Boro v Charlton Athletic

Wednesday 11 March @ 19.45

There’s another big game on Wednesday.  But first, a  big game from Boro’s history:

On 22 October 1960, Boro famously drew 6-6 away at Charlton in the then Division 2. Are there any of you who can actually recall this high-scoring game? Not me. I was only 7 at the time. But it’s gone down in Boro folklore as one of the most infamous in our history. Anthony Vickers writes about it in his excellent ‘ The Games That Shaped the Boro.’

It was an era when we scored lots of goals virtually every season, with Brian Clough and Alan Peacock banging them in for fun. But we also conceded far too many, which meant that we missed out on promotion from division 2 several seasons on the trot. On this particular day, Clough, having scored a hat-trick, smelled a rat, and was incandescent. He berated his defender teammates on the coach home then approached the club hierarchy with his suspicions (but to no avail), before finally accusing his team-mates in a team meeting. Unfortunately, the club decided to sell him to Sunland at the end of that season, having previously turned down several of his transfer requests, though whether that decision and Our Brian’s outburst were connected is not known. I rather suspect I know the answer to that one.

But Clough was right, to an extent at least. AV writes: ‘Within two years of the Charlton clash 3 former members of Boro’s squad were to be named and shamed in a sensational tabloid exposé, deeply enmeshed in Britain’s biggest ever match-fixing scandal. Two of them, long-time Ayresome first-team fixtures, Ken Thompson and Brian Phillips, would be jailed for their leading roles in a shadowy national syndicate with poisonous tentacles tainting every division. The other, second-string keeper, Esmond Million, was to flee the country for Canada in shame.’  They had been betting against Boro, as had others against their own clubs, including Sheffield Wednesday’s England pair, Peter Swan and Tony Kay. Only Thompson played that day at Charlton, and Cliff Mitchell’s match report - included in AV’s book - highlights the heavy rain and greasy conditions which made it difficult for defenders, so we can’t say if this was in fact one of the games that were thrown.

And so to Wednesday. I wonder what odds you would get this time for gambling on anything more than 4 goals in this game? It would be nice to see Boro score another 4, but I can’t see that happening really.

Charlton gave us a hard game at The Valley earlier in the season. Boro were comfortably 2-0 ahead at the break, but a spirited Charlton fightback in the second half saw us clinging on a bit. We ended up winning 2-1, but it was a bit nervy. They gave us a bit of a fright in truth.

At the start of the season Charlton were probably on most people’s list of sides most likely to go down, following their playoff victory last year. They finished fourth, then beat Leyton Orient in the final. However, they have generally performed better than most people’s expectations and seem to be holding their own in the lower reaches of the Championship.

Currently in 18th place, they don’t seem to be in any imminent danger of going down, as they are now 9 points clear of 22nd place, a very solid achievement for a club with a limited budget on its return to the higher division. Though manager Nathan Jones says they’re not clear yet, so they’ll be aiming to pick up at least a point at The Riverside.

They’ve won 3 and drawn 7 of their 18 away games. They’d won only one of their last 6 games home and away before beating Birmingham 1-0 at The Valley on Saturday in a game of few chances. In their previous home game, a 1-0 loss to Wrexham, Charlton had been the dominant side and had missed a hatful of good opportunities. Now where have I heard that before…….?

Only Oxford and Wednesday have scored fewer than their 34 goals. Nonetheless, they have some dangerous players, such as forwards Tyrece Campbell and Scottish international Lyndon Dykes, and former England, Wolves and Everton defender, Conor Coady ( on loan from Wrexham), who is apparently currently playing in a defensive midfield role. Top scorer is Sonny Carey with 8 goals. They have a goalkeeper called Will Mannion: no relation, I presume?

For Boro, this is a very important game. We failed to win either of our last two home games, of course, which allowed clubs below us to close the gap. Happily, we put it right in the two away games since. But again, we’re playing later than our close rivals. All 3 of Millwall (home to Derby), Ipswich (away at Stoke) and Hull (away at Wrexham) play Tuesday, so while all 3 could drop points in some tough games, equally the gap could yet again be down to one point by Wednesday. The Championship is relentless, as we know, and this year is incredibly tight, tighter and more congested than I can remember in some time. We can’t go on relying on winning away from home, even with our fantastic record, so that might mean we’ll have to make the very most of our 6 home games to keep ahead of the chasing pack.

Nor must we approach what might appear an easier game on paper with any kind of complacency. The wily and experienced Nathan Jones will no doubt have his side well prepared. On the QPR thread Boro Becky’s Dad wrote :

‘KH’s selection and formation will, as always be the key. Looks like Charlton play with 3 at the back with 5 in midfield so we will have to find a way through that.’ I wasn’t aware of that, but I would be very surprised if they come out to attack us, so I think we’ll face the challenge of a low block yet again. If they do opt for a defensive wall,  can we get round it, through it or behind it to create good scoring chances? Can we put one or two of them away?

Harsh though it would be to rest Alan Browne for this one after his excellent game at QPR, I might be tempted to do so if that allows us to play both Conway and Strelec, with the option later on of bringing on Castledine if necessary. I think we’ll need the extra forward. I’m not convinced we’ll need the extra midfielder.

It was a stellar performance at QPR, where our first clean sheet for ages in away games, and of course the four goals, were a real tonic. I hope it made you feel a bit brighter Bob, and that it’s lifted your spirits a bit? It certainly did mine. Charlton starts a run of 6 games of which 5 are eminently winnable, while the other is Millwall, but that’s at home and must give us a chance. And we have 6 remaining home games against just 4 away, though two of those are six-pointers at Ipswich and Wrexham.

In principle Boro should win this one. If we score one goal we’ll probably win, I think, especially if we score first!  As I’m sure you know, we’ve won all 18 of the games in which we’ve scored first this season, which is simply incredible. But all usual caveats apply: in the Championship normal form rules don’t apply! And even though I’d like to see Boro score another four scintillating goals, or especially six, I’d settle for a relatively boring 1-0 win!