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.