The Championship is full of highs and lows – and Charlton experienced those contrasting emotions in another unpredictable week
BLACKBURN 2
Buckley 29 Adarabioyo 37
BY RICHARD CAWLEY AT THE VALLEYThere are many things that are predictable in life – but the Championship definitely isn’t one of them.It’s a crazy, crazy league. And that’s what makes it so highly watchable.
Saturday was a case in point. Bottom club Barnsley won in style – 3-0 – at third-placed Fulham.
The Championship is exciting and bonkers.
Even Swansea, in 11th spot, have a realistic chance of making the play-offs. And the bottom seven clubs all have significant work to do to ensure they retain their status for the 2020-21 campaign.
Contrast that with the Premier League, where it is a formality that Liverpool will end up top – it’s only who finishes in the European places and the bottom three that still needs to be determined.
The Championship is wide open in terms of promotion. And that superb victory for the Tykes – along with Luton recording back-to-back wins – means that the drop fight suddenly got even more interesting too.
It’s how you respond to the regular highs and lows. That’s the challenge for Charlton Athletic.
Addicks fans were in ebullient mood after Lyle Taylor’s goal sent Nottingham Forest to defeat at the City Ground.
But then came Saturday’s setback at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.
It makes Saturday’s home fixture against Luton something of a crunch clash. Thankfully Cardiff fought back to draw 2-2 with Wigan Athletic, meaning Charlton’s distance from the dreaded bottom three is still five points.
The Blackburn match was designated as the club’s Football for a Fiver match, so we should have known what was in store. The Addicks have failed to win the last six of these games.
While the initiative is sound – a crowd of 25,363 drawn to SE7 – it doesn’t tend to bring out the best in the South Londoners.
It was only the away end, housing 2,063 travelling Rovers fans, who all stayed until the full-time whistle as they revelled in an highly professional performance by Tony Mowbray’s team.
A different weekend, a different storm. This time it was Dennis. But there was not enough menace to Charlton’s play as they saw their five-match undefeated league run at The Valley end.
The signs were good in the opening exchanges as Blackburn keeper Christian Walton was called into action twice.
But it didn’t take Rovers long to take the sting out of the hosts’ play and ask attacking questions of their own. Unfortunately Charlton didn’t have the answers.
Seven teams in the division have conceded more goals than the Addicks, but manager Lee Bowyer was quick to condemn the defending for both netted by Blackburn.
John Buckley got lucky with the deflection off Tom Lockyer for the 29th-minute opener. But he did not encounter any kind of notable resistance as he cut inside from the left of the penalty area.
Charlton’s lack of urgency in shutting him down was punished heavily.
Bowyer was unhappy at David Davis being penalised for the free-kick that made it 2-0 on 37 minutes.
One of Charlton’s weak spots since promotion has been defending set-pieces and Stewart Downing’s delivery was missed by Tomer Hemed and Lockyer, Tosin Adarabioyo showing greater accuracy to prod in from about eight yards out.
Blackburn looked far more comfortable on the ball with the excellent Adam Armstrong and Dominic Samuel stretching the Addicks’ backline.
Rovers were in so much control by the break that Bowyer made a change in personnel and formation.
Jason Pearce was sacrificed for Matt Smith as the Addicks went from 5-3-2 to a back four and a diamond midfield.
Aiden McGeady, handed his first start since joining on loan from Sunderland at the end of January, managed to get on the ball a little more following the switch but without a truly telling contribution.
You can’t say that Charlton didn’t have chances – because Walton tipped over Lyle Taylor’s close-range header just before the break as well as pushing away a Hemed shot that looked to have taken a little nick off one of his defenders.
Walton also dived full length to his right to prevent Josh Cullen halving the deficit in the 84th minute.
But Blackburn always felt in control once they went in front and managed their lead well.
You can moan about them slowing the play down and some of their cynical fouls to break up attacks, but that’s what a lot of teams do in that scenario when protecting an advantage.
Charlton will come again, you can be sure of that.
Andre Green should hopefully be ready to start against the Hatters after being a doubt before the Blackburn game with a knee injury.
In Bowyer’s time in charge of the Addicks he has always wanted to play two strikers – the packed treatment room preventing that for a period of this campaign – and Green looks a far better partner for Taylor than Tomer Hemed.
The former Brighton man has failed to net in 13 appearances for the South Londoners. His last goal came in April 2019. The 32-year-old Israeli has contributed little so far.
While Macauley Bonne was not seen as Championship ready when he arrived in the summer from Leyton Orient, he has netted eight times in 20 league outings.
But it is at the back which cost Charlton last weekend.
The Addicks need to defend more competently if they don’t want to be dragged even deeper into the drama at the wrong end of the table.
Charlton (5-3-2): Phillips 6, Matthews 6, Lockyer 6, Pearce 6 (Smith 46, 6), Doughty 6, Davis 5, Cullen 6, McGeady 6 (Bonne 69, 5), Taylor 6, Hemed 5 (Green 60, 6). Not used: Amos, Purrington, Oshilaja, Oztumer.
Everyone at the South London Press thanks you for your continued support.
Former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has encouraged everyone in the country who can afford to do so to buy a newspaper, and told the Downing Street press briefing:
“A FREE COUNTRY NEEDS A FREE PRESS, AND THE NEWSPAPERS OF OUR COUNTRY ARE UNDER SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL PRESSURE”
If you can afford to do so, we would be so grateful if you can make a donation which will allow us to continue to bring stories to you, both in print and online. Or please make cheques payable to “MSI Media Limited” and send by post to South London Press, Unit 112, 160 Bromley Road, Catford, London SE6 2NZ
No excuses re injuries to bemoan in this game, apart from Williams and Field, no more than any other club has to deal with. I think it was a fairly inept performance from Charlton, in front of a packed Valley, which made it even more disappointing. Defending has been a key problem for Charlton all season, save a few games where a clean sheet has been made. This was the one area where there were no real injuries to take into account. What it shows is that the back four that served Charlton so well in League one, even with the addition of Lockyer this season, is still a League one defence and Charlton, if they survive, need one or two Championship defenders next season as a must. Take nothing from Blackburn, they played well and as Bowyer said, ‘They did a job on us’. But what was worrying is that Charlton showed no real cohesion and huffed and puffed for most of the game. I shall be a very anxious spectator on Saturday when we entertain a Luton side who have suddenly found a way of NOT conceding goals in their last 2 outings and amassing 6 points in the process. Truly another 6 pointer.