From The Sheffield Star Green 'un
Bougherra set for Hillsborough return
CHARLTON head for Hillsborough needing a win to show that they are beginning to correct the biggest flaw in their season.
A lack of consistency has been the problem, believes manager Alan Pardew, who says in the wake of a 2-0 derby win against Crystal Palace: "I'm wary of Sheffield Wednesday and that's the reason I'm not jumping up and down. We've got a big game (at Hillsborough]."
Before winning the South London debt, the Addicks lost 1-0 at Scunthorpe as part of a mixed bag of results.
Pardew adds: "We were very disappointed then because we feel we have a good side, but consistency is our problem.
"We are struggling to get a run of five or six results. If we reach those heights every week, we'll have a great chance."
Charlton are fifth, four points behind the automatic promotion places, and could field an unchanged side including ex-Owls star Madjid Bougherra.
It will be the centre half's first return to Hillsborough since his £3m move just over a year ago.
Wednesday received an offer they could not afford to refuse - and Bougherra wanted to play in the Premier League but soon found that Charlton's relegation landed him back in the Championship.
The Algeria international has formed a centre-back partnership with former Leicester star Paddy McCarthy, with former Owls target Sam Sodje - brother of Akpo - not likely to be in tonight's starting line-up.
Former Crewe striker Luke Varney, a £2m buy last summer, got both goals against Palace last Friday.
Pardew says: "He works very hard for the team and you could see the joy from the other players when he scored.
"If he believed in himself a bit more he can be a really terrific player - he sometimes doubts himself, so we are really pleased for him.
"It's been a dramatic jump for him, from non-league and then a great spell at Crewe, and now he's at an ex-Premier League side.
"But he's handling it well and we are starting to see the fruits of him settling in at the club."
Right back Greg Halford faces his second game for the Addicks tonight after his loan move from Sunderland.
Halford, who scored a wonder goal in the Owls' 4-0 defeat at Colchester in October, 2006, was signed by the Black Cats for £2.5m from Reading last summer - only five months after a £2m deal took him to the Madejski Stadium from Colchester.
Former United striker Andy Gray is another relatively new and high-profile player in the Charlton ranks.
He is on loan from Burnley but the clubs have already agreed on a deal of £1.5m rising to £2m.
The keeper is Wednesdayite and former Owls loan star Nicky Weaver, who played in the 3-2 defeat of the Owls at The Valley in August. Wednesday led with goals from Burton O'Brien and Tommy Spurr but were hit by a second-half fightback by the home side.
Pardew, meanwhile, believes that his club can offer Halford a fresh start: "He has a lot to prove. It didn't work out for him at Reading and he went to Sunderland for even more money, and it didn't work out there either.
"So he needs to be a success here and I believe he will become a massive asset for us."
Charlton assistant manager and former Colchester boss Phil Parkinson was influential in the defender's move to The Valley.
Halford said: "Coming to Charlton feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I never really delivered at Reading or Sunderland. I was Roy Keane's first summer signing and there was a lot of expectation on me.The pressure was building in every game, so to get away for a few months and get some games under my belt should help a lot.
"I only played one game at Sunderland with a right winger in front of me so I didn't really have any cover most of the time. In the Premier League you need as much help as possible, especially if you're new to it like me.
"It was also very hard to move up to the North East, 300 miles away from my friends and family. I didn't know anyone there before I signed, whereas I did at Reading, which always makes it easier to settle in.
"Coming to Charlton is a great opportunity for me and I am not going to waste it.
"Alan Pardew has been after me for a long time, since his time at Reading. I've known he's always been interested and it is a big boost for any young player to know that someone like that rates you so highly."
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