The Year of the Robin: Watching It All Go Wrong for Charlton Athletic and the World

by Jen Offord

Overview

SHORTLISTED IN THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 FOR NEW FEMALE SPORTS WRITING

'Jen has captured the human (and humorous) side of following a football team. A compelling story hilariously told' Sara Pascoe

'From family to football, Jen Offord has captured something we can all relate to. Funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. A must read.' Cariad Lloyd

'Hilarious and moving in equal parts' Carrie Dunn

Jen Offord watches it all go wrong for Charlton Athletic and the world.

When her beloved Charlton Athletic clinched promotion to The Championship in May 2019, sportswriter Jen Offord splashed out on season tickets for herself and her sceptical brother Michael, setting out to chronicle the south-east London outfit's first season back in the second tier of English football.

But this season, more than any other before it, would be a game of two halves. A billionaire takeover backfired spectacularly; the team plummeted into the relegation zone just as Coronavirus swept in to suspend life as we know it.

The Year of The Robin is a love letter to the power of football even when there is no football to actually watch, filled with wild characters searching for redemption and wrestling over issues of money, racism and mental health. A funny, sharp and a thought-provoking exploration of the idea of family in unprecedented times and season from which the world may never fully recover.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785787584
Publisher:	Icon Books, Ltd. UK
Publication date:	06/02/2022
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	529 KB

About the Author

Jen Offord is the co-host and producer of the hugely popular Standard Issue podcast, for which she has interviewed many leading sports stars. She writes and broadcasts for many other high-profile outlets on issues of sport, equality and mental health. She lives in East London.

Table of Contents

The Warm-up 1

The Play-offs - or how my brother and I returned to the Charlton Athletic fold 2

In the Beginning 16

The CAFC Museum 21

The Season Begins

August: Charlton Athletic v Stoke City 33

August: Charlton Athletic v Nottingham Forest 36

August: Charlton Athletic v Brentford 42

September: Charlton Athletic v Birmingham City 47

'I just wanted to watch a game and I didn't want any sideways stares' - Bhavisha and the Proud Valiants 52

September: Charlton Athletic v Leeds United 63

October: Charlton Athletic v Swansea City 66

The Pride of South London - Gary and Charlton Invicta 69

October: Charlton Athletic v Derby County 83

'I treat them like they're my sons' - Tracey, player liaison officer 89

November: Charlton Athletic v Preston North End 102

November: Charlton Athletic v Cardiff City 105

'You're treated like a man as soon as you enter the system' - Marvin and mental health in men's football 108

November: Charlton Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday 123

'We didn't do nothing' - Richard, Alan and the proud Charlton tradition of fighting back 127

December: Charlton Athletic v Huddersfield Town 147

December: Charlton Athletic v Hull City 152

January: Charlton Athletic v West Bromwich Albion 156

February: Charlton Athletic v Barnsley 160

February: Charlton Athletic v Luton Town 164

March: Charlton Athletic v Middlesbrough 166

The season takes another dramatic turn. Well, two dramatic turns, actually 169

Limbo

March-May: Fixtures postponed 175

'You sacrifice all that because it's what you do' - Karen and the price of women's football 179

The Covid Contract Conundrum 201

The Striker 204

A New Supporter Joins the Ranks 226

'I'm fed up of I didn't understand. I didn't know. I wasn't sure' - Troy Townsend and Kicking Racism Out of Football 230

Project Restart

June: Hull City v Charlton Athletic (P) 259

June: Charlton Athletic v QPR (P) 261

'The Charlton Way' - Jason on the Charlton Athletic Community Trust 264

'They draped their Charlton flag on the wall and had a drink' Andy and the pubs of Charlton 277

July: Charlton Athletic v Millwall (P) 287

July: Brentford v Charlton Athletic (P) 289

July: Charlton Athletic v Reading (P) 291

July: Birmingham City v Charlton Athletic (P) 293

The Gaffers 295

Relegation

July: Charlton Athletic v Wigan Athletic (P) 319

July: Leeds United v Charlton Athletic (P) 324

The End/The Beginning - Thomas Sandgaard 327

Acknowledgements 339