Charlton Athletic 2 Portsmouth 2
Not really sure how to react to that. The game showed us good, mediocre and bad. There was good character to come back twice from behind, but the 1st half was very poor and Pompey should have been home and hosed by the time we even got going. Yet, even then we had more chances than we’ve had in any home match this season.
Do these two draws paper over the cracks or do they delay the inevitable? Trouble is teams are being picked, formations altered and players switched like it is pre-season, not helped by players not being fit. Nonetheless it is surely time now to dispatch with the 4-2-3-1. It leaves us gaping open at the back and powderpuff in attack.
We were a shambles from the beginning, lacking in organization and so fragile defensively. Backing off, backing off…. Just the 24 more clean sheets required Nige, eh?
Of the three wingers in the squad, only Blackett-Taylor has looked interested and threatening. Adkins has appeared to have forgotten about the other two but CBT changed the dial again when he came on and set up Josh Davison for a deserved goal after his recent outings.
Stockley has gone completely off the boil and I have no idea why Pearce and Watson are both playing. Everytime they get near the ball it’s like watching a puppy cross the road.
There are signs of progress and both Lee and Leko are a big upgrade on what we had previously going forward, and Gilbey is a welcome return. Sean Clare was also very busy and got a vital goal to help turn the home crowd onside.
Even so, we are still 3rd from bottom and the top six are accelerating into the distance. We’ve only won one game in nine, and that was against the side below us.
Nine games, it seems like an eternity, but Adkins has to win on Tuesday.
Mr Positivity: “It’s a good point. We got off to a poort start, but we changes shape, showed some reslience and grew into the game.”
Danny Crowley: “I felt we had complete control in the first half. When you have that dominance you have to convert the chances you make. We forced them into a formation change, they played 4-2-2-2 from 35 minutes.”
Photo credit: Keith Gillard
Chicago Addick 
Hold on there guys we”re on target for 30 points this season, seriously, I think Thomas will hang on to Adkins whatever or so it seems, The championship is more than a million miles away. How we are at the moment the Premier league just will not happen in 5 or 6 years,
CA As you have said, just papering over the cracks. He has absoutely no idea, wholesale changing of players every game, apart from Watson, Stockley and Macgilvery none of the others have no idea, no matter how well they have played, if they will be playing in the next game, be on the bench or not even in the squad!
The first half was dire, why was Arter even on the pitch he wasn’t anywhere fit enough and a yard slower than everyone else, did Adkins just want to give im a run out to try and get his fitness up? He should have been taken off after 30 minutes, not wait until halftime. How does Watson keep starting and given 90 minutes neary every game and how is Pearce, two terrible cock ups one inside the box and the other just outside when he was fanning around and nearly cost us a goal, keeping out Famewo our best defensive player by far, its just a complete joke. Adkins has constantly said he can’t play players for the full 90 minutes until they are fully fit etc, well thats a total contridiction. As why did Gilbey stay on the pitch for the full 90 when he has been out for so long and only played about 15mins the previous game, he was completly knackerd after 15 mins of the second half. Same as Soure at left back he has hardly played any games for the last two years! Then he waits until 8 minutes to bring on two subs, who were the ones by shear luck to have got him his get out of jail card! Plus how long does it take for Charlton to get a sub on, surely they don’t have to go through a menu of instructions for 5 minutes, when they have already lost that time on the pitch and now only have 8 left.
I think he has lost the dressing room with quite a few players, did you see him shouting at Macgivrey to kick the ball up quickley to the front players. Macgilvery took one look at him then turned away and totally snubbed Adkins who continued for several minutes shouting and trying to get his attention, then finally turned to Jackson when it was obvious he was listening and put his arms up with dismay, it was actually quite comical.
As someone said to us outside, before the game, Stockley is a one trick pony up front by himself and managers are all wise to his capabilities now and just stick two defenders on him. Yesterday he did absolutely nothing and when he came on to replace Davidson last week no impact whatsoever, unfortuntely hes not an Aneke and is nowhere in the same league of holding up the ball and taking defenders on and also scoring. Stockley only really thrives on balls coming over, but with all our wingers, none seem capable of putting decent crosses over for him, it’s not playing to his strengths. So with the current way we try and play forward, Davidson should be given a run in the team, but MR A won’t, as doesn’t want to upset certain players by leaving them out for more than one game!
The game against Bolton has surely to be his last, unless he suddenly produces a wonder display, by his totally disorganised Charlton team.
The only reason I can see that he played Arter and Watson together was to make up for each other’s deficiencies. Watson’s age and Arter’s fitness. It was like having a colander in central midfield