Match Preview: Walsall Vs Charlton Athletic

Walsall Vs Charlton Athletic
Welcome back. The Banks` Stadium will no doubt be a depressing place to be this Saturday but it will content you all to know that at least one of our number will be thoroughly enjoying whatever happens this Saturday. Accompanying me this weekend will be a Gambian man who has never witnessed a live game of football and his enthusiasm for a terrible, cold game between our good selves and high-flying Charlton has really help me re-find my enthusiasm for being cold and depressed. Not forgetting my rich, Walsall heritage I will be calling him Eddy Sonko for the remainder of this week and, probably, for the remainder of our friendship.

So what have we got to look forward to? Well Charlton is a good place to start. They are top of the league by a considerable margin and they have, arguably, the best striker in the league. With 14 goals in 18 games, Bradley Wright-Phillips provides terrifying opposition and I really struggle believe that we are the team to contain him. Be sure to listen out for the creativity of the travelling Addicks as they chant “he`s better than Shaun, he`s better than Shaun, that Bradley Wright-Phillips, he`s better than Shaun”??ingenious.

As well as BWP, they have a solid defence, a top-notch keeper and a midfield to die for and the lad who stands out for me is the man in the middle; Johnnie Jackson. With 7 goals and 5 assists, Johnnie Jackson has single-handedly been involved in more goals this season than Walsall FC have scored at home. Chambo and Taunds have got what it takes to put a leash on Jackson but they will have to be at the top of their game for 90 minutes without rest. Jackson will take advantage of the first chance he gets and even if he doesn`t get one himself you can bet that he will be involved in most of Charlton`s chances.

We aren`t very good and Charlton are, so how do you gear the lads up for this? We have Wembley to look forward to once we`ve beat Dagenham & Redbrige, Millwall and then everyone else we come up against in the FA cup but, other than that, our season looks bleak and I will be spending my Christmas praying that we have a 2nd half of the season identical to that of last year and just put the last few months as far out of our minds as the latest series of TOWIE; which I have tried and failed to repress on many occasions.

So what will the score be? With Eddy Sonko sat next to me, you can be sure I will be beaming like an idiot throughout the match in an desperate attempt to fit in with his incredibly, positive approach to life but the reality is there will probably be little to get excited about. Although, we have only lost by 2 or more goals once this season, at home, I feel as though Charlton will not take that statistic too seriously and could potentially put 3 or 4 past us. I`m going 3-1 to the visitors and a thoroughly depressing day of wind and rain for all. Let`s hope this is not the first week I actually get a score-line correct. COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!