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.