Match analysis

Francis Jeffers experienced what has almost become an established Valley tradition for the first time after the match against Villa when he received the Silver Bone from the paws of match analyst Hooch the Pooch. The two superb strikes by Jeffers clearly merited the award. Deano had a good game, making some vital and excellent saves. Fortune still looks like the weakest link in the team and was under pressure on occasions. Feesh is not the fastest defender in the Premiership, but he coped more than adequately with what was thrown at him. Young scored for the first time to celebrate his 100th appearance with the Addicks, although his attempt at a follow up was less successful. Hreidarsson was on top form again, contributing to both attack and defence. With his return to international duty, Kishishev seems to have recaptured his form and had another excellent match. Murphy is the one new player who seems not to have fully settled into the team and he made some worrying errors, but his game improved as the match went on. Rommedahl once again showed the damage that he can do with his runs forward. Euell had another excellent game, contributing in defence as well as attack. Lisbie was unfortunate not to score and his pace caused problems for the Villa defence. Konchesky was relatively anonymous after he came on. El Karkouri made one decisive intervention after his appearance from the bench and one wonders why Fortune is preferred to him. Hughes did not have much time to show what he could do, but the Bloke Beside Me commented, 'I don't know why but I think that he has the makings of a footballer.'

Juneau the Soccer Cat has given the Hiss of the Match to Carlton Cole who became increasingly frustrated at his inability to score. 'You should have stayed at the Valley' was the ironic chart from the Addickted. No thanks.

Crowd Rating: It may be a case of 'you only sing when you're winning', but I though that the crowd was in good heart from the start of the match. The appearance of inventive chants is always a good sign and I particularly liked 'He only sweats when he's roasting' delivered at the Carthorse. What was a concern was the number of empty seats again: the attendance was lower than that mustered by the Baggies at the Hawthorns. Perhaps success will help to fill the stadium. 8/10.



Senior match analyst Hooch the Pooch thinks that shades give you cred in the press box at an evening match