Footballing wise this is without doubt the worse period in our history , we are utter shit , how can anyone moan that people are fcuked off with it and not pulling themselves senseless over some swindon signings and smashing plymouth
9 seasons (and counting) in 14 in the third tier , pathetic in the previous 73 seasons 6 were spent in the third tier we started our league history with 8 straight seasons in the third tier .
palace are on their 10th season on the bounce in the top flight
scum are in their 11th in 13 seasons in the second tier
no wonder people are apathetic towards it
most of us are in the Charlton nuthouse and continue to torture ourselves
and anyone, as stated always by me, has to be nuts to waste their money on our club because the amount of times i see the word investment used is ridiculous , no ones ever gonna get a return out of our loss making club , did anyone (on the board) coin it in during our premiership years
investment
the action or process of investing money for profit
Footballing wise this is without doubt the worse period in our history , we are utter shit , how can anyone moan that people are fcuked off with it and not pulling themselves senseless over some swindon signings and smashing plymouth
9 seasons (and counting) in 14 in the third tier , pathetic in the previous 73 seasons 6 were spent in the third tier we started our league history with 8 straight seasons in the third tier .
palace are on their 10th season on the bounce in the top flight
scum are in their 11th in 13 seasons in the second tier
no wonder people are apathetic towards it
most of us are in the Charlton nuthouse and continue to torture ourselves
and anyone, as stated always by me, has to be nuts to waste their money on our club because the amount of times i see the word investment used is ridiculous , no ones ever gonna get a return out of our loss making club , did anyone (on the board) coin it in during our premiership years
investment
the action or process of investing money for profit
If u fancy being depressed mate try watching the documentary on the Palace academy! They are so far ahead they are out of sight of us
Apathy has certainly now crept in for me, even at this early stage of the season. Last season, it was only really that horrific form we had in February when it hit me – we were effectively all but out of playoff contention, and everyone was going through the motions. JJ had pulled us out of the hole, but he lacked a squad (and arguably, enough experience) to go any further. We couldn’t get a run going and once mid-table obscurity was confirmed, there were several dead rubber games towards the back end of the season.
I had optimism for this season. Although I felt that JJ had done enough to earn his shot, I understood that bringing a new manager could be a real opportunity to push on. We took far too long to get Ben Garner, leaving him with minimal time to prepare his squad and gain enough understanding of the players to see the gaps. I feel this was largely due to nickel and dime offers from our owner, when the required decisive action to set us up for success was not taken. This proceeded into a largely poor transfer window, where we kicked the can so far down the road that a complex web of merry-go-round transfers left us holding no cards at the end. This was the most painful part for me, as if we’d got 2-3 solid recruits coming through the door, this squad could be pushing the playoff places. Instead, key positions in the most crucial areas leave us weak at the back and up front. Poor results against average sides leave us in this bottom half abyss that we certainly deserve.
For the most part, I don’t leave blame at the door of our new manager. He was recruited to play his own brand of progressive football (as per the desire of our owner) but has not had any of the tools to do so. He’s passionate and speaks well, plus I feel has all the attributes for getting success when given the tools to do so. He’s just trying to play a brand of football with several players who lack both the intelligence and desire to grind points out. There have been times where I’ve questioned his formation and tactics, but as a relatively young manager, he’s not always going to get things right. The failings of this current squad do not largely fall to him.
Apathy is also strong in my feelings towards many of these players that I see turning out for us. Except for Dobson, I don’t really feel many of them are truly pushing themselves as hard as they could. Like many others, these are more like employees of the team I care about, rather than true players who own the shirt. It’s frustrating to see players like Kirk and CBT blow hot and cold, risking the ire of our manager, whilst supposed leaders like Inniss and Stockley don’t provide leadership performances. I feel the wind and confidence was knocked out of many of these players in the transfer window that never was, and as humans, many of them have mentally checked out and would rather move away in January. As I mention before, this squad was not that far away, but I feel that the pressures of this shirt and our sleeping giant nature adds pressure that causes certain players to wilt.
As I have alluded, the fault of so much of this falls to our haphazard owner, whose burn and bust approach leaves us in the largest hole. He backed Adkins to the hills, but then left JJ and Garner with half a pocket of shrapnel. For a multitude of reasons, his poor decisions have left us where we are, plodding through the deep mud of the bottom half of the L1 table. The scary things are the fact that I cannot see things changing and without investment, we carry on flailing our arms around. He needs to either sell up or bring in a investor(s) for joint ownership. His ideas about financial development of the club are flawed and not based in reality, whilst eroding the good nature of Charlton fans everywhere. Consistent mediocrity in L1 is not good for anyone, and we were not a million miles away from having a decent squad. They look much worse than they actually are, and this is why this recent austerity for investment pains me so much. If he cannot invest, he needs to find someone fast who will.
I have a season ticket and I will keep going to games. However, Tuesday night games are a push for me, with work and other commitments. Already, I’m thinking about knocking a few of them on the head while things feel so dreary right now. I would *ahem* take a trip away to Europe to watch the other games, but my desire for that has already started to drop. With the hike in day tickets and other madcap schemes TS comes up with, everything compounds to hurt the progression of the club. I’m going to spend less and less time and money at the club, and this is across the board. Less people will bring their family or friends to games. Less people will buy a pint. Everything combines to the only eventual resolution of things becoming too painful on the pocket of our owner. I want to be excited about the games. I love going to The Valley. It brings me so much joy, even to the point that I’ll keep going to Saturday games whatever happens. But like everyone else, seeing poor football against poor teams hurts and erodes the desire. We all know what things are like when it’s rocking.
TS must bring investors in or sell up. There’s no analysis to be made, nor sacking of any more staff. It boils down to this. Modern football, as messed up as it is, requires investment for success. If the bath is too hot, you get out. This naïve man did save us, but that credit is now all gone with me. What pains me the most is that he thinks he can fix it without putting up more money. It’s a pipe dream of a desperate man who doesn’t know what he is doing. The fans will turn on him more and more, until the position becomes untenable.
This season is not a complete write-off, but this period of non-investment pains me so much. It’s time for change and time to give this club the investment it needs to progress.
Shoot me down anyone who is old enough if this is looking through "rose tinted" glasses but we were rubbish back in the '70s - but it was an entertaining and unpredictable sort of rubbish. And as a result of the unpredictability I never felt like I didn't want to go and watch us.
Take the '72-'73 season for example. We finished 11th in the old Division 3. But you went to a game never quite knowing what was going to happen. That season we beat Swansea 6-0 and Notts County 6-1 in the space of three weeks. But, equally, we lost 4-0 to Tranmere and 5-0 to Plymouth. You never knew what Charlton team was going to turn up and that in itself made it thrilling when we won and disappointing when we lost.
As a result of "improved" coaching and the emphasis on not conceding that level of unpredictability appears to have gone out of football outside the teams that are the best in the Premier League. Take Preston for example. They are two places off the Play Offs in the Championship and have scored 4 goals and have conceded 4 goals in their 12 matches. They've had 6 goalless draws. Yes of course we would swap places with them but that isn't the point I'm making. They are still predictable and when the results stop, what do you have left?
And who wants to watch a game of football that is predictable where you might, at best, nick a win but are more likely to draw 1-1? Hence the apathy and reluctance to part with hard earned money.
Th0rryy sums up how I and many other long suffering Charlton fans that I speak to feel. For more than 50 years I’ve been a Charlton fan who continued to support them whist in exile at the Nigel’s and Hampsters and going to football on a Saturday has always been a day out with friends and family. Yes we’ve had some highlights and their rarity makes them so much more enjoyable in a sadistic way. I remain hopeful that one day our luck will turn again and we will at least complete with the other two local London rivals.
For us to rise again we need an owner that understands how to run a football club and is prepared to back its manager. I still thank Thomas for saving us and having won the initial fight he now needs to win the war and start this by backing our manager.
Comments
9 seasons (and counting) in 14 in the third tier , pathetic
in the previous 73 seasons 6 were spent in the third tier
we started our league history with 8 straight seasons in the third tier .
palace are on their 10th season on the bounce in the top flight
scum are in their 11th in 13 seasons in the second tier
no wonder people are apathetic towards it
most of us are in the Charlton nuthouse and continue to torture ourselves
and anyone, as stated always by me, has to be nuts to waste their money on our club because the amount of times i see the word investment used is ridiculous , no ones ever gonna get a return out of our loss making club , did anyone (on the board) coin it in during our premiership years
Take the '72-'73 season for example. We finished 11th in the old Division 3. But you went to a game never quite knowing what was going to happen. That season we beat Swansea 6-0 and Notts County 6-1 in the space of three weeks. But, equally, we lost 4-0 to Tranmere and 5-0 to Plymouth. You never knew what Charlton team was going to turn up and that in itself made it thrilling when we won and disappointing when we lost.
As a result of "improved" coaching and the emphasis on not conceding that level of unpredictability appears to have gone out of football outside the teams that are the best in the Premier League. Take Preston for example. They are two places off the Play Offs in the Championship and have scored 4 goals and have conceded 4 goals in their 12 matches. They've had 6 goalless draws. Yes of course we would swap places with them but that isn't the point I'm making. They are still predictable and when the results stop, what do you have left?
And who wants to watch a game of football that is predictable where you might, at best, nick a win but are more likely to draw 1-1? Hence the apathy and reluctance to part with hard earned money.