Charlton Athletic 0 Birmingham City 2

“We had to involve them (the new players) in everything we do. They have to get used to us and the way it is in the Championship if they want to add their qualities to the squad and get into the swing of things.”

Chris Powell talks as if his boss has foisted his three sons and a long lost cousin won in a bet on him.

These are very trying times for all of us, and the positivity barometer is not far from rock bottom. I saw Birmingham play us in November and the Blues were terrible, afterwards I had them down as a team we should finish above, 15 0games on and they are 9 points ahead of us and I think we are running out of teams that we can finish above. It is a sorry state and the Powell-out crowd is growing.

I am still with Powell and although the buck stops with the manager, I believe he has been dealt a duff hand, and in this particular game of poker, Powell still has the attributes and yearning to get us out of it. Come on, CP aches and breathes Charlton, he’s hurting like the rest of us and I have no stomach for a new manager who will undoubtedly be friends and family of Duchâtelet.

Despite all of the turmoil of recent weeks, there has nearly always been some plus points to dwell on, today AA and Reza impressed and in Diego Poyet there was a man of the match performance that gives all of us hope for the future.

If Roland Duchâtelet’s due diligence extended to watching or having someone assess the youth academy, then long term the club will prove a bargain and his philosophy of promoting a youthful model is hard to argue against.

Short term we have a problem and we lack or are running out of fighters. No Solly and no Wiggins is a big hole, Cort is missed too, and perhaps it’s time to rest Jackson and bring in Hughes to take over the role of inspiring leader.

I wonder also about the ‘keeper. Thuram is not instilling confidence. Hamer is a bit of a flapper, no Petr Cech, but plenty good enough for this level, and a known and trusted quantity amongst his team mates. Thuram isn’t and speaks not a word of English.

There are 18 games left and CP needs to work quickly on integrating the players into a system whilst promoting a can-do attitude. This is about more than the players though, we are all in this together. If you haven’t got a heart for it, then don’t bother, we need followers not deserters.

Addick Bloggers at The Valley: Chris Powell’s Flat Cap; Addicks Championship Diary; Blackheath Addick;