Match Day Thread Walsall v Charlton Ath

The depleted and deflated Addicks travel to 13th placed Walsall on Tuesday night, with our season already at something of a crossroads. The promising start has turned out to be yet another false dawn - our super-fit, first choice 11 were clearly capable of rolling over the league's bottom 6 minnows. Since Southend we have struggled, with opposing managers all seemingly adopting the same pressing and niggling tactics to force us onto the defensive. Lose or even draw tomorrow and it looks like we are facing a fourth successive season of failure under this hated Regime. You need to beat teams like Gillingham, Bury and Walsall to have any chance of promotion after all?

Surely it is time for Robinson to freshen up the starting 11 ? With Pearce injured, Konsa or Sarr will come in at CB - but how about introducing some much needed energy into our midfield by replacing F-Caskey or Kashi with Joe Aribo?

Thoughts & predictions ?

 

Solly can't play 2 games a week, and it looks as though Kashi can't either, at least not at the moment.
My team;
Phillips;
Bauer, Konsa, Sarr;
Dijksteel, Holmes, Aribo, JFC, DeSilva;
Clarke;
Magennis.

KR's team-
Amos,
Solly, Bauer, Konsa, DesIlva;
JFC, Kashi;
Holmes, Fosu,Clarke;
Magennis.

 

4-1 to Walsall. They'll even have more shots than us.

 

I reckon the exact same.

Sad times.

 

Think you’re spot on with the line up - though the suggested line up makes hell of a lot more sense.

I’ll do my usual prediction of 1-1, but gonna stick ten on Btts in both halves.

 

I f****** hate Walsall, s*** ground, s*** town.

 

20 points from our first 10 games would have seen us on target for automatic promotion, bearing in mind that only one of our recognised promotion rivals were included in that 10. Having gained 15 points from our first 6 games it looked as though Charlton were going to exceed my expectations by some margin.

A win against Walsall tonight would put us on 19 points and possibly back in the top 6, but since our home defeat to Wigan the underlying weaknesses we feared would be our undoing have indeed been exposed.

Between now and the end of October we will learn whether our manager has the ability to correct our tactical shortcomings and find new ways to beat teams who now know how to play against us. Many of us already suspect we know the answer, but at this early stage of the season there is still time to regain some momentum and avoid a slip down into mid-table.

My feeling is another draw this evening, but if our attitude is as slack as it was during that first half hour against Bury then Walsall will beat us.

 

I don't know what KR can feasibly do. A look at the bench shows the paucity of his options. And he trumpeted the squad!! There is no sign of coming change. RD no longer cares. I can't call tonight, but I'll buck the trend and go 2-1 to us on the off chance we score first.

 

You are sounding dangerously like SR in that first paragraph

He has worked out that if we have 38 points by Christmas we will make the play offs & that a “day out at Wembley next May” will put a smile on everyone’s faces. Surreal.

Don’t teams with paper-thin squads tend to pick up more injuries & suspensions in the second half of the season?

 

I was sounding a bit like SR there but whereas he is happy to dream about a play-off place, nothing less than a top 2 finish is acceptable to Lardy.

Let's see where we are after 15 games...

 

Guy in my team is a Walsall fan. He's adamant that we're going to beat them; which is the exact opposite view that we have. That they're going to beat us.

We always struggled playing Walsall in the past, most of the times we get a draw (unless your Chris Powell and have a team with that true Charlton spirit).

 

SR also points out that we have 27 players on our books, which shows what nonsense it is to talk about a "paper-thin squad".

 

What a load of deluded cobblers.

Squads should consist of players that you can USE.

Even including 2 keepers, we have a squad of 16 at best.

 

15 games are the barometer to gauge how a team finishes in a season.

 

Last season we faded when our two best players, Magennis & Holmes, picked up injuries and lost form after Xmas.

 

Your smurf blue suit has faded.

 

Stop derailing the high quality threads you midge

Get back on your own thread mate

 

Yellow Card!!!!!

NOT on a football thread

 

Been on holiday for a week, delighted to have missed Bury Saturday, only wish I'd gone away before Gills (abysmal)
Our good early form looks like derailing very early on.
1-1 draw or a 2-1 win for Walsall. Holmes to score.

 

This forum is famous for the b******* posted on it. Why try to change things?