Bolt On

With the Addicks fighting for survival it is hard to get too excited about a Carling Cup game bolted on to the fixture list in between two vital relegation six pointers. This is particularly so given that the Trotters are the sort of team that exemplify exactly why Premiership crowds are on the slide, and I dare say tonight's attendance will on the low side too.

In previous seasons when our Premiership safety seemed relatively assured even in late-October, I was keen for us to take the competition as seriously as possible given that it provides entry to the UEFA Cup, but also because our record in it is so diabolical and pride is at stake.

Other clubs have implied that UEFA Cup qualification means little financially, and can even be a money-losing proposition. Indeed, after all of the initial excitement felt across the river, West Ham made a pig's ear (let alone a pig's head) of their brief European excursion to Mafia country, and the heavy defeat can't have helped their woeful Premiership form. However from my standpoint (until this season at least), if we were going to be so blasé about European football merely playing for Premiership survival year-after-year with no other potential upside, then this would eventually see our fans turning away (they are).

This season is different though because our Premiership status is at dire risk and the last thing we need is to lose key players to injury playing (and most probably losing) in tonight's fixture. Hence whilst the cover of tonight's programme should send a shiver down most of our spines ("Matt Holland: Back in the first team and determined to stay there"), this is one occasion when his presence (or that of Hughes, Bent M, plus a few youngsters) ought to be positively welcomed.

I can't seem to find Killer's prediction for tonight on the website (KillerWatch© -£275) but in light of our hopefully weakened team, I will predict another early exit from the competition. NY Addick predicts: Charlton 1 (Hasselbaink), Bolton 3 (Davies, Anelka, Speed)