Predictably enough the news that Alan Campbell had signed for us was welcomed with comments from those of us rather long in the tooth such as “I thought we sold him to Birmingham a while back”. I hope the new Campbell(A) proves as valuable to us as the one I remember. In the interim it gives me the chance to look back – with the help of scrapbooks covering the period - at a player who for me in addition to being an excellent one for us represented a transition, even a coming of age as an Addick.
Before him (and others, including those who really straddled the period, most obviously Keith Peacock) was the post-Bartram era, the likes of Mike Bailey, Dennis Edwards, Billy Bonds, Eddie Firmani as a player, Lennie Glover, turning out in white with the red shoulder top, which was my first replica kit (an Xmas present), now proudly in the Charlton Museum. I know I saw them play many times, but apart from snippets (like hearing on the radio that Bailey had broken his leg in the cup replay at Middlesbrough and we had lost) I don’t have real memories of them on the pitch. It feels now like my father’s generation, under Frank Hill, whereas what followed was mine.
Campbell arrived in 1964 (actually signed apparently as a 15-year-old from Arbroath, which with hindsight explains why they are my favourite Scottish team), made his first-team debut in the 1965/66 season, still with the red shoulder kit. He came to the fore in 1966/67, after many of the old guard had moved on, Hill had been replaced as manager by Bob Stokoe, and then in 1967/68 as Firmani took over at the helm and players such as the late Graham Moore, Matt Tees, Ray Treacy and Paul Went were brought in, Peter Reeves emerged, paving the way for that glorious 1968/69 season when we came within a whisker of making the top flight, in front of an average attendance at The Valley of 32,768.
Things were never as good again, but until we sold him to Birmingham in October 1970 Alan Campbell was effectively a fixture in the team, despite (according to Colin Cameron’s ‘The Valiant 500’) his having “big differences” with Firmani. His record shows in 1965/66 he made 23 appearances (plus an early extra as a sub), 39 (and another sub) the next season, 40 the next (contributing 10 goals from midfield), and 42 in both 1968/69 and 1969/0. In all it was 196(2) league appearances (212 +2 in total), scoring 28 goals (29), in effectively four-and-a-half seasons.
As a player I just remember him being everywhere on the pitch, most effectively working in tandem with Moore. But fortunately, rather than having to rely on my patchy memories, Campbell’s arrival broadly coincided with my starting to keep scrapbooks (it was easier in those days just cutting articles from the printed press). So here’s a summary of some of the items through his Charlton career, with some photos at the end. I’ve done the best I could with the photos while any factual errors in what follows are mine alone.
A first report from August 1965 talks of Campbell truly “arriving” at Charlton with a goal against Ipswich in a 2-0 home win. He scored the winner against Millwall at The Valley in January 1968, then in ‘that season’ in August 1968 Campbell scored a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw at Palace (seems we went 0-2 up early in the game, played them off the park in the first half, only to concede two quick goals to go into the break level, went behind in the second half, Harry Gregory then missed a penalty, before Campbell scored, with still time apparently for Kember to miss a sitter). Points-winning goals against Millwall and Palace, no wonder we loved him. Campbell scored a late winner at Oxford in December (and Wright saved a penalty) to keep us around the top, although we were doing well in the league, there was an insight into Firmani’s management style from a report detailing him fining Moore and Tees for being late for training on Christmas Day. It quoted him as saying he told the team to “act like men or I’ll treat you like boys”. Those were the days.
A report around February 1969 – after the cup exit at Arsenal which followed the Treacy-inspired trouncing of Palace on their patch - was headlined ‘It’s all happening for Alan Campbell’. It talks of the possibility of a call-up to the full Scotland side with the Mexico World Cup in mind (they didn’t make it), after his selection for an U23 team to play England, and of interest in him from Manchester City (although he was to avoid the danger of that drop in status). The article describes Campbell’s main interest as golf, with a liking for motoring, and a plan to go into the restaurant business after football. At 21, this may have marked the pinnacle for Campbell at Charlton – and for us as well. Having beaten Middlesbrough 2-0 in April (with a goal from Ray Crawford – who had been brought in - and another from Tees) we only won one of our final four games, taking four points, and ended third. Some other team was promoted along with Derby (who we had beaten 2-0 at The Valley with a televised wonder strike from Treacy).
The following season Campbell finished our joint second-highest league goalscorer with five (Treacy managed six). Tees had been sold and Crawford was sacked by Firmani after he refused to go with the others for a seven-day training session at Bisham Abbey (his wife gave the explanation, that she was a very nervous person and had checked with Charlton that their players were never taken away before he signed for the club; he lost an appeal). Reports in late October talked of Arsenal being ready to submit a £100,000 bid for Campbell, but after chairman Michael Gliksten said “we will not sell Campbell and that is that” nothing materialised. But Campbell submitted a transfer request, saying he wanted First Division football. Firmani responded with “as far as I’m concerned he is a Charlton player and has signed a contract with us. It’s up to us to decide when he can go”. Those were indeed the days.
At one stage that season we had a record of P29, W5, D13, L11. Firmani was talking of the ‘big comeback plan’, saying he was convinced Charlton would get to the First Division. The veteran/crock Maurice Setters was brought in, promising “I saved Coventry now for Charlton”. On Easter Monday Firmani was sacked, after a 5-0 defeat at Leicester, commenting “one minute you are up, the next you are down”. He had brought in Gordon Jago but official assistant manager Theo Foley was given the job, initially as ‘acting manager’. Setters was dropped and in the final four games we lost one, drew two, and on the final day beat Bristol City 2-1 at The Valley (we had lost the game away to them 6-0) to escape relegation (a defeat would have sent us down). Campbell scored the first goal (Treacy the second before an 88th minute strike by Chris Garland, which apparently went in off Moore’s head, ensured a very nervous final few minutes). For the record, it was the third time in 10 seasons that we avoided relegation by winning the last game.
The 1970/71 season was to be equally fraught (we finished third from bottom again but with three points to spare this time, drawing the final two games and escaping having taken only 14 points from our first 26 games), but with the changing of the guard Campbell finally got his move. As an injury crisis eased and replacement Davies was brought in from Yeovil (his promising career was to be cut short by injury), a bid of £70,000 saw Birmingham get their man. My notes at the end of Scrapbook No.6 end with “we hope for a better season in Charlton Athletic Scrapbook No.7”. We finished 21st and were relegated to the third flight, for the first time since 1934/35, losing our final game 5-0 at Blackpool.
Campbell went on to play 175 times for Birmingham, then 167 for Cardiff, finally 31 for Carlisle. He apparently went on to play and manage in non-league football in the Birmingham area. Wikipedia has him as still with us aged 76. I very much hope he is well and enjoying retirement, that he has happy memories of (at least most of) his time with us (how could he not having scored against both Millwall and Palace), and that his modern replacement goes on to carry the name for us with the distinction it has. I trust he realises what he has to live up to.
I watched a lot of those home games as well. Apart from the "Beatles" mop of hair and the well weighted passes I particularly remember penalty he took that seemed to take a minute to cross the line- it was so well placed the keeper couldn't reach it. It just trundled along and took its own time.
ReplyDeleteMy memory of the “original” Alan Campbell was that he started as a very average wide player, too slow and not skilful enough to be a terror to opposing full backs. However, the master stroke was to move him into midfield, in tandem with Graham Moore. Campbell never looked back and was unlucky not to win a full Scotland cap.
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