August was very good for Charlton Athletic. It was always going to be a challenge for the Addicks to match that productivity points-wise in September. And the bottom line is that they didn’t manage to do that.
Just to apply some team context prior to delving into this month’s ratings, Charlton headed into the lengthy international break with 12 points from their eight matches.
One more victory would have put them on the same total as West Ham United and Middlesbrough, who are second and third in the Championship table.
But the Addicks have the worst goal difference (minus three) in the top half of the division due to conceding seven times in emphatic losses at Stoke City and Cardiff City.
Below is a table of Charlton’s xG (expected goals), total shots and shots on target in September - and how their opponents measured up in those matches.
The Addicks collected three points this month and that is the lowest along with Watford and Burnley. They scored the fewest goals (two). Four other clubs - Middlesbrough, Wrexham, Birmingham and Burnley - matched Charlton by conceding eight goals. Five clubs were leakier, with Bolton Wanderers breached 13 times (although they netted nine).
I quite often find myself trawling the stats on Opta Analyst and I’ve had a look at their predicted final table. It currently has Charlton to finish 20th on 55 points. It gives a 9.18 per cent likelihood of promotion via the play-offs. It has a 20.06 per cent chance of relegation (Bolton, Derby, Cardiff, Watford and Preston have a greater probability).
Let’s jump into the ratings. Players have to have played at least 90 minutes in the month to get a score.
