It's either Admin wielding the knife for a round of cuts Sweeney Todd and the Coalition could be proud or desperation to get this season over and done with ASAP but for the first time we in the Preview team have been told asked to write a combined preview.
Travellers to Bristol Rovers will no doubt be joined on the trains and motorways by hordes of QPR fans looking to celebrate St Georges Day and Premier promotion in Cardiff. To Addicks, those Hoops fans will be a reminder of what a takeover can bring as well as a warning that takeovers can take time and may result in a large number of managerial casualties.
22nd placed Rovers still live in hope of salvation and know even one win over the Easter weekend could be enough to see them out of the drop zone. Their five defeats and four wins in the last 10 have all been by the odd goal so expect this one to be close. In Hoskins and Kaffour they have able strikers (when fit) but they have the worse goal difference in the division.
Charlton's away form has collapsed badly in recent months and with Black Arabs needing the points more than us I can only see more tales of nice, passing football but with no, or at most one, point to show for it. 2 - 1 Rovers.
Rochdale make only their 3rd ever league visit to the Valley where they have never won. If fact until the recent 2 - 0 reverse they had never beaten us in the league. They too have all the incentive they need not only to beat their best ever finish in the current league format (9th place in 1969/70) but to make what seemed the unimaginable leap from Division 4 to Division 2 in consecutive seasons. The football romantics that we are at Preview Towers would love to see that happen even if it would be more salt in our own Club's wounds. A different lesson for Addicks that sometimes stability, honest players and sound systems can make teams more than the some of their parts and take them a long, long way.
Despite that I can see Charlton avenging the defeat at Spotland with a 2 - 0 win.
Roll on the summer.
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oh how i dream of the premiership days and the fixture list coming out in june
We'll lose vs Bristol and beat Rochdale
"We must secure one victory in foreign lands before King Slater of the Moneylenders changes his mind about who should be the chosen one of the true Messiah and I get the sack".
And the old Doc who was one of the oldest and most crippled of the disciples, apart from the ancient angry Christian who had already been banished in the land of Oldham, rose on his tired legs in the ox cart and said unto Saint Christopher
"Our bodies are too tired my Lord and our agents have other clubs lined up. We dont have any Anyansah and even faithful Jackson is lame in his bed. Is it not time for the chosen people of the red Valley to accept that the Wise man of Yobo is the best man for the job?"
This made Saint Christoher wild with fury and he rebuked old Doc and dropped him for mentioning the wicked Wise man of Yobo, who many thought was the cousin of King Slater and plotted against Saint Christoper to win his cousin's favour and steal his treasure.
So Saint Christpher gave a sermon on the mount at the M5 motorway service station and commanded his disciples to win a famous victory in the lands of Brizzle so that the evil Wise man of Yobo could not take over the red Valley anbd get his hands on King Slater's gold.
This is the word of the Lord (Curbs)
3-1 to Charlton. Amen.
hopefully charlton will rise from the dead (league one), in 3 seasons rather than 3 days
Charlton 2-1 Rochdale
With the exception of Hartlepool on the last day of the season, every team due to play us has something to play for. Bristol Rovers and Walsall are in a relegation battle and Rochdale are going for the playoffs.
Having said that, we should be aiming for at least seven points out of these last four games.
I wouldn't mind Powell sticking with the same team that lost to Huddersfield but would like to see him be a bit braver with his substitutions when if we go a goal behind instead of waiting until the 60th minute of the game to finally decide to make changes and then taking another ten minutes to actually make the substitution when it is too late for them to make any real difference.
Bristol Rovers 1-1
Rochdale 1-0
...& Grumpy's prophecy will edge ever closer.
Could have been such a good weekend for football.
R'dale. ;-)
Win
And
Bovvered part 4
an omen?
probably not.
2-1 rovers
but we'll play nice football and everyone will be satisfied.
Wil be doing the match thread as usual from about an hour before ko on both days.