Cant get Taylor and Williams back quickly enough. Sarr was an absolute liability for the 45 mins he was on the pitch; Pearce gave away a silly penalty; Purrington and Solly needed to bomb up the line in a 5 in the first half but never did. Kayal is a waste of time, some pretty stuff but he is a luxury player in a team that can’t afford one-the way he shirked the challenge which lead to their first chance and Dills first save i was embarrassed for him.
oh and as for Preston, the way they wasted time from 65 mins and the way they played I hope they don’t go up-dull football. Ref should have booked them more quickly for time wasting though. May have added 7mins but effectively the last 35+injury were a waste of time as they simply stopped the game and any momentum by diving each time there was a challenge and the ref allowed it.
Can’t play well in all of them and despite being poor you could tell they were all trying which is all I ask.
Went to the museum afterwards which was super and then the lad got autographs and pictures with Bowyer and Gallagher after that; so whilst it was his first loss on his 8th game he came away very happy.
Having read through the players marks, Solly gets a good bashing.
I thought there was little or no cover from Right Midfield today (Kayal), PNE were focussed on both our full backs, Solly was left on his own a hell of a lot!
Touch of the England rugby team with that performance - just didn't turn up on the day. Really poor display and a poor game not helped by an idiot (being polite) of a ref.
Poor game, poor performance, haven't seen a replay of the penalty offence but I suspect it was another piece of poor referring. If it was a good penalty decision, I apologise to ref, you were only useless instead of fecking useless.
Lee Bowyer - Charlton sloppy and not at it. Disappointed with Pearce for penalty and missed chances. Injuries difficult, we have a squad, keep doing the right things in training. Preston surprised by being direct. Lee Bowyer not disappointed just very disappointed. Players coming off the bench and not making an impact. Some Players not doing the right things and there is no space in the team for players to be carried. Looking for a reaction against Millwall. Charlton will be ready.
Sounds like someone regrets bringing off the Nabster
I know you have a man crush on him, but he looked all over the show today.
"Pearce: 6 - stupid foul for the penalty Sarr: 4 - I feel he’s still too error prone"
If anyone asks me to summarise what bias is, I will point them to these few words
Lol, yep. Theres bias right there. You just dont seem to accept it when other people are critical of what was a very shaky performance. Maybe Bowyer is biased too for taking him off?
I just don't like it when people fling words like 'liability' at Sarr for trying to make play (when his actual defending was as sound as ever) and mark Captain Warrior much higher, even though his defensive failures handed Preston their two best chances
Seeing Bonne get a 4 and Phillips a 5 on the old scoreboard makes me realize that CL are a tough crowd. We were flat today, and desperately need Taylor and Williams back. How dare Bonne not score five games in a row !
Anyone who scored Phillips a 5 cannot be taken seriously.
Having read through the players marks, Solly gets a good bashing.
I thought there was little or no cover from Right Midfield today (Kayal), PNE were focussed on both our full backs, Solly was left on his own a hell of a lot!
He has no pace anymore which means he can't play wing-back. Isn't able to track back when we lose the ball.
He's good 1v1 defensively but cannot stop the cross to save his life.
Dog shit match settled by some cart horse defending from Pearce.
As has been said before this season, when we’re on it we’re a match for anyone in this division, but let our levels drop just a touch and we can look a bit poor. Pretty much the dictionary definition of a mid-table side which is what we are (no shame in it either given where we’ve come from).
Preston were nothing more than an organized hard working team, much like us, but they were closer to their levels than us and probably deserved to win.
Much like the Wigan and Birmingham defeats, too many wayward passes and very little penetration and Bowyer wasn’t able to affect it from the bench. Some pretty anonymous performances from usually reliable players too.
Ho hum, we have to expect matches like that this season. I’m sure we’ll get back on track at Millwall next week pfnar pfnar...
We played woefully. Preston, I thought we’re the better side - just. They outplayed and outmanoeuvred us, and when they couldn’t they just rolled around on the floor with an “injury”.
It’s clear something wasn’t right with the lads today - no idea what that might be - but nobody gelled and they weren’t supporting one another.
Ref and linesmen didn’t help. Ref looked like he was acting all official because he was on Sky and the opposition then played to his trigger points. Absolute bellend.
There we have it. Vented my feelings now. Time to move on - next one is a biggie and we need the right attitude for it.
Preston were the better side but there wasn't much in it but we never really looked like scoring. Think we're really beginning to miss Williams and Taylor
Only watched on TV, but generally a more positive feeling than most - at the end of the day, Preston are top and the game was hugely even, a couple of chances to both sides and they got a bit lucky on the penalty.
Stats of one shot on target do not really do justice, considering we had two chances at the end that went into the side netting when they could have as easily gone in, and Macauley would generally bury his chance, but it just did not happen today.
If anything, today just shows how much we miss Taylor because he gives us an ability to go a bit longer and stretch the field. As it is, it is too easy for teams to push up on our midfield and we are always having to play through.
I just don't like it when people fling words like 'liability' at Sarr for trying to make play (when his actual defending was as sound as ever) and mark Captain Warrior much higher, even though his defensive failures handed Preston their two best chances
I see where you’re coming from, but today Sarr was trying to make play in silly areas and it was going no where. Lost his head completely after his booking. He was a liability today and someone needed to be sacrificed to try and change things up top because Bonne and Kayal weren’t exactly gelling and making much happen. Stupid foul by Pearce as well but overall he had a more solid game than Sarr - we gave up relatively few sights on goal.
PNE did a job on us. Good side and can see why they are top.
Sure they know every trick in the book but they are lot more than spoilers.
We never got going and couldn't find any fluidity, partly due to Preston denying space in the centre (they were happy to let our full backs get forward wide) but mostly because we didn't click. Teams like Fulham want to outplay you and we can counter that. We look uneasy with teams that try to stop us playing like Birmingham and today.
A game made for Taylor and Williams alas.
Sarr was Sarr. Some will try to shift the blame to Pearce or Pratley but Sarr does this too often. He looks good when he has time, press him and he flaps as sides have worked out.
Philips man of the match by default but he did well when called on.
This might deflate some of the wild expectations ahead of next Saturday. I got a ticket today as well : - (
Pearce concedes a penalty... Sarr is blamed for the loss despite not being on the pitch for the entire half in which we conceded.
Touch of the England rugby team with that performance - just didn't turn up on the day. Really poor display and a poor game not helped by an idiot (being polite) of a ref.
This was the football equiv of England v South Africa, one team never turned up, and the other just wanted to play dirty and time-waste.
I just don't like it when people fling words like 'liability' at Sarr for trying to make play (when his actual defending was as sound as ever) and mark Captain Warrior much higher, even though his defensive failures handed Preston their two best chances
“As sound as ever”, you are kidding right? Unless you mean he is usually shit? His defending was as bad as his distribution today and he was absolutely done twice in the first half, he was just lucky their attackers were poor and did not capitalise.
Having read through the players marks, Solly gets a good bashing.
I thought there was little or no cover from Right Midfield today (Kayal), PNE were focussed on both our full backs, Solly was left on his own a hell of a lot!
He has no pace anymore which means he can't play wing-back. Isn't able to track back when we lose the ball.
He's good 1v1 defensively but cannot stop the cross to save his life.
Don’t think he’s ever been accused of being the quickest full back around, my point is, it’s asking a lot of any player to get up and down a wing when your MF player in front of you ain’t there to cover you.
I just don't like it when people fling words like 'liability' at Sarr for trying to make play (when his actual defending was as sound as ever) and mark Captain Warrior much higher, even though his defensive failures handed Preston their two best chances
“As sound as ever”, you are kidding right? Unless you mean he is usually shit? His defending was as bad as his distribution today and he was absolutely done twice in the first half, he was just lucky their attackers were poor and did not capitalise.
When was he absolutely done? There was one where their striker fluked the best touch of his life first-time from a long ball (and as I said, Sarr still got back to put him off a shot)
"Pearce: 6 - stupid foul for the penalty Sarr: 4 - I feel he’s still too error prone"
If anyone asks me to summarise what bias is, I will point them to these few words
Lol, yep. Theres bias right there. You just dont seem to accept it when other people are critical of what was a very shaky performance. Maybe Bowyer is biased too for taking him off?
That was tactical.
For me Bowyer made a rare mistake today, and set us up all wrong.
The PNE high press forced us to resort to the long ball, but Bonne is a sniffer, not a target man, and we never looked like winning any second ball. I guess in Bowyer’s defense he wasn’t expecting Preston to be so long ball/high press, but I’d have hoped he have switched things around sooner. Naby wasn’t having one of his better games, but not as bad as some are saying. However, if five at the back means playing with one up top and two wing backs (who aren’t wing backs) you’re always going to struggle against a team like Preston.
It was the correct call to take off a defender for an extra man up top, but I think Aneke would have offered greater strength in the air, and better hold up play than Leko.
Apart from that, you’d imagine that Sky won’t be desperate to feature Preston again any time soon. What an awful match that was, and the second half was an insult to spectators in the ground and TV viewers alike, notwithstanding the fact that they ‘did a number on us’.
My first game at The Valley for 2½ years. So, what's the same and what's different? The journey there seemed easier, I guess it would being a Sunday. We parked up on the industrial estate with no worries. It's sad that the old cafe remains locked up; not that I ever went there, but I always imagined that one day it might come in handy. As I walked up the road I was amused that the big painted arrow on the wall pointing to nothing but a bricked up door was still there, though perhaps a little more faded. Over Woolwich Road and up the Lane - no idea there was a new footbridge by the crossing. Come on train-spotters, someone should have let me known this rail-related news! Went in the Oak for a pint. It seemed lighter and cleaner than I remembered, less crowded too. Perhaps another Sunday morning thing. It was strange walking past the Voice seller (Corinna?) without buying; an odd legacy of the Duchatelet era is that now my Voice lands on the doormat automatically.
Into the ground. Despite having had an electronic season ticket for one season, it seems wierd that season tickets are no longer booklets containing a wad of individually numbered tickets with the redundant lettered ones at the back, as if someone imagined that we might one year go on a cup run. No questions from security who didn't even notice me: too busy grilling a couple of blokes in (at least) their late twenties trying to claim that they were students. If not buying a Voice seemed weird, not buying a programme was positively unique. It's a habit I've long since ditched at away matches, but which was always a part of The Valley experience for me. The ground hasn't changed, but the people have. Sadly there wasn't a single sign of protest, disquiet or even discontent at the owner. It was as if I'd gone to a club where things are run normally. I guess we've got Bows, JJ and Gallen to thank for putting the veneer of respectability on a despicable regime. The upside of this was that people seemed happier, there was a generally positive mood and people were actually smiling. That's something I don't remember since Chris Powell was our beaming role model. As we approach our seats, I saw some old friends I've not seen for ages. This is what Charlton is all about: Bringing people together!
The game started. The crowd didn't smile for long. The first half was okayish, but didn't contain any specific moments worthy of memorising, let alone writing about. There was some good passing in midfield but a lack of real chances up front. At the other end we made life difficult for ourselves with a mix of sloppy passing and a habit of allowing ourselves to get hemmed-in by nothing more than the determination of northerners. By the half-hour mark I found myself daydreaming of past matches, future matches, and for some unfathomable reason, anagrams of player names. Perhaps there's something in the water because it seemed to affect the team as well as they daydreamed their way to half time creating nothing of note to wake us all from our afternoon stupors. The only person who seemed to be paying full attention was the man with the gruff voice sitting behind me who shouted, "Book 'im!" at every opportunity. Some things never change.
Half time and another fan for whom time has stood still was spotted at the back of the stand pouring indiscernible brown liquid from a thermos flask, perhaps from exactly the same batch of indiscernible brown liquid he was pouring last time I'd seem him. I'd like to think that somewhere in the crowd, unbeknownst to anybody, someone was concealing a pencil case. My half time whiz seemed quicker than it used to. No, I've not had transurethral resection, there just wasn't much of a queue. The only other noticeable difference was the new soap dispensers all logoed-up with the Charlton badge. The smell emanating from the cubicles was horribly familiar though and suggested that someone was having an impromptu bonfire. What the fuck is the matter with some people? They still can't last an hour and a half without setting fire to a guy in trap two.
The second half started with Leko in place of Sarr. Hopefully a sign that we'd be more attacking, but possibly just a case of management wanting to ensure the big man would be available for next week's adventure. Whatever the plan, it didn't lead to an increase in attacking football. Indeed our attacks seemed to be limited to chasing down Rudd, skinny and bewhiskered and recognised only by the name printed on his back. Preston huffed and puffed, but still managed to look marginally better than us in-between rolling around on the floor and kicking our players. I can't comment on the penalty incident, some of them anagrams can be difficult, but it did seem kind of inevitable - as did the resulting goal. What I really wanted to see now was a rip-roaring fightback. The sort of backs-to-the-wall, all-action, never-say-die performance that this team is famed for. What I got was a heavy dose of nostalgia, we limped our way to 90 minutes plus seven with nothing more to cheer than the ball hitting the side netting. And that was it. Home. A comment here earlier in the week was that anyone still boycotting was mad, that we should all turn it in and just enjoy the football. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything all day to support this argument.
I'm beginning to think it might be my fault, that I'm jinxed. Four times I've seen Charlton in the flesh this season. Twice I've seen us live on the telly. Our points tally from those six matches? Two! Perhaps it's just as well for everyone that my boycott continues.
Most of what happened today has been covered already . One thing that did occur to me however was that late in the second half I couldn’t understand why Dillon didn’t take a kick whilst their no 29 was standing within a metre of the kick near the west stand side of the six yard box preventing it from being taken . Firstly , it would have been a definite yellow card for their player . Second , the kick if taken might have knocked him flat for a while and might also have allowed us an advantage. Not sure how many subs they had used by then either so an injury to the player might have disrupted them in a meaningful way . They had enough players going down all over the place feigning injury and time wasting so this would have been the only genuine one had it happened except when their defender had to have his head bandaged .
Preston camped in our half for most of the first 45 minutes. They sort of ground out the win by wearing us down and once they had the lead they used game management to keep it. I thought Naby would be up for it today after his call-up but he had a poor game by his high standards. Pearce is always likely to give a penalty away when he wraps his arms around the player he is marking, so no complaints from me. Sets us up badly for the scum game next week. Hopefully we will play a lot better than today.
Comments
Cant get Taylor and Williams back quickly enough. Sarr was an absolute liability for the 45 mins he was on the pitch; Pearce gave away a silly penalty; Purrington and Solly needed to bomb up the line in a 5 in the first half but never did. Kayal is a waste of time, some pretty stuff but he is a luxury player in a team that can’t afford one-the way he shirked the challenge which lead to their first chance and Dills first save i was embarrassed for him.
oh and as for Preston, the way they wasted time from 65 mins and the way they played I hope they don’t go up-dull football. Ref should have booked them more quickly for time wasting though. May have added 7mins but effectively the last 35+injury were a waste of time as they simply stopped the game and any momentum by diving each time there was a challenge and the ref allowed it.
Can’t play well in all of them and despite being poor you could tell they were all trying which is all I ask.
Went to the museum afterwards which was super and then the lad got autographs and pictures with Bowyer and Gallagher after that; so whilst it was his first loss on his 8th game he came away very happy.
I thought there was little or no cover from Right Midfield today (Kayal), PNE were focussed on both our full backs, Solly was left on his own a hell of a lot!
Move on. Get the normal jumper cleaned for Saturday Lee !
He's good 1v1 defensively but cannot stop the cross to save his life.
Preston were nothing more than an organized hard working team, much like us, but they were closer to their levels than us and probably deserved to win.
Much like the Wigan and Birmingham defeats, too many wayward passes and very little penetration and Bowyer wasn’t able to affect it from the bench. Some pretty anonymous performances from usually reliable players too.
That was a crock of sh1t.
This was the football equiv of England v South Africa, one team never turned up, and the other just wanted to play dirty and time-waste.
He simply cannot play alongside Pearce and I believe he would not have given away that same penalty.
Apart from that, you’d imagine that Sky won’t be desperate to feature Preston again any time soon. What an awful match that was, and the second half was an insult to spectators in the ground and TV viewers alike, notwithstanding the fact that they ‘did a number on us’.
Into the ground. Despite having had an electronic season ticket for one season, it seems wierd that season tickets are no longer booklets containing a wad of individually numbered tickets with the redundant lettered ones at the back, as if someone imagined that we might one year go on a cup run. No questions from security who didn't even notice me: too busy grilling a couple of blokes in (at least) their late twenties trying to claim that they were students. If not buying a Voice seemed weird, not buying a programme was positively unique. It's a habit I've long since ditched at away matches, but which was always a part of The Valley experience for me. The ground hasn't changed, but the people have. Sadly there wasn't a single sign of protest, disquiet or even discontent at the owner. It was as if I'd gone to a club where things are run normally. I guess we've got Bows, JJ and Gallen to thank for putting the veneer of respectability on a despicable regime. The upside of this was that people seemed happier, there was a generally positive mood and people were actually smiling. That's something I don't remember since Chris Powell was our beaming role model. As we approach our seats, I saw some old friends I've not seen for ages. This is what Charlton is all about: Bringing people together!
The game started. The crowd didn't smile for long. The first half was okayish, but didn't contain any specific moments worthy of memorising, let alone writing about. There was some good passing in midfield but a lack of real chances up front. At the other end we made life difficult for ourselves with a mix of sloppy passing and a habit of allowing ourselves to get hemmed-in by nothing more than the determination of northerners. By the half-hour mark I found myself daydreaming of past matches, future matches, and for some unfathomable reason, anagrams of player names. Perhaps there's something in the water because it seemed to affect the team as well as they daydreamed their way to half time creating nothing of note to wake us all from our afternoon stupors. The only person who seemed to be paying full attention was the man with the gruff voice sitting behind me who shouted, "Book 'im!" at every opportunity. Some things never change.
Half time and another fan for whom time has stood still was spotted at the back of the stand pouring indiscernible brown liquid from a thermos flask, perhaps from exactly the same batch of indiscernible brown liquid he was pouring last time I'd seem him. I'd like to think that somewhere in the crowd, unbeknownst to anybody, someone was concealing a pencil case. My half time whiz seemed quicker than it used to. No, I've not had transurethral resection, there just wasn't much of a queue. The only other noticeable difference was the new soap dispensers all logoed-up with the Charlton badge. The smell emanating from the cubicles was horribly familiar though and suggested that someone was having an impromptu bonfire. What the fuck is the matter with some people? They still can't last an hour and a half without setting fire to a guy in trap two.
The second half started with Leko in place of Sarr. Hopefully a sign that we'd be more attacking, but possibly just a case of management wanting to ensure the big man would be available for next week's adventure. Whatever the plan, it didn't lead to an increase in attacking football. Indeed our attacks seemed to be limited to chasing down Rudd, skinny and bewhiskered and recognised only by the name printed on his back. Preston huffed and puffed, but still managed to look marginally better than us in-between rolling around on the floor and kicking our players. I can't comment on the penalty incident, some of them anagrams can be difficult, but it did seem kind of inevitable - as did the resulting goal. What I really wanted to see now was a rip-roaring fightback. The sort of backs-to-the-wall, all-action, never-say-die performance that this team is famed for. What I got was a heavy dose of nostalgia, we limped our way to 90 minutes plus seven with nothing more to cheer than the ball hitting the side netting. And that was it. Home. A comment here earlier in the week was that anyone still boycotting was mad, that we should all turn it in and just enjoy the football. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything all day to support this argument.
I'm beginning to think it might be my fault, that I'm jinxed. Four times I've seen Charlton in the flesh this season. Twice I've seen us live on the telly. Our points tally from those six matches? Two! Perhaps it's just as well for everyone that my boycott continues.