2018/19 Prediction League; Game 3 v Charlton Athletic (home)

Div3North · 12-08-2018, 23:01

Accrington Stanley

V

Charlton Athletic

2018/19 Prediction League; Game 3 v Charlton Athletic (home)

And Lo, it Came to Pass that the Voodoo Gods of Football (not including Chimer, as far as I know) decreed that we should continue our unending winning run against BrizzleRov, and thereby gain three points and a top-half (twelfth) place in League One, and that Luton, Coventry and Wycombe should not, therefore having but one point each (mwahahahaha), and occupying 18th, 19th and 20th places in the Table .......... and that Our Mate mab should change his Prediction for the first time ever from 2-1 to 1-0, and thus should cop out on a five-pointer! Oh Foolish Virgin!

And Further Lo, It also Came to Pass that Sean McGoalscorer wrote his name in the Pages of Stanley History with Two Goals, notwithstanding that the first got a deflection, and that if she’s been standing in the correct place (unlike the Brizzle Keeper) My Granny could have saved the second, well-placed though it was. Anyway, award that man the Freedom of South East London (with Oak Cluster, and free McDonald’s on the way home!)

Charlton Athletic (aka The Addicks, The Red Robins (what other colour robins are there?) or The Red Army) was apparently formed in 1905 by a group of local teenagers from East Street in Charlton; initially they played in Youth Leagues, but in 1913 they joined the big boys; in 1919/20 they entered the Kent League for one season, then turned professional, played one further season in the Southern League, and were elected to the Football League (Division Three South) in time for season 1921/22 .................. Of the 22 sides in Div3South that season, interestingly, 20 are still League teams, including Watford, QPR, Brighton, Luton, Pompey and Plymouth; the two who aren’t were Merthyr Town (Oggy Oggy Oggy) and Aberdare Athletic (Oy Oy Oy)................ Charlton won their first League game 1-0 against Exeter, and finished that season in 16th place, with 37 points (two for a win, don’t forget) from 42 games and a GD of -13; among other scores, they got smacked 6-0 at champions Southampton and lost 4-5 at home to Swindon ............. the following year they were 12th with 42/42, but made the FA Cup Quarter Finals after wins against Man City, the Baggies and PNE (Nelson won Div3North!); the year after they were 14th (37/42 again), when Nelson did the Greasy Pole of Oblivion back to D3N; they eventually won Div 3 (South) in 1929

So why “The Addicks”? Well, rumour has it that it’s a corruption of “Athletic” (which is tosh, I think), but the more romantic version is that it goes back to a local chippie in 1908; it seems that a local fishmonger (Arthur Bryan) helped to finance the cost of Charlton moving to play at The Valley, that the team and their opponents used to have a fish supper after the game, and that if Charlton lost they got cod and chips, but if they won it was haddock ................ so “Addicks”, it’s claimed, was a (cockney) bastardisation of “haddock” ............. I suspect that’s also bo**ocks, but it’s great fun bo**ocks, so I’m going with it!

And – lest I forget – this week’s starter for ten; Charlton lost the 1946 Cup Final to Derby, but won the FA Cup a year later; forty years on they contested the Full Members Cup Final at Wembley (they lost!); who did they play in those two finals?

They most recently slid down the GPofO to League One at the end of 2015/16 in 22nd on 40 points, with a GD of -40 (yes, seriously (GF40 GA80) – joint worst with Bolton). That slide may not have been a great surprise, given that in the four years from May 2014 to date they’ve had eleven managers (including caretakers and joint managers – current incumbent being Lee Bowyer); owner Roland Duchatelet probably isn’t the most popular man in Charlton (think “Oyston”, really) ................. famous ex-managers include Bob Stokoe, Alan Mullery, Alan Curbishley, Iain Dowie, Alan Pardew, Phil Parkinson, Russell Slade and Karl Robinson .............. well known former players include the very famous GK Sam Bartram, Keith Peacock, Derek Hales, Chris Powell, Jonjo Shelvey, Eddie Firmani and Johnny Summers .............. which leads to this week’s second starter for ten; on 21st December 1957 Johnny Summers played for Charlton against Huddersfield; at half time he changed his boots – with what consequence?

Last season they finished 6th, with 71 points, 20 wins and just 58 League goals (51 conceded). They played Shrewsbury in the Play-off semis, and lost both games 1-0 ........... They released, in one way or another, 11 players over the summer, including RW Regan Charles-Cook and CF Brandon Hanlon to Gillingham, Josh Magennis to Bolton, CB Harry Lennon to Southend, MF Ahmed Kashi to Troyes, Ezri Konsa to Brentford, Johnnie Jackson to retirement, and CM Matt Carter to Hashtag Utd (Eastern Counties League Division One South); they ProperSigned striker Lyle Taylor from the Wombles and CM Darren Pratley from the Trotters, and loan-signed Villa GK Jed Steer; talisman play-maker MF Jake Forster-Caskey is out for the season with a serious knee injury ............ They’ve started with a 2-1 loss at the Black Cats (96th-minute winner) – where it seems they only named 5 subs - and a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury (6 subs and a 91st-minute winner) ...............memo to Coley – we need to play to the very last minute and beyond ................... P2 W1 L1 GF3 GA3 Pts3 for 11th place (above us on GD) ..........they’re away at MK WimbledonDons on Tuesday in the EFL Cup, and have the ProperWombles, Stevenage and Swansea u5s in the EFLTroffy; 3 draws and 4 wins in seven pre-season matches, the wins including Crawley 2-0 away and Norwich 1-0 at home

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 18th August. I can’t find any record to suggest that we’ve ever played the Haddocks before in League or Cup, unless someone knows better? If that’s right, then it’s Bragging Rights Time too .............. Early doors; Morecambe in further do-do (P2 L2 GF0 GD-8); current bottom four in League One are Oxfud (P2 L2, haven’t scored and conceded 6); Burton; Shrewsbury and Brizzle R ................ all on nul points ............and you ask, in a competitive Division, which of the slow-starters have the quality to catch up? Five teams on 6 points with two wins (Barnsley, Donnie, Posh, Gillingham and Pompey); four other teams unbeaten (4 points – the Iron, the Saddlers, the Black Cats and the Wombles); 5 teams (including us) with 1 win and 1 loss; 6 sides with one draw and one loss; four teams, as above, with two defeats out of two ................ Wycombe and Oxford haven’t scored yet; Barnsley and Wimbledon haven’t conceded yet; no-one’s sacked their manager ................ yet ........... but there’ll be a few who are sweating.

And – in case you think I’ve forgotten – I haven’t; Charlton won the 1947 Cup Final 1-0 against Burnley; they lost the Full-Members in 1987 to Blackburn; and Johnny Summers’ Charlton were 5-1 down to Huddersfield in December 57 with 30 mins to play; courtesy of 5 goals from Summers, including a six-minute hat-trick, the Addicks ran out 7-6 winners; I read all about it in my Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly; did anyone else buy that when they were little? Better than the Dandy!

Good luck to everyone! ............ Keep the Faith! .........And thanks for playing!