I rarely attempt to catch the 0824 as it's nearly always late and too crowded to board. The 0831 is usually a couple of minutes behind, and I can usually get on that (and very occassionally find a seat) - sometimes it even overtakes the delayed 0824 on the approach to London Bridge.

I agree that 0824 does seem prone to delay in general, but I think delays have been exacerbated the past week or so by 'track adhesion problems', previously known as leaves on the line.