Charlton Athletic 0 v Portsmouth 1

I said on Friday that this game had all the Charlton trademarks of a disappointing match and result - so it proved. On a bitterly cold day with 4,000 gobby Pompey visitors, some of whom had hired a box in a direct attempt to provoke Charlton fans in the East Stand, we failed to get any momentum and eventually succumbed to an own goal after the restart.

We seem to save particularly uninspiring performances for any game which attracts a number of returning supporters. The gate was a few hundred over 16,000 which suggests around a 12,000 Addicks. Allowing for the usual number of complimentary tickets on top of season tickets, would suggest we had a similar number of 'match-by-match' buyers as the visitors which is clearly disappointing given the significance of the game. My view here is that this is a strong indicator that several thousand fans, maybe up to four or five thousand, have been lost under Roland Duchatelet's tenure, much of those to the failed Meire Offensive in 2015-16. Relegation obviously hasn't helped, nor has the merry-go-round of poorly-chosen managers, but the club has been managed in a very deliberate way with a hope of over-achievement from an under-resourced first team squad. 

It was evident in August that we were desperately short of forwards and Karl Robinson's tunnel vision on playing 4-2-3-1 also signalled to the ageing Lee Novak that he needed to get away, leading to the last transfer day fiasco where Novak was reluctantly sold and we made the panic signing of Do-do from Rangers. That has been the story of this season and, aside from a purple patch in October which helped mask the deficiencies, we are now seeing the effects of limited striking options and an inability to react tactically to falling behind because the manager has a squad built around a 4-2-3-1 formation.

At the end of November I said December looked a challenging month and that my focus was on not finishing 7th - forget the clamour for the top two spots. It's now looking increasingly likely that Wigan and Blackburn Rovers will win automatic promotion after finding their feet and both are on good runs. The scramble below is also evening out and given our poor resent results, our game in hand now changes little. Portsmouth are breathing down our necks and if one of Oxford United, Rotherham or Peterborough put a few results together, we will be fighting to make the play-offs. 

An unlikely promotion this season could propel the club under new ownership. Better-informed people than me believe we are now very close to a deal which is very encouraging given the doubts that appear to have emerged in the last couple of weeks. We have to hope and pray that there is good news before Christmas that gives the club a transfer boost in January. If no deal is done, Duchatelet will surely cash in on some of the playing staff and settle for another season of mediocrity in League One. 

Finally, I was pleased to join many other old faces and friends in the White Swan last night for an impromptu 'Valley Party' 25th anniversary celebration. I got to meet the inspirational and courageous Julie, who along with her son have gone down in Charlton folklore as 'the Liar bed-sheet' heroes. Good, too, to catch-up with some of those behind the ROT Party who are continuing to carry the battle to Duchatelet in his hometown. If you sell-up Roland, you may avoid any potential embarrassment in your local elections next year!