Norwich FA Cup replay preview

If any Charlton fan is looking for a lucky omen to help break this 18-match winless run, then I'm pleased to report the wife gave birth to our second baby boy (Cameron) on Saturday night.

Our first son was born a few hours before we thumped West Ham 4-0 in Feb 2007, a win which would set in train a most unexpected six match unbeaten run which threatened to salvage our Premiership status.

It would also be extraordinary bad luck surely to have both children born during relegation seasons for the Addicks. After all there have only been four in the last three decades.

This will be a surefire guarantee that both will grow up preferring the arts to football, and will observe their Dad putting on his red and white bobble hat every other Saturday with the look of disdain, that only kids can portray.

Meanwhile, whilst we chose to give our first son a head start in life with the middle name 'Charlton', we were concerned that to do so again at the current time might attract the interest of the child protection authorities. He'll thus have to make do with 'James', and we hope it doesn't hold him back.

I'm not sure whether an FA Cup tie 'counts' with regard to assessing the good fortune that a birth might bring (I'll conclude tomorrow night), but if he has any sense he'll reserve it for Saturday's trip to Hillsborough (his official due date incidentally).

Our 4th Round draw was as uninspiring as our 3rd round draw (likely a trip to Sheffield United), so with a much-needed money-spinning tie off the agenda at least until a 5th round which form clearly suggests we are unlikely to reach anyhow, Phil Parkinson will surely bring his experimentation kit to Carrow Road.

If we end up winning the tie on Tuesday night, then such experimentation would be a problem (or as I would call it, a 'solution').

After all, what credible manager could look his victorious eleven in the eyes and tell them he's reverting to the crew that went more than three months without a win?

Richard Murray was quoted on Monday as believing that, "If you look at our recent performances, I have seen a huge improvement and we could have won almost all of the games that Phil has been in charge of."

With a goal difference of -9 over the course of these ten games, it's hard to know if he's being ironic or not. I don't buy into this idea that teams somehow get less than they 'deserve' from matches.

If Forest for example can clinically score two goals from our defensive mistakes, then we deserve nothing and they deserve three points. The argument may have some merit after a poor run of a handful of games, but ten? Or eighteen?

With the unwelcome news that Jose Semedo is out for two months, whilst Jay McEveley has returned injured to the Rams, one wonders whether Parky can even name the seven subs he's entitled to in the FA Cup after accounting for unavailable loans.

If I were Parky therefore, my teamtalk would be a simple one. Go out and enjoy yourselves, forget about relegation for a night and show the Norwich public that we're not a laughing stock after all.

NY Addick predicts: Norwich 1 (Lupoli), Charlton 1 (Burton). Charlton win 4-3 on penalties, aet. Att: 16, 229.