Aug 12
Into the hat, mission accomplished and it was a pretty decent display.
Nathan Jones made eleven whole changes but players got minutes, and youngsters got exposure, no more so than Ibrahim Fullah, who was excellent.
Please click for moreCharlton’s set piece and first team coach James Brayne is leaving the club to take up a role with Sunderland.
James joins Régis Le Bris’ backroom staff ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season to lead their first-team’s set-piece coaching.
Please click for moreTalking Point 🗣️
We all know it was only the first game, and there are 45 to play, but I’m still wallowing a little bit from Saturday’s win over Watford. Back to earth tomorrow though when we host Stevenage in the Carabao Cup, and whilst we hadn’t played Watford since 2015, this is our 7th meeting with Stevenage in less than three years.
Please click for moreA little plug for Heather Thomson, daughter of Dave/ Drinking During the Game/ Cardinal Sin.
This September Heather is walking the 30 miles of London’s Green Link route from Epping Forest to Peckham and back again with her friend Tom in support of Cancer Research UK.
Please click for moreTerry Taylor has gone back to Northampton Town, where he had a very successful loan in the second part of last season.
Terry will spend the season at Sixfields. This is the final year of his Addicks’ contract.
Please click for moreWhat a way to win a season opener. So many trademarks from last season in that performance and it was great to see Nathan Jones push for the win in the last part of the game and not be content with a point
I was grateful that my Qatar Airways WiFi held out and the game was a joy to watch and a very noticeable step up in quality.
Please click for moreRich Cawley has found out a little more on the summer absence of Matt Godden in an interview with Nathan Jones.
“It was a minor procedure on the knee, just a clean-up type of thing” that has kept last season’s top scorer out of pre-season. (more)
Please click for moreTwo more sleeps, and how are you feeling? Optimistic? Nervous? Restless?
We have to be excited don’t we. After some desperate years we all deserve that feeling. The club has laid a terrific foundation for all Addicks to have something to believe in, and that for me has always been the core principle of being a Charlton fan, and that hasn’t always been easy.
Please click for moreI am a self confessed ‘watch guy’ but haven’t yet been convinced to splash out on a Christopher Ward model.
However, now the Anglo-Swiss watchmaker have signed a six-figure, multi-year partnership with the club, I might be tempted.
Please click for moreThis week was always going to be quiet on the transfer front. Jim Rodwell needs to refill his biro and give his phone a rest and Nathan Jones will be hard at it on the training field.
9 signings by the start of August has been phenomenal work, and whilst it is right to reason that not all 9 will be terrific, the ideology of strengthening key positions with a cross of experience and potential is to be applauded.
Please click for moreWhat absolutely terrible news breaking today from Portugal. Jorge Costa reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest at the Porto’s training ground in Portugal and died later in hospital.
Jorge was only 53 and a legend at Porto. He was their director of football.
Please click for moreThird kit drop today and as anticipated it has a Jamaican feel to it, although the club don’t actually tie the two together in the promo stuff.
The 3rd change kit features “a striking charcoal base, complemented by a yellow, green and black trim on the cuffs and the collar. Yellow and green strips alternate down each side of the shirt, continuing through the shorts.”
Please click for moreGassan Ahadme scored twice and could’ve had a third in the final run out of the season today, but he did do it against his favourite opposition.
Still it was a nice surprise and will do him no harm. Sonny Carey was the other scorer in the 3-0 win at Southend.
Please click for moreNever in any doubt 😉.
Not sure what that was all about but welcome to The Valley Harvey Knibbs signed for an undisclosed fee tonight on a 4-year deal.
Please click for moreAccording to reports from Reading, Charlton have pulled out of a deal to sign Harvey Knibbs.
A fee of £1.8m was agreed and Knibbs was apparently at the training ground this week, so a little mysterious and a lot disappointing.
Please click for moreAfter a few weeks of speculation Gavin Carter today put on record that the club and Dane Murphy have mutually agreed that he will not be taking up the role of Chief Executive Officer, as previously announced.
Murphy may or may not have been the right person to lead the club forward, but it is best that everyone moves on.
Please click for moreThat’s a good move for Nathan, playing a level higher up than he was at Walsall the second half of last season.
Asiimwe has joined Jacko’s League One side AFC Wimbledon on a season-long loan.
Please click for moreWhat do you say. Give Thomas Tuchal a few more games and then hand the job to Sarina?
Whatever you say about her tactics, decision making and subs that is an unbelievable record. Congratulations to her, an honorary English woman as there’s ever been and well done the players, the first ever English football team to win a major final overseas.
Please click for moreA Sunday signing.
Charlie Kelman has signed from Queens Park Rangers on a 4-year deal for an undisclosed fee, which apparently was in excess of £3m, rising to £5m with a ton of add-ons.
Please click for moreK&K. Well, at least it seems one K.
QPR and Charlton today reached an agreement for the transfer of Charlie Kelman according to top level transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. Of course the much more reliable and down to earth source Rich Cawley is now carrying this story as well.
Please click for moreJoe Bennett has been training with Charlton and for the first time he put on a red matchday shirt today appearing as a 60th minute substitute in the 1-1 draw at Cambridge.
Bennett is a free agent and could provide both cover at left-wing-back plus add an experienced head and good counsel to the younger players in the dressing room next season.
please click for moreRich Cawley is reporting that Bolton Wanderers have approached the Addicks to discuss options for Gassan Ahadme.
Bolton manager Steven Schumacher has made it a priority to sign a striker and that could be Ahadme.
Please click for moreWas the name of the young man labelled ‘Trialist’ in tonight’s team sheet at Wealdstone, a game the Addicks won 3-0.
Lembikisa came on at the 60 minute mark as Nathan Jones shuffled his pack and fitted in at right centre back, even though he’s meant to be a right-wing-back.
Please click for moreHere’s a name to conjure with. Sourced by the Daily Mail, according too them we have had an offer turned down for Japanese defender Shinnosuke Fukuda.
This one will confuse those Addicks that think we only do our scouting in Bedforshire, but the 24-year Fukuda plays for Kyoto in the J League
Please click for moreSeven players signed. The club has been quick, strategic and quite stealth like in the summer window.
I always want to see what these guys will be like in a red shirt, but on paper the squad looks much stronger and deeper than it was the day after the play-off final.
Please click for moreOnto the next one, then. North of the border there are suggestions led by Sky Sports that Charlton and Blackburn have had £1m bids turned down by Hibernian for right back Lewis Miller.
The 24-year old Australian is a regular for his national side, and Hibs triggered an contract extension for 12 months back in April.
Please click for moreRob Apter has arrived on his bike in Slovenia to become Nathan Jones’ 7th summer signing.
The 22-year old has signed on a 4-year deal for a fee officially undisclosed, but unofficially £2m plus add-ons.
Please click for moreIt’s exciting, right?
Six years ago in the exact same position we had just convinced Jason Pearce and Jonny Williams to sign new contracts, this only after Roland Duchatelet did a u-turn over Lee Bowyer’s contract. Joe Aribo had just left and Duchatelet was behind our backs negotiating to cash in on Anfernee Djiksteel.
Please click for moreWell, that’s a real shame.
Charlton Athletic can confirm that Head of Men’s First-Team Player Care Tracey Leaburn will leave the club next month after 10 years of dedicated service (more).
Please click for moreAnd aboard Sunday’s flight to Slovenia. Question is will anyone else new be at Gatwick to join the squad.
Joe Rankin-Costello becomes Nathan Jones’ 6th summer signing after signing from Blackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee but said to be in the £750,000 bracket.
Please click for moreI’m liking this rumour. A lot of upside if it happens. Apparently we are ‘lining up a move’ for Blackpool’s Rob Apter.
A right wing back who can play high up the pitch, skillful, tricky, assists, goals, an old fashioned winger crossed with a disciplined defensive virtue.
Please click for moreIt’s a little short on rumours round here, so here’s one to throw into the mix.
According to some sources Blackburn Rovers’ Joe Rankin-Costello is subject to a £750,000 bid from the Addicks. The 25-year old is a right-wing-back that can invert into central midfield.
Please click for moreIf Reece Burke can stay fit then he will be a hell of a signing. How often have we *insert name* said that in previous seasons?
Reece Burke today completed his signing from Luton on an undisclosed fee. He has signed a 2-year contract plus a year club option.
Please click for more“We feel we have real unfinished business with myself and Miles together.” – Nathan Jones.
A little bit out of the blue this, but today Charlton locked Miles Leaburn down to a new 3-year contract. His old one was due to expire next summer.
Please click for moreI only mentioned Gordon Jago the other day in my Having a beer with Keith Peacock post, but sadly the club have announced his passing today aged 92.
Jago played for the Addicks between 1954 and 1962 and went on to manage Millwall and QPR, succesful at both, but at Loftus Road he was widely recognized as being responsible for building the foundations of the famous Rangers’ side of the 70’s that Dave Sexton inherited from him.
Please click for moreRich Cawley has thrown another name into the Hatters…. see what I did there?
Reece Burke was another player that Nathan Jones signed for Luton Town that went on to look comfortable in the Premier League.
Please click for more2️⃣1️⃣ I enjoyed writing my 20 Players and 20 Places series last year, so I’m off again this time to celebrate 21 years of blogging and I’m picking Addicks from my time as a supporter that I would love to join for a beer or any adult beverage of their choice.
Break some bread, chew the cud, ruminate over the old days, the pleasure would be all mine.
Please click for moreI missed yesterday Macaulay Gillesphey nipping in at the far past to meet a new contract head on.
I’m pleased about this, very well deserved. Gillesphey signed a fresh 2-year contract plus a club option of a year.
Please click for moreThe Addicks have tied down Micah Mbick to a new contract. Fresh with a new haircut the 18-year old has put pen to paper on an extension after signing his first pro deal in December 2023.
The new contract runs until the summer of 2028 with club option of an extra year.
Please click for moreYou can ring my…. 🔔
This looks a sensible squad building signing. Left sided centre back Amari’i Bell has signed on a 2-year deal after the expiry of his contract at Luton Town.
Please click for moreThe players returned to Sparrows Lane today for post-summer testing, which I suspect is a little different to the old days when players returned having loaded on a few holiday pounds and smelling of stale cigarettes were told to run up and down the East Terrace.
The first friendly is 9 days away.
Please click for moreWhat it says on the tin: the bespoke shirt takes inspiration from the club’s roots. The all-over tonal aquatic blue, white, and grey fish scale pattern pays tribute to legendary local fishmonger Arthur Bryan.
A little different, avoids Millwall blue and takes a nod to our wonderful history.
Please click for moreOr to give him his real name…. Isaac Tanitoluwaloba Aduraoluwatimileyin Olaofe was today added to Nathan Jones’ Championship squad. Imagine getting his name on the back of your short at 50p a letter?
Olaofe has signed a three-year contract with a club option of an additional year.
Please click for more2️⃣1️⃣ Recently I passed my 21st year of writing this Blog, which if I stop to think about it, is actually quite crazy. I ran a couple of 20th birthday series to commemorate that landmark, and I plan on doing a couple of different things to acknowledge getting the key 🔑.
To celebrate 21 years I am going to pick 21 current or former Charlton players from the beginning of my time of supporting Charlton in 1975 that I’d love to go for a beer with and talk Charlton.
Please click for moreLuton Town’s Thomas Kaminski has become the Addicks second signing of the summer. Noted as fee undisclosed, Kaminski has signed a three-year deal.
The 32-year old Belgian has made close to 500 appearances including 38 in the Premier League and 160 in The Championship.
Please click for moreI reckon we may see a little bit of movement this week on the transfer incomings front.
There’s a little pre-season activity in some places and player’s contracts do expire on Monday.
Please click for moreWhat did you do yesterday?
Watch Lee Carsley’s brilliant England U21’s retain the Euro Championship? Sing-a-long to the Glastonbury coverage? Watch the empty seats under dark sky’s during the ridiculous weather break of the Chelsea match? Or something completely different..
Please click for more2️⃣1️⃣ Over the next months I plan on running a couple of different series of posts to celebrate this Blog’s recent 21st birthday.
As Chicago Addick came of drinking age, at least in the land of the free, I thought I’d run a series of 21 current or former Charlton players from the beginning of my time of supporting them that I’d love to go for a beer with, someone I’d be delighted to spend a couple of hours listening to Charlton and football anecdotes over a couple of pints or whatever takes their fancy.
Please click for moreI presume they were waiting on the fixture release, and our game against Ipswich is a couple of months in, so the Addicks will take on the Tractor Boys in a pre-season friendly at Colchester United’s ground.
The game will be played on Tuesday, July 29th at 7.30pm to round out our pre-season schedule.
Please click for moreA busy day for fixtures.
The 1st Round draw was made for the Carabao Cup this afternoon and we will be at home to Stevenage in a one-off game. The match is due to be played on Tuesday 11th August.
Please click for moreWatford at home 12.30pm opening day. Then we travel to Bristol City the following Saturday followed by Leicester back at The Valley a week later. The last game of August is a trip to Loftus Road.
Millwall at home is early (Sept 13th), we travel to The Den on Saturday, January 24th. Hopefully it will be snowing!
Please click for moreNot a hint of transfer news, nada but The Valley pitch has had its top soil removed and is having some remedial work to help the artificial fibres knit better with the natural grass, and the new Bluewater shop opens tomorrow. Oh and the 2025/26 Championship fixtures are due to be dropped tomorrow at noon.
However, I know we are all gearing up for the new season, but let’s not forget what happened a month ago today.
Please click for moreCharlton added Southend United to the pre-season schedule today. That looks like it will be the final friendly before we kick off The Championship season.
That leaves possibly another game on July 29th or 30th between the trips to Cambridge and Southend, but as it stands our pre-season line up looks neither exciting nor uber challenging.
Please click for moreMy first thoughts this morning? Why an earth have we made Danny Murphy CEO?
After a long search the club has turned to Dane Murphy as its new Chief Executive Officer. Murphy comes with a fine CV, and by the age of 39 has played pro, been a scout, a technical director and a football club CEO.
Please click for moreA Friday night rumour to sleep on.
The 25-year old Lewisham born Stockport County striker has scored 36 goals in 121 games for the promotion rivals and Hatters’ fans reckon we are making moves to sign him.
Please click for moreNathan Jones and his squad will return to Slovenia this summer as I opined yesterday.
Nathan Jones has been taking his teams to Slovenia since 2017 and the squad will stay at the same training camp in Kranjska Gora, which is in the northwestern part of the country nestled between mountains and glacial lakes.
Please click for moreOne can find transfer rumours all over the internet. It only takes a keyboard, a social media account and an empty life but I don’t expect many Charlton transfer rumours to make it out in the open this summer.
Even known sleuth Rich Cawley might find it hard to prise information out of the club, and Nathan Jones is notoriously guarded.
Please click for moreThe new shirt is a grower, and importantly the right shade of red. I like the detail, although I think most Addicks will point to the black sleeve cuff but we’ve long toyed with black and it does appears on the badge.
Really not a lot you can do with the home shirt apart from making it appealing, which Reebok have and, shocker, it is already in the club shop for sale.
Please click for moreSky Sports are reporting, so a reliable source, that Leyton Orient have turned down a bid from Charlton of £1.3 million for Ethan Gailbraith.
Gailbraith impressed for the O’s in the last two season’s playing 96 times, scoring 11 goals, with 10 assists.
Please click for moreChicago Addick becomes 21 today, which means it can drink legally in all 50 U.S. states. Cheers 🍺.
21 years ago today I penned my first post from my Chicago apartment after returning from the pub where Zinedine Zidane had just scored twice in injury time to beat England in their opening Euro 2004 Group match.
That was not the last time this Blog wrote of snatching defeat away from victory!
Please click for moreMy first thoughts this morning? Why an earth have we made Danny Murphy CEO?
After a long search the club has turned to Dane Murphy as its new Chief Executive Officer. Murphy comes with a fine CV, and by the age of 39 has played pro, been a scout, a technical director and a football club CEO.
Please click for moreThe steadfast Rich Cawley has linked us with Brighton defender Odel Offiah. The 22-year old of rugby legend Martin, comes with quite the reputation.
Offiah played 44 games last season whilst on loan at Blackpool.
Please click for more
