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The week that was - 25th May 1998. Charlton 4 Sunderland 4 - YOUR ACCOUNTS
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Truly a day to be treasured. To think of us then and us now is hard to bear, but we are Charlton - we will survive and in the end we WILL win, just as we did on that glorious afternoon.
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Magical day, I was a kid and even though I had been going to games at the Valley already, that was the day I truly fell in love with the club.
I don't really remember much of the game, more just the atmosphere and the feeling we had the best team in the world, especially Super Clive who must be the deadliest striker in world.
Then the obvious highlight, watching the penalties on my Dads shoulders ending with Sasa snatching a thunderbolt of a shot(that is my memory, don't take it away from me) to send us to the Premier League.
I still get emotional thinking about it now.1 -
Was the league sponsored by Nationwide? I'm not sure, I think they need a few more hoardingsWSS said:5 -
The elation that I felt when Ilic saved that penalty was like nothing I've felt at a football match before or since, and I've supported Charlton since 1969. I can't imagine ever having a feeling quite like that again at a Charlton match. It's funny to read that Steve Jones would have been the next penalty taker. I bet he would have missed - we'll never know. The Sunderland fans must have felt sick to lose a match like that, but I'll never forget some of them breaking into applause as we exited the Stadium3
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Fabulous day.
Every time Micky Gray walks up to take his penalty, I think 'he doesn't look comfortable'1 -
I didn't know he was next on the list. Seem to recall that he was pacing up and down on his own on the halfway line, away from all the other players, carrying the demeanour of a man who would rather do anything than take a penalty. I suppose, after Newton, there would only have been Jones, Rufus, Youds and Ilic left to take one, so he would have been the logical choice however nervous he was. Not seen many centre-backs take a decent penalty over the years.lungrot said:It's funny to read that Steve Jones would have been the next penalty taker. I bet he would have missed - we'll never know.
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The best penalty I've ever seen taken was Neville Southall's against us in the quarter final of the full members. He hit it so hard that it would have taken Bolder into the back of the net if he'd got behind it.0
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We had a party of twenty-two, I think it was. My friend, a Charlton supporter, and various members of his family, my wife who has no interested in football (but has still been to two FA Cup finals), my four year old son who's been going to Charlton since he was nine days old but doesn't remember much about the day, my brother and his daughters, Millwall supporters all, some friends who are Spurs supporters with their boys, and a friend of mine who was interested in football but didn't support anyone. On the day, of course, everyone was behind Charlton.
We were very close to the drums and my brother still moans about that to this day. I was so hyper, I don't even remember the drums!
When Ilic made that save, I nearly fainted. This could have been a problem as I had my son in my arms but I handed him over to my wife and sat down to recover so no harm done.
The outcome was the eldest son of the Spurs supporters and my friend who didn't support anyone both became Charlton supporters and season ticket holders. The wife in the Spurs family also got a Charlton season ticket, saying she'd at least get to see Spurs once a year. She only gave it up last year so it wasn't just the attraction of Spurs coming to The Valley.3 -
DaveMehmet said:
The best penalty I've ever seen taken was Neville Southall's against us in the quarter final of the full members. He hit it so hard that it would have taken Bolder into the back of the net if he'd got behind it.
best I've seen is frazer richardsons against Swindon
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I made my thoughts on this incredible game/day several years back in the thread.
Yesterday I was reflecting that of the three who I went with, my Dad, his best mate and my wife, only my wife is still with us.
I remember returning to my Mum and Dad's house after the game. The joy of sharing with my Mum (who wasn't really into football) the highlights of the day and the emotion that went with it was a special moment. She passed away in 2000 and my Dad in 2004. We had no children at the time. We now have our son who is 17 and our daughter now 13 in a few days.
Football is the backdrop to our lives. The club we love from that day, like my life has reached highs and lows.
I pity the Man Utd fans, brought up with highs on a regular basis. They will never have experienced the kind of abysmal lows we have suffered in support of our wonderful club
- the disaster and rebirth in 1984
- the loss of a home in 1985
- the disasters of 2015/16
So they will never experience the height of that high we felt on that day.
We became then, the Leicester of football - everyone's second club. It's why I love the Leicester story so much because I can relate to that.
Our time will come again. Keep the faith.16 -
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Spot on. And, for a couple of years at least, the envy of both Palace & Millwall, though they wouldn't always admit it.bingaddick said:
We became then, the Leicester of football - everyone's second club. .1 -
Had a waistcoat on, 3 piece suit.AddickFC81 said:
How buttons did suits have back then? Blimey!guinnessaddick said:Had to be done, lid on the head photo.
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most exciting live game I have ever been to and I'll probably never again attend a better one .. Thanks St Llewellyn and the team that was a REAL team1
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I was 28 years old and with my mates. When the penalty was saved, all I can remember is everyone going wild. Eventually realised I was about 6 rows below where I had been moments before. We ended up back in O'Dowd's of Plumstead and were very, very drunk. Happy daze.0
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Best set of penalties from our boys I have ever seen. They looked like they could have kept banging them in till midnight and beyond. Terrific.2
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Had pre booked a family holiday to Mojacar beach, Spain. So watched the game on sky with my dad, sadly no longer with us, in a local sports bar.
The two of us were the only Charlton supporters, we were surrounded by Sunderland supporters. Remember feeling totally physically drained at the end.
Found out a couple of years ago that all our supporters were in another bar, 200 yards along the beach.4 -
I was pretty gutted it went to penalties at the time. I thought Sunderland had a bit more quality than we did and definitely didn't feel that we would win on pens. I actually felt fine until Newton stepped up, I liked him as a player, was a good old div one winger IMO, but I didn't back him to score a penalty. Well he proved me wrong and once Ilic made the save, we went bonkers (obviously). Great day out. I thought the Sunderland fans were superb, both before during and after the game. We were drinking with a number of them before and after the game and they were a credit to the club.2
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I was at work.1
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First memory: Sunderland fans EVERYWHERE! I thought that ours sales figures must have been wrong. Was desperate to get inside with what I imagined was the totally outnumbered Charlton fans and get behind the team only to find our fans had got there early!
We knew that it was a pivotal game for our history. Even with the mess of recent years we still have the new look Valley as testament to our rebirth as a club.1 -
Every time that I watch the recording I just can't believe I was lucky enough to have been there to watch it.
Mendonca with the perfect hat-trick---I remember being excited when we signed him as he was always a pain in the
neck to us when he played for Grimsby(congrats to them by the way on their promotion).A great signing by Curbs,done very quietly and without fuss.
You look at that team and the spirit amongst the players was immense,all on the same wavelength,giving their all for the club and just as importantly for each other.Affording the fans a fantastic season and the most memorable game that most of us will ever see Charlton play.
Just so proud of them all,heroes every one of them.4 -
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I was 6 and had no interest in the game.4
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Some great descriptions of that day on this thread - for me the 2 weirdest things about that day were
1) getting off the train at Crayford after the game to walk home, and a couple of carriages along a bloke in a Sunderland shirt got off - of all the places to meet an oppo fan after a Wembley final !!! He was seriously hacked off and said a few choice words to me
2) my wife has family in Newcastle and her cousin got married that summer in Whitley Bay - we went to wedding and on the Sunday mornng I went for a run down the beach in my Charlton shirt - a family was walking towards me all in Sunderland shirts - the look on their faces as a bloke in a Charlton shirt ran towards them and shouted one word 'Mendonca' as he went past was just superb !!!!
Before the game most Sunderland fans I encountered were so cocky and confident of winning - one even said that for Charlton fans it was a nice day out and treat to play at Wembley - made the win that much sweeter !!1 -
Travelling to Wembley, watching the match with all my family everyone crying after the penalty win. Going back to the players meal at the hotel with the family.Listening to Kinsella's speech, Danny Mills singing and playing the piano, Mendoca smiling and having our photos done with the cup. Unbelievable unforgettable moments.1
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It was on the radio but I wasn't really paying attention. A year later I decided to support Charlton, primarily as a result of the 4-3 win at Villa which made for a cracking MOTD0
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small world .. I was out on a remote Costain motorway construction site yesterday and got chatting to a Makem, this after nearly getting into a row by calling him Geordie ((:>) .. he was at Wembley on the fateful day and said that before the game all his mob thought that nothing was more certain than a Blunderland victory .. alas, twas not to be so .. Mendonca was a swear word on Wearside for years after he told me .. I told him in SE7 Mendonca was analogous with God ((:>)
after all this time he was very magnanimous, especially as his beloved black cats just missed relegation this year .. he even said that if Mendonca ever popped into his local he'd buy him a pint .. BUT as for Michael Gray ? .. only a half ... hahahaha .. really nice bloke even if some of what he said about CAFC was totally out of order
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One day something amazing is going to happen again, and all this craps will be worth it and will be better than anything any arsenal, man u, Chelsea or city fan could ever comprehendJessieAddick said:What a great thread. Thanks for bringing it up. I've so far read only two pages and it's already become one of the best threads I've read on CL. Just feel really sad that we're now worlds apart from then....
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Amen to that, twigs.twiggyaddick said:
One day something amazing is going to happen again, and all this craps will be worth it and will be better than anything any arsenal, man u, Chelsea or city fan could ever comprehendJessieAddick said:What a great thread. Thanks for bringing it up. I've so far read only two pages and it's already become one of the best threads I've read on CL. Just feel really sad that we're now worlds apart from then....
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Beautiful man. I see the light!!!twiggyaddick said:
One day something amazing is going to happen again, and all this craps will be worth it and will be better than anything any arsenal, man u, Chelsea or city fan could ever comprehendJessieAddick said:What a great thread. Thanks for bringing it up. I've so far read only two pages and it's already become one of the best threads I've read on CL. Just feel really sad that we're now worlds apart from then....
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Some really great stories in this thread, even though I wasn't there and even though I wasn't a Charlton fan at the time, still a very emotional read.
My uncles took me to my first game in 2001 vs Arsenal at home, would love to have been at the play off final as I really feel I missed out but I'm sure I'll see us have another great day.1 -
I was living in Tenerife in 1998, although I had a Charlton season ticket, a ten year one from the VIP scheme I think.
After we beat Ipswich in the second semi (1- 0 I think), my son phoned to see if I wanted tickets for the final. Unfortunately I was committed to preach at a church service that weekend, and that made it rather difficult.
After my son was off the phone I remember saying to my wife, 'we must go, this could be history in the making'. I made a few phone calls, reorganised my weekend, and phoned my son to get the tickets.
We flew home on the Friday, bought silly hats and wigs and stuff at the club shop on the Saturday, and got the coach from Well Hall on the Monday.
The atmosphere at Wembley was incredible! we had several photos taken with Sunderland fans outside the ground, and the game was unbelievable. We were emotionally drained, and it was the most exciting game I have ever witnessed.
When the penalty score was on the scoreboard as 7-6, I screamed to my friends '7-6, its an omen, we must do it', 7-6 being a famous scoreline to all true Charlton fans. I then remember hugging perfect strangers when Gray missed and we all went mad!
The drive home was full of joy and happiness, and the bit through Millwall territory at New Cross with bystanders cheering and waving at the coach will never be forgotten.
The next day we went to Woolwich, in all our Charlton gear to watch the team parade in the open top bus and get the freedom of Woolwich borough, and we flew back to Tenerife in the afternoon. You would not believe the number of people at the airport who wanted to congratulate us and say what a super game it was.
What a fantastic weekend. We still have the Limited edition Chris Cheverst painting, 'Such a perfect day' hanging on the wall.
One day.................................!7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHFkFqVcFGo
