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Fluctuations in performance

edited April 2018 in General Charlton
Players make individual mistakes, it happens (particularly at this level), and sometimes those mistakes cost games (like tonight).

What’s more concerning to me though is the level of performance seems to have dipped in the last two games. Or had it just simply spiked in the three before it?

Whatever it is, knowing the level of performance that is achievable and not hitting that’s level consistently is increasingly disappointing.

Big game Saturday now.
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Comments

  • Players make individual mistakes, it happens (particularly at this level), and sometimes those mistakes cost games (like tonight).

    What’s more concerning to me though is the level of performance has dipped seems to have dipped in the last two games. Or had just simply spiked in the three before it?

    Whatever it is, knowing the level of performance that is achievable and not hitting that’s level consistently is increasingly disappointing.

    Big game Saturday now.

    I wonder how much another teams preparation against their opponents tactics can effect the result of a game. Is new manager bounce a myth or just that? Do teams that do not have the required data to form a more effective game plan against the opposition tactics lose more?

    Did we will those first 3 games under Bowyer because there was a radical change from the slow 4-5-1 under Robinson? It's hard to say really.
  • Easy to blame the manager (I've done it myself with KR). Lots of talk about Lee simplifying the instructions, changing the formation being the cause for the upturn in performance - I can't imagine he has changed tac and started complicating things so if it's not the instructions, and if it's not the formation that causes these kind of appalling performances then it has to fall at the motivation and commitment of the players.

    I think one or two people need to have a look in the mirror and ask themselves if they earned their wages tonight.

    This is the first real test of Bowyer as an aspiring manager - he needs to be brave enough to make some changes (which the previous encumbent was unwilling to do) and have some very serious conversations with a few of the players who were out there tonight.

    We all have bad days at the office but for this group of players that has happened one too many times this season and they can't hide behind and blame KR this time.


  • Who knows, could be as simple as we haven’t got enough traditional lower league scrapping players and the pitch in the last two games is a big disadvantage to us
  • Comes down to character and balls in my view, players with those in abundance find a way to get a result on a consistent basis.
  • I know the last two games we have played poorly but had we not made those two defensive errors we would be sitting pretty with an extra four points.
  • Yeah thought that for a long time today. We were lucky to get nil. An absolutely static performance completely devoid of creativeity or intelligence. I think Bowyer has to shoulder a lot of the blame. I think our 4-4-2, which at times looked flat and at times had the left winger tucking in, was wholly predictable, and played right into their hands. Gone was the movement and interchange up front that made us so good in previous games.

    As to the why, I do think teams make it hard to play at this level. And the physical nature of individual games, let alone a season, must take their toll. I don't know, I wish I knew, but we looked unrecognizable to the team from two weeks ago, but completely consistent with the one a month ago.
  • Losing, without scoring, against AFC Wimbledon appears to be our level now. Can't blame the players: they're simply not good enough. Can't blame the manager: he hasn't been able to acquire anyone any better.

    Seems to me that Saturday is a big game. Because it's looking like it's the penultimate home game before RD decides which players he flogs in the Summer and which if the U23s gets promoted to replace them.

    I've not felt this bleak for a long time.
  • I thought we looked out on our feet on Saturday v rovers, and wondered how we would get zip and energy back into our play in the remaining fixtures.

    So I’m not surprised about tonight’s result, we have got a tough run, I’m not sure whether this group of players collectively have got the mental strength to get over the line?

    Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but always thought it would be one heck of an achievement to go up this season.

    We can’t just give up though, players need to get the fans back on board again.
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  • New Manager Bounce


    But what goes up must come back down to original level.
  • We had a poor team out there today. Square pegs in round holes. Players just not good enough on the night. Players just not good enough, full stop. Players probably tired. Players on the bench who have been playing well lately (Dijksteel and Ajose) who many expected to be on the pitch. We are missing Fosu who has been a great player for us all season. A player made a rare error that gifted them a goal.

    There are lots of reasons why it didn't click tonight, and it's likely a combination of all those things that lead to the utter shambles we all witnessed tonight. I think it's likely the reason we saw the team we did is because Bowyer is looking at the Scunthorpe game and the need to keep them below us, and he probably underestimated the fight that AFC would up. He was saving players. I think it's also why Reeves came off early and Kaikai despite his complete lack of any use, managed to get a few more minutes. I expect to see a full strength squad out there on Saturday and hopefully the players will have the same attitude they had in Bowyer's first three games in charge, as opposed to his last two.
  • Chizz said:

    Can't blame the players: they're simply not good enough. Can't blame the manager: he hasn't been able to acquire anyone any better.
    .

    That’s the thing @Chizz i think they are good enough. I had expected us to click and come good for months, eventually gave up on it and accepted I was wrong, and then The Plymouth, N’Ton, Rotherham performances turned up. They were the level of performance I was collectively expecting from our squad all season.

    I think our players ARE collectively / potentially good enough to be successful at this level
    Somewhere in Sheffield, a Belgian woman is sitting on her sofa, quietly chuckling to herself and convinced that we have done the one, obvious thing that guarantees that we will fail: we haven't changed our manager for several weeks.
  • edited April 2018

    Chizz said:

    Can't blame the players: they're simply not good enough. Can't blame the manager: he hasn't been able to acquire anyone any better.
    .

    That’s the thing @Chizz i think they are good enough. I had expected us to click and come good for months, eventually gave up on it and accepted I was wrong, and then The Plymouth, N’Ton, Rotherham performances turned up. They were the level of performance I was collectively expecting from our squad all season.

    I think our players ARE collectively / potentially good enough to be successful at this level
    I agree, I think we should be good enough.

    Look, Wimbledon are a tough, physical side set up to sit deep, hit teams on the counter, and generally make life miserable for the opposition. They don't concede many, in fact they've conceded few than us despite being 14 places lower.

    This is the type of team I would have expected us to struggle against going in to this season. And if this were the exception rather than the mean, you could say "bad day at the office against a team of well drilled cloggers." But we've had this exact type of performance against various teams, in various conditions, with different personnel in different formations. And to me, someone sat here in their living room, it looks like we do a lot of the basics wrong--not enough movement off the ball, not looking to play triangles, getting too far apart in possession, struggling to build from our center backs. It's hard to play the kind of football we play, Inter Milan versus Barcelona over two legs in the Champions League a few years back springs to mind. But it's not like we're creating chances and not taking them, or even having moves break down in the final third, we can't even get there.
  • Chizz said:

    Losing, without scoring, against AFC Wimbledon appears to be our level now. Can't blame the players: they're simply not good enough. Can't blame the manager: he hasn't been able to acquire anyone any better.

    Seems to me that Saturday is a big game. Because it's looking like it's the penultimate home game before RD decides which players he flogs in the Summer and which if the U23s gets promoted to replace them.

    I've not felt this bleak for a long time.

    Chizz, get ready to whoosh me because I'm amazed you can write "can't blame the players"! Dons displayed guts and commitment throughout, whereas our boys were the opposite. Mistakes and lack of skill are bad enough, but going missing for 90 minutes is utterly unacceptable.
  • Chizz said:

    Losing, without scoring, against AFC Wimbledon appears to be our level now. Can't blame the players: they're simply not good enough. Can't blame the manager: he hasn't been able to acquire anyone any better.

    Seems to me that Saturday is a big game. Because it's looking like it's the penultimate home game before RD decides which players he flogs in the Summer and which if the U23s gets promoted to replace them.

    I've not felt this bleak for a long time.

    Chizz, get ready to whoosh me because I'm amazed you can write "can't blame the players"! Dons displayed guts and commitment throughout, whereas our boys were the opposite. Mistakes and lack of skill are bad enough, but going missing for 90 minutes is utterly unacceptable.
    Can't blame the players simply because they're not good enough. It's not their fault. They're simply - comparatively - not good enough.

    We've played Wimbledon three times this season and avoided defeat only once. Bit we've flogged the player who scored in the win.

    Much as I would love for us next season to be playing teams like Southampton or Stoke who are currently in the Prem, it's clear that we are not good enough to beat teams who are close to be playing in League 2 next season.

    So that's the reason I don't think the players can't be blamed. They're simply not very good.
  • MrOneLung said:

    New Manager Bounce


    But what goes up must come back down to original level.

    This. The players got an immediate lift once Gobby left but have now reverted to type. I'll swing if I see any of them "kiss the badge" if they score (although going by this evenings performance I may be waiting some time). They don't care & have no affinity with the club. Its just a job to them.
  • MrOneLung said:

    New Manager Bounce


    But what goes up must come back down to original level.

    This. The players got an immediate lift once Gobby left but have now reverted to type. I'll swing if I see any of them "kiss the badge" if they score (although going by this evenings performance I may be waiting some time). They don't care & have no affinity with the club. Its just a job to them.
    As it is to all other 91 teams in the four divisions. Don't kid yourself otherwise.
  • Chizz said:

    Can't blame the players: they're simply not good enough. Can't blame the manager: he hasn't been able to acquire anyone any better.
    .

    That’s the thing @Chizz i think they are good enough. I had expected us to click and come good for months, eventually gave up on it and accepted I was wrong, and then The Plymouth, N’Ton, Rotherham performances turned up. They were the level of performance I was collectively expecting from our squad all season.

    I think our players ARE collectively / potentially good enough to be successful at this level
    This lot should be up there with the likes of Wigan and Blackburn but due to lack of tactical nous from the fat bloke after 36 games, we are 20 points adrift. Since he's gone we have seen an improvement that we all expect from a Charlton side. Last night they were not at it, but it's not over yet.
  • cfgs said:

    Comes down to character and balls in my view, players with those in abundance find a way to get a result on a consistent basis.

    Exactly this. Just look a few miles west in Millwall.
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  • I would say the turnaround & the 3 wins that Bowyer pulled out of the hat were pretty miraculous given the utter drivel Robinson was producing.

    Maybe our expectations were too high, after all he inherited the detritus left from our worst RD era manager.

    Grateful that he has at least given us a sniff of the play-offs as we were going in the opposite direction before Oxford came to our rescue.
  • Just above average squad, just above average ex manager, rookie manager with a few games left = finish in a average league position.

    And before anyone says Shrewsbury they've had a very special season that I'd imagine will be a bit of a one of for then. Sometimes that happens
  • Far too many loan signings at Charlton.
    They all know they will be returning to their parent clubs in a few weeks time so they don't have the same urgency at this time.of the season as players who are fighting for their future at the club.

    I know Da silva has played well this season and at times Mavadidi has too.
    But if possible next season I would like to have more permanent signings and only a couple of loanees.
  • Far too many loan signings at Charlton.
    They all know they will be returning to their parent clubs in a few weeks time so they don't have the same urgency at this time.of the season as players who are fighting for their future at the club.

    I know Da silva has played well this season and at times Mavadidi has too.
    But if possible next season I would like to have more permanent signings and only a couple of loanees.

    Agree with this.

    No surprise that on the poorer pitches where you need to win ugly, the loan players don’t want to play ugly, physical football putting themselves at a greater risk of injury and we don’t perform as a team.

    I think 1 or 2 outfield loanees is the maximum we should have on the field at any time.
  • Bowyer appointed by default, because Two Shats doesn't want to pay out.
    Team wins three matches under Bowyer's leadership.
    Club puts out a message that he's got the gig until the end of the season.
    Team doesn't win again.

    It's quite elementary my dear Watson; Duchatalet is sheer poison. We'll never enjoy positive consistency all the time he owns us. Time to step up the pressure. Forget about play-off dreams; if it happens, it happens but the real prize is getting Roly to sell.
  • We have a top half quality squad that might make the play-offs. Robinson signed players for his system, the squad has plenty of nice technical players, not enough solid, reliable more physical players. Then there's the obvious lack of a 20 goal striker.

    On our day we're good enough but anyone from Rotherham to Scunthorpe can say that. I imagine we all have similar weaknesses such as not having enough goalscorers, relying on our better players etc.

    If we do go up this squad would need a lot of investment to stay up in the Championship.
  • Missing Fosu could be factor, we seem to be passing sideways a lot since he got injured.
  • Think part of it, at least, is what's going on in their heads. As the end of season nears the players know as well as we do that they need to get points. This puts pressure on them individually and they make mistakes, unforced errors and take unnecessary risks. It happens at all levels and is the difference between good solid, confident, teams. Look at Man City - as they approach the end of season - with Premier League title and Champions League titles possible - they are buckling under the pressure. They haven't lost their individual skills - but belief is evaporating. On the reverse a strong, confident team (with not much to lose) like our nearby rivals are in the opposite position...
  • Was always going to be a tough ask to win every game between Plymouth and the end of the season

    Everyone predicted that we'd lose one or two and to do that you usually need to have a poor performance... Would much prefer to have lost one of the last two than one of the six pointers that are coming up.

    Dont think we're missing Fosu as much as people are thinking

    It was 0-0 when he went off against Rotherham and we coped well without him
  • I think the main problem with the side we have is that they can't play on shitty league 1 pitches, our 2 worst performances under Bowyer have come on bogs. Our squad doesn't have any big strong players to play any other way
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