We were poor in the first half and the crossing was appalling - especially from Stewart (save for one good delivery), whilst Evina also squandered a good position on the left. We were pinned back for the first 20 minutes and when we manage to work a good position, we really do have to at least test the opposition, rather than kicking the ball into Row Z, against a defender or simply giving it away needlessly (which we did on a number of occasions).
We had two meaningful attacks in the first half, the first of which was the ball through to Church, which led to the penalty appeal. I'd like to see it again but I was directly in line with the incident and did not think he was fouled. The second was when Yann played Churchy through but he hit it - albeit from a slight angle - directly at their keeper. As the Reading supporter remarked as our man steadied himself to shoot - "don't worry, it's Churchy." Without being too harsh, therein lies the problem.
Reading came out strongly at the start of the second half but fizzled out and we were the better team. We certainly troubled them at times and the substitutes invigorated us, but we couldn't fashion a clear chance.
It was a low quality game but we gave it a really good go in the second half - so credit to the lads there. The bottom line, however, is that we came up against a very below par Reading side and have, ultimately, still not managed to take anything from the game.
Just got in. We were pretty poor in the first half and the beginning of the second. We'd started to bother them a bit more by the time we made the triple sub and it completely changed everything. Green was direct, Sordell held the ball up marvellously, Stewart linked up better with Wiggins on the left and Jackson did more with the ball than Stephens. We had them rattled and their game completely fell apart, but even then we rarely carved out proper chances. The biggest issue we had was regardless of how many crosses Green and Wiggy put in they had the beating of us in the air all ends up. Yann, Dervite and Morrison couldn't get round them and we could still be out there now punting crosses in and not score. Wiggy realised this and started trying to get to the byline to hammer it across the box but it's a lot harder to get there than cross from deep.
Churchy ran hard and I can't believe we didn't get a pen when he got round their defender but I will admit from the other end of the ground it's hard to see if there was contact or not. Church must have the softest shot in world football though. Sordell ran unselfishly, linked up well with Green and put in a very good performance. He was really unlucky not to score with the header cleared from under the bar. Sad to say Bad Dale was back today, and it was him overrunning the ball in front of our defence that led to the goal. He's got a Paddy McCarthy-esque turning circle and it really puts us in trouble when he loses the ball right in front of our back line.
Danny Green is a bizarre, bizarre little man. He came on with 20 mins to go, little football recently and a point to prove. He ran at them and unsettled them, put accurate crosses into the box...and completely ran out of steam after ten minutes. He went from being on the ball every chance he could to strolling around looking grumpy after such a short amount of time it's like he was trying to sum up his career with us in a very short one act play. The fact he unsettled Reading so much says a lot about their defence and we really should have created more clear-cut chances. Aside from their central midfield looking dangerous they really weren't a great side.
Just got in and having a glass of port, it's plain to see we are so disjointed, the players don't look like they believe in each other, Yann just don't look interested, found it a bit emotional tonight standing side by side my son singing since I was Young with him, two generations singing the same song and the words so so poignant, that's why I love Charlton, every so often even in defeat it gives you memories you will never forget. I fuckin love that song and for each and everyone of you that sung it non stop for the last 20 minutes také a bow, you did the team proud.
Couldn't be there tonight, otherwise engaged. Well done to those fans who made the effort and from what I understand gave their all supporting the team - respect. We got beat by the odd goal again, no surprise there then :-( The plus points are that the goal difference is worth a point, Solly is getting back to fitness and there are still 84 points to play for. No one can predict the future, takeover or not, and irrespective, we have a good bunch of players who can still keep us in this division......... with our continued support. Keep the faith, massive 6 pointer Saturday, COYR.
For all those who dislike sordell it needs to be put to one side. He was our most effective sub, had good hold up play and he had a header cleared off the line as well as the goal disallowed- given a run he will get goals, and yes he did put in the effort, he harried the keeper and he kept getting the ball for their keeper to speed up the time wasting. People need to give him a break, as he actually hasn't been given anywhere near as many game time or goal scoring chances as anyone else, he may well prove many wrong
We release Fuller, Haynes and BWP... And were struggling for goals?! What I would do for Fuller now
It wasn't a bad management decision though was it, they were released to save on wages, we simply could not afford them and we cant afford any better than what we have.
True of Fuller, BWP wasn't going to do it. But Haynes was not at all expensive by Charlton standards, notwithstanding the argument that he was rarely available.
I would add that Church and Sordell aren't free. Church is what he is, can't blame the bloke, but the fact they were both available two days before the start of the season tells the story. We were never going to be able to go with what we had, yet we waited. No doubt to save money. Could end up a massive false economy.
Good last 20 minutes tonight, but I don't think Reading were all that good.
Much improved 2nd half. Stewart looked a lot more comfortable playing in front of wiggins and does not deserve some of the negative comments on here tonight. Good to see the subs making a real impact. Sordell actually gave CP something to think about for a change. I like Church but his not the answer, we need more class in front of goal!
What can I say. A truly poor first half, lacked class and guile, and despite all this we should have had a penalty.
Second half didn't start much better, we made so many simple mistakes it was incredibly frustrating. Its the simple 5-10 yd passes that we cant execute.
Our back 4 did ok in general but were awful on the ball, we cant play it out from the back when none of these can pass the ball. Cousins had a good game once again, stephens tried but didn't have much joy. Church runs a lot but to no avail, I respect the guy for the effort he puts in, but he just doesn't have the quality we need to be our main goal threat.
well done CP for making attacking triple subs. First time he has commited to a change. After these we looked far better. Lots more effort and Green and Sordell added a lot more threat to our play. Green ran at players and got to the by line, Sordell held the ball up and looked sharp. Both put themselves in the starting line up on Saturday for me.
All in all we had a lot of huff and puff with very little cutting edge.
Well done fans as well, good first half, amazing second half!
...formation is all wrong Yann needs to be last man up top, not playing in hole...
I wasn't there last night, but I've thought for the past couple of games that playing Yann in that slightly withdrawn role isn't working. I guess that it is CP's reaction to Church's lack of aerial ability; stick Yann behind him to win the flick-ons and then Church will get the ball at his feet. The trouble is, Church doesn't seem to be a natural finisher so no matter how many headers Yann wins (and I'm not convinced he's won so many since returning from injury), we're still not scoring.
Despite the lack of goals, I still think these two are probably our best front pairing. I'd like to see Yann pushed up as far as possible where his headers go straight in the net, with Church running around supporting him.
We were bloody crap the first half, but should have had a pen, also church went through on goal and hit it straight at the keeper. There just seems to be no movement from anyone when we get over the half way line. A different game when the subs were brought on in the second half, Green and Sordell looked fired up, Green putting in some excellent balls into the box, and Sordell passing and movement was very good, very unlucky not to score. Well done to Powell for growing some balls and going for it. Play that way more often and earlier into the game and we will pick up a lot more points. Still cant understand why we wont attack teams early on we shouldnt be afraid of anyone. Most of the teams in this league are shite anyway. Oh and the away support was quality second half.
Despite looking good last half hour, I must say, Kermit really looked disinterested, hopefully it's down to not being fully fit. Also I thought Stewart looked Pony a one trick pony in fact.
Can someone tell me how a club like Yeovil can get three loan signings in? And poor old Charlton get no one. Not Chris's fault. Why don't these directors back him up? Church is not the answer, we desperately need a goalscorer and Sordell seems out of favour. Surely he can be given 90 minutes on Saturday!
A not unexpected result .. by all accounts the side played well and were not at all disgraced. All we can do is keep the faith, keep consistent(ish) team selection, not panic and keep playing .. we'll soon be climbing the table. Yeovil this weekend is a BIG game for us. They have found good form in the last month
The biggest worry for me is our inability to score - if we continue scoring at this rate we'll be relegated. Don't see how it's going to change at present.
Not sure if it's down to lack of supply from the midfield or just pitiful finishing. If Yeovil get an early goal on Saturday them I'm not sure what CP will do.
Thought we'd turned a corner after the Doncaster game but looks like I was wrong.
Wasn't at the game last night but pleased to hear we gave it a good go and put in a decent performance on the whole.
I still think we will survive this division IF we keep Chris Powell.
However, a loss to Yeovil on Saturday will see us in the relegation zone and I do think he will lose his job if that happens. Really does pain me to say that.
Comments
Also, music after a goal - NO
We had two meaningful attacks in the first half, the first of which was the ball through to Church, which led to the penalty appeal. I'd like to see it again but I was directly in line with the incident and did not think he was fouled. The second was when Yann played Churchy through but he hit it - albeit from a slight angle - directly at their keeper. As the Reading supporter remarked as our man steadied himself to shoot - "don't worry, it's Churchy." Without being too harsh, therein lies the problem.
Reading came out strongly at the start of the second half but fizzled out and we were the better team. We certainly troubled them at times and the substitutes invigorated us, but we couldn't fashion a clear chance.
It was a low quality game but we gave it a really good go in the second half - so credit to the lads there. The bottom line, however, is that we came up against a very below par Reading side and have, ultimately, still not managed to take anything from the game.
On to the big one at Yeovil.
Churchy ran hard and I can't believe we didn't get a pen when he got round their defender but I will admit from the other end of the ground it's hard to see if there was contact or not. Church must have the softest shot in world football though. Sordell ran unselfishly, linked up well with Green and put in a very good performance. He was really unlucky not to score with the header cleared from under the bar. Sad to say Bad Dale was back today, and it was him overrunning the ball in front of our defence that led to the goal. He's got a Paddy McCarthy-esque turning circle and it really puts us in trouble when he loses the ball right in front of our back line.
Danny Green is a bizarre, bizarre little man. He came on with 20 mins to go, little football recently and a point to prove. He ran at them and unsettled them, put accurate crosses into the box...and completely ran out of steam after ten minutes. He went from being on the ball every chance he could to strolling around looking grumpy after such a short amount of time it's like he was trying to sum up his career with us in a very short one act play. The fact he unsettled Reading so much says a lot about their defence and we really should have created more clear-cut chances. Aside from their central midfield looking dangerous they really weren't a great side.
I would add that Church and Sordell aren't free. Church is what he is, can't blame the bloke, but the fact they were both available two days before the start of the season tells the story. We were never going to be able to go with what we had, yet we waited. No doubt to save money. Could end up a massive false economy.
Good last 20 minutes tonight, but I don't think Reading were all that good.
Second half didn't start much better, we made so many simple mistakes it was incredibly frustrating. Its the simple 5-10 yd passes that we cant execute.
Our back 4 did ok in general but were awful on the ball, we cant play it out from the back when none of these can pass the ball.
Cousins had a good game once again, stephens tried but didn't have much joy. Church runs a lot but to no avail, I respect the guy for the effort he puts in, but he just doesn't have the quality we need to be our main goal threat.
well done CP for making attacking triple subs. First time he has commited to a change. After these we looked far better. Lots more effort and Green and Sordell added a lot more threat to our play. Green ran at players and got to the by line, Sordell held the ball up and looked sharp. Both put themselves in the starting line up on Saturday for me.
All in all we had a lot of huff and puff with very little cutting edge.
Well done fans as well, good first half, amazing second half!
Despite the lack of goals, I still think these two are probably our best front pairing. I'd like to see Yann pushed up as far as possible where his headers go straight in the net, with Church running around supporting him.
Oh, to have Jonathan Obika back though.
Church is not doing it.
We will be relegated on performances like this.
Good final 20 minutes, Sordell was much better, Green is wasted on the bench.
A different game when the subs were brought on in the second half, Green and Sordell looked fired up, Green putting in some excellent balls into the box, and Sordell passing and movement was very good, very unlucky not to score. Well done to Powell for growing some balls and going for it. Play that way more often and earlier into the game and we will pick up a lot more points. Still cant understand why we wont attack teams early on we shouldnt be afraid of anyone. Most of the teams in this league are shite anyway. Oh and the away support was quality second half.
Despite looking good last half hour, I must say, Kermit really looked disinterested, hopefully it's down to not being fully fit. Also I thought Stewart looked Pony a one trick pony in fact.
And poor old Charlton get no one. Not Chris's fault. Why don't these directors back him up?
Church is not the answer, we desperately need a goalscorer and Sordell seems out of favour.
Surely he can be given 90 minutes on Saturday!
Not sure if it's down to lack of supply from the midfield or just pitiful finishing. If Yeovil get an early goal on Saturday them I'm not sure what CP will do.
Thought we'd turned a corner after the Doncaster game but looks like I was wrong.
I still think we will survive this division IF we keep Chris Powell.
However, a loss to Yeovil on Saturday will see us in the relegation zone and I do think he will lose his job if that happens. Really does pain me to say that.