Charlton Post-match

[Happy Fox]

I was at the game. We dominated the first 20 mins and were caught with their first shot of the game. We weren't in it for the rest of the half, and could easily have gone in 3 down. Beckfords runs were good, but his control, awareness and passing were poor. For some reason we were just lumping long balls to vardy all of the first half. Marshall had 3 men on him at all times and simply couldn't get a touch.

Second half we controlled it. However, I was fed up with Morgan's distribution... The classic hoof down the middle EVERY time. And every time it gave possession away. Our midfield was much stronger second half. But same old Leicester Dyer missed a sitter, nugent missed when easier to score and vardy missed his sitter in the last minute.

It's all well and good people saying we are only two games in, but if we want promotion we have to win these games! For me nothing has changed vs last season. Say what you like about the second half performance but we still got no points! It's points that get u promoted not performances.

It is quite concerning that we cannot bury these chances we have but I rather it was at this stage of the season than come the end where the promotion picture comes into shape something to work on.

Anyway if we can pick up 3 points at Blackburn than this loss won't seem bad at all.

[mhewitt3]

There was a positive at the start of the game. I went to the match with the main sponsors with my little boy. Managed to get him in their Directors box wearing his full (away) kit and we went on to the centre circle at kick off to have our photo taken with the ref etc. His Leicester shirt will now be in their next programme and all promotional material for the next game. Didn’t go down too well with the Charlton supporters as we were waiting to go on which made it even better ha ha. Thank you to those of you who clapped him as we walked off.

Even funnier after the match as he had his photo taken with Bradley Wright-Phillips as he was handed his man of the match champagne. Not sure it was a popular choice, particularly with Jim Davidson who was in the box with us (though to his credit he had played football with my little boy earlier in the evening).

Also got to meet Waghorn, King and Danns too as we waited to go on the pitch. King was brilliant with my boy and Waghorn shook my hand and had a brief chat. Really great blokes.

[Babylon]

Also got to meet Waghorn, King and Danns too as we waited to go on the pitch. King was brilliant with my boy and Waghorn shook my hand and had a brief chat. Really great blokes.

Was Danns too busy on twitter

[kylestyle06]

Was Danns too busy on twitter

Or busy promoting his iPhone app?

[marbelladave]

4-4-fooking-2, wide open and away from home, Charlton said thanks very much and grabbed a 2 goal lead.......

What happened after that was largely irrelevant, we were never likely to come back from that.

If we are going to play 4-4-2 we need to strengthen central midfield, expecting Steve Benson and Billy Hedges in on loan next week......

[chris_lcfc_85]

Im not worried at all. We're 2 games into the season and only one side has won both games.

Our main concern last night was the defence but we have SSL and Zak to come back in so im confident it will get sorted, just give it time.

As NP said afterwards, we created enough chances to win a few games!! We'll not miss that many chances on a regular basis.

If we'd of equalised late on or even won the game, people on here would be praising our desire/spirit so much. Its such a fine line between winning and losing and important not to get too down. If we beat Blackburn, we'll be happy

[Thurmofox]

Right our manager Nigel Pearson was a centre half as a proffesional so I'm baffled at wy our defence is so poor!! I have every faith in our midfield apart from Lloyd & James and our attack is qaulity just look at the chances we created! but our defence is turd...every time the opposition come forward I expect them to score.something needs to be done asap!! Surely our defence would be our strongest area with the manager being defender.

[paulsherwood1]

Im not worried at all. We're 2 games into the season and only one side has won both games.

Our main concern last night was the defence but we have SSL and Zak to come back in so im confident it will get sorted, just give it time.

As NP said afterwards, we created enough chances to win a few games!! We'll not miss that many chances on a regular basis.

If we'd of equalised late on or even won the game, people on here would be praising our desire/spirit so much. Its such a fine line between winning and losing and important not to get too down. If we beat Blackburn, we'll be happy

it's always "if we did" with city. Fact is we didnt equalise, like in so many games last season. It's all well people saying wait until whitbread or st ledger are back, but the would they have stopped either goal? And is it really acceptable to be in game 2 and only have 2 fit centre halves when the manager sold our other Two? Surely he should have had someone in on loan?

Game 2 and we are using injuries as an excuse for poor defending and poor finishing!!!!! Not good enough.

[Guest ttfn]

4-4-fooking-2, wide open and away from home, Charlton said thanks very much and grabbed a 2 goal lead.......

Or, another way to look at it was that the options we had in attacking areas were such that we created enough chances to win the game 3 or 4 times over.

We got hit by a sucker punch in the first half and never really recovered - that had little to do with Pearson's 4-4-2 and was more to do with the failure to defend a set piece and an individual error.

[chris_lcfc_85]

it's always "if we did" with city. Fact is we didnt equalise, like in so many games last season. It's all well people saying wait until whitbread or st ledger are back, but the would they have stopped either goal? And is it really acceptable to be in game 2 and only have 2 fit centre halves when the manager sold our other Two? Surely he should have had someone in on loan?

Game 2 and we are using injuries as an excuse for poor defending and poor finishing!!!!! Not good enough.

Sorry mate but an over reaction!!! Chill out and maybe we can have this debate if we're still doing the same 10/12 games in.

Maybe NP has tried to sign someone on loan but cant get anyone in. I heard rumours Higginbotham wouldnt come because it was just a 'short term filling in' role.

We'll never know whether SSL or Whitbread would of made a difference last night but i personally think they would.

Whitbread partnered De Laet on a few occasions in the Prem for Norwich so not sure why we've not tried De Laet there.

[paulsherwood1]

Sorry mate but an over reaction!!! Chill out and maybe we can have this debate if we're still doing the same 10/12 games in.

Maybe NP has tried to sign someone on loan but cant get anyone in. I heard rumours Higginbotham wouldnt come because it was just a 'short term filling in' role.

We'll never know whether SSL or Whitbread would of made a difference last night but i personally think they would.

Whitbread partnered De Laet on a few occasions in the Prem for Norwich so not sure why we've not tried De Laet there.

It might seem like an over reaction, but I'm just frustrated that things have not changed. I sat there and watched an average team take a 2-0 lead against us. I will be amazed if we get anything from the Blackburn game.

[chris_lcfc_85]

It might seem like an over reaction, but I'm just frustrated that things have not changed. I sat there and watched an average team take a 2-0 lead against us. I will be amazed if we get anything from the Blackburn game.

I appreciate that and absolute credit to you for going down there to watch it.

I'd prob of felt the same if i was there too but im just trying not to dwell on one game.... I know it appears like maybe its not changed from last season but i personally think its unfair to label the side with that after one performance. The next few games will shape how we do and hopefully bounce back

[rich673]

I was there last night, bottom line we dominated at first, Charlton didn't have a look in and we gifted them two goals, due mainly to the fact that our centre-backs probably aren't the level we need to dominate nor have the distribution skills to build movement from the back. But, Morgan is captain so we'll have to live with that.

Finishing was poor in the second half, but at least NP immediately mixed it up at half time by getting rid of the ineffectual Beckford and bringing on Nugent whose workrate almost matches that of Vardy (the lad didn't stop running all night) and King who obviously repaid the compliment by banging one in. The introduction of Knocky was a game-changer for me. He niggles, he's creative, he can work alongside a more robust midfielder like Drinkwater or Danns by picking up the ball and moving it forward or just doing something different with it.

It was very disappointing last night, but credit where it'sdue to Charlton, they were never going to be a push-over and Powell would have the inside knowledge to deal with us (e.g. Marshall being marked out of the game). But, there were positives, De Laet looks quality, his distribution coming out of defence was excellent, there was a particularly well sculpted cross-field ball that shows his class. Drinkwater looked composed in possession and Knocky looks like he could do some real damage in this league.

Dyer needs to be dropped for Knocky and Beckford shouldn't start a game any time soon, every time he got the ball he did nothing with it, he tries clever flicks and moves but he just isn't reading the game well enough for it to work. Vardy/Nugent is a good combo, or as we played last night when Knocky came on, him in the hole behind the main striker with Vardy and Marshall coming in from the wings.

Frustrating, but not the end of the world, the Blackburn game is an important one and we really must get back to back wins earlier this season than we did last!

[CosbehFox]

According to a Charlton fan says it was the best footballing game seen live in a while. Feast of football.

Bit of tweaking here and there.

As for Blackburn, I fancy us. We prefer the underdog role, they were overrun by Ipswich at the weekend and will be playing with 24 hrs more rest than them.

Game against Blackpool is looking a humdinger.

[JohnnyB]

Knockaert should definitely start instead of Dyer and King should replace James. We need more of an attacking threat against Blackburn. Dyer's speed caused a few problems for Charlton back line - but there was just no end product from him and he really should have scored late in the second half.

I think we should stick with Vardy up front; thought he was decent against Charlton and this was only his second performance at this level. He will get better with time.

[Ric Flair]

So many question marks for me already this season. I just worry we're still too much of a work in progress and we'll struggle for consistency again. I hope i'm wrong, but at least it's never dull.

1st half I thought we showed our lack of mental strength, as soon as we shipped a goal it was panic stations and the rest of the half was horrible to watch, which was annoying because the first 15-20 minutes we looked superb. I am sure Powell did his homework though and allowed us the ball and to hit us on the counter attack as soon as we'd got a bit too comfy. Moore was given a torrid evening by BWP and Kermit, and Morgan didn't exactly cover himself in gold. He should have had Yann's number but he never got near him. Drinkwater impressed me throughout, but James struggled and if you play 4-4-2 and 1 of your centre mids is having a shocker then it's a slog.

2nd half we were a lot better, and we needed to be otherwise it could have been a hammering. Andy King is looking every bit as good as he can be, which is a delight to see. He must be the best finisher at this club, does he ever miss first time shots like the 2 he's had already this season? I love him. He also gave us far more presence in midfield and him and Drinkwater were dictating play. Marshall never got in the game but we hardly looked to give him the ball, he was well marked and on these occasions he needs to be allowed to roam as he's so dangerous through the middle.

Lloyd Dyer was abysmal, I had a feeling he was going to have a blinder last night but sadly not. He had so much of the ball but not once did he do anything even remotely threatening. How he missed that chance that Knockaert gave him on a plate is beyond me. What a penis. On to Knockaert! What a talent. Absolutely no fear, just wants the ball and will hurt opposition. I am very, very impressed with him and he's got to start.

Beckford wasn't as bad as people are making out, him and Vardy linked up ok in the first 20 minutes but once we went behind there was absolutely no effort from our midfield to play to their strengths. Nugent was a menace, but he should have scored. This is the problem with these two, they are too inconsistent for my liking. You don't know what you're going to get, one game they are mustard and the next they are appalling.

Vardy worked his arse off and that sitter he missed will haunt him if he doesn't put one away in the league soon. It was a gift, but he might have been taken by surprise as there's no way he expected Morgan to stride forward and get that cross in, I was gobsmacked. Haha. I'm hoping he eases the pressure with some early goals as I can tell he's a good player.

I hope Pearson knows what he's doing, i've got a horrible feeling we're still going to under-achieve with this squad unless we can overcome this inability to take our chances, especially away from home. I think we should ditch 4-4-2 so that we can be stronger in the middle with 3 central midfielders and have Marshall and Knockaert either side of Vardy, Nugent or Beckford. We could even play Vardy out wide and Marshall behind the striker there's options there and we need to explore them. I'm tired of us losing the midfield battle, there's always one of our central players that has a crap game and it cost us too many points last season.

All in all, there's positives from last night but plenty of negatives too. Onwards and upwards.

[marbelladave]

After that performance there was no way I could post last night, had I tried it would not have been pleasant.....

I had largely suppressed my negative thoughts from the weekend so It was with considerable hope and some optimism that I got the train out to Charlton. It took about 10 minutes for City to knock that out of me....

Right from the off it was clear what was happening, Charlton allowed us to get forward then hit us at pace, our inexperienced and slightly makeshift back line was exposed time and time again but we made no adjustments whatsoever during the first half.

Unlike saturday, Drinkwater and James were given more freedom which left our back 4 largely unprotected, the classic one man dropping off, one man on the shoulder left us in a tangle that we were totally incapable of sorting out.

We got forward a fair amount ourselves but never really looked threatening, with Dyer and Marshal staying wide the front men were always outnumbered so the half chances that were created were quickly snuffed out.

2-0 at half time did not flatter Charlton, they started the 2nd half at a canter and were somewhat surprised by the energy we showed. King's excellent goal gave us hope and for a while it looked like we might get another.

However it didn't take long for Charlton to gain a degree of control that despite lots of effort from City was never really lost. Whilst we pressed forward with plenty of endeavour we lacked any real guile and quality, just a lot of huff and puff really.

[Master Fox]

So basically we're learnt that Dyer is still shit, Vardy is shit, the midfield can't defend, and our defense is all over the place. Should be a good season.

[MrSpaM]

Right our manager Nigel Pearson was a centre half as a proffesional so I'm baffled at wy our defence is so poor!! I have every faith in our midfield apart from Lloyd & James and our attack is qaulity just look at the chances we created! but our defence is turd...every time the opposition come forward I expect them to score.something needs to be done asap!! Surely our defence would be our strongest area with the manager being defender.

Our defence isnt poor ffs, if we'd have lost the first two games 0-5 I could understand your point, but we've only conceeded twice.

[Guest ttfn]

However it didn't take long for Charlton to gain a degree of control that despite lots of effort from City was never really lost. Whilst we pressed forward with plenty of endeavour we lacked any real guile and quality, just a lot of huff and puff really.

And yet we created at least 3 gilt-edged chances after getting back to 2-1.

Cheer up, your pessimism is ridiculous 2 games into the season.

[Simmo86]

After that performance there was no way I could post last night, had I tried it would not have been pleasant.....

I had largely suppressed my negative thoughts from the weekend so It was with considerable hope and some optimism that I got the train out to Charlton. It took about 10 minutes for City to knock that out of me....

Right from the off it was clear what was happening, Charlton allowed us to get forward then hit us at pace, our inexperienced and slightly makeshift back line was exposed time and time again but we made no adjustments whatsoever during the first half.

Unlike saturday, Drinkwater and James were given more freedom which left our back 4 largely unprotected, the classic one man dropping off, one man on the shoulder left us in a tangle that we were totally incapable of sorting out.

We got forward a fair amount ourselves but never really looked threatening, with Dyer and Marshal staying wide the front men were always outnumbered so the half chances that were created were quickly snuffed out.

2-0 at half time did not flatter Charlton, they started the 2nd half at a canter and were somewhat surprised by the energy we showed. King's excellent goal gave us hope and for a while it looked like we might get another.

However it didn't take long for Charlton to gain a degree of control that despite lots of effort from City was never really lost. Whilst we pressed forward with plenty of endeavour we lacked any real guile and quality, just a lot of huff and puff really.

I swear you see a totally different game to the rest of us!

The 1st 10 minutes knocked the stuffing out of you??? We could have quite easily been 2 up!

You only ever see games from your own negative outlook and it's getting quite boring!

[paulsherwood1]

And yet we created at least 3 gilt-edged chances after getting back to 2-1.

Cheer up, your pessimism is ridiculous 2 games into the season.

I think we have every right to feel pessimistic. I went to charlton. U watched us lump long balls to beckford and vardy for the first 45 mins. I watched us concede soft goals against a team playing in league 1 last season. I watched dyer miss gilt edge chances again.

We have every right to expect more this season. After all this is now Nigel's squad.

[fleckneymike]

It was a very enjoyable game.

We knew the defence would be a weakness as we are having to play a youth team RB at CB, we won't have to do that once St Ledger or Whitbread return.

Hopefully our strikers will be slightly more ruthless in future and perhaps Lloyd could ask Morgan for advice on crossing.

If you only watched on Radio Leicester I'd calm down, we don't need a DM (football manger and Makalele have a lot to answer for) we just need to keep on doing what we're doing and things will come good.

[Happy Fox]

It was a very enjoyable game.

We knew the defence would be a weakness as we are having to play a youth team RB at CB, we won't have to do that once St Ledger or Whitbread return.

Hopefully our strikers will be slightly more ruthless in future and perhaps Lloyd could ask Morgan for advice on crossing.

If you only watched on Radio Leicester I'd calm down, we don't need a DM (football manger and Makalele have a lot to answer for) we just need to keep on doing what we're doing and things will come good.

But so true.

[marbelladave]

Or, another way to look at it was that the options we had in attacking areas were such that we created enough chances to win the game 3 or 4 times over.

We got hit by a sucker punch in the first half and never really recovered - that had little to do with Pearson's 4-4-2 and was more to do with the failure to defend a set piece and an individual error.

We were away from home against a decent side in pretty decent form. We were wide open from the off, Charlton got men forward quickly and scored twice, they created the clear cut chances, not us. Yes, the goals came from errors, they usually do but they were not isolated incidents in an otherwise tight performance, our defence was in tatters and it could have been 3 or 4.

4-4-2 puts pressure on the central pairing and forces our most creative player wide so his influence on the game is minimalised. Our strikers are lacking in confidence and composure so we give them little or no support, we have so few men in the box that there is always a spare defender (or two) to snuff out any half chance that we might create.