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Peter Beagrie Q&A: Charlton will not fritter away money to get back into Premier League

Football League guru answers your questions on Plymouth, Pompey, Coventry and Middlesbrough

Image: Igor Vetokele has hit the ground running at Charlton, netting five goals in his first seven games

Peter Beagrie is here to answer YOUR Football League questions.

The former winger, who played over 770 games, representing clubs in all four tiers of the English footballing pyramid, including Manchester City, Everton, Bradford, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, forms part of the Sky Sports punditry team for all the big matches in the Championship, League One and League Two.

So if you have a poser for Peter, whether it's about a team, player, match or incident that has caught your eye, a wider point on the Football League or something a little left field, then send it in via the feedback form at the bottom of the article.

Read on for this week's column where Beags has his say on resurgent Charlton; Plymouth and Portsmouth's promotion hopes; and the best winger he ever played with...

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
Hi Peter, I am a Charlton fan living in Australia and I make regular visits to the UK to get my football fix. Do you think that the board are up to the strains of getting a side like Charlton back into the Premier League in the next couple of years and do you think that English sides should be restricted to say 2-4 foreign players on the pitch for the sake of the England squad bringing home grown players back into the fold? Mick

Image: Tal Ben Haim has starred at the heart of the Addicks' defence so far this term

BEAGS SAYS: Well, Mick, you must be delighted at the way your newly-assembled Charlton side have started this campaign, as they have shown no-ill effects from last year’s season-long threat of relegation. That is probably because manager Bob Peeters has brought experience to the group in centre-backs Tal Ben Haim and Andre Bikey-Amougou, while no fewer than seven new signings featured in the solid 1-0 win over Watford at The Valley on Saturday. The players have settled well and showed real determination and spirit allied with pace and creativity.

The front two, Igor Vetokele and George Tucudean, are real work horses and Vetokele, in particular, has not only frightened defenders with his speed and directness but given the Addicks goals, something they lacked in abundance last season. I’ll be honest and say the new owner, Roland Duchatelet, has what seems to be a pragmatic approach rather than an overambitious one, which is a good thing bearing in mind recent financial struggles at the club. It’s fair to say that you will see the employment of players from the owner’s various other clubs feature more in the coming months and years and a patient desire to build and sustain Championship status rather than chase the Premier League pipedream.

As for the restrictions on foreign players, Mick, I am all for that in the Football League. It would provide a platform for our best youngsters to develop and be educated as more of them would get the game time needed to progress, while it would allow clubs to supplement their squads with the finest young talent from the Premier League. Competitive football is a must and league football benefits players far more than any under-21 fixtures, in my opinion. Keep supporting your club from afar, Mick, and I wish I was a few points behind you in the air miles stakes. ‘Love football, must travel’ is every fan’s motto and it wouldn’t survive without them.

REID ALL ABOUT IT
Peter, after last season's flirt (albeit very brief) with the play-offs, do you see this campaign as one where my team, Plymouth Argyle, can reasonably expect to push on and mount a serious promotion challenge or should Argyle fans expect another season of steady consolidation after our administration nightmare of three years ago? Sebanelli

Image: Reuben Reid penned a two-year deal with Plymouth over the summer

BEAGS SAYS: The League Two promotion race is probably the most open in all divisions so the capture of a revitalised Reuben Reid will boost your chances of improving last year’s creditable 10th-placed finish. Conor Hourihane is a big loss with his midfield goals and prompting from set-pieces but a 10-point return represents a steady if unspectacular start and if Reid can stay on the goal trail and replicate last term’s tally of 17 he could be just the slim-line tonic the Pilgrims need to go into the New Year on an upward curve. There were lots of tough games for your side early on which brought inevitable problems, losing to fancied Bury, Jim Bentley’s hard-working Morecambe and Wycombe but that shouldn’t dampen the spirits of the Green Army fans who will be hoping performances like the one against Southend – when they saw their team win 2-0 – become the rule not the exception.

BUOYANT BORO
Hi Beags! Some very impressive signings made by Middlesbrough down to the wire of the transfer window. Can Aitor Karanka keep them all happy? Do you think he'll manipulate his formation to accommodate more than one striker? Tom M

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka
Image: Former Real Madrid defender Aitor Karanka has made a positive impact at Middlesbrough

BEAGS SAYS: Hi Tom. I am as impressed as you are with Boro’s new arrivals as there are some genuinely talented players with a lot to offer should they find their best form and settle quickly. I think Karanka may find it hard to resist changing his preferred formation, particularly with Jelle Vossen around, someone I feel has the capability of striking up a real good understanding with fellow frontman Kike. That will give the boss a major headache. Lee Tomlin’s form and fitness not to mention his temperament – he usually gets as many yellow and red cards as goals – are key but the squad has really been strengthened and there is the option to play various systems with one, two or three strikers and Tomlin in behind Vossen and Kike supplying those slide-rule passes all forwards like. When all the centre-halves are fit there is also the option to play with wing-backs and get width when the midfield is narrow. It is as positive as it has been in a while at my old club, Tom, but while it’s brilliant having all these options, the manager must pick the right one on any given day. After last year’s promising finish, though, there are lots of reasons to be cheerful on Teesside.

PLAY UP, POMPEY
From what you’ve seen of Portsmouth, do you believe they now have a team good enough to get promotion to League One? Ben Clarke

Image: The sprightly Craig Westcarr will be a big threat for Pompey this term

BEAGS SAYS: They certainly have the individuals to win games at this level, Ben, if they can find their top form and the consistency needed to put on performances that produce points. I really fancied Pompey this year, particularly after the signing of Craig Westcarr, who on his day can rip League Two and its defenders to shreds. Excellent spells and goal ratios at Walsall and Notts County, Craig adds a different dimension to what you already have with his pace and skill. Holding onto Jed Wallace was key while you also have seasoned pros like Johnny Ertl and goal-scoring midfielder Danny Hollands, so it’s clear to see why I and many other football people expected Pompey to up this year. The biggest sign of their intent was the recruitment of Millwall captain Paul Robinson to help boost their leadership qualities and organise and communicate in the vital defensive area. Still struggling to find their rhythm, Portsmouth will be glad to get back to winning ways by putting back-to-back away defeats behind him with a 3-0 win at home to Dagenham. Home form will be vital this term as Pompey continue to struggle on their travels but I am backing them to come good as they have a lot of quality, especially in a midfield that should control games and score goals.

SKY BLUE THINKING
How big a club do you consider Coventry to be? Declan Aldis

Coventry City's Frank Nouble (right) celebrates with Conor Thomas (left) scoring the opening goal  during the Sky Bet League One match at the Ricoh Arena,
Image: Conor Thomas and Frank Nouble celebrating Coventry's first goal back at the Ricoh Arena

BEAGS SAYS: I suppose, Declan, that depends on what you base your answer on. Is it history, tradition, global appeal, stadia, fan-base, trophies or all of these combined? In my opinion, Coventry are a big club who have graced the top divisions of English football and been in a steady decline but are now showing real signs of puffing their chest out, standing tall, and are ready to embark on a mini-revival. Not so much fallen giant but more big-club collapse. There are massive positives, though. Firstly the return to the Ricoh Arena, a real victory for the Coventry fans who turned up in their thousands – 27,000 – to witness a win in front of myself and the Sky cameras in their first game back home. We saw Stephen Pressley’s boys put on a hugely-entertaining display, with Gillingham giving as good as they got but unable to spoil the party in an incredible atmosphere that was the first step on the road to redemption. Another plus was the way these academy graduates embraced the occasion, showing no fear and revelling in and enjoying the chance to express themselves in front of a huge crowd. Your question was about how big Coventry City are and I see potential to get BIG crowds regularly – around 15,000 – fans who deserve a BIG pat on the back for the self-imposed bans from Sixfields, and young players with BIG hearts and BIG futures but no BIG egos. Pressley has been the glue that has bound everyone together and deserves a BIG thank you from the men in charge and now needs the backing to eventually get Coventry back into the BIG league.

SUMMER LOVING
Hi Beags, You were a great winger but who was the best winger you ever played alongside? Nicky Summerbee must be up there? Karl Benson

Image: Nicky Summerbee was a wizard on the wing - but never won a cap for England

BEAGS SAYS: You are right, Karl, in that I played with some brilliant wingers and you are right again with regards to Nicky, who is probably top of a list that includes Paddy Nevin, Graham Stuart, Mark Ward, ex-Nottingham Forest flyer Franz Carr and Dennis Wise, who I played with for England B. They all had different qualities but Nicky was the best crosser of the ball bar one – Sir David Beckham. That’s where the similarities stop as Nicky wasn’t renowned for his style or charisma off the pitch, just his deadly accuracy on it. I had the great pleasure of sharing a room with him at Man City as well as a pitch and enjoyed his company immensely and tried to educate him with no joy. It was a joy, though, to see him shift the ball without beating a man and, with incredible accuracy, bend the ball with pace onto Quinny, Walshy or Uwe Rosler’s head. It was a right foot that was blessed with power with Nicky registering the hardest shot in a test by some company back in the 1990s. We played with five attackers, with myself and Nicky playing as wide as possible on the magnificent Maine Road pitch, isolating full-backs and entertaining the City faithful. It was a joy to play in such an attacking team and I hope it was a joy to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there before horrendous injury problems and appreciate the support the fans gave us. Nicky was a great lad who was the butt of many jokes, but not many full-backs left the pitch smiling when he was in full flow. Cheers, Karl, and thanks for taking the time to send in your question.

Send your question to Beags using the feedback form at the bottom of this page or at the base of any of Peter's articles...

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