By Jack Whittaker
YOU have to go back to February 1982 for the last time Charlton Athletic hosted Wrexham in a league fixture, with the Addicks emerging victorious through a solitary Steve Gritt goal.
Charlton went on to finish the season thirteenth in the old Division Two, while the Welsh outfit suffered relegation to the third tier of English football.
Forty-two years later, they meet again.
Since 1982 the footballing landscape has drastically shifted. Many footballers nowadays will cruise through retirement but in the ‘80s the question of ‘what now?’ loomed larger.
Here is the Addicks XI from that day and what happened next.
Goalkeeper: Nicky Johns
Johns was a stalwart at The Valley amassing 288 appearances and earning Charlton’s player of the year in 1981, 1982 and 1984.
Since retirement he has dipped his toes into management, becoming the assistant at Kent League side Erith Town in 2003.
In 2011, Johns founded the Know the Score campaign to enlighten the public about bowel cancer in memory of his son Stephen who sadly passed away from the disease at the age of 26.
In 2016, 79 of the 92 Football League clubs took part in activities to raise awareness for the disease.
Defender: Terry Naylor
The notorious hardman and Spurs legend joined the Addicks in 1980 and made 73 appearances for the club.
Since hanging up his boots Naylor was employed as a postman for the Royal Mail and also had a brief stint as manager of Tonbridge Angels.
Nowadays Naylor can be seen frequenting pubs in the Islington area where he’s known for his singing abilities, with Mack the Knife and That’s Life established tunes in a Naylor set.
Defender: Paul Elliot MBE
The boyhood Charlton fan made 63 first-team appearances for the club and has always been a prominent figure in pushing for diversity in the game. In 2003, he was awarded an MBE for his work on anti-racism initiatives in football.
Elliot is a special adviser to the chair and CEO of the Football Association and his work there has led to the creation of the FA’s football leadership diversity code, helping to address the shortage of people from ethnic minorities in coaching roles.
Elliot went full circle in his career returning to Charlton in 2023 on the board of directors, and this summer was appointed vice-chairman at the club.
Defender: Don McAllister
McAllister joined Charlton in 1981 and featured 55 times, netting six goals.
These days McAllister resides in Queensland after spending many years as a finance manager in Sydney.
Defender: Les Berry
Berry amassed a whopping 358 appearances for the Addicks and has remained in the local area since hanging up his boots in 1991, running a family electrical wholesale business in Greenwich.
Midfielder: David Mehmet
The former Millwall and Charlton man made 29 appearances for the Valley side.
He had an array of spells in non-league football before managing Conference South side Fisher Athletic in 2008 before they dissolved the following year.
Mehmet sadly passed away last April at the age of 63.
Midfielder: Leighton Phillips
The tough-tackling Welshman feature 45 times for the Addicks after joining in 1981.
He returned to Wales following retirement and has been a Swansea City season-ticket holder for many years.
Midfielder: Steve Gritt
The goal-scorer on that day in 1982 played 435 times for the Addicks placing him fifth on their all-time appearances list.
Gritt has had a number of managerial roles since retirement, for Charlton, Brighton and Millwall. He has worked for many years alongside Daryl McMahon at clubs such as Ebbsfleet United, Macclesfield Town and Dagenham and Redbridge.
He is currently McMahon’s assistant at Hornchurch FC.
Forward: Paul Walsh
Walsh enjoyed the most illustrious career of that Charlton XI, earning a place on the PFA Team of the Year in 1982 before moving to Luton and subsequently Liverpool where he helped them to a league title and FA Cup double in 1985-86.
Walsh also earned five caps for the England senior side during Bobby Robson’s tenure.
Following his playing career, Walsh spent time as an agent and investor. During this time he became entangled with notorious Aussie fraudster Peter Foster whom Walsh claims conned him out of £150,000.
He worked as a pundit on Sky Sports from 2001 where he became a familiar face on Soccer Saturday.
Walsh has recently opened up about his struggles with alcohol and has attended regular AA meetings after quitting drinking in 2016.
Forward: Derek Hales
The Addicks’ all-time record goal-scorer netted 168 goals over two spells at The Valley.
He went on to run a pub in his home village of Lower Halstow before working as a PE teacher at Howard School in Gillingham.
Forward: Martin Robinson
Robinson moved from Spurs across London to Charlton in 1978 and notched 58 goals in 228 games for the South London outfit.
Substitute: Steve Browne
Browne was a debutant against Wrexham at the tender age of 17.
Browne sadly passed away in 2017 aged 52 after a battle with bowel cancer. His son Rhys has had numerous stints in the Football League and currently plies his trade with Barnet in the National League.