The Charlton Champion

Kevin Nolan’s Valley View: Charlton Athletic 2-1 Barnsley

February 2, 2020February 23, 2020kevinnolan

KEVIN NOLAN was at The Valley on Saturday to report on a vital win for Charlton.

Whether you’re in a title race or a relegation dogfight, concentrate on your own game and don’t be worrying about other results you can’t control. That’s a piece of advice old-timers used to hand out (they would also quaintly advise never to pass across your own penalty area – a practice more or less coached into players in these enlightened times).

Time – and football – moves on and in this digital age, it’s become impossible to be unaware within your own bubble of events elsewhere in the country. You can bet that Lee Bowyer’s immediate priority, once this nerve-shredding victory over fellow-strugglers Barnsley was in the bag, was to find out how the others had got on. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t.

The good news was that Stoke, Huddersfield and Luton had lost. The only fly in a soothing ointment was the news that serial-chokers Leeds had dismally failed to oblige at home to Wigan. But the Addicks had moved up to 19th position and had Middlesbrough and Birmingham in their sights above them. The more the merrier in a survival battle, there’s another sage bit of advice for you.

Squad improvements

With his squad stiffened by a few canny loan signings and by the return from injury of several key players, Bowyer has every reason to expect an improvement in results in the near future. This faltering, often chaotic, win over surprisingly resilient Barnsley provided an important first step. It also emphasised how vital the continued good health of Lyle Taylor will be to Charlton’s immediate prospects.

There’s no such thing, of course, as a one-man team but Taylor is almost indispensable. During the Addicks’ dreary winless run, his personality, charisma, not to mention his regular goals, were sorely missed. It’s hardly a coincidence that after he was withdrawn in the 68th minute of this crucial clash, Barnsley flooded forward and took over. Glad to see an end to Charlton’s Taylor-led restless chivvying, they reduced their two-goal arrears three minutes after his departure and went looking for parity. Only desperate defending and two enormous strokes of luck saw Bowyer’s beleaguered braves over the line.

It was inevitably Taylor who shot Charlton into an early lead. A cynical foul on Josh Cullen gave its victim the opportunity to dink a clever free kick into the danger area, where Jason Pearce contributed a key header, to which Taylor reacted sharply in stabbing his eighth goal of an injury-blighted season past Samuel Sahin-Radlinger. The goal was initiated by a marvellously indefatigable midfielder, carried forward by an uncomplicated battler and finished by a cold-eyed predator.

Pearce had already cleared up a mess of Charlton’s own making when defensive indecision allowed Jacob Brown to set up Luke Thomas inside the home penalty area. Making ground quickly, Pearce legally smothered the busy midfielder as he prepared to shoot. Bleeding profusely, Thomas must have wondered what hit him.

Essential save

Midway through the first half, Dillon Phillips made what is now recognised as a Banksesque save to maintain the lead. Meeting Clarke Odour’s left-sided free kick, Danish defender Mads Andersen directed a downward header destined for the bottom left corner until Phillips scrambled across his goalline to athletically conjure the ball to temporary safety. He deserved the good fortune he enjoyed as Aapo Halme blasted the rebound against the outside of the post. A rare standing ovation from the Covered End saluted Phillips’ outstanding save.

Comfortably on top otherwise, Charlton doubled their lead in added time. A right wing corner swung in by Alfie Doughty was returned to its young taker, whose second delivery from an improved angle picked out Pearce at the far post. The captain’s deliberate header eluded Naby Sarr but was emphatically drilled inside the left post by Andre Green. His second goal for the club capped an impressive shift put in by the Aston Villa loanee, who showed class and tenacity.

The 57th minute departure of a predictably battered Jonny Williams was followed eleven minutes later by the withdrawal of Taylor, himself the recipient of some illegally heavy treatment. The momentum promptly changed as the Addicks retreated deep into their own half. While they wavered, Andersen’s ferocious drive almost knocked Phillips off his feet, with Cauley Woodrow sending the rebound crashing against the bar.

Often Charlton’s nemesis in previous encounters, Woodrow refused to be discouraged. Played into space following Thomas’ fine run and through pass, the Tykes’ leading scorer halved the lead with a crisp rising drive beyond Phillips’ reach.

The spectacle of rampant visitors besieging the Jimmy Seed end, where the vast majority of 20 goals conceded at home this season have been scored, was now familiar. Blind panic and sheer desperation to hang on unnerved The Valley with luck playing another priceless part as Brown rattled the bar for a second time and Halme’s late shot was hacked off the line by an unidentified but heroic red shirt. Six added minutes were actually negotiated with uncharacteristic efficiency.

So much for the five-year plan (funny how it’s always five years) to secure Charlton’s place in the Premier League. More to the point, this precious victory might prove to be the first step in a five-week plan to keep the Addicks in the Championship. Bring on the long-term dream by all means but spare us a short-term nightmare in League One. But it’s so far so good, Tahnoon, welcome aboard. Make yourself at home…spit on the floor… call the cat names.

Charlton: Phillips, Matthews, Lockyer, Pearce. Sarr, Doughty (Purrington 90), Cullen, Williams (Forster-Caskey 57), Pratley, Green, Taylor (Hemed 68). Not used: Amos, McGeady, Field, Oztumer.

Barnsley: Sahin-Radlinger, Jordan Williams (Simoes 68), Sollbauer, Andersen, Odour (Ludewig 68), Thomas, Halme, Mowatt, Brown, Woodrow, Chaplin. Not used: Walton, Ben Williams, Dougal, Schmidt, Styles.

Referee: John Brooks. Att: 19,870 (1,083 visiting).

LIKE THE REPORT? SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

– Help us publish these match reports with a monthly donation – just visit presspatron.com/charltonchampion or click the button below

– You can also support us via Patreon
– Can your company sponsor these match reports? Get in touch
– Advertise your business with us from just £9.80/week (find out more) Continue reading →

Can you help plan the future of Charlton House?

January 31, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Charlton House SE7 — Charlton House is managed by Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust. Photo by Neil Clasper.

Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust is planning a series of events in February to help it make decisions about its new masterplan and plans for major investment at Charlton House. The trust, which runs the Jacobean mansion on behalf of Greenwich Council, is applying for funding to improve the building, which has not seen major investment for many years.

Two events are being held – on Thursday 6 February from 1pm to 3.30pm, and Thursday 13 February from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Questionnaires will also be put online so as many people as possible can take part in the consultation.

The trust is also holding focus groups – to get involved in those, email info[a]rght.org.uk for more details.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

We tell the SE7 stories you won’t read elsewhere. We can’t do it without your help.
– Please tell us about your news and events
– NEW! Become a monthly supporter at presspatron.com/charltonchampion
– Advertise your business with us from just £9.80/per week

Hornfair Park BMX track ‘needs investment’, operator admits as work planned

January 29, 2020Darryl Chamberlain

The BMX track opened in 2012 but has fallen into disrepair

Hornfair Park’s BMX track “needs investment” after falling into disrepair just eight years after it opened, its operator GLL admitted to Greenwich councillors last week.

The facility opened in 2012 as an Olympic legacy project, with some local residents initially objecting to the track because of fears it would attract antisocial behaviour.

While it proved to be a popular facility, it was overshadowed five years later by the opening of the skate park in Charlton Park, and has looked increasingly tatty since then.

At a Greenwich Council scrutiny panel last Thursday, Kidbrooke with Hornfair councillor David Stanley told representatives of Greenwich Leisure Limited, which operates the track, that groups were having to move events to Kent because the track was in such a poor state.

“We’ve a lovely BMX track which is now falling into such disrepair we’re unable to use it and we’re having to move events to Kent,” he said.

Gary Starkey, the partnership manager for GLL’s leisure centres, said contractors were about to visit the track to see what work needed doing.

“We absolutely recognise that the track needs some investment and work to be done – as soon as practical, we’ll get that work done,” he told the regeneration scrutiny committee.

Starkey added that GLL was looking into relaunching the track with a promotional event when the work is done. (See 23 and 27 minutes into the video below.)

Charlton councillor Linda Perks questioned how well Charlton Library – which is also operated by GLL – was being promoted (see nine minutes into the video below). “It’s just a small library ticked away in a corner of Charlton House – I just wondered if you could increase marketing of that facility in that area. There’s not much information inside the building or outside that it’s there.”

Paul Drumm, the libraries partnership manager, said the libraries team went to local events and fairs to promote the service, while Tim Hetherington, GLL’s head of leisure and libraries, said the staff worked closely with the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust – which runs Charlton House – and its events, adding: “Our staff have dressed up as World War I nurses.”

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

The Charlton Champion Film Club has MOVED: Watch All The President’s Men this Thursday at Charlton House

January 29, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Watch All The President’s Men with us on 30 January (Photo: Warner Bros)

A quick reminder that The Charlton Champion and 853 are delighted to be teaming up with the Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival to bring you a special night on Thursday 30 January – but we’ve switched to a new venue.

We’ll be screening All The President’s Men tomorrow, the acclaimed film about the exposure of the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon in 1974. Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, it’s a tale that resonates 44 years after the film’s initial release – particularly with recent events in Washington.

With politicians’ growing intolerance of media scrutiny – globally, nationally and locally – and as a website that has tried to shine a spotlight on the smaller scale shenanigans in our own part of London, it seems like a good time to show the story of how Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward exposed wrongdoing at the White House. And it’s always a good time to meet you, our reader, and thank you for your support.

We had originally hoped to screen the film at The White Swan pub. However, because of an issue beyond our or the pub’s control, we’ve had to switch venue – to the historic surroundings of Charlton House, where we’ll be screening the film in the Grand Salon from 7.30pm. We’re grateful to the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust for accommodating us at such short notice, and thank The White Swan for their patience – we’ll be having drinks in one of SE London’s best boozers after the film (and they’d love to see you before the film if you want something to eat). The bar at Charlton House won’t be open, but you are welcome to bring your own refreshments.

Admission remains free – although as we have to cover some costs, we will be passing around a bucket for donations to help cover them. Any excess will be used to help the Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival put on its fifth event this September.

We were originally going to screen the film as part of last year’s festival, but venue changes meant we couldn’t do it. So we decided to do it now instead, to get us all out on a bleak January night. Here’s a Facebook event page.

We start at 7.30pm (slightly earlier than originally planned) on Thursday 30 January, in the Grand Salon at Charlton House, Charlton Road, London SE7 8RE. Doors will be open from 7pm. We hope to see you then.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

Can you help find racists who scrawled antisemitic graffiti?

January 26, 2020January 26, 2020Darryl Chamberlain

We’ve decided not to publish images of the graffiti

Police are looking for racists who daubed fascist imagery and antisemitic imagery on a Charlton takeaway and a bank in Blackheath overnight.

A swastika and a Celtic cross were scrawled on the takeaway at the western end of Bramshot Avenue, while similar graffiti was daubed on the Barclays branch at Blackheath Standard. Greenwich Council workers have painted over the bank graffiti and are working on the takeaway which was attacked.

Greenwich & Woolwich MP Matt Pennycook said he was “sickened” by the attack. “These crimes are a stark reminder of the rise in white supremacism and Jew hatred in our country and, when it comes to the latter, of the need to never be complacent about the unique and constantly mutating form of prejudice that is antisemitism,” he tweeted.

Danny Thorpe, the leader of Greenwich Council, said he was “disgusted and appalled” by the attack, a day before Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated.

Police have asked anyone with information to call 101 quoting CAD 340/26JAN20. If you see any other graffiti in the area, call the council on 020 8854 8888.

Greenwich Council will mark Holocaust Memorial Day with a service at Woolwich Town Hall at 10.30am tomorrow. For more details, visit the council’s website.

No trains from Charlton this weekend, 25/26 January

January 22, 2020January 22, 2020Darryl Chamberlain

Train at London Bridge station — Getting to London Bridge will be more difficult this weekend

Just in case you were planning to go somewhere this weekend, Network Rail engineering works mean there are no trains at all from Charlton, Westcombe Park or Woolwich Dockyard on Saturday and Sunday.

Trains (including Thameslink trains) will be running via Blackheath and Bexleyheath instead. Two replacement buses an hour are running from Lewisham to Plumstead, with a similarly infrequent train service between Plumstead and Dartford.

A normal service will run on the Jubilee Line and Docklands Light Railway.

Maddeningly, the rail closure had coincided with a London derby at The Valley – but Charlton Athletic’s match with Fulham, which had been scheduled for Saturday, was brought forward to tonight after the Cottagers won their third-round FA Cup tie earlier this month.

The closure comes ahead of the major works which will close the Bexleyheath line during the February half-term week, which will see busier trains through Charlton for nine days, as well as some extra services such as peak-hour trains to Victoria. More information at bexleyheathline.co.uk.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

Charlton Champion Film Club: Watch All The President’s Men with us at Charlton House

January 14, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Fancy a night out watching a classic film? The Charlton Champion and our sister site 853 are delighted to be teaming up with the Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival to bring you a special night at Charlton House on Thursday 30 January.

We’ll be screening All The President’s Men, the acclaimed film about the exposure of the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon in 1974. Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, it’s a tale that resonates 44 years after the film’s initial release – particularly with recent events in Washington.

With politicians’ growing intolerance of media scrutiny – globally, nationally and locally – and as a website that tries to keep you up to date with what our elected representatives are up to, it seems like a good time to show the story of how Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward exposed wrongdoing at the White House. It’s also good to meet our readers!

Admission is free – although as we have to cover some costs, we will be passing around a bucket for donations to help cover them. Any excess will be used to help the Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival put on its fifth event this September.

The Charlton Champion was originally going to screen the film as part of last year’s festival, but venue changes meant we couldn’t do it. So we decided to do it now instead, to get us all out on a bleak January night.

We start at 7.30pm on Thursday 30 January, in the Grand Salon at Charlton House, Charlton Road, London SE7 8RE. Doors open at 7pm. We hope to see you then.

(Edited on 28 January with a change of venue.)