Tomorrow morning, 9,000 excited Charlton supporters will begin their journeys to Old Trafford. Our 4th Round League Cup tie has captured the imagination and everyone wants to be there. The fact that it's a night match means most will stay overnight in Manchester, so the adventure is that little bit bigger.
In spite of the lack of ambition of owner Thomas Sandgaard, the fact that he is actively trying to offload the club to anyone who will take it's losses and that we have a host of new faces running the club, perhaps temporarily, there is a frisson of electricity about this match. It's not just that we are playing the biggest club in British football over the last fifty years but the potential of this game.
We are 90 minutes away from the first major cup semi-final since we won the F A Cup in 1947. United will start hot favourites, of course, but they will field a second string and we have all just witnessed Newcastle and Aston Villa being dumped out of the competition by League One opposition. There has to be hope. We weren't expected to get past Brighton but we did. There won't be tears if we lose but there almost certainly will be if we win. Just imagine a two-legged semi-final against another Premier league side...
Secondary to the game, this match and the fact that 9,000 Charlton fans are prepared to take two days off work in the hope of something amazing, might just spark something in those looking to acquire a football club. We are the archetypal distressed club, under-performing in the lower leagues. The potential is enormous and we should remind ourselves that it wouldn't take a miracle to get promoted back to the Championship. Just some ambition, a relatively modest investment, patience and a splash of good fortune.
Whilst our ownership remains a mess, supporters are liking what they are seeing from Dean Holden. He may only have been managing the team for four games but we have seen a marked improvement in performances. He seems to be a really decent bloke and down-to-earth like us (the antithesis of that red-trousered public schoolboy, Charlie Methven). I was hugely impressed that he chose to go to the Royal Oak on his own after the Brighton game to listen to what fans had to say. He is a clear communicator and appears to know exactly what he wants and expects from his players. It's early days but he might just be what we have been looking for since Lee Bowyer upped sticks for Birmingham.
It feels odd too that Holden is a Manc and a season ticket holder still at Old Trafford. What would the odds be of taking over a club the day after they progressed to the 4th round of a cup competition and drawing the team you support? Him and Anthony Hayes will have a right old day out tomorrow - it might even eclipse some of our own. I would love to see them celebrating a Charlton victory on their own hallowed turf.
However you are getting there and wherever you spend the night, I hope and pray that we all come back with some brilliant memories. Charlton forever!
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