Charlton Athletic v AFC WimbledonSaturday 12th December 2020 ... 3pm Kick-OffReferee: David Rock (Hertfordshire)IntroductionThis forum is certainly well known by its Members ability to debate and discuss any number of topics. This last week has perhaps seen more discussion that describes our divisive fanbase, the failure to despatch Shrewsbury Town with Jonny Williams at the centre of attention the biggest talking point... This Saturday though its a chance to forget what has happened previously and start again fresh, after all matters off the pitch early this season could have seen us replicate one of two clubs in this Division; Wigan are the first of those, their administration woes as they wait for a takeover are a clear reminder of what Charlton fans have endured this past year!!... The second of those clubs is the team we face this weekend, worst case scenario we could easily have replicated AFC Wimbledon's journey back through the Football pyramid albeit under a new identity.
Of course as fans we should never settle for what we have at present, we should always strive for more... Russell Slade is my special guest this Match Preview, patience is key!!
The OppositionName: AFC Wimbledon (14th) |
Manager: Glyn Hodges
Ground: Plough Lane
Previous Result: AFC Wimbledon 2-4 Bristol Rovers
Of course there is no need to go into the story behind AFC Wimbledon's formation, its a story that is sadly well known amongst the majority of football fans in this country... Of course the one fact about this team that might not be so obvious is that they've never ever been relegated, six promotions later and they're still around League One, although some fans from the Wirral would argue that they pushed their luck last time out.
Recent years have seen them struggling at this level, after all they are only fan owned, yet Wycombe Wanderers proved last term that fan owned teams can still aim higher and I believe that this could yet well be the case for AFC Wimbledon... This season alone the club have had reason to rejoice, many of course will argue that the two teams are different but Wimbledon finally has a Football club in the borough of Merton for the first time since 1991, the orginal Plough Lane is long gone, turned into flats, but on 3rd November that all changed with the newly built Plough Lane hosting a draw between themselves and Doncaster Rovers.
So why could things be slightly different for AFC Wimbledon? - Well not for one minute do I believe that this side could challenge for the Play-Offs, they appear to inconsistent with their results (beating Peterborough at Plough Lane this time last week, only to lose to struggling Bristol Rovers on Saturday) to mount a realistic challenge. In addition they remain closer to the drop (five points) than the Play-Offs (seven points), yet victory in SE7 on Saturday afternoon could very quickly change the dynamic of that... Joe Pigott will return to the club where he hopefully had many a happy year in the Academy, with ten goals (eight in the League) this term, is Joe finally showing the type of promise that prompted Chris Powell into giving him his League Cup debut?
Charlton Team NewsRotation, Rotation, Rotation... The words that appear to haunt the minds of any Charlton fans at the moment, the biggest grumble amongst the faithful at the moment is the fact that there is little consistency within the team, and thats before you get to the matter of Lee Bowyer speaking out about players, and is something that I'll leave well alone for this particular discussion.
Yet with a week of rest you could expect fewer changes than normal, yes we have a midweek encounter with Bristol Rovers coming up (so Bowyer will no doubt have one eye on that fixture), yet with this being the last empty midweek before the New Year its hopefully been a chance for the squad to work on some much needed togetherness rather than acting as individuals!! - That said, we should be able to welcome Marcus Maddison back after he missed the trip to Shropshire through illness, whilst Deji Oshilaja has now returned to the team after self-isolation... Ryan Inniss and Alfie Doughty remain absent from the squad with long term injury, whilst Dylan Levitt has finally been able to return to training after struggling with the after effects of COVID-19
Amos
Matthews | Famewo | Pearce | Maatsen
Morgan | Watson | Pratley
Maddison
Aneke | Washington
Substitutes Bench: Maynard-Brewer | Gunter | Gilbey | Purrington | Levitt | Bogle | Williams
Prediction
This Saturday is certainly going to be a difficult one to try and predict... Reports coming from Sparrows Lane seem to hint that its not a happy camp for once and that Lee Bowyer could well be feeling the strain for the first time in his Managerial career. Of course it was only a few weeks ago that a lot of us were preparing for life back in the Championship so its proof of how quickly fortunes can chance in this game. As we learnt under Curbishley, sometimes you need to strip it right back down and really return to basics to grind out results, games against AFC Wimbledon have never been pretty and I dont see Saturday being any different. Patience honestly remains the key, knee jerk reactions at this level and we could well be down here for longer than we'd like!!
Comments
Your team is what I'd go for (Except Jonny for Madds). No idea what Bow will do.
Something is not right in the state of Denmark Hill.
That team is very strong so will never be seen this season.
Lets focus on Bristol.
0.0
Time to clean the oven again.
In terms of team fitness its all guess work as have no sources etc - I wont be surprised in the slightest if Shinnie is still absent
Hopefully we'll find out more when Bowyer does his press conference
In your section about AFC, I assume you mean that Wimbledon are back in Merton rather than Kington-upon-thames
Seeing as ex-players have a habit of coming back to not only haunt us but to also score against us I have a feeling that Piggot will be the most successful out of the strikers on show.
1-2........and it will be Jacko's turn to be thrown under the bus come 5pm after it is revealed that he forgot to put sugar in Bows tea at half time.
I totally agree with the team you have picked. I just hope Bowyer does as well.
Unfortunately I think he will go with both Pratley and Watson which in my opinion is wrong.
With Forever s team we will win 3.1
If it's Pratley and Watson it's a 1 1 draw.
No mid-week game will have given them a bit of a mental and emotional recharge regardless of any supposed bad feeling at SL.
Onwards to Saturday and a good chance for 3 points. COYA.
If we play your line up we have a chance 2-1
If we play the geriatric midfield option 0-1
I want to see a classic 4-4-2, full backs staying defensive, only pushing up so far as to support midfield, let the creative wingers be creative.
Matthews | Famewo | Pearce | Maatsen
Maddison | Watley | Shinnie | Williams
Aneke | Washington
Substitutes Bench: Maynard-Brewer | Gunter | Pratson | Purrington | Morgan | Gilbey | Bogle
Who is Watley or is that Pratley autocorrected or Watson?
I'm fuming, I've told my wife before that it needs to be ironed before a match, and when you have people pulling out of ironing, it's unacceptable. It's a joke.
She needs to look at how proper pros act if she want to work under me. It's no use baking nice cakes if you can't do the dirty work."