Thirty Years...

It was thirty (30) years ago that we returned to the Valley. Thirty Years! In actual fact, it was 37 years ago that we left and what quantifies just how long ago it was that the suffering began.

This evening, I was delighted to attend an event organised by the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust (CAST) to celebrate that. It was fitting that CAST had organised it and that it was at the Valley in the Fans Bar. It was perfectly organised. Richard Wiseman was a brilliant MC and took us through the timeline with which most of present were intimately familiar. 

Every seat was taken and the line up was near perfect; Rick Everitt, Middle Class Steve Dixon, Martin Simons, Roger Alwyn, Simon Webster and Bob Bolder.

Simons and Alwyn were very humble about their roles and the money that they provided. Keen to acknowledge the contribution of others and the VIP Scheme in particular. As a donor to that I was pleased to hear that it was so important at a key time. Like everyone else, I am sure, we all contributed for the good of the club and were unsurprised or not really bothered when our 'investment' was cancelled. Roger Alwyn doesn't always get the credit he truly deserves for his leadership (with Mike Norris) that brought the club back and changed our fortunes. It was good too, to hear Simon tell us that at some point he was "earning money that he would later be able to lose on Charlton" with a smile and a laugh. I regularly see him in Sainsburys deliberating over his wine choices and it cheers me enormously.

Bob Bolder played the fall guy perfectly. A brilliant keeper who never takes himself too seriously and who is delighted to still be involved at the club and doing a matchday hosting role he loves at the Valley. Webbo was the perfect player-foil. Providing relevant assessments of where we were at times during the Lennie Lawrence era and the run-in towards the return to the Valley. He is a smashing bloke and a down-to-earth local.

That left Rick Everitt and Steve Dixon, two fans who have transcended all of the professionals involved at the time. Steve Dixon has moved on with his career but Rick has very much been here throughout as we know.

Rick is the most dedicated fan this club has ever had. As a callow youth, I sometimes thought that was me! I'm sure we all have at some time. Nothing could keep me from watching Charlton. I went go to Blackpool on a night game in 1980 and returned home at 4am before my mock A-levels. I was 24 x 7 Charlton. I missed only 17 games in the 1980's - four and a half years without missing one. I bought a house in the area be closer to the ground and I still live here today. But Rick was there too, all the time. His fanzine gave us a voice and a record of what was happening at the club we could trust. His work at the Mercury kept the fires alight when we moved away and it was a no-brainer that he should one day work for the club. His knowledge, passion and qualifications stood out and his record as an employee speaks of nothing but success. Target 10,000, Valley Express, innovative supporter engagement that fuelled our rise to the Premiership and the peak for our club in our lifetimes. 

The timeline for the evening was also based on Rick's 'Battle for the Valley' which recorded every twist and turn in those final years when we fought tooth and nail to bring the club back to it's proper home. It is criminal that he and those around him (most obviously Peter Varney)during the most successful period in our history have been ignored by consecutive owners - what have they had to lose? Oh yes, money and the reputation of the club.

It makes me angry too that some supporters have had their pops over the years. The ignorant who think his motivation for producing the Voice or being involved at the club has been money (get real) and the naive who think they could do better. He has been a loyal supporter for decades now and we are very fortunate to have someone who cares so much the club and who has been able to add so much value and who continues to. 

It really was a good evening, cathartic in many ways and I am so pleased I went. The heads were largely grey and it appealed to an older audience but no great surprise - for those of us who lived through it, they were momentous times. CAST did us proud.