View attachment 27956 v Saturday 30th November 2013 3pm Kick Off Referee: Scott Duncan Saturdays match is one of the most important fixtures in the clubs this season as it happens to be the closest Home Fixture to December 5th... Of course that day this year and this match this weekend marks the 21st Anniversary of Charlton returning home to the Valley after a long absence. The opposition that day Portsmouth and what followed at 3:07 wasnt a thunderbolt of a goal similar to the one scored by Dale Stephens on Tuesday night yet a calm placed finish from one Colin Walsh who entered Charlton folklore as the Addicks went on to win 1-0... A match that the Portsmouth manager later admitted that his side stood no chance of winning. Fast-Forward to the present and our latest opponents on this Anniversary are Ipswich Town a side that many ex-Addicks have links with including Matt Holland, Darren Bent and Marcus Bent. The Opposition Ipswich Town are one of England's historic clubs... Managed by two England greats in Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, Ipswich have been regarded as a safe Mid-Table side in the Championship over the last couple of years... They last experienced top flight football when they were promoted as Play-Off winners in 2000 and after surprising many they succeeding in qualifying for the UEFA Cup in their first season back in the Premiership, unfortunately their success led to their downfall and were relegated the following year - Now under Mick McCarthy they'll be looking to return to those glory days and soon. Key Men Ipswich have had an indifferent start to 2013-14 and their points have mainly been coming from at home as they've only won once away this season (a win at Blackpool), trying to improve on that statistic will be Striker David McGoldrick who has seven goals to his name this year, whilst support in Midfield can be expected to come from the likes of Stephen Hunt and Carlos Edwards... whilst in the defence Ipswich can rely on their own formidable full-back in Aaron Cresswell who has been tipped for a step up to the Premier League for a number of years, lastly 'keeper Scott Loach who has only kept clean-sheets in two matches this season... Expect goals this Weekend boys and girls!! Previous Meetings 26.12.2012 - Charlton Athletic 1-2 Ipswich Town (Haynes; DJ Campbell, Murphy) 22.09.2012 - Ipswich Town 1-2 Charlton Athletic (Scotland; Jackson, Fuller) 28.10.2008 - Ipswich Town 1-1 Charlton Athletic (Garvan; Bailey) 04.10.2008 - Charlton Athletic 2-1 Ipswich Town (Bailey, Volz (OG); Craine (OG)) Charlton Team News After going down injured in the warm up against Doncaster, Ben Hamer is likely to be the only new absentee this weekend which gives Ben Alnwick another chance to impres, after beating Doncaster 2-0... Chris Powell am sure will be loath to make any other changes. Likely Team to face Ipswich Town Alnwick Wilson - Morrison - Dervite - Wiggins Stewart - Cousins - Stephens - Jackson Kermorgant - Church Substitutes Bench Pope - Evina - Wood - Hughes - Green - Harriott - Sordell The Referee Will be travelling From: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Matches this Season: 9 (3 in the Championship) Yellow / Red Cards: 15 / 1 Penalties Awarded: 8 (2 in two matches) Last Charlton Match: Has never Refereed for Charlton before A4L's Prediction: 2-1 (Church, Jackson) One last word from me... Last season at 3:07 many Charlton fans decided to mark the occasion with a minutes applause and I think it could be planned again so keep an eye on those watches and join in if you can, otherwise enjoy the match and thanks for reading
great thread as usual, I never like facing Ipswich always a bogey team in my eyes even though our record isn't that bad against them I don't think. Good Ol' Mick McCarthy isn't doing too badly there either but never know what happens with Charlton nowadays so 3-2 game, Church, Stephens and Wiggins.
Nice one, A4L. The team picks itself, but not the bench. If Sordell is there it will be a cop-out, he hasn't done anything to deserve it. I wonder if Pritchard is injured? Nothing about that on the OS, so if he's not on the bench he must be dropped, or "rested".
Agreed. Pigott in. The only bench Sordell should approach is the magistrate's for falsely impersonating a professional footballer. Normally when someone suddenly disappears from view one suspects they have thrown their toys out of the pram, but Pritchard is the last player on earth I would suspect of doing that. He has earned his billet at Charlton by his application, but I am sure he is sensible enough to realise he could never do as well, let alone better, elsewhere. He is the monster to CP's Frankenstein, and I don't mean that in a bad way. If he is resting, he thoroughly deserves it, but I suspect he has taken a knock, otherwise he would at least be on the bench. If you notice, the club are often slow to report injuries and whether they are serious or otherwise. Quite sensible really, to wait until the medics have made up their mind. I cannot see the point of having both Green and Harriott on the bench. No way we would ever want to bring both of them on. I would rather see Poyet, then if we are comfortable with 15 minutes to go (however unlikely that may be) it would be a good time to "blood" him. He would be a natural replacement for Jackson. Poyet played as a "narrow" LM for the u21s a lot last year when Cousins and Jordan were regulars at CM.
I wonder if Powell sees Green as someone who can deliver an effective cross and waste a corner where as Harriott is more there to run, terrorise and whip in a quick cross where hopefully someone will get on the end of it. I'd definitely prefer to see Pigott on the bench as well though just feel that with him being the eighth substitute on Tuesday night that he'll only come on to the bench if one of the other three are injured. Likewise I'm shocked that Pritchard has been completely dropped from even the bench (especially as it was Pigott and not him who was added in place of Hamer Tuesday)... Its either two reasons... (1) He's injured OR (2) A few people have said he's been even more ineffective of late (Birmingham 1st half / QPR) - Maybe Powell isnt as blind as we think and has dropped him to give him a kick up the backside, after all its what Powell has kinda done with Harriott as well Its the latter that I think
Eddie- That was a very effective midfield, Cousins and Poyet both playing in a defensive role with Jordan in more of a free role. It enabled us to play with a front 3 out of Pig, Smith , Azeez and Harriott. I was soooo impressed by the way Nathan Jones adapted the system to suit the players at his disposal. When Pig got his 3-year contract he paid tribute to the way Jones had helped him. His instructions to "go out there and make a nuisance of yourself" against Millwall can't have been what he was used to.
He deserved to be dropped and won't get back all the time Cousins, Stephens and Stewart are reproducing their form of Tuesday. He deserves a rest and may need a bit of "retraining". The one thing he doesn't need is a kick up the backside. That is reserved for players who don't give 100% (or 10% in Sordell's case). Pritchard always did that. Maybe he tries too hard sometimes for his own good. Again, I think that is too harsh. Harriott is a very young player with a lot to learn. CP always said that he would bring the youngsters in for limited runs of matches at first, so it was no surprise to see Harriott left out, especially as we have Stewart who is a similar player and there is no room for both of them. He will bounce back, but would probably do so quicker if we still had Nathan Jones.
It was exactly what the manager always said to me before my infrequent appearances as first reserve for Blue Circle Cement.
Pritchard is really our nuisance-in-chief, so let's see how we do without him against a good team. I expect a win, because our wins tend to come in batches. Go for 3-2.
Having to miss the game as am stuck at work today - so am confident we will go on to win (much like Tuesday). I seem to remember us having a strong record against Ipswich at home, bar last season. Even in our dismal Championship season under Pards and PP they were one of the few teams we beat. I expect goals. Mcgoldrick is someone I never rated at Southampton, but he's turned in to a good Championship player and will be a threat. I also fancy Chruch to get on the scoresheet again. My prediction will be 2-1 or 3-1. undecided. COYR
Afternoon all Charlton: Alnwick, Wilson, Wiggins, Morrison, Dervite; Stewart, Cousins, Stephens, Jackson; Kermorgant, Church Subs: Pope, Wood, Evina, Hughes, Green, Sordell, Pigott Ipswich: Gerken, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell, Anderson, Skuse, Tunnicliffe, Tabb, Murphy, McGoldrick Subs: Loach, Edwards, Hunt, Wordsworth, Mings, Graham, Nouble So Charlton are unchanged, which seems pretty sensible given the much-improved performance on Tuesday. COYA!
Wilson fires a cross across the box, but no-one can get a touch. A lot of our moves are coming down the left-hand side, with Wiggins prominent.
