AS one more player of the year was getting set to pack his bags, another gave a reminder of why Blackburn Rovers would find it an altogether tougher proposition to replace him.

One-paced Rovers will miss Markus Olsson and his raids down the left. Just as they are missing the moments of inspiration that Tom Cairney could conjure and which have been sorely lacking in a winless league run which now stands at seven matches.

But they did get good money for the midfielder and it looks like they will get good money for the full-back too, especially considering he can walk away for free in six months’ time.

Cairney and Olsson were and are far from surplus to requirements at Rovers. The former was sold above Gary Bowyer’s head in order to get the embargo lifted while the wheels were in motion for the latter’s impending departure before Paul Lambert’s arrival.

Both, however, are replaceable. Yet can the same be said of Jordan Rhodes? I’d argue not, certainly not at this present juncture.

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If Venky’s decide to cash in on the one true hero the club has left then it could provide Lambert with the funds needed to rebuild a squad which under-achieved last season and, minus Cairney, Rudy Gestede and in all likelihood, Olsson now too, have toiled this time around.

But Rovers’ position in the Championship would be more precarious if it had not been for the man whose 85th goal in 169 appearances for the club earned the very bare minimum required here.

Rhodes’ quality strike, which was out of keeping with what had come before it, means he has now scored 42 per cent of his side’s league goals in 2015-16, and that is taking into account his recent nine-game drought.

But now the striker is back in the groove Venky’s must resist any offers that may come their way between now and next Monday before reassessing the situation in the summer.

As if Rovers are going to continue to create so few clear-cut chances then they will need the Championship’s leading marksman over the last four seasons on the end of them.

And, while it is early days, it looks like Lambert may have found a foil for Rhodes.

Danny Graham’s encouraging debut display was not eye-catching and he did not go close to marking it with a goal.

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But, before he was replaced by lively substitute Simeon Jackson, who brought some much needed speed to proceedings, he led the line well and got through a lot of work on and off the ball.

That said apart from the equaliser, and another late opportunity for Rhodes, which Stephen Henderson reacted smartly to save after a Jackson through ball, the front two were starved of quality service.

Craig Conway got into countless good crossing positions yet, by his usual high standards, his delivery let him down.

But even as consistent a performer as Conway, who saw an early second-half header from an Elliott Bennett centre saved, is going to have off days.

Little wonder, then, that Lambert wants to sign a player who can unlock defences as deep-lying as the ones Rovers are encountering most weeks.

But they still should have offered so much more going forward, particularly in a poor first half, against a Charlton team who had lost their previous two matches 6-0 and 5-0.

Backed by fans who mixed emphatic support for their players with vociferous opposition to their owners, the Addicks did not look like a side without a win in 11 games.

But it should not have taken Rovers until the end of the opening period, when Rhodes rose to head in a superb Adam Henley cross to make it two goals in as many matches, 11 for the season, and seven in his last four appearances against Charlton, to register their first shot on target.

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And it should not have taken them until the start of the second period, when they threatened to put their opponents’ fragile confidence to the test, to play with real tempo and intensity.

Rovers also have a problem at the other end of the field with Harry Lennon’s 30th-minute opener meaning they have now fallen behind to a poorly defended goals in their last six league outings.

They were too deep for Johann Gudmundsson’s initial free kick and Chris Taylor’s clearance to Lennon was nowhere powerful enough.

But, thanks to Rhodes, at least they did not lose, and the draw did move them a point further clear of the relegation places.

They, however, are small mercies. Improvement is needed.