Better second half and we should have won it then. Tranmere just came to frustratate and succeeded. Hopefully a turning point. However we desperately need someone with drive in the centre of midfield where we sorely lacked again. Racon did better while playing wide in the second half but the total lack of any clue in the middle of the field has been so apparent all season.
Definitely not the worst we've been this season. But how much that was to do with useless opposition with a total lack of ambition, I'm not sure. Powell claims the point means we've ''stopped the rot'' , but today we'd have been annihilated by a half-decent team.
Huge rebuilding necessary in the summer. The likes of Elliott, Francis, Benson, MacCormack, Reed, Fortune and the absent Doherty aren't good enough. Old man Dailly is increasingly starting to worry me. And I'm not sure Racon and Semedo are going to be up for a third season in div three (if, as seems likely, that's where we still are). That leaves Jenkinson, Solly, Wagstaff, Jackson, Anyinsah (if he can stop breaking down every other game) and Wright-Phillips as the nucleus for next season.
And possibly Llera? MoM today - just as he was the last time I saw him, way back on Nov 27. Defends better then Doherty and Fortune, hits an impressive diagonal ball forward and probably poses more of a goal threat in the oppo's box than any of our other defenders. Yes, he makes a few silly errors. But so does everyone else in this benighted team. I think he's not that far away from being a really decent player...
First half carried on where we left off Tuesday. Jenks, Llera and Waggy the only three really looking anywhere near at the races although Racon produced one moment of skill before shooting over and McOxo covered a lot of ground to narrowly miss connecting with a cross from (I think) Jenkinson. Left side anyway.
Second half they did at least look as if they wanted it a bit more. Llera deserves the goal but BWP's arse will be credited once more! Worner fills me with considerably less confidence than Elliot does though. I thought they all gave it a decent shot second half even McOxo who seemed to grow in cofidnce after sprinting across the field to make that sliding challenge in front of the East Stand.
I have no expectation of upwardly leaving this division now this season so I hope Powelly picks teams who will give their best and move off the ball for each other which was the reason for the sideways passing which antagonised our moronic element.
Very very poor - didn't think we could get any worse than Tuesday but in the first half we certainly were and Tranmere were a much poorer side than Carlisle. Yet again Powell got his team selection wrong, whilst he was right to ditch 4-4-3 in favour of 4-4-2 but putting Racon wide left was a big mistake - I knew that Racon would drift into the centre and leave Jenkinson unsupported and exposed - and that is exaxtly what happened - Jenkinson has a right go at Racon late in first half for not tracking back quickly enough Again Jenkinson was one of the few pluses - no-one in midfield could hold onto the ball and McCormack's natural reaction is always to turn his back on goal nad pass backwards or sideways - all too often it was Daily, Liera and Jenkinson who were the only ones bringing the ball forward into midfield and beyond. Up front the Benson/BWP partnership didn't work at all although the service to them was poor again and the Tranmere centre half was constantly leaning on and pulling Benson's shirt. 2nd half better after the goal but still didn't create enough chances - one decent cross from Francis late (and it was about the only decent thing he did all game) should have resulted in goal but the forwards just couldn't make contact.
Pluses - another confident performance from Jenkinson - final ball not always good but he brought the ball forward with intent when the midfield were mostly static. Llera and Dailly both had good games and Wagstaff had a good second half playing on right wing.
I've seen a lot worse over the last few years from us. With Tranmere playing the way they did, it was what I expected. Unfortunately we just don't have the quality to break through a team sitting back like that.
Same problems like a lack of creativity and drive from the midfield as usual, but I can't get frustrated about it, the players are trying they just don't have it in their game.
I really don't know what some of our fans want. Long balls they boo, but they also boo if we keep possession. I suppose it's not just us, some Brighton fans apparently moaned early on in the season about the way they were playing. We don't have the players to play short quick passes in tight spaces, so if we're going to pass the ball it sometimes has to go backwards. Just have to find the balance between taking risks and keeping the ball.
Poor mistake by Francis for their goal, second half he did quite well going forward though. Crosses weren't always good but sometimes he was crossing into a crowded penalty area so the cross has to be perfect.
I expected Llera to have a good solid game, and that's exactly what he did. He's also more comfortable on the ball than Doherty which is useful when the opposition aren't much of a threat.
Thought Racon didn't want to play wide under Parky? Perhaps he was told they needed him to do it for the good of the team.
Jenkinson did quite well, as Henry said it makes you wonder why we brought Bessone in. I'd like to see Solly get a chance this season as his contracts up in the summer. Would Powell play both Jenkinson and Solly though, and will he drop Francis for the mistake he made?
[cite]Posted By: Mundell Fleming[/cite]There was a notable moment around the 55th minute when he and Semedo had the ball between them and in space. Jenkinson took charge. Good for him, but it was a sad reflection on our midfield fulcrum. The team simply lacks leaders.
I noticed that as well - a positive sign, but also a bit of a sad reflection on where we are currently at.
Like others have said, I thought Llera had a decent game. He may always be close to making some sort of howler, but at least he looks to do something with the ball when he has it.
As for the overall performance, I think that we were lucky that Tranmere came with limited ambitions of getting a point.
Had that been another team with more attacking intent and quality going forward then I think we could have been looking at defeat number five.
Agree with comments about Worner - his lack of height and tendancy to flap at high balls worries me. If Elliott is going to be out for a while then that will be one of our 2 remaining loans used up although I do expect one of the 2 left backs to be sent back
[cite]Posted By: Scoham[/cite]I've seen a lot worse over the last few years from us. With Tranmere playing the way they did, it was what I expected. Unfortunately we just don't have the quality to break through a team sitting back like that.
Same problems like a lack of creativity and drive from the midfield as usual, but I can't get frustrated about it, the players are trying they just don't have it in their game.
I really don't know what some of our fans want. Long balls they boo, but they also boo if we keep possession. I suppose it's not just us, some Brighton fans apparently moaned early on in the season about the way they were playing. We don't have the players to play short quick passes in tight spaces, so if we're going to pass the ball it sometimes has to go backwards. Just have to find the balance between taking risks and keeping the ball.
Poor mistake by Francis for their goal, second half he did quite well going forward though. Crosses weren't always good but sometimes he was crossing into a crowded penalty area so the cross has to be perfect.
I expected Llera to have a good solid game, and that's exactly what he did. He's also more comfortable on the ball than Doherty which is useful when the opposition aren't much of a threat.
Thought Racon didn't want to play wide under Parky? Perhaps he was told they needed him to do it for the good of the team.
Jenkinson did quite well, as Henry said it makes you wonder why we brought Bessone in. I'd like to see Solly get a chance this season as his contracts up in the summer. Would Powell play both Jenkinson and Solly though, and will he drop Francis for the mistake he made?
Well I certainly didn't boo them when we kept possession but I did have a moan a couple of times because you could see that the ball was going to end up either back with Elliott or wellied forward to one of their centre halves - it seems to me that the central midfielders are lacking the confidence to take the ball forward - also its about movement off the ball and having the vision to pick out the player in space which none of our team seem to have - even Liera was blind to the space that Jenkinson was creating out on the left at times.
We need more bodies moving into space (and that includes the 2 forwards who were far too static for my liking early on) and players with the confidenced to put their foot on the ball and look up and make a forward pass to a player in space.
Just quickly because me dinner's ready...I like Llera and I liked his performance today but he was only up against ONE forward and NO marauding midfielders pissing through our midfield, so had loads of time on the ball (which he used well as usual). Good for him and hope he really nails down his place now...he's a good man.
PS: Anyone know why BWP came off? If he's not injured then that was baffling? If he was injured then fair enough.
shocking first half, was almost ready to give up at half time and go....decided to give it another 15 mins and at least they came out alot better in the 2nd half.
Jenkinson had his best game (still don't like him at LB though), Francis had a shocker for the goal but was pretty good in the second half, how nobody got on the end of his cross at the end I'll never know. Llera and Dailly did o.k, but only had 1 man to mark between them and he still scored (albeit from a Francis mistake)
BWP is a class act with a great touch, just needs some better players around him - though him and Benson linked up pretty well and without Big Joe, then Benson has to play I think with him.
Racon alot better when he went in the middle, wasted out wide in the first half.....Semedo, his worst game for us but I forgive him.
Why does Powell leave it till the 80th min to make the subs, should've been done with 25 mins left when we were on the front foot and the crowd were up...Reid had to come on then
[cite]Posted By: Elthamaddick[/cite]shocking first half, was almost ready to give up at half time and go....decided to give it another 15 mins and at least they came out alot better in the 2nd half.
Jenkinson had his best game (still don't like him at LB though), Francis had a shocker for the goal but was pretty good in the second half, how nobody got on the end of his cross at the end I'll never know. Llera and Dailly did o.k, but only had 1 man to mark between them and he still scored (albeit from a Francis mistake)
BWP is a class act with a great touch, just needs some better players around him - though him and Benson linked up pretty well and without Big Joe, then Benson has to play I think with him.
Racon alot better when he went in the middle, wasted out wide in the first half.....Semedo, his worst game for us but I forgive him.
Why does Powell leave it till the 80th min to make the subs, should've been done with 25 mins left when we were on the front foot and the crowd were up...Reid had to come on then
Agree with most of this. I am willing to give any new manager time to learn their trade on the job so to speak but I just can't see how leaving the subs that late can ever be a good plan. By all means keep ONE up your sleeve to try and catch the oppo out in the last ten minutes but don't leave it that late for a tactical masterstroke!
utter shit
tranmere came to lose they were a proper pub side and they still got a point
really gutted
as said above if we'd played a half decent side we'd have got mullered today
we'll have to improve big time if we're to get anything from MK on tuesday
10% chance of play offs 90% we carry on being the footballing laughing stock of south london
It really shows how important a goal scorer is today....
BWP rescued a point for us with an intinctive prod (the original shot was going wide I think, other people on here have the same too).
Its imperitive that if we dont go up this season we keep hold of him, because although he isnt the best link uup player, he really can score goals (im sure this one today will be awarded to him in due course).
If only we could provide him a few chances a game (as well defend properly) we could be a good team with him upfront
[cite]Posted By: oohaahmortimer[/cite]utter shit
tranmere came to lose they were a proper pub side and they still got a point
really gutted
as said above if we'd played a half decent side we'd have got mullered today
we'll have to improve big time if we're to get anything from MK on tuesday
10% chance of play offs 90% we carry on being the footballing laughing stock of south london
Team should be set up with your best players in their best positions - therefore Reid starts wide left and Racon starts in centre of midfield. Eccleston starts upfront instead of Benson.
Overall a better performance than tues, but then that wasn't hard !! Although I'm not a great lover of the long ball game, I think its time we thought about it as an option. We have no midfield to speak of, and so whats to lose using Lllera & Jemkinsons excellent passing ability to ping 50 yard balls over to Waggy & Reid..............seemed to work a few times today and something we could expand on ?
And for some of you out there - please do not confuse "posession of the ball" with " having no idea how to make a forward pass". Arsenal & Barcalona can pass the ball for ever, but usually there is normally some final product.........usually a goal or goal scoring attempt. We pass the ball around as we have no idea what to do with it - Semedo & McOxo only go sideways & if it goes back to Dailly, Francis etc then its just a matter of time before the ball is given away and the opposition score.............
If we lose on tuesday then our season is over................we will be 10 points off 6th spot (albeit with 3 games in hand - but then we have to win them !!!)
Didn't feel that disappointed leaving the ground today, they gave their best but unfortunatley that isn't enough to beat a poor Tranmere side.
1st half, well if Francis hadn't made that dreadful mistake they wouldn't have scored even if they had 2 days to score. Thought we was obviously trying to pass it with some sort of control and I didn't mind that, much rather see us passing it around in there half instead of hopeful long balls forward. Difference in the balls we made long today is Llera, he actually a good crosser/strike rof the ball and can pick out his target far better than what Doherty or Dailly can, and that made the long ball more effective. Llera will cost us a few goals most likely, but so has Doherty this year and Llera can take a set piece something we've been lacking all season. Mig has a couple of weeks to really nail down his place now and I'll think he take it.
2nd half we pressed, agree with what others say in that Powell again leaves it far too late, Eccles and Reid for 20/25 minutes could have won it and I didn't understand taking BWP off who is the only player we have who knows where the goal is. But overll we looked a lot more solid as a team despite Tranmere not being the best (Walsall/Exeter/Carlisle weren't that much better imo)
Jenkinson again was good, unfortunate we don't have a fit left back at the moment but when we do I would but him in front of Francis based on his displays.
Moving onto Tuesday, we obviously need a win. MK are nothing special really and 5 games ago we were all saying we look certainties for play offs and maybe even autos, but things change quickly, we've been shit and MK have been on a good run, beaten Brighton but apart from that nothing a bit hit and miss and I don't think they are anywhere near as strong as a P'Boro/Southampton/Huddersfield.
If we can get the confidence back in the team and they start cutting out errors which are costing us week after week and get players like Jackson and Ayinsah back we'll push for the play off's. Powell needs to start putting subs on earlier so they have an impact and not play players out of position (although not helped by injuries) If we can just sneak the play off's finding some form in these last 15 games
It wasbetter yesterday- Created enough to winbut stillneeded to create more. Llera was excellent, Racon had a good game, Waggy was terrific second half. Ref missed a blatent pen -was very inconsistent in his decisions and his time keepingwas awful - In 80th to 83rd minute there was no play up to when our2 subs came on -with other injuries andTranmere wasting time from the first minute you would have expected double the overall 6 minutes played -might have made the difference- we wer knocking on the door. Still we need to build on that and get Anyinsah back.
I actually named the team today, and the setup. I felt he would play Racon wide to try and strengthen the centre of midfield. Would give Racon 3 for the first half and 8 for the second. Teams cannot cope with the long diagonal pass, let's stick with it, we are not good enough to play it through the midfield. Even McCormack had a good second half. First half was worse than Carlisle, and CP has to change it earlier. We have to have Benson for balance and hold up play ( although his first touch was crap first half ). We cannot play Ecclestone and BWP as the front 2, that will not work. I would play today's team again and stick with Racon wide. More long ball with the midfield pushing on ( which has to be done with long ball) We will beat MKD and go on to win the playoffs.
[cite]Posted By: golfaddick[/cite]Square pegs in round holes.............again !!
Racon is not a wide man, Reid is.
Benson is not a striker, Eccleston is.
Team should be set up with your best players in their best positions - therefore Reid starts wide left and Racon starts in centre of midfield. Eccleston starts upfront instead of Benson.
Overall a better performance than tues, but then that wasn't hard !! Although I'm not a great lover of the long ball game, I think its time we thought about it as an option. We have no midfield to speak of, and so whats to lose using Lllera & Jemkinsons excellent passing ability to ping 50 yard balls over to Waggy & Reid..............seemed to work a few times today and something we could expand on ?
And for some of you out there - please do not confuse "posession of the ball" with " having no idea how to make a forward pass". Arsenal & Barcalona can pass the ball for ever, but usually there is normally some final product.........usually a goal or goal scoring attempt. We pass the ball around as we have no idea what to do with it - Semedo & McOxo only go sideways & if it goes back to Dailly, Francis etc then its just a matter of time before the ball is given away and the opposition score.............
If we lose on tuesday then our season is over................we will be 10 points off 6th spot (albeit with 3 games in hand - but then we have to win them !!!)
Benson is not a Striker? Surely you mean Benson is not a very good striker. I agree that the midfield is not very good but the answer is not to just play the long ball. We should be playing the ball on the deck more, not just square. If we have'nt got the players to do it get a new midfield player on loan. John Cartwright a great youth team coach used to say it is not the long ball or the short ball its the RIGHT ball. Some of our decision making is awful. Feel Powell should have addressed our weaknesses in the January window.
Really cant see us getting in the play offs, i hope i am wrong.
[cite]Posted By: masicat[/cite]I actually named the team today, and the setup. I felt he would play Racon wide to try and strengthen the centre of midfield. Would give Racon 3 for the first half and 8 for the second. Teams cannot cope with the long diagonal pass, let's stick with it, we are not good enough to play it through the midfield.
Even McCormack had a good second half. First half was worse than Carlisle, and CP has to change it earlier.
We have to have Benson for balance and hold up play ( although his first touch was crap first half ). We cannot play Ecclestone and BWP as the front 2, that will not work.
I would play today's team again and stick with Racon wide. More long ball with the midfield pushing on ( which has to be done with long ball)
We will beat MKD and go on to win the playoffs.
What makes you think we will beat MKD on Tuesday? blind optimism? Didnt they score 4 goals away from home yesterday?
Woke up this morning having a nightmare about the first half yesterday, so on here to try and get it off my chest.
A few points.
1st half we were so poor. Nothing was working and it seemed we were trying to hard, always looking for a short pass when the right thing to do would be to pick out the forward who is in space (not the atmosphereless vacum, though some of lleras free kicks could have found this one).
Francis was so bad in the first half, he's obviously low in confidence. Short pass picked out by the opo was francis fault and created the goal. This has happened to many times from various players over the last few weeks.
Going forward there are 2 charlton teams on the pitch. One wants to attack with pace, the other wants to hold the ball in midfield. Going forward Semedo and mcormack aree to slow and should just be bypassed.
LLera, jenkinson, racon, bwp all wanted to push on, the rest of the team didnt.
2nd half was a lot better. Warner coming on actually changed the attacking emphasis, getting the ball up the field a lot quicker.
Ref wasnt up to much. enough said.
We had enough chances in the second half to seal the game. 1 sure fire pen for shirt holding.
Timewasting. Started from the kick off and just got worse.
All in all we didnt deseve to lose and should have won. draw is the right result based on the 2 halves.
[cite]Posted By: golfaddick[/cite]Team should be set up with your best players in their best positions - therefore Reid starts wide left and Racon starts in centre of midfield. Eccleston starts upfront instead of Benson.
It's not about the best players in their best positions.
It's about picking the best team. The best team has a good balance of types of players and partnerships. The players complement each other and cover players weaknesses.
It's like the problem England had, managers tried to start both Gerrard and Lampard in central midfield and it usually struggled against anyone decent.
That's Benson's first full game for quite a while now (since late December?) First half he or BWP received no service from the wings but in fairness there were some great crosses from Wagstaff & Francis 2nd half. I would carry on with the BWP/PB partnership and give it a few games to gel. Chopping and changing every time Anyinsah is fit/unfit isn't going to help.
PS: If that goal isn't given to BWP then the world has gone mad.
Comments
Hopefully a turning point. However we desperately need someone with drive in the centre of midfield where we sorely lacked again. Racon did better while playing wide in the second half but the total lack of any clue in the middle of the field has been so apparent all season.
Huge rebuilding necessary in the summer. The likes of Elliott, Francis, Benson, MacCormack, Reed, Fortune and the absent Doherty aren't good enough. Old man Dailly is increasingly starting to worry me. And I'm not sure Racon and Semedo are going to be up for a third season in div three (if, as seems likely, that's where we still are). That leaves Jenkinson, Solly, Wagstaff, Jackson, Anyinsah (if he can stop breaking down every other game) and Wright-Phillips as the nucleus for next season.
And possibly Llera? MoM today - just as he was the last time I saw him, way back on Nov 27. Defends better then Doherty and Fortune, hits an impressive diagonal ball forward and probably poses more of a goal threat in the oppo's box than any of our other defenders. Yes, he makes a few silly errors. But so does everyone else in this benighted team. I think he's not that far away from being a really decent player...
Second half they did at least look as if they wanted it a bit more. Llera deserves the goal but BWP's arse will be credited once more! Worner fills me with considerably less confidence than Elliot does though. I thought they all gave it a decent shot second half even McOxo who seemed to grow in cofidnce after sprinting across the field to make that sliding challenge in front of the East Stand.
I have no expectation of upwardly leaving this division now this season so I hope Powelly picks teams who will give their best and move off the ball for each other which was the reason for the sideways passing which antagonised our moronic element.
Yet again Powell got his team selection wrong, whilst he was right to ditch 4-4-3 in favour of 4-4-2 but putting Racon wide left was a big mistake - I knew that Racon would drift into the centre and leave Jenkinson unsupported and exposed - and that is exaxtly what happened - Jenkinson has a right go at Racon late in first half for not tracking back quickly enough
Again Jenkinson was one of the few pluses - no-one in midfield could hold onto the ball and McCormack's natural reaction is always to turn his back on goal nad pass backwards or sideways - all too often it was Daily, Liera and Jenkinson who were the only ones bringing the ball forward into midfield and beyond.
Up front the Benson/BWP partnership didn't work at all although the service to them was poor again and the Tranmere centre half was constantly leaning on and pulling Benson's shirt.
2nd half better after the goal but still didn't create enough chances - one decent cross from Francis late (and it was about the only decent thing he did all game) should have resulted in goal but the forwards just couldn't make contact.
Pluses - another confident performance from Jenkinson - final ball not always good but he brought the ball forward with intent when the midfield were mostly static. Llera and Dailly both had good games and Wagstaff had a good second half playing on right wing.
Same problems like a lack of creativity and drive from the midfield as usual, but I can't get frustrated about it, the players are trying they just don't have it in their game.
I really don't know what some of our fans want. Long balls they boo, but they also boo if we keep possession. I suppose it's not just us, some Brighton fans apparently moaned early on in the season about the way they were playing. We don't have the players to play short quick passes in tight spaces, so if we're going to pass the ball it sometimes has to go backwards. Just have to find the balance between taking risks and keeping the ball.
Poor mistake by Francis for their goal, second half he did quite well going forward though. Crosses weren't always good but sometimes he was crossing into a crowded penalty area so the cross has to be perfect.
I expected Llera to have a good solid game, and that's exactly what he did. He's also more comfortable on the ball than Doherty which is useful when the opposition aren't much of a threat.
Thought Racon didn't want to play wide under Parky? Perhaps he was told they needed him to do it for the good of the team.
Jenkinson did quite well, as Henry said it makes you wonder why we brought Bessone in. I'd like to see Solly get a chance this season as his contracts up in the summer. Would Powell play both Jenkinson and Solly though, and will he drop Francis for the mistake he made?
I noticed that as well - a positive sign, but also a bit of a sad reflection on where we are currently at.
Like others have said, I thought Llera had a decent game. He may always be close to making some sort of howler, but at least he looks to do something with the ball when he has it.
As for the overall performance, I think that we were lucky that Tranmere came with limited ambitions of getting a point.
Had that been another team with more attacking intent and quality going forward then I think we could have been looking at defeat number five.
Well I certainly didn't boo them when we kept possession but I did have a moan a couple of times because you could see that the ball was going to end up either back with Elliott or wellied forward to one of their centre halves - it seems to me that the central midfielders are lacking the confidence to take the ball forward - also its about movement off the ball and having the vision to pick out the player in space which none of our team seem to have - even Liera was blind to the space that Jenkinson was creating out on the left at times.
We need more bodies moving into space (and that includes the 2 forwards who were far too static for my liking early on) and players with the confidenced to put their foot on the ball and look up and make a forward pass to a player in space.
PS: Anyone know why BWP came off? If he's not injured then that was baffling? If he was injured then fair enough.
Jenkinson had his best game (still don't like him at LB though), Francis had a shocker for the goal but was pretty good in the second half, how nobody got on the end of his cross at the end I'll never know. Llera and Dailly did o.k, but only had 1 man to mark between them and he still scored (albeit from a Francis mistake)
BWP is a class act with a great touch, just needs some better players around him - though him and Benson linked up pretty well and without Big Joe, then Benson has to play I think with him.
Racon alot better when he went in the middle, wasted out wide in the first half.....Semedo, his worst game for us but I forgive him.
Why does Powell leave it till the 80th min to make the subs, should've been done with 25 mins left when we were on the front foot and the crowd were up...Reid had to come on then
Agree with most of this. I am willing to give any new manager time to learn their trade on the job so to speak but I just can't see how leaving the subs that late can ever be a good plan. By all means keep ONE up your sleeve to try and catch the oppo out in the last ten minutes but don't leave it that late for a tactical masterstroke!
tranmere came to lose they were a proper pub side and they still got a point
really gutted
as said above if we'd played a half decent side we'd have got mullered today
we'll have to improve big time if we're to get anything from MK on tuesday
10% chance of play offs 90% we carry on being the footballing laughing stock of south london
shameful times
BWP rescued a point for us with an intinctive prod (the original shot was going wide I think, other people on here have the same too).
Its imperitive that if we dont go up this season we keep hold of him, because although he isnt the best link uup player, he really can score goals (im sure this one today will be awarded to him in due course).
If only we could provide him a few chances a game (as well defend properly) we could be a good team with him upfront
This
Racon is not a wide man, Reid is.
Benson is not a striker, Eccleston is.
Team should be set up with your best players in their best positions - therefore Reid starts wide left and Racon starts in centre of midfield. Eccleston starts upfront instead of Benson.
Overall a better performance than tues, but then that wasn't hard !! Although I'm not a great lover of the long ball game, I think its time we thought about it as an option. We have no midfield to speak of, and so whats to lose using Lllera & Jemkinsons excellent passing ability to ping 50 yard balls over to Waggy & Reid..............seemed to work a few times today and something we could expand on ?
And for some of you out there - please do not confuse "posession of the ball" with " having no idea how to make a forward pass". Arsenal & Barcalona can pass the ball for ever, but usually there is normally some final product.........usually a goal or goal scoring attempt. We pass the ball around as we have no idea what to do with it - Semedo & McOxo only go sideways & if it goes back to Dailly, Francis etc then its just a matter of time before the ball is given away and the opposition score.............
If we lose on tuesday then our season is over................we will be 10 points off 6th spot (albeit with 3 games in hand - but then we have to win them !!!)
1st half, well if Francis hadn't made that dreadful mistake they wouldn't have scored even if they had 2 days to score. Thought we was obviously trying to pass it with some sort of control and I didn't mind that, much rather see us passing it around in there half instead of hopeful long balls forward. Difference in the balls we made long today is Llera, he actually a good crosser/strike rof the ball and can pick out his target far better than what Doherty or Dailly can, and that made the long ball more effective. Llera will cost us a few goals most likely, but so has Doherty this year and Llera can take a set piece something we've been lacking all season. Mig has a couple of weeks to really nail down his place now and I'll think he take it.
2nd half we pressed, agree with what others say in that Powell again leaves it far too late, Eccles and Reid for 20/25 minutes could have won it and I didn't understand taking BWP off who is the only player we have who knows where the goal is. But overll we looked a lot more solid as a team despite Tranmere not being the best (Walsall/Exeter/Carlisle weren't that much better imo)
Jenkinson again was good, unfortunate we don't have a fit left back at the moment but when we do I would but him in front of Francis based on his displays.
Moving onto Tuesday, we obviously need a win. MK are nothing special really and 5 games ago we were all saying we look certainties for play offs and maybe even autos, but things change quickly, we've been shit and MK have been on a good run, beaten Brighton but apart from that nothing a bit hit and miss and I don't think they are anywhere near as strong as a P'Boro/Southampton/Huddersfield.
If we can get the confidence back in the team and they start cutting out errors which are costing us week after week and get players like Jackson and Ayinsah back we'll push for the play off's. Powell needs to start putting subs on earlier so they have an impact and not play players out of position (although not helped by injuries) If we can just sneak the play off's finding some form in these last 15 games
Same shit different day.
Even McCormack had a good second half. First half was worse than Carlisle, and CP has to change it earlier.
We have to have Benson for balance and hold up play ( although his first touch was crap first half ). We cannot play Ecclestone and BWP as the front 2, that will not work.
I would play today's team again and stick with Racon wide. More long ball with the midfield pushing on ( which has to be done with long ball)
We will beat MKD and go on to win the playoffs.
Benson is not a Striker? Surely you mean Benson is not a very good striker. I agree that the midfield is not very good but the answer is not to just play the long ball. We should be playing the ball on the deck more, not just square. If we have'nt got the players to do it get a new midfield player on loan. John Cartwright a great youth team coach used to say it is not the long ball or the short ball its the RIGHT ball. Some of our decision making is awful. Feel Powell should have addressed our weaknesses in the January window.
Really cant see us getting in the play offs, i hope i am wrong.
What makes you think we will beat MKD on Tuesday? blind optimism? Didnt they score 4 goals away from home yesterday?
A few points.
1st half we were so poor. Nothing was working and it seemed we were trying to hard, always looking for a short pass when the right thing to do would be to pick out the forward who is in space (not the atmosphereless vacum, though some of lleras free kicks could have found this one).
Francis was so bad in the first half, he's obviously low in confidence. Short pass picked out by the opo was francis fault and created the goal. This has happened to many times from various players over the last few weeks.
Going forward there are 2 charlton teams on the pitch. One wants to attack with pace, the other wants to hold the ball in midfield. Going forward Semedo and mcormack aree to slow and should just be bypassed.
LLera, jenkinson, racon, bwp all wanted to push on, the rest of the team didnt.
2nd half was a lot better. Warner coming on actually changed the attacking emphasis, getting the ball up the field a lot quicker.
Ref wasnt up to much. enough said.
We had enough chances in the second half to seal the game. 1 sure fire pen for shirt holding.
Timewasting. Started from the kick off and just got worse.
All in all we didnt deseve to lose and should have won. draw is the right result based on the 2 halves.
what is he then?
8 goals in 18 not bad for a non striker
It's about picking the best team. The best team has a good balance of types of players and partnerships. The players complement each other and cover players weaknesses.
It's like the problem England had, managers tried to start both Gerrard and Lampard in central midfield and it usually struggled against anyone decent.
PS: If that goal isn't given to BWP then the world has gone mad.