Blinding Start From Sandgaard

Like I suspect every other Addick I’ve been spending the period since the final whistles blew quietly hoping for a miracle and relegation to still be avoided, periodically fuming over the ‘decisions’ of the EFL and its independent groupings conspiring to prevent such a miracle (and still from time to time over the sheer bad luck when it came to stoppage time goals that put us in such a position), and racking my brain to try to fathom out – in the absence of any inside info but an overload of speculation and comment from those who may or may not currently own us - some viable path to our club having decent owners, whether or not this would involve administration (a price worth paying for such an outcome), and whether being kicked out of the league would be avoided (OK, too high a price).

In this situation best I think to start with what are the priorities. First and foremost, obviously enough, is for us to have a club to support. Not a given as the clock is ticking down to the start of the new season with no guarantee as things stand that we would be allowed to participate. Second, to have an owner/owners we can be confident aren’t in it for a fast buck (or a slower one involving getting us out of The Valley), or indeed some madcap (or worse) plan to show the world how clever they are. Until that is the case success on the pitch is almost bound to be short-lived - and let’s face it we’ve had more than a decade of justified mistrust through to outright anger at the owners of our club, even if that period has contained two promotions. To say that the chances of positive outcomes on these two fronts – after which all other objectives, including avoiding administration are decidedly secondary - have ebbed and flowed over recent weeks would be something of an understatement.

We know the situation and background, but just to underline the tragi-comedy has there ever been a case before of a football club which may currently be owned by any one of three different parties, two of which would like to sell it asap (and one of the two involving two individuals no longer talking to each other) and the third is incapable of securing EFL approval, while two parties (now presumably one as the Varney/Barclay option is at best on hold) stand ready to take on the club and buy its assets if a way through can be found?

Nevertheless, have we finally struck lucky with Thomas Sandgaard? The best evidence (for me) for believing that we indeed have is provided in the 17-minute Sky interview. For a number of reasons.

First, it’s clear from what he says he isn’t coming into football ownership on a whim, or to prove some theory, or has been sold on Charlton by some go-between. Somebody clearly did plant the idea in his head of buying a football club, which took seed, but Sandgaard indicates something of a selection process which involved looking at – and talking to - a variety of clubs (if memory serves correct he mentions Sunderland, Swansea, QPR and Wigan in addition to us). He comes across as someone who once he makes up his mind follows through on the decision and he has selected us, based on the opportunity potential (versus price). From the tone of his interview I’d be confident that despite all the obstacles to a deal he will only walk away if all avenues have been explored and exhausted. For that alone we have cause for optimism.

Second, it looks as though he finds ways to get things done. He’s managed to get Duchatelet involved and talking to him, something which others have been unable to do (most obviously Peter Varney, whether or not this is due to the work of Richard Murray). When he found the normal avenues not open he made his interest public and engaged with supporters, pushing open the doors, without alienating those involved. And whatever the real truth of the matter in the interview he talks respectfully of those other parties. Tells me he is more interested in cutting the right deal than massaging his ego.

Third, no question he’s sharp as a tack. One question in the interview was (deliberately or not) a little vague, dealing with the club’s current financial situation. Sandgaard was asked if being able to conclude a deal in principle (seemingly now the immediate objective, ahead of clarification from the courts over whether Paul Elliott did indeed take us over) might pave the way to him providing some funds. Straight off he replied that it would be normal to wait until the ink is dried on an actual deal (which indeed it would) while then not entirely ruling out the possibility under certain conditions. He could easily have slipped up and said something he might later need to clarify/withdraw.

Fourth, I don’t mind admitting I almost burst out with unbridled joy when in the interview Sandgaard talked of already learning so much from his involvement with Charlton. Contrast this with the approach of Duchatelet, who obviously knew everything there was to know before he came knocking at our door. With him our job was to turn up, cheer on the team, and provide loyal and unquestioned backing for his daft plans. He would never want to talk to fans as there was clearly nothing he could possibly learn (and in any event he had his boy with a laptop to tell him which players to buy and to select). Sandgaard gave the impression that he was looking forward to the challenge, that he will get enjoyment from it and benefit from it personally. I always found it rather sad that Duchatelet never seemed to derive any pleasure from his involvement in football, one reason I’d suggest that he is so bad at it.

If there was an area in the interview to quibble over it could be Sandgaard’s suggestion that our owners have fallen out with the fans as they failed to deliver on promises – and that by implication it might take some time for him to build trust. The level of anger and protests against Duchatelet were not based on results. They reflected his refusal to treat fans as stakeholders in the club, with an input that could be valuable, and the contempt he showed for our club by making it part of his ill-thought out experiments (along with several other related reasons). Such an attitude ensured that fans’ goodwill – of which there was plenty back in 2014 – rapidly evaporated.

In this context Sandgaard’s made a blinding start. We do want our club, and him, to succeed – which means progress, however slowly or rapidly. He’s made reassuring comments about The Valley, about Lee Bowyer and his team, about the club staff etc. The goodwill on our part is already there. We might quibble about prioritising getting back to the Championship (assuming we are no longer in it) over playing attacking football (obviously both would be great) and there are bound to be problems and areas of disagreement if he becomes owner. But I hope he doesn’t underestimate that Charlton fans are sick of protesting, we did it because we had to, for the good of the club and want nothing more than to be able to focus on matters on the pitch.

That said, were I in London I’d be at The Valley on Saturday to join in the Trust-organised protest. There is much as yet unresolved and, with our hopes having been raised again, were a deal for a Sandgaard takeover to fall through we would be in a very sorry situation (another understatement). It is still fingers-crossed for now.

I should perhaps add that unlike most other Addicks (I assume) I’ve been following recent events while tramping around the vineyards of Beaujolais and Burgundy. I timed my first trip to France since February to enable me to self-isolate if necessary and then head off with my partner Suzanne to places close enough to Lyon not to fall foul of any fresh travel restrictions. But all of that (including the attractions of certain Beaujolais appellations and the delights of a week in a windmill at the top of a hill with panoramic views of the Chalonnaise countryside, including the Givry and Mercurey vineyards) is for another day, probably one following my prospective two weeks of self-isolation on my return to the UK (another price worth paying). Stay safe.

Barnsley's Stoppage Time Miracles

Believe me I’ve nothing in particular against Barnsley (apart from the obvious, that it voted for Brexit). I was at Oakwell when we won 6-0. As Palace fans once sang at The Valley, ‘who’s effin’ laughing now?’. They deserve the plaudits for staying up; I admit when it came to looking at the permutations with a few rounds left I’d written them off (Bowyer had not), given who they were going to play and their points total. But have people really taken on board how outrageously lucky they were? I don’t know who they were praying to over the last week or so but I’d like to know for a rainy day.

They win at home against Notts Forest with a 93rd minute goal. They scored the crucial goal relatively early last night, grabbing the utterly unlikely winner away at Brentford in the 91st minute. OK, fair play to them, they got the breaks (and a goal in stoppage time to win a game always amounts to getting the breaks). But what else did they need to stay up?

Birmingham’s 93rd minute equaliser against us denied us two points. With those points we would have finished above Birmingham and Barnsley in 20th, they would have ended on the same points and same goal difference but with Birmingham above Barnsley having scored more (and Birmingham would surely have gone into their final game with a different attitude if they needed something out of it to stay up, as they would have done).

That’s not all. We scored our equaliser against Wigan in the 92nd minute. If Bonne had missed, sure we would have had one point less and still gone down, but Wigan would have had two points more – and stayed up at Barnsley’s expense even with their points deduction.

In other words, at the conclusion of the season four stoppage time goals, two of which had nothing to do with them, were all required to go their way for them to stay up. One of them doesn’t happen and they would be down instead of us (or Wigan). Just think of the odds. Four points went begging for teams above them and they garnered an extra four.

When they come to write the book about great escapes from relegation this has to be right up there for the odds involved, especially when you add in the fact that Barnsley’s last-gasp goals cost Notts Forest a play-off place and Brentford possibly automatic promotion (they would have needed a winner themselves to finish second). If anybody mentions Barnsley in the foreseeable future I am just going to go off on one. Especially as a fellow Addick has just reminded me that Barnsley also scored a stoppage-time winner at The Den.

We Know Where The Fault Lies

I’ve watched games before when you are focused just as much as on another result; I’m not sure I’ve watched one when progressively through the first 45 minutes everything – from all four games relevant for us - fell apart around you. We were getting soundly beaten, but more important Wigan were beating Fulham and Luton were ahead against Blackburn, sending us into the relegation zone. And just to round things off, before the break Barnsley went ahead against Brentford. It was absurd, we were 45 minutes away from disaster.

For the record after the half-time changes we threatened to get one back against Leeds, but once their third went in from a corner we were past caring about the game we were watching. Luton were now running away with things at home to Blackburn and it was all about Wigan/Fulham and Brentford/Barnsley. We needed both to turn around to stay up.

Cruelly they did. Fulham equalised at Wigan, then Brentford equalised against Barnsley. That would do it (even though Leeds had a fourth by then). And we were keeping our necks above water until another stoppage time goal. I’d feared Wigan winning but Barnsley at Brentford? After they won against Notts Forest in stoppage time? It happened. We were relegated.

Stoppage-time goals. We would have stayed up but for Birmingham’s equaliser, Barnsley’s two winners against Forest and Brentford. When all’s said and done, after the resumption we got ourselves into the position where one more win would have done it. Instead we lost tamely to Millwall and to Reading, both at home, then failed to beat Birmingham and Wigan. We just couldn’t haul ourselves over the line, while Luton and Barnsley – to their credit – did, and Sheff Wed – to the shame of the EFL – didn’t get a points deduction in time.

OK, it’s done. We now have to be ready to do what we can to ensure our club is in existence for next season. Those of us so long in the tooth know that the third flight is not where we belong, but it is somewhere we can – and will – escape from again. But sorting out the ownership situation is a prerequisite for any progress and that is the priority now.

Presumably Bowyer will be on his way (let’s hope not but you wouldn’t blame him). As long as he doesn’t take Jackson with him you make Jackson his successor. But just who makes such a decision is what has to be resolved first. We know that we will be there to support the return, next time in a fashion which gives us a decent platform to progress rather than trying to wing it like this season. But that's for tomorrow. Tonight we are entitled, like Bowyer and the players, to lick our wounds. Because we shared a common goal and did our best, only to be let down by those who look to make a fast buck and those who will sell to those that do. We know where the fault lies. 

One More Effort

What is there to say about tomorrow evening? All Addicks will already have the permutations left imprinted in their minds and we’re all aware that we may end the day still not knowing if we will be relegated or not. No pain no gain? Perhaps. We know there’s going to be plenty of pain, for us fans and for the players, who will have to work the legs off Leeds if we are to prevail. So let’s stick to what we (think we) know – and please correct me if any of the following is wrong!

As far as points deductions are concerned, what I believe from the EFL statement and other posts/reports is that we can forget about Sheff Wed or Derby dropping into the mix for this season. If their disciplinary commissions give either/both a points deduction sufficient to put them in the bottom three, they appeal. Irrespective of the outcome of an appeal, the process would take us beyond the mid-August EFL AGM, which I’m led to believe marks the formal end of the season. So any points deductions would apply next season, not this. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that they would appeal if the alternative is relegation (and that they won’t bother if they are safe).

Wigan’s situation is different. They will end tomorrow’s games outside the bottom three and so will take a 12-points deduction for going into administration. But that deduction is subject to an appeal, scheduled for 31 July. If Wigan end tomorrow’s games outside the bottom three even with the 12 points deducted, they drop the appeal. Otherwise, whoever ends up fourth from bottom will have to wait longer for finality. Of course if Wigan end tomorrow night in the bottom three and go on to win an appeal against the points deduction, presumably the club set to be relegated instead of them will be exploring (quickly) every available legal avenue.

We know that if we win at Leeds we are safe (conceivably there is still our own EFL investigation, but we could pull the appeal trick too). Obviously if we don’t win we can forget about anyone above us (not including Wigan). If we draw, we will be relegated (along with Hull and Barnsley) if Luton and Wigan both win their games. If we draw and Luton do not win, we are safe (Hull, Barnsley, Luton/Wigan). If we draw, Luton win but Wigan do not, we would occupy that fourth from bottom spot and stay up if Wigan’s appeal is rejected (Barnsley could match our points total but surely not overturn the goal difference under this scenario).

If we lose, we require either Luton to lose and Barnsley not to win (in which case we are safe, period) or Wigan and Barnsley not to win (fourth-bottom again, waiting on the appeal). So although Barnsley’s game is still material, for us it only comes into play if we lose, enabling Barnsley to go above us if they win. Of course if we lose and Barnsley win, we still stay up if Luton lose and Wigan do not win (fourth-bottom again).

If I had the time I’d do a proper critical path analysis. But putting odds on these games is the bookies’ business. Some salient factors could be that if West Brom are winning 6-0 at half-time at home to QPR and have secured automatic promotion, will Fulham and Brentford continue to bust a gut? It is a worry, so let’s hope QPR do us a favour (whether or not they stop West Brom from going up is irrelevant here, they need to be in with a shout to keep Fulham and Brentford interested).

There’s no point either in deliberating on how up for the game Leeds will be. We have a greater motivation than them, it’s a fact. We have to make sure we capitalise on that and run them into the ground. At the same time we’ve developed a nasty habit of starting games pretty poorly. At Birmingham we could easily have been a couple down in the first 10 minutes, we also gave Reading and Wigan a goal start. Cannot have that tomorrow night, let's be at it from the start. We have all summer to rest up, one more effort.

Game Framed By Two Bonne Chances

There’s not much point when so much was at stake in talking in terms of who deserved what from the game. Both teams will look back on it and feel overall they could have taken the three points, both will be aware that on another day they could easily have taken nothing. In midweek we were unable to see out the game and come away with an away win, today it was Wigan conceding in stoppage time. In the end the game was framed by the two chances that fell to Bonne. Having equalised he had the gilt-edged opportunity to put us 2-1 up and fluffed it; then in stoppage time he had his second chance and put it away. If the outcome is different in either instance everything would look different now (and let’s face it, if he’d missed the second one, arguably the more difficult, he would not be Mr Popular tonight).

The team news saw Bowyer revert to a 5-3-2 with Sarr coming in to join Lockyer and Pearce and Matthews and Doughty the wing-backs. In central midfield, with Pratley now out, Cullen was joined by Field and Forster-Caskey, while up front the surprise move was giving Davidson a starting spot alongside Bonne. On the bench it was a case of every available forward player taking his place (I can only think of Otzumer missing out) with just two defenders (Purrington and Oshilaja) available. It almost screamed out we know we might find ourselves in desperate need of a goal towards the end.

When it comes to goals, we repeated the trick against Reading and gifted the opposition an early one, with a combination of awful defending and very bad luck giving us just the start we didn’t want. I think it was Doughty or Pearce faffing around with the ball inside our area and playing a poor ball out under pressure which was picked up by them. The cross was met with a decent header and at close range Phillips parried well, only to see the ball then hit his foot, rebound to hit his head, then loop up under the bar for another of theirs to nod into the net.

Just horrible and, despite what had been a decent start to the game by us, you feared what might happen for a team struggling to score against one on a fine run of form with a defence giving away nothing. But what do we know? Within a couple of minutes we were level. Sarr sprayed a pass out to the right and Matthews put in a decent cross. It dropped towards Doughty at the far side of the box. Didn’t look especially dangerous but he swung his left foot at it and connected on the volley. Their keeper may have been caught by surprise but failed to make the save.

Wigan looked decidedly rattled after that, probably wasn’t in their script. In fact the period to half-time was very open and we should have scored again, getting success out of pressing high and winning back possession – although Wigan clearly carried a threat too, especially with their pacey No3, and with notably players getting joy coming into the box on our left side. Our midfield was working pretty well, Davidson was doing a good job of holding and harrying. And then there was Sarr. He brought the ball out down our left and looked up. Nothing seemed on so he took it a little further. Then he played the pass of the season to Bonne to run through on goal. Bonne controlled it well and had the time to set himself. Perhaps too much time as he wasted the opportunity with a tame finish which their keeper easily smothered. It was one which called out for a forward to decide what to do (or really to know in advance what he would do in that situation). It would have been meat and drink to Super Clive.

We continued to press, a cross scrambled away by a defender and their keeper, a corner not quite falling for Sarr at the far post, and we had a couple of appeals for a penalty. In both cases it looked as though there was contact but was there enough? Really have to see the replays. We are perhaps due one but this ref wasn’t interested. We were on top and really needed to get in front before the break to capitalise. Instead we conceded again. There were chances with tackles to regain possession as their No3 advanced down our right side but he held on and had the pace to take advantage. When the cross came in it was in that danger area on the left side of our box, their guy got to it first ahead of Sarr desperately trying to cover and scored.

That goal really did seem to deflate us in the final minutes of the first half. The players had put in so much effort in that spell for no reward and to go behind was a real kick in the teeth. It looked like a tough ask for Bowyer to get the team properly set up mentally for the crucial second half.

Two changes were made at the break, perhaps with an injury involved, with Field and Forster-Caskey making way for Williams and Morgan. Not long into the second half Aneke made his appearance for Davidson, who had given a good account of himself without getting any sniff of a chance to score.

Wigan were by now clearly playing in a more conservative fashion and the game was tighter as a result. The onus was of course on us and they probably felt they could sooner or later repeat their second goal and put the game beyond us. That didn’t happen but we were struggling to create opportunities. Williams won a free kick outside the box which Sarr took, forcing a save from their keeper, who also palmed away a cross to the far post which looked destined for Aneke, while Pearce – who was by now struggling on with an injury – headed over from a corner. Indeed, with about 10 minutes of normal time left he gave way for McGeady – and you felt we were getting into desperation mode.

It was getting more ragged and it seemed typical that the clock for 90 minutes ran out with Cullen on the ground being treated. Wigan were looking if not comfortable better able than us at Birmingham to run down the clock. Instead, out of the blue really, we got the leveller. A ball forward from Matthews was flicked on by Aneke and dropped to Bonne inside their box. Just how Wigan allowed him that space is something for their manager to bother about. This time Bonne had to react quickly and did, curling his effort into the far corner. It was a finish which for calmness and composure completely contrasted with the earlier miss.

That goal sparked a final few minutes when we might have nicked a winner, with Wigan looking confused as to whether they should go all out for another or look to take the point, and we finished off with a couple of corners which led to nothing.

At the end we didn’t (and still don’t) know whether to cheer or cry. That will be conditioned by the Hull-Luton result. The point could end up being massive or count for nothing. We will only know for sure on Wednesday.

Possibilities Narrowing But Still All To Play For

It's been a morning for the calculators as with now really just two rounds left the possibilities are inevitably narrowing. I think Bowyer has it right that if we had held on for the win last night we would, on 49 points and with a better goal difference than those around us, probably have been safe. We didn’t, so what are the odds?

I’m informed that Betfair has us staying up, above Barnsley, Hull and Luton (but below Wigan). Don’t know what points assumptions lie behind that, and of course the bookies only deal in probabilities (and money wagered), not forecasts per se. And that’s not the outcome I’d say was likely.

Let’s leave aside Barnsley, given their final three fixtures and position – although no doubt they will go and win at Leeds tonight. I have Luton to beat Hull, Hull then to lose at Cardiff, and on 45 points they take the second relegation spot. Luton, if they beat Hull, would have a home game against Blackburn to win to stay up. Entirely possible. Then we have Huddersfield. If they lose at home to West Brom, which you would say is likely (but no more than that), we have to rely on the Spanners finally doing us a favour and beating them in the final round. That would leave them on 48 points, with a worse goal difference than us.

That leaves us and Wigan. All you can say at this stage is that if we beat Wigan I’d say we are 95% likely to stay up, with 50 points looking like enough. Only problem is that Wigan will of course be aware that if we do beat them they are most likely down, as even victory in their final game at home to Fulham would leave them (assuming the 12-point deduction) on 48 points, then hoping that Huddersfield blow it. A draw for us against Wigan and I’d say we are 60% likely to go down, with survival probably dependent on Huddersfield losing their final two games, or Wigan losing their last one. We could always get something at Leeds on the final day but it would be against the odds.

So 48 points for us could conceivably prove enough for us, but is so dependent on other results that it probably would not be. And of course our game against Wigan will be over before Hull and Luton kick off, both of them will start with a better idea of what they need to stay up (most likely even a win will not be enough for Hull, given their now much worsened goal difference, a win for Luton and they could smell survival, a draw and it’s probably curtains for both – which would be fine by us of course). If we lose to Wigan you’d have to say we’re 90% likely to go down, needing probably to win at Leeds to stay up, depending on the other results.

There’s no questioning the character and commitment of the squad, they’ve demonstrated that since the restart. But this is now also about nerve, trust and confidence. The ability to remain calm and to focus when the chances come along, and to remain calm and organised when looking to see out a game. On both those fronts we have come up short too often.

I’ve seen the criticism of Bowyer’s substitutions, but for me there’s too much hindsight involved here. At the resumption it was assumed that players would need to be rotated (and subbed) due to lack of fitness. We’ve now since 20 June played seven games, seven in three-and-a-half weeks, with two more to come in a week. Clearly there are a lot of tired limbs during games. Add in the complicated mix of how many substitutions you can make in how many changes and I don’t know how anyone can say they got it right – or wrong. You can’t repeat the experiment. If you cough up points in the final minutes (Brentford, Birmingham) you come in for flak, if you see the game out (Hull, QPR, Cardiff) you are deemed to have got it right.

Of course none of this matters. Saturday is a showdown, a high noon shootout. Depending on the outcome, on Wednesday we either play the part of the Forlorn Hope (or to please my partner Suzanne les enfants perdus) or join Leeds for a party.

Cruel At The Death

What can you say? A few minutes away from a famous victory against an increasingly desperate team resorting to intimidation only to have two of the three points snatched away. A neutral might say that both sides had the opportunities to win the game and both sides failed to take most of them, with over the whole game a draw perhaps a fair result. Birmingham could have been clear in the first five minutes and didn’t score from the spot; having gone ahead we hit the post and had another good chance to double our lead. But we’re not neutrals and nothing matters at the moment than an equaliser which has left us right up against it.

Bowyer opted for what looked like a straight 4-4-2 with Doughty in at left-back to replace Oshilaja, while in midfield Cullen and Field were paired in the central slots, Pratley on the bench, with McGeady and Williams the wider men, while Hemed and Bonne resumed what we hoped would be a burgeoning partnership with the addition of goals up front.

We started in awful fashion, nervous and disjointed, and Birmingham had maybe three good scoring opportunities in the first five minutes, with Doughty caught out for one of them. It could have been game over before we’d got into any sort of stride. But unlike against Reading we managed to get through that period without conceding and we did begin to come into it more, with Doughty, McGeady and Williams causing them problems, even though the front two were winning nothing in the air. Remarkably Williams went over with his first two touches and the ref gave nothing, although normal service was soon resumed. And after about 15 minutes we had a great chance to open the scoring, with Matthews whipping in the cross from the right and Williams just failing to get something on it at the far post.

Around the half-hour and it was looking evenly balanced, but then we gifted them a golden opportunity to take the lead. Cullen had the ball at his feet outside our box but seemed to get knocked off balance and ended up prodding it back, into the path of their forward. Phillips came out to try to cover and the ball was prodded over him, looked to me like it was being shepherded out for a goal kick. But their guy’s momentum took him into Phillips and he managed to leave something trailing as he jumped over and duly went to ground. For me it wasn’t a penalty but the ref saw it differently, giving Phillips a yellow. I fail to see exactly what he could have done to get out of the way, other than to stand and watch their guy put it into the net.

There was some justice as Phillips plunged to his right and blocked the spot kick. The rebound looked like a sitter but their guy couldn’t get over it and lofted it over the bar. Great save but also an enormous let-off in a game in which the first goal was always going to be crucial.

We saw it through to the break and it was still all to play for. We might have scored once or twice but after our poor start and a penalty miss we were well aware that things could have been a lot worse.

The second half started with another escape for us as Phillips pulled off a blinding save from a shot through a crowd of players. But it was us who broke the deadlock, around the hour mark, with a truly splendid, well-worked goal. Williams did well to keep possession on our left side and played a ball forward inside their defender for Doughty to run on to. He managed to get there, took it to the by-line and squared it, creating a tap-in for Bonne.

When the screaming died down we had something tangible to hold onto, although not surprisingly Birmingham raised the tempo in response, making a couple of changes. Aneke came on for Hemed and soon after we came within a whisker of extending our lead as more good work down the left ended with the ball squared to McGeady, who cut inside and stroked one which may have taken a deflection off their defender but ended up coming back off the post. And not long after another good chance went begging as Bonne found himself with another cross to convert only this time the goalkeeper was there to parry. One of those where as a fellow Addick commented you wanted him to put the ball, himself and the keeper into the net.

As the clocked ticked down it was Birmingham getting more desperate – and more violent. Challenges were now being made with something left in, including what looked like a clearly swung elbow into Lockyer’s face, leaving him bleeding from the nose. The ref chose to have seen nothing. We brought on Morgan, Pratley and Purrington for Williams, Field and Doughty and with Birmingham relying on long throws it was backs to the wall.

Nevertheless, we were two minutes into seven minutes of stoppage time before the cruel blow. Phillips parried a shot at the near post and it went to their big guy, the one I think who’d left Lockyer bleeding and went away unpunished, who scuffed something which ended up nestling in the far corner.

There was never much chance of us being able to threaten a second in the time left and Birmingham were reasonably content to take a point, one which for so long had looked beyond them. They emerge from the game knowing they may already have enough points and certain that another two would see them survive. We all know what that late equaliser means for us. We now surely have to beat Wigan on Saturday, with Hull playing Luton.

We were hard done by tonight but there were times when we could easily have been behind, not just the penalty. Having got in front we hit the post and had another chance to seal the win. Instead just when we were starting to think of being two places higher it was taken away from us, by a team which deserved nothing for their conduct when they started to get desperate. Let’s see what the world looks like in the morning because we are going to have to go again on Saturday, against a team which in terms of form is on fire but which also knows that if they lose to us they will probably be relegated.