Harsh opinion?

colinpowellsfork

or just a journalist enjoying getting stuck into us for the sake of it?

Mail on Sunday 11/10/09

Parkinson to blame as Charlton blow chance to go top

By Mick Collins

Having gone into the game knowing a three-goal victory would take them to the top of League One, Charlton produced a performance which spoke volumes for their inadequacies.

Oldham, who arrived seeking nothing more than a point, achieved their aim on an afternoon high on scuffle and sweat - woefully low on excitement or craft.
The first half produced one lone chance when Matthew Spring clipped a 38th minute shot beyond the far post of Oldham keeper Dean Brill. The blame for the boredom lay as much with Charlton manager Phil Parkinson, as with his players.

Opting to leave Dean Burton as a lone striker, with the usually purposeful Jonjo Shelvey hopelessly lost in a roaming role was, in the circumstances, a desperately negative move.

With three strikers on the bench, Parkinson then neglected to alter his mis-firing plan until the 63rd minute, which ensured Charlton achieved little more than they deserved.

The gifted Shelvey was eventually sacrificed for Izale McLeod, on a day that was more suited to piano shifters than piano players.

The two chances which followed, as Miguel Llera put a header narrowly over the bar and Kelly Youga sent an overhead kick against the woodwork, were the best Charlton managed all day.

“I’ve got to be happy with a point,” said Oldham manager Dave Penney. “This is a really difficult place to come for a result.”

As over-cautiousness goes, it was a statement to contend with the best of them. On the evidence of the afternoon, ‘difficult’ was the one thing Charlton were not.
But Parkinson was also oddly keen to stress the tricky nature of the afternoon.

“Oldham made it difficult for us,” he said. “We had chances, and you need one of them to go in. The final bit, putting the ball in the back of the net, was where we fell down.”

That Charlton failed to score was a statement of the obvious, that they created any real chances at all is a more contentious claim.

After three league games without a goal, the impetus Charlton enjoyed after their impressive start to the season may be starting to fade. Their squad looks poorly equipped to withstand any major absences and, with a long season remaining in front of them, the lack of guile they demonstrated in their attempts to break down a resolute Oldham side, sorely lacking in ambition, suggest that maintaining that early momentum may be a considerable challenge.

Off_it

Fuck me - anyone would think we'd lost and were rock bottom reading that.

ValleyGary

With no Prem or CCC games this week, the 'top' journo's got to watch some League 1 action. Should have sent this mug to Hartlepool on friday night.

BDL

Mick happens to be a Charlton fan and sometimes posts on here. But I doubt that he's been to Hartlepool. Mr. Collins?

Off_it

I saw you play that ball as it came off the pitch just before the game BDL. Very impressive. You looked as shocked as anyone mind you.

Salad

my main hope for this season was for us to be in the mix at the top, which we are, I am not convinced Leeds will run away with it, so I am really pleased with where we are at the moment - yes it has been a reality check after a blistering start to the season, but we are most certainly in the mix at the top .... with us, Leeds, Norwich and Colchester looking most likely to form the top 4.

JollyRobin

This is just an example of lazy journalism. We've played that 4-5-1 formation and had a lot of success with it since the first game of the season. If Mick Collins was even a half decent journalist he would've looked at our team selections this season and the corresponding results, but clearly he had much better things to do with his time.

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

Does Collins not like Parky or was that just his angle?
What a bore.
I'd rather listen to our heartfelt drivel than any journalist.

Chaz Hill

[cite]Posted By: JollyRobin[/cite]This is just an example of lazy journalism. We've played that 4-5-1 formation and had a lot of success with it since the first game of the season. If Mick Collins was even a half decent journalist he would've looked at our team selections this season and the corresponding results, but clearly he had much better things to do with his time.

As BDL mentioned Mick Collins is something of an expert on Charlton. He has written a book (Rise & Rise of Charlton Ath, I think) and knows the club inside out. Knows what he is talking about I suggest!

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

Collins may be an "expert" on Charlton, doesn't mean his article doesn't suck.

Chizz

[cite]Posted By: Chaz Hill[/cite]

[cite]Posted By: JollyRobin[/cite]This is just an example of lazy journalism. We've played that 4-5-1 formation and had a lot of success with it since the first game of the season. If Mick Collins was even a half decent journalist he would've looked at our team selections this season and the corresponding results, but clearly he had much better things to do with his time.

As BDL mentioned Mick Collins is something of an expert on Charlton. He has written a book (Rise & Rise of Charlton Ath, I think) and knows the club inside out. Knows what he is talking about I suggest!

That doesn't seem to have stopped him spouting nonsense.

Still, what can you expect from the Hate Mail on Sunday?

Chaz Hill

Wasn't at the game myself but seems to fit with a lot of what was said on here by those that were.

Amos on the wing

As others have said Mick is a genuine Charlton fan and has been for years. However, I disagree with most of his post match report. That's football. All about different opinions.

March51

I'm surprised by the tone of the article: doesn't sound like his work at all, absolutely nothing constructive in it at all!

ThreadKiller

can't really say that our second 0-0 in the third division can be viewed as a success. i guess he has just said it how it really is and unfortunately that's going to rub the - this is the best league in the world and we never want to leave it - crowd in the wrong way.

3blokes

I like Mick's writing but I am genuinely surprised by that piece. It wasn't how I saw it as I think we did actually create more than enough chances to win it but we did not take them.
But we all see games differently and he is expressing his view.
He used to produce some great accounts of our games.

kakaka

I agree with a lot of what he said

""Opting to leave Dean Burton as a lone striker, with the usually purposeful Jonjo Shelvey hopelessly lost in a roaming role was, in the circumstances, a desperately negative move.""

At the begining of the season we played 4-4-1-1 and attacked games.
Shelvey seems to be playing deeper and deeper making a 4-5-1, and maybe this is why we have failed to score in the last three league games.

Airman Brown

Seems like fair comment to me. You're not required to agree with the views expressed. Better this than no opinion at all.

cblock

youga and llera hitting the bar would suggest otherwise . but very hard team to breakkdown, not helped by
a very fussy ref, booking their keeper late on when a bit earlier would have set a precedent

Stone

My major concern wa sthat we may as well have just played the 2nd 45 minutes. There was no urgency (yeah ok it was only the first half), why wait until the last 1/4 of the game to start applying pressure?

Kap10

Mick used to work in the communciations department and as mentioed wrote "From Portacabins to Porto Captains", nice guy , son of Patrick Collins, leading sports writer for the Mail On Sunday.

Whilst Mick has said it how it is, it does seem to have undertones of vitriol aimed at Parkie,be inmterested to know if there were any other issues heer

golfaddick

thought he was spot on - report on our game by a true fan and not a sicaphantic (sp) journo. Just wish more reports would tell it as it was like this.

Scoham

[cite]Posted By: kakaka[/cite]I agree with a lot of what he said

""Opting to leave Dean Burton as a lone striker, with the usually purposeful Jonjo Shelvey hopelessly lost in a roaming role was, in the circumstances, a desperately negative move.""

At the begining of the season we played 4-4-1-1 and attacked games.
Shelvey seems to be playing deeper and deeper making a 4-5-1, and maybe this is why we have failed to score in the last three league games.

Good point actually. So many times someone has said on here they don't like 4-5-1, but I've said Jonjo plays right up there, just drops a little deep at times. Against Oldham he was looking more like a midfielder, obviously because he was trying to make things happen. Sometimes perhaps he should be "lazier" and stay further up to support Burton and get the other players to give him the ball, rather than him get the ball himself. He'll be a lot more dangerous up the pitch with the ball than in his own half.

aliwibble

So hitting the woodwork twice doesn't count as real chances then?

Scoham

[cite]Posted By: aliwibble[/cite]So hitting the woodwork twice doesn't count as real chances then?

Spring went very close with his shot as well. I've said before I don't think we were that bad. Another day one of those would have gone in and we'd probably have gone on to win. Would make an average performance look like a decent one.

stilladdicted

I instinctively want to reject everything Mick has said. Trouble is his words have hit a nagging patch of doubt and unease, something I don't want to face up to. I'm retreating to my 'It's too early in the season to tell' position.

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

[cite]Posted By: Airman Brown[/cite]Seems like fair comment to me. You're not required to agree with the views expressed. Better this than no opinion at all.

I should hope we are indeed "not required to agree with the views expressed", Airman.
Isn't that the point of this thread?

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

[cite]Posted By: golfaddick[/cite]thought he was spot on - report on our game by a true fan and not a sicaphantic (sp) journo. Just wish more reports would tell it as it was like this.

Whether he is a "true fan" is irrelevant.
I agree with Kap 10 that there were understones of an anti-parky bent and I just felt the article had been cobbled together to fit that premise.

nigel

''the lack of guile they demonstrated in their attempts to break down a resolute Oldham side, sorely lacking in ambition, suggest that maintaining that early momentum may be a considerable challenge.''

Sadly I think that falls into the realm of fair comment. Hope Mick is wrong, but he's been following Charlton an awful long time (which makes some of the jibes at him above look rather silly) - and which cock-eyed optimist here can honestly put their hand on their heart and say that they don't, in the wee small hours of doubt, have a nagging fear that he might be right ?

golfaddick

spot on Nigel !

Six-a-bag-of-nuts

[cite]Posted By: nigel w[/cite]''the lack of guile they demonstrated in their attempts to break down a resolute Oldham side, sorely lacking in ambition, suggest that maintaining that early momentum may be a considerable challenge.''

Sadly I think that falls into the realm of fair comment.

I'm glad you managed to find one sentence that was fair comment, Nigel. ;-)
You could argue of course that maintaining the start we made would be a considerable challenge for any side.