20 Years; 20 Players: No.18 Patrick Bauer
Back in June I celebrated 20 years of writing this Blog here initially and now on here.
To salute myself I decided to pick 20 Places and 20 Players (Addicks of course) to honour my anniversary. We are on Player number 18 in the series and next up I’ll give you Patrick Bauer.
This series has mostly been about players that gave me many memories over a period of time, hence why they stick in my mind. A fair few of my picks played less games than Bauer, but there is no denying that the BFG makes this select group because of that one moment at Wembley.
90+4 minutes on the clock. Aribo to Cullen, Cullen switches the ball to his right and crosses deep into the penalty box. Bauer wins the header, the ball bounces off a Sunderland defender but Bauer reacts quickest to force it home with his right boot.
I can watch those videos of utter celebratory carnage behind that Wembley goal over and over again, and I was so pleased to have been in amongst them.
Happy Addicks’ memories have been few and far between in the last decade but Lee Bowyer’s team and that Patrick Bauer goal sent us into dreamland.
Born in a small town north-east of Stuttgart, for whom he played before moving to Maritimo in Portugal, Bauer was a rare Duchatelet and Meire signing that delivered. The Belgian’s had just sold Joe Gomez, so were under pressure to invest, but we did get our monies worth out of the German defender.
We shouldn’t forget though that the Belgian’s lied to us when Bauer left saying he was offered a new contract, when he wasn’t. Duchatelet also tried to sell the German the summer previous.
Anyway, this is about the BFG, and for 4 seasons the amicable Bauer gave everything for the cause and easily stepped up in our one season in The Championship.
But it was that goal, and those glorious celebrations that help place Patrick Bauer in my own Hall of Fame.
Appearances 124. 8 goals (2015 – 2019)
That’s an interesting comment Chig:
“We shouldn’t forget though that the Belgian’s lied to us when Bauer left saying he was offered a new contract, when he wasn’t. Duchatelet also tried to sell the German the summer previous”
I had no knowledge of that and publiclly criticised Bauer for leaving Charlton for Preston.
My thinking being if he wanted to leave, he could do rather better than Preston bleedin’ North End. Something I still believe.
But with your information it would seem he wanted out and quickly, so probably took the first offer.
However, I too was right behind the goal at Wembley when he forced in the winner and went batshit as did all around.
In fact in a well publicised photo of the moment myself and my son can be clearly seen. Fame at last 🙂
We rarely get to Wembley, but when we do we create an exciting day (the exception being V Blackburn in the Simod ? cup, many years ago)
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/patrick-bauers-valley-exit-would-only-add-more-doubt-to-charlton-athletic-takeover-viability-as-owner-duchatelet-opts-against-pre-season-tour/
Bauer to Blackburn story as RD started to sell off the team’s assets in June 2018.
I don’t blame Bauer for leaving, I think he/his wife had either just had a child or were about to have one and the financial stability on offer was too good to ignore. Especially when we had dragged our feet about extending his contract.
Sadly though he was one of a number of players who left the club cheaply – Joe Aribo, Ezri Konsa and Karlan Grant should all have had their contracts extended and if we traded them on it would have been for better money than the collective pittance we received. We might moan at Methven and co, but they are head and shoulders above the Belgians.