PU PREVIEW 52: CHARLTON ATHLETIC

Charlton Athletic FC was founded on 9 June 1905 when a number of youth clubs in SE London combined, and spent most of the years up to 1913 playing in youth leagues. They became a senior side in 1913 and joined the Football League in 1921. Two years later, the Addicks reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, defeating three top-flight sides on the way. Later in 1923, it was proposed that Charlton merge with Catford Southend and the club played for one season at Catford's ground; however, the move fell through. Either side of World War Two saw the most successful period in the club's history under the managership of Jimmy Seed [he now has a stand named after him at The Valley]. Charlton reached Division One in 1936 and finished successively 2nd, 4th and 3rd. They lost to Derby County in the 1946 FA Cup final but won the trophy the following year by defeating Burnley 1-0. Financial matters came to a head in 1984 and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd. They were forced to leave The Valley in 1985 due to safety concerns, and began to groundshare with Crystal Palace, moving to West Ham's Upton Park in 1991. The club eventually returned to The Valley in December 1992. Charlton were promoted to the Premier League in 1998 but were relegated after one season, returning in 2000. The club lost its Premier League status in 2007. Charlton were taken over in January 2014 by Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet, and a succession of managers appointed leading to fans organising protests. Duchatelet still owns the club.

Charlton are nicknamed The Addicks and have played at The Valley since 1919, apart from the one season in Catford (1923-24) and the period at Crystal Palace (1985-91) and West Ham (1991-92). The Valley has been redeveloped since the club's return. Charlton are managed by Lee Bowyer and finished the 2017-18 season in 6th place.

Pompey and Charlton have met on 107 occasions. the first coming in February 1922. Pompey have won two of the FA Cup meetings and Charlton one, with two draws. Pompey have also won games in the Full Members Cup, Anglo-Italian Trophy and Football League Trophy, the latter played in November 2017. Of the ninety-nine League games, Pompey have won forty-one, Charlton thirty-three and twenty-five were draws. The last League meeting was in League One at Fratton Park in December 2018 when Charlton won 2-1.

(Information via Wikipedia and www.11v11.com)