Charlton Athletic Online

One of the Addicks former managers once coined the phrase "bouncebackability" while with a former club, and that is exactly what the Charlton need to do in the away game at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday evening. After consecutive losses, the only way is (hopefully) up, and that is where Alan Pardew must hope to take his players as the season progresses. Sure, we fans don't really expect to be pushing all that hard for a play-off place this season, but we do need to see a mid-table team playing each week and one who are not going to get dragged into the edges of the relegation battle.

I suppose, at the start of the season, Doncaster themselves would have been hoping for mid-table mediocrity, and the way they have set out this season, they may well accomplish that, provided they maintain early season form. Us southerners probably don't know much about the team we are playing, and being honest, I don’t have much to add. I know they chase and harry at every opportunity and will try to deny space to the ball-players. They also have a couple of old-hands who will be known to fans - Neil Sullivan, ex-Spur, Don, and Leeds reject will be in goal for instance - but the only other player I have heard of is Jason Price.

Now Jason Price is not exactly a household name (even down the divisions) and probably a complete mystery to most Charlton fans, and I have to admit that he was to me until a couple of months before the end of last season. At that point, one of my new staff admitted that she used to go out with a footballer when she was a youngster in Hull; who was that I enquired? Jason Price she replied - it was a "phase" she was going through... The conversation moved on but I Google'd Jason, mainly to see who had captured the heart (albeit briefly) of my co-worker, and there on Google I found him describe himself as the "Afro Goal Machine". Of course, the images of Jason back up part of this claim, though his football statistics show that "goal-machine" is a bit of an ambitious monicker. He's bound to score against us now! If he gets on that is (he was a second half sub on Saturday). Anyway Jason, Laura says Hi!

Alan Pardew meanwhile will be hoping he unearths his own goal-machine in Yorkshire, as just the Andy Gray penalty at Preston has had fans cheering in away games so far this season. Gray was withdrawn late on at The Valley on Saturday so I hope he isn't carrying an injury, and he really could do with some service further up the pitch in order to add to his goal tally this season. Luke Varney would also benefit from better service, and there isn't really any point throwing in Chris Dickson if the rest of the team cannot get the strikers decent ball to feed on.

Labels: Charlton, Doncaster Rovers, Jonathan Fortune