So how would Carl Leaburn have fared in the internet age?

Weegie Addick

Mendonca's favourite strike partner, and highly praised by Morts. Yet imagine the reaction on internet message boards - a striker who only manged four goals in his first 80 matches or something like that! So glad most of his career was before the digital age!

AFKABartram

depends on his HTML skills i suppose

TelMc32

You certainly wouldn't cyber-bully him now! The guy is a unit and a half these days. Had to update my security pass at work the other day and had to look up and take in a wide view, when he stood up to sort it out. Top man!!

eaststandmike

TelMc32 said:

You certainly wouldn't cyber-bully him now! The guy is a unit and a half these days. Had to update my security pass at work the other day and had to look up and take in a wide view, when he stood up to sort it out. Top man!!

Sounds like you work in the Barclays Tower then Tel, my son's girlfriend works for MITIE behind the front desk.

JiMMy 85

I think it's a really interesting question. No idea how to answer it beyond saying that I'd be worried about how many of the more temperamental posters would've reacted.

If CAFC could choose one player to play on eternally, they could do far worse than select Carl.

AFKABartram

I genuinely don't think his career would have made it past 30 games

RedChaser

I know it's a well worn phrase but he was like Marmite, you either liked or loathed him and I love Marmite. I am not so sure he would have let it affect him. As an aside Colin Walsh also rated him very highly.
Edit: I would take issue with your description of him as a striker Weegie, now target man, different class.

Riviera

A typical British "Cult Hero".

AddickUpNorth

Said it before and I'll say it again - Carl Leaburn, my all-time favourite Charlton player.

To answer the question, sadly, I think there would've been people who would have absolutely slaughtered him.

GlassHalfFull

No question - for those on here who just can't hold back he would have been an irresistible target.

I always had faith in him, and when he came good in 1991, well, as it happened that was the year I sponsored his boots.

The inability of Curbs and Carlo to resolve their long-standing differences ultimately led to his transfer to Wimbledon, at a time just as his partnership with Super Clive was beginning to pay real dividends. There is no doubt whatsoever that his departure was a loss on all sides, and there would have been every chance that a fit Mendonca and Leaburn would have seen us stay up in 1999, and who can say where that might have brought us?

Quite simply a legend.

Karim_myBagheri

This site would go into meltdown if Leaburn was playing now.

people would be calling other people out left right and centre.

the flag abuse button would be getting more hits than the F5 button on a matchday.

it would be total carnage.

Viewfinder

I can still picture Carlo regaining consciousness after being knocked out at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. He was fighting mad, but like Bambi on ice.

tangoflash

Weegie Addick said:

Mendonca's favourite strike partner, and highly praised by Morts. Yet imagine the reaction on internet message boards - a striker who only manged four goals in his first 80 matches or something like that! So glad most of his career was before the digital age!

I'd disagree with calling him a striker. He was a forward who was there to hold up play, disrupt the back 4 and bring others into play. Used to really annoy me when people always guaged his ability on the amount of goals he scored. If he was as shit as some people painted him to be there's no way he'd have played in the top 2 divisions for his whole career. He certainly made it a lot easier for whoever was playing beside him. Very under-rated in my opinion....................

Leroy Ambrose

Karim_myBagheri said:

This site would go into meltdown if Leaburn was playing now.

people would be calling other people out left right and centre.

the flag abuse button would be getting more hits than the F5 button on a matchday.

it would be total carnage.

Never mind this site - can you imagine ITV? It'd be thermonuclear there every week.

TelMc32

eaststandmike said:

TelMc32 said:

You certainly wouldn't cyber-bully him now! The guy is a unit and a half these days. Had to update my security pass at work the other day and had to look up and take in a wide view, when he stood up to sort it out. Top man!!

Sounds like you work in the Barclays Tower then Tel, my son's girlfriend works for MITIE behind the front desk.

I'm in one of our sites in the West End, off Oxford Street Mike. Due back there in 1CP next year, but the pass plays up if you don't pop in now & again. Have known Carl has been there for a few years.

Very unassuming guy now, but you know from the words of support he had from his peers how much they valued him. Have to admit it took me a while to see it, I was looking for the goals, but he had a tremendous amount of skill on the ball. Some of his control in tight situations was excellent and, as I will always remind GuinnessAddick...the chip over Shilton was one of the best moments I have had watching Charlton. Just a fantastic memory

TelMc32

Viewfinder said:

I can still picture Carlo regaining consciousness after being knocked out at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. He was fighting mad, but like Bambi on ice.

And this was another! Got up like a man possessed and galvanised the team and us, behind the goal, that day.

Simonsen

For real joy on the pitch and on the terrace, you can't beat his last minute bullet header away to Blackburn (from Walsh's pin-point cross). It was the sort of goal we'd waited so long for him to score....a proper forward's goal.

HarryHutchens

I always liked him. For me his lack of goalscoring was more to with not having the instinct to get into positions, as opposed to a lack of finishing ability. He'd go game after game without a shot let alone a miss. From what I hear, Simon Church has missed as many chances this season as I can remember Carl Leaburn missing in his entire career, and I reckon I saw about 85% of his games.

ShootersHillGuru

Would like him now.

Off_it

Who knows, with all of the clearly fully qualified, World Cup winning coaches on football forums around the land these days maybe he would have picked up the advice he needed to turn him into Lewisham's answer to Pele.

Karim_myBagheri

Leroy Ambrose said:

Karim_myBagheri said:

This site would go into meltdown if Leaburn was playing now.

people would be calling other people out left right and centre.

the flag abuse button would be getting more hits than the F5 button on a matchday.

it would be total carnage.

Never mind this site - can you imagine ITV? It'd be thermonuclear there every week.

good god yeah. ittv gets close to that every week without adding the Leaburn debate into it.

Mendonca In Asdas

Off_it said:

Who knows, with all of the clearly fully qualified, World Cup winning coaches on football forums around the land these days maybe he would have picked up the advice he needed to turn him into Lewisham's answer to Pele.

Great idea Offie, we've already got the 'Romford Pele' in Ray Parlour, why can't Carlo be the Lewisham Pele?

Scoham

Replace Pritchard with Leaburn on comments across Twitter and Facebook and you probably wouldn't be far off. "Non league", "Powell's lovechild" etc

Jayajosh

I loved watching Leaburn play, was always up for it and had more passion for the game than most players these days.

kentaddick

Would fare a lot like Heskey. People who knew nothing about football would point to his goalscoring record, claiming that "he's a striker, a striker should score goals", whilst those that managed him, played with him and those in the stands with some understanding about how a game of football works will love him for what he brought to the team and his physical power.

My dad used to say that Leaburn could control the ball with bits of his body that no one else could, which would make him look awkward but only those that knew the game well enough could see what a rare talent he was.