I Fear That We Will Have A Long Journey Home - Notes for Charlton Tuesday, 31st Dec 2013 12:00 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of the game on New Year's Day by delving into their forums. "Given our absolute lack of strength in depth, a four-point haul from two games in 72 hours is pretty good going", "We should avoid relegation, with the fighting spirit from Chris Powell and the boys, but fighting spirit will only get us so far, I am afraid." Charlton come into our game on a three-game unbeaten run. Two 1-1 draws, at Bolton and most recently at home to Sheffield Wednesday, sandwiched a 3-2 home win over Brighton, which was "a typical Charlton performance, full of blood and thunder, topped off with three Christmas crackers". "If we had played the same team against the Owls that Brighton faced on Boxing Day, we would have won comfortably." The win over the Seagulls was a "real humdinger of a game", but fans were scathing about Chris Powell's line-up and substitutions during Sunday's draw against the Owls. Strange Tactics Against Sheffield Wednesday"As soon as I saw that Chris Solly and Rhoys Wiggins weren't playing, my heart sank." Charlton lost both their first choice full-backs against the Sheffield Wednesday, with Solly recuperating from Boxing Day's game and Wiggins attending his wife's childbirth. Cedric Evina was a straight replacement at left-back for Wiggins, but Powell moved Boxing Day man-of-the match Lawrie Wilson from right-wing to right-back and broke up his central midfield pairing, moving Dale Stephens to the right and bringing Johnnie Jackson into the centre. "The balance of midfield was all over the place today", "Our midfield has been our heartbeat this season, but Powell demolished it by putting Stephens on the right wing", "The team was wrong from the outset. I'm fuming", "Our formation was completely rigid." "That was utterly, utterly awful in all respects. It was half-arsed, bottling rubbish. Our players stood looking at each other, not going for first or second balls, scared of tackles and arguing amongst themselves. I didn't have a clue what the formation was. It was heartless, gutless and pathetic." "We were bloody awful today. A better team would have run riot based on that performance", "1-1 at home with 20 minutes to go and you have two strikers on the bench, but bring on Dervite (a centre-back) in midfield. We were too scared to go for it at home." "The substitutions were nothing short of a f***ing joke", "Why on earth is Dale Stephens, a player who likes to put his foot on the ball, playing right midfield? To make matters worse, Powell makes neutral substitutions and then puts him on the left." "That midfield was ridiculously unbalanced", "After his substitutions, our midfield consisted of a right-footed central midfielder playing wide left and a centre-back partnering a player with barely half a season of first team games in the centre. That is just asking for trouble." Chris Powell"I'm losing faith with Powell. He was clueless today, unbalancing the team to accommodate an unfit, past-it Jackson by moving Stephens to the right", "I don't want Powell to go, but I'm sick of his negativity", "We were defending for our lives against a team who have won once away all season." "I think we are too cautious at times, and I just wish we'd be a bit more aggressive." Most Addicks prefaced their withering comments by saying that they supported their boss, and that they are happy playing a 4-4-2 formation, but they struggle with his circumspect tactics. "Did we really have to defend deep with 20 minutes to go at home to a bottom three side to defend a single point? Really? Really? Jesus wept", "Wednesday were there for the taking, but lack of foresight and being overly cautious meant we were lucky to come away with a point." November's GameThese criticisms were echoed in November after our 1-0 win at the Valley, which came courtesy of an early Tommy Smith goal. "McCarthy out-managed Powell. Everyone could see the man-marking job on Stewart and Stephens, and Chris Powell sent out the same team in the second half." "The game was basically lost at the start", "McCarthy nullified our main attacking threat by sticking two men on Stewart and stopping balls in behind to Church at source. We had no answer", "Man of the match was Mick McCarthy. Get an early goal and they will never break us down." Defence"The Brighton win would have been more comfortable if we had tackled them a bit higher up the pitch. We invited them on and put ourselves under pressure", "Why do we play so deep? It does my head in. We invite pressure and always concede." "The defenders trust Ben Alnwick's handling." The 26-year-old keeper, who played for Mick McCarthy at Sunderland, was praised for "his great saves at the start" against us in November. "His great stops were the only bright spots of the game."
"Alnwick's distribution is all over the shop", "I still think his distribution is not good", "He must have kicked it six or seven times off the pitch (on Sunday). With some of them, it looked like he was actually aiming for it." This aspect of his game is regularly criticised. "We really missed Solly and Wiggins from an offensive standpoint. Wiggins offers us a lot going forward and Solly links well with Wilson. I realised how much of our attacking play came from those two with them missing today", "I just hope they are back on New Year's Day." Twenty-two-year-old right-back Chris Solly has been nursed back from a knee injury at the start of the season. "It was great to see Solly back as if he's never been away", "There were the brilliant decisions, tenaciousness, intelligence and skill, all of which reminded me what an utter gem he is." Solly played well against Brighton, as did left-back Rhoys Wiggins. "His attacking game means we don't need to have an out-and-out wide man playing ahead of him." However, the 26-year-old ex-Bournemouth man struggled against us in November: "He did not make a decent pass all game." "God help us if we lose Wiggins. Cedric Evina showed today why he is not a remotely adequate replacement." The 22-year-old ex-Oldham left-back "was poor with his positioning and tackling when defending and his passing was dreadful", "He looked shaky and panicked when defending." There was little comment about centre-backs 25-year-old Suffolk-born former Owl Michael Morrison or his partner, 28-year-old ex-Coventry player Richard Wood, although one visiting Wednesday fan said that "Wood looked lost at sea at times. I thought we could have pressured him more" on Sunday. "Dorian Dervite runs like an athlete. He plays football like one too." The 25-year-old French player was heavily criticised by Addicks after our November game. "Dervite is our most accomplished player at giving the ball away", "He looks a much better player when he carries the ball out." Central Midfield"Stephens and Cousins are a well-oiled machine in the centre after a run of games together", "They handled the three-man midfield of Brighton with ease", "Their partnership has been one of the few highlights of the season, and has improved our midfield greatly." "Was it great to have Johnnie Jackson back? Powell's loyalty to the man is testing me." The 31-year-old former Colchester and Notts County player returned from suspension against the Owls. "A stupid tackle against Yeovil gets him sent off, and he waltzes straight back into the team." "Powell should have taken Jackson off at half-time, He was so off the pace in the first half (against the Owls) and that wasn't likely to change", "He looked rusty", "He has been a shadow of his former self since August", "Jackson was chasing shadows from the kick-off." Dale Stephens"Stephens's turnaround is one of the most pleasant surprises I have had as a Charlton fan in the last few years", "His improvement is mainly due to being relieved of some of the heavy work by Jordan." The 24-year-old former Oldham man has been the creative hub of Charlton's central midfield duo.
He struggled playing out wide on Sunday: "Putting our most effective player on the wing was bad. Keeping him there was ridiculous", "Stephens was well off the pace on the right", "He spent long periods passing to the opposition", "Stephens would cut in from the right and we were lop-sided." He also found it tough against us in November: "That was his worst game of the season", "Sideways Stephens", "He disappeared for long periods", "There were flashes of quality but he went missing", "A couple of touches of class but otherwise a poor game." Jordan Cousins"Cousins gets around the pitch extremely and does the dirty stuff well", "Cousins was always there (against Brighton), doing the tidying up, then tackling and blocking, then passing neatly and prompting an attack while surging enthusiastically forward." The 19-year-old former youth player was seen as playing too defensively in Charlton's makeshift midfield on Sunday: "Why does Cousins get a nosebleed when me moves in to the opponents' half? He could have won a second ball, but opted to concede possession and track back." "He's just pure class, like a seasoned pro, despite his young age and number of games played." However, in November, he "was out-done by Ipswich's midfield", and "had his worst game so far", "He tried to move the ball to the wings quickly and got his tackles in." Wide Midfield"Walking in a Wilson Wonderland." Former Stevenage right-winger Lawrie Wilson, a former Town trialist, was given his own song after an outstanding game against Brighton, in which he scored two goals. "Wilson is such a good, hard-working and intelligent footballer. It's great that he gets a bit of glory."
"Pushing Wilson forward with Solly behind him has really strengthened the side", "I wish he'd take his man on a little more, but he was absolutely superb from start to finish." The 26-year-old ex-Stevenage player "took his chances fantastically well today. He absolutely buried them." "Brighton's defenders couldn't handle it when we upped the tempo and ran at them", "Losing both full-backs was bad enough, but we move Wilson, who scored twice against Brighton, to right-back, losing his attacking flair." "Some of Cameron Stewarts's errors are because he was expecting Wiggins to make runs that he didn't. When they have more time, they will be a real handful on the left." The 22-year-old ex-Manchester United youth player, who was loaned to Burnley last season, is a work in progress. He played on the right flank against us in November, where "double-marking and good defending kept him at bay", "He looked to hide behind defenders to avoid getting the ball", "The Ipswich left-back had him in his pocket." "Danny Green is one of the most overrated, under-achieving wastes of space I have ever seen in over 40 years supporting the club." The 25-year-old former Dagenham and Redbridge winger came on from the bench on Sunday. "Sorry, Danny Green, but you are awful." "If Green is an impact sub, the only impact is to scare the crap out of me because he is a liability", "He is a complete waste of time and space. He offers no support to the full-back, constantly dives in, conceding freekicks and his corners are some of the worst I have ever seen." Strikers"We're short of a decent striker." Charlton play with two strikers up front, and with only Yann Kermogant playing consistently well, many Addicks would welcome a new frontman with open arms in the January transfer window. "Church had a shocker (on Sunday). I'd be surprised if he starts against Ipswich", "He tries, but that isn't enough", "He runs a lot but in all the wrong places", "Powder-puff is overstating his strength." Against us in November "he tried to feed off the monotonous, aimless long punts up the field".
"In the first half, someone played a through ball to Simon Church, and he went to turn with his back to goal on the edge of the area. I genuinely believe that if I go back to the Valley at around 10.37 pm tonight, he may finally have completed that turn." The criticisms of the 25-year-old Wales international and former Reading have changed little since November's game. "Simon Church's commitment and energy are second to none, but in front of goal he is pretty useless." Bolton loan signing Marvin Sordell has hardly played recently. "It's a shame he hasn't had a look-in", "It's ludicrous. Why waste a space on the bench if you have no intention of signing him?" The 22-year-old ex-Watford striker "played well against Reading, but has rarely been seen since". Yann Kermogant Yann Kermogant "Kermogant is a giant. From the off he was winning in the air against Matthew Upson and company. He was back clearing in our box and busy upsetting them with his theatrics, buying time for his team", "Yann the man — that was an absolutely titanic match-winning performance from him." "All the best things Yann did were spread out like presents under our Valley Christmas tree", "He's just come back from injury, yet he won every header and threw himself on the line every time the ball came near him, and scored a class freekick." However, against the Owls, he struggled when playing ahead of a makeshift midfield. "Yann wasn't there today. That was Yann's lazy useless twin brother", "He was unusually quiet", "There were some nice touches to warm us", "The guy is genuine class and is crying out for the right partner." Addicks' Views on ITFC and the Game"I'd take a point, but I think it will be too big an ask. Ipswich will run out comfortable 2-0 winners", "This has a run-of-the-mill home win all over it", "Keep McGoldrick quiet and we can get something out of here, but our centre-backs will need to be on top of their game." "Like a lot of teams in this division, Ipswich are hard-working and efficient rather than spectacular, but they get the job done, especially at home. Anything we can get from this game will be a positive." Most Addicks have optimistically plumped for a draw on their forecast threads. One fan clearly had an interesting recollection of November's game: "I'm confident we can get something at Ipswich. I was far from impressed with them when they came down to our place. Christ knows how they are in the play-offs." "Jimmy Greaves famously said ‘Football is a funny old game', but I don't think it's that funny. What I saw on Sunday frightened me. Ipswich 3 Charlton 0", "The big question is whether Wiggins and Solly will be available for this one. The answer to this will have a huge bearing on the result." WebsitesThe most informed Charlton message board is Charlton Life.
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Ben Alnwick
Lawrie Wilson
Simon Church
