I don't know about anyone else but sod chrissy powell Prague for manager.
Nadou I ain't got a scooby as to what amorphous means. But we certainly have a soul we have a unique and undeniable history and that soul emanates from the centre circle of the valley.
If the post is about steady as you go, don't put on too much pressure that is wise (pardon the use of that word) counsel.
I am delighted that Chris has taken on the job.
My interpretation of recent events is that new impetus has been brought into the club by way of finance. Its not that the previous board didn't bankroll the club, that they certainly did. It was just that they were putting in money to stave off administration and keep the club afloat. What I believe has happened now is that with the short term toxic debt having been paid off/written down, and only long term debt remaining, the new owners are in a position to invest again for our future.
I do not believe that they came in with a malignant plan to cashier Parky and Co, but they saw quickly the team not performing and also the fans increasing unrest and this tipped them quickly into looking quickly elsewhere at a time when the transfer window offers the opportunity to refresh the squad.
Under the previous regime, because of the financial position, the risk calculus for sacking Parky at this stage and replacing him with an untried manager was a big one. The old regime pretty much required the clubs promotion or serious cutbacks would be required and potentially lessen the chance of the club getting out of the hole it was in. Indeed Administration may well have beckoned. With new owners and greater financial strength, that risk is greatly diminished.
I believe that whilst they desire promotion this season, financially they have underwritten failure. No serious investor would come in thinking that promotion was guaranteed after all.
Employing a legendary, talented but untried manager in his first job, whilst giving the fans a huge lift, cannot possibly be based around the premise that his appointment will guarantee promotion. To me it smacks of a long term plan.
All of that to me is good news. What worries me is us, the fans. We should absolutely be lifted by Chris' return. We will get behind the team and because he is held in such high esteem, we will cut him slack that we perhaps would not be prepared to cut to other inexperienced managers. I fear though that failure to get promotion this season may start the boo boys going again.
So I say yes lets celebrate the return of Chris to his spiritual home. I can't wait for the Plymouth game but lets, as I think Henry is suggesting, keep our feet on the ground, give him the time he may need to turn things around. If we are patient, I am as certain as anyone can be, that he will deliver.
[cite]Posted By: Nadou[/cite]PS - do you think the booers have got a soul or are part of the soul of the club? If not, is it the Chosen Few where the repository of this soul lies?
I'm not saying the 'soul' is the fans or even less a group of them. I'm saying that all those things I wrote about gave us reason to be proud to be Charlton fans, often regardless of crap performances (like, I would remind you, 1-6 Leeds, 0-3 Southend with Steve Brown playing like he'd just come from the pub, 0-5 at West Ham after which Chris Powell was dropped) but we still believed in our club, it was something to be proud of, we fought to go back to the Valley and now look at it...I'm at risk of repeating myself.
The only other club I can think of that comes near us is AFC Wimbledon. Maybe Blackpool but I dont know enough about their current owners, or how active the fans have been. Maybe Brighton, but same caveat. Brighton certainly think we are great, judging by what the tannoy man at Withdean told us.
[cite]Posted By: gilbertfilbert[/cite]Who's got the matches?
Me :-)
You've been going since 1949 and didn't detect the soul of Charlton Athletic Football Club? You went to Selhurst, I presume, when against all the odds we went back to the top flight? When we stayed there against all the odds? When a bloke with a slightly mad gleam in his eye thrust a piece of paper entitled "Voice of the Valley" into your hand? When we all chanted, petitioned, cleaned up the Valley,played a mass game on the turf after we finished and got the final go ahead to go home? Then when Greenwich Council tried to snatch it away, we formed a political party to thrash their asses off in the local elections? When so many of those involved in the Valley Party went on to work for the club? When we stumbled on the path home, found ourselves at Upton Park and dug deep to raise a million quid in the VIP scheme? To finally get back home to our beloved bedraggled Valley when a harder headed decision might have seen our Board build some tin shed by the M25? To have Richard Murray and Martin Simons , the latter a man who would go for a drink with fans and buy all the rounds after games we hadlost!? To rebuild the Ground and the club bit by bit, with ground breaking initiatives generated by the fans, such as Target 10000/40000, the fan on the board, Valley Express, the innovative pricing schemes which everyone else copied? The anti racist work, the initiatives that generated stories likethis? or the memorable comment from one national newspaper reporter that "there might be better teams in the Premier League - but there is surely no better club" ? Richard Murray's futile efforts, chronicled in Tom Bower's tale of footie sleaze, to spread the TV money around for the greater good of football? And finally a left back who joined us at the back end of a journeyman career, and through sheer professional dedication earned his first England cap at the age of 31, and who celebrated every win with the Covered End?
And you want to tell me, that this club is just like any other, that itdoesnt have a soul?
Well let me give you this little test Nadou. Rewind the last 25 years of Chelsea for example. How would you define the soul of that club?
I want him to suceed (for all the same reasons) but I think many are getting carried away.....being a club legend as a player doesn't mean that he will be anything like that as a manager.
Thing is it's proper Roy of the Rovers stuff and the hero worship and hope is probably the sort of thing that attracted us to the beautiful game as nippers in the first place and the promise of what could be that has kept us addicted since.
The older we get, less innocent and more responsible and cynical we become becuase of the shite life throws at us means that escapism and fantasy is almost more important now than when we were jostling for postion on the terraces trying to catch a glimpse of our heroes of the time as kids.
If we analyse the pros and cons of everything at football it takes the fun out of it and i think with episodes like this it's worth embracing it just to remind us why we love the game in the first place.
One of the positives of this appointment is that it will give everyone connected a lift, I am definitely of the opinion that the crowd is a big impact on the performance of players. It can't be a coincidence the home form has been so poor this season, players perform poorly (which happens and will happen under Powell), the crowd get on the players backs and thus causes them to play even worse and if it happens enough causes them to dread playing at home.
The majority are happy with this appointment, if anything it should stop the booing (for a while at least, unless Plymouth bang in 5 in the first half next week!). I know it's an overused cliché but The Valley does need to be a fortress and as fans we have a major part to play, teams are coming here unafraid and they know if they can frustrate us home fans then we will turn on the team which in turn gives them a boost.
I am very pleased with our new manager, but I am cautious. It's impossible to predict exactly how things will go under a new man especially when it is his first job, but with Sir Chris' enthusiasm, hard work and love of the club we have a good chance of seeing some positive results at The Valley.
Dowie broke a well oiled machine. Les Reed didn't realise you needed any oil. Pardew talked the machine up, as if it was a space rocket - when in fact it was only powered by rubber bands. Parkinson never let the machine go anywhere except back to the centre circle/goalkeeper.
Chris Powell will at least have a bit of flair about him - and not all wind and bluster like Dowie and Pards.
He has the fans on his side, has a clean starting point, and a lot of respect within the game, and we might get some watchable football at long last - especially if the first 45mins against Spurs is anything to go by !
Parky's football was drab - even when we were winning, that's why there are so many comments about the atmo at home games. Remember when he took Reidy off at home because he was running into the oppo box and causing havoc ? Next day Parky was issuing quotes about protecting Reidy's fitness or some such toffee, because the fans could see Parky had made a rick.
Even when the old boy from the West Stand crept up on Parky in the Brighton 4-0 - he nearly put him on as a central midfielder !
Can't go to Plymouth which is a pain - but will be at Rochdale giving CP a "big-up"
We either get behind CP and the lads now - or commit to another year of this appalling L1 dross.
Good post, Bing. If this thread is merely a plea for patience, then that's sensible enough, I think everone understands that.
Including Chris Powell. Indeed, the man himself made the same point so much more positively and unifyingly in his own 'article' . I can't help feeling his words are worth more than anything in this thread:-
''A lot of hard work lies ahead now. I know what the fans want and what they've been through. It's part of a rebuilding job now for everyone to get this club back to what it was. It's going to take everyone working together - myself, the staff, the coaching staff, and most importantly the players and supporters.
"There's been an upheaval, a takeover and a restructure, and I think everyone has to realise that it had to happen, and that the people who have come in want the best for Charlton. I suppose they've looked at me and felt that I could help in that process... We're not going to be silly, we know where we are and what we are, and we'll do things at our pace - we can't do everything tomorrow, but we'll get there."
"I have such a rapport with the fans at Charlton, and that's very special to me. I think I always will do, regardless of what happens... I'm sure there will be highs and lows, and it's up to me to deal with that, and I have to take that on board because it's part of being manager. But I can assure fans I will hurt when we lose and I will enjoy it when we win - as I always did as a player - and if there's more wins than losses, then great, because that's what we're aiming for."
At the risk of putting my head above the parapit in the mid-term it will be better to build a team for next season with a nuclious of players who are capable of performing in Div 2 (old school) than buy instant promotion this year and have to completely rebuild in the summer with all the usual pitfalls of rebuilding, time for team to gel etc. Notwithstanding the above yes we do need to get out of Div 2 at the earliest instance but not at the risk of an immidiately return to the god awfall league we find ourselves in now. I would suggest that patience and a stout heart is the key to future success. I am confident that Chris Powell will bring a long term dividend.
You are of course, right Henry. But it feels damn good to have a feelgood buzz around the club again - not least because a Charlton talisman has come home, but because it gives the impression that the new consortium that has taken over the club (at least those who didn't already have Charlton connections) 'get' what the club is all about.
Yes, it does have a soul....an irrepressible one that got even more powerful with today's appointment. Prague summed it up splendidly in his post which every Charlton fan should read....it really is cracking.
Actually, copy it out, put it in a frame and put it in a prominent place in the dressing room to give the players inspiration before they run out onto the Valley turf!
P.S Credit must be given to the board. They didn't foist their unpopular associate on us although they could have done so because, as they have brought the cash to our club, they in many ways must call the shots. It may be that he appears in another guise (to which I would not object as long as he did a good job), but he hasn't been given the top job, which many on here feared and others thought was inevitable.
Football is about community and a common identity, and Chris Powell brings that, an indentification with the club and a strong link to the fans. There are some legitimate concerns about CP as manager, just as there are about all new appointees. There would be concerns about whoever took over from Parky. However I think the board have chosen wisely, given that the pool of choice was small and most of the alleged names were in reality out of our grasp for one reason or another.
I see the hand of Murray and Varney in this and an attempt to replicate the success that they had with Curbs, although not quite a promotion from within as with Curbs they clearly know his character well and have gone for the same type of unpolished diamond, who can grow with the club, and will give him time to evolve his own style.
[cite]Posted By: BlackForestReds[/cite]Football is about community and a common identity, and Chris Powell brings that, an indentification with the club and a strong link to the fans. There are some legitimate concerns about CP as manager, just as there are about all new appointees. There would be concerns about whoever took over from Parky. However I think the board have chosen wisely, given that the pool of choice was small and most of the alleged names were in reality out of our grasp for one reason or another.
I see the hand of Murray and Varney in this and an attempt to replicate the success that they had with Curbs, although not quite a promotion from within as with Curbs they clearly know his character well and have gone for the same type of unpolished diamond, who can grow with the club, and will give him time to evolve his own style.
The hysteria has imo been way overboard and I'm a big CP fan. He has a lot of potential but it could take a good while for him to put his stamp on the team.
A poor start will imo cause huge problems, worse imo than Henry's few boos, as regardless of what gets put on here I think many fans still have high expectations for the rest of the season and the honeymoon period could be very short.
Sorry but I want to get carried away, I want to act like a delirious idiot and sing Chris Powell's name until I can sing no more. I've been kicked in the balls time and time again by this sodding club over the past few years and here is something that has not only made me smile but it's brought a tear to my eye.
I want the club to do well but I'll be honest the results and the end of this season now feel like they've taken a back seat. It's hard to explain, but I've got "the feeling" back. This is my club and Chris Powell is the man to lead us, I don't have ridiculous expectations of winning the league and getting promoted. I just can't wait to see a Chris Powell team on the pitch. I want this man involved with my club.
Maybe this is born from desperation, it wouldn't surprise me. But the feeling is there, the buzz is back, my passion is reignited. In my honest opinion there is only one man that could have given me this feeling back and he's now in charge of our club.
New owners, new manager, new era.
It's all very well to nod sagely about being rational and cautious, but football is an emotional thing, for everyone involved. And sometimes that emotion can take a team a long way further than anybody had any right to expect. Think a decimated ManU after Munich as the classic example. And heaven knows, the Valley needs a lift.
Unleash the feelings, I say. Lets overwhelm Plymouth like we overwhelmed Pompey, a better team than us, on 5.12.92. Then we'll settle down. Just gutted I cant be there. Damn, damn, damn.
Did Henry say that we will lose games? Oh no. If it all goes pear shaped then I'm sure Powell will be the first to admit the same, and this will be accepted by the fans if he were to leave honourably, by that I mean not get forced out with a severence pay off like Pardew. I'm sure it will be a dignified ending but with that said there are no guarantees. There's no arguing though that this feels like the right decision for club and fans at the moment. He is the manager we all want and we are realisitic with the expectations.
[cite]Posted By: PragueAddick[/cite]It's all very well to nod sagely about being rational and cautious, but football is an emotional thing, for everyone involved. And sometimes that emotion can take a team a long way further than anybody had any right to expect.
And sometimes that emotion gives people unrealistic expectations, makes them boo the team, give up their season ticket and pour irrational and hateful scorn on people who really don't deserve it. I'm in the rational camp for the most part - I save my emotions for the 90 minutes the game lasts.
I will love it - love it - if Chris succeeds. It will break my heart if he doesn't. As far as I can see there are as many reasons to think it will go one way as the other, and precious few reasons either way. If people want to speculate about each possibility on a message board then that's as it should be. Nobody's being disloyal, nobody's being a killjoy.
Anyway, it's all about the game so bring on Sheffield Wednesday. Come on you reds.
Let's focus on giving Chris and each member of the team, the uplifting support we're feeling at the moment.
It'll feed itself and opponents will fear coming to The Valley.
This thread has been a huge positive IMHO. Henry was right to bring some degree of reality to a CL board in a state of unprecedented euphoria and emotion. It has made posters review the reality and articulate the massive feeling that fans have for Charlton tempered with the need to look at the appointment of Chris as a long term project and not the usual football scenario of instant gratification. For me I would now like to see Mr.Slater come out with a down to earth statement of intent and his vision for Charlton going forwar more than the original piece about doing things the right way. He has an unbelievable opportunity now to tap into this feeling of hope running through the club and needs to reassure and get onside those that still have doubts about his and TJ's real intentions. We are as united now as any club has ever been so let's make the most of that from newest fan to the Chairman of the board.
[quote][cite]Posted By: Oggy Red[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: ShootersHillGuru[/cite]We are as united now as any club has ever been[/quote]
And I'm convinced that has been the purpose behind the Board's actions so far.[/quote]
And I'm convinced that this is just hyperbole. More united than Man U after Munich? More united than Liverpool after Hillsborough? Just how does one gauge the unitedness of clubs throughout their history compared to our unitedness now? It's impossible.
There was a great book but I can't recall the name of but I am sure I will, and it was focused on the difference you can make to others by smiling at just one person. That person takes that smile and feels envigorated they intern smile at someone else and the whole thing moves along describing how each individuals day past and the decisions and choices that person made throughout the day.
The same thing apply here if the team can feel the response from the crowd is right, and I don't just mean next week I mean going forward if the players can feel like most of us that this is the first steps to be rebuilt and the club is full of positive expectation not heavy forboding expectations then maybe they can relax enough to grow with it.
I hope you are not unhappy because it is time now for us all to be on a clean page
[cite]Posted By: Oggy Red[/cite]You get what you focus on.
Let's focus on giving Chris and each member of the team, the uplifting support we're feeling at the moment.
It'll feed itself and opponents will fear coming to The Valley.
Mirror image of Chris Powell who is not a CULT MANAGER but a person who feels very much at HOME at The Valley.
The excitement this has brought back to SE7 has not been seen for an EX PLAYER for 40 odd years.
LOOK AT THE FACTS......Unknown quality as a manager,legend as a player,but just has something going for him with the fans of the club.Alot will depend on the correct number 2 beside him.
Mirror image of this man one EDDIE FIRMANI with alongside him THEO FOLEY.just maybe this could work but give it time.
THIS CLUB HAS PASSION AS DOES THE FANS just maybe Chris Powell could become the first brick in the wall of another section of Charltons CULT history,only time will tell.
Comments
Nadou I ain't got a scooby as to what amorphous means. But we certainly have a soul we have a unique and undeniable history and that soul emanates from the centre circle of the valley.
I am delighted that Chris has taken on the job.
My interpretation of recent events is that new impetus has been brought into the club by way of finance. Its not that the previous board didn't bankroll the club, that they certainly did. It was just that they were putting in money to stave off administration and keep the club afloat. What I believe has happened now is that with the short term toxic debt having been paid off/written down, and only long term debt remaining, the new owners are in a position to invest again for our future.
I do not believe that they came in with a malignant plan to cashier Parky and Co, but they saw quickly the team not performing and also the fans increasing unrest and this tipped them quickly into looking quickly elsewhere at a time when the transfer window offers the opportunity to refresh the squad.
Under the previous regime, because of the financial position, the risk calculus for sacking Parky at this stage and replacing him with an untried manager was a big one. The old regime pretty much required the clubs promotion or serious cutbacks would be required and potentially lessen the chance of the club getting out of the hole it was in. Indeed Administration may well have beckoned. With new owners and greater financial strength, that risk is greatly diminished.
I believe that whilst they desire promotion this season, financially they have underwritten failure. No serious investor would come in thinking that promotion was guaranteed after all.
Employing a legendary, talented but untried manager in his first job, whilst giving the fans a huge lift, cannot possibly be based around the premise that his appointment will guarantee promotion. To me it smacks of a long term plan.
All of that to me is good news. What worries me is us, the fans. We should absolutely be lifted by Chris' return. We will get behind the team and because he is held in such high esteem, we will cut him slack that we perhaps would not be prepared to cut to other inexperienced managers. I fear though that failure to get promotion this season may start the boo boys going again.
So I say yes lets celebrate the return of Chris to his spiritual home. I can't wait for the Plymouth game but lets, as I think Henry is suggesting, keep our feet on the ground, give him the time he may need to turn things around. If we are patient, I am as certain as anyone can be, that he will deliver.
I'm not saying the 'soul' is the fans or even less a group of them. I'm saying that all those things I wrote about gave us reason to be proud to be Charlton fans, often regardless of crap performances (like, I would remind you, 1-6 Leeds, 0-3 Southend with Steve Brown playing like he'd just come from the pub, 0-5 at West Ham after which Chris Powell was dropped) but we still believed in our club, it was something to be proud of, we fought to go back to the Valley and now look at it...I'm at risk of repeating myself.
The only other club I can think of that comes near us is AFC Wimbledon. Maybe Blackpool but I dont know enough about their current owners, or how active the fans have been. Maybe Brighton, but same caveat. Brighton certainly think we are great, judging by what the tannoy man at Withdean told us.
Perfectly put.
I want him to suceed (for all the same reasons) but I think many are getting carried away.....being a club legend as a player doesn't mean that he will be anything like that as a manager.
The older we get, less innocent and more responsible and cynical we become becuase of the shite life throws at us means that escapism and fantasy is almost more important now than when we were jostling for postion on the terraces trying to catch a glimpse of our heroes of the time as kids.
If we analyse the pros and cons of everything at football it takes the fun out of it and i think with episodes like this it's worth embracing it just to remind us why we love the game in the first place.
The majority are happy with this appointment, if anything it should stop the booing (for a while at least, unless Plymouth bang in 5 in the first half next week!). I know it's an overused cliché but The Valley does need to be a fortress and as fans we have a major part to play, teams are coming here unafraid and they know if they can frustrate us home fans then we will turn on the team which in turn gives them a boost.
I am very pleased with our new manager, but I am cautious. It's impossible to predict exactly how things will go under a new man especially when it is his first job, but with Sir Chris' enthusiasm, hard work and love of the club we have a good chance of seeing some positive results at The Valley.
Les Reed didn't realise you needed any oil.
Pardew talked the machine up, as if it was a space rocket - when in fact it was only powered by rubber bands.
Parkinson never let the machine go anywhere except back to the centre circle/goalkeeper.
Chris Powell will at least have a bit of flair about him - and not all wind and bluster like Dowie and Pards.
He has the fans on his side, has a clean starting point, and a lot of respect within the game, and we might get some watchable football at long last - especially if the first 45mins against Spurs is anything to go by !
Parky's football was drab - even when we were winning, that's why there are so many comments about the atmo at home games. Remember when he took Reidy off at home because he was running into the oppo box and causing havoc ? Next day Parky was issuing quotes about protecting Reidy's fitness or some such toffee, because the fans could see Parky had made a rick.
Even when the old boy from the West Stand crept up on Parky in the Brighton 4-0 - he nearly put him on as a central midfielder !
Can't go to Plymouth which is a pain - but will be at Rochdale giving CP a "big-up"
We either get behind CP and the lads now - or commit to another year of this appalling L1 dross.
Including Chris Powell. Indeed, the man himself made the same point so much more positively and unifyingly in his own 'article' . I can't help feeling his words are worth more than anything in this thread:-
''A lot of hard work lies ahead now. I know what the fans want and what they've been through. It's part of a rebuilding job now for everyone to get this club back to what it was. It's going to take everyone working together - myself, the staff, the coaching staff, and most importantly the players and supporters.
"There's been an upheaval, a takeover and a restructure, and I think everyone has to realise that it had to happen, and that the people who have come in want the best for Charlton. I suppose they've looked at me and felt that I could help in that process... We're not going to be silly, we know where we are and what we are, and we'll do things at our pace - we can't do everything tomorrow, but we'll get there."
"I have such a rapport with the fans at Charlton, and that's very special to me. I think I always will do, regardless of what happens... I'm sure there will be highs and lows, and it's up to me to deal with that, and I have to take that on board because it's part of being manager. But I can assure fans I will hurt when we lose and I will enjoy it when we win - as I always did as a player - and if there's more wins than losses, then great, because that's what we're aiming for."
Notwithstanding the above yes we do need to get out of Div 2 at the earliest instance but not at the risk of an immidiately return to the god awfall league we find ourselves in now.
I would suggest that patience and a stout heart is the key to future success.
I am confident that Chris Powell will bring a long term dividend.
Yes, it does have a soul....an irrepressible one that got even more powerful with today's appointment. Prague summed it up splendidly in his post which every Charlton fan should read....it really is cracking.
Actually, copy it out, put it in a frame and put it in a prominent place in the dressing room to give the players inspiration before they run out onto the Valley turf!
P.S Credit must be given to the board. They didn't foist their unpopular associate on us although they could have done so because, as they have brought the cash to our club, they in many ways must call the shots. It may be that he appears in another guise (to which I would not object as long as he did a good job), but he hasn't been given the top job, which many on here feared and others thought was inevitable.
I see the hand of Murray and Varney in this and an attempt to replicate the success that they had with Curbs, although not quite a promotion from within as with Curbs they clearly know his character well and have gone for the same type of unpolished diamond, who can grow with the club, and will give him time to evolve his own style.
As ever - the voice of reason!
The hysteria has imo been way overboard and I'm a big CP fan. He has a lot of potential but it could take a good while for him to put his stamp on the team.
A poor start will imo cause huge problems, worse imo than Henry's few boos, as regardless of what gets put on here I think many fans still have high expectations for the rest of the season and the honeymoon period could be very short.
Fingers and toes crossed for a positive start!
I want the club to do well but I'll be honest the results and the end of this season now feel like they've taken a back seat. It's hard to explain, but I've got "the feeling" back. This is my club and Chris Powell is the man to lead us, I don't have ridiculous expectations of winning the league and getting promoted. I just can't wait to see a Chris Powell team on the pitch. I want this man involved with my club.
Maybe this is born from desperation, it wouldn't surprise me. But the feeling is there, the buzz is back, my passion is reignited. In my honest opinion there is only one man that could have given me this feeling back and he's now in charge of our club.
New owners, new manager, new era.
COYR
Bloody well said!
It's all very well to nod sagely about being rational and cautious, but football is an emotional thing, for everyone involved. And sometimes that emotion can take a team a long way further than anybody had any right to expect. Think a decimated ManU after Munich as the classic example. And heaven knows, the Valley needs a lift.
Unleash the feelings, I say. Lets overwhelm Plymouth like we overwhelmed Pompey, a better team than us, on 5.12.92. Then we'll settle down. Just gutted I cant be there. Damn, damn, damn.
And sometimes that emotion gives people unrealistic expectations, makes them boo the team, give up their season ticket and pour irrational and hateful scorn on people who really don't deserve it. I'm in the rational camp for the most part - I save my emotions for the 90 minutes the game lasts.
I will love it - love it - if Chris succeeds. It will break my heart if he doesn't. As far as I can see there are as many reasons to think it will go one way as the other, and precious few reasons either way. If people want to speculate about each possibility on a message board then that's as it should be. Nobody's being disloyal, nobody's being a killjoy.
Anyway, it's all about the game so bring on Sheffield Wednesday. Come on you reds.
Let's focus on giving Chris and each member of the team, the uplifting support we're feeling at the moment.
It'll feed itself and opponents will fear coming to The Valley.
As supporters, we have our part to play.
And I'm convinced that has been the purpose behind the Board's actions so far.
And I'm convinced that has been the purpose behind the Board's actions so far.[/quote]
And I'm convinced that this is just hyperbole. More united than Man U after Munich? More united than Liverpool after Hillsborough? Just how does one gauge the unitedness of clubs throughout their history compared to our unitedness now? It's impossible.
There was a great book but I can't recall the name of but I am sure I will, and it was focused on the difference you can make to others by smiling at just one person. That person takes that smile and feels envigorated they intern smile at someone else and the whole thing moves along describing how each individuals day past and the decisions and choices that person made throughout the day.
The same thing apply here if the team can feel the response from the crowd is right, and I don't just mean next week I mean going forward if the players can feel like most of us that this is the first steps to be rebuilt and the club is full of positive expectation not heavy forboding expectations then maybe they can relax enough to grow with it.
I hope you are not unhappy because it is time now for us all to be on a clean page
I mean we could be stripey shite or smallmill
But nowhere did I make any connection with Manchester Utd after Munich.
Or any comparisons with other clubs ' situations.
You just come across as totally cynical, Nadou.
100% Agree Oggy
The excitement this has brought back to SE7 has not been seen for an EX PLAYER for 40 odd years.
LOOK AT THE FACTS......Unknown quality as a manager,legend as a player,but just has something going for him with the fans of the club.Alot will depend on the correct number 2 beside him.
Mirror image of this man one EDDIE FIRMANI with alongside him THEO FOLEY.just maybe this could work but give it time.
THIS CLUB HAS PASSION AS DOES THE FANS just maybe Chris Powell could become the first brick in the wall of another section of Charltons CULT history,only time will tell.