Peterborough United 1 Charlton Athletic 0
For years now this team has been under-funded and therefore lacking quality in match-winning areas. Youngsters have filled holes, loan players have occasionally taken us up a level, but only temporarily.
This team, not squad, this team needs players. Possibly just 2 or 3 before the end of August, but we really can’t afford to wait one more day to get in a striker to play alongside Alfie May.
Miles Leaburn would make a big difference but the lack of creativity and depth of squad at this point in time points to another mediocre season.
And, incredulously the injuries mount. Again.
The effort was more than there today, and there were some positives, but I am trying hard to fathom a style, possibly because we have not got the players to play in a formation and style that Holden wants. I could really just cut and paste that and change the managers name to Bowyer, Adkins, Jackson or Garner couldn’t I?
Peterborough are always competitive in this division and undoubtedly will be in amongst it again this season. The two sides were evenly matched and at the end of the day it was our own error that gave them the 3 points.
Yet, there was more to it than that. Posh were sharper, quicker and had more structure with more inventive patterns of play. We had to solely rely on CBT to surge into the left side of the box and create a chance. Other than that killer tactic we were unimaginative.
I thought Ness was better today, Camara impressed again other than the goal error, Anderson and Asiimwe did nothing wrong. Maynard Brewer kept it to one against and the latest partner to May, Jack Payne hustled.
Other than the last minute corner flying out (I could have put the house on that) Edun looked exciting again when he came on. Dobbo I thought had a very good game,
Holden needs support from the ownership, which we all accept will mean players leaving. Well, let’s get on with that and for once give a manager, who is judged on success, a chance to produce some.
An important week at The Valley ahead.
MoM: CBT
Dean Holden: “It’s a really poor goal. I’m finding myself saying that a lot at the moment. There’s nothing between the teams at that point. We should clear it but they open us up and score from it.”
Elsewhere in L1: Bolton look to be setting the standard with a second 3-0 win, this time at Cheltenham. Pompey put Leyton Orient to bed easily 4-0 in East London and Stevenage beat Shrewsbury 2-0. Wigan got a second win over Northampton and are now on -2 points and Port Vale bounced back from last week’s trouncing at Barnsley by beating Reading 1-0.
Injuries, insufficient players of the appropriate quality, give away a goal on the stroke of half-time………………………………………..
I’m sure we’ve been here before
There must be something drastically wrong with our training/physio/fitness department, as the last three seasons has seen injury after injury….most of them not just for two games, but for months at a time or more !!!
If the new hierarchy want success they need to put their hands into their pockets now and recruit some quality and experience because by the end of the transfer window we are quite likely to be down to bare bones and kids, and already 10 or 12 points behind the top six……as I said earlier in the week ‘same old same old’…..the supporters deserve better than that.
I couldn’t agree more regards your comments, sadly this has happened far too frequently in recent years. I’ve never known a club accumulate so many injured players, which is now affecting our younger players coming through. We desperately need a bigger mobile player alongside Alfie May NOW. Give Holden the tools and he might produce the goods. Fingers crossed, but not holding my breath.
Agree with Greg these injuries each season are becoming a joke! In fact this seasons start after just two games played before this one, must be the worst for injuries, I actually thought we had got rid of the previous incompetent physios and so called specialists, obviously not! Or are these really mainly due to the training methods?
Something somewhere is wrong, you can obviously have a bad year with injuries, but not every season. The strange fact is that it always seems the better players appear to mostly get these, whereas the ones who are pretty much rubbish stay injury free!
We definately have an issue with the frequency of injuries to our key players.
Football in this league is very physical and demanding on players bodies, but I’ve never recalled having so many players being affected….Dean will need to examine our training methods and seek advice and support from our medical and fitness team.
Today we shot ourselves in the foot and errors need to be eradicated where possible.
I’m still very optimistic but it’s going to be a long long season ahead.
Please please bin the all black kit….Ferguson had the same issue when Manchester United wore grey.
Why didn’t they wear red today?
Have to ask same as you CA, there was no conflict if they did.
It’s a marketing ploy ?
I thought the delay that seemed to slow the takeover would hamper us being ready to compete. Then we have the ridiculous challenge on Miles at Welling. Now we continue our unbelievable injury shenanigans. Whilst I’m happy with the quality of recruitment so far, I’m not with the quantity. If this new dawn of ownership is intending to really have a go at top six they have 3 weeks to prove it. 4-6 more of the same calibre and two of them need to be strikers regardless of whether they can offload our deadwood or not.
The dallying by the SMT to sign more player’s that Charlton clearly need is so frustrating and it characterises previous seasons – not enough quality player’s. The club recently urged fans to buy a season ticket proclaiming “you know you wanna”! Well give us some hope and you might just get your wish Charlton!
I think Doug Morrison’s ‘competent psychologist’ needs employing urgently: to advise on eradication of black kit (black FGS!) and to rapidly create a winning team morale or it’s going to be another season down the pan. (OK, I know DH has to really do well here too.)
This was no collapse, disappointing to lose of course and clearly signings are needed and quick. Miles getting injured preseason was a massive blow and as for sick note – who? We need another striker pronto. A win Tuesday night will give us all a lift, here’s hoping….
Frustrating – but we were without five creative and or attacking players – no Miles Leaburn, Scott Fraser, Tyreece Campbell, DJ and Chuks Aneke. At least I think DJ’s on the injury list. This left us with the shortest forward line I’ve ever seen – Jack Payne and Alfie May. We can be angry at Miles Leaburn getting clogged at Welling but his return hardly gives us the depth that we need for a long season. We know we need another striker even with him fit. Dean Holden said prior to KO that Fraser and TC will be out for a few weeks.
That said we battled hard and it took one mistake by Camara who got robbed for Peterborough to get the goal that won them the game, Alfie May had our best opportunity but snatched at a three-quarter chance ultimately we failed to make the possession we had count. We were just a bit too easy to defend against and our set up didn’t play into our strengths.
We need to get in reinforcements in ASAP – we are out of the league cup so no excuses there. This first month is important in getting some early points on the board. We need to be careful that we don’t end up giving ourselves too much ground to make up later in the season.
I am worried about last minute buying in the transfer window. Unless it is one that has been ongoing for a while and just held up by fees and personal terms. I am thinking that unsigned players at the end of the window often have issues like being injury prone or being disruptive influences in the changing room or at training. Like everything else in this world, you get what you pay for.