Loud and Proud Addicks Play Their Part: Many Twists and Turns Left in Run For Promotion (So Hold Your Nerve!)

Filling in this week for an absent Ben Hayes, Sacha Zarb argues for both players and fans to hold their nerve at the business end of the season

I did not go to Blackpool but, from message board reports, it sounded like a good weekend ruined by a football match.

That defeat has already been brutally discussed on blogs and mailing lists, so dwelling on it is counter-productive.

What is worth focusing on is the next 12 games—36 points which will make or break the season.

A lot has been made of the players’ bottle. But, in the run-in, we have a massive part to play in making the playoffs, or automatic promotion, a reality.

At The Valley in recent weeks, a crowd… which has lacked nerve… has suddenly found it. Fans stopped getting on players’ backs within 10 minutes and were willing to cheer on the team for the full 90. At that business end of the season, that patient, passionate encouragement has to stay, especially when we entertain Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion, who will not come here quietly.

I’ll be playing my part. The Valley flags will reappear against Preston and they will be part of the pre-match build-up for the rest of the campaign – maybe all the way to Wembley.

But the team also need that devotion away from home.

Alan Pardew made the point following the turnout at Hillsborough. Some supporters were upset, but maybe the truth hurts?

Our away following has not been huge in numbers. It’s been good noise-wise, just lacking the bodies to make it louder.

Some 1,800 answered Pardew’s call by making the trip to the windy seaside delights last weekend and the team let them down.

But that figure needs to grow. When we go to Portman Road, I would hope we can take double that number, likewise at Loftus Road. That loyalty, loud and proud, can make a difference.

If we can keep our side of the deal, then the players need to keep theirs and perform in the way they did against Palace.

If they do that, then we’re on the verge of going to the new Wembley, 10 years after that magic Mendonca day under the Twin Towers.

The Championship is not easy and there will be more twists and turns. Stoke and Bristol will feel the pressure, Watford and West Brom may wobble and Hull, Ipswich and Plymouth will fancy their chances.

But let’s just worry about Charlton and make sure the red, red, robin is bobbin’ back to the Premier League.

You can contact Ben via email or you can write to him c/o: The Valley, Floyd Road, SE7