Forgot to say - if you watch Tedic, he is a quality player - made some cracking runs tonight, but so many times he wasn’t played in by the player on the ball - Tedic got understandably annoyed about it towards the end of the game - I hope they watch it back at Sparrows and show the players how many opportunities they missed to play him in beyond the last man - he has the football brain to beat an offside trap, provided he gets the ball played to him !!!
he made two great runs in quick succession, with the second creating the space that eventually led to Leaburn's goal. He's a very intelligent footballer
We’ll play better than that and not win . but 3 points no matter how they come are much needed . points that I’ve not seen mentioned I think AMB was like slow motion trying to stop their goal at his near post exeter should have had a pen first half and Alfie encroached in to the D before Aneke struck the penalty great turnout for Exeter on a Tuesday night 741 and a healthy 10,834 Addicks seats issued 😀
Eieieio
Nah, mate, in the studio with playbacks you clearly see he timed his run perfectly. Which incident are you talking about for an Exeter pen? There was some diving going on in the first half.
Cracking rhyme above though so your over-pessimism is excused
I shuddered when I saw Chuks was starting, seemed way too early, but he looked genuinely fit, whereas in previous attempted comebacks it looked like our approach to getting him fit was "getting minutes into him". Add to that CBT easily able to last the full 100 minutes, and I have to say as a long -term critic of our backroom set-up, somebody has done a good job with those two.
Louie Watson has the potential to be as influential this season as Mark Kinsella was. He may not have the thunderbolt in his locker, and he's a bit more tetchy, perhaps not captain material at least at this stage of his career, but his reaction to not starting last week has been top-drawer.
Alfie is in the D and Chuks hasn’t even struck the ball in this pic his striking foot is blurred .
Exeter fella in first half near corner of box was moving away from goal and T Watson just took his ankle late , ref didn’t even give a free kick , ridiculous .
There's three Exeter players in the box as the ball is hit on the other side of the box who the ref was shouting at to hold their runs. So swings and roundabouts
Lots of positives from last night not least to see Fraser back and keen to make an impact. Will take some effort though to dislodge L Watson who looks to be a terrific addition to the midfield. Apples may be a lucky general in that all the attacking players are getting back to full fitness and scoring (I'll give Chuks the benefit of the doubt for now as he obviously left his shooting boots at home). A thumbs up to Tedic who was making clever runs all night and made a great chance for himself in the box.
But the main plaudits go to Alfie. The No10 slot was made for him. Made the first, a precise run in for the second, and smashes the fourth. Loved the way he went looking for a hattrick in the last 15 minutes. He was also cute with the sending off incident. Live action looked as if he had kicked the defender but the ref was behind him so when he went rolling around on the ground he 'painted a picture' (heard a lot in the ruby world cup) for the ref of being the victim of reckless play. The defender had lost control of the ball and then appeared to jump in (and actually cleanly connect with the ball not seen by the ref) and then follow through with both feet. Over goes Alfie (he probably was caught a bit) and off goes defender. An honest mistake by the ref and the red will probably be rescinded.
Just before the challenge we have Alfie May leaning back as they both come in for the ball
At the point of contact both May and Exeter players left feet are firmly planted as the right boots come together
The Exeter players left foot doesnt even leave the ground before his right has come down again with May heading into a beautiful pirouette.
The point at which the ref sees and calls it the Exeter player has both feet up after studding the ground, while Alfie May spins away graciously in the air beside him.
Foul, sure. A straight red and clear lunge? Nah. May was lunging for the ball just as much.
May did well and bought one. And thats fine with me
Or maybe I just clearly dont understand football and need to change to Rugby and never pass my lack of footballing gene knowledge on to any kids.
From CL Phantom post you can see it’s one footed by the Exeter player, whats he supposed to do cut his other foot off and leave it behind as it will naturally follow their fella got to the ball firat and Alfie kicked him
Hopefully a convincing scoreline will be good for our confidence but the ref was the key player for us last night. The soft penalty and the dodgy red card were crucial.
Louis Watson and May were excellent but we still look frail in defence. I worry about Hector who looks like a more elegant version of Innis with even more unforced errors in him. And CBT and Thomas on the left flank is a disaster waiting to happen.
Hector, who had his best performance for us yesterday, and who appears to be improving AND cutting out the errors? Is it fair to expect League One players to make no mistakes at all? They even make them in the Premier League. Yes, the letting-the-ball-bounce one was pretty poor, but that was quite a few matches ago now, I think? Thomas has been pretty solid at left back this season. His weakness is attacking, but fortunately we have CBT for that. Not sure the left flank is as disastrous as you think, although a specialist left back wouldn’t go amiss.
Came away from last night’s game with more encouragement in my system than for a long time.
Came from behind to win ✅ Goals spread across forwards ✅ May dangerous in a central CAM role while exploiting height and power up top ✅ Louie Watson complimenting Dobbo brilliantly and looking dynamic and dangerous whenever on the ball ✅ AMB pulling off some solid saves ✅
Only areas for real focus over the days ahead of Blackpool for me were the fullback slots both wings and communication between Hector and the rest of the defence.
Very good all round home performance we had to stay calm as Exeter set up to let us have the ball but to hit us on the break , some of our football was really good as we tried to find the key to unlock the 10 man defence . Exeter scored which was out of the blue , but we did not panic got the deserved goal .. second we continued to dominate T Watson won the pen no complaints there , Aneke missed May scored .. then horrendous tackle on May could have broke his leg sending off … and we really took the game by the neck .. it was one of best home performances for a while
MOM L Watson
Think you need to watch that sending off again mate. Wasn't even a foul.
Wasn't even a challenge!
How was that not a challenge? What was it then, a shot? A pass?
The red is laughable and I imagine if it was the other way around we would all be fuming. Shocker of a decision but quite frankly I couldn't care less as it went our way.
I very much like the look of the Watsons. Would have loved to have been able to snap Alfie up a few years ago. He just doesn't stop running. UTA
Just seen the 'foul' for the red card. That is an atrocious decision. Alfie May should be ashamed of himself for his reaction. I don't like to see that of our players. Very disappointing.
Good performance, still have some daft moments in the defence but the system with May in a free role looks pretty good. Fraser coming back and Chuks starting and actually walking off rather than being helped off is a massive bonus.
If Louie Watson plays half that well and stays fit then Private Fraser is going to be warming the bench Watson has all Fraser's skill and vision multiplied by 10 times the energy and commitment, makes Fraser look more like Private Godfrey in comparison Charlton's major advantage over the Grecians last night was the energy and commitment of May and Watson which effectively gave us an extra player even before Aimson got sawn off by yet another preposterously bad referee.
From where the ref was stood, I can see why he thought it was excessive force, and not just reckless, on second view from the half way line camera, it's not and in the Premier League it's probably reversed.
People giving Hector scores of 5 on the Players' Marks thread is disappointing. Certainly wasn't a 5 performance yesterday. It's hard to mark objectively I guess, leaving your pre conceived opinions based on previous performances behind.
I’m 3 for 3 as I’ve seen us play Orient, Fleetwood and now Exeter, so in my head we have a 100% record and are top of the league :-)
The bad news is I don’t think my next game is until Bolton at the end of the month, so let’s hope there are some wins between now and then
I thought Exeter started well and the score line isn’t a fair reflection on them, and of course the sending off helped us.
We looked a bit open in the first half, and I think it’s partly due to the way we set up in midfield with May, and also that Tenai Watson didn’t have that great a game.
Aside from that, based just on last night, we have some green shoots. I think we’ve got 5 decent players that would get into most teams in this division and could form part of a promotion winning team. For me, they are, Dobson, Leaburn, May, Louie Watson and CBT if he continues to mature in the way he has with his final product (I must admit, I had questioned him previously). We have to hope the rest can come together and the defence starts to settle down, because of those 5, Dobson is the most defensively minded.
It’s great to watch though. When you’ve got 4 in Leaburn, May, CBT and Louie Watson who are showing skill in the final third, it makes a difference and it makes us dangerous.
Consider it to last season when we had Payne, Morgan, Fraser, DJ, Kirk and Stockley as the attacking options. On last night’s evidence, you’re routing for someone like May given how much of a shift he puts in, Watson got the crowd going as opposed to us having to get them going, and Leaburn shows so much maturity for his age and I can see Championship clubs wanting him next summer.
I admire Appleton for giving Aneke a start, but we’ve been down this route before, and although he fashioned a few chances, he’s much better coming off the bench with 15-20 mins to go. The game swung in our favour last night, but for me, Leaburn and May start. The test now will be following up last night with another win against Blackpool. I think we had 3 wins in a row last season under Garner’s massive feet, and Holden went 2 wins and a draw (if memory recalls) as his best run. The key is going 6/7 unbeaten or more over 2/3 periods a season.
At the very least, the football seemed more pleasing on the eye, but then I’ve only seen 3 wins and didn’t have to watch the Shrewsbury or Stevenage first halves. Although to be fair to Appleton is only 4 games in. I hope it’s just not that new manager bounce
My first viewing at a real life game this season. Noticed that CBT was making a lot of good runs, but didn't get a pass, turned round to get onside and by then was marked. Clever play by T Watson to buy the penalty, seems quite savvy. Aneke starting was a big bonus, and very impressed with L Watson's energy.
Definitely something to build on and we are fortunate to have a good quality bench when games are likely to go 100 mins +
Looking forward to seeing 2 out of 2 v Blackpool and then retiring to "ahem" Spain to view the other matches.
People giving Hector scores of 5 on the Players' Marks thread is disappointing. Certainly wasn't a 5 performance yesterday. It's hard to vote objectively I guess, leaving your pre conceived opinions based on previous performances behind.
Saw someone blame AMB for the goal on there. Was 2 on 1 with plenty of space, would have been a miracle for them not to score
Bring a fit Edun back into that lineup and I really do think we can challenge! We have a lot of quality. Yes Hector still looks a bit prone but I am sure he will return to the quality player he was last season! Still think Ness is an ample replacement, he has come in for a lot of stick considering how good his breakthrough was.
I've watched the Exeter goal back a number of times and I can't figure out what neither Hector nor Jones are doing. Bizarre defending.
I paused it this morning and thinking exactly the same. I’ve never seen such a defensive mess, No pressure on ball at all, Watson too deep, Jones too high, Hector somewhere in midfield, Keeper beaten easily at near post.
People giving Hector scores of 5 on the Players' Marks thread is disappointing. Certainly wasn't a 5 performance yesterday. It's hard to vote objectively I guess, leaving your pre conceived opinions based on previous performances behind.
Saw someone blame AMB for the goal on there. Was 2 on 1 with plenty of space, would have been a miracle for them not to score
Really expected the scorer to square it to his team mate.
My first game of the season yesterday owing to a combination of circumstances (my other hobbies have had some unfortunate clashes with home games). Good to see a comfortable win!
- AMB; Hector; and Jones didn't seem to communicate all too well, certainly at first. The parting of the Red Sea for their goal is the manifestation of it, but there were a few instances where I didn't think they all worked in tandem. Understandable as AMB is just back in the side, but no-one quite took charge. Hector eventually grew into it - as he should. Jones was, to me, fairly... erm, well, average, insofar as he was there, did nothing neither notably wrong nor bad (goal the exception). His passing isn't great shakes but I have no judgement on him yet. Hector was marginally better - distribution; that turn and shot in the first half(!); and eventual presence all contributed to that. AMB made one or two actually smart saves when needed as well.
- Tennai Watson was a bit shaky. First half he seemed out of position. Second half he seemed out of position but with a bit more effort/instruction. It's a bit like he was learning on the job I thought. Don't feel as if I can judge him appropriately, but he was roasted by them leaving that winger one-on-one out wide, when he shuttled in. Won the penalty and had some nice moments but jury very much out on one performance - same as Jones. Terrell Thomas was also out of position I thought. He had some okay moments but hasn't quite got the turn of foot to deal with a tricky winger. He doesn't have the attacking instincts of a proper left wing back. Again, fine: we didn't really need it. Not worried about this, just a bit... meh.
- Dobson and Louie Watson - dear me, that's a nice central midfield to have. Watson's movement for the disallowed goal was excellent. He was also everywhere as needed - Dobson the perfect foil for this, as he could sit and leave Watson to attack and playmake with a little more freedom. Dobbo's roulette is nice; his distribution bar one shocking pass was fine; defensively sound. I do wonder if he plays a bit too much hero-ball and gets out of position trying to win it back, and think a better team can exploit that. Watson was excellent though. Very happy with this. I wonder if Scott Fraser as a CAM could work to create a midfield triumvirate, with two strikers; three CBs; and two winger/wing-backs? (I get ahead of myself.)
- Tedic isn't a winger, nor is he that quick, nor is he THAT strong. But he moves really well, with good runs that either occupy attention of defenders; should warrant a pass; or - in the case of the disallowed goal - get the pass and then Chuks who's offside takes it! He seemed out of position but worked hard and did what he could with what he had. Couple of decent snapshots too. And when he's on the pitch we score goals. Can't be too much of a coincidence that?
- Aneke. Great to see him start. He looks thinner and a bit fitter - as much as he can be, anyway. Hold-up play is still class and he causes defences no end of trouble. Having him and Leaburn to choose from is a lovely problem to have. Pen wasn't actually the WORST; keeper made a good save, but he shouldn't have been taking it anyway. Good to see him cause issues.
- CBT terrifies defenders by the very thought of him doesn't he? Love that. Always with pace; a real attacking threat and got a goal; and he opens up so many avenues by virtue of the threat he just is by existing. Working harder and seems fitter than last year.
- I love Alfie May. Think he was out of position until he basically started doing what he wanted in the second half. A comparison that my old man made that people will not like, but I agree with, is that he has the same application as a certain Lyle Taylor. Conserved energy in the first half; knew when to chase the ball down; and finished the game strongly - it's a similar comparison. Only Alfie has different skill set. The dude is gravy: his inherent understanding of where his team-mates are when he's in close quarters is very valuable. He'd know what his "safety" outlet was, so if having to poke the ball away it wasn't just away, but to a fellow red shirt. Instinct for goal is something I've not really seen in a Charlton shirt for a long time - almost since Lookman - and he is a hard, HARD worker. Love it.
Won't go into much detail on players off the bench as it was a low-pressure situation when most were brought on, but Miles took his goal well.
- Mickey Apples has got us playing fairly normal football. Which is fine. The first quarter of the game was a lot of passing sideways and lump to CBT/Tedic, which wasn't fun, but then we opened up a bit. Subs were made contextually at the right time; none of our players looked as if they were messing around or had given up; and I think it was basically a job well done. Fair enough - liked it; won't judge it personally yet til I see more myself. But a decent first impression.
Ref was shocking and I expect the red to be overturned. Seeing it in real time I can understand why the ref gave it but it was nowhere near a red. Exeter played some nice stuff and we had worrying moments defensively but they never really capitalised. After the red, they were lacking in shape, and I think we'd have won anyway but it became a lot easier then.
Comments
But the main plaudits go to Alfie. The No10 slot was made for him. Made the first, a precise run in for the second, and smashes the fourth. Loved the way he went looking for a hattrick in the last 15 minutes. He was also cute with the sending off incident. Live action looked as if he had kicked the defender but the ref was behind him so when he went rolling around on the ground he 'painted a picture' (heard a lot in the ruby world cup) for the ref of being the victim of reckless play. The defender had lost control of the ball and then appeared to jump in (and actually cleanly connect with the ball not seen by the ref) and then follow through with both feet. Over goes Alfie (he probably was caught a bit) and off goes defender. An honest mistake by the ref and the red will probably be rescinded.
Just before the challenge we have Alfie May leaning back as they both come in for the ball
At the point of contact both May and Exeter players left feet are firmly planted as the right boots come together
The Exeter players left foot doesnt even leave the ground before his right has come down again with May heading into a beautiful pirouette.
The point at which the ref sees and calls it the Exeter player has both feet up after studding the ground, while Alfie May spins away graciously in the air beside him.
Foul, sure. A straight red and clear lunge? Nah. May was lunging for the ball just as much.
May did well and bought one. And thats fine with me
Or maybe I just clearly dont understand football and need to change to Rugby and never pass my lack of footballing gene knowledge on to any kids.
their fella got to the ball firat and Alfie kicked him
Thomas has been pretty solid at left back this season. His weakness is attacking, but fortunately we have CBT for that. Not sure the left flank is as disastrous as you think, although a specialist left back wouldn’t go amiss.
Goals spread across forwards ✅
May dangerous in a central CAM role while exploiting height and power up top ✅
Louie Watson complimenting Dobbo brilliantly and looking dynamic and dangerous whenever on the ball ✅
AMB pulling off some solid saves ✅
Only areas for real focus over the days ahead of Blackpool for me were the fullback slots both wings and communication between Hector and the rest of the defence.
Bring on the tangerines!
The pen, you see them given so correct call imo.
The red is laughable and I imagine if it was the other way around we would all be fuming. Shocker of a decision but quite frankly I couldn't care less as it went our way.
I very much like the look of the Watsons. Would have loved to have been able to snap Alfie up a few years ago. He just doesn't stop running. UTA
Watson has all Fraser's skill and vision multiplied by 10 times the energy and commitment, makes Fraser look more like Private Godfrey in comparison
Charlton's major advantage over the Grecians last night was the energy and commitment of May and Watson which effectively gave us an extra player even before Aimson got sawn off by yet another preposterously bad referee.
Fair play to Alfie for getting the card shown
The bad news is I don’t think my next game is until Bolton at the end of the month, so let’s hope there are some wins between now and then
I thought Exeter started well and the score line isn’t a fair reflection on them, and of course the sending off helped us.
Consider it to last season when we had Payne, Morgan, Fraser, DJ, Kirk and Stockley as the attacking options. On last night’s evidence, you’re routing for someone like May given how much of a shift he puts in, Watson got the crowd going as opposed to us having to get them going, and Leaburn shows so much maturity for his age and I can see Championship clubs wanting him next summer.
At the very least, the football seemed more pleasing on the eye, but then I’ve only seen 3 wins and didn’t have to watch the Shrewsbury or Stevenage first halves. Although to be fair to Appleton is only 4 games in. I hope it’s just not that new manager bounce
Definitely something to build on and we are fortunate to have a good quality bench when games are likely to go 100 mins +
Looking forward to seeing 2 out of 2 v Blackpool and then retiring to "ahem" Spain to view the other matches.
COYR
Like shit defending bingo
- AMB; Hector; and Jones didn't seem to communicate all too well, certainly at first. The parting of the Red Sea for their goal is the manifestation of it, but there were a few instances where I didn't think they all worked in tandem. Understandable as AMB is just back in the side, but no-one quite took charge. Hector eventually grew into it - as he should. Jones was, to me, fairly... erm, well, average, insofar as he was there, did nothing neither notably wrong nor bad (goal the exception). His passing isn't great shakes but I have no judgement on him yet. Hector was marginally better - distribution; that turn and shot in the first half(!); and eventual presence all contributed to that. AMB made one or two actually smart saves when needed as well.
- Tennai Watson was a bit shaky. First half he seemed out of position. Second half he seemed out of position but with a bit more effort/instruction. It's a bit like he was learning on the job I thought. Don't feel as if I can judge him appropriately, but he was roasted by them leaving that winger one-on-one out wide, when he shuttled in. Won the penalty and had some nice moments but jury very much out on one performance - same as Jones. Terrell Thomas was also out of position I thought. He had some okay moments but hasn't quite got the turn of foot to deal with a tricky winger. He doesn't have the attacking instincts of a proper left wing back. Again, fine: we didn't really need it. Not worried about this, just a bit... meh.
- Dobson and Louie Watson - dear me, that's a nice central midfield to have. Watson's movement for the disallowed goal was excellent. He was also everywhere as needed - Dobson the perfect foil for this, as he could sit and leave Watson to attack and playmake with a little more freedom. Dobbo's roulette is nice; his distribution bar one shocking pass was fine; defensively sound. I do wonder if he plays a bit too much hero-ball and gets out of position trying to win it back, and think a better team can exploit that. Watson was excellent though. Very happy with this. I wonder if Scott Fraser as a CAM could work to create a midfield triumvirate, with two strikers; three CBs; and two winger/wing-backs? (I get ahead of myself.)
- Tedic isn't a winger, nor is he that quick, nor is he THAT strong. But he moves really well, with good runs that either occupy attention of defenders; should warrant a pass; or - in the case of the disallowed goal - get the pass and then Chuks who's offside takes it! He seemed out of position but worked hard and did what he could with what he had. Couple of decent snapshots too. And when he's on the pitch we score goals. Can't be too much of a coincidence that?
- Aneke. Great to see him start. He looks thinner and a bit fitter - as much as he can be, anyway. Hold-up play is still class and he causes defences no end of trouble. Having him and Leaburn to choose from is a lovely problem to have. Pen wasn't actually the WORST; keeper made a good save, but he shouldn't have been taking it anyway. Good to see him cause issues.
- CBT terrifies defenders by the very thought of him doesn't he? Love that. Always with pace; a real attacking threat and got a goal; and he opens up so many avenues by virtue of the threat he just is by existing. Working harder and seems fitter than last year.
- I love Alfie May. Think he was out of position until he basically started doing what he wanted in the second half. A comparison that my old man made that people will not like, but I agree with, is that he has the same application as a certain Lyle Taylor. Conserved energy in the first half; knew when to chase the ball down; and finished the game strongly - it's a similar comparison. Only Alfie has different skill set. The dude is gravy: his inherent understanding of where his team-mates are when he's in close quarters is very valuable. He'd know what his "safety" outlet was, so if having to poke the ball away it wasn't just away, but to a fellow red shirt. Instinct for goal is something I've not really seen in a Charlton shirt for a long time - almost since Lookman - and he is a hard, HARD worker. Love it.
Won't go into much detail on players off the bench as it was a low-pressure situation when most were brought on, but Miles took his goal well.
- Mickey Apples has got us playing fairly normal football. Which is fine. The first quarter of the game was a lot of passing sideways and lump to CBT/Tedic, which wasn't fun, but then we opened up a bit. Subs were made contextually at the right time; none of our players looked as if they were messing around or had given up; and I think it was basically a job well done. Fair enough - liked it; won't judge it personally yet til I see more myself. But a decent first impression.
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Ref was shocking and I expect the red to be overturned. Seeing it in real time I can understand why the ref gave it but it was nowhere near a red. Exeter played some nice stuff and we had worrying moments defensively but they never really capitalised. After the red, they were lacking in shape, and I think we'd have won anyway but it became a lot easier then.
Good stuff. See you Saturday x