20 years; 20 Players: No.6 Yann Kermorgant
In no order I am listing 20 Players that left a enduring impression on me in my almost half a century of being an Addick.
20 Players to commemorate me writing this Blog for 20 years and at no. 6 is Yann Kermorgant.
“Kermorgant has hardly been prolific in a career that has mostly been spent in the French Ligue 2 and his signing has left me pretty underwhelmed if I’m honest and I hope that Powell sees more in him than the record books do.”
– Chicago Addick, Sept 14th, 2011.
Yann Kermorgant did not only become a Charlton hero, but he also gave us belief.
Belief that first impressions can be misleading, belief that everything is possible, belief that when a football player pulls on the cherished red shirt, he can wear it with pride, like you and me.
His signing also said a lot about Chris Powell, who knows a proper bloke when he sees one.
There have been very few players as universally loved as Yann Kermorgant and his departure sadly was one of very first red flags of Roland Duchatelet’s ownership.
What a wonderful player Yann was. A giant of a man on and off the pitch, genuine and honourable. He could score goals of any type, although he gave us many spectacular ones.
For a big man, he had a wonderful touch was technically astute and was masterful at linking play. There was nothing one-dimensional about the man from Breton.
I met him once and he had me at that smile. A true Addicks’ legend.
Appearances 89, Goals 28 (2011 – 2014)
I remember Charlton Life going into meltdown when he signed…”who” was followed by “wasn’t he the bloke that missed the penalty for Leicester in a play-off final?”
Prior to returning to Charlton Chris Powell had been at Leicester as a coach and as always knew what he was doing. Thanks to that failed Panenka Yann was frequently booed when he took to the pitch for Leicester and consequently he languished in their reserves. But their misfortune turned out to be our good fortune, had he scored that pen I doubt he’d have gone to a L1 side for his next move and bearing in mind when he left us it was for promotion chasing Bournemouth and he had a few games in the Prem for them.
He showed what we have missed in L1 since then – a player who could unlock tight, often physical defences with one perfectly weighted pass and turn draws into wins. He was the L1 cheat code.
Credit to him as well for beating leukaemia as a child. A top bloke in all regards, surely he’s in every Addick’s team at number 10?