Post-Leeds and Pre-Barnet Musings

I'll take that. After the calamity of Colchester, the trek to Leeds looked an even more daunting one. So to come away with a clean sheet and a point from the toughest test we are likely to face this season is pretty pleasing.

As I expected, Miguel Llera was replaced by Sam Sodje and, according to reports, the Nigerian international put in a faultless display. The defence has looked a bit shaky in recent weeks so being able to shut out Jermaine Beckford and his talented partner Luciano Becchio should give our rearguard a real boost.

The draw has allowed a couple of our closest challengers to move nearer to us; wins for Colchester and MK Dons mean they are just three and four points behind us respectively, though Chris Dickson could not inspire high-flying Bristol Rovers to another win as they were thumped 5-1 by a resurgent Norwich at Carrow Road.

Play-off hopefuls Oldham and Huddersfield are our next two fixtures, both at the Valley, so provided we take a plethora of points from those two games, our recent less-than-sparkling spell won't hit us too hard.

Before then, though, the Addicks will dip into the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for the first time in their history to take on London rivals Barnet. It will be interesting to see what kind of team Parky selects. As while it is paramount that nothing gets in the way of our promotion ambitions, we have a real chance of getting to Wembley and that should not be scoffed at. Your trophy cabinet, especially ours, is never too full.