A gentleman in claret and blue

That's not just the sunset lighting up my front room tonight. It's also Chris Powell's smile, a couple of miles across the water.

In case you didn't hear it, here's what a tearful Powell told Five Live straight after West Ham beat Preston:

"It's been a hard season, we've come through it - and I'm glad I'm going back to Charlton next season. I love Charlton, I love West Ham - it's a great feeling."

A class act. Chuffed to bits for you, Chris.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports News has suddenly spewed out a load of transfer speculation at once - apprently we're after Darren Bent, we're back after Scott Parker, and Jason Euell to Sunderland? (I'm going to start a "Euell to West Ham" rumour myself by tomorrow lunchtime if I don't see it in tomorrow's papers.) Oh, and Sunderland and an "un-named club" in for Blackburn's Jonathan Stead.

Plus there's the Manchester Evening News story about Manchester United and Dean Kiely, and the Liverpool Echo linking us with Vladimir Smicer. Ah, summer fun.

Bank holiday ramblings

Luke Young made his England debut against the USA in Chicago last night - despite wandering down to the pub to catch the second half, I quickly got bored with the game - come on, Saturday night England friendly, for heaven's sake - and didn't see much else other than him coming on. Was he any good? Hopefully he'll get more than 15 minutes in the game against Colombia on Tuesday. (Incidentally, much-rumoured potential Charlton investors and Dome owners Anschutz have their sticky fingers in this game, promoting it on pay-per-view in the US and promising "international soccer superstar" David Beckham's US debut in a "prestigious international match". Don't get too excited now...)

Other than that, I hope you're having a good bank holiday weekend - I'm gearing up for that strange moment that'll come after tomorrow's Preston-West Ham play-off when it really dawns on you that the season really is over. I'm not sure who I want to win - Preston in the Premiership sounds so unlikely I'd love it to happen. And in terms of Charlton's development, the longer West Ham stay down, the better. But then again, I like derbies against the Hammers - if they go up, we're certain to have at least one decent midweek, under-the-floodlights cracker. So at least I can sit back and enjoy this one, unlike last season's horror show...

Of course, this means the Premiership's going to be concentrated in four parts of the country next season - seven or eight north-west clubs, five or six London clubs, three in the north-east and three in the Midlands, with Portsmouth the odd one out on the south coast. I'm sure there's something meaningful in that statistic, but if Preston go up, eight bloody opportunities to be messed around by Virgin Trains might be more than any sane human can take.

Meanwhile, as Wyn observes, the Premiership is considering introducing four points for an away win as an attempt to stop teams playing so defensively. No-one seems to notice that it's the Premiership itself that's the problem, by hoovering up so much money the consequences of going down become disastrous.

Closer to home, the childish spat over the centenary street/car park party goes on, with mailing list subscribers treated to a fine display of handbags some days ago, and a woefully misleading story in a Bexley local paper leading to a "we're consulting our lawyers" threat from the club which does nobody any credit whatsoever. Still, we've got to have something Charlton-based to make us groan this summer, like the rather unfortunate tale of the bloke who couldn't come to The Valley for 20 years because he was feeding starving children in Africa working as a travel agent in Worcestershire. (Still, it least SE7Addick vented his spleen in entertaining fashion.)

Mind you, this made me smile - Franny Jeffers to Ipswich as a swap for Darren Bent? Oh go on, let this one be true.

Finally, down the road, turbulent times at Millwall (selling Darren Ward to Palace?) have been put into sharp relief by the death of former chairman and godfather figure Reg Burr.

Scott the Scouser?

Everton are close to agreeing a £6m fee with Chelsea for Scott Parker.

Manager David Moyes has made the 24-year-old midfield man his top summer target and hopes that Champions League football will tempt Parker.

BBC Sport understands that the two clubs are locked in talks, although Birmingham are also interested. (more)

Well, well. Remember him? It was only a few days ago Everton were being linked with Paul Konchesky, presumably on the basis that if Konch put on a Danish/Scouse accent, people would just think Thomas Gravesen had never left.

Parker would, of course, make a fantastic Everton player, although would the parasites that surround him allow him to go up north? After all, it's harder to get hold of that big fat wallet - £55,000-a-week for doing sod all for 18 months, for heaven's sake - when he's in Liverpool and you're near London. Parker to Birmingham, Aston Villa, or even Spurs, anybody?

Mind you, as somebody just mentioned to me, it'd mean one less club out of the race for Reading's Steve Sidwell. Not even an echo across The Valley of any decent transfer rumours involving us. Me, I hate this time of year because everyone gets their hopes up, or jumps around because Spurs have opened their chequebook once again and we haven't. And it's not even June yet...

Two other little things while I'm here - the council has decided it wants to visit The Valley ("oh, so it's there, we thought it was somewhere else!") before deciding on the expansion plans, so that's off until 30 June, while there's an unofficial haddock and chips centenary party at the Rose of Denmark, Charlton, on 11 June. It's "corporate-free", which presumably means they won't be holding it in the Rose's car park.

Young for England

Luke Young in the England squad? Fantastic, and a just reward for one of our few players who's had a season to be really proud of. I just hope he gets a chance to prove himself now.

The great clear-out?

Okay, here's my end-of-term report on our squad, and who should be given their bus fare home in the Great Clear-Out we must have if we're going to progress. Please remember all opinions are those of some sad sod sat at home on an overcast day off thinking he really should be out in the fresh air instead, and has no more right to a point of view than bloody Betty from Kent in that stupid Barclays ad in the programme.

1. DEAN KIELY. Steady season with a few tell-tale wobbles. Probably harshly, I blame that second first Palace goal on him coming off the line. Stephan Andersen's emergence will either give him beneficial competition or The Fear. To be honest, I wouldn't complain if we lost him because we have Andersen now, but two class keepers will always be better than one. STAY!

2. LUKE YOUNG. Assured, calm, composed, hard-working. A fantastic season for the right-back, who deservedly won the player of the year award. STAY!

5. CHRIS PERRY. A bit of a so-so season for the ex-Spurs and Wimbledon star, but still a useful option to have around. STAY!

6. MARK FISH. Spent his return to the squad lumbering around like some old drunk. He's had some great times with us, but we have to be cruel to be kind here. Maybe a transfer to the Championship would teach him the value of hard work. GO!

7. RADOSTIN KISHISHEV. Again, so-so. Had his moments, had his foul-ups. But he can rouse the crowd, which is more than most of our squad can do. STAY!

8. MATT HOLLAND. Hmmmmm. Captain Cleanshorts proved his ability to grab a vital goal (Everton away) but his leadership abilities don't exactly convince. When Manchester United were 2-0 up at The Valley, Holland's head was down. With a bit more aggression alongside him in midfield he might thrive a little more, but if we have poor start to next season, you can see the crowd turning on him. On balance... GO!

9. JASON EUELL. On his way for sure, he's already mentally at Palace/ Fulham/ West Ham /AFC Wimbledon (delete as applicable). Edged out by Danny Murphy and never given a decent shot as a striker. You could hope for him to fight his way back into the team, but this is modern football, remember. Good luck for the future, Jase. GONE!

10. KEVIN LISBIE. I feel awful writing this because it's literally kicking a sick man when he's down, but I've run out of patience with him. Sure, other teams seem to be worried by his runs, but he then seems to get an attack of the runs himself whenever he sees an open goal. We've tolerated failure for too long. Sorry, Kev. I guarantee he'd take a Championship side up, though. GO!

11. FRANCIS JEFFERS. Piss-taker. Just go, Franny, while we can get a few quid back on you, like taking empty bottles back to the offie. GO!

12. HERMANN HREIDARSSON. Seemed to run himself into the ground as the season went on. I've got loads of time for him, but would he be in your first team? STAY!

13. DANNY MURPHY. Get a decent midfield around him, and we'll be laughing. Have Matt Holland and Bryan Hughes next to him, and you may as well go home. An up-down first season for Murphy, who probably discovered more about his own qualities and limitations in one season at Charlton than any number of seasons at Liverpool. STAY!

14. JEROME THOMAS. Fantastic first few games, got found out in the New Year. Still one for the future, but as with Jason Euell above, how do you motivate millionaires (or potential millionaires)? STAY!

15. TALAL EL KARKOURI. A couple of fine goals, a few fine performances, but at the heart of a defence which doesn't talk to each other and to blame for more than one rash tackle. However, he's one of the few players to have captured the fans' imagination this season. STAY!

16. STEPHAN ANDERSEN. Acquitted himself well in the baptism of fire against Manchester United and Chelsea, and had a great season in the reserves. We need to hang onto him at all costs. STAY!

17. SHAUN BARTLETT. Our top scorer on a mighty... eight? (Have I got that wrong?) Is good in a 4-5-1 in front of an attacking, successful midfield, but do we really want a player who tends to be carried by the others? A squad player at most. JURY'S OUT

18. PAUL KONCHESKY. A fine season. Never stopped working for us. The days when he fell out with Curbishley and went on loan to Spurs are a distant memory. STAY!

19. DENNIS ROMMEDAHL. Towards the end of the season - against Spurs and at Villa - Dennis came to life. Given a good, confidence-boosting run, he could well do it for us. But that goal at Palace (and the one at Newcastle) aside, it's been an awkward introduction to English football. I hope he gets the chance to improve next season. STAY!

20. BRYAN HUGHES. As Matt Holland - largely ineffectual at worst, snatcher of some useful goals at best. But is he really a Premiership player, or just there to make up the numbers? GO!

21. JONATAN JOHANSSON. You know what? I'm starting to enjoy JJ now we're seeing him as a winger. I'd totally lost patience with him as a striker, but he's got a bit of pace and guile about him that could still be useful. Just a year left on his contract, mind - the January '06 transfer window could be interesting. STAY!

24. JONATHAN FORTUNE. Inconsistent, but I've just heard West Bromwich Albion are pressing for him to be given the freedom of the borough of Sandwell. STAY!

31. LLOYD SAM. Ten minutes at the end of the final game of the season - and he wasn't bad, was he? It'll be fantastic to see him breakthrough, let's hope he can do it. STAY!

So there you go, that's what I think. It's over to you to tell me how stupid I'll look when Lisbie bags 20 goals next season. (And here's New York Addick's thoughts, for comparison.)

He comes from Portugal...

There's an exhibition of photographs of, or taken by, or just selected by, footballers which goes on show next to the London Eye next Wednesday. One of the contributions is from a certain Jorge Costa...



"10 metres is more or less how long the players' tunnel measures.

"The distance we have to cross after all the players are ready sometimes feels much further."

Funny I'm reminded of him after bemoaning how we're short of players like him, Di Canio, Kinsella, who are hard as nails and know how to rouse a crowd. Anyway, click on the shot above for more pictures (including Thierry Henry's cheetah - boom, boom) and details of the show.

The evening after the night before

Hands up who spent Monday on autopilot, then? Dear me, all that light ale and excitement means there'll be a few early nights in south-east London tonight.



Could anything beat switching the lights out on Palace's Premiership career? Actually beating them would have been nice, but somehow putting them through slow torture goes some way towards shoving our dark days at Selhurst right in their faces. Wrong to gloat? No way. Those days hurt us, and we'll feel the need for years to come to remind Palace fans of their club's attempt to put us out of business. Incidentally, West Bromwich Albion's second goal-scorer against Portsmouth was Kieran Richardson - who was born in Greenwich.

Of course, just like the Selhurst victory, the joy of shattering the Glaziers' dreams obscures the cold fact that we weren't exactly world-beaters. Indeed, Planet Curbs seems to have slipped out of alignment with the fans' planet, judging by his post-match comments last night:

“We are grateful we are a Premiership side,” Curbishley said, accepting that although the Charlton fans went home happy, “when they wake up they’ll feel different” about a disappointing campaign. (more)

Trouble is, we've woken up every morning for the past six weeks worrying about our poor form. This was a blessed relief. I woke up this morning feeling fine*, actually. It's not been a good season, but we've got away with it, to hurry home a little bored but still alive. Maybe tomorrow the post-mortem on our slipshod campaign can begin, and we can work out how to put things right.

In the meantime, let's just reflect once more on Palace chairman Simon Jordan sent back to the Championship where his silly little club belongs. Anyone else catch him ranting on Sky Sports News today? He's setting himself up for a fall. And that great arse Rupert Lowe ("We are a bigger club than Charlton" - 27/07/04) - pity the poor Football League chairmen who'll have to listen to him bang on because Rupert always knows best.

You know that thing Richard Murray said a few years ago about us becoming the biggest club south of the Thames? Well...

Incidentally, best wishes to Kevin Lisbie - recovering from a major operation to remove a non-malignant tumour from his nose. Just when he thought his season couldn't get any worse - but thank goodness it was discovered in time.

(* "fine" in this context means waking up, realising you've only had four hours' sleep on top of several pints of lager and Guinness, and your voice has gone, and wishing you'd booked the day off work.)

Charlton 2-2 Crystal Palace

Sha-la-la la-la-la-la-la! *clap* *clap!*
Sha-la-la la-la-la-la-la! *clap* *clap!*
Sha-la-la la-la-la-la-la! *clap* *clap!*



Priceless.

Come on you Addicks!

Sing up, and let's send the Nigels back where they belong.

United they fall

Get a load of these hungry eyes...

...had an attack of the shivers yet?

Popped along to the reserves' game against Manchester Red & White Sox United tonight - largely crap game, lost 4-2, read about it elsewhere. Funny to hear Charlton talk about an attendance of 10,000-plus at the game - 7,102 rolled up for the match, plenty of them were United fans who may well live closer to The Valley than you do.

What did they think on the day their club, arguably, began to die? Would they be protesting? Boycotting United merchandise? Cancelling those MUTV subscriptions? Binning those pots of Cristiano Ronaldo-brand hair gels? Would they hell. I did spot a group in the East Stand with one of those "NOT FOR SALE" banners, but that was about it.

Otherwise, it was the usual source of arrogance and ignorance which characterises many United fans - mulling over the possibility of a protest with an armchair United fan earlier today, he said he hoped fans would be on the pitch. Too many United fans, for too many years, have thought they have a divine right to lord it over English football.

Which is why it's so easy to snigger at them today. They probably have their MU PLC shares - United not for sale? A PLC, by definition, is always for sale. To an extent, United's downfall is of their own doing.

But Glazer's takeover could have deep and far-reaching consequences for English football. It's thought he could try to pull United out of the Premiership's television contracts - which would wallop the league's smaller clubs. Like us. The danger the man presents to the likes of Charlton makes the usual levels of greed in the Premiership look like petty theft. It may be galling, but the United fans fighting Glazer - or at least making sure they go down fighting - deserve your full support.