Here one minute, gone the next.

Marcus Tudgay today returned to Nottingham Forest a good month earlier than expected. Having struggled to make any impact during his short time with the Addicks, he only mustered a couple of substitute appearances and one start, that ill fated game at Bramall Lane earlier in the month.

It is reported that new head coach (manager) José Riga didn't fancy the player and had a multitude of blank firing front-men ahead of him in the pecking order. It's also possible of course that manager- less Forest may have recalled Tudgay ready for the incoming new boss to decide his team. They certainly need to sort something out quickly as after Billy Davies' last match in charge, the drubbing by fierce rivals Derby County, fortunes fared little better as they entertained Charlton on Tuesday evening.

The first of three consecutive journeys northbound, Charlton hoped for better results than last season's visit to the City Ground when they arguably received the sternest footballing lesson they were to get all season. Tuesday's affair was far more even, both sides creating chances and both sides squandering them. Our favourite nil-nil seemed on the cards once again when Obika hit the post and Jordan Cousins was unmarked and on hand to score with the rebound. Not as late as Dervite's winner the week before but another Tuesday night single goal victory. Not a bad habit to get into.

Again routine wasn't just a striker failing to find the net, but not for the first time we saw a mildly average night for the 'Duchâtelet six'. Only Astrit Ajdarević and Reza Ghoochannejhad featured yet neither could match the performance of Cousins, the youngster putting in a man of the match performance just when I felt the time could be right to rest him. I won't be giving up my day job.

With Tudgay going home, it is with no surprise that the revolving loan door keeps spinning. Rumours spread yesterday about the possible capture of Chris Eagles. He was supposedly seen at the Forest game although Derby are keen on the winger. Out of favour at Bolton could he be what the club needs to bring the best out of Wanderers teammate Marvin Sodall?

Whilst the former Manchester United player is still unsure of his immediate future, another current red devil has signed a short term loan deal at The Valley. Italian youngster Davide Petrucci joined up with his new teammates today for the first time. An attacking midfielder he's yet to feature for the first team at Old Trafford but has had a little experience in the Championship making four appearances for Peterborough last season. Since then, and more noticeably to our owner/management team, he's had a short spell on loan with Royal Antwerp in Belgium. They play in the big league where our current crop of hopefuls dream of ending up. I jest of course; I must learn to behave!

Whilst on the topic of loan switches, forgotten man Danny Hollands has gone to Portsmouth in League Two. Another Addick who will contest a relegation dogfight to the death.

Myself, I'm opting for a relegation battle elsewhere this evening. My local side Horley Town in the Combined Counties league have a floodlit kick off against mid table Cove at The New Defence. After a big win against fellow stragglers Chessington & Hook United on Tuesday evening, confidence is high amongst the squad that they can retain level nine status for next season. I'm guaranteed ninety minutes of passion and commitment although I'm not expecting to report on any Belgian connections tonight.

Floodlit Forest

I met Jim, my companion for the evening, at The Harp in Charing Cross. A great boozer, albeit small in size, that serves some fine ales amidst it's very affable atmosphere. Jim, who had suffered the trip to Burnley on top of that harrowing display against Millwall, was all in favour of 'settling in' for the evening here as opposed to having to trek to South East London for yet another helping of despondency.

I was having none of this defeatist talk, reminding my good friend of the many great Charlton performances witnessed under the The Valley's floodlights. Yes, if we were to turn this slump around a night game was opportune time to do it. Reluctantly he agreed to accompany me, making it quite clear that this was solely on my head and I would be held accountable to all blame once the nightmare began. Deep down I knew going to the match was a good call.

Forest gave us the biggest footballing lesson of the season during the last campaign and look strong promotion contenders already at this early stage. There was no doubt we'd be up against it, it seemed a little unnecessary therefore for the referee to don a kit similar to Forest's away attire on top of this! As it was, we frequently wondered in the stands why this 'extra player' of theirs shied away from making a tackle.

Callum Harriott got a start playing just behind the front two, Church and Sordell, in a kind of 4-3-3, or more appropriately 4-3-1-2 formation. This should have given us a more attacking edge, indeed we needed that having been not only goal shy but 'attempts' shy in recent weeks. It did leave us very weak out wide though, Forest players finding acres of room in the widest parts of the midway line. At these moments there was a school playground scenario as three red shirts would all dart out together chasing down their man. It was a bold manoeuvre by Chris Powell, nobody could argue he wasn't trying to address our problems.

Jordan Cousins was rewarded for his recent efforts with a full home debut alongside Gower and Stephens, while Richard Wood partnered Morrison in the heart of defence. Lawrie Wilson continued to deputize for the still injured Solly who has Jackson, Cort and Kermorgant as treatment room buddies.

If a bright start against Burnley could be emulated, and perhaps even bettered, we could be in for a special night. Two minutes in and we were behind. Jim gave me that look and reminded me of the comfort we had left in Charing Cross; I started to sing.

We conceded a needless free kick in front of the East Stand, former pie eating champion Andy Reid (I tease out of sadness and selfishness, knowing what a talent we have long lost) stepped up and floated a ball goal-wards. The defence watched, the Forest front men watched, time stood still as Ben Hamer, rather than making a routine save, got his timing wrong and was made to look a little foolish, cue a tirade of anti Hamer tweets clogging up the CAFC hash-tag.

It made a change from disparaging tweets about the owners I suppose. As Jim quite rightly pointed out in regard to Hamer's little faux pas, this particular shortcoming had nothing to do with the board or any money matters, we just really are, in football terms, that embarrassing.

Who didn't expect Forest to then go on and steamroller us? We decided it better they get their goals quick, at three down we could legitimately venture back to the pub, yes it would be better for everyone if this happened sooner rather than later. Night games though, they do something to the crowd that Saturday afternoon's don't quite muster. We made a lot of noise, we kept singing and by Jove I believe the players were starting to respond.

There were still mistakes, Wilson struggled to distribute the ball, Sordell was absent and Church chased everything and got into dangerous positions whilst cleverly disguising any potential threat to appear almost harmless. We were matching them though, making a game of it and it only needed a spark, Dale Stephens came so close just before the break but that wasn't to be it. Our tails were up, a rousing half time team talk would surely tip the balance in our favour.

Four minutes into the second half and the goal came. Marvin Sordell, bugger would I have to eat my words? He was clinical, he's paid to be, and his goal celebration sliding on his knees reeked of pretension, yet the celebration from his team mates emitted nothing less than a desire to go on and claim this scalp. Forest were rattled now and we bombarded them for a good period, oohs and aahs rang around the ground as we came so agonizingly close to doubling our tally, but slowly Forest got themselves back into it.

It ended a draw, it felt like a victory. It was a Charlton performance, the floodlights had worked their spell on the crowd again which in turn had made an impact on the pitch. Positivity and all that, man.

I still have my reservations, Sordell and Church in particular, and I'd rather see Wilson playing further forward, but we saw more than than enough to warrant a couple of celebratory pints of Young's in The Grapes at London Bridge before heading home. All in all I'm very upbeat about doing it again on Saturday against Blackpool, last season don't forget we wanted to play them every week.

I can see for miles and miles

You'll notice the linesman today in front of the west stand didn't drop his flag once. Not only eagle eyes, he must have had gripping hands too.

Charlton today were undone by a much better footballing side led, at it's heart, by former Addick Andy Reid. The fact Yann Kermorgant got sent off didn't really change the outcome (albeit the event happening at 0-0), it just ruined the match as a spectacle.

Another former Addick, Greg Halford had a little 'ding-dong' with the French striker and it transpires our man kicked out therefore opening himself up to punishment. In my last post I commended Kermorgant on his professionalism, typical huh? Today he was riled and rash, much to his cost. Now if the referee, who had a good view, or for that matter the linesman on the same wing as the incident had decided a red card was in order then I believe we would have all accepted the decision. Kermorgant was pushed, he lashed out. He knew he was in trouble as he tried to explain to the linesman how he'd got himself into this predicament. After the initial incident the Forest players surrounded our frontman lashing out with their handbags, our lads came to Kermorgant's defense brandishing handbags of their own, bingo cards in the other hand. It really was a little like that, a lot of playground name calling and nothing sinister. From nowhere the other linesman, further away than yourself dear reader, proved to all and sundry why he will never blame the cheese sandwiches when he gets on a roller coaster. Through his binoculars he apparently clearly saw every detail and ran almost the width of the pitch to share the news. Oh how I wished he'd slipped up in the copious amount of mud on the pitch and landed on his backside as he returned to where he should be.

This all happened about five minutes before the interval, Charlton had been outplayed during the first half but were hanging on, the game was still very much alive. Chris Powell to his credit, I believe, didn't make a rash decision and hung on with the same ten until half time before readdressing his tactics and making a change.

His options on the bench were surprisingly large. Haynes and Fuller were the obvious but we also had new loan signing Jonathan Chiedozie Obika. The tall striker is with us from Tottenham for the rest of the season and according to Wikipedia (yes, I know) he is named after the former Orient and Notts County wide man. Chiedozie was a real favourite of mine and I really hope this is true. Powell plumped for Fuller in place of the ineffectual Stephens, to be honest he could have made any change and we still wouldn't have been at the races. Charlton would have had fared better in a sandcastle building competition on the awful pitch.

Forest, wearing the funkiest socks ever to grace The Valley (spirals), were a class above and should have battered us scoring a lot more than the two they did. I didn't catch the build up to the first so I cannot comment on Scott Wagstaff's contribution but their second was a tad fortunate. Dorian Dervite was the victim in a tough challenge warranting the referee to blow up, but the official let play continue only for Ben Hamer to fumble a shot allowing Forest to capitalize on the error and turn in the loose ball. Hamer lay motionless face down on the floor, the game was well and truly over and he knew that his was a poor mistake. After that Forest had a spell of hammering our goal but failed to hit the target again, their possession was controlled (the fans cheered every completed pass) albeit with numerical advantage, but they really did run us ragged. Whenever Charlton play against ten men we find it an almost impossible challenge, yet when we are down on numbers the words hot knife and butter spring to mind.

Once again against Forest we looked out of our depth, if we still find ourselves playing at this level next season (and I believe we will) we need to address this home form and get over whatever mental block we've developed. You can't just blame a lack of finance or an atrocious playing field, there is something deeper. You don't get two chances at this level, we've rode our luck this season at times, we won't be so fortunate again.

And as for Forest? It would be a travesty if they didn't make the play-off's this season. Without doubt one of the best footballing sides we've faced, and besides, Andy Reid deserves another final crack at the big time. I'm glad the Charlton supporters gave him great applause today as he left the pitch, it was the one and only moment I want to remember from today.

Cry me a stream

Nottingham Forest, another team very much fancied to put in a serious promotion challenge this season hosted Charlton for their second away day of the new campaign.

Would Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, a former Charlton player come back to haunt us and, more importantly, would Andy Reid eat all the burgers from the kiosks in the vicinity of the ground? In fact would he eat the team coach as well to stop his former club returning to London, forcing Chris Powell's champions to hitch hike back down the M1?
And why did this groundbreaking motorway now lead all the way to Dallas Texas?

After the excitement of transfer deadline day behind us, it was a chance for new signings to get their first taste of action in a different shirt.
With Jimmy Floyd and SeanO'Driscoll running things, Forest had assembled a team of Dutch speaking Doncaster fans to play around loanee striker Billy Sharp. Chris Powell couldn't resist pulling the striker to one side to gloat about his suits really defining the word 'sharp'.

Charlton were struggling to replace Chris Solly who had moved the previous evening to Hamburger SV for two million Deutsche Marks and a signed framed photo of Kevin Keegan.
In a press conference, Chris Powell stated it was the young full backs blonde locks that first alerted the Germans to him. Andy Reid is said to be as sick as a pig he hasn't had the chance to link up with Solly at his dream club.

At least Andy Hughes got the chance to come out of retirement to fill in at the back. And we all thought he'd been kidnapped.

Charlton, wearing an all black kit in mourning of the club shop, started poorly. Sure enough the old boys curse struck with Jimmy Floyd opting to play himself and scoring a hat trick in the opening five minutes.
It became apparent that the gaffer had made a slight tactical mistake playing a whole team of Kermorgants, the ten full size cardboard versions didn't seem to hold up too well in the tackle and went down as easily as the real McCoy.

Only one thing for it, the gaffer was going to have to pull a shirt on and come back for one last hurrah!

The second half was a much more even affair. Ricardo Fuller dazzled the home defence with his glitzy earrings,  whilst Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey made his Addicks debut, although preferring to have the name Leaburn on his shirt out of respect for his idol.
Johnnie Jackson, the skipper, who continued his wonderful start to the campaign then came off for Nick Berry. It wasn't just the Charlton faithful singing the Heartbeat theme tune, It was pumped out of Forest's tannoy system for the whole second period as a special request to those viewers in Finland watching the game live on TV.

Charlton clawed it back to three all as the fourth official held up a board indicating twenty seven minutes stoppage time. The Charlton bench argued his decision stating it was at least twenty eight  times that their French front man had clutched different parts of his body whilst grimacing on the ground. Forest fans thought he should have at least had a penalty whilst singing lets all laugh at Leicester.

With seconds remaining, Chris Powell came up for a Charlton corner. The ball was swung in high and the Londoners lifted their talisman aloft (in a fashion more akin to a rugby line out) to connect with the ball. Just as he was about to make contact a loud bleeping came from the tannoy, Andy Hughes came back to life, he hadn't really been shot.............it had all just been a dream.
Surely the public wouldn't stand for a whole football match based on a dream.

Last night i met some very lovely folk, all football bloggers, at the Socrates meet up at Victoria. Amongst chatting football, plenty of beer was consumed. The place ran out of bitter by the end of the evening.
A great evening was had as i met up with friends i 'speak' to on twitter on a daily basis, but beer makes me dream in a similar way that cheese affects most people.

We really did play at Forest today, it was shown live in both Finland and Kuwait i believe, but that's where the similarity ends.
It could have been more if Johnnie Jackson and Ben Hamer had you fooled with their cunning hoax on twitter about the signing of Heskey.

I watched the game through a stream found on line but i fear it wasn't the best one available. Whenever we attacked the Forest goal it either froze or threw up big adverts which didn't really want you to close them. Being the high quality product that it is, it's kind of hard to complain isn't it so i battled through bravely.

Forest were much the better side in the first half and went into the interval in a deserved lead. Dale Stephens was a noticeable absentee from the team, perhaps he was still in the general area of Villa Park, so Jordan Cook got his first Charlton start.

The Londoners got much more into the game in the second half but it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Johnnie Jackson worryingly seemed to be a little out classed, whilst Bradley Wright-Phillips hardly got a kick at all.
Forest are undoubtedly a quality team, Simon Cox and Dexter Blackstock both looking impressive. Where Jackson looked he may be a little out of his depth, Cox seemed far too assured to be playing in this division.

Forest got their inevitable second goal to seal the victory, at which point some Charlton supporters decided to beat the rush and depart. Little did they know a mini comeback was around the corner.

Ricardo Fuller and Salim Kerkar both came on with a view to giving us an extra little spark up front. And that's exactly what happened.
Charlton pulled a goal back when Fuller headed the ball against the post which then came off the keeper before ending up in the net. A debut goal it wasn't though as it will be recorded for all time as an own goal.

There were three minutes left, Charlton suddenly seemed to have some purpose. Two minutes later the two substitutes linked up again for Kerkar to strike a powerful volley in the box, only for it to hit an unsuspecting defender. There were penalty shouts for a hand ball but in fairness the Forest lad had little chance to move, it was almost point blank range.

Five minutes of stoppage time, mostly for a battered Kermorgant, lengthened our hope for an equaliser, the best chance falling to Jackson.
A free kick well within his range, if it had been against a Sheffield club it was sure fire to go in but not, alas, today.

Our first defeat, a little reality check, but still a promising start to the campaign. It's a week off now due to the international break, I'll be making the most of it with a good old fashioned booze cruise next Saturday to France. Then it's the big one, Palace at home.

Come on you reds!

I see a little silhouetto of a man.

This is a lifeboat. It was on standby today at The Valley taking the place of the more traditional stretcher.

Rain is, of all the weather conditions, the one that people often refer to the bible for. Is there ever a report of thunder and lightning with torrential down powers that doesn't mention the phrase 'biblical proportions'. Overused it may be, but I'm surprised the Charlton Live team didn't mention the ark hurriedly being constructed in the west stand car park to take the visitors back up to Hull.

After the wonderfully exciting and nail biting evening on Tuesday, i was once again stuck at work and reduced to the precariously positioned lap top balancing on the tool box at the furthest reaches of our modem. Did CAFC player keep cutting out or was the wi-fi straining just to much to stay connected? Maybe it was the constant hammering of  the rain and electrical storms outside. Biblical? I certainly didn't take His name in vain but did ask a couple of times to re-connect me to the commentary with some urgency.

Another poor crowd (less than Tuesday's) did brave the elements to witness a deserved point gained for Charlton, however, the only goal they saw wasn't given.

Hull City are another good side that have recently played top flight football, thus continuing this tough start to life back in the Championship. You have to wonder when the easy sides will come around. I'm not pre-empting anything and saying September 14th honestly! (Although they did lose again today and remain bottom.)

Chances in the awful conditions were few and far between, Kermorgant and Wright-Phillips both coming close and on one occasion getting the ball in the net, with the Frenchman duly dispatching it home, but the linesman was already flagging for a presumable off side.

The best efforts fell to the Tigers in the second period when the heavens (there we go again with the bible references) really did open.
Up north they probably train and practise both in and for this weather a little more often so maybe, just maybe the conditions weren't the same for both sides?

Sone Aluko produced a wonderful double save from Ben Hamer towards the end, i can't be alone in thinking our number one is looking to have really grown in stature and confidence from the keeper he was last season. Aluko also missed an empty net when he only had to make some contact to score according to the commentary. I can't wait to see that one on the highlights.

We played the same starting eleven as we have on our previous outings but today all eleven played the whole ninety minutes. Perhaps the dugout had flooded and the substitutes had all gone down with trench foot? I'm sure the gaffer knew what he was doing.

Three games in, five points gained, possibly four lost (at least two), and still unbeaten. We'd have all taken that at the beginning of the month.

A trip to Nottingham Forest next Saturday, then a week off before the south London derby against Palace. No need for the lap top then, I've booked a Friday evening off work for a game that's bound to better the poor attendances so far, even with the offering of an armchair at home and the Sky television cameras.
If the rain is again anything like today, even the camera's will find it hard to pick out the tiny silhouettes on the pitch..........

Forest, like ourselves, have also picked five points up from the first three fixtures and with the exception of Bolton, have possibly had an easier start than us, if there is such a thing at this level.
Another stern test will no doubt again ensue.

Come on you reds!