Charlton v Leeds was worth a bet?

Invasive Species

I took a break from blog writing over the weekend to bask in the rare glory of two back to back wins at the Valley.  Friday night was spent pouring over the Grand National riders, with a glass of wine, without coming to a conclusion of whom to back.  So I took waking up on Saturday morning to find three parakeets in my neighbours garden to be a sure sign of where to place my wager.  However another glance at the runners provided no inspiration so I took it as a good omen for the afternoon's football game against Leeds United.

It was Acadamy day at the Valley, and as the Grand National is such a lottery I decided that, instead of filling the pockets of the book makers, Iwould spend my betting money on Charlton's half time jackpot tickets, supporting the club's future.

While some might wonder about the merits of the youth set up we have to remember that it has produced the likes of Scott Parker, Carl Jenkinson, Jonjo Shelvey, Rob Elliott and Michael Turner who all now play in the Premier League as well as Chris Solly, Scott Wagstaff, Lawrie Wilson, Danny Green and Callum Harriott in our current squad (I know I have missed a few so please forgive any omissions).



The Future - Our Youth Academy





Better cause than the Grand National

Charlton played well and deserved their 2-1 win over Leeds, with an honourable mention to Dorian Dervite who made the Championship team of the week with his performance.  Staying with the betting theme, if I wanted to back a certainty it would be that an Ex Charlton player would score against us and Luke Varney stepped up and obliged with an 81st minute equaliser, after the skipper, Johnny Jackson had put us ahead.

Its also good to know that Charlton can also bag goals in stoppage time given how many we have conceded in the lat few minutes during this campaign.  Extra time goals are not as rare as we think though.  I briefly saw a piece on Sky Sports News which showed that at least 33 goals have been scored in the Premier League in extra time this season (I can't find any further information on this on the web so if any one can point me in the right direction I would be grateful).

In fairness I think many fans would have settled for a 1-1 draw but with 54 points in the bag and just two or three more required and 12 to play for, I am sure that many of us left with a smug grin that afternoon contemplating Championship football next year.  I hope you all renewed your season ticket too!

Finally, it was good to see the Moto GP back on our screens on Sunday and it made an exciting change from Top Gear.  Valentino Rossi had a storming race after a daring overtaking manoeuvre went awry and eventually came in second.  So if you don't have Sky or are simply bored with the monotony of Formula 1 can I suggest you give it a go.