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!.