Spread The Positivity

 It’s already been stressed elsewhere what a pleasure last night’s Trust-arranged Q&A with Thomas Sandgaard proved to be. Amen to that, thanks to TS and the Trust. The transcript’s already been published by the Trust, so people not able to listen in can read for themselves what was said, but just as important as the words were the tone, the openness, the evident willingness to listen, and the positivity. The contrast with what has gone before, at least since early 2014 (let’s be fair, the spivs did make some effort to communicate before it all fell apart for them, Duchatelet/Miere saw contact with the fans as a necessary evil, perhaps an opportunity to tell fans what Roland wanted but limit any fans’ input to discussions over the price of Bovril), could not have been starker.

Everyone will have their favourite moment/answer. Mine, which harks back to a familiar theme, is when TS was asked about his motivation for getting involved with Charlton as, it was jokingly suggested, it can’t be for the good his health. On reflection TS pointed out that in actual fact it probably is good for his health as he is enjoying himself. Spot on. I always found it sad that Duchatelet, by never being remotely interested in Charlton or football in general, or trying to unearth the reasons behind the appeal (he already knew everything of course), never seemed to get any pleasure from owning football clubs. To be fair, we never saw him with a smile on his face over anything, but it did make you wonder why he opted to get involved with football (other than as a sterile social experiment having failed in politics, or to try to prove a point that he knew how to make money from football while others couldn’t).

For now, TS is going to have to take our word for it that he has made very many Addicks, myself included, very happy. No doubt there will be bumps along the way, perhaps it will take us a year or two longer than we expect to get into the European competitions, but if the attitudes stays the same the guy can expect the continued full backing of the fans.

TS was asked basically what in return we could do to help. Fill out The Valley when we can and bring in friends and family, as well as help develop supporter networks. We may not be able yet to do the former, but we can start with some groundwork on the latter, by spreading the word that it’s going to be fun for all of us and why not come on board for the ride. Our club has been in the news for years for less than positive reasons, we can help counter the impression left and encourage others to return and new Addicks to be initiated.  

Poor Game Ends In Frustration

After Tuesday night’s defeat no doubt today we were looking for improvement, hopefully in terms of both the performance and the result but at least one of them. In the event it was generally gritty stuff, especially in a sterile first half, but with a goal from a rare moment of quality it looked like we’d come away with the points, especially as we somehow made it through the final 10 minutes without Shrewsbury getting a leveller, largely thanks to Amos and the bar. But just when it seemed we had made it to the finish line we managed to create a final moment of panic and gave away a penalty, which was duly converted. Over the whole game you’d say a draw was a fair result, but no question who was feeling happiest at the final whistle.

The team saw in front of Amos the return of Pearce to the defence, alongside Famewo who had himself come back from injury during Tuesday night’s game. Gunter got the nod over Matthews at right back, Maatsen returned after his suspension in place of Purrington. In midfield Watson was accompanied by Pratley, finally getting a break from his central defensive duties, plus Gilbey and Forster-Caskey, while Aneke started with Washington. Seems that Shinnie, who took a knock in midweek, was not fit and Maddison was also absent, apparently ill, added to Innis and Smyth (and Levitt and Oshilaja).

It looked like a 4-4-2, although we played more like a 4-1-3-2, with Watson in front of the defence and Pratley ahead of him, flanked by Gilbey and Forster-Caskey. It looked a solid set-up, but you did wonder where the width would come from and about the absence of pace.

And let’s face it the first half was a bore. Neither side was able to impose itself or fashion a decent chance, let alone score. We had to wait 17 minutes for the first real moment of note, with Gilbey making space on the left and curling the ball in, Aneke almost got onto it and then someone else at the far post, but no meaningful contact came from either. Shrewsbury had a free header from a corner as Gunter was on the ground, over the bar. Gilbey picked up a yellow, followed by Aneke, and just before the break a long kick out by Amos was taken down very well by Washington, who skipped past the defender, only to find himself on his own and his cross was put behind for a corner.

That really was it. Plenty of effort, also plenty of misplaced passes from both sides and little movement. We did look composed at the back, equally Aneke was finding himself up against three centre-backs and looking frustrated, looking to feed off scraps. Basically neither side seemed to have the pace or the wit to undo the other.

There was a little more intent from both sides early in the second half and both enjoyed a spell of relative pressure, with a Shrewsbury guy clipping the bar with a curled shot. For us Gilbey was wide with a curler of his own, after which he went off, along with Forster-Caskey, for Morgan and Williams. It was a change of personnel rather than formation, with Morgan on the left side and Williams on the right.

After another 10 minutes the usual change took place as Bogle came on for Aneke. And shortly after, completely out of the blue (but with two of the subs involved) we took the lead. The ball was played up to Bogle’s feet, around the centre-circle. He turned and played a pass to Williams moving forward. Outside him Gunter was bombing down the line and Williams fed him. The ball was squared and Watson came into the box at the right moment, hitting it into the net via a deflection.

About 15 minutes of normal time to see out – but stung by going behind, and perhaps energised by their own substitutions, Shrewsbury woke up and put us under pressure. Gunter was beaten in the box, only for their guy to cut in for a better angle and lose it, then with less than 10 minutes to go we got away with a real scramble. The bar was hit, Amos saved, then the ball was scrambled away. That near miss prompted another change by Bowyer, with Matthews coming on, presumably to shore up the defence on the right side. Embarrassing though it was for him, the only real options were to take off either Williams, who’d been on the pitch for less than 25 minutes, or Washington and go to one up front. It was the former and Williams trudged off.

In the final minutes and into stoppage time and now it was Amos keeping us ahead with a couple of excellent saves. It seemed as if we had got away with it, then Morgan managed to slice a ball forward and sent it towards our box, Pearce and Famewo seemed unsure what to do, we panicked and their guy was felled. Nobody could dispute the decision and, although we had hopes that Amos would save us once more, it was not to be.

Of course you can’t concede an equaliser in the final minute of stoppage time without feeling you’ve just thrown away two points, whether or not overall you deserved them. There was positives to be taken, most obviously the return of Pearce (and Famewo), but having played Gunter and Pratley out of position for so long, out of necessity, we now had Forster-Caskey and Gilbey playing in positions which did not get the best out of them. A draw isn’t a disaster and at least we have a week now to regroup. But the stats now show that we’ve won only one in the last five and the school report has to say ‘room for improvement’.

Player Ratings:

Amos – 8/10. Almost won us two points single-handed. He really is having a splendid season, we’ve not missed Phillips at all.

Gunter – 6/10. Was given the nod over Matthews to start at right-back (he was the incumbent before having to move inside) but was caught out a couple of times and it was his challenge for the penalty.

Pearce – 8/10. Good to see him back, the defence was sound until we scored but we creaked in the final 10 minutes.

Famewo – 7/10. Much as Pearce, decent game.

Maatsen – 7/10. Not everything he tried came off going forward but covered well and did the defensive stuff with aplomb.

Watson – 8/10. Much better performance I thought than in midweek, looked assured and got his name on the scoresheet.

Gilbey – 5/10. Perhaps still finding his feet and I’m not sure he will if we play him in this position.

Pratley – 6/10. Reasonable enough contribution, thought we’d see more of him cropping up in the box than we did.

Forster-Caskey – 5/10. As for Gilbey, hard to see him thriving being pushed into a widish position.

Aneke – 5/10. Frustrating game for him, feeding off scraps and outnumbered.

Washington – 5/10. Overall disappointing in that he didn’t really pair up with Aneke and his good moments were few and far between.

Subs:

Williams – 5/10. Played a part in the goal but only on the pitch for a short time.

Morgan – 5/10. Harsh but it was his slice which led to the confusion and their penalty.

Bogle – 6/10. Also involved in the goal and started well, but we didn’t feature much as an attacking threat after we’d scored.

Matthews – 6/10. Can’t really give him a mark, or blame him for the fact he was brought on to shore up the defence and we conceded a goal.

Saturday's Options

My partner Suzanne sometimes laughs at me for being a ‘slave to routine’ (sometimes she laughs at me for other reasons). Out of bed, turn on PC power supply, go to kitchen, fill and turn on kettle, prepare coffee, glass of OJ from the fridge, back to ‘office’, turn on PCs, back to kitchen, pour water onto coffee, take coffee and mug to office, take Ipad and OJ into bathroom for the shower and Radio 4. For the record the routine is different in Blackheath as there are stairs and a radio involved, but you get the picture.

What she refuses to acknowledge is that while this is going on I am working: reminding myself what I need to focus on, what I expect to do, how I intend to address certain problems. Now I can walk and chew gum but I can’t do these things properly if I’m trying to work out her latest preferred location for my cafeteria and just why she is in the bathroom when she must be aware I am walking towards my shower Ipad and OJ in hand.

It's the same in other areas. We learn to drive, or touchtype, by going through dull routines, until they are second nature and automatic. That way you can concentrate instead on the important stuff, like looking out for other cars, reacting effectively to a developing situation rather than wondering which is the brake.

The point is (and I think there is a point) that there is a downside to player rotation and regularly changing the formation. This is not to overlook the positives of the approach, at least the former: in this division the games come thick and fast, injuries and suspensions are inevitable, while flexibility and ability to change when things aren’t working is highly desirable. I’d suggest the objective of having two players for every position and having some rotation of personnel is positive, as is an ability to change formation during games in response to events. But I don’t think that overlooks that it is also desirable to know your team’s strengths and how to play to them, to have a Plan A. And right now we don’t.

I also think player rotation and formation changes can have a mentally draining effect on players. Take the extreme opposite. Some of us remember Cambridge under John Beck, saw them play us at Upton Park and they were booed off the pitch at half-time for the dire nature of their play (but they were winning 2-0). Their defenders had clear instructions to wellie the ball out towards the sidelines (to win a throw, advance down the pitch winning more throws, then launch a bomb into the box for their giants to score); their forwards knew that whenever a defender got the ball this would happen, so automatically they anticipated it. Now nobody wants to follow this example, but the point is that this makes football easier to play, there’s not much of a thought process and players can move in anticipation of what their colleagues are about to do. Right now our players are sometimes bombing down the pitch with the ball, sometimes hoofing it long, sometimes trying to press – and more often than not the rest of the team is guessing what might happen next, which works against players making runs in anticipation of being found and can create the impression of a flat performance, one lacking collective energy.

A fellow Addick last night pointed out that we match up well against stronger sides, beating them for determination and focus and winning the physical battles. Keeping things tight in defence, despite the loss of central defenders, and in midfield was the cornerstone of victories against Portsmouth, Wigan, Ipswich etc. But when teams like Burton and MK Dons come along, teams brave enough to pass it, run at us, and pull us out of position we look second-best. That may be a reflection of areas we are weak in, including pace (without Smyth and Doughty), also I suspect is down to us not having an effective Plan A when the onus is felt to be on us to make the running in a game.

OK, we know we are still a work in progress with a large number of new players, some of whom haven’t played much football, while injuries have taken their toll. We have good reason to expect us to get better (and Bowyer has stressed that we are ahead of a reasonable curve in that sense). Some players are playing not in their favourite positions I suspect, not just Pratley and Gunter. So perhaps it’s time to take a step back and consider what might work well as a current Plan A – all acknowledging of course that Bowyer, Jackson et al have forgotten far more about football than I will ever know.

Start with some limitations. Up front, with Smyth injured and Davison on loan we are down to three strikers, one of whom is not trusted to last 90 minutes. Bogle is valued for his work wearing out the opposition and giving way for Aneke to benefit (of course it’s not that simple), neither of them has so far shown signs of being able to form an effective partnership with Washington.

At the back, we know the team if all are fit and available. Amos sits behind Innis and Famewo while Gunter and Matthews compete for a spot, as do Maatsen and Purrington. Pearce and Oshilaja are currently not being considered for a starting place (but obviously will feature at some point). Without Innis and with Famewo now back, the first question to be answered is who plays best alongside him, out of Pratley and Gunter, or whether a back three would be favoured. Leave that to one side.

In midfield we have an abundance of players, just no partnerships and nobody laying an undisputed claim to a starting place. Assume first that either Watson or Pratley play in the holding role. Then remember that without Doughty or Smyth we have no natural wide players. Morgan fills in there on one side, but I think it’s a waste to have Maddison do the same. Let’s leave Levitt to one side for now and consider the options: Shinnie, Gilbey, Forster-Caskey, Pratley/Watson, Morgan, Maddison, Williams, possibly Vennings too.

Taking all this together, I think our available resources point in favour of a 4-5-1 formation. Subject to fitness and form on the training ground, my inclination would be to start with a back four in front of Amos of Matthews or Gunter, Pratley, Famewo and Purrington. With a midfield five, have Maatsen play wide left (he’s certainly looked capable of that) and either Morgan or Mathews/Gunter wide right (I’d assume Morgan). Pair Watson and either Shinnie or Forster-Caskey in central midfield (I think they get the nod over Gilbey at the moment for this role), then have Maddison playing a more advanced role, with licence to bomb forward (and if he doesn’t take the chance offered Williams is the replacement, or Gilbey).

Up front I’d go with Washington. We don’t have to be wedded to starting with Bogle or Aneke and swapping them sooner or later. Bogle has not yet been effective in holding the ball up and his first touch doesn’t I think lend itself to him operating as a sole striker. Aneke is not expected to last 90 minutes. So start with Washington – and have both Bogle and Aneke available from the bench to really bully defenders later on and to be able to mix things up if necessary. With such a set-up we’d be looking for goals from midfield and to play through midfield, with two wide men and good defensive cover, taking out the option of hoofing it up to a big guy. We’d also have players who can change position if needs be.

I suspect that after last night we’re all giving some thought to what sort of team and formation we’d choose, not because of any lack of confidence in Bowyer but just because it seems as if at the moment places are up for grabs and nothing is settled. Burton outfought and outscored us, MK Dons outplayed us. So be it, it’s a long campaign, in Bowyer we trust.

Sobering Defeat

The 2,000 lucky souls who attended tonight will no doubt have been glad of their free cup of hot chocolate, as a cold early winter’s day turned into a damp and cold one before the game, then a dispiriting, damp and cold one after it. For our part you hoped the players would have in mind that not being fully on their game against Burton saw them come a cropper and wouldn’t be thinking that a match against a supposedly struggling side might be any sort of stroll. There was no such complacency tonight, rather MK Dons had the beating of us through a clearer game-plan and greater coherence, which is another way of saying we looked like a collection of players not used to playing together.

The team saw four changes from Saturday, two enforced (Maatsen’s suspension and Smyth’s injury). In front of Amos were Matthews, Gunter, Pratley and Purrington. Whether it would be a flat midfield four or a diamond remained to be seen, with Watson accompanied by Shinnie, Morgan and Gilbey – who perhaps tellingly got the nod ahead of Maddison with Williams starting on the bench – and Washington fit enough for a start alongside Bogle, who started in place of Aneke.

However, what proved to be a simple 4-4-2 proved to be no match in the first half for MK Dons’ 3-5-2. They started the brighter and caused us problems from the off, with their forwards finding space and midfield runners able to beat us for pace. That they failed to turn several promising moments into goals was down to poor final balls, poor control at the death (especially a one-on-one with their guy seemingly more intent on claiming he was fouled), and good goalkeeping, with Amos making two or three decent saves. In the first 20 minutes or so our best moments came from pressing their keeper into poor clearances. It was telling that Watson was giving away free kicks, while Morgan was given a final warning, then Pratley did get yellow as he seemed to tangle with their guy on the ground (who was also given a yellow).

We did improve as the half progressed, perhaps as the commentators suggested due to an injury to their playmaker. Gilbey came more into it with some penetrating runs, while Washington came close a few times, opting to try to bring down a cross he might have hit first time and almost converting a Purrington cross at the near post. But in general our front two were well contained, with Bogle winning some headers but to no great effect and otherwise not able to hold up play, and our midfield struggled to contain their runners, putting our defence under pressure.

It was no surprise that Bowyer made a change at the break, with Maddison replacing Shinnie, who it was suggested might have taken a knock. If anything this made us weaker in the central midfield area where we were overrun in the first half, although we were looking to Maddison to provide a greater attacking threat.

Nothing much changed in that MK Dons continued to create chances but were denied by Amos. And once more our threat involved their keeper, with a ball forward chased down by Gilbey only for the keeper to head it over him then fluff the clearance, leaving us scrambling to get in an effort while he was out of his goal.

On the hour Bowyer made a double substitution, with Aneke replacing Bogle and Williams on for Morgan, followed not long after by Famewo coming on for Watson, with Pratley moving into midfield. Just what the formation was by now was hard to tell, with Washington and Maddison in wide areas and Williams moving around. Nevertheless, we had then probably our best short period of the game as almost by willpower we came close to taking the lead. A Maddison Crossfield pass found Washington, who cut inside but saw his shot saved, then a combination of Aneke, Maddison and Williams managed to work the ball down the right and we had numbers in the box. The ball eventually broke to Pratley, who shot over the bar. And a Maddison break and cross was almost converted by Aneke.

Just as it seemed we might be taking the game by the scruff of the neck, with MK Dons forced onto the back foot, they went up the other end and scored. Nobody closed down their guy in midfield and then there seemed to be confusion over who was picking up who, leaving a simple pass to a guy in space in the box, who shot past Amos.

With about 15 minutes of normal time left there was the time to turn it around, but we became increasingly desperate, increasingly reliant on a long ball to find Aneke. It was only after two minutes of the four added on (which became five with an injury) when we almost scored an equaliser which we scarcely deserved. Ball into the box and pressure on it, their keeper parried it but it fell to Pratley, who lifted it over the bodies only for it to rebound off the crossbar. And that was indeed that.

This was a more sobering defeat than Burton. Individually the players worked hard, had good moments and bad; collectively we fell well short. It highlighted that we are still very much a work in progress, with no strong spine as yet and no combinations in the key areas. MK Dons exploited our lack of cohesion and with better quality in the final third would surely have won comfortably. We might have gone second tonight but ended up with a clear lesson that we will need to improve considerably if a top-two position is to be within reach.

Player Ratings:

Amos – 8/10. By a distance our man-of-the-match. Have to see if he might have done better with their goal, did come out for a cross and didn’t make it, otherwise it was a faultless performance with some excellent saves.

Matthews – 7/10. Another good display, up against a tricky player but not caught out, although was involved in the general confusion over who was doing what for their goal.

Pratley – 6/10. Can’t be blamed for the pressure our defence was under and fact is when he moved into midfield he twice came closer to scoring than anyone else.

Gunter – 6/10. Worked hard at it, did get caught out on occasions.

Purrington – 7/10. By and large he had a good game.

Morgan – 6/10. Some good moments, perhaps unlucky to be taken off.

Watson – 5/10. Was left exposed by others in midfield and too often saw the ball passed forward and their guys just run beyond him.

Shinnie – 6/10. Nothing dramatic but I think we lost what little cohesion we had when he went off at the break.

Gilbey – 5/10. Some good moments in the first half running with the ball, but didn’t seem to do much defensive covering and was less prominent in the second half. Also when on a yellow almost got in the way of a quick free kick, which if he had done would almost certainly have resulted in a second yellow.

Bogle – 5/10. Worked hard, won some headers, but not much movement and couldn’t control and keep the ball.

Washington – 5/10. A night for him when things just didn’t quite come off. Might have taken the shot in the first half instead of trying to bring it down, might have crossed in the second rather than shooting from a tight angle.

Subs:

Maddison – 6/10. Unable tonight to make a decisive contribution, but he does make things happen.

Aneke – 6/10. Didn’t fall for him in the box tonight.

Williams – 5/10. Unable to make an impression.

Famewo – 6/10. Very good to see him back.

 

Deserved Win In The End

Today the question was would we have a performance like that delivered away at Portsmouth (determined, committed, effective, 3 points), or that away at Gillingham (could have been better, could have been worse, take the draw), or at Burton (error-strewn, complacent, played crap and lost)? Both teams were going into the game on the back of disappointing midweek defeats (Ipswich losing 0-3 at home to Hull) and will have been keen to get back on track.

In the event I’d say it was something between Portsmouth and Gillingham. No way around the fact that the defence is not going to be as solid as when we had either or both of Innis and Famewo, at least not until Pearce (and Oshilaja) are back, we coughed up some chances in the first half in particular which Ipswich failed to take. If they had scored first the game would have been different. But also we cut out the truly bad errors seen against Burton and put in a much more disciplined performance, while let’s face it Burton had players that caused us far more problems than Ipswich did. We were perhaps a little fortunate to be ahead at the break but the second goal effectively killed the game off and we saw it out without serious alarm, no question that by the end we merited the victory.

The team looked like a 4-4-2 (or however that is described these days, a diamond midfield), with an unchanged defence in front of Amos (Matthews, Gunter, Pratley and Maatsen), in midfield Watson in front of the back four and Shinnie and Morgan (given the start which his display on Tuesday night merited) either side of him and Williams given a start to form the point, while Aneke started instead of Bogle alongside Smyth. Gilbey and Morrison dropped to the bench.

One thing was clear from early in the game, that Amos was under different instructions and his kicking out seemed an indication that after Tuesday we’d adopt a more basic approach. And in a broadly even first 20 minutes Ipswich looked the more dangerous, especially as when their guy got goalside of Gunter only to shoot over, while we almost forced an own goal as an Aneke flick on was almost met by Williams only for the defender to get there first but force a save from his own keeper. So it was a little against the balance of play that we took the lead. Aneke won the ball on the edge of the area and fed it into Shinnie, whose ball back in took a deflection but sat up for Morgan to hit on the half-volley into the net.

That helped to settle us and Ipswich’s cause was not helped by an injury to their forward, who went off. Amos saved well from a flick from a free kick and then turned one over the bar after Pratley had failed to usher the ball out for a goalkick and was caught out. Just before the break Smyth seemed to be sent clear by another Aneke flick and went down under the challenge. If the ref had given a foul it surely would have been a red card too, but decided there was not sufficient contact.

At the break you felt that we would need to score again to win. They were edging the stats on possession and shots, we had the goal in the bag but had still allowed chances resulting from defensive errors. We were doing OK, Morgan was doing good work (at this point I had him down as man-of-the-half, not just for scoring), Williams was causing them problems, while Aneke was as ever a handful. Perhaps most important Watson seemed to be providing good cover, while Shinnie was more prominent in this formation than out wider in a flat midfield four.

The second half continued in a similar vein, with Ipswich not surprisingly starting with more intent, probably after a bit of a call for more effort from their manager. Not long into the half rather surprisingly Gilbey came on for Williams. Perhaps it was a knock or Bowyer feeling he was running out of steam. But the formation stayed the same. Then after the hour we had a further change as Smyth tried to retrieve a ball he’d lost and stayed down, obviously in some discomfort. The commentators thought it might have been his ankle or knee and when the motorised stretcher came out it looked pretty bad. He did leave the pitch, but was at least sitting up as it drove off. Bogle replaced him, which meant the first time he and Aneke would be paired.

That pairing didn’t last long, but before Aneke departed we scored again. A long throw dropped to Pratley, who hit it across goal and glory be Bogle got on the end of it to score at last. Hopefully the first of many.

It was Purrington who replaced Aneke, with Maatsen moving further forward, creating a kind of front three with Gilbey and Bogle. It was a little unbalanced but that really didn’t matter. In the final 20 minutes (and seven minutes of stoppage time) it was all about not letting them back into the game. And that was achieved well enough, only one or two anxious moments.

By the end it was a hard-earned victory, albeit at the cost of Smyth being added to the injury list and Maatsen getting another yellow and a one-game suspension. It was a job done well enough, not perfect but enough. 

Player Ratings:

Amos – 8/10. Why given anything less when the guy has made two excellent saves and dealt with everything else that came his way?

Matthews – 7/10. Another efficient and decent performance.

Gunter – 6/10. Was done once by their guy and that almost cost us a goal, otherwise not bad, if the mark was for attitude and effort in an unfamiliar position the score would be much higher.

Pratley – 6/10. As for Gunter. If Ipswich had scored from the chance that came from his mistake the game would have been different, but we are asking him to do a job.

Maatsen – 6/10. Think today he was trying to stick more to basics after the errors on Tuesday night. Also think the one-game ban will do him no harm, he could use the rest, perhaps needs a break to come back as fresh as when he started.

Watson – 8/10. Over the 90 mins I’d make him man of the match. Today he showed what we expected from him, in terms of protecting the defence and keeping the midfield functioning going forward.

Shinnie – 7/10. Decent performance, involved in our first goal, tidy and effective.

Morgan – 8/10. Excellent first half, less prominent in the second, perhaps as the personnel changes caused some confusion.

Williams – 7/10. Thought he played well in a position which suits him, caused them problems. But didn’t last the hour.

Smyth – 7/10. Slight concern that he bungled a first-half chance which came his way, went down under the challenge when it looked like he was through on goal. Have to hope the injury proves not to be serious.

Aneke – 7/10. We saw today what Bowyer has been talking about regarding it being tougher against central defenders before they start to tire. Decent game, caused problems.

Subs:

Gilbey – 6/10. Came on shortly before we went two ahead and the rest of the game was about shoring things up not looking for more.

Bogle – 7/10. Now he has the first in the bag we hope for more.

Purrington – 7/10. Did well, broke up attacks. He will presumably have the opportunity to impress over 90 minutes in midweek.

 

Outfought And Outscored

That was disappointing all round. When you’ve conceded four goals – and to be fair it could easily have been six or seven, even though their first two were absolute gifts and their third and fourth sloppy on our part – there can be no complaints about leaving empty-handed. The fact that Burton’s defence also creaked badly and that on another night we might have at least matched their four didn’t disguise anything. They wanted it more than us and had a better attitude from the start (helped by the fact that almost from the start we gave them something to hold onto). Don’t think that’s been the case for any other game this season. Plus they had the standout performers on the pitch. Our makeshift defence was found out, run ragged and given little protection.

The line-up saw Pratley and Gunter retained in central defence, with Pearce and Oshilaja both on the bench, with Matthews and Maatsen making a back four in front of Amos. Gilbey started alongside Watson (Morgan starting on the bench), with Shinnie and Maddison providing midfield width, while Smyth was brought back in to start alongside Bogle, with Washington rested.

We started poorly, giving rise to the thought that against the team bottom of the league and with a tough game at Ipswich coming up on Saturday perhaps the mental attitude wasn’t right, or perhaps just that the changes we’d made left us a little uncertain. Also give credit to Burton. They were at us from the start. Perhaps they had done their homework and seen ways in which they could unpick us.

None of that excuses the two goals we gave them in the first half. A basic error by Gunter left their guy clear in on Amos, and although he smothered the first effort he kept going and scored the rebound. Later, after their guy had headed over at a stretch, Amos managed to blot his copybook with a howler, giving them possession. A dink over him and we were two behind.

In between the two gifts we had one or two moments, Watson claimed a penalty for a shove at a corner, but we were making plenty of mistakes at the back. Gunter misjudged a ball that was going to clear him and leave their guy in the clear, prompting a deliberate handball and a yellow. Presumably for an injury just after half an hour Bogle had gone off, replaced by Aneke.

Nevertheless, we managed to get back into it before the break with a scrappy but very welcome goal. A corner led to some head tennis and it finally dropped for Smyth, whose first effort from near range was blocked but his second went in. OK, you think take that, get to half-time and regroup. Instead there was still time for us to afford one of their all the space he wanted from a corner at the far post. Sloppy defending prevailed throughout.

Any thoughts about getting back on level terms not long into the second half went out of the window after about five minutes when we were undone by a training ground routine from a corner. Short one in, knocked back, cross in, guy puts in header which Amos saves at point blank range only for the rebound (again) to be converted.

That was followed by a double substitution as Maddison and Smyth went off for Morgan and Washington. And the impact was immediate, Morgan playing in Aneke, whose low cross was deflected and looped up for a header at the far post, then a Morgan shot was parried. And before long we had closed the gap. A ball into Washington and although his shot was blocked it came out to Morgan. His cross saw Aneke control it and swivel, hitting a shot on the turn into the net. By a distance the best strike of the night.

Now we did have the bit between our teeth, with Washington and Aneke combining well, Gilbey playing Washington in only for his shot to be saved. And Watson picked out Maatsen, whose cross flashed across the box without getting the necessary touch in. It was all to be of no avail as shortly after Williams came on for Gilbey we let in another. This one was down to sheer persistence, their guys just didn’t give up on a ball we should have cleared several times. Eventually it fell for one of theirs in the box and he scored.

With still 10 minutes of normal time (and six of stoppage time) to go there were more chances, in between the yellow cards we were picking up (after Watson came Gilbey, then Maatsen and Aneke, giving us five for the night). The last meaningful one for us saw Washington through but with a narrow angle. He cut back inside only to see his shot blocked it seemed by Aneke. But for good measure Burton almost had a fifth, taking advantage of more hesitancy in defence.

Tonight defensively most of what could go wrong did. Up front we created more than enough opportunities to win most games. Indeed, the stats show that both teams had 16 efforts on goal, with six on target for us and seven for them; we dominated possession with 63% and had eight corners to their three. But none of that tells the story. We were below par and error-prone, Burton were determined and exploited our weaknesses. It is a game that’s going to provide Bowyer and his team with plenty of food for thought, can’t simply write it off as a bad day at the office.

Player Ratings

Amos – 6/10. Actually pulled off several fine saves, some of which saw the rebounds converted, but has to be marked down for the error.

Matthews – 7/10. Stands out in the defence for the fact that I can’t remember a howler from him.

Pratley – 5/10. Caught out tonight and bullied by their centre-forward. Not his fault of course, he’s filled in at the back manfully for us.

Gunter – 5/10. Really as for Pratley. Gave away the first goal, perhaps lucky to only get a yellow for the deliberate handball, uncomfortable throughout.

Maatsen – 5/10. By a distance his worst game for us. Small errors mounted up, miscontrols, his poor back pass resulted in a corner from which they scored. He will have been frustrated by it all but may be tired with the requirements of two games a week. He has been excellent until tonight. 

Maddison – 5/10. Not good in the first half, far less of a driving force than on Saturday. Seemed to be improving in the second but was then replaced.

Watson – 5/10. Has to go down as a poor game. He’s there not least to protect the back four; and tonight they needed help.

Gilbey – 6/10. Started slowly but so did they all. Grew into the game.

Shinnie – 5/10. Not as conspicuous as he was when Maddison wasn’t in the team, a little peripheral tonight.

Smyth – 5/10. Did get his goal but otherwise rather anonymous, no sign of his pace being used to good effect.

Bogle – 5/10. Not especially good first half-hour and then went off.

Subs:

Aneke – 7/10. Made a difference to our attacking threat and scored an excellent goal. Not sure if he has to lose a mark for blocking Washington’s goal-bound shot.

Morgan – 7/10. A real impact as we improved considerably going forward after his introduction.

Washington – 7/10. Also made a difference, unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet.

Williams – 5/10. Found it hard to get into the game when he came on for the final 15 minutes or so.

Maurice Setters RIP

It is more sad news that Maurice Setters has died, aged 83. Our condolences go to his family and friends. And while quite rightly the tributes will no doubt flow from those linked to clubs for which he made major contributions, and from the Irish FA given his role alongside Jack Charlton, I hope they will allow us a slightly irreverent comment on his time at our club.

When the definitive history of Charlton Athletic comes to be written it’s unlikely that Setters will get much of a mention. His career with us spanned all of eight games (he did score a goal, which gives him a strike rate better than some of our forwards, which if my records are accurate was an equaliser at Bolton in a 1-1 draw, although another report I have on the game marks ours down as an own goal, forced by Setters’ pressure). But I think he merits an entry for unparalleled contrast between the scale of the fanfare which marked his arrival and the brevity of his stay.

We signed Setters in February 1970, on a free transfer from Coventry (but with reports talking of a signing-on fee of £10,000), presumably at the request of manager Eddie Firmani. The 1969/70 season was a tough one for us, coming straight after the glorious near miss for promotion of 1968/69. In reality it merely made that season the exception to the norm as we were back struggling against relegation. In what looks now a real act of desperation Setters, then aged 33 and with a dodgy knee (a quote from one report at the time read “my knee will never be as good as it was, but it will see me through a couple more seasons and I don’t think Charlton are looking for more than that”). One article on the signing is headlined “Setters hoists the Jolly Roger at Charlton”, another “I saved Coventry and now for Charlton”.

Setters came into the side and we did seem to be grinding out some points here and there. But then came a home match against Leicester. We began with Mike Kenning switched to left-back and by half-time the score was 0-4. Reports say we improved after the break and we ended up losing only 0-5. The following Monday, Easter Monday, Firmani was sacked, with Theo Foley moved up from assistant manager to acting manager, presumably with the brief to avoid relegation or leave. And Foley’s first act was to drop Setters (along with Harry Gregory and Dennis Booth, with Brian Kinsey back in together with transfer-listed Peter Reeves) for his first game at home to QPR. We drew that one 1-1 and later, when it came to the final game of the season, beat Bristol City 2-1, with goals from Alan Campbell and Ray Treacy (we conceded with two minutes left, which might have been nail-biting but we were used to it at the time), to avoid the drop by two points.

Setters seems to have stayed on our books through the 1970/71 season – when we repeated and ended third from bottom (we were relegated the next season) - but never appeared for us again, departing on a free transfer at the end of that campaign (he went on to manage Doncaster).

So he will be remembered - no doubt with affection, at least among those who weren’t tackled by him - for his better times elsewhere, a Charlton career that was just a brief chapter before the boots were hung up for good as a player. But that doesn’t change the history books. He wore the shirt.