Attacking-wise we struggled to create much, with our main chances aside from the penalty (which looked to me like a dive from Kayleigh Barton) being a long-range effort from Charlotte Newsham tipped over the bar and a late air-kick from Barton. Defensively we were excellent though, with some good recovery tackles and a number of last-ditch blocks when required as London City inevitably created chances, plus one good save at her near post from Sophie Whitehouse. It looked like we would hold out, but then an unnecessary foul on the edge of the box gave them one last chance, and to be fair the free kick was unstoppable.
Promotion has probably gone now (as GarryManilow says, our poor run in the autumn has killed us), but I think we can still hold our heads high that we went toe-to-toe with a much more expensively assembled squad. Here's to more than one promotion spot in future seasons.
As an aside, I'd like to see the pigeons' heat map today – they really covered some ground up and down the pitch!
Was v disappointing to concede so late when it looked like we could be on for a double victory weekend. It did remind me of last season’s match v LCL when we went 1-0 up quite late on yet managed to concede two in injury time to lose. So I had seen it before Orient yesterday - only it was CAFCW on the receiving end.
According to the above relegation could be reinstated in 30/31. The initial objective is to increase the size of the WSL. Dissapointingly there does not seem to be any proposal to make two promotion spots available, which I think the Championship needs, even if the big clubs are not coming down. One automatic and 1 play off.
The new company runn8ng the women's game has done well to get real money into the game, but it still pales into insignificance compared to the men's game and leaves clubs reliant up on the fortunes of the men's teams and benevolence of the owners.
Wonder if a solution is to create a Bundesliga style promotion/relegation play off. While the WSL grows 1st place in the Championship goes up and then 2nd place does a two legged tie against the team who come bottom of the WSL?
I'm not clear from the article how big they foresee the Championship being - it says larger, but that could mean 14 or perhaps 16. Even if it was 14 that would be 30 fully professional clubs which is a big increase from the present where not all Championship clubs are full time and there are very few full time at tier 3.
I think it would be a huge mistake to end relegation without a firm commitment to bring it back after 4 years when WSL is 16 clubs instead of 12. There needs to be pressure on clubs at the bottom to spend in order to stay up, otherwise the clubs that aren't in the mix for the European places have no incentive to invest at all.
Assuming they fix that problem, and I suspect they'll have to if they want to get 8 of the 11 Championship clubs voting for the deal, the rest of the proposal seems pretty good. Not least that while we won't be among the top 16 biggest budgets in the women's game we won't be all that far off and getting into WSL with the ability to stay up might be more realistic for clubs of our size (the article notes that neither Bristol or Palace have come particularly close to staying up like Leicester did a few years back, and I'd note that Bristol and Palace both have more money available than we do).
Promotion but no relegation can only continue for a limited time, until you have presumably the optimum number for a WSL second tier. Then you possibly get no promotion/relegation from there on.
Wonder if a solution is to create a Bundesliga style promotion/relegation play off. While the WSL grows 1st place in the Championship goes up and then 2nd place does a two legged tie against the team who come bottom of the WSL?
The Charlton v Leeds play off matches in 87 were a top division team against a 2nd tier team. Oldham and Ipswich were losing semi finalists.
This season in the WSL and Championship it would probably be Palace V ? If a similar format was in operation but without semi final matches and no auto relegation for the bottom team.
It's been an interesting season in the Championship as when I saw LCL beat Charlton at Hayes lane back in Oct I thought they would run away with the title and CAFC would be 4th or 5th.
I was at the game and was thinking during how slight of frame our players were,except for one of them , compared to the Lionesses. Also they had three players taller than any on our side. So they did well to hold them at bay at all I reckon.
Season over. Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so!
Average manager = Mid table team. It’s not rocket science.
So a possible three points in that game in hand doesn't change anything?
It’s a big ‘If’. We are 2 points off 7th.
Would love to be proved wrong, just can’t see it.
No, you absolutely would not. You only come on here to moan about Hills, you'd be furious
Come on Gaz, you are better than that. I, like all Charlton fans want both women’s and men’s teams to be successful.
Its ok to have a difference of opinion. Stop being silly.
Not including this post you have posted 12 times since March 2024. 8 of them have been about how you don't rate Karen Hills and want her sacked. It's literally almost all you come on here to do, if we got rid of her you'd have nothing left to post about.
Definitely leaves enough time to put pressure on clubs and kick up a fuss for anything that looks bad. Will obviously need the help of WSL fans though which seems unlikely
Well that sounds like good news. I can live with no relegation for a few years if it comes back once the WSL has reached the size they're looking for. Although, cynic that I am, I wonder if "an entirely closed league is not on the table" might mean play-offs between the top of the Championship and bottom of the WSL.
9 Mar: Blackburn Rovers, home, 12 noon. At the Valley. £10 adult, £7 over-65, £6 under-25, £5 under-18. 16 Mar: Bristol City, away, 2pm. At Ashton Gate. £12.25 adult, £10.25 over-65, £10.25 under-22, £7 under-19, £5 under-12. Tickets from here. 23 Mar: Birmingham, home, 2pm. At the Valley. £10 adult, £7 over-65, £6 under-25, £5 under-18. 30 Mar: Sunderland away, 2pm. At Eppleton Colliery welfare ground. Not on sale yet. Tickets from here. 6 Apr: international week. England play Belgium at Ashton Gate on 4/4 and away on 8/4. Both sold out for England fans. 13 Apr: week off.
Don't forget tomorrow's game is a noon kickoff not the usual 2pm. The last Sunday before Easter is another blank weekend which I assume most clubs will be using as the date to play any postponed games. Things get a bit patchy after the end of March - because our fixture against Reading was going to be at the end of April, we only have the home game against Newcastle on Easter Sunday and the final-day trip to Southampton on 4 May after this next run of 4 games.
Comments
Attacking-wise we struggled to create much, with our main chances aside from the penalty (which looked to me like a dive from Kayleigh Barton) being a long-range effort from Charlotte Newsham tipped over the bar and a late air-kick from Barton. Defensively we were excellent though, with some good recovery tackles and a number of last-ditch blocks when required as London City inevitably created chances, plus one good save at her near post from Sophie Whitehouse. It looked like we would hold out, but then an unnecessary foul on the edge of the box gave them one last chance, and to be fair the free kick was unstoppable.
Promotion has probably gone now (as GarryManilow says, our poor run in the autumn has killed us), but I think we can still hold our heads high that we went toe-to-toe with a much more expensively assembled squad. Here's to more than one promotion spot in future seasons.
As an aside, I'd like to see the pigeons' heat map today – they really covered some ground up and down the pitch!
Average manager = Mid table team. It’s not rocket science.
The referee clearly had absolutely no idea what idea what to do.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/02/womens-super-league-clubs-will-hold-vote-on-radical-plan-to-scrap-relegation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
The new company runn8ng the women's game has done well to get real money into the game, but it still pales into insignificance compared to the men's game and leaves clubs reliant up on the fortunes of the men's teams and benevolence of the owners.
Demise of Reading being a case in point.
I think it would be a huge mistake to end relegation without a firm commitment to bring it back after 4 years when WSL is 16 clubs instead of 12. There needs to be pressure on clubs at the bottom to spend in order to stay up, otherwise the clubs that aren't in the mix for the European places have no incentive to invest at all.
Assuming they fix that problem, and I suspect they'll have to if they want to get 8 of the 11 Championship clubs voting for the deal, the rest of the proposal seems pretty good. Not least that while we won't be among the top 16 biggest budgets in the women's game we won't be all that far off and getting into WSL with the ability to stay up might be more realistic for clubs of our size (the article notes that neither Bristol or Palace have come particularly close to staying up like Leicester did a few years back, and I'd note that Bristol and Palace both have more money available than we do).
The Charlton v Leeds play off matches in 87 were a top division team against a 2nd tier team.
Oldham and Ipswich were losing semi finalists.
This season in the WSL and Championship it would probably be Palace V ?
If a similar format was in operation but without semi final matches and no auto relegation for the bottom team.
It's been an interesting season in the Championship as when I saw LCL beat Charlton at Hayes lane back in Oct I thought they would run away with the title and CAFC would be 4th or 5th.
Also they had three players taller than any on our side.
So they did well to hold them at bay at all I reckon.
A more defensive player might have prevented LCL getting to the edge of the area for the free kick.
I also think Jess Gray should be playing in goal. Taller and probably would have saved the free kick.
https://www.charltonafc.com/news/pga-match-report-charlton-3-chelsea-2
Its ok to have a difference of opinion. Stop being silly.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c5y4xkv6lr2o
16 Mar: Bristol City, away, 2pm. At Ashton Gate. £12.25 adult, £10.25 over-65, £10.25 under-22, £7 under-19, £5 under-12. Tickets from here.
23 Mar: Birmingham, home, 2pm. At the Valley. £10 adult, £7 over-65, £6 under-25, £5 under-18.
30 Mar: Sunderland away, 2pm. At Eppleton Colliery welfare ground. Not on sale yet. Tickets from here.
6 Apr: international week. England play Belgium at Ashton Gate on 4/4 and away on 8/4. Both sold out for England fans.
13 Apr: week off.
Don't forget tomorrow's game is a noon kickoff not the usual 2pm. The last Sunday before Easter is another blank weekend which I assume most clubs will be using as the date to play any postponed games. Things get a bit patchy after the end of March - because our fixture against Reading was going to be at the end of April, we only have the home game against Newcastle on Easter Sunday and the final-day trip to Southampton on 4 May after this next run of 4 games.
https://x.com/_tomarch/status/1898717835607560421?s=46&t=MojDVxh_AjG5taAWPQn6Tw