After Saturday's reassurance that the team can score goals, and Osman Kakay's steady start to the year at right back, there's a chance to allay the third of our pre-season worries (strength in depth) at Charlton in the League Cup tonight.

Charlton (1-1-0 DW 5th) v QPR (1-0-1 LW 8th)

Rumbelows Cup, first round >>> Tuesday August 9, 2022 >>> Kick Off 19.45 >>> Weather — Scorchio >>> The Valley, Charlton, London, SE7

Amidst the usual pre-season panic about QPR’s prospects, I had three specific concerns outlined in the preview of the Blackburn game a week or so back.

The first was where this team was going to get its goals from. It had started 2020/21 relying on Lyndon Dykes and Macauley Bonne as its principal strikers and that hadn’t gone well. Saturday’s thrilling, nourishing win against Middlesbrough did go someway towards allaying those fears… basically as long as Chris Willock stays and stays fit. The difference between the side with him in it on Saturday, versus the one that didn’t manage a shot on target against Rovers, was there for all to see. I would point out that all three goals, even Willock’s spectacular opener which came off a loose pass in midfield and should have been stopped at source with a tactical foul by either Jones or Dijksteel, were partly or wholly the product of Middlesbrough errors. But, then, a kind woman came up to me in the Crown afterwards and told me to stop being so miserable in these write ups so we’ll let that one slide for now.

The second was the lack of a Championship quality right back. While we’re still certainly short of cover there, and his crossing leaves a lot to be desired, Osman Kakay has done absolutely fine so far. He got a real blitzing last season, on the pitch from opponents and off the pitch from our own fans, and it does look like a like a little bit of confidence and composure has come back into his game over the summer. He was perhaps unlucky in 2021/22 that two of his rare chances for a start in the team were against Bournemouth, a team chucking money about and heading for promotion with a clutch of talented players sent down Kakay’s flank directly at him. He had to be mercy killed at Dean Court, and the TV cameras caught him disconsolately shaking his head on the bench afterwards. A tough night, the likes of which he wouldn’t have had if that first team chance had come against most other opponents in the league. It seems the rather puzzling low-balling of Millwall over Danny McNamara is over now, and Dujon Sterling is being linked instead. One thing I have found interesting, looking at the average position maps of our players on the field (and you didn’t even need to do that at Blackburn because it was starkly obvious from our spot high up behind the goal) is that we’re lopsided more to the right to attack, with Kakay way further forward than Paal, who you would have thought would be the more attacking full back of the two. There’ll be another right back from somewhere I’m sure, but for now Kakay has been decent enough and full credit to him because it can’t be easy as a young lad making your early way in the game knowing (because they’re good enough to slide into your socials to tell you) that a lot of your own fans think you’re crap.

The third was a chronic lack of strength in depth, and there’s a chance to see where we are on that this evening at Charlton. Let’s set aside, for once, the debate about how strong and serious you go in cup competitions. Both regular readers are well aware of my thoughts on this after 20 years of me writing that preview twice a season — cup runs breed confidence, build atmosphere, attract new and lapsed supporters, make money, sell tickets, provide excitement. In seasons when you’re not likely to be involved at either end of your league table, treating them as some distraction from the business of finishing twelfth in the Championship isn’t for me. I’m perfectly willing to accept 90 minutes for Chris Willock tonight is probably the worst idea since Hitler’s dad said to Hitler’s mum let’s head up to bed early tonight Brunhilda I’m feeling a little saucy tonight, but some of the nonsense we’ve seen from our managers in recent years (Steve McClaren at Blackpool, the resting of Nahki Wells v Sheff Wed) has boiled my piss. Alas, I think people of my persuasion have long since lost that battle, and we’re to expect changes for this game as a matter of course.

And, in fact, I’m heading to The Valley tonight quite intrigued by what the players in that layer below the starting 11 do with the opportunity, and just how good (or not, as the case may be) they are. Sinclair Armstrong we’ve heard all about, and this is obviously a big chance for him. Macauley Bonne, too — I was really impressed with his cameo at the weekend, and actually the way he came on, broke play up, disrupted Boro, stopped their defenders having clear path to play balls and runs forward at us while we were hanging on, made me wish he’d been brough from the bench a little bit sooner. That he wasn’t, that nobody was, despite Boro battering away at us for so long, probably betrays how little faith Mick Beale has with his bench options at the moment, but Bonne was good, drew a red card from Lenihan in stoppage time, and has a chance here to start building some more bridges against his former club. Albert Adomah is another — particularly poor towards the back end of last season and alarmingly off the pace of the game at Blackburn, he then delivered a masterclass in possession retention and game management against Chris Wilder’s side so let’s see what he’s got.

It's getting towards piss or get off the pot time for both George Thomas and Andre Dozzell, if not quite with the club then certainly with the supporters. If they hold ambitions of regular spots in Beale’s Championship team this season then any opportunity to have a go at a much-changed League One team has to be seized upon. This time a year ago I actually thought Faysal Bettache looked better for us against Orient than Dozzell did and that can’t happen again tonight from his point of view. Conor Masterson, too, perhaps given a new opportunity by the appointment of his former youth coach as manager, because Warburton wasn’t having him at all. Not quite last orders at the Last Chance Saloon, but that’s certainly where his bar stool resides at the moment. Are they really going to make Paal do another 90 minutes, and then another on Saturday? Or is this Travelman’s chance to grace us with his presence? Could be a long night down that side if so.

And, we’re told, it might belatedly be time for Tyler Roberts to surface for a QPR debut after an injury-hit pre season. A career average of a goal every ten games doesn’t immediately suggest he’s going to bolster our scoring threat, but in the two competitive games we’ve seen under the new manager so far he and we do like that low, forceful pass out of the central midfield three, 20-30 yards forward into the ten role to a recipient with his back to goal. Dykes was a billion times better at dealing with that and redistributing it on Saturday than he had been at Ewood Park, but I would presume it’s that part of the game we’ve brought Roberts in to do. Fascinated to see whether I’m right on that, and how it goes.

Beale shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking fans write these cup games off and give you a free pass. They don’t. Chris Ramsey will be able to tell him that — frayed tempers snapped with him completely after a home beating by Carlisle. McClaren, too. But plenty of intrigue and stuff to look forward to in the line-up and how it plays this evening.

Plus, you know, it’s 30 degrees, and a kindly draw has given us an afternoon drinking by the river, so there’s always that…

Links >>> Incorporating Swindon — Interview >>> Third in line — History >>> Prem ref Attwell in charge — Referee >>> Charlton official website >>> South London Press — Local press >>> Charlton Live — Podcast >>> Into The Valley — Message Board >>> Forever Charlton — Blog

Below the fold

Team News: Jake Clarke-Salter sat out the weekend win against Boro with a tight hamstring and while that’s not expected to be serious I’d be amazed to see him involved at all tonight. Worse news for Taylor Richards, who aggravated a knock sustained at Blackburn in training to such an extent that they’re now talking about the Brighton loanee missing a couple of months. With Tyler Roberts also out it meant Kenneth Paal was the only one of the summer new comers available at the weekend — the risk of taking a chance on players with chequered injury histories to try and find value in the market shining through there. Roberts, however, is expected to be able to make some form of senior debut tonight. Sinclair Armstrong, too, missed the bench at the weekend with a knock but is in the squad and expected to get a chance to press his case some more this evening.

Conor McGrandles, a summer midfield arrival from Lincoln, had to be taken off against Derby at the weekend with a bad head knock and while he was better after the game concussion protocols might see him miss out. Mandela Egbo, one of the close season intake from Swindon, picked up a significant knee injury in pre-season and has yet to feature. Likewise Chuks Aneke who returned here after a brief stay at Birmingham last season.

Ben Garner has made no secret of prioritising a promotion push over the cups this season and is expected to make several changes to the team that’s taken four points from its first two games. “We need to utilise the squad,” he said. “There are players who’ve trained really well and deserve an opportunity to play, but we still want to put a team on who can win the game, regardless of how many changes we make within games and between games — the ultimate objective is to still win. Our priority is the league, for sure, but we want to be competitive in every competition we play in, even the EFL Trophy, which is another opportunity to blood young players, show case them first-team football and see what they can do. But, again we want to win the game and win whatever competition we are in, so we have to utilise those changes wisely.”

Elsewhere: A whopping 27 games in this round tonight, with six more tomorrows and then a lone Thursday game between West Brom Reserves and Sheff Utd Reserves.

The television have gone with Mark Hughes meticulous preparation for the business of winning League Cup football matches with Bradford City at home to Hullspor, though I’m slightly surprised they didn’t take up the opportunity of Nigel Clough’s Mansfield side hosting Derby. The Rams have responded to their eleventh hour financial rescue by heading out into the market and hoarding a whole load of expensive 30-somethings with no sell-on value to it’s good to know the trauma of the last 18 months was at least a learning experience for them.

Championship clubs with awkward away games is always fun for those not involved. In that genre tonight we have Wigan Warriors at Scott Brown’s Fleetwood, Stoke heading up to the North West to face Morecambe, and Swanselona fresh from their latest masterclass of football purity in a 3-0 loss at home to Blackburn travelling across too Oxford. Champ clubs hosting lower league sides include Blackpool v Barrow, Cardiff v Portsmouth and Luton v Newport. All Championship clashes between Norwich and Birmingham, and Huddersfield and Preston interest nobody.

The ongoing farce with Coventry’s pitch means they’re taking their Wednesday tie with fellow second tier outfit Bristol City on the road. Somebody’s clearly been at the LFW handbook of how to turn a crisis into a chance to drink decent beer and eat pork pies because they’ve picked Burton as the venue. Sheff Wed v Sunderland a nice chance to dickswing about who’s the most massive club. Not sure I fancy Rotherham at Port Vale much.

Referee: Feels like slight overkill for a pretty low key Championship v League One tie in the early rounds of the League Cup, but Premier League and UEFA referee Stuart Attwell gets this game. Attwell, of course, has history with QPR from earlier in his career. Details.

Form

Charlton: The Addicks brought in manager Ben Garner and three separate signings from League Two Swindon in the summer and they’ve started with a 2-2 draw at Accrington in which they took a 2-1 lead in stoppage time but conceded off the restart, and then a 1-0 home win against Derby here at the weekend. Johnnie Jackson’s brief reign as manager floundered on the rocks of six defeats and a nil nil draw with Sunderland through seven matches in March, but Charlton did finish with six wins and a draw from their final ten games. They finished thirteenth in League One with a 17-8-21 record, at The Valley they were 10-4-9. The Addicks have been to cup quarter finals more recently than we have — FA Cup in 2013/14 as a Championship side and League Cup in 2006/07 when they were a Premier League team - however, generally their recent knock out record is every bit as ropey as ours. They’ve only been beyond the second round of this competition once in 14 seasons (beaten in round three in 2015/16) and have lost in the first round in eight of those campaigns including last season when Wimbledon won here 1-0 at this stage of the comp. Jayden Stockley was top scorer here last season with 13. Charlton have only lost once at home to QPR in 12 meetings here since 1987/88 — Adam Bolder scoring the only goal in a televised clash in 2007/08. Rangers have lost their last three visits here without scoring, most recently going down 1-0 to a Darren Pratley goal in the Championship in the second game back after the Covid lockdown.

QPR: Rangers beat Orient on penalties after a 1-1 draw in this round of this competition last season and subsequently beat Oxford 2-0 at home and Premier League Everton on pens after a 2-2 draw at Loftus Road to reach round four. It was their best performance in the competition since 2008//09 when a shock win against Aston Villa at Villa Park took us into a fourth round 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford. Of course but for the latest Keith Stroud-supervised catastrophe, Charlie Austin’s legitimate late goal would have stood and QPR would have had a quarter final at Arsenal — the R’s haven’t been that deep into the competition since 1988/89 when they lost 5-2 at Nottingham Forest. That run included a second round 2-1 victory against Charlton at Loftus Road, one of six games between these teams in the League Cup across four ties — the last being a two legged 3-0 aggregate defeat against the Addicks in 1998/99. Sunderland’s subsequent victory on penalties in W12 was the fifth season in a row the R’s have been dumped out of a cup competition by a League One side — Plymouth 2020/21, Pompey 2019/20, Blackpool 2018/19, MK Dons 17/18 (FA Cup). It means that Rangers have still only been to one cup quarter final, in either competition, since 1990 — the 1994/95 FA Cup quarter final away to Man Utd. Chris Willock’s spectacular opening goal against Boro on Saturday was his eleventh QPR goal in 57 starts and 20 sub appearances, three of them against Middlesbrough — QPR have never lost a game in which Willock has scored (W9 D2). Saturday was the first time in 21 games that Rangers have scored more than two in a game (Reading H, 4-0) and just the fifth game they’ve won in that sequence.

Prediction: Often the most difficult prediction to make all season, with even clubs in League One now making multiple changes to their line ups for these early round cup games and the results often hanging more on the team sheets than anything else. Given we’ve said strength in depth is one of QPR’s key weaknesses this season I’ll go with my usual prediction for these games of a draw and straight to penalties.

LFW’s Prediction: Charlton 1-1 QPR. Scorer — Macauley Bonne

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FrankRightguard added 12:31 - Aug 9 On the subject of Kakay playing higher than Paal, I’d imagine it’s a lot to do with Chair and Willock both liking to drift left and cut in taking that space. Kakay doesn’t have that his side so he’s making the width. I reckon.
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extratimeR added 12:45 - Aug 9 Yes, I think Kakay has done well so far, a very good performance against Middlesbrough where Wilder really put him under the cosh, ( surprised Beale waited so long to put their matching full back under similar pressure with Adomah , which master move). I must admit everyone around me was watching in horror at Paals positional play in the second half, again someone Bonne? Should have been on earlier to support him. Cheers Clive!½

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