Good article and had read about how influential Chinaglia was off the pitch with the Italian national side as well as his club sides in Italy in 4-4-2 last month.
Very happy to be reminded of Eddie's return to Charlton, having missed him first time round. I remember the long drawn out process of his transfer back I think for £17,500. There did not appear to be any question about his return to Charlton and to no one else. Frank Hill manager at the time and Gliksten worked hard to get him back. Scored some great goals, first touch was out of this world. By the way there is a Eddie Firmani appreciation page on Facebook which could do with some new energy. I just wish his time as manager had worked out better.
[cite]Posted By: east terrace peanuts[/cite]Very happy to be reminded of Eddie's return to Charlton, having missed him first time round. I remember the long drawn out process of his transfer back I think for £17,500. There did not appear to be any question about his return to Charlton and to no one else. Frank Hill manager at the time and Gliksten worked hard to get him back. Scored some great goals, first touch was out of this world. By the way there is a Eddie Firmani appreciation page on Facebook which could do with some new energy. I just wish his time as manager had worked out better.
Nice one, ETPeanuts.
Right, so it was a case of Firmani returning to his first love in football.
Didn't realise there was a £17,500 transfer fee involved, quite a hefty sum in those days.
Must have been about the time, Marvin Hinton was flogged to Chelsea for £35,000 - so half that money was invested to bring Eddie home.
Maybe that was also the time that a very young Michael Gliksten inherited the chair at Charlton?
New energy, funds raised and a strong promotion effort "to regain our rightful place in the 1st Division", to wipe away the memory of the almost relegation the season before.
So that just leaves my original 2nd question:
Why was he transferred after 2 successful seasons and 32 goals in 55 matches - and to Third Division Southend, presumably on a free?
Saw Firmani play at a time when Charlton seemed to be happy as long as they stayed in the second tier. The useful practice was to bump along near the bottom of the table and then buy an experienced goalscorer near the end of the season to score some goals and keep them up.
Ray Crawford has already been mentioned but Ron Saunders was another.
Matt Tees and Rodney Green were bought from Grimsby and had an amazing start with lots of goals. They used to to run in from the opposite side of the penalty area at corners - very hard to defend and they could both hang in the air for ages. They then seemed to get kicked out of games with an awful lot of injuries to follow.
Staying in the 2nd Division this way failed just once and they bounced back after being relegated.
The photo of Graham Moore reminds me that he and Alan Campbell could often be found in the Conservative Club after training.
Graham Moore was of course Firmani's skipper at Charlton, when Eddie was manager.
Midfield general. big strong 6 footer, blond hair and foghorn Welsh voice, he'd played plenty of times for Chelsea and Man Utd, and a regular Wales international.
The driving force behind Firmani's Charlton on the field.
Eddies goals to appearences record is even more amazing when you consider that he made his debut at left back and it was some time before Jimmy Seed converted him to partner his friend Stuart Leary up front. They came over together as 17 year olds and although Stuart played cricket for Kent as well ,Eddie was also a very good cricketer. I think he played for Harveys.
[cite]Posted By: Starinnaddick[/cite]Eddies goals to appearences record is even more amazing when you consider that he made his debut at left back and it was some time before Jimmy Seed converted him to partner his friend Stuart Leary up front. They came over together as 17 year olds and although Stuart played cricket for Kent as well ,Eddie was also a very good cricketer. I think he played for Harveys.
[cite]Posted By: Starinnaddick[/cite]Eddies goals to appearences record is even more amazing when you consider that he made his debut at left back and it was some time before Jimmy Seed converted him to partner his friend Stuart Leary up front.
I'd not heard before that he began his career at left back.
But Eddie Firmani does have a brother Peter, who played for Charlton in the early 50s - at fullback.
I had the pleasure of seeing Eddie Firmani as a player and his two spells as Manager. I think from memory, he is the only player who has scored 100 goals in English football and 100 goals in Italian football. Thorough gentleman, would always stop and have a quick work or just shake your hand.
I had the pleasure of seeing Eddie Firmani as a player and his two spells as Manager. I think from memory, he is the only player who has scored 100 goals in English football and 100 goals in Italian football. Thorough gentleman, would always stop and have a quick work or just shake your hand.
Comments
Nice one, ETPeanuts.
Right, so it was a case of Firmani returning to his first love in football.
Didn't realise there was a £17,500 transfer fee involved, quite a hefty sum in those days.
Must have been about the time, Marvin Hinton was flogged to Chelsea for £35,000 - so half that money was invested to bring Eddie home.
Maybe that was also the time that a very young Michael Gliksten inherited the chair at Charlton?
New energy, funds raised and a strong promotion effort "to regain our rightful place in the 1st Division", to wipe away the memory of the almost relegation the season before.
So that just leaves my original 2nd question:
Why was he transferred after 2 successful seasons and 32 goals in 55 matches - and to Third Division Southend, presumably on a free?
I hope he finds a publisher for the book as it would make a much more interesting read than many similar offerings, I'm sure.
Saw Firmani play at a time when Charlton seemed to be happy as long as they stayed in the second tier. The useful practice was to bump along near the bottom of the table and then buy an experienced goalscorer near the end of the season to score some goals and keep them up.
Ray Crawford has already been mentioned but Ron Saunders was another.
Matt Tees and Rodney Green were bought from Grimsby and had an amazing start with lots of goals. They used to to run in from the opposite side of the penalty area at corners - very hard to defend and they could both hang in the air for ages. They then seemed to get kicked out of games with an awful lot of injuries to follow.
Staying in the 2nd Division this way failed just once and they bounced back after being relegated.
The photo of Graham Moore reminds me that he and Alan Campbell could often be found in the Conservative Club after training.
Midfield general. big strong 6 footer, blond hair and foghorn Welsh voice, he'd played plenty of times for Chelsea and Man Utd, and a regular Wales international.
The driving force behind Firmani's Charlton on the field.
Played for Kent 2nd XI once or twice
I'd not heard before that he began his career at left back.
But Eddie Firmani does have a brother Peter, who played for Charlton in the early 50s - at fullback.