The season might be over, but The Valley is set for socially-distanced crowds on Saturday
Charlton Athletic’s stadium will become a mass vaccination centre for one day on Saturday – with all Greenwich borough residents who have not yet had a jab invited to the drop-in session.
The first 1,000 people at The Valley between 8am and 8pm will get a free ticket for a future Charlton match, with other prizes on offer during the day.
While The Valley has been open to locals with appointments for jabs since March, Saturday will be the first time its gates have been flung open for all, with people set to queue up around the pitch to get their vaccine.
AstraZeneca vaccines will be on offer for those over 40; under-40s will also be able to get the jab but will need a clinical assessment first. People who have had their first vaccine eight weeks ago but not yet had their second are also invited. More details are on the Greenwich Council website.
While nearly 80 per cent of the UK population have had one at least one jab, that figure falls to 60 per cent in Greenwich. While London has a comparatively younger population, there is still some ground to be made up in older age groups – nearly a quarter of people aged 50 to 55 in Greenwich have still not had a jab, according to Public Health England data.
Pop-up clinics are taking place around the borough with other vaccines, often at short notice – today will see Pfizer jabs offered to over-25s at the Clockhouse community centre on the Woolwich Dockyard estate from 9am to 4.30pm.
Pfizer vaccines will also be offered at the Wallace health centre in Clarence Road, Deptford, on Wednesday; the Amal Pharmacy in Greenwich Millennium Village on Thursday and Sutcliffe Park Sports Centre in Eltham on Friday.
In addition, the Woolwich Late Night Pharmacy in General Gordon Square is offering AstraZeneca vaccines to over-40s every day from 8am to 2pm until July 25.
The Valley’s East Stand is no more – as of today it bears the name of one of Charlton Athletic’s most successful managers.
With the Addicks’ season now over, work was nearing competition this afternoon on renaming the East Stand after Alan Curbishley, who led the club into the Premier League in 1998 and again in 2000.
The South Stand has long been named after Jimmy Seed, the man who transformed the Addicks into a footballing force in the 1930s and won the FA Cup as manager in 1947. Earlier this year, fans launched a petition to have the East Stand – the first to be built after the club returned to The Valley in 1992 – named after Curbishley.
Now 63, Curbishley spent two spells at the club as a midfielder in the 1980s and 1990s, and managed the side between 1991 and 2006. He also played for and managed West Ham United, and played at both Aston Villa and Birmingham City as well as Brighton and Hove Albion.
But it was in his 15 years as Charlton manager that he achieved his greatest successes, winning the first division play-off final in 1998. While the team were relegated from the Premier League the following season, Charlton then won the division in 2000, leading to a seven-year Premier League stay.
At the time, Curbishley told the club website that he was “stunned” to hear the news. “When I was told, I started thinking about other people that have had stands named after them – both players and managers,” he said. I know that Billy Bonds and Trevor Booking have at West Ham – they were delighted when the stands were named after them. Then you’ve got Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish – there are not a lot of people who have had stands named after them, for me to be one of them is a great honour.”
Local residents getting their Covid-19 vaccinations at The Valley have been able to see a sneak preview of the the new signage – but the official unveiling is not due to be until August, when the Addicks have their first home game.
The Valley is set to host a Queen tribute show in September
Early plans for a Queen tribute show for 1,700 people to take place in September have been outlined by Charlton Athletic in a letter sent to local residents.
The show would be the first concert to take place at The Valley since Elton John played there 15 years ago. This would be a much smaller affair, with a far lower crowd than most football matches there.
While there are a number of Queen shows doing the rounds, the club have told The Charlton Champion that this will feature a West End cast and be produced by Squareleg Promotions. The event would run from 5pm to 10.15pm.
The club has set up a Zoom call on Wednesday at noon to discuss its plans with local residents – to join, email events[at]cafc.co.uk.
The Addicks signed off for the season with a win – but KEVIN NOLAN fretted at The Valley as Charlton fell short of the play-offs on goal difference.
It was always a tough ask for Charlton to make good on the last day of an unusually fraught season. A far-fetched farrago of favourable results was needed to creep into sixth place. And while we’re giving what HG Wells’ Mr Polly referred to as “allitrition’s artful aid”, an outing, the Addicks were relying on Portsmouth and Oxford to feel the fear factor and freeze while they themselves knocked over champions Hull City.
As it turned out, Charlton gallantly delivered the first part of the three-part survival programme by squeezing past Grant McCann’s pressure-free Tigers. That they did so by virtue of a late own goal is neither here nor there. They went toe-to-toe with the champs and saw them off. They could do no more than that and deserve credit for taking it to the wire.
On the South Coast, meanwhile, serial chokers Portsmouth did their bit by failing miserably to beat nothing-to-play-for Accrington Stanley. Which left the reasonable hope that Burton Albion might similarly do the business against Oxford at the Kassam Stadium. Winners twice over Charlton during the season, the Brewers had performed superbly under new manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to stave off the relegation which seemed certain at one point.
Possibly they intended to go out with a bang, or so we deluded ourselves. We should have known better. A goal down in 10 minutes, Burton ended the first half 2-0 in arrears, then slipped tamely to 4-0 defeat. They “didn’t turn up” according to their unapologetic gaffer, with no word of explanation as to why that had been the case.
Hardly the most popular of ex-players during his irritating spell with Charlton, Hasselbaink earned a reputation as a pain in the rear end, which had as much to do with his burgeoning undercarriage as it did to his grovelling attitude after scoring for Charlton against his former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Uriah Heep couldn’t have prostrated himself more obsequiously than the conscience-stricken Hasselbaink. No chance of a repeat performance after Burton went AWOL at Oxford.
Instead, the thick-skinned Dutchman added fuel to the flames by airily commenting that “you need to find a different edge for these games. In a way, sometimes it’s good to lose and today was a good day to lose and put things into perspective.” To which the only response appears to be “Twerp!”
Charlton’s failure to make the top six in a below-average League One was not, of course, based on the events of one disappointing day; nor did it come down entirely to their ironic missing of a last kick penalty at, of all places, Oxford, on March 6th.
Their failure was corporate, not individual, with regular self-inflicted setbacks causing their downfall. Feel free to pick your own cock-up from the many on offer.
With the tension removed from a potentially see-saw afternoon by Burton’s meek capitulation, Adkins’ Addicks dispassionately took care of their all-conquering visitors.
There was a distinct lack of drama inside The Valley as a solid defence denied the Brewers only rare glimpses of their goal, the clearest of which ex-Addick Josh Magennis enjoyed after only five minutes. Slipped through a square defence by Gavin Whyte’s razor-sharp pass, the burly striker was foiled at close range by Ben Amos’ expertly deployed left leg.
City were never to come as close again as Ryan Inniss and Akin Famewo barred entry to their penalty area. The mastery of Ian Maatsen over danger man Mallik Wilks , meanwhile, was equally impressive. As the Addicks dominated the second half in front of their favoured Covered End, Maatsen found time and space to link up with Liam Millar, whose searing runs sapped Hull’s resolve and ultimately led to the winning goal.
It was Maatsen’s first-half delivery that set up a chance for Conor Washington to claim what would have been a viable candidate for Charlton’s goal of the season. His soaring ball over the top was treated to a magical first touch which set up an instinctive volley only inches wide of the target.
With the Tigers admittedly toothless and apparently looking forward to their post-whistle celebrations, the Addicks finally made the breakthrough with a quarter of an hour left.
Another of Millar’s right-footed crosses after cutting in from the left landed wickedly in the six-yard area and was desperately palmed away by Matt Ingram.
Unfortunately for the scrambling keeper, his weak clearance hit Jacob Greaves and rolled over the line. It was a scruffy goal entirely suited to an inelegant game. But for a change, it was Charlton who scored it.
Under Nigel Adkins’ guidance and a hopefully shrewd recruitment programme, the future looks bright. As they say in football, we go again in three months. See you there.
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The Addicks’ push for the play-offs took another stumble last night thanks to a last-minute equaliser for Crewe Alexandra. An increasingly anxious KEVIN NOLAN was at The Valley.
With the five allotted stoppage minutes already played, Charlton were hanging on by a badly-chewed fingernail to the 2-1 lead given them by Alex Gilbey’s apparently decisive late goal.
To say they were doing it comfortably would be abusing the truth. They were, in fact, a panic-stricken rabble incapable of making clean contact with a ball which caromed, ricocheted and otherwise awkwardly skittered around their penalty area. The confusion was awe-inspiring but the Addicks appeared to have staggered to the line unscathed.
Referee Trevor Kettle – Whistling T Kettle to his chums around the league – begged to differ. He had nowhere to be, nothing to do, no promises to keep. “The man that made time made plenty of it,” was his attitude, so “take as much of it as you need” became his message to never-say-die Crewe.
Midfielder Owen Dale needed no such encouragement and sorted out an ugly scramble in Charlton’s six-yard box by hammering an unstoppable volley past a helpless Ben Amos.
Dale’s overtime equaliser was the second sickening body-blow suffered by Charlton in the dying embers. News had filtered through that up in Accrington, John Marquis had completed Portsmouth’s recovery from 2-0 down by firing Pompey ahead 3-2 in the 90th minute. Abruptly, the situation flip-flopped in favour of the South Coasters but wait… Marquis wasn’t through for the night. In the 7th minute of added time, he’d slipped down the other end and put through his own goal. You just gotta love this guy!
With the dust nicely settled, the equation is now starkly simple. Charlton are trailing Portsmouth and Oxford by two points and one points respectively. But they have a game in hand over both of their rivals. Win all three of their remaining games and they’re in the play-offs, it’s as easy as that. And the three games? They line up as follows – Accrington (a), play-off certs Lincoln (h) and finally, champions-elect Hull City (h).
A difficult task becomes more daunting when their home record (25 points) is weighed against their away record (42 points). In other words, they’re nearly twice as effective on the road. Making it into the play-offs ranks among the longest of longshots but, c’mon, that’s better than no shot at all.
Of urgent concern to Nigel Adkins must be the manner in which his side was comfortably handled by modest achievers Crewe, eight of whose starters were academy graduates. The sinister story of abuse which temporarily destroyed the club’s splendid record is history now and needs no repetition here. The kids and management who ran Charlton ragged on Tuesday evening are untainted by the scandal and did Alex proud. They could even afford to spot their hopeful hosts an early lead.
Making their first inroads into the visitors’ territory, the Addicks turned their defence on the left flank. Liam Millar’s measured pass played Alex Gilbey in behind Harry Pickering to cross head-high on the run. Stealing a critical half-yard on marker Donervon Daniels, Jayden Stockley’s brave diving header beat Will Jaaskalainen and Charlton were off to an important, tension-easing start. Or so it seemed.
The truth was somewhat different. Far from calming local nerves, the first half was spent in jittery defence of the lead. Crewe lived up to their reputation for neat, constructive football and threatened occasionally to haul themselves level. Centre forward Mikael Madron wasted a couple of chances, while the persistent Dale curled narrowly wide after fine wing play by Callum Ainley.
All style in their approach but little substance in the final third where it matters – that was the dismissive opinion along the press ranks as Crewe dominated possession without end product. Until, of course, 22-year old Dale, from nearby Warrington, put that notion to the sword.
Charlton were growing steadily more anxious as the second half wore on and it was no surprise when Alex equalised midway through the session. Exchanging passes with diminutive Tom Lowery in the inside right channel, Dale shifted the ball on to his left foot before bending a cunning shot into the far corner. It was a goal that Charlton’s passive attitude had been inviting since Stockley opened the scoring.
Conor Washington had already replaced Ian Maatsen soon after the break to protect the youngster from a second yellow card. When he was joined by Chuks Aneke on for the ineffectual Millar, the Addicks at last took the fight to their well-drilled opponents. Aneke’s powerful running produced a ball in from the left which barely eluded Washington as the pendulum briefly swung. And with seven minutes left, Gilbey was on hand to head through Jaaskalainen’s legs after Aneke nodded down Jake Forster’s outswinging corner.
Both Aneke and Washington brought new menace and fresh legs with them. The latter’s forceful run down the middle looked likely to produce a clinching third goal until he was overwhelmed by force of numbers; Aneke also went close but his powerful low cross was claimed by Jaaskalainen, with Washington in predatory attendance.Still, Crewe persisted with admirable patience which brought its reward as the Addicks degenerated into blind panic.
“I enjoyed watching my side tonight,” remarked visiting gaffer David Artell. Under different circumstances, Dave, we couldn’t agree more. But don’t hurry back. You can get too much of a good thing…
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How do you follow up a thumping 6-0 victory on the road? By sliding to defeat at The Valley, of course. KEVIN NOLAN watched from the press box.
After the feast…famine. Fresh from filling their boots with six goals at Plymouth in midweek, Charlton fought gamely against automatic promotion certainties Peterborough United but were unable to find to find the one goal they needed to earn a valuable point. A missed penalty by Jayden Stockley was as close as they came with the Posh using all their nous and an occasional stroke of luck to shut them out.
On the positive side, Charlton matched – and during a spirited second half performance often more than matched – their talented visitors but fell just short. While play-off rivals Oxford United were finishing off what was left of Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth were ponderously squeaking past hapless Bristol Rovers, the Addicks slipped down to 8th place. Tuesday’s game in hand at home to Crewe looks like defining, if not deciding, their incident-packed season. They are overdue to put right the indifferent home form which has stunted their progress.
This hectic, evenly-contested duel hinged on the coolness shown by Johnson Clarke-Harris in converting what was his only clearcut chance and the subsequent failure, by Stockley, to equalise from the penalty spot. The prolific Clarke-Harris capitalised on Charlton’s customary tepid start to fire his side in front after just nine minutes. A needless foul by Liam Millar on Frankie Kent conceded a free kick which keeper Josef Bursik took quickly to Kent; the defender kept the ball moving to Sammie Szmodics, who slipped a promising pass in to Clarke-Harris. One touch of his left foot set up an unstoppable low shot which beat Ben Amos on its way into the bottom corner. It was a fine strike by a player brimming with confidence who expects to convert every chance.
Szmodics has almost kept pace with Clarke-Harris in providing United with a lethal scoring partnership this season. It was his quick-fire double which overhauled Charlton’s one-goal lead back in January and shortly after his partner scored, he should have increased his side’s advantage. Skilfully put through by Kent, he confronted Amos one-on-one near the penalty spot. Shooting hurriedly, he was foiled by the keeper’s instinctive touch which carried the ball wide.
Encouraged by their escape, the Addicks hit back through Millar, whose angled pass sent Alex Gilbey briefly clear of Kent, whose panicky challenge brought down the rapidly improving midfielder inside the penalty area. Referee Keith Stroud pointed to the spot which left Charlton to decide who would take the decisive kick. Hindsight is, of course, never wrong but the choice of Stockley, whose six goals have all been headers, seemed a curious one. An unconvincing effort cleared off the line by Ipswich a week earlier ranks as a rare shot delivered by an honest-to-goodness trier, who spends most games with his back to the opposition goal and thrives on headed chances. Sure enough, Stockley’ s shot was comfortably saved by Bursik and Charlton’s best chance had already come and gone. Jake Forster-Caskey might have been a better bet. That’s hindsight talking, of course. And hindsight’s always got something to say.
Before the interval, Millar’s miscued cross had Bursik scrambling back on his goalline to conjure the ball to safety. In response, Amos alertly narrowed the angle as Szmodics played in Joe Ward and hurried the midfielder into shooting over the bar. The Addicks retired for their break still in with a chance of salvaging something from a nip-and-tuck game. It was certainly not lack of effort which denied them. Instead there were grounds for optimism in their second half performance which, if they can carry it into the huge game against Crewe, might change the mood in SE7.
At the heart of the rally was Gilbey, whose form since Nigel Adkins arrived, has blossomed. A diffident figure under Lee Bowyer, who clearly didn’t rate him, the big midfielder was bristling for the fight. His powerful runs, seen to advantage when winning the penalty, troubled the visitors and inspired anxiety in their ranks. It was clearly no reflection on his contribution that he was replaced by Chuks Aneke with a quarter hour left. With Tuesday the priority, the caution he’d picked up made it a sensible move to withdraw him.
Entering the fray in the 77th minute, meanwhile, Aneke showed enough to suggest a start against Crewe is on the cards, possibly alongside Conor Washington, whose late appearance was a subtle nudge on Adkins’ elbow. Diallang Jaiyesisi’s premature departure probably frees up one place, while the ever willing Stockley might prosper, temporarily at least, as an impact sub. So with a touch of foresight, hindsights’s bitter rival, it’s predicted that an Aneke-Washington forward line could feature against Crewe. Unless, of course, Adkins goes for broke, includes Stockley and plays three up front. That’s probably pushing it but the prospect is appealing.
Adkins has other problems to solve before Tuesday, not least of which is the enigma called Liam Millar. The Liverpool loanee teased and taunted an above average Peterborough rearguard, marshalled superbly by Mark Beevers. On seemingly countless occasions, he twinkle-toed past an ever-growing posse of defenders, had their goal in his sights but just as regularly failed to exploit his advantage by poor decision-making. Crosses were tamely directed into Bursik’s hands, killer passes were constantly cut out by Beevers and his mates. A midfield comprising Millar, Gilbey and Jake Forster-Caskey should be a match for any in the division but only if the talented Canadian adds substance to his undeniable style, something he did brilliantly when setting up Gilbey for the penalty.
So it comes down to Tuesday and a nothing-to-lose, everything-to-gain engagement with the Railwaymen of Crewe. The crabbed, fear-filled progress of Oxford, Portsmouth, not to mention the continuing vulnerability of Blackpool, offers genuine hope of a play-off slot. It’s time to hold your nerve. Though they lost, Charlton held theirs against Posh. Four more times, Nigel, if you please…
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Yesterday’s lunchtime kick-off was one to forget as the Addicks ground out a goalless draw. KEVIN NOLAN put his shoulder to the wheel at The Valley.
The puzzling conundrum of Charlton’s poor home form appears to have stumped even new manager Nigel Adkins, who put a brave face on this latest disappointment and declared “we’ve got the feel of the place…it’s the first time for me, playing at home at The Valley. It gives me an understanding of where we’ve got to try and keep improving on moving forward because it’s a big, big pitch.”
If he felt the merest hint of frustration, Adkins was at pains to hide it but thousands of fans who coughed up a tenner to endure this scrappy, frankly awful game were under no such constraint. To a man and woman they had burned while Charlton fiddled their way through 90+ minutes of scruffiness.
A game as insipid as this one can be redeemed in only one way – by the winning of it – and that proved beyond the reach of Adkins’ Addicks.
There were times indeed on this sun-drenched Saturday, not least during a torrid opening quarter hour, when out-of-form Ipswich threatened to pinch the point which leaves Charlton hovering just outside the play-off places, two points behind stuttering Portsmouth with a game in hand.
Fortunately, the Tractor Boys’ ambition stretched no further than a draw and they departed for Suffolk as happy as sandboys.
Forced to make one change after Ian Maatsen limped off injured at Sunderland, Adkins recalled Liam Millar in the loanee youngster’s place and deployed his personnel in an attacking 4-3-3 formation. The intention was to carry the fight to the visitors, who responded by dominating the early possession and coming within a whisker of grabbing an early lead.
Ben Amos was forced into immediate action to keep out a fierce header from James Norwood, who met Andre Dozzell’s setpiece at close range. The wrongfooted keeper received stout support from his skipper Jason Pearce, who blocked Keanan Bennetts’ follow-up on the goalline.
As the Addicks struggled to gain a foothold in a game they were expected to control, it became evident how much they miss Conor Washington, whose wholehearted willingness to chase lost causes, run the channels tirelessly and play off the shoulder of target man Jayden Stockley, made him invaluable.
The Northern Irish international’s goals arrived at vital times while, during his absence, they have dried up for the unsupported Stockley. Charlton’s forwards have hit a wall, with the slack picked up recently by unlikely scorers in Maatsen, Alex Gilbey and Diallang Jaiyesimi, all of whom opened their account for the club. Those priceless wins at Doncaster and Sunderland were won by doggedness and guts; Atkins can only dream of resounding victories by three or four-goal margins but no doubt he will deal with it.
It’s surely a matter of time, meanwhile, before Ryan Inniss adds his name to the list of all-time scorers. The opening goal at the Stadium of Light was down to his massive influence on setpieces in the opposition’s box while, against Ipswich, he was foiled only by a sharp save by Thomas Holy after meeting Jake Forster-Caskey’s outswinging corner with a firm downward header. The Czech keeper was less impressive in fumbling Ben Purrington’s deep cross but was bailed out by Mark McGuiness’s goalline clearance from Stockley’s attempt to bury the loose ball.
If this begins to sound like an end-to-end ding-dong, well, to be fair, it staggered along those lines for a while.
With possession exchanged like drunken sailors, it was Town’s turn to go close when Teddy Bishop burst into the penalty area and presented an onrushing Bennetts with a perfectly judged cutback. Staring the gift horse in its mouth, Bennetts kicked it into what would have been an appreciative North Stand. By now it was clear that clinical finishing didn’t feature on the agenda of either side.
Neither Jaiyesimi’s header, forceful enough but directed straight at Holy after being set up by Stockley’s flick, nor the unconvincing shot from Liam Millar routinely saved by Holy, disturbed that impression.
A fine effort from Forster-Caskey narrowly cleared the bar before Purrington created a last chance from which Stockley’s low drive drew a capable save from Holy before this discouraging, disheartening game fizzled into richly-merited obscurity.
It was then time to check elsewhere what damage had been done by Charlton’s failure to beat the misfiring Tractor Boys. And reassuringly, the Addicks are still in with a solid chance of crawling into the play-offs.
Lincoln City have inconveniently pulled themselves together, Sunderland lost to Blackpool but probably have enough points already while the Seasiders have hit form at the right time. But here’s a reason to be cheerful… Milton Keynes 1 Portsmouth 0, which leaves Pompey two points ahead of us in sixth place but with one more game played.
But wait up, there’s Oxford United to worry about as well. They beat Gillingham 3-2 in the last minute and leapfrogged us into sixth place, two points ahead. But we have two games in hand on them. Still with me?
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The Charlton Champion 