Thought it was a better balanced side, terrible time to lose the goal, the but for me was drawing with a poor Blackburn side, small signs for optimism.
Curbs always said, when on a bad run, strengthen defence, get a few draws and then move onto wins. The only trouble is, we have not got time to wait for the wins
True enough, as we chose to spend months with a crass amateur as manager. Like his previous stint, Jose Riga seems to be able to play players in their correct position. It's not rocket science. But mr 6-1-3, 2-2-6 formations preferred to try things that would only work on a Playstation 1 football manager game.
A positive home start for Jose Riga - much more organised and definitely in the right direction.
We had a better balance today and we regained our shape in the way Luzon used to like - that is a real positive.
Probably too much long ball second half and poor old Igor was up against it accordingly. Because of this, I was quite surprised that he brought Reza on ahead of Big Mak but in Jose, I trust.
I mentioned the word balance and I cannot overstress how crucial Watt & Igor were to provide this balance. Igor was superb off the ball and always looking to use his pace to pressure the defence.
I honestly believe that if we sell Tony Watt, we are likely to go down - he's that important to us and to the balance of the team.
Finally, as much as I respect the RD out lobby, singing RD out songs ten minutes from time when we're fighting to stay in the game was not that bright an idea - the players do get affected by negativism and what they needed today was the crowd behind them for the full 90.
2nd half was up there with the worst 45 mins of football I think you'll see in the championship, both sides lacked any quality. Ref was toilet, and Henderson was unbelievably frustrating with his timewasting. Draws are not enough.
Bergdich is a superb athlete but not a hugely talented footballer so he'll have to be used intelligently by Riga. I thought Bergdich looked good in the games against lower league opposition where his pace and strength meant that his lack of close control and positioning was less of an issue. I also thought he looked decent in the first half against Hull at home where even though his crossing and finishing repeatedly let him down there wasn't anyone who could stop him once he got a sprint going and he drove play forward. Against teams that know how to play against raw athleticism though he'll get found out again and again and he'll never cover his full back properly, but considering Blackburn are a flat physical team I think it was quite an intelligent selection from Riga and shows he's got the measure of the players at his disposal very quickly.
If we can bring three or so more players in, a creative centre mid being a priority, if we keep injury free where possible and if Igor and Watt start being the good, deadly versions of themselves not the fat, lazy or crippled varieties then we can at least make a fist of staying up
Poor game, very little quality on show. Our midfield has no creativity.
Can't see this team winning games.
This has been a problem for too long now. We're in desperate need of some creativity in the middle. If JBG was interested he could play in the number ten role.
I suggested the same thing the other day and was shouted down - no offence taken, of course!
The few times he had a chance to create things from midfield today he either held the ball too long and got closed down, failed to have his head up to see what was on or was muscled off the ball.
I'm a big JBG fan based on last season but he's not our answer to a playmaker.
Big fan of his but he clearly doesn't want to be here. Disappointing, and pretty disgraceful if I'm honest. If Riga feels like he can't get anything out of him then I'd have no problem cashing in if we spent it on suitable replacements.
Fuck the team it was a vague distraction from the pub which I don't know much about. The highlight was my dad accusing Rick Everitt of being a Rick Everitt lookalike.
Fuck the team it was a vague distraction from the pub which I don't know much about. The highlight was my dad accusing Rick Everitt of being a Rick Everitt lookalike.
Was it Rick Everitt or @Airman Brown? I've never seen them together.
Was at the game, but having just seen the highlights, Lennon made two big errors, fortunately, only one of the errors cost us a goal. For the Blackburn goal, Lennon lost Rhodes in the box. The second error, was the Simeon Jackson penalty claim, Lennon should have dealt with the ball, but didn't and luckily we weren't punished. I didn't realise how good a save Henderson made, when Harriot fluffed his header. Hendo was so quick off his line, to get to Rhodes! If we are to stay up, we need Rojo in next to Texeria, than put Bauer in when he is fit. Harriot, I'm afraid isn't cut out for this level.
Was at the game, but having just seen the highlights, Lennon made two big errors, fortunately, only one of the errors cost us a goal. For the Blackburn goal, Lennon lost Rhodes in the box. The second error, was the Simeon Jackson penalty claim, Lennon should have dealt with the ball, but didn't and luckily we weren't punished. I didn't realise how good a save Henderson made, when Harriot fluffed his header. Hendo was so quick off his line, to get to Rhodes! If we are to stay up, we need Rojo in next to Texeria, than put Bauer in when he is fit. Harriot, I'm afraid isn't cut out for this level.
I'd rather have a traffic cone stood at centre half than Roger Johnson, it would certainly do a better job.
We were average, but that is a huge improvement over recent performances. new boy Tex was terrific and I can see him forging a great partnership with Bauer when he is fit again. Like him or loathe him, but no-one can argue with Tony Watt's positive impact on our play - he controls the ball, turns, runs at defenders, makes things happen. He scares defenders whereas all of our other forwards are predictable as hell.
Good to see the team have some proper shape and leadership from the sidelines - well done Jose Riga.
Two things that I must get off my chest...... 1. That wasn't Rhodes's goal! It must go down as a Henderson OG. The header hit the post and rebounded onto Hendo then back into the net unless my eyes are deceiving me?? 2. Even more unbelievable was the moment Reza was clattered outside the box by their keeper who then was awarded the free kick. What an incompetent little prick that excuse for a referee was!!!!!
i am reliably informed that we will b signing 4 more players before the window closes -
If that IS the case, then Jose must be applauded for insisting that he needs certain reinforcements if he's to do his job & keep us up. And RD would have finally got the message that relegation would hit his pocket in a BIG way.
Watching MOTD as I write this, I have to smile at the volume of noise made by the faithful at the Theatre of Bores at the final whistle today. For sure this has been one of the biggest & most successful Clubs in Europe & their ineptitude this season must be hard for Utd fans to stomach. I'm welling up.....
Compare this to the situation that Charlton fans are currently facing & the hours of below par performances we have witnessed this season. OK, there have been a number of occasions when anger or frustration has come to the boil and boos have been directed at the team but on the whole we have remained fairly level headed ( although less so when the shortcomings of certain managers was evident)
The expectations we have of our Club are understandably lower than those of the Red Devils' - a kind of "We know our place" regardless of the heights we have risen to in the past and dream of doing again. But we are fully aware that we have to fight for every point, every victory & have the knowledge that we have no god given right to succeed. Maybe there should be one day each season when supporters of lower league Clubs swap with those of the Premier elite - in effect, swap experiences. Then maybe those cossetted, spoiled regulars at Old Trafford would understand what REAL football is all about & realise they have little to moan about.
Apologies for that deviation from the purpose of this thread but sometimes you just have to "unload" !
As always happens when I come late to the party, others have already said everything that needs to be said. Today for me was the return of a degree of optimism after weeks of hand wringing, depression & feelings of abject misery each Saturday. I had every faith that management under the returning Jose would mean our team was set up properly once again & that the players available to him would be scrutinised during training to enable him to pick the best eleven for today's crucial match....and I was not disappointed. I can't stop myself from wondering where we might be at this moment in time had our Mad Professor made the sensible decision to offer him a contract at the end of the 2013-14 term but we have to look forward , not back.
The plusses from where I sit in the East, were our new acquisition ( surely on Jose's recommendation) , the emergence of Bergdich & the positive pairing of TWWW and Igor up front. Some might say this was a risky ploy but apart from getting themselves on the score sheet, it was one I'd say was a success. The minuses sadly include the invisible JBG who brings less to the party week on week yet promises so much more. Maybe Jose needs more time with this player before we see the best of him once again. But overall, the performance was far superior to those we have witnessed of late - more energy, more skill, more "togetherness" and fewer goals conceded after the peppering of the back of our net in the recent visits north of Watford. There is now a firm foundation for manager & players to build on and I find myself looking forward to our trip to Rotherham next weekend. With the support of the 12th man/woman, it goes without saying that we have to face each game as a Cup Final & with a lot of hard work plus a soupcon of luck, we could make the Great Escape happen once again.
As the home team it is our right and duty to batter the opposition. Our deflected goal aside, it took us 60 minutes to carve an opening for the first accurate shot: Vetokele, easily saved.
Of the last 24 games, we have won only two. Of course the Belgian skinflints must go - yet, look also at our players. They are absolutely useless: this inability to move from midfield to attack is one of our long-standing basic failings.
Jackson, Cousins and Gudmundsson are anonymous - even against the most ordinary opponents, like Blackburn this afternoon. Did we get forward in the second half: turn the defenders, stretch the keeper, clatter a shot against the bar or post?
No. Absolutely zilch. There are no rehearsed moves from attacking throw-ins, no accurate triangles on the floor as we approach the box. Henderson takes a geological age to release the ball - then hoofs it to a vague stratosphere, beneath which Vetokele is too small to exist.
A season or two ago, we went through all the side-ways moves: home at The Valley, hold on to possession, crab-like. String six lateral passes on the half-way line, navel-gazing from side to side - then our opponents would pounce: One-nil.
Then we went the through the idea to pass and move quickly - one-touch football. We lost every single challenge in midfield, because our players are physically weak - simply unable to seize possession in a fifty-fifty challenge. We lost all those games at The Valley, 0-3.
It is a conceit to think our academy is full of talented players. Ahearne-Grant might shine at Cambridge. Joe Piggott may learn at Southend. And Diego Poyet, the glittering starlet - who shipped ten goals in a single week at MK Dons - comes back to us.
These players are bystanders. We are muscled off the ball in midfield - a shoulder dismisses them. We will slither out of relegation - no lesson learned.
What is the brilliant Paul Walsh thinking? And the superb Martin Robinson? And Killer, intelligent and tough. And Mike Flanagan - who has all of those lovely qualities, and many more besides.
We, in the Covered End, look at the Charlton players we have now, and laugh.
Firstly, was pleased JR got a good reception from the West where I sit, even if BDL didn't announce him back until the start of the second half. At least most of the team looked to be trying yesterday. They must be so short on confidence and hope a point is the turning point for us. We need points from the next two games. Pleased to see Watt back, and he does make an impact, but sadly, the boy still wont pass when he should. Hope JR can teach him when not to be selfish. Fox was much better, and Bergdich, who I didn't want to ever see again, played surprisingly well. Must give him credit where its due. The man of the match for me was new boy Tex, a solid debut, won everything in the air, and made a crunching (but, fair) tackle which got the ball into touch. Very impressed with him, and can't wait to have him and Bauer together at the back. I must credit Henderson with how quickly he came out of goal to meet Rhodes I think on a one to one, that was never a penalty, he got the ball. Even the ref didn't think so and he was Blackburn's best player, never seen quite so many decisions go to the opposition unfairly. How he gave a foul against Reza when their keeper charged well outside his area to clatter him, I shall never know. Hope JR can get a couple more players, especially ones like Tex, and we may have a chance yet.
The most important thing to see today was the sharp change in the players' attitudes and it showed in each and every one's performances. That's been missing since the first few weeks of the season and should give us a little hope.
One of the striking aspects of Riga's last spell was getting a tune out of everyone. Today was a good start and in my view a game we'd have lost 2 weeks ago.
Thought Cousins looked a different player through his relentless hard work, Fox much improved, Vetokele made a difference if unfit. Solly better, and Teixera looks the calm physical defender we need.
Special mention for Bergdich who's rightly come in for stick but who put in a shift today and caused them problems.
A positive home start for Jose Riga - much more organised and definitely in the right direction.
We had a better balance today and we regained our shape in the way Luzon used to like - that is a real positive.
Probably too much long ball second half and poor old Igor was up against it accordingly. Because of this, I was quite surprised that he brought Reza on ahead of Big Mak but in Jose, I trust.
I mentioned the word balance and I cannot overstress how crucial Watt & Igor were to provide this balance. Igor was superb off the ball and always looking to use his pace to pressure the defence.
I honestly believe that if we sell Tony Watt, we are likely to go down - he's that important to us and to the balance of the team.
Finally, as much as I respect the RD out lobby, singing RD out songs ten minutes from time when we're fighting to stay in the game was not that bright an idea - the players do get affected by negativism and what they needed today was the crowd behind them for the full 90.
I thought Igor made a bigger difference than Watt to the balance of the team. I like Watt but he reminds me of Andy Reid a little in that he doesnt release the ball quickly enough. When what he's trying comes off its devastating, but he needs to learn when to take on the defence and when to recognise the attention he's drawn has created space for a team mate.
Solid performance and was pleasantly surprised by the fitness/sharpness shown by two men who haven't played much in ages...Bergdich and Vetokele.
Very impressed with Texeira. He read the play superbly and didn't piss about when a clearance was needed. Seems to have good movement in the oppo's penalty area too.
There has obviously been a lot of work done on the training ground regarding defensive shape and playing Bergdich to offer more cover was a good move. After a couple of thumpings, the rot had to be stopped rather than go chasing the game.
I thought the ref was fussy and there were far too many free-kicks for the most basic of bodily contact. At least he didn't wave the cards about though.
Clean sheet needed at Rotherham. We might have to go 4-5-1 (with Watt on the bench).
Most of its been said by others. The background/protests/ongoing ownership stuff aside, this was a putridly bad game of football. The latest in a growing series of dreadful games. It's not just Roly's world that's going to see attendances decline. If this is the general standard then it's sad times. Otherwise my abiding memories of yesterday are:
1. Yet another episode in the saga that is the sad decline of JBG. A wonderful talent but his head is wasted. I spent five minutes just watching him yesterday rather than following the ball and he just doesn't give a shit any more. Not what we need at the moment. A decent offer and I'd get rid.
2. Tony Watt. In many ways he's a circus act. His failings are obvious but without him yesterday we would have offered precisely nothing in an offensive capacity. He gets a lot wrong but he's worth watching.
3. Hendo. Love him. But get a f******g move on. Time wasting when we have a game to win is very tedious.
4. The woeful standard of refereeing together with the poor standard of football is getting to the stage where it is lessening the enjoyment and will drive folk away. That guy yesterday was simply awful. And for both teams.
5. If I had to watch Blackburn every week I'd give up. Horrible team.
6. Rhodes. I've now seen this guy in the flesh about a dozen times. If he has touched the ball more than twenty times in total during those games I'd be surprised. I think he's scored eight goals! Unreal.
7. Very good "stand up if you want them outs". Growing numbers of participants. The post match protest was well attended but felt flatter than the last one. Can't put my finger on the reason. Maybe just me.
Henderson is a decent championship keeper, even if he appears to waste time, whether we are winning, drawing or losing ! Tex and Bauer would make a decent CB's pairing with Diarra and Poyet in front of them once Diego finds his feet again. The midfield is a real problem with no Playmaker, Cousins will run all day, JJ is struggling and JBH looks a shadow of the player from last season. Up front, Igor showed some promising signs including running away from defenders. Tony Watt is the ultimate Enigma. so much talent in his feet but not sure if the stuff between the ears let's him down or he just enjoys having a barney with everyone. He is still the most exciting player and the most frustrating player CAFC have had for a decade.
If people are disappointed with a 1-1 draw after conceding 11 goals in 2 games and no goals scored, has Curbs taken us as far as he can !
Comments
Although we do ourselves a big favour if we take points from Rotherham and Bristol City.
We had a better balance today and we regained our shape in the way Luzon used to like - that is a real positive.
Probably too much long ball second half and poor old Igor was up against it accordingly. Because of this, I was quite surprised that he brought Reza on ahead of Big Mak but in Jose, I trust.
I mentioned the word balance and I cannot overstress how crucial Watt & Igor were to provide this balance.
Igor was superb off the ball and always looking to use his pace to pressure the defence.
I honestly believe that if we sell Tony Watt, we are likely to go down - he's that important to us and to the balance of the team.
Finally, as much as I respect the RD out lobby, singing RD out songs ten minutes from time when we're fighting to stay in the game was not that bright an idea - the players do get affected by negativism and what they needed today was the crowd behind them for the full 90.
If we can bring three or so more players in, a creative centre mid being a priority, if we keep injury free where possible and if Igor and Watt start being the good, deadly versions of themselves not the fat, lazy or crippled varieties then we can at least make a fist of staying up
The highlight was my dad accusing Rick Everitt of being a Rick Everitt lookalike.
I'd try Sarr for the next game, then Bauer or Diarra when fit
Improvement, but I fear too little too late. I honestly believe we are 90% down.
Sorry
Good to see the team have some proper shape and leadership from the sidelines - well done Jose Riga.
1. That wasn't Rhodes's goal! It must go down as a Henderson OG. The header hit the post and rebounded onto Hendo then back into the net unless my eyes are deceiving me??
2. Even more unbelievable was the moment Reza was clattered outside the box by their keeper who then was awarded the free kick. What an incompetent little prick that excuse for a referee was!!!!!
Watching MOTD as I write this, I have to smile at the volume of noise made by the faithful at the Theatre of Bores at the final whistle today. For sure this has been one of the biggest & most successful Clubs in Europe & their ineptitude this season must be hard for Utd fans to stomach. I'm welling up.....
Compare this to the situation that Charlton fans are currently facing & the hours of below par performances we have witnessed this season. OK, there have been a number of occasions when anger or frustration has come to the boil and boos have been directed at the team but on the whole we have remained fairly level headed ( although less so when the shortcomings of certain managers was evident)
The expectations we have of our Club are understandably lower than those of the Red Devils' - a kind of "We know our place" regardless of the heights we have risen to in the past and dream of doing again. But we are fully aware that we have to fight for every point, every victory & have the knowledge that we have no god given right to succeed. Maybe there should be one day each season when supporters of lower league Clubs swap with those of the Premier elite - in effect, swap experiences. Then maybe those cossetted, spoiled regulars at Old Trafford would understand what REAL football is all about & realise they have little to moan about.
Apologies for that deviation from the purpose of this thread but sometimes you just have to "unload" !
As always happens when I come late to the party, others have already said everything that needs to be said. Today for me was the return of a degree of optimism after weeks of hand wringing, depression & feelings of abject misery each Saturday. I had every faith that management under the returning Jose would mean our team was set up properly once again & that the players available to him would be scrutinised during training to enable him to pick the best eleven for today's crucial match....and I was not disappointed. I can't stop myself from wondering where we might be at this moment in time had our Mad Professor made the sensible decision to offer him a contract at the end of the 2013-14 term but we have to look forward , not back.
The plusses from where I sit in the East, were our new acquisition ( surely on Jose's recommendation) , the emergence of Bergdich & the positive pairing of TWWW and Igor up front. Some might say this was a risky ploy but apart from getting themselves on the score sheet, it was one I'd say was a success. The minuses sadly include the invisible JBG who brings less to the party week on week yet promises so much more. Maybe Jose needs more time with this player before we see the best of him once again. But overall, the performance was far superior to those we have witnessed of late - more energy, more skill, more "togetherness" and fewer goals conceded after the peppering of the back of our net in the recent visits north of Watford. There is now a firm foundation for manager & players to build on and I find myself looking forward to our trip to Rotherham next weekend. With the support of the 12th man/woman, it goes without saying that we have to face each game as a Cup Final & with a lot of hard work plus a soupcon of luck, we could make the Great Escape happen once again.
With Jose at the helm, I'm keeping the faith.
Support the team, NOT the regime.
Of the last 24 games, we have won only two. Of course the Belgian skinflints must go - yet, look also at our players. They are absolutely useless: this inability to move from midfield to attack is one of our long-standing basic failings.
Jackson, Cousins and Gudmundsson are anonymous - even against the most ordinary opponents, like Blackburn this afternoon. Did we get forward in the second half: turn the defenders, stretch the keeper, clatter a shot against the bar or post?
No. Absolutely zilch. There are no rehearsed moves from attacking throw-ins, no accurate triangles on the floor as we approach the box. Henderson takes a geological age to release the ball - then hoofs it to a vague stratosphere, beneath which Vetokele is too small to exist.
A season or two ago, we went through all the side-ways moves: home at The Valley, hold on to possession, crab-like. String six lateral passes on the half-way line, navel-gazing from side to side - then our opponents would pounce: One-nil.
Then we went the through the idea to pass and move quickly - one-touch football. We lost every single challenge in midfield, because our players are physically weak - simply unable to seize possession in a fifty-fifty challenge. We lost all those games at The Valley, 0-3.
It is a conceit to think our academy is full of talented players. Ahearne-Grant might shine at Cambridge. Joe Piggott may learn at Southend. And Diego Poyet, the glittering starlet - who shipped ten goals in a single week at MK Dons - comes back to us.
These players are bystanders. We are muscled off the ball in midfield - a shoulder dismisses them. We will slither out of relegation - no lesson learned.
What is the brilliant Paul Walsh thinking? And the superb Martin Robinson? And Killer, intelligent and tough. And Mike Flanagan - who has all of those lovely qualities, and many more besides.
We, in the Covered End, look at the Charlton players we have now, and laugh.
One of the striking aspects of Riga's last spell was getting a tune out of everyone. Today was a good start and in my view a game we'd have lost 2 weeks ago.
Thought Cousins looked a different player through his relentless hard work, Fox much improved, Vetokele made a difference if unfit. Solly better, and Teixera looks the calm physical defender we need.
Special mention for Bergdich who's rightly come in for stick but who put in a shift today and caused them problems.
Very impressed with Texeira. He read the play superbly and didn't piss about when a clearance was needed. Seems to have good movement in the oppo's penalty area too.
There has obviously been a lot of work done on the training ground regarding defensive shape and playing Bergdich to offer more cover was a good move. After a couple of thumpings, the rot had to be stopped rather than go chasing the game.
I thought the ref was fussy and there were far too many free-kicks for the most basic of bodily contact. At least he didn't wave the cards about though.
Clean sheet needed at Rotherham. We might have to go 4-5-1 (with Watt on the bench).
1. Yet another episode in the saga that is the sad decline of JBG. A wonderful talent but his head is wasted. I spent five minutes just watching him yesterday rather than following the ball and he just doesn't give a shit any more. Not what we need at the moment. A decent offer and I'd get rid.
2. Tony Watt. In many ways he's a circus act. His failings are obvious but without him yesterday we would have offered precisely nothing in an offensive capacity. He gets a lot wrong but he's worth watching.
3. Hendo. Love him. But get a f******g move on. Time wasting when we have a game to win is very tedious.
4. The woeful standard of refereeing together with the poor standard of football is getting to the stage where it is lessening the enjoyment and will drive folk away. That guy yesterday was simply awful. And for both teams.
5. If I had to watch Blackburn every week I'd give up. Horrible team.
6. Rhodes. I've now seen this guy in the flesh about a dozen times. If he has touched the ball more than twenty times in total during those games I'd be surprised. I think he's scored eight goals! Unreal.
7. Very good "stand up if you want them outs". Growing numbers of participants. The post match protest was well attended but felt flatter than the last one. Can't put my finger on the reason. Maybe just me.
Henderson is a decent championship keeper,
even if he appears to waste time, whether we are winning, drawing or losing !
Tex and Bauer would make a decent CB's pairing with Diarra and Poyet in front of them once Diego finds his feet again.
The midfield is a real problem with no Playmaker,
Cousins will run all day, JJ is struggling and JBH looks a shadow of the player from last season.
Up front, Igor showed some promising signs including running away from defenders.
Tony Watt is the ultimate Enigma.
so much talent in his feet but not sure if the stuff between the ears let's him down or he just enjoys having a barney with everyone.
He is still the most exciting player and the most frustrating player CAFC have had for a decade.
If people are disappointed with a 1-1 draw after conceding 11 goals in 2 games and no goals scored, has Curbs taken us as far as he can !
Cousins has got the energy/heart for the up and down role whilst JBG has the passing range and might warm to the task.
In Championship terms....think Cousins as a Graham Stuart and think JBG as a Claus Jensen.