He came to check on the progress of some of his England hopefuls, but SvenGoran Eriksson went away once again marvelling at the talent of Paolo di Canio, the man he tried to sign for Lazio in one of his last acts as their coach.
The precocious Italian striker, an avid Lazio fan himself, scored the late equaliser which landed West Ham a deserved point, though their dominance really should have brought them a first win over Charlton at the Valley for 44 years.
This was an important game for the home side who were looking to recover some pride after their 5-0 drubbing at Upton Park on St Stephen's Day.
Alan Curbishley's team got off to the ideal start after only seven minutes when, despite the continued absence of the injured leading scorer, Jonatan Johansson, they took the lead.
There was a suspicion that the understanding in West Ham's defence could have been better as Paul Konchesky's precise through ball put Shaun Bartlett goal-side of Hannu Tihinen and the South African's cool, low shot escaped the outstretched hand of Craig Forrest.
The uncertainty in the backline was, perhaps, understandable. Three recent arrivals appeared in a remodelled defence, with Rigobert Song and Tihinen joined by the debutant Christian Dailly.
Eriksson must have had a particular eye on West Ham's young midfield of Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole. It took the trio a while to help their team get a grip, but once they did West Ham should have at least gone in at halftime on level terms.
First Cole's 25-yard shot had Dean Kiely at full stretch in the Charlton goal, and then, after 37 minutes, the midfielder's right-wing cross saw Frederic Kanoute dart in front of Mark Fish but somehow direct a close header wide.
The pattern continued as the new half got underway, and Cole's eagerness to run at the defence must have impressed the England coach.
After 55 minutes Cole looked odds-on to score. Lovely interpassing between Kanoute and Schemmel set up the newcomer for a right-wing cross which found Cole 12 yards out. The playmaker had time to take aim but saw Andy Todd stop it on the line with his chest.
What West Ham needed was a familiar moment of inspiration from Di Canio or Kanoute. In fact it was Di Canio who came up with the equaliser 17 minutes from time, when the ball found the Italian on the right of the area and with a typical piece of brilliance he fired in a searing shot which Kiely touched but could not stop.
CHARLTON: Kiely, Kishishev, Rufus, Todd, Fish, Konchesky (Powell 74), Stuart, Jensen (Salako 75), Parker, Svensson (Lisbie 65), Bartlett. Subs Not Used: Ilic, Brown. Goals: Bartlett 7.
WEST HAM: Forrest, Schemmel, Winterburn, Dailly, Tihinen, Song, Cole (Moncur 89), Carrick, Lampard, Kanoute, Di Canio. Subs Not Used: Bywater, Potts, Bassila, Camara. Booked: Di Canio. Goals: Di Canio 74.
Referee: D Gallagher (Banbury).
