Starting XI
This was the team that started yesterday to round off the pre-season games at Craven Cottage. We lost 1-0 to a team described as a level or two above us, which galls me but that is because of my own unerring enmity of the Fulham 🤷♂️
With Alex Gilbey recovering from Covid and Ronnie Schwartz “still some way of inclusion” then that ladies and gentlemen is that.
With more rumours of the Russian Olympic Committee athletes being clean that Addicks’ transfer targets, and just a week left even smiley Nige resorted to the old time will tell mantra. He didn’t learn that at positivity school.
Add hamstrung Ben Purrington and long-term injured Jake Forster-Caskey then that is a 17-man squad plus a load of untried youngsters.
In that 17 I included Josh Davidson, who looks like being primed for the number two striker role behind Stockley and Ashley Maynard Brewer soon to be back from Japan after three games on the bench for Australia.
Adkins said that he will make a decision this week on trialist Madger Gomes, but the midfielder released by Doncaster Rovers after making 9 League One appearances last season does not set the pulse racing.
I am happy to see that Thomas has completed the rebuilding of the women’s team, maybe he can now start on the men’s.
Chicago Addick 
Spot on again CA, I was thinking that myself yesterday, as it appears theres more signing of new players in the Womens team than the Mens!
Also totally agree about Gomes, nothing special at all and just another player who has done the rounds and then each time been moved on elsewhere, as they weren’t up to it. Signing Gomes would just be another panic signing to make up the numbers, as we have done many times over the last seasons.
I thought we were finally now past signing these type of players!
Though at least he may be better than Watson, who for the fifteen or so minutes he played yesterday, spent more time waving his arms around telling everyone else who to mark whilst he just ambled about as the Fulham players glided past him with ease.
Mike – don’t get me started on Watson….
exactly
Agree with everything you’ve said CA.Six days away from the start of a new campaign and a distinct lack of new faces.
I still think we need five or six incomings,all of which should be of the quality to be included into the squad’s starting eleven immediately if called upon.At the moment we are very light in every department,with the only cover being provided by youngsters from the academy.
What worries me is Adkins persistently saying’We have a good spirit in the squad,all the youngsters are doing very very well’.
That may be so,but to get promoted from a league which every season is getting more and more competitive,we also need fit experienced players that have shown their capabilities in a promotion push.Does Adkins really believe he has that with the present squad ?
Lets hope there are some more decent incommings in the next few weeks,and we are not just in the queue for ‘the best of the rest’ loan signings again on deadline day.!!!!
Greg Brown…..A Yorkshire Addick.
Well said but his body language after the Fulham game was very bad and he swerved several questions and maybe a bit harsh and have stated this before does he sounds exactly like Gobbo and voice and all.
“We have a good spirit in the camp” Hello it is not a holiday camp and easy money Watson waving his arms around and nothing else.
We need 5 or 6 more players but lucky to get even one!!
I thought yesterday’s game was poor. I would make significant changes for the ShW game. I think we need more creativity and energy in the side so I would play Davison up front with DJ and Stockley and drop Washington back into a midfield role as he is a good technical player with a good football brain, frankly I am not impressed with Clare so far, he may need more time to settle to do himself justice. Davison is a better hold up player than Stockley who is an aerial threat but limited on the deck and back to goal. Of course we may recruit some quality players this week but I am not confident we will. Gomes would be just another mediocre squad player so I would steer clear.
We still have room for another three loanees and these traditionally don’t arrive until after the start of the season – their paret clubs like a full pre-season with them first. Gallen/Adkins will have a few lined up.
But we still need a few full team players. Although we have a decent starting XI that won’t last – injuries and suspensions will kick in and we still have covid hanging over us and that can wreak havoc at a moment’s notice.
All in all the spine of the team looks ok – we have from the goalkeeper to centre forward sorted, but it’s the peripheral players that need sorting.
Just as well CA that you reside outside of the UK or the “We should be grateful” brigade would be after you for daring to have an opinion on the thinness of the squad!
17 first teamers is an alarmingly low number and if injuries occur, which they inevitably will, as they did last season, Charlton’s season could collapse. We fans were all so pleased that TS saved the club and we are indebted to him for not only saving the club but for engaging so positively with the fanbase. Fans might well have been satisfied just to have a club to support. However, some fans also need to remember that it was TS who raised the stakes by lifting expectation levels for next season with talk of PL football within 5 years, and NA saying that it will be Charlton emulating Hull City’s promotion celebrations at The Valley next May. If a strict budget was always going to be ‘the order of the day’ then it might have been wiser to tone down the euphoria? The style of play, high press, and the emergence of some of the talented youngsters during pre-season has been very encouraging but we should not put too much pressure on the youngsters to deliver. l can’t wait to be at The Valley on Saturday to give Thomas the welcome he deserves. I am optimistic for a good season but l would be more confident if the team had that necessary strength in depth made up of quality additions that is obviously still lacking. Apologies if having an opinion offends some people.
NA – and everyone is entitled to an opinion. I try to be somewhere in the middle between why aren’t we spending fortunes to aren’t we lucky to have a club. I want to see a plan for steady growth, year on year improvement with ambition and messaging to match.
Charlton fans are not stupid, no one should be coaxed into the European football in 15 years promise, but equally we are too big a club to have spent 5 of the last 6 years in the 3rd Division.
Chicago Addict
No team is too big for this league and look at the many teams in it to confirm and no team entitled to walk away with is like Ipswich and Wigan and spending money does not guarantee success at all but yes the expectation levels have gone right out of proportion and we know who have done this.
Steady improvement is needed every year but European football in 5 years. Come on.
Norfolk red 2000 per cent spot on and like in real life out there no one likes to hear the truth.
Hi CA – happy new season. And for once I haven’t got a list of 20 new names with their positions and where they’ve come from that I’ve got to learn, so I, for one, am happy! Bring on the youngsters I say. I’ve been paying into Valley Gold since 1992 – about time some of these youngsters were in the first team and actually stayed with us for a few seasons. And you know my old-fashioned feelings about loan players. If we have to babysit for a greedy premiership side that has too many players on its books lets make it just a couple please – and not at the expense of our own youngsters.
Our season tickets arrived and they are sitting on the kitchen table and I smile every time I see them – my stomach is already fluttering. Not just because of the start of a season but of course because of the normality of it – and also the moment we get to thank Thomas properly. I know I’ll be in floods of tears.
But once the game starts if they start doing this ridiculous building from the back and giving absolutely unforgivable goals away (I refer to Palarse’s first goal – and goals too numerous to mention last season) they will certainly hear me- and Thomas may get a flavour of what a large crowd of unhappy fans sounds like.
Not going to think about that until 5.30 pm – just going to enjoy the absolute excitment of the day.
LP – I need a like 👍 button, no better than that, I need a love ❤️ button.
This is going to be the most interesting season ever. I slagged off the Belgium owner for not bring any players in when he owned the club. Now we have a new owner and Manager who wants to bring in young players with longer contracts. Well we lost 10-12players from last year and brought in 5. We have 1 goalkeeper 3 centre halves , 1 winger and 2 strikers who are fit and 1 who has just come back from his summer holidays. I know that the under 23 are going to be used and the only other player we will likely bring in is the winger who has been on trial . If we finish mid table this will be a great achievement. It’s a long season for young legs and you need more players with tough mental strengths and know how to win this league. I hope I’m wrong ?