OK, champions league football would be fantastic, if maybe a little short-lived, but in keeping with Charlton's policy of gradual development I think that we should realistically be looking at a UEFA cup place. Looking at past seasons a target of sixty points should be enough to get us comfortably into Europe. That means 23 more points. Seeing as our away fixtures are against Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Man U, Liverpool, Fulham and Leeds we can't depend on more than a few points there. The good news is that all of our remaining home games are games that we should win. The bad news is that lower teams will no longer see an away game to Charlton as a good chance to pick up a few points and instead will come to the valley looking for a draw so wins may be harder to come by. Still seven wins and a couple of draws should be will within our capabilities and it looks like I might have to start saving up for some trips to the continent.
I agree that the UEFA Cup would be a great stepping stone for the Addicks. I also think that 60 points is doable. Mabye this spring Charlton breaks their curse against Leeds and beats them. I should be possible to snatch a few other points on the road, Charlton has been great away this year.
I'm pumped and looking forward to some action this weekend. I also think the UEFA Cup would be great also. Help wet our appetite for CL. So, how do you qualify for UEFA Cup and CL? And just because I'm interested, how would an SPL team qualify for UEFA Cup and CL? Go Addicks. Beat Bolton.
I hate to break everyone's bubble, but based upon what is happening in the two cups it is unlikely that more than one UEFA Cup position will be available. Case in point, in the Carling Cup only Arsenal is left that are in Champions League positioning. If they lose to Boro or to Bolton, that place will go to two clubs who won't be fighting for Europe let alone finishing in the upper half of the table. As for the FA Cup, Manchester United is still there, but either Chelsea or Arsenal will be eliminated next since they must face each other in the next round. Liverpool is the only other top team left as they knocked out Newcastle. And don't forget that even if a Champions League club wins the Cup the runner-up will be awarded that spot. So if only one of the above CL clubs is in the final then the spot will be awarded to someone that might have finished lower than us. That is how Southampton made it into the UEFA Cup this year. Charlton is presently not leading the Fair Play table for England and there are other non-CL clubs ahead of them so they would get in before Charlton. So, if you want to get into Europe, you better start cheering for all of the clubs I mentioned above. You might hate them, but they might be our only hope to get us into the UEFA Cup.
Good points. I have just been figuring out what was the best solution for Charlton with the different cups.