Tonight's match against Oldham Athletic is a must win game for Charlton as they seek to avoid getting drawn into a relegation struggle and search for a mid-table respectability that could offer a platform for further progress.
Most teams do not stay that long in League One: they either get back to the Championship, at least for a while, or suffer the further humiliation of relegation to League Two. No team has been in the third tier as long as Oldham. They arrived in 1997, having briefly been a Premier League club at the onset of that competition, and have stayed at this level ever since.
Currently they are third from bottom in the table. Their away record is slightly better than their home record. They have won a match away, which they have not done at home, and have only lost one game, drawing two. They have achieved this while just scoring four goals in nine games.
Manager Stephen Robinson complained that nine players just did not show up for the home defeat to Swindon and has promised changes for the outing to Charlton. However, the Ulsterman did praise goalkeeper Connor Ripley as 'magnificent' and it is clear that Oldham have a tight defence.
Ripley is on loan from Middlesbrough and is an England under-20 international. Charlton manager Russell Slade has attracted some criticism for being too defensive and negative and he will need to adopt an attacking stance tonight.
One thing Oldham have in common with Charlton is a rapid turnover of managers with no less than six in 18 months. In terms of performance, they are living up to expectations with Four Four Two forecasting a finish in 24th place.
Odds are: Charlton 5/6, Draw 12/5, Oldham 7/2. Clearly, a Charlton win is expected, but our record against them is not inspiring. All three recent home matches against them at this level have produced draws.
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