A different Cook signs...

So our first signing of the season is made, just in time for the Welling United game.

22 year old Jordon Cook has signed a two year contract following his release from Premier League Sunderland.

Apps†	(Gls)†
2009–2012	Sunderland	3	(0)
2009–2010	→ Darlington (loan)	5	(0)
2011	→ Walsall (loan)	8	(1)
2012	→ Carlisle United (loan)	14	(4)
2012-	Charlton Athletic	0	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:25, 14 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

As you'll see a career total appearances of 30 over four years with a return of 5 goals should hardly see BWP quaking in his boots but with the exception of Alonso all signings made by Sir Chris and his scouting team to date have all been at the very least adequate, usually pretty astute (see Kermogant).

I would imagine this is the first of two or three that will drip through over the next week and a half prior to our trip to Portugal.

I think we all need to get used to the fact that most of the rebuilding of the side took place last summer with the unprecedented, and probably never to be seen again twenty something new faces coming through the gates of The Valley.

In my mind we do still need, at the very least, another midfielder and someone to compete with Bradley Wright Phillips or be able to cover his position in the event that his knees start playing up again.

disgusted of Dartford...

Me and the missus have decided to treat my Son to the new Charlton home kit for the first time. He's six, been to a couple of games last season and thanks to the football club he's been attending at school, match attax card game and Euro 2012 is really beginning to get it (and thanks to my hard work explaining why its better to support your local team over his mates who are mainly Chelsea and Arsenal) he is now starting to show early signs of becoming an addicktoholic.

Up until now he's been attending football club amidst his Chelsea and Arsenal replica kit clad mates in an old England kit that belonged to one of his older Sisters, we have promised and promised as a reward for good behaviour we'll get him the new Charlton kit. And on the whole he has been a good boy. So good in fact that we promised he could have his name and a number on the back.

So we went to the new Nikeeeee stocked club website to price up and order it. A stiff drink was required! He's too big for the twenty two quid kiddies kit so we had to go junior. One shirt with his name and the number eight, Nikeeee shorts and a pair of socks. SEVENTY FIVE CHUFFING QUID!!!!! Saying that we could save six quid to go without the NPower champions gold star badge. Well that'll be alright then, that brings it below the magic 69 then! as they say VFM.

Cheers

Perhaps i'm being a bit naive, seeing as we are third division champions and all that? Did the Macron kit really cost as much?


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And there we were all looking forward to some good old fashioned second tier mediocrity...

...So the doom lovers are back out in force. And to a certain extent, who can blame them. (I do however find it odd that some people seem to get such enjoyment from potential bad news and possible calamities).

Rumours are flying around and gathering at pace that all is not great in SE7.

My initial thoughts were (until the conspiracy theorists started) that it was simply a case that the resurgence of the Addicks was ahead of schedule hence Varney leaving his post.  The rumours are that Sir Chris and Tony 'The Hat' Jiminez have fallen out, Zabeel investments made a new bid to buy the club last month, 'we've not got no more money', Zabeel are to make another bid immanently. It's all a bit dizzying!

Two things are for sure. We'll all find out pretty soon what the hells going on (very probably nothing to worry about) good or bad and that once again, it's never plain sailing (with the exception of last season) being a Charlton supporter.

The new home kit..

...with Andrews Air Conditioning emblazoned across the front reminds me of, well, to be fair it does look like a uniform that might be worn by a fitter employed by a multi national Air Conditioning company doesn't it? (Perhaps this is a money saving idea embraced by the boards of both the club and Andrews in these Austere times?)

This coupled with Charlton Casual's reminder that Nike's human rights record is far from exemplary leaves me deciding that I'm not as fan.

We've had some great kit's and some great kit suppliers over the years. Our recent predisposition to use European manufacturers such as Le Coq, Macron and the one that begun with J seems to have been superseded by the need to do a deal with the corporate American giants.

Going back probably the kit supplier and one that closest to my heart would be the old Oska kit. Outside of South East London I'm pretty sure no one had heard of it. (In fact at the Eltham school I went to, which was populated by fans of local sides such as West Ham, Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool, none of my peers had heard of it either - but then there was something about being one of what seemed like only around three and a half thousand, in the world, Charlton supporters that appealed to me).

It ended up having our new shirt sponser's name 'The Woolwich' in a white band across the front. Well classy! The other would be its preddecessor by Adidas. The Fads one, that the boys wore on my debut in the West Stand against Gillingham.

I have both safley stored in my loft with my collection of old programmes and magazines.

It's amazing what one starts to blog about once the close season boredom really starts to kick in.

So long and many thanks Mr Varney

So Peter Varney has stood down a season earlier than he'd intended to to make way for the slightly enigmatic (looking at his LinkedIn which gives nothing away) Martin Prothero.

http://blog.umbro.com/post/the-new-england-kit-martin-prothero-a-kit-to-turn-heads/

Not sure if you copy and paste the above it will work . Its a link to the Umbro blog, where he used to work apparently. To be honest it does make him sound what I would term as a bit 'media poncey'.

So we have the ex Umbro vice president watching over a new era for the club which has a shirt deal with Nike and are sponsored by Andrews Air Conditioning, a multi national corporate born and based locally with a very ordinary and none corporate sounding name and logo.

Only at Charlton. It's what makes it all such fun.

Just going to throw this one out there. I think, maybe, Sir Chris's success last season took the new board by surprise, and their anticipation was it would probably take more like two seasons to escape the third tier. (hence Varneys original plan to stay for two seasons after the take over).

Now the boards 'business plan' has moved forward at an accelerated pace. I fully expect there will be some surprising twists and turns just around the corner. I know those of us that get over excited by new signings were spoilt last pre season, this time round I wouldn't be surprised to see only one or two incoming, but of better pedigree than most of the early rumours have indicated.

But then I've been wrong before. Quite a lot.

Either way I'll still be taking my seat in the West Stand and cheering on the mighty Addicks.

All becoming a tad exciting...

... The usual summer months of football famine certainly don't apply this time round.

League cup draws and championship fixture lists are imminent, England actually looked (tactically at least) capable, and various online sources are listing Charlton as a Championship side!

I'm blogging today between appointments in a coffee shop on London Wall. (this is a development that has left me oddly excited.)

When you look at the Championship table after nil games played things look even better, with us equal with both Palace and Millwall on (no) goal difference but ahead of them alphabetically.

Interesting developments in the world of British football. Rangers are going going gone, but apparently all of the staff and players should be 'transferred' to the new company whilst the club retains its history and should be re-elected to the SPL. I'm sure supporters of Wimbledon, Newport, Aldershot etc and all of those other small clubs who went tits up and had to start all over again are splitting.

Rangers will be banned from competing in European competition for three years, if Scotland still get two berths in the Champions League this could be of real financial benefit for whoever finishes third in the SPL, and actually enable them to compete a little bit more with Glasgow's big two. I think it might not be to bad an idea for Rangers, who lets face it, gain most of their revenue via gates and sponsorship to start back in the Scottish third tier. I'm sure they will eventually walk their way back up through the leagues to the SPL and along the way guarantee their poor relations throughout the leagues at least one big payday a season.

Equally interesting developments at Nottingham Forest, with an apparent take over imminent. In fact I read that there are more than one potential sets of new owners battling for control. I've not viewed Forest as having much potential of getting back to the top flight for some time. No money, over expectant and unrealistic board and supporters. More of a giant in a coma than a sleeping giant. It could just be that this season we'll see Forest back in the mix pushing for promotion alongside the favourites and usual suspects.

Can't wait for Monday and the chance to start planning my Saturdays and looking forward to who we'll be seeing under the floodlights at The Valley.


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Reasons to be cheerful...1

It' been pretty grim in terms of media coverage since we left the Premiership, and even more so during our three long years in the third tier.

Sky and BBC red button services (or ceefax as I prefer to call it) offer club by club in depth info and news for the first and second flight clubs in English football, but just round ups for those in the lower league divisions.

I've been trawling these sites on a daily basis to see when our status is finally elevated, but alas I'm guessing this won't be until the 2012-2013 fixtures are released (18th June, can't wait).

However, on the football leagues website there is this http://www.football-league.co.uk/latestnews/20120527/201213-divisional-line-up_2293301_2733793 which I think you'll agree shows the green shoots of recovery for us Addicks.


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