Lets face it we have always been shit ! well not always but in my 50 years only 5/6 have been good seasons--so its mostly shit.
Even the arrogance of the owner is not new--Glikstein didnt give a rats arse about the fans the ground was a dump and he didnt have to pay the players feck all for generations.What about the shit piece of paper handed out at the turnstile Vs palarse telling us in two week sour home ground would be Shitouts Park !! How arrogant and naive was that ! Or what about the selling of the club owned by the shareholders --the majority didnt even get a thank you for their LOST money did they Mr Murray ?
Theo Foleys last game he had our best player Mike Kenning at fullback (he was a forward) and we lost 5 nilat home ! Chriss Powell knew what he was doing when he played that shit team at Sheff Utd and Luzon did last night playing 3 left backs---its to show the situation in all its glory to the owners--the only people who really suffer are the poor bastards that paid the money to go see the Managers "protest".
Even the apathy has been seem before. I remember my Uncles saying to me "i use to go they are shit sell their best players blah blah" herd the same from old boys at work ,school etc etc. Our crowds went down to 4/5 thousand at home. I was at the Halifax game which was 3,000. Then of course we would have a good run or get a good cup tie and the place would be buzzing and 30,000 would turn up to see us get a thumping---no change.
Even the pan Euro Master plan isnt even that new---New England Tea Men anyone ???? we sent 3 of our best players out there BEFORE the season finished and we still needed to get a result at Orient--we drew nil nil. The Tea Men were to send us their best players pre their season not starting--they did (one i think) who wasnt good enough !!!
Of course now you have to have money to get into the Prem--its money that runs the game--end of. You need a background staff that understand the league and understand the other team. You need a squad that can COMPETE not just numbers on papers.Also COMPETING isnt finishing 4th from bottom !!!You need to understand there are "players" out there who dont give a shit about getting their boots on they just want the coin---fecking videos of players from far flung corners of the World aint good enough you need PROPER scouts who know this league not the Angloan 3rd division (if one exists).
Although all the elements aint new the feel is different now-- its the perfect storm coming.
Arrogant owners who clearly dont give a shit about our heritage. a pan euro scouting/ network fiasco , puppet managers/coaches. A decreasing catchment area to bring in support. The locals will not replace the long term fans drifting away they dont give a shit about Charlton Athletic. Thats the locals in Charlton,Woolwich,Lewisham,Plumpstead,Thamesmead.The only time they would come to The Valley if it was a "new church" !
We had the mechanism to cope with bringing in new fans and getting the old ones back(target 10,000 etc) but the owners dont understand the need for those groups--Naive.
i will be down there Saturday---to see old mates---what ever they do its still my club---never theirs.
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Comments
He said the Gliksteins were only ever interested in making money and had no ambition to turn CAFC into the Arsenal of South east London.
Other than Mark Hulyer LOL and Richard Murray the early years
Which owners of CAFC have ever shown real ambition for this club ?
Noades,Goldberg,Jordan and now Parish.
Two of them came unstuck big time Goldberg and Jordon.
Noades stitched up Goldberg.
Parish and Co seem to be doing a good job with 95% of the fan base supporting them.
We need a Charlton fan made good(a young version of Richard Murray)
who believes in Philanthropy and is single with no family ?
Any names anybody ?
It was Firmani who played Kenning at full back and lost 5-0 to Leicester at Easter 1970, not Foley though!
You could be standing next to a moaning miserable old git and then move and stand next to..........another moaning miserable old git!
forward to it but it's my club.
I wouldn't say not many people turned up,
but they Announce the crowd changes to the players !
I remember when I first heard people talking about football as a "product" and likening it to going to the cinema or theatre in its entertainment value. Maybe that's true to an extent, but if you go and watch 11 people trying to put on a decent "show" in the West End, at a gig or down your local Odeon, I guarantee there won't be an equal number of people and some bloke in black trying their very best to fuck it up for them!
The games were so boring that I was counting the crowd but something happened on the pitch and I lost count around the 600 mark.
I loved being part of the covered end as I got into my teens and enjoyed going when Andy Nelson, Mike Baily, Lennie Lawrence and Curbs were managing but have only seen Charlton twice at Wembley in the play off final and the few members cup. Not too much to shout about over the years but up to the start of the Duchelet take over I used to enjoy going to the Valley regardless of the football but sadly not anymore. I will be there today but it will be to see footballers playing for Charlton who I don't know and will not be living in Eltham, Charlton or anywhere near the Valley in the future so later generations won't bump in to old players in the future and talk about the poor old days.
RD, KM, GL you will all die and fade away before CAFC does but how long will it take for this amazing club to go back to being the club that I fell in love with like so many others on here.
Demonstrat you bet your life but the first thing I would like to see is a bouycott of the Valley shop, programmes and everything on sale inside the staduim. Valley Gold as well until we see our club returned to us