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?

A good place to be

It's good to be going into the international break with a win over a club expected to beat us. It puts us in a lower mid-table position which is where we may well end up. Indeed, I would take it now.

Unfortunately I was unable to make the game on Saturday because of family issues and that may have helped us. Indeed, I also plan to stay away from the Millwall game, given the early kick off and all the hassle last year, so we may secure a rare victory over the Spanners.

My Foxes supporting friend has said nothing since Saturday. If I had one piece of advice for Leicester City fans, it would be 'get over Yann Kermorgant' and I am pleased to see that at least one football writer agrees: Kermorgant

Nigel Pearson has got out his book of excuses and blamed the referee. I must admit that I think Deadman is a poor referee, as shown by the number of cards he waved on Saturday. However, his zombie like performances have handicapped us in the past, so it was time we got the rub of the green. As far as I could make out from Emma's slow motion report from the 'field of play', James thought he deserved a penalty and when he didn't get one told the referee to get back in his shroud. This was not a sensible thing to do when you are on a yellow.

It also looks as if there are not going to be any last minute transfer shocks in terms of players departing which is a relief. I wouldn't expect any last minute acquisitions either (leaving aside Acworthian rumours of the 'Bale to Charlton' kind). I think that the Dale Stephens to Wolves rumour is just that, apart from anything else it's the Black Country not the North (One wag suggested that the fee would be £69m). Chris Powell has rightly rubbished reports of Yann Kermorgant going to table topping Blackpool. Transfer deadline day: don't you love it?

Of course, there can always be surprises. It would have been good to strengthen the squad and try for the play offs, but at least the Capital One Cup match suggested a new formation which seemed to work. Players who lost their form seem to have recovered it, so all credit to Sir Chris Powell. If we get a bad result, the 'Powell out' brigade are out in force, but if we get a win, they stay quiet.

The one blot on the weekend was the win for Crystal Palace, admittedly against a side managed by the eccentric Paolo di Canio whose main idea seems to be to make his players dislike him and undermine their morale. What is worse, I have to be in Croydon over the next day or two. Hopefully, I won't see any of the stripey ones.

Croydon is an odd place. North Croydon is, to be frank, a bit of a dump. The glazier of Cantona fame came from North Croydon, in the road where my wife originally lived. No surprise that trouble emanated from there in the riots. South Croydon is very up market. I remember dropping a girl friend at university when she said that her ambition in life was to live in Purley. I think that most of the Nigels and Nigellas do not actually live in Croydon. My brother-in-law lives in Crawley and, although he claims to follow Palace, he also says he has no interest in football, two statements that are logically compatible.

Living in Thornton Heath, my wife's father was a keen Palace fan, but fortunately refused to take my future wife on the grounds that girls do not go to football. She then had the good sense to get her first job in Woolwich.

I think the last time I was in Croydon was in the 1990s for a reunion held by some very old friends of my parents. It was fascinating to meet an elderly lady who had gone to support Charlton with her father in the 1920s (which rather hits on the head the 'girls and football' nonsense). She confirmed that they were then known as the Addicks as a corruption of 'Addocks.

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.