The tale of the red, red Robin

Ben Hayes, in association with the museum, takes a look at Charlton's association with the red, red robin: When did it first come bobbing along?

A recent online poll showed that about two-thirds of fans preferred it as the music to accompany the teams coming on the pitch to Valley Floyd Road (which is a less bouncy tune).

However, the article has a more general theme than the song. When I first started supporting Charlton they were called 'the Robins', a name also appropriated by other teams, not least Swindon with their 'Rocking Robin'. The replacement name, the Valiants, was also used by Port Fail: some media reports still use it.

Many years ago I talked to an elderly lady who went to Charlton matches in the 1920s with her father. She said that they were then called the 'Addicks' as a corruption of 'Haddocks'.

BTW, can the new owners bring back Harvey and Floyd as mascots?

New rival for Charlton?

For a brief period at the beginning of the 1930s it seemed as if the mysterious club Thames might serve as a rival to Charlton. But the club created to use a ground soon collapsed and we absorbed a number of their players.

When Thames folded, a merger approach was made to the Custom House club by Clapton Orient, later Leyton Orient. Now Orient have aspirations to play in the Olympic Stadium and owner Barry Hearn has suggested that, if they succeed, they will re-branded as London Orient: Orient

I have nothing against Orient at all, but this does strike me as a singularly daft idea. Orient's average attendance last season was 4,298, but Hearn reckons that with the stadium move and re-branding, he can attract 27,000, which would be a capacity crowd for us. I don't think there are that many foot loose mugs out there.

Of course, we have had our re-branding issues. In the 1950s the club were known as the Robins, which always invited confusion with other clubs such as the 'Rocking' Robins of Swindon. The club tried to rebrand us as the Valiants, which also invited confusion with other clubs. The name never caught on among the fans, although ignorant members of the media occasionally use it.

I always thought 'Robins' was a bit anodyne, although, of course, we keep the jaunty Red, Red Robin song. We have reverted to our original nickname of Addicks. Some years ago I talked to a lady who went to games with her father in the 1920s and c confirmed that it was used then as a corruption of 'Addocks.

Of course if this name change idea catches on, goodness knows what might happen. Let me know if you see branding consultants around The Valley.

A good omen?

Some robins have hatched out in one of our nesting boxes. Those of us started supporting Charlton in the 1950s remember us then being known as the Robins, so perhaps it's a good omen.

OK, it's clutching at straws, but this has been a real no news week as far as the Addicks are concerned (unless you count the mothballing of the Bexleyheath retail outlet). In Amsterdam the week before last my Charlton bag attracted commiserations; in Paris at the end of last week nothing at all.

The South London Press tells us that Mark Kinsella's future is uncertain, but then everything is. There are conspiracy theorists who believe that the takeover was a stunt dreamed up to boost season ticket sales. Who would want to buy a third division club, they ask? Well, anyone who could get a first rate stadium, start of the art training facilities and a catchment area with great potential at a knockdown price. Perhaps the price isn't right.

One piece of news is that Leamington supremo Jason Cadden has been named as one of the top twenty non-league managers. He is ranked seventeenth, but most of the others are Conference or Blue Square North or South. The club also scooped a host of awards at the annual Southern League dinner in Torquay.