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POST-MATCH THREAD: Norwich City v Charlton Athletic: Boxing Day 2025: KO 15:00
Comments
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Too many players having an off day. Nathan Jones didn't instruct James Bree to waste countless dead ball situations or instruct players to play within themselves, not making runs, not making tackles and not creating chances. As Garrymanilow stated, we would have been the happier walking to the dressing room at half time, I think the substitution of Bell would have been the only thing that would have placed a spanner in the works but we still hadn't created anything up to that point and James Bree was well into his personal nightmare when Bell left the field. It's down to a number of players not playing at their max for whatever reason, I expect that not to be the case against Pompey and I expect changes to ensure it isn't.9
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I think if we can just start playing better and scoring more goals than the other team, we'll be alright.13
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Being an optimist, I thought I'd compile a list of positives:
👉 Bell is on his way back from injury and we got a reasonable half out of him.
👉 Young Gough did well and hasn't been Charltonised yet.
👉 There's a transfer window just about to open and we saw nothing today that would persuade the money men that they can get away without a spend up.
👉 I had a nice chat with some old friends who now live in Norwich.
👉 Roads were pretty clear. Easy to get home.
👉 Err, that's it. Everything else was rubbish.21 -
Our strikers can't hit the target with an open goal face on easy tap in... Meanwhile... https://x.com/i/status/20046173671508869522
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As much as I have supported him, I think Nathan Jones had a stinker today. I know it's easy to second guess but after pretty well holding our own in the usual ugly style, the first substitutions messed it all up.
Further - and this is what I marvel at - it seems pretty clear that Bree is not 100% recovered from his groin injury. We all saw what he can do before he got injured.
If you have to play him because there is no alternative, why the hell do you also make him kick dead balls when he can't get the ball up in the air?
It was blindingly obvious and yet the manager sits on his hands and makes him keep doing it.
Seems pretty brutal.
Now wondering if this thinking was why Dr. Will Abbott left.15 -
Chelsea will make mincemeat out of us on that showing, another fun heavy defeat at home to endure.1
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Bree's delivery today was so bad that I could only assume that he'd been instructed to play the ball low because that was a perceived Norwich weakness.
I just can't understand how a player can go from looking like a masterstroke loan signing to looking like he's got a clubfoot.3 -
Including the Soton game that was the worst performance of the season for me. Soton was one of those horrible one offs and I know Stoke immediately afterwards wasn’t good, but we were in the midst of the Hernandez at Left Wing back nonsense and a lot of injuries.
Today, given the context of playing a rival team in the bottom three, they were embarrassing, particularly going forward. Norwich deserved the win, but we just rolled over. Individually and collectively it was very weak - bar Gough and Kaminski.There were signs of that lack of quality going forward against Oxford, the wrong pass, Oloafe missing that one on one, until Kelman came on and showed what we were missing. Oloafe completely slicing that ball in the first half after getting in behind his defender and that miss against Oxford, he should be dropped for Pompey. I like him, but these are the games he should be nailing a performance to make a statement to Jones about starting him. He hasn’t.Bree was awful which was a shame as he had a good game against Oxford. Anderson was too slow on the ball, and Bell offered little going forward (I do appreciate he’s only just returning from injury). Campbell was poor when he came on and Carey had another anonymous game.Very frustrating given the last 2 results. Given our style of play, we also need a bit more from our attackers in general. We soak up a lot of pressure and press. It’s too much to expect the defensive side of our game to sustain holding a team for 70 odd minutes for the rest of the season.Finding that real quality going forward is tough and it’s why we occupy the bottom 8. Overall the season has gone well so far given our squad, but there are some questions about what we have in the locker from an attacking point of view for me. Big game on Monday now - we cannot have a repeat of y’day5 -
Obviously it's not good enough and we need to improve. The positive from that form table is over remainder of a season Portsmouth and Oxford won't overtake us with their pathetic form._uptheaddicks said:This is worrying me now
. If we ignore Sheffield Wed, not pretty seeing our lowly position:
I also believe we will improve again and not remain 23rd in form table.4 -
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That's exactly how I saw it. If the management team know there is a fitness issue, why does Bree keep taking every dead ball situation.Major said:As much as I have supported him, I think Nathan Jones had a stinker today. I know it's easy to second guess but after pretty well holding our own in the usual ugly style, the first substitutions messed it all up.
Further - and this is what I marvel at - it seems pretty clear that Bree is not 100% recovered from his groin injury. We all saw what he can do before he got injured.
If you have to play him because there is no alternative, why the hell do you also make him kick dead balls when he can't get the ball up in the air?
It was blindingly obvious and yet the manager sits on his hands and makes him keep doing it.
Seems pretty brutal.
Now wondering if this thinking was why Dr. Will Abbott left.2 -
The first game this seson I've missed attending or watched on Charlton TV or SKY, sounds like the family outing to the panto to see Ebony Scrooge was the right decesion after all. With Charlton performance sounding bar humbug and our attack like Scrooge
.....so Nathan now has to get our players back oN their feet & down to South coast with renewed vigour, I'm sure our Welsh Dragon will have breathed fire over them up in Norfolk & training today....
Lets take a moment, 2025 saw an outstanding campaign in League one, Play off victory & a hugely positive start to to the Championship, yes we have struggled of late, but who wasn't expecting a brutal return to the Championship. Lets stay optomistic, its just 1/2 through the season, we have the January transfer window, key players set to return & strikers who hopefully will start scoring & a game in hand.
Lets hope HMS Victory is on the cards & we silence the Pompey chimes on Dec 29th. I'm really looking fwd to going to Fratton Park hoping our guns will be blazing & we will sink the Pompey fleet, its Victory we want, and defo don't want to see the sunken Mary Rose..... lets hope our hoodoo over Pompey continues.......COYA's2 -
Time for Docherty not to play again, in my view. I saw some 6s and even a 7 on the marks thread- I thought he was awful and it was a substitution that made no sense to me - Anderson wasn’t spectacular but he was doing Anderson type things .7
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When you watch the under 18s the coaches are constantly shouting at the players to pass, pass, pass.
They do this rather than try to run through two or three players and get nowhere.
That was the difference yesterday. Charlton's passing just didn't work. Norwich played some very slick moves yesterday. Gillespey didn't make a single crossfield pass and looked weak. His free kick in front of goal was terrible.2 -
Effort alone will get us to about where we are in the Champ (or lower) but we desperately need some quality on the ball which clearly we do not have. If Jones does not want/need a play maker then if the owners do stump up in Jan we will just get more huff and puff.soapy_jones said:As I said before the abandoned game, we are Pompeys bogey team. If we get nothing on Monday night the omens look threatening and our chances of staying up stark indeed.
NJ is still in credit with me, I just want to see effort.2 -
Is it possible Bree might be unsettled because of his future? Most people would be in similar circumstances.0
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Bree took the free kickCrusty54 said:When you watch the under 18s the coaches are constantly shouting at the players to pass, pass, pass.
They do this rather than try to run through two or three players and get nowhere.
That was the difference yesterday. Charlton's passing just didn't work. Norwich played some very slick moves yesterday. Gillespey didn't make a single crossfield pass and looked weak. His free kick in front of goal was terrible.9 -
Bree took the free kickCrusty54 said:When you watch the under 18s the coaches are constantly shouting at the players to pass, pass, pass.
They do this rather than try to run through two or three players and get nowhere.
That was the difference yesterday. Charlton's passing just didn't work. Norwich played some very slick moves yesterday. Gillespey didn't make a single crossfield pass and looked weak. His free kick in front of goal was terrible.1 -
Yet still left him on them when it was clear it wasn’t working.Bailey said:Nathan Jones didn't instruct James Bree to waste countless dead ball situations5 -
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Posting a day late because I didn't want it to spoil my Boxing Day too much and I tried to block it from my mind at the final whistle.Having slept on it I now feel able to post a meaningful comment:That was absolute shite.28
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He's a professional with a contract wether he goes back to Saints or not.IAgree said:Is it possible Bree might be unsettled because of his future? Most people would be in similar circumstances.
Also, play for your next contract and make people sit up and take notice.7 -
Seen a few comments like this, what did he do that was so bad? I may have missed something but aside from not having an influence, I don't recall any major errors.wmcf123 said:Time for Docherty not to play again, in my view. I saw some 6s and even a 7 on the marks thread- I thought he was awful and it was a substitution that made no sense to me - Anderson wasn’t spectacular but he was doing Anderson type things .7 -
Started watching on sky with all the family (10) by half time only 2 of us left watching. The rest went off to play board games, that’s how boring Jones teams are.
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Board games!!Hartleypete said:Started watching on sky with all the family (10) by half time only 2 of us left watching. The rest went off to play board games, that’s how boring Jones teams are.
So only two diehard's in the household then...0 -
Lack leadership and drive when they start without the Skipper?1
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Bree put in a stinker, maybe he had too many mince pies the day before but if he’s playing his last games for us I still think it’s been a good loan & would like to keep him1
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He let his man run off him 2-3 times and he let him cut inside and beat him. I don't know why Doch thought the player was going outside in that moment because he made no movement to do so. He made it too easy.Talal said:
Seen a few comments like this, what did he do that was so bad? I may have missed something but aside from not having an influence, I don't recall any major errors.wmcf123 said:Time for Docherty not to play again, in my view. I saw some 6s and even a 7 on the marks thread- I thought he was awful and it was a substitution that made no sense to me - Anderson wasn’t spectacular but he was doing Anderson type things .
Sometimes we talk about how a player's qualities will be obvious when they're not playing, but I thought yesterday was the opposite. Doch came on and our midfield instantly became worse.
I'll be honest, he is just not my type of player. He shuttles around the pitch and doesn't offer much else. He did have a run of good form earlier in the season but I don't think his foundational ability is good enough. Top bloke, though.
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At half time, i was happy. The game seemed to be going to plan / the formula. Not pretty but we weren't as under the cosh as i expected. Was just waiting for Kelman on on 60 mins, TC on on 65 mins and we'd nick it 1-0. I hadn't factored Bell coming off (which is my mistake as it makes sense to look after him) and Anderson coming off. I just assumed it would be Tanto and Leaburn - workhorses replaced by the cutting edge. Within a minute of Anderson going off, they played the ball about, right across the front of our back four from one side to the other, to feet. That hadn't happened all the time Anderson was on the pitch. We know what happens if we don't score first, game over. I'm not as despondent as many on here - in a few games, we hopefully have Bell, Burke, Kelman and Ramsey able to play 90 mins and then by the end of Jan some powerhouse reinforcements (time for our rich owners to help us again - don't and its curtains - NJ and Rodwell will know this, sitting there they could see what we could all see - we have to be at a 100% version of ourselves but that just isn't likely the way season's pan out with injuries, fatigue etc so we need to sign some more proper players, not bits and pieces patch up players. Big, big game against pompey and again, now is where the team need us to stick with them - finishing above oxford and portsmouth is the aim - we're in a 3 team battle with one place up for grabs.10
