Spectator finds new target

 

The Spectator has found a new target in its campaign against the 'Charltification' of football and it's none other than the Prince of Wales.  Unfortunately, Wills did not convert his time at Sparrows Lane into an Addicktion.

However, the magazine thinks that his support for Villa, and in particular the way in which he demonstrates it is undignified for an heir to the throne and calls him out as a 'centrist dad'.

I realise that the Speccie was founded in the 18th century, but it is now the 21st.

Congratulations to 'Last Ditch' Dykes on his 45 minutes for Scotland in their weekend international friendly.  The lure of the bagpipes may be such that he does not return to us.

Keep on taking the tablets

Contributors to my non-league club's banter page have been asking if I have started my course of anti-depressants to prepare for Charlton's next season.

If I did need them, it would be to cope with the moaning and pessimism of so many Addicks.

However, the news that a serious Saudi investor hopes to take a stake in Derby County shows what we are up against: https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2026/05/saudi-boxing-supremo-swoops-for-rams.html

Congratulations to Charlton Women

One of my good memories at Charlton is beating Arsenal in the women's league cup final at Wycombe. The team also won the women's FA Cup in 2005.   Charlton Women were disbanded in 2007 after the men's team were relegated from the Premier League.

Congratulations to Karen Hills on proving to be a very resourceful head coach on a limited budget.   A great display by keeper Sophie Whitehouse.

London clubs will make up half of next season's WSL sides, including the Nigellas.

The women's team to some extent appeals to a different demographic, but some of their supporters should be encouraged to support the men's team.

Finance guru runs the rule over Charlton

Richard Cawley has done well to interview football finance guru Kieran Maguire who is the gold standard in this area.

The interview repays careful reading, but here are a few highlights:

• Maguire is well disposed to the Addicks as his uncle had trials for us in the 1950s
• He thinks that the new finance rules in the Championship won't have much effect either way on Charlton.  Parachute payments and the wealth behind clubs like Wrexham will continue to distort.
• Charlton's entire commercial income is a fraction of what Arsenal get from their sleeve sponsors
• 'Authenticity' should be the brand pitch for Charlton, although Millwall can also claim that [Rod Liddle notwithstanding, we can make a claim to be a family club].
• Charlton not owning their stadium or training ground is likely to discourage potential investors.

Spygate

A great outburst of moral indignation directed at Southampton this morning, admittedly some of it from Saints supporters.  I am yet to talk to a son-in-law who is a season ticket holder.

I do wonder what useful information one could get from watching Oxford United train, but at least they didn't bother with us.  Actually, Sparrows Lane is pretty secure unlike Boro's traing ground which seemed to be wide open.  (Coventry City placed big screens around their training ground some time ago.)   In days gone by one could walk into Sparrows Lane to watch a reserve match.

I don''t think Southampton will succeed in their appeal, but they might well feel inclined to challenge the authority and decision-making of the EFL in the public courts.   One thing is certain is that the lawyers will benefit.

In some ways the real losers are Hull who were preparing to face another club and are now uncertain whether the match will go ahead at all, disrupting the hotel and travel bookings made by their fans.

The fact of the matter is that football is now big business with large sums of money at stake for big financial players and various forms of cheating are inevitable.  They should be punished, but it is usually a club's fans that suffer most.

Richard Cawley has wryly observed that Nathan Jones will be pleased to face Southampton twice next season.

We need to improve all over the pitch admits chairman

Speaking on Charlton TV, chairman Gavin Carter has confirmed that the club will have to be ‘ruthless’ in terms of summer signing and departures, but admitted that the strategy would be financially constrained.

“We have got a lot of work to do.   There are not many players that are out of contract. We have got to look at the squad. If we’re going to bring players in then we’ve got to move some players on, which isn’t easy.

“Sequencing this is difficult. Ideally you would get players out - you get the cash in and then you spend the cash - but we don’t live in a perfect world.

“We are going to do stuff in a fiscally sustainable way. I’ve said many times that I’m not going to risk the future of the football club. You see teams do it all the time and owners do come and go. I’m not going to put us in a position where we have made too many commitments that we then can’t fund in the future. But we are going to make progress.”

“We need more up front. We didn’t score enough goals this year and that’s painfully obvious. In the middle of the park we don’t want to rely just on Sonny (Carey). We need to make sure we’re carrying the ball and we’re what Nathan wants us to be - fluid and aggressive.

“I don’t think there is one area of the pitch where we can’t improve. That has got to be the mentality. But there were clearly some areas of the squad, where there were loan players, that we would like to bring in squad players for next season.”

Spectator magazine opens fire on Charlton again

I have said before that I am baffled why Spectator editor Michael Gove thinks that unleashing his columnists in Charlton is a good way of boosting circulation.   First, Charlton are hardly a high profile club.  Those Millwall fans who are not at His Majesty's pleasure are hardly likely to subscribe to an erudite if somewhat barking magazine.   Likewise, Palace 'ultras' are too busy trying to look hard on the mean streets of Croydon.

I don't particularly like Gove or his views, but I do think he is smart, so what is the angle here?

Admittedly, keen Super Hoops fan Lord Young of Acton has not mentioned football in recent weeks.  One of the most ludicrous events of last season was his attempt to lure Rick Everitt to an autumnal confrontation on a windswept Margate beach (Young did come down from London).

I suppose I should be surprised that Millwall fan Rod Liddle is at it again.  His latest column complains about the 'Charlton-ification' of football 'with clubs replicating the congenial family atmosphere you find at our unfortunate friends down the road'

In fact it is possible to have a variety of experiences at Charlton.  It's different being in the Covered End from the West, once the inspiration for a blog 'All Quiet in the West Stand.'

Liddle recommends a piece of Millwall invective screamed at opposition fans: 'Do you want me to open you up like a can of ****ing peaches, you slag'   Each to their own.