Reid out, Halford and Cook in...

The lure of the Premiership and being part of the Irish revolution at Sunderland has proved too much for Andy Reid. Hopefully he will get the chance now to finally show what he's capable of if he can steer clear of injuries and keep himself fully fit. The big shorts favoured by those north-east clubs will also suit him.

Coming in on loan are right-back Greg Halford (23) and left winger Lee Cook (25). Both have had fixed fortunes since relatively big money moves to Sunderland and Fulham respectively and both have something to prove. Cook will give us options on the left wing and is reckoned to be a very good crosser of the ball, something that Jerome Thomas and Darren Ambrose could both improve on. Halford will presumably provide cover for Yassin Moutaouakil and effectively replaces Danny Mills.

Assuming there are no late surprises, interest in Jerome Thomas again appears to have dissapated and maybe he will knuckle down and concentrate on doing what he's best at and finally earning a regular place on merit by running at defences and creating goals. The freak accident to Chris Dickson that will put him out for 3 months (apparently he twisted a knee in Reception but "freak accident in a hotel" is often a euphemism for something Fishy!) means Izale McLeod will be retained. Maybe a last opportunity for Izale to show us that he can score goals outside the lower leagues.

On reflection, we appear to have come out of the transfer window better than anticipated. We've probably strengthened the squad in terms of playing options and have actually made a bit of money with which to fund Halford and Cook's wages. I don't believe many, if any of our rivals have actually fared better than us, so we should be able to get our heads down and focus on the run-in.

West Bromwich Albion 2 v Charlton Athletic 2 (WBA win on penalties)

An anticipated defeat at The Hawthorns ended Charlton's interest in the F A Cup for another year, although the manner of the defeat was anything other than anticipated.

In a bold move, Alan Pardew sent out an unchanged side which was something of a surprise bearing in mind the challenge awaiting at Watford on Saturday. Tony Mowbray rested or rotated four players, depending on your view of the quality of the respective individuals; for me, Gera, Teixeira, Albrechtson and Bednar are equal replacements for Brunt, Koren, Robinson and Phillips.

The Addicks competed for most of the first half. Roman Bednar put the Baggies ahead after 14 minutes and Luke Varney missed our best chance of the half on the stroke of half-time when he put the ball over the bar from 8 yards having been set-up by Izale McLeod who had broken from 40 yards to create the opportunity.

The second half started positively as Charlton put West Brom under pressure, but it was from a Charlton corner that West Brom scored their second after 51 minutes. A Holland shot was charged down and Teixeira broke clear of Zheng Zhi to play Morrsion in for a drive which beat Nicky Weaver. Charlton continued to plug away and a persistent Chris Iwelumo (on for McLeod) forced an error from Dean Kiely which fell for Darren Ambrose to convert just after the hour. Charlton then threw everything at Dean Kiely and were unlucky not to score again five minutes later when Kiely saved from Holland and several Charlton follow-up attempts were blocked desperately as West Brom fought to preserve their lead.

With 15 minutes left Lloyd Sam burst clear of Albrechtson but his shot skimmed passed the post. Jerome Thomas and Chris Dickson came on as Alan Pardew pressed all the buttons in an attempt to find an answer. BBC Radio London commentator Clive Walker kept saying this game was not beyond Charlton the way we were playing and he was proved right. West Brom created a couple of chances in the last ten minutes to seal the game but it was Chris Dickson who laughed last as he opened his account at the back post after a cross was played on by Lloyd Sam. Having not wanted the extra 90 minutes, we now found ourselves with an additional 30.

West Brom started the first period of added time brightly and Nicky Weaver pulled off a terrific save from a Bednar break. Madjid Bougherra was struggling (with cramp?) and Charlton survived a mini-onslaught as West Brom tried to land a knock-out punch. McCarthy made a good block on a Brunt shot and then did well to beat Pele to the incoming corner.

As in the first 90, Charlton started the second period of added time the stronger. Iwelumo was inches away from heading in a Varney cross and Chris Dickson lifted the ball over Kiely and claimed to have been impeded in trying to finish it off but the referree was having none of it. Thomas had a good run into the box but sliced his shot in typical fashion. Chris Dickson then had a chance to sew it up; he beat Pele for pace but his shot was tipped onto the post and safety by Dean Kiely. West Brom were tiring fast but hung on for penalties.

Penalties

Luke Varney missed the first penalty hitting the bar. West Brom scored to go 1 up.

Chris Dickson equalised and Nicky Weaver saved from Greening, 1-1.

Jerome Thomas stepped up to make it 2-1 to Charlton. Koren equalises, 2-2.

Zheng Zhi's penalty saved by Kiely and Morrison puts West Brom 3-2 up.

Madjid Bougherra kept Charlton hopes alive with a cheeky roller but Bednar won it 4-3.

A brave effort and one which will give us a lot of confidence (and determination) that we can beat West Brom at the Valley later in the season. Alan Pardew must take some credit for going for it here tonight and I only hope we don't look tired at Watford on Saturday. We battled well and created enough chances to have won this in 90 minutes. Chris Dickson made the sort of impact we have been hoping for and all of a sudden everyone looks like they want to know. A great time to bring in a couple of new faces and to get Andy Reid back amongst it. We really need a result at Watford to keep us in contention and maintain momentum.

Up the Addicks!