Honest Approach...

England just cannot win! They have, for as long as I can recall, got criticised for underachieving in major tournaments and yet even now they are still getting stick despite overachieving in Euro 2012! Expectations are typically set too high, but even the hardiest of England supporters surely wouldn't have predicted we'd win Group D without defeat. Roy's Boys are through to the Quarter Finals and I'm really beginning to wonder whether this tournament could be different. Time to get behind England.

I'll confess that with so few likable personalities in the England squad I've not been anywhere near as partisan as I have in years past, but there does seem a refreshingly honest and hungry approach to this tournament from the players. I even found myself tipping my hat to John Terry, who, say what you will about certain aspects of his persona, would walk through walls for his country. Gerrard looks in every respect the role model you'd expect from an England captain and his performances so far have been impressive. Parker continues to throw himself, quite literally, head first for the cause and I hope he manages to stay fit. I will always view him as Charlton. It would appear Roy has done well to suppress the ego's and create a unified England national side that's working hard for each other. Good on him. I really like Roy and I'd love to see him successful. Like our very own Sir Chris, Roy demands respect by simply being a decent bloke. 

Stylish, tippy-toe, one-touch football is not going to happen in an England shirt. Fact! We're not Spain but we can be as machine-like as the Germans over time. I'd be happy with that approach if we shared the same level of success that the German's have over the years. Tactically astute Roy Hodgson has got us well organised if not particularly pleasant on the eye and we are proving hard to beat, which is a fantastic trait to have. Roll on Sunday.  

JT picks the ball out the net... 

Karma was restored yesterday following Ukraine's goal that never was. Lets see how FIFA & Uefa clamour over themselves to justify how the goal line official (or whatever they are called) that stood 8 yards away never saw the ball cross the line. Personally, the very sight of the officials behind the goal humours me greatly. I'd be embarrassed to stand there if I was them. Their very presence represent how poorly the beautiful game is being run and those arrogant and ignorant fools, Blater & Platini, should hang their heads once again.

Come on England!

Dates For The Diary...

So that's it then; the eagerly awaited fixtures are finally out for the new season. Charlton will have to hit the ground running on the opening day when we start the campaign with a tough away game at St. Andrews, Birmingham, before entertaining Leicester City and Hull City at The Valley the following Tuesday and Saturday respectively.

The full fixture list can be found here via the club's website.

Over the next few days the Addickted will be picking out possible away days and licking their lips at those tantalising home fixtures. For me, I have already taken a huge blow before the season has even got going when I realised I'll miss Palace at home on the 15th of September. Gutted is not the word! It will be only the 7th home game I will have missed in 18 years and sod's law it's against one of our fiercest rivals.

There can be little doubt that the fixture list looks a little more attractive than it would have this time last year and in just under 9 weeks time the rollercoaster will swing in to action once again...

Repeat of 82...Please!

No matter how much I've tried to convince myself otherwise, I do care about England's progression in Euro 2012, and like a good proportion of the nation I will be finishing work early later this afternoon and settling down in front of the TV to cheer on Roy's Boys.

I've watched almost every minute of every game so far despite not giving much thought to the tournament in the months leading up to it. Funny how things change. In all honesty, I'm a sucker for a major tournament and have been since Espana 82 when I fell head over heels in love with football at the impressionable age of 8. The impact that World Cup had on me was immense, and I hold those memories dear. Of course, by coincidence, England played France in the opening game of that tournament, also. How we'd like to see a repeat of Robson's first minute goal (pic above) and a repeat of that 3-1 scorline! 

My constant shadow companion on the sofa over the weekend has been my son, Thomas. At 5.5 he's still a little young to take it all in, but it's definitely his keenness to watch that has raised my interest ten fold. I had a glorious few hours on Saturday afternoon watching ESPN Classics's 500 greatest goals with the lad. How nice it was for me to introduce players to him of the calibre of Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini, Zidane, Klinsmann, van Basten et al.  

Now, when we play footy in the front room, he announces himself as a Rooney or a Gerrard (sorry Johnnie Jackson, you've been temporarily outed). I can't wait to get home where I know I'll find him in his Charlton kit ready for the game. We'll have a brief kick-about before the match starts and then we'll stand together for the national anthems; chests puffed out! 

I may even afford myself a few extra moments to dig out the St. Georges flag from the loft and hang it proudly outside my house.

I expect nothing, but hope for everything! Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land... 

The Greatest Game - 14 Years On...

A brief look at the date today and my mind instantly drifted back 14 years to 1998 and that monumental match which would later be known as 'The Greatest Game'. Perhaps more significantly, a few years back it was voted the 19th greatest game of football ever played...and I am proud and honoured to say I was at Wembley Stadium that day to witness drama of the highest order. The picture above is a montage of a series of images I took from my seat behind the goal that day (with a disposable camera, no less! How times have changed?).

I absolutely love that image because, although poor quality, it represents an everlasting and cherished snapshot of one of the most memorable days of my life. Looking through that image and on to the pitch evokes so many memories, both good and bad.

Like anyone there, including those fantastic Sunderland fans, I went through a range of emotions throughout that whole day that are incomparable to anything I'd ever encountered before or since, and I can honestly say that I never, ever want to go through that again!

It was total agony and despair, elation and euphoria mixed up in one bubbling cauldron that just wouldn't calm down. The relentless noise inside that ageing old stadium was unbelievable. For not a single moment until Sasa Ilic saved Micheal Gray's penalty was anyone able to relax, and even then, the impact of that moment hit me like a sledgehammer. It was days after before I came back down to earth. 

The game ebbed and flowed back and forth and I have so many memories of individual moments that have been lodged deep inside my brain ever since. The moment  Mendonca (a boyhood Sunderland fan) controls Kieth Jones through-ball for our second goal will live with me forever and that goal is one of my all time favourites. I can recall rising from my seat and thinking "if he gets the second touch right we've scored". It seemed to take an eternity for the ball to hit the net. Oh, the despair when Nial Quinn scored their 3rd, before the elation of Rufus equalised so late on with what was his first goal for the club (the Addickted behind the goal was quite literally sucking the ball goalward). Steve Brown's crunching tackle that led to our 4th goal. The agony of watching Newton step up for a penalty convinced he wasn't going to score. How pleased I was to be wrong. The rest, as they say, is history.  

The Greatest Game...

On my wall at home is a framed time-delay image of Sasa saving that penalty. What a moment? What a day?

Progressive Sounds...

One subject I don't believe I've ever really spoken about on this blog (in part, for obvious reasons considering the dominant theme) is my long-standing deep love of music, and I was saddened to hear of the passing of disco diva, Donna Summer, whom died from cancer yesterday aged just 63.

By some coincidence, in recent weeks I'd revisited the track to which she is perhaps best know, 'I Feel Love', and it is currently part of my playlist when I go out for a run (the full 12" version). I'd caught one of those brilliant late night BBC 4 documentaries recently on the conceptual stages of the disco scene in NYC and that track featured heavily. It is commonly accepted as the first mainstream disco tune and it has not aged one bit in the 35 years since it was made. If it was re-released today, it would stand up magnificently against the endless pop drivel churned out by men more interested in money than product.

I will always retain fond memories of that particular song as my Dad, who was no great music fan, absolutely loved that tune and it was played in our house quite regularly in the early 80's. I can remember him breaking into song when it came on the radio in the car once and me staring at him from the back seat: listening to the beat intently, mesmerised. Of course, as you get a bit older you begin to recognise how those brief moments in your life may well have influenced and shaped you.

The thing with I Feel Love is that relentless electronic beat, which was created by the Italian music producer, Giorgio Moroder, and was the progressive sound of a brand new music form. It is without question he would have been heavily influenced by the German band Kraftwerk (of whom I was to discover some years after), who themselves were breaking boundaries with their own electronic style of music, but he and Summer was taking that sound in a totally different direction. 

Looking back, I was clearly fascinated by it. This wasn't about the disco one bit: it was just recognising alternative music forms and appreciating different sounds.

By the mid-80's I'd got heavily into hip hop, which was another brand new music form of the day, before dropping back in timelines to a rather hazy period of Pink Floyd and Zepplin. From there, I've embraced every genre of music from every corner of the globe, from latin jazz, traditional African music or Scandinavian folk.    

In many ways, Donna Summer has a lot to answer for! RIP.

Exceeding Expectations...

Johnnie Jackson when asked about lifting the Cup: "I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'll probably give it a bit of a smacker and lift it as high as I can".

Well that's it then. Season over. Charlton Athletic, League One Champions. What a truly unbelievable season that will live long in the memory. I'm totally blown away by it all, if I'm honest. This promotion represents something far bigger than simply escaping the third tier of English football. This was the end of 7 years of gut-wrenching despair and decline when, at one stage, I even began to wonder if I would even have a club to support before long. Chris Powell has made an immeasurable difference to Charlton. What a man! Full credit to the new owners and Mr. Murray for recognising this club needed to regain it's pride and identity and for bringing in the only man who knew the club and supporters well enough to stand any chance of delivering it.

Sir or a Saint? God knows!

  

There can't be a football team the world over where the manager is so universally loved by each and every supporter. Not even King Kenny at Liverpool or Sir Alec at United could boast of such undivided support. When Chris Powell addressed the crowd after the game on Saturday there would barely have been a dry eye in the Valley. As Sir Chris paused for breath, the moment when the North Upper spontaneously sang 'We've Got Our Charlton Back' summed things up perfectly for every single Addick that has suffered down the years. Thankfully, Mark Ritson captured the moment wonderfully in his excellent compilation footage of the day which can be found here.

There will be plenty of time in the next few months to debate our prospects in the Championship, but personally, I just want to savour every last drop of this season before worrying about next year!

The only disappointing news that has come out of the Valley in some time is the announcement we will have an all black away strip next season from new kit suppliers, Nike. I think our current white away jersey has been one of the best designs ever (arguably better than the home jersey) and I will be sorry to see it go. For me, black should be reserved for the match officials.  

With the close season now upon us, my posts are likely to be less frequent for a while. Many thanks to anyone who has taken time to read anything I have written this season and especially those who have commented along the way. It is always greatly appreciated. This blog was born out of those darker days (I guess it acted like some sort of therapy, to some degree) and so it is hugely rewarding to be able to post my personal take on such a wonderful season. There are some fantastic Charlton bloggers out there and to feature amongst them in some small way is a great honour. Never has there been a time when social media has bought fans closer together, and I genuinely feel like I've shared this experience with every single Addick out there.   

I shall leave you with Martin Toal's rousing and emotional rendition of Nessun Dorma before Saturday's game and bid you a most pleasant summer break. 

Unforgettable Day...

A truly unforgettable day at The Valley! I simply can't smile wide enough. Still absolutely buzzing and enjoying a celebratory drink (or two), so perhaps tomorrow is a better day to make sense of it all in a bit more detail. Until then...here's a few images and some video footage of the day through my eyes! Forever Charlton...proud to be an Addick!

Floyd Road bustling with happy Addicks

Smiling faces outside The Valley

The Red Devils drop in to deliver the match ball!

Sold Out! A packed Valley shows it's colours

Johnnie Jackson lifts the League One Trophy

Breton warrior Yann Kermorgant shows off the trophy

Big Yann and his medal