Championship expectations

Bostonaddick

Definitely a lot of encouraging signs from the first match.  I am still going to temper my expectations though as Watford will probably be in the bottom third of the table when all is said and done.  Next week will give us a clearer picture given the competition 

Chris_from_Sidcup

Make no mistakes about it, we shouldn't get carried away. It's obviously great to have got off to a winning start and we'll be high on confidence but let's see where we are after 6 games. We've got Bristol City, Leicester, Millwall and Sheff Utd in the next 5 games. All teams who i personally expect to be amongst the play off contenders.

Elthamaddick

Redhenry said:

Really fed up with all the melts saying we are going to be bottom third...

let's be realistic though - we probably will be - there are some very decent sides at this level having watched the weekend.

most are better than Watford!, a very tough run of games now - be interesting to see where we sit come the end of Sept.

keeping clean sheets is the key for us

Scoham

I’m expecting more football snobbery like this because our game is about being strong defensively and playing with intensity over pretty passing and possession.

It won’t win us the league but I think we’ll play enough decent football going forward to compete.

Dave2l

Looked at the table last night. 

It's great to see a Charlton badge on it and its where we belong. 

There were fears of us having to go through administration 5-6 years ago after that dodgy company bought us off the Belgian.

It's all in the past now.

MillwallFan

Scoham said:

I’m expecting more football snobbery like this because our game is about being strong defensively and playing with intensity over pretty passing and possession.

It won’t win us the league but I think we’ll play enough decent football going forward to compete.

We had all this from opposing fans (and even from a few on here). F*** em. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a big jump up from L1 to the championship. You’re not here to entertain opposition fans. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to stay up and compete. Especially if resources are low, in comparison to the bigger clubs and the clubs with parachute payments. Stay up, consolidate, get established and then maybe have a change in footballing style. It can be a gamble. Sometimes it doesn’t work (Edwards) but sometimes it all comes together and does (Neil). But you need a few seasons under your belt to establish yourself first, in my humble opinion. 

MarcusH26

MillwallFan said:

Scoham said:

I’m expecting more football snobbery like this because our game is about being strong defensively and playing with intensity over pretty passing and possession.

It won’t win us the league but I think we’ll play enough decent football going forward to compete.

We had all this from opposing fans (and even from a few on here). F*** em. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a big jump up from L1 to the championship. You’re not here to entertain opposition fans. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to stay up and compete. Especially if resources are low, in comparison to the bigger clubs and the clubs with parachute payments. Stay up, consolidate, get established and then maybe have a change in footballing style. It can be a gamble. Sometimes it doesn’t work (Edwards) but sometimes it all comes together and does (Neil). But you need a few seasons under your belt to establish yourself first, in my humble opinion. 

I knew the snobbery would be out immediately. We don't play what most would call " attractive" football and NJ is hardly well liked amongst the rest of the league. 

But I genuinely couldn't care less , if we survive grinding out wins off setpieces then so be it. The only aim this season is to stay up. We've had enough style changes over the past few years!

se9addick

Dave2l said:

Looked at the table last night. 

It's great to see a Charlton badge on it and its where we belong. 

There were fears of us having to go through administration 5-6 years ago after that dodgy company bought us off the Belgian.

It's all in the past now.

It’s a nice thought, I wouldn’t say it’s all in the past until the club and stadium are under common ownership however. Administration does seem less likely at this point however. 

In terms of Championship expectations, I expected us to be relegated before the season started. I feel marginally more confident after that first match but won’t get carried away - it’s going to be a very hard slog this year. 

Chris_from_Sidcup

MillwallFan said:

Scoham said:

I’m expecting more football snobbery like this because our game is about being strong defensively and playing with intensity over pretty passing and possession.

It won’t win us the league but I think we’ll play enough decent football going forward to compete.

We had all this from opposing fans (and even from a few on here). F*** em. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a big jump up from L1 to the championship. You’re not here to entertain opposition fans. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to stay up and compete. Especially if resources are low, in comparison to the bigger clubs and the clubs with parachute payments. Stay up, consolidate, get established and then maybe have a change in footballing style. It can be a gamble. Sometimes it doesn’t work (Edwards) but sometimes it all comes together and does (Neil). But you need a few seasons under your belt to establish yourself first, in my humble opinion. 

Can't argue with any of that. It is funny though that the Watford guy is chatting as though we're some minnow who shouldn't be here. It's not as if we're a team like Wycombe or Peterborough or Rotherham when they came up, who were always going to be up against it. We've spent 10m (which is more than Watford spent) and we get 20k+ crowds.

MuttleyCAFC

What I have seen of Millwall, they are not great to watch. They are strong defensively and can nick a goal. A bit like us really. 

That is possibly a template in terms of competing at this level.

Chris_from_Sidcup

MuttleyCAFC said:

What I have seen of Millwall, they are not great to watch. They are strong defensively and can nick a goal. A bit like us really. 

That is possibly a template in terms of competing at this level.

They finished 8th last year with a -2 goal difference, so whilst they'll occasionally take a beating it's clear to see that they're good at grinding out a win. I think they won 11 games 1-0. 

I'd expect us to be similar. We'll take the odd beating (probably away) but we will by and large be pretty solid and will nick a few close games. Our home form (as with any club) will need to be good.

Dave2l

I like Watfords negative reaction and slagging us off.

Thats what we want to do - frustrate our opponents. 

It increases the chances of them flipping out, making mistakes and getting bookings during games.

DOUCHER

our style isn't a million miles away from the curbishley team that got promoted first time round - we had a midfield that outworked teams (kinsella, robinson, newton etc) and swarmed all over them - it wasn't over pretty and i actually prefer to watch that than this continental keep ball round the back bollox that bores you to death 

Garrymanilow

I still don't know what to expect. I was happy with how we played on Saturday but I can't help but remember the last time we were in the Championship. We were unbeaten in our first 6 games, winning 4 of them. Even after the classic 'ask me after 10 games' period we were 8th, 4 points off top. The problem was not long after that we didn't win for 11 games. Granted we had a ridiculous number of injuries and an owner who didn't like to have more than 11 employees at any given time so I don't think the injuries would bite as hard, but it just goes to show how difficult the league can be. 

What will be interesting will be how the team evolves across the season. We've got past the teething period last season of making the team hard to beat and then slowly adding some football into that, but at this level teams won't take long to start reacting against the aggressive pressing and our players will tire as the season drags on. If we can go up another level ourselves, keep the ball better, be more incisive and create more then I think we'll be fine, but I do fear a dry spell this season where the bullying teams method just isn't working the same. Fingers crossed Jones already has a plan for that

MillwallFan

Chris_from_Sidcup said:

MuttleyCAFC said:

What I have seen of Millwall, they are not great to watch. They are strong defensively and can nick a goal. A bit like us really. 

That is possibly a template in terms of competing at this level.

They finished 8th last year with a -2 goal difference, so whilst they'll occasionally take a beating it's clear to see that they're good at grinding out a win. I think they won 11 games 1-0. 

I'd expect us to be similar. We'll take the odd beating (probably away) but we will by and large be pretty solid and will nick a few close games. Our home form (as with any club) will need to be good.

Granted we still get a lot of 1 nils but the difference in the style of football between Harris/Rowett and Neil is day and night. On Saturday, when we went 2-1 up with 7 minutes to go, there was no ‘grinding out’ the win. We won a free kick a few yards outside the area and instead of running it in to the corner we took the opportunity to try a third. When he made the subs in the dying minutes , instead of bringing on a load of defenders and sitting back and inviting pressure (just as Rowett or Harris would have, and a period when we conceded lots of late goals) he bought on attacking players and we carried on going for it. The old cliche the best form of defence is attack was true in this case as Norwich didn’t get a sniff in the final minutes of the game. 

MillwallFan

DOUCHER said:

our style isn't a million miles away from the curbishley team that got promoted first time round - we had a midfield that outworked teams (kinsella, robinson, newton etc) and swarmed all over them - it wasn't over pretty and i actually prefer to watch that than this continental keep ball round the back bollox that bores you to death 

Agree with that 100%

lordromford

Garrymanilow said:

I still don't know what to expect. I was happy with how we played on Saturday but I can't help but remember the last time we were in the Championship. We were unbeaten in our first 6 games, winning 4 of them. Even after the classic 'ask me after 10 games' period we were 8th, 4 points off top. The problem was not long after that we didn't win for 11 games. Granted we had a ridiculous number of injuries and an owner who didn't like to have more than 11 employees at any given time so I don't think the injuries would bite as hard, but it just goes to show how difficult the league can be. 

What will be interesting will be how the team evolves across the season. We've got past the teething period last season of making the team hard to beat and then slowly adding some football into that, but at this level teams won't take long to start reacting against the aggressive pressing and our players will tire as the season drags on. If we can go up another level ourselves, keep the ball better, be more incisive and create more then I think we'll be fine, but I do fear a dry spell this season where the bullying teams method just isn't working the same. Fingers crossed Jones already has a plan for that

While this is a fair point, I’m encouraged by the fact that NJ is big on making his teams fitter than the opposition. 

Add to that, our bench looks good this year, which will give regular starters some much needed respite. Our bench is more stacked with game changers rather than just reserves. That’s unfamiliar and a pleasant change.

Callumcafc

Goals conceded:

0 - Middlesbrough, Charlton
1 - Stoke, Bristol City, Swansea
2 - West Brom, Birmingham, Preston, Southampton, Watford, Portsmouth, Ipswich, Hull
3 - Coventry, Leicester, Norwich, QPR, Blackburn
4 - Millwall, Oxford
5 - Wrexham, Sheff Utd, Sheff Wed
6 - 
7 -
8 - Derby

DOUCHER

i know its early days but i've seen no evidence of the championship being any better than it was 5/6 years ago - more money, same standard of player  

Steven81

DOUCHER said:

i know its early days but i've seen no evidence of the championship being any better than it was 5/6 years ago - more money, same standard of player  

We are only 2 games In though teams will settle and more money will be spent.

se9addick

DOUCHER said:

i know its early days but i've seen no evidence of the championship being any better than it was 5/6 years ago - more money, same standard of player  

Thou speaketh too soon. I think the increase in standard will become apparent over the course of the season.

follett

5/6 years ago we nearly stayed up with, barring a few players, an absolutely abysmal side. With the exception of Wednesday, I think the lower half of the table is much stronger than last time we were here 

MillwallFan

follett said:

5/6 years ago we nearly stayed up with, barring a few players, an absolutely abysmal side. With the exception of Wednesday, I think the lower half of the table is much stronger than last time we were here 

Exactly. You took it to the last game of the season. If you had that team this season you would be down by March. Easy for anyone to see, if they’ve got half a clue about football that is. 

MillwallFan

follett said:

5/6 years ago we nearly stayed up with, barring a few players, an absolutely abysmal side. With the exception of Wednesday, I think the lower half of the table is much stronger than last time we were here 

We finished 8th that season. If we had that team this season we would struggle to finish top half. Would maybe even be battling relegation. There’s only two or three of that team that would make it in to our current squad. 

Crispywood

DOUCHER said:

i know its early days but i've seen no evidence of the championship being any better than it was 5/6 years ago - more money, same standard of player  

Think that’s just because our squad now is so much better than in the 19/20 season it just looks as competitive. Last time we rocked up to Ashton game with JFC and Oshilaja as fullbacks this year we rocked up with Edwards and Ramsay the levels are entirely different. In that 19/20 season we used 33 different players only 12 played any championship games past that season of which Dijksteel was sold after 1 game, 5 of them in Leko Bonne Phillips Green Aneke managed less than 80 games between them and most were 2 minute cameos and even the good ones in Taylor and Field played less than half the season and Doughty wasn’t even the player he was today. You put that squad in today’s championship and they get half the points they managed in 19/20.

letthegoodtimesroll

mendonca said:

Just caught up with the Championship highlights from Saturday games. 

You do see some absolute belters scored at this level. 

After the first 10 minutes of not getting past Lloyd Jones on Saturday, attempting shooting from distance was Bristol City’s only game plan and the rest of the Charlton team put paid to that as well. Teams that rely on longer range shots are easily nullified if you are fit enough.

Callumcafc

stoneroses19

I understand there's disappointment after yesterday, but before season started, how many would have taken 16th after 4 games?

We all have to be happy with that position. The fact we also haven't clicked in final third yet, so when that does happen, I still feel very good about staying up. 

twiggyaddick

Callumcafc said:

Probably better we have a slower start to the season looking at what happened whe we started well in 19/20, 15/16, 14/15. God knows what social media would have been like if it existed in 96/97.

Callumcafc

https://x.com/markohaire/status/1962760388287582388?s=46&t=ynww82GMl7VKBjthBflU0g

📈📉 League tables can mislead.

Here’s how every Championship, League One and League Two club stacks up on xG, Big Chances, xP and actual points.