With a rich history paved with success, and a fair share of struggles, Charlton Ladies look to resurrect their winning formula of the early 00’s starting with a giant killing this weekend in the FA Cup.
Between their inception in 2000 and 2007, Charlton were one of the most successful ladies teams in England and frequently battled it out for silverware with local rivals Arsenal.
In this period the Addicks won two Charity Shields, two League Cups and one FA Cup, and made it to three other finals, with a squad that included England internationals such as Casey Stoney, Pauline Cope, Eniola Aluko and Katie Chapman.
But in a tragic turn of events, on the same day as the 2007 FA Cup final which Charlton lost to Arsenal, the men Addicks were relegated from the Premier League.
The club then took the decision to cut the women’s set up to ensure financial survival and the prosperity of the men’s team, leaving the female players with no choice but to find other clubs.
Just over three months later it was announced sponsorship had been secured for Charlton Ladies and the team could re-form, controlled by the Charlton Community Trust. Former player Paul Mortimer was appointed head coach and the rebuilding began.
Due to the mast exodus of players following the original announcement, the reconstituted team couldn’t replicate their prior successes and finished bottom of the National Division of the FA Women’s Premier League at the end of the 2007–08 season, and were relegated to the Premier League’s Southern Division.
Back in the present day, for Charlton the story has now come full circle as they prepare for a FA Cup quarter final against Everton Ladies of the Women’s Super League.
Manager Jeremy Parsons says the ultimate aim is play in the WSL but acknowledges the momentous opportunity his side have in front of them after progressing to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2006/07.
Parson’s current squad will look to be inspired by previous club legends who made it to the final that year only to lose to Arsenal 4-1 at the City Ground in Nottingham. They will no doubt be further spurred on by the prospect of a trip to Wembley, where this year’s final will be played for the first time in the competition’s history.
The Addicks are the lowest-ranked side, and only team from outside the WSL, left in this year’s FA Cup. They currently sit fifth in Women’s Premier League Southern Division and are nine points behind leaders Cardiff, but have two games in hand on the Welsh side.
“The dream is to try to get the club as high as possible,” said Parsons.
“We are building to get in the WSL, but obviously have to win our league and then win a play-off against the winners of the north division too.
“Everyone wants to get there and is going in the right direction.
“But the FA Cup is a good challenge for our girls to see exactly where we are and what we need to work on.
“We’ll just try to go there and execute our game plan, which we’ve been doing all season.”
“Basically we’ve got to use it as a learning experience. It’s good for the girls to say they’ve played at that level and got that far and who knows, we could even go the next step.”
So far in the competition Charlton have defeated league rivals Cardiff after extra time, Wolverhampton Wanderers of the Premier League North, Crystal Palace Ladies on penalties and Coventry City away from home.
They are now just two games away from Wembley in what could, quite possibly, be their most famous final of all.
