It's a real shame, not just coz they are my team, that they were relegated. They were held up as a model of how to run a smaller Premiership team - no debt and no huge loans (see Leeds!), excellent youth policy, excellent communitty links, player wage cap, stable management, full of Internationaly capped players and attracting bigger names, and a solid premiership side.
Someone just forgot to tell the players that 2 years ago!!!
My highlight of those years was seeing us stuff Chelsea 4-2 on Boxing day 2003 at The Valley. Abramovich had pumped in a hundred million or so and the crowd chanted "What a waste of Money!!" ha ha.
Ranaeri, the manager, was targeted with 'You'll be out in the summer!" to which he had the good grace and humour to reply "you think I've got that long?" Ha ha ha!

Anyway onwards and upwards!
Care to guess why we are called the Addicks? No one really knows but one of the stories is a clear favourite with me.
Answers on a postcard.

"Deaths in the Bible. God - 2,270,365
not including the victims of Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the
many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers
were given. Satan - 10."