Your Greatest Eleven

Yeah, it's been done before, but I want to know who you would pick for your all-time favourite Charlton side. I've picked mine from players I have had the pleasure of seeing live, so my apologies go out to Firmani, Hales, Peacock et al.

You can add subs if you like.

GK - Kiely
LB - Minto
CB - Rufus
CB - Balmer
RB - Barness
LM - Robinson
CM - Kinsella
CM - Bowyer
RM - Jensen
CF - Mendonca
CF - Bent

Subs -
Bolder
Webster
Gritt
Parker
Walsh
Hunt
Nelson

 

GK - Kiely
RB - Solly
CB - Rufus
CB - Bikey
LB - Powell
CM - Kinsella
CM - Parker
CM - Song
AT - Mendonca
AT - D. Bent
AT - Kermorgant

4-3-3

Subs -
Bolder
Ben Haim
Mills
Robinson
Jensen
Holland
D Hales

 

GK - Kiely
LB - Powell
CB - Rufus
CB - Costa
RB - Young
LM - Mortimer
CM - Kinsella
CM - Holland
RM - Robinson
CF - Kermorgant
CF - Bent

Subs
Bolder
Brown
Shirtliff
Lee
Euell
Jackson
Mendonca

Alas... couldn't find room for John Barnes...

 

If I limit it to players I've seen then I can only go back to 2002, but here goes:

GK - Kiely

LB - Powell
CB - Bikey
CB - Perry
RB - Solly

LM - Di Canio
CM - Holland
CM - Parker
RM - Jensen

CF - Kermorgant
CF - Bent

 

Kiely
Humphreys
Went
Reeves
Minto
Campbell
Bailey
Glover
Simonson
Firmani
Hales

 

Well kudos to Deano for being the only ever-present in the 5 teams!!

 

Based on players I have seen can only go back to 2007, sorry Deano.

GK - Randolph
RB - Solly
CB - Bougherra
CB - Bikey
LB - Youga (Before Injury)
RM - Gudmundsson
CM - Jackson
CM - Shelvey
LM - Reid
ST - Kermorgant
ST - BWP

Subs
GK - Hamer
RB - Moutakil
CB - Sodje
CM - Stephens
CM - Bailey
LM - Bouzza
ST - Vetokele

 

If im picking players i've seen in the flesh I'd go with:

GK: Dean Keily

RB: John Humphrey
CB: Richard Rufus
CB: Simon Webster
LB: Scott Minto

CM: Lee Bowyer
CM: Mark Kinsella
CM: Scott Parker

AM: Paolo Di Canio

CF: Clive Mendonca
CF: Darren Bent

Subs:
Yann Kermorgant
Chris Solly
Claus Jensen
Keith Jones
Steve Brown
Matt Holland
Chris Powell

Whilst Bowyer and Di Canio didn't play too many games for us, I decided to give them the nod over Holland & Brown for the pure excitement and majestic ability they furnished upon us in their short spells.

 

I forgot about Di Canio, and one of the few Premier League Charlton games I saw was the Boxing Day 4-2 win over Chelsea when he was magnificent. I'll put him in for Jackson.

 

Di Canio was an absolute magician...!!

I was a massive fan when he played for West Ham, and I was well chuffed to see him in a Charlton shirt. Even if he was 37 when we eventually got our hands on him

Ok, yes he blew a bit hot and cold and was a little over the hill when we had him. However, for me he still showed more than enough in a Charlton shirt to stand out as the most naturally gifted player I've ever had the pleasure of watching play for my club.

A player who was a joy to behold and worthy of the entrance fee alone.

 

It pains me to leave out the likes of Solly, Powell, Brown, Parker and Webster. We've had some fine players down the years and, personally, I've enjoyed watching them all - even the poopy ones.

CC - you really did have had a job picking an eleven, eh? Bouazza!

Dick P - did you really get to see Eddie Firmani? Great stuff.

 

Ditto Ponders. It's only when reading over threads like this that you realise how many magnificent players we've had over the years.

Everyone's worst elevens would make interesting reading.

 

Worst elevens would be good, but I think Thuram-Ulien would manage a Deano-like consistency in goal!!

 

GK - Kiely
RB - Solly
CB - Rufus
CB - Costa
LB - Big Herman

RM - Rommedahl (never really had class wingers since I've been watching)
CM - Danny Murphy (say what you want about him personally but he was class on the ball)
CM - Parker
LM - John Robinson (I know he was mainly on the right but wanted Dennis in)

ST - Di Canio
ST - Bent

Subs
Hamer
Yann
El Karkouri
Luke Young
Kish
Jensen
Mendonca (would be in first team but sadly he was injured from when I seriously started watching)

 

Nicky John's
John Humphrey
Richard Rufus
George Costa
Paul Elliot
Alan Simonsen
Clause Jensen
Keith Jones
Paul Walsh
Derek Hales
Typical or Di Canio

 

I think CarrianCarcuss has already made a start on that.

 

Depends what you mean.

1) I don't think you mean the eleven best players who happened to have played at Charlton at some point. If you did, Allan Simonsen might be first name on your list. We don't get many European Footballers of the Year down the Valley. Another would be Hans Jeppson who later cost the world record transfer fee. But these guys only just got into double figures in appearances for the Addicks. It was a lot of fun having Jorge Costa and Di Canio but they were only here for a short period at the fag-end of their careers.

2) Some people have gone for great club servants like Barness, Steve Brown, Nelson, John Robinson, and a whole list of others. Fair enough, they are the ones we remember with affection. My own list of such would mainly be of players from the '60s when I had the most fun watching Charlton (Ray Treacy, Alan Campbell, Charlie Wright, Bob Curtis, etc). Kermorgant has one foot in this group and the other in the "cult figures" group. But none of these are truly top class players so I will let my head rule my heart.

Including only those I watched:

We have had some great 'keepers (Johns, Bolder, Kiely) but it has to be Sam Bartram. Twenty-two years at Charlton, played 623 times, despite missing five of what would have been his peak years because of WWII, never dropped. Never played for England. How many caps would he have these days when we play teams like Andorra and San Marino and caps are handed out like Smarties?

Chris Solly is the latest in a long line of excellent right-backs. I saw Billy Bonds, then John Sewell, then Bob Curtis. More recently we had John Humphrey and Luke Young. I will plump for Humphrey because Bonds peaked at West Ham.

Left-back is a lot harder. For most of my earlier Addicks-watching years the position was filled adequately but not oustandingly by Townsend, Tocknell, Kiernan and Kinsey. These guys had extended runs mainly because there was little competition. The more recent Mark Reid, Minto and Powell were probably better than any of them. I am going for John Hewie. He could play well anywhere, and was even first choice in goal a few times.

I don't think we have a rich history of centre-backs. Hinton peaked after leaving Charlton, Shirtliff and Balmer were good but not top level. I am going for Richard Rufus.

If we need two centre-backs, then I pick Paul Elliott. Derek Ufton was injury prone by the time I started watching.

If two old-style wing-halves are required, then Mick Bailey and Mark Kinsella. Scott Parker only had a brief time with us as a mature player. In my opinion he never realised his real potential anywhere.

As for "deep-lying" or "scheming" inside forwards I cannot think of too many stars. I loved Alan Campbell and more recently we have had Paul Walsh, Jensen and Andy Reid. But unlike some clubs, most of our creativity has come from wide (Peacock, Robert Lee, etc) or from "support strikers". The best of the latter was Stuart Leary, a thinking player who was a decade ahead of his time and was badly treated by Charlton and the FA. Both creator and prolific goal-scorer.

We have had some great centre-forwards. Jeppson (who only played 11 games as an "amateur" and kept us up) was before my time. I watched Charlie Vaughan when past his best. Ray Treacy was my favourite though he could blow hot or cold. Then Hales, but he played for us in the lower tiers so I am not sure how good he really was, and Mendonca (not enough games to make my pick). Vetokele is a type of striker we have never had before. A genuine centre-forward but of diminutive stature. It has to be Firmani. Shortly after leaving us, considered maybe the best CF in Europe.

As you may know, I don't like "real" wingers, so won't pick any, but Chris Duffy, Gordon Hurst, Lawrie, Flanagan and Peacock get honourable mentions.

Bartram
Humphrey, Rufus, Elliott, Hewie
Robert Lee, Bailey, Kinsella, Paul Walsh
Leary, Firmani.

Very difficult to mix players of different eras who were used to different formations. I suppose Walsh would play "in the hole" and Lee float from wing to wing (or vice versa).

If I look at this tomorrow I might pick a completely different selection.

 

How about a Charlton "ghost" XI?

Pouso, Christensen, Parzyszek, etc. Who was that US full-back who got injured? And that Scottish full-back who scored a great goal on his debut and then got injured? And the Ghanaians we signed but never made it to England?

 

Nice one Ponders.


Based on those players I was excited to watch and/or admired, rather than those that would necessarily be the best we've had in that position........

Graham Tutt - (very short career of course but I recall, as a kid, being so excited about him already being talked about as a possible future England player......we didn't have too many of those when I was growing up!)
Phil Warman
Bob Curtis
Richie Bowman
Paul Went (are you picking up the era here Eddie?!)
Richard Rufus
Alan Campbell
Claus God Jensen
Derek Hales
Ray Treacy
Colin Powell

SUBS: (so that I can include lots of people I had to leave out)

Harry Gregory
Keith Peacock
Cyril Davies
Arthur Horsfield
Peter Reeves
Mark Penfold
Micky Flanagan

As Eddie says, on another day you might get two or three different names in the first eleven, but you get the idea.....I'm an old fella!

 

Gk Keilly
LB Minto
CB Rufus
CB Pates
RB Huphrey
LM Walsh
CM Kinsella
CM Holland
(Play anywhere) Simmosen
CF Derek Hales
CF CLive Mendonca

Subs
Bent
PaulWalsh
Melrose
Flanaghan
Crooks