A short personal end of year review

Well I was going to write an extensive personal end of year review but really didn't have enough to write about apart from
1 Being in the Championship is bloody painful
2 TV and press coverage is crap
3 The team is not good enough by a country mile
4 The standard of the Championship has actually surprised me
5 There are far too many matches
6 Its nice trying to play pretty football but for gods sake we need to get out of this division
7 The jury's out on Pardews purchases
8 22 matches left and for automatic promotion we need to win at least 15 of those
9 The Premiership is the only place to play
10 I must keep remembering where we came from- constantly.

The first part of the season has been a roller coaster and the big plus for me has been reading all the Charlton Blogs regularly and meeting some of them at Legends and realising how great the majority of Charlton supporters are.
Have a fantastic New Year
Todays result Leicester 0 Charlton 2 Varney Dickson

Charlton Rugby league1 Hull Kingston Rovers 1

Well , after a great Bloggers lunch, the best so far and to discover Sam Lloyd really is a girl who knows how to throw a G string around, the supposed highlight, the match, turned out to be the party pooper of all time and disappoint everyone.
What a damp squib the match was . Charlton never looked like winning, the only crumb of comfort I can find, McCarthy is a player that will fill a defensive gap and provide some sought of reassurance for the future. A sad indictment is the best player on the park is a first half substitute.
The fans tried to motivate and a good attendance of over 22.000 deserved better.
Head football with more drop kicks that the average rugby league match is the best way to describe today's proceedings .
Hull looked more like the home team and their keeper did not have to make a save all match, so a draw was all we deserved. The plonker of all time has to be Mills who looked as though he was looking for an early Christmas holiday from the start, as he never stopped verballing the referee . Here are my marks out of ten not five.
Weaver 5 Some good saves but really does fail to inspire when dealing with crosses a bit like Dracula. (bet you've never heard that one before)
Powell 5 As professional as ever and was furious with Mills but as ever the nicest bloke in football gave him a hug as he trooped off.
Sodgi 5 Injured very early and on his way back to Reading via the dressing room. Certainly gave a 100% in his time at Charlton.
McCarthy 8 Played well
Mills -1 Such a stupid iriot and spoiled a good relationship with the fans who booed him as he waved goodbye.
Bouugherra 6 Did Ok and scored the equiliser
Holland 5 Tried his best but hes not the answer
Ambrose 2 Was he actually playing today, he might as well not have been, so frustrating.
Zhi 4 A Match to forget
Thomas 4 Ditto
Sam 4 ditto
Iwelumo 4 ditto
Semedo 6 Tried
Mcleod 5 Tried

Fans rating Let me out of here I need a holiday.

Bah' Humbug-The Season of goodwill-lets hope Charlton think otherwise

Well I have just about recovered from the pre-excess of Christmas, with working all the hours I can and two or three Christmas parties.
The defeat to West Brom I found very painful and unfortunately the scoreline flattered us, but hey its another week and I am looking forward to the Bloggers Christmas lunch which will be a very grand affair, organised by the one and only Frankie Valley.
Today's opponents Hull City, bring back fond memories of my early years of supporting Charlton.
This was before work, a mortgage, girlfriends , marriage and children diluted my fanaticism for my support of Charlton Athletic .
1968 Charlton 1 Hull City 1 Match of the Day
In those early days, Match of the Day was a bit like Morcombe and Wise at Christmas, you just didn't miss it . Football coverage was so sparse in 1968 that Motd was the Holy Grail .
My dad and I arrived early for once and to our surprise there was a wooden platform right in the middle of the East Terrace and we thought bloody hell, it cant be, surly not, BBC cameras at a Second division match being televised , unthinkable. The match it self was a dire affair, Ken Wagstaff scored for Hull and an own goal equaliser was confirmed later, which disappointed me as I thought Matt tees was the scorer. That Saturday night listening to the one and only Kenneth Wolstenholme actually mentioning Charlton on TV, was the highlight of the year.
39 year on and things have changed so much and I must say for the better.
Todays result Charlton 4 Hull 1 Come on you Reds Iwelumo 3 Varney 1 attendance 20,445

Merry Christmas to One and All

Never a dull moment at the Valley Charlton 3 Ipswich 1

A great game which had everything from a penalty save, posts and bar being hit and a sending off after the final whistle, what more do we want. The match really was a game of two halves with Charlton playing wonderful football in the first half making Ipswich look like the poorest side to visit the Valley this season , but I will say that it was down to Charlton playing so well. Ambrose had his best game of the season along with Holland who was my man of the match , Weaver for so long with nothing to do had a great second half.
Charlton started the match in total control with Ipswich not troubling Weaver the whole of the first half. The first goal came from a great move and with an excellent cross from Holland , Ambrose had a simple task of heading the ball into an empty net . The second after great pressure was a mistake by the goalkeeper who missed a Reid corner for Iwelumo to head in. The third was a break away and after Reid's brilliant lay off to Ambrose who's great shot gave the Ipswich keeper no chance.
Second half Weaver stole the show as his penalty save really won us the match. Ipswich with nothing to lose threw everything at us which gave the home crowd the jitters.
One thing thing to say about the Championship there are no boring matches.
Great win -Come on you Reds.

Weaver 8 The crowd singing his name at the end sums it up
Powell 7 At 38 still so professional
Mills 8 Sign him please in January just because hes so enthusiastic and would frighten Hannibal Lecter to death if he was playing.
Sodji 7 has he got a metal head as he loves heading the ball so much -ouch
Fortune 7 Good game but I will call him Cool Hand Luke from now on as the way he decked the Ipswich Forward for something possibly said, meant all the other Ipswich players backed off . No way am I advocating his actions
Holland 9 Has suddenly added something to the midfield and what a great cross for the first
Zi 7 Has great skill and has more to give
Reid 8 Good game but a bit moody -needs to play his guitar a bit more to lighten up
Sam 7 Ok game
Ambrose 8.5 Great game two good goals
Iwelumo 7 Difficult game

the crowd 8 What the heck every game is a drama unfolding before our eyes

The referee 7 Ok
ball boys 9 Kept throwing the ball back in the mud to the Ipswich players-mean
Pardew 9 his hair is grayer than mine but that is not surprising managing Charlton
Weather 4 Crap
Overall day 9 I have the feel good factor so the cat has escaped tonight

Lets all make it an away game for Saturday

A moment of madness or genius who knows , but if we all start singing come on you Tractor boys and dig out a blue scarf from somewhere, our lads might think its an away game . Surely three points guaranteed, but wait a moment, if the Town think its a home game they have a 100% home record-Oh well back to the drawing board. The last seven games defies all logic, four away wins with out conceding a goal, one win and two right royal thumping's at home.
Trying to think back to when our away form was far better than our home form and I cant think of a season. With all the inconsistency's this season I know what's going to happened, we will start winning at home and losing away, but as I am a home plastic I would definitely prefer that, hold on that's harsh on the real true supporters, the away fans. My ramblings are about as inconsistent as Charlton's form.
Come on you Reds- Ipswich 1 Charlton 3

Oh! what the bleeding hell is going on Cardiff 0 Charlton 2

What a great win tonight although reports from the match seem to indicate it was all too easy and Dave Jones saying its the worst Cardiff have played under his management. He would say that wouldn't he and that is one great plus for Pardew he has always praised the opposition and not overly criticised his own team. Well what a division and if we can only get some consistency who knows we could be top by Christmas. Now I will be very nervous for Saturday as I'm am sure Pardew and the team will really want to put on a show for the home fans , this will add a lot of pressure and of course Ipswich are yet to win away from home. A couple of pints of Guinness before taking my seat will steady the nerves
Come on you Reds.

Hands up all those enjoying the Championship

At the beginning of the season, there were quite a few supporters looking forward to a season in the Championship and relishing the prospect of defeating the majority of teams at the Valley whilst playing stylish football way above what we have been used to seeing. Well it ain't happening and we are just one of 24 clubs trying to fight our way out of the fizzy pops. I have yet to witness a convincing performance whereby we have dominated a team so much as to leave me ecstatic about our promotion credentials.
It now looks as though the eagerly awaited venture into the Championship has turned sour and in my opinion we are a long way from regaining our place in the Premiership. Oh! for those boring matches in the Premiership with mid-table safety by January and the annual last 10 matches without a win. The lack of TV exposure and Press coverage is driving me crazy and sitting in the ground with empty seats opposite makes me realise, what a massive blow relegation is to this over achieving club .
Five seasons without the worry of relegation, what an achievement. Any win in the Premiership means so much more than a victory in the Championship, as the quality is a million miles apart. At the time before Curbishley left or retired , unbelievably he was knocked for underachieving, by not qualifying for a European place and gaining a top six spot . I'm proud to say I was horrified by Curbishley's doubters and what he did for this club should be remembered as the greatest managerial achievement in its history, just above Lenny Lawrence . Jimmy Seed will probably get the vote as the best, but the premiership is so much a harder to play in than the old First Division. The criticism Curbishley received was so unjust and I would like to think it was only from a minority of the new supporters, who have never endured standing on the open East terrace in the pouring rain, with 3,244 other fans watching Charlton beat Aldershot 2-0 with goals from Bob Curtis and Bobby Goldthorpe. The reason this match was significant, well the season 1973/74 was so poor, the only honour Charlton could achieve in the old third division was winning £4,000, as one of the two highest-scoring non-promoted teams from Watneys.
Pardew is a good manager, but may well be influenced by the club supporters shouting out for good football, which they say has been missing for 3 years. Please give me 25 boring 1-0 wins and promotion and I will be a very happy man.

Charlton 1(10 shots) Burnley 3 (3 shots and a pen)

Walking away from a dismayed and depressed Valley I had to think long and hard as to how many saves Weaver has made over the last two home matches. 6 goals conceded and 2 saves although none of the goals could be blamed on Weaver. Don't get me wrong Burnley deserved their win, but we gifted two identical goals from free kicks. The first was sloppy, the second damn right criminal. A mountain to climb yet again and just before half time Reid scored from close range to give us suffering home fans some hope. In the second half it was all Charlton and a draw looked on the cards . Iwelumo missed a sitter with just the goalkeeper to beat from a header, which he almost made it look like a pass back. After much pressure from the home team Mills inexplicably handled in the box and that was game over. Depressed you bet and this league is so open , consistency is ingredient number one to get promotion, something Charlton don't have.
Come on you Reds Sob! Sob!.

We were mugged good and proper

Expectations were high when I took my seat and I felt very relaxed about the game, probably due to the 2 pints of Guinness consumed at the Fox Under The Hill on the way to the ground.
We started well and looked lively without really creating any clear cut chances. United came with a game plan and tactically they were spot on. Charlton were stifled and the crowd went quiet as we laboured. The first real attack from Sheffield resulted in a penalty as a wicked cross caused Thomas to clumsily foul in front of the referee, what the hell was he doing back there anyway???? Beattie took a good penalty and it was the first goal conceded for 380 minutes . After that, we never got going and as much as I hoped we would grab an equaliser, it never really looked like happening and inevitably we conceded two late goals as we pressed, just to add salt into the gaping wound. The opposition looked fitter, stronger, and bigger than us and very organised. Back to the drawing board for Pardew but as we know, following Charlton will never be straight forward. If there is any consolation, there are no outstanding teams in this division.

Gutted CND needs a Charlton win tomorrow

Sorry I have a to disagree with anyone who thinks England's loss is somehow good for the Country and English football. Think back to 1996 A great tournament rekindled the game in this Country and brought back the good feel factor. Last year in the local Pub watching England win a couple of matches with partisan support was fantastic and I'm really going to miss that this summer. So sod it I have a busy life, a family, a good job, but bloody hell I was depressed Thursday morning and I am still now.
Ten years old watching England win the World cup final, little did I know that, that win could be the only time England lift a major trophy in my life time.
The players I feel so sorry for is David Beckham and Scott Carson. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but throwing an inexperienced keeper in a match worth 2.5 billion to the economy and a viewing audience of 450 million was dam right crazy -David James should have played. David Beckham however much criticized for his Hollywood lifestyle will be greatly missed and tell me who do we have to replace him . Paul Gascoigne was probably the most gifted player of our generation and Beckham stepped into his shoes admirably, but who will step in Beckhams.????
Tomorrow Charlton will win 4-2 because their on a roll and I can see it in my pint of ESB

Gutted if we dont qualify

Watching England tonight will be a nerve racking occasion, which has just been increased by the news that Carson has replaced Robinson in goal. The current Charlton player of the year endeared himself to the fans last season and I'm convinced if we had avoided relegation, he would be playing for us now on a permanent basis( I so want him to do well for two reasons). If we cant avoid defeat tonight then we surely do not deserve to be in Austria/Switzerland next year. The rest of Europe want England to qualify because of the revenue generated by our massive following and the people of Scotland will be overjoyed and dancing in the streets if we succeed- sorry fail. Why is there such hatred of England from Scottish football fans -history I know but maybe what really galls them most, is we don't care and I for one wanted Scotland to qualify on Saturday. Apparently most Scottish football fans would rather beat England in any game than win the World Cup.
If we fail then next years premier European tournament for me will be an occasional glance at the highlights and rooting for the underdog, as I did for Greece last time.
Come on you Reds/ - oops England

Charlton 3 Cardiff 0 -how did we do that

In an entertaining game with plenty of goalmouth action, the scoreline suggests an easy win for Charlton, but I think it was a very hard fought victory . Cardiff played some neat football and in the first 10 minutes our defense had some scary moments, which I'm now convinced is deliberate just to keep the home crowd on the edge of their seats. Other Bloggers have more a less covered the match, so I would like to add a few thoughts. Without doubt Charlton have a talented squad, but it is apparent they rely very much on one player to make things happen in the middle of the park and that player is Andy Reid, sooner or later, he will be injured and I cant see an obvious replacement. Another worry is we have not really dominated any team this season at home, apart from a poor Leicester team. Dave Jones and the Cardiff players must be kicking themselves for a crazy last two minutes of the first half, because at that stage Cardiff had held their own and 0-0 would have been a fair reflection of the first half. Charlton in the second half sat back with a 2-0 cushion and invited Cardiff to attack and if it wasn't for some fantastic defending, blocking goal bound shots, Cardiff could well have drawn this match.

Weaver 7 Great save from Fat Boy Jimmy and his handling was excellent throughout
Basey 6 Still learning but my fear is he lacks real pace
Sodje 8 Man of the match and made some fantastic blocks
Fortune 7 Had a good game
Semedo 7 Solid game
Mills 7 Another good game and surly we will sign him- come January
Zhi 6 Looked lost and out of position I'm glad he scored because his confidence looked low
Reid 7 Another good game but I wish he would let other players influence the game
Thomas 8 Best game for a long time and he could be the difference
Iwelumo 8 He is going to be the bargain of the season, especially as he was a free transfer
Sam 6 His suspension seems to have affected him

This time the International break may well benefit Charlton as three wins in eight days must have taken its toll. We are right back in it and hopefully we can maintain our current form .

Bristol City 0 Charlton 1

Iwelumo yet again

See our new striker on video -great ball control at the end

Its coincidence I know but........Saints 0 Charlton 1

After my lucky Fred Perry sweatshirt went missing I found it again in my sons wardrobe and today after playing a great game of tennis and having to help my son do his Betaware round I decided to wear my FP shirt, which is a first when Charlton are playing away. New York well he's in New York.
What a great result and listening to snippets on the car radio while delivering is frustrating to say the least but we must build on this . 2000 fans at St Mary's must be ecstatic and Chicago Addick is their with his son to witness their first win together.
Come on you Reds.

Its simple and its all down to NYA , CA and my Fred Perry sweatshirt.

Look at it this way . New York Addick has been in England for the last 3 matches and has already stated that he might bring bad luck when he resides in the UK, Chicago Addick has been abroad on his holidays-(well he's permanently abroad I know) for the the last three matches and I haven't worn my lucky Red Fred Perry Sweatshirt, which is at least 15 years old for the last 3 matches. Its all right folks we are going to be back to our winning ways as NYA has promised not to be back until late March, by which time we will have already achieved promotion . Chicago should be back from Japan and is not allowed another Holiday until we are promoted and my sweatshirt which had gone missing was discovered in my sons wardrobe , only one person to blame for that and her allowance has been suspended. Me superstitious, you bet, even park the car in the same place on match days and must walk through Charlton Park to the East Stand.
Come on you Reds

Even my wife said Charlton looked slow

After coming back from friends who live two doors away, which is just is a well as (no 1) we don't have to book a taxi(no 2) we can stagger back and collapse in front of the telly, at least I can, my wife has disappeared to bed. Michael Parkinson is interviewing Sir Bobby Charlton my all time hero and what a gent. His emotion has always got to me and his description of the plane crash which destroyed the brilliant young United team always brings me to tears, or is it the 5th bottle of Suffolk Ale.
Today I had a great brunch/ lunch with fellow Bloggers at Legends and what a lovely bunch of people they are.
This should have set me up for the day, especially as I was trying to keep up with NYA on his Guinness consumption - beat me hands down.
The match -well, when I got home my daughter greeted me by saying" we tried to see you on telly but all the grumpy old men looked too young to be you. My wife who really does hate football said" QPR missed a penalty didn't they and Charlton they play in red don't they", yes I said. well my wife then said" Charlton looked so slow on the ball where as QPR looked slick ". Quickly depart to another room -Slick sounds like something out of Grease.
Crap game- but I still love Charlton
Come on you Reds.
Quote from Gillinghams web-site
Gillingham 3 Bristol rovers 2
into their half but were soaking up every attack until Bentley played the ball forward to Gary Mulligan in the 90th minute. Mulligan's marker intercepted the pass but could only nod the ball down across the 18-yard box. Dickson, who had been hugging the left touchline, then steamed in and powered a brilliant drive past the keeper.
Bring back Dickson

Todorov out for the season

As predicted in my match report, Svetoslav Todorov season is over with a cruciate ligament injury, sustained in the match on Tuesday. From where I was sitting the tackle looked bad and the injury even worse. As Tordorov was stretchered off, his face told the whole story and one can only have the greatest sympathy for the talented Bulgarian. We will miss his experience and movement with the ball and off it. Pardew will be cursing, but Tordorov must be wondering what he has done to deserve such bad luck. Lets wish him well and hope he fully recovers.

Dont worry Mr Styles you are still a Superstar

Well that was the week that was. With high expectations of Charlton bouncing back to regain second spot I took my seat, only to witness one of the most inept performances from a Referee and Linesman seen at the Valley. Referee's should play a bit part and a good Referee is one you hardly notice but Mr Styles wanted centre stage and boy did he get it. The match, all credit to Plymouth they came to attack and they certainly exposed our vulnerable defence soon after kick-off. After only 5 minutes our back four went to sleep and a cross ball led to an easy tap in for Plymouth's E Banks -Blake . This galvanised Charlton into a series of good moves resulting in an equaliser from an unlikely source -Danny Mills. From my seat it looked as though the goalkeeper McCormick had messed up big time but Mills low drive had been pushed on to the post, only to bounce back off the keeper. 1-1 . The crowd got behind Charlton and I thought it was only a matter of time before we would score a second, but of course that's forgetting we have one of the worst defences in the Championship, so the second goal unfortunately went to the opposition. The goal looked off-side but the Linesman, who seemed to be on another planet, as most of his decisions or non- decisions were bizarre to say the least. After 38 minutes a long ball down the middle, Fortune and Bougherra both left it to each other and Hayles had an easy tap in . When the ball was first played Hayles looked a mile off-side and Weaver thought so, but has he never heard of playing to the whistle. On reflection Weaver did not have a serious save to make through-out the match and had no chance with the goals. After that cue Styles to take centre stage and book 10 players, hold up play continuously and then seem to wonder why the crowd got on his back.
The second half was all Charlton, which left Weaver a spectator. We huffed and we puffed but I sensed it was going to be one of those nights. Iwelumo who had his worst game of the season missed a glorious opportunity from six yards, somehow putting his header wide of the upright .
Iwelumo is a good target man but not a prolific goalscorer. Thomas came on to liven things up and put in some good crosses which were wasted. We pressured, but rarely troubled the goalkeeper for most of the second half. The Championship is so wide open, but Watford who retained their Manager and most of the players from last season, as we did in our last 2nd tier campaign, look like runaway Champions. Disappointing night for a large crowd (22,123 ) on a cold Tuesday night, but all credit to a large noisy away support, who must have enjoyed their long journey home to Plymouth.
Weaver 6 - Redundant for most of the match-no chance with the goals.
Moutaouakil 7 - Played well second half. Possibly at fault with the first goal.
Bougherra 6 - Seemed to play a lot better after Fortune went off.
Fortune 5 - Is he at all motivated.
Mills 9 - Man of the Match
Zheng 6 - Very quite
Semedo 6 - OK
Reid 7 - Not as inspirational as he can be.
Tordorov 6 - No chance to shine and unfortunately he may be out for the season after a nasty clash.
Iwelumo 6 - Well marshaled
Varney 5 - Yet to shine
Subs Thomas 7 looked sharp McLeod -Gave away the ball for the second. Sodje 6-Prefer him to Fortune.
Crowd 6 Difficult game to watch.
Referee (-5 ) !!!!!!!!

No more disappointments for a while please

Disappointments are coming thick and fast at the moment and its about time there was a bit of cheer in my sporting sphere. No 1 England lose to Russia, which now makes it highly unlikely that we will qualify. Memories come flooding back of 12 years of International wilderness, as we failed to qualify for the World Cup from 1970-1984 and the European Championship from 1968-1980. Today it is far easier to qualify. FIFA want us there, because of the financial gain the fans and media contribute, but we are not capable of achieving qualification even with a massive helping hand. My interest in the European Championship's if England and Scotland fail to qualify, will almost be non- existent.
No 2 and most importantly Charlton lose tamely to Wolves. We don't seem to have a striker the calibre of Andy Hunt, who took chances at the right time and we were able to defend 1-0 leads away from home in the last Championship campaign.
Also lost my tennis match in the morning-sob . No 3 The Rugby- well what can you say, we were not outplayed and that try -women say one inch doesn't matter -well it bloody well does.
. No 4- Motor sport, not one of my favourite sports, but it is always nice to have British Champion.
Back to Charlton which is the most important part of all, we must win the next two home games as I will be attending both and I could do with some sporting cheer.

The Wolves will be very hungry for a Robin

We are the major scalp in the Championship and Wolves will look upon this as their bench mark for the season. Victory and they will think automatic promotion is within their grasp, anything else and McCarthy will be looking for a play-off position at best.
Reid is pivotal to our midfield and it looks as though he may well start tomorrow, which will be a blessing.
Wolves are a big club and probably history wise the most famous in the Championship. In the late forties and fifties they were a major force and considered a real glamour club . They won the Championship 3 times in that era . The slipped in the sixties, but again became a team to watch in the seventies and early eighties, after that it was disaster all the way, slipping down to the old 4th Division. Since the Golden era they have struggled to reach the dizzy heights again and remain a big club in limbo.
Pardew will keep the same starting line-up which started against Barnsley.
Result Wolves 1 Charlton 3 Iwelomo 2 Todorov attn 22151

The biggest Rugby plastic celebrated last night.

If I am to be totally honest, apart from the World Cup, Rugby and Cricket leaves me pretty cold, although last night was a triumph for honesty, sportsmanship and real courage. Rugby is a brutal game and along with Boxing is the closest to a Gladiatorial contest without using the sword. American football with its customary body armour reminds me of Rollarball, where you can take out a player even though he hasn't got the ball.
This is the beauty of Football you don't have to be muscle bound to be good at it. You will not see anyone the size of an Owen or Shaun Wright-Phillips on any senior Rugby field. My Tennis Club shares its facilities with a Rugby Club and I'm yet to see any weedy player about to do battle on the field. Even the shorties are built like brick houses and I wouldn't want to mess with them. When I was younger and playing football our club was affiliated to Beckenhan Rugby Club and annually there was a Six a side Rugby tournament and one particular year we were invited to enter a team. Being well over six feet I was one of the chosen six and the first match was against Beckenham's first team . In the first minute, by some fluke we managed to get the ball which was passed on to me to run as fast as I could to score a try and amazingly convert. When I did get the ball I think I broke the 100 metre record as I have never been so shit scared. Having scored a try, the opposition went ballistic and the next time I received the ball I couldn't walk for a week as I was clattered from all angles. Scared the life out of me and a few years later I was quite relieved when my son decided Rugby was not for him. All sport is wonderful apart from darts, for fitness, so I am not knocking Rugby, but there are several serious injuries every year on the field, normally involving a collapsed scrum, resulting in broken necks.
Watching Rugby and Boxing does bring out that animal survival instinct, which I suppose is why the human race is still around.
Bring on the final I cant wait.

Scotland 3 Ukraine 1

England's match was incredibly boring, so it was a delight to switch over and watch a very passionate Scotland beat a talented Ukraine team.
My dream would be to for Scotland and England to reach the Euro finals.

West Brom away live on Sky

In my opinion this is going to be the toughest game of the season as I am predicting Watford to slip away . This extra match, live on Sky will mean our overseas supporters will be able to tune in and be assured of uninterrupted coverage . The way they have described how they listen to the action, could look something like this .
Chicago and NYA struggle once again to keep up with the match day news.

Barnsley the best team to visit the Valley this season

However much I want my team to win, Barnsley without doubt, are the best team to visit the Valley this season. Talking to the guy next to me at the match, he agreed , how well organised Barnsley's back four are and in midfield they closed down Reid and ZZ very quickly and the goalkeeper was cool and calm, just what you would expect from a German keeper. At times they played attractive football without producing any punishing attacks. The local paper has an article on Weaver and one of the things he hates is being left out of the action for long periods, well Saturday must have been a nightmare for him , especially in the second half, he hardly touched the ball. There has been many Blog match reports, so I have a couple of points to add. Sitting in the East Stand I had a direct view of the second half miss by Ambrose and boy it was a bad one. Unlike the later incredible miss by Barnsley's Mostto, Ambrose did not even have a goalkeeper to beat as he had tangled with two prostrate injured defenders . With almost an open goal, why he chose to hit the ball with the outside of his boot I will never know. The second half Charlton really dominated and if Barnsley had not had such a strong back four and very competent keeper, we could have won by three or four. Barnsley will be a hard team to beat this season and will upset some of the top teams, they look strong play-off contenders.

Weaver 6 Looks more and more confident had no chance with the goal.
Powell 8 At 38 as good as any player on the park.
Fortune 7 Missed him when he went off and a good round of applause will have boosted his confidence with the fans, looked ill rather than injured (Just lay off the Cobras and Currie on a Friday night as I can certainly vouch for, you dont feel good on a Saturday morning .
Bougherra 7 Good game again, obviously a home player.
Mills 8 Surely to be signed permanently in January.
ZZ 7 Clever player what a good buy and I have noticed we have a few Chinese supporters attending.
Reid 8 Is he falling in love with Charlton!
Semedo 8 In my eyes he can do no wrong at the moment.
Ambrose 6 Frustrating
Varney 6 Completely marked out of the game
Iwelumo 8 Player of the year so far
Sodje 7 Had a good game once he settled down.
Thomas 7 Added danger and if he is towing the line deserves to start ahead of Ambrose.
Tordorov 7 He should play every second half.

Crowd 5 Felt very foolish singing Come on you Reds on my own.

Were Facing 46 Cup-Finals

There is no doubt about it, we are the team that everyone wants to beat. Hull being the latest bully boys to try and muscle us out of playing our naturally skillful football. Every away fixture seems to bring controversy and the home team fans expecting Charlton, to turn it on for 90 minutes but at the same forgetting that we are the away team. What a great result last night after extra-time , Gawd all mighty how long was I staring at the live results on Sky Plus. For a moment I checked back on teletext to see if there had been a delayed Kick-Off. There will be many more rainy cold physical Tuesday tests to come and last night we passed with flying colours.
Looking forward to Saturday when we entertain Barnsley, who I have
always had a soft spot for, as there another plucky team from Yorkshire.

COME ON YOU REDS
Steve Brown on the right helps celebrate last nights win in style as Danny Mills holds the cup aloft

Where is a CMAH when you need one

A bit disappointed on Saturday especially whilst driving and listening to Radio London, the news had come through of a late equaliser and even more galling is with two minutes to go Iwelomo missed an absolute sitter . Where is a Clive Mendonca, or a Andy Hunt, when you need them. Chris had a good game by all accounts, but Pardew has stated today, that he should have won the game for us. We are creating lots of chances that must be taken and at the moment we have not got a prolific goalscorer, maybe Varney, once match fit will start banging in the goals . Iwelumo has earned his place as a first name on the team sheet, but he is not an out and out goalscorer.

COVENTRY

My Mum was born in Coventry in 1929 and lived there, until she joined the Wrens as a 16 year old towards the end of the Second World War. Rumour has it that my Great Grandfather who I never met was a wealthy Cotton Mill Merchant who also speculated on the Stock Markets. Unfortunately, he lost a fortune in the Wall Street Crash leaving him a broken man, which he never recovered from . Coventry City in the twenties and thirties, which is hard to believe now, was one of the most beautifully preserved Medieval cities in the country. It was also the Industrial Heart of British Industry and unfortunately Coventry became Germany's target number one during the Second World War. The RAF bombed Munich on 8th November 1940 . Munich was the Birthplace of the Nazi Party and Hitler sought revenge and unfortunately chose Coventry. What became known as the Coventry Blitz started on 14th November 1940 and the old city of Coventry was destroyed by 500 German Bombers. My Mother who had been evacuated to her Aunts house some miles from Coventry recalled that terrible night to us when we were Kids and I have always been fascinated by the horror of the event. 4,330 homes destroyed 554 men women and children were killed 865 injured . Many people were burnt beyond recognition. Most of the Medieval City was destroyed and the result of that was, Coventry was used as a forerunner to the Modern City -Yuk!.

Luton Depression and Northern Rubble

Watching teletext last night and the results came up as FT Luton 1 Charlton 1. For some reason I thought- oh! at least we have a replay . Woke up this morning realising that there would have been extra time- too many Suffolk Ales.
Feeling a bit flat today, even though I knew we
would struggle as always in the Carling Cup .
It would have been nice to carry on our winning ways. It seems our away form is indifferent and Coventry is going to be a real test.
A couple of crappy jokes
Never mind what is happening at Northern Rubble
look how Japan has been affected.
September 2007 NEW YORK(Rooters)-
Japanese Banking crisis continues on back of the US Sub Prime Collapse. The knock on affect in Japan shows no sign of letting up.
In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded. Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank plans to cutback some of its branches.
Yesterday it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and more than likely will go for a song.
Today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived and 500 back office staff at Karate Bank also got the chop.
Analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank and staff fear they may get a raw deal.

A good day all round-Charlton 2 -Leicester 0

Well I would like to start by thanking Confidential Rick for organising a pre-match lunch, that with good company and a couple of pints, went down very well. The panoramic view of the Valley from Legends is just, well Legendary and it is well worth having a meal just for that experience. Like quite a few Bloggers I go back to the dark old days, when the Valley was a creaky run down antiquated old rust bucket, but I loved it all the same. The Legends experience does bring it home, as to how far this humble club of ours has come.

Charlton 2 Leicester 0

Well we started off where we had left off against Norwich and played some neat sweet football. At times it was all too easy . Leicester looked like a team with lots of willing but very little else and Megson has his work cut out, although his tactics were spot on in the second half when substitutions enabled Leicester to stifle our midfield. The defensive pairing of Bougerra and Fortune look as solid as a rock and a resurgent Danny Mills is lovin it and the crowd have taken to him as well. Powell as always, 100% effort and calmness. Difficult at the moment to see why we would change the back four, but sterner tests are ahead. Midfield lost it in the second half with Reid having his worst game of the season . Zheng went AWOL , Semondo was my man of the match, he is a real find and I fear that Wenger may want get his greedy little mitts on him if he carries on playing the way he did yesterday. Sam did well in the first half, but faded badly in the second. The most ironic part of the match, was when Kishishew had the best shot of the match from 25 yards, which Weaver did well to parry. I was a fan of Kitch , but when did he ever get a shot on target for us. Iwelumo and Varney started well, but tired and I would liked to have seen Tordorov and Mcleod brought on earlier, to freshen things up. At 2-0 there is always that chance of come back and it would of been the icing on the cake, to of got a third.

Weaver 7 It is always difficult for a goalkeeper when you are out of the game for long periods. From the East stand his calling for the ball could be heard loud and clear and I think he is starting to settle.
Mills 8 Looks like a new lease of life for him-long may it continue
Bougherra 8 Im starting to realise why we paid a couple of million for him .
Fortune 8 Looks comfortable along side Bougherra.
Powell 8 Exemplary
Semondo 9 So comfortable on the ball and a great tackler, my man of the match.
Reid 7 Tried so hard but not a lot came off . Looked tired towards the end.
Zheng 7 Was he on the park in the second half
Sam 7 Needs to work on his crossing, still a 100% better than Rommad'als
Varney 7 Good start and will be a real asset when he is 100% fit.
Iwelumo 8 Not at his best, but is such a trier and he does win so many balls in the air.
Subs Mcleod Ambrose. Sodjie 6

With a helping hand -Leicester really go for it

Charlton 3 Leicester 3

Its seems at the moment our defence is about as consistent as the Government are at handling the current credit Banking crisis . So with that in mind tomorrow is going to be a combination of all the rides of the Fun Fair. Be prepared for your nails to be bitten down to the quick as Charlton concede 3 soft goals before half-time , then a magnificent fight back with Reid, Varney and a late equaliser from super sub Mcleod to grab a point.
Team for tomorrow
Weaver
Mills
Fortune
Bougherra
Powell
Semedo
Zheng
Reid
Sam
Varney
Iwelumo
Subs Todorov, Ambrose, Holland, Randolph, Mcleod
Attendance 24,111

Older readers or bloggers will remember Len Glover, who played for Charlton 195 times and scored 24 goals between 62/63 to 67/68. He became a firm favourite of mine after some fantastic performances in an average Charlton side. He was transferred to Leicester in 1967 for £80,000, at the time a record fee for a winger. Those where the days. It seems that he is held in even higher esteem by Leicester City supporters, where he went on to make over 234 league appearances mostly in the old First Division. Without saying too much, its seems that Len went on a long holiday a couple of years back.

There and back to France in 8 hours


Yesterday I took a day off work to do my quarterly trip across the Channel and stock up on wines and my favourite beers, Suffolk Ale and Old Speckled Hen . At a third of the UK price it means I can spend the savings watching Charlton and going out to a restaurant once a week. (what savings on alcohol, some people might not look upon that as a saving) Its ironic, as you could say the Government fund the NHS on taxes they charge on Beer and Cigarettes in the UK and the French get a few hundred million a year of money that should be spent here, but isn't because of the high taxes. Catch 22 - those heavy smokers and drinkers (which does not include me ) who buy their fix in the UK are indirectly paying for their nursing care in the end.

Great performance says Mystic CND

Well I predicted the score correctly and was only 8 supporters out on the attendance figure. A good night and its been a long time since I have been able to report, that every Charlton player, played their part, in what proved a harder game to win than it should have been. We more or less dominated from the start and looked solid in all departments. Weaver made one excellent save in the first half, after being virtually redundant for most of it. Bougherra and Fortune looked the perfect partnership in the middle, hardly putting a foot wrong. Powell and Mills kept the game flowing nicely, feeding Sam and Reid continuously. If there was any weakness and this is being harsh, the game should have been over by half-time and on another day playing like we did, 3-0 would not of flattered. Varney who played very well holding the line with Iwelumo, should have scored in the second half, when clean through, but shot straight at the goalkeeper. The longer the game went on, the more I started to think it was going to be a very entertaining 0-0 draw, or Norwich were going snatch one against the run of play. Enter McLeod who I had not seen play before and had my doubts about him, after reading a Bloggers report that said McLeod is not good enough for the Championship. Well he certainly proved that theory wrong, because he virtually won the game for us. His control and pace suddenly scared the pants off a solid Norwich defense and has probably given Pardew a selection headache for the Leicester game. Reid who had a great game, missed a couple of sitters just before the penalties, but thankfully kept his nerve to make the scoreline a justified 2-0. A good night was had by one and all(apart from the Norwich fans of course.)
Weaver 7 Didn't put a foot wrong, although out of the action for long periods
Mills 7 Solid performance and kept his cool for once
Bougherrra 8 Looked very good last night and is looking much more assured.
Fortune 8 Great game
Powell 8 Looks so fit and still as enthusiastic as ever for a 38 year old.
Zheng 7 Ran his socks off
Semedo 8 Looks so comfortable on the ball-a real find
Sam 8 Must be a head of Thomas now
Reid 9 Not everything went right for him but I think he's loving it at Charlton
Iwelumo 8 He looks clumsy but he gets stuck in were it hurts and at the moment he gets my vote as the best player so far this season
Varney 8 looks the bees an eees
McLeod 9 The pressure was on but he delivered and won us the three points.
Ambrose/Sodje 6- 60 seconds on the park.

Norwich & The Broads and a 2-0 win will do nicely

Charlton V Norwich
We need a win tomorrow and I will be there
wearing my lucky Fred Perry Sweat Shirt. Please could we have a straight forward 2-0 win . My team for tomorrow
Weaver, Powell, Bougherra, Sodje, Mills
Reid, Ambrose, Semedo, Zhi,
Varney, Sam.
Attn 21, 525
Subs Thomas, Fortune , Randolph Tordorov if fit
Mcleod
Edit: Late News Tordorov and Iwelumo will be fit as they came off with cramp -were having a laugh here
Revised team Weaver, Powell, Bougherra, Sodje, Mills, Reid Ambrose, Semedo, Zhi, Tordorov, Iwelumo,
Subs Thomas, Randolph, Varney , Fortune, Sam

Come you Reds

Norwich and the Broads
More than two weeks ago we visited Norwich for the first time. The historical town centre was a complete surprise and well worth a long weekend stay. The surrounding area also has the beautiful Norfolk Broads and as you can see from my photo's, three hundred yards from any car park, you have the place to yourself, well almost. The picture on the right shows the magnificent Norwich Cathedral . Norwich is the most complete Medieval City in Britain and I can tell you it has some lovely oldie worldie pubs and great shopping, unfortunate for my wallet. We stayed at the Ramada Jarvis hotel on a long weekend cheapie which included a fantastic breakfast and dinner. Just beware the ring road is almost as bad as any that I have encountered driving around Paris, one wrong turn and you go back to start . Carrow Road I know exactly where it is
we involuntarily passed it six times.

Supporting Charlton to be given a Government Health warning (part two)

Doctors are now advising supporters of Charlton Athletic to seek medical help and have their Blood and Cholesterol level checked immediately. For the last four years Doctors have been advising patients with High Blood pressure to actively start supporting Charlton as a form of therapy, as the non- action on the pitch, was considered therapeutic . Unfortunately there has been a dramatic turnaround this year and several people have noticed they are suffering heart palpitations. Doctors are to hold urgent talks with Charlton Manager Alan Pardew to sort out his defense or face the consequences of an epidemic. Doctors are also advising supporters not to listen to Charlton matches live on the radio when driving, especially if they are with their wife or partner who may be particularly talkative . Several explosive arguments have occurred, when the driver has answered yes!
to a question similar to" do I look fat in this". This has been happening whilst Charlton are seeking an equaliser, after gifting the opposition their normal two goal start.

Sunderland 1 Leeds 0(Ian Porterfield )

Back in the Sixties and Seventies Cup-Finals were the highlight of the year. Live matches on television were so few and far between- Home Championship(wish it would return) World Cup and the European Cup being the exception. On the morning of a Cup-Final I would switch on the black and white television and from about 8am to 5.30pm, be super glued to watching every snippet of information and highlights on the BBC. After the Cup-Final was over, all the local parks would be packed with kids including myself, trying to emulate the stars of the day. Obesity although around was never mentioned, as we kids seemed to be so much more active, with walking to school( 3 miles a day for me ), daily PE lessons and Computers were the size of a house and nobody knew what they looked like.
I have always gone for the underdog in Cup-Finals and in 1973, even more so. Bob Stokoe had been sacked by Charlton in September 1967 and at the time was a shock to me, as I had only been supporting Charlton since March of that year and to an eleven year old I thought we had a good manager and team. Stokoe became manager of Sunderland in 1972, who at the time were struggling in the old 2nd Division. Sunderland's Cup run, was exceptional and I followed it closely, watching the highlights whenever shown on TV. Sunderland reached the final after beating Arsenal in the Semi's and faced the mighty Leeds . What a match, one of the all time greats and after Ian Porterfield had given Sunderland an unlikely lead it was one way traffic, with only Bob Montgomery keeping Leeds at bay, with some fantastic saves. During the second half Montgomery produced the second greatest save I have ever seen (Banks against Pele being number one) when he somehow tipped Peter Lorimars thunderbolt from about three yards onto the bar. The biggest upset in a Cup-Final, those were the days, so unlikely to happen now as the gap between the Championship and the Premier would be the equivalent of the Southern League and the First Division in 1973.
(Just for the record -Charlton lost to Bolton 4-0 after a 1-1 draw at the Valley in the third round).
Ian Porterfield a sad loss at such an early age

A Guinness a day

Medical science has now proved that a Guinness a day is good for you. That's why the little Irish fellow is playing so well, he's back on the Guinness.

Calm Down-Calm down

Will everyone please calm down, I'm not used to all this over confidence and optimism . What is going on, Charlton fans normally think the worst, even 2-0 up with 5 minutes to go the opposition are going to get two in the last minute, you know its true. Even across the pond, we now have New York stating that we are not only going to win the league, but by a clear 10 points(please come true) .
I'm just not used to it, for I am ever the eternal pessimist regarding Charlton . It must go back to the days when getting any information on the radio or television regarding Charlton, was like our overseas supporters club are suffering now. 1976 Burnley 1 Charlton 4 with 18 minutes to go, I'm playing in a match, when someone shouts from the touchline Charlton are 4-1 up, my match finishes, I'm in the changing room on a high, get changed, into the clubhouse waiting for the 5pm scores, pint in hand, First Division scores come up, then the Second Division, I blink, then nearly choke on my beer, Burnley 4 Charlton 4- noooooo. My teammates take the piss out of me for the rest of the evening, as I'm the only Charlton fan amongst Millwall and Palarse and I'm sulking. This match has always stuck in my mind and from thereafter I have never taken any scoreline as a done deal . So until the final whistle blows and its a mathematical certainty I'm taking nothing for granted and personally I think we are in for a very hard nerve racking season.
Come on you Reds

The feel good factor

Luckily my wife can read me like a book and if she knows Charlton are playing, always asks me after a match "how did they do ", she will know instantly if Charlton have won . It has often been reported that productivity and good feeling increase in factories and offices when
the local football team win over a weekend. Well I have been feeling good today and also had time to read back on my match report. The trouble is, although we have two computers in our household I still have a hell of a fight to get 20 minutes to myself, so spelling and grammar sometimes go out of the window, but I suppose, as long as the gist of the post is OK, maybe I can be excused.
My son is having his 18th Birthday bash on Saturday, so I will be unable to attend the Palarse game, but to be honest, as long as I can go to 20 or more home games, I will be quite content. We will disappear for the night to the Cinema and a late night Chinese after doing most of the preparations and return to our house, hopefully still in one piece(the house that is). Although feeling good today, I'm also feeling rather ancient, my son tells me I am occasionally, in an affectionate way of course. It seems just like yesterday I was holding his hand, taking him to Infants School.

The end of a perfect day Charlton 3 Wednesday 2

After getting back from a sensational match at the Valley, I do wonder why I put myself through such agony and ecstasy, but I suppose its what makes life interesting, although it does nothing for the blood pressure . After a game of tennis in the morning and a pint at my club, I arrived early and parked my car next to Charlton Park and had a leisurely stroll through the park and it doesn't get any better than this, with the sun shinning for the first time in a week making everything look so colourful and vibrant. Filled with exuberant anticipation of a home win I approached the The East Stand entrance and for the first time this season passed through the turnstiles, bought a programme and mingled with the fans, before buying a pint and a pastie, I'm back to basics when I go to the Valley and I love it. It is hard to believe we are in the Championship as everything points to the fact, we belong in the Premiership(would not of said that 20 years ago) A perfect start to the afternoon, until the match starts. Jekyll and Hyde springs to mind when watching this match . I have never seen such a inadequate first-half performance from a Charlton team, we were literally all over the place, so disjointed it looked as though the players had just turned up, put their kit on and didn't know who was who. Sometimes the play was so elaborate we went backwards rather than forwards . Reid and Ambrose got caught on the ball trying to be too clever several times and after 15 minutes we were deservedly 2-0 down. The first goal was well taken from 20 yards by O,Brien, after a defensive mix-up and the second a complete giveaway as Wednesday's Spurr had a free header from a corner. At this stage I could see no way back and despair was creeping in amongst the crowd. Iwelumo was the best Charlton player, as he was winning everything in the air but to no avail, as the other players around him just didn't look interested . On the 44th minute, Thatcher took a knock and sometimes you need a big slice of unexpected luck, because ZZ came on and from then on Charlton were a different team. After the crowd booed the players off at half-time, which I never agree with, because it doesn't do any good, as I'm sure the players are feeling bad enough anyway and it certainly isn't a confidence booster . At half time I went to get a bottle of water and the mood was not good and I heard several fans criticising the Board and Manager. Just as I was about to return to my seat I heard one fan say "You know I wouldn't be surprised if we don't turn it around and win 3-2" , I smiled to myself and thought I wish .
The second half was a completely different story and Wednesday were on the back foot from the off . The crowd sensed this and really got behind the team and became the twelve man . After several good moves Reid slotted home a well taken goal from just inside the box and the after 67
minutes, with Charlton dominating Iwelumo tucked away a glorious equaliser
and the icing on the cake was an even better taken goal by Iwelumo who eluded several Wednesday players to slot home a great winner. Who said he cant play on the floor. Jumping out of my seat I noticed an old boy across from me, doing a sking impression, as least I thought he was. Great jubilation to end a very exciting match.
My marks out of 10 for the players.

Weaver 6- he's what I call a line keeper -that's fine as long as the defenders know this-they didn't in the first half
Thatcher 5 Not firing on all cylinders
McCarthy 8 Rallied the team in the second half and he is passionate and showed his appreciation to the fans especially in the East Stand.
Bougherra 7 Still think he will be proved to be a good signing . Must be feeling good this morning after all the stick he took from Wednesday fans.
Fortune 6 Just not sure of his motivation -looks too casual -played OK
Thomas 8 Wednesday had two defenders on him as soon as he got the ball-Great second half
Ambrose 7 Tried to be too clever but helped to create some good openings.
Samedo 7 Could be the find of the season
Reid 8 Ran his socks off and was the most skilled player on the park.
Bent 6 Strange but I thought he was doing OK, bet he was surprised when he was subbed
at half-time
ZZ 9 For me he changed the game, has a great touch and never stops running.
Iwelumo 9.5 What a handful and with this display has surly guaranteed a starting place .
Tordorov 8 Great touch held the ball up well class act.

Come on you Reds