I was expecting a four nil drubbing this evening but proud of all the young players in fact the whole team for keeping the faith and putting on a very good performance . You have to take the positives from this and there are many. Well done team and fans
I was expecting a four nil drubbing this evening but proud of all the young players in fact the whole team for keeping the faith and putting on a very good performance . You have to take the positives from this and there are many. Well done team and fans
NEVER expect such a drubbing with Lee Bowyer in charge, despite doing it a bit too often of late its rare for us to concede more than two under him
Thought Matthews was brilliant. He is deceivingly fast and his covering on their counter attack was exceptional. Definitely our best right sided defender.
If only we were in the position to be really enjoying seeing those young lads play their hearts out. As it is we've gone from being 10 points clear to five in a matter of weeks and we're really in trouble if something doesn't change soon.
We were atrocious in the first half and really benefited from the shape change in the second half. The decision to not play Doughty from the start was a strange one given his youth and we really could have done with him the whole game. Dempsey is a million miles from being ready and I hope he doesn't have to play again. I'd rate Vennings ahead of him. Davison worked his socks off and had a good game, but when it came to it he was all soft headers and shots in front of goal and isn't ready to lead the line in any serious capacity yet.
Other than that players were good. Lockyer and Pearce were strong, Matthews and Purrington were excellent and we really showed that we should be playing 4 at the back wherever possible. Pratley was his usual self and Gallagher grew into the game after the shape change. Albie and Lyle were out of sorts which was unfortunate given that they were our key attacking threat if we were going to get anything after going one down.
Two players stand out for me tonight. Darren Pratley is 600 years old, playing every minute of every game and he will be the only man still running when all our other players have succumbed to injury. I love him. The other is Ben Purrington. Bloody hell Ben. Everything that makes him good was on show today. He barreled into the backs of defenders and won the ball, he won every header, he beat his man repeatedly, he was always in the right place at the back post, he even won us free kicks with canny play. Partially it shows that he's a left back being forced to play at wing back, but it also just showed why he's not completely out of his depth at this level. Sometimes it doesn't come off for him in games but today he was imperious and he deserved to get three points out of today.
Also I'm now 100% sure Joe Ledley is dead and we just don't want to have to play the premium on claiming on his insurance. There is literally no other explanation.
We need to win three games in quick succession now. Preferably in a row, but within five matches. Our cushion has been sat on and it's now gone. Hopefully ahead of the next game we'll bring in some more decent players and we can get a couple of results ahead of key players coming back. Otherwise...gulp.
Second half was vastly improved at least the youngsters want to be there.
Controversial view but we were far better off without Taylor he clearly doesn't want to be here and barely put any effort in that first half. I've defended Taylor but tonight was awful for a leader of the team, the kids put him to shame in the second half with the fight and effort they put in compared to him.
It's time to get rid and replace him ASAP and we'll be fine the second half was a performance to be proud of with the guts and fight from the team.
We just need a bit of quality on the pitch. A new striker or two along with Williams back on the pitch we will be fine.
2 goals and an assist in his last 4 games! During a period where he is coming back from injury and we have games every few days! What the hell more do you want from him!
We did better when Taylor came off as we changed shape and played 5 in midfield so Swansea stopped over running us!
Poor first half. Thought inspired change from Bowyer to take off Lyle (for whatever reason). Seemed to compete a lot better after it was changed around. Definitely deserved a point there. Fantastic performance in the second half. Much improved from Purrington who showed real desire. Davison played well - well they all did. Will be hard to mark...
I've never felt so proud of the team after a defeat. As Bowyer always says they gave me everything out there. I'm sure we'll be ok with this spirit in the side.
Second half was vastly improved at least the youngsters want to be there.
Controversial view but we were far better off without Taylor he clearly doesn't want to be here and barely put any effort in that first half. I've defended Taylor but tonight was awful for a leader of the team, the kids put him to shame in the second half with the fight and effort they put in compared to him.
It's time to get rid and replace him ASAP and we'll be fine the second half was a performance to be proud of with the guts and fight from the team.
We just need a bit of quality on the pitch. A new striker or two along with Williams back on the pitch we will be fine.
Harsh on Taylor. Saw plenty of effort and some canny play from him and had Swansea worried at the back and that's his main job. We just saw 2 very different halves where the key change was Doughty for Taylor and a rallying display from the youngsters which went unrewarded.
They had a team with players who cost them nearly 100million and we had a bunch of kids who cost the club about 200k thanks to our left back. Let’s be clear this game on paper ends 5-0 to Swansea but our manager has nearly pulled off the unthinkable. What a proud way to start the new era at Charlton.
Get our players back from injury, get new players in and get our manager a new contract!
Expected the worst. Very encouraged by that. Swansea were clinging on in the end. Shame we didn't get the equaliser. Naby did strike fear into their defense. Liking Doughty the more I see him. Shame he didn't convert his chance. Well done the lads. Also big shout for the fans who making constant noise throughout the entire match.
Great performance second half, shame Doughty didn’t square to Davison instead of shooting. Unlucky to come away with nothing. Purrington played very well and we should have brought Sarr on sooner - he caused real problems and the ball seemed to be magnetically attracted to him every time we picked him out. Matthews did well too. This was much better than the woeful performance against Derby.
Now we need some players back and some good signings and get a few more wins on the board.
74% possession second half shows how much we raised our game and competed , with some very comfortable defending, which is more like how defending should be (well, how I'd like it to be!). But for some naivety up front, we might have got something tonight, so i'm gutted we came away with nothing, but hopefully things start looking upwards from here.
Must admit I was dismayed when Doughty came on for Taylor at HT but it changed the momentum of the game completely. Doughty bossed the left side of the pitch for 45 mins and stifled Swansea completely.
Excellent sub by Bowyer. Just a shame we didn't have another striker to finish the chances we did create.
Comments
What was up with Swansea manager though? He had a face like a smacked arse and looked miserable and bored as F all game.
Small consolation, I'm sure no-one wanted to see Millwall in the play off zone.
Mmmmm think I was just being polite.
We did better when Taylor came off as we changed shape and played 5 in midfield so Swansea stopped over running us!
Get our players back from injury, get new players in and get our manager a new contract!
Now we need some players back and some good signings and get a few more wins on the board.
Excellent sub by Bowyer. Just a shame we didn't have another striker to finish the chances we did create.