London clubs

Charlton fan Charlie Connelley brought out a book called London Fields about football in London.  A lot of it was about non-league clubs and even the Sunday games on Hackney marshes, but he did find time to discuss a then projected move of Charlton to the Millennium dome.

I can't find my copy of the book, but it may still be in store after my house move in November.  Boxes of books are located behind the furniture going to my granddaughter's new home in Swansea.

Alternatively, it may be in Spain. My middle daughter was a friend of Charlie's at uni and if I take one of his books to her Spanish farm, it is usually appropriated.

Charlie lived in Deal for many years, but then relocated to Scotland where he is said to be 'missing Charlton Athletic terribly.'   His account on X has been dormant since 2024 and there have been no new books so I hope he is ok.

Anyway the real point here is what does one think of other London clubs.    I rather like Brentford as they have pulled themselves up by their boot straps.   A good friend of mine has lived in the same house in Acton all his life and has always been a supporter (thankfully not QPR).

If the 'Woolwich Rejects' had not moved north of the river there might not be a Charlton.  My stepdaughter is a fan and her husband has a season ticket.

And what about West Ham?  My father was born in North Woolwich and played his non-league football on that side of the river.  He was actually at the famous first cup final at Wembley.

An often forgotten phase in Charlton history is when we played there while waiting for The Valley to be finished.  We were much better treated there than at Selhurst Park.

Moreover, West Ham dislike Millwall (and are anticipating the 'Dockers' Derby).

That doesn't, of course, mean that we don't want to beat them tomorrow.

CAS Trust looks forward to both of the London derbies and notes the comment made by Nathan Jones that it will be a tough week that will stretch Charlton: https://www.castrust.org/2026/08/west-ham-a-warm-up-for-tottenham/

AI avatar Desmond from Deal says that thumpings in the two local derbies may finally convince his few fans that Jones has to go.

'Irish Messi' story revives

Soon we will be in the silly season when rumours about possible signings will fly around. It is always difficult to sift out which stories have any element of credibility (occasionally I get tips from people I do occasional work for in the media). It's clear that many stories start with agents: Club X has a serious interest in Player A, Club Y might be, so why not suggest Club Z might be as well to improve the chances of a lucrative signing? Other stories are the result of lazy journalism. A journo speculatively links a player with a club and others repeat the story so that it starts to acquire momentum.

Of course, one of the big question marks is how much money will be available in the summer. Unconfirmed stories last summer suggested that some prospective signings had to be shelved. It has been suggested that there was a period leading up to the summer last year when the club had significant cash flow problems. Rumours of administration have surfaced again in the last week or two, but I discount them.

Further outside investment in the club would enable us to strengthen the squad. Although the London football market is highly competitive, I think that the club remains an attractive prospect, particularly if the economy starts to revive, of which there are a few tentative signs. Some people are concerned about the threat to our support base posed by West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium, including the Chicago Addick and Richard Hunt writing in the last VOTV. However, the river long stopped being the emotional barrier that it once was. (My father started as a West Ham supporter when he lived in North Woolwich, then part of Kent and Woolwich borough, but switched allegiance when he moved to Eltham). There have always been quite a lot of West Ham fans south of the river, not to mention Gooners. This is just a fact of life and if we could get our home form to match our away form, attendances and season ticket renewals would go up.

One sign that a story might have some basis to it is when it persists and re-surfaces. This is the case with Alan Judge of Notts County whose contract expires at the end of the season. The Magpies refused to sell him at the beginning of the year, despite an offer of £500,000 and a tractor from Ipswich Town. Given that County have ended up mid-table, they might as well have taken the money.

Judge, who was born in Dublin and is a former Republic of Ireland under-21 international, made his way up through the ranks at Blackburn Rovers and they are said to want to re-sign the 24-year old. However, the turmoil at Rovers might put him off, even if he was offered a freezer full of chicken pieces to sign. Brighton and Hove Albion are also interested in the so-called 'Irish Messi'. But reports are saying that we remain keen on him. Whether we could succeed in a bidding war, and whether he would be worth an inflated price and high wages, is a very open question.

Stephens, Solly moves could both be off

Birmingham sources are indicating that Aston Villa may defer their interest in Dale Stephens until the January transfer window which would leave the player unsettled: Stephens . Charlton have apparently being playing hardball over the fee, but Villa's interest has its limits.

Andy Carroll is undergoing a medical this evening prior to signing for West Ham on a one year loan. According to the BBC, this will cost the Hammers a £1m loan fee in addition to Carroll's 80k a week wages.

Given that West Ham have to pay Sheffield United £10m this year over the Tévez affair, this means that the owners are having to dig deep into their pockets and leaves little money to fund an acquisition of Chris Solly, even if it would be small change compared with Carroll. From an Addicks perspective, that is good news.