Charlton Athletic v Blackburn Rovers Saturday 26th April 2014 3pm Kick-Off Referee: Michael Naylor (South Yorkshire) Following an excellent 3-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on Easter Monday, the Addicks managed to move to the dizzy heights of 18th position giving themselves greater hope of Championship Football for the third season on the trot… with three matches still to play for Charlton not only is it still in their hands but with only three points separating them from the relegation zone (and with six points still available to everyone around us apart from Birmingham City who also have a remaining game in hand)… Anything can still happen in this roller coaster of a season. But with this Saturday’s round of fixtures being the penultimate weekend of the Championship season it certainly could be all over for some sides… not to mention the fear of relegation could also be all over this Weekend for Charlton yet facing Blackburn Rovers they find themselves up against a side with Play-Off aspirations, and even though I’m going to use this preview to go through some permutations we must remember, Charlton aren’t safe until they’re mathematically safe themselves. The Relegation Dog-Fight… the basics Yeovil Town: Six points adrift they can be relegated on Saturday regardless what happens as should Birmingham or Blackpool gain just one point then their season in the Championship is over (Of course with a poor Goal Difference the Glovers will require a miracle anyway) Barnsley: Four points adrift they can also be relegated this Saturday… With the worst Goal Difference in the League anything other than a win would pretty much relegate them (a Blackpool / Birmingham win will send them down regardless)… Should they win and the two mentioned lose then their survival could go down to the final day. Blackpool: Just the one point adrift… they cant be relegated this Weekend yet should they lose and the sides above them (Birmingham, Doncaster, Millwall and Charlton) all win then it wont just mean survival for the Addicks (who only need a win and a Blackpool draw to guarantee survival) but it'll also mean that going into their final game of the season (also against the Addicks) they'll not only need to win by a big margin yet they'll also need Birmingham to lose heavily in their last two matches as well Birmingham City… Like Charlton they also have a game in hand (against Wigan next Tuesday)… Should they lose this Weekend and results go against them, a win will be vital midweek. Millwall / Doncaster Rovers… Both sides fought out a 0-0 draw on Easter Monday and defeat for either could see them drop into the final relegation spot on Saturday should either Blackpool or Birmingham win… Should both lose and share the relegation spot then the last of the season will become extremely nervy for both sides as their Goal Difference is separated by just the one goal. Charlton’s Last Double… After a 1-0 smash and grab victory at Ewood Park earlier in the season (thanks to a superb Simon Church finish), the Addicks have one last chance to do the double over a side this season… the last time Charlton did this over Blackburn Rovers was in 2003/04 with a 1-0 win in Lancashire courtesy of Hermann Hreidarsson and a 3-2 win at the Valley (of course everyone will remember that match after Brad Friedel equalised for Blackburn in the 90th minute only for Claus Jensen to give Charlton all three points just minutes later) Blackburn Rovers the Stats… (Away) Matches: 22 – Wins: 6 – Draws: – 9 – Defeats: - 7 Goals Scored: 33 – Goals Conceded: 40 – Clean Sheets: 4 Biggest Victory: 3-1 (AFC Bournemouth… September) Biggest Defeat: 0-4 (Bolton Wanderers… March) Top Goal Scorer: Jordan Rhodes (24-Goals) Second: Rudy Gestede (9-Goals) – Third: David Dunn (4-Goals) Charlton Team News With Chris Solly playing 90-minutes on Easter Monday it’s possible he’ll be back at Right Back once more with a four day break in between matches, of course should he be not fully fit then Lawrie Wilson will be able to step in… With Rhoys Wiggins out for the season; Morgan Fox should continue to deputise at Left-Back whilst up front, Marvin Sordell should once again get the nod following his Hat-Trick against Sheffield Wednesday Possible Side to Face Blackburn Rovers Hamer Solly – Morrison – Dervite – Fox Harriott – Cousins – Poyet – Jackson Sordell – Church Substitutes Bench Thuram – Wilson – Wood – Petrucci – Ajdarevic – Ghoochanneijad – Obika A4L’s Prediction: 1-0 (Sordell) Over to Captain Blackadder for the Match Updates…
I hate to cast aspersions on your maths, but are you sure about that? If we win and they draw then we are indeed safe. If we draw and they lose, however, we will be 3 points ahead of them, Blackpool having 1 more game to play, so we wouldn't quite be safe yet. Other than that, great stuff as per Though Harriott shouldn't be played on the right again.
Cheers Captain... I wrote this one just after the Wednesday match so forgot to proof read again, numeracy has never been my strong point In regards to Harriott I've put him on the Right to keep the line-up simple yet reckon during the match he probably will play on the Left with Jackson in a Free Role
Wilson and Solly is the natural pairing. To accommodate them you have to either drop Harriott, Cousins or Church.
'Superb Simon Church finish' !! Strange thing to encounter on the fórum, but I'll take your word for it. The sooner we can wrap this up the better. Given some of our starting line ups this season under BOTH managers, I expect to see Sordell on the bench and Cousins out on the right where he is at his least effective. However, if we can avoid squad surreallism, I feel we can get something from this.
Tough one to call, but I think we can escape with a point. Despite the obvious improvment against Sheffield Wednesday, I'd call on Wilson to come back in to the team at right midfield. Every game at the Valley seems to be a battle and not sure if Harriott is up to that again. Put Dervite on Gestede and leave Rhodes to Morro. He's always handled himself pretty well against him, but the midfield will need to ensure we push higher up so we don't have Rhodes in the box much of the game. 1-1 (Sordell)
Enough Nick. A4L does a brilliant job and spends a considerable amount of time doing these threads - and with that I ask we respect that and keep it on topic.
Why drop Sordell? That would be madness. If we attack Blackburn, we will win or draw. Sit back and try to soak up the pressure, we will lose. According to my mathematics and predictions, we will pick up a point on Tuesday and be safe for another season. Tomorrow - 1-1. COYR!
Really optimistic we can pick up at least a pair of draws from these two home games which should see us over the line, but I also thought we would beat Barnsley. 0-0
Like SuperC I'd bring back Wilson in front of Solly. I'd drop Church though, and let Harriott push up to support Sordell. Jacko will be LM, and he's better defensively than Harriott, who has a proper shot, unlike Church.
For me.. .............Hamer Solly â Morrison â Dervite â Fox .......Poyet â Cousins Wilson â Jackson - Harriott .........Sordell A lot of running will be required of the Harriott boys and Wilson, midfield and 2nd/3rd attackers
It's set up for us to win soooo we will probably lose . Didn't think I'd say this before last weekend but surely Sordell has to start madness to drop him
Not saying we cannot win, but how is it "set up for us" to do so? Blackburn are on a great run, and will be out for revenge after we stole a win up there. With our home record and thin squad I don't believe any match is "set up for us to win". Except for home to Barnsley and that did not turn out well. I would drop him like a shot if we had anybody else who could play on their own up front. In fact, if JR decided to start with Pigott after his two goals in midweek I would not complain but I cannot see that happening. Might see him come on from the bench though if we need a goal. .......................................................................................................... Good luck to the u18s in their semi-final at Sparrows Lane tomorrow. Hope they can go at least one more step than last year.
Maybe termination wrong BUT what I mean is after the win at Wednesday a lot of our fans are talking about us staying up again and when we talk in those terms we are quite likely to mess it up. Blackburn are flying and still in with a shout of the play offs so won't be easy. Need a real battling performance like those against Leicester and QPR to win it.
Sordell should be full of confidence and I expect him to score, but I think Blackburn will edge it 2-1
