With five wins from six outings, Alan Curbishley's men occupied their lofty position on merit, but not even their most die-hard fans can honestly claim to have expected such a start to the campaign. Deep down, most of them waited for the day it all began to unravel, and on a rain-swept October afternoon, it did just that.
Having taken full advantage of a reasonably comfortable start to the season fixture-wise, the club long heralded as getting it right off the pitch has been coming up with all the right answers on the pitch as well. With Darren Bent and Luke Young both attracting the attention of Sven Goran Eriksson, and talk of Danny Murphy earning an international recall, things had been going well in SE7.
Spurs may have set about their season's work with less of a fanfare, despite a string of close-season signings, but starting the day fourth in the Premiership and just three points behind the home side told the story of a side who are also in impressive form. With Arsenal faltering and large amounts of money invested, the pressure is on manager Martin Jol from both fans and board, for reasons both emotional and financial.
Charlton claimed the lead a bright and bustling opening well deserved just 25 minutes in, and once more, as so often already this season, it was Bent who took the plaudits.
Young's throughball from the right-back berth was neat and precise, but having travelled all of 50 yards, the absence of a Tottenham defender from anywhere close to a striker at the top of his form was bewildering. Bent took the ball on a pace, allowed Paul Robinson to move from his line, and then slipped the ball neatly beyond him and into the back of the net.
Fifteen minutes later and the lead should have been doubled, as Alexei Smertin rounded Robinson before pulling the ball back to Bent, who from six yards produced just about his first miscue of the season, sliding the ball beyond the far post as the goal beckoned.
The goal may well, given Tottenham's lack of attacking achievement through the half, have made the game safe for Charlton, but with half-time arriving and the margin still at a single goal, The Valley remained understandably tense.
The nerves lasted just three minutes into the second half, before re-appearing equally suddenly.
Charlton struck first, as Bent collected Talal El Karkouri's throughball, stepped inside his marker, and teased a perfectly weighted, lofted shot beyond Robinson and into the back of the net.
The lead remained at two goals for just three minutes however, as Mido glanced on a header in the Charlton area and Ledley King, knowing little about it, stuck a foot out and diverted the ball into the Charlton net, with Stephan Andersen stranded.
Having been down and out for much of the contest, Spurs suddenly rediscovered their fighting spirit, and utterly against the run of play conjured an equaliser 13 minutes later.
Substitute Teemu Tainio slipped a reverse pass into the path of Mido, and from an acute angle he powered a drive between the legs of Andersen to bring parity back to proceedings.
As the game swung from end to end, Young was almost an unlikely hero for the home side, before sliding a shot past the near post. But an incident earlier in the move, which led to Bent being substituted with a head injury, was of more immediate concern to the Charlton bench.
Shaun Bartlett came on to replace Bent, but the action which finally undid Charlton came to pass with just ten minutes remaining.
Chris Powell lost possession on the edge of the Tottenham area, the counter attack ran through Aaron Lennon and Defoe before Robbie Keane applied a devastating killer blow, thumping the ball home from 20 yards to fire his side to the most unlikely of wins.
For Spurs, an extraordinary escape. For Charlton, a bitter pill to swallow, and a huge disappointment to deal with.
Man of the Match - Darren Bent
Despite being forced off early with a head injury, Charlton's on-fire striker showed the watching England manager exactly what it is that he offers a side, with a brilliant display of finishing.