Ex Appeal

Charlton’s run of good fortune finally ended at Hartlepool, although with fixtures still to come against Bournemouth, Southampton (twice) and Huddersfield, automatic promotion remains in our hands.

The largest gate of the season will be the reward for the club’s brave £5 ticket offer, although the presence of the extra people (many of whom will presumably be first-timers) adds to the pressure on the team to deliver.

Given Exeter’s reputation for playing passing football, the likelihood will be that the home side see less of the ball than Addicks fans would like, although this has not stopped them winning matches in the past.

Paul Tisdale was one of my preferred managerial candidates, having performed miracles in Devon on a tiny budget whilst playing stylish football (and wearing equally stylish attire).

His team sit relatively comfortably in 14th place, virtually equidistant from both play-offs and relegation.

The Grecians’ form is highly unpredictable, for example following up three successive home defeats with a 2-0 win at Notts County last weekend.

Nathan Eccleston again demonstrated at Hartlepool just what a meaningful impact both he and Bradley Wright-Phillips have had so far, scoring a beautifully taken goal.

Their addition has virtually rendered any immediate results comparisons between Parky and Powell meaningless, although it would be far too early to draw conclusions anyhow.

However one wonders what type of impact the pacy pair could have if the rest of the team would begin to gel around them, and actually control matches instead of inviting the opposition to do so.

If Powell manages this in the 18 games remaining, he can reduce the likelihood that results finally catch up with performances, and instead make talk of automatic promotion more than just mere mathematical tautology.