My (layman's) opinion is that you can teach someone to work harder, but you can't teach someone that bit of class that you are either born with or not.
Which isn't to say that the player with the natural talent will always make it, but without it a player will hit a ceiling.
This is Morgan vs Lapslie, in my view. Morgan should be a much better player; I hope Bowyer’s tough love means that he will fulfil his potential . Lapslie will maximise his ability, no doubt
I was baffled why Morgan didn't attract loan interest from league clubs in October, I imagine one or two clubs will now be regretting it, as scouts will have noticed his performances in the last 2 or 3 weeks.
5 good performance in a row now for Albie. Starting to become one of the first names on the team sheet.
Keep up the good work Albie.
Sadly I still think its because others arent playing well enough - Albie is playing damned well at the moment but I still think that others have a touch of quality ahead of him and if they were playing just as well then Albie would be on the bench.
Still got to give him credit for taking this opportunity though, I watch him a lot at the moment when we're having to go defensive and he's really improved with that part of his game now
5 good performance in a row now for Albie. Starting to become one of the first names on the team sheet.
Keep up the good work Albie.
Sadly I still think its because others arent playing well enough - Albie is playing damned well at the moment but I still think that others have a touch of quality ahead of him and if they were playing just as well then Albie would be on the bench.
Still got to give him credit for taking this opportunity though, I watch him a lot at the moment when we're having to go defensive and he's really improved with that part of his game now
If he's consistent and follows orders he must have a fair chance of staying in the team.
5 good performance in a row now for Albie. Starting to become one of the first names on the team sheet.
Keep up the good work Albie.
Sadly I still think its because others arent playing well enough - Albie is playing damned well at the moment but I still think that others have a touch of quality ahead of him and if they were playing just as well then Albie would be on the bench.
Still got to give him credit for taking this opportunity though, I watch him a lot at the moment when we're having to go defensive and he's really improved with that part of his game now
Think that's pretty unfair. He turned the game yesterday I thought, we became a much bigger threat once he was on and has been towards the top of the statbank every game I believe. Albie has played well, what difference does it make if others haven't? Maybe if others had played better, the 1 point from the last 2 games would've been 2 points, or 4 points, or 6 points. He's keeping his spot on his own merits, not on everyone elses failures.
Morgan seems to make things happen and that's a good knack to have. He just needs to score that first league goal and I think he'll go on to get quite a few. Moreover, he needs games and long games....not cameos. That way everything comes together more quickly for him...stamina, experience, the lot.
I always thought he wouldn’t make it due to attitude (inside info), he seems to have really knuckled down and put work in, bowyer was harsh on him but it worked.
He deserves to be starting at the moment but I do expect him to have a bad patch, mainly due to experience but if he carries on progressing like this, we will have some player on our hands.
He may still have a bad patch, but he shouldn't be banished for 6 months at a time when he has one. He has a lot of talent and is only going to improve the rest of his game if he plays. Like if he plays bad, I'd rather have him play his way out of it (unless it's a lack of commitment or whatever) rather than have Forster-Caskey play.
Personally think he's part part of what is currently our best midfield. You don't always get the best results by picking your best XI on paper, its getting the right balance of individuals that brings out the best of a team as a whole. I think he and Shinnie work well together - they're similar players on each other's wave length and both can be trusted with the ball in tight areas and will usually find a red shirt, whilst also capable of playing probing, accurate forward-passes.
There's a debate to be had because Gilbey looks decent too, but in games like last night (under normal circumstances where the back 5 aren't paying drunk) or Saturday vs Gills, where we'd be expected to have the ball and break down a teams defence, I think a diamond with those two, plus Watson deep and one of Williams or Maddison at the tip in a fairly free role might be our best option. Gilbey comes in when we might have to do more defending, such as on Saturday vs Ipswich.
Either way, I think there's definitely a spot for Albie right now. He's playing very well and looks after the ball, something we didn't do enough of last night.
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
And yet the over 30s Pratley, Watson and Gunter play the full matches, Saturday/Tuesday
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
And yet the over 30s Pratley, Watson and Gunter play the full matches, Saturday/Tuesday
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
Gallagher managed 90mins Sat-Tuesday for us when we had him, so it's possible but I do agree with the idea that we don't want to push our youngsters too hard whilst they're developing.
That said, I can't be the only one that thought Pratley looked f***ed on Tuesday. Heavy legs like a ringer you picked up after his game finished on the same pitch before yours.
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
Gallagher managed 90mins Sat-Tuesday for us when we had him, so it's possible but I do agree with the idea that we don't want to push our youngsters too hard whilst they're developing.
That said, I can't be the only one that thought Pratley looked f***ed on Tuesday. Heavy legs like a ringer you picked up after his game finished on the same pitch before yours.
Fair points. Wonder if Pratley should take a leaf out of Watson's book and adopt his play-5-games-get-5-yellow-cards-get-suspended-for-1-game trick ;-)
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
Totally agree that Williams has been a bit disappointing this season, but he also is in and out of the team, shunted around in terms of his position, hardly ever starts (which is when he does seem to play a bit better than when he is a sub), and rarely gets a run of games.
Whether that's his fault because he can't get fit enough or Bowyer's because he misuses him or is over cautious with his use of him, I don't know, but I don't think it's a coincidence that his best spell of form for us came early last season when he started most matches and played in pretty much the same position.
The congested fixture list does make it much harder for Bowyer at the moment, but maybe he just needs to pick a settled team a system for a few consecutive matches as it's tough enough to get such a new squad to gel as it is without introducing more variables.
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
And yet the over 30s Pratley, Watson and Gunter play the full matches, Saturday/Tuesday
Necessity taht, at the moment, Gunter and Pratley our only two options at centre back due to injury. Watson and Pratley would likely be rotated a bit, but Prately has to play at centre back leaving only Watson experienced enough to be trusted with that key holding midfield role.
Albie is still very young and probably still developing physically, you have to be careful with players at the start of their careers just as much as ones at the end and they all develop at different rates.
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
Totally agree that Williams has been a bit disappointing this season, but he also is in and out of the team, shunted around in terms of his position, hardly ever starts (which is when he does seem to play a bit better than when he is a sub), and rarely gets a run of games.
Whether that's his fault because he can't get fit enough or Bowyer's because he misuses him or is over cautious with his use of him, I don't know, but I don't think it's a coincidence that his best spell of form for us came early last season when he started most matches and played in pretty much the same position.
The congested fixture list does make it much harder for Bowyer at the moment, but maybe he just needs to pick a settled team a system for a few consecutive matches as it's tough enough to get such a new squad to gel as it is without introducing more variables.
I still think he plays better in the CM role behind the striker instead of out on the wing where LB seems to play him most
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
Totally agree that Williams has been a bit disappointing this season, but he also is in and out of the team, shunted around in terms of his position, hardly ever starts (which is when he does seem to play a bit better than when he is a sub), and rarely gets a run of games.
Whether that's his fault because he can't get fit enough or Bowyer's because he misuses him or is over cautious with his use of him, I don't know, but I don't think it's a coincidence that his best spell of form for us came early last season when he started most matches and played in pretty much the same position.
The congested fixture list does make it much harder for Bowyer at the moment, but maybe he just needs to pick a settled team a system for a few consecutive matches as it's tough enough to get such a new squad to gel as it is without introducing more variables.
It's possible but it's also possible he doesn't get a run in the team because he's not warranting one in training.
And when he's given a chance in the side and he doesn't take it, that's on him really. No excuses, that's football.
I think people make a lot of excuses for him, tbh, because he's such a nice bloke. But he's frequently poor. I've never seen much to suggest he's above this or championship level.
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
Totally agree that Williams has been a bit disappointing this season, but he also is in and out of the team, shunted around in terms of his position, hardly ever starts (which is when he does seem to play a bit better than when he is a sub), and rarely gets a run of games.
Whether that's his fault because he can't get fit enough or Bowyer's because he misuses him or is over cautious with his use of him, I don't know, but I don't think it's a coincidence that his best spell of form for us came early last season when he started most matches and played in pretty much the same position.
The congested fixture list does make it much harder for Bowyer at the moment, but maybe he just needs to pick a settled team a system for a few consecutive matches as it's tough enough to get such a new squad to gel as it is without introducing more variables.
I thought Williams played well against Pompey, even scoring the opener. Then for our next game he dropped to the bench and was an unused sub. I think players do better with a run of games rather than being chopped and changed all the time.
You can still rest them when the fixtures are so relentless, but it feels to me we rest players too much sometimes. So Williams does well on the Saturday, rest him for the Tuesday and play him on the Saturday!
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
And yet the over 30s Pratley, Watson and Gunter play the full matches, Saturday/Tuesday
Is two starts a week really too much for him? I get the issue with Chuks, but given that Pratley and Watson both seem to start every game surely someone 15 years their junior can do it too?
We wrap our players in cotton wool and they still get injured
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
No doubt that along with other medical/fitness cut backs play part.
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
He’s had one good spell for us - august to October 2019
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I was baffled why Morgan didn't attract loan interest from league clubs in October, I imagine one or two clubs will now be regretting it, as scouts will have noticed his performances in the last 2 or 3 weeks.
Their loss is our gain
Keep up the good work Albie.
Still got to give him credit for taking this opportunity though, I watch him a lot at the moment when we're having to go defensive and he's really improved with that part of his game now
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-boss-explains-absence-of-manchester-united-youngster/
Alex needs some minutes regardless of how well he played but we keep playing him and he's only going to breakdown again
You'd think he could manage to start on Saturday then yea sorry
We must have one of the least fit squads in the league? Chuks is a professional footballer who can't start games, Albie can't play two in a row, Williams plays about 60 is out on his feet... Is this the absence of a strength & conditioning coach?
I’d say Williams and Aneke are two players who’d be playing at a higher level if they were fit enough to regularly play 90 minutes.
I read that a lot about Williams but how often does he have a good game? So few and far between
That said, I can't be the only one that thought Pratley looked f***ed on Tuesday. Heavy legs like a ringer you picked up after his game finished on the same pitch before yours.
And when he's given a chance in the side and he doesn't take it, that's on him really. No excuses, that's football.
I think people make a lot of excuses for him, tbh, because he's such a nice bloke. But he's frequently poor. I've never seen much to suggest he's above this or championship level.
You can still rest them when the fixtures are so relentless, but it feels to me we rest players too much sometimes. So Williams does well on the Saturday, rest him for the Tuesday and play him on the Saturday!