20 Years; 20 Players: No. 1 Colin Powell
Remember these will be in no particular order, but for my first player pick to commemorate 20 years of Blogging, I had to begin with Colin Powell.
Colin ‘Paddy’ Powell was my first favourite player after I starting going to The Valley at the beginning of the 1975/76 season, a year after Powell, Hales and Horsfield had fired Andy Nelson’s attack-at-all-costs Charlton to promotion.
I am sure they didn’t, but my memory tells me that most of our goals came in the 2nd half always kicking towards the noisy Covered End. At start of the half Paddy would run over to the East Terrace and chat to the kids, me included. He would accept the odd peanut, check in on the 3.45pm at Kempton Park, and being a smoker would breath in the smokey air and then stand on the touchline waiting for the referee to restart the game.
Then I and thousands of others would urge him on as he raced down either wing ducking in and out of defender’s lunges, and he’d go back and do it again before sending in a delicate cross on a plate or cutting in for a shot. “Roast ’em Paddy.” would be the call.
Every Saturday evening after we got home from The Valley the old man would aways make us egg and chips, and whilst he was doing so I’d be out in the back garden recreating one of Paddy’s run and crosses, jinking this way and that and doing that trademark drop of the shoulder before finding the lurking Derek Hales or Mike Flanagan with a teaser of a ball into my Mum’s runner beans.
If Paddy was born in 1998 and not 1948 he would be a multi-millionaire. Sky Sports would have loved Paddy Powell. If he played today they’d fill hours of their daytime schedules just showing repeats of goals that Paddy ‘assisted.’ You got nothing for an assist in Paddy’s day, the word didn’t exist.
Colin Powell is a proper Charlton legend, and even worked as the club’s groundsman until he retired in 2014.
Appearances 358, Goals 35 (1973 – 1981)
Chicago Addick 
Great Post. thanks for sharing.
One of my absolute favourites too. Always loved a winger who could take people on – so exciting to watch. Derek hales has a lot to thank him for – didn”t do so well at derby without that service did he? And he was very kind – danced with me at a supporters disco when i was 18 and was charming.
Great shout CA………Great memories.
Paddy was a great winger. First saw him at our local club Stevenage, then non-league. You could tell he was destined for a higher home. Great when he signed for my beloved Charlton. His mother owned a small shoe shop near us and I had many conversations about Paddy and the Addicks.
great choice my all time favourite player such great balance don’t think he ever got his shorts muddy! Could watch Hales goal of the season v. Hull he set up for ever.choices are downhill from here
Let’s see if I can match the love of Paddy with some others.
You are totally right to kick off your 20 years of Blogging with the understated Paddy Powell CA. Not only was he a brilliant winger but also a gentleman (and the best winger since ‘handbag’ Lenny Glover).
At the same time that he was mesmerising full backs down the wing I was commentating on Charlton’s home matches for hospital radio (serving the Greenwich District, Brook and Memorial hospitals) with my pal Alf Stradling. I also had a 2 hour evening programme and having bumped into Paddy as he arrived at the ground one day, he agreed to join me on my programme one evening to chat about all things football.
He was quite shy, but came alive with tales of his time at Barnet and later the New England Tea-men in Boston (the early release of a number of our best players before the end of our season when we were deemed to be safe in mid-table, seeing the club avoid relegation by the skin of our teeth!).
From the feed-back that we got from patients Paddy turned out to be a hit – and as you rightly say, if he’d played today he’d would be earning a fortune – most likely in the Premier league. A great player and a great servant of the club as groundsman.
Whose next? Eddie Firmani I hope….
Mike, lovely story about Paddy. Firmani was before my time unfortunately.
Colin was a fantastic winger with speed,skill and could waltz around any defender who wanted to launch him off the Valley Pitch.
I used to watch him standing behind the red railings at the bottom of the East Terrace.
Yep, great winger in his time,and like you CA, can remember him serving Hales, Flanagan and Co. with great crosses. While groundsman at The Valley he joined Metrogas Sports Association in Avery Hill Road, along with his good mate John Bumstead. You could always get paddy talking football, especially about Charlton, and he was always humble, polite and a perfect gentleman. After his term as groundsman at the Valley, he had several seasons as groundsman at VCD and Phoenix Sports at Bexleyheath. Sadly,due to me moving to Yorkshire, I haven’t seen him for about 5 years.
Another string to Paddys bow was his willingness to referee a Charlton team on a Sunday morning….Gritty would play with other Charlton people…cheered on by John Bumstead.
Paddy rarely moved from inside the centre circle to undertake his refereeing duties and some decisions were dubious….thank god no VAR !!!
as a young boy living in Charlton going to the valley was a way of life ! In my years there we had two out and out superstars that went on to bigger clubs ! The one and only Billy Bonds who went to West Ham and the most underrated winger of that time in Len Glover who went to Leicester ! Both learnt their craft at the valley and became legends at their new clubs !
He was my dad’s and mine and my brothers’ favourite too. I was a kid in that era dreaming of one day being a professional footballer (laughable when I look back). Colin Powell was inspirational as a footballer. He tore up defenses and had accuracy with his passing and crossing that makes me wonder why he was never snapped up by teams at a higher level I count myself fortunate to have seen many of his Charlton matches.