Sheffield United 3 v Charlton Athletic 1

I was invited to lunch today at friends so couldn't follow the game, not that I was particularly bothered. The only surpise from today's performance was that we held the lead until 65th minute. I had offered a mate 3-1 on anything other than a Blades victory and only for a brief moment did I think my bet might be in jeopardy. This evening we are where we deserve to be - bottom of the table, four points behind Southampton and five behind Doncaster Rovers and Nottingham Forest, both of whom won hard matches today.

During Phil Parkinson's tenure we have gone from flirting with relegation to rock bottom, red-hot favourites for the drop. Our club has become a laughing stock in the Championship and have equalled our record of 16 league games without a win. Our team are playing with virtually no confidence and we seem to have a defensive glass chin. Failure to win in 16 consecutive matches cannot be put down to bad luck and the fact that it's only happened once before in our history tells you all you need to know.

The Board are desperate to sell and look extremely reluctant, if not unable, to invest anymore money. This appears to be the main driver for handing Parkinson the care-taker role (least-cost option) and for allowing him an extension until New Year in the desperate hope we would get a win to justify giving him the job.

Maybe this squad of players and loanees are the worst in the division and relegation is a certainty irrespective of whom the manager is. However, that is no excuse for not taking the right action at the right time for the good of the club and it's supporters. Next season will arguably be more important in the history of our club than this one, especially if we manage to destroy the fan base we have carefully nurtured for over twenty years. Failure to act here and now will move the responsibility for our end-of-season predicament firmly and squarely from the manager and playing staff towards the Boards of the football club and the plc. I can't believe they will fudge this again and stick with what we've got; the next five days will tell.