Charlton envy over Riverside spending.

Byline: By Alex Lowe 

Charlton manager Alan Curbishley will look on enviously as Middlesbrough's star-studded side run out at The Valley today.

Although Charlton recently announced they had made over pounds 11m profit in the last year, Curbishley conceded he would never be in a position to spend the kind of money or attract the calibre of players that Steve McClaren has at Middlesbrough.

While Curbishley was drafting replacements for the likes of Scott Parker and Claus Jenson, whose respective sales contributed heavily to Charlton's profit, McClaren added the likes of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mark Viduka to a squad of growing Premiership stature.

Curbishley explained: "Our philosophy is that we either break even or make a small profit. The Parker money and the Jensen money was the profit.

"We sold our better players and then replaced them. Steve McClaren has added Viduka, Hasselbaink, Ray Parlour and he didn't have to sell to bring them in. That is a different story.

"In my opinion they have gone from a yo-yo club to a real force.

"Their chairman, Steve Gibson, has backed that club to the hilt. I think only Middlesbrough supporters appreciate it.

"He has backed every manager. There are not many clubs that could attract Viduka, Hasselbaink and some of the players that have been through the club like Ravanelli and Juninho.

"Steve Gibson has done a fantastic job and Steve McClaren has taken it on.

"Clubs like us can't attract players like Michael Reizeger and Ray Parlour.

"And I don't think we will be in the position (to start paying big fees). We paid pounds 2.5m for Danny Murphy and I don't think we can pay much more than that for players."

It is a source of frustration for Curbishley, whose new-look side are struggling to match last season's impressive form which culminated in a seventh-place finish.

Charlton's exit from the Carling Cup to a reserve-strength Crystal Palace on Wednesday night was their fourth straight defeat and Curbishley warned that changes will need to be made in the January transfer window unless there is an urgent change in fortunes.