This is part two of the topics covered by South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition at yesterday’s press conference to preview the Sheffield United match.
Now, I didn’t actually ask anything about the match against the Blades.
The main reason is that it is never going to give you a headline or a genuine talking point.
I’ve yet to have a manager say anything contentious about opponents and that seems mainly due to the fact they don’t want those comments being pinned up in the dressing room along the corridor. Team-talk sorted.
On Nathaniel Chalobah’s playing history at Sheffield Wednesday and warning flags about his availability – was that a gamble that had to be taken?
“We were on a journey that we needed to go on from what we did last year.
“When I first came in we had to get away from the League One relegation zone – which we did. We put a structure in place and went 14 games unbeaten.
“Next season we had to go from 18th in League One to a minimum of top six. We did that and got promoted. That is a meteoric rise.
“We were a really good League One team by the end of that season – top three along with Wrexham and Birmingham in terms of points taken. Then suddenly all the stuff you got tested at in League One – that structure – gets transported into a monster of a league.
“We have to step up again.
“We have to make sure we do everything we did in League One at Championship level. It is very difficult to then evolve into a really fluid possession-based team, which we didn’t.
Nathaniel Chalobah/Picture: Paul Edwards
“Once we had a year and established ourselves, it is what we wanted to do. To evolve, to have more possession and be a little more of a force in games – not just contain teams.
“To do that you need the football. We felt we needed that Championship-level quality. We tried to sign Ethan Galbraith. He chose to go to Swansea and now he has gone (to Stoke) for nearly £10m. That is the type we wanted to sign. We weren’t able to sign that.
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