I thought it was about time I’d introduce myself. I’ve been a bit of a lurker having read the posts on here ever since I signed up last year. But I’ve never felt like I could post myself, as I thought I was a fraud. Until recently I wasn't a Charlton supporter.
I grew up in East Kent. My Dad didn't like football but I did and having seen Leeds on TV back in the late 80s early 90s I started following them.
When I was 18, I went to Uni in London. I moved back to Kent over 10 years later, a year or so ago with a wife and child. Most of my friends support Liverpool, Man Utd, Tottenham and Chelsea. I got fed up of travelling hundreds of miles to see home games; seeing the violence that has long been associated with Leeds; being charged over the hill for diabolical football even at away games because of the name of the club; going to games on my own (because to be honest there aren’t many Leeds fans in this part of the world); and because I have a son who in a few years will want to go to football with his Dad and enjoy what I missed out on. Besides I wouldn’t let him in the house when he’s older wearing a Chelsea, Spurs or Manure shirt. I want to follow a team that is more local to me, seems friendly, and has fairly good ties with the local communities.
I started to go to a few games at The Valley for a number of reasons. It was fairly easy to get to by train or car or from work; it was fairly cheap; the people were friendly; and it has a good family feel to the club. I started to get to know the players and started to look out for the results and listen to them on the local radio when I couldn‘t get to games. I’ve had a lot of stick from mates about changing allegiance especially later on in life. It’s not been until now that I can say I’m a Charlton supporter. However, I'm a proud one at that.
Although I don’t know much about their history and have not been involved in it, and I’ve not been to many games, I try and go money, work, or wife permitting and still feel I'm a valuable fan. I look forward to being able to take my son in the near future to The Valley. I’m getting in early and taking him to games so that the Charlton bug will rub off on him too.
I’m excited and optimistic about the new season. I think given time, Alan Pardew is the man to take Charlton forward. I look forward to the new fixture list and the potential new signings.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope that another Charlton fan will be accepted, all be it a bit late!
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Comments
Coming fom East Kent there are of course those from Gillingham who'd think you should get yourself hitched up to them but you went those few extra miles and fortunately saw the light and long may you and your little lad do so!
I mean to say, The Mighty Gills, give us a break please!
They're a bit like Scottish football, what's the point!
I'm this board's hard man, so just agree with everything i say and you will be fine!
;o)
Steer the lad well away from the Gills too ;-)
Welcome Crazy. Great post.
Surprised that anyone would start supporting the club considering all that terrible marketing we did to you like cheap and available tickets, friendly atmosphere etc but here you are and you're very welcome.
And don't worry about not knowing the history. Most of this lot are pig ignorant enough to not know that the away end is called the Jimmy Seed Stand. Just as long as you get that right you'll be OK.
BTW to answer you other post: never been on Valley Express either but it is reliable and fast I'm told. Not sure what the banter is like but most coaches have a regular group of people so I'd think you'd get to know them pretty quick.
Of course, you're accepted. Not that you need our acceptance or anyone else's. If you want to be a Charlton fan then you are a Charlton fan. Good for you.
Most pig ignorant people sit in the west stand munching on prawn sandwiches :)
Yeah, paying well over the odds so the great unwashed can get their cheap seats.
Some get it from birth, some later in life. But being part of the Charlton family Crazy is something that will bring you both pleasure and pain. If you're after just pleasure, then you've picked the wrong club.
But we're all in it together, we look out for our own and we look after our own. And when the pleasure does sometimes come along, we enjoy it all the more.
Welcome to the family.
post once in a blue moon....
BTW - watch out for Nolly and Goonerhater - right pair of jessies.
(hides)
I know where you're coming from. After moving out of SE London as a kid i was in a school where everyone was a plastic, with most supporting Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal and Tottenham (popular at the time - Ossie Ardiles and all that) as well as other teams doing well at the time like Leeds and Forest - but even more seemed to support Chelsea and I found myself roped in as all I knew about the football at the time was that my Dad couldn't give a monkeys (he's never been that interested in footy and ended up being taken to matches (the Valley, of course) by me - shouldn't it have been the other way around?) my mum liked Charlton, one side of the family was CAFC who were invisible to me at the time, as were PNE who the other side of the family supported (as well as Charlton who were the nearest club - my grandparents on that side were from Lancashire).
The result? Up until I could think for myself (which took me a good 16 odd years) I thought I was a Chelsea 'fan'. Luckily, my grandad started to impress upon me the history of our family (he was from Charlton itself) and how we were tied to that area. He told me of going to the Valley pre and post war and of watching Kent play on Blackheath. Luckily, as most of the family still lived in that neck of the woods (SE London) and I was there a lot, I started to feel the connection. It also turned out we had family connections to people in the club.
So when my mates were going to Stamford Bridge and Highbury etc. I decided to take a trip to Selhurst one saturday afternoon and even though in those days CAFC were a shadow of the club they had been and would again be - there was still something about Charlton that was head and shoulders above any of the others and still is. Call it the 'spirit' of the club - which is manifested in the people who follow it; I don't know - but I soon found myself instantly hooked and whilst those around me chased glory with the 'top' sides, I found true contentment in the highs and considerable lows of following the one and only super Charlton. If others mock you for it you just smile back knowing that they are missing out on something special and that it would be cruel to rub it in!
So congratulations for being priviledged enough to eventually find the path of righteousness - and good luck to us, one and all.
Apologies for verbosity.
They did of course play at The Rectory Field i.e. Blackheath Rugby Club for many years, which may lead to the confusion but not as far as I know on Blackheath itself.
Can anyone confirm?
So as a kid, I knew more about Charlton history than I ever learned about British history in school lol
Before I even went to my first match, I knew that Charlton were the first club ever to go from the 3rd Division to the 1st Division in successive seasons, then the next season only missed the title by a single point and finished 4th & 3rd in the next 2 seasons.
I was told that we'd got to the FA Cup Final in 2 successive seasons, the ball burst in both matches, and we actually won the FA Cup in 1947 - and it was paraded around Woolwich, Charlton and Greenwich by the players in an open-top bus.
I learned about manager Jimmy Seed's 23 years in charge in that successful period, Sam Bartram the greatest keeper never to be capped by England, super Swedish amateur Hans Jepson who almost singlehandly saved the club from certain relegation in just 13 games - including a hatrick in the 5-2 demolition of mighty Arsenal at Highbury.
Dad made sure I knew that The Valley (at the time) was the biggest ground in the League and had a record crowd of 76,031 in a Cuptie against Aston Villa. Legends like Eddie Firmani, Benny Fenton & John Hewie were ingrained into me, so when I first went to The Valley in 1964, I thought I was about to see today's equivalent of Man Utd.
I wasn't disappointed, as we won 5-2 including super strikes by Mike Kenning & Firmani - all under the wondrous glare of floodlights which to me, gave the match a mystical quality even now never forgotten.
I soon learned that was a false dawn ..... ha ha!
As usual, I'm going on a bit lol - so I'll leave it to others to fill you in on why Charlton somehow is so special as a club - and why, not so long ago, we were so grateful that we even had a club at all.
And why we've been such a unique band of supporters ..........
The Killer Clan will always welcome Newbies as we have a few of our own..........as someone else said, there is just something about Charlton that grabs you & tugs away at your heart strings.
It's a roller coaster...........one you & your boy will always ride together & trust me, that's a really special thing that will never ever die.
C'mon you Addicks xx
Medders is an Egg chaser and Carter is a Sicko!
You have done already.
It doesn't matter when you get 'it' and only matters that you get 'it.'
Chicago Addick, 2008 :-D
See if you can get hold of Rick Everitt's book Battle for the Valley. It will tell you all you need to know about the spirit of our wonderful club.
I make out that I'm third generation Addick and it's true but hides the fact that as a kid I supported.........Chelsea - there I've admitted it!! Although my Dad took me to the Valley as a boy, I was tempted by the glamour of the millionaires club. Actually I only saw them once. Actually as a kid it was quite difficult to admit to yourself, let alone your mates that you supported Charlton. At my secondary school, almost everybody supported Palarse. As I began to become a spotty adolescent rebel I suddenly realised that a bond had been formed and I was terminally Addickted and "came out" so to speak. Since then the affliction has swept me along during good times and bad. My son now comes with me most games, despite the fact that we live in Norfolk now.
Welcome aboard mate.