Thursday, September 29, 2005
When the Spurs come marching in...
Back to reality, Charlton have a tough match this weekend against high-flying Tottenham Hotspur. The build up to a match involving second place versus fourth place would normally get top billing on Sky, BBC, Five Live, and in the newspapers, but don’t hold your breath – we’ll probably get scant mention once more as the media concentrate on the “big” clubs progress in Europe, their failures to entertain and/or get sufficient league points to see them near the top of the table. However, with only five Premiership matches on Saturday, and one of those at 5.15, we should get plenty of exposure afterwards, and hopefully a long slot on Match of the Day.
Charlton’s players have had a quiet week on the training pitch – with no cup or international games – so it will have been good for Curbs to have been able to do some serious, uninterrupted, coaching for a change. This is one of the few weeks so far this season that nothing will have got in the coach’s way. The midweek reserve match versus Fulham will have allowed some of the squad to get healthy game playing time, but it is unlikely, barring any unknown injuries, that many changes will take place to the first team following last weeks win at West Brom.
Any player who is now fit will probably find themselves battling for a place on the bench, and this is the intriguing area at present. Will Deano get a look in after his first competitive game of the season or will Myrhe continue as sub goalie? Will El Karkouri maintain his place ahead of Sorondo and Fortune as first reserve in the middle of defence? Will Holland or Hughes fill any midfield substitution necessary? Is it going to be Bothroyd, Bartlett, or JJ in the reserve forward berth?
We all know that Curbs doesn’t make many changes unless he has to, so the likelihood is that Andersen will be in goal until he makes one mistake too many. He has done very well in my opinion so far this season, proving that he can cut it with the best in the Premiership. He received some criticism for the Baggies goal last week, but that has been the only blot on his record this year so far. Kiely is a bit of a legend at The Valley, but the finger injury in pre-season gave Andersen a chance, which he has taken well, and Deano may now find it tough to win back a starting place. The option of having a goalie who comes out for crosses, who is excellent at shot stopping, and who can kick reasonably well, is one that has meant that Deano has not been missed. I cannot see Curbs dropping Andersen at the present time. This is tough for Kiely, but that’s football: You win your place through injury, form and suspension, and you lose it the same way. Myrhe has also done well for the reserves, and had a good game against Hartlepool in the cup, making one outstanding save. Myrhe’s contract is for a year, so we may not see too much of him in forthcoming reserve games (unless Curbs alternates his goalies, as he has done in the past).
In defence, Young is solid at full back, and kept the captaincy even when Holland played in the Hartlepool match. Powell is also doing very well, but the pace of the Premiership may be catching up with him later in games. He has been substituted in the last two matches when we have been under pressure in favour of the youthful Spector, who has also done well. Centrally, we cannot fault the commitment, experience or skill of Perry and Hreidersson, both of whom should maintain their places this weekend. With Young and Perry being ex-Spurs players, and Powell a passionate if not committed Spurs fan, they will be trying their hardest not to concede even a sniff of a goal to the dangerous Spurs forwards.
Midfield is another area where we will see little change: Kishishev, Smertin, and Murphy are playing superbly together, and all three should keep their places. Murphy will be hoping to shine in front of Sven Goran Eriksson, who will be watching from the Director’s box prior to picking his (maybe last?) World Cup squad and a goal to match the one he got in the corresponding fixture last season could be enough to clinch his England squad place.
Up front, Bent is undeniably the find of the season so far, and he is unchallenged as the leader of the Charlton front line. Thankfully, the beneficiary of The Barclays Player of the Month trophy (for August) has not gone the way of previous Manager of the Month recipients, who followed a great month with a poor one. His supply routes, other than from Murphy, are likely to be from wingers Thomas (who has just had his first international call up for the England under-21 team) and Rommedahl who are both starting to add value to promise.
Tactically, the 4-5-1 system is holding up well, being ideal for away games, and also for home matches against good opposition (like Spurs). The ability to switch to 4-3-3 with the players and shape we have is easy, and with options on the bench, 4-4-2 can be accommodated whenever necessary too. I cannot see a formation change on Saturday being something for our manager to consider.
The subs bench of both sides could easily be extended to allow ten reserves this weekend; in Spurs case, they could fill the bench with just midfield players, such has been their transfer profligacy! For Charlton, Pedro45 expects to see Myrhe, Spector, Hughes, El Karkouri, and Sam trying to keep warm along the touchline, although Bothroyd and Ambrose may press for places if fit (both did not play for the reserves this week though). I would prefer to have an extra forward on the bench for home games rather than two defenders, but unless JJ or Bartlett are in-from, Bothroyd is the only viable alternative; Sam can play through the middle but is untested at Premiership level.
Spurs come to The Valley on the back of two One-Nil results; the first a defeat by Division Two Grimsby in the Carling Cup, the second a victory over out-of-form Fulham. While the team obviously has quality (Davids, Robinson, King, Carrick, Defoe), they do not seem to be functioning as a unit yet, and hopefully any improvement will come after this weekends match. Spurs have injury worries over some players (all those mentioned above except Robinson), but have so much talent to call on that on their day they can compete with anyone (given the belief).
As for a score forecast, Pedro45 knows that, depending who is on form, a 4-0 result either way is possible. Realistically, a prediction of a 1-1 draw is where the money from this unofficial Charlton site is at. The player to watch this week is Jerome Thomas, who is starting to show that he has a brain to go with his undoubted show-boating skill.
A draw will be enough to keep Charlton in the top three of the Premiership (and possibly still second) come Monday morning; even a defeat only drops us down to fourth at worst. Eventually, the media will have to sit up and take notice of the team from SE7, and a win against Spurs would be the best way of encouraging that. Come on you reds!
Charlton’s players have had a quiet week on the training pitch – with no cup or international games – so it will have been good for Curbs to have been able to do some serious, uninterrupted, coaching for a change. This is one of the few weeks so far this season that nothing will have got in the coach’s way. The midweek reserve match versus Fulham will have allowed some of the squad to get healthy game playing time, but it is unlikely, barring any unknown injuries, that many changes will take place to the first team following last weeks win at West Brom.
Any player who is now fit will probably find themselves battling for a place on the bench, and this is the intriguing area at present. Will Deano get a look in after his first competitive game of the season or will Myrhe continue as sub goalie? Will El Karkouri maintain his place ahead of Sorondo and Fortune as first reserve in the middle of defence? Will Holland or Hughes fill any midfield substitution necessary? Is it going to be Bothroyd, Bartlett, or JJ in the reserve forward berth?
We all know that Curbs doesn’t make many changes unless he has to, so the likelihood is that Andersen will be in goal until he makes one mistake too many. He has done very well in my opinion so far this season, proving that he can cut it with the best in the Premiership. He received some criticism for the Baggies goal last week, but that has been the only blot on his record this year so far. Kiely is a bit of a legend at The Valley, but the finger injury in pre-season gave Andersen a chance, which he has taken well, and Deano may now find it tough to win back a starting place. The option of having a goalie who comes out for crosses, who is excellent at shot stopping, and who can kick reasonably well, is one that has meant that Deano has not been missed. I cannot see Curbs dropping Andersen at the present time. This is tough for Kiely, but that’s football: You win your place through injury, form and suspension, and you lose it the same way. Myrhe has also done well for the reserves, and had a good game against Hartlepool in the cup, making one outstanding save. Myrhe’s contract is for a year, so we may not see too much of him in forthcoming reserve games (unless Curbs alternates his goalies, as he has done in the past).
In defence, Young is solid at full back, and kept the captaincy even when Holland played in the Hartlepool match. Powell is also doing very well, but the pace of the Premiership may be catching up with him later in games. He has been substituted in the last two matches when we have been under pressure in favour of the youthful Spector, who has also done well. Centrally, we cannot fault the commitment, experience or skill of Perry and Hreidersson, both of whom should maintain their places this weekend. With Young and Perry being ex-Spurs players, and Powell a passionate if not committed Spurs fan, they will be trying their hardest not to concede even a sniff of a goal to the dangerous Spurs forwards.
Midfield is another area where we will see little change: Kishishev, Smertin, and Murphy are playing superbly together, and all three should keep their places. Murphy will be hoping to shine in front of Sven Goran Eriksson, who will be watching from the Director’s box prior to picking his (maybe last?) World Cup squad and a goal to match the one he got in the corresponding fixture last season could be enough to clinch his England squad place.
Up front, Bent is undeniably the find of the season so far, and he is unchallenged as the leader of the Charlton front line. Thankfully, the beneficiary of The Barclays Player of the Month trophy (for August) has not gone the way of previous Manager of the Month recipients, who followed a great month with a poor one. His supply routes, other than from Murphy, are likely to be from wingers Thomas (who has just had his first international call up for the England under-21 team) and Rommedahl who are both starting to add value to promise.
Tactically, the 4-5-1 system is holding up well, being ideal for away games, and also for home matches against good opposition (like Spurs). The ability to switch to 4-3-3 with the players and shape we have is easy, and with options on the bench, 4-4-2 can be accommodated whenever necessary too. I cannot see a formation change on Saturday being something for our manager to consider.
The subs bench of both sides could easily be extended to allow ten reserves this weekend; in Spurs case, they could fill the bench with just midfield players, such has been their transfer profligacy! For Charlton, Pedro45 expects to see Myrhe, Spector, Hughes, El Karkouri, and Sam trying to keep warm along the touchline, although Bothroyd and Ambrose may press for places if fit (both did not play for the reserves this week though). I would prefer to have an extra forward on the bench for home games rather than two defenders, but unless JJ or Bartlett are in-from, Bothroyd is the only viable alternative; Sam can play through the middle but is untested at Premiership level.
Spurs come to The Valley on the back of two One-Nil results; the first a defeat by Division Two Grimsby in the Carling Cup, the second a victory over out-of-form Fulham. While the team obviously has quality (Davids, Robinson, King, Carrick, Defoe), they do not seem to be functioning as a unit yet, and hopefully any improvement will come after this weekends match. Spurs have injury worries over some players (all those mentioned above except Robinson), but have so much talent to call on that on their day they can compete with anyone (given the belief).
As for a score forecast, Pedro45 knows that, depending who is on form, a 4-0 result either way is possible. Realistically, a prediction of a 1-1 draw is where the money from this unofficial Charlton site is at. The player to watch this week is Jerome Thomas, who is starting to show that he has a brain to go with his undoubted show-boating skill.
A draw will be enough to keep Charlton in the top three of the Premiership (and possibly still second) come Monday morning; even a defeat only drops us down to fourth at worst. Eventually, the media will have to sit up and take notice of the team from SE7, and a win against Spurs would be the best way of encouraging that. Come on you reds!
