Bikey and Haim again carrying the rest. Bulot and Cousens clueless and Moussa lightweight and very easily dispossessed. The bench looked like a crèche so we are down to bare bones. We need more players and soon.
We were terrible and I have no idea how we won. Once again we kept losing possession and conceded numerous corners - our luck will give way eventually. Bikey and George were our only decent players - the rest simply struggled. Not enjoyable to watch.
Great finish by George and lovely vision and touch to set up the second. With a bit of confidence from this he and Igor could still make a great combo IMO.
Two very good goals tonight, peach of a ball from Buyens to Tucudean who produced a great touch and finish for the first. Looks like it means so much to home which is nice to see. He lated off Jacko very nicely aswell for the second. I'm pleased for him as he's had some doubters but then he comes back in to the side and puts in a perfoance like that, good news!
Centre backs as solid as ever - loved Bikey's run down the left wing!!!
Cousins, although frustrating, was vital to the win today. He covered every single blade of grass, he collapsed to the floor as soon as the final whistle went!
Henderson put in a good performance, though not his best as he lost a couple of crosses in the air.
Wiggins was good when the ball was on the floor but he seems to really struggle when he has to defend a ball that is off the ground. Still, he was against a poor right mid, there number 7 offered nothing ... he was rightly subbed. Stand in RB Wilson had a good game.
Moussa had his best game for us today, he picked the ball up a few times on the half way line with his back to goal and distributed it well. Perhaps he can release the ball a little sooner however. Bulot worked hard which was nice to see.
Jacko and Buyens had very good games today, I was very happy to see Jacko score again aswell. That's the best this CM partnership has looked since Watford at home. It's a shame that we will be without Yoni, still at least he gets a rest if he's tired :-)
Look, we were under the cosh for much of the game but it felt like we were letting them have the ball rather than us being outplayed. We were very organised and kept our shape well.
Corners are a concern. It seems that we don't concede from the actual corner but the resulting passage of play after it. Seem to remember this being the case at Brighton x2, Bournemouth and now today. Something to work on.
I thought Bolton were decent today, Dervite is an excellent footballer. Chung-Yong was good aswell and caused problems between the midfield and defense.
Still, can't complain! 3 points and all! 7th place. 1 point of the three teams above us ... Life's good at the moment!!
Well we are in prime striking distance for a playoff place right now so who can complain?? Glad to see George get a goal today. We need to stop giving up goals off of set pieces, and stop giving away so many dumb set pieces as well. other than that I think it was a good result and im happy to have another 3 points
Pete and Terry are suggesting that despite the lack of possession we weren't that troubled most of the time. Two good goals to win, when many of us wondered how we would score without Igor, seems to me like a good night's work. Sounds like Buyens had a good game, but is suspended for Friday after a questionable booking.
The other thing that I'd like to ask those there, because it always winds me up. From where did the officials produce 5 minutes of injury time which then turned into 6 ? I don't recall any significant injury stoppage being mentioned.
All six subs were used: isn't there a regulation 30 secs for each, so that's three minutes for a start. It's a good thing there wasn't more stoppage time, because we might well have blown it. Bolton had loads of corners and several free-kicks around our box in the second half; a better team would have made them count. We were very poor again today: our weak midfield remains the root of the problem. In tonight's Evening Standard, Jackson reckons we are playing good football...
Completely outplayed. Fortunate 2-1 win. Two nicely taken goals. Our strength is Ben Haim, Bikey-Amougou, who are both absolutely outstanding, Henderson and, more generally, good defensive organisation. The defence gives us a real chance each week, whoever plays at full back it seems.
Thought Moussa looked OK. Held the ball up much better than George. George took his goal superbly well though. They combined nicely to set up Jackson.
Have lost confidence in Wiggins. Wiggins would have played with Feeney at Bournemouth and knew he could get the better of him and defensively he looked better, but going forward .... Bulot has ability, but isn't influencing the game.
Now need circa 28 points from 33 games. It's going to be ond hell of a battle for survival. Blackpool look sunk, but two very decent sides are going to go down with them.
In many ways that was one of the best results of the season. I emphasise result above performance, which was patchy, because of the circumstances of the game. I mean we were challenged to respond after the Bournemouth result, we had very significant players unavailable, a dirty cold night at a thinly populated Valley, the pressure was on...and we won. Three lovely points, stopped the run of draws at home, remain undefeated at the Valley, a champions league style goal from a player who otherwise was closer to conference league in other ways (George stay on your feet mate), a lot to be satisfied about tonight. In terms of the game it was once again rope a dope football, in the second half we got into the Bolton half about twice, and scored on one of those occasions as well. Bolton seemed to have about a hundred corners but apart from their well threaded goal our defence was very good. We all love Bikey but Tal Ben Haim was outstanding and Henderson very good. Most of the players put in an honest shift in unforgiving circumstances, Yoni, Jordan and Jacko were better than on Saturday and there ought to be a positive vibe around Sparrows Lane leading up to Fulham. I am giving Big Bob a 9, because we want results and points and we got them, can't argue with that.
Bloody hell did we win? You wouldn't know it on here. 3 more points on the board against a team trying to take advantage of the new manager bounce suits me just fine
Apart from their goal and the effort that Wilson headed off thevline i cannot remember whether they had a shot on target in the second half so poor was their attack and in particular the woeful Beckford. We desperately need a player who can relieve pressure by holding the ball up and giving an immensely hard working but shadow chasing midfield a breather.without such a player we cannot play Jackson and Buyens together in the middle as they're incapable of pressing quickly enough when the ball comes straight back from a clearance forward.We also had no one getting down the wings tonight as an alternative outlet except perhaps wiggins with rare excursions. Defence did well particularly Wilson and Bikey.But they won't beable to do so well every week.Depressingly a laboured win felt like a defeat in some ways if that is not a completely stupid thing to say.Still a win is a win nevertheless.
Bloody hell did we win? You wouldn't know it on here. 3 more points on the board against a team trying to take advantage of the new manager bounce suits me just fine
Funny you should say that, because I nearly forgot we were winning during the second half. We were so bad in patches. Like everyone says though, a win is a win and we went home happy.
History will record this as 3 points won but it was pretty unconvincing on the whole. An excellent finish and assist from Tucudean but nothing else he did seemed to come off.
I thought Wiggins, Cousins and Bulot were poor and Buyens did his usual strong first half, anonymous second half. Jacko, Bikey, Henderson and Tucudean for his two key interventions were the best performers for me. Wilson and Moussa did ok. Bolton weren't great but had some good periods. I don't think they'll be at the bottom for long.
Without three of our best players, it has to be considered a great 3 points even if the performance was patchy.
Sounds like another unconvincing performance but the main thing was the result tonight, make sure we did not go into a spiral of losses after finally losing our unbeaten run.
Given the line up excellent 3 points for 53 mins we were excellent some great football played involving Buyons , Moussa, Bulot and George .... Bolton got a lift they did not deserve but even though they had a lot of the ball around our box we defended well . Buyons excellent in both ends ... neat football between Moussa and Bulot and George had his best game for the club... At the back Wiggins had a mere tonight .. All in all important win that will give everyone a lift
you obviously watched a different game to me. other than the win there was little that was excellent. both jj and buyens were better but not great, but credit to jj for goal. credit also to george for his goal which was well taken, but he fell over too much and faded considerably in second half. moussa tried but wasn't that good, and bulot was poor. did he add anything positive? no idea what cousins was up to, but it wasn't great.
i thought that bolton were much more positive than us and they have a good midfield. fortunately for us they have virtually nothing up front.
overall our passing was poor, we defended too deep and we give away possession too easily, zonal marking really doesn't work, we look slow and lacking imagination. we gave too much space on the wings which got worse when fox came on. he looks out of his depth.
however, a win's a win and we seem to be making our own luck at the moment. but our problems are still there to be seen and i fear we will continue to struggle.
Very happy with moussa's performance tonight and hopefully a goal and assist will give george some confidence too! Cousins brings nothing to the team playing out wide and fox duplicated Jordan's performance when the left back played left mid ! Gutsy performance from tucu, moussa , bikey and Ben haim but the rest pretty dull
I'm going for a slightly different stance to those above. Yeah we were sloppy in possession, yes we sat back, yes we didn't look threatening on the whole. But for a man, they worked their backsides off and I'm not up for listening to any negativity around the result/performance, and these are my reasons why.
1. Our squad. On our day we have just about, a good first XI. Of that first XI, some are the mainstays, the ones that pull our team through and I think other championship teams would want. I was convinced, and perhaps a bit naively after the Derby game, that this could be a great season.
It's natural. I've realised with the squad we have, I just want to get as many points as possible to get safety, and then see what happens. I think we'll finish mid table, and after last year, new manager, new owner I'll take that. We're not play off material IMO, so every win is great and the fact we have a few already this season, in tough games is cracking.
2. On tonight's game, those injuries threw a mixture of players together that hadn't had much game time as a unit, so we weren't that fluid. However we played to our strengths. Yes, Bikey et al soak up a lot of pressure, but they are the most solid aspect of our play. If we put it on JJ & Buyens, Bulot, they're not going to see us through. Let those that can use their strengths, give us a platform and we get what we can.
3. Those that did come in, ie Tucudean stepped up. Granted he went to ground very easily about 4 times in the opening 10 mins, and doesn't really provide us with an outlet, but he took his goal superbly. For someone who has probably not got to grips with the standard in the championship and who's confidence could have been knocked, that was a great finish. He was clever to set up JJ for the second as well. Moussa I thought also tried hard to hold the ball up and did well. Wilson grew as the game went on.
4. Bob Peeters. He was just as animated and pissed off as we were with every misplaced pass, and taking too long to get out from corners and dropping too deep. He has real passion, a game plan and his utilising our strengths which I think is clever. No disrespect to CP, but there were games last season where you felt he was almost happy for us to be entrenched when a corner was cleared.
He never rocketed Stephens for one of his loose balls or ripped into Church for his general shitness. Peeters will let them know. And he's not afraid to change it. I didn't go on sat and it is clear it was one of our poorest performances, but reading on here, people said he tried to change it. CP was very stubborn, I think BP is clued up enough to shake it up.
The other little bits I have to add were fair play to JJ again - 2 things he did well were obviously score (although I would've been fuming if he missed such a chance given that's why I feel he's in the team). And a great interception right at the death when the ball got played across our box from their left. I will say though that he doesn't actually look comfortable receiving the ball. There were a few times in the 1st half when his touch and composure seem to disappear. He doesn't suit the balls into feet he may get if Bikey & TBH play it out from the back.
Buyens didn't have a great game, but he looked like he was getting back to finding his passes again. I still think these 2 struggle in a midfield 2 though.
I actually believe that Bolton have probably got better players than us technique and passing wise (certainly in the midfield), so actually I think this is a great win. And if you're a Bolton fan then you'd admit deep down they needed to do more with the ball.
I'm not naive enough that I don't think we have faults, and I know where they are. I just sit next to a very negative person and got fed up with a lot of the moaning from him and around me tonight. And sometimes when I read the pre-match thread and see people predicting defeats, it wears me down. Hence why I'm keen to really big this win up tonight
We have a top of championship bottom of premiership defence and that is what keeps us 4 points off the top. Funniest sight of the evening was Bikey out pacing one of their players going into their half. George did well after a very poor star when he was on the floor more often than not and only avoided a booking for a dive because it was so bad. Thought Lawrie Wilson was excellent, solid in defence, no nonsense. But calm and collected my man f the match. Be interested in others who were there view on Buyens, Moussa and Bulit, thought all three were poor. Great to see more than one goal and get three points .. Bring on the cottagers
I won't pretend we will run away with this league but that's three more points, two clinical finishes and one more game towards the half way mark. Yep, another 12 points by 1 Jan puts us somewhere near the play-offs and the club have stated they will acquire two or three more players in January if are in the mix.
So imagine tonight's XI plus the three missing plus three more and we have something worth watching!
Once again our back five was immense (although Wiggins shaky at times) and Tucudean has played his way back in to contention. The rest were ok and we are nicely set up to have a crack at Fulham on Friday
It was lucky that Bolton were poor or we would have been beaten. Ben Haim and Bikey were excellent; Wilson did OK, Moussa was fair and the goals were good but other than that it was a bad display. Peeters has got to sort out the midfield either by coaching or changing things around. His options are limited but he could try Cousins in the middle. I don't agree with some of the posts here that Jacko was good; I thought he was less than average (apart from his goal of course). Buyens has got to take some responsibility, put in that extra yard of effort, get his foot on the ball and knock it around like he did in the first few games of the season. Had the midfield been better I don't think Charlton would have been holding on for dear life, against Bolton's numerous corners.
There was a lovely moment first half when Bikey was receiving the ball just in front of our dugout. A Bolton player was touch tight next to him but it seemed he was chite scared to make the tackle, Bikey just glared at him, then had almost enough time to get instructions from Bob, take a swig of water, check his texts and tweet a couple of replies and then control the ball sort it out and move it on. On top of that there was a second half Bikey charge upfield in front of the East Stand where I swear I felt the ground shudder and feared for the undersoil heating pipework
A cold, windswept Valley with a hint of drizzle in the air was home to what can only be described as a mugging by Charlton in front of what I would estimate to be barely 10,000 home fans and 1,000 tops away fans - whatever the officially announced attendance. However I'll take it thank you very much!
We had two meaningful shots and scored two goals whereas Henderson made four or five decent saves. George Tucudean's goal was a shining beacon of quality amongst 90 minutes of mostly mediocrity or worse. A lovely chip forward ( was it Jacko ? not 100% sure) was brought down well by George and he then evaded a lunging defender before sliding the ball across the keeper into the far lower corner of the net at the Covered End. Our other shot and goal came when Jacko found himself in a central position effectively one on one with the keeper, Lonergan, and effectively slid a shot past him as he advanced into an empty net.
That was pretty much that from us as far as any real attacking intent. Bolton came to get something out of the match, trying to unsettle us by turning us round so we kicked towards the Covered End in the first half and pressing and attacking as much as they could. If you didn't know any different you would have assumed that they were the home team and we were the away side.
However the big positive is that on a cold, unpleasant October night our lads responded to defeat on Saturday and, despite being well below their best possibly in part because of the weather conditions, battled their way to victory.
Massive 3 points with injuries and recent struggles and basically a shit performance yet again , don't know how we do it but long may it continue.
thought Henderson got away with it tonight with some flapping and coming and missing some crosses but he's still in credit for me
Nice finish and assist for Tucudean but his Griffin impression is a bit too good on occassions
who cares , we're still 5th (joint) !!
can't see our crowds improving even if we're top 8 all season , the football is dull and only the hardcore fruits will go and watch that regularly and as long as those results keep coming , i'm loving it
0% top two ......... 2% 3rd-6th .........55% 7th-12th ......43% 13th-21st...... 0% Relegation
Comments
Bikey and George were our only decent players - the rest simply struggled. Not enjoyable to watch.
Two very good goals tonight, peach of a ball from Buyens to Tucudean who produced a great touch and finish for the first. Looks like it means so much to home which is nice to see. He lated off Jacko very nicely aswell for the second. I'm pleased for him as he's had some doubters but then he comes back in to the side and puts in a perfoance like that, good news!
Centre backs as solid as ever - loved Bikey's run down the left wing!!!
Cousins, although frustrating, was vital to the win today. He covered every single blade of grass, he collapsed to the floor as soon as the final whistle went!
Henderson put in a good performance, though not his best as he lost a couple of crosses in the air.
Wiggins was good when the ball was on the floor but he seems to really struggle when he has to defend a ball that is off the ground. Still, he was against a poor right mid, there number 7 offered nothing ... he was rightly subbed. Stand in RB Wilson had a good game.
Moussa had his best game for us today, he picked the ball up a few times on the half way line with his back to goal and distributed it well. Perhaps he can release the ball a little sooner however. Bulot worked hard which was nice to see.
Jacko and Buyens had very good games today, I was very happy to see Jacko score again aswell. That's the best this CM partnership has looked since Watford at home. It's a shame that we will be without Yoni, still at least he gets a rest if he's tired :-)
Look, we were under the cosh for much of the game but it felt like we were letting them have the ball rather than us being outplayed. We were very organised and kept our shape well.
Corners are a concern. It seems that we don't concede from the actual corner but the resulting passage of play after it. Seem to remember this being the case at Brighton x2, Bournemouth and now today. Something to work on.
I thought Bolton were decent today, Dervite is an excellent footballer. Chung-Yong was good aswell and caused problems between the midfield and defense.
Still, can't complain! 3 points and all! 7th place. 1 point of the three teams above us ... Life's good at the moment!!
Our midfield look comfortable when given loads of space but struggle when closed down quickly and put under pressure, can any body tackle in midfield?
Anyway onwards and upwards roll on Fulham.
Thought Moussa looked OK. Held the ball up much better than George. George took his goal superbly well though. They combined nicely to set up Jackson.
Have lost confidence in Wiggins. Wiggins would have played with Feeney at Bournemouth and knew he could get the better of him and defensively he looked better, but going forward .... Bulot has ability, but isn't influencing the game.
Now need circa 28 points from 33 games. It's going to be ond hell of a battle for survival. Blackpool look sunk, but two very decent sides are going to go down with them.
In many ways that was one of the best results of the season. I emphasise result above performance, which was patchy, because of the circumstances of the game. I mean we were challenged to respond after the Bournemouth result, we had very significant players unavailable, a dirty cold night at a thinly populated Valley, the pressure was on...and we won. Three lovely points, stopped the run of draws at home, remain undefeated at the Valley, a champions league style goal from a player who otherwise was closer to conference league in other ways (George stay on your feet mate), a lot to be satisfied about tonight.
In terms of the game it was once again rope a dope football, in the second half we got into the Bolton half about twice, and scored on one of those occasions as well. Bolton seemed to have about a hundred corners but apart from their well threaded goal our defence was very good. We all love Bikey but Tal Ben Haim was outstanding and Henderson very good.
Most of the players put in an honest shift in unforgiving circumstances, Yoni, Jordan and Jacko were better than on Saturday and there ought to be a positive vibe around Sparrows Lane leading up to Fulham. I am giving Big Bob a 9, because we want results and points and we got them, can't argue with that.
Like everyone says though, a win is a win and we went home happy.
Bolton dominated yes, but scored once, we scored two. All that matters when the ref blows the final whistle.
To be honest, Bolton showed enthusiasm, lots of it, but I don't recall too many clear opportunities from them, after cutting us apart?
Great touch and finish, great football for the second. Switched off briefly for their goal.
MOM. Bikey/George
A great win after our loss Saturday. Well done boys and well done BP for lifting them and getting a hard fought win.
I thought Wiggins, Cousins and Bulot were poor and Buyens did his usual strong first half, anonymous second half. Jacko, Bikey, Henderson and Tucudean for his two key interventions were the best performers for me. Wilson and Moussa did ok. Bolton weren't great but had some good periods. I don't think they'll be at the bottom for long.
Without three of our best players, it has to be considered a great 3 points even if the performance was patchy.
i thought that bolton were much more positive than us and they have a good midfield. fortunately for us they have virtually nothing up front.
overall our passing was poor, we defended too deep and we give away possession too easily, zonal marking really doesn't work, we look slow and lacking imagination. we gave too much space on the wings which got worse when fox came on. he looks out of his depth.
however, a win's a win and we seem to be making our own luck at the moment. but our problems are still there to be seen and i fear we will continue to struggle.
and it is Buyens - with an 'e'
Cousins brings nothing to the team playing out wide and fox duplicated Jordan's performance when the left back played left mid !
Gutsy performance from tucu, moussa , bikey and Ben haim but the rest pretty dull
1. Our squad. On our day we have just about, a good first XI. Of that first XI, some are the mainstays, the ones that pull our team through and I think other championship teams would want. I was convinced, and perhaps a bit naively after the Derby game, that this could be a great season.
It's natural. I've realised with the squad we have, I just want to get as many points as possible to get safety, and then see what happens. I think we'll finish mid table, and after last year, new manager, new owner I'll take that. We're not play off material IMO, so every win is great and the fact we have a few already this season, in tough games is cracking.
2. On tonight's game, those injuries threw a mixture of players together that hadn't had much game time as a unit, so we weren't that fluid. However we played to our strengths. Yes, Bikey et al soak up a lot of pressure, but they are the most solid aspect of our play. If we put it on JJ & Buyens, Bulot, they're not going to see us through. Let those that can use their strengths, give us a platform and we get what we can.
3. Those that did come in, ie Tucudean stepped up. Granted he went to ground very easily about 4 times in the opening 10 mins, and doesn't really provide us with an outlet, but he took his goal superbly. For someone who has probably not got to grips with the standard in the championship and who's confidence could have been knocked, that was a great finish. He was clever to set up JJ for the second as well. Moussa I thought also tried hard to hold the ball up and did well. Wilson grew as the game went on.
4. Bob Peeters. He was just as animated and pissed off as we were with every misplaced pass, and taking too long to get out from corners and dropping too deep. He has real passion, a game plan and his utilising our strengths which I think is clever. No disrespect to CP, but there were games last season where you felt he was almost happy for us to be entrenched when a corner was cleared.
He never rocketed Stephens for one of his loose balls or ripped into Church for his general shitness. Peeters will let them know. And he's not afraid to change it. I didn't go on sat and it is clear it was one of our poorest performances, but reading on here, people said he tried to change it. CP was very stubborn, I think BP is clued up enough to shake it up.
The other little bits I have to add were fair play to JJ again - 2 things he did well were obviously score (although I would've been fuming if he missed such a chance given that's why I feel he's in the team). And a great interception right at the death when the ball got played across our box from their left. I will say though that he doesn't actually look comfortable receiving the ball. There were a few times in the 1st half when his touch and composure seem to disappear. He doesn't suit the balls into feet he may get if Bikey & TBH play it out from the back.
Buyens didn't have a great game, but he looked like he was getting back to finding his passes again. I still think these 2 struggle in a midfield 2 though.
I actually believe that Bolton have probably got better players than us technique and passing wise (certainly in the midfield), so actually I think this is a great win. And if you're a Bolton fan then you'd admit deep down they needed to do more with the ball.
I'm not naive enough that I don't think we have faults, and I know where they are. I just sit next to a very negative person and got fed up with a lot of the moaning from him and around me tonight. And sometimes when I read the pre-match thread and see people predicting defeats, it wears me down. Hence why I'm keen to really big this win up tonight
Yep, another 12 points by 1 Jan puts us somewhere near the play-offs and the club have stated they will acquire two or three more players in January if are in the mix.
So imagine tonight's XI plus the three missing plus three more and we have something worth watching!
Once again our back five was immense (although Wiggins shaky at times) and Tucudean has played his way back in to contention. The rest were ok and we are nicely set up to have a crack at Fulham on Friday
On top of that there was a second half Bikey charge upfield in front of the East Stand where I swear I felt the ground shudder and feared for the undersoil heating pipework
A cold, windswept Valley with a hint of drizzle in the air was home to what can only be described as a mugging by Charlton in front of what I would estimate to be barely 10,000 home fans and 1,000 tops away fans - whatever the officially announced attendance. However I'll take it thank you very much!
We had two meaningful shots and scored two goals whereas Henderson made four or five decent saves. George Tucudean's goal was a shining beacon of quality amongst 90 minutes of mostly mediocrity or worse. A lovely chip forward ( was it Jacko ? not 100% sure) was brought down well by George and he then evaded a lunging defender before sliding the ball across the keeper into the far lower corner of the net at the Covered End. Our other shot and goal came when Jacko found himself in a central position effectively one on one with the keeper, Lonergan, and effectively slid a shot past him as he advanced into an empty net.
That was pretty much that from us as far as any real attacking intent. Bolton came to get something out of the match, trying to unsettle us by turning us round so we kicked towards the Covered End in the first half and pressing and attacking as much as they could. If you didn't know any different you would have assumed that they were the home team and we were the away side.
However the big positive is that on a cold, unpleasant October night our lads responded to defeat on Saturday and, despite being well below their best possibly in part because of the weather conditions, battled their way to victory.
Winning when not playing well is a good habit.
COYR
thought Henderson got away with it tonight with some flapping and coming and missing some crosses but he's still in credit for me
Nice finish and assist for Tucudean but his Griffin impression is a bit too good on occassions
who cares , we're still 5th (joint) !!
can't see our crowds improving even if we're top 8 all season , the football is dull and only the hardcore fruits will go and watch that regularly and as long as those results keep coming , i'm loving it
0% top two ......... 2% 3rd-6th .........55% 7th-12th ......43% 13th-21st...... 0% Relegation