Charlton Athletic 0 Wigan Athletic 0
An eventful night for me in the Bahamas (more on that later) meant I wasn’t paying as close attention to the Sunday afternoon happenings at The Valley as usual but I’ll take a point and another valuable clean sheet.
Wigan still have some obvious remnants of a Premiership side. I understand Emmerson Boyce was excellent as an example. Whilst the Europa Cup has taken a lot of wind out of the likeable Owen Coyle’s sails, Wigan still possess a team and a bank balance to do this division justice and I am sure the Latics will be in the mix come May.
Mind you Wigan have also found goals troublesome. £2 million signing Grant Holt has only scored twice, the same tally as Marvin Sordell. Food for thought.
It is however pretty obvious where the Addicks’ problems lie and Johnnie Jackson is missed not just for his leadership qualities but also for his habit of grabbing decisive goals. Post game the focus was on the extent of Yann’s recurrence of his ankle injury, but although I love the Frenchman as much as the next man, I was probably more concerned over Richard Wood.
The ex-Cov centre-half has been a revelation since coming into the side and I credit him with the vast improvement in performances of Wiggins, Hamer and Morrison in particular. Plus our clean-sheet record speaks for itself.
Another point against a good side in front of a Premiership-sized crowd – 3,000 more than there were at Selhurst Park for the visit of Arsenal.
Addick Bloggers at The Valley: Drinking During the Game; Stickleback; Chris Powell’s Flat Cap; Blackheath Addick; Valley Talk
Powell-ometer: Kermorgant’s return backfired but one can understand why Powell took the decision to play him. Powell has purposely re-worked his priorities and started with his defence, now time to concentrate of finding goals.
Elsewhere: Burnley flexed their promotion muscles beating QPR 2-0, Leicester are 2nd after beating Bournemouth 2-1 and Blackpool 4th after a 2-2 draw with local rivals Blackburn. Forest were surprisingly beaten at Yeovil and Huddersfield beat Leeds 3-2 in a the game of the day. Millwall grabbed a late equaliser at Reading, Derby and Birmingham drew as did Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday and Bolton and Ipswich. In a weekend of draws Brighton and Watford also shared the points Monday tonight.
However large Holt’s transfer fee it was worth every penny when compared to Marvin Sodall. If MS put in the sort of shift that Holt delivered on Sunday, he’d already be a Valley favourite and Charlton would be a few points better off. Holt, playing up on his own, never stopped moving harrying barging and generally making a proper nuisance of himself, he kept Morrison and Wood busy, even if he only had a couple of half chances to score. In stark contrast to MS – when he came on, Church was effectively up front on his own as MS concertedly did nothing other than concede possession at the earliest opportunity while expending negligible effort. Late on, Holt ran 25 yards to fetch a ball for a throw in and 25 yards back into the box – a single more significant positive contribution than MS managed. When subbed Holt ran off quick as he could, no sign of dissent, faster than MS managed at any stage. Wigan’s extra man in midfield for most of the game counted for nothing, Charlton only matched them up when Jackson came on and MS was shifted wider. Wigan’s lack of goals is more down to lack of service than striker ineffectiveness. The fact that Holt and Sordell are both nominally strikers is coincidental – there is no reasonable comparison to be made in their respective performances – as for “value” Holt is the bargain.
Thanks SCN. Holt’s story is one to inspire any footballer in the lower divisions. Sordell could certainly take a leaf out of his book or otherwise he will join the ranks of those having a career the complete opposite of Grant Holt’s.