PUNCHING ABOVE OUR WEIGHT

Having watched the whole match on Sky last night , it appeared that all the bad luck that could happen , happened in one match . After Carsons clanger (who would be a goalkeeper) things went from bad to worse and on a good day Carson would of only conceded one of those four goals.For sometime now I have felt that we have been punching above our weight.Since the loss of Kinsella and Parker, we have not really had a midfield dynamo(that's an old fashioned term if ever there was one). Because of the limited resources we need at least seven players who are willing to die for the shirt, at the moment I think we have two. Where is the Steve Thompson. Peter Shirtliff, John Humphrey, Steve Brown (That tackle at Wembley for the equaliser) Kinsella , Rufus -the list goes on. The average player at Charlton probably earned £15,000 for Saturdays work and after three weeks, they probably earn more than the average worker can dream about, after tax, a very average player will be a millionaire after 4 years in the Premiership. There is just too much money for players in todays game, unlike the fifties when clubs exploited there stars, and some ended up selling newspapers from street corners. If crowds fall away we may see a more sensible balance of players wages.

ME AND MY BIG MOUTH

Firstly I wish I had realised that you can change the time on a published post, because I told a couple of work colleagues and the MD, that I had a blog and of course they have been taking the mickey something rotten, and now the MD has noticed what time I have been publishing posts which is normally about 9.30am, and he is not impressed because he knows how busy I claim to be . Then I told the missus that I have ordered a season ticket and how grateful I was and we nearly had a domestic as she said" you always do what you like anyway( which is quite true) and I just thought its about time you got back to having a season ticket, because I know what it means to you", how sweet is that . Now having told a couple of mates about the blog I am paranoid about dodgy replies to posts because there has been at least three and I'm like a big kid if I get one, that's before I realise its a hoax. Oh well love all the mickey taking really as long as its done in jest.
THE SEASON TICKET AND THE PREMIERSHIP
Now I am like a big kid because I have finally got the season ticket in the East stand which allows me to park the car near Charlton Park and pleasant walk to the match,unfortunately my mate can only go to a few matches so I will be Billy no mates for a while but who cares, and can still play tennis in the morning, does it get any better, it certainly can because I want to be seeing premiership football next season, so the lads better do there stuff starting on Saturday. A good excuse to come into work on Saturday afternoon and listen on the radio because I'm unbearable when listening to Charlton at home or in the pub and do get a lot of work done without the phone ringing.
The tension is starting and I can sense it on the other blogs so here it is Blackburn 4 Charlton 1 -Im going to be crying into my beer tonight

THE SEASON TICKET OFFER

Charlton have sent me a season ticket offer which to me has to be one of the best advertising ploys ever. My name appears on the number 12 shirt hanging in the dressing room, and I will be honest with you folks, although I have been a season ticket holder in the past, playing competitive sport has always been my priority and up until I was 30 I played local amateur football at a reasonable level, then my second love tennis which involves playing club matches mostly on Saturday afternoons. This means I try and see as many Charlton matches as I can but they have been when I'm not playing competitive tennis . Anyway my non- loving football wife opened the post and read the details of the season ticket offer and said" if you want to go for the season ticket then do it now", well I nearly choked on my cornflakes, talk about a dream come true ,the timing for this years tennis matches have changed to a 10.30am start which means they finish about 1.30pm, giving me plenty of time to have lunch and a beer with friends, then a 30 minute drive to the Valley. A whole day doing what I want to do, but there has to be catch surely, I will probably find out later sometime during next season when my bank balance is a lot lighter. Although my love for Charlton has never been in question, and I was a season ticket holder for many years, I have always felt guilty that I have not committed my self totally to the cause, but today it changes and I'm back , even though it could be supporting a team in the championship .

QPR PLEASE NO

Just had a phone call from our paper supplier and after talking business for two minutes ,the more important subject of football came up . He is a keen QPR fan and said he cant wait for the next seasons fixture list so he can treat me to lunch and seats for QPR v Charlton . After a few jokes and end of conversation, it really hit home , will we be playing 46 matches next season, and travelling to places like Plymouth Scunthorpe and Colchester, no disrespect meant. Right you lot at the Valley three miracles please! please! please!

KNOLE HOUSE AND PARK

On a beautiful Sunday morning we decided to visit Knole Park again .We have been there many times before with our children but we have never attempted a long walk around the park. If you are just visiting the house and don't mind a short walk which involves a steep hill ,then there is free car park on Sundays at the leisure centre near the town centre in Sevenoaks . We started walking in the direction of the house with the intention of bypassing it as we have visited the magnificent house Knole twice now. Admired by Henry VIII he forced Thomas Cranmer his Archbishop of Canterbury to hand it to him in 1538 . To me the house has its moments but reminds me more of a terraced medieval village than a house (its not really a house anyway). The house looks very impressive as you approach it over the grassy knoll (sounds as though I'm describing Kennedy's assassination) and as we wanted to avoid the crowds we veered right
just before the house and after walking several hundred yards we found ourselves more or less on our own apart from the not so wild deer which just add to the beauty of the park(they were losing their winter coats so didn't look at there best). We kept walking until we were close to the edge of the park and followed paths around the perimeter . The surrounding countryside is magnificent with its rolling hills, and as most of Knole is over 500ft and 1000 acres in size, be prepared for some minor hill walking. The walk took about 5 hours and we covered well over 7 miles ,and I dare say we cheated a bit cutting corners, a well earned beer in the town centre made this lovely walk all the more worthwhile.

BURN OUT AND THE BARBECUE

BURN OUT
There has been more tension over the last eight weeks than in the last two years down at the Valley and I don't think I can take anymore (God knows how the manager and players must feel). Oh for a Scott Parker on Saturday, I blame our predicament on Abramovich and his millions , his pocket money bought the best Charlton player ever, all because he witnessed the best Charlton team ever destroy Chelsea . (galling thing is Raneri did not even want to buy Parker as they had an abundance of midfield players, but I am sure he would of gone anyway so I suppose there no point harping on about the past. We just needed a midfield player to take the game by the scruff of the neck but alas it was not to be. Why do we get punished for every error!, that's the premiership I suppose. Quite frankly I feel we are lucky to be in this position anyway, and I think Pardew believes that as well . His first interview suggested that the task was near impossible, and it looks like its becoming reality .
The next three games are all play off finals, and if we do not win at Blackburn the fat lady will be singing at the top of her voice.
BARBECUE
Thankfully a friend invited us to a barbecue on Saturday night (In April -last year we had snow)
and I duly drowned my sorrows on a few bottles of Spitfire . The kids got the karaoke playing and after a few beers too many I joined in . Why is it there is never any Jethro Tull on the play list, a band I have followed almost as long as Charlton .

WHAT MORE IS THERE TO SAY

Having read most of the Charlton Blogs and agreeing with what most of them have written, I feel there is nothing more to say, but one thing, were lucky to be in this postion because at Christmas I couldnt see us getting more than 25 points ,so Im grateful for the fact that I will be as nervous as hell from this evening . Even if we win there is still plenty of work to do and Sheff Utd have got home games that are very winnable, so the Blackburn game is just as important. Actually I didnt just have one thing to say. The pressure has been on for the last six weeks so I hope the players have still got enough fuel to keep the engines going. No prediction from me as my last one went hopelessly wrong.
Have a nice day tomorrow

HAVE WE THE BEST SUPPORTERS IN THE LAND

Just read on the Charlton official website that 59 old Charlton Supporter Michael Waldron has donation a substantial sum of money towards the subsidised travel to Blackburn. What a star , a true gent and credit must go to his missus who gave the OK, she gets my gold star. Wouldn't it be nice if we can beat Sheffield United on Saturday followed by a win at Blackburn and a draw against Tottenham surely we would be safe then. I would hate us to have to get 3 points at Anfield

BEWL WATER

On Saturday we went for walk at Bewl Water
and what a lovely day it was . The reservoir was built in 1973 to try and alleviate the water shortage that Kent has had for more than 60 years. Just off the A21 one mile South of Lamberhurst the scenery and location is unrivaled and is now one of Sevenwonders of the Weald
We started walking from the Visitors Centre clockwise over the Dam Wall and as the weather was incredible for Mid-April (23c ) we soon got very warm and regretted bringing extra tops with us. What was nice is to see young people doing various activities be it Dinghy Sailing Windsurfing and Bike riding which seemed to be the most popular.(wish we could get out teenage kids doing some exercise)There is a circular walk -Round Reservoir Walk which is 12 1/2 miles that takes about 7 hours , we thought we would start training for that for a months time after we have cut down on our beer and wine intake, which always goes up over the winter months, as we ventured further we saw less and less people for obvious reasons. For £5.00 a car a great day out and just in case- I don't work for the Kent Tourist Board. Would like to of included some pictures but have only just learnt how to include links, another couple of weeks-no problem.

GUTTED

The after match interview with Alan Pardew sums it all up , but he is definitely a half class full manager.

THE BIG ONE

As I sit here at my sons computer as he is away this weekend(which allows me to actually have use of one)with my palms all sweaty just thinking about the win we need at Everton after Sheffield United's win against West Ham . Its now from any four for third relegation spot as surely West Ham have blown it. This afternoon I am playing in a North Kent tennis match against Sevenoaks and although Im on edge playing matches its a big welcome distraction. The weather today is fantastic and more like summer than the middle of spring . Certainly going to be hot out there.
A score like this would make us level with Fulham -Everton 0 Charlton 1 but an even better score would be Everton 0 Charlton 2 Not asking for much am I.

The dream and the nightmare

Well this is it ,been saying that for the last few weeks but the reds really need to pull a result out of the bag. Just a feeling or maybe a dream 1-0 to Charlton with the best display of the season against Everton. Then at the back of my mind this horrible picture or is it a nightmare West Ham survive at our expense , please no, not that I dislike West Ham but after 4-0 drubbing at our place it would be ironic if they survived and we didnt.

The weather is warm

The weekend is going to be the hottest of the year in the UK,and as possibly global warming takes hold of the planet some parts of the world will benefit and some will be devastated .As a person in the Uk I can honestly say that I have never had a day being hungery where as people of the third world do not know where or when the next meal is coming from.To ask them to be concerned about global warming is like a person on his death bed to be concerned about his bed being tidy.The people of China and India the fastest growing economies in the world now expect to have what we have had for the last forty years and why not. Are we expecting them not to have a fridge tv and other electrical goods surely not. We have to somehow support the third world so they support themselves a task we have to start now.

Two wins and a draw

On reflection a good point against a very good Reading team I hope they play as well at the weekend. Will Fulham get out of it now with the traditional first win for the new manager. Pardew deserved that against Fulham but the worst refereeing/linesman decision Ive ever seen robbed us. Two wins and a draw for safety. Wins against Sheff Utd and Blackburn draw against Tottenham and unfortunate defeats to Everton and Liverpool.

Manchester or bust

Todays game is yet another cup-final and the butterflies are starting to flutter. My wife just cant understand the fuss "its only a game" if only. My life is busy and my other love tennis keeps me fit and playing matches all over Kent but the buzz I get from watching and listening to Charlton cant be beaten, I wonder how people get through there lives not supporting a football team, the ups and downs probably do nothing for the blood pressure but I would rather support any team than nothing at all.
Im not travelling to Manchester, so will listen on the radio so my wife will probably go out as she cant bare me when im jumping about and going red in the face with tension. Todays game is more than just important its a matter of life or death (that was the title of a great film with David Niven) Come on you reds
Man City 1 Charlton 1

Taking the plunge

Well I have been reading blogs for along time now mainly Charlton Blogs-Frankie Valley-New York Addick and Chicago Addick are my favourites and they dont just write about Charlton but a number of topics that interest me on most days. My wife and children dont share my love of football and the only work colleague who was a fellow Addick retired two years ago, and my father who went to the great Charlton Supporters club in the sky some time ago, has left me with things to say and chat about . Do people start blogs for five minutes of fame(Unlikely as you might not be read by anyone) or share a view of a topic that can be agreed with or not. There is nothing better than a debate( or a mass-de-bate) and I want to talk about things so there. As Chigago Addick once replied to an e:mail which critisized his blog and slated it for not talking exclusively about Charlton his reply was piss off there are plenty of other blogs and this blog is for me or something like that, and I totally agree .
So I've done it a complete novice when it comes to computers but sometimes you have to be brave.