The legend was that the board asked Seed if he could guarantee prolonged division football if they signed him, he couldn't, so no deal. Apparently when WW2 started Seed was told "See, we would have wasted our money". Considering he played for another 20+ years, points to a certain lack of foresight. ..
The legend was that the board asked Seed if he could guarantee prolonged division football if they signed him, he couldn't, so no deal. Apparently when WW2 started Seed was told "See, we would have wasted our money". Considering he played for another 20+ years, points to a certain lack of foresight. ..
I thought that was about building more seats but it is a long time since I read the book
The legend was that the board asked Seed if he could guarantee prolonged division football if they signed him, he couldn't, so no deal. Apparently when WW2 started Seed was told "See, we would have wasted our money". Considering he played for another 20+ years, points to a certain lack of foresight. ..
I thought that was about building more seats but it is a long time since I read the book
It was actually a new stand. In the 3rd division days Seed and the Glickstens were watching a match at The Valley when it started raining, and they noticed that the 15,000 crowd in the ground started drifting away. This led to the decision to build the ‘covered end’.
After reaching Div 1 (1937) JS asked Albert Glicksten about building a new covered stand with seating to accommodate the increasing crowds, but the Chairman said he’d only do it if Seed could guarantee three more seasons of first division football.
If someone asks you that, you say “Yes!” I’m afraid he didn’t.
There was also talk at one time of building a super stadium that could accommodate 200,000 fans, making it by far the biggest stadium in Britain.
Of course transport links were always a problem. Most of the other London stadiums were and are served by tube trains as well as buses and, being more central, by black cabs too. Charlton would always struggle when the crowds were bigger, even in the days of the tram, but people were used to walking when necessary, back in the day.
I’m not sure how we’ll cope when we return to the Premier League in 2033 and the crowds come flooding back. If only.
Soccer was used as a term to differentiate the game from rugger. It’s very much an English term originating from the very early days of football. It is a common myth that the term is American.
Charlton were also interested in John White when he was in Scotland, but wouldn’t pay the asking price. He went to Spurs and was a member of their ‘61 double winning team, sadly killed by lightning at the age of 27.
Soccer is a contraction the term Assoccer which was coined by Oxford students in the 1880s to differentiate the game from Rugger, which is also called (bizarrely, in my opinion) football. It is based on the full name Association Football. Over time this was shortened to Soccer. I believe it was also called Socca, though that term now seems limited to six a side games. I'm scared to Google Assoccer in case that has developed a new meaning too.
Lots of British football fans recoil at the word soccer as a result of snobbishly believing it is an American name for the game. It's not an Americanism at all though, although they tend to use it to differentiate the game from Gridiron, which is also called (bizarrely, in my opinion) football.
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He didn't "discover" him, he was already playing for Stoke.
Seed wanted to sign him but the board didn't want to pay a big fee for a young, relatively untried player.
Oh what might have been !!!!
As Lennie said, all those years ago - ‘never look back wishing’
If they’d bought Matthews and updated the stadium as Seed requested, who knows where we’d be now. It was ever thus.
Copies available from the museum
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204365959047?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=rqgqb12prds&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=STNLlGt7T4S&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
The Guinness Soccer Six for example
Lots of British football fans recoil at the word soccer as a result of snobbishly believing it is an American name for the game. It's not an Americanism at all though, although they tend to use it to differentiate the game from Gridiron, which is also called (bizarrely, in my opinion) football.
Thanks