All fans think their team is different. Everyone who goes to watch football knows deep down in their soul that there's something about their side that sets them apart from everyone else, something that makes them special. Some have better claims to this than others. Charlton Athletic fans might just have the best claim of all. "The Rise and Rise of Charlton Athletic" tells the tale of a decade many believed Charlton were never going to see. Having grabbed a late equaliser and scraped a draw with the official receiver, the "Addicks" spent most of the late 1980s reeling from a string of financial body blows. Their recovery provides an almost unique story in modern football, describing how the club clawed its way back from the edge of the precipice to a position of safety and prosperity. As dozens of other clubs face the prospect of bankruptcy, Charlton act as a blueprint for clubs struggling to survive on and off the pitch. Mick Collins talked to those who participated, those who just came along and watched and a few who managed both, in order to tell an extraordinary story, which is in equal parts funny, moving and inspirational. From the boot room to the boardroom, he looks back on the last ten years and examines just what it is about this unprepossessing club that has allowed them to succeed where so many others have failed.

Author Biography

Mick Collins has supported Charlton Athletic for all of his 33 years, with the last 12 coming as glorious compensation for most of the preceding 21. A freelance author and journalist, he lives a mile from The Valley with his wife, Cas, their two daughters Honor and Amy and a signed Clive Mendonca shirt.