Charlton way just fine with Coleman
Coleman takes his team to The Valley tonight for a London derby to face a club that continues to prosper in English football’s top division in its fifth straight season among the elite.
And Coleman was quick to pay tribute to the achievements of Charlton boss Alan Curbishley.
“Charlton are an example for us to follow,” he said. “They have been in the Premiership for longer than us, and they have established themselves now.
“The main priority for the vast majority of clubs in this league is simply to stay in it.
“Charlton have done a very good job in achieving that for five successive seasons.”
Coleman has observed Charlton closely for some years, and claims that Curbishley’s managerial ability is the chief reason behind their success.
Since Curbishley took over in July 1991, the south-east Londoners have gone from being one of the capital’s minor clubs to arguably its third strongest outfit behind Chelsea and champions Arsenal.
Coleman continued: “Alan has always signed good professionals, and it seems that, from the outside looking in, there is a real togetherness about the club.
“Alan never sets any unrealistic goals, and he never gets carried away from year to year, and that is why they have done as well as they have.
“They have good fans, and they have left Selhurst Park and gone back to The Valley, which is a great stadium.”
The match is an important one for two teams beginning to rediscover their best form after some shaky displays early in the season.
Charlton have won their last three matches away from home and have been beaten only twice at The Valley in the Premiership, while Fulham approach the game in good heart following their 1-1 draw with Manchester United last Monday.
The encouraging showing against United came with Fulham lining up in a 4-4-2 formation, a tactic that has seen performances improve considerably since the home defeat by Blackburn.
Since that 2-0 loss on November 27, Fulham were unlucky to go down 2-1 to Chelsea in the Carling Cup, before they won at Norwich and held Alex Ferguson’s men.
And Coleman indicated that he is likely to stick with 4-4-2 against Curbishley’s team.
“I think we changed it because we were so poor against Blackburn, and our idea was to have a go at Chelsea, who are a good team in possession,” he recalled.
“I still think that 4-5-1 can be good for us, but perhaps I needed longer to work on it with the players.
“We haven’t got to grips with it in the way that I had hoped we would. When we are attacking, we aren’t too bad, but there have been lapses in defence.
“That was a big factor, because we were conceding goals in what seems to be a defensive formation. I thought we needed to score more goals as we were letting them in, and 4-4-2 allows us to be a little more attack-minded.”
Coleman also acknowledged the impact made by Brian McBride since he was brought back into the starting XI.
The American striker has formed a good partnership with captain Andy Cole, and Coleman is delighted with his side’s newly-discovered cohesion in attack.
“We wanted to get Brian on the pitch for the Chelsea game,” said Coleman. “Because there was no enthusiasm among the players when we lost to Blackburn.
“Brian McBride has as much enthusiasm as you could wish to see in a player. So we needed to get him on the pitch against Chelsea, and he has kept his place ever since.”
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