May Double Sees Off Old Club

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different outcome. That sprang to mind last night as I saw that Appleton had picked the same starting eleven that failed to get a result against a lowly and poor Carlisle side on Saturday.

Having appeared rather lacklustre in recent games, Leaburn amongst others could count himself lucky to retain his place. Accepted that the do date unproven Tedic is currently his only threat, he was still fortunate.

However, perhaps he is unfortunate as had he not started he probably doesn’t sustain the injury that saw him subbed for the aforementioned in the first half. It doesn’t look good and we may be without him for another prolonged period.

Opportunities have been limited for our City loanee and those that have come along have seen him playing wide right, not his favoured position. Of late, he’s barely set foot on the pitch.

I’m not sure what some fans were expecting but unsurprisingly he didn’t go bag a hat-trick. However, he did no worse than many others.

Cue the almost inevitable comments dissing his performance. I’m not sure why he can’t be afforded the same latitude as many other players.

It is what it is I guess. I’m not saying he’s good or bad, I can’t as I haven’t seen enough of him. However, give him some game time on a decent run and we can then make an educated judgement.

Quite why Louie Watson didn’t come straight back into the side is a mystery whose answer is known only to our manager.

Clearly, Mickey’s poor team selection isn’t restricted to the FA Cup!

The opening goal was another one to add to the album entitled “ Charlton’s awful defending leading to goals Season 23/24! “.

The marking was non-existent and why AMB didn’t come for the ball is anyone’s guess. Maybe, like Cinderella, he was waiting for an invite.

Thankfully, we managed to turn things around and secure a win over Cheltenham courtesy of two well taken penalties by May.

Contrary to what the manager said post match on Saturday, I still don't think the draw against Carlisle was a good point! 

That we didn’t score from open play against another lowly team ought to be a cause for concern. Again I’d question CBT’s decision making. He appears to be looking to score worldies as opposed to taking option of squaring the ball to a teammate.

It’s back to cup action on Saturday with the Gills away our “reward” for overcoming Cray Valley! Huge potential for egg on face all other embarrassment aside. We need to get the job done no matter what or how.

At a minimum, the manager must select the strongest side. We all know roughly what that is, sadly he doesn’t seem to!

Fingers crossed that we can win as it would be nice to go into the third round draw dreaming of getting a plum home tie!

A Missed Opportunity

I must start by paying tribute to Dave Thompson author of Drinking During The Game who sadly passed away last Thursday.

Dave wrote so well and his blog was always an excellent read as the result of his insightful thoughts and knowledge. He always saw through the façade of the various characters that inhabited S.E.7 in recent years. Dave always wrote with passion and his love of our club was clear and obvious.

Outside of Charlton, he wrote about the Scottish rugby team and also Welling United and he often attended games there.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Dave but it is clear from all the comments and tributes on Charlton Life, Twitter, the CAST website and other media that he was a decent person and loved by many.

Chicago Addick was a close friend and you have already read it, here’s a link to his tribute :-

https://chicagoaddick.com/2023/11/22/dave-thomson-rip/

My condolences to his family and friends. RIP Dave.

Saturday saw the Addicks throw away a glorious opportunity to pick up a rare away win. We dominated the game and not to leave with all 3 points is at best disappointing.

If we harbour any aspirations of a play-off spot at a minimum that we need to far more clinical especially when you get the volume of chances we created on Saturday.

Appleton again decided that Louie Watson was not deserving of a starting place despite being one of our best performers of late. Having previously dropped him because “ not everyone sees the oppo getting in behind him “ he left him out on Saturday based on experience.

Huh? Why not pick a player on form? In addition, we were playing Carlisle, a team who aren’t pulling up any trees this season.

As it happens Fraser went on to have a poor game. In fact, in the lead up to their goal it was the number 10 who was cheaply dispossessed. He also seems to have lost the threat he once had from free kicks.

Other aspects of Appleton’s decision making ought to be questioned. As much as we all like Miles, in the last 3 or 4 games he has been poor. Despite having a poor and ineffective game the manager didn’t see fit to give Tedic even 20 minutes or so.

Imagine if the City loanee had started the last 3 games and performed the same as Leaburn? The message boards and social media would be full of comments slating him.

To be in charge and in control for virtually the whole 90 odd minutes and not secure a win is criminal really.

Post match and the gaffer reckons it’ll be viewed as a good point if we beat Cheltenham tomorrow. No it won’t! It’ll be viewed as 2 points dropped and just not good enough.

Saturday and the next two games are ones where it’s not unreasonable to expect a 9 point return. Despite Cheltenham’s mini-revival if we don’t get 6 points from the next two league games it will also not be good enough.

I get that the current squad isn’t of his choosing but Appleton has enough at his disposal to do better.

Let’s hope he can get the team to deliver starting tomorrow.

Come On You Reds!

I must start by paying tribute to Dave Thompson author of Drinking During The Game who sadly passed away last Thursday.

 

Dave wrote so well and his blog was always an excellent read as the result of his insightful thoughts and knowledge. He always saw through the façade of the various characters that inhabited S.E.7 in recent years. Dave always wrote with passion and his love of our club was clear and obvious.

 

Outside of Charlton, he wrote about the Scottish rugby team and also Welling United and he often attended games there.

 

I never had the pleasure of meeting Dave but it is clear from all the comments and tributes on Charlton Life, Twitter, the CAST website and other media that he was a decent person and loved by many.

 

Chicago Addick was a close friend and you have already read it, here’s a link to his tribute :-

https://chicagoaddick.com/2023/11/22/dave-thomson-rip/

 

My condolences to his family and friends. RIP Dave.

 

Saturday saw the Addicks throw away a glorious opportunity to pick up a rare away win. We dominated the game and not to leave with all 3 points is at best disappointing.

 

If we harbour any aspirations of a play-off spot at a minimum that we need to far more clinical especially when you get the volume of chances we created on Saturday.

 

Appleton again decided that Louie Watson was not deserving of a starting place despite being one of our best performers of late. Having previously dropped him because “ not everyone sees the oppo getting in behind him “ he left him out on Saturday based on experience.

 

Huh? Why not pick a player on form? In addition, we were playing Carlisle, a team who aren’t pulling up any trees this season.

 

As it happens Fraser went on to have a poor game. In fact, in the lead up to their goal it was the number 10 who was cheaply dispossessed.

 

Other aspects of Appleton’s decision making ought to be questioned. As much as we all like Miles, in the last 3 or 4 games he has been poor. Despite having a poor and ineffective game the manager didn’t see fit to give Tedic even 20 minutes or so.

 

Imagine if the City loanee had started the last 3 games and performed the same as Leaburn? The message boards and social media would be full of comments slating him.

 

To be in charge and in control for virtually the whole 90 odd minutes and not secure a win is criminal really.

 

Post match and the gaffer reckons it’ll be viewed as a good point if we beat Cheltenham tomorrow. No it won’t! It’ll be viewed as 2 points dropped and just not good enough.

 

Saturday and the next two games are ones where it’s not unreasonable to expect a 9 point return. Despite Cheltenham’s mini-revival if we don’t get 6 points from the next two league games it will also not be good enough.

 

I get that the current squad isn’t of his choosing but Appleton has enough at his disposal to do better.

 

Let’s hope he can get the team to deliver starting tomorrow.

 

Come On You Reds!

Job Done At The Second Time Of Asking

The Addicks secured their place in round 2 at The Artic Stadium last night after a brief scare.

Not unsurprisingly, a much stronger looking side took to the pitch to tackle Cray Valley and they eventually got the job done.

It really shouldn’t have needed a replay nor should Appleton have subjected the club and its fans to the mess of the first tie that required the replay.

Instead of admitting his initial selection error Michael opted to tell us that he found out about some of his players as a result of the game in S.E.7. He ought not to have required that game to do so.

Mess around in the Football League Trophy if you want to see how players respond in games. Don’t do it in the Cup risking the worst defeat in the club’s history. God knows we’ve had some bad ones so it’s indicative of how very bad defeat would have been.

Alfie May had a stonking game and set us on our way scoring following lovely control and finish.

Sadly, Walker (always likely to be our Achilles heel) gave Cray a lifeline with a reckless challenge just outside the area. A penalty ensued along with a yellow card and K Lisbie junior dispatched it. Good for him.

I often wonder why keepers are immune from being subbed and I was wondering again last night. Walker was poor in both games and his ill-judged actions yesterday really ought to have seen him hooked at half time.

I really hope we never need to call upon Walker in a league game.

All in all it proved to be a minor set back as the second half saw us impose ourselves against tiring limbs finally finding the net another 5 times.

Job done. However, there a few points of interest. CBT was replaced at half time and I’ve yet to see why that was. Much like Saturday he was pretty ineffectual. It’s a cause for concern because that’s a game and a half where he’s not done anything.

Tedic didn’t get off the bench. Again, I’m going to bang the drum for him. Miles scored but did little else and didn’t appear up for it for whatever reason. I’ll wager that if Tedic had performed like that (and Miles was another who didn’t do much on Saturday) he’d have got some stick.

However, the loanee isn’t being handled very well and hasn’t really had the chance to show what he can do in his proper position. Appleton may not like him for some reason but this is the same Appleton that saw fit to leave Louie Watson out of the side recently. As such, I’ll not hold any great store by that!

Finally, whatever game we’re playing, I don’t understand why we have everyone back at corners. Playing an 8^th tier side and we’re still doing it! Arghh! What on earth!

It’s things like the above that mean I don’t have great faith in Appleton. He’s got a lot to do to change my opinion of him. He’s an adequate manager but that’s all I can see at present.

Anyway, we’ve got a break this weekend before some nonsense against Sutton ahead of a trip to Carlisle the following Saturday.

A Tale Of Two Keepers!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times………..that may go on to be an extract from AMB’s autobiography when referencing Saturday’s game.

It certainly was A Tale of Two Keepers! One who made some great saves but had one blip when he was Rashley Maynard-Brewer. The other was suitably dubbed “ Nearpost Norris” after letting in a couple that he ought to have done better with.

The mickey-taking of the Pompey number 1 is all the more enjoyable following his Oscar inspired moment of feigning injury when Alfie came close by. Rather pathetic and it’s that sort of thing that is deserving of a post match yellow card at least.

This was overall a pretty decent game with both going for the win and The Addicks could indeed have left with all 3 points had Dobbo managed to square the ball at the end.

I think a win would have a bit harsh on the home team but reward for our tenacious spirit.

Portsmouth start brightly as befits league leaders who are on a long unbeaten run and full of confidence. For the first 15 minutes or so we were under pressure. However, we defended well and withstood the onslaught and started to grow into the game.

Sadly, the good work was undone by the sort of defending that is starting to characterise our team. The corner leading to the goal saw us leave a player unmarked on the edge of the box and naturally it fell to him and he put it away well.

We really need to resolve this. We have everyone back for corners but as tall as he is, I don’t recall Alfie winning a defensive header yet!

We usually only send one player out when defending short corners and this is plain stupidity aside from being naïve. The manager simply must address this. He often claims he sees us mere mortals don’t but he himself is either suffering from myopia or believes this is a good method of defending!

The second half saw us get more chances and move more onto the front foot. Ultimately it led to Alfie squeezing a shot past Nearpost Norris to level things up.

AMB had made series of excellent saves to keep us in the game and perhaps as a result of being so pumped a moment of madness saw him rush out to defend an attack. Having upended the Pompey player there was only one possible outcome and Bishop did the necessary from the spot.

The Addicks remained on the front foot whilst continuing to defend resolutely best epitomised by Watson T’s lunge to block a shot.

Late into the game and on came McGrandles. I expected very little from him but he made his point as well as the teams with his well placed header deep into injury time. Again Nearpost Norris ought to have done better but who cares!

The goal was celebrated wildly by the away fans as those in Blue had to face facts…..you’ll never beat the Charlton!

A very good away point at the league leaders and a vastly improved performance compared to Sunday’s cup effort.

Most of the team played well but there one or two disappointments. Leaburn had a quiet game maybe down to the service but we didn’t see much from him. If it had been Tedic who started and it panned out that way I believe he’d have come in for some criticism from our fans.

I’m not sure why the Man City loanee didn’t set foot on the pitch. As I said, it wasn’t as though Miles was having a blinder.

Speaking of which the same is true of CBT. I know he carries a threat but how he stayed on for the whole game is a mystery. He didn’t show at all and really ought to have come off.

As with hector in previous games, it doesn’t send a good message if it seems that certain players are immune from being subbed.

Anyway, a great result and point that needs to built upon. There’s little point in failing to reproduce that effort in upcoming, easier looking games.

Elsewhere, Cray Valley beat the Deres 3-0. Tomorrow’s cup game won’t be easy on their ground but unless Appleton opts to select another weak team we ought to come through with the joy of Gillingham away to look forward to!   

Bouncebackability?

Following our dismal performance in the cup one could be forgiven for thinking that playing Portsmouth away would be ideal. History certainly backs that up. However, we are currently a team with a few injuries and one that seems only capable of managing one decent half of football.

However, Portsmouth are currently enjoying a long unbeaten run and sit atop League One.

I think it’s safe to say there will be change to Sunday’s starting line up although may be just shy of the eleven that Appleton made for that game.

Like may others I’m still seething. His comments about still be in the competition to right that wrong and nonsense about players being “anxious” really didn’t help my mood on Sunday evening.

I’ve no idea what Appleton was thinking last week. You simply can’t make that many changes. There are very few clubs that can do that at any level.

Realistically on Saturday anything other than defeat will be a good result all things considered.

John Mousinho has enjoyed a great start to his managerial career since leaving Oxford where he was player/coach. It’s been a fantastic appointment by Pompey.

The jury is very much still out on Appleton despite what the BBC commentary team had to say last weekend. I’d acknowledge a degree of improvement in attacking terms in our side but defensively the issues remain.

As stated above in inability to deliver anywhere near 90 minutes of a solid performance is cause for concern.

Hopefully Edun will return to the league starting eleven and I’d like to think that Tedic will also start in the main striker role.

When I looked at last week’s line up (after having recovered from the initial shock) I was pleased to see the Man City loanee where he should be. Sadly, he didn’t have the best support and I feared that he come in for some stick unless he bagged a hat-trick or similar.

Let’s give him the opportunity to show what he can do in a fairly decent side and in the right position.

As much as we all lauded the first half display against Wigan it ought to be remembered that fate lent a hand. Had Camara not been got injured then Alfie May would have stayed out wide and his goals may well have not been scored.

With no one in defence taking their chance to impress one assumes a back four of Edun, Hector, Jones and Asiimwe/Watson (T).

Watson (L) ought to start assuming Appleton is no longer spouting the guff about the oppo getting in behind him (something a lot of people don’t see apparently).

Mickey has preferred Fraser (he even made him captain on Sunday!). Of course the tough tackling, non-stop running of him would see him get the nod! Scott is a luxury player of the type we can’t afford so in another tough league game he shouldn’t start.

Let’s hope and pray that our hold over Pompey continues and that we inflict another defeat whilst ending another club’s unbeaten run (we can be good at that !). There's never been a better time to bounce back!

Come On You Reds!

Arrogant and Disrespectful!

Arrogant and disrespectful! That’s the general view of Appleton’s team selection today. I’m not sure who it’s more disrespectful to Cray Valley or our own fans!

If you’re going to put out a side like that then you really ought to let the fans know before they shell out on a ticket and give up their hard earned money and time.

The bizarre thing is that recently Appleton spoke of the importance of trophies and he was speaking about the EFL trophy. He put out a stronger starting eleven against Villa U21 than he did against Cray Valley in the rather more prestigious FA Cup!!

Some fans are trying to absolve the manager of blame saying the players had their chance to impress. Hello! He picked the team, he left Kirk on the pitch as long as he did when it was clear he wasn’t interested nor capable. He simply wouldn’t get into the Cray Valley team nor would they want him.

Despite all that Appleton had the chances to change things and when he did it was too little, too late.

I feel for Tedic because he’ll no doubt get some criticism. He really should have been played in his proper position before now. The poor guy finally gets to do so but supported by the B team. He got little service after showing great awareness for our goal.

This result and performance was worse than Northwich Victoria. I’m really angry with Appleton who has failed to really convince me. There have been to many good half, bad half games. Games where we’ve had to make subs in order to get the make up of the team right. Games where were chasing it or games like Tuesday, where were comfortably leading then nearly throw it all away.

I had to chuckle when the commentators were saying how he’d won us over! Really?   

Now we face an additional game when we’re already playing catch up.

Appleton is fast turning into the joke figure he’s always been seen as on Charlton Life when he got linked with every job going. He’ll probably be around for some time to come because he’s Andy Scott’s mate and he won’t any more egg on his face.

We’re stuck with him for the foreseeable. Let’s hope we can pick up enough points to stay up and this season it’s not going to be any better than mid table.

The manger has to hope that the rested players put on a good show at Fratton Park or he’ll look even more silly as difficult as that sounds!