Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
Diabolical game of footie. Shows the level of the league that they were top. They have some decent centre backs and they sliced us up a bit on our left hand side first half but other than that, bang ordinary side and we didn't test them at all first half.
Second half of course better but I didn't really see any sort of footballing style on display, Chuks just did Chuks things and caused them problems. Always impressed by Chuks raw power and physicality. I thought Sweeney, Piergianni & Thompson were schooling young Miles, in particular Thomson, Chuks comes on and all of a sudden they're playing completely different. Got to be worth having a look at Piergianni and Sweeney though as I thought they were class in the Carabao cup last season and thought they were very decent again today.
We will take the point considering the circumstances. Need a big home result now against an in-form Wycombe, 4 wins and 1 draw in their last 5 league outings..
Do you not think that Miles Leaburn needs a player, say Alfie May to play in a two up front ? The irony which shouldn't be lost on Charlton Critic's is Chuks Aneke is about the only player we have who can play as a lone central striker because of his strength but when will we see him again ? Chuks prefers to start on the bench so even if he doesn't have a reaction we will only get limited time out of Aneke.
I will ask again as somebody must know why did we use 6 subs ( another concussion?)and when did May get concussion?
Taylor concussed today, May concussed in training on Tuesday and must have seven days off
Thanks Ross, Oggy, Large and Fortune 👍
If there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to ask 🙂
Question 1 for you James ? Is that the first time in Charlton's history we have used 17 players in a League match ?
Question 2 When Thomas came on for Abankwah did Jones go to RB, Hector and Thomas CB and Edun at LB ?
Question 3 If Micky Apples had an arm wrestle with Hector, who would win ?
Q1. Huh. New fangled subs. Wouldn’t have happened in Jimmy’s day when they didn't need subs.
Q2. No
Q3. It wouldn’t even be a contest. Hector is too laid back to even try.
Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
See it all the time to be fair, all teams do it. We take water from the opposition's physio as well.
Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
Has been happening as long as I've been going.
Great to see the Stevenage medical team come out onto the pitch to assist with Taylor when he needed treatment
After a lacklustre first half where we couldn't do anything right & were 2nd best to nearly every ball, changes were made by the new gaffer & slowly but surely, the worm began to turn....
I thought Terell Thomas made a significant difference when he entered the fray. His passes were positive, on the ground & mostly found their man AND he's happy to bring the ball forward when he senses a space in front of him. Really pleased we re signed him.
Miles had a very frustrating game and the change was made in due course. To say that Chuks looks fitter & totally "up for it" is an understatement & a joy to behold. I've been critical in the past but if this was a glimpse of the new, rejuvenated and hopefully injury free player, then my optimism will grow match by match. The Beast is back !
I'm sure enough criticism has already been aimed at the poor, if not downright disgraceful decisions of the referee & his fellow official on our left. Some criminal officiating which I hope not to see again this season. The penalty was, I believe, a grudging decision made to allow the man in black to safely reach his car after the final whistle.....not that it wasn't fully deserved. And well done CBT for your courage & efficiency in gaining a valuable point for the team.
So, we departed the Lamex, shaken but not stirred & with the seeds of a revival duly sown. The gaffer has some difficult decisions to make before Wycombe come calling but today's performance & character shown under duress will have given him much food for thought & hopefully, a cunning plan will begin to take shape to propel us up the league. He clearly has a sufficiently large squad now to give him options and to construct a team combining the experience of old heads with the young guns.
Build on the spirit & determination shown in the final 56 mins this afternoon & Fanny's tingle could soon be making a welcome return.
Was a tough first half. Steven age are ugly to watch, but you have to respect how good they are at what they do, and it was working against us. It looked men against boys and it was, to an extent, with so many players U23 in the starting XI. A very tough opponent for someone like Abankwah to make his full league debut against, and in an un favoured position. It wasn’t just the youngsters though, we struggled all over the pitch to match their intensity, physicality, and organization.
We looked much better once Chuks came on (great to see him back) as Leaburn was not having one of his better afternoons and was struggling to get on the ball.
Was convinced CBT was going to blaze his penalty over but actually it was a good pen under pressure.
Lots to work on, but some encouragement that we kept at it and fought back, despite the best efforts of one of the worst refs we’ve ever had.
Overall I’m happy with the point from a tough away game. Hopefully things improve from here though.
Good Point today The referee was appalling as so many are in this league and cost us at least two penalties. It’s very early days, but an improvement 👍👍
The refereeing standard seems to be getting worse which is saying something, soon we’ll be at the point where you might as well drag some bloke out the local boozer at 2:45pm and ask him to ref the match.
As a microcosm of the standard we get at this level in the space of about 90 seconds today there was a foul in the box on Anderson which was blatantly a penalty for Charlton and nothing was given. Then straight after they had a penalty shout which the replays showed should have been a free kick to them (Dobson fouled their player, but it was outside the box), again nothing was given. Then straight from that incident we had another shout for a penalty which the replay showed should have been a corner to us, once again nothing was given.
Probably the clearest example of how bad League One refereeing is when in the space of about 90 seconds there should have been a penalty, a free kick and a corner and not a single one of them was called properly.
That’s the 4th game this season that poor ref decisions have had an effect on the final result .. deserved better deserved more from the second half performance good to see MA not scared to make changes .. he would have learnt a lot today both good and bad …
Just looked at the goal conceded, Jones gets shimmed and doesn't seem to want to stick a leg out, the keeper, either thinks that's going wide or it catches a deflection that can't be seen, but the biggest reason that goal comes about is Dobson leaving the eventual goal scorer to go and help cover the attacking wide player, he should stay where he is.
Love Dobbo but he has got to stop trying to be superman sometimes.
Dobson’s biggest strength is also his biggest weakness. And that’s why he’s playing in League One and not higher.
He’s absolutely fantastic and has improved over the time, especially his composure on the ball and ability to now play. But his strength of being everywhere is also a weakness too.
As good as it was to see Chuks back (and he did cause them problems), but I think the swing in fortunes was more down to switching to 2 strikers. Leaburn was isolatated in the first half and looked knackered before being subbed off.
We've had some really shit refs this season, but this guy was a totally new level of shittiness and his linesmen were no better. I can forgive the ref for not seeing the handball, as he was behind it, but the lino had a clear view, yet decided to ignore it.
First half was painful to watch and had me questioning my decision to attend my first away game in 10 years. A change of shape completely altered the game and showed Apples that 1 up top really isn't for us.
Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
I thought Steve Evans had lost some weight. He must have been following the “Adkins” diet proving that walking is good for you. The game? Usual fare of defensive errors which i believe Appleton will successfully address. Good core of outfield players considering our playmakers were still out. Sharpen up the defence and we might just be in with a shout as there’s a long way to go yet
Good Point today The referee was appalling as so many are in this league and cost us at least two penalties. It’s very early days, but an improvement 👍👍
The refereeing standard seems to be getting worse which is saying something, soon we’ll be at the point where you might as well drag some bloke out the local boozer at 2:45pm and ask him to ref the match.
As a microcosm of the standard we get at this level in the space of about 90 seconds today there was a foul in the box on Anderson which was blatantly a penalty for Charlton and nothing was given. Then straight after they had a penalty shout which the replays showed should have been a free kick to them (Dobson fouled their player, but it was outside the box), again nothing was given. Then straight from that incident we had another shout for a penalty which the replay showed should have been a corner to us, once again nothing was given.
Probably the clearest example of how bad League One refereeing is when in the space of about 90 seconds there should have been a penalty, a free kick and a corner and not a single one of them was called properly.
If the first incident (pen to us) had been given then incidents 2 & 3 would not have happened.
I thought Steve Evans had lost some weight. He must have been following the “Adkins” diet proving that walking is good for you. The game? Usual fare of defensive errors which i believe Appleton will successfully address. Good core of outfield players considering our playmakers were still out. Sharpen up the defence and we might just be in with a shout as there’s a long way to go yet
He hasn't, look at the Orient v Stevenage YouTube. He's got to be 20 stone.
Chuks made the difference at the end, not only was he physical enough to compete with their defence he was making intelligent and dangerous lay offs, something that Leaburn struggled with. In a way he masked our problems, first half and most of the second it was men and against boys. A lot of our youngsters are just not physical enough to compete in this division, Campbell being the worst culprit especially as most of our attacking play went through him. Stevenage were well drilled, super fit and physical. Their attacking play was one touch into the channels and they got the ball into the area super quick. Our players are technically superior but took several touches before laying off meaning our attacks were slow and easy to defend against. We simply don’t play like a League One team and we’re not good enough to play around these physical teams. We need less youngsters and more experienced lower league players.
Agree we need fewer youngsters right now. Tyreece was a bit lightweight today, Anderson had a slightly off game and Abankwah had a bit of a mare - although Stevenage ruthlessly roughed him up, protected by a weak ref. Only his first match though, and he’ll improve.
Chem and Terry look like players. Thomas was quite classy when he came on. Genuinely two footed, which is quite rare in L1.
So good to see Aneke return. Get him playing regularly and we’ll be harder to bully. He creates chaos up front.
And as I mentioned before, I rated Appleton’s post match interview. He sounds like a proper football man, and his assessment of the performance was spot on. The fans were awesome today. Would have been there, had it not been for a family visit. Kudos to them. I think they made a real difference today.
And someone should sit the ref down and make him watch the game again. Not just the penalty mistakes, but the constant niggles, pushes and dives from Stevenage - masters of the dark arts. Would love to have snuck a winner in the 110th minute.
We need a striker who not only score goals ( yes May) but also hold the ball up( ?Leaburn - sadly not yesterday). Takes the pressure off the defence, puts pressure on the opposition, and will help against the better teams and in tough competitive games. Fortunately I have one here and he's free......
Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
Great to have Leaburn able to come back and defend at set pieces, but we really need to push a player up, so that the attacking team need to leave a couple of players back themselves, due to us have the option to counter.
An off topic question I've been wondering for a while (and perhaps it should be posted somewhere else)... Is Appleton our first ever manager who's heavily tattooed?😂Whenever I see his pictures on the official site I find his sleeve tattoos disturbing and distracting. I know tattoos are very common in the West especially among footballers but... this really looks a bit scary to me😅
But that said, as long as he gets results for us, it doesn't matter how he looks. It's just one tiny little thing that has come across my mind a few times lately.
Am I the only one who thought we were absolutely dreadful?
Not a single shot on target besides the penalty. That was not an acceptable performance. “Good point” or not. 🤷♂️
I don’t think you deserve flak for that opinion as it was a bad game of football all round.
We weren’t good enough to win a game, and I want to see so much more improvement over the season.
BUT
We went away to top of the table who are a team of physical bullies. After getting quite beaten up in the first half, we really upped the intensity, and looked a lot better. Especially with the additions of Thomas and Aneke. In previous weeks, there’s no doubting we lose that game yesterday.
We have Wycombe next who play similarly to Stevenage, but not as well I would argue. Let’s look to build on the point.
Mentioned this on the match thread, but it’s still annoying me, for some reason. On two occasions our trainer came on to treat an injured player. He had a bottle of water sticking out of his bag , presumably so the injured player could have a drink. On each occasion a Stevenage player pinched the water when the trainer had his back turned, and shared it with other Stevenage players. Not a peep from any of our players, (or perhaps they didn’t notice?) Not a peep from the trainer either.
I’m sure it’s just part of the Stevenage wind up machine, but you’d imagine the Pratleys of this wouldn't be ‘aving it.
Comments
Am I the only one who thought we were absolutely dreadful?
Not a single shot on target besides the penalty. That was not an acceptable performance. “Good point” or not. 🤷♂️
Q2. No
Q3. It wouldn’t even be a contest. Hector is too laid back to even try.
Great to see the Stevenage medical team come out onto the pitch to assist with Taylor when he needed treatment
After a lacklustre first half where we couldn't do anything right & were 2nd best to nearly every ball, changes were made by the new gaffer & slowly but surely, the worm began to turn....
I thought Terell Thomas made a significant difference when he entered the fray. His passes were positive, on the ground & mostly found their man AND he's happy to bring the ball forward when he senses a space in front of him. Really pleased we re signed him.
Miles had a very frustrating game and the change was made in due course. To say that Chuks looks fitter & totally "up for it" is an understatement & a joy to behold. I've been critical in the past but if this was a glimpse of the new, rejuvenated and hopefully injury free player, then my optimism will grow match by match. The Beast is back !
I'm sure enough criticism has already been aimed at the poor, if not downright disgraceful decisions of the referee & his fellow official on our left. Some criminal officiating which I hope not to see again this season. The penalty was, I believe, a grudging decision made to allow the man in black to safely reach his car after the final whistle.....not that it wasn't fully deserved. And well done CBT for your courage & efficiency in gaining a valuable point for the team.
So, we departed the Lamex, shaken but not stirred & with the seeds of a revival duly sown. The gaffer has some difficult decisions to make before Wycombe come calling but today's performance & character shown under duress will have given him much food for thought & hopefully, a cunning plan will begin to take shape to propel us up the league. He clearly has a sufficiently large squad now to give him options and to construct a team combining the experience of old heads with the young guns.
Build on the spirit & determination shown in the final 56 mins this afternoon & Fanny's tingle could soon be making a welcome return.
Was convinced CBT was going to blaze his penalty over but actually it was a good pen under pressure.
Lots to work on, but some encouragement that we kept at it and fought back, despite the best efforts of one of the worst refs we’ve ever had.
Overall I’m happy with the point from a tough away game. Hopefully things improve from here though.
He’s absolutely fantastic and has improved over the time, especially his composure on the ball and ability to now play. But his strength of being everywhere is also a weakness too.
We've had some really shit refs this season, but this guy was a totally new level of shittiness and his linesmen were no better. I can forgive the ref for not seeing the handball, as he was behind it, but the lino had a clear view, yet decided to ignore it.
First half was painful to watch and had me questioning my decision to attend my first away game in 10 years. A change of shape completely altered the game and showed Apples that 1 up top really isn't for us.
He's got to be 20 stone.
Takes the pressure off the defence, puts pressure on the opposition, and will help against the better teams and in tough competitive games.
Fortunately I have one here and he's free......
But that said, as long as he gets results for us, it doesn't matter how he looks. It's just one tiny little thing that has come across my mind a few times lately.
We weren’t good enough to win a game, and I want to see so much more improvement over the season.
We went away to top of the table who are a team of physical bullies. After getting quite beaten up in the first half, we really upped the intensity, and looked a lot better. Especially with the additions of Thomas and Aneke. In previous weeks, there’s no doubting we lose that game yesterday.
We have Wycombe next who play similarly to Stevenage, but not as well I would argue. Let’s look to build on the point.