A day to remember

This is the commemorative five pound coin produced by the Royal Mint for today, remembrance Sunday. One of the most important days of the year in my estimation, as we remember those who fought and fell for this great country and also those left at home that lost loved husbands, brothers and fathers.

It puts football into perspective a little doesn't it. However, the world keeps on spinning and although we all stopped for a minimum of two minutes today, there was still the small matter of a Championship fixture to fulfill.

I had a couple of reasons for choosing this picture over a more conventional poppy. First up, Bristol City blogger Paul, aka The Exiled Robin who invited me to answer some questions on his site prior to the match works for the Royal Mint, and secondly i won a fiver of someone for the subsequent  Charlton victory.

The game was on the back of Tuesday's stunning home win over Cardiff, we were relying on the players to recover from that epic in time to carry the momentum forward down at Ashton Gate.

Chris Powell had dabbled in the loan market during the week and brought in a couple of fresh faces in the shape of Dan Seaborne and Eggart Johnsson. Seaborne, a left sided full back from Southampton went straight into the starting eleven in place of Dervite, thus allowing Solly to revert to the right hand side and Morrison back to partner Cort in the heart of defence. Other than that the Addicks were unchanged. Johnsson, an Icelandic midfielder from Wolves will have to wait a little longer to get his chance under Chris Powell.

An impeccable minute's silence was observed after the sides were led out of the tunnel by members of the armed forces, City quite rightly not ignoring the importance of the occasion.

The home side lined up with Sam Baldock up front, a player we had been linked with a lot during the summer transfer market. With six defeats in a row, the natives were desperate to see a change of fortunes yet failed to get behind the side as a '12th man', a tactic we discovered works wonders in the week. In fact it was very similar to some darker days at The Valley with a chorus of boos being their most vocal moments.

Danny Haynes was returning to his old hunting ground and therefore almost guaranteed a starring role. Word perfect with the script, his pace caused the Bristol defence all sorts of problems and he got his opportunity with a rebound after Dale Stephens had hit the upright after twenty minutes.

The one thousand travelling supporters were bouncing and even let off a smoke bomb as the party atmosphere continued where it left off Tuesday. My twitter timeline entertained this 'ultra inspired' spectacle with mixed emotions, it was interspersed with praise for the balti pies on sale at the ground. I've yet to decide which topic is the more important.

A second half goal from Michael Morrison just before the hour did in all honesty seal the victory although City rallied for a period after our goal as they 'enjoyed' their best spell of the match.

Matt Taylor saw a long awaited cameo appearance towards the end, as did Ricardo Fuller - a very welcome return to the match day squad! Fuller got a ten minute run out replacing Rob Hulse who once again did his reputation no harm at all as he continues to attract prospective clubs.

How different it looks for the two managers now. Chris Powell has had his critics but with back to back wins is once again the man of the moment. Derek McInnes still has the respect of the bulk of the City fans but you have to wonder if seven straight defeats mean the writing is on the wall.

Charlton are now sixteenth in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone below, and an identical number off the last play off spot as we look up. Things appear much brighter now, especially as players slowly start to return.

Have we got through the worst of it? I really do hope so. Come on you reds!

Oh What A Night!

Over the years there have been some pretty memorable evenings down at The Valley, last night was up there with the best of them. In my last post great comebacks were the topic of discussion, who'd have thought that would be followed up by another of equal magnitude!

I was fortunate enough to miss Saturday at Charlton due to work, something i don't often say, therefore missing a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Middlesbrough. The prospect of the division's top club, Cardiff City, following suit didn't fill me with hope and so i ventured to SE7 full of trepidation and fearing the worst.

Chris Powell picked a starting eleven from an injury ravaged Charlton squad that included the forgotten Danny Haynes in for Lawrie Wilson and Michael Morrison at right back with Chris Solly on the left. It looked a little disjointed at the back and this was found out to our cost after only three minutes.

Poor defending from a corner gave Cardiff the lead early on, only to be repeated twenty minutes later as the visitors doubled their lead. A brief rendition of the relegation song 'Charlton till i die' followed as the fifteen thousand home fans readied themselves for the battering to follow. Cardiff however failed to convert further chances and the covered end sensed this game wasn't all over.

'Chrissy Powell's red and white army' rang around the ground endlessly as Charlton started to mount some pressure. Fortunately for us, Cardiff's defending was as comical as our own, Johnnie Jackson capitalizing on their errors and pulling a goal back five minutes before the break. Game on.

To go in a goal behind was deserved, to go in level was a little surprising. Once again the skipper got his name on the score-sheet, this time with a powerful controlled header. We left the pitch full of momentum, Cardiff left it shell-shocked.

We started the second half much the same as we finished the first, full of confidence. Dale Stephens scored direct from a sublime free kick that left us all speechless. By this point i was getting rather good at the old fashioned goal celebration of throwing my hat in the air. By the time Haynes and Hulse had made it five only eleven minutes later i had perfected it. An unbelievable comeback was complete, 5-2 up against a side that had fallen apart, and all still with twenty five minutes left on the clock.

Charlton have never done anything the easy way though have they, we are almost famous for it. From somewhere the referee found six minutes of stoppage time, i can only presume it was from goal celebrations. Our defense used these six minutes to disastrous effect as they tried to mimic what they had seen over the past hour from the visitors. Cardiff got two and very nearly a third as the comeback story almost took a completely new twist. Charlton held on and limped over the line, Cardiff have the unfortunate tag of scoring the first two and the last two in a game and still losing.

For those of you concerned that we may have come through unscathed, may i add that my own personal man of the match, Danny Haynes, came off midway through the second half with, we believe, a possible injury.

Chris Powell's delight was obvious for all to see, as was Johnnie Jackson's. What could have been a fourth straight home defeat turned into a memorable game where not only the team showed some grit and determination, but so did the crowd. How refreshing not to be surrounded by boos and negativity. The Valley was positively electric last night, if we could only put that kind of performance in every week!

Myself and my good friend Jim McGinty headed to The Grapes at London Bridge afterwards to celebrate and try to digest the events that had unfolded before us. A couple of pints of Young's finest and a cheeky glass of port left me feeling very content and comfortable. Nothing was going to be able to put a dampener on this particular evening. Not the escalator maintenance team working at London Bridge who worked on the down one when we wanted to go down, and then the up one when we wanted to go up. Not Southern railway whose train i needed from East Croydon to home was delayed by half an hour. Not the lone Palace fan, a little elephants, who proceeded to tell all and sundry on the platform two facts, 1 his team had won five nil and 2, he was a milkman (a very badly dressed milkman at that). Not the fact that another train pulled in and the place was awash with slightly intoxicated Palace fans in full voice singing a 'top of the league' song that i thought we had, to quote reality pop show judges, made our own. Not even the fact that they then got on my train home and continued with their merriment would rain on my parade. Living deep in Palace territory is a truly awful thing.

Today i suffered a little, my head was slightly groggy and the afternoon dragged like six minutes of stoppage time.

Occupational hazards though when you're Charlton and proud. And boy am i proud.

Add another nought

Was today's game at Deepdale the first time I've listened to Charlton on the radio without fretting? Probably. Normally in this situation I'm a mess, today i resembled a cucumber with my cool temperament.
When the second Charlton goal went in, from Dany N'Guessan, my sister in law who is staying for the weekend turned around from her knitting (or whatever she was doing) to see if i was jumping about. I just gave her a smug look, no need to punch the air or anything, we are after all deserving champions.
That smug look may have cost us the win I'm afraid.
Smugness is not a fruit of the spirit is it! The big man would've frowned at me for that one!

The last away day of the season has for many sets of supporters around the country become a day of fancy dress. Charlton kept up this tradition with a selection of bananas, cats, Toy Story characters and even Robocop amongst our ranks. Twitter was awash with photos of these characters making their way up north. A part of me wished the ref would have to go off, just so Robocop could put his boots on. That would guarantee no backchat!

After promotion followed by the championship, this weeks task was to achieve the magic 100 points. For a while we were on course for it. The beauty of the modern age is the current 'live' table. This of course showed for the majority of the match that we had indeed achieved the ton. We will have to wait until next week for this though, but it will be another aspect to the party that ensues at The Valley next Saturday instead.

The game itself saw Chris Powell make plenty of changes with the likes of Sullivan, Evina, Taylor, Cook, N'Guessan, and Haynes all getting a start. The gaffer had said beforehand he wanted to give squad members a run out to let everyone enjoy what we had achieved this season. Many said at half time that the Charlton reserves were winning. If that's was the case, they got stung in the second. Playing into a fierce wind, strong enough even to blow away all the commentators notes, Charlton faced a different proposition with Preston determined to give the home fans something to cheer. Nobody would have guessed they'd have a memory of a lifetime moment at the finish.
And the Charlton commentators wont leave home without a paperweight again!

Danny Haynes picked up the ball from a great Danny Green pass (who himself was to hit the post shortly after) and got of the mark for us after negotiating the ball pass the keeper and slotting home. Number two was from Dany N'guessan who got another goal to add to his Addicks tally just after the half hour when he seized on a defensive blunder and slid the ball into the back of the net.

Two up then at the interval and cruising to our sixth win on the spin. Like i said however, North End were not going to lie down and let us stroll it. They may well have had the sort of team talk our own Chris Powell is famous for giving.

A low shot from Nicky Hunt from twenty five yards out beat John Sullivan at the near post in the Charlton goal meaning under normal circumstances we'd have the nail biting finish we're so used to. Not today.
Even when the equaliser went in in stoppage time it was hard to be disappointed. Charlton fans around the world must have struggled with that one. Normally we'd all jump on the moaning bandwagon and stay there all weekend. To throw a win away and not care is simply awkward on so many levels!

As soon as Graham Alexander entered the fray with just six minutes left on the clock it was a given fact that he would have a 'Chris Powell' moment.
Forty years old, his 1000th and final appearance, the curtain was to come down on a twenty two year career with a goal. With the crowd baying him to shoot when the ball came near him, his own Powell moment finally happened from a free kick on the edge of the box.
Nobody else had a chance to take it and all 12,000 in the crowd, including the away supporters, were probably willing the ball into the net. Well if we weren't actually willing it in, we certainly didn't begrudge him it. What better way to lose two points.

On a day then when Preston had nothing to play for and we had the chance to make all the headlines Gary Alexander turned it all on his head and made the game memorable for totally different reasons.
Respect to him. It should have been about the number 100, he added a nought.

Competitive football isn't over for me this season though. Sutton United beat Farnborough today to seal a place in the Conference South play offs. They face Welling  United, the home leg at Gander Green lane is on Wednesday night. I'm looking forward to a real battle and some football with everything riding on it.

Come on you yellows!

The revolving door never stops.

Saturday was one of those days you were proud to support Charlton Athletic. Yesterday was one of those days you are proud to have a soft spot for AFC Wimbledon in your heart. Everybody's favourite second team (except possibly Sutton and Crawley fans) have, as Chicago Addick said so wonderfully, their own Thierry Henry moment.

Jason Euell has signed on loan with the south London club for five weeks and is expected to be in the squad to face Port Vale on Saturday.
Unlike the supporters of everybody's least favourite neutral club up in Buckinghamshire, these fans will remember seeing him turn out for the Dons first time around.  How lovely would it be to see him do what the Frenchman did on Monday night and wear his scoring boots to mark his homecoming.
It's fair to say those die hard Wimbledon supporters will see a different footballer than they did last time he wore the blue shirt. He is a shadow of his former self in match day performance although he still has a fantastic footballing brain. Similar in some ways to the great John Barnes during his stint in SE7.

As the season progresses for Wimbledon it has become obvious to us all that their honeymoon period has finished. Financially worse off than many of their opponents, it is this gritty part of the season where his experience will benefit the young players in the dressing room and give their fans a renewed sense of hope. With the rich kids down the road in West Sussex blossoming it would be an absolute delight to see their poorer compatriots doing the same.

Speaking of AFC Wimbledon a local paper, the Wimbledon Guardian, is running an on-line petition to get Milton Keynes to drop the 'Dons' from their name. Whether any good will come from it i don't know, but it's got my support. Football heritage is important and hard earned. The real Dons work harder than most!

We've seen the Paul Benson, Leon Clarke deal go through recently, today it was announced Leon Cort had signed permanently.
With six appearances for the addicks so far this season on loan, the defender has made it permanent after being let go by Burnley earlier in the week.
Cort has proved he is great cover at the heart of the defense, especially in Charlton's last outing at The Valley against Brentford and is a welcomed addition by all except perhaps the ginger Pele, Gary Doherty!

Charlton's official twitter page stated today that there hadn't been any breaking news for a while. Of course with transfer windows these days players all seem to move at once but the backroom staff keep that door spinning all year round. Look at Tony Jimenez.
I think we could see more 'breaking' news this week if the rumours are to be believed.  Jeffrey Schlupp's name has once again been on people's lips as it was pre season but it's Danny Haynes that seems the more likely.
Haynes is currently with Barnsley and word is the Yorkshire club have agreed a fee with Charlton. Others were interested in the former Ipswich striker including Millwall, but they just wanted the player on a short term loan deal.
Nothing is cemented until the club announce it and these days we've all read it on twitter and the like a long time before it's 'official', but it shows Chris Powell is still keen to add to his forward options during this window.
Onwards and upwards, I'm not sure but i think he'll be number twenty four?