Only 90 minutes left of the season, thank God. The Addicks travel to Wycombe, where Nathan Jones' boys will be looking to continue their unbeaten run and finish off a dreadful season in style.

The Addicks have now played 14 matches without losing, which is the club’s longest unbeaten run in 24 years. With that in mind, it is quite bizarre that Charlton will end up 16th or 17th in the table, which will be the club’s worst league finish in 98 years.

Wycombe are in 10th place in the league table, but may drop to 14th if they lose and all other results go against them on Saturday. Like Charlton, Matt Bloomfield’s side had hoped to challenge for the play-offs this season, but they lost form mid-season, only to regain some momentum over the last months. However, 
Wycombe did manage to reach the final of the EFL Trophy, which they lost at Wembley against Peterborough.

Matt Bloomfield uses a 4-2-3-1 formation, so the midfield battle should once again be crucial. Wycome have  several players with bundles of experience, like Joe Jacobson (who plays his 400th game for Wycombe on Saturday, which will also be his last), Sam Vokes, Kieran Sadlier, Josh Scowen and Garath McCleary. There could be some familiar faces involved, too, as ex-Addick Brandon Hanlan and ex-loanee Chem Campbell now ply their trade for Wanderers. Set-piece specialist Luke Leahy is their main danger man, with ten goals and seven assists this season.

Nathan Jones made some changes to his side in last Saturday’s encounter with Shrewsbury. There might be a surprise inclusion or two for this match too, if the gaffer wants to evaluate players he's unsure about for next season, like Conor Wickham or Tyreece Campbell. Still, Jones hasn't come across as a tinkerman when it comes to team selection, so I expect him to return to what seems to be his preferred starting eleven. This means that Daniel Kanu should be back among the starters. Maybe Lucas Ness, who just signed a new contract, will get a rare start, with the future of both Hector and Thomas in doubt.

Win or lose, there is no real drama on the day and very little reason to celebrate another wasted season, apart from the fact that it is finally over. The reverse fixture back in October saw the Addicks record a 3-1 win at the Valley. Leaburn, Tedic and Blackett-Taylor got the goals in what was Michael Appleton’s first home game as Charlton manager. The starting eleven from that game serves as a reminder of how capricious the season has been: Appleton started Abankwah, Louie Watson, Lloyd Jones, Corey Blackett-Taylor (with Tedic and Chem Campbell on the bench), all players who for various reasons will not be involved on Saturday.   
 
At the end of a disappointing season, fans may take some time to reflect on whether the glass is half full or half empty. The resurgence under Nathan Jones has indeed been reassuring. However, Charlton fans have experienced a few false dawns in terms of end-of-season upturns over the last years. Mind you, both Nigel Adkins and Dean Holden left the fans quite optimistic at the end of their first season in charge, only to fail miserably. For now, we can only hope history doesn’t repeat itself, and that Nathan Jones represents a real change in fortunes for this football club. 
 
 
Match prediction: Remarkably, Charlton have drawn 20 out of 45 league games this season. Another draw very much looks on the cards here.

Wycombe Wanderers 1 – Charlton Athletic 1 (May)
 

Artikeln skriven av Jørgen Sørbø, 2024-26-04, 15:31