50+ years supporting Charlton, this game is right up there. Quality goals from our boys- specially Claus'. Strangely what stays in the memory most is the first 25 minuets with Steve Brown( a colossus that day ) blocking shot after shot, mostly from Henry.
'Saint' Thierry Henry's penalty seen on tv to be a clear dive. Dean Kiely's best ever game for us (IMO!)
Wife went, but i was playing / running a Sunday team at the time so had to sacrifice it. I think about 7 of the team were Charlton, so we dragged everyone out for a proper day on it. Watched the game in the William Camden. At the time they used to have a crowd of plastic gooners that used to sit at the bar dominating the saloon side, but the pub was packed out for this one. When we scored you realised the pub was jam full of Charlton bar the handful of plastic gooners.
Brilliant atmosphere. I remember when we were 4-1 up and things starting to get a bit tense my mum and dad popped round for a drink. Pub packed with people shouting at the screen, so parked my mum next to my posh, well spoken player, as i thought that would be a safe position. 30 seconds later Halsey gives them a dodgy penalty and Woody broke into this foul mouthed tirade that must have broken the world record for use of C-word in a minute! Never forget that.
Yet another quality day at what was, and will undoubtedly be, my best times following the club.
As the place emptied, Deano walked towards our fans cupping his ear with one hand and extending his other arm around the empty seats of the rest of the stadium. The noise from our fans was deafening and echoing around Highbury. Very few teams had scored 4 there in recent years.
Incredible day - so much so that I did a 'report' to mates at the time. Characters here still make me laugh when I think back. So if you've time on your hands, feel free to enjoy (or not) - apologies for length, poetic licence or if you've seen it before.
Arsenal 2 Charlton Athletic 4. I wept.
> Background
April 2000, a South London pub. Having enjoyed the Nationwide 1st Division 'clash' between Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth. After the game, conversation turns to how well Charlton would fare in the Premiership once our inevitable promotion had been achieved. Fuelled by the comforting influence of alcohol, a bet was struck between myself and a friend I shall call Steve, an Arsenal season-ticket holder. Steve bet £20 that we would not finish in the top 14 of the Premiership in our first season. So confident was I, we went to double-or-quits, and I bet further that not only would we finish in the top 14, we would also take at least a point from Arsenal that year - £40 on the table. Steve dubbed me ESP - Easy Six Points. Come May 2001, and helped by our finishing 9th and with a spectacularly bad Nelson Vivas penalty in the game at the Valley ensuring a 1-0 victory for my chaps, I had won the bet. So when the fixtures came out for the season, I contacted Steve and asked that he consider the purchase of my ticket for our Highbury visit a suitable debt settlement. He kindly agreed.
>The fans
As Sunday November 4 came around, I felt a deep sense of foreboding. And almightily hungover. I knew I was going to have to see my boys take a hammering at the home of one of the best teams in the country. Worse than that, I was going to have to do it surrounded by annoying 'Gooners', exhorting their fellow brain-deads to 'Stand up if you hate Tottenham'. I vowed to myself that every time Arsenal scored, I would not stand up (unless I was standing up already) and I would absolutely not applaud. I knew we would get annihilated. 2 weeks previously I had gone to Derby to see us scrape a draw against the worst Premiership side I had ever seen - apart from the Derby County sides of the previous two years. If we couldn't beat them, what chance did we have against Arsenal at Highbury ?
Buying my lucky strawberry bon-bons on the way, I dragged myself to the pub where I was to meet Steve and my friend ‘Jez’, also a Gooner. They were understandably bullish about the chances of a home victory. Steve predicted 6-2. I would have settled for that - I had 7-1. We take our seats in the North Bank and as the teams emerged, I was clear that I was only supporting the Men in Black. And very fetching we looked too. I had no time for the Red and White fancy-dans and their distinctly odd supporters, many of whom were gathered around Jez and me. There was Muppet-Man. Everyone was a muppet to him - the Ref. His assistants. Tottenham. There was Bobble-Hat Man, a foul-mouthed individual whose only means of communication was to stand up and shout profanities, and The Soloist, a man who desperately tried to exhort others to take up his chants but didn't seem too bothered by being ignored. His girlfriend, however, grew steadily more embarrassed as he got louder, until she ended up facing me more than the game.
>The game
3.00 - 3.02: The game kicks off and I'm pleased to see us enjoy a good opening 2 minutes, looking assured as we hoof the ball into touch for no reason. 3.05: Arsenal hit the post and have a shot cleared off the line after 3 minutes. We really are going to get stuffed. 3.07: Arsenal take the lead, no surprises. Crowd not hugely excited - obviously expecting it. 3.08 - 3.30: Arsenal carve out chance after chance - they contrive to miss them all. We gamely try to get into the game - keep failing. 3.31: The Soloist: 'Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, tra-la-la-la-la (to the tune of Brown Girl In The Ring) - that's what we should sing', he says to his appalled girlfriend. He sang alone. Bobble Hat Man: 'Charlton really are s**t.' 3.32: Muppet Man after a good bit of work by Grimandi: 'Nice one, Mr Average'. He didn't seem too bothered that he was the only fan to use this rubbish nickname. 3.33: Anonymous man in the crowd as Arsenal dominate: 'Go on Arsenal, you can win this!' General agreement that his sarcasm makes this the best shout of the day so far. 3.34: Charlton awarded a dubious free kick, flagged by the referee’s assistant, a Ms Wendy Toms. MM: Muppet. She's a muppet. 3.35: From the free kick, Steve Brown rises like a salmon (ok he didn't get off the ground) to nod past a flailing Richard Wright. As I thought that his equaliser would have very little bearing on the result and would probably just make Arsenal angry, my first thought was that all my competitors in my FFL who had Ashley Cole in their teams would have just lost points. Then by way of celebration I punched myself in the leg and kept my fist in my mouth. BHM: That f*****g b***h! She's ruined my day! S**g. F*****g sl*t! 3.43: Charlton awarded another free kick in a similar position. Ball comes in, Arsenal keeper punches it into his own net. Laugh? I nearly couldn't help myself. We were 2-1 up!!! MM: Grimandi, you muppet! BHM: Linesman (her gender obviously lost on him), if I see you outside I'm going to have you. F****g lesbian! Why aren't you at home cooking your husband's dinner?!! Apoplectic is not the word. MM: Linesman, you're a muppet! B***h! BHM: How can we be 2-1 down to this lot? They're f*****g s**t! They're a bunch of f****g window-cleaners! 3.47: Half-time. I’m happy. Jez not so. I pop a bon-bon in my mouth.
> 2nd half:
4.05: Claus Jensen chips a glorious 3rd, yet another Charlton goal of the season contender – our 4-5-1 formation holding up superbly. 3-1 up, I'm still convinced we're going to lose, or maybe draw. We definitely weren't going to win. Either way, I'm desperately proud of my boys, who to be fair are now playing well and defending magnificently. BHM: 'This is all your fault, linesman. We don't f**k around with their netball, why should they come and spoil our football ? F****g s**g!' A steward approaches BHM, asking him to calm down. He points at the referee’s assistant. 'It's her !' he argues as rationally as he can manage. 'She's ruined my day. She can just...f**k off!' The steward withdraws. 4.09. Another Arsenal move breaks down, the crowd groan. Suddenly Jensen puts Euell through against the keeper - he finishes brilliantly. I look at the scoreboard. Arsenal 1 Charlton 4. Tears form in my eyes. My thigh is bruised from all the celebratory self-punching. BHM: F*****g hell! I don't f*****g believe this. 4-1 down to this pile of South London s**t! J*s*s F*****g C****t! This is all that b***h's fault. F*****g sl*t! Whore! 4.10. At this point, eyes bulging and veins throbbing, BHM is escorted from the ground by 3 policemen. His face, previously contorted with rage, betrays nothing but an ‘it’s a fair cop, guv’ expression as he is led away. I, for one, apart from the disgusting abuse, was quite sorry to see him go as I found him perversely entertaining. 4.18. Henry cheats, gets a penalty. 4-2. After that, we had chances, they had chances but we end the game the better side and only slightly flattered by victory. After all, they had 25 efforts on goal compared to our 5 but it's the ones that count that count. If you see what I mean. 4.55 MM: Muppets. They're all a bunch of f*****g Muppets!
Pub. Some celebratory Kronenbourgs. And on a day that Man Utd lost as well! How sweet a victory, how wondrous this life is. Watching the highlights later, I punch the air with every goal as our noble Men in Black take on the enemy and win. And as my weary, drunk head hits the pillow, all I could think of was the song emanating from the away fans at the opposite end of the ground, whom I so dearly wished to be among, to the tune of Mull of Kintyre. And this is why, on that beautiful November Sunday, I wept.
What a day, what a result, maybe THE stand-out result of the Premiership era (any era really). Listened to the radio commentary over the internet in Germany. Remember being relieved we survived their opening onslaught for so long - before Henry scored in only the 6th minute! Then unbelievable, indescribable ecstasy, before fearing we'd blow it in last 30 mins (which seemed like 6 hours).
Also remember being annoyed when an Arsenal-supporting colleague (genuine long term fan) remarked to me: "who would have thought Charlton would ever win at Highbury?" Why not, I thought, mildly insulted, but in retrospect he was spot on.
Drove around virtually every railway station in SE London and Kent the following day that had a car park and stuck a season ticket form under windscreen wipers. Following day from boss "you did what - effing hell!".
Wasn't at the game as my eldest was being christened with party at the valley... Remember most of players coming back after the game and signing his baby cafc shirt!!
Missus got the hump that I turned on all tvs to watch.. Prob one of reasons why marriage didn't last!!
Up there with 7-6 Huddersfield and the play off final. Arsenal should have had the game sewn up by halftime. Parked my car at the Angel on the Monday and Bill ( car park attendant ) told me Arsenal had 76% of the possession. I reminded old Bill that Charlton had scored over 66% of the goals. Wonderful day with Claus Jensen at his absolute best.
Watched it in the lib, me and my mate run the lib club Sunday team at the time, my Gooner brother said "just a case of how many now" after they went 1-0 up, oh how we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon
Yes. Arguably tops Bartlett's. Don't know what won goal of the season that year, but that goal mustve taken some beating. The vision, awareness and accuracy to lob right in that far top corner from that angle. Out of this world. I know he got a lot of stick for his performance that day but don't think you could really fault Wright's positioning for that one either.
Yes. Arguably tops Bartlett's. Don't know what won goal of the season that year, but that goal mustve taken some beating. The vision, awareness and accuracy to lob right in that far top corner from that angle. Out of this world. I know he got a lot of stick for his performance that day but don't think you could really fault Wright's positioning for that one either.
Comments
13 years ago... :-(
25 minuets with Steve Brown( a colossus that day ) blocking shot after shot, mostly from Henry.
'Saint' Thierry Henry's penalty seen on tv to be a clear dive. Dean Kiely's best ever game for us (IMO!)
When Henry 'won' that penalty was sure that would draw 4-4
I refuse to believe this was 13 years ago.
Your liars, you hear me, LIARS
Wife went, but i was playing / running a Sunday team at the time so had to sacrifice it. I think about 7 of the team were Charlton, so we dragged everyone out for a proper day on it. Watched the game in the William Camden. At the time they used to have a crowd of plastic gooners that used to sit at the bar dominating the saloon side, but the pub was packed out for this one. When we scored you realised the pub was jam full of Charlton bar the handful of plastic gooners.
Brilliant atmosphere. I remember when we were 4-1 up and things starting to get a bit tense my mum and dad popped round for a drink. Pub packed with people shouting at the screen, so parked my mum next to my posh, well spoken player, as i thought that would be a safe position. 30 seconds later Halsey gives them a dodgy penalty and Woody broke into this foul mouthed tirade that must have broken the world record for use of C-word in a minute! Never forget that.
Yet another quality day at what was, and will undoubtedly be, my best times following the club.
An enduring memory for me.
There's only one Deano !
Incredible day - so much so that I did a 'report' to mates at the time. Characters here still make me laugh when I think back. So if you've time on your hands, feel free to enjoy (or not) - apologies for length, poetic licence or if you've seen it before.
Arsenal 2 Charlton Athletic 4. I wept.
> Background
April 2000, a South London pub. Having enjoyed the Nationwide 1st Division 'clash' between Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth. After the game, conversation turns to how well Charlton would fare in the Premiership once our inevitable promotion had been achieved. Fuelled by the comforting influence of alcohol, a bet was struck between myself and a friend I shall call Steve, an Arsenal season-ticket holder. Steve bet £20 that we would not finish in the top 14 of the Premiership in our first season. So confident was I, we went to double-or-quits, and I bet further that not only would we finish in the top 14, we would also take at least a point from Arsenal that year - £40 on the table. Steve dubbed me ESP - Easy Six Points. Come May 2001, and helped by our finishing 9th and with a spectacularly bad Nelson Vivas penalty in the game at the Valley ensuring a 1-0 victory for my chaps, I had won the bet. So when the fixtures came out for the season, I contacted Steve and asked that he consider the purchase of my ticket for our Highbury visit a suitable debt settlement. He kindly agreed.
>The fans
As Sunday November 4 came around, I felt a deep sense of foreboding. And almightily hungover. I knew I was going to have to see my boys take a hammering at the home of one of the best teams in the country. Worse than that, I was going to have to do it surrounded by annoying 'Gooners', exhorting their fellow brain-deads to 'Stand up if you hate Tottenham'. I vowed to myself that every time Arsenal scored, I would not stand up (unless I was standing up already) and I would absolutely not applaud. I knew we would get annihilated. 2 weeks previously I had gone to Derby to see us scrape a draw against the worst Premiership side I had ever seen - apart from the Derby County sides of the previous two years. If we couldn't beat them, what chance did we have against Arsenal at Highbury ?
Buying my lucky strawberry bon-bons on the way, I dragged myself to the pub where I was to meet Steve and my friend ‘Jez’, also a Gooner. They were understandably bullish about the chances of a home victory. Steve predicted 6-2. I would have settled for that - I had 7-1. We take our seats in the North Bank and as the teams emerged, I was clear that I was only supporting the Men in Black. And very fetching we looked too. I had no time for the Red and White fancy-dans and their distinctly odd supporters, many of whom were gathered around Jez and me. There was Muppet-Man. Everyone was a muppet to him - the Ref. His assistants. Tottenham. There was Bobble-Hat Man, a foul-mouthed individual whose only means of communication was to stand up and shout profanities, and The Soloist, a man who desperately tried to exhort others to take up his chants but didn't seem too bothered by being ignored. His girlfriend, however, grew steadily more embarrassed as he got louder, until she ended up facing me more than the game.
>The game
3.00 - 3.02: The game kicks off and I'm pleased to see us enjoy a good opening 2 minutes, looking assured as we hoof the ball into touch for no reason.
3.05: Arsenal hit the post and have a shot cleared off the line after 3 minutes. We really are going to get stuffed.
3.07: Arsenal take the lead, no surprises. Crowd not hugely excited - obviously expecting it.
3.08 - 3.30: Arsenal carve out chance after chance - they contrive to miss them all. We gamely try to get into the game - keep failing.
3.31: The Soloist: 'Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, tra-la-la-la-la (to the tune of Brown Girl In The Ring) - that's what we should sing', he says to his appalled girlfriend. He sang alone.
Bobble Hat Man: 'Charlton really are s**t.'
3.32: Muppet Man after a good bit of work by Grimandi: 'Nice one, Mr Average'. He didn't seem too bothered that he was the only fan to use this rubbish nickname.
3.33: Anonymous man in the crowd as Arsenal dominate: 'Go on Arsenal, you can win this!' General agreement that his sarcasm makes this the best shout of the day so far.
3.34: Charlton awarded a dubious free kick, flagged by the referee’s assistant, a Ms Wendy Toms.
MM: Muppet. She's a muppet.
3.35: From the free kick, Steve Brown rises like a salmon (ok he didn't get off the ground) to nod past a flailing Richard Wright. As I thought that his equaliser would have very little bearing on the result and would probably just make Arsenal angry, my first thought was that all my competitors in my FFL who had Ashley Cole in their teams would have just lost points. Then by way of celebration I punched myself in the leg and kept my fist in my mouth.
BHM: That f*****g b***h! She's ruined my day! S**g. F*****g sl*t!
3.43: Charlton awarded another free kick in a similar position. Ball comes in, Arsenal keeper punches it into his own net. Laugh? I nearly couldn't help myself. We were 2-1 up!!!
MM: Grimandi, you muppet!
BHM: Linesman (her gender obviously lost on him), if I see you outside I'm going to have you. F****g lesbian! Why aren't you at home cooking your husband's dinner?!! Apoplectic is not the word.
MM: Linesman, you're a muppet! B***h!
BHM: How can we be 2-1 down to this lot? They're f*****g s**t! They're a bunch of f****g window-cleaners!
3.47: Half-time. I’m happy. Jez not so. I pop a bon-bon in my mouth.
> 2nd half:
4.05: Claus Jensen chips a glorious 3rd, yet another Charlton goal of the season contender – our 4-5-1 formation holding up superbly. 3-1 up, I'm still convinced we're going to lose, or maybe draw. We definitely weren't going to win. Either way, I'm desperately proud of my boys, who to be fair are now playing well and defending magnificently.
BHM: 'This is all your fault, linesman. We don't f**k around with their netball, why should they come and spoil our football ? F****g s**g!' A steward approaches BHM, asking him to calm down. He points at the referee’s assistant. 'It's her !' he argues as rationally as he can manage. 'She's ruined my day. She can just...f**k off!' The steward withdraws.
4.09. Another Arsenal move breaks down, the crowd groan. Suddenly Jensen puts Euell through against the keeper - he finishes brilliantly. I look at the scoreboard. Arsenal 1 Charlton 4. Tears form in my eyes. My thigh is bruised from all the celebratory self-punching.
BHM: F*****g hell! I don't f*****g believe this. 4-1 down to this pile of South London s**t! J*s*s F*****g C****t! This is all that b***h's fault. F*****g sl*t! Whore!
4.10. At this point, eyes bulging and veins throbbing, BHM is escorted from the ground by 3 policemen. His face, previously contorted with rage, betrays nothing but an ‘it’s a fair cop, guv’ expression as he is led away. I, for one, apart from the disgusting abuse, was quite sorry to see him go as I found him perversely entertaining.
4.18. Henry cheats, gets a penalty. 4-2. After that, we had chances, they had chances but we end the game the better side and only slightly flattered by victory. After all, they had 25 efforts on goal compared to our 5 but it's the ones that count that count. If you see what I mean.
4.55 MM: Muppets. They're all a bunch of f*****g Muppets!
Pub. Some celebratory Kronenbourgs. And on a day that Man Utd lost as well! How sweet a victory, how wondrous this life is. Watching the highlights later, I punch the air with every goal as our noble Men in Black take on the enemy and win. And as my weary, drunk head hits the pillow, all I could think of was the song emanating from the away fans at the opposite end of the ground, whom I so dearly wished to be among, to the tune of Mull of Kintyre. And this is why, on that beautiful November Sunday, I wept.
Also remember being annoyed when an Arsenal-supporting colleague (genuine long term fan) remarked to me: "who would have thought Charlton would ever win at Highbury?" Why not, I thought, mildly insulted, but in retrospect he was spot on.
Missus got the hump that I turned on all tvs to watch.. Prob one of reasons why marriage didn't last!!
Quality stuff
Was anyone here the Addick on Ayer's rock?
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php/news/4424/30/ANR-Mailbag-Charlton-game-George-Graham-Ayers-Rock