Tuesday 9 January 2024
So no under 21’s game yesterday but news that the Charlton women’s team had played a closed door friendly on Sunday against Tottenham and lost 2-1. Had Mel Johnson (sponsored by our group) scored a late penalty (it was saved by the ‘keeper) it would have secured a very commendable draw against the WSL opponents. The game will have been good preparation for this weekend’s cup game at Ipswich.
The Women’s team is certainly managing to overshadow their male counterparts in terms of results this season.
Back on the transfer scene for the men’s team and it looks like Conor Coventry has slipped through the net and is heading to Sheffield Wednesday.
Sad news yesterday of Franz Beckenbauer passing. A player of his ability would certainly help get the Charlton defence more organised. There have been a few Michael Hector long passes this season that remind me of Beckenbauer. Maybe not quite the pinpoint accuracy often enough.
On the subject of the Charlton defence my biggest disappointment this season has been Lucas Ness. He broke into the first team last season and looked so good the worry was he’d be targeted by clubs in the Championship. Quite what went wrong at the start of this season is a mystery. Did a few mistakes lead to a downward spiral in confidence? Who knows it might be things happening in his life outside football. Perhaps the changes in managers and coaching staff have not helped? He has played only a few games under Michael Appleton and spent a lot of time on the bench. There may be an injury picked up in training? At this stage of the season he is not getting any game time and the club seem to have decided not to play over age players in the under 21s of late. Perhaps if the necessary centre back recruits are brought in he’ll have the opportunity to go out on loan. Similar thoughts around Deji Elewere who looks a very good prospect and had a good run of games for Bromley in the National League before being brought back as cover when Lloyd Jones was injured. Cover is going to be required not just for injuries but likely suspensions in the second half of the season, based on the number of yellow cards that have been picked up recently!
It would be good to see a few experienced defenders coming through the door sooner rather than later in this transfer window.