Recently by Nick Martindale

CHARLTON'S FA Cup replay against West Bromwich Albion may have ended in heartache but it could yet turn out to be one of the most significant results of the season.
Despite a stirring fightback from two goals down - courtesy of Darren Ambrose and substitute Chris Dickson - the Addicks tumbled out of the oldest cup competition in the world on a penalty shoot-out late on Tuesday (January 15).
But, for all the romance of the cup, there is no doubt that Alan Pardew would gladly swap a decent cup run for a place among the country's elite next season and, by avoiding fixture congestion, player fatigue and possible injuries, going out of the tournament may be a blessing in disguise.

CHARLTON boss Alan Pardew admitted his side simply isn't good enough to win promotion after the Addicks suffered a Christmas to forget and a new year hangover from hell.
After three largely forgettable 1-1 draws over the festive period, The Valley outfit started 2008 in the worst possible way with a home defeat against the league's bottom side which dealt a heavy blow to their lingering hopes of automatic promotion.
The 2-1 loss to Colchester United - courtesy of old boy Kevin Lisbie's double against his former employer - means the Addicks now find themselves seven points behind the Championship's top three, having taken just three points from their last five games.

WHILE most of the country winds down for Christmas, Charlton's players are about to enter a period that will determine if they enjoy a winter wonderland or a very bleak mid-winter indeed.
With four games in 11 days - starting against Hull City at The Valley on Saturday (December 22) - the festive period is arguably the most critical time of the season for Alan Pardew and his side.
The immediate build-up to Christmas has been far from ideal. The 4-2 away defeat last Saturday (December 15) against West Bromwich Albion cost the Addicks three vital points and saw them slump to fifth place in the table.

THE cheers that rang out around The Valley just before five o'clock on Saturday were born as much of relief as they were celebration.
Relief partly because the 3-1 defeat of Ipswich kept Charlton in touching distance of the top two teams, but also because the way they played - particularly in the first half - suggested that the recent blips at home were just that.
There was some much needed reassurance, too, that when everything falls into place this is a side that is capable of beating just about anyone in the division.

DURING Charlton's 'October Horribilis' it seemed impossible to think that by the time of the next international break they would be anywhere close to the second place they occupied going into the last one.
In four games the Addicks took just one point as they slipped from an automatic promotion slot to sixth in the Championship on a terrible run that included home defeats to Plymouth and QPR.
Yet just three games - and three wins - later, it is looking much better. The weekend of the recent international fixtures saw them in third place.

ONE last-minute victory can be put down to luck but when it happens twice in as many games you have to attribute it to perseverance, superior fitness and sheer bloody-mindedness.
And when both those goals are scored by a player who had recently looked as if he couldn't score in a game of Scrabble, you wonder if things are starting to turn in Charlton's favour once again.
Chris Iwelumo has cut a frustrated and frustrating figure since his summer move from Colchester United, with the manager and fans both starting to question whether he really was the man to score the goals that could catapult the Addicks back to the big time.

ALAN Pardew faces a battle to save Charlton's season after a third defeat in a row saw his players booed off the field by their own fans.
After recent reverses against Wolves and Plymouth, the Addicks put in possibly their worst performance of the season to lose against rock-bottom QPR at The Valley last Saturday (October 27).
The Charlton boss admitted after the game that his players had lost their way in the quest for an immediate return to the Premier League.

INTERNATIONAL breaks are the bane of many a Premier League manager's life but for teams in the Championship they can provide a welcome break and a chance to take stock.
With the exception of Irish international Andy Reid and under-21 players Darren Randolph and Yassin Moutaouakil, Charlton boss Alan Pardew has been able to give a well deserved break to his full squad of players following a flurry of matches in quick succession.
Such a rest could prove vital to maintaining the side's fitness and form, especially as the team now face a further six games in less than a month before the next international gap.

SUCH is the expectation around The Valley this season that any home draw is likely to be regarded as points dropped, no matter who the opponents.
That may be a little unfair: every team is entitled to the odd off-day and Barnsley came to south-east London with sound credentials to earn a 1-1 draw on Saturday (October 6), sitting just two places below their hosts and in a play-off spot.
But what makes it hard to see this as anything other than two points thrown away was that this was not a bad day at the office but a match the home side dominated and should have had wrapped up long before Zheng Zhi finally opened the scoring with just eight minutes to go.

AT THE start of the season Alan Pardew warned supporters there would be times in the Championship when the club seemed a million miles away from the glitz of the Premier League.
Tuesday's (October 2) game against Hull City was one of those, and that Charlton were able to emerge victorious - despite having had another gruelling away clash just three days earlier - speaks volumes for the way the club has adapted to the pain of relegation.
Four points from their last two games - a 1-1 draw at Coventry City last Saturday (September 29) and this hard-fought 2-1 win - extends the side's recent form to seven games without defeat and saw them regain second spot in the table, temporarily at least.