Amongst the options for the future of our club, you know, the billionaire taking over, players suddenly becoming twice as good as they have been due to magical mystical management, someone offering £16 million for Izale, administration...there has always been the possibility of slash and burn. In the wider community the cuts are becoming a reality for many, seeing as how the government have failed to find a 100 year into the future oilfield under Lincolnshire...now the government is slashing and burning.
At Charlton it is happening, players, management, websites, staff, have all been subject to cuts. I presume the objective is to balance monetary outgoings with incomings.
As a plan is it really stupid? For a start it really is a plan, and surely it makes sense not to spend beyond our means? I know Manure are zillions in debt and so on, but for Charlton we need to stay viable, and at the moment it will inevitably hit us on the pitch, and in results.
However, is it better to be rubbish, but solvent, or always to speculate and take risks to be better? Last season for me every defeat was a disaster, and every win a relief (not a pleasure). I wan't to feel the club will endure long term, and then start to actually enjoy the football...even in defeat!
Slashing and burning, getting down to the bare bones to survive is acceptable compared to the alternative. In the days when Sean Newton, or Dean Chandler, or many others could progress through the ranks, and get a chance .... supplemented by the odd John Bumstead, or Keith Jones, there was a lot of pleasure to be had supporting Charlton.
I for one am more pleased that Chris Solly will get a chance than disappointed that Frazer Richardson has left. We get some money we didn't expect, and one of our players moves up.
I am all for financial stability at the moment, and if slash and burn is the way, so be it.
Now where's my Euromillions ticket?
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Find it quick, before Iain Dowie gets hold of it.
On a serious note Seth, you ask if is better to be rubbish, but solvent - Is there any point being involved in professional sport, if you accept being rubbish ?
I'm not sure that anyone who runs a professional football club thinks the majority of its fan base will settle for enjoying football even in defeat. I agree football clubs need to be run within their means, but running a tight ship at the expense of relative success on the park, is not what professional sport is about these days. We do need to be run in a financially stable manner from here on, but I do not believe that we have to accept being rubbish. We can and should be be financially well run and expect a relative return of success.
http://www.charltonlife.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=35478&page=1#Item_20
Oh, I don't know.
It's all relative ........ that last season we played in the Premier, we were rubbish.
Our relegation year from the Championship, indicated we were rubbish too.
Last year for the first time in nearly 30 years, we found ourselves once again in the Third Division.
Compared to the days of Parker, Jensen and Di Canio, no doubt you and many others considered we were rubbish?
And some games we undoubtedly were. But strangely, I really enjoyed much of last season.
We didn't really pull up many trees and we did miss out on promotion by one poxy win.
But in most matches there was a change of spirit in players, despite their limitations compared to our Premier days, even if the crowd often showed unrealistic expectations. If Parky can build on that change of spirit, and the team and crowd can pull together as one ...... then rubbish or not, I think we're in for a decent and enjoyable season.
Even if we're No. 3 in South London.
It may be possible for Charlton to break even in the Championship without the burden of overhanging PL or even promotion-chasing Championship commitments. It's not likely to be achieved in this division, in my opinion.
On a more positive note, neither does it take many millions to get promoted. A lot can be achieved through luck and judgement.
Well said, Airman.
We all saw us relegated through no luck and no judgement but, as you say, promotion can be achieved by luck and judgement. Plus a little quality, hard graft and a never say die spirit.
We are definitely due a change in luck (it has to happen sometime soon for gawd's sake), but as for the judgement bit...well....there's been precious little of it around the Valley for the past few years! Do we have any reason to blindly believe that this will change this season? Hmmmmm..........
I find myself beginning to have a strange affinity with Oggy. I always aim for optimism over pessimism and his thoughts on both this and other recent threads regarding the prospects for the forthcoming season mirror mine. I think we'll see a lot more of that hard graft and team spirit next term with the inevitable mix of youth & older heads . Both will want success for different reasons...the first will be playing for their place & their future in the game, and the latter for some stability in their declining years .
And as " brother" Oggy rightly said, a smidgeon of good fortune wouldn't go amiss.
Not sure about the lack of judgement over the last year or so. I think Parky's judgement has been pretty sound in terms of player recruitment.
It's one thing to be thought a nut nut ..........but then I do post and remove all doubt.
Thank you, Fanny.
I did laugh at your erm, sense of humour at the beginning of your original post .....ha ha.
Back to Charlton, though ........sometimes we can all take things a little too seriously, it's only a game after all - even if everyone of us is so passionate about it. I guess we've both (and many others, of course) been round the Charlton block enough times; we've seen it all before and we know it can all change again soon. It invariably does.
Like you, I am optimistic about the coming season,. The longer Parky stays at Charlton, the more I admire his character, judgement of players and the way he's trying to do things. Sometimes he'll get things wrong tactically, maybe timing of subs could occasionally be better, but then the best of top managers will from time to time do just that.
But he has a way of doing things that I can relate to. It's a Charlton type way that I've been brought up on, and that's why he gets my support. And why I trust him to get in the right character and blend of players to rebuild this team.
It's why I feel optimistic about the coming season.
Echo your thoughts about Parky - he's been doing everything right so far since the end of last season...well, as much as he's allowed to do within the financial restrictions imposed. Next season it will be almost totally HIS squad and I feel he may be enjoying the wheeling & dealing at the minute to achieve what he wants that squad to look like. I'm behind him all the way.