Charlton Athletic v Oxford United
Tuesday 21st February 2017 … 7:45pm Kick-Off
Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey)
IntroductionIt has been nearly three weeks since our last game at the Valley and on that road trip the Addicks have had a short trip to South West London with two trips up to Manchester. February was meant to define our season, if we wanted to reach the Play-Offs then our charge up the table needed to begin this month… With just three points over the four matches, February certainly has defined our season… Just not in the way we wanted.
Tuesday night sees us lose a game in hand against a handful of opponents above us yet with Oxford United coming to town it’s not just the Addicks squad that might be a bit stretched… For reasons unknown and for the first time that I can remember, the Met Police will be at two South London Grounds this Tuesday night as both Charlton and Millwall play host to League One opposition.
The OppositionName: Oxford United |
Manager: Michael Appleton
Ground: Kassam Stadium
Never has a Manager been mocked on CharltonLife as often as Michael Appleton… His Managerial career began at struggling Portsmouth yet despite the restraints under Pompey at the time he impressed and secured a move to Blackpool yet after just 12-games he was moving (by choice) once again to rivals: Blackburn Rovers where once again he was in charge of just 13-games before he was sacked… Here was a Manager who seemed to be trying to completing “the 92” with a different approach to the fans.
After a year out of the game; Appleton surprisingly popped up at Oxford and over the last three years he’s certainly rebuilt his reputation. Promotion from League Two last season hasn’t left his side daunted with the task at hand with an impressive 3-2 defeat against Middlesbrough on Saturday in the FA Cup showing us just what we can expect this Tuesday night.
Charlton Team NewsJason Pearce must now be getting lonely on the side-lines as yet another player returns to contention… After a silly sending off at the end of the Fleetwood match; Nathan Byrne could return to the side yet after scoring his first goal for the club, you’d expect to see Jordan Botaka staying ahead of the Wigan loanee in the line-up.
Ezri Konsa started our last match against Rochdale in defence yet injury saw him depart early on and was replaced by our saviour that day in Jorge Teixeira… With such a short time frame between matches, you’d expect Oxford to come too soon for a return for Konsa.
Rudd
Solly | Bauer | Teixeira | Page
Forster-Caskey | Crofts
Botaka | Watt | Holmes
Magennis
Substitutes Bench: Phillips | Dasilva | Byrne | Jackson | Aribo | Novak | Mavididi
PredictionIs the season over… Does mid-table appear to beckon? – This Tuesday sees a classic mid-table clash with Oxford just a single point ahead of the Addicks yet with our opponents still having a two game advantage over 6th place you’d expect to see an attempt from at least one of us to go for the three points and so try and close the gap
Comments
Has this EVER happened before?
*Note: It can be a struggle some weeks to find something to write about in the Introduction... If ever anyone finds something of note about the fixture, by all means drop me a message in my inbox as it could help me out massively
Tex, Josh and Holmes.
Hopefully, we will get the two wins this week to ensure we aren't dragged back into a relegation battle.
Anyway, this is the definition of a meaningless mid-table fixture. I reckon Oxford will be feeling sorry for themselves after the end of their FA Cup run, so we'll probably win, and that'll move us a touch closer to the play-offs, meaning that we'll have to put up with a couple more weeks of that irritating feeling that we could still get in the top 6 if we could just string a few decent results together, even though we all know that our squad is nothing like as good enough, and certainly nothing like as good as the Scouse Talking Machine seems to think it is.
2-0 victory for Charlton, followed by a load of nonsense from Fat Karl about how hard the players have been working, how proud of them he is, we've turned the corner, Lewis Page has all the potential to be the next Roberto Carlos, blah, blah, blah. Then we lose at home to Bury on Saturday.
I was stood very close to Seb's brother Oli and I remember almost knocking him over by mistake when that winner went in.
Anyway, the game. The only thing in our favour is how motivated Oxford may be after being dumped out the cup. Will they have hangover.
My heart says 1-1 as we desperately try to zero in on the record number of draws in one season. My head says 1-1 to keep up this brilliant consolidationism
I'm intrigued by your story - did you literally dump her on your way out of Fratton Park, gently explaining that there just wasn't room in your heart for her and Carl Leaburn?
Nothing less than a win tomorrow evening is good enough, as state above, we must get 6 points from these two home games. Anything else means I want us to push for the record of 1-1 draws in a season.
3-1 to us, and something like:
Rudd
Solly Bauer Teixeira Page
Crofts Forster-Caskey
Byrne Watt Holmes
Magennis
Phillips, Chicksen, Jackson, Aribo, Botaka, Mavididi, Novak
In the match at Oxford they looked tidy and well organised, just the sort of league one outfit we have had problems with all season.
I honestly think that Oxford will not be up for this
2-0 charlton
They are on a good run, especially away from home, just proved to themselves they can live with a prem team having already beaten Newcastle and still have an outside chance of the play-offs with their two games in hand.
I think Oxford will see this as a winnable game and try to take the game to us but that might suit us better than Fleetwood and Wimbledon's tactic of stopping us playing.
2 - 2 draw.
i remember staying over at hers the night before championship manager came out, her, a few of her mates, and a few of mine. The October half term. After a great night exploring my adolescence, purchasing champ manager from GAME in lewisham the next day was like the icing on the cake.
There was actually nothing wrong with her at all. Just got it into my head that on the way down and after the 2-0 win I should finish it.
I have many memories from that season, that period. I remember getting home and ringing her on her friends landline that was only down the road to me and telling her it was over. After the call I got back on back on the PC and continued my season with Villa 5-3-2 and bought Victor Leonenko
2-4.
CAFC 2 v Oxford United 0
Having said that i fully expect us to win a tight match 2.1 with Karl waffling on longer than usual in his post match interview.
I then think we may win Saturday sending posters on here wild with delight as to our chances of reaching the playoffs before it all goes belly up at Northampton.
Happy sod ain't i