Church talks start

Charlton have started contract talks with former Reading striker Simon Church according to a tweet from Richard Cawley of the South London Press. Church hopes that an agreement can be reached before Saturday's game at Bournemouth. It is doubtful whether he would be fit to play then or for a few weeks.

Cawley also tweets that Michael Smith has gone out on loan to AFC Wimbledon until the beginning of January.

The fate of Ricardo Fuller remains uncertain, one rumour saying that he will take a one year contract at Millwall, others that he will get a similar offer from Charlton.

In a move that came as something of a surprise, goalkeeper David Button has left the club and joined Brentford for an undisclosed fee. Richard Cawley thinks it could be designed to free up money for striker targets, but I would not have thought that Button was on big money. It's an interesting question whether Nicj Pope is ready yet, but presumably we would get an emergency loan if Hamer was injured.

Addicks retain Crown Berger cup

Charlton retained the Crown Berger Cup with an emphatic 5-0 win over Welling at Park View Road in the traditional season curtain raiser this afternoon. There was an attendance of 2,140 in the warm sunshine. The Conference South champions were given a guard of honour at the start of the game. The Addicks played different teams in each half, but the lack of new signings was a contrast with earlier matches. The first half side were the 'probables' and the second half the 'possibles' and this is reflected in when goals were scored.

A heartening aspect of the first half was the hat trick scored by Joe Pigott with Yann Kermorgant the provider for all three goals. The first came after nine minutes with a deliciously weighted through ball from the Breton. He then went on to score a fourth before the break. After the break Wings winger Kieran Hughes-Mason forced Cedric Evina into a goal-saving tackle and keeper Dave Button had to make a fine save round the post just minutes later. In the second half Danny Green scored from the spot, after a cross from Jordan Cook had been handled, to make it 5-0. Cook later tweeted that it was great to see so many fans and good to be back.

Wings supremo Jamie Day now has Pigott in his sights, telling The Non-League Paper 'Hopefully later on in the season we may be able to loan him in.' Chris Powell commented, 'There won't be anyone going out in pre-season but we are open to potentially loan out a few lads as the season progresses.

Button joins 'massive' Charlton

Spurs keeper David Button has now joined the Addicks: Button . The fee is undisclosed.

Button said, 'I’m delighted. It’s a massive opportunity for me to come to a massive club like this and I’m really excited for the future,' shortly after putting pen to paper.' That's two 'massives' in one sentence which even Sheffield Wednesday have not achieved.

One might expect to see a loan deal for Sullivan.

There are rumours that a West Ham offer for Chris Solly has been turned down. According to one report, they are in competition with Bolton: Trotters . In any event reports that Solly had been seen northbound on the Woolwich Ferry are evidently premature.