PWR again as needed some serious Galaxy choc & more wine to help calm me down after tonight's match.
We're currently Old English Sheepdog sitting for a few days due to a mix up over dates so watched this one via stream.
The best parts tonight were our away faithful ( inc daughter & 2 eldest grandkids) & the tremendous support they gave the lads together with the 2 handsome Peter Pans at The Valley ( oh & Nelse !) whilst the first 13 mins of the match were encouraging.
Unfortunately, nothing else we did on the pitch could match it....
Several adjectives come to mind : threadbare, unbalanced, disjointed, outplayed...
Clearly we need reinforcements urgently, like yesterday, as this squad is seriously lightweight with a couple of its starting line up currently not fit for purpose at this moment in time. I'll leave you to fill in the missing names.
Yes, I AM possibly over reacting but I see too few signs of improvement to give me a much needed shot of confidence in this team's ability to change - although this is as much down to their management/coaching as it is to their individual performances. And, dare I say it, the reluctance of our owner to bring in the type of player we are crying out for.
How long will it take for NA to realise he doesn't have the individuals to fulfil the way in which he wants them to play? I'm beginning to think he is not for turning which is a huge concern....unless of course SG comes up with some top notch loanees very soon. Tell us something we don't already know, Fanny.
Yes, there were a few positives to take from tonight's performance. Young Deji Mk2 was a revelation, bless his cotton socks & entered the arena like an experienced pro. Maybe he should be renamed Rufus Mk2 ? And whilst it was a relief to see DJ displaying more of the skills we knew he had and to see Albie's overall game improve, it was nowhere near enough to compensate for the inadequate display on view & with no reason to expect wholesale changes, an extremely worrying scenario is unfolding before our eyes.
Yes, it's only 3 games into the new season & as Mo Farrah would say, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
But with hand on heart, who would claim that these 3 games will not define our season & that there's every reason to put our faith in TS, SG & NA and their goal to gain promotion this time around ?
For me, too many aspects of this scenario have to change for that to happen....
...and I can't see the wood for the trees.
It hurts to admit to these negative feelings but maybe I'm more of a realist than most, or maybe more of a doomsayer.
It goes without saying that I fervently hope that this proves to be a storm in a teacup - that improvement will be gradual but will be worth waiting for. Poor results or performances will not prevent me from attending as many matches as my health & bank balance allows - it's what I do.
But I have thrown away those rose coloured specs I once wore & fear that our long awaited return to live football will, sadly, not be as joyous as we'd hoped.
** Edited after reading other posts *
Didn't post it but seems I'm not the only Lifer questioning if Roddy's involvement or influence has seriously derailed our recruitment or indeed our way of playing.
8 points behind the pack after only three games wake up a smell the Roses Adkins 👎👎
Just my opinion but I feel sorry for Adkins. Can hardly expect him to work miracles with the mediocrity he’s been given to work with. I can’t think of any manager that could do better with a substandard first eleven and a bench made up of raw kids.
This is what i dont understand,would TS really go through everything he did to acquire the club only to leave us with a mid-table(at best)team? I cant believe he would. Surely?!
Depends. He might just like the kudos of owning a football club. Obviously he would like us to do well, but after that ? He's not a CAFC "'fan" is he ? I mean, how long has he been "supporting" us.....12 months ?
If you are a millionaire what else are you going to do with your money.....leave it in the bank ? He might just be thinking that he can do all this by just spending £10m and that's it.
What I don't think he is going to do is do a Jack Walker and push the boat out. Fairs do's.....its his money. Just don't go round saying this & that and bigging yourself up by walking round the pitch playing your guitar to a song you've just written. Your not Elton John.
I am not proud to say that I have been calling this for weeks & weeks. Got pelters on the Transfer Rumours thread back in early July when I questioned our lack of transfers.....got told not to panic & the transfer window doesn't close until end of August.
Even got told by a poster that they wanted to rip my head off & piss down my neck for daring to suggest that TS's transfer policy was no different to Duchatalet. I said at least under RD we brought players in.
Seems like TS is happy to rely on the U23's. That's ok if you have a Shelvey, a Gomez or a Parker. Not so good if you have Claydon, Roddy or Vennings.
Think it might be too late anyway. Most of the good players have joined new clubs and any other players we are interested in the selling clubs will know we are desperate & will be upping their prices as I type.
Just too fucking late. Time to strengthen was back in June & July.
Could be in the bottom 4 come 5pm Saturday. And I dare anyone to call me a bedwetter.
The thing is mate you "call it out" when we are 3-0 up, that we should go for the 4th, if we signed someone who scored 20 goals the previous season you would want someone that scored 25.
If we signed Messi you would moan we didn't get Ronaldo as well.
If we won the league with 99 points you would moan we didn't get 100.
If you predict the apocalypse on an hourly basis your be right eventually.
If we signed somebody who can score 20, signing somebody who can score 25 improves us. Why would you not want that. We have lost about 25 goals with Aneke, JFC and Gilbey and not brought any in to compensate. We haven't signed Messi or Ronaldo and we have absolutely no chance of getting near 99 points as it stands.
Don't worry. The poster was having a dig at me for some reason. 99% of posters are saying the same thing but when I say it I must just be seeing the negative in everything. Weird how some people just have a downer on others.
Says something when folk are crying out for Schwartz to rescue us!
Believe it or not, I am one of them very few who think we should be give him a crack. I don’t know what the situation is with Ronnie but if he is playable then why not? He could actually surprise many of us.!
Having been at Lord's on Monday to see England capitulate to India, and then at Stadium MK on Tuesday to see Charlton lose to MK Dons, I'm starting to feel nostalgic for lockdown
A repeat of the Oxford game, apart from us taking the lead this time. Once again the best team for 15 mins. Then the opposition pick up and our poor midfield 3 fold once again. None of the midfield 3 are good enough.
The goalie has given away a goal both games and would have in the first game as well if Bannan hadn't shot wide.
Gunter is absolute crap.
Inniss & Famewo look far from their best and both look sluggish. Washington tries but is a passenger in that position.
Matthews looks ok, DJ played well if we ever passed to him & Stockley is fighting a losing battle with no support.
TS must decide tomorrow whether he wants a promotion or relegation battle. No more decent signings and it's a relegation battle.
We need an attacking composed midfielder desperately and realistically another first team midfielder. We need a left back. We need a striker and possibly a back up winger.
If we get in 5 first teamers we can mount a promotion challenge. I'm not overly optimistic. 13 days or thereabouts to save the season.
I don’t know what Adkins has been doing the last few months. We are really bad. No leadership. I’m not impressed with either Dobson or Clare. Gunter is terrible. Inniss was like a donkey and went off exhausted. Not too convinced of the new goalie. Famewo is ok. Washington went off injured. Morgan is too young for the responsibility.
Kirk could make a difference but it’s the players around him. They’re no good. DJ started brightly but really faded. Stockley is good but what can he do on his own! We are that bad. Is the problem Adkins or is TS deluded. Europe in 5 years!! That’s a joke. Relegation form is what I see.
So what's going wrong at Ipswich? Before the season no one would grumble at the quality of player they have bought in, as well as the experience of the manager - but currently they find themselves in the exact same situation as us.
You have to feel they have more chance of turning it around then us, but I guess we always have more leeway to improve our squad more so (if we start to being in quality players).
Ipswich have signed too many players and Cook is still clearly working out what his best team is. It's a much better problem than we have but with the same results at the moment. You'd have to fancy them to get it right at some point though.
Yep. I'd say us and Ipswich lack a lot of confidence. I don’t believe these players are this bad.
You mean Dobson and Clare our starting midfield that couldn’t get into their league one first teams last season, can’t be that bad?
I can.
Or do you mean the Dobson and Clare that went on loan to almost relegated Burton and Wimbledon and helped keep them up?
Glass is either half empty or half full.
Like last year none of the players individually are awful (Gunter playing at left back aside) the balance in midfield is wrong (Adkins got that right 1st time after Bowyer got it wrong for 4 months). Honestly I believe 1 or 2 more "best" players would transform this team. We need more depth as well, don't get me wrong.
We played some nice stuff, on the floor, until they equalised. Like I said after the Oxford game the lower the confidence gets the longer the ball goes. It's just like Parkinson's team that got relegated from the championship. Best team until they score then it all falls to pieces.
Funny how good Amos, Gilbey, JFC and Aneke are now. All 4 would massively improve us but 3 of them were hammered last year despite being our 3 best players.
Dobson and Clare are shit and no one can tell me otherwise. Could not give a fuck who or what they have done elsewhere, they add absolutely nothing to our midfield. There's a reason we're hoofing it so much to bypass them.
It's funny because 2 months ago posters were saying we should be going for Fraser & Twine. Everyone was saying it. But we end up with 2 average league 1 players who aren't really going to set the world alight.....and we are supposed to be thankful because TS saved us from going out of business.
Tonight felt like a bit of a turning point, there was real anger in the away end, of the sort I've not heard for a long time, not under Bowyer or indeed Robinson.
I expected MKD to be tough opponents, and so it proved. Frustrating that the defence has cocked up again, as after the Wednesday game I was expecting us to to be toothless but tight at the back.
I've been seriously underwhelmed by the transfer window, the lack of activity, and looking enviously at other clubs. Twine, Eisa and Parrott, a fluid front 3 all arrived in July, and formed a fluid and talented front 3, who will cause other defences lots of problems. All 3 were realistic targets for us financially too, as MKD aren't paying Ipswich style massive wages.
By contrast, I see the 3 new players MacGillivray, Clare and Dobson (Famewo and Stockley were already with us) and am frankly underwhelmed. All 3 look pretty ordinary really, and I can see why Sunderland and Oxford weren't bothered about keeping Dobson and Clare, or why the Cowleys were happy to move on MacGillivray rather than pay him the extra amount he was due if they exercised the clause to retain him
The formation just doesn't work, and I really don't see Stockley as a loan striker (433, 4231) as he's not good enough on the floor. I could never imagine Carl Leaburn as a loan striker or the likes of Niall Quinn or Emile Heskey playing in such a formation either, but all 3 were great alongside a poacher.
Oh, and my final moan of the night. If what Adkins says is correct, it's ridiculous the way we've had to manage Innis this summer, and that he can only play 45 minutes of the first midweek league fixture, despite having no injuries or illness during the summer to delay his preseason.
And even more ridiculous that we don't have a senior right footed CB to cover for him.
Those saying "at least under RD we....". Really have very very short memories. Let us not forget we should be extinct by now. It was THAT close before the takeover. Just accept the present fact. We have a crap team. And crap teams lose football matches. A LOT! Where is the shock in that? TS came in and backed our manager. LB subsequently jumped ship (before being pushed) and TS installed a proven successful manager at this level. So far so good. Instead of building on a nearly successful last season they chose (or had to accept) that best parts of that team would leave. To then expect the now crap team to improve on last year is just a ridiculous expectation.
Innis, Famewo, Gunter, Kirk, JFC & Stockley are the only players fit for a promotion push. The rest are sandbags we need to offload if we are going to go higher.
As that is not going to happen. Let us be content with what we actually have. A poor team that shows little sign of matching last season's points haul.
Those saying "at least under RD we....". Really have very very short memories. Let us not forget we should be extinct by now. It was THAT close before the takeover. Just accept the present fact. We have a crap team. And crap teams lose football matches. A LOT! Where is the shock in that? TS came in and backed our manager. LB subsequently jumped ship (before being pushed) and TS installed a proven successful manager at this level. So far so good. Instead of building on a nearly successful last season they chose (or had to accept) that best parts of that team would leave. To then expect the now crap team to improve on last year is just a ridiculous expectation.
Innis, Famewo, Gunter, Kirk, JFC & Stockley are the only players fit for a promotion push. The rest are sandbags we need to offload if we are going to go higher.
As that is not going to happen. Let us be content with what we actually have. A poor team that shows little sign of matching last season's points haul.
No Charlton fan should be content and accept us being mediocre when the owner & manager both said at the end of last season that our ambition is automatic promotion, and the 5 year plan to get to the Premier League, which is looking more likely it will be 5 years to get to the Ryman Premier League. If the honey moon period isn’t over yet it soon will be without several good signings within the next couple of weeks.
Morgan with the chicken with no head syndrome.....he is not good enough....and we cant afford to wait for JFC to be back in 6 months. Adkins WTF 2-1 down and you bring on Watson !!!!
Comments
We're currently Old English Sheepdog sitting for a few days due to a mix up over dates so watched this one via stream.
The best parts tonight were our away faithful ( inc daughter & 2 eldest grandkids) & the tremendous support they gave the lads together with the 2 handsome Peter Pans at The Valley ( oh & Nelse !) whilst the first 13 mins of the match were encouraging.
Unfortunately, nothing else we did on the pitch could match it....
Several adjectives come to mind : threadbare, unbalanced, disjointed, outplayed...
Clearly we need reinforcements urgently, like yesterday, as this squad is seriously lightweight with a couple of its starting line up currently not fit for purpose at this moment in time. I'll leave you to fill in the missing names.
Yes, I AM possibly over reacting but I see too few signs of improvement to give me a much needed shot of confidence in this team's ability to change - although this is as much down to their management/coaching as it is to their individual performances. And, dare I say it, the reluctance of our owner to bring in the type of player we are crying out for.
How long will it take for NA to realise he doesn't have the individuals to fulfil the way in which he wants them to play? I'm beginning to think he is not for turning which is a huge concern....unless of course SG comes up with some top notch loanees very soon. Tell us something we don't already know, Fanny.
Yes, there were a few positives to take from tonight's performance. Young Deji Mk2 was a revelation, bless his cotton socks & entered the arena like an experienced pro. Maybe he should be renamed Rufus Mk2 ? And whilst it was a relief to see DJ displaying more of the skills we knew he had and to see Albie's overall game improve, it was nowhere near enough to compensate for the inadequate display on view & with no reason to expect wholesale changes, an extremely worrying scenario is unfolding before our eyes.
Yes, it's only 3 games into the new season & as Mo Farrah would say, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
But with hand on heart, who would claim that these 3 games will not define our season & that there's every reason to put our faith in TS, SG & NA and their goal to gain promotion this time around ?
For me, too many aspects of this scenario have to change for that to happen....
...and I can't see the wood for the trees.
It hurts to admit to these negative feelings but maybe I'm more of a realist than most, or maybe more of a doomsayer.
It goes without saying that I fervently hope that this proves to be a storm in a teacup - that improvement will be gradual but will be worth waiting for. Poor results or performances will not prevent me from attending as many matches as my health & bank balance allows - it's what I do.
But I have thrown away those rose coloured specs I once wore & fear that our long awaited return to live football will, sadly, not be as joyous as we'd hoped.
** Edited after reading other posts *
Didn't post it but seems I'm not the only Lifer questioning if Roddy's involvement or influence has seriously derailed our recruitment or indeed our way of playing.
How long before he's unmasked as Agent Spanner
If you are a millionaire what else are you going to do with your money.....leave it in the bank ? He might just be thinking that he can do all this by just spending £10m and that's it.
What I don't think he is going to do is do a Jack Walker and push the boat out. Fairs do's.....its his money. Just don't go round saying this & that and bigging yourself up by walking round the pitch playing your guitar to a song you've just written. Your not Elton John.
Nigel has a bad side
Righto.....
Once again the best team for 15 mins.
Then the opposition pick up and our poor midfield 3 fold once again.
None of the midfield 3 are good enough.
The goalie has given away a goal both games and would have in the first game as well if Bannan hadn't shot wide.
Gunter is absolute crap.
Inniss & Famewo look far from their best and both look sluggish.
Washington tries but is a passenger in that position.
Matthews looks ok, DJ played well if we ever passed to him & Stockley is fighting a losing battle with no support.
TS must decide tomorrow whether he wants a promotion or relegation battle.
No more decent signings and it's a relegation battle.
We need an attacking composed midfielder desperately and realistically another first team midfielder.
We need a left back.
We need a striker and possibly a back up winger.
If we get in 5 first teamers we can mount a promotion challenge.
I'm not overly optimistic.
13 days or thereabouts to save the season.
Think I'd rather have kept Shinnie.
How many games did it take us during the 19/20 & 20/21 seasons......36 ?
Pah !
I expected MKD to be tough opponents, and so it proved. Frustrating that the defence has cocked up again, as after the Wednesday game I was expecting us to to be toothless but tight at the back.
I've been seriously underwhelmed by the transfer window, the lack of activity, and looking enviously at other clubs. Twine, Eisa and Parrott, a fluid front 3 all arrived in July, and formed a fluid and talented front 3, who will cause other defences lots of problems. All 3 were realistic targets for us financially too, as MKD aren't paying Ipswich style massive wages.
By contrast, I see the 3 new players MacGillivray, Clare and Dobson (Famewo and Stockley were already with us) and am frankly underwhelmed. All 3 look pretty ordinary really, and I can see why Sunderland and Oxford weren't bothered about keeping Dobson and Clare, or why the Cowleys were happy to move on MacGillivray rather than pay him the extra amount he was due if they exercised the clause to retain him
The formation just doesn't work, and I really don't see Stockley as a loan striker (433, 4231) as he's not good enough on the floor. I could never imagine Carl Leaburn as a loan striker or the likes of Niall Quinn or Emile Heskey playing in such a formation either, but all 3 were great alongside a poacher.
I love being back watching Charlton regardless of the result. See you all on Saturday! COYA
And even more ridiculous that we don't have a senior right footed CB to cover for him.
In the Prem you are outclassed by the big sides. In league one... we ARE the big side and yet we get outclassed by MK Dons and Oxford.
We saw it last season and we see it again now, it's beyond frustrating. Why do we not have better footballers?
Innis, Famewo, Gunter, Kirk, JFC & Stockley are the only players fit for a promotion push. The rest are sandbags we need to offload if we are going to go higher.
As that is not going to happen. Let us be content with what we actually have. A poor team that shows little sign of matching last season's points haul.
Is that a joke or is that Adkins crying out for help 'this is what i'm reduced to, get me more signings'.