Wombles find their form

AFC Wimbledon are something of a bogey team for us and the last thing we want is them to come back into form when we are facing them on Saturday. However, they managed to beat Rochdale 4-3 away last night with the rare event of a Joe Pigott hat trick. We'll just have to hope that Lyle Taylor can find form against his former club.

Elsewhere, Sunderland pulled away from Charlton with a 4-2 win over Gillingham. They are now six points ahead of us with a game in hand. Portsmouth faltered again with a home draw against Bristol Rovers, making our fixture against them even more crucial. Barnsley could only manage a goalless draw against Burton Albion.

Lasplie signs, but Aribo is still a target

George Lapslie has signed a contract until 2021, but Lee Bowyer is desperate to secure the signature of Joe Aribo who impressed on Saturday: Aribo an urgent priority

'The cat' on a familiar patrol

It's a bit of a statement of the obvious, but Ben 'The Cat' Purrington warns that Charlton will drop out of the top six unless they string some wins together, reminding us that it's a 'competitive league': Good bunch of lads

I suppose it is really quite difficult to say anything new in these interviews unless one is prepared to take the risk of offending Roland.

Charlton fans seem to have swung between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism in the last few weeks. At one time people were talking about an automatic promotion which I never thought was possible. Now some have even said we could dice with relegation. The probability is that we will scrape into the play offs, but that then gives us a one in four chance of going up.

Yet more frustration

Charlton drew 0-0 with Blackpool at The Valley this afternoon. The return of Lyle Taylor did not provide the talisman that was hoped for, minus his former strike partner. There were some chances, but finishing was far from clinical. Charlton were particularly poor in the first ten minutes of the game and could have gone behind. Too many needless fouls were given away.

The arrival of Mark Marshall as a half time substitute did improve penetration for the Addicks and Igor Vetokele made an impact in his late cameo. But once again the match confirmed that this is a team that finds scoring goals hard.

Charlton's Josh Parker was guilty of an air shot in the area after 21 minutes before Jonny Williams struck from 25 yards out, forcing Howard into a save. The midfielder made the keeper block again after 33 minutes, although from much closer range, after being played in by Joe Aribo.

Williams was denied once more by the hands of Howard nine minutes after the restart, with no Charlton player able to capitalise on the rebound. Blackpool offered little in attack.

Lee Bowyer said that Lyle Taylor needs to show more caution on and off the field of play after he picked up his ninth booking of the season following his criticisms of barmy Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet: Needs to show some caution

Bowyer was frustrated by Charlton's lack of cutting edge, although he thought that the second half performance was better: Disappointed at stalemate

Louis Mendez reports on the match as Charlton's winless run continues: Frustrating stalemate

Blackpool squad stretched

With nine players out, Blackpool are somewhat stretched for their visit to The Valley tomorrow, but are confident of getting a result: Stretched squad

Having drawn 1-1 at Sunderland earlier in the week, the Tangerines are something of an in form team. They are third in the form table, while Charlton are seventh. They are unbeaten in their last six games and have been particularly strong away from home.

Developments this week have led to hopes that Owen Oyston may be replaced as owner of the club: Tangerine Spring

Taylor criticises Duchatelet

Already a favourite with Charlton fans, Lyle Taylor has earned further credit by criticising Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet: Roland doesn't want to back Lee Bowyer

Valley of frustration, part 94

Lee Bowyer's primary reaction to last Saturday's draw with Southend United was one of frustration. Here Richard Cawley of the SLP discusses the numbed supremo's reaction and assesses the contribution of various players, not least Igor Vetokele: Bowyer's big emotion

I am not a businessman, but surely spending some money on a free agent would increase our chances of promotion and hence the ability to sell the club and get a better price for it?