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Post Match Views : Cheltenham vs Charlton | 8th August 2026 | League Cup
Comments
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I used to think Mannion was okay but he seems to have gone backwards. Wasn't commanding in his box yesterday which used to be his main strength and some of his kicking was poor.se9addick said:
Assuming both are fit I would stick with Kaminski. Neither are amazing, but of the two Kaminski is superior.ShootersHillGuru said:
I think we’ve had bigger priorities and will go with Kaminski until that can be addressed. It’s a shame we seem to have aquired two flakey goalkeepers because it’s such an important position. I think whoever gets the nod will both win us and lose us points. What’s really needed is unspectacular consistency.Covered End said:Well done Charlton, a very good performance.
I’ve disliked Kaminski’s keeping since his very first game, but it now looks like Mannion is making equally bad mistakes.
We need a better keeper, but it’s not going to happen this window.
Not a huge fan of Kaminski but he seems the less bad option at present2 -
Thought we were good yesterday, it’ll be interesting to see how we match up to Derby on Saturday as our slow starts each half will get punished more in the championship.The rw options are a concern atm, neither player looked entirely comfortable.Chalobah makes that midfield so much better and allowed Coventry to look more comfortable on the ball. Keeping him fit this year will be a big positive in our survival hopes.Rehearsal is done bring on the main show2
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Exactly.hoof_it_up_to_benty said:
I used to think Mannion was okay but he seems to have gone backwards. Wasn't commanding in his box yesterday which used to be his main strength and some of his kicking was poor.se9addick said:
Assuming both are fit I would stick with Kaminski. Neither are amazing, but of the two Kaminski is superior.ShootersHillGuru said:
I think we’ve had bigger priorities and will go with Kaminski until that can be addressed. It’s a shame we seem to have aquired two flakey goalkeepers because it’s such an important position. I think whoever gets the nod will both win us and lose us points. What’s really needed is unspectacular consistency.Covered End said:Well done Charlton, a very good performance.
I’ve disliked Kaminski’s keeping since his very first game, but it now looks like Mannion is making equally bad mistakes.
We need a better keeper, but it’s not going to happen this window.
Not a huge fan of Kaminski but he seems the less bad option at present
When I was calling for Mannion he was a reassuring presence commanding his box and taking most of the crosses whilst Kaminski stood on his line too scared to try & collect.
But now Mannion has clearly gone backwards, based on his most recent first team performances.2 -
Turns out that surprisingly good sub keeper Cheltenham brought on yesterday is Georgia Stanway's brother. He had a good game2
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Derby County like us last season were / are a team that often forgoes possession and are happy to counter. I think league positions indicate that they were better at it than we were. It would appear that this coming season we’re going to take a different approach but I think it’s going to be a very cagey game. Even with a couple of additions this week who are very unlikely to feature anyway, I can only see a draw. First game I’d take that.AberystwythAddick said:Thought we were good yesterday, it’ll be interesting to see how we match up to Derby on Saturday as our slow starts each half will get punished more in the championship.The rw options are a concern atm, neither player looked entirely comfortable.Chalobah makes that midfield so much better and allowed Coventry to look more comfortable on the ball. Keeping him fit this year will be a big positive in our survival hopes.Rehearsal is done bring on the main show1 -
Garrymanilow said:Turns out that surprisingly good sub keeper Cheltenham brought on yesterday is Georgia Stanway's brother. He had a good game
Arsenal Women's new signing Georgia.
The two saves Stanway made from Sonny kept the score down to a respectable margin for a league 2 side especially the bullet header late on. Great to see Carey in those positions.
Cheltenham tried to play a passing game but for once we were ruthless in attack in transition in the 1st half.
The 4th tier team had only had 3 preseason matches and were ever more undercooked that CAFC.
I would love to think that Chalobah, Carey, TC and Grant could do the runs forward against Championship teams but one thing I know is we must try to move forward with pace + accuracy and a fit Chalobah can help every Charlton player to improve and have more options.
I know Nat is now 31 but that's how he passed the ball around when he earned his 2nd record amount of 40 England U21 caps between 2012/19; only granite James Milner had more with 46 U21 caps.
The situation is, if Chalobah hadn't been the polar opposite to the record breaking Premier appearances Milner fitness wise, he wouldn't be at CAFC now as he would probably still be in the Premier League.
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Something occurred to me yesterday, one of the benefits of the change in formation is that the full/wing backs need to do less going forward.
That should mean playing CB at full back is much less of a risk and gives us more options in a pinch. Yesterday bell and sichenje spent time at full back, and also mesik covered the 'wrong' side3 -
We looked good for 70 minutes, and I was very glad that we finished strongly after slightly falling apart in the second half. That shouldn’t happen, even when you’re three goals up.Chalobah was excellent in the first half but nearly gave a goal away in the second. Billy was okay, but I think Collins looks a level above him. Excellent that three of our ‘goal scorers’ are off the mark.
TC was TC, but may have been working on his finishing. Coventry’s passing was very good in the main.Don’t think we’ll be seeing Mannion selected for the Derby match. I thought that was one of his worst performances, sadly. No attempt to go for the ball from the corner, and some very dodgy punching.Grant generally looked pretty good, I thought. I think he’ll play a part this season.Good to see the ball on the ground for most of the game, as mentioned by Golfy.Overall, 6 or 7 out of 10.2 -
ShootersHillGuru said:
Chalobah making those surging runs was very encouraging but he won’t be doing that in so much space in The Championship. I definitely think we need another specialist anchor that allows players like Chalobah and Carey the confidence to make those runs. Coventry offers that to a degree but we need better. Coady wasn’t mobile enough but it worked well. A mobile “Coady” would be out of our price range.NabySarr said:What I really liked yesterday was the speed of our attacks for the goals. From winning the ball back to the ball being in the net within 5-10 seconds. Rarely saw that last season
I think that’s the plan this season to make more of transitions and counter attacks, and why we’ve brought in some more pace and directness to do it
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And another totally agree.hoof_it_up_to_benty said:
I used to think Mannion was okay but he seems to have gone backwards. Wasn't commanding in his box yesterday which used to be his main strength and some of his kicking was poor.se9addick said:
Assuming both are fit I would stick with Kaminski. Neither are amazing, but of the two Kaminski is superior.ShootersHillGuru said:
I think we’ve had bigger priorities and will go with Kaminski until that can be addressed. It’s a shame we seem to have aquired two flakey goalkeepers because it’s such an important position. I think whoever gets the nod will both win us and lose us points. What’s really needed is unspectacular consistency.Covered End said:Well done Charlton, a very good performance.
I’ve disliked Kaminski’s keeping since his very first game, but it now looks like Mannion is making equally bad mistakes.
We need a better keeper, but it’s not going to happen this window.
Not a huge fan of Kaminski but he seems the less bad option at present
I thought Mannion was hard done by at the start of last season as his performances in the previous season justified him starting the season as number 1.
But since being given a chance his performances havent been good (Watford excepted) and yesterday's was plain awful.
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Both not good enough. We haven’t had a passable keeper since Dillon Phillips and even he wasn’t a world beaterhoof_it_up_to_benty said:
I used to think Mannion was okay but he seems to have gone backwards. Wasn't commanding in his box yesterday which used to be his main strength and some of his kicking was poor.se9addick said:
Assuming both are fit I would stick with Kaminski. Neither are amazing, but of the two Kaminski is superior.ShootersHillGuru said:
I think we’ve had bigger priorities and will go with Kaminski until that can be addressed. It’s a shame we seem to have aquired two flakey goalkeepers because it’s such an important position. I think whoever gets the nod will both win us and lose us points. What’s really needed is unspectacular consistency.Covered End said:Well done Charlton, a very good performance.
I’ve disliked Kaminski’s keeping since his very first game, but it now looks like Mannion is making equally bad mistakes.
We need a better keeper, but it’s not going to happen this window.
Not a huge fan of Kaminski but he seems the less bad option at present3 -
Job done and a decent day out yesterday.
One thing I've noticed in the club's highlights is how Chalobah celebrates TC's goal with him. Looks like he could be a real leader in the middle of the park and mentor off of it.23 -
Mobile Coady? What about George Dobson?4
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Ben Amos was very good for us in 20/21, the season after Phillips left. After that though it's been pretty bleakwmcf123 said:
Both not good enough. We haven’t had a passable keeper since Dillon Phillips and even he wasn’t a world beaterhoof_it_up_to_benty said:
I used to think Mannion was okay but he seems to have gone backwards. Wasn't commanding in his box yesterday which used to be his main strength and some of his kicking was poor.se9addick said:
Assuming both are fit I would stick with Kaminski. Neither are amazing, but of the two Kaminski is superior.ShootersHillGuru said:
I think we’ve had bigger priorities and will go with Kaminski until that can be addressed. It’s a shame we seem to have aquired two flakey goalkeepers because it’s such an important position. I think whoever gets the nod will both win us and lose us points. What’s really needed is unspectacular consistency.Covered End said:Well done Charlton, a very good performance.
I’ve disliked Kaminski’s keeping since his very first game, but it now looks like Mannion is making equally bad mistakes.
We need a better keeper, but it’s not going to happen this window.
Not a huge fan of Kaminski but he seems the less bad option at present3 -
I'm confused by your Bell comment.SDAddick said:First half good, second half professional.
Said it on the match thread, but thought Chalobah was excellent first half, as was Coventry. Coventry winning the ball back and playing forward passes. Chalobah with an instant touch and good vision, plus the ability to drive forward or break up play. We might just have found our (for now, at least until Chalobah gets hurt and/or we get another #8 in) double pivot.
Another week where TC spent stretches of the match looking like our most dangerous player. He really looked so good on the left. Grant might just need to get used to playing on the right.
Carey looked good, even if I sometimes question his decision making, he did have a goal and an assist. Good goal and good pressing from Godders. Solid from McNamara. I thought Bell looked like he was still adapting to the inverted fullback role. I think he'll do well there, he looks after the ball very well and can pick a pass at times. It's just going to be an adjustment.
There's a great baseball expression, a player "looks good getting off the bus" which means he really looks the part, even if he doesn't play the part. Ivan Mesik looks good getting off the bus. But he also looked very tidy at both fullback spots.
Two goals from pressing, one from the counter. I think you see how we're going to look to play. Second half we looked a bit leggy, a bit over the whole thing, a bit after the Lord Mayor's show. But last 10 I thought we kept the ball well and the game very well could have ended about 6-2.
Lastly, I hope today kind of bursts the Will Mannion bubble a bit. He looked dodgy under the high ball and his distribution, particularly short distribution, wasn't great. I think he's a very good League One keeper. I think he's an okay lower end Championship back up. But I feel like some of the criticism of Kaminski goes over the top and you can see today why Mannion doesn't start.
Only League Two opposition, but I thought today provided a good blueprint.
How is a left footed left back 'inverted'?1 -
Yesterday was a prime example where at the game I don’t really feel Coventry contributes much and the then read on here after numerous views of him being excellent.
I clearly miss something that others see with him. Not saying he’s poor, I just never feel he does / influences enough for a Champ player.8 -
Would be nice to have a commanding keeper who dominates his box and has a verbal presence. Kaminski seems to have no presence and as I've said previously Mannion seems to have regressed. Both keepers have looked poor in the last couple of games.wmcf123 said:
Both not good enough. We haven’t had a passable keeper since Dillon Phillips and even he wasn’t a world beaterhoof_it_up_to_benty said:
I used to think Mannion was okay but he seems to have gone backwards. Wasn't commanding in his box yesterday which used to be his main strength and some of his kicking was poor.se9addick said:
Assuming both are fit I would stick with Kaminski. Neither are amazing, but of the two Kaminski is superior.ShootersHillGuru said:
I think we’ve had bigger priorities and will go with Kaminski until that can be addressed. It’s a shame we seem to have aquired two flakey goalkeepers because it’s such an important position. I think whoever gets the nod will both win us and lose us points. What’s really needed is unspectacular consistency.Covered End said:Well done Charlton, a very good performance.
I’ve disliked Kaminski’s keeping since his very first game, but it now looks like Mannion is making equally bad mistakes.
We need a better keeper, but it’s not going to happen this window.
Not a huge fan of Kaminski but he seems the less bad option at present
I do worry this will prove to be a problem this season.2 -
An inverted fullback is one that moves into the midfield rather than staying wide. It doesn't have anything to do with their stronger foot, even though some teams do utilise that at times to make the most of the inversion. Chambers did the same job last season, instead of going up the line and providing width he'd move inside and provide an extra body in the middleSteveACS said:
I'm confused by your Bell comment.SDAddick said:First half good, second half professional.
Said it on the match thread, but thought Chalobah was excellent first half, as was Coventry. Coventry winning the ball back and playing forward passes. Chalobah with an instant touch and good vision, plus the ability to drive forward or break up play. We might just have found our (for now, at least until Chalobah gets hurt and/or we get another #8 in) double pivot.
Another week where TC spent stretches of the match looking like our most dangerous player. He really looked so good on the left. Grant might just need to get used to playing on the right.
Carey looked good, even if I sometimes question his decision making, he did have a goal and an assist. Good goal and good pressing from Godders. Solid from McNamara. I thought Bell looked like he was still adapting to the inverted fullback role. I think he'll do well there, he looks after the ball very well and can pick a pass at times. It's just going to be an adjustment.
There's a great baseball expression, a player "looks good getting off the bus" which means he really looks the part, even if he doesn't play the part. Ivan Mesik looks good getting off the bus. But he also looked very tidy at both fullback spots.
Two goals from pressing, one from the counter. I think you see how we're going to look to play. Second half we looked a bit leggy, a bit over the whole thing, a bit after the Lord Mayor's show. But last 10 I thought we kept the ball well and the game very well could have ended about 6-2.
Lastly, I hope today kind of bursts the Will Mannion bubble a bit. He looked dodgy under the high ball and his distribution, particularly short distribution, wasn't great. I think he's a very good League One keeper. I think he's an okay lower end Championship back up. But I feel like some of the criticism of Kaminski goes over the top and you can see today why Mannion doesn't start.
Only League Two opposition, but I thought today provided a good blueprint.
How is a left footed left back 'inverted'?4 -
TC was frustrating to watch again yesterday. If his end product was better he wouldn't be playing for us.
Hope he gets to play as a winger this season assuming we keep him.2 -
No-one played more passes into the final third yesterday than Coventry. He played 11; Chalobah played 5, so did Carey. All three of them got an assist, though Coventry deserved another for his through ball to TC. Coventry also won the ball for the second goal to set Chalobah off and played some good passes towards the end that we wasted. He had more touches than any other player. Chalobah had better defensive contributions but also if you were to rewatch the match you'd see Coventry started pressing much higher when Chalobah tired and was sometimes pressing the centre back because he still had the energy to put them under pressure. That's mad considering in that second half he was essentially having to do Chalobah's running for him as well. He's not perfect but I think he does a lot of stuff that flies under the radar. Yesterday when Cheltenham got their goal and were in danger of starting to build something up he was a big part of slowing the game down and taking the sting out; that's not glamorous but it's really important. This was all against a L2 side of course but the best things about our play, which was us sending the ball forward quickly and starting pacy attacks, were often started off by Coventry, he just tends to fade into the background after that important contribution which is pretty much what you expect for a defensive midfielder. If he plays more like that at Championship level he'll do really wellAFKABartram said:Yesterday was a prime example where at the game I don’t really feel Coventry contributes much and the then read on here after numerous views of him being excellent.
I clearly miss something that others see with him. Not saying he’s poor, I just never feel he does / influences enough for a Champ player.19 -
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His passing is not incisive. He works hard and is a water carrier so in the right midfield he works. He looked better because Chalobah looked excellent. He is what he is. Definitely adds to our squad but as it stands not a key member. His challenge I suppose is to become one.AFKABartram said:Yesterday was a prime example where at the game I don’t really feel Coventry contributes much and the then read on here after numerous views of him being excellent.
I clearly miss something that others see with him. Not saying he’s poor, I just never feel he does / influences enough for a Champ player.
We have to factor in that Cheltenham looked crap. It was a worry that when they started biting into tackles we didn't look so superior. Having said that, we did wrestle it back towards the end.
What is up with Mannion? I thought his strengths were around commanding his area like he did in the play-off final. He had to improve in other areas. What sort of player completely forgets his strengths? Something to get to the bottom of?0 -
My worry is that early on we were sloppy which in the Championship would’ve probably have cost us a goal or two. I also think our defending for their goal was bad.
And the three good goals we scored was as much about Cheltenham sloppiness as our good finishing.
Our sloppiness wasn’t punished, theirs was.
It would likely be a different story in the Championship.2 -
They populate inside in the half spaces - think Tottenham under Big AngeGarrymanilow said:
An inverted fullback is one that moves into the midfield rather than staying wide. It doesn't have anything to do with their stronger foot, even though some teams do utilise that at times to make the most of the inversion. Chambers did the same job last season, instead of going up the line and providing width he'd move inside and provide an extra body in the middleSteveACS said:
I'm confused by your Bell comment.SDAddick said:First half good, second half professional.
Said it on the match thread, but thought Chalobah was excellent first half, as was Coventry. Coventry winning the ball back and playing forward passes. Chalobah with an instant touch and good vision, plus the ability to drive forward or break up play. We might just have found our (for now, at least until Chalobah gets hurt and/or we get another #8 in) double pivot.
Another week where TC spent stretches of the match looking like our most dangerous player. He really looked so good on the left. Grant might just need to get used to playing on the right.
Carey looked good, even if I sometimes question his decision making, he did have a goal and an assist. Good goal and good pressing from Godders. Solid from McNamara. I thought Bell looked like he was still adapting to the inverted fullback role. I think he'll do well there, he looks after the ball very well and can pick a pass at times. It's just going to be an adjustment.
There's a great baseball expression, a player "looks good getting off the bus" which means he really looks the part, even if he doesn't play the part. Ivan Mesik looks good getting off the bus. But he also looked very tidy at both fullback spots.
Two goals from pressing, one from the counter. I think you see how we're going to look to play. Second half we looked a bit leggy, a bit over the whole thing, a bit after the Lord Mayor's show. But last 10 I thought we kept the ball well and the game very well could have ended about 6-2.
Lastly, I hope today kind of bursts the Will Mannion bubble a bit. He looked dodgy under the high ball and his distribution, particularly short distribution, wasn't great. I think he's a very good League One keeper. I think he's an okay lower end Championship back up. But I feel like some of the criticism of Kaminski goes over the top and you can see today why Mannion doesn't start.
Only League Two opposition, but I thought today provided a good blueprint.
How is a left footed left back 'inverted'?0 -
Also, when Campbell plays on the left, it is a common occurance for him to cut in but his finisihing is too hit or miss. He went through a spell in League One where he was lethal and this suggests he just needs a bit of belief. Yesterday was a good starter. Now he needs to mean to go on in that way. Great goal and hitting the bar. If he can up this part of his game we have a real player on our hands. We really need to get his contract extended. I mean, if he gets as good as he can get we will sell him anyway so a nice pay rise should do the business.6
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What I liked about the one that hit the bar was it was with his left foot. He may not have scored this time, but the fact he was willing to shoot with his left can only be good. Hopefully, he’ll be more confident to go onto either foot, and that in turn will give defenders more to think about.MuttleyCAFC said:Also, when Campbell plays on the left, it is a common occurance for him to cut in but his finisihing is too hit or miss. He went through a spell in League One where he was lethal and this suggests he just needs a bit of belief. Yesterday was a good starter. Now he needs to mean to go on in that way. Great goal and hitting the bar. If he can up this part of his game we have a real player on our hands. We really need to get his contract extended. I mean, if he gets as good as he can get we will sell him anyway so a nice pay rise should do the business.5 -
Campbell, 'lethal', lol.0
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All this debate about keepers, maybe we need to look at who is coaching them.3
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Really encouraged by yesterdays performance, can only play what's in front of you but I can see how this evolves us as a side, the championship is brutal but I'm feeling more optimistic than we might be marginally more comfortable next season whilst seeing an improvement in playing style. Don't expect us to be prime Barcelona or challenge top half, but am optimistic it'll be more enjoyable than last season1
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He doesn’t need to be a lethal finisher to be fair, he creates enough shots for himself through his pace and dribbling, and sometimes makes a good run (like yesterday when he hit the bar) that just some improvement to his finishing and composure could see him score 5-10 a season.LargeAddick said:Campbell, 'lethal', lol.3 -
To a certain extent maybe but I don't think any coach could get much more out of these two. They're just fundamentally not that good.Hartleypete said:All this debate about keepers, maybe we need to look at who is coaching them.
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