Reminds me of Carlton Cole a little bit when he was on loan with us Did absolutely nothing for us, yet then scored his goal for the day and felt his job was done regardless of whether it was the 1st or 90th minute
I have just finished reading Clark Carlisle's autobiography. He was ex PFA chair and a journeyman pro for 20 years. It's not a bad read, full of anecdotes about players and managers. A couple of things I picked up on. Players at League One level are still earning money that 80% of fans could probably only dream of. And secondly, CC says that most players expect to be bawled out, or at least directed, from the touch line. He said that the only time it is counter productive is when different members of the coaching staff give out conflicting instructions. I am sure CP was a bit more animated and directional than usual on Tuesday night, so maybe this was a factor in the improved performance.
A few years ago one of my younger colleagues went for a night out with his mates to a casino, all booted and suited. They said they were professional footballers, playing for Leyton Orient, and gave themselves suitably exotic names. They were treated very deferentially, almost like royalty. Among other things, they were supplied with drinks and gorgeous young ladies. Maybe you came into the game too soon, Eddie?
Goes back to what PP said about Lloyd Sam. He'd get a good half out of him when running down the wing where he and Kinsella were. As soon as the second half started and he was on the other side of the pitch, he saw him switch off straight away.
Apologies for the late inclusion and sorry if people have moved on from Tuesday night. But here is my take on the team....... Hamer - At fault for the goal, hesitant to re start play quickly but one delicious ball out to Wiggins in the first half. Wilson - Run ragged defensively first half, was more solid in the 2nd, was a threat going forward throughout. Wiggins - Has looked back to his old self of late, got forward at will and was nice to see him start taking players on again. Morrison - Solid enough, won all of his headers, being captain ditracts from his game for me. Wood - Won everything in the air and distributed well, good performance. Cousins - MOTM, seemed to be everywhere, composed in possesion and fearless in the tackle Gower - No legs, by for me has an excellent football brain at this level, did well Stephens - Looked to attack when in possesion and put himself about, just needs to add consistency to be a great championship player Harriott - No real end product but his 'headless chicken' approach unnerved Forest and caused problems. Sordell - Not impressed first half, looked very prima-donna (if thats how you spell it?!) like...improved 2nd half and took goal well Church - Works hard making a lot of un-selfish runs Hughes - Love the mans passion, could be heard shouting above our best atmosphere of the season, adds a calming influence at an important time Piggot - Held the ball up and brought people into player better than he did vs Millwall (not saying much) Overall, by far our best performance of the season. I thought even once Forest scored we looked the better side from that moment on. We created more in the second half but for 43 mins of the first half we were trying to play the right way which was encouraging, the chances then came in the second half once the players had grown in confidence as a result of their first half performance. If CP can get a performance like that out of the players every week I am confident we will be ok in this division. The players proved on Tuesday that even with a depleted squad we have players good enough to play in this league, it is all about producing it every week. Special mention as well to the supporters, given the Millwall performance and conceding such a soft goal so early on....it would have been easy for the crowd to turn. But in sticking with the team I believe it gave the players the confidence to not go hiding and want the ball.....resulting in some good passages of passing football.
The question is- Which Charlton will turn up on Saturday? The Charlton of Tuesday (and Leicester) or the Charlton of Burnley and Millwall? Have we turned the corner or are we going to have a Jekyll and Hyde season? With Cousins' emergance, and Stephens seemingly finding a role which suits him, there has to be optimism. But there is still the contract situation, particularly the manager's, which must be a distraction, plus the fact that for all the relief bordering on euphoria that we actually played well, it was still only a point at home. Roll on Saturday!
I take your point about it still only being a point on Tuesday FHB, but I came away from the Valley that night feeling that if we could produce those sorts of performances consistently we would be ok in this league. I also came away with a feeling of 'I can take being beaten all the time the team are putting in commited performances like and giving the fans something to get excited about' Before I get hammered for that last comment, I would of course rather us win 1-0 every week, play awfully and be higher up the table but to see players putting in a real shift and see that replicated in the stands was excellent to see. The result wasnt the one we wanted or probably deserved, but the Valley was a special place to be on Tuesday.
I had the same attitude to be honest... I dont boo the team but if I did - I wouldnt mind if the team lost by however many goals I would just want to see a performance where the players give their all i.e. had we played against Millwall like we had against Forest (with the same 1-0 defeat) I would have said it just wasnt our day what with the deflection etc...
We actually did well in the first half away to Burnley, a team at the top of the table, and were unlucky to go in a goal down. We probably only shipped two more goals because CP upset the balance to chase the game. Had he not done that we would have moaned. Posters here are too black and white, whereas football is all shades of grey. Small factors can tip a game one way or the other. Millwall was really poor, but I suspect because of nerves rather than because of not trying. But away to Burnley and Huddersfield was not that different to at home to Forest and Leicester. Just a case of getting the run of the ball or not.
Could not agree more Eddie, it is also all about opinions which I love and I think its great how the game is viewed so differently through different sets of eyes.
