Sunday 14 September 2014

Yellows !

Sadly one of the biggest memories from the game - Andy and his yellow cards.

The visit of Watford was always going to increase the amount of yellow on show and ref Andy Madley was keen to add to it as he brandished several cards of the colour during the afternoon. It was a poor display from the official as whilst I'm pleased he turned down Watford's appeal for a pen, it certainly was one. Of course it made little difference as there's no doubt Henderson would have saved it anyway !

Watford were fortunate to still have eleven players on the pitch at the end. There's plenty of argument that their central defender who hauled down Vetokele when through on goal in the first half was one candidate. Another was their number 6 who, when already booked, pulled a shirt ( Cousins' I think ) the ref acknowledge it as he waved play on but failed to follow up with a second and the subsequent red.

The Addicks needed to defend well yesterday especially as our friend Andy managed to find an extra 10 minutes of play. We were under pressure for a lot of the time especially in the second half but solid defending allied to poor Watford finishing meant we were to secure the three points.

It's a new manager for Watford but the same old antics on the pitch. Plenty of diving and cynical fouls. Pudil was one of those and he was very lucky to escape a yellow following a blatant dive in the second half.

Obviously Bikey took exception to a Deeney tackle on TBH as he clearly felt he left a foot in. It threatened to boil over after some pushing and shoving but fortunately it didn't get worse than that.

Deeney, who had an off day in front of goal, admirably kept his cool and sense of humour late on in the face of goading from some fans in the east stand. Incorrectly accused of a serious offence in charmless fashion by some, he merely smiled and winked at them. Taunts of " you fat bastard " only led to Troy lifting his shirt to expose a six pack.

Our great start continues then but the team still lacks a couple of players at a minimum as it is realistically a small squad. Another striker and a winger remain a must. One hope that this will be addressed soon.

We lacked urgency yesterday after we went ahead. We needed to pass and move quicker and with more intent. When we do that we look as great but we can't sit back for long periods as we will come a cropper at some stage.

Vetokele was again impressive yesterday. His strength and pace are awesome and his is vital to us. He will increasingly be noticed by other clubs if this continues and it's to be hoped that we can keep hold of him. If we stay up at the top of the league then there is greater hope of course.

The club clearly intends to look after the pitch now that we've got it sorted. For the first time in my life I saw the lawn mowers come out within minutes of the final whistle.



Elsewhere in the crazy world of football sees Russell Slade being told he must win on Tuesday or he'll be sacked. Wonderful reward for a manager who's worked wonders for the O's. Conversely Pardew and Felix aka Penfold ( above ) are still in situ when they really ought not to be. Sunderland fans and ourselves respectively will hope that they do for a while yet and in our case, at least until we play Fulham on the Friday at the end of October...........I can't see it myself.

Visits to The Valley are a whole lot more enjoyable this season as the performances and results will testify. Next up on Tuesday are Wolves who sit one point above us in third. It'll be another tough test of our home record. Let's hope that we can add another win to those already achieved this season.


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