So, here we go then, an FA Cup First Round game at Roots Hall against one of the bigger clubs in the competition at this stage, League One Charlton Athletic.
The Addicks are managed by our former left back, Nathan Jones (he’s been gone too long) and currently sit mid-table in League One. The recent form is not that great with only one win from their last six league games, a 1-0 win at home to Birmingham which followed three successive defeats. They have however drawn their last three league games and beat Chelsea U-21s 3-0 in the National League Trophy on Tuesday night (Carl Leaburn's son, Miles, scored the first 2 goals). This may have given our management team an opportunity to view some of their fringe players who may feature at Roots Hall with Jones making 10 changes to the starting XI for that game compared with the players that started against Wrexham at the Valley last Saturday that snatched a 2-2 draw thanks to Matty Godden’s penalty in the 7th minute of second half stoppage time. Daniel Kanu was not in the starting XI or on the bench for either game which would suggest he's probably injured.
Whichever team Charlton put out on Saturday it's hard to believe that they won't provide a sterner test for us than a very poor Tamworth team did last Saturday. Kev usually plays his cards close to his chest as to which players are available for any games and with the FA Cup this guardedness extends to the availability of loan players. Pepple and Moncur (if fit) should be OK to be involved as both featured against Eastleigh in the previous round, at the time of writing we've not heard if Taylor Foran's loan from Bromley has been extended and if so if he's allowed to play, and the other loanee is Zach Jeacock whose availability is also unknown.
It was good to see Cav Miley come off the bench last Saturday as he's been such a pivotal player for us since joining the club. Whether he is fit enough to start on Saturday and if so who should give up their place for him is an interesting conundrum. The strike pairing of Pepple and Bonne seems to have potential and it's hard to believe that Macauley won't be fired up to break his duck for us against one of his former clubs - Bonne had a couple of spells with the Addicks and scored 14 goals during his time at the Valley.
We're sure to have a bumper crowd on Saturday, especially if the North West corner can be opened to increase the capacity on completion of the upgrading works and an inspection from the Safety Advisory Group. This game should be a welcome injection of cash into the club and shows the value of a cup run.
A lot of us will travel to Roots Hall more in hope than expectation, however the same was true on 7th November 2006 and we all know what happened then! However it's a sad state of affairs that there are now more league places between us and Charlton than there were between us and Manchester United that night (thanks Ron!).
Let's be loud and proud on Saturday and get behind the boys and see what happens.
So who would you choose to start and what do you predict the result will be?
The Addicks are managed by our former left back, Nathan Jones (he’s been gone too long) and currently sit mid-table in League One. The recent form is not that great with only one win from their last six league games, a 1-0 win at home to Birmingham which followed three successive defeats. They have however drawn their last three league games and beat Chelsea U-21s 3-0 in the National League Trophy on Tuesday night (Carl Leaburn's son, Miles, scored the first 2 goals). This may have given our management team an opportunity to view some of their fringe players who may feature at Roots Hall with Jones making 10 changes to the starting XI for that game compared with the players that started against Wrexham at the Valley last Saturday that snatched a 2-2 draw thanks to Matty Godden’s penalty in the 7th minute of second half stoppage time. Daniel Kanu was not in the starting XI or on the bench for either game which would suggest he's probably injured.
Whichever team Charlton put out on Saturday it's hard to believe that they won't provide a sterner test for us than a very poor Tamworth team did last Saturday. Kev usually plays his cards close to his chest as to which players are available for any games and with the FA Cup this guardedness extends to the availability of loan players. Pepple and Moncur (if fit) should be OK to be involved as both featured against Eastleigh in the previous round, at the time of writing we've not heard if Taylor Foran's loan from Bromley has been extended and if so if he's allowed to play, and the other loanee is Zach Jeacock whose availability is also unknown.
It was good to see Cav Miley come off the bench last Saturday as he's been such a pivotal player for us since joining the club. Whether he is fit enough to start on Saturday and if so who should give up their place for him is an interesting conundrum. The strike pairing of Pepple and Bonne seems to have potential and it's hard to believe that Macauley won't be fired up to break his duck for us against one of his former clubs - Bonne had a couple of spells with the Addicks and scored 14 goals during his time at the Valley.
We're sure to have a bumper crowd on Saturday, especially if the North West corner can be opened to increase the capacity on completion of the upgrading works and an inspection from the Safety Advisory Group. This game should be a welcome injection of cash into the club and shows the value of a cup run.
A lot of us will travel to Roots Hall more in hope than expectation, however the same was true on 7th November 2006 and we all know what happened then! However it's a sad state of affairs that there are now more league places between us and Charlton than there were between us and Manchester United that night (thanks Ron!).
Let's be loud and proud on Saturday and get behind the boys and see what happens.
So who would you choose to start and what do you predict the result will be?
Last edited:
