Theo was silent when he heard the news.
In the most crucial match, he was unable to play.
He could not tell anyone, “I have skills that can help the team win.” Unfortunately, this time he could only watch the match from the bench.
Goalkeeper coach Freddie Woodman patted him on the shoulder to comfort him: “We all know your hard work, but Rob Elliot has maintained a streak of 10 clean sheets.
We cannot lose this match; we even need to win!
You two are in healthy competition.” Regarding this, Theo could only accept it.
Perhaps, in the head coach’s eyes, facing a strong team still required an experienced goalkeeper.
Theo could only continue to wait silently for new changes.
April 17, 2010.
At The Valley, Charlton Athletic faced the visiting Norwich City.
This was also the key match of the round, and many BBC television stations broadcasted it.
Norwich City only needed to win this match to lock in their promotion to the EFL Championship three rounds early.
And if Charlton Athletic won, they would keep their hope of fighting for the direct promotion spot alive.
A total of 20,023 fans came to the stadium to watch this match.
Theo watched the entire match from the bench.
This match was extremely tense, with both sides having plenty of chances.
The only goal of the match came in the 34th minute.
Norwich defender Michael Nelson scored a header from a corner kick, and Rob Elliot was unable to defend the ball.
In the end, Charlton Athletic lost 1-0 to Norwich City.
For Charlton Athletic, this loss dealt a heavy blow to their hopes of impacting the EFL Championship.
When Norwich City celebrated their early promotion at the Charlton Athletic stadium with the visiting fans, the Charlton Athletic players could only leave silently.
In the following league rounds, Theo watched the entire matches from the bench.
April 24, 2010, Round 44.
Charlton Athletic played away against Exeter City.
The two sides drew 1-1, and Charlton Athletic’s starting goalkeeper was Rob Elliot, who played the full match.
This draw also meant Charlton Athletic completely lost the hope of direct promotion to the EFL Championship, as they were already 7 points behind the second-placed Leeds United.
May 1, Round 45.
Charlton Athletic hosted Leeds United, who had already secured their direct promotion spot.
Although they defeated their opponent 1-0, it was of no avail.
Charlton Athletic locked in their playoff qualification two rounds early, and defeating their opponent only made their ranking look a bit better.
May 8, the final round.
Charlton Athletic defeated Oldham 2-0 away.
They finished 4th in the final ranking and were about to enter the playoff battle.
Their semifinal opponent was the 5th-placed Swindon Town.
The match time was set for May 14, with Charlton Athletic playing away first and then at home.
If they could get a good score away, they could use their home advantage to win upon returning.
After a month of substitute life, Theo had also learned a lot of tactical knowledge from the perspective of an onlooker on the sidelines.
He had developed a better understanding of the situation on the field.
The media had not come to disturb him recently, which perhaps verified the saying: when you fall from grace, the world forgets you; when you rise, you attract attention from all directions.
After keeping clean sheets in the last two rounds, Rob Elliot was full of confidence for the playoffs.
He even declared at the pre-match press conference that he would keep a clean sheet away.
As a substitute, apart from some small entertainment magazines coming over to stir up minor gossip, major media outlets no longer interviewed Theo.
May 14, 2010, at 19:45.
At Swindon Town’s home ground.
Rob Elliot played as the starting goalkeeper.
Theo waited quietly on the bench as a substitute.
Perhaps because everyone was too cautious in the first half, they played very conservatively.
The few shots taken were all off-target, making Theo feel sleepy on the sidelines.
After changing ends for the second half, Swindon Town launched a wave of attacks first.
After continuously breaking into Charlton Athletic’s hinterland, in the 52nd minute, Swindon Town’s forward Charlie Austin headed in a cross from a teammate, scoring the first goal for the team.
After conceding the goal, Charlton Athletic launched a massive counterattack, wanting to equalize.
In the 60th minute, Charlton Athletic lost the ball in the front court, and Swindon Town launched a quick counterattack.
Danny Ward used his speed to take advantage of Charlton Athletic’s unstable defense during the counterattack, scoring with a low shot and extending the lead to 2-0.
Rob Elliot was helpless against these two shots in just eight minutes.
Theo was also anxious watching from the sidelines, but there was nothing he could do.
He could not say to the head coach, “Let me play!
I am very good at handling one-on-ones and headers!” Coach Phil Parkinson also looked livid; he shouted from the sidelines, telling the players to stabilize their defense first before planning their attacks.
This was the opponent’s home ground; if they lost their minds and engaged in a shootout now, they might get beaten 5-0 or 6-0, and then they would not even need to play the second leg.
Charlton Athletic, having calmed down, saw forward Dion Burton score a long-distance header in the 65th minute from a goal kick, pulling one back for the team.
This precious goal allowed Charlton Athletic to cope more easily when returning home.
Being behind by one goal versus two goals creates a huge psychological difference.
After pulling one back, Charlton Athletic’s morale was boosted, and they attacked heavily, but it was to no avail.
In the following twenty-plus minutes, even with both coaches making substitutions, there were no more goals.
In the end, Charlton Athletic lost 2-1 away to Swindon Town.
They could only look forward to the home match.
A 2-1 score was acceptable to both sides.
Theo, who did not get any playing time, could only silently increase his own training.
But at this stage, the growth of his personal practice attributes had slowed down a lot.
He used to be able to increase by one or two points every day, but now he could only increase by one point every two or three days.
He urgently needed matches to improve.
However, on the afternoon of May 16, 2010, the starting list before the match was announced.
He hoped a miracle would happen, but clearly, he had thought too much.
For a whole month, he had hoped to play, but unfortunately, it did not happen.
He opened his data panel with some dejection.
In this month, his total attribute points only increased by 16.
If he were in a match, perhaps two matches would be enough to exceed this number.
He was already considering whether he could find a team where he could play as a starter in the summer; staying here was hindering his development too much.
Name: Theo Age: 18 Height: 190cm Wingspan: 198cm Weight: 82kg Position: Goalkeeper (Locked) Team: Charlton Athletic (EFL League One) Attribute Points: 0 Points: 36 Overall Rating: 58 (EFL League One starting goalkeeper) — — — — Physical (60) — — — — Strength: 62 (2) | Speed: 54 (1) | Reaction: 61 (1) Explosiveness: 55 (2) | Jumping: 59 (1) | Stamina: 69 (2) — — — — Goalkeeper Ability (58) — — — — Saves: 70 | Positioning: 70 | One-on-One: 70 Rushing Out: 60 (1) | Aerial Ability: 62 (2) | Goal Line: 61 (1) Handling: 57 (2) | Goal Kicks: 47 (1) | Throwing: 48 Penalty Saving: 48 | Free Kick Saving: 50 — — — — Associated Abilities (55) — — — — Balance: 56 | Anticipation: 56 | Composure: 54 The overall rating had moved forward a little bit, but it still had not reached 59.
However, his regular exercises had brought his total physical attribute points to 60.
Looking at the 36 points accumulated from the previous three matches, Theo ultimately did not use them.
What if, just what if he could get to play.