Charlton sign Button

Charlton Athletic today completed the signing of goalkeeper David Button from Tottenham Hotspur  for an undisclosed fee, on a two year contract. 

The twenty-three year old is already somewhat a journeyman, having represented eleven clubs on loan from Spurs across four divisions. He also boasts thirty-one England caps to his name across four different age groups.

Addicks manager Chris Powell said “We are really happy to bring David to the club, he’s someone we’ve been monitoring for quite some time and is a hugely talented young keeper who is a good age and boasts all the right attributes. 

“He’s come through the ranks at Tottenham and also has played youth football internationally as well as playing for quite a few clubs on loan, including in the Championship.

“This represents a new chapter for him and it’s great that he feels it’s the right time to make this move and further develop here at The Valley.

“David will provide strong competition in the goalkeeping department and that can only benefit us going forward.” 

This signing seems to signal the departure of Charlton substitute goalkeeper John Sullivan, who only played twice in the league for Charlton last season. He is expected to join a lower league club on loan.

In other news, Sky Sports have reported that West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers have made bids for Charlton's player and young player of the season Chris Solly. One would hope that we do all we can to hold on to him, however if either club is offering a hefty sum, Chris Powell may be left with no choice. Lawrie Wilson would be a direct replacement in the starting line-up, although Powell would most likely want another player as cover, which would most likely be a Premier League loanee. 

Villa want Stephens

Sky Sports reported this morning that Premier League team Aston Villa have made a bid for Addicks midfielder Dale Stephens. The twenty-two year old, whom Charlton signed from Oldham last summer, has two years left on his contract at The Valley. He made 30 league starts for The Addicks last season.

My view:

If the money offered is any more than £1million, then take it. Chris Powell has 3 days left in the transfer window to reinvest the money and sign a Championship quality winger. In my opinion, Johnnie Jackson's lack of pace has been 'found out' a little bit in the higher division, but his quality and leadership is still needed on the pitch. If we were to sign a left-sided midfielder, such as Adam Hammill from Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose named has been mentioned on Twitter, then, I believe selling Stephens to Villa would be good business. If however, either the transfer fee is less than £1m, or Powell doesn't feel he has time to sign a satisfactory replacement, then we should do all we can to hold on to Stephens. From Villa's point of view, I think Dale Stephens would really shine in the Premiership. He was prone to getting caught in possession in League One, and it still seems to happen in the Championship. However in the Premier League, with much more time on the ball, his eye for a pass and calmness in possession would really stand out.  

Charlton Athletic 0-0 Hull City

Charlton played out their first goalless draw since May 2011 amid heavy downpour and thunderstorms against a Hull City, a side that has scored only once so far this season. Steve Bruce looked on frustrated as a man of the match performance from Addicks goalkeeper Ben Hamer kept The Tigers out. Charlton have every reason to feel hard done-by themselves, as Yann Kermorgant's potential match-winning goal was wrongly ruled offside.

Coming off the back of a fantastic result against Leicester City on Tuesday night, Charlton went in to Saturday's game against Hull full of confidence. Both managers stuck with the sides that played in midweek, Charlton defeating The Foxes and Hull narrowly losing 1-0 away to Blackburn Rovers.

In the first-half, chances were a rarity, with Kermorgant coming closest, his fantastic volley equalled by a brilliant save from Manchester United loanee Ben Amos in the Hull goal. Leon Cort headed a Johnnie Jackson corner narrowly wide, a header that should, perhaps, have been on target. 

Hull's best chance of the first-period fell former Rangers man Sone Aluko, who having been put through one-on-one by Corry Evans, saw his shot well blocked by Hamer. 

A late flag from the linesman denied Charlton a breakthrough, after Bradley Wright-Phillips' shot was fantastically saved by Amos from point-blank range, Yann Kermorgant carefully volleyed the ball home from outside the penalty area. Replays proved that Wright-Phillips was in fact onside. 

With twelve minutes to go, The Addicks had a penalty shout turned down, when Bradley Pritchard's well-hit volley was blocked by the arm of Joe Dudgeon. 

However it was Hull who almost got the three points, as Charlton were saved by an inspired Ben Hamer. After The Tigers had worked the ball down the left-hand side, Jay Simpson got a shot away on goal that the keeper did very well to get a hand to, before reacting incredibly to push away Aluko's follow up that looked destined for the net.

Charlton: Hamer; Solly, Wiggins, Morrison, Cort; Pritchard, Hollands, Stephens, Jackson; Kermorgant, Wright-Phillips.

Subs (not used): Sullivan, Dervite, Wilson, Kerkar, Green, Cook, Smith.

Hull City: Amos; Rosenior, Dudgeon, Chester, Faye, Bruce (McShane 63); McKenna, Koren, Evans; Aluko, Proschwitz (Simpson 72).

Subs (not used): Oxley, Cairney, Stewart, Olofinjana, McLean.

Ref: S Hooper

Charlton sign Ricardo Fuller

As mentioned in the Leicester City match report, Charlton announced at half-time last night that they have signed former Stoke City striker Ricardo Fuller. He signed a one year contract, with the option of a further year.

Fuller was in fact on trial at Charlton in the 1999/00 season, and scored five goals in three games for the reserve side. However, a deal to sign the striker fell through, supposedly due to a back injury.

Hopefully, having played in the Premier League for the last four years, and having played and scored consistently in British football over the last twelve years, he will prove to be a solid acquisition for Powell's team.

Charlton's striking options:
Bradley Wright-Phillips
Yann Kermorgant
Ricardo Fuller
Danny Haynes
Michael Smith
Jordan Cook
Scott Wagstaff

Charlton Athletic 2-1 Leicester City

Kermorgant returns to haunt Foxes

Leicester fans watched on in disbelief as Yann Kermorgant helped Charlton to their first Championship win since May 2009. Bradley Wright-Phillips and the Frenchman bagged two first-half goals for the Addicks, putting them well on their way to an enthralling victory over Chris Powell's former side at The Valley. Leicester could only pull one back in a nail-biting second period, through substitute Andy King, despite having many opportunities to grab a second half equaliser.

With Michael Morrison, Kermorgant and Chris Powell having all played for the East Midlands club, and Leicester full-back Paul Konchesky once being an Addick, the game had plenty of background. However it was forward Kermorgant, the one that chipped it, that grabbed the winner for Charlton.

Both sides named unchanged starting line-ups from the weekend, Leicester having beaten Peterborough comfortably, and Charlton having drawn with promotion front-runners Birmingham City.

The game began in the same way that it ended, with every fan in the ground on the edge of their seat. Leicester had the first real chance of the game, former Fleetwood striker Jamie Vardy managed to get past Leon Cort inside the penalty area, but his close-range effort from the left was closed down by Morrison, however Danny Drinkwater was the first to the blocked effort and fired a shot in at goal, only for that man Morrison to be there again.

Soon after, the Foxes were at it again. Lloyd Dyer found an opening in the Charlton defence, but fired his shot embarrassingly far wide. Hamer was called on upon moments later, as he rushed out to gather a Drinkwater pass that had Vardy chasing.

The next chance came to the Addicks, however, and having steadied themselves after all the early Leicester pressure, managed to get the first goal of the game. Bradley Pritchard played Wright-Phillips through on the edge of the area, and the centre-forward drilled home a fantastic finish into the bottom left corner of Schmeichel's goal. The first Valley goal of the season was celebrated jubilantly by fans and players alike.

A matter of fourteen minutes later, Charlton grabbed their second. A cross from the left was dispatched effortlessly on the half-volley by Kermorgant from the edge of the area, and he celebrated the goal in the obligatory fashion, raising a finger to his lips to silence the jeers from the Foxes fans.

Just before the break, Paul Konchesky tore down the left in typical fashion and drilled a low cross-cum shot across the face of goal, which somehow evaded everyone in the penalty area, including an onrushing Vardy.

At the break, new signing Ricardo Fuller was unveiled in front of the home support, which seemed to delight the majority of fans around the ground.

Nigel Pearson clearly wasn't happy with his team's first-half performance, and made two changes at the break, with Beckford being replaced by one-time England international David Nugent, and Andy King replacing former Manchester United midfielder Matty James.

Not long after the restart a foul on Kermorgant gave Charlton a free-kick, and captain Johnnie Jackson was unfortunate to see his effort well saved and held on to by Kasper Schmeichel.

Leicester finally managed to grab a goal back after fifty-four minutes, through Andy King, who tucked away former Sheffield Wednesday loanee Marshall's pull-back.

Ten minutes later and Leicester made their third and final change, academy graduate Anthony Knockaert coming on in place of Marshall. Knockaert instantly made a difference, playing in the 'number ten role', and Charlton looked like they were struggling to cope. He was constantly picking the ball up between the Addicks' defence and midfield, and saw one good effort saved well by Hamer.

Four minutes later, Dale Stephens was replaced by Lawrie Wilson, who played in a right-midfield position, protecting Chris Solly and allowing Bradley Pritchard to switch into a central midfield role. This did little though to address the Knockaert situation, who managed to weave his way into the box before playing the ball to Lloyd Dyer, whose well struck effort was saved fantastically by Ben Hamer.

The Addicks then made two changes before the ninety minutes were up, Salim Kerkar replacing the tiring skipper Johnnie Jackson, and goalscorer Wright-Phillips making way for young forward Jordan Cook.

Leicester kept piling on the pressure right up until the fourth and final minute of added time, when it climaxed in a corner for the Foxes. Charlton fans were incensed as Michael Morrison was told to leave the field of play for what looked like a facial injury, leaving the Addicks with only ten men on the field for a pivotal moment. Even Schmeichel was in the penalty area this time, but City failed to capitalise, firing over the bar for a Charlton goal-kick. Much to the relief of every fan in the red end of the stadium, that proved to be the final action.

Charlton: Hamer; Solly, Wiggins, Morrison, Cort; Pritchard, Hollands, Stephens (Wilson 81), Jackson (Kerkar 87); Kermorgant, Wright-Phillips (Cook 90).

Subs (not used): Sullivan, Taylor, Green, Smith. Goals: Wright-Phillips 18, Kermorgant 32
Leicester: Schmeichel; De Laet, Konchesky, Morgan, Moore; Marshall (Knockaert 64), Drinkwater, James (King 46), Dyer; Beckford (Nugent 46), Vardy. 
Subs (not used): Logan, Knockaert, Danns, Waghorn, Schlupp. Goals: King 54
Ref: F Graham
Att: 16,658 (1,628 Leicester)
 Quote from the gaffer: "This will really have given them food for thought now about what it is like to be in this league, but there won't be too many teams who are going to be better than Birmingham and Leicester City, that's for sure."

From the opposition: "There will be days when we create less chances and win. But you have to give Charlton credit. Chris will be happy with a hard-fought victory- but I expect to get something out of a game like that.

My Olympic Roller-coaster

This time only one month ago, I was one of many Olympic critics. Yet now, they are seemingly a dying breed.

"I was dreading the Olympics"
I love sport, but for these Olympics, I had decided to temporarily disregard my affection for it. Difficulty purchasing tickets and overcrowding of the city and its transport networks were just two of my many worries. Greenwich Park, a short distance from my house, spent all of last summer closed and is spending all of this summer closed. The reason it's closed? To allow a few equestrian events to take place. Have I enjoyed watching equestrian events at previous Olympics? No. My local train station is in restricted use. Blackheath looks like a building site. All of these things left me dreading the summer of 2012, in fact dreading them so much that our family holiday was booked for the second week of the Games in order to escape them.

"This summer has been the most enjoyable of all my life"
Oh how wrong I was. This summer has been the most enjoyable of my life so far- Olympic fever has hit hard. I am yet to visit the Olympic Park, but the events I have seen so far at Horse Guards Parade, Wembley Stadium and in Greenwich Park were all fantastic. The events I have seen on television have been equally fantastic, even without the atmosphere of being there in the flesh. The Opening Ceremony, which I watched on one of London's many so-called 'Big Screens' was absolutely fantastic, which is due not only to Danny Boyle's hard work, but also the fifteen thousand volunteers who create one of the greatest shows on Earth. Admittedly, even after such a wonderful show on the Friday, I was not hugely looking forward to seeing the dressage in my local park last Sunday. But, even dressage, in a thunderstorm, was rather enjoyable. I had to leave that event early in order to reach Wembley by five o'clock to see Senegal defeat Uruguay 2-0, but more importantly to watch Great Britain beat UAE 3-1. However, it had to be noticed there were huge amounts of empty seats at venues and events that were supposedly sold out, which lead to resale on a huge scale on the London 2012 website. At midnight on Monday, I found tickets for show jumping at the equestrian eventing final. Living so close to the park, it was not a problem to have found the tickets at such short notice. The tickets were bought and the final attended. I sat only two rows in front of almost the entire Royal family, watching Great Britain's team of five win silver. Having had such great success with tickets on the first night of trying, I went about trying for more every following evening. My next ticketing success was in buying tickets for Beach Volleyball at Horse Guards Parade for Friday morning, which was great fun.

"This week has been wonderful"
As said previously, it hasn't only the events I managed to get tickets for that I enjoyed, but just as exciting were those that I have watched on television. For the best moment of the first week (of course not counting GB medals), you can't look past Chad le Clos's 200m butterfly win in the Aquatics Centre, and perhaps even more so the reaction of his father, Bert le Clos, live on the BBC. This week has been wonderful.