Charlton Athletic 2 Cambridge United 2
I’ll lay that one at the door of Michael Appleton.
To start with it was an odd line-up where he persisted with Fraser, isolated our biggest threat in May and started Rylah, only just 18, when he clearly wasn’t ready.
Why manager’s insist of playing formations when they haven’t got the players is something I, tactically green, will never understand.
The 1st half was appalling – was that what we should expect after the recent cup exits on our return to The Valley?
I don’t quite agree with Neil Harris, ex of “the big club down the road,” but his new side should have been ahead at the break. It was as if we didn’t expect them to chuck loads of balls into the box and for them to exalt chaos, of which there was much.
Another dreadful half of football, but at least we were still level, and somehow we have Alfie May.
May, suddenly looking more threatening with Kanu joining as an aggressive spoiler at the break, opened the scoring after excellent work by the youngster freshly back from his loan spell at Southend.
CBT, uninterested in the 1st half, caught fire too and for half hour was causing all kinds of problems down their left. One piece of trickery where he danced into the box like a young John Travolta saw him lift over a peach of a cross and from nowhere the exonerated Chem Campbell bounced into the box and headed home.
Our midfielders never score goals like that, and although Campbell (C) had a quiet game, he did show a couple of flashes and that was one of them.
So 2-0 and thoughts were to who would get our third. It’ll be nice if it was Kanu I thought. Nah, don’t be silly.
I could see Neil Harris’ smile from here when CBT was replaced with Campbell (T), who I think did not touch the ball the whole time he was on. Then we sat back and invited Cambridge back into it and with our defence an unmarked goal from a set-piece is a dead cert.
2-1, and then Appleton takes off our most energetic outlet in May and brings on Elerewe, who was playing for Bromley last week. ‘There you go Neil, have another go,’ the substitute board might well as read!
Micah Mbick had already joined the rest of the youth team on the pitch and the head coach wonders why we haven’t got the nous to see the game out.
It wasn’t a penalty of course, but I am starting to be beyond caring!
MoM: Hector was very good yesterday, even though we cannot keep a clean sheet.
Appleton of my eye: As I said down to him this one. I understand the lack of options and experienced players but that is what they look to him for. Post match interviews are starting to grate.
Elsewhere: Peterborough have scored more goals this decade in the EFL than anyone else, and yesterday they scored 3 more at home to Oxford. Derby did likewise at the O’s. Barnsley beat Reading away 3-1 and Stevenage won at Burton, which got their manager the boot. These sides are so much better than us. Pompey and Bolton play on the TV Monday.
Boy oh boy !!!
I still fail to understand why Appleton fails to get Louie Watson on in the dying embers of the game ? Cambridge could smell blood and what did Appleton do put on an inexperienced player that played into their hands….so once again we gift a result to the opposition.
Watson frustration was very evident at the end of the game and he deserves better.
This was a other game where we were in control and still need to learn how to see out the game….we are becoming a very soft touch and a promotion place seems light years away.
The boos at the end said it all and “goodwill to all men” will not be a seasonal greeting to the management.
Said it before on here CA. The appointment of Appleton was an underwhelming one at the time based on his track record, and I have seen nothing in the last four months that inspires me to think he will make us a top six team, regardless of what happens in the window. (Which I am expecting to be as bad as the last six or seven ). Random team selection, random formations, random substitutions and random after match statements. I swear he sees a different 90 mins to the rest of us. I reckon he will soon join the list of previous managers that were relieved of their jobs, but are still on the payroll !!!
Shocking first half performance and completely agree with you CA on Appleton’s team selection plus with his main comments on being the foul was outside the box so it wasn’t a penalty rather than, siting the dreadful performances of many of the players, was really annoying! Get real Appleton, we were lucky we didn’t lose the match, it was pitful defending again, with some of your choice of subs at the end, a complete mystery to everyone in the ground!
Apart from Dobson we have no midfield! Fraser yet again failed to put one tackle in, yet Appleton said afterwards some of the smaller lesser framed players have to more or less get stuck in when required, but obviously this doesn’t apply to his favourite Frasier, who in his eyes never puts a foot wrong!
Louis Watson has been a bit of a hit and miss, Chet Campbell similar and McGrandles who looked a bit better in his last couple of games has been really poor and is always injured, but at least he did get stuck in when he played so did the other two, unlike Frasier who nances around just pointing, telling all the other players around him who to mark and track etc when defending, whilst he trots around never putting an actual meanful tackle in!
So at present we just have one really decent quality midfielder Dobson, who can’t do it all on his own and will probably be off once a good club comes in for him!
Plus a defence who continually can’t seem to outjump attackers on set pieces and corners and also prefer to stand almost on the goaline rather than actually marking the opposing players, surely Appleton or one of his cronnies must see this, as the TV pundits like us, can see this in every game? Please get a quality defensive coach in, as obviously the current one who is responsible is out of his depth and maybe would be better used driving a coach, though he probably would get it stuck in reverse!
Lets face it without Alfie May, we would be in the bottom four, and Cheltenham would be half way up the table!
Spot on as usual. I’d just like to throw Ashley Maynard Brewer’s name in for MOM
I don’t like to pick on individuals. But Mbick, who may run the opposition ragged in the youth team, is no where near ready for League one men’s football.
The only thing we’ll win this year is ‘the most injured players in a squad’ championship. But then we win that every year.
I’m pretty stunned that 21 days before transfer window starts our manager has no idea what the percentage is of two of our main players being avaable for selection due to contract discussions! Either %age is high on remaining and he’s comfortable/ happy or it’s not and he’s in discussions re planning for adequate capable replacements- stunned!!
Appleton showed his management skill when he choose the
team to play Footscray, It was a waste of a game he could have
used it to get the team know what other members do.
It was also disgrace to the fans that paid good money , FA cup, and Footscray. Since then
I think it showed he can not see what is going on the pitch
I think by now we’ve seen, and heard, enough from Appleton to add him to the list of other average journeymen managers that have gone before him.
Like so many, he has no Plan B – let alone C – to change tactics during a game and some of his substitutions have been ludicrous.
I watched the scores on Sky Saturday and when Cambridge scored I said to my wife (who knows beggar-all about football) “here we go again – we’ll do well to get a point out of this…” She replied that Charlton were still winning 2-1 and was surprised when I said “….. not for long….” And Lo doth lowly Cambridge from a cattle-shed of a ground duly equalise on cue!
There are two wise men sitting in a studio in the East Stand week after week talking the only sense to come out of the Valley – yet they remain there with their vast insight and experience un-used.
Curbs and Brownie your time may yet come – what a dream ticket that would be!
So, back to reality and the transfer window cometh. Our best players will leave before they are worthless to the club when out of contract this summer, but who will come in? Does Appleton have a clue? Mmm probably not as he can’t even use what he has at present in any meaningful way – but that doesn’t matter because the funds for any decent defenders, midfielders, front-line support probably won’t be coming from the owners …. unless they send the hat around to their chancer-mates across the pond (oops, sorry, I mean “investors”) and get some dosh into the club.
Which leaves us with gruel for a Christmas present instead of a well-stuffed turkey, and another season of division 1 to look forward to in August IF we don’t slip down the table into the bottom 4.
Top 6??? Yer ‘aving a laugh…..
The way things are going while Alfie chases Haaland for the number of goals scored in 2023, Charlton are chasing the Tory party as to who has more changes at the top in a year…..
the selections and substitute (non)decisions get more bizarre every game. Rylah was always going to be a risk and unluckily for him he got a couple of bad bounces right at the start and his confidence evaporated – Apples leaves him on for 45 we’re effectively down to 10 more like 9.5 with Chem Campbell’s avoidance of space and ball
Everything Apples did after the Kanu introduction made things worse
Louie Watson must have spat in Apple’s lunch and scratched his car to be the least favoured member of our depleted midfield
The division is crap and Apples barely measures up