The Addicks overcame a decent Gateshead side on Friday evening to make into the 3^rd round of the cup. 

Fans are dreaming of a decent draw that would see us pitted against a top Prem side. Some would like an away tie. Personally, I would like to get a home tie against one of the top teams. I’d include Everton in that as they’re a team I really like due in part to the values that the club has.

Jacko promised to take the cup seriously and he was good to his word in fielding a strong team. It was just as well as Gateshead provided a decent test and really ought to have at least two goals.

That they didn’t was down to poor finishing and a couple of great saves from Henderson as worryingly, the back, looked a bit static.

Those that travelled up to the game deserve huge praise and will have made some sacrifices to do so no doubt. It’s a long way to go at the best of times but a tough journey on a Friday.

They were at least rewarded for their efforts with a win. They further benefitted from avoiding the ITV commentary team that was a source of some irritation!

The ignorance and baloney that came from one or two of them was incredible. Please do the barest minimum of homework to avoid some of the tripe that was broadcast.

Jermain Beckford got a bit carried away but had the decency to apologise the next day having reviewed some of his comments.

I remain at a loss to know what more Jackson has to do to get the manager’s job on a full time basis. What he has achieved has already passed the wildest expectations.

One looks at Ipswich where Cook has just been sacked for a seemingly poor start. It’s true that he got really good backing but his performance was hardly on a scale with Adkins and he really ought to be given more time.

Hopefully, there will be some internal issues that we might benefit from on Tuesday night.

One would expect to see a slightly bigger midweek attendance courtesy of the free ticket offer. In addition, we can hope that The Addicks return to winning ways in the league.

A return for Jason Pearce would be a much needed boost for our back line.

Wins against Ipswich and Cambridge would be a real shot in the arm for our drive up the table. If we can get ourselves into a good position by the end of the year. That would leave us to take hopefully make good use of the January transfer window.

Announcing Jacko would be a real shot in the arm too. How much longer must we wait?

Come On You Reds!