Writer, broadcaster and CAST member, Jen Offord's book about the 2019/20 relegation season is now available to pre-order (see below) with a publication date of June 9th.
"When her beloved Charlton Athletic clinched promotion to The Championship in May 2019, journalist Jen Offord splashed out on season tickets for herself and her brother Michael, setting out to chronicle the S.E. London outfit's first season back in the second tier of English football. But that season, more than any other before it, would be a game of two halves. A billionaire takeover backfired spectacularly and 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 characters searching for redemption and wrestling over issues of money, racism and mental health"
CAST thoroughly recommends “The Year of The Robin”, not only to Charlton supporters but to football fans everywhere. Jen Offord relishes all aspects of that season and talks to "the people who made the club what it is". This includes not only Alan Curbishley, Lee Bowyer, Lyle Taylor, Tracey Leaburn and Thomas Sandgaard but also the people in the background - "the men who ran the club museum on barely a shoestring; the community workers tirelessly tackling discrimination at grassroots level; the fans who had led protests and campaigns to save the club from oblivion."
The book also includes chapters on mental health (Marvin Sordell), racism (Troy Townsend), homophobia (Bhavisha Ravji), the women's team (Karen Hill), Charlton Invicta (Gary Ginnaw) and local pubs (Andy Norman of ‘the Rose of Denmark’)
And, in the midst of all this, Jen gives birth to her daughter Lyra - shortly before the season restarted with a 1-0 home win against Hull. After three games Lyra (kitted out in a "slightly baggy Charlton Athletic Babygrow") had not seen the team lose or even concede a goal but then.....
.......... along came Millwall.
‘The Year of The Robin’ is available from The Charlton Museum (open Fridays 11am - 3pm) or via:
CAST will also be giving away four copies of Year of The Robin as prizes for the CAST summer quiz (to be set next week)
If you would like to join nearly 3000 Charlton supporters and become a CAST member you can do so here: