The week that was - 4th October 1997. Queens Park Rangers 2 Charlton Athletic 4

HOME & AWAY

First Division Saturday 4th October 1997 - Loftus Road, Att 14,825

Queens Park Rangers 2 (1) (Sheron 24 80) Charlton Athletic 4 (2) (Robinson 16 58, S Jones 42, Chapple 62)

QPR: Harper, Rose, Brevett, Quashie (Barker 53), Maddix, Morrow, Spencer (Slade 36), Peacock, Murray, Sheron, Sinclair. Unused sub: Ready.

Charlon: Petterson, Brown (Bowen 67), Barness, K Jones, Rufus, Balmer (Chapple 39), Newton (Lisbie 85), Kinsella, Robinson, Mendonca, S Jones.

Referee: Paul Taylor (Cheshunt).

Charltons strong home record was a key factor on them finishing 4th in the league and ultimately being promoted via the play-offs, losing only one game at The Valley all season. Clive Mendonca totalled 28 goals in all competitions, with no other player making double figures.

Also this season: Arsenal won the double, beating Newcastle 2-0 in the F A Cup final at Wembley, with Chelsea taking the Coca Cola Cup and European Cup Winners Cup beating Middlesbrough and Stuttgart respectively.

Brendan_O_Connell

I was in the front row of the School end (lower tier) for this one.

Remember having a bit of banter with Rufus Brevett when was on the goal-line defending a corner. Top bloke he was.

Simonsen

Watched this game from the Ellerslie Road stand but it was all in a strange yellow colour! (I'd recently been hit in the eye with a cricket ball and was only just getting my sight back after a temporary loss).

To this day, I'm not convinced Steve Jones got a touch on his goal (it looked like a cross that went straight in). Great performance from John Robinson and a thumping header from Phil Chapple.

I remember this was Mark Bowen's debut and he was so far off the pace it wasn't true (he'd been mucking about in Japanese football). He just looked totally past it but what he player he soon became for us. Probably the first Charlton full-back I'd seen who looked for a pass rather than just cracking it up the line and his link play with Robinson was crucial as the season wore on.

Really good day.

superclive

Remember this well. Great performance against a decent team. 4 goals away, this kind of tells us the difference between that side and the one we have now. Although with perhaps 2 players added or stepping up we could be at that level.

Ormiston_Addick

I'd moved to Australia about two weeks before this and pretty much expected - despite Super Clive - another season of mid-table mediocrity.

When I saw this result - and the highlights on Fox Sports - I remember thinking, "Hold on a minute....."

Pretty decent QPR side there too....

Carl Leaburn

As usual the Programme can be seen here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/addicks7-6/7406345228

Want to see more Charlton Programmes, then visit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/addicks7-6/sets/

Bryan_Kynsie

I remember the earlier game at Loftus Rd when we confounded the bookies by winning 4-1 to end one of our longest ever barren away runs. What a day that was. A bit lively down the tube station too as I recall.

cafc_will

Who remembers the qpr prick with the hat and cork screws .....

Valley11

Easy to forget that some of the old stalwarts from the early Valley return, and the Boleyn and Selhurst days contributed to that promotion season. The likes of Balmer, Barness and Chapple.

cafc_will

Old sweaty was my neighbour down manor rd erith back in the day

cafc_will

Lovely missus

superclive

Good shout @ valley 11 that team went through some transformation that season when you think of the side at wembley. Could this season be similar? 7; different starters for the playoff final.

Stone

Just had a look at the stats following comments above. Ilic made 14, Mark Bright 13, Danny Mills 9, Eddie Youds 8 and loanee Heaney 4 league appearances leading up to the play-offs.

BR7_addick

cafc_will said:

Who remembers the qpr prick with the hat and cork screws .....

He's still there, QPR away in 2008 he was getting abused for most of the game.

paulsturgess

Great game, I was in the front row behind the goal as well with Dad and brothers, got on the end of the season video after the last goal as the players ran past celebrating, we were all shocked about OG specialist Chapple getting on the scoresheet. Great day and incredible season.

Stone

BR7_addick said:

cafc_will said:

Who remembers the qpr prick with the hat and cork screws .....

He's still there

Won't his wife and family wonder where he is?

PragueAddick

Amazing to see that Lisbie came on. I always have in my head that he made his full debut only in 2000 in our opener when we battered Man City. Which would be three years later.

E_cafc

Lisbie scored in the first home game that season when he came on against Oxford, Super Clive got his first goal for us that day too(against Oxford). Talking of that QPR game, we were sat upstairs, remember thinking that we had a bloody good team after that result. Our old foe Mike Sheron scored against us again though, something he always seemed to manage when he was at Stoke.

AddickFC81

If they hadn't kept Super Clive quiet that day....
.....then again it showed we had goals throughout that whole team, not just Clive.

Simonsen

E-cafc said:

Lisbie scored in the first home game that season when he came on against Oxford, Super Clive got his first goal for us that day too(against Oxford). Talking of that QPR game, we were sat upstairs, remember thinking that we had a bloody good team after that result. Our old foe Mike Sheron scored against us again though, something he always seemed to manage when he was at Stoke.

Mike Sheron sure was a thorn in our side in those days. A really well-balanced, powerful striker. Sheron and Sinclair in the forward line that day...they would have been two of the top attacking players in the Division at the time (counter that though with Steve Slade....who was fairly cack).