Going down with Parkinson's

And now, the end is near....

Barnsley (a), Oakwell, 21/02/2009

After last Saturday's convincing and ultimately impressive defeat of fast fading Plymouth, this weekend sees the Addicks make the long trip up the M1 to Oakwell, to face Barnsley- the team who back in November, fired one of the last nails into the coffin of then Charlton manager Alan Pardew.


3-0 down at half time- how the Valley faithful vented their fury- and it hasn't in truth got much better since. However, tomorrow could see Charlton record back to back victories- and if they can, with home games over the next fortnight against albeit improving Doncaster, plus Watford- maybe, just maybe the great escape might be on.

For all that to happen though, the Addicks must beat a Barnsley side boasting former Addick Jamal Campbell-Ryce, scorer of a wonder goal midweek, as Barnsley completed a rare double over South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

And it won't be easy. Despite a poor recent run, the Tykes will be boosted by that result, and will present a formidable barrier to Charlton's hopes of survival. That said, Charlton must be lifted by last week's defeat of Plymouth, and following that result, I expect Parky to send out an unchanged starting XI tomorrow, something unheard of by Charlton's recent standards....

NLA predicts: Barnsley 2 (Macken 13', Campell-Ryce 57') Charlton 1 (Bailey 78')
Att: 13,769

Plymouth Argyle (h), The Valley, 14/02/2009

Well, Paul Sturrock doesn't seem to feel there is any pressure on his side tomorrow.

Take it from me, Paul- or Luggy as you are bizarrely called- there is. You are bottom of the form table, in freefall, and tomorrow are up against statistically the worst side in the division.

Let's make no bones about it, we ARE going down. There is no recovery from a 10 point deficit with 15 games to play, especially with our soft centre. So Plymouth will not have a better chance of ending their sorry run than tomorrow.

If they can't beat us at football, then "Luggy" can always resort to their tried and tested tactic- get that thug Krizstian Timar to try and end a few more of our players' careers. He's quite good at that, you know. Mind you, as it's not Eduardo, it doesn't matter..

This is the side I expect Parky to pick tomorrow:

Eliot, Murty, Ward, Hudson, Youga, Sam, Bailey, Racon, Soares, Spring, Dickson.
Subs: Weaver, Basey, Ambrose, Burton, Kandol.

NLA predicts: Charlton 3 (Spring 16', Bailey (pen) 44', Soares 79'
Plymouth 1 (Fallon (pen) 89')
Att: 21,089

Burnley (a), Turf Moor, 31/01/2009

Well, what a difference a week makes.....

That horrific winless league run is over after 19 games- and poor Neil Warnock did seem to get a bit upset about it. Bless. Hope those grapes are still tasting sour Neil. But before we could feel like a corner had been turned, the news came through that we would be without Jon Fortune plus Andy Gray for the rest of the season.

Ho hum. So Parky has thus been busy in the transfer market. In have come Darren Ward and Tresor Kandol, until the end of the season- with comments about the latter far from complimentary so far. As ever, I will give the new boys my fully backing, starting with tomorrow's tough task in East Lancashire.




And tomorrow's game is massive. As I write, Doncaster are beating Norwich, meaning we really need a result tomorrow if we are to build on Tuesday's victory, and plot an unlikely escape act. And although we face a Burnley side that has impressed everyone this season- in both league and cup- there is no doubt their squad is now feeling the effects.

But we still face quite a task to contain them. In Chris Eagles and Robbie Blake, they boast two of the division's finest attacking talents, and our makeshift defence will do well to claim a second straight clean sheet.

This is the team I expect Parky to send out to battle come 3pm tomorrow:

Eliot, Murty, Ward, Youga, Basey, Sam, Bailey, Racon, Soares, Shelvey, Burton.
Subs: Randolph, Moutaouakil, Holland, Ambrose, Dickson.

NLA predicts: Burnley 2 (Lafferty 12', Blake (pen) 66') Charlton 0

Att: 10,989

Please let me be wrong!

Sheffield United (a), Bramall Lane, FA Cup sponsored by e-on 4th Round, 24/01/09

To the few expected travellers making a third trip to the Sheffield in less than a month, I salute you. I am expecting a third defeat in South Yorkshire, and a pretty comprehensive one at that, as we steel (no pun intended) ourselves for the derby on Tuesday night.

Throughout this truly horrific season, I have felt we have hit rock bottom. We did it against Barnsley, Sheffield United (twice!), Blackpool and Nottingham Forest. However, I have had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that we will reach the bottom at about 9.45pm on Tuesday night. I pray to God I am wrong, but with the supporters justifiably livid and an AGM scheduled for Wednesday at 11am, it promises to be another lively week in SE7.

Aside from all of this, we have a football match to win tomorrow- and thankfully Parky is unable to call upon any of our horrific loanees, so this is the side I feel the manager will pick tomorrow.

Randolph, Moutaouakil, Hudson, Fortune, Basey, Sam, Shelvey, Ambrose, Bailey, Gray, Dickson.

Subs: Eliot, Youga, Holland, Racon, Todorov, Wright, Wagstaff.

NLA predicts: Sheffield United 2 (Sharp 16', Kilgallon 67') Charlton 0

Att: 15,339

Sheffield Wednesday (a), Hillsborough, 17/01/2009

A packed Hillsborough awaits us and I think Wednesday have to be applauded in offering cheap tickets for all fans tomorrow to try and attract a big attendance in these financially worrying times.

That said, we desperately need to build on Tuesday's triumph at Norwich, and the squad have been bolstered- albeit for one month only- by the arrival this week of Tom Soares on loan from Stoke.

We have to prove Tuesday was no flash in the pan- and this is the team I believe Parky will send out in search of back-to-back wins. (Doesn't that sound good?)

Randolph, Murty, Hudson, Fortune, Basey, Soares, Bailey, Shelvey, Ambrose, Sam, Gray.
Subs: Eliot, Dickson, Todorov, Youga, Holland.

NLA predicts: Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Jeffers 24', Tudgay 67') Charlton 0
Att: 29,884

Norwich City (a), FA Cup sponsored by e-on, 3rd Round replay

So, back to the Cup on Tuesday evening after another disappointment on Saturday, which more or less encapsulated the season. Good opening half hour, go behind and that's your lot.



This is the side I think Parky will send out tomorrow night.

Eliot, Moutaouakil, Hudson, Fortune, Basey, Sam, Bailey, Holland, Ambrose, Gray, Mc Leod.

Subs: Randolph, Youga, Shelvey, Burton, Dickson, Wright, Wagstaff.

NLA predicts: Norwich 1 (Fotheringham 66') Charlton 1 (Gray 77')
Norwich win 4-2 on pens.

Att: 12,957

Well, I got the timing of Earnshaw's goal right- and I was only 700 out on my attendance prediction.

Anyway, in an attempt to lighten the mood somewhat in these dark days at the Valley, I have compiled the Official A-Z guide of Charlton Athletic...



See you all at Carrow Road!

THE OFFICIAL A-Z GUIDE TO CHARLTON ATHLETIC

A is for attendance. Over 24,000 supposedly at yesterday's game as we head inexorably towards League 1. We'll be lucky to get half that next season.

B is for Bouazza. Enigmatic yet brilliant on his day, he couldn't wait to jump ship and join another B- Birmingham. The biggest tragedy in his departure was that we lost two of the five Z's from our squad list.

C is for who else but Curbishley. 729 games- 7 successive Premier League seasons, 2 promotions. Those halcyon days seem a distant dream now....

And D is for Defoe. The one that has cost us millions- those pesky thieves at West Ham..... Ask any Hammers fan, and they'll assure you he came through their "Academy."

E is for El Karkouri. Scorer of free kicks, shots from distance, he is sadly missed.

F is for another centre half- Fortune. The longest serving player at the club, who has been with us since 1998.

G is for Gritt. One half of the famous managerial double act, he was sacrificed in 1995 as Curbs' was given the job on his own. And after tragically losing his daughter in 2002 to cancer, he is now back at the club as academy manager.

H is for Hales. The club's record scorer with 168 goals, and infamous for an on-pitch fight with Mike Flanagan. Needless to say, they were both sent off.

I is for Inter. Back in 1999, there was supposed to be a link up with the Italian giants, which would enable some of their young stars to join up with the Addicks on loan. Funnily enough, it never materialised!

J is for Jonjo. Shelvey has all the talent, and I believe is destined for a fantastic career at the top level. Let's hope we can hang on to him for as long as possible.

K is for Kinsella. Club legend, future manager, Charlton in his blood. Need I say more?

L is for loans. Aaaarrrggghhhhh! Don't get me started. (See B)

M is for Mendonca. Scorer of 26 goals in our promotion season of 1997/98, including one of the finest hat tricks you will ever see. Tragic that his career was cut short through injury.

N is for Nottingham Forest. The team that has just consigned us to the 3rd tier of English football for the first time in 30 years.

O is for ordinary. The standard of football we're used to.

P is for Parker. Another one that got away thanks to the Chelsea millions. He left us when we were on track for European qualification and neither us or him have been the same since.

Q is for Queudrue. Scorer of "that" goal in our relegation season that we all knew would cost us at the time. Seeing Fulham flying now only makes things worse.

R is for Reed. I can't bring myself to say anything.

S is for Simonsen. Back in 1983, we had the European Footballer of the Year strutting his stuff at the Valley- against the likes of Grimsby! Funnily enough we couldn't afford his wages... Ronaldo to SE7 anyone?

T is for tickets. Buy a season ticket and you'll get a free one if/when we're in the Premier League next season, despite selling all our best players and replacing them with lower league freebies. As cock ups go, that was a fairly impressive one by the board...

U is for Upton Park. Much preferred going there than Selhurst, although it was never home. Was entertaining though when we beat West Ham there as the away team in 1992.

V is for Varney. Luke or Peter- take your pick.

W is for Waggott- Peter's successor. Big boots to fill- I think the jury's still out among many fans....

X is for x-men. Over the years, it's uncanny how many Charlton players have come back to haunt us. Names such as Defoe, Lita, Lisbie, Samuel, Cole, Parker, Jensen, Svensson, Cook and Fuller seem to ring a bell. God you can almost make a sodding team of them! Anyone I've left out?

Y is for Youga. Lunatic left back, hothead and generally rubbish defender.

And finally Z is for Zabeel. For one glorious month, we were the second richest club in the world. Then I think our potential investors saw the light!

Nottingham Forest (h), The Valley, 10/01/09

Well it looks like we have beaten the big freeze, and here we are for arguably the biggest game since we were relegated from the Premier League.

Defeat, I am convinced, will leave us with a near impossible task- and we are in for quite a battle tomorrow. Forest- with back to back away wins, an unbeaten away run stretching back to October, an incredible win at Man City in the FA Cup last week, plus the appointment of the manager many were expecting to rock up in SE7 will be formidable opposition tomorrow.

Oh and they also have 3,000 coming to roar them on.

But fear ye not- we are shot of Bouazza, Matthew Spring is making his debut, Graham Murty will add some steel to the backline, and Jonjo Shelvey will hopefully repeat last week's virtuoso performance against Norwich.

This is how I expect Parky will line them up:

Eliot, Murty, Fortune, Hudson, Mc Eveley, Sam, Shelvey, Spring, Basey, Gray, Waghorn.
Subs: Weaver, Ambrose, Holland, Semedo, Burton.

NLA Predicts: Charlton 2 (Waghorn 12', Hudson 75') Nottingham Forest 1 (Earnshaw 37')
Att: 23,876