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POST-MATCH THREAD: Stoke City v Charlton Athletic: Saturday 5th September 2026: KO 12:30
Comments
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They can. They just aren't allowed to.thickandthin63 said:
We also played Christmas day and boxing day,we also had much smaller squads,I remember Liverpool winning the league using only 14 players,we also had replays,2nd replays and sometimes even more,also no subs,so minor knocks and even more serious knocks had to be put up with,no international breaks,international games played midweek.Week after week,clubs played the same 11,no resting or rotating,so why cant players play 40-50 games a season today.PragueAddick said:
There certainly were evening league games in the 60s, 70s and 80s. We also used to play Good Friday, Easter Saturday, and Easter Monday. I kid you not.golfaddick said:
When questioned I keep being told that football of today is not the same as yesteryear. Even though players are fitter & have better game prep, esp around food.DamoNorthStand said:
Is this a modern day thing? Back in the 90s I swear this wasn’t a thing for example.AberystwythAddick said:
We play Saturday midweek Saturday midweek Saturday midweek. We can’t play our best 11 every week players need to restct_addick said:Note to NJ…we are not a Man City or Liverpool…we don’t have strength in depth….play your best XI available
I counter that with teams of 30/40 years ago played on mud heaps from December onwards & there was more "action"......defenders didnt spend 2 mins passing the ball between themselves at a snail's pace.
But we must listen to the experts who tell us football is not the same & you can't expect a fit 21 year old to play sat / wed / sat.
Perhaps someone should tell the EFL that so that clubs are allowed a bigger squad size.
However what we did not have then was the increasing number of European club games, affecting PL clubs, but affecting the rest because there is then pressure on the FA and EFL cup dates. And now you have the international break, which really compresses things. Nor back then did we access to lots of young talented players at reasonable cost, such as Ouma, who nevertheless arrive froma far more leisurely environment. I have never watched any Polish league games, but in terms of quality, type of player, and playing style of the Polish teams, its very similar to Czech. He was playing for the Polish champions, they will have 3-4 serious challengers, the rest are dross, Lech Poznan will go there, and in front of about 3k fans stroll to victory. You remember Tomáš Řepka the Czech defender who played for West Ham? He collected cards like he was building a collection, we always wanted him to start against us. But at age of 33 he went back to CZ with Sparta, they played him as a sweeper. I watched him the first time I went to Viktoria. He was a revelation in that role. But it was because in that league you have the time. You havent got some pesky Johnny Robinson itching to ruin your day. It is nowhere near as intense as in England, and there are nowhere near as many important games.
Agree it's nonsense. Normally 10 players who don't play the 90 minutes anyway.0 -
Yeah.We noticed you moaned about him the whole time you were watching the game. Lolnorthstandsteve said:Ouma was absolutely shocking yesterday, went down for a beer at 3-0, didn’t go back up had 2 pints and fucked off, got a train to Stafford and had a few pints whilst waiting for our train back0 -
I did not know much about Jones before he came to us, except for his early involvement with us and a subject of derision by the media when he was at Southampton. Like Guy Luzon I find him great entertainment on the touch line and he has banked a lot of credit with me for the job he has done on a tiny budget. I don't believe he has much time for the fans despite chest beating after matches, having ended the end of season player of the year dinner and stopped players going to fans forums which was a great way of bringing fans and the club closer.Covered End said:
You are of course correct.ELCAFC123 said:
not really, just an observation. I think the guy is a bit of a plum.ProperCharlton said:
WeirdELCAFC123 said:Probably an unpopular opinion but just watched the Nathan Jones interview where he said they don't have to apologise to the fans, strange comment.
He has obviously done a good job and is supported by default as manager of the club but as a man I really do think he's a bit of prick.
He seems to have some sort of grudge against the supporters, always harping back to that Crawley game where they got a bit of stick (rightly so). He's a strange one - I can see why many dislike him.
Its factual that he has mentioned that Crawley game lots of times, I think that's weird.
Jones's nervous energy gets the better of him and he struggles to say the right things, lacking composure.
Yes he does keep banging on about the Crawley game, which once again did him no favours in my eyes, as he clearly bears a grudge and is thin skinned.
However, I've not heard him say it for some time now and we've got 10 points from 5 games.
2 points a game over the course of the season could get you promoted.
We were struggling to stay up in L1 when he took over.
So looking at the overall picture I have to back him 100%, even if I haven't got the man love for him like say Powell or Curbs.
That said, he has done a good job, which is what really counts. When you have such a discrepancy in budgets the mistakes you make at this level are amplified and that's the case at Stoke. Hopefully, we can get back on track next week.8 -
Not if Harry Cripps, Ron Harris or Norman Hunter caught up with them!Callumcafc said:
That’s aggression, not intensity. A modern team would run rings around a side of that era.Southbank said:
Have you watched those guys sliding on mud and ice and kicking seven bells out of each other?Callumcafc said:
Because the game wasn’t as intense in the 90s.DamoNorthStand said:
Is this a modern day thing? Back in the 90s I swear this wasn’t a thing for example.AberystwythAddick said:
We play Saturday midweek Saturday midweek Saturday midweek. We can’t play our best 11 every week players need to restct_addick said:Note to NJ…we are not a Man City or Liverpool…we don’t have strength in depth….play your best XI available1 -
I don't think Prem referees should be allowed to ref below that level. The presence of VAR allows them to make mistakes and they have difficulty adjusting back to a world where their decisions are final.7
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It was a river busgolfaddick said:
I wouldn't put much store by what the manager says post match, especially when he upset, annoyed & likely to say anything to anyone.Stu_of_Kunming said:CafcSteve said:
It massively goes against what some people were saying about the budget being the same as last summer’s one.Pelling1993 said:Interesting that Nathan said in his interview with Louis that our Net Spend this summer is £1.5m. Good from the financial/SCR perspective.
Does it? I imagine the wage bill has increased significantly and we probably paid some hefty signing on fees.CafcSteve said:
It massively goes against what some people were saying about the budget being the same as last summer’s one.Pelling1993 said:Interesting that Nathan said in his interview with Louis that our Net Spend this summer is £1.5m. Good from the financial/SCR perspective.
On a similar note I've read on here people saying NJ said that the players threw him under a bus. Listening to Louis Mendez's interview this morning he actually said the players sold him down the river.4 -
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I don’t think Bobby Madley has refereed in the Prem for a long time so not sure his being accustomed to VAR explains some of the stuff that happened on Saturday!Kap10 said:I don't think Prem referees should be allowed to ref below that level. The presence of VAR allows them to make mistakes and they have difficulty adjusting back to a world where their decisions are final.
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For some reason on X he is extremely unpopular with Newcastle fans. It looked quite recent, but maybe it was from a match a while back.se9addick said:
I don’t think Bobby Madley has refereed in the Prem for a long time so not sure his being accustomed to VAR explains some of the stuff that happened on Saturday!Kap10 said:I don't think Prem referees should be allowed to ref below that level. The presence of VAR allows them to make mistakes and they have difficulty adjusting back to a world where their decisions are final.0 -
With all due respect mate, your trying to make excuses for his inept and frankly amateur attempt at handling the match, he should be hauled over the coals big time, the guy is just no good at his job..Kap10 said:I don't think Prem referees should be allowed to ref below that level. The presence of VAR allows them to make mistakes and they have difficulty adjusting back to a world where their decisions are final.5 -
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The tussling for penalty was happening before the corner was taken, so he should of stopped the game, had a word with both and have the corner retaken.19
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I bet Donald Trump could.fenaddick said:
Can't appeal a yellowLeuth said:
Mate it's about the most ridiculous second yellow I've ever seen. I don't know what the appeals process is but we need to try something herese9addick said:
I admire your persistence here, but is your position (now you’ve seen the replay) that McNamara may have done it, the Madley might not have seen him do it but due to some vendetta against us just guessed that McNamara had made the gesture and sent him off?PragueAddick said:
The Sky highlights package is up on the OS now, and I think it makes you right. DM's hand briefly goes up, albeit crooked arm, before extending out at 90 degree angle for quite a long time as he approaches Madley. The close up only shows his arm out wide, so Madley would need to have seen him approach, and I'm not sure he did because he's in "dialogue" with Bell and Mesik right in front of him. But now I see that, I have to concede there was something like a "card simulation" in which case you are right to criticise DM for coming such a long way to make his point. But then, he would not have been on a yellow if Madley and the lino had carried out their most basic task a couple of minutes earlier.fenaddick said:
Weirdly I haven’t seen it anywhere, I saw it once during the game and that’s it. It was from one of those far away, lower quality type cameras. With a bigger telly it might have been more obvious but I just saw him waving his hand around. I guess we also don’t know the context of what he was saying at the time which could be a contributing factorPragueAddick said:
That’s your opinion, but is not the subject of my post. The rule is new , and its very specific. Its also very easy to spot, unlike the other new guidance on grappling which Madley was also interested in showing he could apply when no one else in the ground could see it.fenaddick said:
NJ said it was for the gesture which means Madley thinks that’s what he saw. Regardless of all that, it’s silly of McNamara to run over to do that when in theory the rule is only the captain can approach the ref. That means he’s already making the ref twitchy. He’s a senior pro playing in a match where his team needed leadership and a cool head and he did the oppositePragueAddick said:Really, somebody, prove me wrong.
Can we just first agree that when refs hold up a card they do it more or less straight upwards?Good. So for a player to be punished for visually demanding a card he needs to mimic that. Not an arm out like he’s directing traffic. Nor a Nazi salute for that matter.Right then. Post up the footage that shows Danny Mac holding his arm up vertically like that. Right now, I don’t think it exists. You can’t cop out by saying “for me” @LargeAddick. Its a draconian rule, so it has to be interpreted strictly. Lets see the footage. If it exists, I am ready to apologise to all who claim DM was correctly carded.
But as I said on the match thread, Sky dont have superior footage that CTV and others don’t. Everything goes through a central EFL studio in Osterley and is fed out from there to the club streams. I’m not ITK. There was an article in the Athletic about it.I believe you are all across socials, etc. Have you got footage to post of DM doing the card signal ( like we saw in the World Cup) or not?
Surely the more plausible explanation is that McNamara did it (however briefly), Madley saw it and gave him the second yellow that he’s supposed to by the letter of the law?
The officiating was woeful yesterday, but I don’t think this incident is the one to die on a hill over. Not least because in the context of the match it didn’t really matter as the game as a contest was already well over. Does mean we lose McNamara for the next match, but when you sign players from Millwall that’s to be expected!2 -
You forgot Tommy Smith.Kap10 said:
Not if Harry Cripps, Ron Harris or Norman Hunter caught up with them!Callumcafc said:
That’s aggression, not intensity. A modern team would run rings around a side of that era.Southbank said:
Have you watched those guys sliding on mud and ice and kicking seven bells out of each other?Callumcafc said:
Because the game wasn’t as intense in the 90s.DamoNorthStand said:
Is this a modern day thing? Back in the 90s I swear this wasn’t a thing for example.AberystwythAddick said:
We play Saturday midweek Saturday midweek Saturday midweek. We can’t play our best 11 every week players need to restct_addick said:Note to NJ…we are not a Man City or Liverpool…we don’t have strength in depth….play your best XI available1 -
A decent ref might have done that.guinnessaddick said:The tussling for penalty was happening before the corner was taken, so he should of stop the game, had a word with both and have the corner retaken.3 -
There should have been at least 6 penalties in yesterdays games due to grappling. It should be cut out but most referees let it carry on.0
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One other thing about the penalty is that their player did all he could to win it.
Grappling was from both but from one angle wou can see Wilmot duck his head down under Ouma's arm. That wasn't because of the grappling, that we premeditated and as soon as he ducked under Ouma's arm he was only going to go down. Ref then bought it.
It is never a stonewall pen if both are grappling which was the case. Both were at it but the experience of Wilmot outshone Ouma and he got the decision. Naive from Ouma yes but another day it isn't given.
Wilmot deciding to duck and go under Ouma's arm is the same as their No9 looking at Jones with no intention to play the ball - he knew what he wanted to do and executed it to perfection. Another day their No9 would've seen a card and another day Wilmot doesn't get the decision.
We were so far of it, the ref just made a bad day worse.
Re: Danny Mac, I said to my nephew next to me he will get a second yellow as he was storming in as I thought it was clear he was asking for a card so I wasn't surprised. Right decision it as all saying, should not of got to that point.6 -
Nah what I'm saying, mate, is that VAR makes them incompetent at their job, especially if they were incompetent in the first place.eastterrace6168 said:
With all due respect mate, your trying to make excuses for his inept and frankly amateur attempt at handling the match, he should be hauled over the coals big time, the guy is just no good at his job..Kap10 said:I don't think Prem referees should be allowed to ref below that level. The presence of VAR allows them to make mistakes and they have difficulty adjusting back to a world where their decisions are final.
However, as @se9addick pointed out to me he has not reffed at Prem level for some time, so he is just plain old incompetent.0 -
I heard the other day, can’t remember where but probably Talksport or 5Live, that this season there is a pool of refs that are used by both PL and the Championship so they are working in both during the season.Kap10 said:I don't think Prem referees should be allowed to ref below that level. The presence of VAR allows them to make mistakes and they have difficulty adjusting back to a world where their decisions are final.0 -
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Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.
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Yeah, but if you take us out of it, of the other 3 one team won, one drew and one lost so our result heavily skews the 1-6 scoring.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.
Whilst the Weds/Saturday thing may well have been a factor, other’s results don’t really support that particularly considering they were all away.
We lost on Saturday because we lost our heads.10 -
For a blend of hard and dirty, no one surpasses Peter Storey.CaptainRobbo said:
You forgot Tommy Smith.Kap10 said:
Not if Harry Cripps, Ron Harris or Norman Hunter caught up with them!Callumcafc said:
That’s aggression, not intensity. A modern team would run rings around a side of that era.Southbank said:
Have you watched those guys sliding on mud and ice and kicking seven bells out of each other?Callumcafc said:
Because the game wasn’t as intense in the 90s.DamoNorthStand said:
Is this a modern day thing? Back in the 90s I swear this wasn’t a thing for example.AberystwythAddick said:
We play Saturday midweek Saturday midweek Saturday midweek. We can’t play our best 11 every week players need to restct_addick said:Note to NJ…we are not a Man City or Liverpool…we don’t have strength in depth….play your best XI available0 -
So much for what we were told on the pre-season briefing re mutual grappling not being penalised:
https://www.castrust.org/2026/08/oi-proref/
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That’s fair, but it also highlights that NJ wasn’t alone in making changes to his team following such a short (the shortest) turn around.charente addick said:
Yeah, but if you take us out of it, of the other 3 one team won, one drew and one lost so our result heavily skews the 1-6 scoring.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.
Whilst the Weds/Saturday thing may well have been a factor, other’s results don’t really support that particularly considering they were all away.
We lost on Saturday because we lost our heads.3 -
Amazing really... "we should hope to see more free-flowing matches given the ongoing emphasis that football is a contact sport. If two opposing players are grappling (for example at a corner) then the ref is unlikely to intervene. "Weegie Addick said:So much for what we were told on the pre-season briefing re mutual grappling not being penalised:
https://www.castrust.org/2026/08/oi-proref/0 -
What a load of rubbish.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.1 -
Can you expand on that for me? : -)ElfsborgAddick said:
What a load of rubbish.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.2 -
The team that made the fewest changes to their XI is the only team that won.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.0 -
True enough, but I don't know if the number of changes was the issue or was it the nature. It was tricky to work out what the shape/formation was meant to be from the 11 named, and then the midfield is two loanees, both making their first start and one of which is still very clearly adjusting to the league.Callumcafc said:
That’s fair, but it also highlights that NJ wasn’t alone in making changes to his team following such a short (the shortest) turn around.charente addick said:
Yeah, but if you take us out of it, of the other 3 one team won, one drew and one lost so our result heavily skews the 1-6 scoring.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.
Whilst the Weds/Saturday thing may well have been a factor, other’s results don’t really support that particularly considering they were all away.
We lost on Saturday because we lost our heads.
I have no objections in principle to NJ making changes and using the squad but he got it very wrong this time.1 -
I thought the same and mentioned it pre game that it was looking like too many changes with new players rather than just a couple introduced, started ok but once the 1st goal went in we didn’t look like a team.thenewbie said:
True enough, but I don't know if the number of changes was the issue or was it the nature. It was tricky to work out what the shape/formation was meant to be from the 11 named, and then the midfield is two loanees, both making their first start and one of which is still very clearly adjusting to the league.Callumcafc said:
That’s fair, but it also highlights that NJ wasn’t alone in making changes to his team following such a short (the shortest) turn around.charente addick said:
Yeah, but if you take us out of it, of the other 3 one team won, one drew and one lost so our result heavily skews the 1-6 scoring.Callumcafc said:Four teams played back to back away from home on Wednesday night and Saturday: Charlton, Cardiff, Wrexham and Middlesbrough.
- Charlton played 12:30 on Saturday and made four changes to their starting XI. Lost 4-0 at Stoke.
- Cardiff played 15:00 on Saturday and made three changes to their starting XI. Lost 2-0 at Portsmouth.
- Middlesbrough played 15:00 on Saturday and made two changes to their starting XI. Won 1-0 at QPR.
- Wrexham played 20:00 on Saturday and made six changes to their starting XI. Drew 0-0 at Swansea.
One scored, six conceded.
Whilst the Weds/Saturday thing may well have been a factor, other’s results don’t really support that particularly considering they were all away.
We lost on Saturday because we lost our heads.
I have no objections in principle to NJ making changes and using the squad but he got it very wrong this time.4
