Play-off's if we can bear it Timing is everything and last night I was out with an old Palarse work acquaintance of mine, who now works in New York and was visiting Chicago on business. This trip had been arranged a number of weeks ago and sure enough bragging rights switched and my did he enjoy his moment in the spotlight.

This brings me onto this weekend's play-off's. Southend play tonight and are expected to include James Walker in their line up against Doncaster. It's hard to back anyone else but Leeds in League One, and they are the form team amongst the four candidates. Carlisle at one point led the table and have nose-dived. Steve Tilson has done really well and Southend is a nice little day out for most Addicks plus we haven't met for almost 12 years, however Carlisle holds many memories for me and I would love them to go up.

League Two kicks off on Saturday evening with Darlington v Rochdale. Wycombe play favourites Stockport on Sunday. Dale have played everyone of the last 33 season's in the countries bottom division and for no other reason it would be marvellous if they could go up in their centenary season. A season they have chosen to switch to playing in black & white stripes for the first time in almost 50, other than their usual all blue.

Then if we can bear it there is the Championship play-off's. I heard Warnock on a BBC podcast yesterday smirking that they were the underdogs and all the pressure is on the Hull, Watford and Bristol City. My Palarse mate asked me where he could watch the game in Chicago tomorrow. It begins at 6.15am so obviously I sent him on a wild goose chase north about 5 miles. That should teach him.

Hull and Palarse are the form sides by a country mile, in fact Watford have won only once in 14 games, form worse than ours. Those 35 points in their first 15 games probably kept them up!

Palarse winning promotion would be the final nail in a very rusty coffin, and a bit too much to take. I actually remember a thread on Charlton Life the day before the home game asking 'the double over Palace but no promtion or they thrash us but we still win promotion?' Clearly we weren't thinking straight because the majority could not see beyond that Friday night in February.

That 2-0 Friday night victory when I celebrated like a demented fool at Toronto airport after the score came through on a call from a riotous Royal Oak sure does feel like a long, long time ago.  ¶ 15:22