I remember this well - my 2nd ever Charlton game. Wasn't the best balanced side we sent out, with Aizlewood at the back and 3 central midfielders, but got the job done. My Dad didn't believe me when I got home and told him the score.
I remember being in the Arthur Wait, luxuriating as ever in my own personal bit of terracing, and we were 3 or 4 up when we got a corner that Walshie came over to take. Somebody shouted 'Go for your hat-trick, son', which he heard, gave the thumbs up and said 'alright then' - hearing the crowd just like Melchester Rovers. And then he swung an in-swinger just beyond the far post and cracked up laughing, because he just missed.
Not a very interesting story I know, but a nice personal memory all the same.
I woz there. Astonishingly, this 5-0 tonking was our only win in a run of 17 league games from November to April; we also lost at 'home' (Sell-out Park) to Walsall in the FA Cup. But we managed to stay up, evading the drop by two points, partly because of four consecutive wins in October that included a 3-2 win over Everton. Jimmy Melrose scored a hat-trick in that match against his former club, who went on to finish the season as league champions.
It's funny, I don't remember us being in such a bad run at the time. I remember the Walsall game though - to my mind, right up there with the Wycombe QF in the cup misery stakes I've witnessed. David Kelly scored, with his blimmin' blonde highlights looking like a poor man's Barry Venison...
Also in the run in October was the West Ham match and the nine second goal. Bungle Billy must be the only manger ever to relegate two teams in one season !
Also in the run in October was the West Ham match and the nine second goal. Bungle Billy must be the only manger ever to relegate two teams in one season !
Yes, Jimmy Melrose's unforgettable goal after nine seconds in the 3-1 win at West Ham on 25 October. But that was our last league win until the 5-0 tonking of Man City on 28 December - which preceded another long winless run until 7 March when we beat West Ham 2-1 in the return fixture, Melrose scoring both goals.
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I remember being in the Arthur Wait, luxuriating as ever in my own personal bit of terracing, and we were 3 or 4 up when we got a corner that Walshie came over to take. Somebody shouted 'Go for your hat-trick, son', which he heard, gave the thumbs up and said 'alright then' - hearing the crowd just like Melchester Rovers. And then he swung an in-swinger just beyond the far post and cracked up laughing, because he just missed.
Not a very interesting story I know, but a nice personal memory all the same.