First half nothing really happened apart from them scoring a goal so soft it had to be seen to be believed. Second half we stepped up a gear and scored. We huffed and puffed, gave the ball away too many times. We looked like a team of strangers for most of the match. The stats may say we had X amount of shots with Y on target and we ?% possession but it really wasn't up to much. Maybe I'm still drunk on Championship football.
The freebies meant East Stand was as busy as the last game we played at this level. First half gone and I thought these buggers won't be back. But the second half was a different story.... Very entertaining.
Ajose was suddenly a live wire and Crofts, who must have been told to push forward more, had a fine effort well saved. Then we saw a good move and very good goal.
Surprised Holmes went off as we were starting to run them ragged.
Special mentions to Konsa who looks a fine prospect, both our full backs who are comfortable at this level, and our new number 9, who proved a real handful and worked very hard throughout the game.
Formation in the first half was a 433 when we had the ball with Holmes dropping back when we were off the ball to make two banks of four. I didn't mind it in principle but it didn't work in practice. Very very dour performance.
Much better when Foley came off for lookman. I'll be disappointed if we see Foley in CM again. Back up right back sure but CM nah.
Need some legs in midfield desperately but until then it has to be Jackson and Crofts with 2 wingers.
Solly and Fox absolute class. Pearce okay and Konsa good league debut. Holmes started alright but got a bit wound up by it all and I think that played a part in him being taken off. Botaka was erm shall we say unconvincing. Very fast but not sure he has played football before...
Ajose was quiet first half with no service, but better second half. Had a couple of chances and when one goes in he will get more. Magennis showed promise and Novak looked alright.
Absolute awful first half. We won't be doing much this season with Jackson, Crofts and Foley all starting together. Yes great goal by Jackson. Play him behind the strikers fine but you need two younger work horses behind him. Don't play him on the wing and not in the centre of midfield. Defence is fine and strikers are fine. Sort out the midfield and we can have a good season keep it as it is we are fucked.
Don't wanna put players down but that player who came on from Leeds looked like he had never kicked a ball in his life. Hopefully it was just nerves but wasn't a great impression.
First half turgid and narrow with no pace. Zero service for Magennis and Ajose. Crying out for some width to stretch their fullbacks and make some space for Ajose.
Second half better but mainly because Northampton were very reluctant to push forward. Nice goal by skip but Slade did not push home the advantage by not bringing on Lookman immediately.
I can see some hope. Ajose will score goals and Magennis once settled will be a decent partner. Holmes and eventually Lookman different gravy.
We are desperate for energy in the centre. Without it we will huff and puff.
Early days but Botake looked dreadful.
Biggest concern for me now is Slade. Not sure he is as good a coach as I had hoped. We looked clueless at times and his substitutions were too late.
I thought Holmes was superb and was a massive factor in us getting back into that game. Just ran at Northampton who seemed to shit themselves. Looks a very good signing.
We definitely could have won that. Northampton looked very poor 2nd half; disappointingly so
To the bloke at the East stand entrance by the big Charlton badge, shouting and raising his voice to a young female steward. You were a disgrace and I hope you apologised to the stewards you treated so poorly.
He had a problem with his ticket getting in and turned on a young steward who is probably paid peanuts. It wasn't her fault in anyway and barked at her to call someone senior to rectify his problem. Then another steward came over to help and he shouted "What exactly is your job anyway?". The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth anyway.
Holmes looks an exciting player and is not frightened to put a tackle in. Young Konsa will be a great player. He reminded me a bit of Rufus and let's not forget he's just a kid. No doubt propelled into the team as part of Roland's aim of selling our best young prospects. All in all a good second half just need to be a little more composed in and around the box. It will take a few games for the squad to gel. I'll reserve judgment .
A really poor first half, where we played with practically no tempo or creativity. Our only two 'plays' appeared to be a long, high, diagonal ball from Fox to Magennis in the hope of latching onto a knock down and anything that Ricky Holmes could conjure up on his own, despite some heavy treatment from his former colleagues.
Much better in the second half, when we moved the ball quicker and Crofts and others upped their game, although it could hardly have been worse than the first 45 minutes. Lookman caused Northampton a lot of trouble and, for a time, it looked as if we could go on and win it but we lost momentum when Holmes went off (presumably the result of knocks on Tuesday and today).
In the end, a draw was a fair result and I'd have certainly taken that at half time after a dire first half.
I think we'll be fine defensively and offensively - if we keep Lookman - but we desperately need some pace and creativity in midfield. Without it, a long season of struggle and mediocrity beckons.
Lethargic, slow and disjointed first half we improved 2nd half when stepped it up.
Super goal from super Johnnie Jackson. Oh how funny is it that some write him off again and again he does that.
Should have gone on to win but none of the forwards look like they've played with each other before possibly because they haven't.
Magennis is a lump and Boats loomed lost but need more time.
Ajose looks sharp but needs more help. Nice assist from him for super Johnnie Jackson's super goal but that was one the very rare times a midfielder ran beyond the forwards.
We are still a long way off being a team but some good signs along with some more worrying poor defending.
Solly MOTM, Fox good, Pearce a wrestler and Konsa neat on the ball but out of position a few times. Bauer and Tex both look better and maybe Lennon too.
Jackson now our top scorer for the season.
Crowd was small but got behind the team after the goal.
First half was terrible we should have been 2 down but for a terrible header from them. Second half we gave it a go but our attacking play didn't seem to have any real conviction to it.
If we can get some energy into midfield we might challenge.
We had a really good spell after half time and we're going for the second. Then Brussell took off the player creating most of the energy and put on Jonathon Obika's twin brother and all the momentum went. Oh well.
A better second half performance than I was expecting after a disjointed first half. There seemed to be a structure, 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 with Jacko tucking in on the left, but little pattern of play. 6,7,8 passes across the back, followed by a long ball upfield. We were at our best, when Holmes, Maginnis, Ajose and Lookman were picking up the ball in deep positions and running at the Northampton B4.
Due to poor pre-season planning and late transfer business, we are still in the pre-season trying to put a team together.
Ist half we were dire, thankfully the team's were on the big screen as I had to keep looking to find out the names of our players. Second half we played quite well, Holmes & Croft looked pretty good to me. Jackson's legs may have gone but they still manage to get him in the right place at the right time.
Holmes looks an exciting player and is not frightened to put a tackle in. Young Konsa will be a great player. He reminded me a bit of Rufus and let's not forget he's just a kid. No doubt propelled into the team as part of Roland's aim of selling our best young prospects. All in all a good second half just need to be a little more composed in and around the box. It will take a few games for the squad to gel. I'll reserve judgment .
Konsa was playing because our other CBs were injured/lacking match fitness, and Roger Johnson is a ****. I think he will be a good player, but he's not ready for a starting position yet.
Odd experience. Went along on a free ticket. Did a bit of protesting outside the shop but it felt a bit after the Lord Mayors show. Sat in a busy east stand surrounded by tourists. Atmo was better than I expected and protest songs were very muted. Absolutely dire first half. Better second but I'm going to struggle to take to some of these new players (mind you I won't be there very often). Northampton offered nothing second half. We huffed and puffed. Slade's substitutions were weird (unknown injuries notwithstanding). All in all, it felt very strange and not really like my club. I'll be a very occasional visitor methinks this year.
Poor first half, but we improved after the break with more energy from the team, and from the crowd.
Due to our incompetent transfer timings, we lacked a bit of cohesion both at the back and up front BUT there were signs of promise. Magennis looked a threat, and Ajose showed that he can turn sharply in the box. Crofts and Foley isn't a good midfield combination though, that's the one area I would expect more business to be done in this week.
Seems I'm a lot more positive than some but not exactly a surprise on here.
First half was poor, probably the softest goal I've seen. Whole play was lacking energy and was completely disjointed. Second half was totally different, (and as much as people won't say it) well done Slade as he clearly gave them a kick up the arse that was needed. Created a lot of chances in the second half and were generally a lot more positive.
We do need a proper winger to play wide left though in this system. I'll defend the Holmes Botaka sub slightly. Lookman was already on and clearly the way to go was attack with pace, Holmes doesn't have that and possibly was feeling that heavy tackle from the first half. Botaka looked incredibly nervous which was weird, I guess we must be bigger than Leeds then. He showed a couple of flashes of potential and after he lost the ball a couple of times went into his shell. It was strange.
Overall I think positives to build on from the second half. This season won't be decided from the first 2 games and probably not even the first 10. Hopefully they can gel quickly as Magennis and Ajose showed signs of it towards the end and get some more energy in that midfield.
First half awful, second half was better, if we play like we played in the 5 minutes where we scored we could steamroll this league. Need a 'kante' type player next to Crofts in midfield to get up and down, we also need a tricky quick proven league one winger. I think that Magennis and Ajose will come good, Lookman weren't at his best today but you can see he's a class above the rest in confidence and ability, solly was outstanding and jacko gave his absolute all (loved the passion in the celebration). When Bauer, Kashi, Lennon and Diarra return we will look so much stronger. Foley and Pearce aren't good enough.
Poor first half, very good second half, should have won!
Ajose more in the game than any other so far this season, just needs a goal was unlucky today.
Magennis looks like he could be useful. Botaka omg, awful, but he cant be judged on 15 minutes.
Solly and Holmes our best two players. Konsa is a great prospect, but had a couple of dodgy moments, but we can't overplay him at his age, glad Bauer is on the way back.
Work in progress.
Exceptionally pleased that the fans there this afternoon got right behind the team, brilliant!
Great to be back at The Valley, would I have rather been anywhere else ? No is the answer.
We were poor first half and much better 2nd half. A draw was about right.
Holmes was the main threat in the first half & Magennis was lively.
Crofts was far too negative passing backwards and sideways & Foley was similar.
Second half Crofts & Jackson started to run at them & along with Holmes we suddenly had some movement and the game changed.
We equalised and kept the pressure on with Lookman on for Holmes, but then we stopped pushing forward so much. We could have won it, but then so could they on the break.
Holmes, Solly & Lookman were the stand out players.
We still need 5 better players on that showing.
Good enough for promotion - Rudd, Solly, Pearce, Holmes, Magennis, Ajose.
Not good enough to play every game if we want promotion - Konsa, Fox, Crofts, Foley, Jackson.
Well yeah let's base judgments on 20 odd minutes after a few days at the club. I suppose it is the Charlton way.
They're judgements based on twenty minutes of play. How else do you judge someone other than what they did on the pitch, regardless of how long they were on it?
These are all correct as he was pretty poor. Hopefully he will improve and people will be able see what he can offer.
Comments
The stats may say we had X amount of shots with Y on target and we ?% possession but it really wasn't up to much.
Maybe I'm still drunk on Championship football.
Ajose was suddenly a live wire and Crofts, who must have been told to push forward more, had a fine effort well saved. Then we saw a good move and very good goal.
Surprised Holmes went off as we were starting to run them ragged.
Special mentions to Konsa who looks a fine prospect, both our full backs who are comfortable at this level, and our new number 9, who proved a real handful and worked very hard throughout the game.
Much better when Foley came off for lookman. I'll be disappointed if we see Foley in CM again. Back up right back sure but CM nah.
Need some legs in midfield desperately but until then it has to be Jackson and Crofts with 2 wingers.
Solly and Fox absolute class. Pearce okay and Konsa good league debut. Holmes started alright but got a bit wound up by it all and I think that played a part in him being taken off. Botaka was erm shall we say unconvincing. Very fast but not sure he has played football before...
Ajose was quiet first half with no service, but better second half. Had a couple of chances and when one goes in he will get more. Magennis showed promise and Novak looked alright.
Defence is fine and strikers are fine. Sort out the midfield and we can have a good season keep it as it is we are fucked.
Don't wanna put players down but that player who came on from Leeds looked like he had never kicked a ball in his life. Hopefully it was just nerves but wasn't a great impression.
Second half better but mainly because Northampton were very reluctant to push forward. Nice goal by skip but Slade did not push home the advantage by not bringing on Lookman immediately.
I can see some hope. Ajose will score goals and Magennis once settled will be a decent partner. Holmes and eventually Lookman different gravy.
We are desperate for energy in the centre. Without it we will huff and puff.
Early days but Botake looked dreadful.
Biggest concern for me now is Slade. Not sure he is as good a coach as I had hoped. We looked clueless at times and his substitutions were too late.
Looks pretty mid table to me.
We definitely could have won that. Northampton looked very poor 2nd half; disappointingly so
Noticed Sue Parkes sitting next to KM, not sure who I feel more sorry for.
Sue Parkes has finally got an official job at the Club as a security heavy!!!!!!!!????
Early days yet, but Magennis offers something different to the other strikers club. Quite impressed
To the bloke at the East stand entrance by the big Charlton badge, shouting and raising his voice to a young female steward. You were a disgrace and I hope you apologised to the stewards you treated so poorly.
He had a problem with his ticket getting in and turned on a young steward who is probably paid peanuts. It wasn't her fault in anyway and barked at her to call someone senior to rectify his problem. Then another steward came over to help and he shouted "What exactly is your job anyway?". The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth anyway.
Much better in the second half, when we moved the ball quicker and Crofts and others upped their game, although it could hardly have been worse than the first 45 minutes. Lookman caused Northampton a lot of trouble and, for a time, it looked as if we could go on and win it but we lost momentum when Holmes went off (presumably the result of knocks on Tuesday and today).
In the end, a draw was a fair result and I'd have certainly taken that at half time after a dire first half.
I think we'll be fine defensively and offensively - if we keep Lookman - but we desperately need some pace and creativity in midfield. Without it, a long season of struggle and mediocrity beckons.
Lethargic, slow and disjointed first half we improved 2nd half when stepped it up.
Super goal from super Johnnie Jackson. Oh how funny is it that some write him off again and again he does that.
Should have gone on to win but none of the forwards look like they've played with each other before possibly because they haven't.
Magennis is a lump and Boats loomed lost but need more time.
Ajose looks sharp but needs more help. Nice assist from him for super Johnnie Jackson's super goal but that was one the very rare times a midfielder ran beyond the forwards.
We are still a long way off being a team but some good signs along with some more worrying poor defending.
Solly MOTM, Fox good, Pearce a wrestler and Konsa neat on the ball but out of position a few times. Bauer and Tex both look better and maybe Lennon too.
Jackson now our top scorer for the season.
Crowd was small but got behind the team after the goal.
KM arrived at 1.45 pm very poor.
If we can get some energy into midfield we might challenge.
A better second half performance than I was expecting after a disjointed first half. There seemed to be a structure, 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 with Jacko tucking in on the left, but little pattern of play. 6,7,8 passes across the back, followed by a long ball upfield. We were at our best, when Holmes, Maginnis, Ajose and Lookman were picking up the ball in deep positions and running at the Northampton B4.
Due to poor pre-season planning and late transfer business, we are still in the pre-season trying to put a team together.
Due to our incompetent transfer timings, we lacked a bit of cohesion both at the back and up front BUT there were signs of promise. Magennis looked a threat, and Ajose showed that he can turn sharply in the box. Crofts and Foley isn't a good midfield combination though, that's the one area I would expect more business to be done in this week.
First half was poor, probably the softest goal I've seen. Whole play was lacking energy and was completely disjointed. Second half was totally different, (and as much as people won't say it) well done Slade as he clearly gave them a kick up the arse that was needed. Created a lot of chances in the second half and were generally a lot more positive.
We do need a proper winger to play wide left though in this system. I'll defend the Holmes Botaka sub slightly. Lookman was already on and clearly the way to go was attack with pace, Holmes doesn't have that and possibly was feeling that heavy tackle from the first half. Botaka looked incredibly nervous which was weird, I guess we must be bigger than Leeds then. He showed a couple of flashes of potential and after he lost the ball a couple of times went into his shell. It was strange.
Overall I think positives to build on from the second half. This season won't be decided from the first 2 games and probably not even the first 10. Hopefully they can gel quickly as Magennis and Ajose showed signs of it towards the end and get some more energy in that midfield.
Looks like we've got ourselves an absolute gem of a signing there then!!
Ajose more in the game than any other so far this season, just needs a goal was unlucky today.
Magennis looks like he could be useful. Botaka omg, awful, but he cant be judged on 15 minutes.
Solly and Holmes our best two players. Konsa is a great prospect, but had a couple of dodgy moments, but we can't overplay him at his age, glad Bauer is on the way back.
Work in progress.
Exceptionally pleased that the fans there this afternoon got right behind the team, brilliant!
We were poor first half and much better 2nd half. A draw was about right.
Holmes was the main threat in the first half & Magennis was lively.
Crofts was far too negative passing backwards and sideways & Foley was similar.
Second half Crofts & Jackson started to run at them & along with Holmes we suddenly had some movement and the game changed.
We equalised and kept the pressure on with Lookman on for Holmes, but then we stopped pushing forward so much. We could have won it, but then so could they on the break.
Holmes, Solly & Lookman were the stand out players.
We still need 5 better players on that showing.
Good enough for promotion - Rudd, Solly, Pearce, Holmes, Magennis, Ajose.
Not good enough to play every game if we want promotion - Konsa, Fox, Crofts, Foley, Jackson.
These are all correct as he was pretty poor. Hopefully he will improve and people will be able see what he can offer.