Posts
Well I got the score wrong ... my prediction was 3-1 ... but at least I had the 2 goal differential correct. This was always going to be a potential banana-skin game for Charlton, just as with Scunny last season, but a stronger defence ensured that this time we got through with all 3 points.
We had a dream start with the well-taken goal from Hudson, and despite a good passing game from Swansea, I didn't feel as if we were ever going to lose this game ... although I won't deny that the 2nd goal came as quite a relief. As can often be the case it is not always easy playing against 10 men, as we did from the 70th minute, and Swansea seemed to overcome the loss of their captain pretty well. I know that managers often tend not to see the truth of the matter with sendings-off, but Martinez should have been more accepting that Monk had to go, it was a bad tackle on Holland.
The Swansea fans did exactly as expected and were in full voice throughout most of the game ... there was a fair bit of noise from the Covered End but once again,the acoustics of a full Jimmy Seed stand drowned out our singing ... and I am only 2 blocks away from the Covered End in the East stand.
As for the team, there were a number of bright spots, but at times we did not look as comfortable as we should ... with a smallish squad, they will get a lot more time to play together and hopefully can gel and improve the confidence.
Weaver - reasonable game, not severely tested, and managed to scramble away a shot near the end with a strong punch.
Semedo - as previous readers of my blog are aware, I am a fan of Semedo, but he didn't seem at his best today. More to come, and I see him as a key player in the team
Youga - some excellent play at times, and good link-up work on the wing with Thomas.
Hudson - very good debut, well-taken goal, and looked strong. Cannot be a coincidence that our defence looked less vulnerable with him in the team.
Fortune - not convinced that he is the right player to take us through, but needs must in current circumstances. Perhaps I am too hard on him, as he should be good enough at this level. But he has under-achieved for a long time. As Steve Brown has said in the past, we should be seeing more from Fortune.
Sam - had a reasonable game, and I expect to see further improvement in the next few games.
Racon - liked him a lot. Made some excellent passes, and caused a few problems for Swansea.
Shelvey - I cannot say any more than the comments made by Pards, 'Jonjo worked very hard but he was caught in the headlights a little bit. He'll learn from that though.' Exactly as I saw it. But I am still concerned, for selfish reasons, that the press are building him up so much. If he can have a quiet game, and we still win, then that works for me. I don't want him to yet have a high profile before the January transfer window. I have just been re-reading Mick Collins book, The Rise and Rise of Charlton Athletic, and the reminder that West Ham took Jermaine Defoe a month before his 17th birthday has resonations that I do not want to see again ... Shelvey is 17 in February!
Thomas - had a good game, and I hope he continues like this. But he still has a lot of fans working against him ... there is a woman behind me who seems to spend most games slating Thomas ... OK, a lot of the time he deserves it, but yesterday she totally ignored the many bright spots, and as soon as he made one bad move, screamed abuse ... and she is not the only one. It doesn't help!
Varney - still not doing what we expect him to do ... he should have had a goal today, and I hope he can develop the partnership with Gray which will take us up.
Gray - still more improvement needed, but he is getting there ... and with a goal, I'm not going to complain too much.
As for the subs, Holland looked his normal industrious self, and will be a good player to have on the bench for certain games. Basey looks bigger and stronger each time I see him ... definitely a key player for the future. Too soon to comment on Bouazza, but he appears to be a good loan signing.
My original prediction for the season was very optimistic, and not in line with most fans, as I predicted we will finish 2nd behind Birmingham ... and our current position (admittedly after one game) is ... 2nd.
After yesterday's game, my revised prediction in 5th ... more realistic, and it will be interesting to see how my viewpoint changes over the course of the season.
These things take time - The Smiths
We had a dream start with the well-taken goal from Hudson, and despite a good passing game from Swansea, I didn't feel as if we were ever going to lose this game ... although I won't deny that the 2nd goal came as quite a relief. As can often be the case it is not always easy playing against 10 men, as we did from the 70th minute, and Swansea seemed to overcome the loss of their captain pretty well. I know that managers often tend not to see the truth of the matter with sendings-off, but Martinez should have been more accepting that Monk had to go, it was a bad tackle on Holland.
The Swansea fans did exactly as expected and were in full voice throughout most of the game ... there was a fair bit of noise from the Covered End but once again,the acoustics of a full Jimmy Seed stand drowned out our singing ... and I am only 2 blocks away from the Covered End in the East stand.
As for the team, there were a number of bright spots, but at times we did not look as comfortable as we should ... with a smallish squad, they will get a lot more time to play together and hopefully can gel and improve the confidence.
Weaver - reasonable game, not severely tested, and managed to scramble away a shot near the end with a strong punch.
Semedo - as previous readers of my blog are aware, I am a fan of Semedo, but he didn't seem at his best today. More to come, and I see him as a key player in the team
Youga - some excellent play at times, and good link-up work on the wing with Thomas.
Hudson - very good debut, well-taken goal, and looked strong. Cannot be a coincidence that our defence looked less vulnerable with him in the team.
Fortune - not convinced that he is the right player to take us through, but needs must in current circumstances. Perhaps I am too hard on him, as he should be good enough at this level. But he has under-achieved for a long time. As Steve Brown has said in the past, we should be seeing more from Fortune.
Sam - had a reasonable game, and I expect to see further improvement in the next few games.
Racon - liked him a lot. Made some excellent passes, and caused a few problems for Swansea.
Shelvey - I cannot say any more than the comments made by Pards, 'Jonjo worked very hard but he was caught in the headlights a little bit. He'll learn from that though.' Exactly as I saw it. But I am still concerned, for selfish reasons, that the press are building him up so much. If he can have a quiet game, and we still win, then that works for me. I don't want him to yet have a high profile before the January transfer window. I have just been re-reading Mick Collins book, The Rise and Rise of Charlton Athletic, and the reminder that West Ham took Jermaine Defoe a month before his 17th birthday has resonations that I do not want to see again ... Shelvey is 17 in February!
Thomas - had a good game, and I hope he continues like this. But he still has a lot of fans working against him ... there is a woman behind me who seems to spend most games slating Thomas ... OK, a lot of the time he deserves it, but yesterday she totally ignored the many bright spots, and as soon as he made one bad move, screamed abuse ... and she is not the only one. It doesn't help!
Varney - still not doing what we expect him to do ... he should have had a goal today, and I hope he can develop the partnership with Gray which will take us up.
Gray - still more improvement needed, but he is getting there ... and with a goal, I'm not going to complain too much.
As for the subs, Holland looked his normal industrious self, and will be a good player to have on the bench for certain games. Basey looks bigger and stronger each time I see him ... definitely a key player for the future. Too soon to comment on Bouazza, but he appears to be a good loan signing.
My original prediction for the season was very optimistic, and not in line with most fans, as I predicted we will finish 2nd behind Birmingham ... and our current position (admittedly after one game) is ... 2nd.
After yesterday's game, my revised prediction in 5th ... more realistic, and it will be interesting to see how my viewpoint changes over the course of the season.
These things take time - The Smiths
2 comments:
You can't keep changing your mind ;)
agreed ... but I probably will ;)
Post a Comment