The Guardian have done a piece on us........

Like formation skydivers plunging inexorably towards earth, so the downward trajectories of Norwich City and Charlton Athletic have mirrored each other over the past 12 months. One minute, both are preparing for a tilt at the Premier League, the next, already doomed Athletic are dragging the Canaries with them into League One on the final day of the season.

Their parallel decline became so incestuous they were even paired against each other in the third round of the FA Cup. With wins in shorter supply than Fenland mountain rescue teams, the game predictably went to a replay. It was, in a nutshell, a season to remember ? for all the wrong reasons.

It goes without saying that no team has a divine right to Premier League or even Championship status. Yet, staring out around Carrow Road yesterday, as Norwich and Charlton again locked horns, sharing the spoils in a thrilling 2-2 draw, you had to pinch yourself that this was a third-tier fixture.

The ground was worthy of the Premier League, as was the atmosphere. Most of the football on show was right up there with the mid-to-upper echelons of the Championship. Of course, had both clubs performed like this last season, they would not be where they are now. As that old football adage goes, sometimes you have to go down to come back up.

Mind you, on the evidence of this embryonic season, Norwich still have a long way to go before they can be considered serious promotion contenders. There's a feeling within League One circles that, once new manager Paul Lambert gets his jaws into the squad, City could well mount a challenge for the play-offs. But, with memories of that 7-1 opening-day mauling at the hands of Colchester United still fresh in the minds, nobody around Norfolk is about to get carried away just yet.

Charlton, on the other hand, appear to be a club reborn, arriving at Carrow Road top of the league, with six wins and a draw to show from seven games. In the words of one Addicks supporter before kick-off: "I wasn't even born the last time we were top of anything!" However, they pushed their luck against Norwich, establishing a two-goal lead thanks to a couple of headers from Deon Burton and Jonjo Shelvey before being pegged back by efforts from Wes Hoolahan in the 44th minute and an injury-time equaliser from Grant Holt. Had City substitute Cody McDonald's overhead kick gone in at the death, then Carrow Road would probably now be orbiting somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico.

"The fans here are unbelievable and Charlton would probably say the same thing about theirs," said Lambert, who arrived from Colchester in the wake of that 7-1 defeat. "The fan base is extraordinary, but there's been too much disappointment in the past four or five years. When you're on a losing streak, people expect you just to lose. I'm not used to losing.

"If we can get the lads working, what with our fan base, we'll be up there. Will it happen this year? We'll have to wait and see. But this club will drive itself on because the fans are absolutely second to none."

That late Holt equaliser meant Charlton surrendered top spot to Leeds United, another third-tier club in a big hurry to recapture former glories. It also sparked a spot of handbags between rival supporters separated only by a couple of stewards, the sight of young children being led to safety by concerned fathers the only downer on an otherwise thoroughly entertaining afternoon.

"I thought Holt fouled our goalkeeper for their second goal, but, if you had asked me before whether I'd have taken a draw at a place like this, I would have said yes,' said Charlton's manager, Phil Parkinson, who was voted League One's Manager of the Month for August having been unable to stave off relegation last season.

"Some people might have been greedy and expected all three [points], but that's a measure of how far we have come. We're unbeaten after eight games. We're on our way this season. We're going to win some, we're going to draw some and we'll possibly lose some ? but, whatever happens, it won't be through a lack of honesty and commitment.

"Recent times haven't been kind to ourselves, or Norwich for that matter, so it's good to have something to smile about."

Posted By: DrDublin, Sep 20, 13:22:22