Its Charlton v MK Dons next. So what does Charlton mean to me and do they have any Scots links

The draw for round 2 of the FA Cup was made last night. The die is cast and stop number 10 on the Road to Wembley from Scotland will be in South London. On Saturday December the 3^rd Charlton Athletic will play host to the MK Dons and I will be there. Following their win over Spennymoor Town on Saturday the Dons are now ‘my team’ on the Road, but what does Charlton mean to me?

My earliest recollection of seeing the name Charlton Athletic was in a league table in the mid sixties. As a seven year old I made the assumption that this was something to do with Bobby and Jackie Charlton and that maybe they had their own team. I was soon to find out that was not the case and the next two things about the club that I learned was that they had one of the biggest grounds in England (The Valley) and that they once won the FA Cup. 

The Valley: In the past could accommodate 75,000 fans

The modern Valley: I can't wait to get there - looks great.

This blog / book has a unique feature in that it seeks to identify Scots links with the tie that I am going to watch. With regard to this match a very early, skim the surface, research has already unearthed two crackers. The scorer of the winning goal when Charlton Athletic won the cup for the only time in 1947 is Scottish and the only Scots member of the current Charlton squad is currently on loan at my beloved Hearts.

Chris Duffy was the left winger for Charlton Athletic in the first two FA Cup finals played after world war two.

Chris Duffy from Methil: Scored the winning goal for Charlton in the 1947 FA Cup Final

Impressively the Addicks featured in both of these Wembley showcase events. They lost 4-1 to Derby County in 1946 but in 1947 they won the FA Cup. This of course means that they will be the first former winners of the famous trophy that I will have seen on ‘The Road’. The 1947 final was decided in extra time. Charlton and Burnley had played out a goal-less 90 minutes in front of almost 100,000 spectators. With only 6 minutes of extra time left Scotsman Chris Duffy scored with a shot from 12 yards out.

Scot Duffy (no 11) has arms aloft as the ball hits the net - Legend!

Duffy, from Methil in Fife, played almost all his career at The Valley having signed for them from Leith Athletic just after the war for £330. Imagine being able to sign a cup winning goal scorer for that price. I believe that Gareth Bale gets paid 2000 times that amount per week. Duffy sadly passed away at his home in Bangor Northern Ireland where he had settled at the age of 60 in 1978. He will forever be in Charlton Athletic mythology.

A quick flick through the current Addicks squad on Wiki last night showed one Scots flag. I was surprised to find that it was the current Hearts striker Tony Watt. As a season ticket holder at Tynecastle I should have known that it was Charlton who have loaned Tony to the Glorious Jambos for a season but that detail went past me.

Tony Watt: Contracted to Charlton - currently playing for the All Time Greats

22 year old Tony from Lanarkshire is a goal scoring centre forward who has banged them in wherever he has gone. When at Celtic he famously scored the winning goal in a Champions League game against Barcelona. In his short time at The Valley he scored 7 goals for a struggling Charlton Athletic team. Unfortunately for him the midas touch has deserted him at Tynecastle and thus far he has only scored 1 goal in 12 games for my beloved Hearts. He remains popular with the fans though because he works hard, creates chances for others and plays with a gallous carefree attitude that fans so love. I rate him highly and I am sure a bag full of goals is just around the corner for young Tony. He also wears the longest shorts in the Scottish Premier League.

You can hardly see his knees! Watt sporting the longest shorts in Scottish football

There are many Scots who have played for Charlton Athletic in the past. These include Mark Reid, Jim Melrose, Stuart Balmer, Greg Shields, Ralph Milne and Colin Walsh. Next week at some stage I will post an article describing Charlton’s rich Scots heritage.

So the build up to the big match between the Addicks and the Dons begins. This could be a cracker and although both teams are in League One at the moment this fixture was a Championship fixture only last season. Hence there is a possibility that it might be deemed worthy of showing live on TV and could potentially be moved to Sunday the 4^th December. Keep tuned to this blog to find out.

Tonight both The Addicks and The Dons play in the much maligned Checkatrade Trophy. After their fine wins in the FA Cup on Saturday this will be a chance to assess current form ahead of the Big One. Visit this blog on Thursday to find out how they got on. Keep reading.