Charlton Athletic (h): Three Things The Imps Need To Do To Win Tomorrow

Ahead of tomorrow’s match at home against Charlton Athletic in League One, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they think The Imps need to do to pick up all three points.

You can discuss what has been said in this article HERE, as well as get involved with our pre-match threads: You can post your score predictions, discuss the starting XI, and predict the attendance!

Here’s what sedgleyimp said:

1. Concentrate and cut out the errors. We simply cannot afford to make the mistakes we did at Bolton against teams in this division. Overall a performance which was pretty decent, but undermined by individual errors which cost us what would have been a hard-earned point. Teams at our level will punish us for any mistakes. Players need to be switched on for the full 90 minutes and cut these out.

2. Revert to a back 4. I have previously quite often advocated us playing with a back 3 and wing backs. We played a version of this at Bolton and it did work to a degree with a much more solid-looking defensive performance (bar the issues raised in point 1). That though was more of a back 5 than a 3. To make that system work properly you need the right players to be able to perform in the required roles. Centrally we are absolutely fine. It was a system that seemed to suit O’Connor better and having the likes of Walsh, Poole, Jackson and hopefully soon, Montsma we are very well covered in the centre of defence to play a 3. What we don’t have though are natural wing-backs. Eyoma on the right and either Roughan or Robson on the left are decent enough defenders but won’t offer that support going forward. Diamond and Garrick are probably our quickest players, but neither are that proficient in defending to see them as an option in that role. So we are in the position of either putting square pegs into round holes or making sure that the formation we play is the best for the players we have available. A back 5 in a tricky away game may be both acceptable and sensible. A home game against a team who are not in especially good form themselves I don’t think would be. Play the formation that best suits the players.

3. Start Mandroiu but assess where he can be the most dangerous and play him there. I think in his short cameo last week that Mandroiu showed he just could be our ace in the pack this season. I don’t want the expectation to get too stupid, but he looks to have that bit of something about him which is that little bit unexpected and that just might be the difference in unlocking those tight defences we have so often struggled against at home. However, we really need to make sure that we utilise him in a role which will get the best out of him. I stand to be corrected but he doesn’t look to have that killer pace which makes him a wide player and putting him there can lead to him becoming isolated in games. The videos that have been released on Youtube and other platforms suggest that he is an advanced midfielder, so perhaps a position just behind the main striker is the one where he can cause problems for the opposition. That will involve a tweak to our normal midfield roles, but one which just could be the difference against a team like Charlton.

Thank you to Graham Burrell and Lincoln City Football Club for the photograph!

Charlton Athletic (h): Three Things The Imps Need To Do To Win Tomorrow:https://t.co/KAoYe5so9b#ImpsAsOne #WeAreImps #CAFC

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) October 7, 2022