Disillusioned with Charlton

It’s rubbish at the moment, but I have seen this all before, albeit not for such a long timeframe, as in time spent in Div 3 - I don’t mind seeing us lose, provided they try

That said, I still enjoy going, beers with my mates, discussing the ups and downs of the club / team, away days etc etc - despite it being crud, it’s a welcome distraction from my increasingly stressful job

I will carry on regardless, although one of my mates I suspect will ditch his season ticket next season, because he is definitely disillusioned  

Started going as a kid in the mid-90s, was 10 years old for the '98 play-off final. Thing is that football always matters a lot more when you're growing up so couldn't have got more lucky. Charlton included on FIFA '99 and the following Premiership Years as a teenager and I couldn't have been more bonded to the club. Going into school after beating Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool... and sending Palace down were a particular highlight!

Nowadays, I couldn't really give a monkeys about this bunch of players or manager - partly stage of life, and partly because they sometimes seem less arsed than I do drinking a Bovril and checking my Fantasy team. It's all peaks and troughs and we're in a bit of a long-term trough but not forever. It's not even about being good - but connecting with the club in some way, give me a trundling 34-year old 'legs gone' Jacko over most of this mob. Dobbo is the closest we've got now but he's (likely) running down his contract to see if there's a better offer out there, which is fair but hardly inspiring. The toxicity of some fans on "X" could also be enough to put anyone off...

Still, there's a lot of constants to like about the club - proper stadium amongst the community, the community work itself and commitment to developing young exciting players. Will always be Charlton fan but do need to be given a bit more of a reason to care at the minute. To use an analogy I'd say the the pilot light of my Charlton fandom is on, but it's January, the heating is firmly off and I'm feeling the cold!

JamesSeed said:

Have the new signings made anyone feel more positive about the future, or is it still too early?

Far too early. I see it as a rebuild for next season tbh. Give the new players 15-20 games to bed in & see who else we bring in this month / over the summer.

I would say this season is over but we could still get dragged down into a relegation scrap.anyway even thinking of the top 6 needs their bumps felt.

I'm still contemplating going tomorrow as I'd like to see the new players, but with no real firepower if May is out then it might not make comfortable watching. 

JamesSeed said:

Have the new signings made anyone feel more positive about the future, or is it still too early?

Not even seen them play in a Charlton shirt yet and the squad is still miles off where we need to be imo. Long way to go for me

JamesSeed said:

Have the new signings made anyone feel more positive about the future, or is it still too early?

Feeling really positive after the Q&A and subsequent signings including Fleming.

I think this lot are more of the real deal football wise and understand the game far better than past 3 predecessors. Methven will have learned a lot from his Sunderland debacle and hopefully looking to right some wrongs.

If they all make a good few quid by turning around the Titanic over next 5 years and getting us competing regularly in top 6 of championship and beyond then they'll have earned it. 

Don't think blagging a salary for a few months/ year and all the shit that comes with failure can be the angle surely.

I'm putting faith behind this lot and getting behind Appleton and the squad and hope that we can get some sustained optimism and positivity back at the Valley for a while after a long over due absence.

It's not gonna change over night and there's only so much will be done in this window but hopefully good business so far on playing and coaching staff and and a few more in in January. Then finish season strongly and build early in summer ready to give it a go next year. I'm being realistic and pragmatic about this season including tomorrow vs a very good Peterborough side.

Gonna get behind the manager, players and owners as it always feels better when we all pull together.

With our fixtures in February I sadly think it's going to get worse before it gets better. We could be firmly in the relegation zone come March before the new team gels and starts the climb back out. 

JamesSeed said:

Have the new signings made anyone feel more positive about the future, or is it still too early?

Yes more positive because its grass roots in spring, but unlike in the past I am very wary and look forward to the proof being in the eating!

But hopefully, fewer late goals!

seth plum said:

JamesSeed said:

Have the new signings made anyone feel more positive about the future, or is it still too early?

The new signings will make me feel good if we win promotion at the end of  this  season.

I'm guessing your response is somewhat tongue in cheek, but I think it's fair to say that promotion is all but impossible this year. 

For simplicity's sake, let's say we're at the halfway point in the season (the reality is a little worse - or better, depending on how you look at it). We are currently 13 points behind 6th placed Barnsley (we'll also pretend that they don't have a game in hand on us). But Barnsley are still ten points behind leaders, Portsmouth. What this indicates is that even if we suddenly started picking up points at the same rate as Portsmouth, we'd still likely end up three points behind the Tykes.

I'd have never have said this at the start of the season, but right now I'd be happy with a top half finish and a squad that looks like a decent starting point for building something more competitive next season. It's a pathetically low level of acceptance, but that's the reality right now.