Charlie i believe you are going tuesday in all seriousness come and have a beer in the market porter and maybe we may all understand each other a bit more.I have meet a few people on here i don't share the same opinions as but meeting them does make it a little easier to see where they are coming from and indeed respect them a little more eh rothko ;-)
[quote][cite]Posted By: Leroy Ambrose[/cite]Not really, no Pete. I think we've been punching well above our weight for a few seasons and are starting to find what is more the 'natural' level for a club like us. Lets face it, Lennie was an absolute f***ing genius to get us up in the eighties - and keep us up for as long as he did. When we went down, I think we were in real danger of going under again - the decision to take us back to the Valley was the right one, without a shadow of a doubt, but were it not for Wet Spam helping us out (the arrangements there were infinitely favourable compared to those with Uncle Ron at Sellout) we would have had serious difficulties after first getting back.
Curbishley had the benefit of a patient board, willing to back him when it mattered but astute enough to know that building a team takes time. Curbishley's masterstroke was signing first Kinsella and then Mendonca - those two got us up. The year we came down, we had Andy hunt to score goals for us, and the same side that had played together in the Prem the season before. This gave us an extremely sound footing with which to build on - which we did for the next three or four seasons.
Then it all started to go pear-shaped. Some of our newer 'fans' started to demand that we push on to the next level - something that was clearly never going to happen. the Parker sale was where it all started to crumble - not that we could have done anything about it. I honestly believe that, if we'd kept Parker for the rest of that season, we would have sneaked into the top six - possibly even top four. As it was, Chelsea bought him simply to stop us playing him, destroyed any chance we had of competing seriously for the rest of the year and, from that point on, Curbishley's heart just wasn't in it any more. Yes the backed him when he went out and bought some players who were supposedly a cut above what we had at the time (Denise, Murphy, Jeffers) and, for a while, we started to see a decent side - until Murphy got the ballache with Curbishley for dropping him.
The shambles of the last season in the Prem was the last straw for me - top flight football can f*** off as far as I'm concerned. Good luck to Hull, Wigan, Stoke etc etc fighting each other to stay out of the bottom three every season. For me, I've seen more entertainment in the past six weeks than I saw in the last four years at the Valley in the Premiershit and last season in the Championship. Pardew is going in the right direction - and to be honest, I'm pleased he's stayed after being given precisely sod all to spend in the Summer (certainly not what he would have expected at most other clubs). The board have taken a look at the squad Pardew has inherited/assembled, realised that there was a LOT of s***e in there and told him to ship some out, keep us solvent and in mid-table this season. Without that, they know full well we are inches away from doing a Leeds or Bradford. Ask their fans if the stupid money they spent on players was worth it.
Simply put, our natural level is the Championship. We did well to punch above our weight for a while, but time is a leveller. As GH posted earlier, we've spent far, far more time at this level than any other - people thinking we have a god-given right to play in the top flight obviously don't remember season after season watching dross.[/quote]
Thats a good summary..... I think we are back to the charlton of old where if we get on top we are likely to let it slip and and if we go behind we are unlikely to pull it back.... but thats charlton and when it does go our way thats whne we can all get excited....
As this is a "Charlton Community" website presumably the community has the collective right to expel members - or in this case just ban them.
I'm all for freedom of speech and allowing people to air their views, but it seems to me that enough is enough now. This Henry character should be banned.
[cite]Posted By: Off_it[/cite]As this is a "Charlton Community" website presumably the community has the collective right to expel members - or in this case just ban them.
I'm all for freedom of speech and allowing people to air their views, but it seems to me that enough is enough now. This Henry character should be banned.
Back the thread, in my view Pards hit the nail on the head when he talked of "the whole being greater than the sum of the parts". His take is that the team is now starting to perform like that. Well maybe, it certainly is playing with more heart. No player gave less than 100% effort on Saturday but several didn't perform to 100% of their ability. To force our way into contention this season, and I'm convinced we can do it, Pards has to get all the players playing at the top of their game. I thought this would begin to come following the last two away games where, without playing brilliantly there was a real team effort and if we'd managed to convert our territiorial advantage on Saturday into more goals, things would really start moving in the right direction.
So a reality check then. We are not the best team in this Division on current form. We have a decent enough squad to be up near the top. We have to get behind the team (which I think we did on Saturday, especially in the second half) and help Pards and the players strive to build the confidence that will see our team playing as Pards suggests, greater than the sum of its parts.
Oh and Charlie, like Henry you lost my respect when you called Murray and Varney c*nts. You have been banging on about the failings of the Board since I can remember, the problem is you don't give any credit for what, to those of us who've been watching for 40 years or so, recognise as the best set of directors we ever had.
Personally I thought we played well saturday, enjoyed the game, thought Pardews subsitutions were a tad bizarre but overall encouraged, more of the same please & the results will turn.
Charlie you were not even at the game on Saturday, is that correct ?
If so, not really sure why you have decided to vent your spleen after this particular game. Effort from team was good & the actual football was pleasing to watch, just the result missing, it was hardly like Wycombe at home a couple of years ago.
Charlie, I fail to understand you. The club had to sell players to keep afloat. That's the end of the story.
The way you put your argument seems to suggest you'd rather the board just dived into the overdraft, got a few bank loans, kept the squad (even though not many would've wanted to stay) and tried to get up at the first attempt. What would have happened if we had failed? We'd have to sell practically our entire squad the next season and would most certainly be on our way to league one. Why put all our eggs in one basket?
Your statement that our current squad is on our way to league one shows how little you understand the game let-alone the politics behind it.
[cite]Posted By: bingaddick[/cite]Oh and Charlie, like Henry you lost my respect when you called Murray and Varney c*nts
When it was published on the club website at the backend of last season "The manager, players, staff and directors are all determined to bring Premier League football back to The Valley" clearly suggests that the club has promotion ambitions. What do the board do? Sell the players most likely to ensure the club achieves this and we are now left with a squad which, given results of the past five games, looks like a club heading for League 1. It appears to me that the board are either telling lies to its supporters or are simply are not up to it.
[cite]Posted By: bingaddick[/cite]No player gave less than 100% effort on Saturday but several didn't perform to 100% of their ability. To force our way into contention this season, and I'm convinced we can do it
If this is the case - I wasn't at the game due to other commitments, then it appears that a some of the players are showing some determination to get into the Premiership but sadly very few are doing that.
[cite]Posted By: bingaddick[/cite]the problem is you don't give any credit for what, to those of us who've been watching for 40 years or so, recognise as the best set of directors we ever had.
Two and a half years ago I would have agreed with you - but given what the set of directors have done to the club since then (like taking a so-called established Premiership club occupying a Champions League place to what it is now) then has caused them to lose my respect a bit. Being less than politically correct about the board is probably a bit harsh but I am not too happy about seeing my club going downhill fast, particularly when during the past few years I have been a season ticket holder form which I pay good money for and spend some six hours each way travelling from where I live to a home game.
However, it will take a lot more for me to recognise them as being the worst set of directors in my time as a supporter - like those that took us away from The Valley.
Its not the football clubs fault or the directors who own it and run it where you choose to live and travel from to the games.
I think if you do look back over the quotes made by the players, the ambitions are to ensure that the club has a stable future first and foremost which enables us to consolidate ourselves in the top flight. if we don't balance the books this season and don't go up - without the parachute payments ending we could be in trouble.
we took a few risks a couple of seasons ago that didn't pan out.
people make mistakes, chairmen, owners, fans etc - no one is an expert on how things should be run, but to suggest they did it on purpose or that they are idiots for getting it perhaps a bit wrong is wrong on your part.
The club went for it - it didn't work - they spent money - they got their fingers burnt - they are now selling players that earn to much to recover from that mistake and they're being accused of having no ambition but when they spent the money on trying to stay up - they got accused of being careless.
they will never win. all player purchases are a gamble, that goes for non league teams to those in the champions league. I think you need to lower your expectations. we have to take the same risks as everyone else.
Dont want to dive too far into this one but may just look at the question of the actual thread...
I think the sole reason we went down is because Dowie had a complete nightmare with the transfers and Reed carried that crap on till crimbo, PArds came in and levelled it out some what but was too late, whether he might have kept us up if we had him from the start of the season who knows, but that wasnt an option at the time.
Pards has admitted transfer mistakes last season which i admire his honesty for, however i think he is still a bit bitter about the sale of Reidy which i think was pushed upon him slightly by the board. (Dont take that the wrong way i think the board does a superb job and again would have them over Abrobavich)
I think the happy days of the 7ths and 9ths finishes in the prem were great but i think we can all agree that they were somewhat unexpected? We were an established premiership club, 7 years solid proves that, but i think a year on year dogfight was a more realistic expectation.
Im going to stick by Pards because i believe he is developing the element of teamwork back into the squad which was what kept us in the premiership for that long. since then i think we have had one too many individuals who in themselves think they are premiership players. What i think we have now is a TEAM i.e Varney working his tits off for possesion and gets in decent positions even if not the most potent striker at the minute. Hudson and fortune - for the most part looking quite compatible, which is what was sadly missing with Diawara, Mccarthy e.t.c. Bailley has come in and is looking a great buy and also puts his whole heart into it, i personally think him and ZZ in the middle will be a great partnership, whilst Holland is not doing a great deal wrong.
[cite]Posted By: kigelia[/cite]just read through all this, and I am none the wiser.
can someone tell me the question that we are looking for the answer to?
What planet is the toolbox known as Charlie Block on???
[cite]Posted By: Off_it[/cite]As this is a "Charlton Community" website presumably the community has the collective right to expel members - or in this case just ban them.
I'm all for freedom of speech and allowing people to air their views, but it seems to me that enough is enough now. This Henry character should be banned.
Watch it Ginge, I've warned you once ; - )
Don't let Ollie hear you using such gingerist language
[cite]Posted By: AFKABartram[/cite]You are wasting your breath. You are trying to reason with someone who is not here for a reasoned debate, but to provoke a reaction.
[cite]Posted By: kigelia[/cite]just read through all this, and I am none the wiser.
can someone tell me the question that we are looking for the answer to?
What planet is the toolbox known as Charlie Block on???
this may pass those without kids by but everytime I see any post by the infamous Mr Block I am reminded of the grumpy old troll from dora the explorer.
Comments
Only angry at that twat, otherwise it is LLL&BH as normal ; - )
Curbishley had the benefit of a patient board, willing to back him when it mattered but astute enough to know that building a team takes time. Curbishley's masterstroke was signing first Kinsella and then Mendonca - those two got us up. The year we came down, we had Andy hunt to score goals for us, and the same side that had played together in the Prem the season before. This gave us an extremely sound footing with which to build on - which we did for the next three or four seasons.
Then it all started to go pear-shaped. Some of our newer 'fans' started to demand that we push on to the next level - something that was clearly never going to happen. the Parker sale was where it all started to crumble - not that we could have done anything about it. I honestly believe that, if we'd kept Parker for the rest of that season, we would have sneaked into the top six - possibly even top four. As it was, Chelsea bought him simply to stop us playing him, destroyed any chance we had of competing seriously for the rest of the year and, from that point on, Curbishley's heart just wasn't in it any more. Yes the backed him when he went out and bought some players who were supposedly a cut above what we had at the time (Denise, Murphy, Jeffers) and, for a while, we started to see a decent side - until Murphy got the ballache with Curbishley for dropping him.
The shambles of the last season in the Prem was the last straw for me - top flight football can f*** off as far as I'm concerned. Good luck to Hull, Wigan, Stoke etc etc fighting each other to stay out of the bottom three every season. For me, I've seen more entertainment in the past six weeks than I saw in the last four years at the Valley in the Premiershit and last season in the Championship. Pardew is going in the right direction - and to be honest, I'm pleased he's stayed after being given precisely sod all to spend in the Summer (certainly not what he would have expected at most other clubs). The board have taken a look at the squad Pardew has inherited/assembled, realised that there was a LOT of s***e in there and told him to ship some out, keep us solvent and in mid-table this season. Without that, they know full well we are inches away from doing a Leeds or Bradford. Ask their fans if the stupid money they spent on players was worth it.
Simply put, our natural level is the Championship. We did well to punch above our weight for a while, but time is a leveller. As GH posted earlier, we've spent far, far more time at this level than any other - people thinking we have a god-given right to play in the top flight obviously don't remember season after season watching dross.[/quote]
Thats a good summary..... I think we are back to the charlton of old where if we get on top we are likely to let it slip and and if we go behind we are unlikely to pull it back.... but thats charlton and when it does go our way thats whne we can all get excited....
There was a question?
you certainly know how to hook em Charlie Block
henners top marks my man
I'm all for freedom of speech and allowing people to air their views, but it seems to me that enough is enough now. This Henry character should be banned.
Watch it Ginge, I've warned you once ; - )
So a reality check then. We are not the best team in this Division on current form. We have a decent enough squad to be up near the top. We have to get behind the team (which I think we did on Saturday, especially in the second half) and help Pards and the players strive to build the confidence that will see our team playing as Pards suggests, greater than the sum of its parts.
Oh and Charlie, like Henry you lost my respect when you called Murray and Varney c*nts. You have been banging on about the failings of the Board since I can remember, the problem is you don't give any credit for what, to those of us who've been watching for 40 years or so, recognise as the best set of directors we ever had.
not pleasant.
If so, not really sure why you have decided to vent your spleen after this particular game. Effort from team was good & the actual football was pleasing to watch, just the result missing, it was hardly like Wycombe at home a couple of years ago.
The way you put your argument seems to suggest you'd rather the board just dived into the overdraft, got a few bank loans, kept the squad (even though not many would've wanted to stay) and tried to get up at the first attempt. What would have happened if we had failed? We'd have to sell practically our entire squad the next season and would most certainly be on our way to league one. Why put all our eggs in one basket?
Your statement that our current squad is on our way to league one shows how little you understand the game let-alone the politics behind it.
Ignore
Its not the football clubs fault or the directors who own it and run it where you choose to live and travel from to the games.
I think if you do look back over the quotes made by the players, the ambitions are to ensure that the club has a stable future first and foremost which enables us to consolidate ourselves in the top flight. if we don't balance the books this season and don't go up - without the parachute payments ending we could be in trouble.
we took a few risks a couple of seasons ago that didn't pan out.
people make mistakes, chairmen, owners, fans etc - no one is an expert on how things should be run, but to suggest they did it on purpose or that they are idiots for getting it perhaps a bit wrong is wrong on your part.
The club went for it - it didn't work - they spent money - they got their fingers burnt - they are now selling players that earn to much to recover from that mistake and they're being accused of having no ambition but when they spent the money on trying to stay up - they got accused of being careless.
they will never win. all player purchases are a gamble, that goes for non league teams to those in the champions league. I think you need to lower your expectations. we have to take the same risks as everyone else.
Exactly. I prefer mine and Leroy's approach - every time it sticks it's head up shout it down.
Charlie, you're a **** - just **** off!!!!
I think the sole reason we went down is because Dowie had a complete nightmare with the transfers and Reed carried that crap on till crimbo, PArds came in and levelled it out some what but was too late, whether he might have kept us up if we had him from the start of the season who knows, but that wasnt an option at the time.
Pards has admitted transfer mistakes last season which i admire his honesty for, however i think he is still a bit bitter about the sale of Reidy which i think was pushed upon him slightly by the board. (Dont take that the wrong way i think the board does a superb job and again would have them over Abrobavich)
I think the happy days of the 7ths and 9ths finishes in the prem were great but i think we can all agree that they were somewhat unexpected? We were an established premiership club, 7 years solid proves that, but i think a year on year dogfight was a more realistic expectation.
Im going to stick by Pards because i believe he is developing the element of teamwork back into the squad which was what kept us in the premiership for that long. since then i think we have had one too many individuals who in themselves think they are premiership players. What i think we have now is a TEAM i.e Varney working his tits off for possesion and gets in decent positions even if not the most potent striker at the minute. Hudson and fortune - for the most part looking quite compatible, which is what was sadly missing with Diawara, Mccarthy e.t.c. Bailley has come in and is looking a great buy and also puts his whole heart into it, i personally think him and ZZ in the middle will be a great partnership, whilst Holland is not doing a great deal wrong.
IMO, in one word what we need is CONSISTENCY.
can someone tell me the question that we are looking for the answer to?
What planet is the toolbox known as Charlie Block on???
Don't let Ollie hear you using such gingerist language
Do people really do that?
this may pass those without kids by but everytime I see any post by the infamous Mr Block I am reminded of the grumpy old troll from dora the explorer.