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Aug 30

Why Pardew went

I think I have mentioned this before but I have an old mate close to goings on at Southampton, close both financially and emotionally so after various snippets of information over the summer it was no surprise to me when I heard on the radio of Pardew’s sacking early this morning.

Everyone’s outright favourites, the Saints have had a sketchy, if hardly disastrous start to their Div 3 campaign but the timing of the dismissal of Pardew (his 3rd in 4 years) after their 4-0 stuffing of Bristol Rovers the weekend is odd to say the least.

There isn’t much doubt that Pards’ ego is as big as Hampshire but whilst his mind games and convincing turn of phrase got him his own way at The Valley Pardew came up against a fierce adversery in Saints’ CEO Nicola Cortese.
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Aug 30

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Un, deux, trois

A bank holiday for some but not for Parky as he sat in the manager’s office with a big pen and reams of contracts today to sign three players, well officially two. By all accounts Jon Fortune will sign a 5-month contract but as a free agent, tomorrow’s deadline does not apply to his transfer. Rumours suggest that Fortune might even be sent out on loan for a month to gain much needed match fitness.

The summer-long chase for Daggers striker Paul Benson finally ended this morning when he passed a medical and the club paid a total fee of £250,000. The fee was officially undisclosed, because normally it is when it’s considered high but the close attentions of an unnamed Championship club would have certainly driven the price up, as did John Still’s strong stance that he didn’t want his prodigy to leave east London.
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Aug 28

Yorkshire Puds

Huddersfield Town 3 Charlton Athletic 1
Not a wholly unsurprising defeat for us today in West Yorkshire. The omens weren’t good when my son and I tuned in and found out that 20-year old Ross Worner was in goal, with Robbie Elliot complaining of back spasms filling a place on the visitor’s bench.

It has been a daunting start to Worner’s Addicks’ career and despite sounding as if we were having a decent first half the ex-Woking keeper rushed out of his goal twice in two late first half minutes, once conceding and then just about avoiding to give a penalty away, only to see the resulting corner fly past him from a header.

Half-time and a game pretty much over that for 40 minutes we appeared to have the upper hand in. In the second half we just didn’t appear to have enough about us to get back into the game and unsettle a seemingly nervous crowd. Even Abbott had a golden opportunity to give us an exciting last 10 minutes seconds before Roberts got Huddersfield’s killer 3rd, but fluffed it after doing all of the hard work.
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Aug 27

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A step in time

My son for many years, or as he might tell you 24,000 hours, is obsessed with time. How long will it take, how long will we stay when we get there, what time is it, what time is it in Russia, how many hours before I have to brush my teeth again…. you get the sketch and the little bugger won’t even wear a watch.

The minutes and the hours we have had together in Bermuda this time have flown by. We have crammed a lot of activities and fun in and spent some precious time with his baby sister but on Sunday night we head back to the UK.
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Aug 26

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Birthday wishes

I know some people go to town on their birthdays but I’ve never been big on them. Other peoples yes, but not mine. I’m not big on cake, I don’t like to be the centre of attention (I think I once had a bad experience in TGI Fridays when the waiters all sung to me), and there is nothing worse than having a pitiful two cards perched on the mantlepiece. Additionally with reasonable notice, I can go out and get blotto most nights and not just because it’s my birthday.
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Aug 23

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Shares

If you haven’t done so already, then please read Kings Hill Addick’s excellent summary of proceedings at today’s general meeting which saw Richard Murray officially take 100% control of the club.

I own, at least on paper, a couple thousand shares that have long been worthless. I too didn’t receive a letter inviting me to today’s meeting although the club and the Company’s Registrars do have details of my various movements. It doesn’t surprise me though as the post once it reaches Bermuda tends to do 400 laps around the island on a 25cc moped before, if you are lucky, appearing at the end of your path in an American style mailbox.
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Aug 22

11 Dickov’s

Charlton Athletic 1 Oldham Athletic 1
Tough game yesterday. Oldham played like they were a team of Paul Dickov’s by all accounts and five minutes added on time belied the amount of time-wasting and ineffectual refereeing there was.

I was encouraged by the home support in those final minutes though, an apparent recognition that the team never laid down and that we should no longer expect to role over every team we play. Parky claimed that Oldham were easily the best team we have played and the Latics could well end up being last season’s Colchester United, in the first half of the season at least.
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Aug 17

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Milestone

Just 32 hours back in the UK, collecting my son (who for any new readers, lives with his Mum) to bring him back to Bermuda for a couple of weeks.

We pretty much covered everything an energetic boy can do on the island last summer, so just the best bits this time around added to plenty of rest and relaxation and together time for my son and daughter. Today was personally a wonderful milestone watching them both play together around the house and in the pool.
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Aug 13

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Solly good show

Leyton Orient 1 Charlton Athletic 3
A Charlton performance to warm your heart tonight in East London. After a decent first half with the ball being played along the floor more than is normally expected in Div 3, we held a 1-0 lead but after the break the O’s cranked up the pressure and ex-Addick Scott McGleish scored against us again and then within minutes for the second league game in a row we were reduced to 10 men.

Dailly’s second yellow was clumsy and with 30 minutes left I was sat at my desk thinking a point would be a good result. However Doherty and particularly Llera showed great resolve heading and kicking every cross away whilst in front of them Racon and McCormack formed a human shield.

Abbott ran his socks off and Martin was a clever outlet but it was Scott Wagstaff, disappointing in the two games so far who caused the damage with a finish that Super Clive would have been proud off to put us surprisingly back in front. Then a fantastic burst of pace down the right by Waggy deep into injury time ended with an inviting cross to be met by a jubilant Chris Solly to end proceedings.
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Aug 12

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Rowdy Tampa Bay

I made it back to Bermuda last night but in line with my recent travel exploits, my luggage didn’t. Pain in the arse but less so coming home than going, except I couldn’t have a shave today so I hope my new client likes the George Michael look!

Just 18 hours in Tampa but it was certainly worth the effort. Good meetings and a great dinner in a place called Ocean Prime. Later in a bar called something Martini I was bewildered to see so many people out on a Tuesday night. I had an excuse as I was drowning a lot of sorrow, but I wondered what the good looking folk of Tampa were all going to do when they got up the next day.
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Aug 11

6 Comments

Put the Wembley rosette back

Shrewsbury Town 4 Charlton Athletic 3
Another new chapter in cup embarrassments was inserted into the burgeoning book called ‘Charlton Athletic – the Cup Dream 1948 and Onwards’ last night. I mean how many more ways can they humiliate us? Ok, don’t answer that.

I’ll tell you what though, the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round starts this weekend, why don’t we enter that and get beat by Chiddlington Rovers of the Kleenex 4 ply toilet paper league and be done with it?
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Aug 10

Giving something back

Apart from tickets for home games when I’m back and the odd item of merchandising mostly for my son, oh and some added grey hair for me, I don’t actually invest an awful lot into Charlton which has (don’t tell my bank manager) perturbed me for a while.

If I lived back in the south-east of England I would almost certainly have a season ticket and more likely two. So this season I decided to give something back to the club (they certainly need it) and sponsored a player and will later in the season buy the mascot package for my son.
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Aug 9

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Travel bug

‘Hurricane’ Colin turned out to be nothing more than a damp squib yet that didn’t stop the majority of the airlines cancelling yesterday and today’s flights – clearly no access to t’internet at American Airlines HQ to check the bloody weather forecast.
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Aug 7

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Cherries picked

Charlton Athletic 1 AFC Bournemouth 0
One tries to temper the hope the first Saturday of the season brings. Last season Norwich and Swindon were great examples of how much the first game means in the whole context of the season but nonetheless getting that first win on the board is always important and that is exactly what we did this afternoon.

From the commentary The Valley faithful sounded right behind the new-look team and Akpo got the goal that our early pressure deserved. Kyel Reid tormented Bournemouth first half before understandably running out of steam in the second. Sodje himself impressed, and came in for some good praise on the radio.
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Aug 7

Colin

No, not Powell but Tropical Storm Colin, which by late tonight may progress into a hurricane as it brushes 20 miles of the coast of Bermuda. Incoming flights have been cancelled this afternoon as the island hunkers down. Our new house faces the ocean and we should get a good view of the approaching storm.

Before that we are off to a 1st birthday party, so hopefully the weather holds for that but I could do with some cloud cover as I am still very burnt from being out on a boat yesterday afternoon. It was our work team’s summer party and despite it being my 3rd seeing the whole team in their swimwear still takes some getting used to.
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Aug 6

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And they came two by two

They walked in two by two on Thursday and Friday as young Woking ‘keeper Ross Worner was joined by the well regarded Matt Fry on loan from West Ham and then today as day entered evening the club shop was forced to stay open late to iron press a couple more names on the back of shirts.
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Aug 5

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Picking the top 10

I dragged myself into the eve of the new season by looking through the League One teams and tried to assess their individual chances and from that picked 10 teams that I believe will challenge for promotion.

The bookies have done what they always do and picked the certs or the obvious names but outside of the Premier League there will always be surprise packages and unknown players who come out of the shadows to have standout seasons.

Saying that it is hard to look beyond Southampton, but we know Alan Pardew’s weaknesses more than most. He has a huge squad, which is his want, and he won’t be able to resist swapping players in and out and no doubt will add further signings and loans in January. The points deduction last season alleviated a lot of expectation and pressure, that will not be true this time around and in fact rumours are constantly doing the rounds of the Solent that Pardew is on thin ice. Also will Ricky Lambert maintain his goalscoring consistency? He hasn’t always been so prolific, which explains why he plays in the third tier at 28.
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Aug 4

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Any more, for any more?

Can you believe the new season starts in three days? It’s too early and I don’t think I’m quite prepared for it, in saying that I’m not sure the team are ready either.

20 players have left the club since the Swindon game, some were on loan admittedly but that is some serious car parking spaces left unoccupied behind the West Stand. Just six have come in – Doherty, McCormack, Jackson, Reid, Francis and Abbott, maybe a 7th tomorrow with the news that 20-year old Woking goalkeeper Ross Worner has passed a medical but we are still haggling over the financials.

The club’s current mouthpiece, Millwall’s South London Press said that a defender was near completing a deal on Monday. Still waiting, but Jon Fortune did turn out again last night in the friendly at Isthmian League Concord Rangers.
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Aug 3

8 Comments

New home

Ah, I’m glad you found me hiding over here, well not exactly hiding but setting up home at WordPress after six years with Blogger. I am no Tim Berners-Lee but I had outgrown Blogger and was getting frustrated by it’s limitations.

My Blogger page chicagoaddick.blogspot.com will remain but will be put into retirement and all my future posts will continue on here.

On the right hand-side there you can read a lot more about me than you really need to know, I also explain my Blogger archive and also link to my back catalogue of travel posts.

I would love to hear of any comments you have, as always.