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New Article: Once an Addick....

always an Addick.

Well, for me at least.

I don't support Charlton because of the manager/head coach, because of the players or the owners.

Often I have had to support my club despite some or all of those.

I don't blame others who get fed up and move away. That is their choice but it's not for me.

And I'm not claiming I'm a better, more loyal or even more "proper" fan because I stick with my club. Maybe just more stubborn and/or stupid. No answers on a postcard on that, thanks.

For me the club is not who is in charge now, be that in the boardroom or training ground. It is about us, the fans.

So I'm depressed when I hear of long standing fans saying they have had enough and walking away. Maybe that is an over reaction said in a moment of frustration. Or maybe it is the final straw that breaks the camels back.

I'm not angry at them but I am angry that we, because we the fans are Charlton, are losing another active fan, another season ticket sold, another sponsor when what we need is more, a lot more, of each.

Things may improve in the short and long terms. A new manager, new players, new owners or new attitudes/budgets from the existing one might change the mood and some of those disillusioned fans will come back. Maybe.

Once we've lost them it becomes much harder to win them back than it would have been to keep them.

This, for me isn't about Bob or Riga or Powell. It's not about the "soul" of the club either as again that sits with us, the fans, not the manager or owner.

It is about wanting to be part of a club that is moving forward with owners and chief executives that take steps to bring the fans, all the fans, with it.

A "club" (and club is the key word here. We have to be business but what really matter is that we are a club) with leaders who don't say nothing at all or even just "go" but "let's go".

Leaders who understand what motivates people to stick with a club like Charlton and do something about it. That tells us openly and honestly what their plans are and includes us in them, even when things go wrong, as they inevitably sometimes will.

Maybe I'm unrealistic in wanting all that but as I said I'm a Charlton fan. How much more unrealistic can you get than that?
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Comments

  • A fellow chorister indeed, Henry.....Same hymn sheet for sure.

    Well said.
  • nice post, well said HI
  • 100% agree.

    It just feels hard at the moment to get excited about the future under the network model.
  • I could never support a football club other than Charlton no matter what happens. No matter how many disappointments, no matter how many relegations. Simples.
  • Agree, but that's why football clubs can get away with being run so badly. The owners know that most of us will still be here next year regardless of what happens.
  • When we got back to The Valley in 1992, it was the start of the restoration of Charlton Athletic. We improved every year for the next dozen years; not necessarily on the pitch, but as a Club. We had good seasons, and poorer seasons, but built The Valley capacity from 8000 to 27000, and bought better players, bit by bit.

    When Curbs left, the decline set in, changing managers, down a division, then down again. When Powell arrived for a fourth time, we slowly seemed to turn the corner. We have slowly made improvements since 2011, even with Slater and whatsisname as owners. RD gave us fresh impetus, but seems to have unrealistic ideas about where we are and what can be accomplished quickly.

    We are not yet ready to return to the top flight, despite a very good start to this season. It is a long haul - RD even said this! - and not a sprint that finishes this May. Hopefully a new coaching team will be quickly put in place, given support (i.e. new players who are good enough to fill gaps) and we can survive this season and go into next year looking fresh and with optimism. All we want as fans is to improve year on year, as a club, and not be a laughing stock.
  • Spot on. As Henry says, it is the individual's choice not to attend, they may be so disaffected by events that we lose them. It's not for us to question that.

    I'm the same as Henry, it will take me being broke before I stop giving my money to the club. I just hope that people do stick with it, because in this day and age we need every penny we can get.

    It's a real catch 22 because if you genuinely feel that we're being run in the wrong way and you've lost that bond/connection, then you will stop going/supporting. However, the more people that stop going/supporting makes it harder for us to get that bond/connection back, and could threaten the long term existence of the club.

    I wasn't old enough to remember or experience the move to Selhurst (I remember from 88/89 onwards), but surely this isn't as bad, or is it?
  • cabbles said:

    Spot on. As Henry says, it is the individual's choice not to attend, they may be so disaffected by events that we lose them. It's not for us to question that.

    I'm the same as Henry, it will take me being broke before I stop giving my money to the club. I just hope that people do stick with it, because in this day and age we need every penny we can get.

    It's a real catch 22 because if you genuinely feel that we're being run in the wrong way and you've lost that bond/connection, then you will stop going/supporting. However, the more people that stop going/supporting makes it harder for us to get that bond/connection back, and could threaten the long term existence of the club.

    I wasn't old enough to remember or experience the move to Selhurst (I remember from 88/89 onwards), but surely this isn't as bad, or is it?

    No, this is in no way as bad as that piece of paper handed out at The Valley turnstiles, or indeed, as bad as last March when Powell went. Or when Lennie went, or Curbs for that matter!
  • No matter how bad things seem to get, rejoice in the fact that you support this club and that we have a proper community club with good ethics, a decent stadium and a good reputation among other clubs. Imagine if all of this was happening on top of being a Smallwall or Palarse fan
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  • edited January 2015
    Well said, Henry.

    I agree with pretty much all you say and share the hope of your 'unrealistic' expectations. The vast majority of any football clubs' fans do not have much control over the emotional attachment to their club - it is an unconscious, involuntary love and affection based on upbringing, geography, young age experiences and so on. I support Charlton because I can't help it and I'm sure that can be said of very many fans, the vast majority in fact. I don't 'buy' entertainment when attending matches from my discretionary disposable income - I'm feeding my craving from an addiction.

    Is it realistic to expect the same involuntary, unconscious commitment from owners who don't have that addiction? I don't believe so unless the owners are fans like us - and that is very rare in football. They are selling entertainment, a product - and sensible business leaders attempt to understand the motivation of their consumers and if you are selling cars or houses for example then it works. If you are trying to sell the product to people who have an emotional investment then there is the inevitable disconnect.

    The best a fan can hope for is for the owners to be on balance positively rated on let's say a scale of 1-10 - so above the midpoint. Richard Murray was well above the midpoint for me, the Chuckle Brothers way below the midpoint - Roland is in positive territory, but I do not expect or indeed hope that he will ever share a fan's perspective. Some things he will share and ask for our input, others he won't. Twas ever thus with football owners.

    But the addiction has no cure so on it will go .....




  • Well done, Henry - it needed to be said.
  • Well said Henry.

    I am a 3rd generation addick, my younger son a 4th generation and a couple of young grandsons being lined up for the 5th generation intake. Charlton is in my past, an important part of my present, and will be in my future as long as I'm on the planet. Then my kids and grandkids will pass it on. We will all be here long after the current batch of players, staff, directors and even owners have gone.

    The hard times are many, but the good times are so, so sweet.
  • Good post Henry. You are spot on. I am disillusioned at present but know I will be back as I always am. Like you, have not always liked certain managers/owners but they come and go. We fans always stay and always will, I suppose. Am awaiting the next manager/head coach with interest.
  • Spot on... I started supporting us in the Glikstein era, and most of the time i've had indifferent/negative views about our owners. Of course i'd always hope for the club to be well-run (and loved the 90s, when it was...), but my support has resilience and realism in spades...

  • For me it is in my DNA - my father was born and brought up in Charlton. Big family, everyone supported Charlton so I just did - it was expected if you like. When we got relegated to the old Division 3 in 72, I was so upset I decided to support someone else - only lasted a few weeks before I realised I would never have the same affinity for any other club.

    In more recent years I find I'm not even that interested in football on the TV unless I really want one team to win or lose. So for me it's definitely Once an Addick, always an Addick and it's about the club, not any one player, manager or even owner - they will come and go as they always have.
  • Well said Henry, nothing to add from me. @Redmidland‌ has also summed up my feelings with his contribution. I can't believe some of the overreaction on social media. People need to lighten up a little. This isn't a matter of life or death. An under performing manager has been given the boot. Which is the correct decision, in my opinion. Looking forward to seeing some exciting football from now on ...
  • ...always an Addick. For me, it is not a matter of choice, it is in the blood. However, the amount of money I put into the club has been falling in recent years, and not only due to my distance from London.
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  • Do you think Katrien could be encouraged to appear on the pitch at half-time for a "Let's be 'avin' yer!" moment?
  • He usually charges £150 an hour for this management inspiration
  • Rothko said:

    He usually charges £150 an hour for this management inspiration

    You got the job didn't you. #ungrateful
  • always an Addick.

    You tease Henry. You have known all along that Curbs is on his way back (:



  • CHARLTON 'TIL I DIE. Simple as.
  • Reality for me is that at times of disenchantment I merely cannot summon up the effort to go to as many away games - my fundamental support will always be there
  • We are Charlton
    I am Charlton
    Not the owner
    Not the manager
    Not the players
  • This is our lot in life, once an addick, always an addick and proud to be part of the family no matter what, its our club!
  • people moan about Roland but before he stepped in last year there may not have been a Charlton for my children/ grandchildren etc, at the moment its a rough time but still better than the last 6/7 years (bar the L1 promotion).

    10pts of the play offs isn't the disaster we had when Pardew left.
  • Since being taken in 75(many longer I know) I was bitten, now I have the pleasure of taking my son, not the biggest or best but so what!
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Roland Out Forever!