The legendary Sam Bartram was our keeper when I first started watching Charlton. Sam wasn't without his faults. He was a bit of a showman, which was one reason he never got called up for England by the committee of blazers and stuffed shirts that made the selections in those days. However, when Eddie Marsh was in goal, one noticed Sam's absence.
Of our recent keepers, Dean Kiely was outstanding, although Scott Carson deserves an honourable mention. Sasa Ilic's save at Wembley will always be one of those few golden Charlton moments, but it was a relatively easy save to make.
So what has happened to Nicky Weaver? In my view he was a competent Championship level goalkeeper in a team where many of the players do not meet that standard. He then hit a patch of poor form and a combination of that and injury saw him dropped. But presumably he has now recovered from what was not that serious an injury. There was a rumour that he might be going elsewhere which would make sense given that he apparently on high wages.
Given that we will presumably have to rely on Elliott and Randolph in League 1 next season, it makes sense to give them some match experience now. Neither of them has exactly covered themselves in glory, although they do have a defence in front of them that tends to freeze when under attack. The Sunday Times blamed Elliott for both of the goals at Bramall Lane on Saturday. Randolph may be marginally the better of the two, but I have not seen enough of them to be sure.
Given that Tuesday's match against Palace may be the last meaningful match of the season for many of the Addickted, or certainly the last one with any atmosphere as another blogger has pointed out, is this the time to recall Weaver?
9 comments:
Is Weaver on an appearance fee? This may be why the club aren't playing him. Surely no one is concerned about clean sheet bonus'
Unlike you Wyn, i'm not quite old enough to have seen Bartram and Marsh. I have however, seen Goalies such as John Dunn, Charlie Wright, Mike Salmon and of course Dean Kiely. All terrific keepers.
When it comes to Sasa Ilic, i seem to be out on a limb. I thought he was a truly dreadful keeper. Expressing this opinion did not endear me to other fans, but i stand by it. Look what happened to him after he left Charlton!
Scott Carson was not great either. He could pull off some astounding shot stopping, then let a simple one into the net. As fans of England and Aston Villa found out.
As for our current crop.I disliked Weaver when he was at Citteh, and his arrival at the Valley didn't change my opinion of him. I don't think he is very good at all. Let him go.
Elliot and Randolph? As you imply neither are the finished article, but finances dictate we stick with them, and as we are effectively relegated, why not?
I believe Weaver is still carrying a hip injury.He is on,allegedly,£20k a week.If so,the question has to be asked why did the board sanction it in a summer when staff wer being laid off?
There are enough competent keepers around that you could pick up for a quarter of that.
Would like to agree with Daggs,I thought Ilic was awful.
Sasa Ilic was a poor keeper but a big character. He was more than competent during our final unbeaten run to the Play Offs and seemed to really believe he could do the job.
Unfortunately, he quickly became a liability. I remember him throwing the game away for us in Martin Pringle's first game at The Dell. On the train up to Manchester United we all decided that the game was up as Ilic was playing.
What really cemented his reputation was when Curbs did West Ham a 'favour' and loaned him there to get them out of a goalkeeping crisis. He proceeded to rush from his area, drop easy balls and have a nightmare.
Didn't Illic 's confidence take a turn for the worse when we got promoted, as his family were in Yugoslavia at the time, in the midst of the civil war?
Pembury Addick
My confidence in Ilic took a 'turn for the worse' When at home to Leicester (i think) He twice ran to the edge of the area to punch away a high ball, missed it completely and they scored on both occasions!
i think ilic's performances took a tumble after he had that injury at chelsea,wasn't he knocked out and had to be stretchered off. i think. before that he did ok.
i really liked graham tutt and nicky johns.
Sasa's family were most probably at home in Australia, so it is not likely that concern for their safety was an issue affecting his level of play.
perhaps he was worried about them getting sunburnt then!
Pembury Addick
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