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Who The F*** Are Charlton Athletic?
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F
our successive straight victories at the start of the campaign propelled
Charlton to the top of the Premiership and had Addicks fans dreaming
of Europe. Today however, after an alarming run of form that has saw
them win just 2 of their last 10 games, the talk at the Valley is
one of a possible relegation fight.
Unless Alan Curbishley and his men can arrest the slide, their fans'
concerns could well become a serious reality for them as we head into
the New Year. Just 8 points off a relegation spot, they could get
sucked right into the drop-zone over the festive period.
Having spent well in the transfer market in the Summer, Curbishley
bought the right players to reinforce Charlton's Premiership position,
but with one of the smallest squads in the Division, that first-team
is looking weak whenever they pick up an injury or two or a suspension.
And that's the situation they have going into the match at St. James'
Park with Murphy suspended, Smertin, Thomas and Sorondo all facing
late fitness tests.
Here we take a look at Charlton Athletic's manager, their team and
key players, their tactics, strengths, weaknesses, form and stats
ahead of their visit to Tyneside.
| Boss
Man: Alan Curbishley |
Originally appointed as a reserve-team coach Curbishley was handed
the task of managing Charlton in 1991 alongside Steve Gritt and just
4 years later he took full control at the tender age of 37. In that
time the Londoner has just about seen it all at the Valley; financial
troubles, ground concerns, promotion, relegation and promotion again.
Currently the longest serving manager in the top-flight along with
Sir Alex Ferguson, Curbishley has built Charlton Athletic from very
little and for every club in the lower half of the Premiership and
those looking to join the elite, Charlton remain a template of success
to follow.
The 49 year-old has managed to keep the Addicks in the Premiership
on a very small budget and continues to impress with his ability to
create attractive, organised footballing sides that can more than
hold their own against the better teams in the Division.
Often linked with much bigger jobs and highly thought of by the media
where the England job is concerned, Curbishley signed a new 3 and
a half-year deal at the end of 2004, but mounting pressure after an
alarming dip in form has put a question mark over his future at the
club, incredibly.
Record at Charlton Athletic: Played 694; Won 265; Drew 179; Lost 250
| The
Team: |
In defence Charlton usually line up with the much improved and new
England international Luke Young at right-back (pictured), centre-backs
Chris Perry and Jonathan Fortune and at left-back Hermann Hreidarsson.
Between the sticks Dean Kiely remains the number one, although Stephan
Andersen and former mackem Thomas Myhre have both been keeping goal
this season for spells. In reserve Charlton can call on Chris Powell,
Gonzalo Sorondo and on-loan Manchester United starlet Jonathan Spector.
With just 4 clean sheets to their name this term, the Addicks are
being badly let down by their leaky defence once again which just
like for Newcastle, seems to be a major problem for Curbishley.
Defensively Charlton are one place above the drop zone in the goals
against column having conceded 27 goals in total this season, working
out at just over 1.58 goals per game, so the opposition is almost
guaranteed to score.
At the same stage last season, Charlton had conceded 28 goals so this
isn't a new problem for them either, it's an ongoing weakness that
hasn't been rectified.
Midfield is without doubt Charlton's strongest area of the pitch and
the Addicks have plenty of options to pick and choose from with a
pool of versatile players such as former Toon man Darren Ambrose (pictured),
Radostin Kishishev, Danny Murphy (suspended), on-loan Chelsea man
Alexei Smertin, flying wingers Dennis Rommedahl and Jerome Thomas
and central midfielders Matthew Holland and Bryan Hughes. Quite a
range of players there.
On paper, Curbishley can put together a powerfully balanced midfield
with pace and flair on the wings and creativity and steel in the middle.
Not many teams can call on such options and the Charlton manager has
done well to assemble such an array of differing talent for less than
£6 million combined.
It's no surprise then that half of Charlton's 21 goals come from that
area of the team, 10 in total with Murphy leading the way with 4 and
Ambrose not far behind on 3. Outside of the top 4 this is one of the
most productive midfield's in the Premiership!
On their day, this midfield can keep up with the best on offer in
the Premiership and provide Charlton with the necessary dynamics to
compete in this League. You feel without this pace, versatility, flair
and power, that the Addicks would really struggle, however. Getting
to grips with this interchangeable midfield is the key to success
against Curbishley's men.
Danny Murphy's suspension is a big big blow for them, the midfielder
seems to enjoy the vastness of the St. James' Park pitch and has been
a thorn in our side in recent seasons, how they cope without him remains
to be seen but as the integral member of that midfield, his absence
will seriously imbalance it.
In attack Charlton rely mainly on new signing Darren Bent (pictured)
who leads their goalscoring chart this season with 8 in the League.
In reserve the Addicks can call up any one of Shaun Bartlett, Jay
Bothroyd, Kevin Lisbie, Jonatan Johansson and want-away Jason Euell,
to cover for their £3 million signing from Ipswich. But only
Bothroyd has netted out of those players this season, scoring once.
Bent was signed to fit Curbishley's plans to play a 4-5-1 formation,
which he is ideally suited to with his power and blistering pace,
however this has condensed Charlton's goal threat up top and Bent
literally is their main man. None of the others can quite play the
system like he can or lead that line so it's imperative he remains
fit and on form for the Addicks.
After a goal laden start to the season the hitman hasn't quite found
scoring so easy in recent months though. But he's certainly proving
himself at this level with some eye catching displays as a lone man
and with that pace of his, he'll always be a threat to any opposition
defence.
| Tactics: |
Curbishley switched his tactics in the Summer and went with the popular
3-5-1 formation, signing players like Bent, Ambrose and Smertin specifically
to make that system work.
And with 4 successive wins at the beginning of the campaign, he looked
to have stumbled upon that winning formula with a 3-0 result at the
Riverside against Middlesbrough demonstrating to the full the potential
of playing with five in the middle and one up top.
They tore Boro to shreds that day and could have won by a much bigger
margin. Tactically they were spot on and put in a very very accomplished
display indeed.
However since then opposing teams have started to work them out and
with this formation relying on certain individuals to perform and
to be fit, this has kind of handicapped Curbishley's men and lead
to calls from the stands for him to revert back to 4-4-2.
You can see why he would opt for 4-5-1 though, given the players he
has at his disposal and there are certainly many benefits with this
system.
By playing with 5 in the middle for example Charlton can allow their
flank men to get forward and to support the attack in the knowledge
that with 3 in the centre, that back-four has plenty of protection.
And with speedsters such as Dennis Rommedahl and Jerome Thomas on
the books it would be a waste to put breaks on them by asking them
to "get mucked in" defensively.
As for the centre of midfield, with a trio of Murphy pulling the strings,
Smertin sitting and Ambrose breaking forward, Bent whose job it is
to hold up play and to link up with the likes of Ambrose, would get
plenty of ammo in this system.
But it's come a cropper since their fantastic start to the season.
The opposition know that by isolating Bent and forcing him wide, Charlton
lack a presence through the middle and look toothless.
While this has saw the likes of Ambrose pick up a goal or two, the
former Magpie has had a stop start career at the Valley which has
meant others being tried, others less capable of breaking into the
box like he can. Equally on the flanks the inconsistency of Rommedahl
and Thomas hasn't helped Curbishley's game plan either.
Looking at it, there isn't much wrong with their formation, it does
and can work for them as they proved at the start of the season, but
injuries, inconsistency and a lack of alternative options have all
played their part and for Curbishley, he has to design "another
way" to play for when 4-5-1 just isn't working. For it to work,
everything has to be 100% spot on, players have to be fit and in form.
That isn't the case at the moment.
| Strengths
& Weaknesses: |
Charlton's strengths revolve around their midfield, particularly in
the centre with Murphy, Smertin and Holland if he plays but with Murphy
suspended and doubts over Smertin's fitness, that central area will
be severely weakened. Elsewhere Kiely is a fantastic shotstopper and
can count himself unfortunate to have had such a great 'keeper in
Shay Given blocking his path to the Ireland first-team. Luke Young
has also impressed while one can't ignore Bent's contribution this
season. Individually they have some fine players.
As a team or a unit if you like their strength is in their fitness,
they're a very fit team and cover an awful lot of ground, to the point
of perhaps overdoing it. On the ball, they also look to pass and move,
to keep possession and despite their rather poor goals against tally,
they are usually an organised outfit.
Whenever I've seen them this season, they haven't had what I'd call
the rub of the green on many occasions and they've played well enough
in parts to have more points than they do at present. You do get the
impression with Charlton that they are just in a rut at the moment
and need that spark, that bit of luck to get out of it and to kick-on.
I'm sure it will come, but hopefully not against Newcastle. Although
they do have a half decent record at St. James' Park over the years
and their away record is one of the best in the League. Not the easy
fixture it can appear to be.
With 27 goals against and only 4 clean sheets to their name this season,
defensively, not just as a back-four but as a team, they are conceding
sloppy goals and the basics just aren't there. Marking from set-pieces
in particular. Very much like our own defence in many ways.
Unlike with Newcastle however, Charlton are not a shapeless, all over
the park kind of side, they don't invite pressure onto themselves
like we do. What they do wrong is they lack defensive conviction,
leadership and know-how at the back and given the number of youngsters
in their squad, their heads perhaps drop too quickly.
The stats back this up, losing 8 of the 10 games in which they have
conceded the first goal in, winning one and drawing the other.
Their main weakness however is up front, despite a very good tally
of 21 goals, ranking 11 in the goals for league. By playing one up
front they can be very easy to defend against which puts extra emphasis
on their midfield which in turn can see that midfield get overworked.
Draw Bent away from the centre to wide positions, and you will render
that presence through the middle that the likes of Ambrose et al bounce
off, obsolete. While doing so can create room for midfield runners
to push into, with a man over at the back, that shouldn't be a problem
to counter.
In defence Charlton's central pairing are not the strongest physically
and they do lack pace. Split them up and big gaps will appear in central
positions which could see one of our own midfield runners have plenty
of freedom to operate without an obstacle or two in their way.
| Form
& Stats: |
Charlton have won 7 of their 17 games, lost 9 and drawn just the one
match. After an excellent start that saw them pick up 12 points from
12, their form thereafter has been patchy to say the least with just
2 wins in their last 10 matches, a sequence of results that have seen
them slide from top position, to the one they occupy today - 12th.
On the road, they actually have one of the best records in the League
(3rd for away form), winning 5 of their 8 games and losing the other
3. On their travels they have conceded 11 goals while scoring 12.
Newcastle at home, don't have the best of records, 11th in the table
for home form having won just 4 of the 8 games we have played. However
we have only lost one, drawing the other 3.
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