Tranmere 0 - 4 Charlton

Well, you can't ask for much more than that away from home can you?

I spoke to my Dad just before half time and I tempted fate by asking for more goals to boost our goal difference. I know it's greedy, but when you are two up after 26 minutes you are allowed to hope for another goal or two. In the second we provided what our side has failed to do so many times in recent seasons. We pushed on and killed off the game.

I've seen the goals on the tv, and read a few reports. It sounds like we were well worth a four goal win, which bodes well for the rest of the season. I keep reading that the teams we have beaten are in the bottom half of the table. I am not worried by this as all fledgling tables will have a dramatic effect if you've played one of the top teams early in the season. For example, if Orient or Walsall had beaten us they would now be 8th. If they'd both beaten us they would have been 8th and 9th and we would be just one point above them. If Wycombe had beaten both Leeds and us they would now be goal difference behind 3rd - and they are fifth from bottom.

I am hopeful, but not exactly confident, that Jermaine Beckford will be prised away from Leeds before Wednesday morning. I think this would have a huge difference. I think he is more important for them than any of our players are for us (individually). Either way it does look like we and Leeds are going to be the pace setters. I just cannot see us losing a game right now. I know that is a little arrogant, but on the upside if I'm feeling like this then the players must be full of confidence - the one thing that I, and many others, though was the one vital ingredient missing during our terrible run last season.

There are now no more games until the transfer window closes, so all eyes will not be on that clock that is counting down on Sky Sports News. As I'm going to be under anesthetic during the day, and on maximum levels of morphine in the evening (and probably all night) I'm unlikely to be watching that very closely. However, buy the time I am weened off the drugs on Wednesday we will have a much better idea of what this season has in store for us. I am feeling more and more confident that we will keep most (if not all) of our desirable players. Quite what we will be able to bring in is debatable, but I'm confident that there will be at least one - a centre half.

Despite the sales last summer the current board have always dug deep to support their managers. I have to confess that by last summer I was very worried about the consequences of allowing Pardew to spend any more of the club's future revenues. With Parkinson's renewed credibility (something the board seemed to have long before the fans did) I can see no reason as to why they wouldn't given him a chance to build on his magnificent start to the season. Let's face it, we only have to fund the players' wages until January as we could sell them then or take another long term view hoping that promotion is going to happen.

I would also suggest that most of the players that we could sell will have increased their reputations by January, and as teams at the bottom of the Championship and the Premier League become more desperate the transfer fees could well go up. This does, of course, assume that the board can fund those four/five months without any further investment. It also assumes that the takeover isn't going to happen, or that those interested in the takeover will not make investments into the club with the current board staying on.

I can see this as a perfect solution to the current board. Have someone else put money in to bank role the club (that they have taken from the Premier League to the third division in three seasons) until it wins promotion and their shareholding rises. Maybe that is what will happen. Maybe that is what the current board have wanted from the start. I have no idea, but by the time I come to on Wednesday I will have more idea about what really matters to me, and that's the playing staff we are guaranteed to have until January, at least.

The subject of loans has come to the fore again. I think we have relied too much on loan players during the Pardew reign. This was always going to be a feature of his management, he likes to change the side a lot. On that basis, the club are better to keep allowing him to bring players in on loan as if he'd been allowed to sign permanently all the players he played we'd have spent more money than Chelsea on transfer fees.

Parkinson has used loans when that was all that was available. He clearly wants to sign permanent players, but will use loans where necessary. Where I like to see the loan system used is to bring in players that are quality, young, fully fit but not good enough to get any first team activity with their current team. Alex Song was one of these, Martin Waghorn was another (all be it a lot less successful).

There must be a young centre half that cannot get a game at his Premier League club that would benefit massively from a season playing alongside Christian Dailey. This is where I think we should be looking for loan players. There might even be a decent striker that we can 'borrow' from one of the top London sides. Even if he is only going to get games, that has got to be of benefit to the player and his club?

I'm not saying let's sign five or six players on loan and guarantee their clubs that they will play every week, but we should also not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Anyway this is likely to be my last post for a little while as I will only have the use of one arm by Wednesday, and will probably be feeling very sorry for myself. I will be back, all be it I will be likely to write much more condensed posts for a while.

Let's hope that we all feel as confident about this season on Wednesday as I do now.

Up the Addicks!