Bournemouth can take something from The Potteries

I thought the Charlton v Doncaster match last week would never end and it was still going on as Charlotte Green read out the classified results in Sports Report. I suppose we were spoiled by James Alexander Gordon, whose intonation let you know where you stood before the scoreline was completed. Charlotte Green will not suddenly acquire that skill after quite a long time in the job and she lacks any sort of authority but I suppose people have got used to it.

Charlton held on to their single-goal advantage, which made for a winning day, but I must say I hope Fulham, who rescued a point late on against Preston, pick up soon.

In the Premier League this weekend, I expect Crystal Palace to make things difficult for Newcastle and build on the major improvement they showed against Chelsea last week. Newcastle should have beaten Southampton but handed them a totally unnecessary penalty, resulting in a 2-2 draw. The Saints played two up at last and looked a bit more dangerous but the bookmakers continue to get them wrong and I would not take a shade of odds-on against West Brom – not that the weather forecast on the south coast promises any sort of spectacle apart from a bizarre one.

Bournemouth are quite a bit better than their league position suggests and they have already played two or three of the top teams. They have a fine manager in Eddie Howe and I doubt they will be in jeopardy a few months from now. I’d be looking for a price on the Asian market when they visit Stoke, who look ordinary to me and rely heavily on the considerable skills of Shaqiri. BOURNEMOUTH to win with the draw no bet is the way forward here.

BRENTFORD are picking up without anyone bar their nearest and dearest noticing and they may well account for a hapless Sunderland in the Championship. The visitors remind me of Southampton, who struggled almost immediately when dropping out of the Premier League and needed a major benefactor, the late Markus Liebherr, to start turning things around. The Championship is a war of attrition from August to May and I’d say Brentford are the better equipped to handle it.

I’m a sucker for the draw, even the 1-1 draw, in a local derby and that’s the way I view Ipswich v Norwich, which kicks off at lunchtime on Sunday.

Newcastle v Crystal Palace 15 units THE DRAW at 5/2

Crystal Palace, Football News, Ian Carnaby, Newcastle