Probably around 1968/69. Travelling all the way to Leeds Road, Huddersfield only to have the game either called off or abandoned due to the heavy rain.
Couple of seasons ago we lost 3-1 at home to Barnsley and were so abject it really showed how far we had fallen and were going to continue to do so, there was no stopping the rot. Not sure in the grand scheme of Charlton's history it was the worst moment but I generally can put football into perspective but walking home from this game I was so depressed and couldn't shake it......till this season....COYR
Charlton Athletic 0 Blackburn Rovers 1, Full Members Cup Final, Wembley, March 1987.
a] Losing in a final at Wembley to a shite Blackburn team in a game we dominated. b] Only 40,000 fans there - and most of them were Blackburn fans. c] We were in the bottom three and seemingly doomed for relegation. d] We were homeless, skint and seemingly without much hope.
This was my first ever Charlton game (I was 8). Went on the coach from Greenwich, disappointing, but I've been hooked ever since so it couldn't have been that bad !!
Charlton Athletic 0 Blackburn Rovers 1, Full Members Cup Final, Wembley, March 1987.
a] Losing in a final at Wembley to a shite Blackburn team in a game we dominated. b] Only 40,000 fans there - and most of them were Blackburn fans. c] We were in the bottom three and seemingly doomed for relegation. d] We were homeless, skint and seemingly without much hope.
Met at the Bugle Horn early morning (we knew the guv'nor), had a few pints, bought a couple of litre bottles of coke, half-emptied them and re-filled with vodka, got on coach outside the pub, arrived at Wembley to find we were well out-numbered.
Didn't score a goal but at least we'd reached wembley for the first time in my life.
Back to the Bugle Horn after the game and a raging hangover next day.
apart from the dismal performance I had quite a good day at Operation Ewood!!! Had a good drive up there, loads of Charlton, a carnival atmosphere and I think it was the first match after Alan Ball had passed away and it was an amazing moment with everyone singing his name. The team were awful in the match but surely we were all aware that the team was doomed.
I knew we were doomed after the Reading match (Les Reed's first match) and that was my worst day of supporting Charlton. Sky camera's asked to interview me after the game but I said that as I didn't have anything good to say, I wouldn't say anything. Rather ironically if they had already been filming it would have summed up the situation very well!!
Getting old means that certain recent events are soon forgotten and I won't recall much of what happened between 2006-2011 for 30 or 40 years. Conversely it means I can, unfortunately, recall the depressing early '70s clear as crystal. After the thrill of near promotion in '68/69 we finished third from bottom in each of the next two seasons and then came '71/72, our 50th. jubilee year and our last game of the season away to Blackpool which we had to win for any chance of staying in the 2nd. Div'n. A wet & windy overnight coach journey up there enlivened slightly by a m'way car park skirmish with a Brighton coachload was followed by a miserable morning in the desolate seaside town. The team arrived at the ground, Dietmar Bruck happily puffing away on a fag, and you just knew by looking at them that it wasn't going to happen and five Blackpool goals made sure it didn't: an absolute bloody shambles of a team! We were back in the 3rd. for the first time since the glory days of the thirties. We sat in the hotel that night putting the world to rights, but no amount of Mckewans Export could improve what looked like a very bleak future. They were 'Bad Old Days' alright!
Losing 1-0 away to Fulham 1981, just over 3000 there (maybe 6-700 Charlton) both relegated to Div3, also 7-0 away to Brighton and 7-1 away to Burnley, also off the pitch seeing the covered end taken by the likes of Millwall, Spurs, WHU and Chelsea...not to forget Sheff Wed (I think it was a 4th round FA Cup match in 1975).
I was looking through some old box's when I found a "Operation Ewood -We are staying up" flag from our premiership relegation battle. I remember taking the plane up to liverpool airport where we got a coach to the ground. Does anyone remember going to that match away at Blackburn? (I know it wasn't the best of days and I shouldn't be bringing it up now but oh well )
i remember that, i wasnt very old but i remember being there and not enjoying the match very much, was a good day though
Charlton Athletic 0 Blackburn Rovers 1, Full Members Cup Final, Wembley, March 1987.
a] Losing in a final at Wembley to a shite Blackburn team in a game we dominated. b] Only 40,000 fans there - and most of them were Blackburn fans. c] We were in the bottom three and seemingly doomed for relegation. d] We were homeless, skint and seemingly without much hope.
This was my first ever Charlton game (I was 8). Went on the coach from Greenwich, disappointing, but I've been hooked ever since so it couldn't have been that bad !!
I was 14 and at that stage it was probably the worst day of my life!
Someone higher up the thread got it spot on, it was such an anti-climax. We all (well, me) had visions of 100,000 people there and 50,000 Charlton fans really making it a special occasion and I think we brought about 14,000.
Right up till kick-off I was thinking, "Where is everyone? There must be massive queues outside." But, of course, there wasn't.
@Kielyskickingboots Whatever you do don't blame Les Reed, he was the wrong man at the wrong time. Not his fault. Don't forget that he helped Curbs guide us to the premiership in the first place.
I have no idea if there is any truth in my own suspicion, but certain players have to shoulder a lot of the blame for what happened after Dowie departed.
@Kielyskickingboots Whatever you do don't blame Les Reed, he was the wrong man at the wrong time. Not his fault. Don't forget that he helped Curbs guide us to the premiership in the first place.
I have no idea if there is any truth in my own suspicion, but certain players have to shoulder a lot of the blame for what happened after Dowie departed.
@Kielyskickingboots Whatever you do don't blame Les Reed, he was the wrong man at the wrong time. Not his fault. Don't forget that he helped Curbs guide us to the premiership in the first place.
I have no idea if there is any truth in my own suspicion, but certain players have to shoulder a lot of the blame for what happened after Dowie departed.
Fair point BDL re his time as Curbs' coach, and I wouldn't want to do the man down for that reason - it was more the totally abject, clueless, spineless nature of that performance that I was railing against.
Since my old Pops started letting me attend CAFC games on my own at Selhurst as a 13 year-old (the only Addick in a family of seven), I'd never left a match so angry and upset. Even losing at home to Div 3 Walsall in the FA Cup in 1987(?) didn't come to close to that. But you're right, he wasn't one of the guys on the pitch. Though I maintain that, as Dirty Harry Callahan would put it, 'a man's gotta know his limitations'. Not sure Les did when he took the job.
I was also on the Operation Ewood plane. Bad result but the atmosphere amongst Charlton fans makes it far from being one of the worst memories.
I'm only 24 so didn't see much of the 80s.
Low points for me:
- Wycombe in the League Cup. What made it worse was that it didn't even come as a surprise to most. We even had a pretty poor attendance considering the fact it was a QF. - Millwall away (4-0). - Palace away (1-0) in our disastrous relegation season from the Championship. Don't think we had a single decent shot.
As for general periods, it has got to be the relegation from the Championship and that ridiculous 16 game winless run.
However, the upset of being relegated that year was numbed by the daxt that we could see it coming for weeks and months beforehand.
Most venomous crowd I've seen is Dagenham and Redbridge away last season.
As was the Notts Forest home game when we went down from the Championship, not sure why that particular game stands out.
The bar staff struggled to serve a pint at half time, this was made worse by the fact they wore t-shirts saying probably the best bar staff in the world.
I went AWOL from Germany to come home for the Full Members Cup Final, drove through the night as I was so excited about a Wembley appearance, what a dissapointing day, we were split into two sections to make it worse, the goal was a gutter and whilst most of the 14000 sulked back to South London, I drove back to Germany, handed myself into the guardroom and got 7 days Restriction of Privilages for my trouble...so probably a personal low for me
I went AWOL from Germany to come home for the Full Members Cup Final, drove through the night as I was so excited about a Wembley appearance, what a dissapointing day, we were split into two sections to make it worse, the goal was a gutter and whilst most of the 14000 sulked back to South London, I drove back to Germany, handed myself into the guardroom and got 7 days Restriction of Privilages for my trouble...so probably a personal low for me
Remember the Full Members cup v Blackburn...definately a low point, and me and two mates ended up sleeping the night in Charing X tube station after the night club we was in chucked out at 3pm...next train wasn't till 7am.
Comments
I remember Charlton 0-3 Southend (I think it was) and thinking how much lower can we sink.
But the guys who have said Stoke at home are right
06/07 was bad as we got relegated after great years in the prem.
96/97 was pretty poor too as i recall, finished 15th in Division one and lost quite a few at home if i remember correctly.
09/10 was quite an exciting season but we shouldve done so much better than we did.
Didn't score a goal but at least we'd reached wembley for the first time in my life.
Back to the Bugle Horn after the game and a raging hangover next day.
I knew we were doomed after the Reading match (Les Reed's first match) and that was my worst day of supporting Charlton. Sky camera's asked to interview me after the game but I said that as I didn't have anything good to say, I wouldn't say anything. Rather ironically if they had already been filming it would have summed up the situation very well!!
A wet & windy overnight coach journey up there enlivened slightly by a m'way car park skirmish with a Brighton coachload was followed by a miserable morning in the desolate seaside town. The team arrived at the ground, Dietmar Bruck happily puffing away on a fag, and you just knew by looking at them that it wasn't going to happen and five Blackpool goals made sure it didn't: an absolute bloody shambles of a team! We were back in the 3rd. for the first time since the glory days of the thirties. We sat in the hotel that night putting the world to rights, but no amount of Mckewans Export could improve what looked like a very bleak future. They were 'Bad Old Days' alright!
Last season was the lowest finishing position in my time watching Charlton.
Someone higher up the thread got it spot on, it was such an anti-climax. We all (well, me) had visions of 100,000 people there and 50,000 Charlton fans really making it a special occasion and I think we brought about 14,000.
Right up till kick-off I was thinking, "Where is everyone? There must be massive queues outside." But, of course, there wasn't.
I have no idea if there is any truth in my own suspicion, but certain players have to shoulder a lot of the blame for what happened after Dowie departed.
As was the Notts Forest home game when we went down from the Championship, not sure why that particular game stands out.
I'm only 24 so didn't see much of the 80s.
Low points for me:
- Wycombe in the League Cup. What made it worse was that it didn't even come as a surprise to most. We even had a pretty poor attendance considering the fact it was a QF.
- Millwall away (4-0).
- Palace away (1-0) in our disastrous relegation season from the Championship. Don't think we had a single decent shot.
As for general periods, it has got to be the relegation from the Championship and that ridiculous 16 game winless run.
However, the upset of being relegated that year was numbed by the daxt that we could see it coming for weeks and months beforehand.
Most venomous crowd I've seen is Dagenham and Redbridge away last season.