hankie moment. nostalgia at its best, but with realism. i wonder if the primadona's are now firmly in charltons recent history. i'd love to see a team that is reported each week to have given their all for each other and the shirt. that really is more to the average fan than the actual result (sometimes). bring on a new set of heroes in the mould of, mendonca, rufus, powell and even illic. stars they were not. proud to wear our shirt they were!
on that note its a while since i can say that i'd be proud to wear their shirt. other than Shelvey (obvious) what player's name would you want on your shirt this season?
Good article Danny. Football is a business( and don't we know it at the moment) but ultimately it is a game and one which is best when the commercialism so prominent in the premiership is absent, when it is two equally balanced teams playing in the proper spirit of the game.
Great stuff - I whole heartedly agree with the sentiments expressed. The picture you paint of the club with whom we all identified is fundamental to what the sport they participate in is supposed to be about.
The world has always been dominated by an abuse of power. Yet the excesses we see today and the increasing divide between rich and poor seem ever greater. Why should football be any different?
Perversely the greed infested US where stock option festooned executives brandishing executive washroom keys drive business policy based on corporate muscle and market place bullying understand the need for boundaries in professional sport. The NFL, MBA, MLB, NHL work to principles of equality.
Team salary caps, wage parameters, and roster numbers are their tools. Teams stretch the limits but pay a wealth tax to the others to do so. Sadly they do not do it for sporting reasons alone. They know the US sports fans attention span will disappear and television markets & revenues shrink if the same teams won everything.
It is still money dominated with player remuneration dwarfing our PL and there is no promotion or relegation for sporting performance but at least as with all things US there is a semblance of equality.
Where does that leave us and the club we so ardently support? It would be nice to have some rules of equality (like that’s going to happen) but as we are now back swimming in the small pool perhaps we can enjoy watching a team of players, contracted to the club for more than five minutes, with whom we can identify, develop individually and collectively to deliver some playing success.
Hopefully we can all have the patience to let them do just that.
A well written article which sums up just how I feel about football in general and Charlton. Let's hope that this season will see a return to the ways of the old Charlton, a club we are proud to support.
[cite]Posted By: Grapevine49[/cite]
The world has always been dominated by an abuse of power. Yet the excesses we see today and the increasing divide between rich and poor seem ever greater. Why should football be any different?
Sorry, this made me laugh. It's complete nonsense. There are no slaves, there are no feudal barons, no kids down mines. There's free education. Free medical care. State pensions (not great but it's better than the fk all that you got in pretty much any other time in history. There's always been a gap between rich and poor. Now if you don't have a flatscreen and a PS3 you're officially classified "poor" by the WHO.
You could argue that football has gotten worse, but in the early 90s you could pretty much get in on a walkup. Tickets were cheaper, players didn't earn a lot. It wasn't on TV much. Stadia were shite. Funnily enough, despite the almost constant whine from the unthinking press the fact that football is a lot more popular than it's been for years. The only thing that has gone on is that clubs are having to balance their outgoings with their income. It's not rocket science, it's what every other business on planet earth has to do.
Well said Smudge. You've eloquently stated many of the reasons I was watching Welling on Saturday , instead of Charlton. Shows just how much contempt I now have for the, so called, modern game. The first time since 1962 I've missed the first home game of the season. Nothing to be proud of, I know, just the way I feel at the moment.
Thanks for that, Fanny, I'm sure it will only be a temporary exile. Just 3 years of poor directorship, God awful management and 80% of the players taking the p**s tipped me over the edge. I'll be back for sure, and a big drink for you and me old mate Smudge when I do.
Remember those Monday mornings, not so long ago, Smudge, walking up to Albany Park station, moaning about only being 11th in the Prem?
[cite]Posted By: mistrollingin[/cite]Remember those Monday mornings, not so long ago, Smudge, walking up to Albany Park station, moaning about only being 11th in the Prem?
How time flies.
All the best to you both.
Dave
You were moaning. If i remember correctly i was saying "the thing is Dave, we really should learn to appreciate what we have. Curbs is doing a fantastic job and we need to stick by him 100%. Who knows what is round the corner, but i've a very bad feeling that once he goes we could well find ourselves back in League 1 within a couple of years"
Comments
Reflects my feelings for Charlton absolutely.
on that note its a while since i can say that i'd be proud to wear their shirt. other than Shelvey (obvious) what player's name would you want on your shirt this season?
It wasn't easy as I had a host of waffle and filth to get through !
Football is a business( and don't we know it at the moment) but ultimately it is a game and one which is best when the commercialism so prominent in the premiership is absent, when it is two equally balanced teams playing in the proper spirit of the game.
Oh .... If only the Addicks could and would play as well as you write.
The world has always been dominated by an abuse of power. Yet the excesses we see today and the increasing divide between rich and poor seem ever greater. Why should football be any different?
Perversely the greed infested US where stock option festooned executives brandishing executive washroom keys drive business policy based on corporate muscle and market place bullying understand the need for boundaries in professional sport. The NFL, MBA, MLB, NHL work to principles of equality.
Team salary caps, wage parameters, and roster numbers are their tools. Teams stretch the limits but pay a wealth tax to the others to do so. Sadly they do not do it for sporting reasons alone. They know the US sports fans attention span will disappear and television markets & revenues shrink if the same teams won everything.
It is still money dominated with player remuneration dwarfing our PL and there is no promotion or relegation for sporting performance but at least as with all things US there is a semblance of equality.
Where does that leave us and the club we so ardently support? It would be nice to have some rules of equality (like that’s going to happen) but as we are now back swimming in the small pool perhaps we can enjoy watching a team of players, contracted to the club for more than five minutes, with whom we can identify, develop individually and collectively to deliver some playing success.
Hopefully we can all have the patience to let them do just that.
Grapevine 49
You could argue that football has gotten worse, but in the early 90s you could pretty much get in on a walkup. Tickets were cheaper, players didn't earn a lot. It wasn't on TV much. Stadia were shite. Funnily enough, despite the almost constant whine from the unthinking press the fact that football is a lot more popular than it's been for years. The only thing that has gone on is that clubs are having to balance their outgoings with their income. It's not rocket science, it's what every other business on planet earth has to do.
Remember those Monday mornings, not so long ago, Smudge, walking up to Albany Park station, moaning about only being 11th in the Prem?
How time flies.
All the best to you both.
Dave
You were moaning. If i remember correctly i was saying "the thing is Dave, we really should learn to appreciate what we have. Curbs is doing a fantastic job and we need to stick by him 100%. Who knows what is round the corner, but i've a very bad feeling that once he goes we could well find ourselves back in League 1 within a couple of years"
or something like that... :-)