The 2003-04 campaign delivered Charlton Athletic's best-ever Premier League finish as The Addicks, under long-serving manager Alan Curbishley, surged to a spectacular 7th place, their highest top-flight finish since 1952-53. The team, built on a spine featuring Matt Holland, Claus Jensen, and the newly-arrived Paolo Di Canio, was inside the Champions League places as late as mid-March, providing immense hope for the faithful. Leading the charge was the versatile Jason Euell, whose 10 goals anchored the attack, despite the influential mid-season sale of star midfielder Scott Parker to Chelsea. Goalkeeper Dean Kiely was named the club's Player of the Year, providing a vital foundation for a campaign remembered for an incredible double victory over Liverpool and marking the pinnacle of Curbishley's stable era.. The 2004-05 campaign delivered a respectable but ultimately frustrating mid-table finish for Charlton Athletic as The Addicks secured 11th place in the Premier League under the steady hand of Alan Curbishley. The club flirted with a European return, sitting in 7th place late in the season, but an unfortunate final nine-game slump saw them slide down the table. Leading the line in the league was the South African forward Shaun Bartlett, whose 6 goals anchored the attack in a year that saw the arrival of talents like Danny Murphy and Francis Jeffers, cementing the team's reputation for stable Premier League status.