Good Luck Benty -Cheers Mate

He's finally going and he certainly has my best wishes. 37 goals in 79 matches, almost a goal every other game in one of the worst Charlton Teams in the last 8 years . With statistics like that, if he can continue that sort of scoring rate at Tottenham, then surely we will see Bent as an England regular. In the past I have always wanted to see ex- players do well ( apart from" The Usual Suspects" What a great film by the way, If you have not seen it, see it, your in for a treat, one of the best endings to any film I have seen) and Bent is certainly no exception.
Now we have a bit of dosh to splash, please lets hope Pardew can find that elusive midfield dynamo (that's giving a way my age)

Come on you Reds

Is the Board Suffering from Burn Out

The present Board have been magnificent for Charlton and supporters over the last few years and the club has come such a long way, since I started supporting them in 1967, so I am loathe to criticise the Board in anyway. Like any business you can have a tremendous run of success, only for it to suddenly end and you then have to search for inspiration, maybe from a different source. Over the last year the Board has come in for some unprecedented criticism, not only from the supporters but the media also. From being the club that most neutrals admire and respect, we have become a little bit of a laughing stock. This may sound harsh and I still have a lot of respect for the Board, as I know Charlton is in their hearts. Certainly I would bring them to task over appointing three managers in a season and some of the transfer dealings look as though they have been hastily approved. The latest decision to axe the Ladies team is again another rash decision, that now looks like one of the biggest PR disasters for the club over the last 10 years and now even worse, there could be a possible back-track, very unprofessional in my opinion. Like any football team, it needs a shake up every so often and this also applies to the Board, what shape or form!, now there's a difficult decision.

Benty to Tottenham-Defoe to?

Football is a subject that seems to be broached on any occasion and yesterday was no exception. After a long conversation with two of my Tottenham supporting Nephews, it was interesting to note how keen they are for Bent to sign at the expense of Defoe . I am not a great believer in what goes around comes around, but possibly the Tottenham supporters sense someone who's loyalty is in question(the way he treated West Ham and Charlton). Parker for me, is the best player to have worn a Red shirt , but I do not have the same admiration or respect that I have for players like Bent or Holland. My conclusion to all the transfer activity Charlton have been involved in over the last few weeks, mean its inevitable that Bent will be transferred. Maybe my optimism got the better of me, after Benty turned down Wet Spam, but now there is no way we can afford to keep Benty, as the club need to balance the books, unless, one of the wealthy Directors has put a few million into the transfer kitty-dream on you might say.

Time to get Personal

Well this is it, after a few drinks too many, what I have wanted to write suddenly has to be written. The blogs, they are all brilliant some better than others, but all of them well worth reading. So many, it has to be unique, but may be it goes hand in hand with Charlton. Andy Hunt said"Charlton supporters like to write blogs" This week I became an orphan , although my mothers death was a blessing, as she had suffered recently in great pain, from severe emphysema and for many years struggled to have any quality of life in a nursing home. Along with my Dad she was a Charlton Supporter who's favourite player was Keithie Peacock (she thought he was sweet)
They will probably think what a tosser, but NY, Chicago and FV, write some of the best posts on their Blogs, be they serious, or tongue in cheek, and you can unintentionally piece bits of their life together. They are working , or have worked abroad, something I have always regretted not doing, so with envy I pay particular interest to their posts. Please keep all of the blogs going, you have added something that has been missing for sometime and my love of Charlton and all that goes with it will never die.


Come on you Reds.

French Under 21 Captain Signed.

French under 21 captain Yassin Moutaouakil signed for Charlton today on a 4 year contract for 600,000 euros. The French right back is being chased by a number of clubs but we beat them to it . For me this has to be the most exciting signing so far this summer. If he fulfils his potential we could have a French Star on our hands and possibly the future Captain of the French National Side. Well done the Board and Pardew. £428 k is a steal.

Bloggers Certainly Seem to Like Kish

After trawling the Blogs. over the last 24 hours, the majority of Bloggers seem to have an affinity for Kish, although not particularly admiring his football skills, but his work rate and commitment, which I think is second to none. Having never lowered myself to boo any Charlton player, although inside I have felt deep anger at some of the time wasters I have seen playing in a Red shirt, it upset me to hear Kish being booed on a regular basis. My guess is the booing would not come from the die hard Charlton supporter, who has been through the good times and the bad. Over the years I have seen plenty of players who really should only have played in the lower leagues, probably the Conference at best, how some played more than 50 games for Charlton I will never know. Against Bolton two seasons ago I went with a couple of mates and moved from my regular seat to one at ground level, I was able to observe Kish more closely and my admiration for him grew that day as he ran his socks off and really muscled in on the delicate boys from Lancashire. Murphy was like a spoiled two year old, where as Kish never let his head drop, even after being substituted he cheered from the sidelines. Most teams need a Kish type player, but they are only at their most effective beside a play maker with good skills.
Good Luck Kish.

Benty is a hero, even to my wife

Well I was telling my wife, who only watches football when England are playing in the World Cup or the Euro Champs., even then she disappears when the going gets tough, that Darren Bent has turned down a move to West Spam, which would effectively have netted him £80 grand a week and probably a handsome signing on fee . Her pet hate is the overpaid, brainless, incoherent premiership footballer, who just turns out for the wonga and may even be happy to sit on the bench. Our Darren, I think we can call him that now, is quickly turning into the legend of all legends . We all stand/sit on the terrace, on a Saturday afternoon, for the love of the game and more importantly, the love of Charlton and hope our hero's are there just for the shirt, which is totally unrealistic, but we all wish it, well Benty has certainly gone up in my wife's estimation and I will be expecting his poster on the bedroom wall anytime soon. He is proud to wear the shirt and if only we had more players like him, we would still be a premiership team.
Come on you Reds

Darren Bent is the Best Striker to wear a Red Shirt.

Probably controversial , but my top ten strikers that I have seen play are


1. Daren Bent- Scored goals at the top level and in a poor team for two seasons.

2. Andy Hunt - One of the best all round strikers I have seen in a red shirt, but never performed at the top level because of his illness. What a partnership he could have made with a fit Mendonca.

3. Clive Mendonca- A hero and a legend. A great goal poacher and again denied playing regularly in the top flight, due to injury.

4. Derek Hales- A great goal scoring machine, but not at the highest level. Took a long time to settle at Charlton, but scored loads of goals in a long career . The Championship is far stronger now than the old Second Division. Just a matter of opinion of course.

5. Jason Euell- supporters seem to have forgotten how good he was and our top scorer for three seasons, although not a true striker. It all went pear-shaped on one match against Man Utd

6. Mike Flanagan- Scored 120 goals for Charlton , a great all round performer.

7. Paul Williams- Never played at the Valley, but finished top scorer for two seasons at the graveyard in the old First Division, so quick around the box . Went on to play well for Sheffield Wednesday.

8. Ray Treacy - Did not score a great number of goals but the ones he did score were spectacular and very important.

9. Arthur Horsfield-The real old fashioned Centre Forward.

10. Paul Walsh -What a talent but I never looked upon him as a striker because of his all round play -Could have been a contender if he had played more matches.

Ten Years ago to the Day

Swindon away on 13th August 2007, 1st round of the League Cup(You can call it anything you like, but its still the League Cup to me) brings it home, doesn't it. The last time we played in the 1st Round, was 13th August 1997, losing to Ipswich Town 1-0 . Lets hope this is an omen and the next ten years, will be as successful as those just past.

The Missing Link

We have made some good signings , the latest being McCarthy from Leicester and listening to Talk Sport most Leicester supporters are upset at his transfer. What would really make my day is to hear the signing of a ball winning midfielder of the same ilk as Kinsella . Impatient me never Pardew will get it right, I'm sure
Come on you Reds.

My First Charlton Match- more than 40 years ago

1966 what a year , the World Cup Finals and my love of football took over my life that summer, which led me to become a Charlton supporter the following season. The Final is remembered by most people in the same way as, -where were you when Kennedy was assassinated, or the first moon landing . Mind you the capacity of Wembley must have doubled that day, with so many people claiming to have been there. My most vivid memory of that day, is diving behind the sofa and crying my eyes out after West Germany equalised in the dying minutes. All the family and some friends were glued to our little black and white telly on that scorching July day and my outpouring of emotion was met with stony silence and I felt like a complete idiot. Even then, the pessimism that is an English trait rose its ugly head and we thought that was it. Alan Ball my man of the match & Co did the business in extra time and the rest is history as they say.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC 2 PRESTON NORTH END 0
Why are we Charlton fans, it cannot be explained easily. We certainly can't be accused of glory hunting . My first match at the at Valley was Charlton Athletic v Preston North End
11th March 1967, the attendance was 11,840, and the team
Charlie Wright- Main claim to fame was having played 3 games for Glasgow Rangers- prone to the odd error, but a good shot-stopper
Billy Bonds What can you say- went onto to become a great West Ham legend
Bob Curtis Personally I thought he could have been as good as Bonds, but lost his way.
Ron Saunders Left soon after, went onto greater things, as a manager
Ian King Not a first team regular
Colin Appleton Again better known as a manager -later
Keith Peacock Charlton Legend and my mum's favourite player
Matt Tees Skinniest footballer I have ever seen, great in the air, useless with his feet
Eddie Firmani A great Charlton favourite, a good player, past his best when I became a supporter.
Alan Campbell Thought he was useless to start with, but how wrong can you be, magic in 68/69
when Charlton finished third behind Derby and Palace
Len Glover Ever improving and one player who really fulfilled his potential, eventually went on to play for Leicester in the 1969 cup-final after being transferred for £80,000. at the time a record for a winger. Those were the days.

Best Memory The ground -very much like looking down into the Grand Canyon when on top of the old East Terrace -Love at first sight.

The Match Matt Tees mis-hitting his second goal so much so, that it seemed to take half -hour to enter the net . One lad behind the goal almost ran on to the pitch to help propel the ball in.

One Match that's all it took -crazy, but I wouldn't change any of it.

A Brilliant Walk At Oare, Nr Faversham, North Kent

The Creek




This is truly a beautiful walk and certainly the best we have done this year. The walk starts from the North Kent Village of Oare, a stones throw from the lovely Market Town of Faversham . For some provisions we went into the town first and of course my main interest was the Shepherd Neame Brewery which produces some of the best ales in the Country. Faversham is steeped in history and is well worth a visit as a warm up, to the long/short walk to follow. After picking up our provisions and a wander around the town, we returned to
Oare and commenced our walk along the Saxon Shore Path to the left of the creek, this area is owned by the National Trust. As you walk towards the open sea, the wind gets stronger, the air fresher and on this particular day we were the only walkers. The North Kent Marshes are a bird watchers paradise and at the beginning of the walk we met several birdwatchers, with their tri-pod cameras, which are large enough to remind in the distance of small robots. The weather was just perfect for walking and as we had started late at about 12.30, we decided to get a good pace up as we wanted to be home, for our well deserved sundowners. We reached the mouth of the estuary with views of Whistable Bay to our right and the Isle of Sheppey opposite. This is a circular walk and if you only want to walk about three miles, then follow the path left towards the Swale and take the next footpath back. If your feeling energetic then beyond that path, the walk is at least 9 miles. You will need OS Explorer 149
(Sittingbourne & Faversham and Isle of Sheppey) As we followed the route along the Saxon Shore Path we got to the point of no return and we did not see anyone until we reached Conyer Creek and followed the path to Conyer Village.( Along the Swale path we saw hundreds of fish swimming near the Shore and I have since been told they are Mullet and weigh between two or three pounds). At Conyer you need to follow the path until you reach the Swale Heritage Trail and this will eventually lead you back to Oare. The Countryside is quite breathtaking and the diversity of this walk is going to make it hard to beat this year. Beware the path leading back to Oare, it has been somewhat neglected, but I believe that it will soon be renovated back to its rightful condition .

Back to Oare