The win against Plymouth Argyle last Saturday has sent Charlton fans rushing for their spreadsheets and calculators in order to work out what is required from the team to try and stay in this division. Whichever way you cut it, it still looks like a long shot and it doesn't help when those around you are winning. Mid-week victories for Watford, Derby and tomorrow's opponents, Barnsley, made for particularly grim reading when I flicked on Teletext. However, the fact of the matter is we have got ourselves into a position where we are reliant on the results of others and this is never a good thing.The trip to Oakwell is being touted as a six pointer by most blogs and it's not hard to see why. Fourteen games left to play and although a win against anybody will do, most Charlton fans must surely have run down the remaining fixtures and picked out the key ones from it. Games against the top three sides and play-off chasing teams such as Cardiff, Preston and Swansea are unlikely to offer little in the way of return, so one would imagine Parkinson must be targeting the games against the sides around us and those stuck in no man's land i.e. little chance of either relegation or making the play-offs. Ten points ahead of us Barnsley are in the former category, looking to break into the latter.
To get any kind of result, perhaps the most important thing is that the Charlton side banish any memories of the horror show that was the reverse fixture at The Valley this season. What a truly terrible day that was as the Addicks slipped into what has now become our home - the relegation zone. The fact that only two of the starting XI are likely to feature tomorrow (Bailey and Hudson) is proof of the unsettled and chaotic season we've had. Two are injured (Weaver and Gray), five are out of favour (Moutaouakil, Basey, Sam, Wright and Ambrose) and two are no longer at the club (Cranie and Varney). We should probably be grateful that so few are left to remember that torturous first half when Macken and Moore made us look totally inept.
To get any kind of result, perhaps the most important thing is that the Charlton side banish any memories of the horror show that was the reverse fixture at The Valley this season. What a truly terrible day that was as the Addicks slipped into what has now become our home - the relegation zone. The fact that only two of the starting XI are likely to feature tomorrow (Bailey and Hudson) is proof of the unsettled and chaotic season we've had. Two are injured (Weaver and Gray), five are out of favour (Moutaouakil, Basey, Sam, Wright and Ambrose) and two are no longer at the club (Cranie and Varney). We should probably be grateful that so few are left to remember that torturous first half when Macken and Moore made us look totally inept.
Coming out of the ground after the Plymouth game on Saturday was a strange experience as it is the first time I'd seen us win since we beat Reading back in August (I wasn't at the Ipswich or Palace games … perhaps there is a pattern emerging here). I wasn't really sure how to react. On the one hand I was happy we'd one, on the other I had to recognise that Plymouth were a very poor team and that, all things considered, the result probably wasn't going to make much difference to the end of season reckoning.
However, if I was slightly more of an optimist I could of drawn on a number of positives which I would be looking to take to Barnsley. Like Therry Racon's superb goal, like Nicky Bailey's ability to pick himself up from a penalty miss and blazing a six yard shot into the stand to score the decisive second, and like the lively front pairing of Dickson and Kandol. These are things I hope Parkinson has taken from the game to build on this week.
Given the rarity of a win these days, I would be surprised to see any changes for tomorrow's game. Against Plymouth I thought the midfield looked a little unbalanced. Soares and Bailey didn't look particularly comfortable on their wings and Spring wasn't particularly effective down the middle. But then again both goals came from midfield, so what do I know! I would imagine the only change will come on the bench, with Deon Burton suspended after managing to pick up a yellow card in the ten minutes he came on for against Plymouth. I don't think anybody will be losing too much sleep over this.
With this in mind, I see them starting as follows:
Elliot; Murty, Hudson, Ward, Youga; Bailey, Racon, Spring, Soares; Dickson, Kandol. Subs: Randolph, Shelvey, Holland, Sam, Ambrose.
One of my Dad's Barnsley supporting colleagues pointed out that his team completed the double over Sheffield Wednesday for the first time in 63 years on Tuesday night, so there is a chance that all their luck has been used up. I wish it was as simple as this, but our chances of recording back-to-back since 2007 are probably going to rely on more than just luck. Our previous two away performances (when we tossed away 1-0 leads against Burnley and Bristol City) are hardly encouraging, but at least the players have been reminded what it is like to win following victories against Palace and Plymouth. Would another be too much to ask for? Let's hope not … come on you Reds!
One of my Dad's Barnsley supporting colleagues pointed out that his team completed the double over Sheffield Wednesday for the first time in 63 years on Tuesday night, so there is a chance that all their luck has been used up. I wish it was as simple as this, but our chances of recording back-to-back since 2007 are probably going to rely on more than just luck. Our previous two away performances (when we tossed away 1-0 leads against Burnley and Bristol City) are hardly encouraging, but at least the players have been reminded what it is like to win following victories against Palace and Plymouth. Would another be too much to ask for? Let's hope not … come on you Reds!
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