Monday 2 May 2011

Unfortunate news

Hello, I have been thinking for a while that I need to post this. My name is Sam and I'm Charlton North Downs (Paul's) Son.

Unfortunately on the 5th of February 2011 my dad passed away with a sudden heart attack. He went out to play Tennis that Morning and said he was feeling bad indigestion, so went to sit down. It was a couple of minutes later that he collapsed on the floor. Steve one of his tennis friends said he went unconscious and stopped breathing within a minute. It was very quick.

Even though i know Charlton has not been doing very well and not many comments have been made by my dad the reason being. I thought i would tell you just in case any of you had regular contact with him or wondered why he has stopped posting.

I would most appreciate it if any of you did know him well enough or whatever he ha said i would very much like to know. my email is samrobertweaver@live.co.uk


I have read through my dads blog all the way through for about the first time (skipping Charlton scores haha). Reading his blog he never seemed to tell much about what kind of person he was like. I thought i would let you know a little bit more about him.


Growing up with my dad was very good. One of the first things i remember was his enthusiasm to try and get my family fit. It would be walks every weekend. He particularity tried to get me into exercise, fishing, football and being sort of manly. However to say i think it failed, i hated those things and was more like a nerdy kid who played computer games all the time.

I cant remember an amazing amount when i was younger but he certainly cared for his family. He was never open with his emotions in particular but seemed to try and do things right with good morals. He was a good man.

As i grew older i was a typical teenager of "life is so unfair bla bla bla". I didnt treat my parents good and throughout they were very patient with my bad attitude! They both wanted the best for me and my sister Kim.

It wasnt until I became a Christian at 16 that my relationship with my dad really changed and more than once he looked at me and said "sam im so proud of you annd how much you have changed." that really meant alot.

Even though he did'nt show his love with cuddles and affection he basically did so much for our family. He certainly cared, alot.

My mum and dad always wanted what was best for us, and seemedto always try and solve the problem. He loved us very much and the same to him. I would say he was a good man, likable, and seemed to be able to get on with most people (infact i never seen him not get on with someone before). People liked him.

I am 21 now. I know he did'nt mention but i got married in July to a lovely, beautiful woman from mexico I met. The day i got married the day went so well, and it was one of the happiest days i had seen him and so ive been told aswell. It is great how my family has accepted Flor my wife as family. Also how they have supported us even though we were young.

Ofcourse my dad was not perfect, but the relationship i had was one where we both cared and loved each other a lot. In many ways i'm like him.

Our family considering the circumstances, we are doing ok i guess. We seem to be doing better than what we did at first.

The ortopsy said that his left ventricle was enlarged causeing a blockage. His mums side of the family many have died of heart attacks at an early age. However my dad though that it was due to high blood pressure and cholesterol. But we might think that it was the enlarged ventricle that might be passed on to generation. There was no symptoms with my dad and it was a thing that no one could of done anything about probably. He was 54 when he died.

If there is anything anyone would like to know or anything you would like to share please do!

Friday 6 August 2010

Trying to be positive is the hardest thing to do

Stress is a killer, I read somewhere that if a male adult had the stress level of a 2 year old they could treble their life expectancy. What a scary thought, 234 years old and probably fitter and more active than the average 18 year old today. Only one thing worth living that long for apart from seeing possibly your great, great, great, great grandchildren get married would be to see Charlton play premiership football again. The way things are panning out it may take that life-span for Charlton to play top-flight football again-hold on surely not how about 31 years 1956-1987.
The unfortunate thing about my own personal employment circumstances is that it has declined as quickly and dramatically as Charlton' s fall from the lofty heights of the Premiership. Lets hope I am wrong but we may have been part of a golden era for a small South London Club from 1987 to 2006 when we played top-flight football for 12 seasons within that period. If anyone had told me at the time of attending my first match at the Valley in March 1967, that in 20 years time Charlton will be in the First Division I would have called for the men in white coats to take them away. The golden era for small clubs are few and far between so we may have to be very patient.
Blackpool could be on the verge of a golden era and it is because of them that I will have an interest in the premiership this season. Ian Holloway brakes the mould and wears his heart and emotions on his sleeve. Hopefully the incredible group £5 million bonus promised by club chairman Karl Oyston will have been paid by the start of the new premiership season. Players like midfielder Keith Southern will receive £425,000 in bonuses as he played the majority of games last season, this represents more than twice his annual salary and apparently makes the bonuses the Inter Milan players received after winning the Champions league seem like small change.
Fair dues to the chairman but I wonder if he thought the board would ever have to pay out.
Confession time- I do have a soft spot for Tottenham mainly because I admire Harry Redknapp.
and the football they played towards the end of last season was exceptionally entertaining. Surely his management success is second to none. He will be offered the England job by popular demand despite the rumours .

The New Season
The opposite of stress is optimism even if some say its the hope that kills when supporting Charlton. A clean slate with Murray in total control, it seems as though our club is being reborn. Maybe we should rename our team Charlton 2010 Athletic. That elusive striker will be with us soon, if not maybe one of the youngsters, if given a chance will shine .
Unfortunately On Saturday I have to attend a wedding but will be anxiously listening out for the result. Its a drug supporting Charlton and I salute the dedicated amongst us who spend most of their cash and spare time following the Reds. Playing sport especially tennis will always be my priority but supporting and attending matches are a close second. The new season begins and I hope to attend as many home games as I can . Come on you Reds-Keep it going.

Charlton 2 Bournemouth 0

Hats off to New York Addick for his attempt to Run the Chicago marathon -he will succeed I'm sure as long as he gives up those pints of Guinness.

Its never to late to get fit -Just read Kings Hill latest blog -if he can do it then anyone can .

Monday 14 December 2009

Freezing and snow possible for Saturday

Wouldn't like to have a snow ball fight with a Millwall Fan

According to the Forecast for Saturday there will be a biting Easterly wind with temperatures below freezing all day . Snow is a great possibility so Brr!

My Road last February -snow was about a foot deep

Sunday 6 December 2009

A wins a win- Charlton 1 Southend 0

Charlton 1 Southend 0


After a good mornings tennis and a couple of lovely pints of Rabbit Ale-3.7, so not too strong I rushed to the Valley, purchased my £17 ticket for the North Stand, sat down and waited for the entertainment to begin. Well I'm not going to be too critical because the boys looked tired and short of creative football for most of the match. Southend looked a good footballing side without the cutting edge to exploit a Charlton team content to sit back and enjoy a flimsy 1-0 lead. After 25 minutes, Lloyd Sam supplied the cross for Man of the Match Dean Burton to head home . The trouble with the view from the North Stand is you miss a lot of the goal mouth action within the six yard box in front of the Jimmy Seed stand, so it took me a couple seconds to jump out of my seat and realise we had scored. One great save from Elliott just before we scored was the only other highlight worth mentioning. Sorry this was a dour game probably because both teams seemed to cancel each other out. The positive spin is : We played badly and won. The defense looks very solid and won the game for us. Burton is a revelation who holds the ball up well and his clever link play should lead to more attacking options. Its funny how a narrow 1-0 win can still leave you on a high meaning that for most supporters winning is everything.
The middle of the defense was magnificent today , The midfield was poor and that affected the whole game. It will come together over the following weeks and I don't want to give our promotion the kiss of death -But Norwich and Leeds are due a bad patch.

Elliott 8 Great save that gave us all 3 points -still a bit of a Dracula at times.
Richardson 7 Did a job -unfortunately seems very injury prone at the moment
Sodji 8 Great enthusiasm-perfect performance
Dailly 8 What a signing -If we are promoted I hope we can get another Season out of him
Basey 6 Unless he starts to read the game like Bobby Moore his pace is going to be a real handicap
Wagstaff 5 Sorry he had a stinker
Sam 6 Can do so much more
Bailey 6 Tried to hard -Not a happy about him feigning injury
Racon 5 Poor Game
Burton 9 Harried chased and his clever hold up play goes unnoticed.
Mooney 6 Went missing and missed a sitter to boot.

Why being a Charlton Supporter can never be a hobby

It shouldn't happen but it does - If Charlton win I'm on a high if they lose, I get over it, but it does effect my mood for a couple of hours -Sad really but supporting your team is for life and if you try to rationalize and explain it I don't think you can. A hobby is something you do in your spare time, it helps you to relax. Supporting Charlton is just like being on a roller coaster that never stops.
Explain this = When I was 10 in 1967 my Dad took me and my cousin to watch Tottenham play Manchester United. Both teams had World class players - Jennings , Greaves, Mackay-Charlton, Law. Best. The score was 2-1 to Tottenham - Greaves and Gilzean for Spurs and George Best scored a cracker for United in front of 57,000. The Following week I persuaded my Dad to take me to the Valley to watch Charlton beat Preston 2-0, in front of 11,000 - Matt Tees scored both goals - That was it, a hooked fish line and sinker for life. Really I cant explain it and I don't think anyone on these forums can either.

Saturday 14 November 2009

That's Entertainment-Charlton 5 MK Dons 1

Terrible Conditions with a swirling wind and a soggy pitch failed to dampen what turned out to be the best match of season at the Valley. All credit to MK Dons who came to play football and they certainly did which made for a very entertaining game. Charlton were definitely up for it and right from the kick-off their intent was there for all to see (well done Parkinson)-they desperately wanted to win not just for themselves but for the fans. See that is all the fans want spirit, desire and they all get right behind the team.
The wind played havoc which only made the game more entertaining with some bizarre incidents more so to the MK Dons Goal.
MK Dons opened the scoring with a brilliant shot from Wibrahan which gave the keeper no chance, but really the goal came from a breakdown of a good Charlton Attack. The goal seemed to galvanize Charlton into a another gear and 4 minutes later Mooney slid the ball under the MK Dons keeper for a well deserved equalizer. From then on Charlton dominated and deserved all the luck that went their way with the great football that they played . Bailey headed a second for Charlton to take the lead after great work from Sam. A fantastic goal line block from the impressive and the fantastically enthusiastic Sodje kept Charlton lead in tack for half-time. Bailey hit the bar from a great free kick and also a goal-line scramble should have led to Charlton's third. In the second half with a swirling wind behind them Charlton totally dominated and played the best football from any team that I have seen this season at the Valley . Further well deserved goals from Sam with a great individual effort, a great header from Sodje, then a final well taken goal from the impressive Burton. All Charlton players played very well today and I'm giving them all a nine. What a great afternoon and well worth the weather ordeal. On this display Charlton will surly win automatic promotion . One thing the fans were saying on the way out that I disagree with is that MK Dons were rubbish, definitely not so because Charlton were so good,

Come on you Reds