It's being so cheerful as keeps me happy

The New York Times has come up with a 'happiness index' for the supporters of Premier League clubs.  Of course, it's all a bit of festive fun, but why I am not surprised that Tottenham Hotspur are bottom with West Ham United down there?  Spurs fans are notorious for their constantly disappointed sense of entitlement.   I took great pleasure in seeing them beaten 1-0 at the then White Hart Lane by a goal scored by their fan Chris Powell,

I think that if the NYT did something similar for the Championship, Charlton fans would get a high miserable score.    It doesn't take much to bring out all the negativity and pessimism.

The words I particularly dread are 'if the fans can see it, why can't the management?'   I have been following Charlton for over seventy years and one lesson I have learnt is that I know nothing about football.  Of course, the game has changed beyond recognition, especially in the last few years.

There has been a sudden surge in hits on this page.   I was puzzled  by this as surely not that many people are suddenly interested in the Addicks, or not least in my meanderings about them.

Then my stattos in Dublin emailed me and said that I was being 'scraped' by AI.   Indeed, I did have a good conversation with a robot chat bot the other day.

More worryingly, they told me that Desmond from Deal may not exist other than as an avatar.    I spent a few days in Deal in the summer hoping to find Desmond and his moaning pals.    We had some great meals, but no Desmond.   (But I am advised by a RHDR volunteer and Addick that Derek from Dymchurch is a real person).

Admittedly, Desmond is hardly AI, more AD (artificially dim).   His latest missive is: 'As I predicted, the wheels are coming off.  Jones was riding his luck, but now he is being found out.'   If I thought they were intelligent enough, he could have actually been unleashed by Spanners or Nigels.

A distinguished life scientist (who came well out of the Covid inquiry) once told me that his starting position was everything he knew was wrong.  I was quite taken aback, but now I know what he meant.

Waiting for Godden

Desmond from Deal may be considering convening a get together of armchair critics from his part of the  Kent coast, but around the coast Ramsgate-based fanzine editor Rick Everitt takes a more positive view of recent setbacks in a 'torrid week': https://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2025-26-blogs/1-12-torrid-week-still-leaves-us-waiting-for-godden/

As the Rickster points out, a lack of firepower is as much a problem as defensive lapses and we are still 'waiting for Godden'.   However, Nathan Jones and his players still have a load of credit in the bank even if the rumbling of discontent is getting louder.

How Sasa Ilic became a Charlton hero

Richard Cawley has published the latest instalment of the Peter Varney diaries, this time giving the inside story of the Greatest Game.

You need to subscribe to Richard's excellent Substack page to get all the gems, but here is a taster extract about how Sasa Ilic became the keeper at Wembley.

'He had been playing in Yugoslavia but then was on the books of St Leonards Stamcroft, a non-league side based in Hastings.

It transpired Sasa was standing outside our training ground, holding a bag, and was stopping cars as they came in. He had decided he wouldn’t write to the club about training with us, or ring up, he’d just come up to Sparrows Lane.

The natural reaction is just to get rid of players in that scenario. I think Curbs was the one who went down and asked what the story was.

They put him in a game, it wasn’t a first-team one, and they thought he had something about him. It was a very similar story with Nick Pope. He didn’t just rock up at the club but he came in from Bury Town - we gave them something like £9,000 and some kit.

It was Keith Peacock who said: ‘I think Ilic has got something about him, but he’s very, very raw’.

He got in the team and kept all these clean sheets. Still to this day he makes out he made a wonder save from Gray and not that it was a bad penalty. He was a character Sasa, you had to admire the fact he had a huge amount of self confidence.'

Billy Bonds MBE

As we mourn one of football's greats and his association with West Ham, we should not forget that he started out with Charlton.

Born in Woolwich, Bonds grew up in Eltham, where he played for a Sunday boys' team, Moatbridge, and Kent Schoolboys and joined the ground staff at Charlton after leaving school at 15. He played in the youth and A team and occasionally in the reserves before joining the playing staff shortly before his 18th birthday in September 1964.

Bonds played his first game for Charlton against Northampton Town in February 1965.    He became a first team regular for three seassons and went on to make 95 appearances for the Addicks, scoring one goal, before signing for West Ham for £50,000.

Using the Bank of England inflation calculator this would be £855,000 in 2025 prices.

One fan recalled how he came into the bank he worked in and always had time for a chat, particularly about Charlton.   Fans are agreed that he was a true gentleman.

Some more details of his relationship with Charlton appeared in a double spread in The Times yesterday.

He remained a south Londoner all his life, always living that side of the river, heading back through the Blackwall Tunnel before some of his team mates has showered.

It is said that Arthur and Barbara Bonds were watching Charlton at The Valley hours before William was born.   They returned to the terraces with him when he was three months old.

Even so they insisted that he start work in a ship propeller factory for two months before he joined Charlton.

.

Defeat to league leaders

Charlton were defeated 3-1 by runaway league leaders at the CBS Arena this afternoon   Charlton took the michael by scoring an opening goal through Harvey Knibbs, but two home goals just before half time more or less sealed the result.

The Sky Blues have scored three goals in ten games this season

A sold out away end braved some wet Warwickshire weather to demonstrate their Addicktion.

After their opening goal the Addicks rose to 10th in the as it stands table, but ended up 17th.

Harvey Knibbs gave the visitors a surprise lead at the CBS Arena when he turned in Tyreece Campbell's deflected shot from six yards.

But the Sky Blues put themselves in front with two goals just before half-time as Josh Eccles scored from outside the box and Ellis Simms glanced in a header from a corner.

Charlton pushed for a leveller after the break before Simms poked in Coventry's 50th league goal of the season to seal victory.

Coventry have now won 11 of their past 12 matches and only lost once in the league all season.

Shell shocked supremo Nathan Jones told BBC Radio London: "I'm really disappointed with the manner of the goals (conceded) but the level of the performance I'm relatively happy.

"First half we had the majority of the chances - with a little bit more better decision making we'd have gone in further ahead.

"It's been tough week, Southampton, Stoke away and then the leaders away, especially when we're stretched as we are but I'm proud of the applicaiton.

"Now we have to go into December and stem the tide and come out of December in a significantly better position than we are now."

Black Friday acquisition 'a calculated gamble' admits supremo

Nathan Jones has told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition that the club’s move for free agent Jerome Roussillon is a “calculated gamble”.  He would be allowed to play at today's game.

Roussillon, 32, has been a free agent since leaving Union Berlin in the summer.  He has also played for VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Before that the Guadeloupe international, capped at U18 and U20 level by France, represented Sochaux and Montpellier.

Roussillon is closing in on 350 first-team matches and that includes 10 appearances in both the Champions League and Europa League.

He played for Guadeloupe in Gold Cup Group C matches against Panama and Jamaica in June.

Roussillon has been training with Charlton for a few weeks before signing. It was the same scenario with Hernandez. Both players are only on deals until the January transfer window.

“We had to have a look at him physically, in terms of things,” said Jones. “There are not many left-siders around in the free agent market, so you have to be very clever.

“He (Roussillon) is a left-back or more of an attacking full-back. He has got wonderful quality in the final third. So he will add that and he is very composed - he’s played several seasons in the Bundesliga.”

“He comes with a good pedigree. What we have to do is get him up to speed because pedigree-wise it is not a problem. He will provide good competition and he’s an excellent character.

“It’s a mini gamble but it’s a calculated one. It’s one we needed to take.”

Jones has praised head of recruitment Phil Chapple, appointed in May, for finding solutions to Charlton’s defensive deficiencies.  “I’m not sure there are not many players on the planet that Phil doesn’t know about,” said the Welshman.   Clearly he is no Chapple of Rest.

 

It's a really, really tough test admits shell shocked supremo

The Coventry Evening Telegraph looks at how Frank Lampard has transformed his career prospects and those of Coventry City: https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/frank-lampard-coventry-city-chelsea-32961942

The Sky Blues may be a promotion juggernaut, but Charlton fans have sold out the away end at the CBS Arena.

At home the Sky Blues have won eight and drawn too, scoring 22 and conceding six.   The Sky Blues have lost just one of their last fifteen league games at home against Charlton.   The stats do not make good reading for the Addicks: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3w788v340xo

I do remember winning at Highfield Road, but that was in the FA Cup.  This was in January 2000 when we came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

Coventry fans contemplate a shock Cup defeat by Charlton

Some Charlton fans have already identified T Campbell and Leaburn as scapegoat players, but football journos have been giving them relatively high ratings.

Nathan Jones gave Richard Cawley his excuses first on the journo's Substack page: 'We started this season well, lost players and stopped doing the basics a little bit. That is why we’ve got hurt. We have to reset and start doing what we do best - then results will come.'

'Coventry have been an outstanding attacking team and Frank has done a wonderful job. They were a really established Championship side anyway - they got to the play-off final and lose narrowly on penalties to Luton. They added again in the window under Mark Robins and when Frank came in he has probably taken them considerably further than where they were at..'

“They have invested wisely and got an excellent squad. They’ve got pace, quality and score goals so, of course, it is a really, really tough test. But it is 11 v 11 and we have to make sure that we are the best versions of ourselves. If we do all the basics right then it gives you a platform to win a football game.'

'That is what we haven’t done in the last couple of games.'

CAS Trust have difficiulty in finding words to discuss the prospects for the game: https://www.castrust.org/2025/11/nothing-to-lose-at-coventry/