A good time to visit the Black Country?

Alan Curbishley always tried not to get too excited about the highs and too down about the lows, although I know that a good result saw him opening a bottle from the crate of champagne I sent him each Christmas.

I welcomed the spirited performance at Southampton on Saturday.  At least it kept the moaners quiet for a bit.  However, I think that the Baggies away on Tuesday night is another tough six pointer, albeit West Brom are third from bottom in the form table.

However, they have lost just five games at the Hawthorns, drawing five and winning six.  We have won just three games away, but drawn six.   Right now I would settle for a point.

After the weekend defeat at home to Coventry, shell shocked supremo Ramsay ignored chants of 'Your football is ****' and said that it was a case of grinding away.'   He felt that his players lacked conviction.

Richard Cawley writes: Albion have lost 17 of their 33 Championship matches this season - their most defeats in a second-tier campaign since 1999-00 (also 17).

There had already been reports prior to Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Coventry City that it was a make-or-break week for Baggies head coach Eric Ramsay, who has failed to win any of his eight matches at the helm since replacing Ryan Mason.

“There’s no easy answer to our position and if there was an easy answer, someone would have arrived at it by now,” said Ramsay, 34. “We have to make sure we keep the approach, where we grind away, we don’t get distracted, we make sure we push the messages we feel are important day to day and that the group responds to those.”

When you look at the level of unrest in the West Brom fan base - there were chants for Ramsay to be sacked during the fixture against the Sky Blues - along with the fact they have lost seven times in a winless 11-game sequence, it feels like the right moment to be heading to the West Midlands.But this is the Championship. You think you know the script and then the plot takes a Machiavellian twist.'

Useless fact: The Hawthorns is the highest English ground in terms of altitude.

'We are staying up'

That was the chant of the Addickted after a 1-1 draw at Southampton this afternoon.   Charlton are currently 17th in the Championship.

Sonny Carey equalised for Charlton in the second half after the home side went ahead.   They then tried to throw the kitchen sink at Charlton, but the Addicks resisted the pressure.  Carey drilled a shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net from the edge of the box.

10 minutes was added on to the second half, but although Southampton huffed and puffed, they were unable to take advantage of the referee's timekeeping.

“Carey had told Richard Cawley: 'I think we can use it as motivation,” Carey said when asked about coming up against opposition that inflicted heavy damage last time around. “After what happened in the home game, the gaffer said we need to bury it, forget about it, but at the back of your mind use it as fuel to go and put in a performance.

“We know that day was a very bad day and that we need to put that right at the weekend.”

Southampton went close in the opening moments when Tom Fellows floated a cross to the back post, where Scienza was in space to send a right-footed effort at goal that was cleared off the line by a diving Lloyd Jones.

Ryan Manning also went close for the hosts when he struck the crossbar with a curling effort just before the half-hour mark.

Saints came close again moments later, when a corner was flicked on by defender Amari'i Bell to James Bree at the back post and he failed to keep his header down.

They took the lead early in the second half, when Scienza crossed the ball into the box from the left and his in-swinging pass found the head of Stewart, who glanced the ball into the net.

The Addicks found an equaliser with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Greg Docherty aimed a pass across the top of the box to Carey, who took a touch before shooting low past keeper Daniel Peretz.

Flynn Downes and Conor Coady came face-to-face in the final 10 minutes, with a melee breaking out among players in the moments afterwards.

The Charlton fans wanted Southampton's Downes sent off for what they thought was a headbutt, but referee John Busby only produced a yellow card before both Downes and Coady were substituted immediately after.

Southampton pushed for a winner, pumping balls into the box to try to find a goal, but the Charlton defence held strong.   Richard Cawley reported: 'The Addicks absolutely stood up to heavy late pressure from the home team.Lloyd Jones absolutely superb - 23 defensive contributions. Got his head on so much when it really mattered. Big point and nicely sets up the trip to WBA.'

Fans praised the contribution of debutante Collins Sichenge who put his body in front of everything. Fans chanted: 'We've got a big ****ing Kenyan.'

Nathan Jones told Richard Cawley: “We let ourselves down sometimes but it is our first year at this level - look at what we’re coming up against. Structurally we were good and tactically we had to be good. I would have liked us to be a little braver and shown a bit more quality in the moments we had, right at the end we might’ve even nicked it if Miles (Leaburn) could just play (Charlie) Kelman clean in. But would we have taken a point before the game? Absolutely."

Stats favour Saints

The stats make bleak reading for tomorrow's clash at St. Mary's.   Congratulations to Jonathan Grade and the other supporters who are prepared to make the journey to the south coast.

The Saints are in fine form with three wins on the bounce and four victories in their past five (D1) to move within two points of the top six going into the weekend.

The Addicks are seven points clear of the relegation zone with three wins in their past seven games (D1 L3), having won just one of 11 previously (D3 L7).

Southampton won 5-1 away to Charlton in November of this season and could win home and away against them in a league campaign for the first time since 1989-90, which came in the top-flight.

Southampton have won both of their home games against promoted sides in the league this season (2-1 v Wrexham and 3-1 v Birmingham) – they last won three in a Championship campaign in 2007-08 (v Blackpool, Scunthorpe and Bristol City). 

Southampton are unbeaten in their past five league games (W4 D1), winning each of the past three on the bounce.

Charlton Athletic have won just one of their past 10 away league games (D3 L6), though that win came in their most recent game on the road (2-0 at Leicester).

Charlton have scored 11 goals via substitutes in the Championship this season, with only Ipswich Town scoring more (12). Indeed, both of Charlton's league goals in February came from substitutes (Tyreece Campbell vs Stoke and Jayden Fevrier vs Portsmouth).

I still remember our first game in the Premier League when we beat Southampton 5-1, albeit their keeper was sent off.  I think it was a 0-0 at Southampton when I got 50p coins thrown at me on the way to the station.

CAS Trust admit that 'it's a tough challenge' and are unsure which Charlton will turn up: https://www.castrust.org/2026/02/rebound-on-the-south-coast/

One thing we can be sure of is that the armchair managers will be busy on social media after the game.

Saints alive

Mercurial manager Nathan Jones faces his nemesis at Southampton tomorrow for the first time since his departure from the club.   Visits to the south coast have not worked out well for the Addicks this season and the pasting at home by the Saints was a humiliation.

A son-in-law who is a Saints season ticket holder remarked that 'the Nathan Jones effect didn't last long' but given that Charlton's budget is either the lowest in the league or the third lowest, depending on your source, anything above the relegation positions is a plus.

Jones told Richard Cawley about Sr. Mary's: “I’m looking forward to going back there. It’s a wonderful stadium. One thing is that I should take the pressure off the players - because I think all the comments and things will be on me. So my players should be free to play. Absolutely (he prefers that scenario). I’m not sure I’m taking my daughter to the game, but that is probably the only thing.”

Charlton produced a disastrous first-half showing in the reverse fixture against Southampton.They trailed 5-1 at the interval and conceded four goals in the space of eight minutes.

The Addicks now get the chance to make amends but face opposition that are one of the division’s form teams and still firmly in the mix to reach the play-offs.

Jones, talking about the heavy reverse at The Valley, said: “It hurt. It hurt us as a football club. It was on Sky. To lose in that manner hurt us as a team. It hurt me, individually, for every reason. I don’t need to explain those."

Jones admits supporter row

Talking to Richard Cawley, shell shocked supremo Nathan Jones was asked about the mention after the match of Jones exchanging words with a supporter in the Covered End before he left the pitch.

“Nothing, just a disagreement,” said the Welshman. “Just a fan who wants to vent. He pays his money, so he can do exactly what he wants. I disagree with what he said but that’s fine. It wasn’t anything structural, it was personal."

I'm not quite sure what 'structural' means in this context.   The mercurial manager would be best advised not to exchange views with fans after a home defeat.

There have been some unconfirmed social media reports of tensions between fans after the match, e.g., aggression towards fans wanting to applaud the team.

It's possible to take a sense of entitlement too far and a sense of perspective is needed.  With the third lowest budget in a highly competitive league (see the article in today's Times) anything above third from bottom is a satisfactory outcome.

I am still waiting for the 'Jones out now crowd' to come up with the name of a better available manager other than retreads Bowyer and Powell who know a poisoned chalice when they see one.   We don't have a pile of spare cash to compensate Jones.

Survival hopes setback

The Addicks were defeated 1-3 by Portsmouth at The Valley this evening.

Charlton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was at fault for Portsmouth's opener, allowing Devlin's ambitious dipping strike from 20 yards to squirm through his legs midway through the first half.

Colby Bishop's penalty doubled Pompey's advantage in the 35th minute before Devlin smashed in an excellent swerving effort via the post from 25 yards 11 minutes into the second half.

Stockport loanee Jayden Fevrier pulled one back for Charlton with a fine half-volley but John Mousinho's side held on for victory to move four points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand, while Charlton remain seven points above Leicester City in 22nd.

Fitting tributes were paid to the late Charlton fan Barker, also known as 'headphones Norm', with a one-minute applause held in his memory before the game.

Harry Clarke had an excellent opportunity to put Charlton ahead after just 38 seconds when he latched onto a long ball forward and hit the target with a first time effort from 16 yards out but was well denied by Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid.

The Addicks had not conceded in their past three games, but Kaminski's error from Devlin's long-range strike gifted Pompey the lead in the 22nd minute to set the visitors on their way to just a third away win of the season from 15 games on the road.

Charlton felt they were hard done by for the penalty award for Portsmouth's second 12 minutes later, claiming left-back Amari'i Bell could not get out the way of a powerful cross by Gustavo Caballero, on his full debut, before  former Leamington ace Colby Bishop slotted down the middle from the spot.

After Devlin arrowed in his fifth goal of the season to become Pompey's joint top goalscorer, the Addicks rallied and threatened to create a tense finale when Fevrier pounced on a long throw-in to reduce the deficit with a fine spin and finish 25 minutes from time.

But Portsmouth stood firm for a rare away win and completed the league double over Charlton for the first time since 1985-86.

With only nine goals in 14 away games beforehand and 13 first team players missing through injury, victory could serve as a much-needed confidence boost for Portsmouth in their quest to stay up.

Defeat for Nathan Jones' side ended their three-game unbeaten run and consigned them to only a second loss on home soil in the past seven matches at The Valley.

Nathan Jones told BBC Radio London: "We were poor tonight. We were poor in moments. We had a glorious opportunity after the first minute which would have really set the tone for the night.

"Then we got dominated physically between both boxes. I can moan about the goals because it's gone straight through our goalkeeper, shouldn't go in.

"Second one, it's a penalty that's touched his chest first and then handball. And then they scored another one from distance.

"We have chances from five yards, we probably had better chances on the night but in between both boxes, we got dominated physically and that's not like us."

Relegation six pointer

Charlton currently lead the Championship Relegation League, but face six pointer at home to Portsmouth at The Valley tonight.   Blackburn, under new management, are now just one point behind the Addicks, having managed to probe the defensive weaknesses of the Super Hoops at the weekend.   Despite being the chosen club 'C' list West London celebs (aka Giles Coren), QPR are very erratic.

Pompey don't have the best of away records, having won just two, drawn five and lost seven.   They have scored just nine goals and conceded 23, more than any other clubs apart from the Baggies and the Massives.

After their 0-1 defeat to the Blades on Saturday, gaffer John Mourinho admitted they didn't show enough composure in front of goal and slashed at a few opportunities.   He noted that tonight's game at Charlton was the biggest one between now and the end of the season for the club in 21st place.

CAS Trust look back to the sad circumstances of the postponement of the original game: https://www.castrust.org/2026/02/charlton-welcome-portsmouth-on-tuesday/

There are no trains from Dartford or Medway for tonight's game: https://www.castrust.org/2026/02/no-trains-from-dartford-or-medway-for-portsmouth-game/

CAS Trust object strongly to the draft of the Local Plan for the Royal Borough of Greenwich as they feel that it does not give sufficient protection to The Valley: https://www.castrust.org/2026/02/cast-urges-rb-greenwich-to-recognise-and-protect-the-valley/