If he carries on setting up the team to attempt to win like he did yesterday then I’ll back him all the way. If he reverts back to 5 at the back, hope we don’t lose dirgeball I reserve the right to want him gone and replaced with someone that will attempt to score more than 40 goals over a whole season (which is about what we’d get if he continued his average so far.)
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Exactly.
The intent is where it all starts. In previous weeks we’ve started with a flat back 5 and set up to not lose. That’s a recipe for disaster and puts the team in a negative mindset from the off.
Setting us up with our wingers high rather than as fullbacks mainly tracking opposition wingers tells the players we want to win, and will no doubt have a big influence on their mindset going onto the pitch.
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I wondered this. We’ll never know the answer, but it seems strange that all of a sudden the fight was back in the team. Just need a bit more creativity from the midfield and we’ll be in with a shout.
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I’m still laughing at the Charlton fans I overheard criticising us for ‘just hoofing it’ while they ‘were the only side trying to play football’. The sun in their eyes must have been brighter than it seemed.
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Oh, and @our_frank already called out the good work done by the 1887 group, but I feel I should also echo that.
A lot of people (including me sometimes, so I’m not trying to claim any kind of moral high ground) sit around and moan around improving the atmosphere etc, but there’s a world of difference between sitting around moaning and actually getting off your arse and doing something about it - and they fall into the latter, so credit is due for that.
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Spoken to a fair few Charlton fans at work today who are overly-smug about Thursday. Most seem baffled I said the result wasn’t that terrible for us as it’s the most together we’ve played in weeks. Of the 23 games Charlton have scored first in, they’ve won 22 - so the key thing is to drag it out as long as possible and hope the ‘fantastic, loud, sold out Valley’ will turn against them
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I don’t know whether the moaners did or didn’t come, but pretty much everyone around me on the terrace (near the middle) seemed to have come in with a very positive attitude. It was said the team had to put the run of poor results and performances behind them and approach yesterday’s game with a clean slate, to the credit of our fans that was true of those around me, and from what I could tell generally as well.
I’ve long observed that our crowd is often very passive but quick to moan, that wasn’t the case yesterday. Hopefully more of the same in future!
Great atmosphere last night, but I think we need to stop trying with the tifo. That kind of visual intimidation just isn’t in English football culture (Arsenal’s ‘terrifying’ attempt vs PSG being a prime example…).
I’ll add that I am a big fan of the chair metropolis banner, contrary to many around me.
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The more I think about it the more I like the position we’re in. Imagine the nerves at The Valley if it’s 0-0 after twenty minutes, forty minutes, sixty minutes. Let them turn up expecting a walk over, that attitude won’t work in their favour for long.
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The dream scenario is really; don’t sell out the home leg, return tickets for the away leg, outplayed on the night, win 1-0.
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After last night, we would have planted a little seed of doubt that Thursday is not going to be a formality both for their players and their fans. And that is going to nibble all week.
And quite frankly, taking in the above, and now we’re in pure one off cup tie territory, given our record in underdog status over the years, we’re the last ones Charlton want to be playing Thursday.
I was a nervous wreck making my way to Wycombe yesterday, I’m actually quite relaxed about Thursday now. As far as I’m concerned, there’s more pressure on Charlton than there is on ‘little Wycombe’.
COYB.
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I think yesterday was a good performance, all things considered. We have been in poor form and many had already written the tie off as a forgone conclusion.
However, it was an improved showing from us and the tie is still very much alive. We now go to Charlton with, almost, a free hit. We are now the underdogs, and we all know that that’s a situation which can bring the best out of a Wycombe team. I’m sure the players will be in the right frame of mind to give it their very best effort, whatever the formation is.
If only I could decide how I’m travelling to the match - that would be great.
Drive or train, and if so where from?
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Why haven’t we had the get you up for it loud rock music before the game until yesterday. We used to have it before and it always gets the crowd and the players up for the game. Recently it’s been hey jude and we have always lost. Nothing against the song but its hardly a war cry.
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FWIW on the attendance point…I like many others was at a football tournament in Risboro and I didn’t get home until 7pm because it overran. C’est la vie, the eldest made it to a semi-final and they got knocked out by Aylesbury United…
On the game, I echo all the other posts. Fantastic commitment and while not a great spectacle, the team stood up and got everyone behind them. It’s been heartening to read the sour grapes from Charlton fans, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they’re not prime Barcelona, they’re just Jones’ henchmen, and equally as capable of roughing up the opposition. I said in another post that it’s more often than not you need to score more than one goal to win a play-off tie. Maybe I’ll be proved wrong on this occasion (in a good way!).
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Bring back Fire Woman! I used to love singing along to that before the match.
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I loved the ‘No Easy Way Out’ by Robert Tepper from Rocky IV as soon as the whistle for half time blew!
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Gonna beat this drum again (bad analogy) but while the music choice was better last night to start with there is a time to hear the terrace songs starting up, shut the feck up, and let people sing without drowning them out. Just turn it down for a bit in the terrace if people want tinny musack elsewhere.
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I thought 0-0 was the perfect result for us in many ways. Had we sneaked a win, the pressure would very much be on us to defend that lead. Something we could’ve coped with in the past, but probably not so well now. To go to the Valley on level terms, but very much as underdogs suits us perfectly.
My gut feeling is that Charlton will probably still win, but I’ve upgraded our chances from practically zero a week or so back to a reasonable 30%-40% now. We are absolutely in this tie. I don’t want it to go to penalties though, we don’t really have any established, reliable penalty takers.
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Forgot to comment about the Rock n Roll coming back. Was thoroughly pleased, even with the half time choices. About time.
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