Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic

Full name	Charlton Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Addicks, The Red Robins, The Valiants
Founded	9 June 1905; 106 years ago (1905-06-09)
Ground	The Valley Charlton, London, England (Capacity: 27,111)
Owner	CAFC Holdings Limited
Chairman	Michael Slater
Manager	Chris Powell
League	Football League One
2010–11	Football League One, 13th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area, including East Street Mission and Blundell Mission, combined to form Charlton Athletic. The club play at The Valley in Charlton, where they've played since 1919, apart from one year in Catford, during 1923–24, and seven years at Crystal Palace and West Ham United between 1985–1992. Charlton share local London rivalries with Millwall, Crystal Palace and West Ham.^[1]

The club's traditional kit consists of red shirts, white shorts and red socks and their most commonly used nickname is The Addicks. Charlton turned professional in 1920 and first entered the Football League in 1921. Since then they have had four separate periods in the top flight of English football: between 1936–1957, 1986–1990, 1998–1999 and 2000–2007. Historically, Charlton's most successful period was the 1930s, when the club's highest league finishes were recorded, including runners-up of the First Division in 1937. After World War II, the club reached the FA Cup Final twice, losing in 1946 and winning in 1947.

History

Early history

Charlton Athletic were formed on 9 June 1905^[2] by a group of 15- to 17-year-old boys in an area of Charlton which is no longer residential, near to the present-day site of the Thames Barrier. In the club's early years its progress was hampered by the nearby presence of Woolwich Arsenal F.C. (now Arsenal), which was one of the largest clubs in the country, and Charlton spent the years before the First World War playing in local leagues. Woolwich Arsenal's move to North London in 1913 gave Charlton an opportunity to develop, and they became a senior side by joining the Lewisham League.^[2] After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before becoming professional, appointing Walter Rayner as the first full-time manager. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the Football League. Charlton's first Football League match was against Exeter City in August 1921, which they won 1–0. In 1923 it was proposed that Charlton merged with Catford Southend to create a larger team with bigger support.^[3] In the 1923–24 season Charlton played in Catford at The Mount stadium and wore the colours of "The Enders", light and dark blue vertical stripes. However, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1924, returning to the traditional red and white colours in the process.^[4] Charlton finished second bottom in the Football League in 1926 and were forced to apply for re-election which was successful. Three years later the Addicks won the Division Three championship in 1929^[5] and they remained at the Division Two level for four years.^[2] After relegation into the Third Division south at the end of the 1932/33 season the club appointed Jimmy Seed as manager and he oversaw the most successful period in Charlton's history either side of the Second World War. Seed, an ex-miner who had made a career as a footballer despite suffering the effects of poison-gas in the first war, remains the most successful manager in Charlton's history and he is commemorated in the name of a stand at the Valley.^[6] Seed was an innovative thinker about the game at a time when tactical formations were still relatively unsophisticated. He later recalled "a simple scheme that enabled us to pull several matches out of the fire" during the 1934–35 season: when the team was in trouble "the centre-half was to forsake his defensive role and go up into the attack to add weight to the five forwards."^[7] The organisation Seed brought to the team proved effective and the Addicks gained successive promotions from the Third Division to the First Division between 1934 and 1936.^[2] Charlton finally secured promotion to the First Division by beating local rivals West Ham in front of 41,254 fans at the Valley, with their valiant centre-half John Oakes playing on despite concusion and a broken nose.^[8]

In 1937, Charlton finished runners up in the First Division,^[9] in 1938 finished fourth^[10] and 1939 finished third.^[11] They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before the Second World War.^[2] This continued during the war years and they won the "war" cup and appeared in finals.

Post-war history

Charlton were finalists in the 1946 FA Cup, but lost 4–1 to Derby County. Charlton's Bert Turner scored an own goal in the eightieth minute before equalising for the Addicks a minute later to take them into extra time, but they conceded three further goals in the extra period.^[12] When the full league programme resumed in 1946–47 Charlton could finish only 19th in the First Division, just above the relegation spots. But they made amends with their performance in the FA Cup, reaching the final once again. This time they were successful, beating Burnley 1–0, Chris Duffy scoring the only goal of the day.^[13] In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only eleven English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season.^[2] The Valley was the largest football ground in the League, drawing crowds in excess of 70,000.^[2] However, in the 1950s little investment was made either for players or to The Valley, hampering the club's growth. In 1956, the then board undermined Jimmy Seed and then sacked, and Charlton were relegated the following year.^[2]

From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained a mainstay of the Second Division before relegation to the Third Division in 1972^[14] caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the second division^[15] did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances. In 1979–80 Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division,^[16] but won immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980–81.^[17] Even though it did not feel like it, this was a turning point in the club's history leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and shortly after a change in club ownership^[18] led to severe problems, such as the reckless signing of former European Footballer of the Year Allan Simonsen, and the club looked like it would go out of business.^[19]

The "wilderness" years

In 1984 financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd.^[2] But the club's finances were still far from secure, and they were forced to leave the Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season after its safety was criticised by Football League officials. The club began to groundshare with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park^[2] and this arrangement looked to be for the long-term, as Charlton did not have enough funds to revamp the Valley to meet safety requirements.

Despite the move away from the Valley, Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985–86,^[20] and remained at this level for four years (achieving a highest league finish of 14th) often with late escapes, most notably against Leeds in 1987, where the Addicks triumphed in extra-time of the play-off final replay to secure their top flight place.^[2] In 1987 Charlton also returned to Wembley for the first time since the 1947 FA Cup final for the Full Members Cup final against Blackburn.^[21] Eventually, however, the Addicks fell to relegation in 1990 after a dismal season.^[2] Manager Lennie Lawrence remained in charge for one more season before he accepted an offer to take charge of Middlesbrough. He was replaced by joint player-managers Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt.^[2] The pair had unexpected success in their first season finishing just outside the play-offs, and 1992–93 began promisingly and Charlton looked good bets for promotion in the new Division One (the new name of the old Second Division following the formation of the Premier League). However, the club was forced to sell players such as Rob Lee to help pay for a return to The Valley, which eventually happened in December 1992.

There was a tragedy at the club late in the 1992–93 season. Defender Tommy Caton, who had been out of action due to injury since January 1991, announced his retirement from playing on medical advice in March 1993, having failed to recover full fitness, and he died suddenly at the end of the following month, aged just 30 years.

An insight into life at the football club in this period is provided by Left Foot Forward: A Year in the Life of a Journeyman Footballer, a highly-praised account of the 1994–95 season written in diary form by Charlton forward Garry Nelson.^[22] The book was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.^[23]

Back to The Valley

In 1995, new chairman Richard Murray appointed Alan Curbishley as sole manager of Charlton.^[24]

Under his sole leadership Charlton made an appearance in the playoffs in 1996 but were eliminated by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals and the following season brought a disappointing 15th place finish. 1997–98 was Charlton's best season for years. They reached the Division One playoff final and battled against Sunderland in a thrilling game which ended with a 4–4 draw after extra time. Charlton won 7–6 on penalties,^[25] with the match described as "arguably the most dramatic game of football in Wembley’s history",^[26] and were promoted to the Premier League. Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly (they went top after two games) but they were unable to keep up their good form and were soon battling relegation. The battle was lost on the final day of the season but the club's board kept faith in Curbishley, confident that they could bounce back. And Curbishley rewarded the chairman's loyalty with the Division One title in 2000 which signalled a return to the Premier League.^[27]

After the club's return, Curbishley proved an astute spender and by 2003 he had succeeded in establishing Charlton in the top flight. In the 2003–04 season, Charlton spent much of the campaign challenging for a Champions League place, but a late-season slump in form, combined with the sale of star player Scott Parker to Chelsea, left Charlton in 7th place,^[28] which was still the club's highest finish since the 1950s. However, Charlton failed to build on this achievement and Curbishley left two years afterwards in 2006, after 15 years as manager, with the club still established as a solid mid table side.^[29]

In May 2006, Iain Dowie was named as Curbishley's successor,^[30] but was sacked after twelve league matches in November 2006, with only two wins.^[31] Les Reed replaced Dowie as manager,^[32] however he too failed to improve Charlton's position in the league table and on Christmas Eve 2006, Reed was replaced by former player Alan Pardew.^[33] Although results did improve, Pardew was unable to keep Charlton up and relegation was confirmed in the penultimate match of the season.^[34]

Charlton's return to the second tier of English football was a disappointment, with their promotion campaign tailing off to an 11th place finish. Early in the following season the Addicks were linked with a foreign takeover,^[35] but this was swiftly denied by the club. More recently, on 10 October 2008 Charlton received an indicative offer for the club from a Dubai-based diversified investment company. However, the deal later fell through. The full significance of this soon became apparent as the club recorded net losses of over £13 million in the past financial year.

On 22 November 2008 Charlton suffered a 2–5 loss to Sheffield United at home, which meant that the club had gone eight successive games without a win and had slipped into the relegation zone—particularly disastrous considering they were among the pre-season favourites for promotion. Hours after the game, Alan Pardew left Charlton by mutual consent.^[36] Matters did not improve under caretaker manager Phil Parkinson, and a 3–1 defeat at Sheffield United^[37] saw the Addicks four points adrift at the bottom of the Championship as 2009 dawned, under threat of their first relegation to English football's third tier for 29 years. Charlton continued their poor run of form to go 18 games without a win, a new club record, before finally achieving a 1–0 away victory over Norwich City in an FA Cup Third Round replay. They then went on to beat Crystal Palace 1–0 at the Valley on 27 January to achieve their first league win under Phil Parkinson, whose contract was made permanent despite the lack of progress in the league. Charlton's relegation from the Championship was all but confirmed on Easter Monday (13 April) when, despite picking up a point in a 0–0 draw at Coventry, they found themselves 12 points from safety with four games remaining. With a vastly inferior goal difference and with the two teams directly above them (Southampton and Nottingham Forest) still having to play each other, it was effectively an impossible task for Charlton to avoid relegation.^[38] The following game saw Charlton's relegation to League One become a reality after a 2–2 draw against Blackpool.^[39] After spending almost the entire season in the top six of League One, Charlton were defeated in the Football League One play-offs semi-final second leg on penalties to Swindon Town, condemning Charlton to another season in the third tier of English Football.^[40] Parkinson had spent less than any other manager on purchasing players since Lennie Lawrence in the 1980s and was able to maintain a top six status despite only having the opportunity to bring in lower level players on loan. The new owners, however, decided to remove both Parkinson and Charlton legend Mark Kinsella, intending to replace them with an as yet unknown team. Another Charlton legend, Chris Powell was appointed manager of the club in January, winning his first game in charge 2–0 over Plymouth at the Valley, Charlton's first win since November. Powell's bright start continued with a further three victories, before running into a dreadful downturn which saw the club go 11 games in succession without a win. Yet the fans' respect for Powell saw him come under remarkable little criticism. The club's fortunes picked up towards the end of the season, but leaving them far short of the playoffs.

Stadium

See also: The Valley

One of Charlton's early grounds, Siemens Meadow

The club's first ground was Siemens Meadow (1905–1907), a patch of rough ground by the River Thames. This was over-shadowed by the now demolished Siemens Telegraph Works. Then followed Woolwich Common (1907–1908), Pound Park (1908–1913), and Angerstein Lane (1913–1915). After the end of the First World War, a chalk quarry known as the Swamps was identified as Charlton's new ground, and in the summer of 1919 work began to create the level playing area and remove debris from the site.^[41] The first match at this site, now known as the club's current ground The Valley, was in September 1919. Charlton stayed at The Valley until 1923, when the club moved to The Mount stadium in Catford as part of a proposed merger with Catford Southend Football Club. However, after this move collapsed in 1924 Charlton returned to The Valley.

During the 1930s and 40s, significant improvements were made to the ground, making it one of the largest in the country at that time.^[41] In 1938 the highest attendance to date at the ground was recorded at over 75,000 for a FA Cup match against Aston Villa. During the 1940s and 50s the attendance was often above 40,000, and Charlton had one of the largest support bases in the country. However, after the club's relegation little investment was made in The Valley as it fell into decline.

In the 1980s matters came to a head as the ownership of the club and The Valley was divided. The large East Terrace had been closed down by the authorities after the Bradford City stadium fire and the ground's owner wanted to use part of the site for housing. In September 1985, Charlton made the controversial move to ground-share with South London neighbours Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. This move was unpopular with supporters and in the late 1980s significant steps were taken to bring about the club's return to The Valley. A single issue political party, the Valley Party, contested the 1990 local elections in Greenwich Borough Council on a ticket of reopening the stadium, capturing 11% of the vote,^[41] aiding the club's return. The Valley Gold investment scheme was created to help supporters fund the return to The Valley, and several players were also sold to raise funds. For the 1991–92 season and part of the 1992–93 season, the Addicks played at West Ham's Upton Park^[41] as Wimbledon had moved into Selhurst Park alongside Crystal Palace. Charlton finally returned to The Valley in December 1992, celebrating with a 1–0 victory against Portsmouth.^[42]

Since the return to The Valley, three sides of the ground have been completely redeveloped turning The Valley into a modern, all-seater stadium with a 27,111 capacity. There are plans in place to increase the ground's capacity to approximately 31,000 and even around 40,000 in the future.^[43]

The Covered End

The Valley's North Stand which is known by locals as "The Covered End" to this day and is where the more vocal fans gather. The Covered end title is quite self explanatory. It comes from the original design of the north stand before it was redeveloped. The Valley Club (CAFC Supporters Club) was situated in Harvey Gardens behind the North Stand, and was managed by licensee Ray Donn from 1970 – 1984 the club had a full club licence supplying food and drink to its members and guests during match days and live entertainment, with cabaret and dancing every night of the week. The Valley Club was one of the most popular club venues in South London at this time, featuring named entertainers popular today.^[when?]

Supporters

The bulk of the club's support base comes from the London Boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley and also north-west Kent.^{[citation needed]} Charlton were rare among football clubs, in that they reserved a seat on their directors' board for a supporter. Any season ticket holder could put themselves forward for election, with a certain number of nominations, and votes were cast by all season ticket holders over the age of 18. The last such director, Ben Hayes,^[44] was elected in 2006 to serve until 2008, when the role was discontinued as a result of legal issues. Its functions were replaced by a fans forum^[45] which met for the first time in December 2008.^[44]

Charlton's most common nickname is The Addicks. Among the theories on the origin of the Addicks name are that it was the south-east London pronunciation of either "addict" or "athletic". However, the most likely origin of name is from a local fishmonger, Arthur "Ikey" Bryan, who rewarded the team with meals of haddock and chips.^[46]

The progression of the nickname can be seen in the book The Addicks Cartoons: An Affectionate Look into the Early History of Charlton Athletic, which covers the pre-First World War history of Charlton through a narrative based on 56 cartoons which appeared in the now defunct Kentish Independent. The very first cartoon, from 31 October 1908, calls the team the Haddocks. By 1910, the name had changed to Addicks although it also appeared as Haddick. The club has had two other nicknames, the Robins, adopted in 1931, and the Valiants, chosen in a fan competition in the 1960s which also led to the adoption of the sword badge which is still in use. The Addicks nickname never went away and was revived by fans after the club lost its Valley home in 1985 and went into exile at Crystal Palace. It is now once again the official nickname of the club.

Charlton fans chants included "Valley, Floyd Road", a song noting the stadium's address to the tune of "Mull of Kintyre" and "The Red, Red Robin".^[47]

In popular culture

Charlton Athletic featured in the ITV one-off drama, Albert's Memorial, shown on 12 September 2010, and starring Sir David Jason and David Warner. Jason's character, Harry, is revealed to be a Charlton Athletic fan. Harry later buries his friend, Albert, played by Michael Jayston, draped in a Charlton Athletic flag, to which Frank says, "hear that?". Harry replies,"no...what?" Frank says, "that's the sound of Albert turning in his grave. He hated Charlton Athletic", so Harry replies, "well, nobody's perfect."^[48] In Only Fools and Horses Rodney Charlton Trotter is named after the club.

Colours and crest

Crest of the former Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich Council, used by Charlton briefly in late 1940s and early 50s

Charlton have used a number of crests and badges during their history, although the current design has not been changed since 1968. The first known badge, from the 1930s, consisted of the letters CAF in the shape of a club from a pack of cards. In the 1940s, Charlton used a design featuring a robin sitting in a football within a shield, sometimes with the letters CAFC in the four quarters of the shield, which was worn for the 1946 FA Cup Final. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the crest of the former metropolitan borough of Greenwich was used as a symbol for the club but this was not used on the team's shirts.^[49]

In 1963, a competition was held to find a new badge for the club, and the winning entry by Bryn Collum of the Troll Academy was a hand holding a sword, which complied with Charlton's nickname of the time, the Valiants.^[49] Over the next five years modifications were made to this design, such as the addition of a circle surrounding the hand and sword and including the club's name in the badge. By 1968, the design had reached the one known today, and has been used continuously from this year, apart from a period in the 1970s when the just the letters CAFC appeared on the team's shirts.^[49]

With the exception of one season, Charlton have always played in red and white. The colours had been chosen by the group of boys who had founded Charlton Athletic in 1905 after having to play their first matches in the borrowed kits of their local rivals Woolwich Arsenal, who also played in red and white.^[50] The exception came during the 1923–24 season when Charlton wore the colours of Catford Southend as part of the proposed move to Catford, which were light and dark blue stripes.^[51] However, after the move fell through, Charlton returned to wearing red and white as their home colours.

Kit sponsors and manufacturers

^[52]

Year	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
1974–80	Bukta	None
1980–81	Adidas
1981–82		FADS
1982–83		None
1983–84	Osca
1984–86		The Woolwich
1986–88	Adidas
1988–92	Admiral
1992–93	Ribero	None
1993–94		Viglen
1994–98	Quaser
1998–00	Le Coq Sportif	MESH
2000–02		Redbus
2002–03		All:Sports
2003–05	Joma
2005–08		Llanera
2008–09		Carbrini Sportswear
2009		Kent Reliance Building Society
2010–	Macron

Rivalries

Main article: South London derby

Millwall

Charlton's traditional rivals are Millwall, the rivalry began when Millwall moved south of the river in 1910 to The Den in New Cross, South East London situated less than 4 miles from The Valley, the two clubs met frequently in the league up until the mid-1990s, however the sides didn't play each other in a competitive match between 1996 and 2009, the first meeting in 13 years in December 2009 ended as a 4-4 draw.^[53]

Crystal Palace

In the 1980s when the Addicks ground shared with Crystal Palace, the exiled Charlton fans did not like the trek to Selhurst Park and felt the club weren't treated well during their time there. The two clubs met numerous times during this period and the Palace fans were particularly boastful about Charlton's homelessness, as well as rising rent costs.

In 2005, Crystal Palace were relegated at The Valley after a 2-2 draw much to the delight of Charlton fans, who revelled in Palace's misfortune, after the match there was also an altercation between the two chairman's Richard Murray and Simon Jordan, Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan later described Charlton fans as Moronic Imbeciles.

In 2006 manager Iain Dowie left Crystal Palace by mutual consent. A few weeks later he was appointed as Charlton manager, and a writ was served on behalf of Palace chairman Simon Jordan during a press conference live on Sky Sports News claiming Dowie had breached their agreement and that Dowie promised Jordan that he would move to a club in Northern England.

Players

As of 2 August 2011^[54][55]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Ben Hamer 2 DF Andrew Hughes 3 DF Cedric Evina 4 MF Johnnie Jackson (Captain) 5 DF Michael Morrison 6 DF Matt Taylor 7 MF Danny Green 8 MF Dale Stephens 9 FW Paul Hayes 10 FW Bradley Wright-Phillips 11 MF Scott Wagstaff 12 DF Gary Doherty 13 GK John Sullivan 14 FW Paul Benson 16 DF Rhoys Wiggins 17 FW Jason Euell

No. Position Player 18 MF Bradley Pritchard 20 DF Chris Solly 21 MF Ruben Bover Izquierdo 22 MF Danny Hollands 23 MF Mikel Alonso 26 FW Tosan Popo 27 MF Freddie Warren 28 DF Leon Cort (on loan from Burnley) 30 GK Nick Pope 31 DF Jordan Cousins 32 MF Callum Harriott 33 DF Harry Osborne 34 FW Michael Smith 35 FW Joe Pigott 36 FW Yann Kermorgant 39 MF Hogan Ephraim (on loan from QPR)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 15 DF Yado Mambo (on loan to Ebbsfleet United) 19 DF Simon Francis (on loan to A.F.C. Bournemouth) 25 MF Ben Davisson (on loan to Welling United)

No. Position Player 29 GK Conor Gough (on loan to Salisbury City) MF Bradley Goldberg (on loan to Bromley)

Notable former players

For more details on this topic, see List of Charlton Athletic F.C. players.

Player of the Year

Year Winner 1971 Paul Went 1972 Keith Peacock 1973 Arthur Horsfield 1974 John Dunn 1975 Richie Bowman 1976 Derek Hales 1977 Mike Flanagan 1978 Keith Peacock 1979 Keith Peacock 1980 Les Berry

Year Winner 1981 Nicky Johns 1982 Terry Naylor 1983 Nicky Johns 1984 Nicky Johns 1985 Mark Aizlewood 1986 Mark Aizlewood 1987 Bob Bolder 1988 John Humphrey 1989 John Humphrey 1990 John Humphrey

Year Winner 1991 Robert Lee 1992 Simon Webster 1993 Stuart Balmer 1994 Carl Leaburn 1995 Richard Rufus 1996 John Robinson 1997 Andy Petterson 1998 Mark Kinsella 1999 Mark Kinsella 2000 Richard Rufus

Year Winner 2001 Richard Rufus 2002 Dean Kiely 2003 Scott Parker 2004 Dean Kiely 2005 Luke Young 2006 Darren Bent 2007 Scott Carson 2008 Matt Holland 2009 Nicky Bailey 2010 Christian Dailly

Year Winner 2011 José Semedo

Club officials

Club officials as of 13 January 2011^[56]

Year	Name
1921–1924	Douglas Oliver
1924–1932	Edwin Radford
1932–1951	Albert Gliksten
1951–1962	Stanley Gliksten
1962–1982	Edward Gliksten
1982–1983	Mark Hulyer
1983	Richard Collins
1983–1984	Mark Hulyer
1984	John Fryer
1984–1985	Jimmy Hill
1985–1987	John Fryer
1987–1989	Richard Collins
1989–1995	Roger Alwen
1995–2008	Richard Murray (plc)
1995–2008	Martin Simons
2008–2010	Derek Chappell
2008–2010	Richard Murray
2010–	Michael Slater

Boardroom

Role	Name
Chairman and joint-owner	Michael Slater
Joint-owner	Tony Jimenez
Executive Vice-Chairman	Peter Varney
Chief Executive	Stephen Kavanagh
Director	Richard Murray

Coaching staff

Role[57]	Name
Manager	Chris Powell
Assistant Manager	Alex Dyer
First Team Coach	Damian Matthew
Technical Director	Keith Peacock
Goalkeeping Coach	Ben Roberts
Club Doctor	John Fraser

Managerial history

Alan Curbishley managed Charlton between 1991 and 2006

Name	Dates	Achievements
Walter Rayner	June 1920 – May 1925
Alex MacFarlane	May 1925 – January 1928
Albert Lindon	January 1928 – June 1928
Alex MacFarlane	June 1928 – December 1932	Division Three Champions (1929)
Albert Lindon	December 1932 – May 1933
Jimmy Seed	May 1933 – September 1956	Division Three Champions (1935); Division Two runners up (1936); Football League runners up (1937); FA Cup runners up 1946; FA Cup winners 1947
David Clark (caretaker)	September 1956
Jimmy Trotter	September 1956 – October 1961
David Clark (caretaker)	October 1961 – November 1961
Frank Hill	November 1961 – August 1965
Bob Stokoe	August 1965 – September 1967
Eddie Firmani	September 1967 – March 1970
Theo Foley	March 1970 – April 1974
Les Gore (caretaker)	April 1974 – May 1974
Andy Nelson	May 1974 – March 1980	Division Three 3rd place (promoted – 1975)
Mike Bailey	March 1980 – June 1981	Division Three 3rd place (promoted – 1981)
Alan Mullery	June 1981 – June 1982
Ken Craggs	June 1982 – November 1982
Lennie Lawrence	November 1982 – July 1991	Division Two runners up (1986); Full Members Cup runners up (1987)
Alan Curbishley & Steve Gritt	July 1991 – June 1995
Alan Curbishley	June 1995 – May 2006	Division One play-off winners (1998); Football League Champions (2000)
Iain Dowie	May 2006 – November 2006
Les Reed	November 2006 – December 2006
Alan Pardew	December 2006 – November 2008
Phil Parkinson	November 2008 – January 2011
Keith Peacock (caretaker)	January 2011
Chris Powell	January 2011 – present

Honours

• Football League First Division (1st tier)
  • Runners-up - 1937
• Football League Second Division/Football League First Division (2nd tier)
  • Champions - 2000
  • Runners-up - 1936, 1986
  • Play-off winners - 1987, 1998
• Football League Third Division (third tier)
  • Runners-up - 1936, 1986
• Football League Third Division South
  • Champions - 1929, 1935
• FA Cup
  • Winners - 1947
  • Runners-up - 1946
• Full Members Cup
  • Runners-up - 1987
• Football League War Cup
  • Joint Winners - 1944

Records

Charlton's top appearance maker, Sam Bartram

• Goalkeeper Sam Bartram is Charlton's record appearance maker, having played a total of 623 times between 1934 and 1956. But for six years lost to the Second World War, when no league football was played, this tally would be far higher^[58]

• Keith Peacock is the club's second highest appearance maker with 591 games between 1961 and 1979^[59]

• Charlton's record goalscorer is Derek Hales, who scored 168 times in all competitions in 368 matches, during two spells, for the club^[59]

• Counting only league goals, Stuart Leary is the club's record scorer with 153 goals between 1951 and 1962^[60]

• The record number of goals scored in one season is 33, scored by Ralph Allen in the 1934–35 season^[61]

• Charlton's record home attendance is 75,031 which was set on 12 February 1938 for an FA Cup match against Aston Villa^[62]

• The record all-seated attendance is 27,111, The Valley's current capacity. This record was first set in September 2005 in a Premier League match against Chelsea and has since been equalled several times^[62]

Role	Name
Highest League Finish	Runners-up in 1936/37 (First Division)
Most League Points in a Season	91 in 1999/2000 (Division One)
Most League Goals in a Season	107 in 1957/58 (Second Division)
Record Victory	8–1 vs Middlesbrough, 12 September 1953
Record Defeat	1–11 vs Aston Villa, 14 November 1959
Record FA Cup Victory	7–0 vs Burton Albion, 7 January 1956
Record League Cup Victory	5–0 vs Brentford, 12 August 1980
Most Successive Victories	12 matches (from 26 December 1999 to 7 March 2000)
Most Games Without A Win	18 matches (from 18 October 2008 to 13 January 2009)
Most Successive Defeats	10 matches (from 11 April 1990 to 15 September 1990)
Most Successive Draws	6 matches (from 13 December 1992 to 16 January 1993)
Longest Unbeaten	15 matches (from 4 October 1980 to 20 December 1980)
Record Attendance	75,031 vs Aston Villa, 17 October 1938
Record League Attendance	68,160 vs Arsenal, 17 October 1936
Record Gate Receipts	£400,920 vs Leicester City, 19 February 2005

Player records

Role	Name
Most Appearances	Sam Bartram (623)
Most Goals	Derek Hales (168)
Most Hat-Tricks	Johnny Summers and Eddie Firmani (8)
Most Capped Player	Radostin Kishishev (88)
Most Capped player while at the club	Radostin Kishishev (43)
Oldest Player	Sam Bartram (42 years and 47 days)
Youngest Player	Jonjo Shelvey (16 years and 59 days)
Oldest Scorer	Chris Powell (38 years and 239 days)
Youngest Scorer	Jonjo Shelvey (16 years and 310 days)
Quickest Scorer	Jim Melrose (9 seconds)
Quickest Sending Off	Nicky Weaver (3 minutes)

References

General

• Clayton, Paul (2001). The Essential History of Charlton Athletic. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0755310209. 

Specific

1. ^ "Club Rivalries Uncovered" (PDF). Football Fans Census. http://www.footballfanscensus.com/issueresults/Club_Rivalries_Uncovered_Results.pdf. Retrieved 13 October 2008. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} "Charlton Athletic – Club History". Charlton Athletic FC. http://www.cafc.co.uk/page/History/0,,10267,00.html. Retrieved 20 September 2011. 
3. ^ Clayton 2001, p.30
4. ^ Clayton 2001, p.33
5. ^ Felton, Paul; Spencer, Barry. "England 1928/1929". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1928-29.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
6. ^ Jimmy Seed, Soccer From the Inside (Thorsons Publishers, 1947), p.19.
7. ^ Seed, Soccer From the Inside, p.66.
8. ^ Colin Cameron, Home and Away with Chalton Athletic 1920–2004 (2004), p.69.
9. ^ Felton, Paul; Edwards, Gareth. "England 1936/1937". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1936-37.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
10. ^ Felton, Paul; Edwards, Gareth. "England 1937/1938". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1937-38.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
11. ^ Felton, Paul; Edwards, Gareth. "England 1938/1939". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1938-39.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
12. ^ Cameron, Home and Away with Charlton Athletic 1910–2004, p.112.
13. ^ "Burnley 0 – 1 Charlton". Charlton Athletic FC. http://www.cafc.co.uk/personality.ink?page=7770. Retrieved 5 July 2007. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Felton, Paul. "England 1971/1972". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1971-72.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
15. ^ Felton, Paul. "England 1974/1975". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1974-75.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
16. ^ Felton, Paul. "England 1979/1980". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1979-80.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
17. ^ Felton, Paul. "England 1980/1981". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1980-81.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
18. ^ Clayton 2001, p.141
19. ^ Clayton 2001, pp.142–150
20. ^ Felton, Paul. "England 1985/1986". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1985-86.html. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
21. ^ Clayton 2001, p.156
22. ^ Garry Nelson, Left Foot Forward (Headline, 1995)
23. ^ Nelson plays by the book The Independent, 19 November 1995
24. ^ "Alan Curbishley profile". Charlton Athletic FC. http://www.cafc.co.uk/AlanCurbishley.ink. Retrieved 5 July 2007. ^{[dead link]}
25. ^ "Charlton 4 – 4 Sunderland". Charlton Athletic FC. http://www.cafc.co.uk/personality.ink?page=7724. Retrieved 5 July 2007. ^{[dead link]}
26. ^ Wembley's Greatest Events (1923-2010) Wembley Stadium
27. ^ "Charlton bounce back in style". BBC Sport. 29 June 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/808548.stm. Retrieved 5 July 2007. 
28. ^ "Curbishley basks in glory". BBC Sport. 15 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/3714559.stm. Retrieved 5 July 2007. 
29. ^ "Curbishley to leave Charlton". BBC Sport. 29 April 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/4958402.stm. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
30. ^ "Charlton unveil Dowie as new boss". BBC Sport. 30 May 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/5027750.stm. Retrieved 5 July 2007. 
31. ^ "Dowie exits Addicks". football.co.uk. 13 November 2006. http://www.football.co.uk/charlton_athletic/dowie_exits_addicks_237138.shtml. Retrieved 13 November 2006. 
32. ^ "Charlton appoint Reed as new boss". BBC Sport. 14 November 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/6146620.stm. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
33. ^ "Pardew replaces Reed at Charlton". BBC Sport. 24 December 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/6208387.stm. Retrieved 5 July 2007. 
34. ^ "Charlton 0-2 Tottenham". BBC Sport. 7 May 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6602895.stm. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
35. ^ "Group eyes £50m Charlton takeover". BBC Sport. 7 May 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/6633425.stm. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
36. ^ "Pardew and Charlton part company". BBC Sport. 23 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/7744263.stm. Retrieved 23 November 2008. 
37. ^ "Sheff Utd 3–1 Charlton". BBC Sport. 28 December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7791690.stm. Retrieved 23 November 2008. 
38. ^ "Coventry 0–0 Charlton". BBC Sport. 13 April 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7979025.stm. Retrieved 13 April 2009. 
39. ^ "Charlton 2–2 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 18 April 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7990049.stm. Retrieved 18 April 2009. 
40. ^ "Charlton 2–1 Swindon (Agg 3-3) Swindon win 5-4 on penalties". BBC Sport. 17 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/8682146.stm. Retrieved 17 May 2010. 
41. ^ ^{a b c d} "Details about Charlton Athletic". BBC London. 15 June 2007. http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/18/charlton_athletic_team.shtml. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
42. ^ "Charlton 1 – 0 Portsmouth". Charlton Athletic FC. http://www.cafc.co.uk/personality.ink?page=7772. Retrieved 5 July 2007. ^{[dead link]}
43. ^ "Expansion plans underway". Charlton Athletic FC. 29 November 2004. http://www.cafc.co.uk/newsview.ink?nid=21303&newstype=n. Retrieved 5 July 2007. 
44. ^ ^{a b} "History of the fans' forum". Charlton Athletic FC. 29 October 2011. http://www.cafc.co.uk/page/FansColumnsDetail/0,,10267~2498391,00.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011. 
45. ^ "Fans' forum". Charlton Athletic FC. 29 October 2011. http://www.cafc.co.uk/page/FansColumnsDetail/0,,10267~2182317,00.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011. 
46. ^ Clayton 2001, p.10
47. ^ Charlton Athletic^{[dead link]}
48. ^ Albert's Memorial^{[dead link]} ITV.com
49. ^ ^{a b c} "Charlton Athletic F.C. Crest History". footballcrests.com. 4 March 2002. http://www.footballcrests.com/clubs/charlton-athletic-fc. Retrieved 10 July 2007. 
50. ^ Clayton 2001, p.8
51. ^ Clayton 2001, p.32
52. ^ "Charlton Athletic". Historical Football Kits. http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Charlton_Athletic/Charlton_Athletic.htm. Retrieved 16 June 2008. 
53. ^ Charlton 4-4 Millwall News Shopper, 19 December 2009
54. ^ "First Team". Charlton Athletic FC. http://www.cafc.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10267,00.html. Retrieved 2 August 2010. 
55. ^ "2011/12 squad numbers announced". Charlton Athletic FC. 2 August 2011. http://www.cafc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10267~2408246,00.html. Retrieved 2 August 2011. 
56. ^ "Directors/company details". Charlton Athletic FC. 13 January 2011. http://www.cafc.co.uk/page/directors/0,,10267,00.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011. 
57. ^ "Coaching Team". Charlton Athletic FC. 31 January 2011. http://www.cafctv.co.uk/page/coachingdetail/0,,10267~2178660,00.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011. 
58. ^ Clayton 2001, p.104
59. ^ ^{a b} Clayton 2001, p.320
60. ^ Clayton 2001, p.112
61. ^ Clayton 2001, p.58
62. ^ ^{a b} "Charlton Athletic, The Valley". Football Ground Guide. Duncan Adams. http://www.footballgroundguide.com/charlton_athletic/. Retrieved 15 January 2008. 

External links

• CAFC.co.uk Official club website
• Charlton Athletic UEFA.com
• Charlton Athletic information and statistics Soccerbase
• Charlton Athletic F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club stats