Charlton 2 Notts County 4

Where on earth do you begin with today's game? Well, the first and most important thing is

DON'T PANIC!!!

The first half was as poor a performance as I have seen in a long time. Hamer and Taylor will not need to be told that at least two of the goals against were down to them. It was as if the team as a whole had only just met each other, such was the lack of communication. If Hamer and Taylor were talking a different language for one of the goals, then cameos of the same malaise were being played out all over the pitch. Judge put County ahead with a 25-yard drive, that he was able to tee up in an acre of space, before Forte grabbed three close-range efforts, the final one a header, to make it 4-0, and all before the break.

So other than Hamer and Taylor, where else were there issues? Undoubtedly for me, the main area of concern today was the central midfield, and Stephens in particular. Both he and Hollands pushed up far too high, and were largely bypassed. Stephens first touch was awful, giving the ball away in a dangerous position twice within the first five minutes alone. He is talented, but let's face it, he has not been the same player since he came back from injury, Today was not an isolated poor performance from him either, and in much the same way that Green has apparently picked up a shoulder knock, it is time Stephens had a similar misfortune. Hughes or Russell are both far more defensively aware, and would cover the protection role that significantly nobody did today, thus exposing Taylor in particular rather badly on more than one occasion.

The half time team talk saw a far better Charlton team return to the pitch, albeit for no more than ten minutes. Wright-Phillips pulled one back with an acrobatic overhead kick, before Wagstaff powered in a header from six yards. Any momentum caused by those two goals vanished when Wright-Phillips had an appeal for a penalty turned down. It was a stonewall penalty, and would have put us in a position for an unlikely 4-4 draw, but it wasn't to be, and quite frankly we did not deserve it either.

Leaving aside all the Powell is the Messiah guff, the manager now really needs to earn his corn. For my money the MK Dons are the team to watch out for, not the two Sheffields, and it will take a minimum of five wins from the last ten games to achieve the title, and yes, I mean the title. Mind you, if we only got five wins, I suspect we would only get it on goal difference. I remember watching Powell motionless on the sidelines like a rabbit in the headlights last season at Stadium MK as the team he had inherited were pulled apart. He was motionless throughout most of the first half today as well. As any Charlton fan will tell you, we do not do the last ten games of a season at all well. Powell will need to break that habit if we are to get the rewards we deserve for the season we have had so far.

COYR!

Charlton 1 Sheffield United 0

In 1974, the golfer Gary Player was asked how he was enjoying the luck that had just culminated in him winning his third Open Championship. His reply was, "You know what?, the harder I practice, the luckier I get". Thirty eight years later, and for the second time in successive matches, Jackson proved that simple truth with a sublime free kick, that Simonsen in the United goal could only admire from afar as it kissed his right hand post and in. I don't know if Gary Player likes football, but he would certainly approve of all the hours Jackson spends at Sparrows Lane honing his dead ball skills.

Charlton have played better than this, and I am sure Sheffield United have as well, but yesterday the spoils went to Charlton, courtesy of our captain's "luck". It was a moment of quality in a game that was cagey for the most part, and courtesy of referee Deadman, and his trigger happy cards routine, produced no less than six yellow, and two red cards. It was never the sort of game that warranted that much colour, or at least it wasn't, until the melee that broke out after Russell was sent off for what I thought was a perfectly good challenge.

If that was a poor call by the referee, the straight red shown to Beattie moments later was inevitable, and correct. His attempt to squeeze the life out of Kermorgant was spotted by the East Stand lino, who hurriedly joined Deadman on the pitch to help restore order, and to report on Beattie's attempts at diplomacy by strangulation. I wonder if United will appeal the straight red? I somehow doubt it.

With regard to the game, and I don't mean to sound overly negative about this, but I personally believe that Hamer had a bit of a nightmare yesterday. I am sure the gusting wind may have had something to do with it, as did the close attention from the opposition he was getting at corner kicks, but our number one did not acquit himself particularly well. His shot stopping was fine, but his catching and punching left a lot to be desired. By the length of his contract, he has been given the nod that Championship football is there for him, but on the strength of his showing both yesterday, and on other occasions recently, I would question his ability to step up to that. Perhaps he just needs some of Jackson's "luck"?

Elsewhere, the back four were immense, and congratulations to Solly on his new deal. Although not at his best, Wright-Phillips, by playing yesterday, has triggered the one year extension to his contract apparently, so that is good news as well, although I wonder with the arrival of Haynes, whether he will be rested, as he is not the same player he was earlier in the season. The arrival of Haynes from the bench certainly gave United a new problem, as his speed drew a foul within minutes of his arrival. A free kick from the edge of the box on the East Stand side, showed that our captain is human after all, as he sent it out for a throw in on the West Stand side. Bad "luck" eh Johnnie?

This, for me, was another of those significant games that will shape our season. It was never just another game, and the team came through with flying colours. Onwards and upwards, COME ON YOU REDS!

Charlton 3 Chesterfield 1

It was a good day at the office yesterday, and after the initial ten minutes, when Chesterfield were in the ascendancy, the rest of the first half was dominated by a purposeful Charlton side, whose passing and movement were just too much for John Sheridan's side. The two goals that seperated the side at the break could easily have been six, such was the superiority of the hosts.

As with all things Charlton, you sort of knew it wouldn't last of course, and the second half saw both teams emerge in a very lacklustre manner. It was Chesterfield that woke up first, and nobody could argue that it was a penalty. I am sure Morrison slipped slightly, which contributed to the mistimed tackle that led to Chesterfield's consolation goal from the penalty spot.

If that was an obvious penalty, then the incident that led to Sheridan being sent to the stands was just as obviously not a penalty. Wiggins going to ground, with his back to the attacking player would have known nothing of the ball that hit his arm, but that didn't stop the Chesterfield manager going into one with any official within hearing distance. There was no intent on Wiggins part, and to have conceded a penalty would have been unjust, and a sour note for our left back, who, for me, had his best game in a Charlton shirt yesterday.

Charlton's first goal was a clever piece of improvisation by Hayes, who flicked a ball from Wright-Phillips under his standing leg, and through a crowded penalty area into the net. If that was instinctive, then goal number two looked to be straight from the training ground, Jackson burying a quickly taken free kick cleverly slid to him by Stephens. It was good to see Powell berating Wagstaff soon after for leaving one of the opposition's strikers free on the edge of the penalty area at a Chesterfield corner, so messages about not switching off when 2-0 up are obviously being conveyed to the players at Sparrows Lane.

It took the penalty for Chesterfield to wake Charlton up, and even though the team were not playing with the same fluidity as in the first half, they started to make chances again. The third goal came courtesy of new boy Kermorgant. A straight replacement for Hayes, the former Leicester man had a very useful cameo in the last ten minutes. It was his clever precision pass that split the back line allowing Wagstaff all the time he needed to flight a ball across to Wright-Phillips to put the game beyond reach.

So, as per the form book, Charlton reach the end of September (nearly) on top of the pile. Three points ahead of second placed Sheffield United, and with a game in hand. But as all Addicks know, this coming week is the real acid test. MK Dons on Tuesday is a game I will be attending, as I did last year, when the performance was little short of dreadful. Sheffield United away on Saturday will be a true top of the table clash. Am I the only one that would settle for a draw in both right now?