Leeds United Preview

Regarding last Saturday, we've got plenty of excuses - not only do Exeter have a good record against the top teams ( they've also drawn 1-1 with Norwich, Swindon, Millwall and Pardews lot, and beaten Leeds) but with our last, and only, victory there being 81 years ago ( followed by 4 defeats ) it was always looking to be a tough game. So we endure our 9th 1-1 of the season, our favorite score, and in all of which, bar one, the opposition have scored first ( and even in that one, at the Gills, it was an og ) and in all the eleventh time we have come from behind to gain a draw which is the highest in League One.

So our fighting spirits aren't in question its just our inability to score first or even score, as we've only opened the scoring now 8 times in the last 20 League games after it being 14 times in the first 24 games and 7 in our first 9 barnstorming games. Even looking at our goalscoring you can see the steady decline - 43 goals scored in the first 22 games, 25 in the last 22. And instead of a team that lead the half-time table as recently as the Yeovil game in February we now record the highest drawn second half games of anyone, a total of 26.

So as the dream of an automatic promotion spot fades out of sight perhaps its time for Parky to seriously attend to Plan B. And the question that he has to ask himself is "is it better to play the strongest team over two legs or in a final?" Without a doubt, the strongest team in the Play-offs will be the spanners or Leeds and the choice of who we play and when, is almost entirely in our own hands with the visit of the Lilywhites on Saturday.

We all know who we would rather avoid so the desired scenario involves giving a helping hand to the spanners and insuring that they don't take part in the Play-offs. A tenth 1-1 would do nicely, always assuming that the spanners can win both their remaining games, but that result may see Huddersfield, who are only one point behind us, move above us and perhaps its worth pointing out that perhaps due to the urgency to keep ahead of Pardew, Huddersfield are currently the 2nd best team in results over the last 8 games.


So home game number 23 brings us another team in sickly yellow but unfortunately this time a team more used to winning at the Valley. Its 78 year old Ken Bates and the man above, Simon Grayson, in charge these days and there's nobody in League One more keen to return to the Premiership than Leeds United. After exactly 50 years in top flight football its now been 6 years since they left and for the record they've won the League title 3 times in '69, 74, and '92. But, of course, the number three is not currently a Leeds' fans favorite number as its been three very long years spent now down in Tier Three where they've never ever been before.

Form

In the 21 games played this year Leeds have only managed 7 wins whereas the Addicks have gone one better with 8. After leading the table at the turn of the year neither have set the house on fire since then but Leeds still have the 2nd best away record in league 1 and after only one win in 8 away games in the early part of this year they have now won 2 of their last three at Yeovil and Carlisle although they slipped up bigtime last time away from Elland Rd, losing 3-2 at the Gills, being 3-0 down at one stage.

But they're now back in second place with 4 wins in their last 5 games and overall a recovery from their dismal form seems on the cards after three disastrous months from Jan to March when they were placed 16th, 12th and 17th on results.

Their worst spell was the 4 consecutive defeats in March to Southampton, Millwall, Norwich and Swindon without a single goal scored so although both teams languish in mid-table in form over the last eight games and are currently performing the worst of all of the other top 7 clubs with 12 points out of the last available 24, its Leeds that are currently looking the stronger with 13 goals scored in their last 5 games against the Addicks three.......although Parky will point to only 3 goals conceded in the last 6 against Leeds' 9.

Ex-Addicks
There's Trésor Kandol, who played 13 games last season, but hasn't featured since being sent off in the defeat at Norwich in March and there's also Neil Redfearn, now in charge of Leeds' U18 squad. Redfearn played 30 games for us in our first year in the Premiership, 1998/99 scoring 3 times.

Dangerman
Jermaine Beckford is now on 30 goals for the season but his form has dried up somewhat - although he did score two late goals after coming on last weekend after Mk Dons were reduced in numbers - so its not surprising that he's started the last three games on the bench.

But more dangerous these days seems to be the Argentine, and number 10, Luciano Becchio, above, who is following close behind with 17 goals and has scored in the last 4 games.

Whats Their Secret
Although they have scored first more times than we have ( 26 to 22) its the end of games that they really need watching. Thirteen goals in the last 5 minutes (plus added on time) gives you some idea that they never give up.

On the other hand their form against the other teams in the current top six isn't brilliant with only 1 win ( 1-0 at home to Norwich) to show from the 9 games giving them only 6 points from 27 which means that if they end up in the Play-offs they'll start off with a huge physiological disadvantage because they haven't beaten any of them, yet.....

And in those top six games they've lost 5 times with 4 of them being to the spanners and Swindon plus another at Norwich and 3 draws against Huddersfield twice and ourselves at Elland Rd. In contrast, the Addicks also have only one win over the same 5 teams (2-1 at home to Huddersfield ) although we've only lost 2 and have accumulated 9 points.

And another thing that Leeds are bad at was demonstrated at their last away game at Priestlands. Only 4 teams (Norwich, the spanners, MK and the Addicks ) have overcome a half-time deficit to win more than once. Norwich have done it 4 times while the other three have done it twice, the Addicks away at Orient and Southend. But Leeds have failed to win even once while losing at half-time. OK, they have been losing at the break fewer times than most but of the seven times they have been losing they have lost 6 of them.

History

Having laid our Colchester ghost to bed two weeks ago there's now only Millwall with a better record at the Valley than Leeds United. Twenty-three league visits and we've only won 7 of them. They've also won the last 4 here ( including that miserable 1-6 hammering in Apr 2003) and also 5 out of the last 6. And if you ignore the 1987 Play-offs and that wonderful 1-0 victory at Sainburys you have to go back to January the year before for our last home win over them by 4-0 in our promotion season.

What are They Saying?

Leeds man Simon Grayson after the 4-1 win over MK Dons last weekend, "We pressured them, forced them into mistakes and opened the game up for ourselves and we then took advantage of that and we could have scored more today. It's rare for a team to go down to eight men and was strange to see, but I think we had the game won well by then anyway."

And it seems that Leeds must have learnt from their previous weeks game, because the Gill's manager Mark Stimson had this to say after their 3-2 win: "We faced a really good side in Leeds United and we had to go for it from the beginning and try and put them under pressure. We did that and we got our rewards."

The Team

Both Fraser Richardson and Nicky Bailey have been named in the Professional Footballers' Association League One team of the year and Fraser will be keen to celebrate with a game against his old mates from Elland Rd whilst moving in the other direction it seems that all the rumours were correct and JonJo is off to Anfield during the summer and he was missing from the squad at Exeter for the first time in eleven games.

Parky will probably start with Darren Randolph for the 8th sucessive game but there's reports that Sam Sodje's knee will keep him out so Llera will probably keep his place after coming on for the last half-hour at Exeter.

The problem for Parky is what formation to play and his decision could be crucial. Basically its a choice between two wingers with Bailey in the middle to two strikers and Bailey on the left. Kyel Reid now has 4 goals to his name, one less than Akpo and has scored them playing just 13 less minutes, and you have to commit the sacrilege of wondering whether he would have done better with the two chances offered to Nicky Bailey against Norwich. With his goals split at 2 each in starting appearances and sub games its a difficult choice for Parky.

Akpo has a run of 8 non-scoring games now and was missing at Exeter through injury and Deon Burton hasn't scored in nine games played since his penalty against Walsall in early February. David Mooney, meanwhile, is on 5 goals, the same as Scotty, but with 460 more minutes under his belt and we're left with the intriging fact that since Forster's arrival seven games ago, no other striker has scored and we haven't managed more than one goal a game.

But if Parky does decide on playing two up front, one player he doesn't have to worry about is defender Patrick Kisnorbo, named in the best squad as central defender with Norwich's Doherty, as he injured his achilles tendon in March and has been out since then.

So will it be a return to our early season 4-5-1 with a winger that's scoring goals or a staid 4-4-2 in the hope that two up front can conjure up something. Its time for us to see just how good Parky is for this is the game that could decide our season but it must be added that we played with 5 in midfield against Southampton and lost 0-1 and 4-4-2 against Norwich with exactly the same result.

Randolph; Richardson, Dailly, Sodje, Borrowdale; Sam, Semedo, Racon, Bailey, Reid; Forster

Summary

There's a lot at stake here and ninety minutes full of nerves and a foretaste, for the Addicks anyway, of what the Play-offs will definitely be like. But Leeds have a good record at the Valley and will be reluctant to let slip their one point advantage over the spanners. Furthermore, this situation will be new to the Addicks squad whereas - just like the Addicks when they had to get a point at Stamford Bridge in 1988 to avoid the Play-offs - Leeds have been here before and have suffered the Play-offs for the last two years and know exactly what they have to lose and know that they just cannot afford to drop any points in the remaining games.

That may work in a favour, but they'll not behave as casual as Norwich appeared to be two weeks ago and all told I cannot see any joy arriving for the Addicks. Addicks 0 Leeds 2.

Huddersfield Town Preview

You have to admit that the Addicks have never been very good when it comes to local derbies and we are perhaps a bit unfortunate that this year we have a massive 6 of them against the Orient, the Gills and, of course the spanners. Thankfully, all of them are now out of the way with the sum total gained of a pitiful 4 points, out of a possible 18, to show for it. An average then of .66 points per local derby game which when compared, for example, with our figures against the top half teams of League One at 1.26 points per game ( from 4 wins, 4 defeats and 7 draws) shows pretty well where our strengths lie.

So perhaps we need to forget now all about the two points dropped against losing-away specialists Gillingham and concentrate instead on our remaining 9 games, seven of which are against top half opposition. A difficult run-in where we'll need everyone, including the fans , to perform well.

And its surely not escaped anyones attention that its the time of the season when tempers are getting a little frayed around the edges, frustrations are setting in and peoples patience isn't what it should be. Off the pitch, the fans, as you might expect, didn't react very well in the circumstances last weekend with resounding boos at half-time after finding ourselves 1-2 down. But the players responded and Mooney had his say, in one way and another, this time without opening his mouth, although it would probably have been better if he had resisted the temptation to behave like an opposing attacker rather than a home one.

And then there's the management story. Obviously also displaying signs of stress - who knows what's going to happen if he fails this season - Parky gives his own hard-done-by speech and, with everyone ready to jump down the others throat at the slightest wrong word, does himself no favours and all you can say is that its probably a good job for everyone that the next two games are away from home.

Yes, its the nervous, pressure end of the season and everyones' feeling it as we move on to Huddersfield, the only team realistically that can keep us out of 6th place. The last time we played the Terriers I wrote, "Huddersfield are currently 8th, seven points behind the Addicks with only 1 win ( and 4 defeats) from their 6 away games." That was back in October and not a great deal has changed since then. They are still outside the Play-offs in 7th place but have picked up a point on us and are now 6 points behind.

FormOver the season, Huddersfield have the 7th best home record, as far as points are concerned, in Tier Three ( the Addicks are 5th in home form and an impressive 4th best away from home) and suffered their first home defeat of the season last time out, a 1-3 loss to Norwich after going in front in the 3rd minute, and after leading for over an hour until the usual Norwich fight-back with three late goals in the last 20 minutes. And that defeat follows four succesive home draws against Bristol, Carlisle, Swindon and Leeds and you have to go right back to the 16th of January to find their last home win, 2-1 over Southend.

In fact, on current form, looking at just the last 5 home games of all the teams in League One, the Terriers are bottom of the pile with only 4 home points to show from the last 15 available. Not promotion form really and nothing that Parky should wet himself about.

And on form since the turn of the year when they reached 5th place their performances have dropped somewhat and its been only 6 wins in the last 14 games (with the Addicks only on 5) and at home after their early season goalscoring form with their 7 goals against Brighton in August and a 6-o win over Wycombe in November and two 4-0 goal walkovers over Exeter and Orient in October its been very quiet at the quaintly named Galtharm with no more than a couple of goals scored in each of their last 7 home games. They've now scored the same goals as the Addicks and conceded 1 more.

Dangerman

Twenty-year old Jordan Rhodes is their leading scorer with 19 and is another Ipswich Town youth star and he's been at Huddersfield since last summer. But has only scored twice in the last 13 games.

Whats Their Secret?

While the Saints, Leeds and the Addicks lead the half-time table, Huddersfield are a bit more cautious and only Leeds and Carlisle have been drawing more games at half time in the top half of the table. But they have been good at fight-backs all season and have won 4 times after going behind only bettered by Norwich with 5.

But their worst secret is their performances against the cream of Tier Three. Because rather worryingly for our Play-off prospects, all the current top 6 have a good record against the best but the Terriers are down there in a lowly 12th place and have lost half of their 'Big Games', ie 9. In comparison the spanners have lost only 2 (bristol and Norwich away), the Addicks ( Colchester, Carlisle, Bristol, and the spanners) and Swindon 4 each while the party-poopers from East Anglia and Leeds (!) have both lost 5 games.

History

We've won 5 of our last 9 games in Huddersfield streching back 37 years and we won our last Division Three game there in 1980 and our very last game, in 1999. So not a bad record at the Terriers with a total of 10 wins and 16 defeats in 35 league games. The home win last october saw the last Addicks goal by Izzy McLeod and he was replaced on 89 minutes by our new legend David Mooney for his first game for the reds.

What Are They Saying?
Everyone's been having their say this week so I'll just pass on these few words from you know who, "To come back out for the second half after being roundly booed at half-time and to show the conviction we did showed tremendous character. I didn't see anyone hiding or not wanting the ball so I give enormous credit to the lads." And if anyone remembers, there are a few games last season where you couldn't say that.

Team

The loss of in-form Elliot for the next two or three weeks is a serious blow to Parky's plans and we can only applaud the club for facing facts and getting in the inappropriately named Anthony Randolph "Tony" Warner on loan till the end of the season. He's a 35 year old scouser and has been out of work since leaving Hull in February and is perhaps most famous for his 'mistakes' and being the spanners Player of the Year in 2003.

The rest of the defence will stay the same with another left-back available in young Matt Fry from West Ham and it will attempt to increase its number of clean sheets from the current 2 in last 17 games. In the same period even Huddersfield have managed 7, although at the other end we have only failed to score twice in the last 24 (Orient and the spanners).

In midfield, Jose Semedo is reported as being doubtful with a contusion to his thigh but Parky has sought no more additions to the squad in this area so it'll either be as you were or with his replacement by either Matt Spring or Jonjo Shelvey with Racon moving back to cover for the Portuguese. Sam is also suffering from a contusion to his calf and could also be missing.

Up front, Deon and, of course, Leon are also out injured and Akpo needs pain-killing injections in his foot. All of which means that we need Dave Mooney more than ever and its time to surely shut up and give him support and remind him, in the best possible way, that he is wearing one of our shirts. And alongside him, if a 4-4-2 is Parky's plan, we'll see new loanee 36 year old Nicky Forster from Brighton. He's on 16 goals for the season and back in October last year was awarded the Football League One Player of The Month award, for his impressive start to the season, netting 7 goals.

Warner; Richardson, Dailly, Sodje(S), Borrowdale; Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Racon; Forster, Mooney

Summary

With injuries galore playing havoc with the Addicks line-up and training during the week and with a possible two new players on the pitch it may just be a question of how much the Terriers want it. But our record there is good and their form of late has not been so hot so a draw looks the only result we can expect, so 1-1 it is.

Gillingham Preview

Somebody remarked last week that Parky would be having a few sleepless nights deciding on his best team for the game at the den but I bet that's nothing to what he's feeling right now. But then again we could all see it coming and although a four goal hammering may not have been in everyone's forecast, a defeat was certainly expected in what has become for the Addicks a not unusual capitulation to the spanners. Much worst, perhaps, is the effect that the shock waves will have in the Addicks camp. Its a very sensitive time in the season and blackheathaddicted to name but one put his neck out and predicted that it would be a defining match in our season.

So its time for one or excuses to explain away what we hope will prove to be a expected blip in our fortunes. Because a defeat at the den is not that unusual neither were several of our other defeats and you could almost have predicted all 6 of them against Colchester, Carlisle, Bristol, Brighton, Orient and the spanners. Our first defeat of the season was at Colchester where we have our worst away record in this League and where we still haven't won in three visits and more recently Bristol is our third worse away venue with just 2 wins in 25 games. Defeat number two at Carlisle is harder to explain as its only our 9th worst place to visit in Tier Three but we only still have 2 wins there in 14 attempts. And as for away specialists Brighton, only 3 other teams in Tier Three have won more times at the Valley with their 8 wins in 23 games so that just leaves Orient really as our only unexpected defeat and in local derbies surprises are not unusual.

And moving on, as we must, the good news, perhaps, is that 7th place Huddersfield are still 8 points behind us and, after embarking on an 11 game unbeaten run, have lost the last three to Pardew ( a 5-0 stuffing), the Gills away and Norwich. Over the last 13 since the New Year they have won 5, drawn 5 and lost 3, a total of 20 points. In the same period the Addicks have 5 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats for 19 points all of which sets up an intriguing game Saturday week at the oddly named Galpharm Stadium, due to a sponsorship deal after the builders McAlpine decided in 2004 it wasn't going to continue paying up.

So head-to-head and even on our scrappy current form they have only gained one point on us this year even with an 11-game unbeaten run so with only 10 games left any sort of result for us up there will surely seal our Play-off place. Of the 19 grounds in Tier Three where we've been before there's 11 that we have a worse history that at Huddersfield. In fact, the games against Southampton, Colchester and Leeds trouble me a lot more.

And there is the rub. Because, if we do discount Huddersfield, of the possible 4 other teams in the Play-offs (three from Leeds, Millwall, Colchester and Swindon ) there's only one that I would feel confident of beating in an home and away semi-final - Swindon. As we saw last season where Scunthorpe beat the spanners at Wembley 3-2 after finishing 6 points behind them, in a final anything can happen.

And while at the moment there's clearly at least two teams performing better than we are, Norwich and Millwall, while a third, Leeds, remain 5 points in front with 10 games left, perhaps we should consider that the only team from last seasons Tier Three that are enjoying the Fizzies are Leicester and that the other promotion teams, Scunthorpe and Peterborough, are currently occupying two of the relegation positions.

So, as Parky and the team seek to expel all thoughts of last weekend from our collective brains, its all a bit of an apparent godsend to be able to welcome a team to the Valley with the worst away record in Tier Three, without a single win all season and without a single goal in their last 4 away games. That's the theory anyway, in practise it's of course, another local derby.

Form What can you say about the Gills current form? Just 2 wins in the last 14 games (home to Bristol and Huddersfield) and only a goalless draw away last weekend at the home of the worst home team in Tier Three, Stockport, they are now only 5 points clear of the R-Zone. In fact they haven't scored away from home since the 26th January in a 1-1 draw at Hartlepool and the week before that even lost 1-0 at Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.

Ex-Addicks?There's no less than 4 ex Charlton players now at Priestfield, Simon Royce, Barry Fuller, Chris Dickson and Rashid Yussuff, although its possible that we won't see any of them as Royce was on the bench last weekend and Chris Dickson, who only came on for 7 minutes, will be banned from playing against us. Fuller has missed the last three games with a hand injury and Yussuff hasn't been seen since January.

Dangerman
The obvious dangerman is twenty-two year old number 10, and the player that Parky never wanted, the Canadian international born in Jamaica, Simeon Jackson, currently top scorer with 17 goals.

Whats Their Secret?
Norwichs' fight-back against Huddersfield last Saturday has spoiled a top v bottom clash in the on-points-gained-after-going-behind table. The Addicks fighting abilities, so missing last weekend, have earned us 17 points from fightbacks with 3 wins and 8 draws after conceding first whereas the Gills have only managed a dismal two points after going behind. One was away to Exeter in December, while it shouldn't miss your notice that the other was back in October in our 1-1 draw at Priestfield.....

What Are They Saying?

Parky succinctly explained our mauling with, "There was not enough leadership and not enough men out there. All I asked was for players to do their own jobs. But there was a blame culture out there with players blaming each other."

While Christian Dailly added: "We can't afford to cry over spilt milk. We need to be mentally tough, that's one of the issues. But I think we'll be fine."

So its been confirmed by Parky that "Some people won't be playing on Saturday who played against Millwall because I feel there has to be some changes. There are people out of the team who deserve to play."

Meanwhile, Gills manager Stimson has not been happy with Chris Dickson down at Priestland and he hasn't started in the last two games and Stimson opted to use Dennis Oli as a substitute ahead of Dickson in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Stockport.
"When you saw Chris and what he brought to the table, Dennis brought a bit more. Twice he (Dickson) had the ball in the middle of the pitch and he gave it away and put their team on the attack. Dennis was on beforehand because he's been absolutely flying in training. It's been hard to leave him out because he's worked his socks off and looked a threat." Watch out for him Parky.

History
Gillingham are without a single win in 13 attempts at the Valley with 9 home wins and 4 draws and the last time they managed to avoid defeat at the Valley was back in January 1934, 76 years ago....

The Team A return to a more usual formation with everyone in their normal position would be a start but Parky has come out strong and confirmed that there will be changes to the team this weekend. Heads dropped and mistakes were made and it seems that Parky's wise aversion to drastic measures will be thrown out the window in a desperate bid to liven things up.

Key to his changes will be the formation chosen so we'll probably see Sam back in the starting line-up on the right although there seems to some doubts as to Reid's fitness on the other flank which could point to a 4-5-1 in an attempt to build up confidence with midfield bodies. As for the defence one question mark appears to be what Parky will do about Christian's call to iron out our silly mistakes. Perhaps he'll ask for Nicky view's on things after his finger-wagging in one defenders face and its possible that we'll see the return of Sammy Sodje, who's only played 15 minutes in the last 5 games. While on the left, Chris Solly will step down with a few admirable words from Parky while he chalks up his fourth left-back of the season in the 24 year old loanee Gary Borrowdale from QPR.

On to the midfield then and after Semedo has his first full game in 8 and Parky citing his recent response to being omitted as the example to follow, its seems unlikely that he'll be one losing out while Racon was subbed at the den but could benefit from Reid's possible absence through injury.

Its also been another eight games since we've seen anything of Matt Spring who made a surprise appearance on the bench at the den and in fact has only played once since his perfect pass from midfield landed at Llera's feet in the last minute against Swindon back in December.

As for the forwards, there's poor old Leon McKenzie, missing from his place on the bench last weekend after 15 consecutive games, who can at least can take a well earned breather with a spell in the stands after his thigh injury got in training.

And then there's Jonjo who spent another game sat unused on the bench and its now been 6 games without a single minute played since his 90 minutes against Swindon Town.

The starting forward line at the den was Mooney and Akpo who between them failed to have a single shot on target the whole game. The four goals conceded and this stat are perhaps the best pointers to the changes Parky has in mind.

Elliot; Richardson, Dailly, Sodje(S), Borrowdale; Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Shelvey, Racon; Burton.

SummaryOnly 2 of the 37 forecasters on cafcpicks saw an away win when they made their forecasts back in the summer but its likely that a few of the others may follow the example of Dave at drinkingduringthegame and have changed their mind after last weekend's performance.

But a clear home win, by my favorite score of 2-0, is needed badly. Whether we'll get it is another matter.

Millwall Preview

There's always two sides to every argument and all the optimists among us last weekend saw two gifted goals by Stockport in the first 10 minutes that allowed the Addicks to relax a bit during the second half and ease to three easy points whilst saving themselves for the spanners cup final. Meanwhile the pessimists will fret over how we failed to push home our advantage to improve our goal difference and dispair how we allowed the bottom club to force the issue in the second half when we were second best.

The action in midweek saw 4 other teams play games in hand, namely Leeds, Colchester, Swindon and the spanners. No surprises at Tranmere where Leeds extended their lead over us to 5 while both Colchester and Swindon wasted their chances with a goalless draw with Brighton and a defeat at MK Dons respectively. Meanwhile, the spanners eased past Carlisle with the pace of Morison playing havoc with the defence all night and he got two more goals and narrowly missed out on another couple.

So its on to Millwall's first home cup final for a long 15 years. How they have managed to survive so long without us is a mystery that nobody in the country cares about. Manager at the den is the 48 year old Kenny Jackett, now on his third managerial club and has been with the spanners since November 2007. Loyal as a player, he had 337 games with Watford, his only club, before retiring with an injury at 28. He took the spanners into the Play-off final last year, seeing off Leeds on the way, and this year he plans to do even better.

Form

As for current form the spanners have been trying emulate the party poopers from Norwich and currently are managing it pretty well. Over the last 8 games you'll be pleased to learn that the spanners, are top of the league with figures of 6 wins, a draw and only 1 defeat in the last eight. In fact its an impressive 9 wins and 29 points in their last 12, while the team we're all chasing, Leeds, have only got 15 in the same number of games ( we have got 19 and its only bettered by Norwich with 30 points from their 12). And if they continue at the current rate we can all say goodbye to any worries abut playing the spanners in the Play-offs because it'll be Leeds that we'll be facing.

Meanwhile, we've noticed that if you're ever searching for an ex-player that enjoys playing his old team, look no further than ex-spanner Gary Waddock. Now manager of Wycombe Wanderers he loves playing the boys from the den and Wycombe's only win in their last 6 games was a 1-0 home victory over Millwall, 3 weeks ago and that, as it turns out, was the spanners only 1 defeat in their last 12. Millwall, meanwhile, are also listed as the 3rd best home team, after Norwich and Colchester, and have only lost once at home, and yes, you've guessed it, it was against Wycombe, 0-2 at the back end of November. That was Wycombe's first clean sheet for 7 months and their first win in 15 games.

Perhaps Parky should be ringing up Gary Waddock to find out how its done or get Kinsella to pop down to Adams Park for a quick chat with Waddock, a fellow ex-Irish international.

Ex-Addick

Last season's loanee Darren Ward was an un-used sub in December at the Valley but is back in favour at the spanners and is playing regularly at centre-back alongside captain Robinson.

The Opposition

Millwall have been unchanged in the last three, before the Carlisle game, whilst the defence has been unchanged for at least the last 5 games ( couldn't be bothered going back further) so at least Parky knows what to expect. As for midfield, while we have 35 game Nicky Bailey the spanners also have a midfielder that stands out in the 25 year old number 26, Frenchman Nadjim, Jimmy to his mates, Abdou, ex 0f Martigues, Sedan and Plymouth. He's played 30 games this season and once upon a time played a full season of Ligue One football with Sedan. And if you can't remember him from December, he's the one that left for an early bath after his red card.

The other three in midfield are normally Schofield, Hackett and the 21 year loanee Youth Cup winner from Ipswich, number 40 Liam Trotter.

Up front its usually that man Harris and the man from non-league Stevenage Steve Morison who got 2 at the Valley in December and already has 14 this season. And they also have the 19 year old Yeovil top scorer Jon Obika, on loan from Spurs.

Dangerman

All-time top scorer for the spanners is their number 9, Neil Harris, currently enjoying his best season on 17 goals despite starting only 18 games. Two weeks ago in their last home game versus Hartlepool, 'Harris picked himself up after being fouled and curled a deflected free-kick past Pools keeper Scott Flinders for his 11th goal in as many games.' But you'll be sad to find out that he suffered a bad knock to his knee in last weekends win at Walsall, missed the win at Carlisle, and is a tad doubtful for Saturday.

Whats Their Secret?Its their defence that wins all their prizes with only 35 goals conceded, and fourth best behind the mean experts Leeds with only 29 let in, while the Addicks are 7th best with 38 conceded.

But its those two Wycombe defeats that highlights the spanners' failings this season because against crap teams, sorry Gary, they have come unstuck with 5 defeats, whilst they raise themselves in games against the big boys of this League and have only lost once (0-2 away at Bristol in September) against teams in the top half of the table.

And it shows in their home games for while Carlisle, Brighton, Yeovil and the Saints have all drawn at the den, top boys Leeds (2-1), Norwich (2-1), Colchester (2-1), Huddersfield (3-1) have all been beaten. And, in fact, remembering Wycombe's surprise success in November, the key thing in our favour will be the spanners optimism of winning their first home cup final for 15 years.

But something to clearly bear in mind, especially after the 4-4 at the Valley, is that the game is never over till that final whistle, for no less that 11 of their 52 league goals have come after the 85th minute.

What Are They Saying?

Mark Kinsella never played at the den but he knows what to expect, "We're expecting a tough game. It will be big atmosphere and there will probably not be a lot of football played - both sides will have to earn the right to play first. Once that whistle goes, everyone will have to stand up and be counted."

Martin O'Neill, after Villa's cup win over Reading, "Sometimes it's nothing to do with pretty football. Sometimes it's to do with character, determination and the ability to fight and I think we had lost that there in the first half. It came back to us in the second half in great abundance."

History

OK, we have worst overall records against Colchester and Leeds but lets admit it the one that grates just a tad more is our dismal record against the lot from the den. You won't need any reminding what the score is over the 89 years (if you do its 11-30 with 22 draws) with just 4 wins at their place whatever they chose to call it. But hell, one of those 4 was a 2-0 win the last time we went there on 5th December 1995 - we completed the double with another 2-0 win on March 9th, only the third time we've done that ( you won't want to know but they have done it 9 times over us) - and, after the crazy 4-4 in December, we are now amazingly unbeaten in the last three games against them.

The Team

Johnnie Jackson only played 40 minutes on Saturday before a hamstring injury and is out for six weeks so its likely that Chris Solly will continue at left-back. And with Sam Sodje not even making the subs bench against Stockport the rest of the defence, especially after only its second clean sheet for 15 games,will surely remain as is. And we can only hope that after conceding 4 in December with a back four of Omozusi, S Sodje, Dailly, Basey, the changes perform somewhat better. But this is a derby and Parky will want players with the experience to handle it and he has mentioned that Llera could play left-back...

As for the midfield, will Parky dare to field a side with two wingers, from the off? Our last away game at Southend saw Semedo play the first hour before giving way to Reid with the score at 0-1 and the opposition tiring and Kyel played his part with an assist and a late goal but perhaps a key would be Parky's selection against the spanners in December where Semedo and Bailey were the central pairing with Sam and Wagstaff on the wings. Meanwhile Jonjo, just turned 18 and our 11th player on most minutes played this season, hasn't played a single minute in the last 5, after a full 90 against Swindon, and must be wondering when this, his longest rest period this season, is going to end.

As for the strike force, we must be one of the few teams where the number 9, the traditional main striker, hasn't started a game yet. Leon McKenzie must also be wondering when its going to happen but with games becoming more and more vital there's just no more time for experimentation. With only 242 minutes played from 14 sub appearances and only 1 goal from his third of those he only has 11 more games to impress but with Akpo getting three goals in the last 3 games his chances would appear to be fading.

Elliot; Richardson, Sodje(S), Dailly, Llera; Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Shelvey; Burton, Sodje(A).
Summary

They always beat the top clubs down at the den so, with our dismal record against them, we really have no chance. That's the position and I have to say I'm proud of the 3000 Addicks that are making the short journey to witness what will probably be, if December was any pointer, a 5-3 thrashing.

But we have the fixture gift of them having a tiring midweek game against distant Carlisle in our favour (although we couldn't make an extra man count at the Valley) and home certs don't always win in football. But our bad form there and their form means there can only really be one result, so to increase their confidence even more, its bound to be a 1-3 defeat for the Addicks.

Stockport County Preview

Facing the prospect last Friday of our eighth 1-1 draw of the season as the assistant ref put up his board for 6 extra minutes, Parky thoughts turned away from the state of his finger nails and questioned if there really was life after death. The thought of facing Richard upstairs after the game and having to explain away the teams inability to beat 10 men was not something he was looking forward to.

So quite how he felt when Kyel Reid ran clear to bury the ball into the bottom corner a minute later must be obvious to all. For if ever a goal was vital, it was this one at Roots Hall. After throwing what many would interpret as the last dice, he had demanded that his team "stand up to the plate again" and asked for "more conviction in the final third and a bit more belief", and once again had to stomach losing the first goal and recovering from a first half deficit. Nothing seemed to have changed and once again we had conceded the first goal (now 7 times in the last 8) and had been trailing 1-0 for 42 minutes against a struggling side with only 10 men.

So in the end everyone drove home rejoicing in our third come-from-behind win this season (after Orient and MK Dons ) but the question must be asked, is it only a temporary repreive, for while the spanners have been enjoying February with 21 points from their last 8 games, with Norwich following on 18 and the chasing trio of Swindon, Huddersfield and Colchester close behind on 16, the Addicks have responded with a meagre 9 against teams placed 10th, 3rd, 14th, 13th, 11th and 24th in the current form table. Even faltering Leeds managed double figures with 10.

So we move on to March, with four fixtures that look doubly worrying when compared to the easy ones of February with away games against the 1st and 6th teams on current form. And our problems start straight away because this month we play the team with the worst away record in Tier Three, but its not Stockport County, its the next home fixture against the Gills. In fact there's seven teams that are worse than bottom club County away from home, who have won three games on the road, the last one being at Exeter two weeks ago.....

Form
In fact, its probably not the best time to be playing County because, after 14 defeats in 16 games during the period October to January when relegation looked a certainty, they have had a much better February against MK Dons (h) 1-3, Colchester (h)2-2, Exeter (a)1-0 , Swindon (a)1-4 and Wycombe (h) 4-3 to help themselves to 7 points, only one less than the Addicks during the month, who played a game more. While the team that we struggled to beat last Friday, Southend, had the worst February of anyone with only a single point.

So we're up against a team, bottom of the table since the beginning of December, that are beginning to fight and have now won 2 of their last 5 games.

The Opposition

One reason for the change in mood at the Hatters is the addition of seven new players during the January window with 4 players (Swailes, Partridge, Johnson and Ibehre) joining from MK Dons and three more loanees joining from Colchester (Perkins), Watford (Sadler) and Plymouth (Donnelly). And perhaps not surprisingly, all of them went straight into the first team.

Injury problems have hit them lately though and defenders Mullins and Swailes were both missing from Tuesday's game at Bristol Rovers where they lost 1-0 to a goal gifted by their stand-in left-back Adam Griffin. And more problems hit them during the game with Jemal Johnson limping off with a muscle problem and then David Poole being red-carded which means he'll also be missing on Saturday.

Dangerman

Until January Carl Baker was their only dangerman on 13 goals but he's been snapped up by fizzy big boys Coventry. So there's now a fourway tie for top scorer with Bignall, Donnelly, Johnson and Thompson all on three strikes for the season but both George Donnelly and Jemal Johnson, on loan from Plymouth and MK Dons respectively, have got 2 in the last 4 games.

Whats Their Secret?

After three months without a win, and only one win in each of the months August, September and October the change in mood at Edgeley Park should not be underestimated. Although they conceded 12 goals in February they had their best month of the season with 2 wins and closed the gap to the team above them to 5 points and are now only 9 points from safety.

But, although the spanners, worryingly to most people, are the best team against the top half of the table with 8 wins and only 2 defeats in 15 games (the Addicks are 5th also with 2 defeats but a massive 8 draws), Stockport are rock bottom with not a single win against the top half of the table.

History

The score in League games before this season was even with Stockport at 2 wins apiece, each of us winning and losing once at home with all four games coming in our promotion seasons 97/98 and 99/2000. They did the double over us in 97/98 and we returned the debt two years later.

So anyone believing in omens will see it as good news that we only play Stockport in our promotion seasons but there's also been two cup games at the Valley with the Addicks winning 3-0 in the FA in 1948 and 4-3 in the League Cup in 2008. So after four games in all at the Valley they can only point to only one good result, that 3-1 win in September 1997.

Cheer Us Up Nels!

OK, while we somehow remain best first half team in Tier Three we have also added a further honour to our stats. In complete contrast to our early season habit of scoring first and as a result of all these recent second-half fight-backs, the Addicks now lead the table on points gained after going behind. Although Huddersfield, Norwich and Walsall enjoy coming from behind more times on 4 wins, our three victories and 8 draws mean we top the table with 17 points earned after giving away stupid goals to start with.

And if everyone is already writing off both away games this month, they should remember that although Huddersfield on March 27th are currently on 1 defeat in the last 15 and are unbeaten at home, 7 teams have drawn there including the likes of Brentford, Stockport, Tranmere and Carlisle. They are also not very good against the top half teams and apart from winning our last two games there we have won 5 of our last 9 games in Huddersfield and lost only twice.

The Team

After conceding first yet again but with our 4th 90th minute goal in 5 games coming from Reid last Friday its amazing that the Addicks are still the best League One side over the first 45 minutes with 16 "wins". And although we have only failed to score once in the last 22 games we can point to that Orient game, 8 games ago, as the time when things started to unravel.

And after scoring first 16 times in the first 26 games before facing the Orient and leading 15 times at the break we have now conceded first in 7 of the last 8 and in only one have we been leading at half-time. As for clean sheets we had 8 in the first 20 games but only one in the next 14.

So as Parky seeks to pinpoint the reasons for our Jekyll and Hyde behaviour perhaps we should point out that he only has 12 games left to solve it. Three "easy" home games against Stockport, the Gills and Carlisle (with only 1 League win between them at the Valley) are followed by the more taxing Colchester, Norwich and Leeds while away from home the hard ones come first with the spanners, Huddersfield, MK Dons and Pardew followed by a tailing-off at Exeter (where we have our worst away record of all in Tier 3) and then Oldham on the last day.

We've managed 17 points from our last 12 games so if we continue in our current jerky fashion we'll finish with a neat round 80 points, enough for last seasons 5th place.

As for the line-up, with Robbie Elliot taking the blame for the Southend goal, the defence will probably remain as at Roots Hall in another attempt to keep a clean sheet so the main discussion point will be the shape of the midfield.

Semedo gave way for matchwinner Kyel on 61 minutes last Friday and at the time it looked a useful tactic although the results of it came in rather late. So I think that, aiming for a settled side, Parky will field exactly the same team as as Southend unless Deon Burton is fit again to take Mooney's place.

Elliot, Richardson, Jackson, Llera, Dailly; Sam, Semedo, Racon, Bailey; Mooney, A Sodje.

Summary

This game is not going to be the walkover that it appears. Before Tuesday's 0-1 defeat at Bristol, the Hatters were dead level with the Addicks over the last 8 games with 2 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats and despite the Addicks being 3rd highest scorers in the League with the Hatters 3rd worst, over the last 8 they have outscored us, 10 to 9.

But at the other end no team has let in more goals, 16, than Stockport over the last 8 games and with the Addicks only failing to score once in their last 22 a goalless draw looks unlikely.

Verdict: its a toss-up between the Addicks two favorite scores, 1-1 or 2-1 and I'm going for the 2-1 home win.

Yeovil Preview

There's two ways of looking at Mondays defeat and the subseqent drop to fourth place. One is to feel sorry for ourselves and imagine that we need a bit of a reality check. We're Division Three, playing badly and desperately need promotion in May if we want to avoid selling everybody decent during the summer. We've slipped to fourth with 15 games left and the writing on the wall is beginning to become clear. And to remember that I said a few months ago that we haven't always managed to get out of this place at the first attempt.

The other option is probably the more difficult. And with the signing of another left-sided player on loan, Parky has made it clear that we are going to fight. Having a quiet conversation with Chris Solly perhaps on the need for patience and reminding him that, at 19, he is still third choice left-back. And we can only hope that Parky has spent the rest of the week practising marking at corners and set-pieces with every one of the team and has knocked a few heads together after identifying who's been at fault in the past few games.

So is the team resigned to its fate or are they going to fight like Parky? We're getting very close to playing must-win games and we'll soon find out the Addicks mettle and its up to Parky now to choose a team that'll do just that. Next up is a little team from Yeovil begging for a defeat and with only 3 wins in their last 15. Newcomers to League football after winning the Conference in 2003, Yeovil were then promoted to League One two years later after being Champions of League Two in 2005 but then even made the League One Play-offs in 2007.


Maybe you'll recognise the bloke above because its 34 year old ex-Welling Terry Skiverton who's been Yeovil player-manager since february last year and he took them to a respectable 17th last season.

Form

Down to 14th after Wednesday's defeat to Colchester, the Glovers currently have the 20th best (or worst) away record in Tier Three with only 2 wins on the road; at Bristol in October (!) and last time out a healthy 4-1 tonking of lowly Wycombe. And only one win (Wycombe) and one draw (Hartlepool) to show from their last 5 away games.

The last time we played them they had 5 wins from their first 16 games, and now its only 3 wins (two against Wycombe and the other in the local derby at home to Exeter) in the last 15.

The Opposition

Maybe its because of Skiverton's London contacts but Yeovil seems to be Spurs' preferred loaning ground with three youngsters at Huish Park at the turn of the year before Obika surprisely upped and moved to the spanners. The other two are number 13, 18 year old Ryan Mason on 6 goals ( but not on the teamsheet on Wednesday) and they also have another 18 year old in defender Steven Caulker. They also have McCarthy, Jones, Davies and MacDonald on loan which meant a total of 5 loanees in the team against Colchester.

Dangerman

Top scorer is Jonathan Obika on 7 goals but the Spurs man has ended his loan spell at Yeovil and is now at the spanners so we'll probably see more of him in March.

The youngest player to score a hat-trick for his previous club Ipswich is number 14, 23 year old Dean Bowditch and he has 6 goals from 14 games since joining Yeovil at the start of the season.

Whats Their Secret?
Yeovil are better when playing teams on their own level and have only had 3 wins against top half opposition ( beating Brentford 2-0 (h) in September, Carlisle 3-1 (h) in October and Bristol 2-1 (a) in October) but have drawn at both MK and Millwall but they are one of only two teams to lose to the Gills in the last 14 games. The Addicks, meanwhile, have the fifth best record against teams in the bottom half with only one defeat (Orient).

And despite Leeds' defeat on Wednesday the Lilywhites joined the Addicks as joint leaders of the half-time league but as for the opposition there's sadly only two teams, Exeter and Wycombe ( oddly the only teams that Yeovil have beaten in their last 15 games ) have been losing more times than Yeovil at half-time. And don't dismiss the significance of a half-time lead - only 3 teams have managed to win twice after overcoming a deficit at the interval (Norwich, the spanners and MK) and Yeovil are one of 12 that have still not won after going in behind.

History

The fourth, and last, of the teams never to have played at the Valley in a League fixture are this weeks visitors. The other three - Wycombe, Hartlepool and Mk Dons - were all beaten.

Against Yeovil we've only had a total of three games played, 2 cup and 1 League with one win each and 1 draw, with both teams scoring 4 times. Both cup games have been at the Valley with us winning the first 3-2 in 2005 in the FA Cup but then losing 0-1 last season in the League Cup when the likely duo of Bouazza and Varney ( now at Blackpool and Sheff Wednesday) were Pardews strike force - no wonder we didn't score then.

The one draw was back in November, 1-1 in atrocious conditions at Huish Park with Sammy Sodje being red-carded on 28 minutes for pulling down Ryan Mason when free on goal. Mooney was sacrified straight away for Llera but Sammy's younger brother came on at half-time for Racon and changed the game with a 25 yard screamer just after half-time.

What Are They Saying?

Parky after Swindons goal two weeks ago, reflecting on Amankwaah's opening goal as the right-back turned home a deflected cross from the right-hand side, "The lads are an honest bunch but whoever is marking Amankwaah has got to do better in that particular situation. We will look at it again. We conceded from the second phase at a set-play against Walsall. We've got to be stronger as set-plays are so important, but over the season we've generally been good."

And after centre-half Elliott had scored with a volley to put Bristol ahead in the 14th minute, Parky had to admit "How someone can be left in six yards of space in your 18-yard box from a corner is beyond belief."

Terry Skiverton after the Colchester game had this to say, "the energy, the tempo and the levels of commitment I've got no complaints with. I'm proud of the players and I appreciate the amount of effort they are putting in. A bit more quality in that final third and maybe we can start punishing teams like we seem to get punished ourselves. I think the supporters can go away happy, obviously they'll be disappointed, but they'll know that the players have tried their hearts out for their club."

The Team
As even the official site now admits the opposition have now scored first in the last 5 games with sloppy marking at set-pieces the reason for several goals. So will Parky respond by changing the formation, for a home game, or change the personnel?

The new loanee signing, Johnny Jackson, although not offically confirmed, seems sure to start if the reported rumours are correct and given the timing of the move it can only mean that immediate cover for Basey is in Parky's mind.

As for the rest of the team there were precious few positives coming out of the Bristol game except that we kept going till the end of the game even with only 10 men after Mooney was injured. So will Parky presevere with the two Sam's, Sodje and Lloyd, Racon and Burton or will he insist on changes.

This is the team that I can see:
Elliot; Richardson, Dailly, Llera, Jackson; Wagstaff, Bailey, Spring, Shelvey, Reid; Burton.

Summary
The key could be whether or not we can at long last stop a team scoring. The Addicks are without a clean sheet in 11 games now, since Southend, which was the very time that Deon last scored from open play, but we are against a team that have failed to score in three of their last 4 games.

The good thing is that we can expect to score as the Addicks have scored in 16 of their last 17 games and Yeovil have only have 3 clean sheets in their last 20, but then again have only failed to score themselves three times since we last played them.

They will come to defend so will it be a goalless draw perhaps? Or 1-0 to the Addicks. Personally I prefer the latter.

Bristol Rovers Preview

Well, we all knew that Swindon have a soft centre late in games and so it proved again but we did leave it rather late with Captain Fantasic doing the business yet again. But it does make Richard Murrays remarks about promotion being a requirement not an aim, seem a bit mistimed. Its one thing to tell the manager in private but a public airing can only serve to make people nervous and prepare the bigger clubs for a likely bargain.

And so it proved, with Parky appearing a little on the desperate side in the attempt to counter Swindon's style, and making more changes in fielding a brand new 4-2-3-1 formation which of course had to be changed at half-time. But we didn't lose - although a missed open goal by Swindon did help along the way - and our fighting spirit came through again.

So being positive, the prime requirement in the sporting world, we may bemoan the lack of a goalscorer but with Bailey around we are still second highest scorers in this League ( 14 behind Norwich, 1 in front of Huddersfield) and with the third highest goal difference.

And despite all our nervous nail-bitting and looking our shoulder we're still in 3rd place although Millwall's form is starting to worry a few people. Only 4 weeks now separate us from the visit to the den and the third of our truly wish-we-could-play-someone-else-today-games (the games against the spanners and Colchester are for me the most awkward of them all, the pity being that both are in Play-off positions) and its currently 5 wins on the spin for the spanners.

So its on to those peps with the strange old-fashoned quartered shirts. Player-Manager at Rovers is 37 year old Paul Trollope, another man in his first job but at Rovers since 2005. Eleventh last season in their second year back in Tier Three they have, of course, our old Lennie as Director of football.

And as we tie with the spanners in the chase to be the highest fouling team in the division ( Ince's MK are clear leaders, no surprise there), little old Bristol are nice and clean and are in the relegation zone of the dirty-boys table with nearly a hundred less fouls committed than us and 18 less yellows - and the distinct bonus ( is there a FairPlay prize down here) as far as suspensions are concerned with no red cards at all.

Form

Rovers are currently in 9th place, their lowest placing of the season and have dropped down quite a bit since their good start to the season when they won 7 of the first 10 games and were up there in 3rd. The kiss of death then arrived from the Football League with Trollope being awarded Manager of the Month for September and inevitably October turned into a disaster with 5 straight defeats including a 0-4 home loss to Leeds.

Since then however, its been their home form which has kept them from really heading towards the relegation zone. Their last 10 away games have seen 8 defeats ( including that 4-2 loss at the Valley) and only 2 draws but at home its been a lot better.

Since the 0-4 Leeds defeat at the end of October they have had 5 straight home wins terminating with a thumping 3-0 win over Swindon - although since that win its been another bleak period with only 1 win ( home to Hartlepool ) in their last 8 games and most recently two home defeats in a row firstly 2-3 against improving Wycombe, after leading 2-1 at half-time, and last week a 1-0 defeat to Walsall.

And the goals have dried up as well with 6 non-scoring games in that eight-match sequence.

The Opposition
A rather odd team where the number one, goalkeeper Steve Phillips is on loan at Crewe, while number 12 is worn by the supporters and are known as the Gasheads, in apparent recognition of the smell from the adjacent gas works. The goalkeeper, therefore is the giant 6' 5, 21 year old dane from Copenhagan, Mikkel Andersen wearing number 27 and on-loan from Reading.

DangerMan

After losing Ricky Lambert during the summer to Southampton, Rovers have struggled to find a replacement and current top scorers are left-winger number 11 ex-palarse Jeff Hughes, currently playing left-back, and midfielder Chris Lines with 8 each. Chris Lines is Rovers' own version of Nicky Bailey and has scored three of their last four goals but luck is against Rovers as he's currently out injured. And Hughes is currently on a run of 8 games without scoring and missed a penalty last week against Walsall.

So to fill in the gaps Trollope has secured loanee striker from Doncaster Paul Heffernan, famous for his head-butt on Charlie Mulgrew in the 88th minute of Play-off semi against Southend in 2008. He therefore missed the Dons moment of glory when they beat Leeds 1-0 in the final and made his Rovers debut last week against Walsall. And Trollope also wants to bring in another loan striker before tonight.

Whats Their Secret?

A bizarre team that have had more clean sheets than we have but then again only 6 teams in Tier 3 have conceded more goals. The only team in the top half of the table with a minus goal difference and although they have scored 3 on 4 occasions they have also conceded 5 twice ( Orient and Norwich) and 4 twice ( Leeds and the Addicks).

History

After reminding everyone that we usually do well at Swindon, which we did, its on to Bristol where our record really isn't very good. In fact, giving it to you straight, we have an even worse record at Bristol than we do at the den, old or new.

OK, we did the double over them in 1993/4 and won at the Valley in December making it three wins in the last three games but before that 2-0 away win in January 1993 we'd gone 15 games without a win at their place dating back 34 years to a 4-0 cup win there in 1959. And the only other time we've won there was a 5-2 Third Division South League win in 1933.

Oddly enough we've played both Bristol clubs 29 times in Bristol but whereas we've won 11 times against City its a sorry total of only 3 wins in that total of 29 away games at Rovers and its our first game at the Memorial Ground where Rovers have played since 1996.

The Team

After last weekends surprises its anyones guess what formation Parky will choose against Rovers although it must be said that his new 4-2-3-1 failed to impress anyone watching. He seemed pretty upbeat going into the game but perhaps he shot himself in the foot by trying to play to counter the opposition to avoid defeat. This week, I suspect, it'll be back to a more obvious selection with two forwards.

Scott Wagstaff, with his 5 goals, was flavor of the month and has now taken part in 12 out of the last 13 games, starting in seven of them although what his thoughts were when he was replaced at half-time at Swindon by Jose Semedo haven't been reported.

Another one perhaps grinding his teeth is Leon McKenzie, who, just when he must have thought he was due a start, has seen his prospects slip somewhat with the return of the much-liked Akpo and had to stay on the bench against Swindon after coming on in the previous eight.

Meanwhile there's strange goings-on as far as Lloyd Sam is concerned. Last week he missed his first League game of the season - apart from his one game suspension - and that was after only appearing for 10 minutes the week before against Walsall. And then there's the private meeting he had this week with Murray and Parky to discuss his contract which expires in the summer and the latest news that he has shaken off the bug that apparently stopped him playing last week.

And then what of Therry? After starting for the first time in eight games against Walsall he must have been cursing his luck when he had to go off after 52 minutes against Swindon with a head injury and didn't return.

But Parky needs to get it right this week and will revert to a 4-4-2 and after last weeks surprises the team would seem to pick itself.

Elliot; Richardson, Dailly, Sam Sodje, Basey; Sam, Bailey, Semedo, Reid; Akpo Sodje and Burton.

Summary

Our record away at Rovers is terrible and clearly the 37 punters on CAFC Picks knew all about it as only 4 of them saw a win back in the summer and even some of those may have changed their minds by now. Rovers home form, until recently, is also quite good but they have loads of injury problems and two home defeats in a row and as Ketts has pointed out have gone 300 minutes without scoring. Meanwhile the Addicks are on 4 games without a win and 3 consecutive TV defeats in a row.

So Parky, with Richard's words still ringing in his ears, needs a win badly but if it comes it won't be easy on our current form but if Yeovil, Orient, Wycombe and Walsall can win there, there should be no excuses if we can't do the same. And perhaps we can even get a run going with Yeovil, Brighton, Southend and Stockport the next 4 teams.

So the Verdict has to be a win to the Addicks, 2-0

Swindon Town Preview

I'm not very happy at moment and judging from his pictures, neither is Parky. Despite four changes in defence, midfield and attack, he still cannot change the predictable state of affairs. We concede the first goal and then have to raise our game to take the game to the opposition. Its now been nine games since a clean sheet (Southend, December 5th) and six times now in the last 8 we have conceded the first goal and 5 times ( all bar Orient) we have had to come back to get a draw.

And we're now the team with the most drawn games, 11, in Tier Three. Its unusual to see the highest drawing team so high up in the table, ( in the other three divisions they're 15th, 21st and 12th ) and Parky must be feeling frustrated at our inability to turn these draws into wins.

And he also needs to fix his half-time talk because we're still useless in games where we've been drawing at half-time. Ten games, one win and not something to plan at the weekend because the three best teams when they've been drawing at the interval are Leeds, Norwich and ....Swindon.



Manager at Swindon is Danny Wilson who joined in 2008 after spells at various clubs but is most famous for his first managerial job which was at Barnsley whom he lead into the top flight for the first, and sadly only time, in their history in 1997.

Form
Clearly something strange happened around October 31st at Swindon because since then, after just 4 wins in 14, they've had 9 wins in 12 games and if it wasn't for the 94 minute equaliser at the Valley and Southend's 89th minute equaliser last weekend it would be 11 wins in 12. And those two late goals have really cost them, as, with three games in hand, they would be just 3 points behind us. As it is they are currently 8 points behind but with a far worst goal difference.

And the thing that changed everything was due to the 4-1 win by the reserves against Reading on October 30th with Billy Paynter and Charlie Austin getting two goals each. And as Wilson said after the game, "We are still trying to get the combinations and the personnel right but its given us food for thought for Saturday because we're not hitting the back of the net. "

Well, they certainly are now with 26 goals in the last 12 games with nine wins and only one defeat, away to Bristol Rovers, in that run.

Dangerman
Dangerman by a mile since that October date is top scorer and Liverpudlian 25 year old Billy Paynter, number 20 and now on 17 goals but just to provide us with additional problems he's got himself a new number two after that reserve game.

Whilst we have two underperforming non-league strikers in Dickson and Fleetwood, Swindon seem to have picked up a peach from Poole Town. His name's Charlie Austin he's 20 and he's got 10 goals in 14 games since he joined in October including the first for Swindon on Boxing Day.

Whats Their Secret?
Not a secret more of a liability really but, as was amply demonstrated by Southend just last weekend, Swindon lack a bit of staying power. At Roots Hall they lead 2-0 with 2 goals in the first 10 minutes but once again at the death they conceded 2 goals in the last 5 minutes. Shades of the Valley then. And in fact while conceding no more than 3 goals in only other 5 minute spell, they have let in 4 in the 80-85 minutes and a massive 8 in the last five minutes of games.

And they are one of only 5 teams ( in the august company of the likes of Hartlepool, the Gills, Tranmere and Oldham) in this neck of the woods that have not won a game after going behind. Unlike the Addicks, of course, who now have only Huddersfield and Wycombe above us in the table showing points clawed back after letting in stupid goals. And its now eleven draws for the Addicks, more than anybody else, and 7 of those have been after going behind.

Rather more worryingly, apart from Leeds and Norwich, the next best team in games against the top half of the table is...Swindon.

History
We haven't got a bad record down at the County Ground with 6 wins and 10 draws in the 24 League games and with 2 League cups wins there as well its level pegging with 8 wins each. And of the last 10 games there since the 80's we've won no less than seven and lost only once...

The Team
Parky definitely threw all the predicted eleven's out of the window on Tuesday and surprised us all by bringing in Solly, Racon, Wagstaff and Akpo Sodje.

Chris Solly was handed his first start in the League while Racon, without a single minute in the last 8 games, was brought in to replace Semedo. Wagstaff, another surprise starter, started his first game since Millwall, while more predictably Mooney was relegated to the bench with Akpo's physical present given the nod over Leon McKenzie.

But, disappointingly for Parky, the changes failed to rattle Walsall, a team that had previously lost to Leeds, Norwich and Southampton at home although they had drawn 1-1 with Swindon but before Swindon hit their recent rich vein of form.

But, and we're not making excuses, the pitch was terrible, according to Deon, and the performance was better than of late so what can we expect against Swindon?

Elliot; Richardson, Dailly, S. Sodje, Solly; Wagstaff, Bailey, Semedo, Reid; Burton, A. Sodje.

Summary

We have a very good record at the County Ground but with three games without a win I can't see one coming in this game. But then, despite all the hype, Swindon weren't very impressive on Boxing Day against 9 for nearly an hour so .....

The key will be keeping those two strikers quiet and as I can't forecast a defeat so it'll have to be a draw, 1-1.

Walsall Preview

Not a good week for the Addicks with just a single point from two "easy" home games. And not a good month either with lack-lustre performances, only 7 points on the board and 7th best in January in this sorry league we find ourselves in. Sneaking a look into the dressing room, it appears to be becoming apparent to the team that they're just not good enough to get an auto spot out of this Division. The Killer Blow as far as morale is concerned is Norwich's surge past us in the table with 8 straight wins that has now has left us trailing them by 8 points - although with a game in hand - while we are 5 behind Leeds and have played a game more.

Its just the sort of situation that going to frustrate a team with only 2 wins in the last seven and added to the disappointment of dropping out of the top two, after holding second place for 5 months, could explain the lethagic performances of late.

So we'll have to gee them up and stress the positives. Get the team to show some grit and determination, not least because coming up shortly we have Swindon, a team we can't afford to give any concessions or psychological advantages.

So looking back at the past month, seven points in January was at least 3 more than either Leeds or Colchester managed and the two teams we couldn't beat this week are not down there in the basement but 5th (Orient) and 9th (Tranmere) in a results table on January results. Not promotion material perhaps but an example of teams fighting for survival.

But you can't accuse us of not fighting. We haven't had a single straightforward game since Stockport on the 12th Dec. Since then we've had seven games that we've either drawn after going behind ( Millwall, Swindon, Brentford and Tranmere) or gone on the win after the other team had equalised ( Wycombe and Hartlepool) and in only one have we failed to score (Orient).

On Saturday we had 21 shots with 12 on target. The party-poopers from East Anglia only managed 7 shots ( 4 on target) against Hartlepool in their 2-1 win while Leeds only have 14 (7 on target). And the only team to come anywhere near us was Pardews lot with 18 shots, 13 on target. So we've showing fighting spirit and creating shooting positions.


So on to Walsall. And while we continue to vie with Norwich and Leeds with most shots on target our next opponents Walsall are down the other end of the listing with less shots than anybody else in the Division. Manager for the past year at the Saddlers is Paul Jewell's mate Chris Hutchings. They've been together 3 times at Bradford, Wigan and Derby with Hutchings being the beneficiary by taking over all three times when Jewell upped and left.

Form

After 5 wins in 7 back in October/November which took them to the brink of the Play-offs positions in 7th place they have became a little dizzy about their prospects and its now been six games without a win and with 4 defeats in there as well and a slide down to 13th place. And while the Addicks have only got 13 points from their last 8 games, Walsall are even worst with only 8 points from the last 24.

And their recent home form is even worse with only 1 win ( 3-0 against Oldham two months ago) in the last 5 games at the Banks Stadium with 3 defeats to Pardew's lot, Brighton and the East Anglia party-poopers, whom they lead for 40 minutes before succumbing to two goals in the last 13 minutes.

Dangerman
Top scorers are number 10 Troy Deeney, still only 21, and the irishman number 7 Steve Jones both on 9. But Jones is out injured so its Deon's fellow Jamaican, Darren Byfield, ex of the spanners and the Gills, that starts alongside Troy these days and he has 7 goals.

Whats Their Secret?
As we said in December, Walsall's party trick is giving the opposition a goal start and then going on to win. They've done it three times this season - a 2-1 win over Huddersfield back in September with an 87 minute Raynes goal after going behind and at Wycombe where they went 2-0 down and won 3-2 and they also beat Tranmere after going a goal down. But typical for a mid-table team they can do the opposite as well and have also lost 3 times after winning....

But their form against the good teams is dire. Placed 22nd in a table showing results against the top 12 with only one win in 12 games.

History
Despite winning three out of the last 4 Cup games against the Addicks ( which includes the embarrassing 2-1 FA Cup defeat at the Valley in 2002 ) we should be looking forward to visiting Walsall where of all the other Tier 3 teams we have our best away record ( in League games anyway) picking up over 1.5 points per game. Its one of only three places down here where we've won more than we've lost ( the others are Gillingham and Southend) and the record currently stands at 4 wins, 2 draws and only 3 defeats over the 9 League games.

The last time Walsall beat us in the League was 37 years ago in October 1973 at Fellows Park in an embarrassing 4-0 defeat but of the 5 games played since then at Fellows Park and Banks Stadium we've won 3, drawn one and only lost a League Cup tie 2-0 in 1987 after winning the home leg 3-0.

And its only our second visit to the Bescot Banks Stadium, the first being a 4-2 win in March 2000 on our march to the Tier Two title.

The Team

There's no Carl Ikeme this time stopping Darren Randolph filling-in in place of the injured Rob Elliot and he'll make only his second start after playing at Northwich so don't be surprised if he's rusty. But there's no word on Kelly Youga so the defence will line-up as it finished on Saturday.

Midfield, however, will be the area getting most of Parky's attention this week with two difficult away trips coming up. Racon and Spring wait in the wings but with Therry only enjoying one game ( Southend) in the last eleven and no sub appearances either its not looking like a return for him and Matt Spring hasn't seen any action at all since his 90 minutes against Brentford in December.

However, new boy Kyel Reid looked good at the weekend and with "sore calves" was replaced by Leon McKenzie on 71 minutes but there's a good case for including both in the starting line-up. Parky's obvious enthusiasm for Dave Mooney reminds me of Pardews liking for Luke Varney last season. Mooney's has now had more than 900 minutes football for his three goals - which looks good by Varney standards with his 2 from 1500 minutes last season - but its not good enough to worry the top two clubs and its surely time to try a new combination of Burton and McKenzie together.

Although with the return of Akpo Sodje, and Parky's quote about his physical present being more than useful, it looks more than likely that he'll benefit from Mooney's dip in form.

Randolph; Richardson, Dailly, S. Sodje, Basey; Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Reid; A. Sodje, Burton.

Summary

With our history at Walsall and their record against all the top teams and the fact that only three teams down here ( Oldham, Hartlepool and Stockport) that have had more defeats in their last 8 than Walsall, its a morale-boosting 2-0 to the Addicks.

Tranmere Rovers Preview

Last Monday just had a bad feel to it and there were too many things to go wrong. A televised local derby against a team we'd already beaten away and that hadn't won two games on the trot all season and who hadn't won at the Valley for 30 years. A gilt-edged chance to go equal top against a team that hadn't kept two consecutive clean sheets for nearly a year but ominously with an ex-addick striker leading the line.

It all looked too easy and maybe an element of casualness had crept into the players minds or you might say it was typically Charlton to lose just at a time when they could have put some pressure on the other two but then Orient clearly deserved their win. Maybe its easier to watch your neighbours style and identify his strong points but they had done their homework well and knew what to do to stop us playing. And in a crucial first half they managed to stop the divisions highest scorers over the first 45 from getting a single shot on target.

At one point it looked as if all three leaders would fail midweek but although Leeds continued their dire League form, the party-poopers from East Anglia can't do anything wrong at the moment and came from behind to win their 7th game in a row.

On to our opponents then and Tranmere just missed out on the Play-offs last season finishing in 7th and had high hopes of more of the same this year, especially with a new high-profile manager. Their home form was second only to Leeds' last season and Parky must have expected his toughest test so far when we visited in August. A 4-0 win followed and things clearly didn't work at Prenton Park and the manager now is 52 year old Les Parry who took over on 9th October after John Barnes had been sacked after just two wins in the first eleven games. A strange choice as Parry was the clubs physio at the time and had no managerial experience at all.

Form
But after 13 defeats in their first 17 games, things have been slowly improving and its now only two defeats ( at Southampton and MK Dons) in the last 9 and as far as away games are concerned they even scored three goals at home bankers Huddersfield in a 3-3 draw.

And if you fancy our chances against a team still stuck in 22nd spot then take care because their record over the last 8 shows them level-pegging in eleventh place with none other than Leeds United with a recent record of 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats.

Dangerman
Ian Thomas-Moore with 7 is top scorer. He almost qualifies as an ex because he is, of course, the son of ex-Addick Ronnie Moore who we all chipped with our fivers to buy back in 1983.

Whats Their Secret?
Have only gained a single point after falling behind. Have failed to score 13 times, the most in the Division (along with Oldham who drew 0-0 at the Valley) but have had 6 clean sheets only two less than the Addicks. But a strange team that have won every game where they were in front at half-time but have lost every one where they have been losing.

You all know that we have the best first half record of all in Tier Three but you may not know that a record we also hold is that we are the worst team at getting a result when we've been drawing at half-time. OK, it doesn't happen often, only 8 times, (against Leeds, Oldham, Huddersfield, the Gills, Carlisle - all strangely in a row - then Millwall, Brentford and Orient). Only once in those games did we go on to win, Huddersfield, with two defeats and 5 draws.

History
Before this year, we have a middling record with Tranmere, 6 wins each and 10 draws. With our 4-0 win up there in August, our 5th League win on the trot, we've gone in front 7-6 but they've only won twice at the Valley with the Addicks winning 5 with 4 draws with both of their wins being 1-0 Tier two games in 1992 and 1995.

The Team
Parky has some thinking to do before Saturday and although he ruled out making wholesale changes, one or two may just creep in. Belief in ones players comes first I suppose and casting my eye back to Wigan's 9-1 defeat at Spurs back in November, its interesting to note that Martinez, after a result suggesting changes, made just one alteration to his lineup for the 1-0 win over Sunderland 6 days later.

Starting at the back he has to decide who to play at centre-back, red-card expert Sodje or accident-prone Llera. They've both contributed 3 goals but with Miguel looking more nervous with every game, looks like a return for Sammy in an attempt to keep a clean sheet for the first time in 8 games. We can only hope that Grant Basey is given a rest by the timely return of Kelly even if he has been left exposed at times due to our floating left-wing problem but there's been no news of a return this week.

As for the midfield and despite playing the full 90 on Monday, JonJo Shelvey may find himself on the bench as Parky seeks to find an answer to our lack-lustre performances. Sam, Semedo and Bailey are certs but Parky must choose between Shelvey, Wagstaff, Spring or a forgotten Racon. Therry hasn't been seen on the field now, strangely enough, since that last clean sheet when he effectively took over from the suspended Semedo, seven games ago.

Up front will Dave Mooney be punished for his miss on Monday, giving Leon his first start? No, can't see it happening.

Elliot; Richardson, Dailly, Sodje, Basey; Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Wagstaff; Burton, Mooney

Summary

A recovery or another 0-0 draw like Oldham, that's the question. No, 1-0 to the Addicks.

Postscript
There I was the other day reminiscing while walking the dog and going over all the great players we used to have but, showing my age, I just couldn't remember that Italian guys name. Then I found this by David Pleat on his 11 best players,
"I'd liked what I'd seen of him on television so I went up to Glasgow to see him play for Celtic. I took a cab to my hotel and the driver kept saying: "What are you doing here? Don't you dare try and take Paolo off our hands." When I got to the ground I found out he'd been ruled out through injury but, to be honest, I'd heard enough. He was fantastic in training and, while he could be selfish on the park and on some days played as if in a daze, at his best he was superb. He was temperamental – I remember him overturning the physio's couch in one half-time tantrum, and stripping off at Blundell Park at the break refusing to go back on the field. He ended up going back out and playing better in that second half. He was wild, but he was also wonderful on his day: a great shooter, a fine crosser and a top-class dribbler."
Yeh, that was Di Canio.....

Leyton Orient Preview

We've over half way through the season now and its a mad downhill chase to the finish line hoping that one of the others misses a hurdle or two, or maybe goes into administration. Just 20 games left and its neck and neck at the top with only three points covering the top three. Delia's party-poopers got another revenge out of the way with a useful 1-0 over Brentford even with 10 men after Grant Holt's dismissal so with Leeds otherwise detained, a winning result this evening would see a crazy three-way tie on 57 points.

Leeds did well at White Hart Lane at Saturday with a 2-2 draw that keeps complicating their fixture list but its a shame they can't play Carlisle every week. Carlisle have already drawn 1-1 at Elland Rd this season before their 2-1 win in the Johnstones last Tuesday and of course they were the last League One team to win there, 2-0 back in January 2009.

But with two home games left in January, it's February that could be make or break time for the three leaders with 6 league games in 24 days for the Addicks. Leeds also have 6 League games planned plus their Johnstones semi with Carlisle and now another FA Cup game so looks as if one of those league games will suffer while the party-poopers from East Anglia have it easy with only five games. The end of February then could see Leeds relegated to third place but there's a couple of difficult games in there for the Addicks first.

In total we have a nice neat 10 home games and 10 away to go and as far as difficult away games are concerned we have six games out of the 10 against teams in the top half of the best-home-record table. We face visits to unbeaten-at-home Huddersfield (Mar 27), Swindon (Feb 6) and Millwall (Mar 13) both with only a single home defeat, Saints (Apr 10) and Exeter (Apr 24) with just 2 home defeats and Bristol Rovers (Feb 13) with 3. So a neat two a month but results in these games could decide our season.

And we'll have to do better than our history in these games as at the moment it doesn't make pleasant reading. You won't need telling that its been 17 defeats at the spanners (our biggest away loss anywhere in the current company), and 16 times at both Huddersfield (out of 35 games) and Southampton (out of 27). And we've only won once at Exeter in 11 visits and twice at Bristol Rovers in 25.

As for tonight, one of Parky's old work-mates is current O's manager 48 year old Geraint Williams. They were together at Colchester whom Williams have managed on a four-week caretaker basis during the 2002–03 season prior to Parkinson's appointment in February 2003 for Parky first job in management. In July 2006, after three years together, Parky left to manage Hull and Geraint took charge of the U's and spent two years there before being sacked. He joined Orient last February and they finished a healthly 14th last season.

Form

It was 5 games without a win before Tuesday which saw Orient drop into the bottom 4 for the second time this season. They badly needed a win and they got it, 2-0 over Yeovil at home moving up to 18th on 27 points, exactly half the Addicks total.

But their away record is currently the 18th worst in the division with 2 wins ( a 2-1 win on the first day of the season at Bristol Rovers and a 1-0 at Wycombe in October), 3 draws and 7 defeats and they have managed only 2 points in their last 6 away games although those were the last two at Brighton and Walsall. But don't get fidgety Parky during the first half, for they have only conceded 1 goal (at the best home team Huddersfield) in the first 45 in their last 10 away games including games at the party-poopers, Leeds and Swindon!

The Opposition

Parky, watch out for that big geezer, number 5 Tamika Mkandawire from Malawi, he's already got 5 from centre-back including their goal against us in August and another last Tuesday against Yeovil.

Dangerman

Scott McGleish turns 36 next month and its now been 15 years since he left the Addicks but is Orients top scorer on 9 for the season.

Whats Their Secret?

If you believe that its only tough teams that keep battling when all seems lost, then step forward the spanners and MK Dons, the only two teams to win twice after arriving at half-time losing. I suppose you could argue that it depends on how many stupid goals you give away in the first 45 and both of them have gone in for their tea losing 8 times.

But its not like that over at the Orient. They have only conceded 9 goals during the first half of their 25 games while letting in 18 in the last 15 minutes. And it gets more confusing while you read that they score more goals in the first 5 minutes of games than any other period while conceding more in the last 5 minutes than any other. Not a staying team then and amply demonstrated last August when we came from behind and scored two second half goals to win 2-1, which is of course our favorite scoreline as well as being their's (1-2 that is).

On the other hand Leeds, despite their dismal record of late, have only been losing at half-time once while next best at half-time are, of course, Leyton Orient, who amazingly have only been losing at the 45 minutes twice.

Cheer Us Up Nels

While we were suffering during the poor first half on Tuesday we should remember that we are by far the best team of the season over the first 45 minutes. Fifteen times now we have been leading at half time and only Leeds and the party-poopers come close with 12. We've also scored more goals than anybody else in the first 45 with 27 while Leeds and Norwich have only enjoyed 20 and 22.

History

The party-poopers knocked 4 past a hapless Orient on their visit to carrow rd in September but don't expect such a generous performance from Leyton in a local derby. It took Orient 30 years to get a result at the Valley with their first win there in 1962 and after three wins in the 70's its now been another 30 since their last win, a 1-0 on 12th January 1980. There's only been one league encounter since then, a 5-2 canter in 1982, but they have made a habit of knocking us out of cups, in 1982 and 1990 while we've done the same to them in 2006 and 2009.

The Team

Two wins on the trot, something that we used to dream about, and the question is will Parky made any changes. There's no Sodje ( game 4 of his suspension, is Miguel getting nervous?) and Kelly's signing autographs in the shop so an unchanged squad looks likely. But there were some low scoring marks all over the teamsheet last Tuesday and the question of Super-Sub Scotty staking a claim to a starting berth. Parky explains it away by saying we were tired after a tough game at Wycombe and a lack of training due to the bad weather.

One problem with starting Scotty would be the lack of creation in midfield once JonJo leaves it although that didn't stop our number 16 from making his own mark last Tuesday. And Scotty's 5 goals come from only 841 minutes played while Dave Mooney has now got 3 from his 758 minutes.
And there's also the question of missing pace given Parky's liking for the Mooney/Burton duo and if Mooney hadn't scored last week then perhaps we'd see both JonJo and Scotty playing and Mooney sat on the bench. But he did and scoring after three minutes after coming on shows that Wagstaff wants to prove something and maybe Parky will want to keep that desire as a special weapon on the bench.
Elliot; Richardson, Dailly, Llera, Basey; Sam, Semedo, Bailey, Shelvey; Burton, Mooney.

Summary

Another game where both teams enjoy the same scoreline reversed. We love the 2-1 and they suffer more 1-2's than anything else. So a 2-1 win then? The first half will be crucial as its the best first half team against the second best. We've scored the most and they have conceded the second least. But don't panic Parky if its still 0-0 at half-time, the second 45 is when they let the goals in.

So looks like a 2-1 win but then its a local derby and our experiences with the spanners showed that in derbies the rules go out the window. And there's also the question mark over our nerve to go equal top. So many teams blow chances when the summit is in sight. We haven't been at the top since our 2-1 win over Huddersfield in mid-October and goals from Sam Sodje and McLeod got us there and both are missing tonight, some would say thankfully so.

So I'll stick with a 2-1 but its a time for cold nerves on a cold evening and a driving start Parky to settle us down.