Happy Easter everyone if you are off with your family over the next few days or the kids want something to do other than simply hang around spending your hard earned!!... then get along to The Valley for theU21's 2nd hosted game of the season against Barnet. I think it is kids for quid and adults £3.00 not sure what concessions there will be for season ticket VG holders. Currently top of the league and pushing on to win it, they play good football and you get a chance to see the up and coming talent the CAFC academy is producing The Valley Wednesday April 3rd 1pm KO
I'm not able to go, but I'm hoping Diego Poyet gets promoted from the under-18's. The under-21's 3 best players over the season have been Pope, Smith and Harriott, and they will be missing, so it's a chance for one or 2 promotions from the under-18's, especially now that pro-contracts will soon be awarded.
2-1 win. Hollands and Azeez with the goals. At half time it looked like it could be a big win, but Barnet came back into the game much more in the second half. A lot of their players looked older than 21. Is there a limit to the number of overage players who can play? Thought Azeez looked good when he had the ball, but offside too often. Piggott worked well with him when he came on. Some good ideas from Cousins too, not always working out, but that'll come in time. Ajayi and Feely looked decent at the back too. My MOTM was Morgan Fox.
It finished Charlton 2 Barnet 1 at a freezing cold Valley frequented by the true die hards and the terminally insane.Goals from a Danny Hollands header from an in swinging corner.The second came from Ade Azeez after a good cross from Morgan Fox.Osman Sow missed a couple of decent chances in the first half.Hollands and Stephens both played well in the centre of midfield and they were substituted after about 80 minutes.Had what looked a good penalty shout in second half when Feely looked like he was fouled in the area. Team: Phillips Osbourne,Ajayi,Feely,Fox Jordan,Stephens,Cousins,Hollands Sow,Azeez Subs Pigott came on for Sow at the start of second half.Poyet and Holmes -Dennis for Stephens and Hollands. Seb was also in the crowd. This is what I posted on other forums.
For a small and struggling Div Two club, Barnet seem to have a very strong youth set-up. Their u18s beat ours on Saturday and ours are very good. Good luck to them, but that all costs money and how can they hope to hang on to any outstanding young player produced? Our starlets could be tempted away to most of the 33 clubs above us in the league system but Barnet have 85 clubs above them.
Three outfield and another in goal. We had three in outfield so unless thay had one in goal as well they had no advantage.
Not impressed with him at all.He missed a number of decent chances, in fact you could say he made a pigs ear of them.Nathan Jones was having a go at him.Azeez and Pigott are better prospects.I can't see him getting a contract.
give him a chance, I understand he's been 'out in the cold' literally for a while, was playing pro football in Sweden at a decent level, then had a recent loan spell in Moldova which didn't work for him, he may just need a bit of game time to get familiar with the game over here and to get back to form
Thought he sounded Dutch. He's 38, so there's another overage player. I did think there were more than 4 to be honest. Not to worry. I'll go for the classic 'at least he got into the positions for the chances' defence for Sow. He looked decent enough right up until the final shot. That said, I think Azeez and Piggott offer a bit more. So that's two players recently attracted to Charlton from the Moldovan league. Has the club set up a scout network in Chisinau?
I bet Sow was pig sick to come off early? although it does sound like he was a bit of a 'pig in the poke'!
Let it go, Irish. You remind me of my days running a successful boys team. Many times when we won the opponents would mutter darkly that we were fielding over-age players. In fact I was extremely scrupulous about checking ages, but I was guilty of including a lot of physically big lads. One of my boys had a head-start on a moustache at u-13 level so he had to carry a photocopy of his birth certificate to games. That was forty years ago. I imagine that six-footers would be not at all uncommon at u-15 level these days?
I think his form has hit a bit of a trough. I would bristle at the suggestion he is the worse player to wear our shirt since Paul Bacon. No more pig jokes, you swine, they are becoming a boar.
He was rasher in his decision making than the other forwards.He needs to go bacon the plane to Moldova.I will get my coat.
