DPL - Charlton Play-off semi final 1st leg

I am sorry this was not put up yesterday as promised.

Having faced all the contenders home and away this season, Nigel Clough says he cannot pick a winner in the League One play-offs – “an interesting headline" I thought, but then I read the next bit “except that he does not think it will be Doncaster Rovers"!

Seriously though, no one could argue with this assessment. However, there has been a lot written and concluded by numerous people on not a great deal of evidence and based, I should think, too on very little knowledge of League 1.

Lee Bowyer is not underestimating his team’s task and you would not expect McCann to say that he expects Rovers to lose. Yet one commentator described his optimistic outlook (discounting the effects of form and momentum) as foolish and nonsense and that he will regret it. What is more naïve is that this person considers that this will be the very cause of our downfall. Rovers players will thereby underestimate the challenge and suffer the same fate as all their recent opponents who have been “brushed aside". And it will be McCann’s fault!

Having revisited some of the full match video of the home match there were some excellent players on show industrious, skilful and are well organised and they looked a good deal better than when I saw them in the November game at The Valley when they seemed to switch off in the second half. Cullen, Aribo and Williams all looked good at the Keepmoat.

When not a great deal is expected, the pressure is usually on the opposition and that must be our biggest, possibly our only psychological advantage, but if the team plays at its best they must have a fair chance of a win to provide something to take into the second leg. Marquis has not had a match where he has taken every chance he has had and perhaps this will be the one.

2-0 then (Marquis) and we will leave the crowd out of the forecast.