I think he has been lucky to become manager at the right time. We have been lucky enough to play Leeds and Forest at a time when they were having horrendous runs and lucky that penalty at Leeds wasn't buried (yes, it was a great save). I thought Tuesday's win over Yeovil was spirited, but we looked disorganised first half and would have been out of the game at half time against a half decent side. The two goals after half time came from nowhere, which admittedly makes a refreshing changes.
The games we have lost under Riga have been comfortable defeats. If two of those wins had been draws, it would look quite grim now such are the narrow margins between success and failure.
I am not sure Riga has performed wonders. This team will struggle if it stays up next season without some changes. Whether Powell would have done better is impossible to say. Unlike some, I don't think we are safe yet. A loss to Barnsley makes it tricky, IMHO.
I don't believe he has done an amazing job(we have lost some games still) but what he has achieved is quite remarkable considering the situation he had to take over from, a depleted squad, bottom of the league, with players who just had potentially their best chance to play at Wembley snatched away.
Combine that with the football world/media and some of our own fans i expect wishing to see him fail, i say well done to him and i hope he is our Head Coach or at least involved in some capacity next season.
Helps even more for someone like myself that he seems a decent guy to, we may have lost Powell but in my opinion we have another person we can respect leading our team and he is doing a decent job of keeping us in the second tier for a brighter future.
I like Jose, he looks like he cares, and you cannot ask for more than that.
CP cared, look where that got him / us!
Playing in the top flight of English football.
Playing for his country.
Promoted as Champions with record points.
A strong first season in a higher division.
Admired / respected / liked / loved by many.
Not a bad return really.
Ok, I meant in relation to this season, him caring got us to rock bottom of the table.... Merely being awkward in response to FishCostaFortune's 'You cannot ask for more than that'
I don't really think you understood my point. Firstly I was not implying the SCP didn't care for Charlton, and secondly I know that in theory there is certainly 'more' you could ask for from Riga - like us winning every game 10 - 0.
What I was getting at was that I among others were dubious to SCP's replacement and his motives (whether he was just a yes man, the mysterious relegation means less money to pay clause etc..), but Riga has come in and looks and certainly acts like he cares for the plight of Charlton.
I like Jose, he looks like he cares, and you cannot ask for more than that.
CP cared, look where that got him / us!
Playing in the top flight of English football.
Playing for his country.
Promoted as Champions with record points.
A strong first season in a higher division.
Admired / respected / liked / loved by many.
Not a bad return really.
Ok, I meant in relation to this season, him caring got us to rock bottom of the table.... Merely being awkward in response to FishCostaFortune's 'You cannot ask for more than that'
I don't really think you understood my point. Firstly I was not implying the SCP didn't care for Charlton, and secondly I know that in theory there is certainly 'more' you could ask for from Riga - like us winning every game 10 - 0.
What I was getting at was that I among others were dubious to SCP's replacement and his motives (whether he was just a yes man, the mysterious relegation means less money to pay clause etc..), but Riga has come in and looks and certainly acts like he cares for the plight of Charlton.
I am made up that he seems to have galvanised the team. The big worry for me when Chris left was that he wouldn't be able to do that quickly enough.
I always support the incumbent manager until it is clear they have completely lost their way. To be honest the Blades game (whatever was going on in the background) was a low water mark for Chris' time in charge and I could only see more of the same.
JR has if nothing else instilled belief when all hope seemed lost. We are not safe and we need improved performances, but he gets a big thumbs up from me. Is he the special one - its far too early to say.
Many have said the first point of call to move towards some kind of objective assessment is after 10 games. The tenth game is tomorrow against Brighton.
Before referring to Riga as an alternative special one (pass the sick bucket) let's see where we finish this season, still games to play, have to beat the drop.
We have a poor squad attacking wise which doesn't help the passing football we seem to be trying.
If we carry on with the form we are in we will win another 2 or 3 games which should keep us up. I believe if we stay up Roland might invest a bit in the squad and pitch and if so I'd like to see Jose be given a chance to see what he can do.
charlton under powell had shown glimpses of quality... leicester 2-1, brighton 3-2, qpr 1-0. but jose riga has managed to win more regularly and get the less glamorous results which powell did not do. if we are to achieve promotion next season which i fully believe we can we need to win games against crap teams in the league like us this season and nick some points of teams around us. if riga stays incharge then we have a decent chance of going up.
I think we need to get Brighton and Barnsley out of the way first...I know what I have seen on the football side but we need results to continue in the WLWL pattern for a little longer.
I’ll say this as a Powell fan – that I had a couple of criticisms of the great man before he was sacked. The first was he could be a bit too negative at times, setting out not to lose – which works on occasions, but I think it it loses you more points than it wins you over time. The second was he was very much a ‘give it another 10-15 minutes’ man in terms of substitutions – where in my years of watching football, I don’t recall teams addressing issues without changes e.g. poor individual performances, tactics that aren’t working etc… But this isn’t the whole picture – Chrissy has shown what a good squad builder he is and put together a resilient decent squad despite scant resources. We don’t know how good Jose is or will be at this, but it probably doesn’t matter as it looks likely the main thing Chrissy couldn’t sign up to was lack of control in this area and that is the way the club will go forward.
So if I am honest – I prefer Riga’s match tactics, but don’t think it diminishes Chrissy’s achievements as our manager. Would I like Riga to continue next season – I think it is good to get some continental ideas in so yes. Prior to his first game in charge, I like many others were willing to give him a chance but were also ready to turn. That he has become so popular is of course due in no small part to results, but also that we can see he is a good manager. He clearly didn’t come in and play all of the new players which demonstrated that he is his own man. He also praised Chrissy which I liked. I feel we are in safe hands – whether we are lucky or not, it doesn’t really matter. But I’d rather we kept him than try and push our luck with a new man.
The only time i haven't really agreed with what Riga has done was when he left church on against Reading. Everything else, i.e the changes and his reading of the games has made perfect sense. There are to me, 3 major things a manager has to be good at 1) Spotting a player 2) Setting a team up correctly given the opposition and 3)Being able to read a game and make the right changes. Numbers 2 and 3 i'd say he's proved himself so far and number 1) we will have to wait and see in the summer. I liked Powell and there is no doubt he is and will be a good manager but in the circumstances, the change was understandable and a positive move. Its worked out so far and i think it will going forward.
For Powell from day one under Douchatelet every game could have been his last. Riga isn't under that pressure. I would say this is a defining difference.
We are on a decent run, but nowhere near the turnaround at the back end of last season where we lost just 1 of the last 11.
i am backing jose to bring us promotion next season. powell deserved better than two owners who were a bit shitty to him. after all he got us promotion from league one finally and a top ten finish. he probably should have done a bit better this season though, maybe we shouldve been about 19th or 20th not in the bottom three
Athletico that's just not right in terms of our season what he has done is monumental
We have won more games in the last 9 than at any other time this season
We have changed the way we pass and move
We have stopped being 1 dimensional and we have started to grow in confidence
Winning 1 nil is no bad thing losing 1 nil is
We set out to win games and not to not get beat
The words of Dorian show and say a lot about how the squad feels
And if he can get the squad to feel like that in 9 games then thank god he was bought in
I love powelly I loved him as our mgr
But
After sheff utd I couldn't see where our next draw was coming from or how the players were going to be picked up off the floor to get is through
When we stay up it will be because of the decisions made by the mgmt team and no one else
NLA, it's all about context and Jose's been a little lucky with the fixture list re opponents' form. No point wondering what Powell would have done, because it's Riga's performance we need to be interested in, but I do find all the 'remarkable' comments lacking a little context.
Incidentally, I'd be more cautious about Dorian's words. He seems to be the only player talking at the moment, and it's not surprising that he thinks the sun shines out of Riga's arse because he's getting picked - he wasn't under Powell after several indifferent performances. He's looking for a contract, he's hardly going to complain is he.
What interests me is the relative silence from other players. They'll get on with it, of course, and Riga seems to be well-liked, but Powell brought a number of them to the club and no-one seemed to have a bad word to say about him. There are so many out of contract in the summer that we're not likely to be hearing any nay-sayers.
I like Riga and wish him success. Jury's still out for me because - perhaps apart from Bournemouth - we've not really won any games that weren't winnable, and we've been tonked in the ones that looked difficult. 0-3 Saturday would be my prediction, for example.
Jose Riga arrived at the Club with very little notice (I assume) and was thrown straight into the deep end with critical games against Huddersfield and Millwall. He inherited a squad lacking in quality and which, following the abject capitulation against Sheffield Utd, appeared lacking in spirit and confidence. The wheels could really have come off during that first week.
He was in an alien and, potentially, hostile environment, having never managed in England before and being the stooge of an eccentric Owner who had just sacked a Club icon and about whom conspiracy theories were rampant. Despite this, he almost immediately steadied the ship, demonstrating both tactical awareness and courage in his team selections and decisive substitutions. Most importantly, his new team has, from the off, displayed passion and commitment.
The margins between success and failure are very thin indeed and it is fair to say that we could easily have drawn, and not won, one or more of the games against Bournemouth, Forest, Leeds and Yeovil. There are always "ifs, buts and maybe's", but the fact is that the Club have won four games out of the last nine, having won just six of the previous thirty.
Riga has done all of this without any drama, with dignity and with a friendly face. In his various interviews and programme notes he has appeared open and honest and been thoughtful and informative.
I've been very impressed. We are not safe yet, but I'm not sure we could have hoped for anything more.
I believe that Powelly would not have managed another point after the way we collapsed against sheff u
The players had no confidence and had no fight or cohesion
That may have been because they felt powelly was screwed and no matter what they done would help
Or
They had no longer the belief that powelly could get it right under the circumstances and done what all footballers do In times like this
Hide behind a failing manager and let him get the chop and use that as an excuse for their lack of heart
I have said it since the qtr final debarkel it was not the result or just the piss poor performance
It was the manor in which we capitulated the ease in which they tore us a new one
The way we lost all shape all heart all commitment so quickly
That could not be band aided together it could not be fixed quickly and had powelly stayed we would be bottom still and gone already IMO
Yet had that effort from Callum Harriott been just a few inches to the left...
It's been done to death but you really have to look at the last few league games CP had, 5 out of his last 7 games were away from home and if you include the Cup games 8 out of the last 10 were away - thats a pretty tough call.
We were up against teams mostly in form
Wigan 1 loss in 11 Leicester 1 loss in 9 Ipswich 1 loss in 9 Middlesborough 1 loss in 8 Birmingham undefeated in 7 away games Doncaster were on a poor run
Maybe to his credit Duchatelet was giving CP some wriggle room because of the form of the teams we were playing during the post Christmas campaign...
By contrast Jose has had more home games than away in his first 9 - of the 4 aways only Derby were in any sort of form***.
You can only beat what's in front of you, but we were somewhat fortunate on the road to come up against teams- who had respectively at the time of playing us & by incredible coincidence
Millwall 1 win in 9 Leeds 1 win in 9 Forest 1 win in 9 *** edited as actually I had assumed Derby were in form, but they were playing us on the back of 1 win in 6
His home games have been against teams in mixed form
We lost to Burnley (undefeated in 13) & Reading (2w, 2l, 4 d) who were on good runs. We faced Yeovil with 1 win in 7, Bournemouth (w3, d3, l3) & Huddersfield (w3, l6).
So whats the conclusion from this - f*ck knows, but I think CP was unlucky in having a run of mostly away games against teams in good form - the run of games under Jose has been kinder & he has also largely failed, like CP to put points on the board against teams on fire.
But we were shit at home so home games were not wanted tbh we seemed to do better away
I know but Powell's last 5 home games were W2 D1 L2 - guess what Jose's record is for his first 5 games!!
I'm only going on results NLA - just putting it out there that JR's away games (& we took the points which is all that matter's) - have been slightly easier on paper than the beast of a run CP had.
I've included the Brighton (h) game so both managers will have had 5 home games and 5 away games.
As much as I loved Powell as anyone and had never felt so underwhelmed going to the Huddersfield game since the Dowie era this -is- a results business and these results say it all for me. No we're not safe yet but think a few of us need to start getting behind RD rather than trying to question his motives. After all previous recent owners took us down to the depths of League One and RD / Riga both deserve credit if they keep us up.
Two years ago Powell was taking us to that record haul of points in League 1 working for Jiminez and Slater. At the same time in Belgium, Riga was working for Duchatelet and drew at home to Hanover in the round of 16 in the Europa cup having already beaten them earlier that season in the group stages. Now Riga is working for Duchatelet here in SE7 and we are in a new era. It's not that Riga is a better person or "more Charlton" than Powell just that he is ten years older and has worked with Duchatelet for 12 months and has been pulled in. The whole place feels more decisive... we will know by Tuesday 10pm what our chances look like for staying up but they are a lot better now than they were a few weeks ago. We are now fifth or sixth favourites to go down and the relegation threat will disappear if we can win some of the home games.
Athletico that's just not right in terms of our season what he has done is monumental
We have won more games in the last 9 than at any other time this season
We have changed the way we pass and move
We have stopped being 1 dimensional and we have started to grow in confidence
Winning 1 nil is no bad thing losing 1 nil is
We set out to win games and not to not get beat
The words of Dorian show and say a lot about how the squad feels
And if he can get the squad to feel like that in 9 games then thank god he was bought in
I love powelly I loved him as our mgr
But
After sheff utd I couldn't see where our next draw was coming from or how the players were going to be picked up off the floor to get is through
When we stay up it will be because of the decisions made by the mgmt team and no one else
NLA, it's all about context and Jose's been a little lucky with the fixture list re opponents' form. No point wondering what Powell would have done, because it's Riga's performance we need to be interested in, but I do find all the 'remarkable' comments lacking a little context.
Incidentally, I'd be more cautious about Dorian's words. He seems to be the only player talking at the moment, and it's not surprising that he thinks the sun shines out of Riga's arse because he's getting picked - he wasn't under Powell after several indifferent performances. He's looking for a contract, he's hardly going to complain is he.
What interests me is the relative silence from other players. They'll get on with it, of course, and Riga seems to be well-liked, but Powell brought a number of them to the club and no-one seemed to have a bad word to say about him. There are so many out of contract in the summer that we're not likely to be hearing any nay-sayers.
I like Riga and wish him success. Jury's still out for me because - perhaps apart from Bournemouth - we've not really won any games that weren't winnable, and we've been tonked in the ones that looked difficult. 0-3 Saturday would be my prediction, for example.
I've included the Brighton (h) game so both managers will have had 5 home games and 5 away games.
As much as I loved Powell as anyone and had never felt so underwhelmed going to the Huddersfield game since the Dowie era this -is- a results business and these results say it all for me. No we're not safe yet but think a few of us need to start getting behind RD rather than trying to question his motives. After all previous recent owners took us down to the depths of League One and RD / Riga both deserve credit if they keep us up.
If I get time I'm going to do a study of teams' form and league position going into the games Riga's faced. For example, when we got that point against Forest (and we should have won) they were on fire form-wise and it was a classic table-turner. When we went to their place, the opposite was true.
I'm not complaining at the results (although I might if we lose tonight) and I like Riga - he will deserve credit if we stay up, not least because the players might have thrown the towel in when the manager they wanted to play for got the bullet - but he'd get more if we looked remotely competitive in games against the trickier teams.
Comments
The games we have lost under Riga have been comfortable defeats. If two of those wins had been draws, it would look quite grim now such are the narrow margins between success and failure.
I am not sure Riga has performed wonders. This team will struggle if it stays up next season without some changes.
Whether Powell would have done better is impossible to say. Unlike some, I don't think we are safe yet. A loss to Barnsley makes it tricky, IMHO.
Combine that with the football world/media and some of our own fans i expect wishing to see him fail, i say well done to him and i hope he is our Head Coach or at least involved in some capacity next season.
Helps even more for someone like myself that he seems a decent guy to, we may have lost Powell but in my opinion we have another person we can respect leading our team and he is doing a decent job of keeping us in the second tier for a brighter future.
What I was getting at was that I among others were dubious to SCP's replacement and his motives (whether he was just a yes man, the mysterious relegation means less money to pay clause etc..), but Riga has come in and looks and certainly acts like he cares for the plight of Charlton.
I always support the incumbent manager until it is clear they have completely lost their way. To be honest the Blades game (whatever was going on in the background) was a low water mark for Chris' time in charge and I could only see more of the same.
JR has if nothing else instilled belief when all hope seemed lost. We are not safe and we need improved performances, but he gets a big thumbs up from me. Is he the special one - its far too early to say.
So far so good for the new manager
If we carry on with the form we are in we will win another 2 or 3 games which should keep us up. I believe if we stay up Roland might invest a bit in the squad and pitch and if so I'd like to see Jose be given a chance to see what he can do.
Is that a cardigan?
So if I am honest – I prefer Riga’s match tactics, but don’t think it diminishes Chrissy’s achievements as our manager. Would I like Riga to continue next season – I think it is good to get some continental ideas in so yes. Prior to his first game in charge, I like many others were willing to give him a chance but were also ready to turn. That he has become so popular is of course due in no small part to results, but also that we can see he is a good manager. He clearly didn’t come in and play all of the new players which demonstrated that he is his own man. He also praised Chrissy which I liked. I feel we are in safe hands – whether we are lucky or not, it doesn’t really matter. But I’d rather we kept him than try and push our luck with a new man.
We are on a decent run, but nowhere near the turnaround at the back end of last season where we lost just 1 of the last 11.
Incidentally, I'd be more cautious about Dorian's words. He seems to be the only player talking at the moment, and it's not surprising that he thinks the sun shines out of Riga's arse because he's getting picked - he wasn't under Powell after several indifferent performances. He's looking for a contract, he's hardly going to complain is he.
What interests me is the relative silence from other players. They'll get on with it, of course, and Riga seems to be well-liked, but Powell brought a number of them to the club and no-one seemed to have a bad word to say about him. There are so many out of contract in the summer that we're not likely to be hearing any nay-sayers.
I like Riga and wish him success. Jury's still out for me because - perhaps apart from Bournemouth - we've not really won any games that weren't winnable, and we've been tonked in the ones that looked difficult. 0-3 Saturday would be my prediction, for example.
ok not caption of the year.
I believe that Powelly would not have managed another point after the way we collapsed against sheff u
The players had no confidence and had no fight or cohesion
That may have been because they felt powelly was screwed and no matter what they done would help
Or
They had no longer the belief that powelly could get it right under the circumstances and done what all footballers do In times like this
Hide behind a failing manager and let him get the chop and use that as an excuse for their lack of heart
I have said it since the qtr final debarkel it was not the result or just the piss poor performance
It was the manor in which we capitulated the ease in which they tore us a new one
The way we lost all shape all heart all commitment so quickly
That could not be band aided together it could not be fixed quickly and had powelly stayed we would be bottom still and gone already IMO
He was in an alien and, potentially, hostile environment, having never managed in England before and being the stooge of an eccentric Owner who had just sacked a Club icon and about whom conspiracy theories were rampant. Despite this, he almost immediately steadied the ship, demonstrating both tactical awareness and courage in his team selections and decisive substitutions. Most importantly, his new team has, from the off, displayed passion and commitment.
The margins between success and failure are very thin indeed and it is fair to say that we could easily have drawn, and not won, one or more of the games against Bournemouth, Forest, Leeds and Yeovil. There are always "ifs, buts and maybe's", but the fact is that the Club have won four games out of the last nine, having won just six of the previous thirty.
Riga has done all of this without any drama, with dignity and with a friendly face. In his various interviews and programme notes he has appeared open and honest and been thoughtful and informative.
I've been very impressed. We are not safe yet, but I'm not sure we could have hoped for anything more.
It's been done to death but you really have to look at the last few league games CP had, 5 out of his last 7 games were away from home and if you include the Cup games 8 out of the last 10 were away - thats a pretty tough call.
We were up against teams mostly in form
Wigan 1 loss in 11
Leicester 1 loss in 9
Ipswich 1 loss in 9
Middlesborough 1 loss in 8
Birmingham undefeated in 7 away games
Doncaster were on a poor run
Maybe to his credit Duchatelet was giving CP some wriggle room because of the form of the teams we were playing during the post Christmas campaign...
By contrast Jose has had more home games than away in his first 9 - of the 4 aways only Derby were in any sort of form***.
You can only beat what's in front of you, but we were somewhat fortunate on the road to come up against teams- who had respectively at the time of playing us & by incredible coincidence
Millwall 1 win in 9
Leeds 1 win in 9
Forest 1 win in 9
*** edited as actually I had assumed Derby were in form, but they were playing us on the back of 1 win in 6
His home games have been against teams in mixed form
We lost to Burnley (undefeated in 13) & Reading (2w, 2l, 4 d) who were on good runs. We faced Yeovil with 1 win in 7, Bournemouth (w3, d3, l3) & Huddersfield (w3, l6).
So whats the conclusion from this - f*ck knows, but I think CP was unlucky in having a run of mostly away games against teams in good form - the run of games under Jose has been kinder & he has also largely failed, like CP to put points on the board against teams on fire.
TOTAL: P39 W10 D11 L18 F30 A50 GD-20 PTS41 (PPG: 1.05, WIN: 25.6%)
POWELL: P30 W6 D9 L15 F24 A41 GD-17 PTS27 (PPG: 0.90, WIN: 20.0%)
RIGA....'': P9 ..W4 D2 L3 ..F6 .'A9 ..GD-3 ..PTS14 (PPG: 1.56, WIN: 44.4%)
I'm only going on results NLA - just putting it out there that JR's away games (& we took the points which is all that matter's) - have been slightly easier on paper than the beast of a run CP had.
Riga's results so far
Huddersfield (h) 1 pt
Millwall (a) 1 pt
Bournemouth (h) 3 pts
Burnley (h) 0 pts
N.Forest (a) 3 pts
Derby (a) 0 pts
Leeds (a) 3 pts
Reading (h) 0 pts
Yeovil (h) 3 pts
Brighton (a) ???
Riga 14+ points from 10 games
Powell's results in the reverse fixtures
Huddersfield (a) 0 pts
Millwall (h) 0 pts
Bournemouth (a) 0 pts
Burnley (a) 0 pts
N.Forest (h) 1 pt
Derby (h) 0 pts
Leeds (h) 0 pts
Reading (a) 0 pts
Yeovil (a) 1 pt
Brighton (h) 3 pts
Powell 5 points from 10 games
I've included the Brighton (h) game so both managers will have had 5 home games and 5 away games.
As much as I loved Powell as anyone and had never felt so underwhelmed going to the Huddersfield game since the Dowie era this -is- a results business and these results say it all for me. No we're not safe yet but think a few of us need to start getting behind RD rather than trying to question his motives. After all previous recent owners took us down to the depths of League One and RD / Riga both deserve credit if they keep us up.
Now Riga is working for Duchatelet here in SE7 and we are in a new era. It's not that Riga is a better person or "more Charlton" than Powell just that he is ten years older and has worked with Duchatelet for 12 months and has been pulled in. The whole place feels more decisive... we will know by Tuesday 10pm what our chances look like for staying up but they are a lot better now than they were a few weeks ago. We are now fifth or sixth favourites to go down and the relegation threat will disappear if we can win some of the home games.
I'm not complaining at the results (although I might if we lose tonight) and I like Riga - he will deserve credit if we stay up, not least because the players might have thrown the towel in when the manager they wanted to play for got the bullet - but he'd get more if we looked remotely competitive in games against the trickier teams.