Best match I recall - 26 Oct 63 CAFC 5-2 Cardiff. Every forward scored, and each a superb goal. Kenning-Matthews-Firmani-Edwards-Glover. A priceless day.
GlassHalfFull, remember the game like it was yesterday. Eddie Firmani gave a masterclass at centre forward. Gave John Charles the runaround that day. Over 26,000 were at the Valley to see it.
Leeds game - last home game of the season Apr 64. We did play well but got a good battering from the thugs and lost 0-2. You just knew the hard-won pen would come to nothing - it was that kind of match - and Dennis duly obliged. Mind you, it was amazing he could still stand - a lot of anger went into that penalty !!
I'd forgotten the missed penalty .. I have a memory of Edwards wearing number 6 that day instead of his usual 10 .. is my memory correct and if so .. where was Brian Tocknell and was Cliff Durandt wearing 10 ? .. had Edwards been dropped for the previous few games and came back for the injured Tocknell?
Leeds game - can't remember the line-up, I'm afraid, and I no longer have Home and Away to consult. Brian Tocknell, now that was some player too. Classy.
Cardiff game - I've mentioned it on here before a time or three. A golden Autumn day, Charlton on a run after Firmani's return, 26K present, two teams playing without a shred of caution, just a glorious day to watch from the top of the East over a sea of heads. Cardiff played their part and John Charles was a legend worth seeing, but if they deserved their two goals in proportion Charlton should have had 10. A day to savour - if 25 May 98 is a 100, the Cardiff game for me is a 97.
I couldn't tell you the line-up against Leeds without looking it up, but I have the core line up for that season ingrained in my memory: Rose, Hewie, Kinsey; Bailey, Haydock Tocknell; Kenning,Matthews, Firmani, Edwards, Glover. It was a great season and my younger self found my first Charlton hero in the returning Eddie Firmani.
I couldn't tell you the line-up against Leeds without looking it up, but I have the core line up for that season ingrained in my memory: Rose, Hewie, Kinsey; Bailey, Haydock Tocknell; Kenning,Matthews, Firmani, Edwards, Glover. It was a great season and my younger self found my first Charlton hero in the returning Eddie Firmani.
I could have written the above !!! .. Eddie Firmani , a great footballer .. but poor Mike Rose was another butt of many fans wrath, so much that he just seemed to lose his nerve .. I remember he was replaced by Peter Wakeham, possibly in the 64/65 season
and I recall Sprake who was only about 18 or 19 at the time , leaping about like a madman after Edwards missed .. how come I remember so much about the 60s, yet can't remember 1/2 the games I have seen this season ?
I couldn't tell you what I did yesterday but that 63/64 team is engraved on my memory also. And more games .... Hudds 5-2 : standing right behind the CE goal and John Sewell let one fly from a distance that would have killed me were it not stopped by the net; 12 Oct 3-0 Bury - Firmani's first home game back was untidy but 24K were there and The Valley was buzzing; and Boxing Day lacerated Swansea only 3-1 but including a screamer from Mike Kenning that nearly tore away the net.
At this precise moment I shd be flying en route from Rotterdam to London City for tmw's big day, but sadly I'm well sick with MSA, a naughty type of Parkinson's, and it's really beginning to bite, so much so that it's hard to walk now. The weekend was all mapped out and booked, but I guess for me it was not meant to be. Thank the Lord for memories like these (not to mention the match thread on here) !!
I couldn't tell you what I did yesterday but that 63/64 team is engraved on my memory also. And more games .... Hudds 5-2 : standing right behind the CE goal and John Sewell let one fly from a distance that would have killed me were it not stopped by the net; 12 Oct 3-0 Bury - Firmani's first home game back was untidy but 24K were there and The Valley was buzzing; and Boxing Day lacerated Swansea only 3-1 but including a screamer from Mike Kenning that nearly tore away the net.
At this precise moment I shd be flying en route from Rotterdam to London City for tmw's big day, but sadly I'm well sick with MSA, a naughty type of Parkinson's, and it's really beginning to bite, so much so that it's hard to walk now. The weekend was all mapped out and booked, but I guess for me it was not meant to be. Thank the Lord for memories like these (not to mention the match thread on here) !!
I'm SOOOO sorry to hear that you're unwell my friend. I hope that the success this season has served to partially alleviate your ills. Memories of past glories are great ,, but nothing beats living a success .. take care and good luck and health
I couldn't tell you what I did yesterday but that 63/64 team is engraved on my memory also. And more games .... Hudds 5-2 : standing right behind the CE goal and John Sewell let one fly from a distance that would have killed me were it not stopped by the net; 12 Oct 3-0 Bury - Firmani's first home game back was untidy but 24K were there and The Valley was buzzing; and Boxing Day lacerated Swansea only 3-1 but including a screamer from Mike Kenning that nearly tore away the net.
At this precise moment I shd be flying en route from Rotterdam to London City for tmw's big day, but sadly I'm well sick with MSA, a naughty type of Parkinson's, and it's really beginning to bite, so much so that it's hard to walk now. The weekend was all mapped out and booked, but I guess for me it was not meant to be. Thank the Lord for memories like these (not to mention the match thread on here) !!
Absolutely gutted for you, mate. Not a lot more I can say. All the best.
used to teach me football at school and when he was tranferred, I think to Portsmouth Keith Peacock at the age of 17 took over. Dennis used to be an old style inside left and was nicknamed Daisy. If I remember correctly, he scored a hat trick against Plymouth at the Valley in muddy condtions which you could just not imagine today
and I recall Sprake who was only about 18 or 19 at the time , leaping about like a madman after Edwards missed .. how come I remember so much about the 60s, yet can't remember 1/2 the games I have seen this season ?
I'm the same, Lincoln. I can remember the 60s like they were yesterday. It's yesterday that I have a problem with!
Grateful thanks for your kind words - much appreciated. It seems that everything that can go wrong is going wrong just now, not just my health, although of course that's not really true. My sons bring me much pride and happiness, and ditto Charlton - for once perfect end-of-season timing. This community on here is more of a lifeline than it's sensible to admit, but what a difference CAFC+CL have made. I wish everyone a blinding day tmw (apologies for wandering off-thread).
used to teach me football at school and when he was tranferred, I think to Portsmouth Keith Peacock at the age of 17 took over. Dennis used to be an old style inside left and was nicknamed Daisy. If I remember correctly, he scored a hat trick against Plymouth at the Valley in muddy condtions which you could just not imagine today
That would be Mar 63 ? CAFC 6-3 Plymouth ....? An absolute cloudburst that emptied most of the terraces and produced marine conditions that must have made the visitors feel like they were still in Devonport. March, remember, so in those days little grass except in the corners and for the rest - a sea of mud and small lakes.
used to teach me football at school and when he was tranferred, I think to Portsmouth Keith Peacock at the age of 17 took over. Dennis used to be an old style inside left and was nicknamed Daisy. If I remember correctly, he scored a hat trick against Plymouth at the Valley in muddy condtions which you could just not imagine today
That would be Mar 63 ? CAFC 6-3 Plymouth ....? An absolute cloudburst that emptied most of the terraces and produced marine conditions that must have made the visitors feel like they were still in Devonport. March, remember, so in those days little grass except in the corners and for the rest - a sea of mud and small lakes.
Remember that game - I think. Plymouth had a bloke called Peter McParland playing for them? A "big-name" in the 50s?
I've just checked Wiki .. It wasn't Trautmann, McP 'did' Wood, the Man U keeper in the Cup Final after Munich, broke his jaw.. he scored both Villa goals though
I've just checked Wiki .. It wasn't Trautmann, McP 'did' Wood, the Man U keeper in the Cup Final after Munich, broke his jaw.. he scored both Villa goals though
Now if it had been in the 60s. I'd have got it right!
lol .. even I wasn't down the valley in the 50s ! .. and in the mid60s, I was Charlton mad but was playing rugby all over the south on saturdays and could only get to about 1/2 the home games and the few midweeks which were rare in those days. It was strange how we had good sides in the mid to late 60s and it all went to pot after Firmani was sacked .. most of the best players were sold or retired and the club seemed to lose a lot of heart .. all better now though !!!
In a thread like this it is so easy to fast-backward fifty years - a whole half-century. It is true that we had some stagnant years along the way but actually fewer than might be imagined. It's truly been quite a roller-coaster - for me 7 relegations and 6 promotions since '55. Days like today are very special, and in my mind's eye I will be raising a ghostly pint in the Waterman's Arms - here's to our old friend Daisy and all the others before and since, here's to us and our unique and wonderful club, and above all here's to SCP and the sixteen heroes he's sending out today : once again they are showing us a bright future to go with all our bright pasts.
I couldn't tell you the line-up against Leeds without looking it up, but I have the core line up for that season ingrained in my memory: Rose, Hewie, Kinsey; Bailey, Haydock Tocknell; Kenning,Matthews, Firmani, Edwards, Glover. It was a great season and my younger self found my first Charlton hero in the returning Eddie Firmani.
I could have written the above !!! .. Eddie Firmani , a great footballer .. but poor Mike Rose was another butt of many fans wrath, so much that he just seemed to lose his nerve .. I remember he was replaced by Peter Wakeham, possibly in the 64/65 season
I remember Eddie's first game on returning to us. To a small boy as I was then he just looked so comanding as he ran out onto the pitch - He was just like one of the players in one of the comic cartoons from the Victor or similar. Tall and tanned and with the mystic of coming back from a distant Country (of which I had only a vague idea of where it was, but probably had lions and jungles and things) and having heard my Dad and others talking about how great a footballer he was, I just could not wait to see him play. I was not to be disappointed and I too then had a hero.
It also changed the way I myself played football.
Watching him play did not improve my skill or ability, but I did play with my forearms sticking out at 90% with the hands hanging limply from them. Well at least I thought I looked a better player for it anyway!
I couldn't tell you the line-up against Leeds without looking it up, but I have the core line up for that season ingrained in my memory: Rose, Hewie, Kinsey; Bailey, Haydock Tocknell; Kenning,Matthews, Firmani, Edwards, Glover. It was a great season and my younger self found my first Charlton hero in the returning Eddie Firmani.
I could have written the above !!! .. Eddie Firmani , a great footballer .. but poor Mike Rose was another butt of many fans wrath, so much that he just seemed to lose his nerve .. I remember he was replaced by Peter Wakeham, possibly in the 64/65 season
I remember Eddie's first game on returning to us. To a small boy as I was then he just looked so comanding as he ran out onto the pitch - He was just like one of the players in one of the comic cartoons from the Victor or similar. Tall and tanned and with the mystic of coming back from a distant Country (of which I had only a vague idea of where it was, but probably had lions and jungles and things) and having heard my Dad and others talking about how great a footballer he was, I just could not wait to see him play. I was not to be disappointed and I too then had a hero.
It also changed the way I myself played football.
Watching him play did not improve my skill or ability, but I did play with my forearms sticking out at 90% with the hands hanging limply from them. Well at least I thought I looked a better player for it anyway!
Yes I used to run with shoulders hunched and head forward a la Len Glover until my father (a county standard athlete in his time) finally convinced me I was quicker running "properly!"
I remember Eddie's first game on returning to us. To a small boy as I was then he just looked so comanding as he ran out onto the pitch - He was just like one of the players in one of the comic cartoons from the Victor or similar. Tall and tanned and with the mystic of coming back from a distant Country (of which I had only a vague idea of where it was, but probably had lions and jungles and things) and having heard my Dad and others talking about how great a footballer he was, I just could not wait to see him play. I was not to be disappointed and I too then had a hero.
It also changed the way I myself played football.
Watching him play did not improve my skill or ability, but I did play with my forearms sticking out at 90% with the hands hanging limply from them. Well at least I thought I looked a better player for it anyway!
Mr Porter. Good morning from Prague :-). Thinking of your vintage performances in the Avery Hill 5-a-sides :-) Enjoy today, Rob.
And Glass Half Full, gutted for you, hope like me you can at least tune in to Player and get a taste of it all
I couldn't tell you the line-up against Leeds without looking it up, but I have the core line up for that season ingrained in my memory: Rose, Hewie, Kinsey; Bailey, Haydock Tocknell; Kenning,Matthews, Firmani, Edwards, Glover. It was a great season and my younger self found my first Charlton hero in the returning Eddie Firmani.
I could have written the above !!! .. Eddie Firmani , a great footballer .. but poor Mike Rose was another butt of many fans wrath, so much that he just seemed to lose his nerve .. I remember he was replaced by Peter Wakeham, possibly in the 64/65 season
I think it was the other way round with Rose replacing Wakeham but what you say is right.
I can remember us playing Wakeham, Rose, Jones, Dwyer and early Charlie Wright in goal one season or with not too much overlap between seasons anyway.
I love these "old git" threads and it is remarkable, as others have said, how the games you saw as a youngster stay with you more than these days.
Comments
Best match I recall - 26 Oct 63 CAFC 5-2 Cardiff. Every forward scored, and each a superb goal. Kenning-Matthews-Firmani-Edwards-Glover. A priceless day.
GlassHalfFull, remember the game like it was yesterday. Eddie Firmani gave a masterclass at centre forward. Gave John Charles the runaround that day. Over 26,000 were at the Valley to see it.
Cardiff game - I've mentioned it on here before a time or three. A golden Autumn day, Charlton on a run after Firmani's return, 26K present, two teams playing without a shred of caution, just a glorious day to watch from the top of the East over a sea of heads. Cardiff played their part and John Charles was a legend worth seeing, but if they deserved their two goals in proportion Charlton should have had 10. A day to savour - if 25 May 98 is a 100, the Cardiff game for me is a 97.
It was a great season and my younger self found my first Charlton hero in the returning Eddie Firmani.
At this precise moment I shd be flying en route from Rotterdam to London City for tmw's big day, but sadly I'm well sick with MSA, a naughty type of Parkinson's, and it's really beginning to bite, so much so that it's hard to walk now. The weekend was all mapped out and booked, but I guess for me it was not meant to be. Thank the Lord for memories like these (not to mention the match thread on here) !!
'58 (post-Munich) - Harry Gregg vs Lofthouse (Bolton)
It also changed the way I myself played football.
Watching him play did not improve my skill or ability, but I did play with my forearms sticking out at 90% with the hands hanging limply from them. Well at least I thought I looked a better player for it anyway!
I remember Eddie's first game on returning to us. To a small boy as I was then he just looked so comanding as he ran out onto the pitch - He was just like one of the players in one of the comic cartoons from the Victor or similar. Tall and tanned and with the mystic of coming back from a distant Country (of which I had only a vague idea of where it was, but probably had lions and jungles and things) and having heard my Dad and others talking about how great a footballer he was, I just could not wait to see him play. I was not to be disappointed and I too then had a hero.
It also changed the way I myself played football.
Watching him play did not improve my skill or ability, but I did play with my forearms sticking out at 90% with the hands hanging limply from them. Well at least I thought I looked a better player for it anyway!
Mr Porter. Good morning from Prague :-). Thinking of your vintage performances in the Avery Hill 5-a-sides :-)
Enjoy today, Rob.
And Glass Half Full, gutted for you, hope like me you can at least tune in to Player and get a taste of it all
I can remember us playing Wakeham, Rose, Jones, Dwyer and early Charlie Wright in goal one season or with not too much overlap between seasons anyway.
I love these "old git" threads and it is remarkable, as others have said, how the games you saw as a youngster stay with you more than these days.