Results tagged “charlton”

CHARLTON boss Alan Pardew has revealed he has placed his trust in the Chinese FA over Zheng Zhi’s fitness.

The Addicks midfielder was reported to be set to miss the Olympics after damaging his back.

However, this week he was declared fit for the tournament with Zhi, who is with the national team in China as one of the team's 'over-age' players, brushing it off as an old injury.

While Pardew may be worried that Zhi playing could risk increasing the injury, the Charlton manager said he trusted the Chinese FA to do what was best for the 27-year-old midfielder.

LUKE Varney’s classy first-half finish proved the difference in a rain-drenched match at Welling United last night.

But although the match was billed as the Charlton first team, manager Alan Pardew’s team selection gave little insight as into his preferred line-up for this year.

ALAN Pardew's side hope pre-season matches will help them get in shape, but if Greenwich University's research is anything to go by they are already on the right track.

Charlton travel to Welling United for the first XI's opening game on Wednesday and fans will have the chance to check on their fitness levels.

Recently the squad headed to Greenwich University's Medway campus for a check-up after their two-month summer break. And performance manager Niall Clark said he was delighted the Championship side had stayed in shape.

MARCUS Bent has admitted he wants a move back to the Premier League following his return to Charlton.

The forward spent last season on loan at Premiership side Wigan Athletic, after the Addicks’ relegation from the top flight in 2007.

Bent was expected to leave Charlton for the northerners on a permanent deal in the closed season, but the move never materialised and he is now heading back to The Valley for pre-season training.

CHARLTON's new kits for next season will be emblazoned with youth fashion label Cabrini Sportswear.

The club announced the new sponsor, part of JD Sports clothing range, as it unveiled its new home and away kits.

Charlton chairman Derek Chappell said: "These are difficult times for clubs seeking sponsorship deals, given the current financial climate, but we are thrilled that JD Sports see the value of being associated with Charlton and all that the club represents."

The sponsorship deal will be for one year and the financial terms depend on the football team's results this year.

The kit, manufactured by Joma, was modelled outside The Valley by Scott Wagstaff and new signing Mark Hudson.

This month sees the 10-year anniversary of what turned out to be the most important match in Charlton’s recent history.

A 4-4 epic against Sunderland in the play-off final is considered one of Wembley’s greatest.

However, one of the stars of that day, goalkeeper Sasa Ilic, who saved Michael Gray’s penalty to send Charlton up, admits he had no idea just how important it was for the club.

He said: “At the time it was no big deal. I didn’t see the importance of it. To me it was just another game."

A SUMMER of wheeling and dealing by Charlton boss Alan Pardew means fans will see some new faces next season.

However, some players who could play a part in the next campaign are Charlton’s youth products, including a few who have already appeared for the first eleven.

Youth academy manager Steve Gritt gives the lowdown on five prospects who will be looking to claim a first team place in 2008/09.

Charlton Athletic 4 Coventry City 1

By Nick Martindale at The Valley

After a season that promised much but delivered little, Charlton fans at least had something to smile about last Saturday.

This long-overdue victory was of little practical value other than avoiding the ignominy of finishing in the bottom half, but it did represent the end of an era at The Valley.

STEVE Waggott has been announced as Charlton's new chief executive officer.

Currently head of the Charlton Community Trust, 53-year-old Waggott takes over the CEO position from Peter Varney when he leaves in around two months time.

Barnsley 3 Charlton Athletic 0

By Nick Martindale

The end of a disappointing season just cannot come quickly enough for Alan Pardew’s beleaguered side.

In truth, there was little to be gleaned from this latest reverse against Barnsley last Saturday (April 26) and such a result was perhaps to be expected after the disappointment of recent weeks, all the more so when coming up against a team that still had a chance of being relegated.

IF ALAN Pardew gives some youth players their chance in the last two games, he will hope they are as dedicated to the cause as previous rising stars.

Back in the dark days of exile from The Valley, a number of homegrown talents came through the ranks including Carl Leaburn, Scott Minto, Anthony Barness and Gordon Watson.

Another, Kim Grant, who now lives in the Czech Republic, believes it was the tireless work both on and off the pitch from the young stars which helped the club to where it is today.

By Nick Martindale

Long after all the evidence suggested otherwise, Alan Pardew continued to hope against hope that Charlton could somehow make a late charge into the play-offs.

Against QPR last Saturday (April 19), the Addicks boss resisted the temptation to blood youngsters while making the top six remained a mathematical possibility.

But that message didn’t seem to filter through to the players, who produced the kind of end-of-season performance that spoke volumes for their own belief – or lack of it.

Charlton Athletic supporters will get a second chance to receive a free Premier League season ticket.

Chairman Derek Chappell has announced the club has decided to repeat last year’s offer to provide a season’s top-flight football at no extra charge if the Addicks are promoted at the end of the 2008/09 campaign.

And Chappell promised that everyone at Charlton will be pulling out all the stops to make the free season ticket become a reality.

THE RELIEF on his face after getting his first Charlton goal at the weekend was plain to see – but Andy Gray admits he is still feeling the pressure.

After 13 games without a goal since signing from Burnley for £1.5million, Gray was delighted to head in the second-half equaliser against Southampton on Saturday.

However, with promotion a long shot, Gray says all the first team are fearing the chop in the summer after Pardew warned he was bringing players in.

By Nick Martindale

Five years ago, the then Charlton manager Alan Curbishley heralded Southampton as a role model for clubs looking to consolidate themselves as Premier League outfits.

They were, he said, the team his own club had to emulate. Three changes of manager and two years later, Southampton were relegated and have never recovered, missing out on both promotion and the play-offs in their next two seasons.

Nicky Weaver believes Charlton’s luck is about to change.

The Addicks have not enjoyed the best of fortunes recently, culminating in three defeats in a row.

But goalkeeper Weaver, who was beaten by a fluke goal against Ipswich on Saturday, says that’s all about to end, starting tomorrow (Friday) against West Bromwich Albion at The Valley.

WHEN Charlton were relegated last season it brought back painful memories for one Addicks legend.

In Brian Kinsey’s first season at The Valley in 1957 the club lost their top-flight status, but rather than jumping ship at the first offer of a pay cheque the devastated team were left praying to stay at the club.

He says some players’ attitudes to relegation these days is an insult to the fans and a sign that something is rotten in today’s game.

By Nick Martindale

If Charlton are to return to the Premier League next season it will be through the lottery of the play-offs after two defeats finally ended their distant hopes of automatic promotion.

Barring a cataclysmic collapse by the four sides above them – two of which have at least one game in hand on the Addicks – their season will come down to three all-or-nothing clashes at the end of a long and turbulent campaign.

That’s assuming they finish in the top six, of course, which is itself far from certain.

Somehow Charlton’s back-to-back defeats have seen them retain fifth place in the Championship, although the likes of Hull City, Plymouth and Burnley are now all no more than a point away.

The club are now six points behind second-place Watford and seemingly looking set for a play-off position.

But Ambrose believes that while making the top two positions is a tough ask, the Addicks’ dressing room feels anything is possible in an unpredictable league.

Charlton Athletic have one of the best - if not the best - former players associations in the country.

With a whole host of players from the past signed up you can see what the heroes of yesteryear are up to at the Charlton Athletic Former Players' Association website.

Recently relaunched, it includes up coming matches, quiz nights, golf trips and plenty more.

For an insightful fans view on Charlton from across the Atlantic click on www.newyorkaddick.blogspot.com

CHARLTON travel to Sheffield United on Saturday (March 1) and former player Graham Stuart believes the Addicks will have to be on top form to get a result.

A star for both sides during his playing career, Stuart says Charlton will not only have to beat the United team but also its vocal support, buoyed by the return of former assistant manager Kevin Blackwell.

“They’ve appointed Kevin who’s a good manager,” said Stuart. “The fans like him and he’ll have the players up for it."

CHARLTON may have been disappointed to settle for a draw against Watford, but one player was delighted just to be playing.

Loan signing Lee Cook has had a frustrating time since joining Fulham last summer and is yet to play a match for the Premier League side because of injury.

But on Saturday, the left winger made his second substitute appearance in a week for the Addicks and is hoping to put his injury torment behind him.

NEW signing Andy Gray was delighted to get his first win in a Charlton shirt in Tuesday night's game against Stoke City.
The former Burnley man said he has been itching to start for the club since joining last week and believes the better team won in a hard-fought match.
"It's a massive, massive win considering that the team we were playing against are above us, and to keep a clean sheet and grind out a 1-0 win was fantastic," said Gray.

THEY may not be able to communicate much off the pitch, but Zheng Zhi believes he and Matt Holland have developed a great understanding in the Charlton midfield.
It has been a tough time for the club in recent weeks but it's argued that the duo have been a consistent force, and last week Holland said Zheng is one of the best he has played with.
Now Zheng, who is having weekly English lessons and spoke to The Wharf through an interpreter, has repaid the compliment.

CHARLTON'S FA Cup replay against West Bromwich Albion may have ended in heartache but it could yet turn out to be one of the most significant results of the season.
Despite a stirring fightback from two goals down - courtesy of Darren Ambrose and substitute Chris Dickson - the Addicks tumbled out of the oldest cup competition in the world on a penalty shoot-out late on Tuesday (January 15).
But, for all the romance of the cup, there is no doubt that Alan Pardew would gladly swap a decent cup run for a place among the country's elite next season and, by avoiding fixture congestion, player fatigue and possible injuries, going out of the tournament may be a blessing in disguise.

MATT Holland loves playing alongside Zheng Zhi, but he believes not all is as it seems with the Chinese international.
Zheng, 27, scored twice in Charlton's 4-1 win over Blackpool at the weekend, taking his tally for the season to 10.
But Holland believes shy Zizi, who is having English lessons and is helped by a translator, has learnt more of the language than he lets on.

THE TRANSFER window is open but Alan Pardew may not have to look outside the club for new talent.
As well as Kelly Youga's inspired debut against West Brom on Saturday (January 5), Chris Dickson came off the bench to give the Addicks faithful a glimpse of the man who has just scored seven goals on loan at Gillingham.
Now the 23-year-old, who signed from Dulwich Hamlet last March, is looking to become a success in SE7 as well as Medway.

CHARLTON boss Alan Pardew admitted his side simply isn't good enough to win promotion after the Addicks suffered a Christmas to forget and a new year hangover from hell.
After three largely forgettable 1-1 draws over the festive period, The Valley outfit started 2008 in the worst possible way with a home defeat against the league's bottom side which dealt a heavy blow to their lingering hopes of automatic promotion.
The 2-1 loss to Colchester United - courtesy of old boy Kevin Lisbie's double against his former employer - means the Addicks now find themselves seven points behind the Championship's top three, having taken just three points from their last five games.

A YEAR ago Alan Pardew took over a club in turmoil.
Taking on the manager's job at Charlton on Christmas Eve, his side were rooted to the bottom of the division and facing relegation.
After racking up 18 points from Christmas to April the chances of staying up looked good, before a disappointing four points from their last seven matches condemned them to the Championship.

WHILE most of the country winds down for Christmas, Charlton's players are about to enter a period that will determine if they enjoy a winter wonderland or a very bleak mid-winter indeed.
With four games in 11 days - starting against Hull City at The Valley on Saturday (December 22) - the festive period is arguably the most critical time of the season for Alan Pardew and his side.
The immediate build-up to Christmas has been far from ideal. The 4-2 away defeat last Saturday (December 15) against West Bromwich Albion cost the Addicks three vital points and saw them slump to fifth place in the table.

WHEN Steve Gritt was playing many young fans had posters of him on their wall, and now it's come full circle.
With 435 appearances to his name for the Addicks, spanning three decades, he was one of the most popular players at the club he later went on to manage.
Now, as academy manager, it's the posters of youth team products Grant Basey and Harry Arter that adorn Gritt's wall, which show the pride he has in his young stars.

DARREN Ambrose was the goalscoring hero against his old club, but it was only an eagle-eyed linesman that saved him an ear-bashing from his manager.
The two-goal man was ready to step up for his hat-trick after a penalty was awarded for handball in the second half of Saturday's (December 8) 3-1 win against Ipswich, before the linesman persuaded the referee it had come off the defender's chest.
While that meant he missed his chance for a third goal from the spot, it saved him the wrath of Alan Pardew, who after the game said he would have given Ambrose a piece of his mind as only Andy Reid is allowed to take penalties.