Fans were taken in by April Fool jokes

In the latest installment of his reminiscence interviews with Richard Cawley, Peter Varney recalls the various April Fool jokes at Charlton that have taken in gullible fans.

He recalls: 'We pretended to change the badge in April 2002, and again that went in the programme, this time when we hosted Arsenal. The ruse sort of originated from the fact the Gunners had changed their badge a couple of months earlier, a move to secure intellectual property rights and enable copyright protection.

We claimed that Greenwich Council had “asked us to consider whether the sword in our current badge is appropriate to the welcoming environment we wish to maintain at The Valley”. We designed one crest that was really a straight replica of Fulham’s one - with CAFC instead of FFC. There were also two that replaced the sword with a smiling fish or a cartoonish robin.  We had more than 300 votes online and hundreds more rang or emailed the club to complain.'

Actually I think the best one was when a ground share was announced with Millwall with half the seats painted blue to make them feel at home.  I recall that one Australian photographer who is a keen supporter was taken in.

Varney also discusses how a humour less Sandgaard want to axe the Red, Red Robin, although he has doubts about its timing.

I also thought that my idea of branding consultants renaming the club Estuary hit home. Revisit it here: https://addickschampionshipdiary.blogspot.com/search?q=Estuary

I do have one ready for next week!

All things Welsh

Watching the Wales match last night I recalled that Addicks legend Johnnie Robinson was once player of the year for Wales.  He was born in Zimbabwe but had a Welsh grandmother.

Now we have a Welsh manager routinely referred to as 'the Welshman' by Richard Cawley, but referred to by some fans as the 'Welsh Onanist' or the 'Welsh ****.'

My own links with Wales have been reinforced recently when one of my granddaughters discovered her inner Welsh woman and moved to Swansea (Abertawe), although she does not speak a word of Cymraeg.

It's a difficult language to learn as an adult, you need to be immersed in as a child like my great niece. It can sound very melodious.   Some years back Bill Hague and his wife invited me to a summer garden party at their lovely home near Welshpool and they had a choir of local school children singing in Welsh and Ffion gave thanks in her fluent Welsh which sounded just right.

I am ambivalent about Wales.   I like Rob Brydon, but he is a classic example of a vertically challenged Welsh chancer.   When he was a radio disc jockey in Cardiff he pretended to be his own agent so he could boost his fee for personal appearances.

There is also the 'Taffia' issue.  Such a close knit society, especially in South Wales, can suffer outbreaks of corruption.

My granddaughter has just had accepted a bid on a three bedroom property near Swansea which needs a bit of TLC but the asking price is not far into six figures (and she gets the conveyancing free as she works for a firm of solicitors).   Her cousin who is looking for a property in or around Oxford and looks like having to pay £350k for a two bedder.

Mind you, they have both been eclipsed by another granddaughter who took out a mortgage at 19 and now owns a three bedroom apartment outright.

The reaction to Jones because he comes from another nationality in the UK is a bit concerning as I think if we are going to progress as a club we will need a good foreign manager (not Karel Fraeye)

Charlton present at enthronement

Watching the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday it struck me is that she is not just Primate of All England and the worldwide Anglican communion but also bishop of the Canterbury diocese, albeit that her local duties are mostly delegated to the Bishop of Dover.

A recent post showed that Charlton fans are the leading group of football supporters in Kent and it occurred to me that there should be some representation from the club in the congregation.

Lo and behold, VOTV editor Rick Everitt posted a selfie of himself there.  No doubt he was there in his capacity as a 'town hall tyrant' (copyright Lord Young of Acton) although apparently the headquarters of Thanet District Council are a 1970s redbrick building in Margate.

It all brought back memories of theology lessons at St. Margaret's CoE on Plumstead Common.  I think that the now demolished church was on the high end of the spectrum and we were told that if we went to France on holiday we could go to a Roman Catholic church.  The nearest any of us were going to get to France was a day trip to one of the channel ports: a day excursion by steam train to Margate was more likely.

However, this led me to ask whether the real difference between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church was that the Pope was Italian not English and was based in Rome rather than Canterbury.  I was thrown out of the class and the headmistress told me that I was a very wicked boy.

Returning to football, Richard Cawley has an important podcast on Charlton's finances.   I am yet to listen to it, but I am sure that it is a thorough treatment of some worrying financial results.

The ultimate insult

University Challenge last night.  'Which football club has its ground in the Royal Borough of Greenwich?' Answer: Crystal Palace.   Mind you, asked which club played in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, they answered 'Brentford' and they had never heard of Sandwell or Wsst Brom.

The Sunday Times published its 'Best Places to Live' supplement on Sunday.  One shouldn't take these things too seriously.  Stratford upon Avon made the cut for the Midlands with the comment 'if you can see through the tourists'.  Well, you can't.

I was surprised to see Plumstead named as one of the best places to live in London, much as I have fond memories of Plumstead Common.   However, apparently 'the charming common'is surrounded by houses with 'smartly scrubbed with smart shutters' whose inhabitants can be seen 'promenading' on the common.

For me one of the great merits of living there was the 53 bus to Charlton, but the accompanying copy makes no mention of the Addicks and the interview respondents display no interest in football.

The facts of the matter are that only a minority of Addicks now live in the home boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley.  The biggest concentration is now in Kent (just scan the list of Valley Golf prize winners).  Indeed, if my personal circumstances had been different when I retired I might not be living on Regent Street in the Royal Spa but on the Kent coast.

A 'new town' is now planned for a Greater Thamesmead.   Somehow all these incomers need to be introduced to Addicktion, albeit that many of them will already support other London clubs.

Commitment of funds unsustainable at Charlton

Charlton Athletic have published their annual accounts for 2024/25.  A big loss of £16.8m is slightly offset by player sales: https://www.charltonafc.com/news/charlton-submits-annual-accounts-report

Given that the club does not own its stadium or training ground, it is essentially a financial basket case reliant on owner funding, although that applies to many, if not most, football clubs. However, Charlton's situation is not financially sound.

Revenue was up from £8.8m to £11.2m, but the wages to turnover level was 141 per cent, double the recommended level.

Turnover was up £2.3m to £11.1m. No single cause - broadcast revenue, match day and commercial  were all up about £0.5m and “other” up £0.7m. Some of that reflects reaching the play-off final against the very poor 2023/24 season. Commercial is big increase relative to a very low base.

Commercial increase probably relates at least in part to bringing retail in house, which means all sales appear in the club’s turnover and not just commission. It would be partially offset by increased cost.

The operating loss is shown as debt to the parent company, interest free, repayable on demand, now £25m. Salary costs were up £3.6m to £15.7m, reflecting increased turnover, but non-football staff numbers were static.

Accounts disclose an £8.9m investment in the squad for 2025/26 (fees and contracts). That is £8m net of commitments to players who have left. Directors received £308k in 24/25"

The club commented, 'What our financial results do highlight, however, is the cost of football.

We are grateful to the club's ownership for backing the board's vision and putting us in a position to achieve what we did last season and prepare us for 2025-26 with a significant input of resource.

That resource commitment is unsustainable in the long-term for any club, and it is a challenge for all of football to alter the economics of the game to reduce this level of cash loss.'

That is unlikely to happen soon if at all, although the independent regulator is still examining the distorting effect of parachute payments on the Championship.

Charlton reported £3m investment in stadium and training ground improvements and said staff bonuses for promotion and increased wages in the second tier have impacted their financial figures.

On the plus side, the club also reported rises in both attendances and season ticket sales on 2023-24 and increased broadcast revenues after achieving promotion via the play-offs in May last year.

Oxford have lost £17.5 m, West Brom £17 m and Coventry £21.6 m.

Canaries on song

On form Norwich City took all three points at The Valley this afternoon, an early doors goal being enough to give them a 1-0 win. 

The Charlton defence were forced too deep and this mean that the midfield was unable to contribute as they should have done.   Norwich were much better in the final third than Charlton with the lack of Addicks fire power evident again.

Worrying financial results for Charlton were slipped out before the match began, more on this tomorrow.  

The Canaries were soon in front as Ali Ahmed took on the home defence down the left before laying it back to Mattsson, who was given too much time and picked his spot beyond keeper Will Mannion from 20 yards.

Charlton did not heed their lesson and could have found themselves two down as Paris Maghoma cut inside to create a shooting opportunity for himself, but Mannion went down smartly to push it away.

It took the Addicks half an hour to test Vladan Kovacevic, but Lloyd Jones' header from a Harry Clarke cross was comfortable for the Norwich keeper.

Ahmed was prominent at the start of the second half and Mannion did just enough to foil him as the Canadian tried to get on the end of Mathias Kvistgaarden's ball across the box but Charlton were almost level when Ramsay's header following a corner struck the bar and Harry Clarke's follow-up was blocked.

Mannion remained the busier keeper, saving well from a deflected effort from Maghoma and then going down low to his left to deny Mattsson a second, but his earlier strike was enough to secure Norwich's eighth away win of the campaign.

Nathan Jones was annoyed that Norwich supremo Phillipe Clement would not shake hands with him after the game, stating that it showed a lack of respect.

A rueful manager felt there were multiple factors behind Charlton Athletic’s 1-0 loss to Norwich City today. The Addicks boss was left unhappy at the manner of the winning goal, scored in the fifth minute by Danish midfielder Pelle Mattsson.

But Jones also rued the lack of end product from his Addicks side, who have not netted more than once in a home Championship match in their last 14 fixtures in SE7. Charlton have scored 11 times in those 14 games.

Jones was also deeply unhappy at the performance of referee Will Finnie. The official ignored appeals in the second period when Lloyd Jones had his arm pulled by Ruairi McConville inside the penalty area.

Some fans have also commented on the poor standard of refereeing.

The canary in the ground test

Charlton face another tough test at The Valley tomorrow afternoon when they play resurgent Norwich City. At the beginning of the season I had this down as a 1-3 win for the Canaries.

Norwich did lose against another resurgent club, Southampton, midweek but just by 1-0.   The Saints had to work hard for the win as the Canaries dominated the second half.

Norwich have been rejuvenated after changing their manager, picking up 42 points from 23 games.  Former Rangers gaffer Phillipe Clement replaced Liam Manning when Norfolk's finest were in the bottom three before Christmas.   They've collected more points than any other team in 2026.   They have averaged nearly two goals a game.  They are top of the Championship form table.

At St, Mary's Norwich were the better side for much of the second half with Southampton keeper Daniel Perhetz pulling off fine saves to deny Kellen Fisher from close range and then keep out Ruairi McConville's goalbound header at the death.

Writing in The Football League Paper, Adam Virgo stated: 'Under Liam Manning, they'd win possession, go sideways and backwards, and then build up again.   It was very regimented, with no room for individual expression, and it didn't suit a squad of very talented players.'

'With Clement, you still have to work hard and be disciplined out of possession.  But the attitude is very much" Can we play that ball forward first?"

'Their January window was arguably the best in the Championship.  Ahmed came in from Vancouver Whitecaps and has hit the ground running.   Best of the lot is midfielder Paris Maghoma, whose £800,000 move from Brentford looks an absolute bargain.  He's exciting, he's inventive.  He makes things happen.  He's got a deceptive pace about him and he's just a very intelligent footballer.'

BTW, congratulations to my Saints supporting friend Joe the Saint on his forthcoming civil partnership with Cheryl.  Saints supporters who tie the knot are required to wear a Portsmouth shirt at the nearest home game.