Trouble ahead ?

I’ve been doing a bit of research regarding the correlation between goal attempts and how in general terms a team is doing. Pretty boring stuff I hear you say………….but bear with me.

In the Championship for the last five seasons, out of the 15 teams promoted, 11 of them appear in statistics showing that they were in the top five teams for goal attempts that were on target, whilst 14 of them were in the top five for least goal attempts against them.

Of the 15 teams relegated, 12 of them were in the top five for the most shots on target against them, whilst 14 of them were in the bottom five teams for their own scoring shots on target.

It’s not rocket science that the more shots you have at goal, the more likely you are to score. However, the statistics do throw up some interesting facts as far as Charlton are concerned.

It’s a bit early in the season to be making assumptions, and you really need another couple of games to get a more accurate prediction. The figures are easily distorted by a variety of instances such as good or bad luck, transfers-both in and out, confidence or lack of, a new manager etc. etc, but the last five seasons show that a very accurate picture can be drawn after about 10 games.

So let’s have a look a few statistics. This is a current league table based on shots at goal. The first figure is the number of shots by a team, and the second figure is the number of shots on target.

Norwich City…………………….156/50
Middlesbrough………………….141/40
Brighton & Hove Albion………140/38
Watford……………………………120/40
Sheffield Wednesday………….118/31
Rotherham United……………..118/34
Millwall……………………………116/38
Wolverhampton Wanderers.. 114/31
Derby County……………………114/43
Blackburn Rovers………………114/42
Nottingham Forest…………….112/37
AFC Bournemouth……………..110/40
Ipswich Town……………………104/31
Bolton Wanderers………………104/31
Huddersfield Town…………….103/33
Fulham…………………………….103/28
Brentford………………………….101/32
Birmingham City………………..101/25
Blackpool………………………….  95/23
Reading……………………………  85/24
Cardiff City……………………….  83/29
Wigan Athletic…………………… 81/21
Charlton Athletic……………….  78/24
Leeds United……………………..  67/23

You can see clearly from this that currently only Leeds United have a worse record than Charlton.

Next we’ll have a look at a league table based on the least number of goal attempts against them. The first figure is the number of attempts against each team, and the second figure is the number of shots on target against them.

Brighton & Hove Albion………70/24
Middlesbrough…………………..72/19
Wigan Athletic…………………..75/28
Nottingham Fores…………….. 90/31
Sheffield Wednesday…………..93/23
Wolverhampton Wanderers…93/22
Ipswich Town…………………….95/31
AFC Bournemouth…………….100/29
Millwall…………………………..100/28
Rotherham United…………….101/30
Norwich City……………………104/30
Fulham……………………………108/41
Derby County……………………111/39
Blackburn Rovers………………112/43
Huddersfield Town……………112/38
Reading…………………………..114/36
Blackpool………………………..118/33
Watford………………………….125/37
Charlton Athletic……………..128/38
Brentford………………………. 129/45
Cardiff City……………………. 131/30
Leeds United…………………..132/34
Birmingham City……………..137/37
Bolton Wanderers……………144/47

It’s still quite possible to be successful if you are at the wrong end of the goal attempts table as long as your opponents don’t have more attempts against you. This next table has four figures. The first figure is goal attempts made, the second figure is goal attempts on target, the third figure is goal attempts against them, and the fourth figure is goal attempts against them on target.

Teams where goals attempts against them exceed their own goal attempts are going to struggle, and this is where the relegation teams will come from.

Norwich City…………………….156/50…..104/30
Middlesbrough………………….141/40…..  72/19
Brighton & Hove Albion……..140/38…..  70/24
Watford…………………………..120/40…..125/37
Sheffield Wednesday…………118/31…..  93/23
Rotherham United……………118/34….. 101/30
Millwall…………………………..116/38….. 100/28
Wolverhampton Wanderers..114/31…..   93/22
Derby County…………………..114/43…..  111/39
Blackburn Rovers……………..114/42…..  112/43
Nottingham Forest……………112/37…..   90/31
AFC Bournemouth………….. 110/40…… 100/29
Ipswich Town…………………. 104/31…..   95/31
Bolton Wanderers…………… 104/31….. 144/47
Huddersfield Town………….. 103/33….. 112/38
Fulham………………………….  103/28….. 108/41
Brentford……………………….  101/32….. 129/45
Birmingham Cit………………. 101/25…..  137/37
Blackpool……………………….   95/23…..  118/33
Reading…………………………   85/24…..  114/36
Cardiff City……………………..   83/29…..  131/30
Wigan Athletic………………..    81/21…..   75/28
Charlton Athletic…………….    78/24……128/38
Leeds United…………………    67/23….. . 132/34

There are anomalies every season, and it looks as if Fulham and Huddersfield might be two of those teams this season where these statistics seem to show that they are in a reasonably comfortable position, whilst the actual league table would suggest something else. Watford could turn out to also be an anomaly due to the high number of attempts against them in relation to their true league position.

The other interesting statistic is that historically (based on the last 5 seasons), two of the promoted teams this season will come from the top five positions in the goal attempts tables, whilst a minimum of one of the relegated teams will come from the bottom five in the goals against table.

It would appear that Charlton are not going to get any higher than their current league position.

Over to you Big Bob.

Reza Ghoochannejhad

It appears the “revolving door policy” continues.

Has he already been sold ?

On tour in Southern Spain-but where’s the football ?

Well, here we are in southern Spain, looking forward to the first game on Wednesday against a Malaga under 23 team.

However, rumour has it that it isn’t going ahead and that an alternative match is being sought. Ho hum !

I’m at the La Cala Resort which took us about 45 to get there from Malaga Airport. Mountains at the rear, and the sea the other way. Haven’t quite got my bearings yet, but it seems to be about halfway between Marbella and Malaga, in the general area of Fuengirola.

The suns out and its pretty warm for early morning. Must go down to the pool, and see if I can find what’s going on with Wednesday’s game !

The golfers are out already. Mad lot.

An update on the Wednesday game. It now seems to be against a Gibraltar XI. Sounds as if it’s going to be a pub team. No idea of the kick off time yet. Probably at closing time.

Who arranges these friendlies ? First the Swindon game is cancelled and now Malaga U23.   Now……On to Gibraltar.

 

The Bexley Bodger

Welling United 2, Charlton Athletic 0

A lovely beer fueled sunny afternoon at Park View Road, and an enjoyable afternoon’s entertainment, at least if you were a Welling United supporter that is. A healthy attendance of 2360 saw the game, the majority being either neutral or Charlton fans.

If you are a Charlton fan, it was another of those Charlton Athletic nil afternoon’s, with none of the forwards looking remotely likely to score.

Even a few beers in the Guy Earl of Warwick and the Nag’s Head before the game could hardly disguise the abject lack of skill for the best part by these two poor Charlton teams.

The game was barely a minute old when Rhoys Wiggins set the tone of the afternoon by hammering the ball out of the ground-and he wasn’t the only one to do it either.

Charlton had two different teams out today. In the first half we saw Phillips, Wilson, Wiggins, Morrison, Lennon, Browne (Stephen), Holmes-Dennis, Cousins, Munns, Church, and Pigott and the second half saw Pope, Solly, Fox, Gomez, Bikey-Amougou, Nego, Harriott, Jackson, Buyens, Ansah, and Vetokele.

It wasn’t long before the hapless Wiggins then tripped Blaine Hudson in the box and there weren’t too many complaints as Kieron St Amie put the ball passed Phillips in the Charlton goal. It was nearly 2-0 shortly afterwards as Joe Healy rattled the woodwork with Phillips well beaten. Charlton did have a couple of chances through Browne and Pigott but both lacked any real conviction.

Simon Church then did one of his well rehearsed dives in the penalty area with arms to the sky claiming a penalty. Church had one further chance before thankfully being rested at half time, but in all honesty my Nan could have saved his shot. Welling went into the interval 1-0 up, and few could complain that they didn’t deserve it.

We all hoped for a bit of the “old Charlton” in the second half, and it wasn’t long before Chris Solly rifled a ball across the Welling goal, and Harriott crashed Solly’s cross agonisingly wide, when on another day it might have found the net.

Halfway through the second period, and Welling were on the back foot, and Ansah went close with a glancing header, but it went all “pear shaped” shortly after, and somewhat against the run of play as Moses Ashikodi made it 2-0 to the Wings. Moans from the Charlton fans.

Veteokele had a chance near the end but he elected to pass rather than shoot, and the chance was lost, and in the last minute Fox blasted a good chance just over the bar.

Bob Peeters is the second Charlton manager to lose to the Wings. The other being the truly awful Iain Dowie.

Although it’s still early in the pre-season I think Bob Peeters will be slightly concerned about the lack of scoring chances being made. It looked like Pigott, and in particular Simon Church, could have played all afternoon and not found the net. Why is it we always seem to end up with non scoring forwards ?

There are rumours about loan moves for the both Pigott and Church, with Gillingham and Orient being mentioned. I just hope the O’s or the Gills didn’t have a scout at Park View Road this afternoon watching them, or they might be having second thoughts.

How I wish for a Kermorgant type forward. Our forwards today just looked a bit lightweight against the Welling defence, who in reality, didn’t have too much trouble defending their goal. The only forward who looked up to the task was Igor Vetokele.

Perhaps we’ll see some goals in Spain, and just perhaps, Bob Peeters will have a better idea what his best starting eleven are.

The Bexley Bodger

Spotlight on Andre Bikey

So who is Andre Bikey ?

Or to give him his full name:- André Stéphane Bikey-Amougou. Can’t see too many people having that on the back of their shirt.

Andre was born in Douala in Cameroon on 8th January 1985, and is 6 foot tall. Between 2006 and 2010 he made 25 international appearances for Cameroon, scoring once against Mautitius. He also played in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

He does appear to have somewhat of a “short fuse” on him. One bizarre incident saw him sent off against Ghana in the 2008 African Cup of Nations for shoving a stretcher bearer, who he perceived to be taking too long to get Rigobert Song off the pitch towards the end of the semi-final. This piece of petulance cost him a place in the final with Cameroon picking up a $5000 fine.

His normal position is either as a right back, a defensive midfielder, or in the centre of defence, and as a bonus he also has a triple somersault in his “celebration locker”  Note to other players-don’t get in his way if he attempts this, he’s a big unit.

Aged 16, his professional career started at Espanyol in Spain in the 2001-2002 season, but he failed to make the first team there. This was followed by a move to Marco in Portugal where he spent the 2002-2003 season making 13 appearances, scoring once. The following season found him at F.C. Paços de Ferreira in Portugal, making just two appearances before making the short trip to Clube Desportivo das Aves where he stayed for the remainder of the 2003-2004 season making 14 appearances.

The 2004-2005 season saw him at União Desportiva de Leiria, also in Portugal, except you probably wouldn’t have seen him, as he failed to make an appearance, and in 2005 another move was made. This time to Russia where he signed for FC Shinnik (also known as Khimik) based in Yaroslavl, which is about 160 miles Northeast of Moscow, making just 11 appearances with one goal. Whilst there, he clearly caught the attention of the bigger teams and on 1st July 2005 he was snapped up by Locomotiv Moscow.

The move to the Russian capital ended unhappily in 2006, with Andre claiming racial abuse having played just 14 games. A move to the UK then followed where he joined Reading, initially on loan, making 15 appearances in the 2006-2007 season, despite being sent off in his final trial game for heading butting an opponent against the Swedish team Örgryte Idrottsällskap. Reading had initially spotted him during the 2006 African Cup of Nations competition.

Reading had the option to purchase him, and that’s exactly what they did in 2007 where he signed a three year contract for a fee reputed to have been over £1 million. Whilst at Reading, Andre made a further 47 appearances, scoring a very healthy 6 goals. His Reading career went sour after he first of all gave a penalty away against Burnley in the Championship play-off semi-finals, and was then sent off for stamping on Robbie Blake (probably not the only player who wanted to do that), and then proceeded to stomp around the pitch, ripping his shirt off. This tirade bought him a 5 match ban.

Burnley were obviously impressed by his antics, because in August 2009 they signed him for an undisclosed fee on a three year deal, where he went on to make 70 appearances scoring 3 goals.

Towards the end of the 2011-2011 season, and now known as Andre Amougou, a loan move to the relegation threatened Bristol City was made. They eventually survived relegation from the Championship, not losing a game during his 7 appearances there.

At the start of the 2012-13 season, Glasgow Rangers “came knocking” on Burnley’s door, but it appears negotiations broke down over personal terms, and a free transfer to Middlesbrough followed, where he remained for the remainder of the season, making 33 appearances and scoring just the once.

At the end of the 2013 season, Middlesbrough had a massive clear out of the dross, and Andre, Nicky Bailey and 7 other senior players were on their way out, with his very large suitcase being packed yet again. There have been so many Clubs involved, you have to wonder if he ever unpacks it. He certainly keeps Joel Essomba, his Agent, very busy.

A proposed move to Spain with the 2nd division outfit Centre d’Esports Sabadell Futbol Club near Barcelona didn’t materialize in 2013 after training with them, but he found more success in Greece where the 2013-2014 season was spent at Panetolikos Gymnastikos Filekpaideutikos Syllogos, where he made 23 appearances scoring twice.

Whilst it appears that he will be keeping Referee’s busy, it just might bring something different to the team, who haven’t had an “enforcer” for a number of years. Let’s just hope that the new number 15 can keep his temper under control.

The Bexley Bodger.

Isaac Layne training with Charlton.

Who ? I hear you say. Well, last season Isaac plied his trade with Billericay Town in the Ryman Premier League and is 19 years old. He can either play on the wing or up front, and is currently training with the Charlton Under 21 Development squad under the auspice of Jason Euell at Sparrows Lane.

He came through Brentford’s junior teams before being recommended to Billericay by the then Brentford Manager, and scored on his debut last season against Kingstonian. It’s believed he will stay at Charlton at least until the start of the season, at which time he will either become a Charlton player, or alternatively return to his parent club.

It’s believed he is quite quick and unpredictable, or in technical terms, “raw”.

As part of the deal a Charlton XI will travel to Billericay for a friendly on Tuesday 5th August with a 7.45 kick off.

No disrespect to the young man, but Charlton fans will be wondering where the quality is that will be needed to mount a competitive challenge this coming season. The players brought in to date have been somewhat “Rag, tag and bobtail”, leading some supporters to believe that they are in for a long season with relegation seeming far more likely than promotion.

Is Jonjo making a return to South London ?

Seems he is available at the right price. Palace are keeping tabs.

 

The Bexley Bodger.

Cedric Evina

Cedric Evina is expected to sign for Crawley Town.

Cedric’s “road to stardom”  started when he was signed by Arsenal as a  9 year old, signing professional terms in 2009, and going on to make 11 appearances for the Reserves.

In October 2010 he joined Oldham Athletic on loan, playing 13 times and scoring 1 goal. In January 2011 having been released by Arsenal, he rejoined Oldham making another 14 appearances with 1 goal.

In June 2011, having stated that he wanted to be nearer his family, he signed a 2 year deal with Charlton, which was eventually extended by another year. During this period he made just  23 appearances before being released by Charlton in May 2014.

We wish him all the best, and hope he can get his career “back on track” again.

 

 

The Bexley Bodger

Good luck to Jordan Cook

Jordan has joined Walsall after his contract was not extended by Charlton.

The 24 year old was never really given a chance at the Valley and was possibly quite a strange signing in the first place. He started off at Sunderland where he progressed through their youth system before signing professional terms in 2009. In an attempt to get experience behind him, Sunderland moved him on to league 2 outfit Darlington on loan, but it wasn’t long before he sustained a serious cruciate knee injury. He made his senior debut for Sunderland against Manchester United in a 2-0 defeat on Boxing Day 2010, and also played in a defeat at home to Chelsea.

March 2011 saw another loan-this time to his new employer, Walsall, scoring one goal in 8 appearances before returning to Sunderland.

This was followed by a loan move to Carlisle United in January 2012 on a one month loan deal, eventually playing 14 games and scoring 4 goals. At the end on the 2011/12 season Sunderland released him and he was signed by Charlton, making 10 appearance without managing to hit the net. During this period Charlton farmed him out to Yeovil, where he made just one appearance.

His professional career since 2009 involves just 41 appearances, and 5 goals.

I’m sure all Charlton Athletic fans wish him all the best, and hope he is able to get his career back on track.

 

The Bexley Bodger

 

Jordan Cook

Sint Truiden 0, Charlton Athletic 0. (We will score one day)

Well, here we are again for the second game in two days in the Flemish region of Belgium, somewhere between Hasselt and Tongeren in the province of Limburg. Like yesterday, the weather looks like it’s about to hammer it down.

90 minutes today, and again the team is an eclectic mix of youth, experience and trial players. We also got to see the new red and white home kit being displayed, whilst STVV wore their home kit of yellow shirts and blue shorts.

There are several players I hadn’t seen much of previously, so as a talent spotting exercise it was worth the short trip.

Feel free to dispute my ramblings, but this is how I saw the players performance-

Phillips: Started off a bit shaky with a dropped corner that nearly led to a goal, and also picked up a back pass leading to a free kick about 8 yards out in the centre of goal, which was beaten out somehow. Got better as the game went on and made a couple of decent saves late on. Looks to be a capable deputy to Pope.
Wilson: Usual game from him. Plenty of energy and some decent runs down the wing.
Wiggins: Usual game again. Didn’t look quite fit, but good to have him back.
Bikey: On trial at the moment, but looks like he would be a decent signing. He’s not the quickest of players, and he’s going to pick up lots of cards, but he’s a “man-mountain”, and certainly has a presence about him. Defended well in the area. He’s a “big unit”.
Gomez. Great game for someone so young. Looked composed on the ball, and got forward on occasions. Think we are going to see him breaking into the first team this coming season. With a couple of experienced defenders either side of him he looks very promising.
Daniel: Released by Palace, and I thought he was a defender, but seemed to be playing out of position further forward. Can’t really see him breaking through just yet. Got injured just before half time
Harriott: Not one of his better games, but a useful run out for him. Had trouble getting into the game. Not given much support. Anonymous for most of the time.
Jackson: As dependable as ever, and it looks like we are going to have to rely on him again this year. Took all the free kicks. Looks like we are going to need his goals even more than ever.
Cousins: Normal game from him without really dominating the mid field. Did nothing wrong.
Vetokele: I’m sure he is better than what we saw today, and I guess he needs time to work with the rest of the players. His game ended with a sickening collision with Davy Schollen, the STVV keeper, the latter being carried off on the stroke of half time. Difficult to tell the damage to Igor-possibly a rib injury. Let’s hope he’s OK.
Parzyszek: Difficult to make a judgement on him. Certainly didn’t impress. Tried hard, but lacked service.

And of the second half substitution-

Nego; As yesterday’s game, he got forward well, but still his passing lets him down. Can’t see him getting ahead of Chris Solly and Rhoys Wiggins.
Fox: Quiet game. Did some good covering and read the game well.
Morrison: Only on for a few minutes.
Cywka: Glad it’s not my job to decide whether to sign him or not. He doesn’t do anything wrong, but on the same token doesn’t grab your attention with anything special. He’s a midfield player, and we seem to be playing him wide and out of position. Really need to see more of him. I’m not convinced though.
Ansah: Needs time to “find his feet”, and get more games “under his belt”. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s difficult to imagine we’re going to see too much of him this coming season, despite his “illustrious” father.
Church: Just don’t get me started. Awful. Doesn’t look like a footballer, let alone a current Welsh international player.
Munns: A better game than yesterday and he wanted the ball at every opportunity. Good movement and reasonable passing. Might have scored near the end, but he’s so small it’s difficult to see him breaking into the team.
Moussa: Looks like he could be a decent addition to the squad, but will need time to “bed in”.
Buyens: I’m sure he will become a favourite, but need a bit of time to adjust.

For the second time in two days, the attack barely managed a shot between them, and I’m sure Bob Peeters will be well aware of their severe limitations. We have Reza Ghoochannejhad still to come back from World Cup duties, but even appreciating that these two games don’t mean too much, it’s quite obvious we are going to have goal scoring problems unless better players are signed.

I believe Bob Peeters is quoted as saying that if the players he wants become available, and we get them, he can see us being competitive. It’ll be interesting to see at the start of the season to see if he has been successful.

There were reports in the Belgian press yesterday that STVV were interested in an unnamed Charlton player on loan for the season. Please let it be Simon Church.

At the moment, it looks as if it’s going to be a long season, but it’s still early days. We do need a few quality players from somewhere though.

So, back to blighty tomorrow after savouring some of that Belgian beer tonight, and then off to the Guy Earl of Warwick on Saturday for the Welling United game. From there, it’s pack the mankini and off to Spain for a few days of Sun, Sangria and Soccer.

For anyone remotely interested, the team versus STVV-

Charlton: Dillon Phillips; Lawrie Wilson (Loic Nego), Rhoys Wiggins (Morgan Fox), Andre Bikey (Michael Morrison), Joe Gomez; Kadell Daniel (Tomasz Cywka), Callum Harriott (Moussa), Johnnie Jackson (Jack Munns), Jordan Cousins (Yoni Buyens); Igor Vetokele (Zak Ansah), Piotr Parzyszek (Simon Church)

Sint Truiden (First Half): Schollen, Daeseleire, Kotysch, Nirisarike, Odeurs, Schils, Schoofs, Swers, Aalhoul, Lazaar, Banvo.

Sint Truiden (Second Half): Dutoit, Gerits, Dequevy, Erichot, Habarugira, Renson, Hendrickx, Dufer (Aoulad), Zennaro (Arce), Boiten, Boukabous.

The Bexley Bodger.