Was he one that got away?

Having read a profile of Scott Wagstaff in The Football League Paper this morning, I was left wondering whether he was one that could got away - or not. Could he have done a job for us in League One? He had his fans and his detractors at The Valley, as is so often the case for any player that is not a talisman like Yann Kermorgant. Yann is now playing foVannes Olympique Club, in Group C of Nationale 2, the fourth tier of French football.

Admittedly, a lot of the profile focuses on his hipster style beard which both his parents and his teammates want him to shave off. Certainly if he returned to The Valley, removing it would be a condition of any contract otherwise he might scare very young fans. However, apparently it has taken him two or three years to get it to its current level. It would go down well in Shoreditch (or in the Royal Spa for that matter, as my bestie's son has one).

Having let go by Gillingham, the Kent native is now with AFC Wimbledon. He says that he would have loved to stay at Gillingham as it was his local base. However, he is able to car share with former Addick Joe Pigott.

Wagstaff left Charlton for Bristol City. At the Dons he is back to his original role as a wide attacking man which is want he likes.

Robinson keeps faith with defeated side

Karl Robinson is starting with the same eleven that were defeated by Wigan on Tuesday, the right call in my view: Boss keeps faith

Scott Wagstaff is reported to be starting for Gillingham.

That'll do

Charlton beat Leyton Orient 2-0 at The Valley this afternoon to maintain their lead at the top of League 1.  Scott Wagstaff celebrated his 22nd birthday with a goal after six minutes (he was voted man of the match in the lounges and his mum and dad had brought a cake for him), but the Addicks lost some momentum after a goal was disallowed.   Nevertheless, they played some good football in the first half, keeping the ball on the ground, passing well and retaining possession. 

In the second half they started to lose the plot a bit.   The midfield seemed to go awol, there were some unforced errors and Orient were able to get some shots in on goal.   However, they started to recover and N'Guessan scored the second goal having come on as a substitute.

There were plenty of Orient fans on the train from London Bridge, one wearing a shirt proclaiming 'We own East London.'   West Ham fans might have a view about that, but another reaction would be 'you're welcome to it.'

Bradley Wright-Phillips won Charlton an early corner and it was well delivered by Cook.   The striker was then brought down in the area, but the referee saw nothing wrong with it and refused to award a penalty, although I have seen softer ones given.

Hapless Orient full back Scott Cuthbert could not track the movement of Wiggins following a free kick and he set up Wagstaff for a tap in after six minutes to make it 1-0.

Lee Cook made a good run, but the ball was eventually taken off him, perhaps he should have laid it off, although he didn't have many options.

Following a Charlton corner, the ball went in the back of the net but the referee ruled it out because of handball by Cort.  If that was the case, why wasn't Cort booked?

A dubious Orient free kick led to an Orient corner.   Hamer had to make a reaction save with both hands after former Addick Matt Spring sprung into action from six yards out.    Hamer then had to make a great save to deal with a stinging shot from distance.

Wiggins won a corner for Charlton, but play was held up while Cuthbert, who had picked up a hamstring problem, was substituted by Syam Ben Youssef who was playing in Tunisia until January.  Youssef turned out to be much smarter than carthorse Cuthbert which raises the question why Orient did not start with him.

Scott Wagstaff won Charlton a corner.   Stephens contributed some good play.  In the two minutes added on, J Smith was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kermorgant.

Half time: Addicks 1, O's 0

An Orient free kick led to an early corner for the visitors.   Dean Leacock was booked for a foul on Kermorgant.   Orient keeper and former Charlton bench warmer Paul Rachubka pulled off a good double save from first Bradley Wright-Phillips and then Chris Solly.   Solly then put in some good defensive work.

Stephens gave away a completely avoidable free kick, but Hamer was able to make the save.   Scott Wagstaff was felled and Terrell Forbes received a yellow card.   Hollands conceded a corner to Orient.

The fading Wright-Phillips was taken off and replaced by N'Guessan.   In the 82nd minute Lee Cook provided a cross which Chris Powell later described as Premier League quality and N'Guessan headed in powerfully to make it 2-0.     And that was pretty much that, apart from a yellow card for Alan Reed.   A good, solid win.

Coming back on the tube I was talking to a West Ham fan who said his grandfather had supported Charlton.   He said it looked as if we were playing each other next season.

The ticket inspectors at Euston asked what the score was which shows how our profile is rising.


Match analysis

Ivy the Terrible has awarded the Silver Bone to Ben Hamer for a clean sheet and a save that kept us ahead.   He also delivered some good balls forward, for example on to Solly who had another excellent game and must be in the running for Player of the Year.   Wiggins was also very good, apart from one occasion when he gave the ball away to Orient.   Cort was very solid, even if his defensive headers lacked direction.  Morrison was playing more of a traditional centre half role and was not getting forward as much as he often does which is no bad thing.  One ball forward was poor.   Even the Bloke Behind Me had to admit that Cook had put in a decent shift when he came off and he provided the assist for the second goal.   Wagstaff was more prominent in the first half but his performance was generally good.    Stephens was anonymous in the second half and I did not think that it was a particularly impressive performance from Hollands.    Wright-Phillips drifted out of the game in the second half and it was the right call to substitute him.   Kermorgant was the object of many fouls, contributing substantially to the five yellow cards that Orient received.   N'Guessan started to trouble Orient from the moment he came on the pitch and the goal was well taken.   Green had a cameo, but did his best to get involved.

Juneau the Soccer Cat has given the Hiss of the Match to referee M Brown.   His performance in the first half was one of the worse I have seen at The Valley.  He did improve after the break, perhaps the fourth official had a word.   He certainly seemed to be relying a lot on his radio, but perhaps he was checking on the Blades score.    They must have a special training centre in East Yorkshire for incompetent referees.

Second half fightback is not enough

One Addick who had travelled a considerable distance to the game left in disgust five minutes before half time after Charlton had gone down 0-4 at home to Notts County.   He missed a second half fightback when Charlton started to play football as they can.  But it was too late to compensate for the appalling defensive errors in the first half and the Addicks finished the game 2-4 down.

It might have been a different story if we had been awarded a penalty in the second half after Bradley Wright-Phillips was brought down and it was presumably this that Chris Powell was politely remonstrating with the referee about after the game.  It was certainly as justified as the two free kicks that followed.

I was feeling relatively optimistic before the game.   Last Sunday Coventry Blaze won an against the odds victory at home to Nottingham Panthers and I might have known that the city of Nottingham would fight back.   Charlton have never won promotion in March and it's pretty certain that they won't again.  Earlier in the day some of the Addickted were calculating at which match we would win promotion and I did think it was a hostage to fortune.  

But today and Tuesday is a wake up call and a warning against complacency.   We need to revive our spirit, find our defensive strength and our skill again and all will still be well.

We started brightly enough with Solly efficiently shepherding out the ball from a Magpies attack.  But then there was a warning of what was to come with Hamer conceding a corner, rather unnecessarily, and then forced to concede a second one.

Haynes, having not touched the ball, had to be taken off with a hamstring problem.   After that we began to lose our shape.

Judge then put a strike in from distance to put the visitors 0-1 ahead.   Post match commentary has been remarkably kind to Hamer, who has held his hands up on Twitter.   This strike probably could not have been stopped, but he might have tried.   As it was he was motionless.

Wiggins changed his boots to cope with the conditions, but County powered down their left with Solly out of position and two minutes after the first goal Forte had scored the first of his three.

Morrison drew a save on the line.   Kermorgant went down the first of a number of times.   He was putting himself about and getting some rough treatment in return.   Wiggins won Charlton a free kick, but we were not able to do anything with it.

A mix up between Hamer and Taylor led Forte to score his third goal on 35 minutes and he got his fourth with a header on 40.   Even the Bloke Behind Me was stunned into shocked silence.

Charlton won their first corner on 44 minutes but it led to a free kick for County and Kermorgant picked up a yellow card.

Half time: Addicks 0, Magpies 4

Chris Powell's half time team talk clearly had an effect and Charlton looked much livelier after the break, winning an early corner through good work by Wright-Phillips (worth noting because some have argued that all he did was score the goal).   I thought County were going to make it five but the ball seemed to come off the post.

Wright-Phillips raised the spirits of the Addickted with his goal on 50 minutes and he turned provider for Wagstaff to score five minutes later.   Another shot came in which was just wide.   Wright-Phillips was shoved in front of goal, but the referee, who has only just started his weight watchers course, wasn't having any.   He did then give two rather generous free kicks in promising positions as compensation for his poor decision-making, but we were unable to gain any advantage from them.

County made their first substitution on 60 minutes and perhaps we should have thought of bringing Clarke on as the intensity of our efforts start to subside as the physical tool involved started to be felt.

Charlton were awarded a free kick, but the below par Jackson put it wide.   A corner was conceded to County through naivety on the part of Taylor, but fortunately it was not productive for them.

The convention of ice hockey referees in the Jimmy Seed were revitalised by County coming back into the game and started chanting 'Give us five!'

Charlton won a corner and then County were given a dubious one courtesy of the lino.  Another Charlton corner was punched out by the keeper.   Charlton were not able to take advantage of the four minutes added on with Kermorgant felled again.

Notts County boss Keith Curle, who has secured 16 points out of 18 with his 'quiet revolution' said afterwards, 'We [knew] we could cause them problems if we were prepared to keep the ball down and pass and play.'   Charlton might note that.   There was too much use of the long ball as the game went on in a desperate attempt to narrow the gap.

A lounge lizard reports, 'Had a chat with Kermogant after the game and he said the team are under too much pressure at home, whereas away the pressure is reduced and they can play without the fans on their backs.'

Scunthorpe will be a test of that.   We then face super, soaraway Yeovil who are now second in the form table.

Match analysis

No one really deserved the award of the Silver Bone so there is no recipient this week.   Although all the blame for the goals cannot be laid at the door of Hamer he had a mare of a match.  Moreover, knowing that he is going through a bad patch the central defence should have done more to protect him.   Both Taylor and Morrison were at fault, although Morrison did have our one decent shot on goal in the first half.  Solly competed well, but was at fault in relation to the second goal.   He also needs to speed up his throw ins.  Wiggins was the player who came nearest to getting the Silver Bone, he did get forward well and his passing was accurate.  Jackson had a very poor game by his standards and was involved relatively little, but much the same could be said of Stephens (apart from one nice move) and Hollands.   The early loss of Haynes to a hamstring problem disrupted our game plan. Wagstaff certainly made a contribution when he came on, including scoring a goal.   Kermorgant certainly got involved and got forward well, although he appeals too much for decisions.   Wright-Phillps gave his all and provided the assist for one goal and scored another.

Juneau the Soccer Cat has given the Hiss of the Match to referee B Malone.  When I saw the stocky referee high fiving his linos before the game I knew we were dealing with a pratt who was well up himself.

Waggy unhappy

Scott Wagstaff is unhappy with the amount of game time he has been given this season: http://www.southlondon-today.co.uk/sport.cfm?id=9151&headline=Scott%2520Wagstaff%2520frustrated%2520at%2520lack%2520of%2520game%2520time

I know that Waggy has a lot of fans among the Addickted and Danny Green has his limitations.  However, pace is not everything and when he does come on he has made little impact.   He also has acquired an unfortunate habit of whingeing to the officials about every decision that does not go his way

Has Waggy got the hump?

There are uncorroborated rumours circulating that Scott Wagstaff may be leaving in the January window and that loan player Hogan Ephraim is being set up as his replacement.   Wagstaff is the player most vulnerable to the arrival of Ephraim, but I doubt whether he will start in front of Wagstaff this afternoon.   Green has also been favoured in front of Wagstaff, so Waggy may think that he is out of favour.

However, I do not see where he would go, unless we got a financially advantageous offer from a Championship club.   Millwall and Palace come to mind but I do not know where their squads might need strengthening.

For me Wagstaff is a player who can rarely deliver the full 90 minutes, although that is not an issue when one has a good substitute and Ephraim may come on in that role this afternoon.   Wagstaff does have a real ability to unsettle the opposition and I think he could also do that at a higher level.   I would not want to see him go and I am still unconvinced that he will despite the persistence of rumours.

I was hoping that Paul May would cover this afternoon's game with his customary speed and élan, but he had a heavy night and his arrival in West London is in some doubt.

Job done

4-0 wins are becoming a bit monotonous for Charlton, but it was case of doing the necessary against the Shaymen today to earn a glamorous home time against Carlisle United.   But at least the media attention will be elsewhere, for example at AFC Totton as they take on Bristol Rovers.

Charlton started playing the game as they should have done - cautiously and keeping possession to safeguard against any errors that might give the home side a lead.   Taylor, as he admitted later, missed one good chance, but made amends for it ten minutes later when he scored to put the Addicks one ahead at the break.

Halifax gave a good account of themselves, playing some decent football and threatening more than once.  Sullivan didn't have a particularly good first half, but improved as the game went on.   However, I would be concerned if Hamer picked up an injury.

The Shaymen looked as if they might equalise for parts of the second half, particularly after Jason St. Juste came on, which raises the question of why he wasn't there from the start.   Not sure, though, that it was our toughest test of the season as Johnnie Jackson said afterwards but maybe it seemed like that on the pitch.

Hayes had not looked impressive in front of goal, but he did provide an intelligent assist to allow Johnnie Jackson to score one of his skipper's goals.   It took a slight deflection, but really put the game beyond the reach of Halifax.   Hollands then had a tap in for the third after Halifax had not defended well from a corner.

There was then what was described but not shown on television as a mini pitch invasion.   Given that the Addickted were chanting 'you fat b*****d' one might conclude that a horizontally challenged local bereft of his clothing had gone for a streak.

What I had feared before the game happened when Lowe went in low on Waggy.   The northern clogger was shown a red card by the referee and fortunately Waggy suffered no lasting damage.   (On reflection and having read the comments of others, I do agree that Waggy made the most of it and the card was a bit harsh, but I thought that the referee had a good game on the whole).

The 3-0 lead gave Chris Powell the chance to give Michael Smith his Charlton debut.   Bradley Pritchard made a welcome return from injury and burst through to score his first goal for the club.

It is clear that Hayes and Euell are not our best pairing, indeed Euell contributed relatively little.  Evina is no Wiggins, although he made one nice run.   Solly made some key interventions.

This was a first ever win for Charlton at Halifax and once again it reflected a team full if confidence, even without a few of its best players.

Two wins so far this weekend, so off to the Skydome soon to see if Blaze can overcome Dundee Stars.  Should be able to, but you never know.  

Postscript: Blaze won 4-3 in an exciting game.   Some things never fail to puzzle me in hockey.  Face off was delayed while the ref (often the same one every week, there are only a few of them) had a long and friendly chat with the granite charm merchant minding the Dundee net.   If this happened in football, the crowd would soon have something to say.

Waggy interview

Scott Wagstaff has a feature interview in The League Paper today.   He says, 'I've been at this club since I was eight and while it's good to have other clubs saying nice things about you, I love this club and never wanted to leave.  I want to play at a higher level, but I want to do it with Charlton.'

Referring to the changes over the summer, he comments, 'The fear is that it'll take time to gel, but we haven't.  It helps that we've got senior players like Johnnie Jackson and Bradley Wright-Phillips still here.  They're key for us.   We bonded and looked strong in pre-season and that's continued for us'.

Wagstaff said that he is looking to better last season's goal tally of 10: 'It's important for me to score, especially as we've signed Danny Green from Dagenham and we're competing for a place so I have to make sure I'm at my best.'

As yesterday confirmed, he is also good at playing in the 'hole' behind a striker and perhaps that is his best position.

The best team won admits U's manager

Colchester's manager has admitted that the best team won after Charlton beat them 2-0 in front of a crowd of 5,094 at the Community Homes Stadium last night with goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips.   He claims that he simply cannot match Charlton's millions.   A Colchester supporter comments that the Addicks are the best team in the league: http://www.essexcountystandard.co.uk/sport/9198932.Ward___the_best_team_won/

On 13 minutes Wright-Phillips completed a one-two with Waggy and on 28 minutes he converted Johnnie Jackson's left-wing cross. He had chances in the second half to get his hattrick but was denied three times by Mark Cousins (who was named man of the match) in the U's goal.

Elliot and Wright-Phillips were booked. Danny Green came on in a 86th minute cameo.

Charlton had 57 per cent of the possession and seven shots on target to two for the home side.

Charlton remain top of League 1 but Sheffield United retain their 100 per cent record after coming back from a two goal deficit to beat mighty Walsall at home 3-2.