Looking into Charlton's mid-season slump

Last season Charlton were only 1 point away from getting promoted behind champions, Crystal Palace and coming into this season they looked poised to make another push for promotion. They started this season in strong form picking up 4 wins in their first 4 league games in the Championship. In this span they only conceded 1 goal from 20 total shots, while scoring 8 times. Ever since their 2-1 loss in the league cup against Spurs - Charlton have slid all the way down to 8th place in the table, failing to win a single game since the 2-0 win over Blackburn at the end of September.

It's also worth pointing out that - at the time of writing - the parity in the league is pretty strong, as only 5 points separate 1st place Birmingham City (19)and 8th placed Charlton(14). This is in part down to clubs like London City Lionesses and Newcastle investing smartly in the summer window. The quality of teams they have faced in this 5 game stretch have all overtaken Charlton and they all look quite strong in terms of personnel. 

Charlton themselves recruited fairly smartly, picking up ex-Spurs forward, Ellie Brazil as a free agent. Sheffield United defensive pair Charlotte Newsham and Jodie Hutton and midfielder Melisa Filis from West Ham were also brought in over the summer. The losses of full-back, Rebecca McKenna and forward, Tegan McGowan to Birmingham as well as goalkeeper, Sian Rogers were the main departures over the summer and all three positions were replaced. Since fully committing to a 5 at the back defence at the start of the season manager, Karen Hills has largely selected the same players in, Beth Roe, Elisha N'Dow, Kiera Skeels, Charlotte Newsham and Jodie Hutton with Gracie Pearse being brought in at CB in some games.

In the 5 games they have dropped points in however, they've only allowed more than 1 expected goal in 3 separate games, being the losses against London City and Southampton, as well as the 3-3 draw vs Newcastle. The main outlier of those 3 was the London City loss in which they conceded 17 shots compared to the Southampton and Newcastle games where they allowed 8 and 6 shots respectively which - particularly against Newcastle - showed the sorts of chances they were giving up. 

One of Charlton's biggest defensive problems is dealing with attacks down their wide channels. For Bristol's opener in the 2-1 home loss, Hutton is left behind the play as some nifty inter-play between Mari Ward and Emily Syme set the former down the right flank unchallenged, before blowing by Beth Roe (at LCB/LB for this game) to cross the ball in to find Lexi Lloyd-Smith at the near post - who smartly nipped in front Elisha N'Dow - and head past Sophie Whitehouse. Against Newcastle, the first goal they conceded came from a knocked down long ball that let Amy Andrews in behind N'Dow who, along with Skeels, wasn't able to keep up with Andrews' run. This coupled with Newsham not picking up Hayles, who was hanging back in the centre of the box for the easy tap in from a cut back, highlights that Charlton's defence - particularly the centre backs - finds it difficult against wide players. 

Ellie Brazil isn't the be all and end all for this Charlton front line, but her presence was missed for the 2 full games she missed with a minor injury. Her pace was a real factor in stretching opposition back lines, along with her tendency to float across into the wide channels to take on full-backs. The team as a whole poses a decent threat from set-pieces with Melisa Filis and Jodie Hutton being the primary corner and free kick takers. The first two goals against Newcastle both came from corners delivered from Jodie Hutton on the right which saw a Charlton player get a touch on the ball from the initial delivery. 

Jodie Hutton in particular has had a good offensive season so far with 2 goals and 2 assists in the league including a fantastic cross to assist the first goal against Sunderland. The 24 year old has a wand of a left foot and it'll be important for the team that she continues to improve her offensive productivity down the left flank in order for them to get some sort of form back. 

This team certainly has the personnel to regain their early season form, but it does seem like teams have worked them out to an extent and have been able to capitalise on some gaps that are left at the back. 

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