Bent, Bilbao, Robson and the poor Hatters A bit of an active day on the Charlton front, in a painfully slow way. First Pards has announced that we have turned down a bid for Marcus Bent.

"With all due respect it's a good bid but we feel his market value is worth more than that - especially the season he had at Wigan," he said of the £1m offered by Cardiff. With Peter Risdale signing cheques, it seems a decent tactic by Charlton, although I can't believe even Risdale's wallet will open to the tune of £2m that the club appear to want.

On the face of it, it would appear a strange move for Bent, although the club scene has to be better than Wigan High St. The Bluebirds do have some money slushing about after the sale of Aaron Ramsey and the non re-signing of Jimmy Fat Hasselbaink and if needs me to run him there, then I am more than happy to do so.

Meanwhile Pardew has denied earlier reports of a firm Real Betis bid for Bougherra, although the fact that neither him, nor Bent or Faye played any part in the Bromley and Welling games suggests that he is out with the bad rubbish.

Iwelumo, Toddy and Randolph also missed out setting tongues wagging. Wolves are said to be interested in the £750,000 valued Big Chris.

Hopefully after attending the opening game of the season, me and my fellow Bermuda Addicks (there at least two others) can watch the Reading game live on the box. The game on the 23rd has been made a 12.45 kick-off.

Other news yet announced although people close to the club say it is true, is that first team coach Mark Robson has left the club after almost 8-years due to further cost-cutting. It is thought that Robson represented a different era at the club and was therefore the unfortunate one sacrificed.

Also non-official news is that Athletico Bilbao will provide the Spanish opposition in our single home friendly. Listed on the Spanish club's website, they will also open Colchester's new stadium a few days after. Bilbao finished 8th last season in La Liga and are famous for only signing players native from the Basque area.

Couple of other footie items that caught my eye today elsewhere. Luton Town will start the new season in League Two with minus 30 points after they were unable to agree a Company Voluntary Agreement to exit administration. Leeds were only docked 15 points for the same reason last season. League members for over 100 years, and widely acknowledged as the south of England's first professional club, a 30-point deduction will almost surely see the Hatters relegated to the Conference in 2009. There is something not right about that.

Just as there isn't about the valuation put on Palace's 16-year-old John Bostock. Spurs will pay Palace £700,000 for Bostock, a sum that could rise to £1.25m, depending on how many first-team appearances the teenager makes for his new club. A joke, if I ever heard one, and Simon Jordan is not laughing. "It really is making me consider my position in football because the one thing that kept me focused in my time at Palace is producing my own players - but what's the point?" Perhaps some good might come out of it!

Ans finally and couple of pieces of good reading. Firstly a recent interview with Steve Brown on his dreams of coaching and secondly a new Addicks blog from a fan who insists that we play in the Second Division, and quite right too.  ¶ 18:30