Charlton Athletic Online

Just a quick preview today of our match against the Sky Blues of Coventry on Tuesday night. Bearing in mind we are bottom, without a win in over two months, and without hope it seems, my sense is that we shouldn’t hope for too much from this fixture. But it was against Coventry that Charlton put in one of their best all round games last season – a 4-1 thrashing on the last day of the season that cheered everybody up no end! Oh for a Chris Powell-type celebration at around 10pm Tuesday night!

Phil Parkinson (left) has problems with injuries – Nicky Weaver fell heavily taking a cross on Saturday, and is undertaking intensive treatment. If he does not recover sufficiently, then Rob Elliott will take his place (with Callum Christie on the bench?); this is a tough call for Parky – if Weaves is anywhere near fit he will play, but if he does and then is shown to be injured, the repercussions don’t bear thinking about…

Also injured on Saturday was Martin Crainie – it is unlikely we will miss Crainie as much as we would Weaver, and actually this might just play into Parkinson’s hands, as it means that another of the loanees will get a chance. That could well be Martyn Waghorn as Andy Gray is still suffering a bit from a hamstring twinge.

This is the side I think Parkinson may have to start with –

Nicky Weaver
Yassin Moutaouakil
Mark Hudson
Jonathan Fortune
Jay McEveley
Jose Semedo
Matt Holland
Keith Gillespie
Hameur Bouazza
Deon Burton
Martyn Waghorn

Subs from Elliott, Christie, Basey, Youga, (Primus), Bailey, Wright, Shelvey, Dickson, Todorov, McLeod, Gray.

Pedro45 is desperately hoping for a change in Addicks fortunes, but the stars on the horizon and very pale. I’m plumping for a 1-1 draw in this match – not enough to take us very far off the bottom of the table.

My one-to-watch in this game is going to be our French full back Yassin Moutaouakil (left), who I presume must play, unless rumours that he doesn’t get on with Parky are true? Home games are when you need that extra cutting edge going forwards, and as long as Moots is motoring down the right wing, he gives Charlton an extra, different, option. I hope he plays, as the only other option at right back is Semedo (or Solly), but that would mean a deterioration in the midfield strength of the team.

I am expecting this to be the game where the run of 20,000-plus crowds that the club has been so proud of for so long finally comes to an end; Coventry won’t have sold many tickets, and even Charlton will struggle to give away the 3,000-odd that they would need to take the nominal attendance figure above 20k…on a cold night, there could be as few as 13,000 actually in the ground at kick off?

Desperate times sometimes call s for desperate tactics; I hope Parky is ready for this as the crowd will not stand for another home defeat. If that happens, expect a new manager in situe by the Derby game.

Labels: Charlton, Coventry, Yassin Moutaouakil