Goals, Goals, Goals.

And so it's begun. Charlton Athletic are not only back in training but are kicking footballs on a pitch in front of paying spectators. And doesn't it feel good!

The first team have now had three matches, the traditional opener at Welling United followed by a now nearly traditional trip to Spain where they've faced a Gibraltar XI and Scottish Premier League side St Mirren.

At Welling a healthy crowd saw a five goal show from the visitors with young Joe Pigott bagging a hat trick and causing a minor storm on twitter with the #feedthepig hashtag.

A two-nil victory at Gibraltar's national stadium followed by this morning by a four-nil convincing victory over The Buddies to take our non competitive tally to eleven goals scored, none conceded. Great reading I'm sure you'll agree but I'm still concerned, we've lost Wright-Phillips, Haynes and Fuller yet haven't appeared to do anything about filling that void. Does Chris Powell have a cunning plan to unleash upon returning to our shores?

Haynes has gone to Notts County, young Waggy has gone to Bristol City, everybody seems to be moving in the transfer market except for us. We've signed Mark Gower and brought defender Richard Wood in on trial. I thought we were keen to sign Jonathan Obika permanently, and if that was the case wouldn't that have been one of the quick deals so he could have gone on the gaffers Spanish bonding session?

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see us sign players for the sake of it, and as I discussed last night with a good friend over a pint of London Pride or two, I'd much rather see youngsters given a chance ahead of loan signings that don't share the club's passion, but isn't Yann Kermorgant our only striker of note at the moment? Pigott, Cook, Smith, Azeez, all strikers on the books but not a Championship first teamer amongst them yet, and love big Yann as I do, he's not a twenty goal a season striker is he.

If a neutral looked at our first three scorelines they'd never ponder such a situation, let alone worry where the goals will come from. We've been blessed of late with midfielders and defenders getting themselves on the score sheet, but if we're going to build on last season we need match winners. Despite Haynes' fitness and Fuller's age, they were for all intents and purposes match winners, they had a bit of class about them and a real presence on the football field.

We shall see, Powell knows his job (and his resources) far better than I do, but surely there's got to be an announcement or two soon hasn't there? We're in grave danger of being left behind. While we're at it, another midfield general and a centre half would be nice but I'll settle for just a striker right now. I keep thinking I've just forgotten someone, this tropical summer heat getting to my head but I've checked the first team squad list to quash this paranoia and sure enough we look as light as I feared.

Perhaps a new front man will arrive in SE7 at the same time as the new kit. Many would assume that if you've picked a design straight out of a catalogue the suppliers would have it on your doorstep very sharpish. And then you remember we're Charlton, not really on Nike's 'A' list of clientele so we can quite happily sell replica's to the supporters and keep the coins entering the sportswear giants pockets but they in return can't quite manage to kit the players out? Well done Nike, your nonchalant sentiment never fails to make me smile, keep it up. Perhaps they are waiting to officially release it at the much anticipated 'club day' on the 21st July. I do hope not.

And so to Wednesday evening, and my first visit to Kingstonian's ground for the friendly against AFC Wimbledon. I've only ever been to one of their fixtures before, a friendly away to Sutton United at Gander Green Lane which was coincidentally their first ever match. I'm quite excited, who knows there's even time between now and then that I could witness the arrival of a new player or even a new shirt.

Then again.......

Ground floor perfumery, stationery and leather goods

Now i don't for one second presume i could do anything any better than those at the helm, for running a football club has got to be difficult and you're never going to keep everyone happy all the time.
Running a household is enough of a challenge financially for me, while keeping one person happy every once in a while is seen as a success.

The boardroom at The Valley sounds ferocious and the club as a whole doesn't appear the happiest place to work recently. If rumours are to be believed, Rick Everitt the club development officer could soon be visiting the labour exchange. An outspoken Charlton stalwart, Rick would be another link with our recent history that would be lost to the club, another voice saying what it really means to 'be Charlton' that would fall silent.
In real life Charlton behind the scenes could be much healthier than we know, but being kept in the dark supporters will always fear the worst.

One part of the clubs operations we do know something about is the club shop, sorry superstore. Didn't Tesco copyright that term?

With all the excitement and ultimately disappointment of Friday you would have been forgiven for missing the news of the refurbished and refitted store reopening.
Charlton fan and radio disc jockey, Dave Berry gave up some of his birthday to cut the ribbon and open the doors to the public.

I've mentioned my dislike of the Nike brand before, the financial rewards for the club aside, they will always be an American basketball brand to me famed for their sweatshops.
The club shop is now a 'Charlton Athletic Nike store', i pray we don't go the route of Bolton and Reebok although in retrospect Reebok did hail from that part of the world.

We already know the season highlights DVD was only available from the commercial centre and back issues of matchday programmes are no longer in the store. We also knew Nike were bringing in, all but for a couple of leading faces, their own staff, what we have since discovered though is the addition of the Nike boot room and the Nike casual range in this first wave of rebranding. The basketball floor i expect will come later.
A standard 'Just Do It' slogan t-shirt is already available if you can't find it on the shelf of your local JD sports.

Someone told me the other day that when Dr Martens sponsored Rushden & Diamonds, the famous air cushioned soles were available from the club shop. I still think we should be sponsored by a brewery!

It's the modern football world, club shops aren't portacabins anymore but are big business ventures. To compete on a level playing field clubs can't afford to be one step behind the rest.
It doesn't matter how much heritage you have if you can't pay the bills, look at Portsmouth still living day to day.

No doubt nearer Christmas a young family members wish of a replica shirt will force me to give Nike some of my pennies although I'll be buying on line. I don't want to have to carry matching running spikes, basketball hoops, aftershave and golf bag home on the train with me.

What's in a name?

Would you still support your team if they ran out wearing hessian sack cloth rather than some rather stylish and fancy design of shirt created out of the latest man made breathable material?
Of course you would, it's still your team, you just probably wouldn't be buying replicas for the family.

It's only a football kit, some you like some you don't, it's the players wearing them and the badge on the shirt that counts. So why do so many fully grown men get so excited and sometimes extremely agitated about football kits, especially when most of us are far too old and a little too chubby around the mid drift to actually look good in one anyway?

Whilst the rest of the country are getting either emotional over the Paralympics or worried, nervous and fidgety over the last days of the transfer window, it's a different piece of news which this week caught my attention. In the words of someone a football shirt really wouldn't suit, Peter Griffin, this really grinds my gears. Yes, i deliberately referenced from across the pond.

England football kits could soon be adorned with one of the most American of all logos, no not the golden arches but the Nike swoosh.

Umbro, the kit suppliers to the national team, from Manchester were bought out by Nike four years ago. Nike however wanted to keep the name for their refreshing 'tailored in Britain' range.
Depressingly on Tuesday Nike announced they are selling the Umbro name, and the client list of course isn't part of the deal.

Nike always conjours up pictures of basketball to me, and with Converse in their locker as well, we have baseball, that other great worldwide sport. Be content in the knowledge that with the swoosh we're getting ourselves a part of everything that made the good old US of A great for our pound notes.

Just look at Charlton. We've had 'the Yanks in' for only a handful of months and they've already taken over the club shop and re branding it as a 'Nike store'. Don't be surprised if in a year or so you'll be able to buy the latest Jordan air's or whatever they are called as part of your match day experience. I don't believe heritage is high on Nike's agenda, either in SE7 or on the national stage.

Umbro first produced the kits for England in the fifties. Before that St Blaise, and for a couple of years a company called Hope Brothers had the contract. Shirts were a simple white and plain in design although blue and red would appear on the shorts and socks from time to time. The shirt was a sacred canvas though, remaining unadulterated whoever got their hands on it, right through to the early seventies. Enter Admiral.

Admiral won the contract in 1974. The Leicester based firm first came to the public attention with Leeds United and were the first manufacturer to adorn the England kit with their own logo alongside the three lions. They produced kits for their home town club, Leicester City and along with Spurs and the greatest of all Wales kits, the tramlines, made Admiral THE kit manufacturer of the seventies.
As you can see from the likes of Keegan and Francis above, they threw a splash of red and white onto the sleeves and collar, to me the greatest England shirt since Geoff Hurst scored his hat trick at Wembley.

Considering how well remembered the Admiral shirts are with a certain generation, it's amazing to think in the nine years they were the official supplier, they only really had the two designs.
Emlyn Hughes models here their second creation, a personal favourite which will always be associated with the World Cup in Spain back in 1982. Would this open the floodgates for the more creative of designers to plaster stars or polka dots on the national teams shirts? We were less than a decade away from the craziest ever period of football kit design, research what Beaver International did for Barnsley in the 89-90 season to see what i mean. Thankfully after the golden days of Admiral, Umbro were to get their hands back on England.

Umbro made it all the way through the late 80's and early 90's without once turning to drugged up art students or a kaleidoscope for inspiration. Well, maybe a school geometry set for some of the fine detailing on the red away shirts of the day but we'll gloss over those.

In time for the homecoming of football they played their trump card with a gem of a design for Euro 96. This was so classy it didn't even have the diamond logo on anything other than the socks. It proudly spelt out the word 'Umbro' above the centrally placed three lions crest. It was a bold statement that Umbro and England go together like port and stilton, fish and chips, Dave and repeats, Palace and losing. sorry, couldn't resist that one......

Other than the awful little crosses in red, blue and purple(???) across the shoulders a year or two ago, none of Umbro's creations have been too adventurous. Dropping blue from the latest offering did get tongues wagging as to the lack of attention to history, but other than that each kit will have a special meaning for all of us as we can tie them in with different World Cups and European Championships from recent times. All emotional, all full of disappointment, but all full of pride.

My own personal favourite saw the single red stripe which was worn by Beckham and co for 'that' free kick against Greece. Like i say, we all remember each one fondly.
Terry Butcher's blood over the crew neck in '89, Beckham getting sent off against Argentina at the '98 world cup wearing arguably Umbro's boldest effort. All gems, all engraved in our minds.

Will Nike, or Nikeee as i refuse to pronounce it, generate the same emotions as i felt researching and typing this? Umbro are in essence, and have been for a while, the same company. Who knows if the designers will stay with the parent company, will the new owners only be buying the badge and the name?

It is just a name on a shirt at the end of the day, but it's been the same name for thirty years. I don't really do change, especially when it involves an England kit especially designed for the world series........