Chris Powell: Stop The Hate
He's Gone!
Three times a player, once as a manager,
Forever in the history books.
But Chris Powell's departure isn't
As straight forward as it looks...
...Because some people just won't let go
Be it out of love or spurred by hate,
His very name divides masses and
Sparks off heated debate.
What causes such emotion?
What sparks such a commotion?
As a player there weren't a divide
All supporters on the same side.
We loved the way he done the fist pump
At the end of his celebratory tunnel jump.
As a manager he wasn't always great
But is this cause for so much hate?
We used to have rivalries, but now why bother?
When so many of you just want to fight each other!
You log on to your forums to have your online spur;
"How dare you call it hoofball!" "How dare you call him sir!"
"He bought crap players and was tactically inept"
"But look at where he got us and how many are left"
Blah Blah Blah...We've heard it all before...
Both sides of the argument are becoming a bore.
How many of you log on to which ever forum you prefer
And now avoid the threads with the name which causes a stir?
It's the moderators I feel for, their heads and fingers must hurt
Using their spare time controlling and fixing each childish spurt.
He is neither a messiah or public enemy number one.
He done some great things and had a bad run.
The over the top grieving and spiteful hate, is pathetic!
Just concentrate on supporting Charlton Athletic.
Some say good riddance but for others he'll be missed.
But at the end of the day he's just a another name on a list.
Rayner, McFarlane twice with Albert Lindon in-between,
Jimmy Seed was next and he was the cream.
Then Trotter, Hill, Stockoe and Firmani,
Followed by Foley, Nelson, Bailey and Mullery.
We then had Craggs then Lawrence he was great,
Then Gritt and Curbishley, The most successful to date.
We had Dowie, Reed and Pardew who all suck,
Then poor old Parky who had the worst luck.
Peacock stepped in, followed by Powell,
Then Jose Riga and we have Peeters for now.
Many Great names but none of them last,
They all get recorded and become part of our past.
It's a shame a once club hero, a legend, a great
Has become for some a catalyst for hate.
Whether you love him or hate him, whether he was right or wrong?
For Gawds sake it don't matter the man has now gone!
We shouldn't care where Powell is now or what he'll become
Just focus on Bob Peeters and hope for a great league run.
This should now be it, this is where it ends
We are all mighty Addicks, let us all be friends!
19
Comments
You should consider composing an Addick Anthem...
But could I add a little word I hope that you don't mind.
Most of what you have written I cannot say is wrong,
But to say Charlton fans hated Chris Powell does seem a little strong.
I think it was more of a debate about ineffective diagonal longs,
Nobody really hated him they just felt it was time to move on.
Now we have Bob Peeters whose got off to flying start,
But forever Chris Powell has a space in every Charlton fan's heart.
I really DONT want to see those words in that order anywhere.
The problem is 5% (hope it's no higher) of Charlton fans are not very articulate and so there choice of words,
come across as disrespectful to one of charlton's great ambassadors.
Others have tried to give a more balanced critique of his management style. (Myself included)
If/when Bob Peeters loses matches he will encounter the same opprobrium,
because that is their raison d'etre.
"They are very transparent with the fans. I attended a Q+Alast week with the chairman and the fans wanted to know everything - and the club tells them everything"
"Charlton was the opposite. The fans were told nothing. And when fans are kept in the dark about things they get the hump".
"I enjoyed my time there. But the new owners came in, budgets got cut and there were more players leaving than coming in".
"To last three years at any club is a considerable achievement these days".
Tops SJ, tops
Come on Powelly work your magic. Let's have a Charlton v Udders play off final
In Chris Powell's case the strong, unconditional emotional support he enjoyed from many fans while he was the Manager, understandably and not unreasonably, intensified the typical cut and thrust.
Once a debate starts it's hard to shut down without very conclusive evidence one way or another. And that rarely arrives. What happens instead is that "each side" highlights any new information or development which supports their case and/or proves the "other side" wrong. This happens with greater determination and intensity the more "personal" the discussion has felt to those involved.
In Chris Powell's case, at least as far as I'm concerned, the jury is probably still out on whether he's a great, good, indifferent or bad Manager and on whether or not he'll enjoy a long and successful career as a Manager. Given this, from an " intellectual" or unemotional perspective, it will be interesting to see how he does this season at Huddersfield. Unfortunately, each and every week we're likely to see posts highlighting a good result for Town, or a disappointing one, or a comment on a Town forum, or an interview with the man himself, as rival factions seek to "prove their case". This is much more about debate than hate, but it's important that it doesn't then "kick-off", yet again.
I don't believe anybody on CL "hates" Chris Powell. The acrimony which often arises when he is discussed isn't directed at Powell, at least as far as I can tell. The anger or aggression we sometimes observe is between posters and opposing "camps". To an extent, that's natural. It's human nature, but it's important to retain mutual respect. One of the things I love about sports, and contact sports in particular, is that players can "kick lumps out of each other" during the game and then embrace when the final whistle goes, enjoying a drink in the bar afterwards to relax and cool down. That's mutual respect.
You don't have to believe Chris Powell is a good football Manager to respect him, but you do need to respect your fellow posters to engage in constructive discussion and debate with them about that question.
I certainly will, even if I'm on my own.
Cringing.
Please make this members only.