Hibernation

Just blowing the dust off the old blog while the Inspector is blowing the froth off a cold one in foreign climes.

Anyone else suffering football withdrawal? Fixtures ain't out until 16th June and new season isn't until 9th August. Sodding Euro 2008.

Football hibernation seemed to come early to Charlton this season and despite the Champion's league and play-off finals I feel like I've been without football for ages.

Still, rounding up the news we've got a new centre-half to shore up the defence and lots of young lads blooded around the country are back and raring to be involved.

Even Captain Cleanshorts has offered some stirring words on the official site. He's obviously taken one look at Dean Windass hauling his old bones around Wembley and decided he too fancies a last hurrah in the Premiership. Frankly whatever it takes to get us out of this stinking purgatory.

Now, can I possibly make the online season ticket renewal thing work. Any tips?

Ups and downs

And for the avoidance of doubt, yes, Fulham's survival is still f***ing pissing me off.

But more seriously, Danny Murphy's header deprived us of what would probably be a beatable London rival in the Championship. It's hard to see Mohamed al-Fayed propping up a second-tier Fulham, and their win at Portsmouth may well have saved the club. For now.

So alongside Derby, we'll have the trickier prospects of Birmingham and Reading. The Blues will be a strong side for years to come, whatever David Gold does with the club after being abused by fans who seem to have forgotten their long years in the wilderness. As for Reading - John Madjeski's talked about pulling out in the past, but I can't see him turning his back on the side he took to the top flight. As we proved this season, past Premier League form is no guarantee of Championship success, but the second tier will have three new clubs with strong foundations - and bountiful parachute payments.

Speaking of which, I'm hoping Watford prevail in the play-offs for that reason - that's one less richer side in the league - but it doesn't look like happening, does it? Hopefully Bristol City will prevail again over Palace - but the thought of Hull in the Premier League still feels completely batty. Mind you, so did the thought of Wigan, and Reading...

Not convinced our lot would have survived play-off scrutiny - I reckon we're better off out of it this summer. Next season...

That's why we're Charlton

Not a dry eye in the house on Sunday. Funny, before Chris Powell netted his last goal for Charlton, we were musing on what would happen if we were granted a penalty - seconds later, that question was an academic one.

Chris Powell's cameo was a nice touch from an unsentimental manager - but Alan Pardew's decision to replace Jonjo Shelvey, who'd had a scintillating home debut, with the veteran defender 22 years his senior seemed to mark the changing times. With question marks hanging over the futures of Matt Holland, Jerome Thomas, Darren Ambrose and Jonathan Fortune, the team that Curbs built may soon lose its last representatives. With Shelvey, Basey and Wagstaff in Sunday's squad, the future is starting to assert itself.

Of course, we left it until the last game to look more composed, more settled than we'd done since that Stoke game in January. But it was always going to be that way, wasn't it? With the gang of moaners behind me having decided to spend their afternoon elsewhere, I enjoyed myself at The Valley for the first time in months.

Damn, looks like I am back next season, aren't I?