Got home. Missus asked how we got on. Took off shirt. Threw it on the floor stamped on it. Kicked it. Jumped up and down on it. I think she got the message.
Got home. Missus asked how we got on. Took off shirt. Threw it on the floor stamped on it. Kicked it. Jumped up and down on it. I think she got the message.
Got home. Missus asked how we got on. Took off shirt. Threw it on the floor stamped on it. Kicked it. Jumped up and down on it. I think she got the message.
It's rude to call your wife "it" and domestic violence is no laughing matter...
The possession yesterday was split 60-40 in our favour (stats from the BBC website), an unusual imbalance. And yet most of our possession was utterly ineffective: a continuous stream of sideways passes along the half-way life, an occasional glance at the static strikers, then the ball back to the defence and ultimately Hamer, whose kicking was verging on the suicidal.
During home games recently I've watched a lot of this lateral movement, sure in my mind that no advantage will be gained. Eventually one of the ten-yard midfield passes will go astray (Pritchard yesterday, the cause of Millwall's swift break and goal); or the ball will be hoofed long upfield, either wildly misdirected or to a player who lacks the technical skill to control it with his first touch. We regularly concede possession as a result of each of these failings.
Both Stephens and Pritchard are physically weak. In our pre-season friendly at AFC Wimbledon, I watched aghast as four times in the first 20 minutes Stephens was knocked off the ball in vital areas by players in a team two divisions below us. When Pritchard charges around confronting opponents, he is usually trying and failing to retrieve the possession that he himself lost. Our midfield lacks the mental sharpness to thread incisive balls to the strikers, and even without Danny Green our crosses regularly go astray.
This fundamentally poor approach-play is the reason why we create such woefully few goal-scoring chances. At Huddersfield last week we managed just a single accurate attempt in the first 70 minutes. I have watched Pigott closely this season - and pre-season - and am sorry to say he is clumsy, deficient in close control, lacking in mobility, and for a man of his height surprisingly ineffectual in the air. A mediocre Millwall side proved yesterday that a shot from 25 yards is often worth a go - you might get lucky with a deflection.
I don't believe our players lack effort or conviction; what they lack is technical ability, physical strength, and spatial awareness. With the exceptions of Solly, Kermorgant and Church, we are a team not nearly good enough for any hope of a play-off place in the Championship. I am suspicious of our training regime at Sparrows Lane, have been banging on about this for months and have to say it again - we simply do not know how to take an attacking throw-in. Look again at how Doncaster took a quick throw-in, sliced us apart and scored in the second minute a few weeks ago.
Two examples of our slowness of mind and body at throw-ins during the second half yesterday: on the right wing we dithered until the opposing defenders had comfortably matched up, no-one made space and we promptly conceded possession; later, on the left wing Stewart stood gawping at the man with the ball instead of running down the line to the corner, willing to receive. Simple, incisive moves should be rehearsed on the training pitch time and again until they become instinctive.
I have been watching Charlton for almost 50 years. I don't care two hoots about the colour of our bootlaces, the sponsor's logo on the shirts, the design of our kit, or whether The Red Red Robin is played before the match. What I do care about is the way we play and the results we achieve. Our performances this season indicate that we are heading for relegation.
All very well expressed, but we did not play like this against Leicester. Movement, energy and skill from back to front was good. For some inexplicable reason, we are always rubbish against the knuckle draggers. We will not go down
Keep hearing how Millwall are poor or mediocre. Bit worrying then that Dunne, Bailey, Forde, Morrison and McDonald would walk into our team at the moment.
The reason Cousins has been on the bench in my opinion has nothing to do with what he has or hasn't done.
Powell, like many on here, thinks Stephens can do a creative job and with Jackson who is a talisman in the side too Pritchard has to play to do the running for the other two.
I would drop Stephens and play Jackson, Pritchard and Cousins with one of Harriott or Stewart in a four and both in a five.
That would give us more pace and energy which is effective at this level. All about opinions though!
This is about the only option Powell has from what I saw yesterday
The possession yesterday was split 60-40 in our favour (stats from the BBC website), an unusual imbalance. And yet most of our possession was utterly ineffective: a continuous stream of sideways passes along the half-way life, an occasional glance at the static strikers, then the ball back to the defence and ultimately Hamer, whose kicking was verging on the suicidal.
During home games recently I've watched a lot of this lateral movement, sure in my mind that no advantage will be gained. Eventually one of the ten-yard midfield passes will go astray (Pritchard yesterday, the cause of Millwall's swift break and goal); or the ball will be hoofed long upfield, either wildly misdirected or to a player who lacks the technical skill to control it with his first touch. We regularly concede possession as a result of each of these failings.
Both Stephens and Pritchard are physically weak. In our pre-season friendly at AFC Wimbledon, I watched aghast as four times in the first 20 minutes Stephens was knocked off the ball in vital areas by players in a team two divisions below us. When Pritchard charges around confronting opponents, he is usually trying and failing to retrieve the possession that he himself lost. Our midfield lacks the mental sharpness to thread incisive balls to the strikers, and even without Danny Green our crosses regularly go astray.
This fundamentally poor approach-play is the reason why we create such woefully few goal-scoring chances. At Huddersfield last week we managed just a single accurate attempt in the first 70 minutes. I have watched Pigott closely this season - and pre-season - and am sorry to say he is clumsy, deficient in close control, lacking in mobility, and for a man of his height surprisingly ineffectual in the air. A mediocre Millwall side proved yesterday that a shot from 25 yards is often worth a go - you might get lucky with a deflection.
I don't believe our players lack effort or conviction; what they lack is technical ability, physical strength, and spatial awareness. With the exceptions of Solly, Kermorgant and Church, we are a team not nearly good enough for any hope of a play-off place in the Championship. I am suspicious of our training regime at Sparrows Lane, have been banging on about this for months and have to say it again - we simply do not know how to take an attacking throw-in. Look again at how Doncaster took a quick throw-in, sliced us apart and scored in the second minute a few weeks ago.
Two examples of our slowness of mind and body at throw-ins during the second half yesterday: on the right wing we dithered until the opposing defenders had comfortably matched up, no-one made space and we promptly conceded possession; later, on the left wing Stewart stood gawping at the man with the ball instead of running down the line to the corner, willing to receive. Simple, incisive moves should be rehearsed on the training pitch time and again until they become instinctive.
I have been watching Charlton for almost 50 years. I don't care two hoots about the colour of our bootlaces, the sponsor's logo on the shirts, the design of our kit, or whether The Red Red Robin is played before the match. What I do care about is the way we play and the results we achieve. Our performances this season indicate that we are heading for relegation.
All very well expressed, but we did not play like this against Leicester. Movement, energy and skill from back to front was good. For some inexplicable reason, we are always rubbish against the knuckle draggers. We will not go down
Neither did we play like this at Watford. That's why yesterday was even more frustrating.
But Yann played in both of those games, of course.
If it is down to us missing the Big Breton then it is a very worrying state of affairs and a conclusive statement that we will not go down must surely be a wish and not a given.
I just can't get over the point where it was so painfully obvious we needed a change that it got to the point where we were all calling for a sub and Harriott to be brought on yet it took Powell a long while after to realise he needed to change it.
Knew we were up against it as soon as i saw the line up...I love Powelly but he needs to work on his subs and tactics i think..anyone with knowledge of football theory knows that you don't play a 3-5-2 against it's opposing 4-3-3, a formation it is always weak against from the start. Just fundamentally you are expecting your wing backs to hold their own side against a full back and a winger, which Wilson and Wiggins were not up to I'm afraid, and not really their fault. If you are going to go with it, you need to make sure you push from the back and have mobile CB's as your only zonal advantage on the pitch is that we have 3 |CB's against one striker. So ideally you would need your Left or right CB's to be ready to move across to LB or RB to allow the wing-back to bomb forwards a bit more. should have really gone with a 4-3-3 of our own or a 4-5-1 today, dropping Piggott+one of the CB's for Harriot and Stewart..
Saying that not all Powell's fault, completely agree with others on here that even though we were set up wrongly today the players didn't give the 110% I would expect from a game like this, absolutely gutted this is probably the only Charlton game ill get to watch here in Dubai this season, just utterly feeling let down. On to Tuesday!
I just can't get over the point where it was so painfully obvious we needed a change that it got to the point where we were all calling for a sub and Harriott to be brought on yet it took Powell a long while after to realise he needed to change it.
Didnt he make his first change before the hour mark ?
I just can't get over the point where it was so painfully obvious we needed a change that it got to the point where we were all calling for a sub and Harriott to be brought on yet it took Powell a long while after to realise he needed to change it.
When were you "all calling for it" (whoever you all are) a "long while" before the 57th minute ?
I thought you were utterly appalling. We were by no means Barca-esque, but at least showed a little more quality on the ball and building play up. Overall a very poor game though.
That Harriots looked a lively player.
What confused me, is Powell, Harriots and many on here were calling this a big SE London clash, how much it means to the club etc....then I witnessed the quietest, most subdued crowd with empty seats everywhere.
The only noise was that ridiculous drum. Hardly lived up to the electric atmosphere that Powell was expecting.
I thought you were utterly appalling. We were by no means Barca-esque, but at least showed a little more quality on the ball and building play up. Overall a very poor game though.
That Harriots looked a lively player.
What confused me, is Powell, Harriots and many on here were calling this a big SE London clash, how much it means to the club etc....then I witnessed the quietest, most subdued crowd with empty seats everywhere.
The only noise was that ridiculous drum. Hardly lived up to the electric atmosphere that Powell was expecting.
Ha ha there speaks the voice of authority from the 2/3rds empty tool box most weeks apart from when we visit you and it's a sellout, although I think your gate receipts will suffer from our generosity in future following our inept performance against a very poor side yet again there for the taking. One day SLL.........one day!
I thought you were utterly appalling. We were by no means Barca-esque, but at least showed a little more quality on the ball and building play up. Overall a very poor game though.
That Harriots looked a lively player.
What confused me, is Powell, Harriots and many on here were calling this a big SE London clash, how much it means to the club etc....then I witnessed the quietest, most subdued crowd with empty seats everywhere.
The only noise was that ridiculous drum. Hardly lived up to the electric atmosphere that Powell was expecting.
Ha ha there speaks the voice of authority from the 2/3rds empty tool box most weeks apart from when we visit you and it's a sellout, although I think your gate receipts will suffer from our generosity in future following our inept performance against a very poor side yet again there for the taking. One day SLL.........one day!
What's the attendances at The Den got to do with Saturday!? Was just surprised at how few had turned up. Reading threads on here it seems others were shocked too.
Chin up lads, it's only a game. 22 grown men (well, 21 and Pritch) chasing a ball around a bit of grass. The sun still came up on Sunday. Life goes on.
I thought you were utterly appalling. We were by no means Barca-esque, but at least showed a little more quality on the ball and building play up. Overall a very poor game though.
That Harriots looked a lively player.
What confused me, is Powell, Harriots and many on here were calling this a big SE London clash, how much it means to the club etc....then I witnessed the quietest, most subdued crowd with empty seats everywhere.
The only noise was that ridiculous drum. Hardly lived up to the electric atmosphere that Powell was expecting.
Ha ha there speaks the voice of authority from the 2/3rds empty tool box most weeks apart from when we visit you and it's a sellout, although I think your gate receipts will suffer from our generosity in future following our inept performance against a very poor side yet again there for the taking. One day SLL.........one day!
What's the attendances at The Den got to do with Saturday!? Was just surprised at how few had turned up. Reading threads on here it seems others were shocked too.
Surely it can't be that difficult for even you to work out can it? Live on TV, early kick off, being treated like away fans last year...........oh and not mention the general safety aspect of any game against your lot. We'll be back and good luck with agent Lomas at the helm for the rest of the season you'll need it.
I don't like Millwall. I don't like the fact that they always seem to beat us, I don't like the fact that they think they're 'ard and that they thrive on it.
However, let's not let our dislike (even hatred) change the truth. Saturday, just like last season, they sold out their allocation and they made much more noise than we did. Sparrow Lane Lion is right, we (the fans - both attendance and noise) were poor. The Millwall fans, even though they didn't sing for the full 90 minutes made a lot of noise and supported their team in a way that we didn't.
It's a little like the chicken and egg scenario now. Do Charlton fans fail to turn up, or turn up expecting to lose because we always seem to put in gutless performances and lose, or do the players play like that because the fans don't believe in them (when it comes to Millwall games)?
Interestingly I knew we were going to lose and I was astounded that the bookies has us as evens for a win and close to 2-1 for both a draw and an away win. They (bearing in mind it's how they make their money) should have known better. They deserved to lose money on Saturday.
Either way lying about what happened to save face with a Millwall fan that comes on here all the time - not just to crow when they beat us - is pointless.
Neither the team nor the fans arrived at The Valley 'Up for the game' in my opinion. There was little belief anywhere in The Valley except in the South Stand on Saturday!
I don't like Millwall. I don't like the fact that they always seem to beat us, I don't like the fact that they think they're 'ard and that they thrive on it.
However, let's not let our dislike (eve hatred) change the truth. Saturday, just like last season they sold out their allocation and they made much more noise than we did. Sparrow Lane Lion is right, we (the fans - both attendance and noise) were poor. The Millwall fans, even though they didn't sing for the full 90 minutes made a lot of noise and supported their team in a way that we didn't.
It's a little like the chicken and egg scenario now. Do Charlton fans fail to turn up, or turn up expecting to lose because we always seem to put in gutless performances and lose, or do the players play like that because the fans don't believe in them (when it comes to Millwall games)?
Interestingly I knew we were going to lose and I was astounded that the bookies has us as evens for a win and close to 2-1 for both a draw ans an away win. They (bearing in mind it's how they make their money) should have known better. They deserved to lose money on Saturday.
Either way lying about what happened to save face with a Millwall fan that comes on here all the time - not just to crow when they beat us is pointless.
Neither the team nor the fans arrived at The Valley 'Up for the game' in my opinion. There was little belief in The Valley except in the South Stand!
As I suspected all along - it was the fans fault we lost. There was me thinking it was the fault of the £5 grand a week merchants on the pitch and in fact it was my fault.
I tell you something, the club should be dishing out refunds to the fans after that showing. Fking disgraceful.
Knew we were up against it as soon as i saw the line up...I love Powelly but he needs to work on his subs and tactics i think..anyone with knowledge of football theory knows that you don't play a 3-5-2 against it's opposing 4-3-3, a formation it is always weak against from the start. Just fundamentally you are expecting your wing backs to hold their own side against a full back and a winger, which Wilson and Wiggins were not up to I'm afraid, and not really their fault. If you are going to go with it, you need to make sure you push from the back and have mobile CB's as your only zonal advantage on the pitch is that we have 3 |CB's against one striker. So ideally you would need your Left or right CB's to be ready to move across to LB or RB to allow the wing-back to bomb forwards a bit more. should have really gone with a 4-3-3 of our own or a 4-5-1 today, dropping Piggott+one of the CB's for Harriot and Stewart..
Saying that not all Powell's fault, completely agree with others on here that even though we were set up wrongly today the players didn't give the 110% I would expect from a game like this, absolutely gutted this is probably the only Charlton game ill get to watch here in Dubai this season, just utterly feeling let down. On to Tuesday!
No game this Tuesday, CS...Tuesday week against Forest at home though.
The Chief Executive Martin Prothero wasn't at the game against Millwall, nor was Jimenez or Slater, but that is what we've come to expect isn't it? Maybe they figure they didn't have to be because it was on the telly, or maybe the simply can't be bothered any more, and they watch as and we watch our great club wither on the vine. Surely these people ought to turn up sometimes shouldn't they, or am I missing the point about owners/directors/executives?
Comments
Neither did we play like this at Watford. That's why yesterday was even more frustrating.
But Yann played in both of those games, of course.
Saying that not all Powell's fault, completely agree with others on here that even though we were set up wrongly today the players didn't give the 110% I would expect from a game like this, absolutely gutted this is probably the only Charlton game ill get to watch here in Dubai this season, just utterly feeling let down. On to Tuesday!
That Harriots looked a lively player.
What confused me, is Powell, Harriots and many on here were calling this a big SE London clash, how much it means to the club etc....then I witnessed the quietest, most subdued crowd with empty seats everywhere.
The only noise was that ridiculous drum. Hardly lived up to the electric atmosphere that Powell was expecting.
However, let's not let our dislike (even hatred) change the truth. Saturday, just like last season, they sold out their allocation and they made much more noise than we did. Sparrow Lane Lion is right, we (the fans - both attendance and noise) were poor. The Millwall fans, even though they didn't sing for the full 90 minutes made a lot of noise and supported their team in a way that we didn't.
It's a little like the chicken and egg scenario now. Do Charlton fans fail to turn up, or turn up expecting to lose because we always seem to put in gutless performances and lose, or do the players play like that because the fans don't believe in them (when it comes to Millwall games)?
Interestingly I knew we were going to lose and I was astounded that the bookies has us as evens for a win and close to 2-1 for both a draw and an away win. They (bearing in mind it's how they make their money) should have known better. They deserved to lose money on Saturday.
Either way lying about what happened to save face with a Millwall fan that comes on here all the time - not just to crow when they beat us - is pointless.
Neither the team nor the fans arrived at The Valley 'Up for the game' in my opinion. There was little belief anywhere in The Valley except in the South Stand on Saturday!
There was me thinking it was the fault of the £5 grand a week merchants on the pitch and in fact it was my fault.
I tell you something, the club should be dishing out refunds to the fans after that showing. Fking disgraceful.