Well, it didn't grip the nation in an X-Factor style frenzy, but it certainly got a few of you thinking.

We asked Lennie Lawrence who, with hindsight, would be the first three names he would put on his teamsheet from his time as Charlton manager, and asked you to try and match it.

Of the 51 entries, two of you failed to match any, 19 matched one player, 26 of you matched two players and just four of you matched all three.

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With a plethora of football books about to hit the shops ahead of the Christmas season, Scotty Kingsley reviews the offerings of the man they called 'Houdini'.

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Many years ago Lennie Lawrence threatened to write a book about his time a Charlton. There was certainly enough packed into his nine year spell at the club, including winding up orders, high court visits, numerous Chairmen, promotion, play-offs, relegation and of course ground sharing and the Valley Party to warrant one if not more volumes.

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In X-Factor terminology, the long-running Charlton potential takeover saga has been on ‘an amazing journey' all summer. What at first prompted fervoured supporter interest, careered at one stage into hilarity at the range of nationalities linked, before finally slumping into chronic indifference at the lack of resolution.

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The following article has been submitted by forum member Henry Irving.

Six weeks ago when the idea of a Supporters' Trust was floated it was greeted with generally positive response. Even those who were sceptical mostly took a "let's wait and see" stance. The organisation that oversees the 140 trusts across the UK was amazed that 50 people would turn up for an initial meeting such was the response.

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There is something hugely entertaining about Transfer Deadline Day.

After� nearly four months to assemble their squad, clubs scramble around like a panicking teenager on the day before a new term, desperately trying to source uniform, books and a geometry set at short notice, whilst starting the homework they have had six weeks to complete.

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A great man (Alan Curbishley) once said "don't let the highs be too high, or the lows too low", but it would take a hard man not to forgive Charlton fans for wearing a cautious, toothy grin at present.

Following a treacherous three seasons, a 100% record at this stage was not on even the most optimistic Addick's radar.

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There are some things in life that are nigh on guaranteed, and Charlton limping out of the League Cup to a Division Four team is certainly one of them. The defeat sadly came as no surprise to seasoned Addicks, particularly given the weakened nature of our starting eleven.

However, unless you were one of the 323 foolhardy souls who made the trip, there is little to get overly despondent about.

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And so, it all begins again.

Fourteen blissful weeks of contentment are soon to be replaced by the nine-month slog of frustration, despair and elation in varying quantities.
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Over the past three months� I have enthusiastically admired the fair play of golf and cricket, coupled with the raw determination for limited reward of athletes and swimmers.

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A battling display from an assortment of Addicks bravely held Welling United to a 1-1 at Park View Road, maintaining their grip on the illustrious Crown Paints Trophy.

A visit to Park View Road for the annual Welling fund-raiser has in recent years been like visiting a nan you rarely see; you look forward to it and have fond memories from your childhood, but give it an hour and you can't wait to get away.

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The following letter will be sent today to Derek Chappell, Chairman of Charlton Ath PLC

Mr Chappell,

In November 2008 you joined our Charlton Life forum and actively participated on our messageboard. You expressed interest in supporter opinions, and sought to provide answers to questions supporters may have.

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In the first week of May, i was led to believe that's PP's days as Charlton manager were immenently to end. In preparation, the article below was drafted, and waited patiently for the SEND button. However, the order never came and PP very much remains at the helm. With the players returning for training tomorrow, it looks like the status quo will remain into the new season.

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So 'Fixtures Day' finally arrived. The biggest event in the close season, and the Holy Bible for the football obsessed. Comparative in importance to a child posting his wish list to Santa every December, it allows in one swoop a football supporters' life to be mapped for the forthcoming eleven months.

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Nearly five weeks have passed since the end of the season, and no confirmed prospects of change have been announced by the club. Publicly, it appears as if the club has gone into hibernation, and whilst some supporters have taken to prodding the stands to check for signs of life, privately we are assured the wheels have been turning.

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‘Learning from Mistakes' was an article� headline from� last night's match programme, though it is hard to see what aspects of the football club, if any, this is being applied to at present.

It certainly does not apply to the football aspect, with Saturday and last night's capitulations the 12th and 13th time we have surrendered a lead this season.

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Way back in the past I had a job that allowed me time to relax and occasionally stick an article on this site. Sadly that has not been the case for a long time now. However Kigelia is back and makes even less sense.

My spies in SE7 intercepted a letter this week that was sent to the club. A similar letter was received by Luton Town officials last week.

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Is the question that our Forum member Bing Addick has been asking of late. Here are his considerations...

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So what did we have, from Lennie through to Curbs, that added up to the hallowed phrase "The Charlton Way" ? Did that phrase apply only to the playing side, or did it run throughout the club?

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We must respect the past, and mistrust the present, if we are to provide for the safety of the future – Joseph Jobert

I'm fairly certain that an 18th Century French moralist wasn't a Charlton fan, nor is he looking down with an intriguing eye at our current plight.

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A few days away and a welcome break from all things Charlton. It's not until you take a step away from the vortex of misery you realise with a calmer approach just how ridiculously pathetic the scope of our efforts have been this season. Rooted at the bottom of the Premiership amid a gulf in class [. Click to continue reading...

So after 20 years of goals, promotion, relegation, controversy, medical emergencies and Vic from Charlton an era will almost certainly come to a premature end on Sunday night. Unless a buyer is found in the next 5 days, Time FM and South London Radio will close. Bringing Charlton Live to an end. It's been widely reported [. Click to continue reading...

Amid constant rainfall and swirling winds, Charlton's faint hopes of survival were blown away by an impressive Doncaster Rovers side. Phil Parkinson's men entered the game with confidence lifted by a recent turnaround in form. But sadly it proved a false dawn, as they were picked apart by a Doncaster side that play a style of [. Click to continue reading...

...According to our Forum Member Chizz It's the hope that kills you; but now there's no hope. I've been reading some of the comments on our forum over the last few weeks and months. It's become obvious that there's no point going to the Doncaster game tonight. The traffic's going to be bad; it's going to rain; we're going [. Click to continue reading...

It may just be by the thread of our coat tails, there may still be eight points to overcome to safety, but Charlton are still clinging on. It may not seem much to take comfort from or be proud of, but it's a statement that many thought would be sadly out of the equation this [...] Click to continue reading...

With the help of ex-CEO Peter Varney, Ben Hayes looks back follow the death of ex-chairman Michael Gliksten. ***** Despite the Gliksten's family key role in appointing Jimmy Seed and overseeing the Addicks rise from the lowest to the highest tier of English in the 30s and two cup finals in the 40s, it is for the [. Click to continue reading...

Am i the only one who pores over the Annual Report, nodding and gasping without really knowing what it is telling us ?  Fortunately, Bryan Matthew does know his assets from his intangibles, and highlights the key points below in a way the rest of us can understand. So, after that hugely disappointing Forest defeat, [. Click to continue reading...

Vast comment on our forum, and other Charlton sites regarding the decision to give Parkinson the managerial job permanently. Its always interesting to see how we are perceived by the wider world, so following a scan of the web, below are a selection of what fans of other clubs have been saying: Leeds: This has to be [. Click to continue reading...

The last throw of the dice, or not even bothering to roll it ? Whatever way you look at it, the decision by the Charlton board to make Phil Parkinson permanent manager is a huge gamble, one likely to shape the short-term future of our club. It is a bold decision, but based on no form [...] Click to continue reading...

Now is the winter of our discontent. The health and happiness of this great club is under considerable strain as we piece together what has happened in the past few years. Near bottom of the Championship? Even our most happily-miserable fans would have been hard pushed to come up with that scenario at the start of [. Click to continue reading...

Imagine the scenario: Little-known boy-band had a successful run. Lead singer eventually fancied a new challenge, to prove himself without his band mates. His career then failed to hit the heights he would have hoped. Rest of the band promptly sunk without trace. At the opportune time after a considered time, the band reform and [. Click to continue reading...

"I will be doing everything in my power to inspire what we've got here. I've always been able to operate well without big money. I am very focused, my philosophy is very complicated with what I do and I need people who are good enough to be able to go along with that. It's going [...] Click to continue reading...

Hello all, AFKA and the boys at Charlton Life have very kindly asked me, Colin Camelot, their full-time, in-house statistician, to write an occasional column for them answering your many queries regarding our beloved CAFC and the many proud, young men who have worn its red shirt, white shorts and red and white stockings over the years. Click to continue reading...

So well done Alan Pardew for appearing at the NW Kent Q&A last night. It is easy to hide when the chips are down, so to see someone prepared to come out fighting merits respect. Unfortunately, if he had been able to instil those qualities into his players over the last two years, we would not [...] Click to continue reading...

So in yesterday's article, i stated my reasons why i think Pardew's time at Charlton should promptly come to an end. 'Outing' myself brought no sense of pleasure or freedom, so in order of trying to provide balance, I have been seeking to put forward the alternative view. Fortunately, Killers Beard from our Forum has [. Click to continue reading...

Well it didn't happen. Zabeel Investments decided against a major investment in Charlton Athletic Football Club. Thought that I'd write our club's full name down there, just to remind myself what I am considering here; it's about a sport. Hello magazine are now not going to feature our chisel-jawed Mediterranean midfielder in its September 2010 [. Click to continue reading...

'Black Friday' may well have sent shock waves through London's financial district today, but it was a very different kind of bombshell that was emerging a few miles south of the river. Reports that Charlton were set to be taken over by a Dubai consortium sent our forum into meltdown, because this is precisely the thing [. Click to continue reading...

Charlton Life scribe and thinking ladies crumpet Sco questions whether we'll be remembering the present in the future....... If someone were to ask me what has changed about football over the past 10 years, and whether those changes have been for the benefit of the game or not, my immediate answer would be "money". Click to continue reading...