I need to check my spelling but Alexei Smertin, signed I think by abromovich for Chelsea as a favour to his mate then loaned to us. Thought he was class
Great shout. That midfield of Smertin, Murphy and Kish at the start of 05/06 was brilliant. Then Chelsea sold him in January, Murphy went to Spurs, and we were stuck with Kish, Holland and Hughes for the rest of the season. Nothing against those three, but they lacked the quality we had initially…
I need to check my spelling but Alexei Smertin, signed I think by abromovich for Chelsea as a favour to his mate then loaned to us. Thought he was class
Great shout. That midfield of Smertin, Murphy and Kish at the start of 05/06 was brilliant. Then Chelsea sold him in January, Murphy went to Spurs, and we were stuck with Kish, Holland and Hughes for the rest of the season. Nothing against those three, but they lacked the quality we had initially…
didn't we win first 5 away games that season ? those three were awesome
Ricardo Fuller, a genuinely talismanic striker in his prime. He came back to us right at the end of his career when his knees (I think) were shot but he was still a beast of a centre forward when fit enough to play. The serious injury he suffered when he trialed for us as a youngster was a sliding doors moment for the club.
My regret with Diarra is we were so crap at the time we weren't able to play him in midfield all the time. I know he was older but he could have still dictated a game if he'd had better players around him, but unfortunately we needed him a centre back. One of those players I can't believe played for us.
I loved Martin Pringle. I was about 8 years old when he signed for us and you got a lot less coverage of football back then, so if you'd asked me I would have told you Charlton had unearthed a genius. I think he scored 3 goals in his first 6 games and that was enough for me to be convinced he was a god. He scored...fewer after that and I was surprised when I first started coming on here to see he wasn't viewed particularly positively. It made me take the regrettable step of looking at his stats but 8 year old me is still at the wheel on that one I'm afraid. Pringle was great.
I've also got a lot of time for Rob Hulse who I think was a hugely significant part of us getting enough form together to not get cut adrift in our first Championship season under Powell. Got called a donkey plenty on here at the time but him coming into the team coincided with us losing 1 game in 10 and meant we actually had someone to be on the pitch while Yann, Fuller and Haynes traded off injuries with each other. He wasn't a brilliant player but he worked his arse off, held the ball up and made us a more difficult team to play against. Before that Cardiff game we were in serious trouble and worrying for Powell's future, but by the end of his loan we were looking alright again.
I echo your thoughts about Martin Pringle. At a time where the internet was still starting out getting updates and info on the new signings was very limited, especially to a 10 year old. I remember watching the Match of the Day highlights and asking my dad who this new guy was. Plus he scored a early on and I had found my new favourite player. The next season I asked for the Yellow away shirt with Pringle 14 on the back.
Also Pringle, could be a world beater or a calamity all during the same game. Seemed quite an exotic signing at the time and always put in a shift, proper Curbs style. To top it off, even when not in the squad he sat in the away end at some games and even joined in singing!
Deon Burton - quality in the short time we had him.
Always rated Deon Burton even though he was past his prime by the time he signed for us.
You could see he had been a really good player - excellent 1st touch, intelligent movement and reading of the game, held the ball up well bringing team mates into the game, and knew where the goal was.
Deon Burton - quality in the short time we had him.
Always rated Deon Burton even though he was past his prime by the time he signed for us.
You could see he had been a really good player - excellent 1st touch, intelligent movement and reading of the game, held the ball up well bringing team mates into the game, and knew where the goal was.
He also showed that you don't need to be tall to be a good hold up player, as he's only 5'9.
I always quite liked Therry Racon, even though he never really hit the heights. Frederic Bulot too - took a while to get going, then burnt brightly for a brief period, then was gone.
Alan Kernaghan 1991 on loan from Middlesbrough. Only played 13 games and I really thought he was excellent. Very surprised we didn’t sign him but he returned to Boro and continued his career there.
Alan Kernaghan 1991 on loan from Middlesbrough. Only played 13 games and I really thought he was excellent. Very surprised we didn’t sign him but he returned to Boro and continued his career there.
I liked him too. We were all set to sign him but then Lennie got the Boro gig and he told Kernaghan he was staying put.
After we ridiculously got rid of Morrison leaving us short at the back, Johnson came in and did a good job at making us more solid as we achieved a mid table finish under Luzon.
For some reason we didn't offer him a contract, he went away for a few months to India, and then in desperation we re-signed him, and it was a match made in hell from then on.
But his first spell was decent. I recall him playing with a cracked rib?
Alan Kernaghan 1991 on loan from Middlesbrough. Only played 13 games and I really thought he was excellent. Very surprised we didn’t sign him but he returned to Boro and continued his career there.
Like me, he’s also type 1 diabetic. Other than Gary Mabbutt and Danny McGrain, I don’t know of any others
Comments
not a bad player IMO
Alex Song
those three were awesome
The late Paul Linger who when he first appeared seemed to have so much potential.
To top it off, even when not in the squad he sat in the away end at some games and even joined in singing!
You could see he had been a really good player - excellent 1st touch, intelligent movement and reading of the game, held the ball up well bringing team mates into the game, and knew where the goal was.
Only played 13 games and I really thought he was excellent.
Very surprised we didn’t sign him but he returned to Boro and continued his career there.
After we ridiculously got rid of Morrison leaving us short at the back, Johnson came in and did a good job at making us more solid as we achieved a mid table finish under Luzon.
For some reason we didn't offer him a contract, he went away for a few months to India, and then in desperation we re-signed him, and it was a match made in hell from then on.
But his first spell was decent. I recall him playing with a cracked rib?
and the altercation with Taricco is one of the all time great Charlton stories