I never saw Eddie play but he was our manager when I first remember being taken to the Valley. I loved watching his team play with the attacking style that he instilled in their play. I hadn't realised that he was only 34 years old when he was asked to become the team manager after Stokoe which must have been very difficult as he could still play and was a team mate with those he was about to manage. He did share his thoughts about his dilema on being asked to take on the managers role and he gave me the impression that his obvious love for our club (he was honoured to be asked) coupled with him knowing that his playing days were coming to an end, eventually made him agree to take over in the hot seat. Tapping up in football players was as rife in those days and a certain Luton Town manager (Harry Haslam) was a long time admirer of Matt Tees. Eddie's philosophy was such that he believed that if you could get decent money for a good player (which he believes is the easiest task a manager has, trying selling the bad players he says ! ) and pay less but get in the same or better, then that is what you should do. He did just that with Matt Tees in the end and took Luton's money and brought former England international Ray Crawford to the Valley. What he realised afterwards, was the emotional effect losing Matt Tees had on his team mates that Ray couldn't bring to the club. Many of the regulars in Eddie's near promotion winning side were also great friends off the pitch and Matt was part of that bond they shared. As Henry says above, Eddie realised after that it was a big mistake, but for me an understandable one, from an inexperienced manager being badgered by a long time one up the road. Eddie as others have said is Charlton through and through and will talk to you the same as any other fellow Charton fan would, but with his former association with the club and his wider links into the game he is so enchanting to listen to. He has a great belief in what Fabio Capelo is doing for our national side and feels that if Engalnd are ever to become winners once more, that we now have the right man in place to do just that. Spending just a few minutes with the man, you can't fail to love him, not only as a Charlton hero but also as a thouroughy decent man who has a wonderful ethos about the great game, but more importantly about life in general. You get it from Eddie exactly how he sees it and I too will be waiting with great anticipation for his forthcoming book if it arrives, as he promises it to be "warts and all" and realises that is essentially how the reader wants to see it.
[cite aria-level=0 aria-posinset=0 aria-setsize=0]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite]See if this works.
Eddie with a couple of Lifers[div class=Attachments id=Attachments_552694 noWrap=false][ul compact=false][li aria-level=0 aria-posinset=0 aria-setsize=0 value=0]Eddie & Pals.JPG[/ul][/div][/li]
was going to ask which one's are Lifers and their CL names but is that against the rules ??
Happy to "come out" ............... that's me sitting next to Eddie.
[cite]Posted By: east terrace peanuts[/cite]Wynn G started an Eddie Firmani Appreciation site on Facebook some time ago. Doesn't appear to have taken off properly....now's the chance.
Not through lack of appreciation of Eddie I'm sure but more the fact that many of us old gits of an age to appreciate Eddie find facebook an alien concept!
For Striker Firmani...................................Man City away was Eddie's first game after returning from Italy, I have the programme which didn't include him on the team page as he'd signed, I think, on the Thursday and the programmes had already been printed. Last home game before he returned vs Plymouth the gate was 13,404, first game back vs Bury 24,532. Says it all. One of my early heroes, along with Frank Haydock, Roy Matthews and Len Glover. He signed the front of my programme v Coventry away, when he was manager, in Jan 1968. Loads of Charlton up there that day, we lost 3-0 and should have got a draw, all the goals came in the last 15 minutes. Scored a hat trick away at Norwich in November 1963 in a 3-1 victory. Heard the result just before I settled down to watch a very early, possibly the first, episode of Doctor Who! Halcyon days indeed.
Can add no more to what's already been said except that one can only imagine what might have happened if the then owners/directors had seen what was possible and invested in the team instead of turning us into a 'selling club'.
"........Firmani, capped by the Azzurri three times in the late 1950s, stopped playing in Italy in summer 1963, going back to Charlton, then on to Southend, then back to Charlton, where he started his management career, initially as a player-coach. By the time he hung up his boots, he'd become the only player to score 100 league goals in both Italy and England. It's a record that remains intact today."
I've often wondered why at the relatively young age of just 30, he left Italy Serie A and signed again for Charlton in Division 2 ....... with his renowned quality and superb goalscoring record at the highest level both in England and Italy, why didn't a top flight club try to snap him up on what obviously was a free transfer?
And then question 2 ....... After 2 further years (including the 1963-64 "forgotten" promotion attempt season; Charlton finally finished 4th), Firmani had scored 32 goals in only 55 appearances.
So why, at the age of just 32 and still full of goals, was he allowed to leave for Southend - presumably for free?
I was curious about the Southend story (I don't remember anything about him moving there) so I rummaged around and found his biography 'Football with the Millionaires'. This is one of a set of 3 biographies issued by Charlton in 1996 (the other two were by Sam Bartram and Jimmy Seed) which I received for xmas that year. I couldn’t find anything about Southend (but then it was first published in 1960 so no surprise really) but I found a 'Subscribers Certificate' I had forgotten about. It is number 829 out of 3000. And at the back of the Firmani book is a list of names, districts and details of first Charlton games of the first 369 subscribers. I was wondering if there are any Lifers who have this collection and have their names in that list of 369. I can see a David Rudd, number 149 from Ware and his first game was in 1955.
[quote][cite]Posted By: Red_in_SE8[/cite]I was wondering if there are any Lifers who have this collection and have their names in that list of 369. I can see a David Rudd, number 149 from Ware and his first game was in 1955.[/quote]
[quote][cite]Posted By: SoundAsa£[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: Dave Rudd[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite]whos the other guy in the photo on post 43 with Moore and Firmani?[/quote]
Graham Moore[/quote]
You know I think you're right...good spot....or did you already know?[/quote]
Just a decent memory, I suppose. I remember what he looked like.
Interesting mention in the article about watching the 1978 World Cup with Mick Jagger in New York. Jagger's late father was a Charlton fan and used to coach youngsters locally, Dartford I think. Jagger's brother Chris is also a fan and wrote a piece in the programme many years ago. Eddie, well, my favourite player ever. Absolute class. I was totally in awe of him when he came back to Charlton in 1963. He had it all.
Comments
i'm one of them myself but clearly thu premature greying due to the stress of following charlton!
Eddie as others have said is Charlton through and through and will talk to you the same as any other fellow Charton fan would, but with his former association with the club and his wider links into the game he is so enchanting to listen to. He has a great belief in what Fabio Capelo is doing for our national side and feels that if Engalnd are ever to become winners once more, that we now have the right man in place to do just that.
Spending just a few minutes with the man, you can't fail to love him, not only as a Charlton hero but also as a thouroughy decent man who has a wonderful ethos about the great game, but more importantly about life in general. You get it from Eddie exactly how he sees it and I too will be waiting with great anticipation for his forthcoming book if it arrives, as he promises it to be "warts and all" and realises that is essentially how the reader wants to see it.
Happy to "come out" ............... that's me sitting next to Eddie.
Not through lack of appreciation of Eddie I'm sure but more the fact that many of us old gits of an age to appreciate Eddie find facebook an alien concept!
ah, now I know.
Can't put a name to him though.
He signed the front of my programme v Coventry away, when he was manager, in Jan 1968. Loads of Charlton up there that day, we lost 3-0 and should have got a draw, all the goals came in the last 15 minutes. Scored a hat trick away at Norwich in November 1963 in a 3-1 victory. Heard the result just before I settled down to watch a very early, possibly the first, episode of Doctor Who! Halcyon days indeed.
He lives in Naples, Florida. A few miles from my parents.
Ran into him once at a Walmart there.
A genuine fellow and real Charlton legend!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/may/19/the-footballing-life-eddie-firmani
he mentioned he was looking for a publisher for his book when I was very lucky to have dinner with him and few other Lifers last year. Great guy
"........Firmani, capped by the Azzurri three times in the late 1950s, stopped playing in Italy in summer 1963, going back to Charlton, then on to Southend, then back to Charlton, where he started his management career, initially as a player-coach. By the time he hung up his boots, he'd become the only player to score 100 league goals in both Italy and England. It's a record that remains intact today."
I've often wondered why at the relatively young age of just 30, he left Italy Serie A and signed again for Charlton in Division 2 ....... with his renowned quality and superb goalscoring record at the highest level both in England and Italy, why didn't a top flight club try to snap him up on what obviously was a free transfer?
And then question 2 ....... After 2 further years (including the 1963-64 "forgotten" promotion attempt season; Charlton finally finished 4th), Firmani had scored 32 goals in only 55 appearances.
So why, at the age of just 32 and still full of goals, was he allowed to leave for Southend - presumably for free?
Is that your Dad, Tavern ....?
;o)
That would be me then. I was three in 1955.
Many miles have I travelled ...
Graham Moore
You know I think you're right...good spot....or did you already know?
Graham Moore[/quote]
You know I think you're right...good spot....or did you already know?[/quote]
Just a decent memory, I suppose. I remember what he looked like.