Cefnogwyr bywiog Charlton yn anelu am Gymru

Wrexham will be automatically promoted if they beat Charlton tomorrow and Wycombe drop points against Orient.   Wrexham captain James McClean [sic] has understandably called it a 'huge' match: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/wrexham-captain-james-mcclean-demands-his-side-deliver-in-huge-league-one-match-against-charlton-athletic/

Wrexham supremo and former Charlton manager Phil Parkinson is said to be 'relaxed' ahead of the encounter, although he looks grim faced in the accompanying photo as if someone has been spotted in the Charlton end in a clown costume: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sport/enjoy-it-wrexham-boss-parkinson-staying-relaxed-ahead-of-pivotal-league-one-meeting-with-charlton-athletic/

Charlton fans seem to be in an optimistic mood as they prepare to cross the Welsh border and sample the delights of Wrexham.   I had the Wycombe game down as a win at the beginning of the season and this as a 3-1 defeat, but a draw may now be more likely.   However, I don't think one can read the results of this game off the win at Wycombe.

After I congratulated a Burnley fan the other day, he responded 'Good luck in the play offs' and that looks like a realistic call.

CAS Trust preview here: https://www.castrust.org/2025/04/wrexham-showdown/

Advert draws attention

Wrexham have noted Charlton's use of a 'Welcome to Charlton' advert at New Eltham station modelled on their 'Welcome to Wrexham' advert: https://www.thewrexhaminsider.com/news/charlton-athletic-advert-mirrors-welcome-to-wrexham-ahead-of-league-one-clash/

Some Charlton fans have apparently also taking offence, but the game is surely an opportunity to publicise the club and draw in new potential fans.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson was, of course, formerly at Charlton.

Contested territory

Each year I give a lecture at Wellington College in Berkshire along with some other speakers.   Wellington generally invites some other schools along.   Last year it was another fee paying school, Charterhouse (which is one of the few public schools to specialise in football).

This year I was surprised to find that half the audience was made up of pupils from Chis & Sid.   Wellington headmaster Antony Seldon is very involved in Government efforts to get fee paying schools to help those in the state sector (he is also sorting out Dave Cameron's website).

At lunch I remarked to the master in charge that I thought that he came from Charlton territory, but it turned out that he was a Glazier and argued that it was all Palace down there.   He also claimed that Chris Powell's success at Charlton was down to the fact that he was a former Palace player!

In fact if one looks at the football support map for London it is clearly contested territory: http://www.qprdot.org/viewtopic.php?t=45754

However, when I talked at Eltham College earlier this year, a fee paying school which draws a lot of its pupils from the same area as Chis & Sid, there were Charlton season ticket holders in the audience.

Another speaker who was a keen Wrexham supporter (and has got me digging out information about the times we have played them which include a 6-0 cup defeat) identified me to the audience as a Charlton supporter, but it remained unclear which, if any, team the pupils supported.  

To cap it all, the organiser of the day was a fanatical Everton supporter.    One might ask what a Scouser was doing at Wellington but it seems that he coaches rugby.