Close, but no cigar

Charlton secured a 0-0 draw at home to Southampton at The Valley today. A draw was probably a fair result. Charlton edged the first half, ending in a storming finish when only the heroics of the Saints keeper kept the Addicks from scoring. Charlton faded in the second half and Southampton looked more like scoring.

The Addicks looked like a more effective unit with greater pace and commitment and more fluent passing, although they still looked a little vulnerable defensively at time. What was pleasing was to see two players left up the field when we were defending corners.

The huddle was reinvented for the start of the game and Charlton started in fine attacking form, although they were caught out a few times in the early phase of the game by the offside trap. Hudson wisely put the ball out for a Southampton corner.

McEveley made a good run and put in an excellent cross and Gillespie was just off target. Semedo won Charlton a corner, followed by one won by Bouzza. This was a game in which both sides won a lot of corners but were ultimately unable to make anything out of them.

Bouzza and then Gray sent half chances wide. The Saints looked dangerous and won a corner. Charm merchant Jordan Robertson had a go at Weaver and received a yellow card. Charlton conceded a rather foolish corner to Southampton which was followed by a second for the visitors. McEveley once again created danger with a good cross, and won a corner, but the ball was sent in too high to be useful. Gillespie had a shot on goal.

Bouazza stormed in and the much travelled Davis in the Saints goal made a very good save at the expense of a Charlton corner. As the half drew to a close, Charlton piled on the pressure and won a succession of corners. If the Addicks were to have won the match, it would have been then. At one time it seemed as if the ball was bound to go in, but Davis rose to the occasion. There was a handball call, but all that was given was another Charlton corner.

Half time: Addicks 0, Saints 0

Immediately after the break Saints took off Jordan Robertson and brought on Alex Pearce. At first I thought that this was simply because of Robertson's yellow card and the risk of him being sent off, but in fact the visitors changed their formation and upped their game. Central defender Pearce is on loan from Reading and scored twice in his first three matches for Saints.

Saints won an early corner and this was really the result of hesitancy of Charlton's part near the halfway line. One lesson that needs to be learnt is that one can't dwell on the ball too long, although this is a fine balance, as one doesn't want panic clearances either. Bouazza burst through, but instead of taking a shot - which he is well capable of from distance - suddenly stopped and the chance was lost.

Saints put in a dangerous curling ball from distance and the alert Weaver had to push it over the bar and on to the roof of the net. However, I took encouragement from the fact that the subsequent Saints corner was well defended which is not always the case.

After another miss by the Addicks, Gray was taken off and replaced by Todorov who received a warm welcome from the Southampton fans. McEveley likes to get stuck in and received a yellow card for a foul.

Starting with a free kick, Saints applied some pressure, winning two corners, but Weaver dealt with the situation well and make a good save. The tiring Gillespie was replaced by Sam.

Southampton were awarded a free kick in front of the D, but the Charlton wall stood up well, the ball rebounding off it twice. Weaver made two great saves to keep Charlton in the game. With Semedo looking increasingly erratic, Holland was brought on to steady the ship before Saints could take a corner.

Three minutes of time were added on and Charlton made increasingly desperate attempts to get a goal, but a half chance was lost when Bailey overhit the ball.

As I know that many keen fans do not buy the programme (or live overseas and don't get it until later, if at all), a couple of points from it are worth mentioning. It is evident from a couple of pieces in there, including one from the chief executive, that the board are not going to be rushed into a decision about a new manager. This is sensible, as we have suffered from hurried decisions in the recent past. I would expect Parkinson to be caretaker until the end of the year which will give the board the chance to see him in this role and decide whether he can make the step up.

I think that the programme is worth buying for Colin Cameron's articles alone. (I once covered a Charlton youth game at Rushden and Diamonds and Colin interrogated me rigorously about whether the last goal in a 6-1 victory was an own goal or not to make sure the records were correct). Colin points out that he doubts that many Championship clubs had £22m made available to them to rebuild their squads after relegation, £11m for Dowie and £11m for Pardew (and these sums do not include signing on fees or the cost of bringing in loan players). As Colin notes, '£22m is a considerable sum of money and should have brought more success than proved the case.'

On the way back, a crowd of chanting Southampton supporters faced a line of police on the overpass at London Bridge, almost blocking it. I am not quite sure what had happened, but a Saint who was not involved told us someone had shouted 'Portsmouth'. The same Saint confessed with some shame that they were visiting Portsmouth tomorrow for a festive fair. The rivalry between these two clubs takes some beating anywhere in England.

Match analysis

Homer the Cherry Hound was indisposed after being bitten on the nose by Dave the Hampster and Ivy the Terrible resumed her role. She did not think that there was any one really outstanding player but awarded the Silver Bone to Jonathan Fortune for a credible performance after returning from a long period out injured. Waver made a couple of great saves and looked more confident again, justifying the trust that Parkinson has put him in. For me calls to bring in Elliott were another example of the 'Roy of the Rovers' mentality that afflicts some Charlton supporters. However, I wish Weaver would not send some balls so high in the air that air traffic control at London City has to be alerted. McEveley is a Danny Mills look alike who was a great addition at left back. Youga is too erratic and Basey is still a work in progress. McEveley forged forward well and can put in a good cross. He made a couple of mistakes, but the overall performance was impressive. Cranie received the attention of the Southampton fans because of his Portsmouth associations, but put in a solid performance and was one of the players that improved in the second half. Hudson had an excellent game and put in some important clearance. Semedo was very involved and he is a player I thought was not rated highly enough under Pardew. However, at times hesitancy cost him and at one point he was going round in a circle before finally losing the ball. But the position he plays in is in my view one of the most demanding on the pitch. Bailey was dropped at QPR because Parkinson thought that the negativity at the club had hit him hard, but he had to be brought back on because Racon picked up a knock and a swollen knee. On this performance, I would prefer Racon. Gillespie had a very good work rate and was clearly very committed, although he tired towards the end. He is an improvement on Sam. Bouazza faded from the game in the second half and was one of the reasons our performance deteriorated. The signing of Burton was used by the 'Parkinson out' crowd as evidence of the caretaker manager's uselessness, but in he displayed considerable energy and worked well with Gray. The performance of Gray was fine, he just needs to score more goals. Mind you, it doesn't help if you are bearing down on goal, are held back and the referee awards a free kick against you while giving shirt tugging gestures. Todorov showed his lack of match practice when he came on, but started to get more involved and was almost decisive at the end. Sam was greeted with derision from the row behind me, having replaced Ambrose as their scapegoat player. I thought he tried hard, but the lack of real quality showed. Holland had a cameo, but he made a couple of important tackles towards the end.

Hiss of the Match This has been given by Juneau the Soccer Cat to the referee. He was one of those referees who likes to demonstrate that he is not a 'homer' by giving marginal decisions to the away team. With both the handball calls, there is always an argument about whether it is ball to hand or arm than the other way round but I don't think he was going to give us the benefit of any doubt.

Crowd rating The crowd responded to the greater effort and commitment shown by the team, although there were more empty seats than I expected with some stalwarts missing. I was contacted by The Observer just before the game as the selected fan reporter had gone to the rugby (much good that it did him!) 7/10.