Pope; Solly, Diarra, Bauer, Fox; Gudmundsson, Cousins, Ba, Charles-Cook; Watt, Makienok Subs: Dmitrovic, Holmes-Dennis, Lennon, Kashi, Jackson, Harriott, Kennedy, Ahearne-Grant Only surprise to me is Harriott's "promotion" to the bench. Perhaps in the shop window? Very weak West Ham team. Only two or three serious contenders for a regular first-team place: Randolph, Ogbonna, Knoyle, Tomkins, Valencia, Payet, Samuelsen, Burke, Cullen, Sakho, Oxford Welcome back to Darren Randolph. (And that is Dmitri Payet, not a typo for Poyet).
After a shaky start, Charlton coming into it and making a few half-chances. HT 0-0 Commentators very impressed with Ba, who is playing the "Makelele" role. I assumed Kashi would be the defensive MF but nice to know Ba can tackle hard as well.
Kashi replaces Ba (64 mins). Harriott replaces Makienok. Commentators say Big Mak and Watts were not combining well. Holmes-Dennis and Lennon on (77 mins) for Gudmundsson and Diarra. Seven of our own youngsters and former youngsters now on the field, with Charles-Cook departed (and not counting Randolph). FHBilly must be happy. (Bauer and Ba are young too). Jackson replaces Cousins so our average age just shot up. Pigott for Watt. (86 mins).
Quick overview. Content with Bauer and Diarra pairing. Looked like they could read things well together although Sakho was up front alone and they weren't really exposed to pace. Ba and Cousins didn't really have a chance to impress but ran around a lot. Makienok looks like he'll be found out but did try. Him and Watt didn't play well together; there was a consensus last season that Watt and Igor complimented each other so I would hope they'll be the first choice pairing. Watt was getting into good positions but could have had a hat trick but for poor finishing. On the plus side Pope looked very composed, Solly and Gudmundsson looked themselves. An observation would be that we looked to be playing direct; we have no one in the centre who can move a ball on. Slightly soured by the **** announcer and the distraction big screen; the immediate highlights are welcome but the rolling adverts and lack of player names needs rethinking. I felt happy with my performance too; my clapping seemed more rhythmic and i haven't lost any pace going up the hill. I would have liked for West Ham to have scored so that I could have practised my disappointment. Bold prediction now but I'm going to say we will finish outside of the bottom 6.
I'd say that news of our demise has been greatly exaggerated. Some things don't change though and Solly was my MOM. I didn't like the big screen showing the game live. I had no idea who any of the wham players (and some of ours) were.Big Mak won everything in the air second half, but wham just pushed up and caught Watt, or whoever was after his flick-ons, offside. Mak doesn't have a lot of finesse about him, but he is a physical presence. We do need Igor to be fully fit though. Praise is due to the ref for not adding any stoppage time first half and hardly any second half, despite a shipload of substitutions.
Ba was excellent again, I really think him staying fit will be crucial to our chances of success (whatever that is) this season. That said, Kashi didn't look too bad, but Ba has a wonderful ability to nick the ball of people and get us going forward. Makienok contributed more today than on Wednesday but I'm still yet to be convinced by him. He may be able to head the ball or chest it down, but his foot control is poor. On the few occasions we got the ball into the box he seemed to lack the striker's instinct, so I doubt we'll get many goals out of him. Charles-Cook is rather lightweight, but he linked up intelligently with Watt and Fox, who I thought played well today. Apart from his passing Solly did very well. Pope had a hairy moment from a cross in the first half (he seems to have one every game) but was otherwise OK. Watt was more frustrating than brilliant. I don't think we'll ever be able to coax out of him his default setting of trying to take players on every time he gets the ball, which frequently leads to us losing the ball when a simple pass was the best option. Well done to the ref for booking Payet for a blatant dive.
West Ham nearly filled their bit. My Lower West area seemed busier than usual but the East looked the same as always. Upper Norh and quadrants were closed; I assume the Upper West was closed too although Ponders you will be pleased to know they've apparently replaced the discoloured seats up there...
I won't be there to see the new seats, Kish. I've made my decision and fully intend to see it through...
1) What point are you trying to prove by not going to the games? 2) Do you think people are that bothered?
There were different commentators on Player today. They actually talked about the match rather than what they had for breakfast, what they were going to have for dinner, and traffic problems getting to the ground. I used to like Peter Finch when he first started because of his enthusiasm for Charlton, but he deteriorated badly as the seasons passed.
Sure beats finishing within the bottom six, but hardly represents progress considering we came 9th in 2013 and 12th last season. But unless RD treats us to another 3 or 4 players (could be loanees or one-year contractees if necessary) I think that will be the best we can aspire to. My own view is that we need at least another CF and CB to avoid a relegation struggle.
Just seen that Luzon said this on the OS "I hope that we are able to bring in another two or three players before the season starts." That is very encouraging. You have to wonder why it is all being done at the eleventh hour, but two or three decent players added to the other newbies would be much better than I had envisaged. Just hope they are in the right positions (CB and CF). But just when I was feeling more cheerful, I read this: GL: ... it looks as if [Henderson] is going to miss the first month of the season. Very worrying. Are we beginning to see why West Ham let him go?
2013 was a strange season where I'm still annoyed that we never finished in the top 6; last year was a bit similar. What I will say is we're in a very similar position to last summer where we have no real clue as to whether our team is competitive or not. We all feared the worst last year but our first 15 games or so saw us excel and excite. So I'm staying calm; I think DickP said on another thread he will wait 10 games before worrying, and that seems sensible to me! Initial thoughts after today however are that I think we have a fairly solid starting XI, but a lot depends on how quickly they get their acts together as a team with our tough opening fixtures. Our XI will do OK against all the teams in and around us. But as you say we have very little depth which will easily become apparent over a Championship season.
For your information Paul, Ponders is TWICE the Charlton supporter that you have ever been! So shut up
And to think I've actually defended you and your forum on here. How wrong was I, eh? But to answer your questions: I don't need to prove a point to anyone. I'm having a year off from football so that I can devote more time and money to my family. I'll attend matches close to home and ones taking place while I'm on my travels. I shouldn't think anyone gives a flying **** if I attend the matches or not. But I thought this was a forum, a place to share thoughts and ideas.
