Valley Floyd James

Robbed and Hurt

2006-09-09T16:07:00.000+01:00

If I was Jose I would be saying we just won 2-1 as Chelskis 2nd goal should never have been and M. Bent scored a perfectly fine goal, instead we were robbed and went away with nothing.

Chelsea edged an even 1st half and grabbed a goal after just 6 minutes on the clock. Lampard swung in a corner, which Ballack met with a diving headed, Hughes blocked it but it landed at the feet of Drogba who hammered it between the post and Ambrose.

With 13 minutes gone a neat bit of play on the edge of the box found Ballack who drove the ball along the ground with great power only for Carson to make a smart save low to his left.
JFH when clean though only for the ref to wave his flag and then Reid got a knock and Romm joined the action. It only took him a minute to create a chance for DB who headed wide.
Drogba when through our defence and was closing in on the goal but he dragged his shot well wide. JFH got in to handbags with Ballack, just before the whistle went for half time.
We started the better in the second half, but lost Traore after he failed to shake off a knock from the 1st half.
Then with 54 minutes on the clock JFH did what every Charlton fan had been waiting for after some great wide work from Romm he found JFH who skipped a tackle took a touch and curled it along the ground into the bottom corner.

But we were only on level terms for 6 minutes, Diawara when off injured just before Chelski took a corner, which found the head of Carvalho, as the ball flew towards the goal, Faye got a touch but it went in anyway. Drogba looked to have been in the keepers way but the ref let the goal stand.

Marcus came on for Diawara and he put the ball in the net as the clock struck the 72-minute mark, but the ref disallowed it for handball but it clearly came off of his chest.

The ref really decided to put on his Chelski shirt after Kalou threw himself to the ground after the slightest touch from El Karkouri. It was a joke but lucky for us Super Scott was between the sticks and saved Lampards spot kick.

Despite some pressure we could not find an equaliser and Chelski has stolen 3 points from Dowies red army.

Chelski, Bent and New Blood?

2006-09-08T05:10:00.000+01:00

After last seasons displays at the Bridge, a win (unless you are Jose) and a draw, could we be the first team to take all 3 points off of Chelski in there own backyard. I think we have a chance due to Chelski not looking themselves of late and also the fact that we have bought well in the transfer market since the win over Bolton.
Diawara is a godsend at this moment in time with HH, Sorondo, Gibbs and Fortune all missing, he will almost certainly start on Saturday. Souleymane has attributes that are well suited to the Premiership, he has pace, he reads the game well and is an imposing figure in and around the area. While Pouso could get a place on the bench, he is a good all-round midfielder and is Carrick like with the ball at his feet. Chelski also bought well before (well actually after) the window shut by finally ending the worlds most boring transfer saga and signing Cole, but I feel that the loss of Gallas (for me a better player than Cole) could have a big impact of there season.
Chelski are having problems making the new faces fit in with the 4-3-3 they have played for the last 2 seasons and hopefully Dowie can mastermind a plan to take advantage of this. I would personally play a 4-3-3 with Kish, Faye and Ambrose in the middle of the park and Romm, Bent and Reid up top. I feel that this would give us a great chance of getting 3 points.
I think we will get at least a draw if not a 1-0 win, with Bent finding the net.

Speaking of Bent, McClaren proved why he was no ones 1st choice for the England job by leaving out the best striker in his squad (and also the one with the most goals). McClaren may have won but both performances were poor and playing Defoe was a joke topped off by bringing on Johnson instead of Bent. Defoe may have got 2 goals against the mighty Andorra but his general performance in both games was dreadful he looked slow and had poor movement. If Bent had been at boro he would have been starting, the proof of that is Downing who has been less than impressive. Also Lampard should have been dropped by now, he has never been someone I rated and his last 10 games for England have been very poor. The worst thing is Rooney is back now and so Bent will drop further down the pecking order, so unless McClaren wakes up soon Bent will have no hope of playing for England.

With the transfer window now closed, Dowie can only sign free agents and he has been in talks with Diego Tristan (30), he has the physical presence and goal-scoring prowess to be a hit in the Prem but his form has dropped in recent seasons (matching the fortunes of his former club.) Bolton and Newcastle are in the chase as well but if Dowie can talk him around he certainly has the talent to make it. Dowie is also thought to have his eye on Czech forward Marek Heinz as a back up if he fails to land Tristan with a host of European clubs also chasing him.

Dowie Does Diawara Deal

2006-08-29T16:32:00.000+01:00

Charlton look set to sign defender Souleymane Diawara from French side Sochaux on a 3-year deal and for a fee thought to be between £3-4m.
His agent said "Souleymane is going to Charlton as both clubs have agreed a fee, he has had talks and passed his medical at the club. "Souleymane has agreed a three-year deal and he should complete the formalities of the deal soon."
This will be a boost to Dowie as he looks to strengthen his team before the window closes on Thursday. The 27 year-old Senegalese centre back was being chased by other Premiership clubs such as Newcastle and Portsmouth.
Dowie is still thought to be looking for at least one more midfielder (thought to be Pouso) and a striker, with M. Bent and Euell both heading for the exit.

Dazzas Double Delights Dowie (Charlton 2-0 Bolton)

2006-08-27T22:44:00.000+01:00

A display of heart and skill earned Charlton their first 3 points of the season as Bent showed why he should start for England.
In a very entertaining game it was Bolton who had the first clear-cut opportunity as Stelios ran clean threw towards Carson’s goal with 11 minutes gone, he sent El Karkouri the wrong way but before he could do any damage Hughes made a crucial block.
Then a lovely bit of play from Charlton as Jimmy played a defence splitting pass to Ambrose who’s shot was saved, but it deflected to Bent who smashed the ball against Meite on the line, it fell to Ambrose who found the back of the net but he was offside.
The referee then decided to pick on Herman and sent him off for an accidental elbow on Davies, after Davies himself had been attacking our team with elbows from the opening minute.
After half time we made a bright start and El Karkouri rose like a salmon but headed wide, the ref then noticed that El was wearing Traore’s shirt, which was quickly rectified.
The next blunder from the ref came in the 57th minute as Diouf and Faye tangled running into the box and Diouf put his feet together and threw himself to the floor in a clear dive, but the ref said penalty but thankfully he only booked Faye. As Diouf stepped up to take the spot kick to a chorus of boos from a nervous Valley crowd, he tapped the ball to the keeper’s right but Carson saved the day and the shot with a brilliant save then he bounced back up to clear the ball. The save sent the crowd mad with delight as Carson handed out justice.
After Carson’s heroics it was the 10 men of Charlton who took control of the game and after a period of good possession it was Reid who placed a chip into the path of Bent only for Ben Haim to grab his shirt and as Bent hit the floor the ref finally decided to do the right thing and pointed to the spot. Bent placed the on the spot and took his run up, as around 23000 Charlton fans crossed there fingers and went mad as Bent sent the ball flying passed Jaaskelainen.
As the clock struck the 72 minute mark the ref put his glasses on for the second time in the match, when Davies jumped up with Faye and threw a vicious elbow into Faye’s face right in front of the ref, Davies got what was coming to him a red card.
As everyone in the Valley sat on the edges of there seats hoping Charlton could hang on, then Bent beat the keeper to a long ball and lifted it over his head but as the ball came down wide. Then a bit of route 1 action sealed the day, Jimmy flicked the ball into the box and found Bent who took the ball well before releasing a shot while falling which when in-between the keepers legs and made the points save.
Carson got to make another great save before the end as he palmed away a lob from Tal.
All in all it was a great game, despite the ref making a few big errors and big Sam’a thugs lost to a side with more heart and ability than his side will ever have (he claimed after the game that his side should of won and that Davies was an angel and HH was the devil).
Bring on Chelski!

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Undone (Charlton 0-3 Manchester United)

2006-08-24T05:36:00.000+01:00

Well it’s been 2 games and we have yet to win, but it could have been different, on Saturday we could have won if it had not been for a ref who was too quick to send off Djimi (especially considering the tackles by Michael Brown and Ben Thatcher). While if we could of kept our 1st half performance (and luck), it could have been a draw.
In the first half we put in a solid display but we failed to create anything apart from half chances which included a miss fire from Jimmy, a far post header for Dazza and a spell where 2 possible penalties were turned down. United on the other hand had 4 great chances, a shot from Park (well saved by Carson) and a superb Giggs free kick (which hit the inside of the post.) Then a tremendous run and curling shot by Giggs that was well saved by Carson and finally a powerful rising shot from Ronaldo, which hit the crossbar.
The second half opened with hope after Ambrose hit a dipping shot from about 40 yards but it clipped the post. Then disaster, Fortune slipped and let Fletcher into score and from that moment on it was all uphill. United took control and kept possession well, while we lost the ball with in seconds of wining it by always trying for a killer pass.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink did not impress (but he has only played 2 games and maybe he should be coming off the bench as he often looked lost playing in the hole) and was subbed in the 65th minute for M. Bent who also failed to contribute.
As we pushed forward they got stronger and pushed home their advantage with 11 minutes left on the clock, a Brown pass found Saha on the edge of the box, he then turned and smashed the ball past a despairing Carson.
Rommedahl came on too late to change anything but he looked bright and provided much needed width.
United then broke in move that saw Solskjaer left with a gapping goal only for Carson to become superman and stop a certain goal. But 3 minutes later Solskjaer made no mistake after everyone missed a Saha cross, Ole tapped it into an empty net as our defence stood static.
So on to Saturday we march a result against a hot and cold Bolton side would lift the club, but even if we lose it will not be the end of the world as he has to be given time. Dowie has also said he is still looking for 1 or 2 players and hopefully they are a striker and a playmaker.

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Dim Costs Us Win (West Ham 3 –1 Charlton)

2006-08-19T18:02:00.000+01:00

From a Charlton point of view theirs not much I can say about this game, we started slowly as we had been doing all pre-season, then Gabbidon gifted us a penalty with a silly handball, which Bent duly dispatched with ease. We then started to play well and became the better side for a few minutes, until new boy Djimi Traore, decided to pick up a silly 2nd booking for blocking the taking of a quick free-kick (the 1st yellow had come only minutes earlier for a poor tackle on Bowyer.)
From that moment on it was the West Ham show, putting us under unbearable pressure for the rest of the half, but somehow we held out until half time thanks to Carson who was a real hero pulling off a string of good saves.
The second half began the way the first had finished and Dowie’s team talk became redundant after 6 minutes, when everyone in the middle missed a Bowyer cross only for Zamora to tuck it in at the back post.
West Ham kept coming and in the 67th minute a comedy goal gave the hammers the lead. Bowyer’s cross found Zamora who miss hit a shot, which hit the post and trickled over the line as our back line looked on in horror.
After going a goal down we got back into the game and started to play a bit better, but our only real chance came in the last minute, from substitute Andy Reid’s free kick, which found Sorondo who headed a good chance over. Then as the game drew to an end and as we licked our wounds, Carlton Cole came on in injury time with a bag of salt and poured it all over us as he scored with his first touch to make it 3-1.

A Preview of the Coming Season (and the Hammers match)

2006-08-18T05:13:00.000+01:00

Well the new season starts tomorrow at 3pm and there have been a few changes since United took us apart. We have a new leader who goes my the name Dowie and he has made promises of a new attacking style or as one man once said "sexy football." While most of the football pundits regard him as one of the best young managers about, most fans were sent in to hysterics when a certain Simon presented himself as a tangerine Yosemite Sam, as he ranted on Sky Sports News, with the sound bite "I would not issue a writ through my lawyers on a point of principle. I will issue a writ on a point of law because points of principle are expensive as Iain will find out." (or "Varmint, I'm a-gonna blow you to smithereens!" ) As Bugs (that's Mr Murray to you and me) stayed calm and uttered the immortal phrase "Of course you realize, 'DIS means war!" (or words to that effect.) Anyway this all has to go to court where Jordan will lose as he is wrong (in more ways than one), but we all know that already.

The playing squad has improved with a total of 9 new players and Sorondo who has made his loan permanent, the most high profile of which is Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink. The 34 year-old will bring his know how to the Valley and hopefully a few goals, I am looking forward to seeing his rocket launcher like shots. Dowies other main signings are Faye (who will be a force in the centre of the park), Traore (he can sometimes look lost but if he focuses he could prove to be a great buy) and Reid (he will bring flair and a great footballing mind to the team, but he we need time to get fit.) Despite the club having a great set of keepers already Dowie felt we needed another keeper and signed England U21 keeper Scott Carson on a season long loan, while exciting trialist Bolanos has also joined on loan. Dowie said he wanted to make signings for the future and did so in Walton a tough tackling centre back/midfielder (who has gone on loan to Ipswich) and Staunton a defender from Celtic. USA international defender Cory Gibbs also joined on a free, but lost his World Cup place and will be out until November, after picking up a knee injury and having surgery.
But leaving the club are fan favourites Powell and Perry, along with Jeffers (who never made an impact), JJ (a fan favourite for a while until the goals dried up), Bartlett (he gave good service to the club but he was never going to be a starter) and Bothroyd (ok while he was here, but he needed to work harder).

Well this is the bit where the expectations and predictions come in, the thing is how to go about it. I could go for if our season is going to be a movie it would be Snakes on a Plane or go with the usual Charlton will start ok, be ok in the middle and finish badly (forgetting we have a new manager and staff), but end up mid-table.
What I will say is that I expect an exciting season with some good football, my heart says top 6, but I would settle for 17th. So my prediction is top 10 (where over the top hope meets reality) and a cup run (probably to the semis of the Carling cup.)
As for tomorrow, I think we will win 3-1 with a Bent double and JFH opening his Charlton account too.

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Dowie Adds A Winger

2006-08-16T18:12:00.000+01:00

Charlton have signed Andy Reid on a 4-year contract in a deal that will be worth up to £3m.
The talent 24 year-old careered had stalled at Spurs last season and he will be hoping to fulfil his potential at the valley and revive his international career where he has fallen down the pecking order.
He is known for taking a mean free-kick and his meandering runs, he can play down either flank although he prefers the left side and can also be use in the hole behind a main striker.
This signing will delight many fans who know that if he reaches his potential he could be as good as his compatriot Damien Duff.

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Dowie Watches Striker and Other Targets

2006-08-16T04:37:00.000+01:00

Iain Dowie watched the England U21s draw with Moldova last night as he looks to bolster his squad for the coming season, it is believed he would like a new striker and another midfielder.
David Nugent looks to be a target after a glowing report from the Wolves game where the Addicks had a scout, Nugent found the net twice as Preston beat Wolves 3-1. Then last night Dowie took a look for himself, he was probably impressed at Portman Road as Nugent scored a neat header at the far post and claimed the man of the match award.
The 21 year-old striker is well known for his clinical finishing and pace, which make him one of the top target men in the Championship. Preston had hoped to keep the gifted attacker, but should a Premiership team make a firm offer it is believed he would jump at the chance to make the step up. Unfortunately Preston would want a fee in the region of £4m, which maybe beyond Charlton’s financial reach, unless a payment plan of the kind that saw the Addicks land now club captain Luke Young.
He was also there to watch James Milner, but he never made it to the pitch as Dowie would like to take him on a season long loan.
Dowie is also keen on Southampton’s 17 year-old defender Gareth Bale, Dowie is thought to be ready to offer a deal worth £1.5m to the Saints.
As for the midfield situation, Dowie has been keeping tabs on Scott Brown, who caught his eye in the recent friendly with Hibs and Kris Commons. Both would be a huge risk as they are unproven but both would cost under £1m are both are thought to have big futures.

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Rooney and Scholes Miss Match

2006-08-15T18:26:00.000+01:00

The FA have ruled that both Rooney and Scholes will miss 3 games, which includes united’s game at the Valley, this will surely be a boost for Dowie’s men, as we look for our first win over the red devils in the Premiership.

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Carson Joins

2006-08-14T16:43:00.000+01:00

Scott Carson has joined Charlton on a season-long loan, this will conclude Dowies search for a new keeper are missing out on Isaksson and Green.

Hammers Set To Steal Green

2006-08-14T15:30:00.000+01:00

West Ham have jumped the cue and picked up Robert Green from under Dowie’s nose, just like Manchester City did with Isaksson, but most fans are of the opinion that we have enough keepers anyway.
If it were up to me I would move for Kamil Contofalsky who could come on a free from Zenit St Petersburg, we could also do with another striker and a playmaker.

Anyway I am back now and will bring you and a preview of the coming season later this week and hopefully it will be better than the terrible preview seen in this Sundays Observer @ http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1843540,00.html.

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Double the Bent, Exit the Euell (and other gossip)

2006-01-16T02:46:00.000+01:00

After beating the blues on Saturday Curbs has decided to start his spending on Marcus Bent. Curbs has been chasing Bent since the summer and has finally landed his man, he will cost a reported £2.5m. He has only started 7 league games this season for the toffees and only netted a single goal, but his game is more about hard work and last season he lead Everton into the Champions League as a lone front man. He is 27 and hails from London (Hammersmith) so he should not take long to settle.

While Curbs is still looking to change the look of his squad and is looking for a centre-back, his known targets are Knight and Gardner and both would cost in the region of £2m. He is also looking to add to the midfield area, Bowyer is long-term target but Newcastle keep moving the goal posts, while Gonzalo de los Santos is said to be on trial at the club after leaving Valencia earlier this month.
But it remains to be seen if another striker is on Curbs' hitlist after signing Bent, But Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink and Cameron Jerome and still being linked with moves. It may all be decided by who leaves the club during the window.

Out goes long time want away striker Euell who is set to seal a £1.5m move to Birmingham, who also tried to sign him in the summer, but a shoulder injury meant the deal collapsed.

Another Classic? (Preview Vs West Ham)

2005-12-31T09:20:00.000+01:00

Remember it kicks off at 1pm, I only saw it on sky sports news late last night. Anyways after the Newcastle “game” where nothing happen due a bit of snow and the northern nancies giving up, we can look forward to a classic derby. Over our years in the Premiership our home games against the hammer have usually been something to look forward to, a couple of 4-2s and of course that 4-4 (the only other prem game finished 1-1 after a wonder goal by Di Canio).

The Weather – It will feel like 3°, with a good chance of a shower or 2.

Team News – West Ham are likely to be without Yossi Benayoun (groin), Teddy Sheringham (calf) and Danny Gabbidon (knee). While Tomas Repka and Bobby Zamora could comeback into the hammers side.
Danny is suspended while Sorondo is likely to miss out after a very late yet unpunished tackle from Francesc Fabregas. Smertin (Knee) and Thomas (Virus) face late fitness tests. Myhre is likely to keep his place in goal and Fortune should start in defence after stella displays on Boxing Day.

Ref Watch – Poll he is probably the best ref in the league but that is not saying much he needs to keep his head as this could be a hot encounter.

Prediction – I am going for goals, 4-3 to us in a ding dong derby, Bent (2), Ambrose and HH for us and Harewood, Konch and Reo-Coker for them.

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Transfer News

2005-12-29T10:54:00.000+01:00

Franny Jeffers will return to us but could well move to Norwich as part of a £7m deal (with £2m upfront in cash, £1.5m in extras, a further £2m over the next 3 years and will get Jeffers and JJ as well).
Despite Moyes saying that Bent is going now where a deal could be on the cards after talks the move is likely to cost us £1-1.5m and of course the Bowyer deal is looking more and more likely
According to the mirror we could be ready to clear out 6 players to create funds for new signings and we are still tracking Gardner, Andrew Johnson and Niemi.
Euell seems most likely to move on with Birmingham ready to pounce and others including ‘boro and Palarse keeping a close watch.
A big rumour doing the rounds is that Beto (Sporting Lisbon) will join us, a good centre half who is very useful.
While the more unlikely rumours about are that Arsenal are going to move for Andersen and that will use that money to pick up Darren Fletcher from Manu.

Just how much of the above is true and how much Curbs has to spend we will soon find out.

Can the Robins Overcome the Magpies? (Newcastle Preview)

2005-12-28T06:52:00.000+01:00

A hard fort display over Arsenal left us with no points and no cheer, as the ref decided to give Arsenal his backing in nearly every decision he made. From hand balls to elbows and of course Danny bouncing the ball too hard towards an arsenal player so that they could take their ill-gotten free kick.
Anyway another day another game and off we go to Newcastle needing a point if not all 3 to get us back on track and avoid getting sucked into the relegation battle. We could fall to 14th or go up to 10th and we still have a game in hand on nearly everyone in the league. Newcastle are 3 points above us and their form has been far from consistent, against Liverpool they only had 2 shots on goal, while they banged 4 past the Hammers.
Team News – Newcastle will be without Taylor, while Bowyer is suspended after picking up a dubious red card on Boxing Day.
Danny is suspended while Sorondo is likely to miss out after a very late yet unpunished tackle from Francesc Fabregas. Smertin (Knee) and Thomas (Virus) face late fitness tests. Myhre is likely to keep his place in goal and Fortune should start in defence after stella displays on Boxing Day.

A big threat to us is Sherear and his elbows and of course his moaning gob, while in football terms Solano and Owen will be a potent threat. Newcastle’s main weakness is at the back, they have a few good indivuals but they do not work well as a unit. Given is a hard man to beat and without him they could be in the bottom 3.

Ref Watch – Mike Dean, not known for making big errors and has taken charge of 1 Charlton match (our 3-1 win over ‘boro in which he booked HH) and 1 Newcastle match (they won 1-0 over Birmingham and had 3 players booked.)

Prediction- 2-1 to us again a hopeful score line but I think Ambrose will start and will have something to prove at his old club, he will score 1 and set up Bent for the other. Owen will find the net for the home side.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-24T09:11:00.000+01:00

Happy Christmas and A Very Happy New Year

I hope Santa brings you what you wanted (some points) and that you enjoy the day.

Santa is a Charlton Fan (hopefully- Arsenal preview)

2005-12-24T08:23:00.000+01:00

Boxing Day (at 12:45 some people lose track of when games start over xmas) and we meet a team who are also looking for form and have a poor away record to go with our poor home record so this has draw written all over it. Arsenal have kept only 1 clean sheet on the road and have only managed more than 1 goal once in their last 8 away games, while we all know about our home form.
We have had come cracking games with the gunners over the years but in recent seasons the linesman has had more of a say than we have.
Last new years day we lost due to the linesman being completely incompetent after Talal hit that screamer to draw us level.

Team News – Arsenal’s main man Henry (Achilles) will have a late fitness test and Van Persie could be out with a damaged knee but Reyes should return.
We welcome back Euell and Lisbie to a fully fit squad, Bothroyd is fit but is still waiting for an all clear from the doctors.

Boxing day will be a day when the players show they have listen to Curbs and put on a great display or it could be a day when we get found out at the back and are made to look like fools live on sky.
In order to get a good result we should play deep and hit them down the wings. The middle of the park will be a place for bite as without Vieira they are weak in the physical stakes and will fall apart under pressure.

Ref Watch – Local lad Steve Bennett (Oprington) will take charge, he is usually a good ref who will not take any nonsense from anyone.

Prediction – hopefully a hard fort 1-0 win but I can see a 1-1 draw with Ambrose and Pires putting the ball in between the sticks.

January Gossip and Curbs Feels For Fans

2005-12-24T07:56:00.000+01:00

The media have stuck with the summer stories of us being in for Marcus Bent (£1.5m) and Lee Bowyer (around £1m), they would be two welcome faces at the Valley. But David Moyes insisted: “There could well be interest in Marcus when the transfer window opens — but I can tell you now we won’t be selling him.” While another summer link has resurfaced, Anthony Gardner is said to be on his way for around £2m.
We have also been link to Ashton but Norwich are said to want £7.5m for him and so that would be quite unlikely. The Cardiff Echo has linked us with a £2m (£1m upfront and £1m in extras) bid for City’s Cameron Jerome a wonderful young striker how could light up the Valley.
No one knows what Curbs has in the way of funds but the Star (a great source, LOL) has said that the board will put £6m in the kitty.
The way we have been playing of late it is vital to get some fresh blood in this January transfer window here are a few of my ideas top add to the gossip above.

Walter Pandiani is on offer for about £850k and would give us a top quality finisher and a bit of bite up top.

David Prutton a good all rounder who can fill in at the back, but is best in a defensive midfield role. (£1.3m)

Jens Nowotny he is at Leverkusen and is a experienced player who bring strength to our defence and is likely to cost under a £1m after having a few troubles.

Robert Huth a promising young defender and we could land him for £1m.

Kim Kallstrom a great attacking midfielder and a gifted talent, his fee would be somewhere in between £2 and 4m.

Also if we have an unlimited budget I would like to see Robbie Keane, Papa Boupa Diop and Steed Malbranque join but those are rather unlikely targets.

Curbs has spoken out on 2 matters to do with us, the fans, first on how poor we have been and that we have the right to boo due to some very poor performances. "We do it to our fans ever year, we set them up and don't quite follow through," he said."I'll accept any criticism they want to send my way, I pick the team. But hold on, some of the players out there have to take some responsibility and they didn't today when it came down to defending.The fans have been very tolerant but they won't stomach too much more of this. If players are not up for it, change it.”

He also spoke of his anger at the Xmas fixture list which sees the traveling faithful dragged to Newcastle, then back home and finally off to Everton all in the space of 6 days. "Our away games - to Newcastle and Everton - are quite ridiculous for our fans," he raged. quite ridiculous for our fans," he raged. "We're doing 1000 miles in two away trips, which is tough, not so much for us because it's part of what we do, but for our fans it's crazy."

Rumours, News and A Match Too

2005-12-04T05:55:00.000+01:00

First off after having a flick through the papers and websites, which cover transfer news, it looks like January could be a busy month. On the way out could be Hughes, Holland, Bartlett, Bothroyd, Lisbie and Kiely. The most surprising name on that list is that of Deano, he has been linked with a move after failing to regain his place and being very verbal about this, which Curbs took exception too and Curbs put Kiely in his place. Ever since this argument there relationship has been strained and he may well be looking at the exit door.
On the way in according to the rumour mill could be Dean Ashton, Louis Saha, Andrew Johnson, Lee Bowyer, Zoltan Gera and J Lloyd Samuel. There were many after names including stories of scouting missions to countries such as Holland, France, Spain and Brazil. Most fans feel a lack of January action has made a big contribution to our end of season hell. Also of interest to many fans will be the rumour that Curbs will be given a significant war chest for the window in order to help us push on to the next level.
Curbs is ready to sign a new deal in January his current deals only has 18 months to run and he said this just the other day.
"I've got to see what he offers but I am not money-orientated and I haven't even thought about not signing. Over the years I could have got a lot more money elsewhere but that's not my motivation. The way I see it I'm in a job that 15 years ago no one in their right mind would have taken. But now the chairman would have people contacting him if it became available. The truth is I don't what it to go belly-up here. I don't want to have spent 15 years as manager and see all that work go wrong. I know we can't compete with a lot of clubs but we have averaged 10th place in the Premiership over the last five years. Looking ahead, I would like to see our stadium increase its capacity to 35,000. That would be a fantastic achievement and that's part of my motivation. I want to keep things going."
Today we need to end our 5 game losing streak and there is no better place to do it than at home in front of the Sky cameras. Man City are in good form but a win would take us above them and into 8th place.
So lets get behind the boys and I know we pay our money so we can say what we want but do not boo Curbs has done more for this club than most know and he will turn it around.

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Revenge & The Cup (Carling Cup Preview)

2005-11-29T17:18:00.000+01:00

After we beat Chelski our form has gone out of the window and that includes our first away defeat to Blackburn. Tomorrow could be do or die for our hopes of silverware this season (due to our history in cup competitions) and of course the most important thing about winning a cup is they you into Europe.
Injury news – Blackburn are likely to be without Lucas Neill (back) and Tugay (calf).
While Curbs has a near full squad to pick from which will soon include Jason Euell who will play in the reserves tonight. Kiely could get a chance in-between the sticks, Murphy and Rommedahl could return to the team after missing out at Villa.
We will have to keep an eye on Bellamy who will constantly on the move looking for balls from deep.
After our display are Ewood park Curbs should know what to expect and in my opinion we should go 4-4-2 and play pressure football.

Prediction - 2-1 AET Bent and Murphy for us and Bellamy for them.

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We Can Be Heroes (Villa preview)

2005-11-26T05:39:00.000+01:00

Well after a great start to the season we have got ourselves in a slight slump with 1 win in the last 6 league games, but as Curbs points out we were unlucky to lose against Spurs and Bolton and we should have picked up all 3 points against Fulham. The last to games have been well embarrassing to say the least a 4-1 defeat to Blackburn and a lesson from Man U despite Ambrose hitting a screamer.
Villa are sitting 15th in the table and are not looking as strong as they did a few seasons ago, but they have goals in there team with players like Baros, Phillips and Angel. If we go there and play our usual brand or football (hard work and skill), it should be another victory to add to our impressive away form.
Injury news – Villa are at full strength.
Curbs has no new faces back but Kiely could start after last weeks display by Andersen.
Villas main men are Davis a hard working midfield who is capable of putting his name on the score sheet and Baros who is a natural goal scorer who will pounce on any chance in the box.
Today will be a day for our wingers to shine as Villas full backs are looking a little suspect and we can exploit that fact to our advantage.
Prediction time – another away win for our red army 3-1 with Bent bagging a brace and Ambrose also finding the net. Davis will score for the home side.

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January/Jinx/Scum

2005-11-08T11:46:00.000+01:00

First off we lost against Blackburn due to silly errors and a blind ass. ref, on another day we could have won, but alas it was not another day. The match again showed that without 1 key player we can lose that winning touch (although we did beat Chelski without Smertin) and that come January we need to get a few new faces in. Possible targets could be Gravesen, Fryatt and Jerome, while I would like to see us move for South Korean wonder kid Park Chu-young who is keen on a move to England
I don't really care which Premier League team I play for, I just want to play for an excellent team.” Park told Joynews. He continued saying "It's my dream to appear on a stage like the Premier League.” And it would be best to get in now, as his value is likely to rocket during the World Cup.

Apparently we have a jinx and her name is Joanna Taylor (Murphy’s wife), she tells us this is her column that when she goes to games we play badly and lose. Danny told her not to go to games so we would win but she went to the Bolton game in secret (which he saw through) and we lost. Danny had ago at her (which shows how much he cares) and quiet rightly so. But she seemed to take no responsibility for her actions and threw a hissy fit when he bought the matter to her attention. They of course made up, as Danny was never going to be able to change what happen and why fight for too long over something that cannot be changed. Hopefully she has learnt her lesson and we will not be jinxed by her watching eyes anymore.

Finally as I looked in my inbox yesterday night and read the club news letter and was shock by the last item. A fan of Charlton nicknamed here as Mr Judas (although the email contains the twats real name), wrote to the club on Friday to take himself off the mailing list and his reason he is going to support Chelski. He goes on to say he needs to see his team win once in a while (despite our good form this season) and so will no longer be supporting us. This person should be hung, drawn and quartered for leaving a football team is inexcusable for a reason like winning.
Well if that is your attitude Judas then good riddance go enjoy high prices, a mouthy manager, huge debt and more defeats to Manchester United.

Rovers Win Would Be Perfect Gift (Rovers Vs Addicks Preview)

2005-11-05T10:14:00.000+01:00

Today is 3 days before Curbs turns 48 and what a gift it would be to grab our 6th away win just before the international break and the win could send us 2nd.
Blackburn are a lot like Bolton they like to keep the pressure on and use a physical approach to achieve this, also they have a couple of quality players who can punish errors and win games. After last weeks 2nd half show the players owe the fans and Curbs a good display and 3 points.

Team News – Goldie Locks (R. Savage) is to have a late fitness test on a leg injury and what a shame the travelling fans have to miss out on those silky skills (NOT, more like elbows and bitching), while New Zealander Ryan Nelsen also looks to miss out with a knee injury.
We have no new injury worries and welcome back Bent after a bout of Flu.

Blackburn has a deadly duo on the attack in Pedersen and Bellamy they have great pace and both also have an eye for the back of the net. Their defenders and Tugay often look for long balls and quick breakaway opportunities.
Last Saturday we found out what life would be like without Dazza and it was hell, luckily he only missed 1 game and today will be looking to do what he does best work hard and score goals.
There is not clever way to win today it will be a mix of hard work, luck (cos you always need luck) and that bit of quality we have in the form of Murphy & Co.

Ref Watch – After last week’s ref, what a crap ref he was, this week we get Dowd who looks like a mad clerk wandering around the pitch making often silly decisions and missing what right in front of his face (well he is like most refs then). He averages 4 yellows a game and has sent off 1 man in 6 games, he has 3 Charlton names (Vs Spurs Young, Kizzy and Murphy) and 3 Blackburn names (Vs Man U). So today we could see red considering the challenges he booked our players for.

Prediction Time – I am going to go for a 2-1 win with Bent bagging a double and Pedersen finding the net for the home side.

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Poor Performance, Poor Ref, Poor Game

2005-10-29T18:44:00.000+01:00

This seasons most important month looks to be January, as we need at least 1 striker if not 2 as without Bent we looked flat up top and the Refs display was beyond pitiful.
Mr. Clangerberg disallowed a perfectly good goal for handball, but the handball was accidentally as it deflected off another player on to Ambrose’s hand (if it was on purpose why was there no yellow. If he decides to do this then fine but Bolton players seemed to get away with and on couple of occasions it happen in the box. The Ref must have been drinking with some of the decisions including a booking for Murphy when he did very little wrong and did not book a single Bolton player despite some awful challenges.
As for the rest of the game it was a bitty affair in which we should have won with a hat trick from Ambrose, in the first half he found the side netting and of course the disallowed goal. In the second he could have equalised for us after a Murphy free kick found a rising Ambrose who powered a header towards the goal only for Jussi Jaaskelainen to touch it over the bar.
Bolton had first shot came in the 72nd minute when Faye let one fly from 25 yards, it was heading straight towards Andersen, but Spector deflected it towards the opposite corner. Andersen pulled off a great save but it fell to Nakata laid it across the 6-yard box for Nolan to smash it home.
All in all we were the better side but will could and should of played much better and if the Ref had a brain we might be sitting 2nd instead of 5th.
We must beat Blackburn next week to keep on track for a European place and hopefully Bent will be back to full fitness.

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Home Cup Draw

2005-10-29T12:33:00.000+01:00

We will be playing Blackburn @ home in the Carling Cup after beating Chelski in midweek.

Come On You Reds!!!!!!!!!!!

Time To Curb The Trotters

2005-10-28T11:19:00.000+01:00

Its time to calm down after a Wednesday night that will live long in the memory and focus on Bolton in what will be a tough game. The Trotters usually leave the Valley happy and in the last 4 encounters we have only taken 1 point (Jan 2003) and our last home win against Bolton came back in 1999 with a 2-1 victory.
We are currently second in the league and also second in the goal scoring charts (Behind Chelski, Shocker), while Bolton (7th) have the worst away defensive record in the league and have lost their last 2 road trips.
Team News – Bolton will have a full strength side, welcoming back Speed, Okocha and Gardner.
While the only new injury worry for us is Talal El Karkouri who limped off in our win over Chelski. Smertin is likely to return to the midfield, while Spector and Perry could well regain their places.
Key Players - Bolton have 3 players that are likely to cause us the most problems, Okocha (a beautiful bag of tricks and passes, he also likes to find the old onion bag), Borgetti (the Mexican hit man, powerful in the air and great at finding space) and Jaidi (a big strong centre back who can shackle a striker at one end and grab the winner at the other). The key to winning this match will be to play at a high tempo, keep the pressure on the ball and try to limit there set pieces.
Our stars are going to be Ambrose and Rommedahl has Bolton have attacking full backs that can be exploited if Murphy can find them in space.
Ref Watch – Today we get Clattenburg who is yet to hand out a red but averages over 3.7 yellows a game. He is a ref who often tries to let the game flow but usual get caught up in petty things.
Prediction Time – I am going for a 3-1 home win with Romm getting the first and Bent getting a brace. Borgetti will get Bolton’s consolation goal.

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2 in 1 out?

2005-10-28T10:35:00.000+01:00

Reports are saying that Charlton have taken 2 players on trial from Shanghai Zobon as part of the link that was made in the summer.

On the out 21 year old Mark Ricketts who has yet to start for Charlton's first team is on trial with MK Dons, in hope of getting a move.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Chelski 1-1 Charlton ~ we win 5-4 on pens)

2005-10-27T00:43:00.000+01:00

Cue chants of “EASY,” “EASY,” “EASY,” and of course comments from a bitter twat called Mourinho (who claimed it was not his 1st defeat at the Bridge). That’s what happens when the red and white, pennywise army come marching into town and the game was a tale of 2 defensive errors and 2 penalties.
The first error came in the 41st minute when Terry lost his marker (El Karkouri) from a corner and headed in from 7 yards.
The second fell to the feet of deadly Darren Bent on the stroke of half time, Huth threw himself at the ball in a poor attempt to head it back to Cudicini, it fell short and Dazza smashed it into the corner.
Chelski huffed and puffed and despite a mostly first team side out on the pitch failed to break down the big red machine. Even when we had tired legs and 10 men (El Karkouri hobbled off) for the last 6 minutes not one of there over paid stars only find the back of the net.
So it came to penalties, Chelski got them at their end and stepped up 1st Robben banged it home and Bent did the same for us. Then an seemingly overconfident move was made when Huth (a centre back, with players like Essien and Cole on the pitch) stepped up and hit a well struck pen but our Super Dane saved it and sent the Charlton faithful into raptures. The next 6 all flew in (Bothroyd scores 2-1 Gudjohnsen scores 2-2 Holland scores 3-2 Lampard scores 3-3 Hreidarsson scores with a great flip to celebrate 4-3 Drogba scores) and so it came down to Bryan Hughes he stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way and Charlton into the 4th round of the cup.
I am over the moon as most of you are and hope we can go all the way this year.

By the by another moment to put a smile on most fans faces also came tonight when Mr (I can dish it out but I never take it) Shearer, bitched and moaned after throwing an elbow at Grimsby centre back Rob Jones and got upset when he received 1 back. He soon backed down after the match when he refused to shake Jones’ hand and Jones offered him a fight but Shearer walked off to complain to the media.

Also I send my best wishes to George Best and his family as he is currently in hospital.

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Up For The Cup!

2005-10-26T12:10:00.000+01:00

After last months win over Hartlepool we went into the draw looking for an easy home match (not that there is any easy matches not for us in the cup anyway), but we got picked away to the form side and mega rich team Chelski.
Being drawn away may not be the worst thing considering our away form and Chelski are bound to put out a second XI, unfortunately there second team would probably win the league too and of course they currently hold the Carling Cup.
Cudicini is likely to start for the blues while other possible starters include Bridges, Cole and Ferreira.
The only change to the side that won at Pompey is that Alexei will miss out due to the terms of his loan deal with Mattie, Hughes or El Karkouri all possible replacements.
The key tonight will be pressure, soaking it up (hopefully not too much) and applying it.
Prediction Time – I think it will be an open game which we will win on penalties after a 2-2 score line.

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Curbs Blast + Murphy Magic = Win (Pompey 1-2 Charlton)

2005-10-23T09:26:00.000+01:00

A super second-half comeback sent us 2nd in the table and sets up a top of the table clash for Wednesday in the Carling Cup.
We never got out of the starting blocks but our hosts did and dominated the opening exchanges. They took full advantage of a mistake from the usually steady Hermann, with 15 minutes on the clock Dario Silva latched on to a hopefully ball and smash the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.
It took half-an-hour for us to get into the game and Ambrose had 2 great chances in the space of 3 minutes. The first a dance though the blues defence but the shot was straight at there keeper. Then Ambrose moved himself into the middle and hit a low and dipping strike at Ashdown’s feet from about 25 yards.
At the break Curbs must have knocked some sense into our lads as in the second-half it was the Charlton show. We showed our usual skill and effort and pushed the game higher up the pitch.
But the first chance fell to Pompey when Vukic hit a hard and low shot towards the corner of the net, but despite being unsighted Andersen got down well and held on to the attempt.
But cometh the hour cometh the man and after a neat piece of play the ball fell to the feet of Murphy who unlocked the Portsmouth defence with a beautiful and well paced through ball which found Ambrose who made the net ripple and put us level.
17 minutes later Pompey lost the ball in the middle of there own half and Murphy rolled another killer pass which found the unmarked Rommedahl who sent a rocket into the net and sent the travelling fans mad.
Portsmouth never looked like coming back and in the dieing seconds Ambrose should have made it 3 when he ran though and skipped passed 1 defender only to clash with a diving Ashdown. He was booked for diving but there looked to be contact and it could well have been a penalty.
Curbs proves again why he is a top manager and said afterwards that we are showing “Championship form” but also said that if you take Chelski out of the equation the chasing pack is fairly equal at the moment.

Man of the Match - This week Murphy and Ambrose share the accolade as both of there performances lead to our victory.

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Hello Sailors (Pompey away preview)

2005-10-22T03:39:00.000+01:00

On the road again as we look to grab another 3 points which could put us in 2nd place and we have every chance considering our away form. Today will not be a push over and could become quite a physical encounter. But since Harry left them they have never looked the same side and this season they have only managed 6 goals and a single win (16th in the table).
But Curbs knows that our last 2 games (Spurs & Fulham) have left much to be desired, a great 50 minutes against Spurs ruined by a capitulation for the last 40 minutes (even then we had 2 great chances to find the back of the net). On Monday we put in a poor display in which we failed to keep hold of the ball and when we did the final ball was often wasted, like the few good chances that were created.
Team News - Lua Lua is still ill and will miss out, so will Diao, while former Arsenal man Richard Hughes is rated 50/50 for the home side.
For us Bartlett is out for 6 weeks with an ankle injury but Ambrose is in contention following a good display in midweek (in a 3-1 win over Pompey‘s reserves.)
Deano is fit, but Andersen’s form is keeping him in between the sticks, so he will probably be on the bench. The only other possible change could be the introduction of El Karkouri in place of the tired looking Kizzy.
Our key man today will be Danny, who will be starting in his 50th game for us, he can pick out killer passes and he keeps the midfield ticking over. Also Romm’s form this season has got better and better and today could be the day he finally has a truly great game live on Sky.
The men to watch for the blues are 2 of their summer arrivals Dario Silva and John Viafara. Dario is a great goal scorer and works very hard up front for his team, if you give him a yard, you will be walking back to the centre circle. Colombian midfielder Viafara is a presence at set pieces and powerful in the middle of the park.
Ref watch - Howard Webb - Lucky us we get the pleasure (a dubious one) of having him ref a match for us for the 3rd time (the others being Sunderland & Chelski) this season. He has a booking rate of 3 a match but so far has only shown a red card (Ambrose) to us this season. To be honest he has been ok no better or worst than any other official, but that’s not exactly high praise and so expect the usual bad calls and mystery decisions you get with any other ref. He has one good point he often tries to let the game flow and that’s about it.

Prediction time well I am going for a 3-1 win with Bent, Romm and Danny finding the old onion bag. Viafara will grab a goal for the home team.

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World Cup Dreams & Exit Stage Left

2005-10-14T22:12:00.000+01:00

Curbs thinks that Germany 2006 is going to be just out of reach for JT but that it will be in his future.
After finding the net for the under 21s in mid-week and the way he has played for the last year he has been tipped to solve England’s troublesome left side. But Curbs says "I don't know about this World Cup but, certainly, if he progresses the way he has done in the last year for us, he's got to be knocking on the door." Next summer may be too soon but with his undoubted talent he could well be on a plane with Young, Beckham and co.

Kelly Youga, who joined us this summer from Lyon on a free has linked up with Osei Sankofa (also on loan) at Bristol City for a month.
Fan favourite Matt Holland could soon head up north for a short loan spell after finding it hard to break into our top 2 midfield. Hearts are the club leading the SPL and the chase for Matt while his former club Ipswich are interested in taking him back. But Hoddle shut the door on Wolves as a destination for the Ireland international after describing the link as “paper talk.”

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Murphy Magic & TV Rights

2005-10-14T20:37:00.000+01:00

Today Danny Murphy made it 2 out of 2 for Charlton as he picked up Septembers player of the month trophy and of course Bent was awarded the same award for August. A bright spot for Murphy who’s recent omission from the England squad was a shock to everybody fans and media alike.

Also I have started a Petition about the next set of Premier League TV rights, this is due to European Commission interfering and saying they want Sky to be limited to 50% of live games. Which would be ok but this would most likely allow NTL or Setanta to show live games (maybe even both) and charge £10 a month. The petition ask the EC to leave it up to the League and if they must break up Sky’s monopoly then they should make it so that only 1 pay TV company can win at the auction and any other games be shown for free. Go to http://new.petitiononline.com/Prem0710/petition.html to sign.

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Bartlett to Call it Quits/ Varney Scores/Media Back Bent

2005-10-04T09:54:00.000+01:00

Bartlett has decided to call it a day for South Africa, he will play his last game against DR Congo during this international break. It will be his 75th cap (a SA record) and has taken the decision at the age of 32 as South Africa failed to qualify for next summers World Cup. He also said that he wants to allow a new set of youthful players to come through and help them get ready for the 2010 World Cup which they will host.

Alex Varney scored in a 1 all home draw against Spurs in a game which was dominated my the men in red. Barnard equalised for Tottenham, the back to back champs have yet to be beaten this season as Charlton look to retain the title for another season.

It seems that with Rooney out of England's next World Cup game and the medias hatred of the 4-5-1 formation that they want Bent to line up next to Owen rather than Crouch. This will come a great shock to most Charlton fans as the media usually ridicule Charlton players in any England squad. We all know he can do it so come on Sven pick the man who is heaven sent, Darren Bent.

UP THE ADDICKS!

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Varney Speaks Up/10000 Hits

2005-10-03T18:02:00.000+01:00

Peter finally piped up today and told the world about Jordan and how he continues not to have a clue about whatever subject he decides to open his mouth about. I think a more personal attack next time is needed as we should not have to defend ourselves to a chairman of crap 1st division side. But Peter has too much class to do such things and so we wait to be bored by the next column from simple Simon.

Today I hit the 10000 hits mark, thanks for all of you who have visited the site and I hope you keep coming.

UP THE ADDICKS!

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Jordan Attacks & Sven Needs New Specs

2005-10-03T01:49:00.000+01:00

Well we are still 2nd despite Saturdays capitulation and Sunday bought no new joy.
Simple Simon picked up his pen and wrote another column for the Observer and write about something original, the state of football his on the ball. How could he turn this into a weapon to beat us over the head with you may ask yourself as did I but he did. He does not mention us until the bottom half of his column and starts off my making it look like praise “The second way to tackle the symptoms is to find other ways of reducing costs for fans and encouraging loyalty. Charlton have a cheap matchday coach service that goes out into Kent” but their it ends as the second half of the sentence turns into a cheap shot “to nick Gillingham fans - that's pretty clever. We might start sending a coach to Brighton.” Well as any Charlton fan know that is not the purpose of the Valley Express it is to help Charlton fans get to matches cheaply and encourage unattached fans to come to the best team in the south of England.
His column is the usual drivel and full so his special way of talking complete and utter turkey. My person favourite paragraph is this one, “We're also looking at how, when the value for money isn't there - and sometimes it hasn't been at Palace (has there ever been any) - we can find a mechanism for rebating fans. Similarly, we thought about giving the 5,000 loyal fans who'd watched our first two Carling Cup games cheap tickets for the third against Liverpool, but a league covenant says you can't sell home tickets cheaper than away tickets. Although, frankly, lets turn the problem round: we might not have to charge £30 for the Liverpool game if more than 5,000 people had turned up to the previous two rounds, when the tickets were £15 for adults, £1 for kids.”
This sums him up so rather than find a way to get round the problem like charging a cheaper price for different parts of a ground (i.e. £10 for the sides and £25 for the ends with limited seating in a small section of side for the away fans), he decides to double the prices for everyone. To be honest I cannot not see huge amounts of Liverpool fans making the journey at £30 a ticket for a night game in the Carling cup and an boring side like them. That’s my rant over.

Sven no matter what anyone says is a good manager with a great track record for England and the many great clubs he has managed, but his sight must be causing him problems. He was at the Spurs game, like myself, and saw an end to end game of the highest quality in which Murphy shone and Jenas was almost invisible. Yet today he announced the England squad and although including the wonderful Young and Bent, he forgot Murphy’s name but called up Jenas. I support Sven 100% but decisions like that are hard/impossible to defend. We can count our lucky stars that Heskey did not get in and cross our fingers for next time the squad is announced.

What a fun weekend hopefully next weekend will put a smile on my face with English and Irish wins .

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Wash Out as Dazzas Double Ends In Disaster! (Charlton 2-3 Spurs)

2005-10-01T19:11:00.000+01:00

At half-time as I stood up and looked around at our beautiful ground and thought about a great 1st half I thought we might win again to today but I was very wrong.
A back and forth 1st half in which Thomas, in particular shined, and Murphy (the whole team was looking great), who was picking great passes in front of Sven it looked to be our day. After 25 minutes the 1st goal came as Murphy played a superb ball from just inside his own half, which dropped and roll just in front of Bent, he looked as cool as a cucumber as England’s No.1 loomed and with a def touch the ball glided into the back of the net.
It should have been 2-0 before half-time, Charlton pressurised the Spurs defence and caused Robinson to marshmallow it out for a throw which was taken quickly, a few quick passes found Smertins run into the box, he took around the keeper and laid it back for Bent who somehow knocked it wide.
Just after the break it was 2-0 when Bent kept himself onside and ran on to a good low pass, the chance looked to have gone as the keeper came half way and a defender had got back but Bent hit a curling chip shot which nestled happily in the back of the net.
This is where our story takes a turn for the worst, King quickly tapped in a poorly defended free kick, then Mido struck after some poor defending.
Keane then joined the nightmare and true to form score as the our defence crumbled.
We had 2 good chances Luke Young just missed and Bartlett hit a volley just wide. But the Major loss was that of Darren Bent who went off after a clash of heads.
A ding dong derby, but when you lose no matter how good the game was it will always go down as one you do not want to see again (SKY like it cos it is there feature match at 8:25 on Sky Sports 1), like a great movie with a pitiful ending it just ruins the whole thing.
An international break and we have Fulham at home on a Monday the day everyone hates for football but alas that is a small price to pay if we take all 3 points.

MOTM - Darren Bent, goal machine and a hard worker too, hopefully his knock will not exclude him from another England call up.

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complete the FREE DVD trial offer and refer friends to do the same and you will get your choice of games console.

Time To Peel Some Spuds (A Preview Charlton Vs Spurs)

2005-09-30T19:57:00.000+01:00

Well we have played 6, won 5 and sit second in the table and we have a game in hand, so it’s not been a bad start. Yet you will still get commentators producing silly stats about how many home wins we have had in 1 home win in 6 matches due to our end of season slumps (of as the BBC put it, we have not won in over half of a year). Andy Gray reckons the proof in our pudding is March time and if we can keep up any sort of form. He is also one of the first not just to look at a team sheet and our formation and say that we are a compact team who work hard and play defensively (due to the fact most sides who play 4-5-1 are very defensive). Our team does work very hard but as Gray points out our wingers are very attacking and often stay up field.
The only thing I do not like about our tactics at the moment and it is a very small problem is at corners we tend to bring everyone back, I think bring Bent back is a good idea but we could leave Rommedahl up top and that would create a better chance of a successful counter attack and a but out ball.
As you might of noticed I have changed my previews and reports a bit as I thought it was a bit clinical for a Blog I thought.
The team news for Spurs is that Carrick, Dawson and Routledge are all out for this derby. We are missing Ambrose and Bothroyd, while Andersen is likely to stay in goal despite Kiely’s return in midweek.
Last season we did the double over the side from north London, but still they could beat us with firepower that includes Keane, Mido and Judas the Rat boy (to the rest of the world Defoe) who loves to find the onion bag at the Valley. They also have enough midfielders for the entire Premier League but have never tried out the 1-8-1. Of course I am kidding but Davids is looking strong and Jenas despite a tough start can turn on the class at any moment.
Curbs is unlikely to change a winning team but El Karkouri and a whole host of others are dying for a chance to get in the team and prove themselves worthy of playing in a top 2 side.
A new feature - REF Watch – Tomorrows official will be Phil Dowd is a bit card happy with 13 Yellows in 4 matches this season (he is yet to hand out a red one). He is a Ref who can often get lost in the match, while another bad stat for us (if a bit pointless) is that in the 4 matches he has been in charge of only 1 has resulted in a home win and he has yet to witness a draw.
A prediction is needed on such occasions and so I see it being a ding dong derby and a 3-2 win, Bent, HH and Rommedahl grapping our goals and Rat boy and King smacking them home for Spurs.

Anyways if you want a free XBOX 360 (the £280 version) go to
http://www.consolegrab.co.uk/?r=36014
and register complete an offer, the best one is for Screen Select cos its free and you get 5 dvd rentals after the 5th one just cancel it.
and then refer 18 people and they will send you one when its out, my friend got his ipod this way.
you can also get a PSP (14 referrals) or a DS gameboy for (6 referrals)
By the by this is not one of those matrix things where you pay £10 as a gift and get put on a list and when you reach the top you at one.

Another Game, Another Win, Jordan Gets Done!

2005-09-25T18:53:00.000+01:00

Well yesterday we won our 4th away game, in a row and are 2nd in the table. Murphy hit a first half brace in a 2-1 win, a penalty earned by JT and a tap in after a great run and pass from Rommedahl. Davies got one back in a tough second half. But yet again we are ignored by the mainstream media despite being second with a game in-hand.

Simple Simon Jordan is due to face action from the FA over comments made in the Observer, but not for the remarks made against Charlton and us the fans. Its for comments made about Refs, well at least he is in some hot water.

Fate conspired against us in the Carling Cup 3rd round draw yesterday lunch time when we were drawn away to Chelski. It’s a tough tie but we have a chance and hopefully we will be in the 4th round draw.

Anyways if you want a free XBOX 360 (the £280 version) go to
http://www.consolegrab.co.uk/?r=36014
and register complete an offer, the best one is for Screen Select cos its free and you get 5 dvd rentals after the 5th one just cancel it.
and then refer 18 people and they will send you one when its out, my friend got his ipod this way.

you can also get a PSP (14 referrals) or a DS gameboy for (6 referrals)
By the by this is not one of those matrix things where you pay £10 as a gift and get put on a list and when you reach the top you at one.

UP THE ADDICKS!!!!

Rurik Downs Palace/Carling Cup Win/Get a Free XBOX 360/NANO

2005-09-22T17:51:00.000+01:00

Rurik Gislason, the 17 year old Icelandic striker banged in a first half goal to earn our reserves a 1-0 win against Palace.

A tricky cup tie against Hartlepool ended in glory despite losing the first goal to Daly. But 2 minutes later Sam got brought down in the box and JJ converted the penalty to send us in level at the break.
Bent came off the bench to score the winner in the 73rd minute and then Jay Bothroyd came on and scored the goal of the game. Murphy tapped a free kick to Jay for smashed it into the top corner of the net.

Anyways if you want a free XBOX 360 (the £280 version) go to
http://www.consolegrab.co.uk/?r=36014
and register complete an offer, the best one is for Screen Select cos its free and you get 5 dvd rentals after the 5th one just cancel it.
and then refer 18 people and they will send you one when its out, my friend got his ipod this way.
you can also get a PSP (14 referrals) or a DS gameboy for (6 referrals)
By the by this is not one of those matrix things where you pay £10 as a gift and get put on a list and when you reach the top you at one.

You can also get a free IPOD NANO by going to http://ipodnanos.freepay.com/?r=22691568
and completing a Free trial offer for ScreenSelect. You get 5 free DVDs (rental) and there is no charge unless you stay on past the offer and then refer 5 people and you get a NANO.

UP THE ADDICKS!!!!

A Few Words

2005-09-19T17:22:00.000+01:00

So we finally lost against Chelski who proved why they are Champions, money and fouls as soon as something looks dangerous. We held our own for 55 mins but then Kizzy gave the ball away and Perry did not follow Crespo who headed it pass Andersen. 5 minutes later Robben was given to much space in the box and found the back of the net. Another day we could of had a few ourselves, Murphy was going though the Chelski defence like a hot knife through butter when it was callously hacked down and the same thing happened in the second half when Rommedahl was flying down the wing. We wasted free kicks and if a few narrow offside had been different we might have won.

Tomorrow we hope to start off a cup run that will end in glory for the first time since 1947, when we face Hartlepool.

UP THE ADDICKS!!!!

The Good and Great Vs the Evil and Rich (A preview CAFC Vs Chelski FC)

2005-09-17T03:49:00.000+01:00

Well it’s been a great start and we sit second in the table, but today we meet the only other 100% team, Chelski. To be honest this preview could last about 50 pages, as I hate Chelski, not only because they are so rich but because of Jose Mourinho. The papers love him and so would I if it made my job that easy, some fine his manner delight and fresh, I find it arrogant. A chimpanzee could manage Chelski, then people point to his Porto record, if anyone saw them play and stayed awake then I applaud them because they were boring, like the way he plays now. They also had unbelievable luck and a very good set of players such as Deco, Carvalho, Maniche and a former player of ours the tank Jorge Costa. I will stop having a go at him now but believe me he is over hyped and under skilled. As for Chelski as a club well over the years they have screwed us many times, the beach match, the many dives by there players to win penalties (the last 3 matches at the bridge have had penalties and 2 of the results were 1-0) and of course the tapping up of Scot Parker. But they do not pick on us but there own fans as well charging there fans £48 (there cheapest ticket) for every match including a midweek tie against a second string West Brom. But now lets add picking on the disabled most clubs offer free/much cheaper tickets for disabled fans and their helpers but Chelski now charge the disabled £48 a ticket as well. But the club say they are being “fair”, the club say they are only following strict guidelines — aimed at ensuring able-bodied fans are not discriminated against. As an able bodied fan I have no problem with the disabled fans getting in for free. I will end my rant and tell you the team news.
Team News - Chelski will be without Del Horno (thigh) and one time Charlton target Eidur Gudjohnsen as he is still out with a leg injury.
While we will be without early season star Alexei Smertin due to the loan rules but Mattie Holland is back and is likely to replace him, El Karkouri could also push for the midfield spot. Ambrose is no longer suspended and should be on the bench and could possibly end up somewhere in the midfield mix.
Magic 3- I will not need to go in to much detail here but if Cech is on form we could struggle to score. Up top Crespo is be a threat if he starts but Drogba is likely to start and will cause our magic man Perry problems, the winner of this battle will most likely be the one who earns his team 3 points.
Well everybody will be predicting a 1-0 win to Chelski and why not it is the easy thing to do but there is a pattern against Chelski at the Valley which produces alternative winners so as they won last year we will win this year (plus I think we can win). So I am going with a 2-1 win for us, Bent and Murphy will score our goals and SWP for the west Londoners.

4 Not Out! (Birmingham City 0-1 CAFC)

2005-09-11T03:23:00.000+01:00

Curbs took his men to St. Andrews in fine form and they did not disappoint. The performance was nowhere near as good as the one at the Riverside but instead we produced a workmen like performance to beat Birmingham.
The only goal came in the 15th minute when Jerome Thomas did his usual skills to bamboozle the blues defence and put in a beautiful ball with his right foot, it found a flying and unmarked Bent who headed past a help less Taylor.
The rest of the game when by with little incident, Andersen made a slight error by handling the ball outside of the area but there was not immediate threat to his goal and so the ref made the right decision in only booking the Dane. The other Dane Rommedahl should have made it 2, after being put through by a flick from Bent, he lifted the ball over the keeper but it went just wide.
Then the ref made another good decision after the ball bounced up and hit Chris Powell’s chest despite Birmingham’s claims for a penalty.
The best chance in a second half, where Birmingham went for an equaliser and Charlton sat back and soaked up their pressure, was a Pennant free kick that when just over but Andersen had it cover anyway.
Man of the Match – Chris Perry he was immense in defence and was a big player in us winning 1-0 and hopefully he can take this form into the home game against cheating Chelski.
So Curbs’ red army march on to Chelski to meet the only other side in the league with a 100% record. A top of the table clash, a London derby and hopefully a win against the money men, UP THE ADDICKS!!!

A Round Up

2005-09-10T04:33:00.000+01:00

Kevin Lisbie has been loaned out to Norwich for a month with an option to make it 3.

Darren Bent who has scored 4 goals in 3 matches snapped up the Premier League Player of the Month title for August.

Luke Young doubled his England caps to 4 after starting against Wales and Northern Ireland. Luke put in 2 good displays despite the poor performances in the 2 games.

A Trip To Paint The Town Red (A Preview Birmingham City FC Vs CAFC)

2005-09-10T04:25:00.000+01:00

Well today Curbs takes his red army to St. Andrews in search of a 4th win in 4 games. For me this match will be a real battle as Birmingham battle for every ball and just to add to a difficult trip we are handed one of the worst refs in the league, Mr. Halsey.
Team News – Steve Bruce has a full squad to choose from, which includes in form striker Mikael Forssell who scored a hat-trick and Northern Ireland heroes Maik Taylor and Damien Johnson.
As for us we are still missing Holland, Kiely and Euell, while Darren Ambrose is still injured. While Bothroyd, Sorondo, Spector and crucially Talal El Karkouri who scored a winner for Morocco as they continue to push for a place in next summers World Cup.
The Magic 3 - Birmingham’s first magic man is Matthew Upson, he is a top-notch central defender and he has a good read of the game. Next up is Heskey he may not be international quality but he will cause our defence problems due to his size and strength. He uses his body to create space for the second striker and is likely to be a menace that must be stopped if we are to take all 3 points.
As for us I think if Rommedahl can put an end product to his speedy runs we could find ourselves with a big win. On form he will terrorise the Blues defence and hopefully lay on the chances for Bent to add to his 4 goals this season.
The Wrap Up – It will be a tight game but I envisage a 2-0 win with Bent and Thomas banging in the goals.

Bent & Young Get England Call

2005-08-28T20:38:00.000+01:00

Darren Bent and Luke Young have been called up to the England team for the games against Wales and Northern Ireland. Young is the mostly likely to start after Glen Johnson was dropped and Gary Neville is injured. Bent is 1 of 5 strikers in the squad and will be hoping to get a run out.

Charlton Continue Premiership Rampage (Middlesbrough 0-3 Charlton Athletic)

2005-08-28T17:00:00.000+01:00

On a hot Sunday afternoon it was the mighty Athletic who destroyed a lacklustre boro, with Rommedahl, Perry and Mr I Score Goals for Fun, Darren Bent.
In a game the side from south London controlled, there were very few clear-cut chances, due to a poor end product. But the guilty man for most of the over hit crosses, despite ripping Frank Queudrue apart time and time again, Rommedahl was the man who gave Charlton a 38th minute lead. Murphy (man of the match) who was creative for the entire 90 minutes, played a great and well-timed pass to Dennis, who smashed a thunderbolt passed Schwarzer.
But a minute later boro would have taken the lead after Queudrue smashed a shot passed Andersen, but Luke Young threw himself at the ball and it was scrambled away. Just before half time Andersen made his first save after a beautiful shot from Morrison.
The second half was the same as the first with few boro chances and a dominant Charlton side kept control of the midfield.
In fact boro only had a couple of weak efforts, while the Londoners struggled to find a second, until Danny Murphy won and took a free kick on the right wing 10 minutes from time. He played a low ball along the 6-yard line and found Perry who smacked it into the corner.
Charlton kept control and looked to be running down the clock, but in the last minute of injury time the icing was placed on to the preverbal cake. When Dazzling Darren Bent ran on to a long ball and placed the ball past the on rushing keeper.
3 games 9 points and 3rd in the table a perfect start and Curbs will be hoping the international break does not affect the clubs best ever top flight start.

Man of the Match – Danny Murphy – he controlled the game and was at the heart of everything Charlton did.

Carling Cup Draw - Hartlepool

2005-08-27T12:14:00.000+01:00

We are playing Hartlepool at home in the 2nd round of the Carling Cup.

A Long Trip (A Preview of Middlesbrough FC Vs CAFC)

2005-08-27T04:44:00.000+01:00

This game has a draw written all over it, the last 5 games at the Riverside were draws. Then just to add to the chances of a draw, neither side has complete there current run (boro going for back to back wins & Charlton on course for 3 wins in a row) of results since last year and the Teessiders have not conceded a goal at home for over 4 and a half hours. In fact we have not won there since 1990 (2-1 in what is now known as the Championship, the 2nd division then) and the last top flight win came 51 years ago in a 2-1 win. So the history books will need to be rewritten if we can pull on a victory in front of the Sky cameras.
Team News – Our opposition will be without Szilard Nemeth, Chris Riggott, Stuart Parnaby, Tony McMahon, Malcolm Christie and Danny Graham. But Yakubu is available again after a knock and joined boro for £7.5m this summer after hitting 17 goals for Pompey last season.
The Addicks will be without the suspended Sorondo and Ambrose, while El Karkouri and Lisbie have both travelled but they are unlikely to take part. Club captain Matt Holland and Jon Spector could take a seat on the bench if they come through late fitness tests. The starting line up is unlikely to change from the comfortable win at home to Wigan (4-5-1, Andersen, Young, Perry, HH, Powell – Rommedahl, Smertin, Kizzy, Murphy, Thomas - Bent).
The Magic 3 - Starting with our hosts, Mark Viduka if on song will produce a devastating display that will scare any defence to death, known for his physical power and accurate finishing he will be a thorn in our side for as long as he is on the pitch. After he exhibited his skills in midweek against Birmingham with 2 well-crafted goals we will have not excuse for not keeping a close eye on the man from Oz. Boro’s second man is the old head in defence of Southgate the former England man will try to shackle Charlton’s dynamic Darren Bent and if he is successful will stop the Valliant’s major goal threat. He is an intimidating defender and could well claim the man of the match award if Middlesbrough wins.
Charlton’s magic man is Danny Murphy, in a middle 3 he is the creative force, his reading of the game is supreme and does the simple things well. He picks a killer pass like Pele would finish a tap in and Murphy is a capable of scoring goals from open play with rasping shots and from well placed and paced free kicks (he is the only other player to score this season apart from Bent). In what could be a tight contest he could unlock the door and give the Charlton faithful a happy ride home.
Memorable Matches – This fixture has created very few and the last contest worthy of a mention came in February when we drew 2-2 after leading for an hour thanks to Matt Holland in the 14th minute. But Riggott hit an equaliser before Bartlett returned our lead when the clock struck 80 minutes to give us a likely win. But a boro youth product called Danny Graham stole a point for the home side. The funny thing is that none of the goal scorers will be on show from the start tomorrow (both boro players are injured and the Charlton 2 may make the bench.)
The Wrap Up – Our toughest task will come tomorrow when we take the field hoping to maintain our perfect start. The likely result is 1-1 but I think/hope we can continue our run and win so it will be 2-1 to Charlton. I think Viduka will be on the score sheet while Bent and Rommedahl will win it for us.

Double Dazzas For U21s

2005-08-24T15:40:00.000+01:00

Both Bent and Ambrose are in Peter Taylors squad, which is likely to mean Bent will not be in the senior team unless there are withdrawals.

The Bitch is Back

2005-08-21T05:01:00.000+01:00

That’s right simple Simon has once again opened his discontent gob, the man with a face that makes a baboons arse look like Scarlett Johansson. The Observer must have hired a mindless nincompoop, who would sell his own grandmother if he thought it would cause enough controversy to sell a paper even if it downgrades his own newspaper.
Jordan this time calls us imbeciles for daring to respond to his monotonous ramblings, when if fact it is clear he does not have a clue what he is talking about. He reaches a new level in this column (or drivel to you and me) he becomes a hypocrite. In his interview (brown nosing) the other week he had ago at our head honchos (directors) and said they made comments about our rivals (like maybe a fan would) and in his column he says about how he is a fan and that his comments made to us were not going to be “sugar-coated”. So it’s ok as long as he can say what he likes, but God should strike down anyone who dares speak against him. His best comment that again he should read and remember, “this isn't international diplomacy, it's football”. But he expected the diplomatic route from us; we acted like any normal set of football fans would, when you send down an annoyance and bitter rival (that would imply that Palace are fit to be on the same pitch as us, when they are only local).
Another nice quote from this ignoramus “they were like walking tabloids: lapping up misery and knocking people down”, this coming from a man who regularly makes sound bite statements, which attack most of the population.
One of the most annoying things about his column was the weak statement from our fans group which most people did not back as it was feeble compared to what most of us were thinking although with our/my “tiny minds” I am having trouble writing this.
He even attacks his own players and every player who has ever worn any football shirt in one of his sweeping statements such as “Is it just players and ex-players who are 'football people' - often cheating, diving, spitting, conniving people who couldn't care less about their clubs or being role models?” Why do managers get off so lightly well they do not “Is it managers and ex-managers who take bungs and cut dodgy deals?” I write from my own experiences so only god knows what shenanigans are taking place at Palace.
He continues with the usual rubbish and produces a laugh by saying that when he became a chairman he was not going to shout his mouth off. But alas he says he could not do this (really?) and says his found a balance (he must have weird scales), which includes screaming when Palace scores. But this is his sole privilege as no one else is allowed to enjoy it where his or her team wins.
I would guarantee that most Charlton fans are glad we “upset” you and I still believe that you and your minions would be ecstatic if you sent us down. You claim to be a “football person”, so you will know football has 1 set of rules (you have 2, 1 for you and 1 for everybody else) that everyone must follow, so decide on them and let us get on with it.

P.S.
You may add your own expletives and such to replace the offensive ones found in the above these words include Palace and Jordan.

Men Vs Boys (CAFC 1-0 Wigan)

2005-08-20T19:56:00.000+01:00

After last Sunday (the way Wigan put up a fight and could have won against Chelski) I thought this would be a tough game, but from the beginning until the ref blew (and put them out of their misery) there was only 1 team that looked Premier League and they were wearing red shirts. Although the score line does not look dominant the other stats tell the real story, Shots on goal Charlton 21-4 Wigan (on target 10-0) and Charlton also had a massive 59% possession. Charlton kept the ball well and spread it around the pitch like a top 3 side (which we are 2nd now damn Spurs they have a better goal difference by 1), while Wigan looked lost and never really threaten to score.
The first real chance to break the deadlock came in the 25th minute, Young broke the offside trap, but stumbled and his chipped, short cross found looped over a despairing Pollitt. Bent looked a cert to knock it in, but it hit the side of his head, a quick cross found Powell (those was having a nose bleed) who headed against the post and the ball again found Powell, but this time his header flew over the bar.
But after complete and utter domination, the Addicks finally hit the back of the net when the clock struck 42 minutes. Murphy ran down the edge of the box and was fending off a defender (who pulled his shirt) and reached the by-line and dispatched a tremendous cross, which found Bent (on the back post) who powered a header into the top corner.
Powell (who got the loudest cheer of all when the team were announced) hit a beautiful shot which was well saved by Pollitt in the 43rd minute.
But Bent raced clear just before the break and had the goal at his mercy, when he let fly he did everything right (low and hard across the keeper) except find the target and it went painstakingly past the post.
The second half was a game off keep ball for the home side, Smertin glided a diving header into the keepers arms. While a JJ (brought on for Rommedahl) cross found Bent who stabbed a shot against the post.
Man of the Match - This is a hard one (no one had a bad game and Powell was very close to being named MOTM), but Murphy has to take it he made the goal and control the match from the middle beautiful passes and hard work.
Special Mention - Rommedahl improving all the time, he worked very hard and is getting sharper every match and nearly set a few goals up today.
All in all if the score was 5-0 it would only just about cover our dominance and as the title says this game was men against boys, welcome to the jungle Wigan. Do not forget the match against Liverpool is postponed due to there european game so its Boro next on the box.

An Athletic Battle (A Preview – CAFC Vs Wigan Athletic)

2005-08-19T15:54:00.000+01:00

So as we sit at the top of the league (1 down 37 to go) and look down on everyone else, we entertain newly promoted Wigan. Last week Wigan put on a show for big spending Chelski and were unlucky to lose, but found out that in the Premier League all it takes to lose is a few seconds and a bit of time & space. Hopefully we can give them another feeling their first away defeat, with Bent on top form and Murphy pulling the strings it should happen. Like most of you I will be taking my seat in a good mood (despite the likely down pour) and waiting to see if Bent can grab a 3rd goal of the season (and hopefully a 4th and 5th).
Team News - This summer has been a hard one for Wigan as no one wanted to go there and they lost top scorer Nathan Ellington. The have brought in Henri Camara, but he pick up a knock while playing for Senegal and is doubtful for the clash at the Valley. Their defence was heavily improved signing Henchoz, De Zeeuw, Taylor and Chimbonda. While the other major signing was Damien Francis who had a great season with Norwich and he will look to build on that this season (with a better end result i.e. staying up). They are likely to play attacking football and play a 4-4-2. But will be missing Kavanagh and McCulloch along with Camara, which will be a blow to Paul Jewell.
Charlton are unlikely to gain anyone from the injury list and he only new face added to the those unavailable is that of Ambrose who will miss the next 3 games after last weeks silly tackle. So Jerome Thomas is likely to replace Ambrose and unless Curbs changes the formation (from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2) Jeffers is likely to take a place on the bench.
The Magic 3 – The first Wigan player is Stephane Henchoz; the former Liverpool star will be a crucial ingredient if the Latics are to survive in the top flight. Although he lacks the pace he once had (due to age and injuries), he can read the game and knows when to make a tackle. Wigan’s second most important player is likely to be Jason Roberts, he will be leading their line and has the pace and power to score goals and cause problems at set pieces. If Wigan is to have any hope of winning these 2 must be on top form.
This weeks Charlton player is Jerome Thomas, the player most likely to have been a reality show, with the plot being you have a £100k to spend on a player who is unfit, unheard of and very low in confidence (Pimp My Player). Curbs did just that and with a lot of hard work by Thomas and faith from Curbs, he blossomed into one of the stories of the season. He has pace and more skills than Ronaldo, good vision and an eye for goal (although he was not prolific he scored a few and a absolute cracker Vs Spurs at the Valley). JT is due to start tomorrow and will demonstrate his ability and will be a thorn in Wigan’s side.
Memorable Matches– Unfortunately this segment is rather useless this week as we have never played Wigan before and so Saturdays encounter will create a little bit of history for both sides.
The Wrap Up – Well this week’s match could prove a tough one, but Wigan’s lack of strikers and defensive frailties will prove to be there down fall. They will put up a fight but Bent is likely to cause havoc and will find the back of the net and so will Rommedahl in a 2-0 win for the Addicks.

Rommedahl Scores As Bent Fails To Get On (Denmark 4-1 England)

2005-08-17T22:20:00.000+01:00

Rommedahl started off the scoring after James lost his mind and then got an assist for Tomasson and the Danes got a 3rd scoring with a Gerrard own goal and a 4th from Larsen.
Rooney was clear the best player on the pitch banged in a consolation for the away side between Denmark’s 3rd and 4th.
But what will stick if most Charlton fans minds is that Dazza never got off the bench, this could have been down to half time injuries or the goals.
David James and Glen Johnson bought about England’s downfall and a poor ref (Rooney had a good goal ruled out, he also had a obvious penalty turned down and late on A. Cole was clearly onside when he was about to score), made a close game a humiliation. But it was only a friendly and in a friendly the result does not matter, but what is clear is that David James should never play for England again (not just on tonight’s performance but nearly every other as well).
In other news Holland when off injured in Ireland’s 2-1 loss to Italy.

Dazza Scores Winner for England

2005-08-16T22:41:00.000+01:00

No not Bent (although hopefully I will be repeating this tomorrow), but Ambrose who came off the bench and hit a last minute winner for the U21s. In a game dominated by England it was left to Dazza to win it for Peter Taylor’s men.

No More Fish

2005-08-16T22:24:00.000+01:00

Fan favourite Mark Fish (Fiisssshhhh) has called time on his career at the age of 31 with a long-term knee injury. Fish who came to the Valley in 2000 (for £700k) from Bolton via Lazio and the Orlando Pirates said "I can no longer play to the standards I have set myself and therefore I feel it is time to move on." Fish who last year fell through a glass table was due to leave this summer and was on loan at Ipswich when he made this decision, he made 111 appearances (2 of them as sub) and scored 2 goals.
He joins a list of Charlton stars to be taken before their time including legends such as Mendonca, Hunt and Rufus.

Back off Brussels

2005-08-15T12:35:00.000+01:00

I know that a lot of fans have a problem with matches being moved so that they can be shown on SKY, but in the modern day this is a much needed sacrifice in order to run a Premier League club. But the EU have decided that SKY owning all the rights is just not fair, despite the fact that the Ligue 1 (French league) is shown only via Canal+. Now for all of you who do not know how SKY has the rights to show all the live matches, I will tell you. Any TV company can bid for the 4 main packages of games (); the bids are secret and the highest bidder wins. Seems fair enough to me, the only time SKY lost a major package was the first time a pay-per-view package went on offer. It was won by NTL, but they subsequently sold it to SKY, as they could not afford it. Another case of what happens when SKY fail to win TV rights happen when ITV Digital won the rights to show the Football League and they collapsed and left those clubs in disarray.
The EU in their bizarre wisdom say that a report from Ofcom (regulator of the UK media) shows that fans think it is too expensive. I have had both and SKY and NTL, they work out about the same and SKY are a little bit cheaper (both have all the same channels). But the EU seems to think if we they could stop SKY getting all the rights that this would be cheaper. They want SKY to have 50% (2/4), so say that Setanta (currently available on SKY) were to get a package, that would be another subscription fee (£10 a month at the moment). So now we are paying out more and with another package still on off, which could be taken by NTL. So the EU wants us to pay more money out. But the kicker to this deal is that the clubs would get less money, as the winning bids from other broadcasters would be less than what SKY would have paid.
The only valued point from the EU (again to come from Ofcom) is that supporters feel their teams are not shown enough (we tend to suffer from that one). But I cannot see how they could change that has broadcasters will always want to show the bigger teams as they have a bigger support and bigger name players. Even if they could guarantee more games from say Charlton to be shown, this would in turn have an effect on our gate (our chairman Richard Murray is already worried about such things).
So all in all the EU wants us to do is to pay more money and then less money can go to our clubs who need the cash. While the big teams who rely less on the TV money will continue to grow and clubs like Charlton will start to go backwards. So the EU proposal is lose-lose. The only compromise that could work (or with the least number of consequences) would be to let SKY buy all the packages at their current value and give the BBC (or another non subscription based broadcaster) a package of 20 or so matches (1 home game per team) at a set price of about £20-23m so each club gets at least £1m. I am not saying this is perfect but it is better than the EU’s way, so back off Brussels.

The Week That Was

2005-08-14T18:51:00.000+01:00

Well it’s been quite a week the season started, we won away we 10 men and Darren Bent has got the call that every Englishman wants (the one from Sven).
But we should not get carried away on the hopeful helium that an opening day win provides. Not to mention the fact we are top of the league for a week and if we can perform like we did on Saturday we should beat Wigan (they learnt their lesson today, that a games never over till it’s over and never give a great striker time, space and never show him the inside.) Bent will hopefully get at least 20mins in Denmark on Wednesday night and show his quality in training to get Sven to pick him again. Ambrose made a silly tackle and got punished for it with a red card. Hopefully he will have learnt something and now has to try and win his place back. As Thomas is bound to show off against Wigan after not starting and attempt to say to Curbs this is my spot.
The other main story of the week was Curbs telling everyone his transfer plan (which is usual as he tends to play the market like he would poker), he spoke of 2 players both at Premier League clubs but he said it’s a waiting game ("Domino Effect") as the teams these players play for need to secure replacements first. The difficult thing for us fans is trying to guess who it is as all we know is that they play for 1/2 or 19 teams. They could be backup players or stars, plus which positions are they going to be in like most I think a striker and then is it a midfielder or a defender we have lots of players in both areas. Its wait and see time.
That was the week that was and hopefully this week will be half as good.

Sven Calls Up Dazza!!!!

2005-08-14T11:15:00.000+01:00

No Lie, today Sven got a bit of good news so he passed it on, Palace told him AJ was injured, so he called up our Darren. Things are sky rocketing for our new boy, a brace yesterday and today he is one of 4 strikers in the England team. Lots of fans thought this would take time but Sven has had no hesitation is putting Dazza in ahead of many others including Alan Smith. It may only be a friendly but its Darrens chance to put his name on the list of possibles for the World Cup.
His has already been capped by England at U15, U16, U17 and U19 level and DB made his debut for the U21s back in February 2003 against Italy. Since then he has scored 8 goals in 12 appearances at U21 level and will be hoping to continued this success with Svens squad.
It comes all the sweeter as it is in place of a rival and Ms Jordan will probably be annoyed even though AJ is injuryed and Sven now has an excuse not to play AJ. Sven spoke on the matter "I got a late call that he (AJ) had a hamstring so we have Darren Bent from the Under-21 squad."
Great news and so early in the morning.

Curbs’ Comments (Away to Sunderland)

2005-08-13T18:35:00.000+01:00

A delighted Curbs spoke of joy at our 3-1 win with only 10 men.
"We came in at half time disappointed not to have the game wrapped up," said Curbishley.
"Coming in at 1-1 and then the sending off made me think it wasn't going to be our day, but then Danny Murphy got a goal and we had enough to hang on.
"We went to the referees' meeting last week and I came back armed with the fact that you can't leave the ground when you tackle.
"We went through that with the players on Thursday but unfortunately it's one of my players that has suffered.
"You tend to lunge at he ball when you mis-control, but he will learn and so will we.
"He's in the dressing room disappointed, but he's ever so pleased we have won because otherwise he would have taken it harder.
"He's out now suspended and going to give someone else a chance.
"There's competition for places at this club and you don't need to be sent off."
The other Darren (Bent) made a great start to his Charlton career by scoring a brace and becoming an instant hit with the Valley faithful.
"We actually had a scare with him yesterday," added Curbishley. "He took a knock and that's why we had Shaun Bartlett on the bench.
"But the way he started there's not too much wrong with him. If he can sort out that left foot he would have had a hat-trick because he missed a good chance. "He's come in and, along with some other young players, has been a breath of fresh air at this club."

Dazzas Double Gives Dominant Addicks All 3 Points (Sunderland 1-3 CAFC)

2005-08-13T18:00:00.000+01:00

On a dull and damp day (weather wise), Charlton lit up the first half and dominated their newly promoted counterparts. The second half was a much closer affair after a silly tackle from Ambrose. But the Addicks class shone through and claimed a deserved 3 points with great performances from Bent, Murphy and Smertin.
After a mixed opening few minutes, Bent picks up the ball and fired the away side into a 11th minute lead and the sent the travelling faithful mad. Charlton started to turn the screw and when Rommedahl picked up the ball on the wing and delivered a beautiful ball to the back post, on to the head of Murphy, but he failed to convert the chance placing too much power on the header and it flew over the bar. Then after a Murphy shot won the Londoners a corner it found Smertin who smashed the ball against the Sunderland bar. Bents pace caused allsorts of problems in the Sunderland defence all afternoon and on in the 25th he beat Caldwell and hit a shot with his left foot, which flew just past the post.
It was all Charlton but as the clock showed 32 minutes a great save from a Miller snap shot forced Andersen in to a super save but it could not be held and so was squeezed in from a tight angle by an ecstatic Andy Gray (signed from Sheffield United this week.)
Going in at half time Mick McCarthy was the happier man after his side fended off a rampant Charlton side and grabbed a lucky equaliser.
At the start of the second half Sunderland started well and it was Stead who was causing the problems. A long ball by their keeper Davis found Stead and his shot was blocked by fan favourite Chris Powell and then Stead only just failed to get on the end of good move by the Black Cats.
Then 8 minutes into the second half disaster struck when Darren Ambrose flew into a hard tackle on Stephen Wright and the ref (Webb) produced a straight red card. Then Sunderland came close to fulfilling all of Charlton’s nightmares, but Gray panicked and stumbled as his shot when straight into Andersen’s welcome hands.
But from catastrophe to brilliance when just after the hour mark (64th minute) Charlton won a free kick just to the right on the Sunderland goal, about 25 yards out. Only one man was going to take it, Danny Murphy and he curled the ball over the wall and found the top corner to give the Addicks the lead.
Arca produced a nice volley but it failed to cause Andersen any trouble. Then Curbishley put 9 men behind the ball and succeeded in frustrating the home side and in the 76th minute the sides should have been evened up when Stephen Wright (already booked) blatantly tripped a flying Thomas but the ref decided to let off Wright. Sunderland increased the pressure but Charlton kept calm with Smertin (kept things neat all day long and controlled the match from the middle of the park) and Murphy keeping Sunderland at bay. Sunderland kept coming forward but never produce a quality effort to trouble a comfortable Andersen.
Charlton fans were left in limbo as they pleaded for the end when the 4th official held up 4 minutes. But then a goal but it was not for the home side but for Charlton who finished the game off with new boy Bent banging in a 3rd for Charlton (after a long clearance) and brace for himself.
A hard working Charlton grabbed a deserved 3 points and head to the top of the table.

Rommedahl In Major Shock Shame!

2005-08-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

Well today’s the day and I thought I would keep it light until the match is over (hopefully with Charlton sitting on top of the table), I was looking on the online Mirror site and in a preview for Charlton it had a bit of trivia that brings shame upon the Charlton dressing room. Rommedahl’s favourite band is westlife, yes those annoying teen bop boy band. Surely someone in the dressing room could help him out with anything else as at the moment he is at the bottom of the music ladder. Rommedahl try a bit of the Killers, Ben Folds, Kanye West or anyone with a little bit of class and talent. Any way Up the Addicks.

The Big Kick Off (A Preview- Sunderland Vs CAFC)

2005-08-12T03:13:00.000+01:00

On Saturday the big kick-off will take place our hopes and dreams can be realised or dashed by the 11 men who take to the field in an all white kit. Last year of course a team in an all white kit gave us a hiding and that day will live long in the memory (unfortunately) for a while as it shows us how expectation can offer false hope. But never the less I will still be expecting a win and hoping to show that this will be our year.
A great pre-season has done little to dampen prospect of a winning start and a successful campaign, although there have been no big name signings this summer, the players that have come though the door of the Valley have been full of potential. With the two Darren’s (Bent & Ambrose) have the most potential and the Valley faithful hope will bring their telepathic understanding to the Stadium of Light on Saturday (and of course the rest of the season). However a lot of promise has been shown by another shrewd signing that being the loan deal which has seen the Russian captain Alexei Smertin join the squad. He has shown all the qualities of a great midfield (in pre-season) and is probably the best thing Chelski have ever done (for us anyway). The best news for all Charlton fans is that Curbs is still working hard to bring in new faces and will do this until the window closes.
Our opponents on Saturday have been busy too and this week added a strong target man from Sheffield United, Andy Gray for £1.1m. He is another option for the Black Cats for have added to their squad over the summer and once at the expense of us (although no one was to bothered). That’s right they got Jon Stead, but there best signing for me was Tommy Miller on a free from Ipswich he can add much needed goals from midfield. But what could see them stay up is the signing of Alan Stubbs on a free from Everton; he played a major part in the toffees’ gaining a Champions League place.
Injuries have caused problems for Curbs in the built up to the opening clash up north. One loss was that of influential goalkeeper Deano and this made Curbs jump into the transfer market to get Thomas Myhre as cover for Steve (Andersen). The defence has been hit hard by injuries to the dominant Talal El Karkouri, while Fortune and Spector have also picked up knocks and Sorondo who is of course suspended for the opening 3 games. The defence will probably consist of (from right to left) Young, Perry, Hreidarsson and Powell. The main man missing from the middle will be club captain Matt Holland and Curbs is likely to stick with a 4-5-1 formation. The midfield is likely to be Rommedahl, Murphy, Smertin, Hughes and Ambrose, although Thomas could replace either man on the wing and Ambrose could move into the middle and Hughes could find himself on the bench. Upfront is a much simpler affair with Bent likely to start and with Jeffers likely to be on the bench. Sunderland will be without defender Danny Collins and midfielder George McCartney; also Colin Healy will miss the match.
I have decided to call my ones to watch the Magic 3, each match I will pick 1 Charlton player (as we know our team pretty well) and 2 from the opposition. I will begin with the Mackems; their first star is Julio Arca. Arca is left sided player (midfield or defence) and is most likely to produce an opportunity for the Black Cats to find the back of the onion bag. He roams the left always aware of what is about to happen and is able to find the back of the net himself. Next up is there young forward Stephen Elliott; this lad has an excellent goal scoring record of a goal every 2 matches. He is still only 21 and has the ability to foil even the toughest defence. Our magic man is likely to be Alexei Smertin he will attempt to control the game from the middle of the park with well timed tackles, accurate passing and a never say die attitude. His driving runs and awareness could (will) bring the Addicks their first 3 points of the season.
Next up I though I would throw in a few memorable matches I know this is a hard one, but the first game that comes to mind is the game referred to as the greatest match ever. That’s right the playoff final of 1998 a classic in every way, a match that gave fans every emotion possible in 120 minutes and then there were penalties. A basic first half, which was blessed by a touch of genius from a Sunderland fan, Clive Mendonca to give Charlton the lead. Half time came and went with no one expecting what was about to happen. Sunderland came out strong and within 15 minutes were in the lead with a goal each for Quinn (50) and Phillips (58). Then in the 71st minute a ball from Jones (Keith) found Mendonca whose first touch was only outclassed by his second and glorious finish under a flying Perez. But 2 minutes later Charlton hearts started to sink when Quinn volleyed passed Llic. But then a rising Rufus headed passed the on rushing Perez. Extra time followed and a driving Summerbee shot from the edge of the box flew passed Llic. But just before half time of extra time Mendonca was about to complete a brilliant hat trick that sent the game too penalties. Great work by Jones (Steve) on the right sent a waist high ball behind Mendonca and his first touch was miraculous and then a classic volley sent the Addicks fans loopy. There were 13 good penalties and then up stepped Michael Gray, whose penalty was tapped towards the goal with Southgate like power and was saved by Sasa Llic. Of course the other match that leaps into my conscious is the last time we played Sunderland and we won 3-1. The thing about the score line is it misses out the fact that no Charlton player scored, that’s right 3 own goals.
Well to conclude my preview I thought I would tell you how I see it going. I think that Sunderland will rush into a 2-goal lead with goals from Miller and Elliot. But the Addicks will equalise just before half time with Bent heading in from a Rommedahl cross. 5 minutes after the interval Bent will tap one in after some good work from Smertin and Murphy. Then in the 89th minute Charlton get a corner, Murphy plays it near post and Bent grabs a debut hat trick. Or something like that anyway the score will be Sunderland 2-3 CAFC.

Pomey Plan JJ Swoop

2005-08-11T04:26:00.000+01:00

Pomey boss Perrin is eyeing up his options and is looking for an out and out goal scorer with Premiership experience, on a budget. JJ fits that description and Perrin is also looking at our captain Matt Holland. Curbs wants to keep Holland but he is will to let JJ go if a replacement can be found and Perrin would be willing to offer up Lua Lua if Charlton will add £2m along with JJ. Perrin wants more funds and would suit both parties. Curbs has been looking for a front man and would be loath to lose a crucial squad member but sees Lua Lua has a man who could bring something different to the team. It would not end his search but this would lessen the blow if he cannot complete another deal before the window closes.

Dr. Hope has little for Curbs!

2005-08-11T01:45:00.000+01:00

Dr. Hope has come up with a formula for the life span of a Premiership manager. He says “I work out the predictions using data with huge amounts of uncertainty. The clever bit is working out where the trap door levels should be. The computer has to run about four thousand million virtual Premiership games to work it out.”
According to Dr. Hope of Cambridge University, reckons that due to our end of year flop Curbs has 1 life left and that failure to win 1 of our first 2 games will result in Curbs being handed his P45. While his opposite number on Saturday Mick McCarthy is the safest manger and has 26 lives left.
Well I would be surprised if the board would sack Curbs if he lost the opening 5 games. I think and hope he will be here for many more years and the one most likely to decide when he leaves well be himself.

Curbs set to be Piped in Race for Star

2005-08-10T13:20:00.000+01:00

Hidetoshi Nakata is being chased by Curbs, but Big Sam at Bolton is edging the race to sign the 28 year old star. Cash-strapped Serie A outfit Fiorentina have told him he can leave and Bolton and Charlton are racing for his signature. Known most for his attacking midfield player but most recently has been used as a defensive midfielder in the Confederations Cup. The Japanese international could prove to be a big hit at either team, but for obvious reasons I hope to see him in a red shirt.

Curbs’ Sets Up Double Deal

2005-08-10T00:49:00.000+01:00

I have been keeping my ear to the ground for transfer rumours and I have it on good authority that Curbs is to head to North London rivals Spurs. Spurs are setting up a deal with Newcastle to get Jenas, but they lack the cash to meet the asking price. So they are trying to sell a striker and make space in their squad for the new midfielders (they have a way too many). This is where Charlton come in, early in the summer Curbs put in a call to Spurs to ask about the availability of their players (such as Gardner) and especially Robbie Keane but at that time Jol was happy with his side. But now Jenas is up for grabs he wants him and has been told to sell in order to buy. A few calls back and forth and Curbs offers to solve Jol’s problem and we have made an offer for Keane and Sean Davis. The offer is thought to be £3.5m up front with further payments in the next few years (like the Young deal) adding up to a further £2.9m (based on the usual if there still at the club and as long as we are in the Premiership). Spurs have also insisted that the deal consists on a 10% fee clause for further sales of each player. But this deal will only go through if/when the Jenas deal is set-up.
Curbs is also keeping tabs on other strikers in case the Keane deal falls through, they are thought to include Ellington, Earnshaw, Peguy Luyindula, Benjamin Mwaruwari, Sidney Govou and the listed Liverpool duo Baros and Morientes, quite a list.
Curbs is also keeping an eye on the Bowyer situation as Souness is deciding what squad he needs for the Europeless season ahead. Istres' Moussa N'Diaye linked to us by Sky Sports is also being monitored but Curbs is worried about the Senegal international commitments with the African Cup of Nations in January.

Birmingham are also trying to get Euell on loan until January (due to his shoulder injury) with a fee involved if he impresses (thought to be £2.2m a £100k of which will be paid to Charlton to take him on loan). West Brom and Boro are also keeping an eye on Euell and that’s why Bruce is trying to get Euell on his books despite the players injury.

Murphy Has Euro Dream

2005-08-09T18:59:00.000+01:00

Danny Murphy is looking forward to the new season and said, "We've signed six or seven quality new players and everybody's confident”. When asked if we could challenge for a Champions League/UEFA Cup spot the Charlton number 13 said, "Over recent seasons we've come so close to Europe and we need to challenge again this time.” Most fans feel the same and feel this is our most competitive Premiership squad ever. The only thing that stands in our way of securing a place with Europe’s elite is our form in the second half of the season and this period of form has cost us a place in the last two seasons.
Lets hope that Danny has a great game at the Stadium of Light and can assist the Addicks is bringing hope all 3 points.

Fish Swims Down Town

2005-08-08T12:45:00.000+01:00

Beloved central defender Mark Fish has moved to Ipswich Town for a month. This could lead to a permanent deal as Fish has been told by Curbs' that he can leave for free.
Joe Royle told the Town website "Mark hasn't had much pre-season football but is keen to join us and he will start against QPR".
I for one wish him all the best.

Jordan talks out of his behind (I know it's hard to tell the difference)

2005-08-08T11:33:00.000+01:00

The Guardian a paper usually full of class let it’s self slip and not just a little all the way down to the gutter. An interview with the village idiot, Simon Jordan, the outspoken chairmen of local rivals (by rivals I mean a bit of dog poo on your shoe). Jordan who is the man most likely to sell his granny to make a buck and has a serious personality defect, called Charlton fans morons because we celebrated, when we sent the Palace down. In his ramblings he called us (fans and maybe directors as well) "rude", well I think someone needs to look in the mirror and if you look in the dictionary under the word “rude” you will find a picture of his ugly mug. He goes saying what goes around, comes around, so he clearly has a short memory as we were relegated a few years ago and came back from the brink of extinction. Which Palace fans took delight and when we take a bit of schadenfreude (German for taking pleasure in others misfortune), he complains and says he would do the same thing.
I would light to congratulate palace on their performance at home against newly promoted Luton Town (Palace 1-2 Luton) and hope they get that result many times over this season.

Addicks add Myhre to squad/ Disgraceful Hull

2005-08-08T09:43:00.000+01:00

Just a quick bit of news Curbs’ has tied up a 1-year deal for Thomas Myhre, he becomes the 8th new face at the Valley. After Deano’s fractured finger, a keeper was needed and Myhre has stepped into the breach.

On another note Hull city fans are absolute morons at their home game against QPR they sang chants such as "You're just a town full of bombers" and "Not enough Londoners dead". The FA will investigate but as a Londoner lifetime bans would not be stiff enough and the only real punishment will suffer is living in Hull.

AEK Athens prove to be Addicks’ Arsenic! (CAFC 1-3 AEK Athens)

2005-08-06T18:47:00.000+01:00

Charlton’s undefeated pre-season came to an end against a well organised AEK Athens side provided strong opposition. The game was an evenly match contest, which produced a sublime goal from each side but was edged by the side from Greece.
AEK provided a much sterner test than Feyenoord, there style of play would not look out of place in the Premier League. Both sides started well, but it was a penalty, which gave AEK first blood. It was never a penalty and reminiscent of the penalty that Pires won against Pomey (i.e. the attacking player stuck his leg out, which clipped the defender and a dive followed). The penalty was struck well into the left corner by Nikos Liberopoulos, Andersen guess correctly but was still helpless.
Then 2 minutes later Charlton were inches away from equalising, when a Murphy free-kick was nodded against the post by Sorondo. Then in the 33rd minute Smertin picked up the ball on the halfway line and went on an inspirational run that took him out wide before coming inside along the edge of the box. He finished his part in the move by finding an unmarked Rommedahl with a well angled ball, the Dane took his time and as the keeper approached he nonchalantly chipped him, with the ball ending up in the far corner.
The winner came 2 minutes after the interval, a bit of Greek pressure around the box proved to be the Addicks' undoing. A Soars cross found a marked Lakes, it looked to be passed him but a great first touch set him up for a turn and powerful volley, which flew past a despairing Andersen, hitting the inside of the post on the way in.
Charlton's best chance to equalise came just after the hour mark, it started with half time sub Thomas a mazy run down the left wing, with his usual bag of tricks made the surrounding defenders look foolish and give away a corner. A well-taken corner heading to the far post and to HH, who was pulled to the floor. Up stepped Jeffers who decided to follow Liberopoulos lead by placing the ball to the keepers right and just as Andersen did in the first half Stefano Sorrentino (another half-time sub) guessed correctly, but unlike his Charlton counterpart he saved the penalty. He could only push it out to an on rushing Jeffers who smacked the ball over the bar.
As the injury time board came up saying 2 minutes, Charlton were still in the hunt for a result but it was AEK who rubbed salt into the 8000 odd home fans wound and sent the travelling fans into ecstasy. It was scrappy but hey all count, a deflected cross-found the spare man at the back post (Simos Krassas) who tapped the ball into the empty net.
All in all the Greek side deserved their hard fort for victory, but Curbishley will not be too disheartened as his side were tested and their for served its purpose to get the team ready for a tough match away at Sunderland next week.

Curbs Adds Portuguese Startlet To Ranks

2005-08-06T00:43:00.000+01:00

Curbs’ has added another signing the Portuguese starlet Goncalo Brandao (18), he has been on trial at the club for the past fortnight and has obviously accounted him self well. The deal is thought to be worth £500k to his former club Belenenses. The central defender had impressed club scouts, while playing for the Portuguese Under-19 side and is also the youngest player to play in the Portuguese top flight.
Edit to post: Curbs today confirmed that Brandao would first join the club on a year's loan with a view to the above deal.

While another trialist Rurik Gislason (Icelandic) was on show in the under 18s match against Feyenoord, the striker was one of Charlton’s best performers and gave 100%. He was alert and showed that he could be an asset. We will soon see if Curbs feels the same at the end of his trial (due to end this week

Long Joins Notts County

2005-08-05T13:14:00.000+01:00

This may only be a quick story but I know how we all like to keep track of old players and although he never broke into the team its nice to see he has joined a new club. County's boss told there website: "They're honest players who can play in a number of positions, so will provide versatility and competition."(they also signed Jake Sheridan). He could make his debut against Torquay this weekend. I like the rest of you will wish him all the luck in the world.

Lets Get Digital

2005-08-04T22:20:00.000+01:00

As of the 21st of July when the club first announced CATV would be launched to show Charlton around the world (only the Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool have such a service), fans have been wondering if we (in the UK) can see it and Peter Varney answered us in our most recent programme. He says that it is “unlikely in the short term”, but he is “looking at ways the programme can be shown domestically”. The programme will last 3 hours and would include that weeks match. Now I am not TV expert but I do have SKY and surly it could be shown in the early hours on one of the many channels that stops broadcasting such as Bravo. Failing that maybe a group of clubs (mainly Premier League) could join forces and buy a channel. As I understand it each Premier League club gains the right to show as live matches after midnight on a Sunday. I have asked many fans and most would part with between £3-6s a month in order to watch a Charlton channel and I bet fans at many other clubs would too. Anyway lets hope Peter can get something sorted out soon, so we can join the other possible 40m viewers worldwide.

Curbs Needs "Domino Effect"/ Bent says he can fire us into Europe

2005-08-04T19:05:00.000+01:00

This has been Curbs’ saying of the summer “Domino Effect” and again he waits for his new recruits to be made available by another manager who is doing the same thing. On Sky Sports News he is hopeful that 2 new faces will be training at sparrows lane next week but the “Effect” must take place. Euell injury appears not to have had any effect on Curbs’ spending power. Most believe that a striker will be on his way with links to players such as Crouch, Corradi, Keane and too many more to mention. The other seems to be a midfielder and a 3rd could be added in the form of a goalkeeper on a short term loan deal to could for Kiely (will most likely warm the bench as Andersen looks to be doing the business and Deano might even have trouble getting his place back).
Hopefully this time next week Curbs will have the desired numbers in order to push for Europe.
Which is Bent’s aim for the season, to “maintain the form and hopefully progress us on into Europe." Adding "There is obviously going to be a lot of emphasis on me as the main striker to score the goals, but it's a challenge which I'm relishing and there are a lot of good players around me to help me do that. You have got to believe in your own ability, and I know that if I get the chances, I will be able to stick them away.” So many he can be the next Mendonca (not only as he could a hatful of goals, but that he will take us to the next level like Mendonca did) and hopefully Rommedahl will continue to provide like he did last night against Feyenoord.
See you soon.
VFJ

Dazzas Double Delight (CAFC 2-0 Feyenoord)

2005-08-04T07:15:00.000+01:00

Well tonight I went down to the Valley and saw the mighty Charlton destroy a top Dutch side (well they are no Ajax or PSV but they do come next). We kept there big names under control we only one real chance for Feyenoord, a goal line scramble and came in the 81st minute. Charlton controlled the game from start to finish, but we only managed 2 goals, which came in 2 minutes (54,56mins). The first came when Rommedahl picked up the ball on the right wing and played a killer pass across the pitch to an unmarked Bent on the edge of the box. Bent first touch set him up to strike a curling shot which looked to have left Lodewijks stranded, but rebounded off the post, only to hit the hapless keepers leg and trickled over the line. The second came from the same combination of R & B, with Young talking the ball up the right flank and laying it off for Rommedahl to hit a first time cross with the accuracy to find Bent and the pace that meant all it needed was redirecting into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
All in all a good run out, most mistakes such as over hit passes were the usual pre-season rust, which we all hope will be gone come a fun mission up north to collect 3 points next Saturday.
As for this Saturday AEK will hopefully be more of a test for Curb’s red army.

******** Valley Floyd James ********