RIP Derek Ufton

I was saddened to hear of the death of Derek Ufton who died in his sleep at the age of 92.  He was one of my boyhood heroes.  Here is a tribute I wrote in 2020.

Unfortunately I missed the 7-6 win over Huddersfield because we were Christmas shopping in Woolwich. However, this is surely an appropriate time for a tribute to Derek Ufton, one of the Charlton team I admired in the 1950s: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9076781/Englands-one-cap-wonder-Derek-Ufton-oldest-surviving-star-Three-Lions-aged-92.html

Derek often suffered a dislocated shoulder, but he is still going strong at 92, even after some ups and downs in his life.

He came from an era when in the summer quite a few players also played cricket (or baseball) while others earned a crust doing maintenance work on the ground.   Wages were reduced in the summer and in any case were no more than a skilled worker would earn which is how owners saw them.

Derek played 277 games for Charlton, scoring no goals.

Voice of the Valley tribute here: http://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2020-21-blogs/27-3-charlton-legend-derek-ufton-dies-aged-92/

Tribute to Derek Ufton

Unfortunately I missed the 7-6 win over Huddersfield because we were Christmas shopping in Woolwich. However, this is surely an appropriate time for a tribute to Derek Ufton, one of the Charlton team I admired in the 1950s: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9076781/Englands-one-cap-wonder-Derek-Ufton-oldest-surviving-star-Three-Lions-aged-92.html

Derek often suffered a dislocated shoulder, but he is still going strong at 92, even after some ups and downs in his life.

He came from an era when in the summer quite a few players also played cricket (or baseball) while others earned a crust doing maintenance work on the ground.   Wages were reduced in the summer and in any case were no more than a skilled worker would earn which is how owners saw them.

Derek played 277 games for Charlton, scoring 14 goals.

Victory on the M6 boosts promotion hopes

Charlton won 2-0 at Walsall tonight with a goal in each half, a Taylor penalty and a goal for the Pole. The Addicks are now back in the play off places at 6th. BBC Midlands, who like to use a 'Charlton were anything but Athletic' line captioned it as a 2-0 Walsall win, perhaps better than my 2-9 typo earlier.

Taylor (a surprise inclusion given injury worries) put Charlton ahead from the penalty spot after just six minutes, sending Liam Roberts the wrong way after Tariqe Fosu's clever turn in the area drew a clumsy foul from George Dobson.

The lively Fosu, who had a great first half, had already curled inches over from 15 yards on three minutes after cutting in from the left. On 20 minutes a Fosu shot was deflected after a Taylor cross. Cullen was booked for a foul. Charlton suffered a blow when Igor Vetokele was carried off on a stretcher with a shoulder injury. he has gone to hospital.

His replacement, Karlan Grant, almost made it 2-0 from Taylor's cross on the brink of half-time but Roberts' fingertips foiled his header with a great save.

In the five minutes added on Charlton had a free kick on the left side of the area after Aribo was fouled. The Charlton bench were calling for a penalty. Cullen's effort was unproductive.

Charlton did double their lead in the 51st minute as a corner fell to Arsenal loanee Krystian Bielik six yards out and he lashed home. Taylor received his fifth yellow card of the season for a foul on 73 minutes, meaning that he will miss the home game against Bristol Rovers while he recuperates.

Walsall took 77 minutes to register a shot on target as Morgan Ferrier's strike brought a great diving save to his left from Jed Steer. The injured Cullen was replaced by Lapslie. Cullen has also dislocated his shoulder. It's Derek Ufton all over again, but in those days you had to stay on the pitch.

Marshall, who had come on as a substitute, won a corner and Bielik's effort was just over the bar. The much criticised Steer then had to punch away under pressure on 90 minutes before the Addicks saw out the five minutes added on.'

Chant of the night: 'Naby Sarr, once he was s****, but now he's all right.'

Congratulations to the 328 Addicks who made it.

Satisfied supremo Lee Bowyer praised a professional performance from his team: Three points on the road

Bowyer now has the highest win rate under Duchatelet (47 per cent) if one discounts the special case of Nugent.

'He threw mud in my face'

I came across a press report of a match between West Ham and Charlton in 1958 when I was researching the career of one of my Charlton heroes, Derek Ufton, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

The report by Peter Lorenzo reads: 'The Quiet Man became a Very Angry Young Man for 90 seconds at Upton Park … and it ended with Charlton inside right John "Buck" Ryan, described by his team mates as "the quietest bloke in the club" being ordered off in the 68th minute of the top-of-the-table clash with West Ham.'

'But I must back Bolton referee Tom Cooper to the hilt. Said dapper Tom afterwards: "Ryan was ordered off for striking an opponent … there was no doubt about that." [Interesting that the referee felt able to explain his decision to the media which they won't do today]. Agreed. I saw tall, dark-haired Ryan aim blows at West Ham left back and skipper Noel Cantwell after they had clashed in the Charlton penalty area.'

'In the corridor outside his team's dressing room, Ryan, a 25-year-old softly-spoken Scot told me: "As Cantwell got up he grabbed a handful of mud and threw it in my face. [The pitch was almost waterlogged with clinging mud]. He was mad and that made me mad. I went to retaliate and the referee saw me. He came over, asked my name [no red cards] and said Off"'.

'Provocation there may have been for the unfortunate Ryan - "I've never even been spoken to before." But the referee had no option, despite the fierce and repeated protests of a pack of Charlton players, led by angry skipper Derek Ufton.'

'Said Ufton: "John never touched anyone. He couldn't. I was holding him all the time. In fact, it was Ryan who was punched."'

'Certainly West Ham's 6 ft. right back John Bond could count his lucky stars he was not accompanying Ryan on that lonely trek to the dressing room. Bond, for once losing his icy-cool, almost contemptuous composure, ran 15 yards to join the scramble which developed while Ryan was being restrained by Ufton. This was a completely unnecessary intervention by Bond who, in turn, had to be dragged away by team mate Andy Malcolm.'

'If the Ryan sending off was unfortunate for Charlton, it certainly gave West Ham no advantage. The depleted Charlton side seemed to find new strength.' The result was a 0-0 draw.

Charlton just missed out on promotion, losing the final home game of the season 3-4 to Blackburn. Under the present points system, they would have been promoted alongside West Ham.