Sunday 6 March 2011

Charlton Athletic 1 v Tranmere Rovers 1

I started the day with a few pints in the Rose of Denmark with a couple of mates and we were joined by Kings Hill Addick who had given in to the temptation of being at the match after his doubts earlier in the week. We were able to watch West Brom beat Birmingham on the box which lifted my spirits.


Early in the first half I got the pies in and heard a goal being scored. Not sure who it was but it made no difference to the game and it was hard to tell who had taken the lead. Both goalkeepers could have been given the day off but ours managed to injure himself and was replaced by Little Ross.


Bradley Wright-Phillips diverted a driven Llera free-kick past Tony Warner in the second-half before I retired to the Conservative Club for a gin and tonic and a cigar several reflective pints of cheaper Fosters. The verdict was fairly unanimous;


1) Our squad looks very low on morale - no surprise given recent results.
2) We have no midfield and no options to change it. 
3) Consequently, our back four have limited protection and our front two limited service.
4) Our wide men are not performing anywhere near their previous best. Wagstaff couldn't get past his marker for the entire first half and Reid, when he came on, took six minutes to touch the ball. Thierry Racon is playing poorly in the middle and is not a winger.
5) Bradley Wright-Phillips is a shining light but has no-one to partner him. Benson looked lost yesterday
6) Alongside BWP, Dailly and Semedo, Jenkinson is the only other player putting in a shift and looking worth the shirt. Personally, I am not convinced even about Semedo. He breaks the play up but is a liability in possession and gets caught far too often.
7) We look devoid of any game plan.
8) The manager continues to make late and ineffective substitutions. 
9) We look like we belong firmly in this division and play-off hopes are fading fast. We don't really deserve it.
10) We don't think our new owners are particularly patient men and Chris Powell needs to ensure season tickets don't collapse on the back of mid-table or worse finish.


We had visitors in the evening who had all been to Watford. The football conversation was over in three minutes which is highly unusual.

4 comments:

  1. A great post and, unfortunately, all spot on! Not really all that sure where we go from here? How can any of us feel that a score drawnat home against a relagation threatened team is a stop to any rot? In my opinion another poor result and some tough games coming up.

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  2. At last, a post that I can agree with & your 10 points are spot on.

    While most seem to have got carried away by our second half performance, mistaking effort for ability, I'm glad to see you've not been fooled.

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  3. Coops - maybe it was a cliche/figure of speech but I thought it was a strange comment for Powell to make and I couldn't help wondering what he'll say if we get beaten at MK Dons on Tuesday. Presumably that the rot's set in again!

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  4. Steveb - I was just as surprised as you by how positive some of the comments post-match have been. Apparently we created lots of chances and should have won? Maybe after the hopeless first half, the second looked that much better but If we had nicked a winner or been given a late penalty, it would have felt like we lucked out to me.

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Go on, you know you want to....