Competition for Hamer

Rumours of the arrival of a goalkeeper to provide competition for Ben Hamer have been confirmed. The South London Press reports: 'Charlton have signed goalkeeper Ben Alnwick on a one-year deal after his contract was terminated by Barnsley. Alnwick, formerly on the books of Sunderland and Tottenham, could move outside of the transfer window because his Oakwell contract was terminated on Monday.'

I understand that 'Alnwick' may be pronounced 'Annick' like the town. Whoever is in goal defenders will be able to call 'Ben'.

Wikipedia states: 'Benjamin Robert "Ben" Alnwick (born 1 January 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Championship side Charlton Athletic. Alnwick started his career at Sunderland in 2004, having progressed through the club's youth ranks, but never fully established himself in the first team.

'He left for Tottenham Hotspur in January 2007, having made 19 league appearances, but never made more than a single league appearance for Tottenham. Instead, he spent several loan spells away from the club, at Luton Town, Leicester City, Carlisle United, Norwich City, Leeds United, Doncaster Rovers and Leyton Orient.

He switched permanently to Barnsley in July 2012, and made 12 appearances, but was deemed surplus to requirements in September 2013, and his contract was terminated by mutual consent. Alnwick has represented England at under-16, under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels, but has yet to represent the full international side.'

Whilst this has occurred outside the transfer window, it is a good conclusion to a generally satisfactory experience for Charlton bearing in mind the constraints imposed by new league financial rules and the continuing losses made by the club.