Charlton Athletic vs Leyton OrientSaturday 5th August 2023 - 3pm Kick-OffReferee: Andrew KitchenIntroductionWelcome back to the mad house, and what appears to be yet another era in the history books for Charlton Athletic Football Club - We go into this new campaign with our fourth owners in four years; Charlie Methven and his motley crew, the latest group to take control in SE7... Pre-Season has seen slight rays of optimism, most of our business has been completed prior to the opener, and performances on the pitch have been promising... for the most part.
The rehearsals are done... Opening night afternoon is upon us.
The OppositionName: Leyton Orient | Manager: Richie WellensLast Season: 1st (League Two)Ground: Brisbane RoadFirst up are the Champions from League Two, the once called: Clapton Orient
It has been eight seasons since our opponents last graced League One, with two of those in the National League - 2022-23 saw Orient top of the Division for all but five games, they're a team that have learnt how to win under Wellens, who favours a 4-3-3 setup - The foundations of their title winning squad was built on a strong defence... just 34-goals conceded, the best in the League. Its important they repeat that, this coming year ahead if they want to avoid an instant return to back to the fourth tier... Pre-Season could have ended a little better, instead three defeats and three draws, majority of which have been against Non-League opposition... Slightly concerning maybe
The defensive aspect from last season could give Orient fans a little bit of confidence coming into League One, however their squad has suffered - Goalkeeper: Lawrence Vigouroux, and top-scorer: Paul Smyth have departed... joining Burnley and QPR respectively, two tough roles to replace in any squad.
Incoming at Brisbane Road to find the goals, is Joe Pigott, well known in these parts... Signed after being released by Ipswich, and will be looking to rediscover his old form at this level - Idris El Mizouni who has re-signed on loan from Ipswich for a second year, is my recommendation to keep an eye on for this particular clash, primarily because he was a brief transfer target for the Addicks this summer... Winger: Theo Archibald impressed during our Pre-Season friendly three weeks ago, and will be looking to carry on his form from last year... He completed League Two as Orient's best creative outlet with six assists.
Charlton Team NewsThe start of any season means that there are always new candidates for the Valiant 500, and this year is no different - Of those new signings, you'd expect to see guaranteed involvement from Alfie May, Panutche Camará and Lloyd Jones this coming Saturday... Tayo Edun and Terry Taylor on the other hand probably have to wait for our League Cup clash in South Wales before we see how they can contribute to this coming campaign.
The big question is the Goalkeeper... Will we stick with Ashley Maynard-Brewer, a player who has missed just the one game since we changed Manager, or will opt for new signing Harry Isted who just missed out on promotion via. the Play-Offs with Barnsley back in May (that's the month, not our shiny new Striker) - The Manager must decide whether to play 4-3-3, or 3-5-2, the two formations which Dean Holden has favoured this summer, should we go with the latter then Alfie May needs a strike partner, not an easy decision given our lack of options in attack.
Maynard-Brewer
Ness - Hector - Jones
Asiimwe - Camara - Dobson - Blackett-Taylor
Fraser
May - Campbell
Substitutes Bench: Isted - Egbo - Thomas - Anderson - Payne - Kirk - Kanu
Comments
no excuses but I’m sure we’ll find em if required .
This is the sort of home fixture we have to win if we want to be serious promotion contenders.
Come on Charlton out the blocks for our big derby , I know too many east end/Essex Orient slags to be comfortable even with a draw , let’s beat them comfortably
AMB
Asiimwe
Jones
Hector
Thomas
Dobson
Camara
Fraser
Campbell
May
He did our game away at Peterborough sending one of their players off.
In my opinion winning at home is essential for two significant reasons.
You please the majority of your fans.
Home wins are easier than away wins.
I believe automatic promotion is to be achieved by winning every home game and drawing every away game, the equivalent of two points per game of course.
If you start by losing at home that is three points dropped, drawing at home is two points dropped.
To make up for a home defeat you need two away wins (that will provide an extra point…good).
To make up for a home draw you need an away win, which is harder to achieve usually than winning at home, and creates extra pressure for a result away.
If we win against Leyton Orient and Peterborough you get a two point cushion against two away defeats, or slipping to a home draw.
As the season progresses you can either fall further behind an automatic promotion target, stay on course, or build up a cushion or safety net against bad runs, injuries, suspensions, bad refereeing decisions and loss of form or plain bad luck.
So that is my reason for my assertions. If we win against Leyton Orient and Peterborough we can afford to draw at home to Bristol Rovers without it being a disaster, the Rovers game would not be a must win.
However, given my reasoning I make no apologies for describing the Leyton Orient home game on Saturday as a:
Must win.
However we do seem to have been able to score goals and look cutting for short spells. We need to go all out for the three points however we line up.
Personally think we may need to break the 3-5-2 until we have the second forward required.
May needs a sticking partner hoe will receive the ball, hold up, move and pass, at present we do not have one, nor is Campbell,CBT, Kanu or Kirk the answer, instead how about trying Zach Mitchell in this position, he has good ball skills can see a pass and is quite tall?
As I said off the wall
The big problem they had was goals. Only Barrow scored less than them in the top 10 of League 2 last season. Their top scorer Smyth only had 10 goals. Will Pigott and Agyei score enough? Pigott has only scored 6 goals in 57 appeances in his last 2 seasons in League 1. Agyei got 16 in 46 in League 2 last season but his record in League 1 is poor, 14 in 118 games.
Cliche to say but if we want to be in the mix at the end of the season this is the kind of game we need to win.
Nervy 2-1 win.
1-1
Think we will win 2-0 but Orient will fly out the traps first 20 I am sure so contain that and I am sure we will get a result.
With various people suggesting we could and should be playoffs minimum, games like this are important. Even as a promoted L2 side, they won’t be easy to turn over. First game of the season normally gets a decent crowd and an early Charlton goal would settle the nerves and get the crowd going.
Hoping that we play and defend smartly, and not be forced into chasing the game. If we play to our potential, this game should be relatively comfortable. Squad feels good, but need to start the hard work from the first game.
Predicting a 3-1 home win. Can’t wait to be there on Saturday. Hopefully it doesn’t tip it down!
Against Aberdeen 8 of our starting 11 we're here last season.
So I'm not as confident as I was hoping to be .
Having said that I think the general feeling among our fans is far more optimistic this season.
I hope we start the season with a win to keep the feel good factor among our fans and bring in a couple of decent signings sooner rather than later.
3.1 Charlton
Onwards and upwards.
Looking forward to this with more optimism than the last couple of years. We certainly must not lose. We still don't have a fully fit and balanced team, but I am sure Orient are in the same position. I hope we play 4-3-3 as we really don't have the wing-backs to play 3-5-2, and CBT is a liability as a wing-back (he simply cannot defend and leaves huge gaps that exposes the LCB). I think we will win this, but will concede one or two. A tense 3-2 win to the mighty Addicks!
Likewise... I wouldnt say that Maynard-Brewer | Ness | Dobson | Fraser were the problem either
Only 3 new signings started against Aberdeen.
Personally I was hoping for a couple more.
0-1 (Pigott 83)