Ten Years Ago: a first for Charlton since 1947 final

The Addicks were away to West Brom on 5 February and they won 1-0 thanks to a 58th minute goal by Gary Nelson. This was the first time Charlton had won a live televised cup match since the 1947 cup final.

My notes state, 'Salmon actually made a couple of saves. Still too much inaccurate passing, often through hitting the ball too hard. Too much use of the long ball. But an important and useful victory.'

Jamie Stuart was in the Addicks line up for the first time, but it was not to be a great future in front of him. Curbs recalled in the latest 4-4-2 that Stuart was caught having taken cocaine. 'We thought so much damage had been done to the club's name that we took a zero tolerance approach and sacked him.'

I was reporting for the club's web site at the time of the Stuart sacking and I remember interviewing Curbs on the pitch after a game that we lost at Reading. It was clear from the demeanour of the sombre supremo that he had taken the Stuart incident to heart. I was so annoyed that I drove off in haste and got caught by a speed camera.