Charlton 1 Tranmere 1

It's always tense at the Valley these days. I think the crowd is becoming part of the problem. Not just the bloke next to me, who can't get ten minutes into a game without telling everybody "We could lose this, you know", even if we're a goal up. Or the bloke a few rows behind me, whose analysis is on the level of "See, the problem is, we keep losing the ball."

The big problem is lack of patience. I thought Charlton started fairly well, playing a tidy passing game, miles better than recent performances, but lacking any bite up front. This means you have to hold on to the ball, pass it around, wait for the opposition to do something stupid, and then take the chances. This is what Charlton were doing, but it wasn't enough, and the dissatisfaction from the crowd became audible. It translates into panic on the pitch. The team revert to a long-ball game, and the crowd don't like that either. And so it goes.

Some people have short memories. The team is playing so much better than last season, with the same manager and without any major new players.

The team isn't far off playing well. I'm hoping that the fact the next three games are away is a positive thing. Next home game is v Yeovil on 20 Feb. We'll demolish them, you mark my words.