A Whole New Ball Game!

Along with many others I travelled to The Valley with an extra spring in my step following the recent events surrounding the club. A renewed air of expectation and anticipation permeates around S.E.7.

New year, new owners, new hope! The last remnants of the previous poisonious ownership apparently gone and the Duchatele era an unpleasant footnote in the club's history.

Numerous stay away fans returned yesterday demonstrating their faith in the new owners. The attendance was just under 20k boosted also by a sell out in Jimmy Seed stand as you'd expect for opposition that has spent most of the season in the top two places in the league.

I arrived at The Valley just after 11am and with Crossbars not open and not meeting up with others until later I had time to make a long overdue visit to the museum.

What a fantastic job all concerned have done with it. I met Ben Hayes and a couple of his fellow trustees and they were all keen to show me round and point out particular items of interest.

As closely as I've followed the club I had not appreciated that our first England cap was awarded to Seth Plum. The museum has been able to track it down and it now resides there.

It is one of the many unique items housed in the musuem. Aside from the club memorabilia there is a separate fans section that accommodates all manner of things from programmes to old tickets to protest posters. I was told that a section containing protest items is now being organised.

Until March the museum has the Play Off final trophy and Ben kindly photographed me with it for which I was very grateful.

I can highly recommend a visit and will certainly being doing so again as you could happily spend a good few hours there and still not see it all!

Post museum and intoCrossbars for a couple of post-Roland beers to celebrate! Matt Southall passed through and again got the derserved round of appluase that resembles the one Del and Rodney in the Nag's Head when they became millionaires. Thankfully for us Matt and his colleagues have a lot greater busineness acumen than the Trotters!

On to the game and it was good to see a return to the league squad for Williams, Forster-Caskey and Hemed and a league start for new loanee Green.

The Addicks started brightly and could have gone when a stray pass went to Gallagher but sadly he put his shot just wide of the post.

It was the Baggies who went ahead though when Lockyer was dispossessed out wide and the subsequent shot fell to Zohore to tuck away.

A few minutes later and The Addicks won a corner and an Albion player thought he delay it by throwing the ball into the away fans. They then decide it would be a good idea to play keep ball. Karma is wonderful thing sometimes and when the replacement ball arrived it seems that the Baggies suffered with a loss of concentration.

Eventually the ball was headed home by Davison for his first Charlton goal.

The second half didn't start well with Albion regaining the lead when Sarr deflected a shot past Phillips.

West Brom continued to have the better of things but The Addicks kept battling away and the introduction of Forster-Caskey, Hemed and in particular Williams brought a greater threat.

On 76 minutes Lockyer's header went in off the post having hit the keeper before settling in the back of the net. This has been given as an own goal to the keeper but it's Tom's goal in reality and he should be credited with it.

Bizarrely the Addicks' second equalizer followed antoher bout of primary school keep ball from the fans behind Phillips' goal. Thanks folks!

Both sides kept attacking with the home side pressing for a third as much as the away team. It remained level though and the ref finally blew the final whistle.

All things considered The Addicks would have been the happier with their point. No doubt Albion played some good slick football at times but a depleted yet spirited Charlton team pushed them every inch of the way and were good value for their point.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the wonderful tackle in the second half from Naby. How wonderful it was and perfectly timed as it could so easily have ended in disaster. However, all credit to the big man and he was spot on and denied a clear threat on our goal.

It was great to see some players returning especially Williams as i said, how much have we missed him.

All the players deserve a mention for yesterday's efforts with particular praise to our younger players. It all bodes well or the future.

This being the Championship the games don't get any easier but with displays like yesterday and players returning with the possibility of new arrivials there is plenty of room for optimism.

Preston await next week and I'm sure the lads will be chomping at the bit to go again.

COYR!

Finally !

At long last the takeover of the club by ESI completed yesterday. The timing is of course good news as it allows us to make moves in the transfer market following the opening of the window on Wednesday.

The statement on the club's website was wonderful to read and in total contrast to those of the previous owner.

Speaking of the deluded one I managed to catch an interview he did on Sky Sports News with our very own Jum White ( you remember Jim the guy who only had our interests at heart and gave Roly the 3rd degree in a series of hard hitting interviews ! ).

Remarkably Roly says he'd do things differently if he had his time again. Really ? That's hard to believe because there were many opportunities to change but he chose not to do so or listen to people who knew a lot more about running a football club than he ever will.

He has done so much damage over the last 6 years and caused untold misiery. However, he's gone and we and football in general are well rid of him and now need to look forward to a future that ought to be a hell of a lot brighter.

Defeat to Swansea last night was not totally unexpected but there was plenty of reason for optimism and pride especially given our second half performance. Sadly, we lost Taylor to injury and it seems we'll be without him for a couple of weeks.

There's plenty of work to be done across all areas of the club. Contracts need to be sorted for both management and players. These need to be done quickly because it's easier for Bowyer to attract players if the position of himself and the management team is secure.

Club staff need to be put in place and I'm sure that will also follow.

As for us fans, well we just want matters right on the pitch ( and off it too of course ). Anything will follow on from that but it's seeing our team playing well and being competitive that matters most.

Other aspects such as the return of Floyd and Harvey, improved catering, etc. will hopefully happen in due course.

I believe the new onwers appreciate the potential of our club and recognise how special it is. If handled with care in the right way then we can return to the top table. There a few clubs in the top flight who are on a par with us who have made it there.

It would be great to a Leicester as Curbs used to say or even do a Charlton as others used to say when we rose to the top !

The last few years have been draining in lots of ways. I've been amazed at the number of people who purport to follow football that were so oblvious to our plight and that of other clubs too.

It would seem that this is a great opportunity to make our club great again. Let's hope ESI are able to deliver that for us !



COYR !

Happy New Year!

My blogging this year has hardly been prolific but it would be remiss of me not to post on the last day of both the year and decade.

For us Addicks 2019 will be remembered mostly for promotion and that wonderful late May day at Wembley. It should have been even more notable with the completion of the takeover by ESI. However, the EFL have ensured that the odious Belgian holds on to the last vesitges of ownership like a tenacious bogey!

On the pitch the damage Duchatelet has brought upon our club becomes clearer by the day with an ever increasing injury list for an already depleted squad.

Lee Bowyer continues to do a remarkable job and it is for him as much as oursleves that one hopes the takeover completes, his contract is properly sorted and he is given the resources to take the club forward.

My fervent hope is that all matters will be complete within the few days and that appropriate investment follows. Then it certainly will be a happy new year!

May I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year!

COYR!

Bonne Temps!

It all seemed too good to be true on Saturday. There was a large number of people waiting for the train and given my currently dodgy knee I opted to take the hit and upgrade to first class to guarantee a seat. Fortunately, I didn't have a train guard come and ask me for the fee.

Whey hey! immediately I'm up on the day and I've already theorectically banked £15 towards the beer kitty!

The tube arrived as soon as I stepped onto the platform and at London Bridge the Charlton express emerged within two minutes.

A lovely breakfast at The Valley Cafe was just what the Doctor ordered following which I met up with the rest of our party, beers followed and all was well with the world!

All good so far! The only potential stumbling block was the one thing that had brought me to S.E. 7! The Addicks devoid of talismanic striker Taylor were playing high-flying Leeds on the back of two successive defeats.   

Accepted Lord Bowyer had already worked more miracles this season to date by securing some wonderful results on the back of some monumental performances. However, this was Leeds and we had suffered the aforementioned set backs.

I should have known better!

Leeds started like a train and it was soon evident as to why they are many people's favourites for promotion. The passing and movement at speed was quite stunning. However, as for all that there were no real clear cut chances to back that up.

Nevertheless Charlton were in danger of being overrun. As so often during his managerial tenure Bowyer moved quickly to address the situation and moved to a back three containing Pratley. It immmediately paid dividends and he went on to have an outstanding game.

The game's only goal came on the half hour mark following a corner that was ultimately bundled home someone. Even now it's not clear who but it was eventually credited to Bonne. Fair enough, he deserved it after putting it a goodperformance full of determination and running.

Clearly Leeds hadn't expected to fall behind to us! The lacklustre Bamford was not too pleased and launched an awful tackle on Gallagher that looks worse with every viewing. He should have been sent off. Instead he received a yellow the same punishment that was dished out to Lockyer for remonstrating after.

1-0 up at half time and I couldn't see how we would stop Leeds from scoring at least one. However, of course that's exactly what we did as the boys threw thier bodies on the line and gave it everything for the cause.

You couldn't fault any player. Solly had his best game for some time, Gallagher was immense and Bonne belied his inexperience at this level with tireless and intellgent running all afternoon.

The Valley was bouncing at the end celebrate another great win!

Wednesday sees another tough game ( aren't they all? ) as we entertain Swansea. Little time to recover from yesterday's exploits and there were some tired limbs at the end.

Bowyer will need to shuffle the pack and one would imagine that Pearce will return to the starting line up and that Solly, Pratley, Bonne and Williams will all drop to the bench at least.

It's a long season and players need to be carefully managed especially as we have another tough away trip to Fulham next Saturday.

One footnote to my Super Saturday was that my bet came in and I won £140! As if I wasn't beaming enough!

Here's to Bowyer and the lads keeping things going on Wednesday with another great result!

Bonne chance lads!

Twist and Shout !

Two months ago Addicks everywhere were celebrating a famous win at Wembley. There were nearly forty thousand of us wildly celebrating not just that victory but all that had been achieved over the season.

Bowyer and his team defied the odds to secure promotion. That they achieved that is remarkable in itself, the manner in which it was won even more so.

The style of play and the never say die attitude all arose from the manager's vision and passion. It was as the great man himself would say, a wonderful journey!

Promotion to the Championship not only meant we were back playing at the very least level we can expect but could only make the club more attractive to any suitors. Rumours of the owner's increasing desire to sell the club were rife.

Indeed increasingly we were told, mostly by Duchatelet's lakey, Jim Whte, that a deal was just around the corner. Roland had had enough and was desperate to sell.

Fast forward to today and we couldn't be any further away from ridding oursleves of the worst owner in the club's history. A sad scenario in itself. Sadly we have the added frustation of the Belgian's continued refusal to properly invest in the team.

All of that is to overlook the total farce of renewing the contracts of the management and coaching staff most notably Bowyer's of course.

We are two days away from season's start and are a long way from having anything like the team and squad we need to have even a snowball's chance in hell of surviving.

Twist and shout became the victory anthem with Dillon leading the way. Now it represents something very different. Lee Bowyer is Twist, as in Oliver and the shout, is his pleading to be able to be remotely competitive in recruiting players.

All of the above is reflected in us being everyone's favourites for relegation. Thankfully we have in Lee Bowyer a manager who not only loves our club but someone who will give it his all and demand the same of his players.

Were we devoid of Bowyer, Jackson and Gallen then you'd join the " experts " and write us off before a ball is kicked. Thankfully we still have them and in turn, a chance of survival.

Clearly given the loss of some massive players we are in need of new recruits and doubtless the team has been and are doing everything in their power to get them.

It's unlikely that anyone is coming in or will be ready to play at Blackburn. Next week is make or break and we can only hope that the club is remotely successful in getting the players we need.

It'll be a long, hard season and in Bowyer we trust !

Come On You Reds !

WemberLEE !

Lee Bowyer - the man who has turned our club around in the most remarkable cricumstances.

Wow ! Just wow ! Where do you begin to describe the events of not just yesterday but our entire season ?

Since there's probably enought time to cover the season how about I try just yesterday instead !

Just as I was beginning to come to terms with the drama of '98 up pop The Addicks with another Wembley classic that does little for the stress levels.

Typical Charlton is an oft used phrase but it is so apt for our club. Things are never done the easy way and they put us through the ringer but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Charlton give you lows that are very low and highs that are very high !

In terms of the pre and post match events we managed to find a decent pub and the food and drink was very toothsome especially after the win ! Departing from Milton Keynes we encountered several Sunderland fans and didn't encounter any Charlton fans until we reached Wembley itself.

Our party had hoped to meet up with various friends and relatives but due to sitting in different parts and the sheer numbers around this largely didn't happen. No matter, it didn't spoil the day of course.

We were fortunate enough to have good seats just 10 rows from the front and near the halfway line where we like to be. Inside the stadium the atmosphere was unbelievable and I was struggling to recall if it was as good back in '98.

To see so many Addicks inside the gorund was breathtaking. I don't mind confessing to be quite emotional on the walk up to the ground and once inside. Can't really put my finger on it other than a mixture of emotions - remembering family, pride in our club and the sheer joy and astonishment of what our club has done this season.

We had the worst possible start and I'm so glad for Phillips that it didn't prove costly it the end. Since Steer's departure he has been such a rock and won us many points so it would have been if his one error had proved fatal to our promotion plans.

All you can say is that he simply took his eye off the ball. Sadly for keepers if they make mistakes it usually ends in a goal.

However, once we withstood a little pressure from Sunderland for about 5 to 10 minutes ( that included a wonderful save from Phillips ) we started to grow into the game. If there's any justice then we go into halftime at least level and so it proved.

A wonderfully worked goal saw Purrington score his first goal for the club thus maintaining a trend of debut goals being scored at Wembley started by Richard Rufus.

I felt we edged the fist half without creating too many clear cut chances other than Taylor's well struck effort that went just wide of the top left hand corner. 

The corner count must have been massivley in our favour at that stage. I thought we played the better football and can't recall Phillips having any other saves to make.

The second half saw Pearce replace Sarr and it proved to be a good move. Sarr was on a yellow which despite the ref's reluctance to flash cards could have been a risk.

As the half wore on there was little of note and few chances for either side. We continued to waste the opportunites afforded by set pieces. I would like to have seen a bit more variety and better delivery but hey, it's probably not worth thinking about now !

Pratley had a good game and I was a bit concerned when he went off but Williams came on gave us a real shot in the arm and immediately we started to carry a greater attacking threat.

The game was deep into the 4 minutes of time added on when up popped the BFG, the man himself, Bauer, eventually got the ball into the back of the net ! Nothing better than scoring a late winner and it was a wonderful bit of symmetry to the first game of the season against the same opponents except that this late goal mattered more !

I don't think I've known a reaction like it to a Charlton goal. Personally I could hardly control myself cheering and jumping around and hugging my two lads ( 27 and 30 btw ! ). I don't know how I was able to speak after all the screaming and shouting. 

The final whistle followed almost imiediately with Sunderland having no time to reply. There you go and the Addicks were back in the second tier ! What a game ! What a season !

The whole squad and coaching staff are heroes. Lee Bowyer, the staff and players have achieved the most incredible promotion against all the odds. There's too much to list almost........no real backing from the owner, lakc of new contracts and thus security, Grant sold with no direct replacement, an enormous injury list etc. etc.

All that aside pride and a real connect between the fans and the players and management has been restored. 

We are a special club and our history is littered with set backs, triumphs & tribulations almost like no other. It has a special place in our hearts and we have a unique bond with it.

The club really gets you and that's further evidenced by the former players there yesterday. In addition, how good was it to see Curbs at the end. 

One has to feel for the Sunderland fans who once again suffer the heartbreak of a Wembley defeat and again accepted with good grace.

We have to enjoy the moment and leave the wonder of what happens next with the club's future to another day.

What an finish to an amazing season ! We won't forget this in a hurry !

Come On You Reds !

Here We Are Again !

Following Friday night's excitement at The Valley we are returing to Wembley some 21 years after our last visit.

If you are of similar age to me it really doesn't seem that long ago and acts as a sombre reminder of how time flies and seems to pass more quickly the older one gets !

Of course it just had to be that our opponents would be Sunderland our opposition on 28th May 1998. Most Addicks I believe will be happy like me that we are facing them. Their fans were great following their defeat last time and I have a lot of respect for them as a result.

In striking similarity to last time it is true that it is more importnat for us to win the game than Sunderland. Last time they followed with a straight promotion garnering a record number of points on their way the the title.

If we lose then we face an even more uncertain future and none of us wants that.

The Addicks have been to Wembley 2 before in my lifetime. The aforementioned 1998 game and 1987 Full Members Cup Final for which I was away on holiday and so I can't rightly say I've never seen us lose at Wembley !

Another thing I can say is that I've never seen us lose a penalty shoot out. 1998 aside I've seen one other one and that was the League Cup one versus Luton at The Valley a few years ago.

Back to Friday and what an amazing evening that was ! It was alwas going to be and I was telling everyone I knew that The Valley was going to be rocking but it passed even my wildest expectations.

I'm trying to recall another atmosphere like it. The play off semi against Ipswich might come closest but I'm not sure even that was as good.

The fans passion came through loud and clear. Everything surrounding Friday's game was intensified and magnified by events of the last few years and ultimately was released in joyous eruption made manifest by a spontaneous and peaceful pitch invasion.

Lee Bowyer, Johnnie Jackson, the staff and the players have given us fans something to get behind having played so well  and representing our club in splendid fashion and enabling the so importnat reconnect with the fans.

We have so much to thank the managemnt team for even if we do fall at the last hurdle.

The only downside of Friday you might argue was our performance but you have to acknowledge how well Doncaster played as well as it was something of a rare blip on our part. However, that aside, what a game and what drama !

Just as it looked like we might have thrown it away up pops Pratley to equalise and send us onto penalties. Even then just as it seemed the script was written for Naby Sarr he had his penalty saved.

Like many others I failed to appreciate that Rowe's miss meant we were through. In all the excitement I forgot that was the case !

The reaction to Friday's events on social media has been huge and everytime I access Twitter, Facebook and also Charlton Life I'm reading great accounts from fans of thier evening.

There's little surprise that our allocation of tickets for Sunday's final have sold so well. This is still a tremendmous amount of support and affection for our club. I'd love to think that Friday and the upcoming final will showcase our club and that some wealthy, right-minded individual will think I'd like to be involved with that team.

Lee Bowyer faces a tough week in deciding his team for Sunday. Should he go for experience over youth. I don't envy him the task but trust him to get it right of course.

21 years ago and I recall that Les Reed had a pitch marked out with the exact dimensions of the Wembley one. I expect that level of attnetion to detail will be repeated as we aim to give oursleves the best possible chance.

The lead up to Friday and the game itself was tense and stressful enough. I'm not sure how I'm going to cope before then so it's probably just as well that these Wembley visits don't come around too often.

Whatever happens we do need to make the most of it and enjoy the day as much as possible.

Come On You Reds !