Ben Garner: Aim criticism for six game winless run at me – not the Charlton players
Charlton manager Ben Garner says any criticism should be aimed towards him as his side made it six without a win following a 3-1 defeat at Barnsley.
The Tykes edged ahead inside 10 minutes as Josh Benson rifled beyond the returning Craig MacGillivray from range. Garner’s side squandered a number of decent openings as the first-half wore on but were made to pay as Devante Cole was able to weave his way into the Addicks box and square for James Norwood shortly after the restart.
Cole added his name to the scoresheet as he was given the freedom of the Addicks penalty area 15 minutes from time.
Jack Payne did grab his first Charlton goal to reduce the arrears soon after but the damage had already been done.
The Addicks drop to 16th in the League One table – three points above the drop zone and six points off the top six.
When asked about his side’s six-game dry spell, Garner said: “I don’t think that should be on [the players]. That responsibility is on me. Any criticism, any abuse – that should come my way.
“Let the players get on with it and turn it around. That’s what I want from them. I’m out here and taking responsibility. The only way to turn it around is working hard, improving and going to show bravery on the pitch when we play.
“I’ll keep working, I’ll keep fighting. We have to try and turn this around. This isn’t anything new, this is a long period at this football club. I’m not shirking responsibility, sine I’ve walked through the door, that’s on me. But we have to turn the corner. We have to start looking forwards as a football club. We have to start building and giving these supporters what they deserve.”
PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS
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The risk/reward ratio for the style of play that Mr Garner employs is unfavourable at this level and it puts great demand on the players, resulting in inconsistency amongst other things . It is made even more difficult when the opposition refuses to cooperate with it. In short, you need a certain type of player and a certain playing style to get promoted out of League 1. At the moment, Charlton have neither.
I see disturbing similarities between the demands and expectations that Mr Garner places on his squad and those that Mr Adkins imposed. And the road to Hell is paved with good intentions
There are perhaps 5 teams in League 1 that could survive in the Championship and it is those with which Charlton need to compete, not the average League 1 team. In order to do that, the very least that is required is that incoming money from player sales is ring-fenced to create a fund to buy new players and this does not seem to have been happening. Mr Garner was probably set a “top 6” target when he took the job, in which case, he will almost certainly have asked about the budget available for purchasing players. I wonder whether all promises made to him have been kept.
I seem to remember that Conor Washington stated that he informed Nigel Adkins that he was not equipped to play the wide role that he was allocated. Johnnie Jackson played to the strengths of both Washington and Stockley and as a result they complemented each other exceptionally well. With that in mind, I was surprised at the apparent lack of effort that seemed to be expended on keeping Conor at the club. However I am not surprised that Jayden Stockley is looking relatively ineffective this season. I put it down partly to the absence of Washington and partly because in the system that Charlton are currently using, he was not going to be effective. measures need to be taken to enable Jayden to perform at his best.
I understand that Charlton were looking for a player who could “run in behind”. Isn’t that what Conor Washington was good at. Washington also had an excellent work rate……
I have no wish to be over-critical, in my opinion Mr Garner is an excellent but perhaps misguided coach and Mr Sandgard a well meaning but naive owner who nevertheless has done a lot for the club. With those 2 thoughts in mind I wouldn’t want either of them or the long-suffering fans to be disappointed………..