When Moscow Radio thanked Charlton

I am now in my seventh decade of supporting Charlton.   Unlike many people, I cannot remember the first game I went to.   The one that stands out most clearly in my mind is the 6-0 defeat of Liverpool on 26^th September, even more than the 8-1 win over Middlesbrough in the previous home game.   However, probably the first game I went to was the home game against Burnley on 22^nd August which Charlton won 3-1.

Getting to the game in those days involved walking from our house down to Plumstead Common Road, catching the 53 bus and then walking through Maryon Park amongst a large crowd.   My mother usually came as well as my father which could be a slight embarrassment as she was convinced that some referees had it in for Charlton and would shout ‘Dirty ref!’ in a loud voice long after the incident that had offended her.

Until I was seven years old, I went through the turnstile with my father and I was quite daunted the first time I went through on my own clutching a few old pennies to hand to the gateman.  We would then walk on to the East Terrace, standing some way back from the pitch, not far from where I sit in the East Stand today.

Some players were real attractions for a small boy and first and foremost among those was Sam Bartram who was known for his flamboyant style of keeping goal.   I particularly remember the match on 6^th March 1954 when Sam was presented with a special cake by Pompey skipper Jimmy Dickinson to mark his 500^th league match for the club (actually it was 497^th as the three matches played in 1939/40 didn’t really count).

It was a real shock when Bartram was not in goal and was replaced by his loyal understudy Eddie Marsh as happened on March 20^th 1954.   I asked my father why this was and he said that Bartram had been injured in training, although quite how that had happened is unclear as training usually involved running around the pitch and up and down the East Terrace.   The idea was that keeping players away from the ball made them hungry for it when the match came, but I think that the keeper did practice saving shots.

In any event I could see that Marsh was under real pressure in the Charlton goal and in a match full of fouls they scraped home 3-2.   However, Bartram was still out the following Saturday when they lost 4-1 at Huddersfield.   Perhaps he had strained his back lifting a heavy package in his shop round the corner.  My father was rather sceptical of this business venture, noting that people would go in there hoping to see Bartram and instead would meet a manager he had installed.

I have a rather worn version of the programme for the match against Wolves on 21^st November 1953.    Much was made of ‘Personality No.1’ in the Wolves team, Billy Wright.  It was noted that Wolves, like Charlton, had never won the title, but they won 2-0 on that day and went on to be champions, Charlton finishing 9^th.

 ‘Echoes Across The Valley’ noted that Moscow Radio had thanked Charlton for the splendid hospitality offered to three members of the Central Committee of Physical Culture.   However, ‘Our guests from the Soviet politely declined alcoholic refreshment and drank mineral waters.’  It was noted that a Finnish football coach who had been studying Charlton’s training methods and tactics had now been replaced by a Norwegian football administrator.

However, a suggestion that Charlton would fly out to South Africa to play one match in May was dismissed as very unlikely to happen.   It was explained that ‘Even in these days of the Comet [jet passenger aircraft which turned out to be liable to crash in midair] such a journey would be too big a strain on our players.’   Should they require entertainment closer home they could go to Leicester Square to see ‘From Here to Eternity’, the picture in the programme advert showing the famous clinch between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.  Fans were assured by Beverley Baxter MP that the film had been ‘produced with passionate sincerity’.   Such an endorsement from a politician would go down less well today.

 Once we got home, my father would check his football pools coupon.   He never won a big prize, although he did win small prizes with the ‘Easy Six’ made up of matches that were difficult to forecast.  Sunday morning would see us make the long walk down to my uncle’s newsagent shop in Lakedale Road to collect the Sunday papers, but also to discuss the previous day’s match.   As the gas lamps hissed, customers would give their opinion on the game and the result.   One of the perennial subjects of discussion was perceived tensions between manager Jimmy Seed and trainer Jimmy Totter.   Eventually, of course, Trotter replaced Seed as manager.

It was, of course, a different game in those days.  Players were paid the same as a skilled worker which is how they were seen.   They would often walk to the ground or come on the bus and on Christmas Day might rely on a lift from fans.   The pace was slower, with no substitutes players had to play on if they could when injured, and the leather ball was heavy, particularly when much of the pitch was a sea of mud, as it often was.   With no floodlights, matches in winter were often played in gloomy conditions towards the end of the game, even with a 2.15 start.    What I did get was a taste for was supporting Charlton which has remained with me until today.

  

They also kept goal

It’s March 20^th 1954 and I am at The Valley with my father watching Charlton play Cardiff City.  Early in the game in the game I am surprised to see the keeper fumble the ball and almost concede and I realise that Eddie Marsh rather than Sam Bartram is in goal.   I ask my father what has happened and he says that Bartram was injured in training.   Outfield players were not usually allowed to see the ball during the week to make them hungry for it at the weekend and just underwent rather unsophisticated fitness training.   

The exception was the keeper and Bartram, no doubt acrobatic in training, had managed to injure himself.    Charlton took the lead with two goals, but Cardiff got two back.   Eventually, Charlton managed to score a third goal to win 3-2.   Next week at Huddersfield with Marsh still in goal Charlton lost 4-1.  An extra two points would have seen Charlton go above Chelsea in the final table.

Eddie (‘Wilson Edmund’) Marsh was signed by Jimmy Seed after he saw him play for Erith and Belvedere in a VJ Day match.  He then had to undertake national service.  While Bartram was keeper, he made just six appearances.   After playing in the reserves for many years, he had 20 more outings after Bartram retired, but Charlton started to concede goals at an alarming rate in the 1956/57 relegation season, 120 in all (although Marsh was not the only keeper).   He was sold to Luton Town for £250 in the summer of 1957 and later joined Torquay United.   He also had a year as trainer-coach at Plymouth Argyle, then managed by Charlton legend Derek Ufton.

If a keeper was injured during a game before there were substitutes an outfield player had to step in.  Charlton’s worst ever defeat was 11-1 against Aston Villa on 14 November 1959 at Villa Park.  Duff conceded six goals and then dislocated a finger through his efforts.   Townsend took his place and conceded another three.   Stuart Leary then took his place and conceded another two.  This was understandable for a centre forward who had a pulled leg muscle that greatly restricted his movement.

Even when three substitutes were permitted, it did not necessarily make sense to include a keeper rather than an attacker, a midfielder and a defender.    This is where Steve ‘He’ll never let you down’ Brown had to step in.   On Fridays training finished with a five a side match but the keeper for the next day did not take part and Steve usually played in goal.    However, as he noted recently on Valley Pass, it is a myth that he never conceded a goal as a keeper, he did against Manchester City.  He did play four times without conceding, in particular I remember him playing the greater part of the match in goal at Southend United.    In our first season in the Premier League, he took over in goal at Aston Villa after Andy Petterson was sent off and made a crucial save from a free kick enabling Charlton to win 4-3.   Unfortunately, it was not enough to avoid relegation.

In non-league football, the sudden departure or injury of a keeper can create a crisis as there is sometimes no number two.   When my non-league club, Leamington, were lower down the pyramid than tier two, we faced this situation.   Then someone remembered they had been talking to an Italian living rough on the station who claimed to have played in the regional leagues in Italy.   He came in for a trial and showed himself to be an accomplished keeper.   He was grateful for a square meal, a shower and some spending money.

Returning to Charlton and thinking about keepers over the last twenty-five years, there are many names to choose from, including Tony Caig who played just one half of one game for the Addicks at The Valley.   Local lad and Charlton fan Rob Elliott played a total of 95 games for us, and has recently been training at Sparrows Lane. Darren Randolph perhaps didn’t get the opportunities his talents deserved.    American keeper Mike Ammann was spotted by director Mike Stevens and played in 30 games between 1994 and 1996.   I sponsored his socks!

Scott Carson came in on loan from Liverpool in 2006/7 after Charlton had failed in an attempt to sign Robert Green from Norwich City.   He played in 36 out of 38 Premier League games that season (he was absent for the two against Liverpool).   Although we were relegated, we would have done worse without him and he was the first loan player to be voted Player of the Year.   Andy Petterson played 10 games for us in 1998/99 (somehow I thought it was more) and I remember a stunning save at The Valley against Crystal Palace.   Sasa Ilic’s penalty save at Wembley made him a Charlton legend.  The less said about Roland Duchatelet’s import Yohann Thuram the better, Chris Powell reportedly instructed to play him instead of Ben Hamer.

However, myfavourite keeper of the recent past and the one I rank alongside Sam Bartram is Dean Kiely who played in 177 games for Charlton.   Alan Curbishley spotted him when he was the standout player when Bury came to The Valley and drew 0-0 and signed him to some scepticism for £1m.  In fact it was a classic example of Curbishley’s ability to spot underrated talent.

Goalkeepers are often remembered for their mistakes rather than their great saves.   On 11^th March 2000, after a good run, Charlton played lowly Swindon Town at The Valley.   I bought a hospitality package that day and invited an Addick from Swindon, anticipating a victory.   Kiely made a rare mistake and let a soft goal slip underneath him, Charlton losing 0-1.   The fan from Swindon was beside himself.   Curbs said recently on Valley Pass that he was not so concerned about losing to Swindon, as it was more important to win against the teams around Charlton and we went on to win promotion.

Deano’s parents lived half a mile away from me and his son was for a while the keeper at Leamington.   I saw Dean Kiely at the club on an awards night and I approached him and identified myself as a Charlton supporter.   He could not have been more pleasant.

Finally, one must mention Nick Pope who was brought in from Bury Town and played 33 games for Charlton before he was snapped up by Burnley, Sean Dyche later admitting he got a bargain.   Pope, of course, has gone on to play for England.

At one time keepers were often rather distinctive and flamboyant, like Sam Bartram, but they have had to become more professional and integrated members of the team, benefitting from specialist goalkeeping coaches who were not available in years gone by.  There is too much at stake in the modern game for too much individualism.  

Remembering Sam Bartram

It’s Sunday 7^th March 1954.  Around the middle of the morning, my father and I walk down the hill from Plumstead Common to my uncle’s newsagents shop in Lakedale Road.  Our ostensible objective is to collect the Sunday papers for ourselves and some neighbours, together with a week’s supply of the Daily Mirror and the Racing and Football Outlook for my grandmother so that she can work on her continuing analysis of promotion and relegation prospects.

A less formal purpose is to chat about football.   The other main topic was politics and this often amounted to speculation about the sexual conduct of prominent politicians.    Of course, at the age of seven I didn’t realise what, for example, references to MP and newspaper columnist Tom Driberg’s preferences (he was gay) meant.  But as I leafed through the football pages, my uncle would advise me to always read ‘between the lines’ of any news story.  What was left unsaid was as important as what was said.   I shouldn’t take anything at face value, but develop an ability to criticise, some of the best advice I ever had.

Lakedale Road was then a bustling shopping centre, but it is relatively quiet by around 11 am on a Sunday in my uncle’s shop, so much so that you can hear the hissing of the gas lamps, perhaps interrupted by the passage of the Salvation Army band.    With no social media, Charlton fans knew that they could drop by for a few minutes chat.   Apart from the preceding day’s game, a favourite topic was the tensions between manager Jimmy Seed and trainer or coach Jimmy Trotter.

However, this was a rather unusual day in terms of Charlton coverage in the Sunday papers, or at least that is how I remembered it.   Memory can play tricks and when I searched the British Library newspaper archive online, the coverage was much more perfunctory than I recalled through a sepia glow.    However, the Daily Mirror did comment with some surprise on the Saturday that they had met a man who did not know what was happening that day at The Valley.

On the preceding day we had been at The Valley for Sam Bartram’s 500^th match for Charlton which was estimated to boost the normal gate by 10,000 (including Sam’s mother who travelled from County Durham).   Arguably it was actually his 497^th because the three matches at the start of the 1939-40 season before the outbreak of war had been expunged from the official record.  But let’s not allow a technicality to stand in the way of a celebration.  

Charlton had played Portsmouth that day, winning 3-1 and their skipper Jimmy Dickinson had helped Bartram to cut a giant cake (30 inches by 18 inches) supplied by Pompey on the pitch after the game. They also gave him a silver tankard while Charlton gave him a silver tea service.  On the way home we bought at least one of the then three London evening papers which brought out a late football edition and I cut out and the photograph of Bartram and Dickinson and pasted it on cardboard.   It was a treasured memento for many years.   Looking back at the photographs that some papers printed, Bartram’s principal look is one of embarrassment and he is referred to in one report as a ‘modest’ individual.

For me, Sam Bartram was a childhood hero and led to a lifelong fascination with the role of goalkeepers in the game (more of that in a subsequent post).   In the 21^st century heroes and heroines are regarded with a justified scepticism and I will come back to Bartram’s flaws later.

In addition to the Sunday papers, I would collect some comics.  A favourite was the Eagle in which Dan Dare regularly battled against the Venusian evil genius, the Mekon, who appeared to bathe in green pea soup.   However, I would also collect a new comic which started publication in 1954, the Tiger, and which featured Roy of the Rovers, the rovers being Melchester Rovers. 

Football-themed stories were a staple of British comics for boys from the 1950s onwards, and Roy of the Rovers was the most popular.  The strip usually saw Rovers competing for honours at the top of the English and European game, although in some years the storylines would see the club struggle for form, including relegation from the top flight in the early 1980s.  Roy’s playing career came to an end in 1993 when he lost his left foot in a helicopter crash.

The Tiger pioneered one innovation in the form of football ‘league ladders’.  You had to press out pieces of card for each team which contained some basic information on a tab such as the name of the ground and the team colours.  You then placed these in slots on a cardboard sheet for all four divisions (I can’t remember for sure how Scotland was treated, but I think just the top division was at the bottom of the sheet).    They have a retro appeal and reproduction versions can be bought online, the marketing blurb stating: ‘When I was a lad, there were only three channels on the telly, and when you weren't outside playing with your Raleigh Chopper bike or your Wembley Trophy football, you were indoors doing your League Ladders.’ The idea was that you could make adjustments after each week’s matches, but for me it provided the basis for a game which was a crude early form of Football Manager using a dice or playing cards in which Charlton somehow won the first division title.

Bartram, of course, never received significant international honours, other than three wartime internationals, touring Australia with an England XI in 1951 and played for the England B team (the international equivalent of the reserves). Why was that?  In part it was because Frank Swift (Manchester City) and Ted Ditchburn (Tottenham Hotspur) were also available.  Even then Spurs and City were seen as ‘big’ clubs.    Bartram did play for the Possibles versus the Probables in a pre-war trial and at one time was seen as a more likely selection than Swift, but the war intervened.  Hence he got the unwanted title of the ‘the finest goalkeeper never to play for England.’

A friend in later life who was a Portsmouth fan argued that Bartram was a ‘showman’. In Peter Chapman’s book The Goalkeeper’s History of Britain he states that Bartram was condemned as ‘playing for the gallery’ and called ‘a danger to football.’ Admittedly, Swift was also seen as something of a showman for throwing the ball out, something then seen as unorthodox (Swift had learnt it from water polo).  ‘To have sanctioned a second showman would have risked established tradition.  Protective of the nation’s sterner values, Bartram was where [the selectors] drew the line.’

From a 21^st century viewpoint, it is possible to argue for a more positive perspective on his style of play.  He did take risks and ventured out of his goal area more than was common in those days when the keeper was usually seen as a shot stopper on the line and one who was given less protection from referees than is the case today.   These days Sam might be called a sweeper keeper, a popular formula with some managers who consider that having a player standing about for most of the match represents an under-utilised asset.   Hence, a sweeper keeper is a goalkeeper who pushes himself up the pitch and stays close to the last line of defence. Johan Cruyff once said: ‘In my team, the goalkeeper is the first attacker and the striker is the first defender’.

Over sixty years later, I had an insight into Bartram’s role watching my non-league team Leamington.   For some years the keeper was one Tony Breeden, a somewhat volatile individual who had to leave after what was reported to be a vigorous exchange of views with the team captain.   Known to some opposing teams as the ‘barmy binman’, his chant at Leamington was ‘Tony Breeden, on the wing, on the wing.’

Breeden had a fierce and accurate shot and was often the penalty taker, indeed I saw him score against Wolves at Molineux in a penalty shoot out to win the Birmingham Senior Cup.   (He had less luck with his current team, Nuneaton Borough, where a video of him taking out the stadium lights from a penalty went viral).  However, on occasion he would burst out of his goal and race up the wing with the ball, completely confounding the opposition, before delivering an assist to a player near the goal.   I also saw him score from a free kick in his own half.  Admittedly, he did not ever score in open play, although I did see him hit the crossbar from the halfway line.

It has to be said that his conduct alarmed some fans, and it was something one could only get away with in non-league football.   Bartram did not do anything anywhere near as reckless.   However, the insight I gained was that part of Bartram’s play book was to unsettle the opposition by playing in a way that was then unconventional for a keeper at that time.

Bartram left Charlton to join York City as manager in 1956.   This meant that he had to sell off his sports business round the corner from The Valley. This was a shrewd investment, promoted through photos of excited young fans with Bartram.   My father thought that it was a clever but misleading ploy.  Fans would go round there expecting to meet Bartram and instead see the manager he had put in to run the shop.   My father also took the view that the goods on sale were over-priced.  He bought me some excellent football boots when I was seven, not realising that I had not inherited any of his talent as a non-league footballer.   They didn’t come from Sam Bartram & Co.

Bartram was released by York City in 1960 with two years to run on his contract so that he could join Luton Town.   He was let go by them in the summer of 1962 ‘by mutual agreement’ which no doubt meant that he was sacked with some kind of pay off.

The departure of Jimmy Seed

We are all familiar with the concept of ‘spin’ in the media, but it is not a new development.  Back in the 1950s the narrative given to the media was often an attempt to divert attention from the real story.   This was certainly the case when Jimmy Seed was removed as Charlton manager in September 1956.

 The standard story, as reproduced in the Birmingham Daily Gazette of 4 September ran as follows: ‘Mr Jimmy Seed, faithful guardian of Charlton Athletic affairs for almost a quarter of a century, is no longer Master of the Valley.  After 23 years as manager, the longest of any First Division chief, Mr Seed has retired.’

The club statement referred to the retirement of Mr J. Seed.  The paper commented, ‘Sad, so sad. It was “Good Old Jimmy” when he led them from the Third Division to the First in the course of two seasons in the 1930s; when he piloted the club to Wembley; and when he sold Eddie Firmani for £35,000.  Now with Charlton beaten by Sunderland on Saturday, bottom of the First Division, having lost all five games and conceded 19 goals, it is “Mr J. Seed”’.

In other words, the paper was far from convinced by the club’s account.   However, a director speaking on behalf of the board said: ‘We are parting on very friendly terms, and I think that Mr. Seed has been wanting to get out of football for some time.  We have absolutely no one in mind as a successor [untrue], but obviously we will have to consider it.’

 ‘After saying farewell to the directors, Mr Seed said “I am a very tired man.  I have had 25 years of football, and the responsibility has become too great.  It had got to the stage where I could not sleep at night.  I am 61, heading for 62, and I decided it was time to quit.  There has been no row of any description at Charlton.  I took the decision on the spur of the moment.”’   Well, it is true that it was a shock.  He had just been expecting a pep talk.

“I have some wonderful friends at The Valley and that will always be my home.  Although I am quitting football altogether, I will always be ready to help Charlton in any way I can.  Charlton’s bad start this season has influenced the decision.  When a club’s playing fortunes are at a low ebb, the responsibility is even greater.”   In other words, he was hinting that he had been edged out.  A lesson my uncle taught me in his Lakedale Road newsagents was always to ‘read between the lines’ of any story, what today we might call the subtext.

The report continued, ‘Running Charlton has been just about the most difficult job in First Division football.  Money has never been plentiful and, despite any amount of bright, attractive football, Charlton have never had the stars to lure the people away from Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea.’ As I have argued in an earlier article for VOTB, there was a missed opportunity after the Second World War to make Charlton the South London equivalent of Arsenal.

The article concluded, ‘The Seed policy has been simple.  “Give me a good fellow with a fair amount of skill and we will make him happy at The Valley, he once told me.”  [The writer was Alan Willliams].  Now all that is past and with Sam Bartram also departed, The Valley will never be the same.  The only survivor of the great Charlton trio is trainer Jimmy Trotter,’ the article noted significantly.

Journalists immediately started to look round for a successor and the DailyMirror confidently declared, ‘The man to whom Charlton will almost certainly offer the job as Jimmy Seed’s successor is Sam Bartram.  Sam, goalkeeper almost throughout the whole of Jimmy Seed’s career, retired last season after a record number of games to take over the managership of Third Division North Yotk City.  His entire playing life of twenty-two years was spent at The Valley, where he was probably the most popular personality the club ever had.’

‘If he had not been offered the York job, he would still be playing and the Charlton directors told him that when he decided to retire they would find a job for him.  [Yes, but in a more junior role than manager]. With that in mind Sam studied managership under Jimmy Seed and knows Charlton, the club, the players and the staff better than anyone else.’

‘When I rang him at York last night after his team had beaten Carlisle 2-0 and told him that Jimmy Seed had retired he said: “Oh, I’m sorry, but I’m not surprised.  I think that it is a great pity that Jimmy Seed, the man to whom I owe so much, should go out of the game but I know he has had ever increasing worries.  There will never be another Jimmy Seed, and everything I learned as a player and of the duties of a manager, I owe to him.”’

‘I asked Sam whether he would be interested in taking over at The Valley, where he spent so many happy years, and where he has literally thousands of friends.  “No comment,” he replied.  But he added: “Naturally when has spent so long in one place, a large part of one’s heart is always there.”’ In other words, I am a candidate and you know where you can find me.

In what appears in retrospect to be a deliberate diversionary tactic, a subsequent report stated, ‘A quiet group of players stood round the billiard table in the Charlton team room when director David Clark walked in for a pep talk.  “Listen, chaps, he said [adopting an appropriate mode of address for the worthy artisans], “Mr Seed’s retirement come as a shock to all of us” as pigs flew past the window.  “But I want you to know that the directors have complete faith in you.  We are convinced that you can find your true form and take us away from the bottom of the table.”’   This no doubt gave a great boost to morale.

Mr Clark told the Mirror ‘”We are in no rush to find a successor to Jimmy Seed.  A stranger might be a good idea.  After all, that’s what Jimmy Seed was.”’  This was one way of saying ‘We’re not having Bartram’, but it was also a way of deflecting attention from the planned appointment of Jimmy Trotter, immortalised through the name of Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses.   However, it took nine days to confirm Trotter’s appointment. The Sunday morning gatherings of Charlton fans in my uncle’s newsagents were the 1950s equivalent of a message board and a recurrent theme was the ill feeling between Seed and Trotter.

The first chapter of The Jimmy Seed Story, published in 1958, is entitled ‘Sacked!’  After the 8-1 defeat at Sunderland, Jimmy Seed was summoned to the offices of chairman Sammy Gliksten in Hanover Square.  He was told, ‘we think the time has come for us to part … you are getting old.  You aren’t well, and we think in your interests, as well as those of the club, we should get a younger man to take your place.’  Trotter was three years younger.  A press statement was prepared to record Seed’s ‘retirement’ with fourteen months left on his contract.  His pay off was £6,000 (£142,000 in today’s prices).  His salary after the war was £2,000 (around £75,000 today) plus a car.

Jimmy Trotter then arrived.  ‘I never gave it a thought that Jimmy would take my place.’  Jimmy Trotter didn’t say much as the bus crawled through the rush hour to Charing Cross.  Seed drove him home from the ground.  He then spent three hours reflecting in his office before his wife summoned him home to their detached house opposite a golf course in Bromley to deal with the reporters.

Charlton were relegated at the end of the season with just 22 points, seven behind Cardiff City.  In January 1958 Jimmy Seed became manager of Millwall until July 1959.  He was a director from 1960 until his death in 1966 at the age of 71. Trotter, was a good trainer and a decent individual, but he was not cut out for the manager’s job.  He was dismissed in October 1961, receiving a £5,000 pay off (just over £100,000 in today’s prices).  He died in 1985, aged 86.

In his book, The Football Manager: a History Neil Carter argues that ‘Under Jimmy Seed, Charlton were criticised for playing negative football.’  His tactical plan involved an inside forward dropping back into defence.   He also saw centre halves as purely defensive.  Carter does, however, credit Seed with being one of the first of a breed of modern managers who established decision-making autonomy from the board and created sophisticated scouting systems.

Jimmy Seed’s contribution to the club is recognised in his name on the away stand.  The momentum evident in the club immediately before and after the Second World War could have been maintained if the owners hadn’t tightened the purse strings.

 

Crowds at The Valley

Season tickets for next season are being sold rapidly as hope returns to The Valley.   An appropriate time to look at the subject of attendances at Charlton.

If one looks at historic attendances, what is surprising is the amount of variation around the average.  In 1953-4, the season in which I started watching Charlton, the lowest attendance was against Sheffield United (who finished third from bottom), 16,845.   Attendances at midweek games tended to be lower, with only 18,208 watching the Thursday game against Preston North End despite the attractions of seeing star player Tom Finney.   Nevertheless, the opening game of the season was on a Wednesday against Sunderland and attracted just under 50,000.  

The highest attendance was 60,259 to see the 1-5 defeat by Arsenal which no doubt included many away supporters.   The prospect of seeing Stanley Matthews play brought in 56,664 against Blackpool, but league leaders Wolves drew only 35,595.  Attendances fell away towards the end of the season with Charlton drifting towards a ninth place finish and only 19,111 saw the final home game against Manchester United on Easter Monday.

Charlton’s average attendances for league games peaked at 40,216 in 1949 when little alternative entertainment was available.  They fell under 10,000 in 1979 to 9,563.  After the return to The Valley, ‘Target 10.000’ was achieved in 1995 with an average of 10,211.   The peak average attendance in the Premier League was 26,403 in 2005.   From 18,499 in 2013 attendances fell away, with a particularly sharp drop from 15,362 in 2016 to 11,162 in 2017.

It should be emphasised that attendance figures have never been that reliable.  Attendances have long been inflated in the United States because they help to attract commercial sponsors or avoid the loss of a franchise. This practice has spread to the UK, in part because of American investors in football.

In the past attendances often understated the crowd. First, some clubs creamed off some of the gate money so they would not have pay 'entertainment' tax on it. In the days when the away team got a share of the proceeds, this would mean less money for them. (The newspapers used to publish gate receipts as well as attendances, but the figures were not reliable). Second, gatemen had various fiddles such as letting pals in at half price and pocketing the money. Third, at most grounds, certainly at Charlton, there were ways for youngsters to get in without paying. Some of the really big Valley attendance figures may understate the size of the crowd.

Clubs do have to count season ticket holders whether they are there or not because of the levy they pay on attendance to the Football League.   Normally reliable sources estimate that 15 per cent of Charlton season ticket holders do not turn up to Saturday matches and that figure could well double for midweek games.

Entertainment tax

I know that memory can play tricks and when one checks something against some kind of public record one finds out that one was wrong.  However, I do have some almost photographic memories of some personal incidents at The Valley.  I was standing on the East Terrace with my father in the mid 1950s and he pointed out someone standing in the director’s box opposite surveying the crowd.

I can’t remember his exact words after all this time and it was something on the lines of ‘That’s Stanley Gliksten the chairman. He’s trying to work out what the gate is today and what the takings will be.’

 

There was some suspicion among football fans generally that the full takings were not disclosed, not that I am implying that this happened at Charlton.  Both fans and owners resented the ‘entertainment tax’ which was introduced originally in 1916 and finally abolished in 1960.  It principally applied to cinemas, but also for a time to football.  Given that matches were often played on waterlogged, muddy pitches by players well below today’s standards of fitness, it was a misnomer if there ever was.

However, when it was removed for the ‘cheaper stands’ in 1947, only 10 per cent of clubs were estimated to have passed the reduction on to fans, according to the then MP for Gravesend.  In an earlier intervention, he claimed that Charlton were only admitting a small proportion of fans at the adjusted ‘popular side’ prices.  

It was subsequently alleged by another MP that Charlton were one of the clubs continuing to fail to do this, but the Chancellor’s rather mystifying reply was that they had a Scottish manager!   This was both inaccurate and referred to a popular myth about Scots being tight fisted.  In any event Jimmy Seed responded that the club had received few letters of complaint and most fans were happy to pay a higher price than elsewhere.

The season that ended in disappointment

 The 1957-8 season for Charlton saw the 7-6 defeat of Huddersfield, but the season ended in disappointment.   In a crucial match at West Ham, captain Derek Ufton led protests against a sending off.

In the 1957/8 season, Charlton fans were hoping for a quick return to the top flight after relegation the season before.  It was a remarkable season, Charlton scoring 107 goals, including the 7-6 defeat of Huddersfield on December 21^st (unfortunately, my family was Christmas shopping in Woolwich).  Under the current system of three points for a win, they would have been promoted in second place behind West Ham United.

As it was they finished third. One can only speculate what might have happened if they had been promoted.  They might have struggled in the top flight.  But they might also have attracted much needed investment in The Valley and the move to Selhurst might not have happened, yet in many ways that was the making of the club.   Alternative histories are problematic but fascinating.

Two matches with promotion rivals were crucial in deciding the final outcome.  On April 5^th they drew 0-0 with West Ham United at Upton Park.

A contemporary press report by Peter Lorenzo reads: 'The Quiet Man became a Very Angry Young Man for 90 seconds at Upton Park … and it ended with Charlton inside right John "Buck" Ryan, described by his team mates as "the quietest bloke in the club" being ordered off in the 68th minute of the top-of-the-table clash with West Ham.'  He later received a seven day suspension.

'But I must back Bolton referee Tom Cooper to the hilt. Said dapper Tom afterwards: "Ryan was ordered off for striking an opponent … there was no doubt about that." [Interesting that the referee felt able to explain his decision to the media which they won't do today]. Agreed. I saw tall, dark-haired Ryan aim blows at West Ham left back and skipper Noel Cantwell after they had clashed in the Charlton penalty area.'

'In the corridor outside his team's dressing room, Ryan, a 25-year-old softly-spoken Scot told me: "As Cantwell got up he grabbed a handful of mud and threw it in my face. [The pitch was almost waterlogged with clinging mud]. He was mad and that made me mad. I went to retaliate and the referee saw me. He came over, asked my name [no red cards] and said Off"'.

'Provocation there may have been for the unfortunate Ryan - "I've never even been spoken to before." But the referee had no option, despite the fierce and repeated protests of a pack of Charlton players, led by angry skipper Derek Ufton.'

'Said Ufton: "John never touched anyone. He couldn't. I was holding him all the time. In fact, it was Ryan who was punched."'

'Certainly West Ham's 6 ft. right back John Bond could count his lucky stars he was not accompanying Ryan on that lonely trek to the dressing room. Bond, for once losing his icy-cool, almost contemptuous composure, ran 15 yards to join the scramble which developed while Ryan was being restrained by Ufton. This was a completely unnecessary intervention by Bond who, in turn, had to be dragged away by team mate Andy Malcolm.'

'If the Ryan sending off was unfortunate for Charlton, it certainly gave West Ham no advantage. The depleted Charlton side seemed to find new strength.'

On 26^th April Charlton played Blackburn Rovers at The Valley in the last match of the season.  They needed just one point to win promotion, Blackburn needed a win.  The game was watched by 56,435 - a Second Division record for the ground.

Ronnie Clayton was Rovers' captain that day and skippered England on many occasions, representing the national side 35 times between 1956 and 1960. He well understood the test of nerve in store for Rovers' return.  ‘It was sheer agony for both teams,’ he admitted.  ‘The mental torture became so bad during the match we began to feel anything would be better - even a Charlton win. It was just horrendous.’

An incredible match see-sawed crazily with Fred Lucas putting Charlton ahead on four minutes and Stuart Leary wasting a clear opportunity in to secure a 2-0 lead on ten minutes.  Then it was Blackburn's turn. Peter Dobing scored twice, Roy Vernon added another and a Bryan Douglas penalty established a seemingly impregnable 4-1 Blackburn lead.   Manager Jimmy Trotter blamed keeper Willie Duff for two of the goals.

Charlton, though, launched an inspired revival. Peter Firmani's goal on 76 minutes and a John Hewie penalty on 83 minutes, awarded after a foul on Leary, made life uncomfortable for Rovers at 4-3.

‘”Leary missed a gift goal that might have settled it," Clayton said. "When we led 4-1 we were on a cast-iron certainty until Charlton came back. Then suddenly, the torture was all over and Blackburn were back in the First Division. Amazing scenes followed as we tried to get off the pitch. ‘

‘A woman supporter emptied a bucket of water over our trainer and Bryan Douglas was so ashen-faced I thought he was going to faint. That game was one of the biggest occasions of my club career.’

The implications of that single result were huge for both clubs. Blackburn had eight years at the top before being relegated.  The Addicks would wait another 28 years for top-flight football.

A clear out of players at The Valley followed, although 31 were retained.  Jock Campbell, the uncompromising Scottish right back who had made 276 appearances for the club since 1945, but had played only once during the season, was given a free transfer.  A master of the slide tackle, he joined Cambridge United and died in the city in 1983.

Woolwich born ‘Squib’ Hammond had made 208 appearances for the club since 1950.  A quietly efficient member of what we would now call the midfield, Cyril joined Colchester United in the summer of 1958, and stayed with them until the end of the 1961/62 season.  He then worked in the town, passing away in Buckinghamshire in 2016 at the age of 88.

Robert Ayre played 115 games for the Addicks and scored 54 goals, played twice for the England Under 23s and toured South Africa with a FA team.   He joined Charlton from Western League side Chippenham United in the summer of 1952.  He was signed by Reading in the summer of 1958 for what for them was a record fee of £7,000 (£155,000 at today’s prices).  However, he was always injury prone and had to retire from football in 1961 at the age of just 28.   He died in July at the age of 86.

Charlton secured another third place finish in the second division in 1968/69 but were well behind the promoted teams, Derby County and Crystal Palace.

When Charlton beat Liverpool 6-0

Continuing last week's feature on the 1953/4 season I look at the time Charlton beat Liverpool 6-0

Looking back at my first season following Charlton in 1953-4 there are certain matches that remain in the memory.   One of them was the 6-0 defeat of Liverpool on 26^th September 1953 in front of a crowd of 31,258.  This was Liverpool’s biggest defeat since 1934.  They were then managed by former Addick Don Welsh and were relegated as bottom club.

It is interesting to look at this match from the perspective of a report in a Liverpool paper.  ‘A foul against Liverpool at the fifth minute proved fatal to their cause, for Evans calmly headed Fenton’s free kick into the net while the Liverpool defence appeared to stand still.  This was indeed a blow for the Anfielders had opened promisingly.   For the next few minutes Charlton bothered the Liverpool defence quite a lot and Leary made a good shot which Crossley saved on the line.  The ball went out to Kiernan who raced into the centre and shot when most expected him to pass.  Evans who is particularly good with his head made another effort from Hurst’s centre.’

‘Whenever Liverpool threatened danger, the Charlton defence packed well and these tactics often checked the Liverpool advantage.  A Liddell corner went straight into Bartram’s hands.   Liverpool were testing the Athletic, and after a Liddell shot was dropped, Baron seized on the ball and shot, but a slight deflection ruined it and saved Bartram from anxiety.   Liverpool for the last 15 minutes had as much play as Charlton, but could not get a real shot at goal.’  (Memory can play tricks, but I have a vision of Charlton clearing well on their left in front of the East Terrace).  Spicer made a determined tackle to prevent Leary’s shot from becoming dangerous.  Bimpson gave Ufton the dummy but it got him nowhere for the Charlton defence stepped in to do their stuff.’

‘Leary was a little slow at making a shot from a good position, giving a Liverpool man a chance to nip in and block his effort.  Jackson made a jab into the goalmouth but Bartram had no difficulty in saving.  Liddell was here there and everywhere, but Charlton left few openings.  Crossley had to save a low shot from Hurst and Leary was not far off the target with a header.   Charlton went further ahead, Leary picking up a pass from O’Linn to give Crossley no chance from 15 yards’ range at the 43^rd minute.’

Charlton thus went in 2-0 ahead at half time.  Having been refreshed by a cup of tea and an orange, ‘Charlton undoubtedly looked the more dangerous side and Evans was unlucky to have a hefty shot blocked by Paisley.  Evans offered O’Linn a chance which he took quickly, but not accurately, the ball passing wide.  Charlton were in trouble a moment later but Hammond dropped back and kicked clear.  Charlton were well on top at this stage and Crossley had to turn a Kiernan angular shot over the bar.  Later, O’Linn came along with a header which was off the mark.’

‘There was a groan when Fenton offered the chance “on a plate” slewed his shot well wide of the far post.  There was a big shout for a foul for hands against Hughes who did perhaps handle, but quite unintentionally, the referee thought so too.’  An absence of intent wouldn’t have helped him today.  In 1953 my mother was always alert for evidence for what she thought was systematic referee bias against Charlton and would have made her views clear.

‘A Baron header was cleared off the line by Ufton.  Charlton missed a third goal when a free kick taken by Fenton was helped on by O’Linn.  He headed wide with most of the goal open to him.  Charlton had been bang on top for the last 20 minutes and Leary scored a third goal at 20 minutes when Crossley failed to hold a Leary shot which passed over his line.  Leary obtained his hat-trick and Charlton’s fourth goal when he ran through and took the ball close in before he smashed it beyond Crossley at 72 minutes.  After Crossley had got to his feet to save from Hurst, the referee awarded a penalty and Leary scored a fifth goal in the 74^th minute.  Evans scored a sixth goal for Charlton after 83 minutes.’  If Charlton had taken all their chances, they might have won by an even bigger margin.

The match against Cardiff City in March 1954 was memorable for me because Bartram was not in goal.  Apparently he had been injured in training.  For the outfield team training was focused on running round the pitch and up and down the East Terrace, supervised by Jimmy Trotter in his white coat which made him look as if he had just wandered in from the pharmacy counter at Boots.  The keeper was, however, allowed to see the ball during the week.  Bartram was also out the next week when Charlton 4-1 away at Huddersfield.   Eddie Marsh deputised on both occasions and one of my memories was of him fumbling a save with a frown on his face which left me worried for the rest of the match.   Fortunately, the Cardiff keeper also had a bit of a mare.

What I do not remember is that there was clearly quite a lot of tension between the two teams. ‘Play was over vigorous at times and at one period in the second half hustling and bumping were taken to such extremes that the referee had to issue words of advice to both teams.’  In what was a foul strewn match and both O’Linn and Leary were injured.   The Cardiff president was left with a bloody nose after a no nonsense Campbell clearance hit the roof of the stand and then bounced directly on to his nose.

A report from Wales blamed defensive blunders for at least two of the goals scored by Charlton. ‘Although there was plenty of honest endeavour in the City forward line it was never a smooth working unit mainly because of the tendency of the inside forwards to hang back.  The usually sound Graham Vearncombe [in goal] was not too sure of himself.  He did not position himself well for the first two Charlton goals, and he was not confident when running out of goal.’

‘Charlton made most of the running in the early stages, and after only a quarter of an hour Leary easily rounded Gale to cut in and put the ball across the City goalmouth for Hurst to apply the finishing touches.  When Firmani scored Charlton’s second in the 23^rd minute the City looked a well beaten side.  They staged a grand rally, however.  In the last 15 seconds of the first half Grant scored with a 20-yard shot and immediately the second half started Ford headed home a corner kick in his best style.’

‘For some time then Charlton were hard pressed to keep the City going into the lead.  This hectic spell gradually faded.’  For the winning goal Ayre surprised the defenders by challenging for a loose ball, and the ball was put to Leary’s feet in front of an unguarded net, leaving Charlton 3-2 winners. Cardiff finished one place behind Charlton who were 9^th and on the same number of points as Chelsea.

There were more disappointing results during the season, but I was left hooked for life.