Mind Your Language

Transfer deadline day, Sky Sports very own Christmas Day but not an occasion when Charlton were ever likely to get everything they wanted.

As our new owner started pulling strings yesterday with the sale of Dale Stephens to Brighton and Hove Albion, it was inevitable that talismanic striker Yann Kermorgant would follow the midfielder out of The Valley today. What we didn't expect was the departure of Ben Alnwick on top.

Stephens, a player linked last year with Aston Villa, was having a good season with the Addicks. The Jekyll and Hyde of the team, you never knew quite which Dale Stephens would be playing, the tactical reader of the game that could run the midfield or the ineffectual onlooker who looked both lazy and out of his depth. When the Premier League side from Birmingham came sniffing it was widely reported that the player was homesick and was desperate for a move closer to home. Born in Bolton, it appears the poor lad had his map upside down whilst speaking to the Seagulls.

We knew Bournemouth, the club, wanted Yann, the supporters according to Twitter far less convinced about the acquisition. This morning he broke the hearts of the Charlton faithful and that of the manager Chris Powell too by passing a medical on the south coast and signed on the dotted line for an undisclosed fee. A two and a half year contract with a decent wage is a cracking deal for the 32 year old; he obviously hid his financial delight and security when posing for the obligatory photo holding aloft the new shirt. With a scoring rate of a goal every three games, it was no surprise that Roland Duchâtelet offered the Frenchman a new two year deal himself but something obviously wasn't right for the player, rumours suggest it may have been the long term prospects for Powell that tipped the scales. I believe it was more likely the wage packet.

Ben Alnwick's permanent move to Leyton Orient was a complete surprise. The keeper has had a good little run in the first team since Ben Hamer's injury and did his reputation no harm at all gaining perhaps too many plaudits along the way. We can't of course compare him yet to new stopper Yohann Thuram-Ulien but I would certainly have rather seen Hamer be the goalkeeper to be shown the exit door over Alnwick. As things stand however it could be a good move for the keeper, it may well prove to be a safer bet on securing involvement in Championship football next season.

Three out then, three first team members too, yet with only four hours left of the window I don't think we'll see more departures. With Yann going and young Joe Pigott going on loan to Gillingham, the act of scoring the goals required to secure our future at this level fell to Simon Church, Marvin Sodall and Iranian international Reza Ghoochannejhad. Simeon Jackson, a player we were rumoured to be linked with, appears to be going to Millwall so it's another foreign newcomer that we pin our hopes on.

Piotr Parzyszek, a young Polish striker passed a medical (and the barbers judging by the state of his Barnet) today to become the sixth foreign import to join the club this month. Signed from Dutch side De Graafschap, surprisingly not a member of the Duchâtelet empire, young Piotr has promisingly been prolific at a very good level of football.

Interest in Rhoys Wiggins has been put to bed with the full back penning a new deal at the club, more encouraging than another new signing, especially when you now consider how many languages will now be spoken in the dressing room.

The problem may well be lack of communication, it's a well known fact that any group of players need time to gel even when they all understand each other. There is certainly no time for Chris Powell to take them on one of his favourite jaunts to Spain this time. One thing is for certain, with us sitting uncomfortably in the bottom three Roland may have to act quickly and put his hands in his pockets to fund a few emergency English lessons.

A load of Belgian waffle.

Football as a sport is built on defining landmark moments. An FA Cup final in the blazing sunshine of May, a Tuesday night trip to Plymouth in the freezing January rain, a hectic Christmas festive football frenzy marking the halfway stage of the season watched by grown men in club colour-matched Santa hats. These different junctures of the campaign all contrive equally to delight us with a hobby and lifestyle we couldn't replicate elsewhere, even if the actual game play so frequently disappoints.

It's a long time since I've managed to complete a whole Christmas fixture list, family commitments (read 'a wife that would never forgive me') taking precedence over a Boxing Day jaunt to SE7. This year, as has become the norm, was spent with family in Tunbridge Wells, Rusthall to be exact. A village to the west of the town immune to mobile phone signals and hosting frustratingly sporadic internet connections. A refreshing break from social media therefore opened out far more traditional Christmas entertainment, but it was a good twenty four hours after the final whistle before I managed to read of Lawrie Wilson's brace and the enthralling team effort to go with it that saw off Brighton & Hove Albion.

If I couldn't attend Boxing Day, there wasn't a cat in Hell's chance I was going to miss The Valley's second festive fixture, this time against a rather large club from Yorkshire. Christmas is renowned for throwing the simplest of travel plans into chaos, never more so than this year with abnormal weather and huge Southern Railway maintenance plans. Every football supporter dreads the words 'rail replacement bus' yet despite their efforts to the contrary, I still arrived at the Richard The First in Greenwich in plenty of time for a few pre match ales.A good job too, I was in danger of sobering up for the first time in four days.

Chris Solly had returned for the Boxing Day fixture, but a heavy pitch had obviously taken it's toll on the full back as he was missing for the visit of Sheffield Wednesday three days later. Rhoys Wiggins was also absent but this due to the birth of his first child. Could the momentum of Brighton be carried over to this mid season relegation heavyweight six-pointer clash with such disruption to the team? Perhaps a far bigger question, could an area of grass that you wouldn't want to walk a dog on host a Championship football match?

During my break from the online world I had missed the news of Belgian businessman Roland Duchâtelet and his intentions to buy the club. As tempting as it would be to immediately have the finest Belgian blonde and wheat beers pumping through the North Upper concourse, the first job after tying down the staff with new contracts for any prospective buyer has to be investment in the playing surface. Quite frankly that pitch is shocking and an embarrassment to the Championship, a statement that could also be used for match officials but more on that later. If it isn't puddles of water stopping a pass reaching it's recipient, it's the mud. Yes, I agree they used to play top flight football in these conditions in 1974 but that was forty years ago. The way the game is played has changed since then, technology has moved on, even if the weather hasn't. I find it very difficult to believe this day and age that professional people keeping a professional football can struggle so much. If the kit man were equally poor with his results would the club happily send the players out in pink shorts after the red in the shirts had run?

So could such a surface host a football match? Just. The first half was dreadful, as dire a forty five minutes as you'll see all season but Dale Stephens would turn on a little style to surprise us all just after the restart. Collecting the ball directly from a Wilson throw on the edge of the box he dropped his shoulder, took it inside the defender then out-witted the oncoming keeper using the outside of his right boot. It was delectable, and as they so often say, a goal that could grace a cup final. The sort of goal Simon Church dreams of. Church, perhaps the 'unluckiest in front of goal' of a long line of Charlton front men spearheaded our campaign to not increase our lead. As we started to sit back on our lead Wednesday started firing shots vaguely goal-wards but mainly towards the corner flags. We felt deep down as we so often do that it was only a matter of time.

The table doesn't lie, these two sides are poor and that is why they find themselves consistently in the bottom six. I never like to slate the officials, it's an easy option but it is becoming harder by the match as referees and their assistants continually both falter with and show little fluidity to many match changing decisions. That said, to some extent you make your own luck in football and if you continually fail to take the chances you create and if you play half your matches in terrible conditions you won't be sitting pretty on top of the pile.

The Sheffield Wednesday equalizer certainly hinted at offside and the more you watch it the clearer it appears to the point where you wonder how anybody could have missed it in the first place, yet it's arrival was ultimately an inevitability. We defended in numbers, so much so that we seemed to get in each others way, our only option going forward was to catch them on the break. The obvious thing to do would be to bring on a centre half come very defensive midfielder and a wide man lacking in competitive practice.

Again Mr Duchâtelet, I beseech you, should you spend your pennies in this corner of London, whilst arranging an annual summer pre-season friendly at Standard Liège, could you invest in resurrecting the reserve team. An occasional Wednesday morning behind closed doors friendly is never going to be enough for the squad's fringe players to find that aggressive edge. Perhaps a short time in the 'stiffs' would also ease the likes of Solly (and all those with recurring injuries) back into the first team for a more prolonged period of time.

A dismal effort from Church at the end again begged the admission that no matter how you dress it up, we struggle to score goals. I've said this before but it seems poignant on the weekend when he found himself reaching double figures, but surely now is good time to give Michael Smith a chance providing it possible to recall him. He certainly knows where the goal is, albeit two divisions below, but regular competitive football is certainly keeping him sharper than the bench warmers above him in the current pecking order.

As much as we like to moan, it is just a matter of perspective. We are unbeaten in three and who wouldn't have taken four points from the two festive home games a week ago? So it is with this vision that I shall bode a farewell to 2013 and welcome the new year full of Belgian hope.

That's if the takeover talks don't collapse on the second of January. Happy New Year!

If at first you don't succeed......

Bitter rivalries are usually formed through location, although occasionally a heated cup tie or some such event can sow the seeds of animosity. Has a football team ever been hated due to the weather though? Until this season it is unlikely, but biblical downpours and the ability to cope with such dampness have infuriated the supporters of Doncaster Rovers, so that now my Charlton pin badge is about as welcome in that part of South Yorkshire as an Ian Watkins guest appearance at your local school concert.

I'd have a lot more sympathy for the Rovers supporters if their team had turned up last night, although for some reason this fixture was seemingly cursed as a signal fire at London Bridge caused havoc with the transport infrastructure in and out of South East London; in hindsight it's quite fortunate anybody attended at all.

Heading north out of Redhill I was informed of the impending gloom thanks to the very apologetic train driver. My choices were to alight at East Croydon and return from where I had come or show some initiative and battle on with a new resourcefulness and complete my journey to SE7. I chose the latter.

A train to Victoria, the Victoria line to Green Park and then the Jubilee line to North Greenwich and, hey presto, I landed with my feathers none too ruffled. The bus stops here though were heaving with far too many people and I decided a half hour walk was by far the quickest way to complete the final leg, also giving me opportunity to visit the newly opened Pilot Inn for liquid refreshment. It proved a good call as the beer was delicious and I stumbled across a friend, also diverted from his usual route, which made the final walk far quicker and more sociable.

And so I reached The Valley in good time for kick off, quietly smiling to myself that I had defied logic and raced across a standstill rush hour London. Local authorities, police, the railway companies and just about everyone else must be praying one of these sides is relegated in May so we don't have a repeat performance next season.

I was feeling incredibly confident about the game, lightening not striking twice and all that. Doncaster were only going to score three at The Valley the once, we had shown great spirit at Loftus Road on Saturday and if we took that into this game a severe thrashing could be on the cards. Believe me, it's not often I feel quite so confident. Thankfully this was not misplaced.

Charlton were superb last night, their best performances at home always seem to come under the floodlights of an evening game. Even a pre match injury to Ben Hamer didn't detract from our superiority as Ben Alnwick came in for his league debut and did everything right. Yes Doncaster were poor, possibly the worst I've seen in SE7 for some time, but the rookie keeper pulled off a couple of fine stops and kept that all important clean sheet.

Simon Church up front was fantastic. His commitment is second to none, he missed chance after chance but was rewarded with a goal after an hour which he took round the keeper and slotted home very professionally. Quite how he later managed to stand on the ball then fall off it before landing face first in the dirt is quite a mystery though! I took a long time accepting the lad, strange as how Steve Jones is one of my all time favourite Addicks and he too ran all day after everything with very few goals in return. Church had the Donny centre backs worried from the off though and they looked in awe of him whenever he came close by. He's growing in my (highly influential) esteem week by week.

Dale Stephens is a true Jekyll and Hyde footballer, you never know which one is going to turn up, fortunately last night it was the talented player that can read the game, execute the decisive pass and score goals of sheer memorizing genius. Yesterday we were treated to the whole package, a goal that made Charlie Austin's screamer on Saturday look like a poacher's tap in. Helped with the youngsters Stewart and Cousins being both on song and a handful for the disorientated opposition, and Jackson putting in a true captain's shift, our midfield last night looked as good as any I'd seen in this division. Don't panic though, we still had time to throw in a few meaningless sideways passes to keep the purists happy.

Yann Kermorgant got his first full ninety minutes in for a while, and with it a superb chance to steal a goal. Somehow he managed to curl a distance effort in front of an open goal further towards the corner flag than the target. With two goals, two efforts off the woodwork and plenty of other near misses we were fortunate that we didn't depend on our talisman striker doing anymore than improving his match fitness.

So surely there can't be any gripes at all can there? Well, I'm still not convinced with Wilson at full back and there's always Marvin Sordell. He came on for twenty minutes in place of Church and immediately looked more knackered than the enthusiastic front man he replaced. Dragging his heels like he does can't be doing his boots any good at all. Other than that I was full of smiles and more than ready for an attempt to get home.

It must have been the first time I've left the ground and not seen an away fan. The couple of hundred Rovers fans that had made it surely came by coach, those that caught the train must have been fuming when they could get no further prior to kick off.

The trains were now running of sorts, I got to London Bridge as quickly as I would have normally and there was a connection to East Croydon within minutes. My luck stopped here. It took me another hour to reach Redhill and this is still six miles from home. Refusing to wait at least another half hour I resorted to a taxi which I shared with another chap still trying to get home after his days work. He asked me where I'd been; I told him all about Dale Stephens wonder goal.

Needless to say my smile was much larger than his.

Church on a Saturday

What a week for the Welshman! Charlton's number nine scored the winner for his country in a World Cup qualifier against Macedonia last Friday, then the winner for his club yesterday. It would appear I have misjudged the lad a little, proving yet again that Chris Powell is far more suited to the Charlton job than myself.

Church, like his song, has always provoked me since his/it's arrival. Simon Church, my Lord, Simon Church, sing the Addicks faithful. I love the fact, and always smile an inward smile to myself, when this rings around The Valley. You see, purely innocently and without intention or even realization, fifteen thousand football fans are loudly claiming not only the existence of our creator, but also their own immediate relationship with 'Him' being 'theirs'. This to me is complementing all the running, the hard work and the never say die attitude the former Reading striker displays every time he pulls on the Charlton shirt.

Overjoyed in his efforts these fans, after singing his name all match, will then tweet the words to his song as they relive and rejoice in the club's magnificent away display well into the small hours of the morning. And this is where it kicks me in the teeth. Nobody capitalizes the 'L'. Lord is a name, therefore requiring the use of the capital, a small insignificant matter to all but a handful, but enough for me to repeatedly bang my head against the wall. So much promise, let down at the final straight with a niggly, irritating, lack of, for better want of a word, quality. This was Simon Church in a nutshell, viewed through my eyes.

So here I am now, eating my words. At Ewood Park he scored a goal of exalted technique, collecting the ball on his chest (NOT his arm) and netting with the inside of his foot. Quality with a capital Q. I thought he had been a desperation signing from Powell, I was wrong, he obviously saw something in Church that convinced him to acquire his signature on the training ground long before the thousands of paying know-it-all's were to witness it. As all Charlton strikers do, Church will continue to dismay and infuriate, we will all publicly chastise him for it, but at least i now know there is an essence to his game that warrants not only first team football at Championship level, but international recognition too.

It wasn't by any means a one man show at Blackburn. Dale Stephens had one of his good days for us, the exquisite chip of a pass to pick out Church for the goal was as delightful as the goal itself. We know Stephens has this in his ability locker, has another Charlton player blown so hot and cold in recent times, it just depends which Stephens is turning up for the game. yesterday it was the one that was needed. Richard Wood was a tower of strength at the back, again showing exactly what Chris Powell had seen in the player during his trial, Blackburn's (including that perennial thorn in our side, Jordan Rhodes) rather woeful finishing detracting nothing from the strong Charlton defensive performance as when they did shoot on target Ben Hamer was there with tremendous hands.

Three very big points on the road, so urgently needed too as those around us were adding happily to their tally. None more surprisingly or impressive than Barnsley's dominant showing against Middlesbrough. Find and watch their opener, scored by Paddy McCourt, a creative solo run reminiscent of a certain Ricardo Villa at Wembley.

Another positive was the return of Yann Kermorgant and Johnnie Jackson to the substitute's bench, alongside the returning Danny Green after his loan spell at the franchise. Kermorgant and Jackson did both get a piece of the action, the former trying an audacious chip from his own half with typically French disdain. Six minutes of stoppage time, added to the final twenty of the regular, proved compellingly nail biting in a way every Charlton fan knows only too well. You want to look away but instead look through your fingers, evocative of children tucked behind the sofa watching Doctor Who.

The international break obviously did us good. A solid base to take into next Sunday's 'football for a fiver' match at home to Wigan. A team that can't score a goal on the road for love or money. Heard that one before! Let's hope that twenty thousand fans can take a leaf out of the two hundred's book that travelled to Lancashire yesterday, getting a thorough soaking in the process.

In short then I was wrong about Simon Church. Let's get behind the team rather than picking holes in what we have. Come on you reds!

I'm still not convinced about Sordell though.........

The Capital One at the John Smith's

Sponsorship, loads of money thrown at events and places (amongst other things) that already exist in an attempt to get your name 'out there' and on the tip of every tongue. It's big business, plenty of smaller fish depend on it. I see it's need but it still bugs me. The League Cup is thought of as a pretty meaningless competition by the big boys, and everyone else once they've been knocked out of it, Capital One can throw thousands at it, I still very much doubt I will ever use one of their services.

Huddersfield's ground is now known as the John Smith's stadium. I can't even begin to think how much money would be needed to make me drink that horrible bath water of a beer. The brand name is owned by Heineken, just as awful. Money well spent all round then. Yet when it was called the Milk Cup, now that's a product I'm very keen on........

Once we'd gotten past the branding we realise this is most certainly not the tie of the round as Huddersfield entertain Charlton in knock out football. Again. How we groaned in South London when the draw was made, and how they groaned in West Yorkshire also. It was going to be tough to get the home supporters interested let alone those travelling from SE7. In the end the number in the visitors section numbered 159 and I tip my hat to each and every one of them. Imagine going that distance on a Tuesday to watch Charlton in a cup match, we've all seen villains in the movies torturing poor unsuspecting souls with pliers, flame throwers and other implements of mutilation. Even Hollywood script writers aren't cruel enough to endure a Charlton cup tie on them.

Tonight it sounded from the commentary and from the tweets of those there (yes Spanish, I mean you) that Charlton for once looked good despite ultimately getting knocked out of the competition. The opinion seems to be that the result was a little harsh and the better side lost.

Chris Powell opted for a different formation, three centre halves and Evina and Wilson as wing backs. Jackson was back in the middle and Sordell started up front with Piggott. Huddersfield put out a strong eleven not to dissimilar to a team they would field for a league match.

Twice Charlton led, first from a Dale Stephens strike, then a goal for the immensely irritating Sordell. All strikers need a goal for confidence and getting off the mark is important when joining a club, but I fear as we continue to watch him he will persist in provoking and inciting us with a lack of effort, interest, and results. Perhaps I'm harsh, I'll quite happily eat my words if proved wrong.

Can we complain if we've scored two goals away from home? I suppose we can a little if we've conceded three. At the moment we are shipping goals at a rate of knots. Leaking boats sink. Teams that concede lots lose, I've no more low quality nautical analogies left after Saturday I'm afraid, but suffice to say our defending remains a worry.

For now though at this late hour I shall sleep content in the knowledge that we can concentrate on more important issues than a two bit cup that nobody has any real interest in. Except for Peterborough and Bristol City possibly.

I'm not jealous.

Really I'm not.

One day............

Ewood Blues

Everybody needs somebody to love, even long suffering Blackburn Rovers supporters. Jack Walker, God rest his soul, and that title winning team must seem a lifetime ago after the Steve Kean and Henning Berg fiascoes. Michael Appleton's introduction to the Ewood crowd could therefore have gone better for all concerned bar the visitors.

With a win rate of under 19% at Blackpool during his sixty five day tenure, marginally better than the 10% of his predecessor in this new post, the Blackburn fans understandably are short on patience. How short was however a little surprising. There can't be many managers listening to the fans boo at half time during their first match in charge. These fans went on to show their feelings with their feet, flooding out of the stadium before the end.

If Appleton had lasted just sixty six days at Blackpool he would have lost to Charlton two weeks on the trot with two different sides. What a quiz question that would have been!

I hadn't realised previously that today's crowd of just over thirteen and a half thousand was typical for Blackburn, I just presumed they got a fair few more despite all the bad feelings. The Charlton contingent, I'm led to believe, was around three hundred hardy souls that had battled the snow and the cold (not to mention broken down trains) for the long trip to Lancashire, the team certainly made their valiant efforts worthwhile.

Putting the FA Cup to one side, Charlton are unbeaten in the league this year having won three times on the spin. Sitting happily at twelfth in the table we are certainly looking above us first before we look below. Days like today are big results, who'd have predicted a win at Blackburn at the beginning of the season?

The game contained a real contender for goal of the season from Dale Stephens. A rather special strike from twenty five yards which, from an audio only point of view, seemed against the flow a little. Blackburn had certainly started the brighter yet failed to convert possession into goals. Stephens definitely put the cat amongst the pigeons with his wonder strike. Not only were the home fans riled, the rumour merchants could get some more mileage from the possible Villa move story all over again.

Charlton should have really made it two shortly afterwards. Jackson and Kermorgant came close but the ball was cleared off the line amongst the melee. These are the moments that so often come back to haunt us, three minutes after the restart Blackburn were back in the race. The always dangerous Kazim-Richards crossed it for Jordan Rhodes to head home into the bottom corner for his fourteenth goal of the season. Not the first time in his career he's hurt the Addicks.

The winner though came fifteen minutes later courtesy of striker Yann Kermorgant. A wonderful cross from Pritchard followed by a strong and powerful header from the Frenchman restored our lead setting up a typical nerve wracking finale for those of us tuned in to the radio commentary.

Sheffield Wednesday come to The Valley next, we could get to February without dropping a point in 2013. When you look at the awful way we muddled our way through December that's some turnaround!

Chris Powell said afterwards that "we were very positive in our mindset and I think it showed today".
I should imagine Michael Appleton is dreaming of the day he can say that.

Smokescreen

I don't really have a problem with football 'ultras', a familiar sight all over Eastern Europe and particularly in Italy they bring a lot of noise and colour to a football match. I do rather enjoy seeing lots of coloured smoke emerging from a football crowd.
Unlike football hooligan firms, ultras do find more importance in supporting their own side rather than fighting the opponents. The need for black ninja outfits is slightly worrying though, maybe they'd feel more at home in certain religious female attire?

Crystal Palace included a small amount of ultras in their 3000 strong travelling support and in all honesty, the noise from the Jimmy Seed last night was very impressive. Dislike them i may, but i can't ignore the fact they certainly were a sight and did the whole twelfth man thing perfectly.

While the smoke was getting in the eyes of the travelling contingent, it was certainly clearing in the home areas. We may have had a scoreline at Forest that tried to cover the deficiencies in the side, but the Palace game certainly showed us all our shortcomings and raised even more questions.

The honeymoon period of the Birmingham and Leicester matches when we still carried the momentum of last season are well behind us now and we can expect a long hard slog through the coming winter months.
Crystal Palace were by no means a side on par with Forest but they were physically strong and well organized. Two factors we need to sharpen up on.

At the time i felt this was probably the easiest three points they would win all season, now having had the chance to sleep on it, i can take a couple of positives from the evening.
It seems the midfield is everybody's main concern. Dale Stephens is back and needs to continue with the performances which alerted Villa in the first place, using us as a platform to both better himself and launch what could be a fantastic career. If not and he wallows in what might of been he could take the team morale down with him.

One thing we can take from last night is the need to play with width. Jackson is struggling with fitness and doesn't look to have a full ninety minutes in him, whilst Pritchard doesn't really seem the player to attack full backs and get the crosses in. Danny Green came on for a cameo yesterday and suddenly showed a creative spark we had been lacking.
Look at the trouble we had dealing with Yannick Bolasie. A true wide man, Chris Solly was tested to the full, first on our right, then once Wiggins had gone off on our left. It's testament to young Solly that he limited Bolasie as much as he did.
Zaha also proved a handful, never short of both ideas and confidence, he was a constant thorn in our side all evening.

Palace were famed for their inability to defend set plays. Unfortunately both Jackson and Kermorgant struggled to find a strike between them that would really hit the target, let alone trouble Speroni in goal. Shots on target were in short supply throughout.

Our disallowed goal from Wright-Phillips should have stood after seeing TV replays, the referee later apologizing to Chris Powell for the error of judgement, and that goal would have had some impact on confidence and perhaps the run of play, yet we were clearly second best.

A draw would, i hate to admit, have been unfair on the visitors. The little rally late on which saw some awful shooting from Fuller and Wilson amongst others was I'm afraid too little too late. Again, similar to the Forest match it was desperation to salvage something after being outplayed for seventy minutes.

Ben Hamer had one of the best chances as he came up for a stoppage time corner. A strong header was cleared off the line and we got a comical moment to cherish as the keeper tried an overhead kick on the follow up. That little gem was especially for the Addicks that had already seen enough and headed for the pub.

Quote of the night from a chap i spoke to afterwards, "We looked like a League One side who's financial backer had pulled out."
It's back to the drawing board for the gaffer after this wake up call, bouncing back against Derby on Tuesday is vital if we don't want to get too comfortable in the bottom six.

For the first time in many years i rode to the game last night. I parked the bike at the Rose of Denmark heading back there afterwards for a quick one before setting off home. In hindsight this didn't turn out to be a bad idea. It was nice to wind down and chat about the game afterwards but it also kept me away from Charlton station.
When i returned home i saw my twitter timeline full of people saying that it had all kicked off earlier around the station. Men old enough to know much better unable to differentiate between fun harmless banter and ignorant thuggery.

What a sad way to end a hugely disappointing evening.

Anyone seen the key to the trophy cabinet?

I may well be the last Charlton blogger to write about the Addicks becoming npower league one champions, but then i was probably the last Charlton supporter to know that we were.

My Saturday was not at The Valley but at my sister in laws 21st birthday bash. This event had been organized and planned for weeks in advance by Heidi, my wife, and to escape for a few hours in the middle of the day would have been to commit domestic suicide.
So instead of being part of Charlton's greatest day in over a decade, I was dressed as the Mad Hatter at an Alice in Wonderland inspired tea party.
Why was i so late in knowing of the Addicks great achievement? This tea party was held outside of the signal coverage from my network provider 3, and no matter how many march hares, cheshire cats or red queens i asked, no one had an interest in, let alone seen or heard, any football results.

Wycombe Wanderers were visitors and their need for the points was far greater than ours. From what I've seen in the extended highlights, that showed on the pitch.
Yann Kermorgant's first half free kick was delightful to put us in front although the Chairboys front man Stuart Beavon gave the visitors hope by leveling just before the break.
In Milton Keynes the franchise were a goal to the good against Sheffield United at this point. If it stayed like that and we scored.........

And that's just how it panned out. For the first time in my life i was glad to see a win for Buckinghamshire's other league club. After the controversy surrounding a certain Ched Evans, the Blades fans were having a torrid weekend, especially the six thousand they reportedly took away to the new town.
Substitute Dale Stephens scored his fourth of the season a quarter of an hour before the end to seal it for Charlton, and after the final whistle, with the players still on the pitch, news came through from the Stadium MK and this sparked some wonderful scenes of celebration.

Mark Ritson posted a superb video on you tube of the events after the final whistle, the highlight for all being Chris Powell jumping out the tunnel, just as we fondly remember him doing in his playing days. Watching this makes it hurt even more that i couldn't be there, although the gaffer has promised a huge party in SE7 on May 5th for the last game of the season against Hartlepool. Wild horses couldn't keep me away for that!

Promoted one week, champions the next. Wouldn't it be great if, at Preston next Saturday we could break the 100 points target. Surely then the BBC would have to give us some coverage? It was ironic that on the weekend we won the league, BBC's Late Kick Off programme got Dougie Freedman in the studio and turned it into a Palace special!

Speaking earlier of Ched Evans, there was more controversy as he was included in the PFA League One team of the year. I'm not going into the rights or the wrongs of that here, i just want to note that four Charlton players were also included. To the surprise of many, Chris Solly was not one of them.
Ben Hamer, Rhoys Wiggins, Johnnie Jackson and, my personal player of the year, Michael Morrison won this accolade.
Players regard this as the highest of achievements as it's voted for by fellow professionals, in many ways the most prestigious of honours so my heartfelt congratulations to each of them.

I've seen it said on twitter that Charlton themselves are the real league one team of the year. How true, we've been top since September, we've not really wobbled at all and in Chris Powell we once again have a hero at the helm that, it would appear, can do no wrong. This feels as good as it did for the play offs in 98 and as good as it did winning the 'second division' in 2000.
Our Charlton are back, oh how we've missed them.
And doesn't it just sound so perfect........

Charlton Athletic - Champions!

All Shook Up

The Shakers came to The Valley on Tuesday night on the back of a 3-0 defeat to Rochdale. It was another Dale who broke their hearts in London though.

Chris Powell shook up his starting eleven with a couple of changes on a bitterly cold night. Bradley Wright-Phillips was missing, Leon Clarke getting the nod to play up front alongside Kermorgant, and Dale Stephens impressive cameo at Exeter was enough to convince the gaffer to start him alongside Hollands in the middle of the park in place of Bradley Pritchard.

If truth be told, the Charlton faithful were probably expecting a bit of a goal fest after the hard fought 1-0 battles of late. An early goal would have perhaps seen the rewards their possession deserved, yet it wasn't to be, and Bury got the opener just before the interval through a man i last came into contact with whilst devising our wedding present list, John-Lewis.

General opinion is that Leon Clarke was poor up front and it wasn't until he was replaced by Danny Haynes that the Charlton attack looked lively. Kermorgant, as much as i rate him, will never be a twenty goal a season man. He works tirelessly week in week out and deserves a goal more than anyone, but it's the midfield who have to step up to the mark and get their name on the score sheet at the moment.
I doubt very much Clarke will start on Saturday, but whoever does will certainly be feeling a little pressure now.

Most had thought they had seen our first home defeat of the season. Those who gave in and left early to head home and warm up missed a peach.
Ladies and gentlemen, may i introduce to you Mr Dale Stephens.
Hughes, Russell, Pritchard, they've all come in and done a solid job. Stephens though adds something a little more creative, his distribution is second to none. His eye for the spectacular is, well, just something else. With ninety three minutes on the clock he let rip from close to thirty yards out after the Bury keeper had denied Michael Morrison moments earlier.

The Charlton bench went mental, you would have been forgiven for thinking it was a cup final winner. Even Jason Euell, returning home briefly as a summariser for BBC radio, nearly fell out of the gantry high up in the rafters of the east stand.
Bury were devastated, the players slumped to the ground a memorable victory snatched from them at the the last.

A point rescued, more importantly an unbeaten home record still intact, warning signs are there that the hard work isn't over yet and complacency mustn't creep in. Fortunately Sheffield Wednesday failed to close the gap with a draw at MK Franchise so it's still ten points difference between ourselves and the chasing pack.
Rochdale Saturday gives us perfect opportunity to forget this blip and get back to winning ways. I'm getting out of work early and should have plenty of time in the Rose of Denmark beforehand to thin out the blood with alcohol.
Well, it's one way of numbing this cold weather!

Come on you reds!

It's Green in Devon

828 Charlton fans saw the Addicks win in Exeter yesterday. That brings the total number of living Addicks to see a Charlton side win there to 828. It's been that long, 83 years in fact.

There was a time not so long ago when 4-0 was the typical Charlton scoreline. We seem now to becoming masters in slugging out our victories in a 1-0 fashion.
It was always going to be tough at Exeter, they have a great home record and typify the sort of side that can bring Chris Powell's high flying team back down to earth with a bump. With the home side playing five across the back we knew we were in for a tough afternoon.

Matt Taylor made a fond return to a club he made nearly 150 appearances for, as did Addicks keeper Ben Hamer who was in the same part of Devon this time last year on a loan deal.
Bradley Wright-Phillips returned to the west country to a tirade of boos from the home support. How he would dearly love to have ended his goal drought ( i think it's ten games now) against the Grecians and quieten down those boo boys.
He'll still have to wait though as Exeter's rugged defending gave the front man very little opportunity.
I for one can't wait to see his goal celebration when it does come. I feel their is a lot of frustration building up inside the lad and when he scores he's going to go off like a firecracker on bonfire night!

It wasn't just Wright-Phillips who found the going hard, Exeter didn't allow us many chances to play the flowing football we've become accustomed to.
A goal did come, but even that was fortunate. 'Lucky' Charlton strike again. Danny Green (how Exeter love green!) crossed from the right only for the home keeper to fumble the ball across the line with his hands and the use of the post. That was the first goal conceded by Exeter in five hours of football.
Harsh on Exeter who had a game plan and stuck to it, in fact they had a chance or two near the end as Hamer had his now customary five minutes of flapping, although the keeper did make a great save from a powerful close distance shot from Spanish striker Guillem Bauza.

Dale Stephens was one of the substitutes to get a run out for the last ten minutes. Bradley Pritchard has done well of late as Danny Hollands latest partner, Stephens will be keen to get back to full match fitness and get that spot back. A great time of the season to have such healthy competition in the middle of the park. Normally by now we're looking at suspensions and injuries!

With both Sheffield sides in cup action, we have gone to nine points clear of second, Huddersfield, with a game in hand on them. The steel city sides have played as many as us and occupy third and fourth. Both are ten points behind.
Home games this week against Bury on Tuesday and Rochdale on Saturday are ideal opportunities to build on the points tally.

Twitter was full of excitement, as was the BBC radio show 606, later Saturday night as club captain was on the train home with many Charlton fans and putting his hand in his pocket to buy drinks.
A future member of the Charlton Athletic 'hall of fame' this boy for sure!
Just another example of what a great football club this is.

Come on you reds!

You win some, you lose some.

The football matters of course, not just the result, but the way you play and the manner in which a  win is achieved.
Sometimes though you'll have to concede and put to one side your high standards, going home happy knowing you've got a result despite having an off day.

Yesterday for me was a little like that for me. We came away with three points, we're back in the top two, Chris Solly once again showed why Charlton got the better end of the deal over Arsenal, yet it was as football matches go, so very poor.

I had a little stroke of luck getting out of work a half hour earlier than i envisaged. I was expecting to pull in to SE7 at around three and sprint down to the ground, praying that Bradley Wright-Phillips would wait a little longer than Monday before getting off the mark.
As it turned out i was in the Rose of Denmark enjoying a pint of London Pride by a quarter past two.

By now we've all seen Exeter's goal a couple of times and read countless reports. From the north upper i really didn't think the ball had gone completely over the line. Whether it had or not, Exeter's 'scorer' Nardiello should have had more sense than to shout off at the linesman. In this day and age of political correctness, swearing in front of fourteen thousand people is going to get you in trouble.
Doing it to an officials face and you're asking for it. It's at least a caution all day long.

So off he went and we had that old situation of playing against ten men. I don't know how other sides get on in this position but we always struggle. Yesterday was no exception, it was hard to tell where the man advantage was on the park. I even counted the white shirts at one point to check Paul Tisdale hadn't sneaked another one on while we weren't looking.

The ever improving Chris Solly had an effort at the other end hitting the underside of the bar which crashed down somewhere near the line. My eyes these days just about see the goal itself in front of the Jimmy Seed, the whereabouts of the ball are totally out of my parameters.
You win some you lose some. We had done both (or neither depending on your view).

I very nearly missed the first definite goal. Not being overly impressed with what i was watching, the thought of avoiding the queues at the little boys room was looking more and more attractive.
Then of course Wright-Phillips broke through and struck with accuracy after link up play with his strike partner Paul Hayes. We went into the break with an undeserved lead against a relatively poor team.

Another problem at not really being able to see the other end that clearly is determining the stroke the evicted Exeter fan was doing. Carried out by a team of stewards, the lad was horizontal! With arms and legs going, it could have been the breast stroke or the front crawl. He was closely followed by a friend who was at least upright yet it didn't look like his feet touched the ground as he pedalled thin air. I said to Dean sat next to me that all six hundred could be leaving one by one at this rate.

The second half continued in much the same vain. We still struggled to show our numerical dominance and i fear many Addicks were worrying a repeat of Monday could have been on the cards. Fortunately Dale Stephens wasn't going to repeat his glaring miss and slotted home to secure the points ten minutes from time.

Chris Powell has stuck with pretty much the same side so far. Being top two and unbeaten we can understand why. I do worry a little that players may feel their place is secure and performances just go off the boil a little.
No disrespect to Stephens and Danny Hollands but a month ago they were running games from the middle of the park. This to me did seem to be missing a little yesterday.
Wiggins is still struggling to find his feet and his distribution is poor.
Hayes and Jackson both performed below what we know they are capable of and Waggy never really threatened to trouble their full back.
Players are going to have off days, it just seems they happen at The Valley. I do wonder if there is a pressure on them playing at home that they need to overcome. You'd be happy at snatching points on the road without the stylish passing football being on show.
At The Valley we expect a classier more dominant performance.

It was however a fantastic day as football always is. It's the first time I've seen them in the flesh since the opening day and had been looking forward to it for what felt like ages. The adrenaline kicks in on the train whilst listening to London Calling on the iPod, the first beer slips down a treat and the match day experience is second to none.
The football matters of course, but it's a day out with mates you just cannot put a price on.
A few drinks in Bartram's meeting a couple of Twitter followers for the first time followed by a couple at London Bridge with good buddies made a day of it.

And then i got home to catch the end of last night of the proms before Match of the Day. A chance to get get all patriotic after a day out at our national game.
Good old Blighty!

To top the weekend off we have celebrated Heidi's parents silver wedding anniversary today. They treated friends and family to an 'all you can eat' Chinese buffet at a local restaurant. Needless to say i stuffed myself silly and washed it down with a couple more beers.

All in all a great weekend. You win some, you lose some. This weekend i won.

Monday I had Wednesday on my mind

Looking at the facts, this had disappointment written all over it.

1, Semedo's return.
2, Our centre half up against his old team. (Almost guarantees a mare.)
3, Their poor form away from home.
4, Our great start.
5, Needing to play catch up with the franchise and the red half of Sheffield winning Saturday.
6, Sky TV cameras.
7, Gary 'negative' Megson.
8, I'm stuck at work.

OK, perhaps point 8 could have meant  a truly epic Addicks performance, but alas, no.
With many thanks to Laura for tweeting me the frequency, i managed to tune in to some of the game from my Tesco dot com van. Of course, by the time I'd found it Bradley Wright-Phillips had scored the opener and we were well on our way to going back to the top of the league with an outstanding goal fest.
If I'm correct, the last time we were at home on a Monday and on the telly was Swindon Town last season, Parky's last game. Ouch.

During the first half i didn't want to get out of the van when arriving at customers addresses. One women even commented on this saying she thought i may have got myself locked in the cab. When i told her the full story and mentioned we were attacking the opposition's penalty area at the time she replied with a grunt. A little like a football conversation at home! I'll never understand some people's priorities.

Listening to Phil Parry and former Charlton front man Bradley Allen on BBC London radio, it seemed that Charlton were by far the better side in the first period playing some slick passing football. Dale Stephens had a good chance to make it two from close distance whilst Sheffield Wednesday had taken to their 'lumpier' tactics, both in style of football and method of challenges.

The second forty five and it was a different game entirely. An equaliser for the owls from former Palace striker Clinton Morrison (Sky's man of the match for some reason?) gave the visitors what was probably a deserved point over the ninety. This came from that dreaded set play, something we have struggled to defend for a long long time.

Thoughts of slipping back into the darkness that was last season are perhaps a little premature, we are still third in the table and unbeaten don't forget.
We can however play beautiful football and need to adapt when managers have rallied their troops with their half time team talks. Wednesday tried to stop us playing the game last night, many others will try to do the same. A plan of action and counter tactics must be part of Charlton's armoury to ensure our wonderful start to the campaign continues.

It's another home fixture Saturday, one which i can finally get to after missing everything since the opening day. Exeter are another side who could surprise us, and another donor club to our central defensive partnership. Exeter haven't had the best of starts picking up only four points  to date and sitting just on top of the bottom four. A big game at The Valley and the chance to take a scalp will be great incentive for them.

Lets pray we get back to winning ways and keep the pressure on the top two. Come on you reds!

Love and Pride

Football returned to SE7 today with a bang! For the first time in what seems like forever, Charlton played great football, dominated and then killed the match off with great professionalism.
That's what my heart yearns for now, love and pride.
After the problems of last nights awful dramas on the M25, the AFC Bournemouth side plus 1200 supporters made it to south east London. Only to wish they probably hadn't.

Chris Powell started with, on the whole, the eleven we expected. With Hamer injured, Elliot kept his place behind the sticks. In front of him were ex cherry Wiggins, Taylor, Morrison and Rigsby (Chris Solly). I did wonder if there may have been a little surprise of Simon Francis after his good pre season form. Fortunately the gaffer didn't do this to us.
Another former Bournemouth favourite, Danny Hollands, lined up in the middle alongside Dale Stephens. Captain Johnnie Jackson and Scott Wagstaff completed the midfield. Waggy starting as Danny Green was of course suspended, as was Powell who had to watch his team for the stands.
Paul Hayes and Wright-Phillips completed the side.
New boys Sullivan, Pritchard and Hughes were all on the bench alongside Paul Benson and the Doc.

Bournemouth fielded Danny Ings after the weeks rumours on twitter of the striker being another Valley bound cherry. Also in the starting line up was former Addick Harry Arter. After an hour Mark Moleley made an appearance for the opposition. L'Oreal models don't appear to work Saturday's then. Needless to say, Robbie Savage references were aplenty!

We've been used to the covered end booing and getting on the backs of the individuals of late. I'm pleased to announce that we appear to have turned a corner. I didn't hear one comment of abuse today. That has to be a first. Poor old Rhoys Wiggins however faced a constant stream of heckling with every touch from the visiting supporters, and i can confirm it was still going on all the way to London Bridge. We too were in good voice, song of the day had to be the covered end singing 'Charlton's feeder club' mockingly at the Jimmy Seed. Quality.

As for the game, well every single Addick put in a performance to be fair. It's lovely to see all eleven men put in a shift together whilst all being on the same wavelength.
Dale Stephens who had a fantastic full debut opened proceedings after some fine work by Solly. This was closely followed by a superb effort from Wiggins which was goal bound until it was turned around the post by their keeper. How he must have wished that had gone in, the best way to shut them up would have been a screamer like that.

The second half got off to an amazing start. The skippers corner was cleared into the path of Stephens who appeared to be in the middle of everything. The midfielder layed it off to Wagstaff who may well have already scored the goal of the season. Twenty yards out and he volleyed it into the top corner. We went wild.

Bradley Wright-Phillips was fouled in the box with a quarter of an hour to go and the ref pointed to the spot. Never in a month of Sunday's could you claim it was anything other than a clear cut penalty. Johnnie Jackson dispatched it in the manner we are accustomed to, putting the Addicks out of reach.
You could see clearly in his face what today meant to our captain as he celebrated in front of the north stand. This result was important for us faithful fans. It was a whole lot more to those footballers that had not been having the happiest of times recently at their place of work.

Benno got a run out when he came on for Hayes. Pritchard made his debut replacing Waggy a little later and got to experience playing in front of more than 300 people in a competitive match. Even the ginger Pele made a cameo coming on for BWP as we switched to 5-4-1 for stoppage time.

Dale Stephens stood out as a real quality signing, he looks assured alongside Hollands. As my good mate Dean said, Jackson doesn't look so special playing alongside these two which is without doubt a good thing!
Morrison looked a good prospect at the back. I'm not getting carried away as there is obviously a long way to go for him, but i do see signs of the Eddie Youds about him. And it's not just his haircut! He's a big lad who's not afraid to go in with all guns blazing. Yes, he'll get it wrong at times, but we need a hard man at the back. Michael could well fit the bill.

Solly did well both defensively and going forwards, whilst Wiggins did better than i expected, all things considered. This was a great team performance, something we didn't see at all last season. The opposition will improve and little cracks will appear, but for the moment let's enjoy a Saturday night like we haven't done for so long. I may even watch the football league show.....

Finally a quick note to say what a pleasure it was to meet Chicago Addick in the Rose of Denmark before the match. As the author of one of the best Charlton blogs, it was a real pleasure to put a face to the name.

So on then to cup success Tuesday. It's a grand old team to play for, it's a grand old team to see..............