Everton 0 Charlton Athletic 1: Where once it was steeped in despair, a pocket of south-east London is increasingly daring to dream.
"It would be an unbelievable achievement for Charlton to get into any European competition," admitted Graham Stuart. "If it turns out to be the Champions League, then we'll be in heaven."
Exactly a decade ago Charlton were about to slump from credible promotion candidates to the misery of mid-table in the First Division, playing in a half-built Valley and weighed down by the legacy of their seven-year exile.
The transformation is staggering. Today they sit five points clear of Liverpool in a Champions League qualification place, with 24,000 season ticket holders rejoicing in their board's willingness to reject a £8 million bid for their best player.
Scott Parker, unsettled by Chelsea's interest, was absent on Saturday but Charlton still won. Alan Curbishley spent £1 million last summer; Claudio Ranieri's £111 million outlay has bought an 11-point advantage, though it is on the rest the Addicks have stolen a march.
"I thought there'd be a reality check in football in the summer in terms of the finances," said Curbishley, Charlton's manager of 13 years and the architect of the club's rebirth. "We've been playing against teams who have had players in their sides who shouldn't be in there because the clubs have been spending money they haven't had.
"We've been getting walloped by teams who can't afford the players in their side and we've had to take it on the chin. But we felt that, this year, some of these so-called 'bigger clubs' would come back within our reach. It's a reality check for them. We're used to doing it on a shoestring but they're not and they can't go out and spend the money they'd been spending previously."
Everton, for all their own undoubted progress under David Moyes, remain saddled with a weighty wage bill which, inherited from previous regimes, has handicapped the manager's ability to freshen up his squad. They were unimaginative here, particularly when trailing to Stuart's close-range goal after Paolo Di Canio's cross had struck Alessandro Pistone.
While the home side huffed and puffed admirably, Charlton were resolute in defence with Mark Fish outstanding in eclipsing Duncan Ferguson.
England midfielder Parker reports back for training today and will meet Curbishley to discuss his future.
"A Champions League club came in for him and those sorts of offers don't come along too often," conceded the manager, who will surely welcome the 23-year-old midfielder back for their next game, against Bolton, on the eve of the closure of the transfer window. "But we've dismissed it. Let's see what happens this week.
"As for us, the top three plus Liverpool and Newcastle are still the big five clubs with the squads, the money and the crowds.
"We can't mix financially with them, but we can compete on the pitch.
"If that's good enough to get us into the top four or five, we'll have to see, but this is our fourth season in the Premiership and the first we've approached looking to get into the top half of the table.
"Let's see if we can finish it."
Guardian Service
