. We might see Brown I guess.
At the back Gonnor Taylor has returned and looked calm and assured as well as a huge presence, and Crama (on loan from Brentford) looks decent, though he is a risk taker and might be worth pressing. The right baack Grant was the only weak link, lacks pace and likes to get forward.
Scott Sinclair came on, showing his quality to get the equaliser, and Gordon also a sub looks handy running from deep.
On that performance Charlton will have their work cut out, but if they match the energy and shut Rovers down there will be a few gaps for May to exploit with his pace and space for Taylor behind their fullbacks.
Prediction 0-018
