Preview: Charlton Athletic v Hartlepool United

By Albatross
September 20 2005

For some reason, mention of Charlton Athletic always makes me think of Allan Simonsen. Not that Poolies have had much chance to mention Charlton until this season's Carling Cup draw paired the sides. It's not an easy task for Hartlepool United.

Well, this will be a strange one - for both sets of fans. Our record against Charlton is quite literally non-existant - this will be the first time the two sides have faced each other in a competitive match. A little bit of history in the making then, but it's a game that may not be particularly attractive - for the home fans at least.

I was about to write that this is reminiscent of last year's trip down to Crystal Palace in this competition last year, but that would be a little unfair on the Addicks. Palace were a side with other priorities in terms of Premiership survival; however under the continuing guidance of Alan Curbishley our opponents have carved themselves out a niche in the Premiership that sees most seasons starting with speculation about a European place rather than about whether they'll avoid relegation. Curbishley has been in charge for a long time - an example of how continuity can pay off - and his achievement in turning Charlton into a respectable Premiership outfit should not be underestimated. After all, when he took over they were still playing every game away from the Valley, and were a mid-table side in what is now the Championship. Money has never been around in huge quantities - but Curbishley has consistently created teams that are more than a sum of their parts, and in the process has often been talked about as a future manager of the National team.

Charlton's form this season certainly hasn't done his reputation any harm either - four wins on the spin (three away) were only halted by the visit of Chelsea and the resultant ineligability of their influential loanee Alexei Smertin. While the wins may not have been over what most consider top opposition, you can only beat what's in front of you and so far they've done precisely that.

To be brutally honest, Pools chances of progressing may depend on how seriously Curbishley wants to take the competition. There's a case for saying that Charlton may have a good chance of winning this competition, particularly if some of the bigger guns field weakened sides in the earlier rounds and fall by the wayside; and that would mean a place in the UEFA Cup. Against this, a couple of injuries to big players and things could look rather costly. They don't have much of a history in the League Cup either - they've only got past Round 3 twice in the past 40 years.

Charlton may of course feel that their reserves may be good enough to get past us in any case. With players such as Shaun Bartlett, Matt Holland, and Jonatan Johansson currently waiting for a chance to remind the manager of their talents they may have a point. There are other players ready to step in as well, including Thomas Myrhe, Jay Bothroyd and Darren Ambrose.

Pools meanwhile travel down to London with no new injury worries, but Scott has something of a conundrum: does he stick with the same players that have shown plenty of spirit to bring an improvement in the last couple of games, or does he bring back some of the more senior players that have been kicking their heels for the last ten days or so? While changes to the starting eleven may not be so likely, a bench packed with teenagers might just be a step too far. Then again, it's hard to say any of them have done much wrong and so he may decide to reward their performances - Turnbull and Foley in particular may feel they've done enough to deserve a place on the bench. Scott is already talking of this being a learning experience, and to me that says he's going to give the younger players a chance to test themselves against more illustrious opposition.

So what of our chances? This time last year I wasn't that optimistic about our visit to Selhurst Park - and we took them to extra time. A full-strength Charlton team should be able to put us to the sword; and with that UEFA place a tempting prize there's every chance that we'll be facing a strong lineup even if it's not quite at maximum strength. Shocks do happen of course; but it's hard to see Pools earning a win. I'll go for Charlton to win 2-0, but Pools to travel back with pride intact if nothing else.