Even at Sellout Park we had a future; we got promoted, and had four very good seasons in the top division. We went to Wembley, were the only club involved in the play offs from a higher division not to get relegated, and saw some great goals.
We now have no future, have had four crap seasons with half of them in the third tier, little chance of promotion, can only dream of Wembley, and rarely see a goal from outside the penalty area scored in our favour.
Both have / had their positives & negatives.Went to Sellhurst & now still going to all home games. Its in my blood & its like a drug. Have to get my regular fix.
At leasr we are still going & not relocated elsewhere.
It was horrible at Selhurst but as others have said we did get promoted back to the top division for the first time in 30 years and because of that our crowds improved for the first four years we were there. We had some genuine exciting times there, promotion and then the play offs against Leeds. We also had players like Robert Lee, Peter Shirtliffe, John Humphrey, Colin Walsh and Paul Mortimer to admire.
The idea of permanently staying at Selhurst was clearly muddled and mis-guided but was probably taken, however wrongly, with the best interests of the club in mind. The current owner takes decisions with himself in mind.
Playing at Shithouse Park in 1986 or under the current ownership of Rolandshit?
You ask a very interesting and though provoking question. Adversity tends to bring out the best in most people .. when the going gets tough the tough get going .. at Selhurst the team and all the fans, including those who never went to the games were united in a common cause despite being 'homeless' ..
The same cannot be said in the present climate. The fans are certainly not behind the owner and many are disillusioned with the team's performances and/or the behind the scenes furore .. playing at Selhurst was (of course) far from ideal but at least there was a feeling of community, a sense of collective purpose. At present the only unity is amongst those who are desperate to get Roland out. Until he goes, I suspect there is little room for optimism
The team was great, the ground they were playing in was awful.
At present we have a team of triers in a crap division, playing at out home but it's only a 3rd full at best most of the time.
The team and the division at Selhurst had at least that to cling onto as well as the chance all the time The Valley was empty we had a chance to return. Today nothing will change until the owner leaves
Then: I followed CAFC at Parkhurst Cell and enjoyed watching Lennie's never-say-die battlers on that foreign field. I got involved in the 'Let's Go Home' campaign and stood as a candidate for The Valley Party, attracting a decent vote. I felt connected to the club and to the cause. We won - both on, and off the pitch.
Now: A founder Board Member of the Supporters' Trust, I saw Duchatelet's ownership as being bad news for the club, from the outset, and did what I could to rally opposition. Having received little support, I decided to walk away from both the Trust and The Valley. This fine online forum is my current contact with the club and its supporters. I hope to recommence active support for CAFC, but that will occur only if / when Duchatelet sells.
In my opinion, things are bleaker now than they were in 1986.
It’s hard to be optimistic when RD is doing his best to fuck up the sale.
And, there must be every chance he will sell to someone who is worse than him as can we really trust him to be able to recognise an owner who will be better?
A bit weird for me. I started supporting Charlton whilst we were at Selhurst. My Dad was a fan and although I went to a handful of games at the Valley, including the 'final' game against Stoke, I wasn't hooked, I supported Liverpool :-(
My Dad wouldn't go to Selhurst initially. Then we started going after promotion in 86. I think the draw of Arsenal, Man Utd etc... and a young boy of impressionable age drew him back. It worked because after a few games I was a Charlton fan and though I didn't like the fact we were homeless, this was my Charlton and I didn't actually mind Selhurst (I hate it now BTW). There always seemed to be hope of getting back to the Valley and that grew stronger each season and of course it eventually happened.
I certainly felt closer to Charlton back then. Every season was about survival, every game a cup final. The fans were behind the team and eventually the regime and there was hope.
Now, all we can hope is that someone buys the club in the next year or ten and whoever it is has good intentions and is ambitious. I want my kids to see us play against bigger teams than Fleetwood and Rochdale (no disrespect to those teams) before they get too much older. I went to Highbury, Old Trafford, Anfield back in 87, 88 etc... my daughter has been to Oxford and Rochdale.
I'm not so hopeful nowadays. I had hope back then.
The difference between now and then is ambition , the club had it back then once Friar had gone but we didn't own The Valley. Now we have an owner with money but with no ambition , without that what's the point , no matter the size of the club big or small
The difference between now and then is ambition , the club had it back then once Friar had gone but we didn't own The Valley. Now we have an owner with money but with no ambition , without that what's the point , no matter the size of the club big or small
Along with directors who got forward thinking football fans to become directors and push Charlton forward.
The likes of Richard Collins,Michael Norris, and Derek Ufton who are then joined by Roger Alwen in 1987 and Martin Simons and Richard Murray in 1991,forward thinking people who would at last listen to want the fans wanted.
With players that came through the ranks Gritt,Berry,Stuart,Lee,followed by Bennett and Leaburn and then Minto,Pitcher,Watson, and Grant. If you think the very little money Lennie Lawrance was given and the players he purchased with it Humphrey,Shirtliff,Read,Bolder,Walsh,Mortimer,Williams and Webster the list goes on,maybe dark days indeed but not as Dark as it is today.
To answer the question of this text optimistic not at first but it did snowball after the first year.
Now after almost FIVE years of ROLAND AS OWNER i just wish he had the courage to sell the club.
Comments
Those not coming to Selhurst aren't real fans.
Friar is a businessman and if you think you can do better, you buy the club.
These Valley Party trouble makers are killing the club, not the owners, they saved us in 1984.
The Valley was a dump anyway and Selhurst is much better.
We now have no future, have had four crap seasons with half of them in the third tier, little chance of promotion, can only dream of Wembley, and rarely see a goal from outside the penalty area scored in our favour.
You work it out...
I personally think Football in general was a lot better back then anyway.
At leasr we are still going & not relocated elsewhere.
The idea of permanently staying at Selhurst was clearly muddled and mis-guided but was probably taken, however wrongly, with the best interests of the club in mind. The current owner takes decisions with himself in mind.
Adversity tends to bring out the best in most people .. when the going gets tough the tough get going .. at Selhurst the team and all the fans, including those who never went to the games were united in a common cause despite being 'homeless' ..
The same cannot be said in the present climate. The fans are certainly not behind the owner and many are disillusioned with the team's performances and/or the behind the scenes furore .. playing at Selhurst was (of course) far from ideal but at least there was a feeling of community, a sense of collective purpose. At present the only unity is amongst those who are desperate to get Roland out. Until he goes, I suspect there is little room for optimism
At present we have a team of triers in a crap division, playing at out home but it's only a 3rd full at best most of the time.
The team and the division at Selhurst had at least that to cling onto as well as the chance all the time The Valley was empty we had a chance to return. Today nothing will change until the owner leaves
We won - both on, and off the pitch.
Now: A founder Board Member of the Supporters' Trust, I saw Duchatelet's ownership as being bad news for the club, from the outset, and did what I could to rally opposition. Having received little support, I decided to walk away from both the Trust and The Valley.
This fine online forum is my current contact with the club and its supporters.
I hope to recommence active support for CAFC, but that will occur only if / when Duchatelet sells.
In my opinion, things are bleaker now than they were in 1986.
And, there must be every chance he will sell to someone who is worse than him as can we really trust him to be able to recognise an owner who will be better?
My Dad wouldn't go to Selhurst initially. Then we started going after promotion in 86. I think the draw of Arsenal, Man Utd etc... and a young boy of impressionable age drew him back. It worked because after a few games I was a Charlton fan and though I didn't like the fact we were homeless, this was my Charlton and I didn't actually mind Selhurst (I hate it now BTW). There always seemed to be hope of getting back to the Valley and that grew stronger each season and of course it eventually happened.
I certainly felt closer to Charlton back then. Every season was about survival, every game a cup final. The fans were behind the team and eventually the regime and there was hope.
Now, all we can hope is that someone buys the club in the next year or ten and whoever it is has good intentions and is ambitious. I want my kids to see us play against bigger teams than Fleetwood and Rochdale (no disrespect to those teams) before they get too much older. I went to Highbury, Old Trafford, Anfield back in 87, 88 etc... my daughter has been to Oxford and Rochdale.
I'm not so hopeful nowadays. I had hope back then.
The likes of Richard Collins,Michael Norris, and Derek Ufton who are then joined by Roger Alwen in 1987 and Martin Simons and Richard Murray in 1991,forward thinking people who would at last listen to want the fans wanted.
With players that came through the ranks Gritt,Berry,Stuart,Lee,followed by Bennett and Leaburn and then Minto,Pitcher,Watson, and Grant. If you think the very little money Lennie Lawrance was given and the players he purchased with it Humphrey,Shirtliff,Read,Bolder,Walsh,Mortimer,Williams and Webster the list goes on,maybe dark days indeed but not as Dark as it is today.
To answer the question of this text optimistic not at first but it did snowball after the first year.
Now after almost FIVE years of ROLAND AS OWNER i just wish he had the courage to sell the club.