Personally, I was more surprised by Powell's opening four wins than I have been by his four subsequent defeats. We simply haven't played well at the Valley this season and we have flattered to deceive in far too many games. We have played 16 games at home and have yet to put in a 90 minute performance. It's not good enough for the money we are paying this squad of players and our long-suffering fans deserve more.
Chris Powell has been keen to tell us that he is not a "cup thrower" and that he aims to emulate Sven Goran-Ericsson's calm and considered persona. That is a laudible ambition but to do that you need to be able to get your players pysched-up to perform for you and you need to have the tactical nous and the playing personnel on the bench to be able to influence games when you need to. It's far too early to be too judgemental about Chris Powell but our bench was weak this evening and for the second home game in-a-row we left it 15 minutes too late to make our first tactical change.
Powell went with two changes to the line-up that went down meekly at Notts County, with Wagstaff and Reid coming in for the injured Jackson and Anyinsah. It was a bright opening start by Charlton and Bradley Wright-Phillips scored a fine goal on ten minutes as we threatened to make early work of the visitors. Nathan Eccleston ran a counter-attack and with players getting up in support he found Wright-Phillips in the box and having shaped to shoot quickly, Bradley realised he had a second or two as the Carlisle defence took stock and he used the extra second to change the angle and pace of his shot and squeeze a subtle effort in off the post.
After that we had a chance to take a very rare two-goal lead but with men over in the box we gave Carl Jenkinson the shooting option from ten yards as he ran in but he hoofed his effort over the bar when anything low would probably have gone in. We then took our foot off the gas once again and allowed our opponents to build in confidence. Sure enough, on 27 minutes Ben Marshall found himself running out of options as he charged towards the box and he loosed off a shot that took another deflection, off Dailly I think, and went in past a helpless Elliott. Fortune had come on for the injured Doherty in the first half but you wouldn't have noticed if you were just following the ball.
In the second-half we were flat again and a change was needed before Carlisle got the second just after the hour. Powell looked determined to let his choices fight their way back into the game but nothing much was happening for us and it was 3-1 with ten minutes to go and game over.
Having played so much of this season with no cutting edge, we are now in the ironic position of having a couple of finishers but have stopped creating much for them to feed on. Kyle Reid was dire this evening. He may think he's too good for League One but he could do with a cup being thrown at him as far as I am concerned. All the pace in the world is useless if all you want to do is hog the ball and run and run until you lose it. Precious little end product today. Wagstaff was better and lead most of our more promising attacks in the second-period but only managed to get a couple of notable crosses in.
That meant we needed prompting from midfield and, once again, there was nothing. Thierry Racon might also be a player to benefit from a half-time flying saucer. I would have hauled him off but there was only McCormack on the bench he hasn't shown any urgency to re-establish himself when returning to the side so far and has been a big disappointment.
We are desperate for a loanee attacking midfielder and the club should move now. There's little point waiting to get someone whose loan period may cover the play-off final because that looks wishful-thinking the way things are going.
Those of us who lamented the fact that we saved one of our worst performances of the season for the biggest crowd of the season at home to Exeter may be pleased to learn that this evening's drivel was watched by our lowest Valley gate of the season, nearly half that of the Exeter game at 12,797. A sobering fact for those who run the club and a sign of what is to come if we can't start playing attractive winning football in the next 12 months. The financial credentials of the new owners looks like being tested in the close season as we look likely to need to invest in a new spine of the team that won't be easy or cheap.
I have a number of friends coming to London for the weekend of 26/27th of March and I am looking forward to entertaining them on the Saturday. I had optimistically mentioned a trip to Bournemouth, which they are up for, but I am having second-thoughts as I suspect this side will let us down again and potentially embarrass me. Charlton eh?
Bournemouth sounds like a nice day out. Just stay on the promenade and away from Dean Court. A day watching what has been served up recently could leave you with fewer friends than you started with...
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Depressing times to be an Addick - not really sure where CAFC go from here unless there are some inspired loan signings!
ReplyDeleteUnless Saturday is dramatically different from Powell and his (inevitably tinkered about) selection then fewer and fewer will be bothered to go and watch that sort of dross, let alone leave work early and sit in freezing conditions. No sane individual is gonna be stumping up season ticket money this month, even if they get really really cheap. The wheels have come off and are in danger of running right away. The playoffs have been derailed I only hope the wheezy old locomotive doesn't now run right into everyone's affections. Crowds of 12000 will soon be a thing of the past at this rate.
ReplyDeleteOnly take your chums to Dean Court if you want them to throw you off the pier after the game.