CACharlton Athletic

Club history

Charlton Athletic were formed in 1905 by a group of local teenagers in East Street, Charlton, entering the Lewisham League the following year. Their nickname, 'the Addicks', is traditionally traced to a local fishmonger, Arthur 'Ikey' Bryan, who rewarded players from both sides with haddock and chips after matches; in South London dialect 'haddock' became ''addick', and the name stuck. The Valley, opened in 1919 on a disused chalk pit, became one of English football's largest and most atmospheric grounds, once holding over 75,000 spectators.

The club's finest hour came in 1947, when Charlton beat Burnley in the FA Cup final, having also finished First Division runners-up a decade earlier in 1936-37. Financial mismanagement in the 1980s forced the club into administration and, in 1985, out of The Valley altogether; Charlton spent seven years in exile, groundsharing first at Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park and then West Ham's Upton Park, before a fan-led campaign secured their return to a rebuilt Valley in December 1992.

Under Alan Curbishley, Charlton won promotion to the Premier League via the 1998 play-off final and went on to enjoy seven consecutive top-flight seasons, their most stable modern era, before relegation in 2007 triggered a slide through the divisions. Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet's 2014 takeover brought chronic managerial turnover and supporter unrest, and the club has since shuttled between League One and the Championship, still chasing a lasting return to the top.

Sources

• Wikipedia
• Charlton Athletic Official Site - Club History

Runner-up finishes (1)

• 1936-37

See the full english top-flight champions list for the winner each of these years.