Two six pointers

Charlton face Southampton at The Valley tomorrow in what is an important match for both teams and may well end in a draw which would not suit either of them. I will not do a match preview as such as that is done better on, for example, Charlton Athletic Online.

As it happens, Leamington also have a six pointer tomorrow. They have only dropped two points in the British Gas Business Midlands Division all season (in an away draw), but so competitive is the league that Atherstone are one point ahead of them. The Adders are the visitors at Harbury Lane and again a draw is a possible outcome.

Leamington are a very successful non-league side at their level, yet there is a clear difference in standard between non-league and the Championship. Yet Charlton have gone in for acquisitions of players who were at time non-league players: Dickson, Fleetwood, Varney. Indeed, we were singled out for praise in the Non-League Paper as the top side that took non-league players seriously (yet others had the rule run over them at Sparrows Lane). My view is that it is quite a big ask to upgrade, even if one has been playing in League 1. One therefore wonders what the rationale behind the policy was.

Discussion continues among Charlton fans about the next permanent manager and the 'search' process. Now I may have missed something here, and others may know more, but my understanding in relation to Parkinson runs something like this: having been caught out without a successor to Curbs, the board put Parkinson in place as a contingency successor to Pardew should he leave for any reason.

My reasoning therefore is that Parkinson is a little more than a 'caretaker', hence his ability to undertake (no doubt in consultation with Steve Waggott in his much vaunted training ground role) a series of what are transfers in all but name. This does not mean that he will necessarily be confirmed as permanent manager. My guess is that he will be allowed a run of matches to see what he can do before any final decision is made.

Many Charlton fans already want to dump him which seems a bit harsh after what appears to have been an improved performance on Tuesday: losing 2-1 away is a bit better than losing 1-3 or 2-5 at home. The general argument is that he is contaminated by association with the Parkinson regime, but there is little hard information about what his role actually was. Normally reliable sources do not seem to know much, but what I have heard suggests that Pardew was in the driving seat.

There has been another outbreak of negativity and pessimism among Charlton fans, a theme on which Inspector Sands has often written and once attracted comment in the Sporting Post. Although one can exaggerate the impact of the crowd on the team, a ferbile atmosphere in the ground tomorrow won't help. Whilst I don't want to sound like the irritating pitch announcer (another sacking I am still waiting for), this is an occasion to get behind the team.