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POST-MATCH THREAD: Charlton Athletic vs Northampton Town: Tuesday 23rd January 2024 | KO 19:45
Comments
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Apples: nuff said, counting his ill gotten gains - the hostile tumult will be quite something next time he darkens the Valley
AMB: a mixed bag
REG: tough baptism but not showing vast improvement over his predecessors
JONES; truly, deeply, sadly pony
GILLESPHEY: see Reg
T.WATSON: did alright
COVENTRY: tidy enough hard to tell if he played so deep cos he was playing safe or cos the whole team stank so badly overall
DOBSON: Apple's mental notion of having him further forward did him no favours Still our leader on the pitch and without whom we're sunk
BAKINSON: benefit of the doubt he ain't really fit yet cos he drifted about to no discernible impact after about 15 minutes
EDUN: absolutely bummed by the official and lucky not to get his shin broken by the cobbler thug
MAY: he'd be forgiven for finding himself anywhere else to play - Hungary with Dobbo? Suspect he's got more integrity than that, hope so.
LADAPO: a donkey that couldn't get a job on Blackheath giving kids' rides Missed 3 absolute sitters from a total distance of 10 yards - never seen the like!
THOMAS: when he's our stand out defender we know we're in the klaatz
Referee: truly, deeply, sadly pony - or bent
FIORINI - obvious why Apples liked him, he's a younger bigger Scott Fraser (without the silky passes) hiding in plain site, avoiding space and contributing nothing, needs gone0 -
As has been the case for months, if we can sort out the defence we can win most weeks. Whether we can??Elthamaddick said:killerandflash said:It's almost regrettable that we didn't hear from Appleton afterwards to try and justify some of his decisions.
Like starting Jones instead of Thomas.
Letting Asiimwe play for the U21s today instead of being a like for like swap at wing back instead of the hopelessly out of form Campbell.
Letting L Watson rot on the bench, and instead again bringing on the unfit Fiorini.
Not bringing on Kanu for the knackered Ladapo.
Playing Dobson as an attacking midfielder in the second half. It was frankly bizarre to see him on the shoulder of the last defenders, and bending a run to stay onside.
I think (hope) we've got enough quality in the squad to stay up once they are organised - we should score enough goals.0 -
Has anybody seen this?0
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Tea lady brought him a macchiato instead of a piccolorobroy said:Has anybody seen this?3 -
Doing it all in front of the window, conveniently.robroy said:Has anybody seen this?2 -
Sorry, but why? He’s not your enemy. He tried his best, but it’s not his fault that he's just not good enough.Billy_Mix said:Apples: nuff said, counting his ill gotten gains - the hostile tumult will be quite something next time he darkens the ValleyI don’t think he’ll be walking into a L1 job any time soon. And if he does, it’ll be a reflection on how the football world views us, rather than anything else.1 -
The man appeared to not give one bit of pride in managing our football club, and has taken us to arguably our lowest point in terms of league placing.JamesSeed said:
Sorry, but why? He’s not your enemy. He tried his best, but it’s not his fault that he's just not good enough.Billy_Mix said:Apples: nuff said, counting his ill gotten gains - the hostile tumult will be quite something next time he darkens the ValleyI don’t think he’ll be walking into a L1 job any time soon. And if he does, it’ll be a reflection on how the football world views us, rather than anything else.5 -
I thought Coventry was just starting
to settle and take the playmaker role when apples hooked him - Watson rightly hooked - hope somebody cones I and replaces him - Asimwe or a new signing ideally2 -
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Biggest disappointment for me was there was no WWE type action at the end - I could see Brian Cole was ready to launch the steel chair (even had a disabled person in it) and LB was ready with the MacDonalds gear but apples exposed nothing but his shiny swede and disappeared down the tunnel - big let down1
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Post of the month?JamesSeed said:Bizarre night, for all sorts of reasons. Much has been written about the game and Appleton, so I'll just focus on the defending and the new players.
I'm going to do a golfie here and say I've been calling out Jones's defending for some time, and was calling for Thomas to start ahead of him after a couple of very good performances and a largely solid season before that. My heart sank when Jones was yet again first choice (just as he had been for some over the improving Hector), with Thomas yet again benched.
Thing about Jones is that he really looks the part; tall, athletic and confident, whereas Thomas looks somehow apologetic in demeanour. He knows what he's doing though. Hector was MotM a couple of time in a row when Jones was injured, and Thomas was playing alongside him. I hope the new manager is a better judge of players than Appleton. But despite that, maybe Jones can improve with better coaching and a more settled defence alongside him? Not sure though.
New players:
Really too early to judge the new centre backs. I thought REG looked very good on the ball at times, but made a few mistakes and was caught out positionally once or twice. Not too bad for a debut in a side under such pressure, I guess. 45% rating so far. Gillesphey, similarly, will need time to bed in with whatever combination of players and formation the new manager chooses. Also 45% rating. Both should improve with each match though.
Bakinson I like, partly because of his physicality, but he wasn't quite on it at times yesterday. Looked dead on his feet for some reason, in the second half. But at least he is affecting games, breaking up play, creating chances, and getting into good scoring positions himself. It's a shame his shooting isn't great. Rating, 60%.
Coventry is certainly a busy player, but hasn't really looked very effective as yet, in the sense of making an assist or saving a goal with a tackle, or whatever. We'll have to hope he is Cullen-esque rather than Kilkenny-esque. Rating, 45% so far.
Fiorini really looked off the pace, so they'll need to get minutes into him, hopefully in the U21s. Rating, 35% so far, but early doors.
Ladapo; I was less impressed with his signing than many because the couple of times I'd seen seen him I thought he didn't look particularly outstanding. Thought he did quite well at Burton, but looked a bit slow yesterday, and his first touch wasn't great. But there's something about him that makes you think he'll score goals when fit (assuming he isn't already fit). 50% rating so far.
Scandalous that Freddie wasn't subbed for Kanu in the second half. That one decision alone could have lost the match for us, because Northampton were there for the taking. We actually played quite well in the second half.
Similarly, not utilising Louie Watson at all was crazy. Appleton clearly didn't trust him. Watson's rating has to be over 50% from what I've seen. 55%?
Overall it's difficult to judge how the new signings will affect our chances of survival. I can't help feeling slightly underwhelmed so far, sadly, but it's early days I guess. The window has been 50/50 for me.
The 'wing backs':
Well Edun seems to be improving, but isn't great at crossing. Battled away last night at least. Shame that deep into the second half, when he finally reached the byline with three of our players on the back stick, he chose to play a cross along the ground, where at least four of their defenders were waiting for it. A dinked cross was expecting too much, sadly. 45%
Tenai Watson doesn't look up to standard, but I thought be had a bit more about him at times last night. He had a couple of good moments down the right in the second half when he seemed to have a bit more fire in his belly. But he's a backup player at best though, and we need to recruit better, particularly if we're going to play three at the back. Rating, 30%.
Dobbo and May were outstanding yesterday in terms of battling, and 'playing for the shirt'. May again looked furious at time, whether with himself, Appleton, other players or the referee, it was hard to tell, but I loved his passion. Similarly Dobson gave everything yesterday, and although he was a bit up and down in his play he appeared to be everywhere, and never stopped running. Really hope he isn't leaving us.
AMB pulled off a couple of wonder saves which went under the radar somehow. Perhaps they'll be on the expended highlights. Maybe we should give Isted a run of games now though, as he just might be a slightly better keeper.
Signing a better one than those two should be a priority in the summer though. Such a key player, the keeper.Tried & failed to find a point I could disagree with.
We will I think prioritise a new keeper in the summer, and we need better wing backs.2 -
tangoflash said:I'm probably reading something out of nothing, but found it a bit strange that Dobson was parading his daughter around before the match. Unusual for a cold Tuesday night I thought. It almost felt like a goodbye.............or maybe his babysitter let him down at the last minute?
Mrs Dobson was house hunting in Fehérvár, Hungary with her Mother and her Mother in law, accordingly to my mate who is an estate agent in Fehérvár. The child wanted to stay home with Daddy.
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DOUCHER said:I thought Coventry was just starting
to settle and take the playmaker role when apples hooked him - Watson rightly hooked - hope somebody cones I and replaces him - Asimwe or a new signing ideally
Watson rightly hooked last night ?
Are you getting confused with Saturday ?
He did one sloppy pass before he was taken off, but he was the one who got forward to score and was winning tackles.
Yes it was Watson who scored. Had everyone gone for a piss by the time he scored at the end of the 1st half ?
If both Watson and Coventry had stayed on with the defence improving with Thomas despite Edun shocking sending off we may have got a point but MA was determined to make a few last cock ups.
I personally think Asiimwe will be ahead of him soon but why criticise him when he had a decent game.5 -
Yes, but that was because he’s a bit shit, not because he’s evil and needs endless punishment. It’s not like he wanted to f*ck his career up.JohnnyH2 said:
The man appeared to not give one bit of pride in managing our football club, and has taken us to arguably our lowest point in terms of league placing.JamesSeed said:
Sorry, but why? He’s not your enemy. He tried his best, but it’s not his fault that he's just not good enough.Billy_Mix said:Apples: nuff said, counting his ill gotten gains - the hostile tumult will be quite something next time he darkens the ValleyI don’t think he’ll be walking into a L1 job any time soon. And if he does, it’ll be a reflection on how the football world views us, rather than anything else.0 -
I feel I’ve just about recovered from a surreal and sorry evening at an extremely sparse and chilly Valley last night. That must have been our lowest league gate for a very long time.
It’s all been said but I thought that we lost that game for a number of reasons:
- atrocious defending, which is now sadly the norm. All three goals were gifts, albeit competently taken
- starting a number of new players who are plainly not match fit, notably, Ladapo, but also Bakinson, who ran out of steam an hour in. The two new defenders didn’t cover themselves in glory for the 97th minute winner, which may also have been down to fatigue
- a generally disjointed, haphazard and tactically inept approach throughout
- exceptionally poor use of the bench by Appleton - his parting gift to us. Coventry was finding plenty of space in midfield as we were on the front foot, when he decided to bring the hapless Fiorini on instead, whilst Campbell for T. Watson was also very odd, especially as Watson was having his best spell of the game. Leaving the knackered Ladapo and Bakinson on, rather than introducing Kanu and Watson, was also nonsensical.
- throwing players forward recklessly in injury time when we were down to 10 men, leaving big holes in midfield and at the back - Campbell was one of 3 players in advanced positions when Northampton ran through us for the winner. I suppose that from Appleton’s perspective, it was ‘shit or bust’, although that lost point could be vital at the end of the season in terms of avoiding the drop. It was a little reminiscent of Holden throwing 9 men forward at Oxford in his last game and costing us a well earned and another potentially valuable point.
The words of sophistry from the Board following Appleton’s demise are not going to cut any ice with our supporters and the owners will surely be lasering in sooner rather than later on the lamentable performance of the bloated Senior Management Team and Andy Scott, in particular. I imagine that the present structure will surely have to stay in place until the end of the season but his days must surely be numbered.13 -
Let's face it.... right now.... most of our signings this window aren't fit enough to play.
Beggars belief, we simply never learn!7 -
I thought all the new boys were poor on Tuesday. I keep seeing people on twitter saying Gillesphey and REG played well, but our defence was as brittle as ever.supaclive said:Let's face it.... right now.... most of our signings this window aren't fit enough to play.
Beggars belief, we simply never learn!
Coventry had some decent patches but was nowhere near the standard expected. Ladapo was as useful up top as Bonne would have been and Bakinson couldn't trap a bag of cement - I notice no one is calling for him to be captain anymore.
We needed these signings to hit the ground running and unfortunately none of them are fit enough to run more than 45 mins without blowing out their arse.2 -
Just look at the reception he gets whenever he goes back to Blackburn, Blackpool and Lincoln. No one says he is evil, but their is just something about this bloke a lot of football supporters just don't likeJamesSeed said:
Yes, but that was because he’s a bit shit, not because he’s evil and needs endless punishment. It’s not like he wanted to f*ck his career up.JohnnyH2 said:
The man appeared to not give one bit of pride in managing our football club, and has taken us to arguably our lowest point in terms of league placing.JamesSeed said:
Sorry, but why? He’s not your enemy. He tried his best, but it’s not his fault that he's just not good enough.Billy_Mix said:Apples: nuff said, counting his ill gotten gains - the hostile tumult will be quite something next time he darkens the ValleyI don’t think he’ll be walking into a L1 job any time soon. And if he does, it’ll be a reflection on how the football world views us, rather than anything else.5 -
I agree that some the new signings looked leggy especially towards the end but two of those players out of six including the keeper at the back aren’t going to make us watertight overnight. Ok they didn’t excel themselves for the winner but we were down to 10 men and going for the win with just three defenders, no left or right back. Edun sent off and Campbell, on for Watson, awol. The defence actually looked better once Jones who was at fault for the first two goals had been subbed off for Thomas. Lets see how we line up and defend on Saturday before we throw the baby out with the bath water.1
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JamesSeed said:Weirdly, had a great night, last night, in a way.
Spent an hour and a half in the dentist's chair before the match
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One thing I will say about the team and new signings is that starting 5 new players when the team is on a bad run, with the pressure on the manager, with the crowd as low as it was, against a team who have exceeded expectations, was always going one direction.
We have absolutely zero stability and it might be all well and good signing players who are meant to be of better quality, but we are not a team and they are a bunch of strangers not knowing what to do, how to set up, and what is going to be effective.
The only player in the team who started and played the first half of last season was Dobson and he's rumoured to be on the way out.
The churn of players is unbelievable. Fans will rightly say well we have tried so many different players, under different managers etc. and still not improving, it's true, but you also cannot expect things to get better when we have constant change, literally ALL the time.
We desperately need someone to come in, make the defence organised, get the team working as a team, and get some stability within it. With potential (although it seems somewhat unlikely) new further signings coming, we are changing the team halfway through the season when we simply don't have the time for them to settle in. We need results now.
I look at it and see a lack of leaders, a team of strangers, a brand new defence that is not marshalled by the keeper who has no communication and makes rash decisions coming out or not coming out, yet is capable of pulling off a world class save in amongst the general poor quality. I look at it and see players being played in positions that do not suit them, just to ensure they get in the team, meaning we don't play to our strengths. I look at it and see a complete lack of any creativity now CBT has left, all of this despite having the top scorer in the league.
We are a team that makes the same mistakes over and over again, but nothing changes and they just do not look or seem to either care or know how to change it. We concede and the team are not bothered because it is expected.
I said at the end of last season that our biggest weakness was the fact we have conceded far too many goals for far too long. 28 games in and we have conceded 44 goals. We are on course to concede over 70 this season. The average team in the top 6 concedes around 43 over the course of a season. We are so far off and will continue to be until we manage to find a way of keeping the ball out of our net.21 -
He had two good games, so rightly got praised, but perhaps this one came too soon after Saturday. I agree he had a worse game v. Northampton. Still think he brings a bit of physicality to the side, similarly to Pratley, who also had his bag of cement days.Croydon said:
I thought all the new boys were poor on Tuesday. I keep seeing people on twitter saying Gillesphey and REG played well, but our defence was as brittle as ever.supaclive said:Let's face it.... right now.... most of our signings this window aren't fit enough to play.
Beggars belief, we simply never learn!
Coventry had some decent patches but was nowhere near the standard expected. Ladapo was as useful up top as Bonne would have been and Bakinson couldn't trap a bag of cement - I notice no one is calling for him to be captain anymore.
We needed these signings to hit the ground running and unfortunately none of them are fit enough to run more than 45 mins without blowing out their arse.1 -
Agree with this, thought Gillesphey looked very slow and didn't look anything special on the ball. REG looked no different from any other players we have had recently, Bakinson had some nice flick-ons and spoke a lot but ultimately didn't keep the ball well.Croydon said:
I thought all the new boys were poor on Tuesday. I keep seeing people on twitter saying Gillesphey and REG played well, but our defence was as brittle as ever.supaclive said:Let's face it.... right now.... most of our signings this window aren't fit enough to play.
Beggars belief, we simply never learn!
Coventry had some decent patches but was nowhere near the standard expected. Ladapo was as useful up top as Bonne would have been and Bakinson couldn't trap a bag of cement - I notice no one is calling for him to be captain anymore.
We needed these signings to hit the ground running and unfortunately none of them are fit enough to run more than 45 mins without blowing out their arse.
Only two who look promising is Coventry who I think with game time, and managed correctly, will be a hit here and Ladapo, with a run of games. Ladapo looked like he was lacking a bit of sharpness but he had the right ideas. Have a lot more faith he will bag goals than the likes of Bonne, Tedic, Schwartz and the long list of pants Charlton strikers.
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Sky sports getting involved in the action.
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Ref should be hauled in and asked to explain why he gave it? Shocking decision.Kinsella87 said:Sky sports getting involved in the action.5 -
This should be sent to the FA, EFL whoever...king addick said:
Ref should be hauled in and asked to explain why he gave it? Shocking decision.Kinsella87 said:Sky sports getting involved in the action.
"What's that Charlton? Double any ban and fine them for wasting our time, we've got lunch with the Sheff Wed board at 2!!!!"3 -
Have we appealed the card, must get recinded surely.
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can’t appeal a second yellowKinsella87 said:Have we appealed the card, must get recinded surely.4 -
Which is fucking stupid.fenaddick said:
can’t appeal a second yellowKinsella87 said:Have we appealed the card, must get recinded surely.8
