The road ahead looks like a difficult one...

[Jimmy The Addick]

Have not been posting much recently but feel a strong urge to see if anyone shares my views on the current situation. Now i said all through pre-season that central midfield was our problem, and nothing was done in that department and it has cost us dearly. Currently we look awful, sorry but we do. Barnsley had clearly modelled their game plan around our woeful midfield and as a result took 3 points with ease. No disrespect to Barnsley, but there are a lot of teams in this dividion who are stronger than Barnsley and i for one am extremely worried.

The loss of Kermorgant has showed just how weak we are, if we are all honest whenever we have played badly and not been able to creatively pass the ball Kermo was always there to launch himself at anything hit towards him. Wiggins beoing injured is a huge loss too, as he was always a threat going forward. His injury not only takes away his attacking threat, but Solly is now playing out of position and it has disturbed our right flank too. Our 3 main points of attack and 2 are out injured and one moved out of position.

Now i will probably get some stick for this, but as much as i love Sir Chris (i really do, he will always be a hero to me) i think the blame lies solely on him. Regardless of financial backing, we have players at the club already who are good enough to use in these cases. Evina got a game last night but why it has taken so long i don't know. Waggy should not have been loaned out as Pritchard is not a right midfielder, he is back up for the centre of midfield and to be honest i would rather him play than Stephens or Hollands neither of whom seem to know what it is they are supposed to do when we haven't got the ball.

We need a complete change in tactics as we are too predictable. We sit back for 75 minutes being pummeled and then go all out at the end by which point it is too late. Every game this season we have had chances to score at the death, and even then we have not managed it. If the team are not doing the jobs they are told to then discipline them, but if they are doing the job they have been asked to do then what the hell is Powelly doing?

In summary, we need to pull our fingers out and fast. No more sitting back, no more soft interviews claiming a poor performance "had some positives". Get out there, play your hearts out and attack from the get go, otherwise last seasons hard work will have been for nothing. I would rather go down all guns blazing than with a cry and a whimper

 

[deleted.....]

Jimmy, I do not think our midfielders are that bad it is just they seem to have less time than the opposition, when the opposition has the ball in midfield our midfielders give then space and drop back onto our defenders which means that one good through ball takes out our midfield and defence.

Especially at home, our midfield needs to defend IN midfield and leave our defenders to defend the box, by all means our midfielders should go 'with their man' the the opposition are attacking BUT our centre midfielders should not try to be central defenders (unless they happen to be Dervite!)

Midfielders should also try to 'bust a gut' to get into the box when we are attacking, when was the last time you saw Stephens, Hollands, Pritchard (harsh considering he has played a lot on the wing) in the box?

 

[typical]

Jimmy good post for those that like to study the finer art, the nuances, the science. I am pretty thick and don't even know what for sure wether your offside from a thow in. But the most poignant and relevant line in your thread was your title. "The road ahead looks a difficult one" and that is what I want to see. I want to see problems, I want to see the club lose and draw and even win, otherwise it is not football, the masses then dont think, sceam and argue without failure and dissappointment. I need to see the struggle without it life becomes boring and common.

 

[Jimmy The Addick]

I completely agree, but then that is where i find a problem. Are Hollands and Stephens dropping back because that is how they want to play (in which case they need a bit of the hair dryer treatment) or is that because of a tactical decision made by Sir Chris? Either way he needs to sort it, if his players are not doing what is asked of them then that needs to be fixed, and if it is CP's tactics that are the problem then he needs to be changing it. Personally i don't really rate Stephens, but i am aware that is because he has not been put in a system that suits him. I also believe Stephens and Hollands are not a compatible partnership. I would rather see JJ and Stephens in midfield as JJ would be the perfect foil for Stephens. Johnie Jackson has been a very loyal servant, came here a left back, then central midfielder, then pushed out on the left wing. His tactical awareness and willingness to defend and create would allow Stephens to be a bit more creative himself. Stephens seems like he has all the ability to be a good offensively minded player, but we don't see that because we do nothing but sit back and lump it or lose the ball playing it on the floor because it is far too congested. It frustrates me because as much as i love Powell, i genuinely believe that currently anyone on this forum could put a team out that would make a lot more tactical sense than the teams he fields. My team at the moment until Kermo and Wiggins are fit would be..

Hamer
Solly Cort Morro Evina
Wilson Stephens Jackson Kerkar
Razak
BWP

Razak looked very good against Barnsley.

We have all the ingredients to have a good side, but it seems the chef has lost his recipe book

 

[ForestHillBilly]

From the commentary last night it sounded as though our midfield was much improved, creating several chances (and missing them) and scoring our only goal. It was also the first game I can remember when neither Hollands nor Stephens played and we may well see the same team on Saturday. I hope so. One way or another it looks as though The Doctor has arrived at a balanced team, round pegs in round holes etc. Not necessarily our best players but our best team.

 

[Jimmy The Addick]

I see where you are coming from Typical (by the way you can't be offside from a throw in )

I want to see problems because without them we will never know where we stand, but this problem has been a recurring one and it worries me it has not been sorted and in a way it is almost like Powell is unaware it even exists

 

[SuperChrissyisfantasticPardswasatrocious]

It's tough. Tougher than I think a lot (too many?) thought it was going to be. I'm sure the players and staff were under no illusions to what might lie ahead, and I think it was too be expected. Of the last 5 games we have played well in 3, poor in 2. The problem is we need to impose ourselves more when in control of a game as we look far too vulnerable when we are playing poor.

As the league stands, there are 6 teams worse than us. The pointes between it isn't a lot, but the same can be said for the other side of the table (and no, I'm not talking about the play offs). Am I worried? No. Have I been disappointed at some of what we've been served up? 100%. But I think we are making a bit too much out of our season so far - I think, whilst he has his flaws, CP has mastered some good results. I expect/hope that he can push on and achieve more, but by no means was it ever going to be a guarantee. He, along with most of his squad, are learning together. They have looked out of their depths at times(!!), but overall are holding their own.

 

[Butterfield]

I think we're on a learning curve, players, manager and fans.

Many of our players haven't had much Championship experience. Same goes for the manager.

We have less quality in the important areas when compared to many teams in this division.

I have my doubts about Kermorgant as a striker in the Championship. He doesn't dominate aerially like he has done before, and tempts the others to play too predictably direct.

I agree that our midfield sits too deep. Maybe this is tactical? Maybe Dr Chris is scared what might happen to morale if we take a pasting.

Despite our league position, i'm calm about our prospects this season. With injuries we will have a difficult time of it, but if we keep faith in our squad i think we will be safe.

 

[CAFC Room101]

Salford, bit harsh to knock Kermo for others knocking it long to him, CP is either responsable for those tactics or ensuring that doesn't happen.

Jimmy the team you named after criticising Powells selection is very similar to the one we saw last night considering stephens was due to start. Although I agree his tactics do need tweaking and that Razak looked decent although he may still be recoving from his travels (though that would be odd considering he started on saturday)

 

[Ken Shabby]

Typical, you've lost it mate. What the fans want is what we had last season, blasting teams out of our path as we cruise up the league to another championship. Like others, I'm no rocket scientist on football, plus I don't see the games as I live in Spain, but whatever we did last night, let's do it again on saturday.

 

[Captain Blackaddick]

Typical, you've lost it mate. What the fans want is what we had last season, blasting teams out of our path as we cruise up the league to another championship. Like others, I'm no rocket scientist on football, plus I don't see the games as I live in Spain, but whatever we did last night, let's do it again on saturday.

To be fair, I see where typical's coming from. Last season was a dream, a million times better than any of us expected, and most likely a one-off. Winning every week meant being a Charlton fan was easy. Now, however, we're having to get used to losing more often, which asks more of the fans (that they don't get on the players' backs) and of the team (that they show the mental strength to bounce back from defeat). Results like last night, a worthy performance if not a win against a very big club, are in some way more satisfying than a 3-0 win over Yeovil.

I don't mean to say that we should be complacent and accept defeats and poor performances like Saturday's. It's just that, to me, this season feels more 'realistic' than the last, as absurd as that may sound.

Plus, losing more often means the arguments on here get much tastier

 

[TrickyCharlton]

I think that people got so used to winning this year, and given what Norwich and Southampton did expected us to do the same, even if they didn't say it. What we should remember is that winning last season was against the odds like that of Southampton and Norwich in the Championship. As it stands if we are comparing ourselves against those two teams then we are in our Premiership.

We don't really have the money of either club in their promotion years, we built a team last season for the championship, and we made it. Be happy and rejoice we are here at all rather than another season in League 1.

As I have said before it is going to take some time to get the team playing consistently (lest we forget we weren't consistent last year, we just managed to win the games we played poorly in) at our best, due to inexperience. Until that point we just need to get behind the team and support them regardless of performance/ result.

I don't know about all of you lot, but despite feeling fairly well educated on the subject of formations players and footballing by laws, I am yet to do my UEFA badges. Until I do, IN SCP I TRUST!!

 

[typical]

Typical, you've lost it mate. What the fans want is what we had last season, blasting teams out of our path as we cruise up the league to another championship. Like others, I'm no rocket scientist on football, plus I don't see the games as I live in Spain, but whatever we did last night, let's do it again on saturday.

Your right Ken but to give me credit for having it in the first place is rather flattering-thank you.

My take on last season was the truth we dare not mention. But the standard in Division 1 is poor really poor and whlst we walked it, i honestly thought in at least 10 games I saw, we were lucky to get wins. But when your on a roll your on a roll, a la Palace (how are they where they are I will never know)

We are being found out, the first resaon I can think of, is we did not have the start we wanted. We have lost momentum and confidence, teams play at us rather than us at them-we also lost to Palace at the worst possible moment, had we won that game I would wager that we would be where palace are versa vicer. I also think we have no real stand up player, no heroes-no Browns, No Powells-No Kishishevs, We have a Solly but he does not have the gravitas or presence to lead. Jacko is way off form and not what I regard as a crowd pleaser.

I am enjoying this season but it a mile and a half away from what we played last season, and we have lost confidence at home. But Palace are really pissing me off.

 

[Butterfield]

Salford, bit harsh to knock Kermo for others knocking it long to him, CP is either responsable for those tactics or ensuring that doesn't happen.

You're right, that was a bit harsh. Kermo will have his good and bad days. He more than deserves his chance to prove himself at this level.

I think the point I was trying to make was that we do seem to be a little predictable when we are playing long to Kermo. Playing into Ricardo Fullers feet will give Championship defenders far more to think about IMO.

We will wait and see what the Doctor orders when we're back to full strength.

 

[Butterfield]

Your right Ken but to give me credit for having it in the first place is rather flattering-thank you.

I haven't always been your biggest fan typical but you're in a great run of form at the moment.

Just like Palace

 

[Ken Shabby]

Typical, you are more than welcome mate. I have to say I'm sort of enjoying this season, but while I never expected us to win this league, some of the performances have been a worry. Still, two good ones this week, and while two points from three games is'nt much of a return, we seem to be on an upward curve.

 

[charltonted]

I take comfort from the reports of our away performances, never expected us to be pushing for promotion if I'm honest. But have been disappointed in our performances & the way we have lost. Here's hoping the spirit & desire to win, apparently shown away from home will be on display for us fans who for whatever reason, unfortunately only occasionally venture away from the Valley. (& for me so far this season it was to see possibly our worst away performance at Forest).