Jordan Cousins

Jan 16

Made in Charlton

It was great to see Ademola Lookman score for Everton yesterday. I was thrilled for the lovely young man. Every Addick can be rightly proud that he was ‘Made in Charlton’. It was equally as good to see Joe Gomez return from his long term injury for Liverpool last week in the FA Cup, and he too was on the bench yesterday at Old Trafford. It can be impossible to keep these players from moving to the next level, particularly when Charlton appears to be low on ambition, and the reality is that we have become a middling League One club.

I think under Robinson, if he is allowed a longer term to influence young prospects, we may see academy players stay to play closer to a century of games. Of course we know Katrien Meire’s view on moving our best young players on, and for Roland Duchatelet, it is just a way to make money for his network project.

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Jul 14

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136 games and in every single one, from those early days in 2012 as a back-up right back and then in his first full season in The Championship under Powell and then Riga, right up until half a game at Welling on Saturday, Jordan Cousins never shirked a tackle, always ran his socks off and wore the red shirt as if every game was a cup final.
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Jul 8

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New kit w*nker

I don’t actually mind the new kit. Traditional, low on frills, the proper colour red. The new sponsor is a bit of a talking point. Yes, a load of clubs have gambling companies sponsoring them but its not very community centric Charlton is it? That’s my only gripe, that it is just another layer of what Charlton has always been all about that the owners have peeled off and thrown away. Our history, our culture. Discarded like a Belgium chocolate wrapper.

I like the kit, it’s obviously straight out of the Nike catalogue, but I won’t be buying it as I bought one of these instead. Over 800 protest shirts the organisers have sold, and hats off to them. Terrific effort.
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May 2

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1,025 votes for Cousins enough

There had been a fair bit of ill feeling towards hosting a Player of the Year award this season, for obvious reasons, but it is important to remember that this is a fan-organized event outside of the club’s grubby hands. In fact Katrien Meire attempted to have the evening taken in house but that was rebuffed by the joint organizers Jean Heulin and Ian Wallis, who work tirelessly to put the event on.

This has always been a fan’s ‘do’ and began in 1971 and has continued through other relegation’s and the period away from The Valley.
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Jul 31

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Cousins signs up

Great news this morning as Jordan Cousins joined JBG in signing a new 4-year contract. Early in the summer most Addicks’ feared that we would lose Cousins, Gudmundsson, Gomez and Vetokele but as we approach the last week of pre-season only Joe Gomez was sold, and already he has shown Liverpool just how much he is capable of, underlining how hard it would have been for Charlton to have kept him.

It is vital that we continue to have a backbone of players that know the club and all it stands for, and in Cousins we have a future captain who could go on to make 200 appearance for the club. A number that Johnnie Jackson is two short of, and we have to go back to Matt Holland to witness the last player to acheive this not unrealistic feat.
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Jul 22

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Best signing of the summer

By far. This morning Johann Berg Gudmundsson put pen to paper on a new four year contract, which sends fans many positive messages after a summer so far of frustration and concern.

From the club’s point of view it shows ambition and no doubt securing the Icelandic on this improved deal did not come cheap. It also means, rightly, that they should get good money for him when it is time to sell.

From Gudmundsson: “We want to build a squad for the future and I am one part of that,” he said. “It is really nice for all of the squad to know that players are sticking around and that we are getting some new signings as well. We know that the football club are serious about what they want to do.”
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May 13

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Dervite to leave

Dorian Dervite, one of the stand-outs of Jose Riga’s reign looks set to sign for Bolton.

The Frenchman has said previously that he would like to stay on a long term deal, but I have heard nothing of an offer from the club. There was a ‘Dervite to Bolton’ rumour a month or so back, and knowing what Sordell was earning, it is clear that Bolton have a much higher wage bar, this despite the club’s huge debt.

One would think that Riga would like to keep Dervite, but we still know nothing on Duchatelet’s plans for the head coach. However this interview with a Belgium journal makes it pretty obvious that Riga wants to stay and that he has made his wishes clear to Duchatelet.
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Mar 25

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Nottingham Forest 0 Charlton Athletic 1

“In our situation we have to take our chances when we get them and at last we scored.”

Huge, absolutely huge win tonight at a ground we have only won once at in 38 years. Sure, it was a great time to play them, but Charlton are not famous for taking these sort of opportunities.

It was a nerve-wracking night, and it won’t be our last, as Barnsley and Yeovil led for long periods and Birmingham comfortably bettered Millwall for the majority of the game at The Den. Barnsley saw out their win at Play-Off chasing Reading but Yeovil again threw away 3 points after Kasper Schmeichel followed in his Dad’s footsteps and scored a last gasp equaliser for Leicester. Millwall went bottom after losing at home to The Blues.
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Oct 4

Great news about Cousins

They say good news comes in threes and on the back of the performance at home to Forest on Tuesday, today the club announced that Jordan Cousins has signed a new 3-year contract.

I wrote after Tuesday’s game that I’d really like to see Powell build a team around Cousins but expressed concern that I wasn’t sure how long we could keep him. Of course a new contract doesn’t change that but it shows willingness by both parties to add a lot more appearances to Cousins list before he no doubt moves on to greater things.
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Aug 17

Barnsley 2 Charlton Athletic 2

On the board tonight with a point up at Oakwell, and a base to build from.

The first hour is probably best left to the history books, although those committing hari-kari all over Twitter and elsewhere online this evening need to take a close look at themselves. I have always believed, especially in the modern game that players don’t bother themselves with what happens behind the scenes at clubs, until the pay slip doesn’t hit the current account, or until it individually impacts them.

They are professionals, young men, living a dream closeted together on a training ground, in a dressing room, or on a coach. As long as Chris Powell and his team can continue to separate whatever is happening in the dark corridors of egos and owners, then I think we will see plenty more of what we saw in the last 30 minutes of the game today. A fightback and a response that has been a hallmark of a Chris Powell Charlton team.
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