I'm really enjoying my team again.
At times in the first half Brentford must have wished they had brought their own ball along with them.
We look like we can up a gear when needed and get a goal, that has been missing for a few seasons. Shame we had to drop a league to find a bit of belief and spirit.
6 out of 6 is very good and long may the run continue.
Good performance and i felt we had lots in the tank today if it was needed. Spirit in the team seems fantastic. Passing football is so enjoyable to watch, i'd almost forgotten. Lots of decent performances today but i like Dailly more and more and he was my MOM, run very close by Shelvey and Sam. It's just so nice looking forward to the games, celebrating on a Saturday night and then reading the Sunday reports. Things are looking good. LLL&BH
Great performance but I was a bit disappointed that we didn't score more as we looked a bit dodgy at that back. Poor finishing on both sides, so it's good to see that Parky's signed a defender and a striker! This side will do pretty well in the championship and would trash last season's shambles, we're definitely on the up!
Our second goal is probably the my fav Charlton goal of all time, I rate it above Bartlett's against Leicester, especially as just before we were keeping the ball in the air and going no where.
Sam had an excellent day and will deservedly get a good deal of praise for his contribution today. We've got a quality player in Dailly however who won't get as much attention as the front-men but has both experience and ability and he should be able to inspire some of those around him. He will be a key member of this squad and we have to hope that he will stay injury-free. Great performance from him.
Sam sizzler brings maximum joy to rejuvenated Charlton
Charlton Athletic 2 Brentford 0
By Andy Fifield at The Valley
Rehab can be a painful process, but Charlton are making it appear simple. The south Londoners have been mired in turmoil for the last three seasons but they are piecing together their self-confidence in League One, and in some style. Phil Parkinson's side cemented their position at the top of the table yesterday after brushing aside Brentford with a performance that oozed authority. It was the club's sixth straight League win and, while the new campaign may be less than a month old, already their supporters are chattering excitedly of a return to the Championship at the first attempt.
"I'm enjoying Saturday nights again now," said Parkinson, whose position was also the subject of feverish speculation in the summer. "From the first day of pre-season, it was all about re-establishing a winning mentality, right from the first seven-a-side we played. It's difficult to bounce back from what happened to us last year but we've started very well. There will be a big feel-good factor at the training ground next week but nobody is getting carried away."
Parkinson's wariness is understandable. For all the optimism generated by their unblemished start to the season, Charlton remain a club in recovery. Just three years ago, they were contesting derbies against Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham in the Premier League; for kudos, a local squabble with Brentford simply cannot compare. They also remain dogged by financial concerns, with a proposed takeover by former chief executive Peter Varney apparently no nearer completion.
Even so, in comparison to the last three years – when managers have been hired and fired at a bewildering rate and the club has suffered two relegations – these are days to savour. In addition to bulwarking their position at the top of the table, the club also confirmed that Jonjo Shelvey, the highly-rated young striker, had signed a one-year extension to his current contract, tying him to The Valley until 2012.
The 17-year-old has been the subject of admiring glances from a clutch of Premier League sides, with Chelsea supposedly leading the chase. Shelvey's decision to pledge his future to the Addicks means that Frank Arnesen, Chelsea's sporting director, will have to wait to add him to the club's roster of talented teenagers, although given the headlines to have emerged from Stamford Bridge in recent days, that might be no bad thing.
"It's very important for the club," Parkinson added. "We don't want to develop players for other clubs, we want to keep them here so we're delighted he's staying. And Chelsea can't bid for him until January 2011, so that's a bonus."
Shelvey might yet find he can fulfil his ambitions at Charlton. He should certainly anticipate being able to dazzle against Championship defences on the basis of his team's polished display yesterday, when Brentford were blown away by half-time.
There was a large dollop of good fortune attached to the first goal, which owed everything to a horrible error from Brentford defender Sam Wood. His attempt to nod back to his own goalkeeper merely presented the ball to Charlton's Lloyd Sam and the winger's cut-back was lashed into the net by Burton, via James Wilson's shin.
But if that was lucky, their second goal was luminous. Brentford's defenders were left dizzy by an audacious 15-pass move which culminated in Deon Burton teeing up Sam with a cute reverse ball. The winger turned Wood with ease and swept nonchalantly into the bottom corner.
The visitors might have feared a rout but rallied after the interval and provoked flutters of concern in the home defence. Myles Weston blazed over when well placed, Robbie Elliott saved spectacularly from Carl Cort and David Hunt struck the crossbar with a free-kick but this was not their day. "I don't like losing but we gave away two poor goals and we don't usually do that," Andy Scott, their manager, said. "We kept battling away and we gave a good account of ourselves. The guys are disappointed that they have come here, to a good side, and lost. That is encouraging for me."
[cite]Posted By: kevk[/cite]Sam had an excellent day and will deservedly get a good deal of praise for his contribution today. We've got a quality player in Dailly however who won't get as much attention as the front-men but has both experience and ability and he should be able to inspire some of those around him. He will be a key member of this squad and we have to hope that he will stay injury-free. Great performance from him.
For me, and I'm sure others will agree, Dailly could definitely be playing in the Championship. Shows how good he is when we signed him pretty much straight after his trial.
Scott Minto was saying just how fit Dailly is, he thinks he'll play on till he's 38 or 39. At the moment I don't think that would surprise anyone.
And from the Grauniad we have
Charlton's slick touch leaves Brentford chasing shadows
Charlton Athletic 2
Burton 11, Sam 30
Brentford 0
Mikey Stafford at The Valley guardian.co.uk, Saturday 5 September 2009 16.33 BST Article history
Charlton's Deon Burton is congratulated by team-mates after scoring his side's first goal against Brentford at The Valley. Photograph: Frances Leader/Action Images
Six wins out of six and all is rosy down in The Valley. Not only are Charlton Athletic winning games but they are doing so with a style and verve that makes one wonder how they played so abjectly last season, and second, how have they put their relegation behind them so quickly?
Phil Parkinson should be applauded for hauling this club up by its bootstraps and giving his young squad the confidence to play the slick, passing game that yesterday left previously undefeated Brentford chasing shadows.
"From the first day of pre-season we spoke about that winning mentality and we have fostered that on the training ground," said Parkinson. "What a lot of the lads went through last year is hard to come back from as individuals and as a team and we're starting to show we're getting rid of the baggage from last year."
As well as the home team played at times their 11th-minute opener owed more to an error from the Brentford left-back Sam Wood than it did to any inspiration from Charlton. The defender miscalculated a cushioned header back to Lewis Price, allowing Lloyd Sam to nip in ahead of the goalkeeper and cut the ball back to Deon Burton, whose close-range shot took a deflection off James Wilson, which sent the blameless Price the wrong way.
The Brentford manager, Andy Scott, bemoaned the silly errors that cost his side, but there was very little last season's League Two champions could do to prevent Charlton's second.
he Charlton midfield refused to share the ball with their playmates and passed it back and forth among themselves with staggering ease before Jonjo Shelvey played a short pass to Burton, whose clever flick released Sam. The winger scored his third goal in two games by rounding Wood with ease and slamming the ball low beyond Price.
Carl Cort headed Brentford's best chance of the first half wide, but the Bees did not lose heart and came close to halving the margin just before the hour. Danny Foster's quick free-kick released the pacy Cleveland Taylor and his low cross from the right was blasted over by Myles Weston.
Cort next drew a fabulous save from Rob Elliot with a close-range header before David Hunt struck the angle of post and crossbar with a curling, 30-yard free-kick. But Charlton never seemed overly pressured, their insouciance epitomised by Shelvey's attempted lob from inside his own half.
It was high and wide, but by a small enough margin on both fronts to illustrate just what a talent the bald-headed 17-year-old is. Trusting a teenager with a free role behind Burton is as much an indicator of how valued he is at The Valley as the new one-year extension the much-coveted academy graduate has signed.
"People do forget he is 17, he is a terrific talent, and we're delighted he signed his new contract," said a playful Parkinson. "The good thing is Chelsea can't come in for him until January 2012."
A Charlton manager cracking jokes? It really is rosy in The Valley.
We were talking to a scout from Hull. It was quite interesting in that he picked Sam out. He asked us if we had noticed when Sam got the ball after the defence cock up, that it would have been easy for a youngster to try and get a goal for himself. Sam. he continued, looked up, saw Burton in space and passed the ball to him for the tap-in. The looking up to see the best move, in his opinion made the difference between a good and a very good young player. But he also said Pardew was a good manager!
Sam always seems to stand out to others more than he does to us. Did he realise Sam is nearly 25? He's still young, but at this stage of his career he should be getting decisions like that right more often.
He's doing a good job for us and I think he was always going to be important for us this season. Offers us width and things other players don't offer, helps out his full back (and works very well with Richardson) and the last two games he's added goals not just assists. For me it was just as important we held on to him along with the other midfielders.
After about four games Youga and Sam were being singled out as the weakest links in the team. After yesterdays game, they are now vieing for MOTM! Well done Kelly and Lloyd.
On the positive side we played very well and deserved the win.
On the negative i am very dissapointed with our fans. We have 15,000 home fans and it is silent. Brentford brang around 1,000 and outsung us with ease. As is sit in the east stand, in the middle i am well placed and i have to say some of these 5 second chants are absolutley pathetic. The Brentford fans seemed much louder! We have won every match so far and who would of known it? Brentford lost 2-0 and at the final whistle i could here them over our fans...Absoultley pathtic for 15,000 fans...sing up!
[cite]Posted By: 8rushden[/cite]On the positive side we played very well and deserved the win.
On the negative i am very dissapointed with our fans. We have 15,000 home fans and it is silent. Brentford brang around 1,000 and outsung us with ease. As is sit in the east stand, in the middle i am well placed and i have to say some of these 5 second chants are absolutley pathetic. The Brentford fans seemed much louder! We have won every match so far and who would of known it? Brentford lost 2-0 and at the final whistle i could here them over our fans...Absoultley pathtic for 15,000 fans...sing up!
I'm holidaying north of the border this week so had to make do with TV coverage but I thought it was a very entertaining game. We were clearly a cut above but a combination of our profligate finisihing and Brentford's work rate and a bit of ability meant we were never quite comfortable - a different referee might have given a penalty against Bailey, or if that free kick dips another 6 inches or Bobby E isn't quite ao alert and it could have been a very different scoreline.
All that same, we mostly dominated a team that was unbeaten before the game and at times played some really really lovely stuff - best stuff we've played since Murphy was sold - so I'm well pleased. That one touch move which ended in Racon crossing just too far in front of Burton was Premiership quality and the build up to and the way Sam took his goal was excellent. It's so refreshing to see good players like Sam playing with freedom and confidence and now he's doing it he's terrorising teams - hell, even Mcleod looked a threat when he came on.
[cite]Posted By: 8rushden[/cite]On the negative i am very dissapointed with our fans. We have 15,000 home fans and it is silent. Brentford brang around 1,000 and outsung us with ease. As is sit in the east stand, in the middle i am well placed and i have to say some of these 5 second chants are absolutley pathetic. The Brentford fans seemed much louder! We have won every match so far and who would of known it? Brentford lost 2-0 and at the final whistle i could here them over our fans...Absoultley pathtic for 15,000 fans...sing up!
I sit in the East around the middle as well. I think there is an acoustic reason why the Jimmy Seed stand sounds louder than the Covered End (especially where we sit). The East sits level and above the JS Stand whereas the upper tier of the Covered End where, lets face it, the majority of our signing is lead from is above the East, I think that you lose a lot of sound that high up. I'm sure we covered this in other threads. The JS is a real advantage for away fans. It has been suggested that we move away fans to somewhere else in the stadium but there are logistical reasons why this doesnt happen.
I do agree that not enough singing takes place in the East (not me I sing my heart out).
Charlton 2 Brentford 0 Alyson Rudd The Valley - Times On Line
So, what is all the fuss about? Does it really matter if young players move from small clubs to larger ones? If a teenager from Lens is recruited by Chelsea, why does Fifa have to investigate? The perfect illustration of why strict rules about the poaching of youngsters are desirable is provided by Charlton Athletic.
They are a side brimming with academy players who have won all six of their opening fixtures. The pick of these teenagers is Jonjo Shelvey, who has just signed a contract extension. Shelvey is arguably the next Steven Gerrard. The England Under-17 international plays a Gerrard-style free role behind the main striker and has attracted interest from, among others, Chelsea.
“We did have inquiries for Jonjo and there was a lot of interest,” Phil Parkinson, the Charlton manager, said. “I think he did very well, for a 17-year-old, to deal with that. He kept his professionalism in training, he never once came to see me and said, ‘I’d like to go.’ I’m sure he’s got an agent who was telling him there was interest out there.”
Not surprisingly, Parkinson welcomes Fifa’s hardline stance. “It can be a bit demoralising when you do all that work and one of the big clubs can just take them away,” he said.
Shelvey’s decision to stay put was no doubt helped by the fact that Charlton are winning, and winning in style. Brentford are an impressive team, high on confidence themselves, but they could not handle the sheer volume of joie de vivre thrown at them by Charlton.
Parkinson’s side have been transformed from the dull-witted relegation fodder of last season to a team having the most enormous fun. Before their second goal, the home side enjoyed a passage of play that boasted accurate, intelligent and often daring passing.
Brentford were dizzy before Lloyd Sam scored what must be a contender for the Coca-Cola League One goal of the season. One fan exclaimed that it was the best passage of play he had seen for two years. It was probably the best for a lot longer than that.
Charlton had taken the lead after Sam Wood, the Brentford left back, misjudged a header back to his goalkeeper that allowed the sprightly Sam to nip in and feed the ball to Deon Burton. Sam is fulfilling his potential after enduring a torrid season in which he failed to score. He has three goals in two games now and appears ready to tear League One to shreds. But the real star is Shelvey.
“To have such an influence in the games at 17 says to me he’s going to be a good player and he’s got the right mentality to be a very good player.”
Christian Dailly, who at 36 provides the experience to complement all that youth, described the club as vibrant. On Saturday Alan Pardew, who lost his job as Charlton manager as the team began their descent out of the Championship, takes his Southampton side to The Valley. He will barely recognise the place.
Charlton Athletic (4-4-1-1): R Elliot — F Richardson, M Llera, C Dailly, K Youga — L Sam (sub: L Wagstaff, 71min), T Racon, J Semedo, N Bailey — J Shelvey (sub: I McLeod, 82) — D Burton. Substitutes not used: D Randolph, M Spring, S Sodje, C Solly, T Tuna.
Brentford (4-4-2): L Price — D Foster (sub: K Osborne, 66), J Wilson, M Phillips, S Wood — C Taylor (sub: C MacDonald, 66), D Hunt, K O’Connor, S Saunders — M Weston, C Cort. Substitutes not used: N Bull, M Bean, S Kabba, R Blake, L Legge. Booked: O’Connor, Taylor.
Just one point to add to the others madeso well on here already.
A certain Mr Pardew will be green with envy next Saturday ...and for sure he'll find it difficult to recognise several of his "old" players.....especially Parky's Lloydy. Eat your heart out, Mr P.
However, like Rushy & Bing, I thought we were pretty quiet yesterday. Are we becoming blase at this early stage of the season ? Let's up the volume, starting next weekend & show the lads how much we're appreciating their efforts.
At the risk of sounding corny, I'm feeling really close to the players at the moment (oooer ! ) Something I used to feel in the good old days of Robbo, Browney, Rufus et al but lost over the past couple of years. Too many loanees I suspect had a lot to do with that and thank goodness those days have been firmly put behind us. We now have a squad of committed, loyal footballers who are proud to wear the shirt - long may it last .
You need torrent software, e.g Vuze or utorrent, to download it.
I watched it yesterday as it is probably the only chance I'll get to see a whole game this season. Quite impressed but I didn't get to see most of the alleged dross that was served up last season; we won the two league games I was at, the first two of the season at The Valley.
Comments
At times in the first half Brentford must have wished they had brought their own ball along with them.
We look like we can up a gear when needed and get a goal, that has been missing for a few seasons. Shame we had to drop a league to find a bit of belief and spirit.
6 out of 6 is very good and long may the run continue.
11 points ahead of Millwall.
;o)
Our second goal is probably the my fav Charlton goal of all time, I rate it above Bartlett's against Leicester, especially as just before we were keeping the ball in the air and going no where.
Allo alllo, Charlton are back, Charlton are back!
"Charlton looked very good for this level it has to be said."
brilliant....
Ill write about it tomorrow....
got ot go to bed it twenty to five in the flippin morning......
Night!
Sam sizzler brings maximum joy to rejuvenated Charlton
Charlton Athletic 2 Brentford 0
By Andy Fifield at The Valley
Rehab can be a painful process, but Charlton are making it appear simple. The south Londoners have been mired in turmoil for the last three seasons but they are piecing together their self-confidence in League One, and in some style. Phil Parkinson's side cemented their position at the top of the table yesterday after brushing aside Brentford with a performance that oozed authority. It was the club's sixth straight League win and, while the new campaign may be less than a month old, already their supporters are chattering excitedly of a return to the Championship at the first attempt.
"I'm enjoying Saturday nights again now," said Parkinson, whose position was also the subject of feverish speculation in the summer. "From the first day of pre-season, it was all about re-establishing a winning mentality, right from the first seven-a-side we played. It's difficult to bounce back from what happened to us last year but we've started very well. There will be a big feel-good factor at the training ground next week but nobody is getting carried away."
Parkinson's wariness is understandable. For all the optimism generated by their unblemished start to the season, Charlton remain a club in recovery. Just three years ago, they were contesting derbies against Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham in the Premier League; for kudos, a local squabble with Brentford simply cannot compare. They also remain dogged by financial concerns, with a proposed takeover by former chief executive Peter Varney apparently no nearer completion.
Even so, in comparison to the last three years – when managers have been hired and fired at a bewildering rate and the club has suffered two relegations – these are days to savour. In addition to bulwarking their position at the top of the table, the club also confirmed that Jonjo Shelvey, the highly-rated young striker, had signed a one-year extension to his current contract, tying him to The Valley until 2012.
The 17-year-old has been the subject of admiring glances from a clutch of Premier League sides, with Chelsea supposedly leading the chase. Shelvey's decision to pledge his future to the Addicks means that Frank Arnesen, Chelsea's sporting director, will have to wait to add him to the club's roster of talented teenagers, although given the headlines to have emerged from Stamford Bridge in recent days, that might be no bad thing.
"It's very important for the club," Parkinson added. "We don't want to develop players for other clubs, we want to keep them here so we're delighted he's staying. And Chelsea can't bid for him until January 2011, so that's a bonus."
Shelvey might yet find he can fulfil his ambitions at Charlton. He should certainly anticipate being able to dazzle against Championship defences on the basis of his team's polished display yesterday, when Brentford were blown away by half-time.
There was a large dollop of good fortune attached to the first goal, which owed everything to a horrible error from Brentford defender Sam Wood. His attempt to nod back to his own goalkeeper merely presented the ball to Charlton's Lloyd Sam and the winger's cut-back was lashed into the net by Burton, via James Wilson's shin.
But if that was lucky, their second goal was luminous. Brentford's defenders were left dizzy by an audacious 15-pass move which culminated in Deon Burton teeing up Sam with a cute reverse ball. The winger turned Wood with ease and swept nonchalantly into the bottom corner.
The visitors might have feared a rout but rallied after the interval and provoked flutters of concern in the home defence. Myles Weston blazed over when well placed, Robbie Elliott saved spectacularly from Carl Cort and David Hunt struck the crossbar with a free-kick but this was not their day. "I don't like losing but we gave away two poor goals and we don't usually do that," Andy Scott, their manager, said. "We kept battling away and we gave a good account of ourselves. The guys are disappointed that they have come here, to a good side, and lost. That is encouraging for me."
For me, and I'm sure others will agree, Dailly could definitely be playing in the Championship. Shows how good he is when we signed him pretty much straight after his trial.
Scott Minto was saying just how fit Dailly is, he thinks he'll play on till he's 38 or 39. At the moment I don't think that would surprise anyone.
Charlton's slick touch leaves Brentford chasing shadows
Charlton Athletic 2
Burton 11, Sam 30
Brentford 0
Mikey Stafford at The Valley guardian.co.uk, Saturday 5 September 2009 16.33 BST Article history
Charlton's Deon Burton is congratulated by team-mates after scoring his side's first goal against Brentford at The Valley. Photograph: Frances Leader/Action Images
Six wins out of six and all is rosy down in The Valley. Not only are Charlton Athletic winning games but they are doing so with a style and verve that makes one wonder how they played so abjectly last season, and second, how have they put their relegation behind them so quickly?
Phil Parkinson should be applauded for hauling this club up by its bootstraps and giving his young squad the confidence to play the slick, passing game that yesterday left previously undefeated Brentford chasing shadows.
"From the first day of pre-season we spoke about that winning mentality and we have fostered that on the training ground," said Parkinson. "What a lot of the lads went through last year is hard to come back from as individuals and as a team and we're starting to show we're getting rid of the baggage from last year."
As well as the home team played at times their 11th-minute opener owed more to an error from the Brentford left-back Sam Wood than it did to any inspiration from Charlton. The defender miscalculated a cushioned header back to Lewis Price, allowing Lloyd Sam to nip in ahead of the goalkeeper and cut the ball back to Deon Burton, whose close-range shot took a deflection off James Wilson, which sent the blameless Price the wrong way.
The Brentford manager, Andy Scott, bemoaned the silly errors that cost his side, but there was very little last season's League Two champions could do to prevent Charlton's second.
he Charlton midfield refused to share the ball with their playmates and passed it back and forth among themselves with staggering ease before Jonjo Shelvey played a short pass to Burton, whose clever flick released Sam. The winger scored his third goal in two games by rounding Wood with ease and slamming the ball low beyond Price.
Carl Cort headed Brentford's best chance of the first half wide, but the Bees did not lose heart and came close to halving the margin just before the hour. Danny Foster's quick free-kick released the pacy Cleveland Taylor and his low cross from the right was blasted over by Myles Weston.
Cort next drew a fabulous save from Rob Elliot with a close-range header before David Hunt struck the angle of post and crossbar with a curling, 30-yard free-kick. But Charlton never seemed overly pressured, their insouciance epitomised by Shelvey's attempted lob from inside his own half.
It was high and wide, but by a small enough margin on both fronts to illustrate just what a talent the bald-headed 17-year-old is. Trusting a teenager with a free role behind Burton is as much an indicator of how valued he is at The Valley as the new one-year extension the much-coveted academy graduate has signed.
"People do forget he is 17, he is a terrific talent, and we're delighted he signed his new contract," said a playful Parkinson. "The good thing is Chelsea can't come in for him until January 2012."
A Charlton manager cracking jokes? It really is rosy in The Valley.
He's doing a good job for us and I think he was always going to be important for us this season. Offers us width and things other players don't offer, helps out his full back (and works very well with Richardson) and the last two games he's added goals not just assists. For me it was just as important we held on to him along with the other midfielders.
On the negative i am very dissapointed with our fans. We have 15,000 home fans and it is silent. Brentford brang around 1,000 and outsung us with ease. As is sit in the east stand, in the middle i am well placed and i have to say some of these 5 second chants are absolutley pathetic. The Brentford fans seemed much louder! We have won every match so far and who would of known it? Brentford lost 2-0 and at the final whistle i could here them over our fans...Absoultley pathtic for 15,000 fans...sing up!
Rushy,
It helps when the east and west join in.
All that same, we mostly dominated a team that was unbeaten before the game and at times played some really really lovely stuff - best stuff we've played since Murphy was sold - so I'm well pleased. That one touch move which ended in Racon crossing just too far in front of Burton was Premiership quality and the build up to and the way Sam took his goal was excellent. It's so refreshing to see good players like Sam playing with freedom and confidence and now he's doing it he's terrorising teams - hell, even Mcleod looked a threat when he came on.
HAPPY DAYS!
I sit in the East around the middle as well. I think there is an acoustic reason why the Jimmy Seed stand sounds louder than the Covered End (especially where we sit). The East sits level and above the JS Stand whereas the upper tier of the Covered End where, lets face it, the majority of our signing is lead from is above the East, I think that you lose a lot of sound that high up. I'm sure we covered this in other threads. The JS is a real advantage for away fans. It has been suggested that we move away fans to somewhere else in the stadium but there are logistical reasons why this doesnt happen.
I do agree that not enough singing takes place in the East (not me I sing my heart out).
Charlton 2 Brentford 0 Alyson Rudd The Valley - Times On Line
So, what is all the fuss about? Does it really matter if young players move from small clubs to larger ones? If a teenager from Lens is recruited by Chelsea, why does Fifa have to investigate? The perfect illustration of why strict rules about the poaching of youngsters are desirable is provided by Charlton Athletic.
They are a side brimming with academy players who have won all six of their opening fixtures. The pick of these teenagers is Jonjo Shelvey, who has just signed a contract extension. Shelvey is arguably the next Steven Gerrard. The England Under-17 international plays a Gerrard-style free role behind the main striker and has attracted interest from, among others, Chelsea.
“We did have inquiries for Jonjo and there was a lot of interest,” Phil Parkinson, the Charlton manager, said. “I think he did very well, for a 17-year-old, to deal with that. He kept his professionalism in training, he never once came to see me and said, ‘I’d like to go.’ I’m sure he’s got an agent who was telling him there was interest out there.”
Not surprisingly, Parkinson welcomes Fifa’s hardline stance. “It can be a bit demoralising when you do all that work and one of the big clubs can just take them away,” he said.
Shelvey’s decision to stay put was no doubt helped by the fact that Charlton are winning, and winning in style. Brentford are an impressive team, high on confidence themselves, but they could not handle the sheer volume of joie de vivre thrown at them by Charlton.
Parkinson’s side have been transformed from the dull-witted relegation fodder of last season to a team having the most enormous fun. Before their second goal, the home side enjoyed a passage of play that boasted accurate, intelligent and often daring passing.
Brentford were dizzy before Lloyd Sam scored what must be a contender for the Coca-Cola League One goal of the season. One fan exclaimed that it was the best passage of play he had seen for two years. It was probably the best for a lot longer than that.
Charlton had taken the lead after Sam Wood, the Brentford left back, misjudged a header back to his goalkeeper that allowed the sprightly Sam to nip in and feed the ball to Deon Burton. Sam is fulfilling his potential after enduring a torrid season in which he failed to score. He has three goals in two games now and appears ready to tear League One to shreds. But the real star is Shelvey.
“To have such an influence in the games at 17 says to me he’s going to be a good player and he’s got the right mentality to be a very good player.”
Christian Dailly, who at 36 provides the experience to complement all that youth, described the club as vibrant. On Saturday Alan Pardew, who lost his job as Charlton manager as the team began their descent out of the Championship, takes his Southampton side to The Valley. He will barely recognise the place.
Charlton Athletic (4-4-1-1): R Elliot — F Richardson, M Llera, C Dailly, K Youga — L Sam (sub: L Wagstaff, 71min), T Racon, J Semedo, N Bailey — J Shelvey (sub: I McLeod, 82) — D Burton. Substitutes not used: D Randolph, M Spring, S Sodje, C Solly, T Tuna.
Brentford (4-4-2): L Price — D Foster (sub: K Osborne, 66), J Wilson, M Phillips, S Wood — C Taylor (sub: C MacDonald, 66), D Hunt, K O’Connor, S Saunders — M Weston, C Cort. Substitutes not used: N Bull, M Bean, S Kabba, R Blake, L Legge. Booked: O’Connor, Taylor.
Referee: J Linnington. Attendance: 16,399.
A certain Mr Pardew will be green with envy next Saturday ...and for sure he'll find it difficult to recognise several of his "old" players.....especially Parky's Lloydy. Eat your heart out, Mr P.
However, like Rushy & Bing, I thought we were pretty quiet yesterday. Are we becoming blase at this early stage of the season ? Let's up the volume, starting next weekend & show the lads how much we're appreciating their efforts.
At the risk of sounding corny, I'm feeling really close to the players at the moment (oooer ! ) Something I used to feel in the good old days of Robbo, Browney, Rufus et al but lost over the past couple of years. Too many loanees I suspect had a lot to do with that and thank goodness those days have been firmly put behind us. We now have a squad of committed, loyal footballers who are proud to wear the shirt - long may it last .
We DO have our Charlton back. And I'm lovin' it !
You need torrent software, e.g Vuze or utorrent, to download it.
I watched it yesterday as it is probably the only chance I'll get to see a whole game this season. Quite impressed but I didn't get to see most of the alleged dross that was served up last season; we won the two league games I was at, the first two of the season at The Valley.