MATCH PREVIEW: Charlton Athletic vs Blackpool | Saturday 21st September 2024 - 3pm Kick-Off

Charlton Athletic vs Blackpool
Saturday 21st September 2024 - 3pm Kick-Off
Referee: Charles Breakspear

Introduction
Results had stuttered over recent weeks, making Charlton fans wonder if the three game winning start was a flash in the pan, and we were now witnessing the true style of results that the Addicks will pick up over the course of the 2024-25 season - Naturally, we're six games in, so the only true answer is "Who knows" - You cant win promotion this early in the year, so its promising we're in the mix. Two wins on the road, one in the League, one in the BDSM Trophy, will have boosted confidence around Sparrows Lane this last week... the real gold dust!!

The Opposition
Name: Blackpool (19th) - Manager: Steve Bruce
Ground: Bloomfield Road
Previous League Result: Blackpool 2-1 Exeter

I'm going to be honest here, my knowledge of the Charlton Fixture List this season is for once, sketchy at best, so wont be surprised if I write the wrong Match Preview for the wrong opponent one day - But having double, and triple checked that we're playing Fleetwood Town... Lets dive into things.

On a serious note, its never a good sign for the opposition when you replace the Manager this early into a new League campaign, but that is exactly what happened to Neil Critchley; the ex-Liverpool coach was relieved of his duties having lost the first two games of the season (against two newly promoted sides in Crawley and Stockport to make things worse), meaning that there would be no repeat of his Play-Off winning antics with the Tangerines that they enjoyed back in 2021 - Richard Keogh was given two games in the driving seat (that was brave!!), which yielded the first 2-points of the season for Blackpool, including a 4-4 thriller at Cambridge, although awkward as they were 4-1 up!!

Now the job has been given on a permanent basis to Steve Bruce, a name well known in Football Management, albeit a name who is potentially in the winter of his career as it makes a slow decline, given this is his first spell in the third tier of English Football, at least since his playing days at Gillingham - However Blackpool won their first game under his watchful eye, a 2-1 victory over Exeter meaning that the Tangerines could visit the Valley with a bit more juice in the engine.

Blackpool themselves have been problematic in recent years for the Addicks, we've just the one victory since 2015, which came at Bloomfield Road in 2020. Like last Saturday, this is going to be one of those fixtures where we just need to get in, get the job done, and leave happy with three points!! - Don't care how we do it.

Charlton Team News
Cambridge were lucky not to end the game with a spanking given the chances we created against them on Tuesday night, and whilst it could easily have ended in a share of the points (Given the late sending off), it would have been a harsh reflection on the performance - In all honesty, its the League that is main priority this season, and from that game it was great to see the return of Josh Edwards, who you'd expect to see on the bench at the vey least this Saturday afternoon.

Elsewhere saw Tayo Edun and Terry Taylor putting in impressive auditions to be more involved, however with a lack of injuries (Lets keep it that way), it'll be difficult for them to see involvement in the League at this stage of the campaign, there is a long way to go though, and even the likes of Ben Reeves / Mark Marshall got well into double figures when we last won promotion from this level... Just a case of being patient for Edun and Taylor, and being ready when needed.

P.S. I'm not sure if Karoy Anderson is suspended after his red card, or whether its confined to the Trophy... the proper Preview doesnt mention it!!