Not sure if this helps or is even relevant to the debate...
Am a life long Bohemians fan and member (Kevin Feely's old club).
Moved to London 6 months ago for job reasons. I am living in Leytonstone. Football was by far and away the biggest thing I missed from home. Our league is far from glamorous - my club get an everage attendance of circa 1,200 hard core, rising to maybe 3-4k for bigger games / when success comes around. I used to be a Liverpool "fan" but gave that up to attend local games regularly. I didn't miss a game home or away for 6 years.
Arriving in London I was dying to go to games and "find a team". I started with Orient due to proximity. Then tried West Ham, Milwall, Charlton, Palace, Fulham and Brentford. I didn't want to go near the 'big 3' in London as I despise the pricing and lack of awareness amongst fans of larger clubs.
I liked Orient at first but began to find their brand of football and the attitude of some of their fans to my dislike. West Ham were interesting but not exactly the most welcoming of clubs to an Irish lad with no London connections. Milwall were just lunatics!
What I found with Charlton was an amazing stadium (pitch apart!!), a very impressive fan base and a very welcoming club with knowledgeable and friendly fans. I liked the style of football too. I've been to 7 Charlton games now and despite the poor results I really enjoy it. The prices are very fair and I think Powell always tries to play the right style of football. At £24, Orient's cave man football is hard to stomach.
I brought friends to the Burnley match and after filling them in on who I seen as the better players / one's to watch, it was to my shock to see the level of changes CP implemented!! The style of football was very different to what I'd come to expect - very direct. For what it's worth, my opinion is that he's a young manager feeling the heat a little and tried something different. His changes in the second half were admirable.
I guess what I'm saying is I think you guys have a good deal....
I know from personal experience with Bohemians that a clubs financial health and simple existence is all that really matters - if the club has a good footballing philosophy on top of that, it helps!!
I will be purchasing a 13/14 season ticket for the Valley and now look forward to every game.
I don't want to patronise any fans on here and appreciate you know this club better than I could even imagine, all I would say is that from an outsider looking in, it doesn't seem too bad.
Top post Bohemian and it does make me feel a bit more positive.I often travel to the Emerald Isle as my partner's family live in Kilkenny.I have even been to Nolan Park to see the legendary Hurlers.
Could you give us a bit of info re Kevin Feely? I know he is a left footed centre back and I have hopes that he could get a game or two this season if we can achieve safety.There was a debate on here about his height because Football Manager and Wikipedia had different information ,with one claiming he was only 5ft9 and the other saying he was over 6ft.As you will learn size matters a lot to some of our posters.
Although from the SEL/Kent area originally I too now live in East London and often go to Brisbane Road,you are right about both the admission price and the nature of some of the fans,they make our supporters look positive.
Having said that when you look at the history of that club over the last 30 years and the need to sell off the corner parts of the ground to fund ground modernisation and accommodate the local NHS Polyclinic in the Main Stand,I can understand the extreme negativity to a degree.Believe it or not in the 60's,70's and early 80's Orient were consistently at what is now Championship level football.
Again,really pleased you have come on board the CAFC Rollercoaster,hopefully the football and results will improve.
Ha, cheers! Enjoying it so far anyway.
The Championship is so competitive.
Budget wise where would Charlton be out of interest? I look at clubs such as Forest, Hull, Wolves etc and they seem to have a lot of big names who I'd imagine cost big money. The Charlton squad seems far more frugal so to speak.
Regarding Feely,I would say he's over 6 foot. Met him once or twice and being 6 foot myself he seemed a little taller. He made a huge impression at Bohs last season. He is very commanding in the air and has brilliant distribution. From watching football in England, especially outside of the Premier League, centre half's really seem to be very tall and physical. To me it's probably the hardest position to make a break through in. What makes him stand out is definately his ability on the ball and a team who like to play good football would suit him....hopefully Charlton! He would have learned the game playing alongside Owen Heary (League of Ireland legend with 7 league winners medals) and at times last year he commanded the whole defence on his own.
I guess you could say our budget is frugal,there are plenty of threads on Charlton Life that discuss the Boardroom goings on.
It had been hoped that we were going to spend some big money last summer but for one reason or another it never happened.
It seems that the club is prioritising developing Academy players and promising youngsters so Kevin would fit well into that ethos,he seems to have fitted in well to the U21 squad and your reference makes me even keener to see him given a chance.
Now there must be a few. After watching some complete dross served up at home this season. Will you renew, or turn up on the day? Not for me, i'm afraid. I would honestly spend the remainder of the season watching Welling at home.
Dont come then, we will give you a shout when we are back in the prem...
Now there must be a few. After watching some complete dross served up at home this season. Will you renew, or turn up on the day? Not for me, i'm afraid. I would honestly spend the remainder of the season watching Welling at home.
Dont come then, we will give you a shout when we are back in the prem...
CAFCTom I couldn't give a flying fuck for this sanctimoneous clap trap about being a true supporter. As Redpanda said in the 53 years I have supported Charlton I have seen some awful shit and at times have decided to save my money and do other things with my time but I have Never been anything other than a true supporter.
So all the while I pay for my season ticket with the money I earn I'll decide what I do with it. You want to pay for it I'll happily sit and watch crap so I can get my "true supporter" badge.
Sounds like it means more to you than "a flying fuck" by the way.
All this crap about a "badge" or "credentials".....I've not come up with that have I? All I'm saying, is that a true supporter will go to the games regardless of what is on show because of an unconditional love for the club.
You could have started going 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 53 years ago - doesn't really matter. A true supporter in my eyes shouldn't be defined by how long someone has been going. All that tells me is somebody's age.
cafctom never post when you have had a drink so they say. That was a first for me and reading it now it was a bit strong sorry for that. I guess we have to just agree to disgaree I must admit I was fifties about going to the Burnley match but went in the end because I believed that we must be better than the last match and in honestly in some ways we were at least we had scoring chances. All I am trying to say is that sometimes when you have sat through 2-3 rubbish games it can be a good thing to have a break if only to let your enthusiasm recover. But I will admit my love for Charlton is not unconditional it is more love/hate sometimes I wonder why I ever bothered but when I analyse it there is no real answer other than I grew up in Charlton and they are my team that's it.
Lets be friends eh? I would offer an olive branch but I'm scared you might hit me with it.
Being a real fan is not decided on if you debate in your head to go or not but if despite being bored/annoyed with recent performances you still turn up in the end, in the hope that things will be better this game, you have to be a bit foolish to be a real football fan, which is what makes this sport so great. :-)
Comments
I guess you could say our budget is frugal,there are plenty of threads on Charlton Life that discuss the Boardroom goings on.
It had been hoped that we were going to spend some big money last summer but for one reason or another it never happened.
It seems that the club is prioritising developing Academy players and promising youngsters so Kevin would fit well into that ethos,he seems to have fitted in well to the U21 squad and your reference makes me even keener to see him given a chance.
See ya then...
All this crap about a "badge" or "credentials".....I've not come up with that have I? All I'm saying, is that a true supporter will go to the games regardless of what is on show because of an unconditional love for the club.
You could have started going 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 53 years ago - doesn't really matter. A true supporter in my eyes shouldn't be defined by how long someone has been going. All that tells me is somebody's age.
But I will admit my love for Charlton is not unconditional it is more love/hate sometimes I wonder why I ever bothered but when I analyse it there is no real answer other than I grew up in Charlton and they are my team that's it.
Lets be friends eh? I would offer an olive branch but I'm scared you might hit me with it.