A bit harsh! Back five: Solly back is a given and Fox deserves game time. So agreed Front six: Bulot to start and Gudmundsson (if fit) for sure. Rotherham away is a game we should target for our first away win and that says Captain Jackson to me...so mostly agreed! Moussa looked good tonight but not so good on Saturday. Peeters knows where he's going and we now have just one game week for a while. As others have posted, we are in a good place right now so I plan to enjoy.
If I'm honest, dreadful performance. Wolves should be very disappointed with a draw. Lady luck definitely with us.
Overran. We play like an away team at home and can't counter quickly like we did in the first two home games cause it's draining the team. The constant closing down and chasing the ball. Just doesn't work every game, especially without JBG, we're clearly missing him, he played a huge part in most of our counters and general play.
Don't see how Wiggins gets so much stick, far bigger problems in the squad than Wiggins having average games against good attacking players. Our midfield lacks the creativity and energy of all the good sides we've played so far. Luckily we've got two good centre backs to save us when it all hits the fan.
I think a real test for us will be a team of our calibre at home, we're all expecting a win no doubt but I'd be surprised it we dominate the game in the same way Wolves did to us tonight.
Anyway 4 points against Wolves and Watford is really good, I'm probably expecting too much from a team that has just survived relegation last season with new players and a new manager. Would be nice to see us actually get a comfortable win at home though.
Thought Wolves had us well sussed packing the midfield it almost seemed they had an extra man everywhere on the pitch in the 1st half and not helped with Jackson being generally off the pace. I can see other teams setting up 5 man midfields against us which as it stands unless changes are going to be made we will see more games like tonight at The Valley at least.
Cousins is not a wide player, we need Bulot and Gudmonsson out wide with Cousins moving into the middle alongside Buyens. Love Jacko but how long can this go on for carrying him in the team, all I remember of him tonight apart from his late effort was a few short passes back to Wiggins.
Wiggins is out of form and could be time to give Fox a go at left back.
I think it's time for Big Bob to make some tough decisions and he needs to make them soon before we see more games at home like tonight regardless the strength of the opposition more teams will do a number on us like tonight.
A decent point against a strong Wolves team with decent wingers. Kenny Jackett set the team up well. Unlike Watford the Wolves goals always looked likely to arrive. Funny thing is that Charlton had chances to go 2-0 up and 2-1 up and could have won. Also could have easily lost. The team was not quite so fluid without Gudmundsson. Great goal from Bikey.
I liked the look of Bulot, who looks quality and will definitely add to the team. Gomes despite some mistakes coped well. Wiggins looked weak again. I am not going to get on George's back who appears to be a bit limited. He is all Charlton has got up front alongside the classy Vetokele and getting on his back is not going to achieve anything. With support, George may get the occasional goal, it is clear though Vetokele needs a quality strike partner if Charlton are going to seriously challenge.
The game was enjoyable to watch. I am pleased with the point. Charlton have played some quality teams and are 5th and still unbeaten after 7 games. The team has some clear limitations. I am going to enjoy the good start and concentrate on the positive.
It's disappointing to lose out on our 100% victory ratio at home, but in reality - it was the second of two brilliant defensive performances this week. Bikey was immense as expected, and I thought TBH was his solid self; I'm a little confused about the criticism. Gomez showed glimpses of confidence, which coincided with some perfect play, but otherwise he looked a little nervous. Wiggins? I'm still hoping will find his feet again.
Buyens was his usual self; real quality and some killer passing. Jackson worked his socks off too, I think some of us are expecting a completely different role from him - something akin to a box-to-box midfielder; in reality his role seems to be breaking up play and making short passes - he does this well.
Cousins was.. frustrating again. Mainly because every match I've seen so far, he's been in space and crying out for the ball... just for it to be switched back to the right. This needs to change, he often finds himself completely unmarked and with room to move forward in to; just to be ignored. He's not a left midfielder; but if he's going to play there then please try and use him!!
Igor was actually quite anonymous when compared to previous games, and I'm concerned that he's now just a target for defenders; he's really not given a chance to do much damage. I suspect that Player of the Month accolade was something he could've done without unfortunately. This isn't a dig at him either, he obviously hurt himself in stoppage time, but still got up and was seen calling for the ball again! For the 93rd minute, after picking up a knock, after playing games in short succession... fair play to him, that's impressive determination and stamina.
Rather than dishing out criticism to Tucudean, I'd probably aim it at Moussa; he's a league up now and needs to understand that we're a side that pass the ball. Igor did it for Tucudean's shot (from an acute angle) that went just wide, and Moussa needs to too. He seemed to be running the ball straight towards the Covered End at one point; the boys got talent undoubtedly, but he needs to relax and understand that there are times to take your man on and times to pass. (Harriott was guilty of this on Saturday too.)
Bulot looked lively, albeit without a position as per se, had we conceded again I think he would've got pelters as he was all over the place; but I don't mind. He was running around receiving the ball, moving the ball, releasing the ball and generally giving the Wolves defence a bit of a worry. His defensive play in the penalty area with Gomez towards the end was incredible, and I genuinely think those two saved us two points on that occasion. I'm excited about this guy.
In conclusion, I thought we played some really nice football with some good quality passing; but we're missing something. Perhaps we let them come too deep when we allow the opposition room to play before hitting them on the counter? Maybe we need another striker up front to compliment (and draw flak away from) Igor?
Pretty much the same as the Watford game, we rode our luck and another day Wolves would have won easily. We played a high temp in the first half and low and behold we ran out of steam the majority of the second half. The likes of Velokele looks f*****d.
He stemed the tide and it worked. Fitness at the early stages of a season is always very difficult to gauge and the fact it was after the international break with half of our players away as well. The players won't reach their peak for another couple of months.
Had two wolves fans 2 seats in front of me. One was wearing a wolves shirt he was that blatant. About 25 minutes in a steward sheepishly comes over and makes a bit of a fuss, he eventually takes it off. A few people give the steward agro.
Eventually in the second half the same steward at the start of the half said he had to go... Cue stunned surprise, claims this was the "mixed stand" (I piped up at that point). Five minutes later he appeared in the Jimmy Seed and was giving it hand gestures haha.
Didn't see this one, and I have only read the comments on this page, but it appears we carried on where we left off on Saturday. According to the stats only 39% possession and two shots on target, that's two (and a half) shots on target in two home matches. Oohaah seems to have it summed up to me. Sooner or later we will get found out, but I would imagine that there will still be enough about the team to finish well clear of the bottom three, which is all I hoped for at the start of the season. Anything else will be a bonus.
I'm not overly concerned by the last two performances, they were admittedly characterised by defence not attack but not every team we'll play will have the attacking prowess of Watford or Wolves - we'll be fine. Besides, scoring three against a good Derby side suggests there is definitely a threat going forwards in the locker somewhere.
It was not very good last night but to me, that was the first performance I honestly thought was generally poor instead of solid with perhaps a few lapses. We've got a very tricky run of games out of the way and stayed unbeaten by a succession of good teams, all of whom I expect to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. We keep the same level of determination and energy against weaker teams and goals will come.
Reality check last night. Stops us getting carried away. We look like a hammering about to happen but we have an encouraging resilience about us. A game where a number of players all had off days together. Buyens and Wilson were lamentably bad much as I love them both. Gomez looked like what he is - raw and not in his favourite position. George has finally persuaded me that he is rubbish. Wiggins is being torn a new one every week despite finishing strongly last night but is getting absolutely no cover from Cousins (we've had that debate already so don't labour it again here). Gudmunson proved a lot in his absence. I actually thought JJ played well as I did in Saturday but if we don't get a proper foil for Igor we are too one dimensional. Will be interesting to see what happens when we play a relatively poor team if indeed there is one in this league this year! Also how we react when we (soon I expect) lose a couple on the bounce.
All of that said, still unbeaten and better than last year.
I think we were lucky last night. Just as on Saturday, we gave the ball away far too easily, especially in the second half, and I feared that once they equalized the floodgates might open. Luckily they didn't, perhaps more by luck than judgement, but thought we sat back and looked like the away team at times. A superb save from Henderson kept us in it, and at the death, we had a good chance to take all three points, though have to admit it was probably fair that we didn't. Still we are unbeaten, which is great, but will have to improve to keep that way for much longer.
Surprised no one has mentioned Jackos clear cut chance.
Or his excellent pass through to Igor late on.
Personally thought Jacko played well. But that chance was the clearest of all last night and on his favoured left foot. We might have only had 7 shots but most of them were very good chances.
Wiggins has copped some criticism but he has been up against 3 of the quickest / most skilful wingers he is likely to meet in Mc manaman, Anya and Henry and, although skinned once or twice a game, has stuck to his task well and eventually prevailed. The assistance of Cousins supporting in him should not be underestimated either. In the second half Jordan ran the length of the pitch to get back and tackle Henry (I think) when he broke away.
Morgan Fox looks an assured player with time on the ball but he does not have the pace even of a below par Wiggins and the three I've mentioned would have exposed him terribly.
Only seen the last 2 games but we would have been soundly beaten in both if Watford or Wolves had their shooting boots on. A lot of players had an off night last night but that does make it extremely satisfying to get 4 points when being the poorer side!
It's a concern for me that in both games we have conceded possession and territory far too easily and are allowing too much space on the edge of our box to give teams easy shots. How many times did we concede deflected goals in the last few seasons. There is a lack of pressing in midfield. I lost count of how many times their central mids have at least 10 yards to space to do what they wanted on the ball.
When we do go forward Igor is a fantastic threat but he shouldn't be the one winning all of the flick ons. He needs to be feeding off them. Lets hope his arm is ok we can get someone in on loan to compliment him as George looks a little off the pace.
We do have some very good players but the balance of the team is a little off. Cousins is never a winger and its doing him more harm than good being out wide left. Bulot looked very tidy when he came on. If his workrate is good and he can provide cover for Wiggins (because he has come up against some very tricky wingers this season and has been found wanting) then he should probably start the next game.
Bit of a doom and gloom post but it's not meant to be. To have 13 points and still be unbeaten is fantastic but i would like to see us take the game to the other team more. We could and should have had a couple of more goals last night so it proves that when we want to get forward we can be a real threat. We just arent doing it enough.
Surprised no one has mentioned Jackos clear cut chance.
Or his excellent pass through to Igor late on.
Personally thought Jacko played well. But that chance was the clearest of all last night and on his favoured left foot. We might have only had 7 shots but most of them were very good chances.
He should have buried it, the same as Tucudean and Igor should have put their chances away. Jackson could even have opened his body up and used his right foot.
We took a battering though and I'll take a point. I just hope we take the initiative in our next home game.
Although this was a good point, the overall performance gives cause for concern.We have had two successive home games with less than 40% possession!sooner rather than later on those stats we will start losing. Also it has become clear that we need another striker,Tucudean ,at present is just not good enough and there is a massive need for an attacking midfielder, there was just not enough threat in the box. My view is that Jackson does not have the pace or physical strength for this tough division and I would like to see Cousins in the centre.Finally I worry about Wiggins on last nights performance,he was very poor andBikey spent most of the second half getting him out if trouble. However in the plus side we are maybe only 2 or 3 players from being a decent Championship side.and to still be unbeaten with so little possession shows a lot for the resilience of this team
Surprised no one has mentioned Jackos clear cut chance.
The Goal at the covered end was cursed last night
(i.e. the Wolves chance when they had an open goal, hit the post and bounced along the goal-line... Actually did Henderson save that on to the post initially?)
Wiggins has copped some criticism but he has been up against 3 of the quickest / most skilful wingers he is likely to meet in Mc manaman, Anya and Henry and, although skinned once or twice a game, has stuck to his task well and eventually prevailed. The assistance of Cousins supporting in him should not be underestimated either. In the second half Jordan ran the length of the pitch to get back and tackle Henry (I think) when he broke away.
Morgan Fox looks an assured player with time on the ball but he does not have the pace even of a below par Wiggins and the three I've mentioned would have exposed him terribly.
Cannot argue with that regarding Wiggins. Problem we have is Midfield, you can blame George etc for not holding the ball up but last night all our Midfield 4 were similiar type players, there was no outlet coming from the wings for Buyens or Jackson to utilise, yes Cousins works his bollocks off but he is not a winger and the same can be said of Wilson (who was poor last night). Both Watford and Wolves had quick, strong tricky wingers which were used to expose us and i am sure (hoping) once we have Bulot and Gudmusson on either flank and Bob makes a decision on the centre mid pairing we will finish in the top 10. Moussa NEEDS to start in centre midfield. TBH was premier quality last night too.
Thought we were poor against a lower mid table Wolves team and made them look better than they are. Still unbeaten and 5th is better than I would have expected and if we can bring in a body or two we will do fine.
We are not the finished article. We have played teams that are a long way ahead of us in terms of preparation and squad building. We have competed in all games and won points. We are hard to beat. We will get better. We have a handful real quality players and need two more. Our coach is still finding his championship feet. He looks like he knows what he is doing.
I will take all of these points as a huge step forward from where we were in just January.
We are not the finished article. We have played teams that are a long way ahead of us in terms of preparation and squad building.
Plus we were playing a side who are on a high from winning League One (with a Record points tally) and I wouldnt bet against them doing a Norwich / Southampton with the Championship being a one season stopover to the Premier League
Comments
Back five: Solly back is a given and Fox deserves game time. So agreed
Front six: Bulot to start and Gudmundsson (if fit) for sure.
Rotherham away is a game we should target for our first away win and that says Captain Jackson to me...so mostly agreed!
Moussa looked good tonight but not so good on Saturday.
Peeters knows where he's going and we now have just one game week for a while.
As others have posted, we are in a good place right now so I plan to enjoy.
Overran. We play like an away team at home and can't counter quickly like we did in the first two home games cause it's draining the team. The constant closing down and chasing the ball. Just doesn't work every game, especially without JBG, we're clearly missing him, he played a huge part in most of our counters and general play.
Don't see how Wiggins gets so much stick, far bigger problems in the squad than Wiggins having average games against good attacking players. Our midfield lacks the creativity and energy of all the good sides we've played so far. Luckily we've got two good centre backs to save us when it all hits the fan.
I think a real test for us will be a team of our calibre at home, we're all expecting a win no doubt but I'd be surprised it we dominate the game in the same way Wolves did to us tonight.
Anyway 4 points against Wolves and Watford is really good, I'm probably expecting too much from a team that has just survived relegation last season with new players and a new manager. Would be nice to see us actually get a comfortable win at home though.
Cousins is not a wide player, we need Bulot and Gudmonsson out wide with Cousins moving into the middle alongside Buyens. Love Jacko but how long can this go on for carrying him in the team, all I remember of him tonight apart from his late effort was a few short passes back to Wiggins.
Wiggins is out of form and could be time to give Fox a go at left back.
I think it's time for Big Bob to make some tough decisions and he needs to make them soon before we see more games at home like tonight regardless the strength of the opposition more teams will do a number on us like tonight.
I liked the look of Bulot, who looks quality and will definitely add to the team. Gomes despite some mistakes coped well. Wiggins looked weak again. I am not going to get on George's back who appears to be a bit limited. He is all Charlton has got up front alongside the classy Vetokele and getting on his back is not going to achieve anything. With support, George may get the occasional goal, it is clear though Vetokele needs a quality strike partner if Charlton are going to seriously challenge.
The game was enjoyable to watch. I am pleased with the point. Charlton have played some quality teams and are 5th and still unbeaten after 7 games. The team has some clear limitations. I am going to enjoy the good start and concentrate on the positive.
Buyens was his usual self; real quality and some killer passing. Jackson worked his socks off too, I think some of us are expecting a completely different role from him - something akin to a box-to-box midfielder; in reality his role seems to be breaking up play and making short passes - he does this well.
Cousins was.. frustrating again. Mainly because every match I've seen so far, he's been in space and crying out for the ball... just for it to be switched back to the right. This needs to change, he often finds himself completely unmarked and with room to move forward in to; just to be ignored. He's not a left midfielder; but if he's going to play there then please try and use him!!
Igor was actually quite anonymous when compared to previous games, and I'm concerned that he's now just a target for defenders; he's really not given a chance to do much damage. I suspect that Player of the Month accolade was something he could've done without unfortunately. This isn't a dig at him either, he obviously hurt himself in stoppage time, but still got up and was seen calling for the ball again! For the 93rd minute, after picking up a knock, after playing games in short succession... fair play to him, that's impressive determination and stamina.
Rather than dishing out criticism to Tucudean, I'd probably aim it at Moussa; he's a league up now and needs to understand that we're a side that pass the ball. Igor did it for Tucudean's shot (from an acute angle) that went just wide, and Moussa needs to too. He seemed to be running the ball straight towards the Covered End at one point; the boys got talent undoubtedly, but he needs to relax and understand that there are times to take your man on and times to pass. (Harriott was guilty of this on Saturday too.)
Bulot looked lively, albeit without a position as per se, had we conceded again I think he would've got pelters as he was all over the place; but I don't mind. He was running around receiving the ball, moving the ball, releasing the ball and generally giving the Wolves defence a bit of a worry. His defensive play in the penalty area with Gomez towards the end was incredible, and I genuinely think those two saved us two points on that occasion. I'm excited about this guy.
In conclusion, I thought we played some really nice football with some good quality passing; but we're missing something. Perhaps we let them come too deep when we allow the opposition room to play before hitting them on the counter? Maybe we need another striker up front to compliment (and draw flak away from) Igor?
Pretty much the same as the Watford game, we rode our luck and another day Wolves would have won easily. We played a high temp in the first half and low and behold we ran out of steam the majority of the second half. The likes of Velokele looks f*****d.
He stemed the tide and it worked. Fitness at the early stages of a season is always very difficult to gauge and the fact it was after the international break with half of our players away as well. The players won't reach their peak for another couple of months.
Eventually in the second half the same steward at the start of the half said he had to go... Cue stunned surprise, claims this was the "mixed stand" (I piped up at that point). Five minutes later he appeared in the Jimmy Seed and was giving it hand gestures haha.
It was not very good last night but to me, that was the first performance I honestly thought was generally poor instead of solid with perhaps a few lapses. We've got a very tricky run of games out of the way and stayed unbeaten by a succession of good teams, all of whom I expect to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. We keep the same level of determination and energy against weaker teams and goals will come.
All of that said, still unbeaten and better than last year.
Personally thought Jacko played well. But that chance was the clearest of all last night and on his favoured left foot. We might have only had 7 shots but most of them were very good chances.
Morgan Fox looks an assured player with time on the ball but he does not have the pace even of a below par Wiggins and the three I've mentioned would have exposed him terribly.
It's a concern for me that in both games we have conceded possession and territory far too easily and are allowing too much space on the edge of our box to give teams easy shots. How many times did we concede deflected goals in the last few seasons. There is a lack of pressing in midfield. I lost count of how many times their central mids have at least 10 yards to space to do what they wanted on the ball.
When we do go forward Igor is a fantastic threat but he shouldn't be the one winning all of the flick ons. He needs to be feeding off them. Lets hope his arm is ok we can get someone in on loan to compliment him as George looks a little off the pace.
We do have some very good players but the balance of the team is a little off. Cousins is never a winger and its doing him more harm than good being out wide left. Bulot looked very tidy when he came on. If his workrate is good and he can provide cover for Wiggins (because he has come up against some very tricky wingers this season and has been found wanting) then he should probably start the next game.
Bit of a doom and gloom post but it's not meant to be. To have 13 points and still be unbeaten is fantastic but i would like to see us take the game to the other team more. We could and should have had a couple of more goals last night so it proves that when we want to get forward we can be a real threat. We just arent doing it enough.
Anyway onwards and upwards! COYA!!
We took a battering though and I'll take a point. I just hope we take the initiative in our next home game.
However in the plus side we are maybe only 2 or 3 players from being a decent Championship side.and to still be unbeaten with so little possession shows a lot for the resilience of this team
(i.e. the Wolves chance when they had an open goal, hit the post and bounced along the goal-line... Actually did Henderson save that on to the post initially?)
Problem we have is Midfield, you can blame George etc for not holding the ball up but last night all our Midfield 4 were similiar type players, there was no outlet coming from the wings for Buyens or Jackson to utilise, yes Cousins works his bollocks off but he is not a winger and the same can be said of Wilson (who was poor last night).
Both Watford and Wolves had quick, strong tricky wingers which were used to expose us and i am sure (hoping) once we have Bulot and Gudmusson on either flank and Bob makes a decision on the centre mid pairing we will finish in the top 10. Moussa NEEDS to start in centre midfield.
TBH was premier quality last night too.
We are not the finished article. We have played teams that are a long way ahead of us in terms of preparation and squad building. We have competed in all games and won points. We are hard to beat. We will get better. We have a handful real quality players and need two more. Our coach is still finding his championship feet. He looks like he knows what he is doing.
I will take all of these points as a huge step forward from where we were in just January.
Keep calm and COYR