iBelieve

We've all seen the joke, apple's new must have gadget for women, iRon. If I bought an iron for my wife i doubt I'd get a single brownie point, three would be out the question.

Charlton had the Iron Saturday and came back to London with not just a useful point, but with something far more important, an end to a very short losing streak before it became a habit.

The Addicks may have only picked up one point from the last possible nine but they are still nine points clear of the two steel city sides.
Needless to say the negativity around certain sections of the support is up to it's normal level but I'm not getting sucked in. No sir, our destiny is still in our own hands and i believe we've got enough backbone to not only get automatic promotion, but lift the silverware as well. There, I've said it.

Back to Scunthorpe and an early goal for Bradley Wright-Phillips, number twenty for the season, after work on the right from Scott Wagstaff saw the six hundred travelling Londoners put the nightmare of Notts County well and truly behind them.
Scunthorpe however battled on and drew level from the penalty spot halfway through the first half. The Iron are one of those sides you really don't want to be playing at this stage of the season as they are battling for their lives down the bottom.

Another tricky opponent is Yeovil Town, Tuesday's visitors to The Valley. That could go either way, but on our day we could put four or five past them, wouldn't that get things back on track a treat!
They are on a little bit of a roll at the moment and i was surprised to see they had moved up to twelfth in the table, i honestly thought they were in the bottom six. Unbeaten in March they have won four and drawn one, just our luck to meet them now. I'll settle for a 1-0 in retrospect!

Looking at the remaining nine games, there isn't really an easy fixture among them. A lot of the sides are either fighting to survive or pushing for the play offs. Every game now will be the most important one of the season, starting with Tuesday.

It's six months though since any other club has led League One. Charlton aren't going to let that mantle slip away without a fight. Full of this belief, i got around to sending my season ticket application form off this week. I can't think of a better way to spend £240 than on the ups and downs that is Charlton Athletic football club.

Promotion, league titles, relegation, all these things suddenly became very very small yesterday unfortunately with news of Fabrice Muamba suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch for Bolton Wanderers in their cup tie at White Hart Lane.
Needless to say my prayers are, like the rest of the football world, with him and his family. It's a shame it takes something like this to happen for the rest of the world to see all football fans aren't hooligan thugs. I absolutely love supporters of all sides joining together in a footballing family to send their love and prayers, not to mention hearing both sets of fans at games up and down the country singing Fabrice's name.

Get well soon son.

Jitterbug

'Everybody Jitterbug' sang The Toy Dolls in homage to a dance craze from yesteryear. The dancing in Charlton today was all done by way of celebration in the Jimmy Seed stand from the visiting supporters.
The home side contributed by means of providing the jitters. And plenty of them.

Jonathan Forte isn't a name we'll forget in a hurry in SE7. His first half hat trick helped stun The Valley faithful into a state of shock as Charlton left the field four goals down at half time.

After the first home defeat of the season at the hands of Colchester on Tuesday, i did wonder how we would react. It could of gone either of two ways but none of us expected the rout we saw today.
Notts County are putting together a strong bid for a play off spot and were never to be taken lightly, but we are top of the league, by head and shoulders, and should not collapse like we did for forty five minutes today.

County came out of the traps brighter than Charlton and the Addicks looked complacent even before the first goal. Another shot from distance, lacking in the quality of Tuesday's however, put the Magpies in front. Two minutes later Forte got his first as the visitors seemed to bypass our defense completely and the hit man got on the end of a ball from out wide.
Number three was a contender for the next football nightmare compilation as Matt Taylor and Ben Hamer lacked any communication letting Forte get in between them to capitalise.
Another cross five minutes before the break and Forte got on the end with his head this time, completing a deserved treble.

The covered end was silent. That 6-1 defeat to Leeds sprang to mind and i wondered, providing we didn't do something drastic, whether i was going to witness something for the record books, just all for the wrong reasons.

Chris Powell's half time team talks must be something truly out of this world. It could be worth pretending we're behind before a ball is even kicked at ten to three next week.
Charlton came out and attacked the covered end like their lives depended on it. First Bradley Wright-Phillips, then young Scott Wagstaff (a thirteen minute substitute for the injured Danny Haynes) both netted within ten minutes of the re-start to half the deficit.

We sang we would win 5-4, and for a while we believed we would. In fact, if a blatant penalty appeal had been given for a foul on Wright-Phillips, it may well have been the greatest comeback many of the 17,000 would have ever witnessed.

After such a glum feeling during the first half, i relished the buzz of the second. Our glorious old stadium was absolutely electric as our two goals went in. It was on par with a draw a few years back against West Ham (4-4 i think?) for atmosphere. The place was alive!
Although it didn't happen and we dropped points for the second week running, i still left the ground content. If the second half had been no improvement on the first this post would have a different feel altogether but we showed the fight necessary to keep our season on track.

After the penalty claim, we did seem to resort a little to a hopeful long ball into the box interspersed with some nice build up play, just lacking in quality with a final ball. Things understandably seemed a little rushed on the pitch as the clock ticked away and it was obvious the players were frustrated, but it's refreshing after last season to see the team feeling the pain of defeat as much as the paying supporters in the stands.

I really hope this is a blip. Scunthorpe away next Saturday won't be the easiest of fixtures to turn things around but if we hadn't just suffered these two defeats we would have gone up there fearing nothing.

We are of course Charlton and we have never done anything the easy way. The job isn't done yet no matter how comfortable the table still looks. That infamous Charlton end of season slump is a scary thought but I'm sure this current side is too good for that. The second half today showed that, didn't it?

Come on you reds!

And The Reds Go Marching On

Things are moving on at quite some pace for Charlton. Our assault on League One is well and truly underway, games will come thick and fast, and our main rivals have made themselves known to one and all.
After the slight disappointment, and dropping of points, against Scunthorpe the Red Army are back on course.

A re-scheduled Carling Cup tie on Tuesday night saw a very different Addicks side to that we had become accustomed to. Not that this was by any means a bad thing, quality in depth is obviously something Chris Powell intended on with the summer spending spree, and every single debutant shone in this opportunity to impress. Agreed, it wasn't a first strength Reading team, but League One reserves still beat Championship reserves on the night. Competitive reserve football is something that has been missing for a little while in our part of South London.
 Chicago Addick wrote a piece on this subject recently and rather than risk parroting (is that a real word?) him, may i suggest following the link and reading his piece, it's a great article.

Having watched the match at a later date on the club website, work again the culprit, the football was at times enchanting. The score could have been a lot more had last ditch defending not been so evident and slightly better finishing been on show.
The heart and soul Charlton supporter could not have failed to feel proud of seeing the names Benson and Euell on the score sheet. This was without doubt a Charlton performance for the fans, put on by a team that knew we deserved it. Schoolboy comic book images flash to mind.
Bradley Pritchard was the name that stood out on a night of many many shining performances. This is the lad signed from Hayes & Yeading remember, one of the sixteen or so that we never really mentioned or got carried away with. In hindsight, i bet a lot more of the regular 15,000 wish they had spent a tenner on watching our reserves.

Our reward for beating Reading is the visit of Preston. This of course we already knew, what we have discovered since is the prise of a trip to Southampton (or possibly Di Canio's Swindon) for the victors. Not really Roy of the Rovers stuff is it! Maybe we'll have to wait until Wembley for the big gun.

Could we take this momentum back into the League? A trip to Bury wasn't going to be the most glamorous or simplest of tasks.
Hamer stayed in goal as once again the Robbie Elliot saga trundles along. We have now reported Newcastle to the Football League for their behaviour over the matter. It would seem we are not alone in this action. For one reason or another (can't think what) I've gone off The Toon of late.
Bradley Wright-Phillips was the other absentee from the side that took on The Iron. This meant a little re-shuffle could accommodate both Danny Green and Scott Wagstaff.

A glorious free kick resulted in the home side going into the break with their noses in front. This was the first time this season our boys had been behind. At last, a proper test of our metal
Paul Hayes scored at the start of the second period whilst a gem from Johnnie Jackson on the end of a splendid ball showed we have the necessary grit and determination needed to turn this early good fortune into a serious challenge on the summit. Happy happy days indeed.

Our next game is a Monday night affair in front of those dreaded TV camera's. Sheffield Wednesday as Jose Semedo return. Oh how I'm looking forward to this one, and it's on the box, everyone can watch. Except me of course, I'll be working. I seem to really have the short straw.
Exeter at home the following Saturday however and I'll be there. I'm expecting my train to roll into SE7 at around three o'clock so a sprint to the ground will be in order, but it's been too long and everbody else seems to be having more than their fair share of this euphoria. I want/need some of it!

Yesterday i had to make do with some television highlights, extended highlights as it turned out, for my footballing fix. Poor Carl Jenkinson. The reds of Manchester are also on the march.
8-2 is more of a football manager computer game score than a real life one. You have to hand it to Sir Alex, he's about the only old school manager left in the game but still the best by a country mile. Squad after squad is built and rewards are never far away, unlike Arsene Wenger who would love some kind of silverware to put in the cabinet.
Not only was Jenkinson out of his depth, but an early bath as well heaped the disappointment onto the youngsters early Arsenal career. This isn't really how he envisaged making a name for himself surely?

Someone out to once again make a name for himself is Phil Parkinson who yesterday was appointed manager of Bradford City.
I don't know much about The Bantams, they have Valley in the name of their ground which caught fire once, they had a very brief stint in the top flight and on their way down they sold the great Eddie Youds to us.
Looking into the current situation a little i find they are in the bottom half of League Two picking up only four points from their first five games. Good luck Parky, i think you may need it sir.

And so to a bank holiday Monday and a whole day off. No work, no church, and no children's ministry. Heidi's gone off to work leaving me to my own devices and i notice Sutton United are at home to Dover in the Conference South at Gander Green Lane. I'm going to jump on the bike and take a ride up there.
The chance, sorry, rare chance to see a little bit of live football.
I'm having some of that.

Any old Iron.

That was the shout of the Rag and Bone man who was after your discarded and unwanted odds and sods that he could still salvage. Scunthorpe, The Iron, filled that role yesterday taking a point (albeit more than deserved) that we discarded.

A quality side will get result even when they haven't always had the best of the match. Charlton have had plenty of warning already at this early stage of the season, first halves have been dominant only to let the opposition back in a little in the second forty five. It was only a matter of time before somebody punished us.
Scunthorpe stepped up to that challenge after some very sloppy defending gave us our first glimpse of disappointment.

Johnnie Jackson opened the scoring with what is becoming a trademark looping header. This was followed by Bradley Wright-Phillips getting on the end of an inch perfect cross from Danny Hollands. 2-0 and controlling a game we had little right to. Scunthorpe had the more possession, the more shots on and off target and six corners to each one of ours.
The visitors never laid down and got themselves back into the match through Bobby Grant. A goal with around a quarter of an hour to go, then in the first of five added minutes the marksman doubled his tally to break Charlton hearts.
Watching these goals on TV highlighted that the striker was surrounded by red shirts on both occasions, yet twice allowed a route through to goal.

This result was inevitable, every team every season will drop points. Four wins on the trot was asking a lot to open a season with. It's how we bounce back from this and what we'll take from it that matters. Last season we went from match to match making similar, if not the same, mistakes. We've an opportunity on Tuesday to take a scalp, if you can call Reading that, and get back into winning ways, it was a habit that suited us.

Chris Powell has stuck with the same side so far, i hope (and expect) the Carling Cup will give others from our large squad a chance, and the opportunity, to stake a claim in the starting XI for the trip to Bury next Saturday.
Bury have started well, but these are the teams we need to send a lesson out to. MK Dons and Brentford both walloped their opposition yesterday, the former likely to be promotion candidates come May. We have only dropped the first two points out of twelve and we've been taught a valuable lesson. We have to take as many of our chances as possible to put a game to bed. It's something we've never really been that good at.

As the weeks go by, we'll think of this as a useful point gained rather than two dropped. Scunthorpe will be in the mix judging by the standard of football witnessed at The Valley, and they will be expecting the quick return to the Championship we had once dreamed of.

Let's hope we see some of the more positive football from now on that we are more than capable of and take a leaf out of the Franchise's book. I would like to see us sticking to having two up front till the death, no disrespect to the Ginger Pele, but late goals can win or change games for either side.

Here's to a hatful at Gigg Lane.

AVB in the news? No, BWP!

Chelsea kicked off their campaign at the weekend and all the talk was surrounding three letters AVB. Last night Charlton won in Essex and it's the letters BWP that are hitting the headlines.

Our very own Bradley Wright-Phillips scored a brace to sink Colchester, at their stupidly named ground, in another fantastic first forty five minutes.

Last season the trip to Colchester was one of the very rare highlights in a dismal campaign. Yesterday i would have sold my Gran, or anybody else's for that matter, to have been able to go.
Unfortunately, work commitments have got worse than normal at the moment due to the boss having his fortnight in the sun/rain. So i couldn't go (yes, typed in a very angry fashion), nor can i make the next couple of home games to boot (and yes that is the sound of a grown man crying).
During the course of a day that deteriorated by the minute, i watched on Twitter as more and more of the lucky so and so's that i follow embarked on their journey up the A12. With each excited tweet that i read, my mood darkened. When Saturday comes, I'll be hibernating at work avoiding all this joviality.

By all accounts the first forty five was all Charlton, just as it was at Meadow Lane on Saturday. Also identical to the weekend was the half time score, the starting eleven and the bench. Last night however we kept a clean sheet throughout. In fact, the Colchester keeper was awarded man of the match which goes to show the balance of play.

Two first half goals for our number ten could have easily been added two in the second half as Bradley twice came close to a hat-trick. Once again the ever improving Paul Hayes deserves plenty of praise making a goal and having a hand in many of our other chances.
The central midfield duo, as is becoming expected of them, looked dominant by all accounts. Yes it's only three games in, but i wonder what odds you would get on one of these two getting their name on that player of the year award in May?

This is a Charlton side that enjoys, and is getting used to, winning. With three games down we sit neatly on the top of the pile with only Sheffield United joining us on maximum points.
There is an excitement surrounding the club which has been missing for far too long, i can see attendances creeping up the further we get into the season as more and more supporters want their own piece of this footballing high.
If we were scraping wins together I'd say you would be right in calling me premature. The fact is we are playing lovely football. The squad have gelled in no time and the camaraderie is there for all to see. Good times are here and at the moment, it's a very happy Valley.

Of course Scunthorpe will be hoping to rain on our parade at the weekend. One of the relegated clubs, they are very slow off the blocks but there is no question of lack of ability amongst their ranks. I feel it's only a matter of time before they are once again used to their surroundings and getting points on the board. Of course that won't be happening until after Saturday.

I've already forgotten what AVB stands for, i just remember he's a very young manager. I'll never forget what BWP stands for, or what a great young manager we have.