Incredible upset and we should all be proud as this is the start of the new era. A tremendous 1-1 draw against the mighty Northampton at home in League 1, the league of dreams. We rise to 20th, a great platform for a promotion push.
I hope Holmes was actually injured because otherwise the decision to swap him for Botaka must go down as the worst substitution I have seen for a long time.
As for everything else - Bauer back in for Konsa on Tuesday please. Magennis will be a good foil for Ajose in time. Jacko is the same old analogy of not doing anything in the whole game other than the minor fact of scoring the equaliser. Proved my call for a sub wrong but was the weaker player in the game overall compared to Crofts who looked better than I expected.
Botaka - early days but looked a bit turd to me.
Holmes the star - didn't look injured to me so explain the sub Russ.
As for our prospects, a team who smashed league 2 should be mid table. If we can get two centre mids in and keep Lookman we have a chance at doing something but we need a midfield that isn't bypassed so easily.
In the first half we huffed and puffed without really troubling Northampton but when we came out in the second half we just clicked. We were really good and nearly everything went through Solly and Holmes which makes it a strange why we took Holmes off. We were never quite the same without him.
All in all there was a lot to be optimistic about.
To be honest before the game I thought we would get beat 0-1 because our centre midfield just isn't good enough. So when we went 1 down and it was half time, it was anything surprising.
We could have won it, but we lack that quality edge. We need energy in the middle to stitch things together, we cant hope to feed Ajose on a turn of good quality and hope he does the rest. The longer we starve him of semi decent service, the more his confidence will dwindle.
But, its not a defeat, we scored, JJ showed (again) he has a part to play and we can only grow....quicker if we sign a bit more energy and positivity in centre mid.
Crap goal to have conceded, but with a kid at centre half and the new Pearce, it wasn't too surprising for me. Should have started Bauer imo, but more fitness time for him can only benefit us.
Still not positive, bad week for the club, but some positive transfer intentions will at least help.
First half was pretty shocking. No movement, no pace and no clue going forwards. Konsa looked nervous, Crofts and Jackson looked slow and incapable of making a forward pass.
The second half it all changed and we looked the better side. Konsa looked much better and Solly had a very good game. Crofts started to bring the ball out of defence rather than just passing back every time and the chances started coming. We finally got our goal, a very good finish from Jackson. Lookman looked lively coming on unlike Botaka who looked poor.
Mageniss looked a handful and will be more than good enough for league 1 and Ajose had a few chances in the second half. He will score goals, he just needs the service. He looked good on the turn and got away a few good shots.
All in all a 1-1 was probably a fair result and we're just lacking a couple of centre mids who can bring the ball up the field throughout the game rather than for very small spells.
Didn't go but based on stats on score center we had 60% possession which is good to see, 17 shots, 6 on target, so a complete contrast to last week. this shows we are improving, would be nice to keep lookman start him instead of Jacko and a new CM/Creative player in the middle
Charlton need some energy & creativity in midfield or will struggle to be competitive in this division. It is very evident to lots of Charlton supporters. Lets hope it is evident to Duchatelet & Meire. Given that the club has sold Gudmundsson for 2.5 million & Cousins for 1.4 million, it is not too much to ask for.
Definitely improved second half and thought we played well enough to win. Holmes going off took the sting out of us a bit. If we can get a central midfielder with a bit of pace and creativity then think we will be fine. Actually enjoyed the second half
Early days, much improved from last week and improvement will continue. Botaka only been with us for a couple of days, give the bloke a chance ffs. Crofts was a positive. Players desperate to score and are snatching at chances. Just a bit of composure needed. Play like this on Tuesday and we will get our win.
As for the game we were both equally good and bad in phases.
Before the game I told @cafc luke that Jacko would score with his feet for the first time in a few years! And what a way to do it. Haven't gone that mental in a long time. Love that man so much.
Terrible first half, much improved second half. Slade's Charlton still very much a work in progress, and he should be very, very grateful for Jackson's goal.
First half looked nervous and stood off. Second we came out with a bit of purpose and seemed to stun them a bit. Great finish from JJ, still think we lack a midfielder who can use his pace and agility to spring defence from attack.
First half we looked like a team that's not has a lot of game time together. Second half we were getting v our act together. Botaka's first outing so we can give him the benefit of the doubt in that he probably wanted to impress and it didn't happen.
Went today as I wanted to gauge the atmosphere and see how the season might shape up.
Based on the ninety minutes I witnessed I will make some very early and judgemental observations and predictions. ( Luckily I didn't make them at half time which is probably the lowest I've felt as a Charlton fan.)
The Valley will never be a 'fortress' if we play like we did in the first half. The most insipid, uninspiring performance I have witnessed.
Crofts and Foley can be filed under the word 'tidy.' However, there isn't a creative intent amongst either of them. A most uninspiring combination.
Konsa is a fine footballer. He reads the game, can play himself out of trouble and has the ability to go very far. He needs to improve in the air but aside fro, a few misplaced passes I thought he had a decent game.
I was underwhelmed by Pearce. Doesn't have the presence I was expecting but willing to give him time.
Solly is class. We all know that if course but in this league he really stands out.
Ajose was anonymous first half due to how we played. Second half when we played with a higher tempo he was always involved. Created a couple of chances for himself. He needs to have chances created for him by others to be the player he was last season.
Magennis ran around a lot and worked hard but I didn't really see him outmuscle or out jump anyone. Again, will give him time.
Holmes started well but faded I thought. This coincided with him starting to have to do too much by himself. He also received a couple of heavy tackles. An exciting player to watch.
Slade has to take responsibility for the shocking first half. We played long ball after long ball and got nowhere. Credit him for a half time team talk that made a difference.
I also believe the decision to drop Johnson was not football related. I can see him being frozen out further.
There was one anti Katrien song and nothing sung about RD.
Despite the second half performance today was another sorry day to be a Charlton fan. The crowd, the atmosphere, the general apathy was more evident than before. I'm not proud to say I was fairly happy to see us lose today if it hurrried up the regime's departure.
Finally. I don't care where he plays just make sure Johnnie Jackson is on the pitch when we play at The Valley. He had a good game today and popped up with yet another vital goal and equally passionate celebration. Quite frankly, aside from Solly, there is nobody in the squad who carries a team and a crowd like he can.
Went today as I wanted to gauge the atmosphere and see how the season might shape up.
Based on the ninety minutes I witnessed I will make some very early and judgemental observations and predictions. ( Luckily I didn't make them at half time which is probably the lowest I've felt as a Charlton fan.)
The Valley will never be a 'fortress' if we play like we did in the first half. The most insipid, uninspiring performance I have witnessed.
Crofts and Foley can be filed under the word 'tidy.' However, there isn't a creative intent amongst either of them. A most uninspiring combination.
Konsa is a fine footballer. He reads the game, can play himself out of trouble and has the ability to go very far. He needs to improve in the air but aside fro, a few misplaced passes I thought he had a decent game.
I was underwhelmed by Pearce. Doesn't have the presence I was expecting but willing to give him time.
Solly is class. We all know that if course but in this league he really stands out.
Ajose was anonymous first half due to how we played. Second half when we played with a higher tempo he was always involved. Created a couple of chances for himself. He needs to have chances created for him by others to be the player he was last season.
Magennis ran around a lot and worked hard but I didn't really see him outmuscle or out jump anyone. Again, will give him time.
Holmes started well but faded I thought. This coincided with him starting to have to do too much by himself. He also received a couple of heavy tackles. An exciting player to watch.
Slade has to take responsibility for the shocking first half. We played long ball after long ball and got nowhere. Credit him for a half time team talk that made a difference.
I also believe the decision to drop Johnson was not football related. I can see him being frozen out further.
There was one anti Katrien song and nothing sung about RD.
Despite the second half performance today was another sorry day to be a Charlton fan. The crowd, the atmosphere, the general apathy was som ore evident than before. I'm not proud to say I was fairly happy to see us lose today if it hurried up the regime's departure.
Finally. I don't care where he plays just make sure Johnnie Jackson is on the pitch when we play at The Valley. He had a good game today and popped up with yet another vital goal and equally passionate celebration. Quite frankly, aside from Solly, there is nobody in the squad who carries a team and a crowd like he can.
Brilliant sums up how I feel/felt today! To have 11,000 fans there with 1,300 away and at least 2k freebies shows you the problem! Will be interesting to see how people feel towards the regime if we start winning -as I'm desperate for KM & RD to not be given the chance to sweep what's happened under the rug, something I can see happening should things go well!
First half was dross, we were awful and yet again it was the midfield that was the problem. Konsa had a stinker as well and looked out of his depth.
Second half was better but to be honest it couldn't have got much worse.
Magennis looked decent, don't think he'll score a shedload but he is a handfull and worked his nuts off. Feel sorry for Ajose, we are not playing to his strengths at all. He did however, have a couple of chances and once one goes in he'll hopefully fly.
People saying Konsa looked better in the second half need to remember that Northampton raised very little threat after half time.
I'll give him a chance, but Botaka looked very poor. His nickname is the wizard and as @ricky_otto said "he's more Ron Weasley than Harry Potter".
We need to try and get 90mins out of Holmes as the threat died when he went off. I actually think he was carrying a knock for most of the second half and suspect that is why he went off.
Slade needs to have a word with Lookman. He is overplaying at the moment. He can't do it all on his own.
The central midfield is a huge concern. Foley's first move is always backwards, Crofts is horribly one paced and gives the ball away constantly, yes Jackson scored but the game passed him by for the most part. It needs to be addressed or we will not be challenging at the correct end of the table.
Northampton are now unbeaten in 27 games so were always going to be a tough nut to crack, did we do enough to win? Nah.
So we've signed three strikers, two wingers and have an England u19 international and our first (and only) goal or the season still comes from Johnnie Jackson.
Could someone start a thread writing him off as past it today please? That way we just have to keep it tight at the back and we'll come away with a 1-0 win.
Just got back and I have heard that we have to judge the club on results.
One point from six is what they ask us to judge them on today.
It is chite and we have dropped five points that personally I wanted and they have not delivered.
Having been at Bury lasy week the game today, especially the first half was a continuation.
Northampton scored with an excellent header, coming right out of the angle of the sun at Rudd, but it was headed back and down across him and was an excellent finish. Their goalscorer was barely challenged though, and Jacko backed away and invited the cross when he should have attacked the ball. We had a bit of a flurry towards half time, and we learned that Maginnis has a long throw. Overall though it was dire, with Foley Crofts and jackson not working at all, and Holmes targeted by Northampton so once again any ball to our forwards was pretty paltry fare. Konsa had a dicky five minutes in the first half, but overall he was very good indeed and in my view is alongside Solly for our best player today.
In the second half Jacko scored well...isn't it amazing that nearly every time Jacko scores it is a meaningful goal?...this helped to mitigate his error with Northamptons goal.
We huffed and puffed and looked dangerous sporadically, but were unable to breach a resolute Northampton defence, and indeed they threatened once or twice to snatch a winner. Rudd had little to do. Aside from the Northampton goal the defence played well, with Solly in particular saving us on a few dodgy occasions. Midfield was poor until Lookman came on and Jacko moved inside, but the introduction of the new bloke Jason did not improve us. It is best to reserve judgement on this weeks two new boys though. I thought it was a better game from Ajose and I believe he will hit a run of form at some point...he has to.
In terms of our prospects based on the first two league games we are still 'miles away'.
Very disappointed again today. I won't comment on other events around today's match in this particular post.
Comments
Sorry, been at the wine since 1pm.
As for everything else - Bauer back in for Konsa on Tuesday please. Magennis will be a good foil for Ajose in time. Jacko is the same old analogy of not doing anything in the whole game other than the minor fact of scoring the equaliser. Proved my call for a sub wrong but was the weaker player in the game overall compared to Crofts who looked better than I expected.
Botaka - early days but looked a bit turd to me.
Holmes the star - didn't look injured to me so explain the sub Russ.
As for our prospects, a team who smashed league 2 should be mid table. If we can get two centre mids in and keep Lookman we have a chance at doing something but we need a midfield that isn't bypassed so easily.
Magennis did well on his debut.
That's about it, apart from Botaka having his boots on the wrong feet.
In the first half we huffed and puffed without really troubling Northampton but when we came out in the second half we just clicked.
We were really good and nearly everything went through Solly and Holmes which makes it a strange why we took Holmes off.
We were never quite the same without him.
All in all there was a lot to be optimistic about.
Good game.
We could have won it, but we lack that quality edge. We need energy in the middle to stitch things together, we cant hope to feed Ajose on a turn of good quality and hope he does the rest. The longer we starve him of semi decent service, the more his confidence will dwindle.
But, its not a defeat, we scored, JJ showed (again) he has a part to play and we can only grow....quicker if we sign a bit more energy and positivity in centre mid.
Crap goal to have conceded, but with a kid at centre half and the new Pearce, it wasn't too surprising for me. Should have started Bauer imo, but more fitness time for him can only benefit us.
Still not positive, bad week for the club, but some positive transfer intentions will at least help.
The second half it all changed and we looked the better side. Konsa looked much better and Solly had a very good game. Crofts started to bring the ball out of defence rather than just passing back every time and the chances started coming. We finally got our goal, a very good finish from Jackson. Lookman looked lively coming on unlike Botaka who looked poor.
Mageniss looked a handful and will be more than good enough for league 1 and Ajose had a few chances in the second half. He will score goals, he just needs the service. He looked good on the turn and got away a few good shots.
All in all a 1-1 was probably a fair result and we're just lacking a couple of centre mids who can bring the ball up the field throughout the game rather than for very small spells.
MOTM, Solly.
Spotted Ajose at the station.
Before the game I told @cafc luke that Jacko would score with his feet for the first time in a few years! And what a way to do it. Haven't gone that mental in a long time. Love that man so much.
Based on the ninety minutes I witnessed I will make some very early and judgemental observations and predictions. ( Luckily I didn't make them at half time which is probably the lowest I've felt as a Charlton fan.)
The Valley will never be a 'fortress' if we play like we did in the first half. The most insipid, uninspiring performance I have witnessed.
Crofts and Foley can be filed under the word 'tidy.' However, there isn't a creative intent amongst either of them. A most uninspiring combination.
Konsa is a fine footballer. He reads the game, can play himself out of trouble and has the ability to go very far. He needs to improve in the air but aside fro, a few misplaced passes I thought he had a decent game.
I was underwhelmed by Pearce. Doesn't have the presence I was expecting but willing to give him time.
Solly is class. We all know that if course but in this league he really stands out.
Ajose was anonymous first half due to how we played. Second half when we played with a higher tempo he was always involved. Created a couple of chances for himself. He needs to have chances created for him by others to be the player he was last season.
Magennis ran around a lot and worked hard but I didn't really see him outmuscle or out jump anyone. Again, will give him time.
Holmes started well but faded I thought. This coincided with him starting to have to do too much by himself. He also received a couple of heavy tackles. An exciting player to watch.
Slade has to take responsibility for the shocking first half. We played long ball after long ball and got nowhere. Credit him for a half time team talk that made a difference.
I also believe the decision to drop Johnson was not football related. I can see him being frozen out further.
There was one anti Katrien song and nothing sung about RD.
Despite the second half performance today was another sorry day to be a Charlton fan. The crowd, the atmosphere, the general apathy was more evident than before. I'm not proud to say I was fairly happy to see us lose today if it hurrried up the regime's departure.
Finally. I don't care where he plays just make sure Johnnie Jackson is on the pitch when we play at The Valley. He had a good game today and popped up with yet another vital goal and equally passionate celebration. Quite frankly, aside from Solly, there is nobody in the squad who carries a team and a crowd like he can.
To have 11,000 fans there with 1,300 away and at least 2k freebies shows you the problem!
Will be interesting to see how people feel towards the regime if we start winning -as I'm desperate for KM & RD to not be given the chance to sweep what's happened under the rug, something I can see happening should things go well!
Second half was better but to be honest it couldn't have got much worse.
Magennis looked decent, don't think he'll score a shedload but he is a handfull and worked his nuts off. Feel sorry for Ajose, we are not playing to his strengths at all. He did however, have a couple of chances and once one goes in he'll hopefully fly.
People saying Konsa looked better in the second half need to remember that Northampton raised very little threat after half time.
I'll give him a chance, but Botaka looked very poor. His nickname is the wizard and as @ricky_otto said "he's more Ron Weasley than Harry Potter".
We need to try and get 90mins out of Holmes as the threat died when he went off. I actually think he was carrying a knock for most of the second half and suspect that is why he went off.
Slade needs to have a word with Lookman. He is overplaying at the moment. He can't do it all on his own.
The central midfield is a huge concern. Foley's first move is always backwards, Crofts is horribly one paced and gives the ball away constantly, yes Jackson scored but the game passed him by for the most part. It needs to be addressed or we will not be challenging at the correct end of the table.
Northampton are now unbeaten in 27 games so were always going to be a tough nut to crack, did we do enough to win? Nah.
Could someone start a thread writing him off as past it today please? That way we just have to keep it tight at the back and we'll come away with a 1-0 win.
Just got back and I have heard that we have to judge the club on results.
One point from six is what they ask us to judge them on today.
It is chite and we have dropped five points that personally I wanted and they have not delivered.
Having been at Bury lasy week the game today, especially the first half was a continuation.
Northampton scored with an excellent header, coming right out of the angle of the sun at Rudd, but it was headed back and down across him and was an excellent finish. Their goalscorer was barely challenged though, and Jacko backed away and invited the cross when he should have attacked the ball. We had a bit of a flurry towards half time, and we learned that Maginnis has a long throw. Overall though it was dire, with Foley Crofts and jackson not working at all, and Holmes targeted by Northampton so once again any ball to our forwards was pretty paltry fare.
Konsa had a dicky five minutes in the first half, but overall he was very good indeed and in my view is alongside Solly for our best player today.
In the second half Jacko scored well...isn't it amazing that nearly every time Jacko scores it is a meaningful goal?...this helped to mitigate his error with Northamptons goal.
We huffed and puffed and looked dangerous sporadically, but were unable to breach a resolute Northampton defence, and indeed they threatened once or twice to snatch a winner. Rudd had little to do. Aside from the Northampton goal the defence played well, with Solly in particular saving us on a few dodgy occasions. Midfield was poor until Lookman came on and Jacko moved inside, but the introduction of the new bloke Jason did not improve us. It is best to reserve judgement on this weeks two new boys though. I thought it was a better game from Ajose and I believe he will hit a run of form at some point...he has to.
In terms of our prospects based on the first two league games we are still 'miles away'.
Very disappointed again today. I won't comment on other events around today's match in this particular post.