Nothing to see here

It's nice to know, it's nice to know you're here, now go home. Or words to that effect. We could have saved you the trouble, not to mention the money, and called this off yesterday but we thought we'd get a pitch inspection at one o'clock and inconveniently put you all out. You'll understand won't you?

Needless to say this wasn't the club's official statement. So far all we've really heard is an unconvincing 'sorry to those who made the journey to SE7', and Chris Powell stating that the 'pitch must be addressed'. As my wife so frequently says to me, 'no shit Sherlock'. Barnsley, both club and supporters, are fuming. Quite rightly so. Roland Duchâtelet wouldn't do wrong if he, having had a farcical first 'match', offered to compensate the Barnsley supporters by contributing to coach travel for the rearranged fixture.

On Thursday the club website said there were no fears ahead of the weekend's game. The dome was in place, the pitch was supposedly drying out. Gazza dries out more efficiently.

We were the only professional club to suffer. There were a small handful of level six matches to fall foul, Conference North and South, but nothing other than us above that. To say it's laughable is polite, to say it's embarrassing is accurate, to say it's a sham is truthful. If a game can't be played it can't be played, to call it off two hours before kick off is ridiculous.

Sitting in the Rose Of Denmark I heard stories relaying how the referee bounced the ball on the pitch and it just sunk. Surely it would have done the same at nine o'clock this morning, if not nine o'clock last night. Why did we have to wait until one? Could the match official have not arrived earlier and saved hundreds of people a wasted journey and some hard earned money? He, don't forget, is working, we are giving up our recreation time. I know for a fact that the club could have had a local official check the pitch yesterday and forewarn the club and the match referee.

We can laugh at Crystal Palace and Jason Puncheon's atrocious penalty miss today but they will always have the last laugh when we can't even stage a game. Could this all result in a fine? Will the midweek cup game go ahead? Could we even get docked points in the long run if things don't improve?

I'm angry, I want to defend the club but I'm so frustrated. I took my father-in-law along today to what would have been his first visit to The Valley. Instead we sat in the pub and watched Sheffield Wednesday pick up a six nil victory. That really helped. We could have gone and watched my local club Horley Town play their level nine Combined Counties League match on a pitch which in comparison to the Championship resembles a meadow. They don't have a dome, or for that matter a full time groundsman but their game went ahead.

There was a saving grace, we spent the afternoon in the pub and enjoyed a few ales with fellow bloggers Marco and Rod which believe me was a wonderful afternoon in itself. As Charlton fans we always seem to find the best in any situation.

And so we sit here listening to the pundits on the radio laughing and mocking us. The Football League Show are guaranteed to give us more than twenty seconds tonight as Claridge and co rip apart our flesh and pick at the carcass.

If only Charlton Athletic could give us faithful supporters some decent ammunition to defend ourselves...

Milestone

Big games come and go, yet milestones arrive with a deserved fanfare and live long in local folklore. I am old enough to remember December 5th 1992 quite clearly, many who were young children then (or even not born at all) will feel like they were there, such was the enormity of the day and the achievement.

Years of exile finally over, nomadic Charlton were back in SE7, the blood sweat and tears had paid off. Move on twenty years and the corresponding weekend of the season saw another club with a migratory history rather fittingly, Brighton and Hove Albion visit The Valley to join in with our self indulgent (and quite rightly so) party atmosphere.

Before the kick off and before my arrival, former Charlton greats were introduced on the pitch amidst a bevy of red and white balloons, the club produced another bumper edition and one day collectable(?) matchday magazine (formally known as a programme), the carnival may not have been in town in body but the significance of that day wasn't lost on a soul.
Brighton to their credit showed us some respect, also parading former greats and wearing their blue and white striped shirts which of course don't clash rather than following suit with modern football and wearing an away strip regardless.

A very fine touch, the brainchild of a good friend and fellow blogger Hungry Ted was a spontaneous round of applause at seven minutes past three, the time of the goal from twenty years before, followed by a rousing rendition (still sung far too quickly though) of Valley Floyd Road. I could see Chris Powell in his technical area happily clapping along but it was a tad harder to see if he joined the covered end choir for the anthem.

December, being not only the finale to the the year but also a rather special month in the Christian calendar is always a hectic time for me, blogging plays second fiddle to just about everything else. Hence we had played twice since my last posting, a rather uninspiring win at home to Peterborough and an electric, if slightly undeserved, point at arch rivals Millwall.
The Seagulls were in South London for the second week running and were on the back of a defeat at Selhurst Park. That would have hurt them greatly and consequently seen Charlton as fair game to both turn their fortunes around whilst raining, if not pouring on our parade.

The most noticeable absence from the starting eleven was Leon Cort. Dervite and Morrison were flanked by Solly and Wilson. Kermorgant was on the bench allowing Haynes to partner Hulse up front. My preferred pairing i'm afraid all you Yann lovers!

We survived the 3.07 applause, conceding then didn't bear thinking about,  and five minutes later the home side embraced the fairytale scenario with aplomb. Lawrie Wilson nodded home from a Dale Stephens cross sending the 16,000 Charlton fans into hysteria. This was almost too good to be true.

Brighton had packed the Jimmy Seed stand and just before the half hour mark they erupted as the dangerous Craig Mackail-Smith pounced on an awful (but thankfully rare) Michael Morrison mistake. All level at the break, even if the visitors had the luxury of an extra man in the official. I'm not normally one to get on the back of the referee, it's a job i don't envy, but Mr Sheldrake had an abysmal day at 'the office'. Far too keen to play an 'advantage' when it wasn't always just that, yet happy to blow up every time it benefited the visitors.

Charlton again got their noses in front during the second half. A sublime ball from Dale Stephens to Hulse, in turn setting Jackson up on the left hand side of the box, wrong footed the entire Brighton team. The skipper played it in to Bradley Pritchard who scuffed and stumbled his way over the ball before finding a path for it goal bound. His first goal at The Valley and you could see how much it meant to him as he hung back in front of the north stand and punched the air for all of us.

The delirium was short lived though as Morrison again was the culprit, allegedly upending Ashley Barnes right on the edge of the box. Yann Kermorgant came on before the free kick was taken, i noted to Jim next to me that it was no different a platform to that cardinal sin of making a substitution whilst defending a corner. The change of personnel, the 'dubious' (well from my view anyway) decision in the first place, this ball was going into the net. LuaLua stepped up and used the Charlton wall to his full advantage deflecting the ball past a hapless Ben Hamer. LuaLua somersaulted his way across the pitch in spectacular, if not a little dated, fashion.

Brighton sensed the win was there for the taking and although both sides had chances to snatch the victory it was a relief when the final whistle was blown. It was a good spectacle to watch and a point was a fair return.

With three thousand Brighton supporters expecting to catch the same train as us, we decided to have a post match beer at the Rose of Denmark rather than one of the usual  London Bridge haunts. The quieter train a little later was, however, nothing of the sort. A Brighton 'firm' had decided to hang around SE7 and then join me on my journey back. Not having had enough 'action' last week against Palace obviously, they wanted some more and were desperately trying to arrange another meet. I figured rather than join in with their anti Palace songs i was better off reclining in my anonymity, London Bridge station couldn't come quick enough! A very small minority of course and nothing like the Brighton fans i chatted to on my way to the game drinking their Marks and Spencer Belgian lager. A different class.

Two away days follow, no more home games until Boxing Day. I said a month or two back that we'd be top half by Christmas. We are now.

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!

Day Tripper

We all know how busy Christmas time is. A hectic twenty four days of planning, shopping and drinking before one day of total excess, not to mention a packed festive season of sport.

Like everybody else, my pre Christmas run-in is no different. A church carol service and nativity, three family birthday parties, a church group Christmas meal, whilst not forgetting the busiest time of year for delivering people's groceries. How i managed to book a day off amongst this for a real 'old school' booze cruise to Calais still baffles me, but book it (and enjoy it) i did.

The P&O ferry was a real bargain price, and surprise, costing only a pony (£25) for a return ticket for the car. Heidi's parents booked the trip and took us along with my sister in law. That's five pound a head, you don't need to buy much beer to save that!
As it turned out the beer was actually cheaper on the boat although wine, (and more importantly) port were stupidly cheap in the supermarkets.
I saved more than my fiver in one swoop with the lack of VAT on a bottle of perfume for the wife. At twenty percent nowadays, that's almost a tenner to put towards some liquid refreshment.

We didn't go just for the beer though. Arriving in France mid morning and not leaving until the evening, we did get to make a day of it, explore the town and enjoy the local cuisine.
By local cuisine, read French steak house chain. Buffalo Grill is as American as you can imagine in all but location and language, but man they serve a beautiful steak. They cater for your ears as well by playing both kinds of music inside. Country AND Western. For all i know, The Good 'Ol Boys may well be the house band!

I'd forgotten how much fun a booze cruise could be and didn't realize that, this day and age, it was still a financially worthwhile option. Looking in the fridge at some gorgeous cheeses and meats though, and I'd happily make this a regular festive event on our calendar.
I did suffer the following day with a stomach upset but i believe that bug was there beforehand and the details of which are not for describing here!

So now we are ready for Christmas. I finished work today, Heidi finished the present wrapping, and the coffee table is full of boxes of chocolate. The only thing missing is a boxing day football ticket.
In fairness, even if it wasn't Yeovil away, I'd still struggle to get away from a large family gathering to attend a game. For me it will have to be Brentford on the second followed by the trip to Craven Cottage.

In between this we do of course have that trip to Leyton Orient on New Years Eve. How wonderful would it be to have six more points on the board before the year ends, especially after the 'dissapointment' of two draws on the spin!
Oldham Athletic's visit to The Valley on the 17th coincided with my boss having the day off to attend one of his Christmas functions, resulting in me having to work all day and missing out on the Rose of Denmark and the CAFC twitter crowds Christmas drink. I'm reliably informed it had it's fair share of casualties!

The game itself won't be remembered for much. In short, the ref was once again awful, Darel Russell scored his first goal for the club and Yann Kermorgant cut his head and played with bandages wrapped around it.
The Frenchmans injury reminded me not of Terry Butcher, like most, but of Stuart Balmer. An almost iconic vision of 'Sweaty' wearing (what i have to admit to being one of my favourites), at Fratton Park, the white green and purple away shirt we wore whilst borrowing the colours of Wimbledon Lawn Tennis club. That was of course in the days before you had to change your shirt if you had the smallest drop of blood on it.

It just leaves me then to bid you all a very merry Christmas and to leave you with a question. Below is a Feyenoord sticker i spotted on the homeward leg in the loo of the ferry. Those decent chaps on twitter have translated it to 'bastions of censorship'. Does anybody know the relevance of this? I'm guessing the supporters feel the club have kept something quiet!

Have a very happy and peaceful Christmas! God bless.

Cup fever

If one of our South London rivals can win at Old Trafford, there is no reason why a team that plays far more attractive flowing football (most of the time) can't have a little cup run themselves.

An opportunity to treat a young family member to a rare trip to SE7 also gave rise to my own chance of a little FA cup action yesterday which earlier in the week i didn't think was going to happen.

Carlisle United was one of the least attractive cup ties i can remember in recent years, but after a four nil drubbing in the league back in October, at least goals were on the cards and my young companions 100% Charlton record wasn't in danger.
Even at half time i was still confident of both of these facts.

Little Harry, who will be nine in a couple of weeks time, was introduced to some of the crew in the Rose Of Denmark prior to kick off. Here he was dutifully fed plenty of E numbers opening many a opportunist door for showing off and the chance to behave like a right little geezer. Just like i did at the football at his age!
The quickest of trips into the club shop, just to tantalize him before his birthday, ensued and the conformation that it's the red home shirt (luckily as it's already bought and screen printed) that's top of the birthday present list.

We bought tickets for the west stand as the upper north was closed. In all the years I've been going to Charlton, i don't think I've ever been in the west before, and i admit it was one of the deciding factors. It's now just the north west corner that hasn't hosted my matchday experience, as Harry's last visit saw us in the family stand. Never again.
It is every kids right of passage to experience the atmosphere of a packed upper north in full voice. Next time Harry i promise.

A first half of very little note did nothing to dampen our spirits. For Harry everything was big and colourful, and an almost silent seven thousand odd crowd is still huge if you know no better. I say odd, mainly due to the bloke in front of me who didn't think December warranted long trousers. I was of course tempted to offer him an ice cream, if only you could buy such a thing.

The second half picked up and we got that chance to go crazy when Michael Morrison (i really like this lad) netted at the second attempt after Leon Cort's initial header.
Substitute Jason Euell cemented the win with a very popular goal in stoppage time meaning the number 64 ball in the hat had our name, and our name alone on it.

As far as the team went, Chris Powell picked a stronger side than most sat around me had expected. Cedric Evina and Bradley Pritchard grabbed the chance of a start and showed that we already have the makings of a championship squad with plenty of talent further down the pecking order.

The Carlisle players, staff and fans had a long journey home but the supporters we met were in good spirits on the train back to London Bridge. Early December for a second round cup tie you're expected to lose, and i think four hundred is great support for Carlisle, even if they didn't have any songs to sing!
Whilst we're on the subject of the visitors, they wore yellow for the second time at The Valley this season. Obviously blue clashes with red in these modern days of colour film.

Harry and I returned to the outback here in Surrey in time for a visit to the Laser Hub in honour of his sisters birthday. I gallantly played the part of Carlisle and lost.

Fulham away then in the third round. It's a couple of days before my birthday, so with a little bit of luck I'll be able to get my grubby hands on a ticket and make a day of it.
I feel it's a great draw and the perfect opportunity to see just how far Chris Powell's red and white army have come. A winnable game and an away day London derby. Heaven.

The only downer of the weekend was Sutton United losing at home to Notts County. Again! A decent crowd and the TV cameras of ESPN meant some well deserved cash coming in and from what I've read, Sutton certainly deserved to be on the same pitch as their more illustrious visitors.
The third round draw produced it's normal amount of gems today and once Christmas is out of the way we get to do it all over again.

The FA cup, i love it. Que sera sera............

Don't worry, Bee happy.

I'm in a small minority. No, not for the reason you're thinking of but for my 100% record at Griffin Park. Yes, yesterday was my first ever visit to the home of the Bees and I've proven to be a lucky charm.
It's a ground and a fixture I'd always meant to get to but it had never quite happened, so this season it was a high priority match when the fixtures were announced.

Normally with away matches i like to find a public house a little further from the ground than most, as waiting four deep at a bar doesn't really appeal. Although saying that, with a boozer on each corner of the ground, i doubt the crowds in TW8 are large enough for it to be four deep at every bar!

After telling a few younger Addicks off on the train for their language in front of non football going ladies, i jumped ship (more about ships later) at Kew Bridge. My drinking companions for the day were just south of the river at The Coach and Horses in Kew green. A lovely little Youngs pub, it guaranteed a wonderful couple of pints of 'ordinary bitter' in a comfortable surrounding (in stark contrast to a little later) prior to kick off.

It was only a short walk really to the ground from there and we dutifully lined up to get in with all the other last minute arrivals. I did feel sorry for the residents of number 79 Brook Road South, next door to the away entrance. Every matchday they must have a mighty fine collection of beer glasses, bottles and cans lined up on the garden wall as the stewards stop supporters entering with them.
I'm guessing their binmen must think of them as raging alcoholics!

Once inside, and i had parted with £2.60's worth (i don't hold grudges, but i hadn't realised we were playing at the motorway services) of sausage roll, we tried to find somewhere to stand to get a view of the game.
The terracing was packed and, as always, people congregated at the entrance making it feel a lot more uncomfortable inside than it actually is. I lost my companions almost immediately so found a hole suitable for one which, with my height, gave me as best a view as you're going to get in there.

The first half was pretty dire from a Charlton perspective. Brentford had more than enough opportunity to not only take the lead, but also to put the game out of reach. Rattling an upright was, however, as close as they came.
If a goal had materialised for them though, i have a feeling it may have fallen to ex Addick, big Miguel Llera. Especially with the amount of stick he was getting from a group of Charlton supporters around me. I like big Mig and wish him all the best for the future, i think Brentford is a club well suited to his ability and i think it helps show how far we have come that he wouldn't have a chance of dislodging Taylor or Morrison nowadays.

Speaking of Michael Morrison, one of my favourite moments came when he (and remember he's a centre half) dribbled through a handful of Brentford players as if he was Ricky Villa! It was at that moment that all resemblances with Eddie Youds stopped for me. i love Eddie but he could never have done that. Punch them yes, dribble a football around them, I'm afraid not.

I moved a little closer for the second half and found a group of slightly (read very) inebriated friends who had travelled to the game on the 'HMS Rose of Denmark disco boat'.

I caught glimpse of them crossing Kew bridge as they were getting ready to dock. The noise from the boat could be heard for some distance, the smell of the alcohol a lot further.

Again we seemed to make hard work of it again in the second half. Brentford continued to do what a home side should and have the more possession. Charlton did however look dangerous on the attack and twenty minutes into the second half took the lead. Danny Greens cross was met by Wright-Phillips and the prolific striker slotted home.
The away end erupted and we all thought that maybe this really was the the time the elusive win was going to come.

Charlton being Charlton made us sweat though. A nasty Brentford injury prior to the goal when the Brentford keeper collided with his own defender, resulted not only in the stretcher being used but a lengthy period of stoppage time. This incident combined with our skipper, Johnnie Jackson, going off with a hamstring injury (giving loanee Hogan Ephraim his first piece of Addicks action) meant 10 minutes were shown on the board by the fourth official!
I don't think i can ever recall ten minutes stoppage time, and with most of that occurring at the end we were defending, we were begging for the whistle. It was still a long time in coming as a kerfuffle in our penalty area that i could not see clearly enough to know what had happened, left us with what felt like an extra fifteen minutes being played. We were singing 'we want to go home' to the ref in desperation!

The whistle did finally get blown and the relief was there for all to see. A lovely moment came as Chris Powell held the Charlton players back to applaud the travelling support and all leave the field together.
Last season we never would have got that win, this team really is up for the challenge. I hope Jackson isn't out for too long. Last season he got injured and we fell apart. That won't happen this time as the strength in depth and the morale and the team spirit is too high, but a leader does have to be on the pitch. Being a hamstring though, you know full well he's obviously not going to be back next week.

After the match i headed back to Kew with a couple of great friends and we found another wonderful pub, The Greyhound. A few more pints of Youngs finest rounded off my stay in west London a treat.
From there i headed up west to meet my wife who had been on a girls day out in town with her sister. We met in Soho and then wandered into China town for dinner. An all you can eat buffet at The Hong Kong buffet was a delight as i scoffed my first solids since that sausage roll. Great food, well priced and very friendly staff. If only i had realised it was cash only i could have saved myself a dash around Leicester Square looking for a cash machine before they released the girls! They obviously didn't really hold them hostage...........

That is what great football away days are all about. It really doesn't get any better than that. I am however left with just one question. Back page of the Brentford programme has the squad listings for the teams as you would expect. Brentfords number 15 simply says Topcat?...........

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.

Less than 48 hours to go.......

The time is nearly upon us. It's now less than forty eight hours until the start of the most anticipated season for Charlton since the dizzy heights of the Premier league.
The squad has been assembled, the pitch has been laid and even all 27,111 seats have been cleaned by a team of extraordinarily devoted volunteers. There is just a little bit of set piece (attacking AND defending) practise to do and then newly appointed club captain Johnnie Jackson can lead out the eleven Addicks at 3pm on Saturday to begin our assault on the League One summit.

Scott Wagstaff today signed a new contract which finally puts to bed any rumours of his departure. The 21 year old has signed for another year as is delighted to be staying in SE7 until 2013.
Another youngster pledging his future to Charlton is Diego Poyet. Name familiar? Of course he's the son of a bright young manager who knows all about getting out of this division! The young England under 16 star will sign his first professional contract for the club on his 17th birthday in April. Paul Hart, who knows a thing or two about young footballing talent, has been very impressed by what he's seen so far. Definitely one for the future.

The continuing saga of Robbie Elliot goes on with the number 44 shirt being appointed to him. Chris Powell has said that it's by no means an indication of is future, more a personal choice by the player himself. A lot depends on whether the two parties can come to some kind of agreement as far as contracts go, but it is apparent that neither Chris Powell nor Robbie himself are keen on, or indeed looking for a potential new employer for the shot stopper.

Two players training with the club, yet to know about their future are Jason Euell and Grzegorz Rasiak. The Polish striker did play for ninety minutes and score in the friendly at Carshalton Athletic on Tuesday night. It is no secret though that Powell is keen to add another striker to the squad before the end of the transfer window. It is doubtful either one will sign anything before kick off though as Powell has stated how all his thoughts prior to Saturday are now one hundred percent fixed on the Bournemouth match.
Christian Dailly however will not be signing any type of contract in SE7 before or after the weekend. It was anounced today that discussions with the defender have broken down and the Scot is now highly likely to continue his career elsewhere. One paycut to many i fear.

Rumours of Danny Ings and anyone else for that matter can take a backseat for now as the main event steps into the spotlight. Has it really sunk in yet that competitive football IS BACK on Saturday?

It's easy to get carried away with thoughts of the 'p' word, but twenty three other clubs must be having similar dreams, no matter how realistic they may be!  Chicago Addick has written a wonderful piece on our competitors and challengers this season. Sometimes it's easy to forget others will try and rain on our parade and want some of the glory for themselves!

I've planned with my boss to get out of work early on Saturday so i can make the Rose of Denmark before two o'clock. For pre match refreshments I've arranged to meet up with some fellow Addicks for a quick pint or two as there is going to be plenty of atmosphere to soak up. To say I'm excited really doesn't do it justice. I fear Friday night i won't get a wink of sleep, just like a child on Christmas eve!

See you all at The Valley. Come on you reds!!!!!!!