Ready or not

Ready or not, here we go. Back in The Championship, back after that wonderful Sunday at the end of May when we celebrated a goal like nothing before. It still gives me goosebumps.

Yes, we’ve had a another summer of player turnover, and potential ruination thanks to our short-sighted and arrogant owner. Our hero Lee Bowyer publicly rejected by him, Jacko and Marshall to follow suit. Only the calmness and loyalty of Bowyer preventing total Addick meltdown.

Players unsecured on contracts walking away for nothing, a paltry budget given not worthy of a top half League One challenge, agents laughing at us. Elsewhere we watched Premier League players of the future sold for huge profits on the stupid prices Duchatelet couldn’t wait to sell them for. Any added incentives straight into his pocket, and not reinvested.

God that old bastard did not want promotion, but against the odds Bowyer, the team and us stuck it to him good and proper. Let’s celebrate that as well.

We head into the opening game with nowhere enough players, the bench again filled with young men not ready. The only difference to a year ago is this time we are a level up, and a large step up it is too.

Yet, when we celebrated Patrick Bauer’s 94th minute goal, we didn’t only celebrate promotion we celebrated a leap forward on our journey back to where we belong. Minimum. We celebrated days like today, fixtures like the next 46.

And being back in The Championship, what a great league this is. It’s going to be hard, there will be despair, but give me this league any day and with Lee Bowyer he has given us the belief to believe.

Make some noise at Ewood today Addicks. The journey continues. Come on you reds.