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Jul 31

News of a striker on the horizon

After the strange goings on of yesterday when Michael Smith moved to AFC Wimbledon on loan and No.2 goalkeeper David Button was sold to Brentford for an undisclosed fee, late tonight strong rumours are suggesting that Bolton’s Marvin Sordell could be close to joining the Addicks on a season-long loan.

The 22-year old striker from Pinner has openly struggled to adapt to life in the north-west after his big money move from Watford to the then Premier League Wanderers. He did make 26 appearances last season and scored 8 goals. He is also a regular England U21 and proudly played for Great Britain at The Olympics.
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Jul 31

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Nicaragua and Panama

Tomorrow we head off for our summer holiday. We will spend tomorrow night in Coral Gables, a spit away from Miami Airport, and then Friday fly to Managua in Nicaragua.

Last year we holidayed this same time of year in Costa Rica – the howler monkey that flies across the top of this blog will tell you how much we adored it. My other half has little or no flexibility on her work holiday allocation, unlike me, which may not come as a total surprise to you, so our desire to see a lot of Latin America is hindered by these two weeks being the optimum time to getaway. Hindered because the further south in the Americas one goes it is winter and many countries in Central America are as hot as hades this time of year.
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Jul 30

A new Championship season – part II

A lot of clubs in The Championship will have ambitions of promotion, play-off’s at least, and the next grouping will each start the season believing this is their year, and sure enough as is proved every season, one or two will come out of the pack and surprise everyone.
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Jul 29

A new Championship season – part I

Being a bit of a nervous nellie I’ve spent probably all of my Charlton-supporting life looking over my shoulder, in a league table sense, so I thought it would be apt to start my review of the new season with the teams that I hope will spend most of their season’s looking at our backs.

The Championship is stuffed full of the ‘used to haves’ and ‘want to haves’ so I welcome Doncaster and Yeovil to the league, two clubs that will be considered as fighting above their weight. The Glovers and Donny’s sole ambition will be to stay in The Championship this season.
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Jul 28

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One up front

Yesterday’s game for Paddy sounded a bit of a bore, the legendary Addick deserved better, but a friendly is just that and in the greater scheme of things the 90 minutes were just another piece of Chris Powell’s pre-season jigsaw as he takes them into this important final week before we go to Bournemouth.

Even though I purchased a ticket, the wrist slitting amongst some of Addicks last night was a timely reminder why a gave up pre-season friendlies a couple of decades ago.

In saying that the crowd was very disappointing, and there could be a number of reasons for that but 132 from Inverness was a wonderful effort and I saw that one group that travelled down from the Highlands actually upgraded their tickets to the corporate area once they heard it was to benefit an old pro. Very honourable indeed.
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Jul 26

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Roast ’em Paddy!

Colin David Powell has always been in my life, since the very first time I first walked down those steep steps of the East Terrace that made Chichen Itza look like a sandcastle.

Paddy Powell is a proper Charlton legend. Although there was that one time in 1978 that he deserted me as a 12-year old and went to play in America for the New England Tea Men.

He and Flash Flanagan almost got us relegated that season, while they were whopping it up in Boston we couldn’t score a goal for toffee and only just escaped relegation to Division 3. I soon forgave them though, especially Colin, and in later life I realised that Paddy went for the money and I do not begrudge him that at all and of course he kept coming back.
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Jul 25

Red Bulls give BWP wings

Ok, I have a new game. Instead of getting yourselves all het up about who we have or more appropriately haven’t signed, let me tell you some transfer news of some old Valley favourites.

Whilst Darren Bent is training with the U12’s at Aston Villa waiting for Joe Kinnear to give Alan Pardew the approval to talk to our esteemed ex-striker, the highest profile summer moves involving ex-Addicks were those for Jonjo Shelvey and Bradley Wright Phillips. Valley academy graduate Jonjo’s £5m move to Swansea from Liverpool meant that we were due a six-figure sell-on fee but where that went is anyone’s guess.
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Jul 24

Striker a light

The incoming door at Sparrows Lane remains very much intact emphasising the financial constraints that Powell has been put under by the owners. Stories of alleged unpaid bills, loyal employees leaving and out of court settlements have punctured the summer transfer season again and one has to admire how Powell continues to put a brave face on the situation in public meanwhile diligently putting the players through their pre-season paces with help of his coaching team, which is also one short after Nathan Jones left for Brighton. Dagenham & Redbridge were the latest to get the runaround last night.
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Jul 21

The Island Games wrap-up

Well that was fantastic, a great week of sport, competition and friendship ended Friday night at Bermuda’s National Stadium with the last Track finals and Closing Ceremony.

I first came across the Island Games 4 years ago, the summer after I moved here. Those games were held in Åland, a Swedish speaking Finnish archipelago in the Baltic Sea, and in a nice little co-incidence my 3-year old daughter was walking around the house this morning waving the flag of Åland, given to her by one of their athletes.

I have been lamenting all week that Bermudians had not been coming out for the events, not helped by a non-existent marketing campaign, and despite of both Bernews and the Royal Gazette providing an excellent service.

However, and deservedly so, the athletes from the 22 Island Nation got the reception their efforts deserved Friday night as the National Stadium was packed and excitable and every competitor was cheered to the rafters.
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Jul 19

Doing a Ceddy

Our defensive unit seems to be coming together, as opposed to our front line, but Powell being a wily defender likes to build from the back! After signing Richard Wood, Powell and Ceddy Evina finally ironed out any differences today and the Frenchman, still only 21, signed a one-year contract with the Addicks.

Ceddy is popular with fans and players and I hope he manages to really break into the side this season.
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Jul 19

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Pay up Pompey

A warm Addicks’ welcome to Richard Wood, signed yesterday on a one-year deal.

I have seen some question the validity of Wood’s signing over Matt Taylor, who CP released. I liked Taylor, but Woods is three years younger and has played the bulk of his football at Championship level, well over 200 games compared to just 12 that Taylor played in the 2nd tier.

Taylor was a good club man, and a leader but Wood has also been club captain at both Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry. I’m happy to have him as part of the squad.
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Jul 18

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Thanks to Matt Wright

Hmmm, the Newshopper have just posted a story that CAFC’s Communication Manager Matt Wright has resigned to “search for a new challenge.”

I have corresponded with Matt a number of times during his 13 years at the club, and he has always come across as a dedicated hardworking professional. Matt has built a great team around him and for a club with a smaller Comms budget than most, and getting smaller all the time, he has been behind some excellent initiatives often leading the way amongst it’s peers, the club’s Twitter account for example.
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Jul 18

Nathan Jones leaves Addicks

As so often happens with success your best employees get headhunted.

Nathan Jones, who has performed wonders with Charlton’s promising and hugely successful U21 Development Squad has moved to Brighton as part of new manager Oscar Garcia’s coaching team. Jones played 150 games for the Seagulls and is a Spanish speaker.
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Jul 16

Good first impression

I popped along to watch some of the Badminton at the Island Games late this afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality I witnessed. There was a couple games going on, both semi-finals at the Bermuda High School.

Two brothers from Menorca featured in both semi’s but both lost. Albert Navarro Comes to Ben Li from the Isle of Man, who was backed by some noisy team mates, and brother Eric to Paul Le Tocq from Guernsey.
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Jul 16

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Infrastructure

Back to Bermuda last night after a quickfire visit home. At one point yesterday between junctions 5 and 6 on the M25 I was convinced I might have to extend my stay another day as the congestion was so bad. Only because I left my mate’s house in Chislehurst so early did I make my flight.
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Jul 12

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NatWest Island Games 2013

I am fortunate to get readers from all over the world, particularly Addicks in far flung places, but two of my favourite comments in all the time I have been doing this were on a post I wrote for the Island Games two years ago.

First of all Isle of Wight Blogger and Charlton fan Wighteye left a comment followed later in the day by Shetlander Addick Sam. Other writers of Blogs will tell you that there is nothing more reassuring than people leaving comments, and I get markedly excited when they are from overseas Charlton fans. Yes, the Isle of White and Shetland Isles are across the sea.

Anyway, the reason I raised this is that tomorrow here in Bermuda the XV Island Games begin. 2,200 athletes from 24 member nations will take part in 17 different sports held across the island over the next week kicking off tomorrow night with the Opening Ceremony at the National Stadium.
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Jul 8

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London waiting

I’m leaving for London Wednesday night for a couple days of work and then some family weekend time wrapped up with a few beers with some mates on Sunday evening in Bexley Village.

Not for the first time I have just calculated that I will be away for 4 nights and will sleep in 4 different beds, 5 in 5 if you include the overnight plane journey. Sadly, although that sounds very titillating, it, er, won’t be.
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Jul 7

A British Wimbledon Champion

7/7 is a day synonymous with London and today in glorious sunshine the nation finally witnessed a British winner of Wimbledon after 77 years of disappointment and mostly forlorn hopelessness.

Great credit to Andy Murray who many had written off as a nearly man, but with Ivan Lendl at his side the Scotsman has taken his game to another level the past 18 months.
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Jul 6

Feed the Pig

I mentioned Joe Pigott yesterday and right on cue the young striker hit a 1st half hat-trick in the pre-season opener at Welling this afternoon.

Pigott, 19, is a big lad and according to a text I got from a mate was very composed in front of goal. Hopefully we will see some more of what he can do pre-season. Powell played two different sides for each 45 minutes with Kermorgant scoring one and laying two on for Pigott. Green scored the 5th for the 2nd half team. Powelly and the many Addicks present would’ve been pleased with the first run out of the summer played in bright sunshine.
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Jul 5

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Curtain raiser

Charlton’s first pre-season friendly tomorrow as we head to Welling for the traditional curtain-raiser. Mark Gower and Richard Wood will be the only new faces on show at Park View Road with Scott Wagstaff, Matt Taylor, John Sullivan, Yado Mambo, Danny Haynes, Ricardo Fuller and Salim Kerkar all departed.

Richard Wood has been on trial and is a centre-half with almost 300 appearances under his belt for Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry. He is 28 today and would fit the bill for a 5th central defender alongside Morrison, Cort, Dervite and Feely.

Ceddy Evina has been back training with the club, and was offered a new one-year deal, although he initially turned it down. There has been no sign of a move for Jonathan Obika and unless I missed it no announcement on which 2nd year scholars were retained or released.
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Jul 4

Independence

Today 237 years ago wasn’t one of Britain’s best days in it’s history, but I have overlooked that and accepted my companies offer of a day off to celebrate America’s independence. My company are headquartered in London, I am in Bermuda, but hey, small details.

Those of you that have read any of my worky posts, and I wouldn’t blame you if you hadn’t, will remember that our workload is heavily front-loaded into the first half of the year, getting steadily more frenetic as the calendar rolls around to July 1st.
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