'Looking forward' to Brentford

Morale is rock bottom among the Addickted at the moment and I am not particularly looking forward to my trip to SE7 tomorrow. I usually start the day optimistic, which you have to if you are making a long trip, but this may be an exception.

Brentford have acquired a new manager in the form of one time Charlton loan player Nicky Forster. A busy Bee of my acquaintance comments: 'Despite the premature sacking of Andy Scott, the period since his departure has brought some stability to the team. A good run of results has meant that a relegation battle is less likely (though still a possibility). That, combined with the forthcoming Wembley appearance in the JPT Final (for which, I understand, we have already sold 20,000 tickets) means that there is an air of optimism at the club that belies our rather inconsistent season. Nicky Forster has been appointed until the end of the season, which is sensible, but it would not surprise me if a reasonably high profile replacement was brought in over the summer (high profile for League One, that is).'

In a not uncommon sign of desperation, many of the Addickted are calling for youngsters to be played on the grounds that they couldn't be even worse. Well, they could be and I don't think these outbursts of Academy oriented sentimentality do us any good.

In the specific case of Calum Harriott Chris Powell has made it very clear that starting him at this stage would harm his development. Having him on the bench is part of that development, but he will only be brought on in exceptional circumstances. Replacing Francis with Solly is a different case as the latter already has first team experience which was only halted by injury.

We have a team at the moment that is drained of confidence. Unfortunately, the crowd is likely to get on their back at the first sign of a misplaced pass or a hoofed ball. If they ever needed our backing, it is now.

I am going for a 1-1 draw.

Hatters striker predicts Luton win

Hatters striker Taiwo Atieno has predicted an 'upset' in the FA Cup tomorrow: Luton . (The name sounds Japanese, but he clearly isn't). Moreover, an extra bonus for him is that his auntie lives nearby!

Whether it would be an 'upset' or 'shock' is an open question, certainly these words are much over used in relation to the FA Cup. Charlton do face a lot of problems with cup ties and injuries and Phil Parkinson has said that we are down to the 'bare bones'. Martin and Seip are cup tied. Fry is (perhaps fortuitously) suspended. Semedo is doubtful with a hamstring problem and so is Doherty (although whether that is a great loss is an open question).

Quite a few of the Addickted are raving about young winger Calum Harriott who impressed in the FA Youth Cup tie at Welling and was on the bench last Saturday. One who was at Park View Road reported, 'Harriott was, in modern parlance, "awesome"! He is fast, tricky and, unlike other recent winger-graduates, quite sturdy ... the three goals that I saw all came from left-wing forays by young Callum, with driving runs into the box and good shots on target.'

I do think that sometimes the Addickted get over enthusiastic about Academy graduates and forget the gap between the games they play and a higher level. But Parky wouldn't put him on the bench if he wasn't a bit special. So if we are well ahead or well behind in the second half tomorrow, he should be given a chance.

I don't think it's going to be easy tomorrow, but we might just edge it. One Luton fan site I visited had the writer saying he was really looking forward to tomorrow. For us, it is something to be got through, hopefully without humiliation.