Friday, March 06, 2009
Drop In Pressure
So if we presume that Tuesday’s result almost certainly relegated Charlton this season, the pressure should be off, right? Well, let’s hope so, because part two of this weeks must-win games is upon us.Watford come to The Valley and they are not exactly clear of the dreaded drop zone themselves. Sitting on 39 points, they too will have hopes of reaching fifty points this season, but will that be enough? Each week, the expected "safe" total seems to rise – just a couple of weeks ago, this blog predicted that 47 or 48 points might be enough, but since then, it seems that all the teams in the bottom half of the table have started to win! Now, even 52 or 53 points is being talked about as possible relegation candidates.
Charlton, of course, would need a minor miracle (or actually a major one!) to reach that points total.
Phil Parkinson (above) also has a few issues to resolve, especially after Doncaster outplayed the Addicks on Tuesday night. The main problems resolve around Jonjo Shelvey, and Tresor Kandol. With 17-year old Shelvey, it seems that Parky doesn’t quite think that he is up to the task of playing in a four-man midfield, and he prefers to relinquish him of that responsibility and see him pushed more forward just behind a front-man. With Kandol having family problems recently, that has worked out in terms of team selection, but not tactics. I think that Shelvey may be asked to drop to the bench, for this game, with Kandol coming back in to play with Chris Dickson. Dickson tried manfully to lead the line on his own in the last two games, and he was far from a failure, but his play was generally poor on Tuesday, and he will relish a true frontline partner once more.
Barring injuries, of which none were apparent in midweek, the defence will probably stay the same, and the midfield possibly too; here, the return to reserve team duty of Zheng Zhi could see him make the bench, or even possibly the starting line up (to play for up to an hour), with Matt Spring the obvious choice to step aside.
This is the side I think Parky will pick –
Rob Elliott
Danny Butterfield
Darren Ward
Mark Hudson
Kelly Youga
Tom Soares
Therry Racon
Zheng Zhi
Nicky Bailey
Tresor Kandol
Chris Dickson
Subs from Randolph, Weaver. Moutaouakil, Holland, Basey, Spring, Shelvey, Wright, Ambrose, Sam, Fleetwood, Todorov.
The sad thing is that if Charlton do play well enough to win this game, then hopes may be raised; this would not be good as all and sundry have to now admit that Charlton are going down to Tier Three in May. I do still hope that the team play to win though, and that any results from now to the end of the season at least are used for a bearing of where we will need to be next year.
Pedro45 thinks this may be a very close game, with few goals; Watford, from what I have seen, seem to like to play a counter-attacking game. That may not suit against a Charlton team who usually have much less possession than the opposition. I am going to plump for a 1-0 home defeat, though I sincerely hope that the return of ZiZi (either to the team or as sub) will inspire us to a victory of some sorts.
My one-to-watch in this match is going to be Chris Dickson. Pilloried after the Doncaster game, he needs to bounce back and show that it was a blip, and not a reflection of his future form. Nobody minds strikers who shoot on sight (Killer was the best example of that…), but you have to temper that instinct with knowing who is around you, and if they are better placed. If you have a player free alongside you, then a pass is better than any old whack on goal from 25 yards. Too many times on Tuesday, Dicko (and Shelvey) seemed to just shoot because they could see the goal posts when a slight delay and knowledge of what else might be on would have been a better choice. It didn't help that all the shots from distance were poor, wide, or scuffed.
I really just hope that Charlton play well in this game, whatever the score; we - the fans – have been shorn of a really decent display since August, and it’s about time we saw one. The pressure is off to a large extent, but it would be so much better to go down free of mind and winning than with despondency and countless additional defeats.
Come on you reds!
Pedro45 thinks this may be a very close game, with few goals; Watford, from what I have seen, seem to like to play a counter-attacking game. That may not suit against a Charlton team who usually have much less possession than the opposition. I am going to plump for a 1-0 home defeat, though I sincerely hope that the return of ZiZi (either to the team or as sub) will inspire us to a victory of some sorts.
My one-to-watch in this match is going to be Chris Dickson. Pilloried after the Doncaster game, he needs to bounce back and show that it was a blip, and not a reflection of his future form. Nobody minds strikers who shoot on sight (Killer was the best example of that…), but you have to temper that instinct with knowing who is around you, and if they are better placed. If you have a player free alongside you, then a pass is better than any old whack on goal from 25 yards. Too many times on Tuesday, Dicko (and Shelvey) seemed to just shoot because they could see the goal posts when a slight delay and knowledge of what else might be on would have been a better choice. It didn't help that all the shots from distance were poor, wide, or scuffed.I really just hope that Charlton play well in this game, whatever the score; we - the fans – have been shorn of a really decent display since August, and it’s about time we saw one. The pressure is off to a large extent, but it would be so much better to go down free of mind and winning than with despondency and countless additional defeats.
Come on you reds!
Labels: Charlton, Chris Dickson, Watford
Friday, February 20, 2009
Points for the Tyking
Although a game up at Oakwell does not seem on paper to usually be one of high magnitude, Saturday’s fixture which sees Charlton take on Barnsley is of utmost importance. Not only are Barnsley still desperate for points to ensure that they do not get dragged into a relegation battle, but Charlton have even more need if they wish to save themselves from the dreaded drop this season. Bottom of the table for several months, a win in this match could see the Addicks rise off the base, to the heady heights of 23rd in this league, if other results go as expected.Last weekend’s home victory must, we hope, have boosted the Charlton players and management, but it is a very long time since Charlton won back to back matches (Late 2007...). At least they do have a chance of doing so (as do Barnsley…after four previous consecutive defeats in 2009), and the team does now have a much more settled look about it, barring injuries and suspensions. In fact, Phil Parkinson has quite a few players from which to choose if he wished to switch things around, or shake things up, as unlikely as this may be.
In goal, the likelihood is that home-grown Rob Elliott will continue, with Darren Randolph on the bench. Nicky Weaver did make his reserve team comeback in midweek, but it is not thought that he will figure in first team plans unless injuries strike.
The defence will see no changes, with Graeme Murty likely to recover from a midweek slight calf strain to figure at right back, Kelly Youga on the left, and tall central defenders Mark Hudson and Darren Ward in the middle. Grant Basey will probably fill any defensive duties from the bench.
In attack, Deon Burton’s suspension means that Tresor Kandol and Chris Dickson should get the chance to develop their blossoming partnership that simply lacks goals. Burton’s bench place will be a straight choice between Svetislav Todorov (whom Parky hinted may be preferred…) and Stuart Fleetwood.
That leaves the midfield, where the probability is that the four incumbents – Nicky Bailey, Tom Soares (who has had his loan from Stoke extended by another month), Matt Spring, and Therry Racon - will retain their places, but where a large number of options remain. Parkinson can also chose to play or simply fill the bench with any of Jonjo Shelvey (in his last possible Charlton outing as a sixteen year old, and where he made his debut last season), Darren Ambrose, Lloyd Sam, Josh Wright, and Matt Holland.
I do think that Shelvey has been overly protected in recent matches, possibly to keep prying eyes away from him as he approaches his seventeenth birthday, and the offer(s) of professional contracts. Fans know that the club has offered Shelvey a lucrative initial pro-deal, but the rumours persist that he is being pursued by several Premiership clubs, and their financial might could be too much for Charlton to match. If it is, then Shelvey and his agent will need to consider where they should be playing football to best develop his undoubted talent; is it in the reserves in the north of England where Shelvey’s bald pate will be at its shiniest, or in a lower league with Charlton. My own wish, as with many other fans, is that he stays at The Valley, and moves on in a couple of years for a hefty fee if he improves as is thought (much as Lee Bowyer did…), but there are simply no guarantees.
There is also a remote possibility that Zheng Zhi, China’s captain, who has made just a couple of appearances for the Addicks so far this season, may feature at some point at Oakwell, although personally I think he will be kept back another week. The danger here is that he takes a bench place, but then gets thrown in early in the game due to injury for instance when he is not ready for much more than 45 minutes or so… With Racon, Bailey, and Spring all doing well recently, there is no real rush to bring ZiZi back this early anyway.
This is the team I expect Parky to send out in search of back-to-back wins –
Rob Elliott
Graeme Murty
Mark Hudson
Darren Ward
Kelly Youga
Tom Soares
Matt Spring
Therry Racon
Nicky Bailey
Tresor Kandol
Chris Dickson
Subs from Randolph, Weaver, Moutaouakil, Basey, Holland, Shelvey, Wright, Ambrose, Sam, Zhi, Todorov, Fleetwood.
Barnsley were very grateful for the midweek win, which took a bit of pressure off as it was their first since the turn of the year. They have pace up front in Michael Mifsud (on loan from Coventry) and ex-Addick Jamal Campbell-Ryce which will need containing, in much the same way that Plymouth had a couple of pacy players last week. They will know that a victory will pretty much allay any fears of going down, so should be up for the fight. They are also aware of how they demolished the Addicks in the first half at The Valley in October scoring three goals in a heady initial period without reply. That day saw Barnsley win away for the first time in a long time, and they will be hoping to complete a comfortable double. In my opinion, that was the lowest point of this Charlton season; a day that saw us wimper to defeat.
For Charlton, this is simply a must not lose game; I’m not of the opinion that a draw or a defeat will signal the end of this spell in the Championship, but as others have mentioned, games are running out. The necessity is for three points, and I hope that Parky has his squad very aware of what is required in this game and going forwards. Performances have improved vastly over recent weeks, especially at The Valley, but that hoodoo of eight consecutive away defeats now needs snapping.
Pedro45 hopes to see Charlton win again, but this game could go any which way really; the Addicks could win comfortably, they could battle it out for a goalless draw, or take part in a high-scoring thriller in search of glory, or they could fail miserably with away-day blues to the fore once more. Who knows? As I am want to give a forecast in each game, I’m going to hope and wish for a 2-0 victory, and a continued resurgence that will have the likes of Plymouth, Southampton, Norwich, and even Barnsley glancing over their shoulders…
My one-to-watch in this match is gong to be the flamboyant Chris Dickson. He hasn’t scored a league goal yet, but his recent performances have wowed the crowd (if not always Mark Kinsella…); all he is short of is a goal to kick-start things and then who knows what might happen with that sort of confidence blast! He has good skill, is quick, and can be more of a team player than one or two think; his partnership with Kandol is coming along nicely with every game, so I’m hoping this could be the breakthrough match he needs.It’s not yet desperate for Charlton, but neither is the future bright and rosy; we think we have a squad of players that are too good to go down, but do we have a team that is capable of staying in this league? Tomorrow at Oakwell, we might get an answer of some sort…
Up the Addicks!
Labels: Barnsley, Charlton, Chris Dickson
Monday, January 26, 2009
This, That and the Other
Sheffield Wednesday 4 Charlton Athletic 1Sheffield United 2 Charlton Athletic 1
Home from holidays, and plenty has been going on since my last post…while I was away, Charlton got beaten twice in the league, and once in the cup, but did manage to win a game (the 3rd round cup victory over Norwich..).
I’ve not seen the goals or highlights from any of these games, so cannot pass much judgment; it seems the defeats to Forest (described to me by a friend a “shocking”), and Wednesday (described by Phil Parkinson to us all as “shocking”) are best forgotten, while the cup victory was a surprise, and the subsequent cup defeat not so, despite an improved showing.
With all the comings and goings of loan signings, at least the team will (should?) have some sort of consistency over the next crucial three months, although we are now starting to get hit by a crop of injuries that could hurt us, but alternatively, could provide the opportunity for some players to make their mark and a name for themselves.
Since I was at The Valley for the Norwich game, Jay McEveley has gone back to Derby (injured and released early); Martyn Waghorn has rejoined the stiffs at Sunderland (a victim of having too many loan signings originally, and then left out due to the formation Parky used…); Then there was a goodbye to Hameur Bouazza, being recalled by Fulham only to join Birmingham on loan. Tom Soares has joined on loan from Stoke and Graeme Murty from Reading; Matt Spring has signed permanently from Luton (via Sheffield United). Therry Racon is now fit again after injury and Zheng Zhi is almost fit (and not going to be transferred this week it seems?); however, Jose Semedo is out for couple of months, and Mark Hudson is doubtful for the midweek game. Oh, and Izale Mcleod has been loaned to Millwall until the end of the season, and I understand has already started to fluff chances for them (good boy!).
With youngsters like Jonjo Shelvey, Josh Wright, Scott Wagstaff, Darren Randolph, and even Saturday’s substitute Jack Clark pushing for places, Parky still has plenty of players from which to choose. The problem he seems to have though is fitting them together with the senior pro’s and into a winning team – the choices all over the park do seem to be endless!
If we start with the goalkeepers, you will get the picture…
Nicky Weaver is the experienced pro, but he has some sort of hip injury, which came when he fell heavily at Blackpool in early December. Fit enough to play the following week, he then joined the ranks of the hurting too much (back ache from picking the ball out of the net to much?), and hasn’t been seen since. This gave Rob Elliott a chance, and he has done OK, but Elliott was historically always behind Darren Randolph in the reserve goalkeeper pecking order, and now Randolph is back and free from his poor loan experience at Hereford, he has seemed to have been given the nod as first choice over Elliott. Randolph came into the team in the cup replay at Norwich, kept a clean sheet, and therefore his place for the next two league games, but Elliott played on Saturday. I think Randolph will be back on Tuesday night.
As Parky seems to dislike the clubs only true right back, Yassin Moutaouakil has only played on the cup games (when loanees have been cup-tied); he seems to have done OK, showing his known potential going forward and his known weakness defending. With Murty probably available (he did get injured at Wednesday, and would not have played on Saturday if not cup-tied, so could still be out?), Parky will almost certainly bring him back into the team if fit. The central defence make up is coloured by Hudson’s knock; if he is not fit, then Kelly Youga (who allegedly “played” left back on Saturday) will partner Jonathan Fortune, unless Parky throws the ball to Matt Holland and plays him at centre half again? I have a feeling that Hudson will see this as a game he may wish to miss and that will mean a recall for Grant Basey at left back and a surprise recall for Matty. Fortune has fond memories of scoring in this fixture, so let’s hope history repeats itself on that score. Defensive back up is short, so Moots or Youga should make the bench.
The midfield options are enormous – Parky can pick any option in his four or five man midfield featuring Spring, Nicky Bailey, Holland, Shelvey, Wright, Racon, Lloyd Sam, Darren Ambrose, and Soares. The question of who lines up kind of depends on whether Parky plays two up front or just the one.
If the choice is to start with 4-5-1, then I would expect to see Deon Burton start, with Ambrose in the hole behind, and a middle four of Sam, Bailey, Spring, and Soares. If Parky feels that now is the time to unleash Saturday’s scorer Chris Dickson for real, then he will possibly play alongside Andy Gray (with Burton on the bench). This would leave the midfield as above with Ambrose also benched. Bearing in mind our opponents have conceded eight goals in their last two games (which is worse than Charlton!!!), maybe we ought to attack them from the outset?
This is the side I would like Parky to send out under the floodlights –
Darren Randolph
Graeme Murty
Mark Hudson (or Matt Holland)
Jonathan Fortune
Grant Basey
Tom Soares
Nicky Bailey
Matt Spring
Lloyd Sam
Chris Dickson
Andy Gray
Subs from Elliott, Moutaouakil, Youga, Shelvey, Racon, Wright, Ambrose, Burton, Wagstaff.
Pedro45 hasn’t seen a game for over three weeks, hasn’t seen a win for over three months, and hasn’t seen a good season for over three years. I predict that our run has to come to an end sooner or later (please) and that a 2-0 winning score line would be just the job.
My one-to-watch in this derby game is going to be Chris Dickson; he has the gift of knowing where the goal is, and how to get the ball into the net – now is the time to let him loose. He's been on the transfer list for over a month and nobody has made a decent enough bid for him, and this game is the last in which he will have a chance to shine if he really wants to leave The Valley this month; a goal or two may just push the asking price up a bit which would be no bad thing and work out well for all parties.It’s been a tough three months or so to be a Charlton supporter; 19 league games without a win is a record that nobody at the club should be proud of. I can remember so pretty bad Charlton teams in the past (I’ve witnessed relegation years in ’72, ’80, ’90, ’99, and 2007, and some pretty close scrapes in other seasons too…), but none of those teams ever went this long without winning a match. This squad is far superior to others that have represented the Addicks in the recent past – regular players like Ray Tumbridge, Peter Shaw, Bobby Goldthorpe, Kim Grant, and Lawrie Madden were far worse than anything we have on the books now (the debate is open however!). Now is as good a time as any to end the winless league run, otherwise one or two of the current crop might start to feature in future worst ever Addicks elevens team lists, and we don’t want that do we!
Come on you reds!
Labels: Charlton, Chris Dickson, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Kiely breaks Charlton Hearts
West Bromwich Albion 2 Charlton Athletic 2 (after extra time)
Albion win 4-3 on Penalties
Bounced Out
West Bromwich Albion 2
Charlton Athletic 1
Out of the cup pretty much as expected, but at least the unchanged team from Saturday played with heart, and in all honesty, it sounded like they should have got at least a draw to take the game into extra time.
Albion took the lead through Bednar after a quarter of an hour, and then extended their lead after a breakaway goal five minutes into the second half by Morrison. Before then, good chances had been created but missed by Izale McLeod and also by Luke Varney. Both forwards caused problems but were let down by poor finishing it seems.
Hope was raised after Chris Iwelumo came on with half an hour left, and within 100 seconds, his shot was blocked by Kiely and Ambrose lashed home the rebound.
Lloyd Sam and Matt Holland both had good shots fly just wide, and Pards went for a result by throwing on Dickson and Thomas in a manic closing ten minutes.
The team should draw heart from this game; it showed that once more the pace of the front men is better than the one-up negative play we had prior to Xmas. Saturdays away game is another tough one, but hopefully no injuries came out of tonight’s game and we can field another unchanged side if Pards so wishes at Vicarage Road.
As time expired, the whole match report you’ve read above as blown out of the water by Chris Dickson (top) crashing the ball home after a fine pass by Sam.
If the draw was the last result both teams wanted from the first tie, extra time was the least favourable result the managers wanted from tonight.
Weaver made a great save to keep Charlton in the game, and Madjid Bougherra struggled with cramp as the Addicks hung on till extra time half-time. Dickson also picked up an injury, and struggled for a while to shake it off.
Dickson soon returned to full fitness, and was a real live-wire up front during the second additional period. He did get the ball past Kiely once, but the ball drifted wide, and had another shot blocked after being set up by Thomas.
Charlton finished the fitter, and put real pressure on the Baggies goal, and Dickson almost scored again with three minutes left but Kiely saved.
And then it was over, and penalties. Could Nicky Weaver be the hero or would Dean Kiely break Charlton's hearts? Penalty kicks - don'cha just luv 'em?
Charlton went first; Varney hits the bar.
Albion's first was by Brunt, and he scored. 1-0.
Dickson came next, and scored. Greening then had his saved by Weaver! 1-1.
Next up was Thomas, who stroked home powerfully. Koren scores too. 2-2.
Zheng Zhi had his kick saved by Kiely, and Morrison drilled the ball home. 3-2.
Bougherra had to score, and did, just. It was left to Bednar to win the game, and he did. 4-3.
Good game, shame about the result. Let's concentrate on the league.
Labels: Charlton, Chris Dickson, WBA
