The Rise Of The Addicks - The Return Of A Hero

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Bullardinho

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The Rise Of The Addicks - The Return Of A Hero

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Club Name: Charlton Athletic
Founded: 9th​ June 1905
Home Ground: The Valley
Owner: Roland Duchatelet
Nicknames: The Addicks, Red Robins, The Valiants, Red Army
Last Season Finish: 18th​ (Championship)

Club Honours

Football League First Division (Old 1st​ Tier) Runners-up – 1937
Football League Second Division / Football League Championship (2nd Tier) Champions – 2000 - Runners-up – 1936, 1986
Play-off winners – 1987, 1998
Football League One Champions – 2012 - Promoted – 1975, 1981
Football League Third Division South Champions – 1929, 1935
FA Cup Winners – 1947 Runners-up – 1946
Full Members Cup Runners-up – 1987
Football League War Cup Joint Winners – 1944
Kent Senior Cup Winners – 1995, 2013
Peoples Cup Winners – 2011
​
 
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Breaking News
Charlton Athletic have released Guy Luzon of his duties as First Team Coach.

At this point it is unclear as to why Luzon has been released from the club but it is believed that relations between he and the club owner, Roland Duchatelet, had broken down. It is also believed that Duchatelet already has a replacement lined up and it will be someone that has strong affiliations with the club.

More news as it comes in..​
 
Addicks Announce​
Charlton Athletic have today announced that former Charlton player and cult hero Clive Mendonca has been unveiled as the new Manager of Charlton Athletic Football Club.

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Mendoca is the man that club officials believe can take the club forward, back into the Premiership after an 8 year absence. In a press conference held earlier on this morning, Club owner Duchatelet said ‘I am delighted that Clive has agreed to join us on our journey to make this club a team to be feared. I want every man, woman and child supporting this fantastic club to know, with Clive on our side, we WILL reach the summit of European football’.

Clive Mendonca, who has spent more than a decade away from the game, was inducted into the clubs Hall of Fame back in 2012 and has never been forgotten by the fans for his spell at the club which spanned from 1997-2002, in this time he manage 40 goals in 84 appearances for the club.

In a press conference earlier today Mendonca went on record to say how delighted he was to be given an opportunity to return to The Valley, ‘To come back to the club that is so close to my heart is a dream come true, I know the Owner and Chairmen have a lot of confidence in me and I only hope I can repay this by guiding this great club to future glories’

Mendonca will have a lot of work to do but the feeling around the club at the moment is of excitement and expectation, only the time will tell if this will be a fairy tail return.. ​
 
Mendonca’s Mentality​

CM: I am going to look at playing counter attacking football, all though possession is great, it doesn't always mean goals. We don’t exactly have an Xavi or Iniesta’s in the team so I am not going to bother with this tika-taka malarkey, I want the ball in the net and I don’t care how it happens

I myself worked my way up from the lower leagues and worked hard for my chance to play top level football, that’s the work ethic I want from my players. I certainly will not be paying over the odds for any over indulged ‘stars’, I want my team to be young, determined and up for the fight. ​


First Season Objectives​

League
Promotion

Domestic Cups
Be competitive

Other
Increase club stature
Introduce youth into first team
Make a profit​
 
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Clive Mendonca - now there's a blast from the past!

When I was living in London I managed to get to a game at the Valley (against QPR - was living in West London so adopted QPR as my team, hence my story). Always admired Charlton as a club who seemed to do things 'the right way'.

Anyway good luck with the save!
 
Yeti01 said:
Clive Mendonca - now there's a blast from the past!

When I was living in London I managed to get to a game at the Valley (against QPR - was living in West London so adopted QPR as my team, hence my story). Always admired Charlton as a club who seemed to do things 'the right way'.

Anyway good luck with the save!
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I know right, he was a bit of a hero of mine as a youngster. I grew up in London with Charlton as my second team, went to see them play a lot. I was always Mendonca in my imagination when playing footy as a kid lol. They are a good family club, unlike a lot of teams now days!

Cheers buddy, I have a good feeling about this one!
 

CM: So I have looked through the various reports the staff have kindly prepared and spent some time training with the lads, I have a good feeling about the squad. There are some areas that need improving, we seem to have 2 first team central defenders for every squad player?? I will be looking to send a few on loan and bring in some pacey wingers, we do lack pace on the wings which is something that will be a feature of my style.
First things first, let’s get straight into my dealings in the transfer market, unfortunately the board have only given me a lousy £400k transfer budget and there isn't long before the start of the season, I have some work to do.


Transfers

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IN

George Williams - Loan

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George was just the type of player I was looking for, a young winger with pace who can play in several positions.


Christian Danalache - Free

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Christian seems like a good lad, he has some decent attributes and I am sure he will chip in with some goals along the way.


Jacob Murphy - Loan

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This is the deal that pleased me the most. Jacob is showing some great potential and along with Williams will be crucial to any success we have.


Alejandro Rodriguez - Loan - Sent Back To Club

.
Abi Nabi - Loan

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Abi is another great young home grown talent and I am really pleased with what I have seen from him, he reminds me of myself in my hay day.


OUT

Simon Church - £500k

Nothing wrong with Simon, I just knew he wouldn't get much game time and he would be best off moving on and freeing up some money for the wage budget.

Harry Lennon - Loan

Harry seems like he could have some potential as a central defender. I will evaluate his performances this season.


CM: I am happy with my dealing so far, we have a large squad which should be capable of competing with the top teams. I think we have much more depth, I will still be looking to offload one or two players and maybe bring in someone if needed, but for now that concludes my transfer dealings.


First Team/Formation

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CM: This is pretty much how I plan to set the team up for the majority of games, I will be tweaking along the way depending on injuries/suspensions/opposition etc. but a 4-4-2 is going to be our formation. I want loads of pressing from the team, I have a high spirited and determined bunch and I plan to have them hound our opponent to allow for a quick turn over of play. This in turn will work well with our counter attacking style of play I am trying to get the player to adopt, I am sure with our pace on the wings this will be a deadly combination.


Pre-Season Results

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CM: I am very pleased with the way the team has taken to my philosophy, Jordan (Cousins) has been a great in the deep central midfield position and Tony (Watt) has bagged a few goals and shown that he is going to be a real hand full for defences in the Championship this season. Even against Real I think we really showed that we aren’t going to just roll over and let teams walk all over us. I think we have had a great pre-season and we are ready to take on the new season and I am relishing my first competitive fixture as a manager.


Expectations

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CM: I sat down with the Richard Murray the Chairman to discuss what our aims were for the forthcoming season. The general feeling from the board was that we would do well to stay in the league, the media are predicting a finish of 18th​ and based on previous performances they may have been accurate. I convinced Mr Murray that I will not be settling for such result, I have agreed that we will at least achieve mid-table but realistically I feel we can go beyond that.
As for the cup competitions, the minimum targets of a 3rd​ and 4th​ Round, I feel is more than achievable and again I plan to try and achieve and surpass these expectations



​
 
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August

Results

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CM: What can I say, I couldn't have wished for a better start to my managerial career and I am delighted with my first month back at The Valley. We kicked off the season with an emphatic win against Brentford, the fans really made my return an occasion and this helped to inspire the team.

Other wins against Cheltenham, Wigan and Huddersfield were just as pleasing, all with clean sheets and plenty of dangerous counters. The match against Derby was a great test for our team, we were 3-1 down at half time but we should grit and determination to come back to earn a valuable point.

I was a little disappointed to be knocked out of the Capital One Cup so early but with it being against Premiership opposition I won't be too harsh on the team. Lastly Brighton, confidence was still high in the League and we were sitting top, unfortunately a few niggling injuries and low fitness meant we just couldn't handle them on the day.


League Table

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CM: Well isn't that a pretty sight? I would take this position in 41 games time! I am not going to let the team and supporters get ahead of them selves, we have a long way to go but I am remaining quietly confident.



Monthly Awards


Championship Player Of The Month
George Williams

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Championship Young Player Of The Month
Tony Watt

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September & October

Results

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CM: It's been a couple of months since I last gave you guys an update, to be honest I have had my work cut out. The results haven't gone our way and we have had a nightmare with injuries. We have had a tough time after our great start, it has really brought me back down to earth. Wins against Watford, Bournemouth and Fulham were all great results but after 4 losses and a draw to Birmingham, a match where we were 2-0 up at half time, we are really struggling to gather any momentum. If we can get some key players back and grab a few wins then I am sure we can start pushing for a play off spot.


Championship Standings

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CM: We are still in a great position considering the injuries we have had and the indifferent results. We are only 5 points away from the play off spots and I still think this is easily achievable.


Transfer Update

Patrick McNair - Loan

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CM: Our current options in defence just weren't good enough and Paddy is a great young talent who has slotted in well.


​
 
November


Results

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CM: Another indifferent month for us, we are still suffering with some injuries to key players, Johnnie (Jackson) has been out all month and will miss most of December as well, he has been the heart beat of the team so far this season and we have missed him in the middle. Superb wins against Ipswich and Leeds have allowed us to maintain our position all though losses to Reading and Millwall hurt us equally as much. The draw at Wednesday hurt the most as they scored with a 92' penalty given away by an out of form Joey (Gomez).


Championship Standings

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CM: What can I say really, we are still way above the medias prediction and we are performing beyond the boards expectations. I am still a little disappointed that we haven't been able to get a good run together to push for top 6, still plenty of time though.


New Contract

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CM: Absolutely delighted to have been offered an extension to my contract here at a club that I hold so close to my heart. The fans have continued to show me their support in abundance and the board are backing me all the way. At the end of the season I will ask for a long term deal and hopefully the board will grant my request.​
 
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December - March


Results

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CM: Time has flown by here at The Valley, we have had a mixed bag of results as expected but on the whole I am delighted with the way the season has gone so far. A record of 9W 9D 6L in 24 games is not too bad going for a team that was predicted to finish 18th in the league. We now eagerly anticipate our last 7 matches of the season to see if we can make up 5 points and reach the play-offs


League Standings

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Remaining Fixtures

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CM: The optimist in me would like to think we could take at least 15 points from the next 7 matches but based on our results this season I would say 12 would be a safe bet, we just have to hope that it will be enough. Every game at this stage is vital but the Leeds game is the one that really stands out, that is a MUST win! ​
 
Still in with a shout for the playoffs mate, Keep it up! Been a good season, all things considered :)
 
clarky1683 said:
Good start to the story mate! I'll be following :) I like the format and how you lay it out! I'm doing a story too, if you're interested :) http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...90332-alfie-docker-story-unknown-manager.html
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Cheers buddy :D Just had a read through your story, looks great, I will be following!

Lippo255 said:
Still in with a shout for the playoffs mate, Keep it up! Been a good season, all things considered :)
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Cheers mate, it has been a challenging season to say the least, next update coming up shortly and its good news!
 
The Final Stretch


Results

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CM: We managed to finish the season with a really good run, totalling 14 points in the last 7 games and really giving us a chance of making the play-offs. We showed real determination to come from behind to win both matches against Millwall and Fulham, scoring in the final minutes of both matches. The poor loss to Wednesday was a bit of a blip, we had a manic 20 minutes and shipped 4 goals. Both of the wins against Bolton and Birmingham showed our professionalism to see out games in a well organised manor when we really needed. The big game against Leeds finished a draw but it could have gone either way with both teams still fighting for play-off spots. Finally the match against Bournemouth, up until the final whistle it was still not decided where we had finished, with 3 teams fighting for the 6th​ place spot, it solely depended on results elsewhere. So how did we do…


Final Standings

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CM: We did it!! we are still a long way from promotion but we have a chance and if we prepare well and play the way I know we can then anything is possible.


Play-Off Draw

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CM: So Brighton at The Valley will be our first leg of the Semi’s. I am quietly confident that we can overcome them over the 2 legs. Ideally we need to go into the 2nd​ leg with a clean sheet.​
 
Play-Off Semi-Finals

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CM: I am delighted to say we made it through to the final in satisfying fashion. I went into the dressing room before the start of the first leg and told the guys they had nothing to lose, that it doesn't matter whether they win or lose, they had done Charlton Athletic proud just getting to this stage. I gave them license to attack and just play freely and boy did it work, 3-0 at half time and it felt like the place in the final was already ours, although when they got their away goal an element of doubt did plague my mind. The second leg was much the same, I calmed the lads down and told them I am proud no matter what and although we lost this leg, it didn't matter, we made it to Wembley!!!


Championship Play-Off Final
Wembley Stadium
Leeds United Vs Charlton Athletic

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CM: I am absolutely ecstatic!! after a long and grueling season we have made it back into the Premier League in my first season in charge. I have always been an ambitious man but never in my wildest dreams did I think we would have what it takes to gain promotion. We played a brilliant game, despite it not being part of our game plan we had plenty of possession and dominated the middle of the park. Yet again Jacob was fantastic for us this season, it will be a shame to see him leave at the end of the season but we just do not have the financial power to keep him at The Valley on a permanent basis. I am going to let the lads enjoy their unbelievable achievement before the hard work and preparation begins.

Awards

Championship Manager of the Year
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CM: This really is the proudest moment of my footballing career, not only have been given the chance to manage such a fantastic club, but now I have been named the Manager of the Year in one of the most challenging leagues in European football. I would like to thank each and every player and fan that made this fantastic season what is was!


Championship Young Player of the Season

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CM: Congratulations to Jacob, he has been absolutely brilliant for us this season and although I would love to say he will be joining us in the Premiership next season I am afraid it won't be so, he is just too valuable a player and we do not have the finances, maybe another loan deal could be an option. Whatever happens I would like to thank him for all he has done, he is a brilliant talent and will go far in the game for sure.


Other News

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Wow - great job mate! Congrats on getting them promoted!!
 
Yeti01 said:
Wow - great job mate! Congrats on getting them promoted!!
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Thanks mate :) Next season is going to be very tough, Charlton do not have the squad or finances to cope with the Prem yet!! I am sure Clive will find a way :)
 
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