Charlton Athletic F.C.
| Charlton Athletic crest | |||
| Full name | Charlton Athletic Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Addicks | ||
| Founded | 1905 | ||
| Ground | The Valley Charlton | ||
| Capacity | 27,111 | ||
| Chairman |  Richard Murray | ||
| Manager |  Iain Dowie | ||
| League | FA Premier League | ||
| 2005-06 | Premier League, 13th | ||
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Charlton Athletic Football Club are a football club from southeast London. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays at The Valley in Charlton.
History
Formation and Foundation (1905 - 1921)
Charlton were formed in June 1905 — as a boys club in an area of Charlton which is no longer residential — near where the London Flood Barrier is now. During their formative years playing at the Valley there was a lack of facilities at the ground. They often used to use a local fishmonger/fish and chip shop as a place to get changed for games. This is where Charlton's famous nickname is derived from: "addick" as a corruption of haddock, the main ware of this particular shop. Others claim the fishmonger nailed a haddock to a board and made a noise during games by slapping the two together; this seems somewhat far-fetched. Other alternative origins of the name include that they were 'football addicts' — an interpretation that because of negative connotations of the word 'addict' is no longer favoured — but also that 'addick' is a vernacular corruption of 'athletic', in the same way Wigan Athletic are known as the 'Latics'. None of these interpretations, however, is universally accepted.
Rising through the league (1921 - 1936)
After success as a boys, amateur and semi-professional side, Charlton were elected to the Football League in 1921. They gained promotion to the First Division in 1936.
Life at the top (1936 - 1957)
In 1937 Charlton finished runners up in the First Division, in 1938 finished fourth and 1939 finished third. They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before WW2. This continued during the war years and they won the "war" cup and appeared in finals. They remained in the First Division, being finalists in the 1946 FA Cup and winning the FA Cup in 1947. In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only eleven English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season. The Valley was the largest football ground in the League, drawing crowds in excess of 70,000. In 1957, the then board undermined Jimmy Seed (manager since 1932), and Charlton were relegated.
In the doldrums (1957 - 1986)
From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained a mainstay of the Second Division. Relegation to the Third Division in 1972 caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the second division did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances.
In 1979/80 Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division winning immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980/81. Even though it did not feel like it; this was a turning point in the clubs history leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and shortly after a change in club ownership led to severe problems and the club looked like it would go out of business.
In 1984 financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd. But the club's finances were still far from secure, and they were forced to leave the Valley just after the start of the 1985-86 season after its safety was criticised by Football League officials. The club began to groundshare with Crystal Palace F.C. at Selhurst Park and this arrangement looked to be for the long-term, as Charlton did not have enough funds to revamp the Valley to meet safety requirements.
Back at the top (1986 - 1991)
Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985-86, and remained at this level for four years before going down again in 1990. Manager Lennie Lawrence moved to Middlesborough the following year and was replaced by 34-year-old Alan Curbishley.
The arrival of Curbishley and the return to the Valley (1991 - 1992)
Alan Curbishley's first season as Charlton manager was complicated by the expiry of their groundshare deal with Crystal Palace - it could not be renewed because Wimbledon were now tenants at Selhurst Park. So the club began a groundshare at West Ham United's Boleyn Ground, although this would not be a long-term arrangement because the funds had finally been secured for the Valley to be rebuilt and work was underway by the turn of 1992.
In December 1992, Charlton returned to a new and improved Valley after seven years away.
Waiting for the promised land (1992 - 1998)
1992-93 began promisingly and Charlton looked good bets for promotion, but the sale of midfielder Rob Lee to Newcastle United counted against their chances and in the end they were unable to achieve even a playoff place. A year later they reached the quarter finals of the F.A Cup but missed the playoffs again. They finally made an appearance in the playoffs in 1996 but were eliminated by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals and the following season brought a disappointing 15th place finish.
1997-98 was Charlton's best season for years. They reached the Division One playoff final and battled against Sunderland in a thrilling game with ended with a 4-4 draw after extra time. Charlton won on penalties and were promoted to the Premiership.
Down... and up again (1998 - 2000)
Charlton's first Premiership campaign began promisingly but they were unable to keep up their good form and were soon battling relegation. The battle was lost on the final day of the season but the club's board kept faith in Curbishley, confident that they could bounce back. And Curbishley rewarded the chairman's loyalty with the Division One title in 2000 which signalled a return to the Premiership.
Life in the Premiership (Since 2000)
Consolidation
Charlton's return to the Premiership saw a very good ninth place finish which saw them leapfrog more established teams. 2001-02 brought more promising form but an injury crisis and failure to win any of their final 10 Premiership games dragged the club down to 14th place. Charlton lost six of their first nine games in 2002-03 and Curbishley feared that his 12th season at the helm could be the last. But the team soon got their act together and come February looked outside bets for a UEFA Cup place, only for an end-of-season slump to drag them down to 12th place.
Seventh place
2003-04 was Charlton's best league season for some 50 years. They spent much of the campaign challenging for a Champions League place but another late-season slump cost them a place in Europe once more. However, seventh place in the final table was their highest league finish since the 1950s.
Curbishley era draws to a close
2004-05 brought a similar pattern - a good first half of the season let down by a slump during the final weeks. This time Charlton finished 11th. In the 2005-06 Premiership campaign Charlton started outstandingly but a mid-season slump and a disappointing finish left them 13th. On April 29, 2006, at the final home game of the season (against Blackburn Rovers) Curbishley announced his resignation and the search for a new manager - and a new impetus for the Addicks - began.
In his 15 years at the helm, Alan Curbishley transformed Charlton's fortunes on and off the field. His achievements saw his name linked with the England manager's job, following Sven-Göran Eriksson's resignation. He had been in charge for 729 games, one short of Jimmy Seed's record.
Charlton remains a club with a reputation for spending its money sensibly, but the latter years of Curbishley's reign saw the club find it hard to maintain its momentum. In January 2004 Scott Parker was sold to Chelsea in controversial circumstances for around £10 million. That summer saw Danny Murphy arrive from Liverpool only to leave again for Tottenham Hotspur in January 2006 after a disagreement with Curbishley.
But there were signs of a brighter future. The most notable signing of the summer of 2005 was Darren Bent from Ipswich Town who went on to become the Premiership's highest scoring English player with 18 goals, and 22 in all competitions.
Dowie takes over
On Tuesday May 30, 2006 Charlton Athletic appointed Iain Dowie to replace Alan Curbishley as club manager. Dowie left Championship team Crystal Palace after they failed to get promoted to the English Premiership following their loss to Watford in the playoffs.
Les Reed and Andrew Mills also joined the club as senior coach and general manager (football) respectively. Other candidates speculated to be on Charlton's shortlist to replace Alan Curbishley were former Preston manager Billy Davies, Peter Taylor of Hull City, Colchester United boss Phil Parkinson, Sammy Lee of Bolton Wanderers and former Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy.
Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan took issue with Dowie's appointment, spectacularly sending someone on his behalf to interrupt Dowie's introduction as manager at the Valley, issuing a writ against Dowie. Jordan claimed he waived the £1million release clause in Dowie's contract because the Ulsterman wanted to move back to the North of England where his family resides. Jordan also said Dowie agreed not to join another London club, and specifically agreed not to join Charlton Atheltic. Jordan felt Dowie had made "fraudulent statements about his reasons for leaving the club". Charlton Athletic chairman Richard Murray dismissed Jordan's antics as sour grapes and said the club plans to fight Jordan's allegations against their new employee.
Amongst Dowie's first notable activities at his new club, he pulled off perhaps a minor coup by beating bigger clubs, such as Celtic and Newcastle, in the race to sign veteran striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on a Bosman free transfer. Chairman Murray also made it known that the Premiership 2005/06 season's top English goalscorer, Darren Bent, will be going nowhere, and that the centre forward will improve his game further more with the chance of learning from the experienced Hasselbaink.
He also swooped to bring some of his old staff from Palace, in Fitness Coach John Harbin, and Goalkeeping Coach Mike Kelly. The two had been replaced by new Palace boss Peter Taylor, and were left to find a new club, leading Dowie to pick them up.
Other Notable Facts
Charlton became the first Premiership club to establish a formal youth academy in the United States; the club opened an academy in Tucson, Arizona in May 2005, and will eventually expand the academy throughout Arizona. Charlton already operates youth academies in Spain and South Africa, as well as in its London home.
Charlton is the only football club to operate a City Learning Centre (CLC) which opened in October 2005. This CLC is an extension of the successful study support centre which has provided support for local youngsters from 2001. The CLC is open to all members of the local community from pre-school to the young at heart and provides a wide range of ICT(IT) based learning experiences.
Since their return to The Valley in 1992, the ground itself has undergone some pretty remarkable changes. Tiers have been added to the West and North Stands (The North Stand affectionately known as 'The Covered End' by fans) which have taken the total capacity of the stadium to over 26,000. And the club hasn't stopped there with their future aspirations for the ground. In plans revealed in 2004, Charlton Athletic hope to expand The Valley to a total of 40,600. This includes adding another tier onto the East Stand, and completely rebuilding the South (Jimmy Seed) Stand into a new, 3-tier structure.
In the middle of the 2005-06 season, the club's shirt sponsor, all:sports, went into administration. This meant that Charlton had to find a shirt sponsor and change their shirt design mid-season. Eventually Llanera , a Spanish property company, agreed to become their new sponsor. This is the first time a top-level club has had to change its shirt sponsor mid-season.
Charlton also have links to many clubs which include Valencia, MyPa and New Zealand Knights FC.
Squad
Current Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Transfers In
Cory Gibbs - Feyenoord
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - Middlesbrough - Free transfer- Simon Walton - Leeds United - £500,000 (could rise to £1 million)
Mark Staunton - Celtic
Out on loan
| 27 | GK | ENG
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Robert Elliot (on loan at Accrington Stanley) |
Notable former Charlton players
- Ralph Allen - holds record for most goals in a season
- John Barnes - played for Charlton during their first Premiership season
- Shaun Bartlett
- Sam Bartram - kept goal for Charlton in their only F.A Cup final victory
- Jamal Campbell-Ryce
- Ray Crawford
- Alan Curbishley - became player-manager in July 1991 and remained as manager for 15 years
- Paolo Di Canio - joined Charlton from West Ham in the summer of 2003
- Peter Croker
- Ted Croker
- Paul Curtis
- Mark Fish
- Eddie Firmani
- Mike Flanagan
- Jimmy Giles
- Derek Hales
- Cliff Holton
- Andy Hunt
- Francis Jeffers
- Claus Jensen
- Jonatan Johansson
- Dean Kiely
- Paul Konchesky
- Carl Leaburn
- Stuart Leary
- Rob Lee - played for Charlton during the late 1980s and early 1990s before joining Newcastle
- Clive Mendonca - played for Charlton in the 1998 Division One playoff final and was a Division One champion in 2000
- Danny Murphy
- Shaun Newton
- Scott Parker - played for Charlton in the early part of 2000s before joining Chelsea for £10million
- Chris Perry
- Chris Powell - an England international while at The Valley
- Colin Powell
- John Robinson
- Richard Rufus - played for Charlton during the 1990s and early to mid 2000s and scored his first goal for the club in the 1998 playoff final
- Ron Saunders
- John Salako
- Allan Simonsen
- Graham Stuart
- Johnny Summers
- Derek Ufton
- Colin Walsh
- David Whyte
Disappointing players for Charlton
- Francis Jeffers
- Steve Jones
- Danny Murphy
- Neil Redfearn
- Andy Petterson
Team Managers
- Walter Rayner (1920-1925)
- Alex Macfarlane (1925-1928)
- Albert Lindon (1928)
- Alex Macfarlane (1928-1932)
- Albert Lindon (1932-1933)
- Jimmy Seed (1933-1956)
- David Clark (Caretaker) (1956)
- Jimmy Trotter (1956-1961)
- David Clark (Caretaker) (1961)
- Frank Hill (1961-1965)
- Bob Stokoe (1965-1967)
- Eddie Firmani (1967-1970)
- Theo Foley (1970-1974)
- Les Gore (Caretaker) (1974)
- Andy Nelson (1974-1980)
- Mike Bailey (1980-1981)
- Alan Mullery (1981-1982)
- Ken Craggs (1982)
- Lennie Lawrence (1982-1991)
- Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt (Joint) (1991-1995)
- Alan Curbishley (1995 - 2006)
- Iain Dowie (2006 - )
Charlton fans
Charlton are rare among football clubs, in that they reserve a seat on their director's board for a supporter. Any season ticket holder can put themselves forward for election, with a certain number of nominations, and votes are cast by all season ticket holders over the age of 18. The current director is Ben Hayes.
Charlton's fans are known as The Addicks. Among the theories on the etymology of the name are that 1), it comes from the fact that Charlton in their early days at the Valley were part sponsored by a fishmonger and he offered an "'addock dinner" after the game to players and opposition. According to A.V Carter the said fishmonger advertised his wares by having a fish on a stick, walking up and down the touch line; or, 2) it is a southeast London form of Addict (which seems unlikely).
The club band plays at the back of the J Block.
The team's home kit is red, and they always come on to the pitch at The Valley to the tune of "When the Red, Red Robin Goes Bob-, bob- bobbin' along" this is a popular Billy Cotton song from the 1930's.
The fans' favourite chant is entitled "Valley, Floyd Road" (Floyd Road being the street on which the stadium is situated) and is sung to the tune of Sir Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre".
Lyrics: [ Many miles have I travelled, Many games have I seen, Following Charlton my favourite team. Many hours have I spent in the covered end choir, Singing Valley, Floyd Road, My only desire.
Valley, Floyd Road, The mist rolling in from the Thames, My desire, Is always to be found at Valley, Floyd Road.
Famous Fans
- Jim Davidson - comedian
- Gary Bushell - columnist
- Steve Ryder - BBC Sport Presenter
Trivia
- Came back from 5-1 down to beat Huddersfield Town F.C. 7-6 in 1957.
- Had two players sent off for fighting each other (Mike Flanagan and Derek Hales in 1979).
External links
- Charlton Athletic F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- The club's official website
- Charlton Fans Forum
- Very Sexy Charlton Fans Forum
- Very Suxy Charlton Fans Forum :p
- Charlton Athletic Independent Supporters' Trust
- Addicksonline - Un-official Charlton Athletic website
- Charlton Athletic - Premierleague.com
