I wasn't there yesterday, so feel free to savage me for this, it's just a thought. 2 weeks ago we produced a terrific performance to win 2-0 away at much-fancied Blackpool. Yesterday we put on an atrocious show in front of a full house to lose 1-0 at home to not-at-all-fancied Barnsley. It is perfectly possible that on Tuesday we will go and do to Leeds what we did to Blackpool. Teams that finish in mid-table are characterised most of all by their inconsistency. And that is what I think we are at the moment. Maybe I'm being naive to think that we're too good to be involved in a relegation dogfight, but I believe the performances against Blackpool, Blackburn and Leicester show that we are capable of surviving with some comfort in this division. That is not to excuse yesterday, but to interpret it as an off-day, which mid-table teams often have. For what it's worth, I can't help wondering if last season has spoilt us a little bit. Seasons like that come along once every 30-40 years if we're lucky, and now we're having to adjust to being not as good as some teams some fans are (in my opinion) overreacting. I am not pretending that all is well, just that it's very easy to exaggerate the problems with the team after a defeat, particularly one against a club as unglamorous as Barnsley are perceived to be. Chris Powell knows what isn't working, but only has a limited number of resources with which to try and fix it, and we need to have patience with him and the team. I am going to stick my neck out here a little and say that I think we will be fine this season.
Am I right in thinking that Perkins is the same dude who ran the show for Rochdale against us last season? We could do with a player like him. Stephens is massively overrated. I just don't see what all the fuss is about.
Might be wrong- but think he was colu? Either way, he was brilliant. A top, top player. Didn't think much of their number 7.
You are right, SuperC. Colu it was. He played for Rochdale before them, and that is where Keith Hill saw the potential in him. Very good player, indeed. Surprised to learn he is 30 and not made it to a higher level.
Keith Hill is a brilliant manager. I was really impressed by their passing and moving. We were chasing shadows for the large part of the game.
If you mean by "fine" that we won't get relegated, I agree. But we could be in for a season spent in the bottom third and watching some desperately boring stuff, lumping it up front to Fuller, Kermorgant or Hulse and hoping one of them stays fit long enough to get on the end of it. Fans have quickly forgotten that we put in a very solid performance with the same team two weeks ago. Perhaps they have been reading too many BBC match reports, like this one:"Charlton have now failed to win any of their last five league matches". Really? Did I just dream the Blackpool result? Would you prefer Parkinson back? He had a great result yesterday against promotion rivals. I wouldn't want him back but some of the unfavorable criticisms of him in comparison with Powell are looking a bit unfair. "Powell has got us playing a more attractive style along the ground". That lasted for a dozen matches until Kermit joined us (and that is not a dig at Kermit. Not his fault we lapsed into always taking the easy option). "Powell has instilled better team spirit". Maybe, but that is getting ragged round the edges thanks to the likes of Hamer, Green and Stephens. "Powell ensures the lads give 100% and fight for every ball". Er, no. In fact, I would prefer Parkie in that area. Neither Powell not Parkie seem to have a lot of tactical know-how.
Without trawling the clubs awful website, can someone give some clarity as to why Razak was substituted? Or was it tactical?
It was red oculus to sub razak.... I thought he must be injured but haven't heard he was cost us big time
Is it a sign of the times that we have started disussing Parky again? Here goes... I never hated Parky, nor thought of him as one of the worst managers we've ever had, as some fans do. He had to work in very trying financial circumstances and always handled himself with dignity, and I wish him well at Bradford. However, I thought it was right that he was sacked when he was, and that Charlton are better off with Chris Powell in charge as a unifying figure after the division within the stands that had become apparent by the end of Parky's reign. Whether we would be back in the Championship were Parky still here is impossible to know. You're right in saying that the football is no better under Powell. The only difference between the 2 in this regard is that Powell has better players than Parky ever did. Kermorgant better than Burton, BWP better than Benson, Hollands better than McCormack, for example. The only people who can tell us definitively whether Powell instils better team spirit than Parky are Johnnie Jackson and Scott Wagstaff (plus anyone else who was here before Powell arrived), and they are unlikely to criticise Powell publicly, so for the moment we can only go by what we see on the pitch. As the last game I saw was Crystal Palace, I rely on others' views to judge, and if you think you can see visible signs of there being a fractious relationship between some in the squad (Hamer tweeted last night "Just to put record straight.. I love Greeny.. Get on really well with him. We just wanna win and get a bit emosh sometimes. #thatisall") then that is indeed cause for concern. Tactically, Powell needs to learn. He is perhaps fortunate that his previous association with Charlton means that almost no-one is calling for him to go. Some of his substitutions leave me scratching my head as to why, like Pritchard yesterday. But I think he will learn, no proof, just a hunch perhaps borne out of desperation for him and us to do well. In Powell we trust.
A very good post, Captain B. Nice one. There is very little between yesterday's performance and that of Parky's last match against Swindon. They were both tepid, uninspired and lacking in tactical nous. But, at least against Swindon, we had Pavel Abbott's (the worst ever CAFC player, in my opinion) wondergoal. As for Hamer's tweet: anyone who uses the word 'emosh' needs to be put in the stocks and kicked in the cods for at least 40 days.
I say it all the time, but often I think we are our own worst enemy. I hated the kind of tactical jibing against Parky at Orient for example(as we're going there), while we played his 4-5-1 we were a top 2 side, but obviously 4-5-1 is far too negative so we battered him down to playing 4-4-2(his own issue in strength of character etc) So for weeks we have complained at Powell, the idea of 4-5-1 forces complaints, giving respect to teams etc. Powell never makes subs until the 70th minute plus. It's too late! blah blah blah Maybe by virtue of our poor tactical decisions, like early subs & a shift from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 we got worse in the 2nd half against a team that didn't change, just continued to play well. Now this is obviously slightly exaggerated, we seem to all agree that Razak was having a positive impact on the game and he wouldn't have come off. But my main point being, let the manager manage, He got us here, he deserves his chance. The reality is, we are going to lose many games this season and deserve to. We never should have had expectations close to last seasons performances, it's a completely different level of which we aren't even in the top half of. Staying up is imperative and the goal. My feeling on the team. Rusty. International break, it is by no means an excuse, complete opposite. It looked like they weren't into it after a couple weeks of calm.
Fair enough but everyone around me couldn't believe razak was taken off and thought he must be injured
I thought he was brilliant. Few moments of inexperience, but he was equally impressive when going forward as he was when defending. Linked well with fuller too.
He's not our player. He went on a tiring and, no doubt, emotionally disturbing, trip to Africa. Man City probably dropped a hint, or perhaps a command, that he was to be treated gently. If we piss them off, he would be straight back to (I was going to say "Maine Road' )
Did anybody have a better view of the penalty appeal in the second half? Looked blatant from where I was, which in fairness is quite far.
i was in the NWQ and it looked a definite penalty. http://ow.ly/i/12UVL if that aint a tackle from behind i dont know what is....
Yep- from the NWQ a stonewall penalty. I was annoyed by the ref's theatrical demonstration that he got the ball. Sure he did but he went straight through the man to get it, and I've seen players yellow or even red-carded for similar tackles.
