POST-MATCH THREAD: Norwich City v Charlton Athletic: Boxing Day 2025: KO 15:00

cabbles said:

AndyG said:

I was raging at full time yesterday. Today I’m still bloody raging. For me that was our worst performance of the season, there just didn’t seem to be any desire, how we can go 90 mins without a shot on target against a team that leaks goals is beyond me. I didn’t expect to get anything from the game points wise but that level of performance is just not acceptable. 

The worst thing is I’ve been away in Thailand over Xmas ... last night I literally had to shut the laptop and go straight to bed on that result - it’s such a horrible feeling compared to being in the UK 

Our hearts bleed for you. You are in a horrible situation.

Billy_Mix said:

Bree was awful it's true 

Who am I to diss a Bree?

As poor as we were yesterday, I think our good start to the season has made people expect too much. We were always going to be in a relegation battle this season. Even though Wednesday means that there are only really two relegation spots, Birmingham and Wrexham going up meant that there were two fewer teams in the relegation battle. This season was never going to be easy.

Our activity in the transfer market was to assemble a League One all-stars team with a few former Luton players chucked in. This squad was never going to be pushing for the playoffs. The goal was to hopefully stay up and, in the event we went down, hopefully keep most of those players and bounce straight back.

Anything from 7th to 21st means exactly the same thing in this league, so staying up is all that matters.

I also think that Norwich was always going to be a tougher game than most people realised. Their form has improved recently and I don't even consider them to be a relegation candidate.

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.

I’m not really fussed by how exciting or boring Nathan Jones’ teams are, I just was Charlton to win. Wanting or needing to be entertained is reserved for watching matches as a neutral. 

AS1987 said:

As poor as we were yesterday, I think our good start to the season has made people expect too much. We were always going to be in a relegation battle this season. Even though Wednesday means that there are only really two relegation spots, Birmingham and Wrexham going up meant that there were two fewer teams in the relegation battle. This season was never going to be easy.

Our activity in the transfer market was to assemble a League One all-stars team with a few former Luton players chucked in. This squad was never going to be pushing for the playoffs. The goal was to hopefully stay up and, in the event we went down, hopefully keep most of those players and bounce straight back.

Anything from 7th to 21st means exactly the same thing in this league, so staying up is all that matters.

I also think that Norwich was always going to be a tougher game than most people realised. Their form has improved recently and I don't even consider them to be a relegation candidate.

Finishing higher could help us sign better players in the summer though.

AndyG said:

golfaddick said:

charltonbob said:

golfaddick said:

PWR.

Probably been said already......      

We are the only visiting team this season not to score at Carrow Road and only the second team (Blackburn being the other) not to score against them at all.

So, for the love of God can we sign a striker & some f**king playmakers.....please  !

Not going to happen 

Then we will get relegated  

I’m confident that won’t be the case mate our points total will be ok come the end but it won’t be pretty. We desperately need some creativity up front and another striker 

I was answering to the poster who said that we wont be strengthening in those areas after I had pointed out that those positions are where we need strengthening. So I agree with you......we will stay up if we bring in the right players. If we dont then its same old same old.

I went yesterday & it was one if the worst performances I've ever seen. And I include in that the 4-0 capitulation at Millwall & the 5-0 drubbing at West Ham.

se9addick said:

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.

I’m not really fussed by how exciting or boring Nathan Jones’ teams are, I just was Charlton to win. Wanting or needing to be entertained is reserved for watching matches as a neutral. 

I disagree. 

golfaddick said:

se9addick said:

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.

I’m not really fussed by how exciting or boring Nathan Jones’ teams are, I just was Charlton to win. Wanting or needing to be entertained is reserved for watching matches as a neutral. 

I disagree. 

I wouldn't care if we won every game 1-0 you get 3 points just the same. 
I know we're not gonna win every game and if we get beaten by a better team that's the way it goes. 
I just want to see a team fight and be the best they can be. 

golfaddick said:

ross1 said:

Safety this season, hopefully NJ will provide more attractive tactics next season

Lol. A leopard never changes his spots  

Hopefully not - He’s done pretty well so far! 

Gisappointed said:

It seems mad to keep playing 3-5-2 when we don't have any wing backs. Even a fit Bree has no forward momentum. Edwards is a FB, Bell a CB. Four at the back would allow us to drop the oil tanker that is Macca and a 4-3-3 could have TC and Apter either side of any of our strikers. 

With wingers on the touchlines, MF would have an out ball. We could get away with a right footed LCB. 

I prefer 3-5-2 in principle, but you are absolutely correct that we do not currently have a single proper wing-back necessary to make it work. Campbell and Apter are good players but are both out-and-out wingers.

To play 4-3-3 you need two full-backs. We have them in Ramsay and Bell.  

You need two centre-backs. We have only Jones of sufficient quality.

You need a winger for each flank. We have them in Campbell and Apter.

You need three midfielders. We have only Coventry of sufficient quality (barely). And Carey if he recovers his form, but that is a big "if". Maybe Terry Taylor? He is doing so well at Northampton that they made him, a loanee, captain. Got to be better than Docherty, but maybe still not good enough. We probably will not see Edwards back to his best until next season.

The main problem with playing two real wingers is you can only play one striker, and he needs to be an all-rounder, who both can score and hold up the ball to play in a winger or midfielder to score. Leaburn at his best might do, but he may not get to that level until too late in the season (if ever). And we would need another similar to rotate after an hour. A fit Godden would do, but I fear his career at this level is over. 

So to play 4-3-3 we need:
A starting CB (preferably a leftie)
An athletic all-rounder MF
An all-rounder CF. Very expensive unless someone in the last lap of their career.

That leaves Kelman, Knibbs, Docherty, Ahadme, Olaofe, Berry and Rankin-Costello unwanted. What a waste of money!

I don't like NF or his "style" of football, but we have the lowest wage-bill in the division yet are not in the bottom three, so he gets a reluctant pass from me.

se9addick said:

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 .  

One issue which I haven’t seen mentioned was the abject lack of leadership yesterday, which has been a theme for some time. I don’t think Docherty is incredible but when he’s not on the pitch I feel like we often look more like XI individuals rather than a coherent team. Lloyd Jones is about the only other player that I see orchestrating, encouraging and cajoling the rest of the team. I really hope this is something that can be addressed in January (and I’d probably something that is easier addressed than us suddenly being able to sign a prolific striker).  

you can sign all the prolific strikers you like,but if you dont have the midfield to supply them you are wasting your time.

Very disappointing. I always try to look for positives, and there were a couple. 

For me it’s the fear of going back to L1 I honestly don’t think I can do it anymore so maybe I’m to critical, just an absolute gash league, if there is a god 4th bottom will do ! 

Scoham said:

EugenesAxe said:

Another problem with scoring so few goals is it puts the defence on panic mode every time the balls goes in our box, as they know it is even more important we don't concede as the chances then of getting a win are dissappearingly small.

It's easier and cheaper to build a team that's hard to score against vs one that's so good going forward it can score 3/4/5 a game if needed.

Curbs, Powell and Bowyer all built squads in a similar way - they ensured we competed first, which gave us a chance in games more often than not.

Managers like Garner and Peeters put a bigger emphasis on possession and pretty football. That needs more money and patience than we've got.

Some good January signings, getting players fit back from injury and a better balanced team (more attacking threats than we had vs Norwich) then we should be ok. It won't be great to watch, but it's still a lot better than being in L1.

I agree, it's more that we have gone from the solidity to the ball pin balling around and our defenders hacking at everything, seems more a game of chance than percentage now. think the run of heavy defeats has given them a fright.