The quality of the football in this division is poor and the alternatives (non-football, Kodi showing all Premier League games at 3pm on the tele and Charlton being available on iFollow for £5) are more tempting in light of it.
Yesterday, despite having a season ticket, I decided to stay home and watch it on my iPad - and I’m glad I did. That is going to happen more and more until the quality of football and the atmosphere improves.
It’s not about money and, for me, it’s not a statement against the owners. I just no longer fancy it as much. Charlton used to be such a significant part of my life, and now it is not. I’m not sure what it would take to change that back. I’ll always be a Charlton fan and I’ml Always go to games but I just can’t see me arranging my life around them any more.
I'm intrigued to know what exactly you thought would happen this season?
The football has been dire for years, yet despite this, you still bought a season ticket. Then after 5 wins in 8 games (which is probably better than many expected) you've decided to not go because the quality of football is poor. Yet you've now paid extra to sit and watch the same team play on your ipad!
So many lifetime fans of 20,30,40 years have just literally parked it. Makes me so demoralised and angry at what has evolved over the last few years, i fear the impact is going to be so long-lasting.
It is cutting deeper than the lifetime fans. 3 years or so ago 2 of my Niece's young boys were taken to the Valley and stood proud at home in their Charlton Athletic shirts for a photo.
I went round to visit them all a few weeks back to find both the boys playing football in the back garden wearing Spurs shirts (Their Dad is a non going Spurs fan) . I believe they would still be in CAFC shirts & new generation of fans had the seniors not stopped going.
Well done KM you got half your wish granted getting rid of old supporters unfortunately your other half of the wish didn't capture the young generation you were aspiring to.
It's a concern i've had for a while, we are yet again going to lose a generation of young fans. It's in part the reason I still buy a season ticket and go, taking my two daughters. If I didn't their Granddad would be taking them to Spurs and I can't have that!
Also no announcement from the club on his many season tickets have been sold this season. Too worried about the negative critisism if they let the figure out?
The passion has been sucked out of most I think. In the past I have turned down the chance of a free ticket , not wanting to deny the club income. Now I wouldn't think twice of accepting one and if the team are not doing well I can stay at home and write my memoirs. It's the Duchchatelet effect , the perception is a Club with no ambition. Come and watch the Premier league stars of tomorrow play in the lower leagues , it's weird and not what football should be about
I think it's been said before but regularly attending is a habit, and so many people have got out of it that even when these lot depart it will be a slog to get attendances back to where they should be as so much of what would constitute our core support are now in the habit of going to Bluewater on a Saturday instead.
Going to Bluewater or doing something else instead. Non league attendeces are on the increase.
Longer RD and KM stay around the longer the damage will take to mend. At some point there will be no going back. I truly hope they sell up soon, I had 3 ST's last year but missed half the games as I really didn't enjoy it, but I was still looking at the scores every 10 minutes. so far this year just catching it on final score at 5pm. It is what it is I guess, some accept it and continue to attend orhers can't forgive and forget, I'm in the latter.
the longer RD and the poodles stay with his minimalist attitude to all things CAFC (except the hugely costly PR shit) the more damage it does.People can always find other things to do.
However when he goes and the toxic poodles are gone that will in itself lift the club and the people who were the driving force behind "target 10'000" and "the valley express" are still about an im sure would get involved for no fee-----yep RD thats free !!!! not the many thousands your paying to a PR company. O yes how are the poodles doing with their target 20,000 ?
The unknown is how long before his ego excepts this project i a bust and goes?
Yesterday's attendance is to me a reaction to the poor performance in the last 2 games, and the slight feel good factor of the start of the season slipping away. To get less than the midweek game against Wigan is shocking, while the Southend match had about 10,700 home fans there according to the official attendance, so that's a drop of 1000 since the last Saturday home match.
Personally, I think the atmosphere inside the stadium has been pretty good this season, better than last year.
Was offered a freebie for the Wigan game but turned it down to sit in the pub and get the piss ripped out of me by Millwall fans as the goals rolled in. Got offered another freebie for yesterday and chose to go the pub again for another potential piss take. It's been too easy to fall out of the habit of going. The only 2 links I have is the fact my niece does voluntary work with the upbeats and this place.
So many lifetime fans of 20,30,40 years have just literally parked it. Makes me so demoralised and angry at what has evolved over the last few years, i fear the impact is going to be so long-lasting.
It is cutting deeper than the lifetime fans. 3 years or so ago 2 of my Niece's young boys were taken to the Valley and stood proud at home in their Charlton Athletic shirts for a photo.
I went round to visit them all a few weeks back to find both the boys playing football in the back garden wearing Spurs shirts (Their Dad is a non going Spurs fan) . I believe they would still be in CAFC shirts & new generation of fans had the seniors not stopped going.
Well done KM you got half your wish granted getting rid of old supporters unfortunately your other half of the wish didn't capture the young generation you were aspiring to.
Not exactly rocket science is it, that kids tend to be taken along by, ahem, older supporters. If the older ones are pissed off, you're waving bye bye to the younger ones.
The unknown is how long before his ego excepts this project i a bust and goes?
I genuinely think this is no longer his project, it's hers.
Might have been at first with the network concept, but I'm sure he is just financing Meire's thing (and probably the same with his son in Hungary).
It's the only explanation left that makes any sense. In another world, "Katrien is a wonderful woman" would be damning a senior figure with faint praise. In Roland's it's justification for retaining someone so clearly out of her depth they can't even risk her speaking in public.
Same here I was given a couple of tickets for the last two games, but could not make the game yesterday, because I had to deal with my sons building project while he is on honeymoon. Of course I can always find an 'excuse' , I have moved to the south coast, sorting out wedding arrangements,getting hold of a ticket, sons playing football etc, but to be honest it is increasingly easier to find reasons not to go.
Ownership issues for me are key to this.
I hope to make a few games, or intend to. If that makes me a light weight fan...... so be it.
Under the current regime though are there some who would rather the attendances didnt rise. If we started to get 15000 Belgians would say there's no longer a problem.
Under the current regime though are there some who would rather the attendances didnt rise. If we started to get 15000 Belgians would say there's no longer a problem.
There would still be a problem as we are in league one
Under the current regime though are there some who would rather the attendances didnt rise. If we started to get 15000 Belgians would say there's no longer a problem.
There would still be a problem as we are in league one
In the 'good old days' in the 60s and 70s I stood on the once vast Valley terraces amongst 'crowds' of less than 4,000 .. even in the 1997/98 season, attendances at the start were only around 10,000 ..
check the attached wiki entry to see how attendances climbed throughout the season .. but against Sheffield United, the figure dropped below 10,000 .. there is nothing new about CAFC 'fans' being fickle in their attendance
That was one of two home league games I've missed in the last 40 years - but I do know the reason for the poor attendance was that it was a very wet evening.
Also no announcement from the club on his many season tickets have been sold this season. Too worried about the negative critisism if they let the figure out?
It's a bit over 6,500, although it's hard to know how many comps might be in that number.
We actually had the largest attendance in League 1 yesterday, and are currently 3rd in the list of average attendances. Still piss poor figures but puts it into perspective.
I think that's a reflection of the calibre of teams in this Division this year - we are the giants (alongside Blackburn & Portsmouth)
We actually had the largest attendance in League 1 yesterday, and are currently 3rd in the list of average attendances. Still piss poor figures but puts it into perspective.
Also helped that out of the top six largest Grounds on that link, we were the only team at home yesterday so isnt a surprise that we had the largest attendance, especially when you consider that 13-teams in the Division only have a capacity that reaches the maximum we could probably just about get at the moment (and those 13-clubs probably arent getting close to sell outs themselves).
Was working yesterday. But if I wasn't I'm afraid going to the Valley is just not on my list anymore. I follow the results and hope we do well but the earliest I'll see Charlton live again is when Duchatelet sells. Even then I'm not sure if I'd be more than an occasional attender as I've found lots to do at the weekend.
Comments
The football has been dire for years, yet despite this, you still bought a season ticket. Then after 5 wins in 8 games (which is probably better than many expected) you've decided to not go because the quality of football is poor. Yet you've now paid extra to sit and watch the same team play on your ipad!
It is cutting deeper than the lifetime fans. 3 years or so ago 2 of my Niece's young boys were taken to the Valley and stood proud at home in their Charlton Athletic shirts for a photo.
I went round to visit them all a few weeks back to find both the boys playing football in the back garden wearing Spurs shirts (Their Dad is a non going Spurs fan) . I believe they would still be in CAFC shirts & new generation of fans had the seniors not stopped going.
Well done KM you got half your wish granted getting rid of old supporters unfortunately your other half of the wish didn't capture the young generation you were aspiring to.
However when he goes and the toxic poodles are gone that will in itself lift the club and the people who were the driving force behind "target 10'000" and "the valley express" are still about an im sure would get involved for no fee-----yep RD thats free !!!! not the many thousands your paying to a PR company. O yes how are the poodles doing with their target 20,000 ?
The unknown is how long before his ego excepts this project i a bust and goes?
Might have been at first with the network concept, but I'm sure he is just financing Meire's thing (and probably the same with his son in Hungary).
She now needs some positivity on her CV so he continues to fund her 'project'.
Personally, I think the atmosphere inside the stadium has been pretty good this season, better than last year.
Got offered another freebie for yesterday and chose to go the pub again for another potential piss take.
It's been too easy to fall out of the habit of going.
The only 2 links I have is the fact my niece does voluntary work with the upbeats and this place.
Ownership issues for me are key to this.
I hope to make a few games, or intend to.
If that makes me a light weight fan...... so be it.
If we started to get 15000 Belgians would say there's no longer a problem.
Also helped that out of the top six largest Grounds on that link, we were the only team at home yesterday so isnt a surprise that we had the largest attendance, especially when you consider that 13-teams in the Division only have a capacity that reaches the maximum we could probably just about get at the moment (and those 13-clubs probably arent getting close to sell outs themselves).
I follow the results and hope we do well but the earliest I'll see Charlton live again is when Duchatelet sells. Even then I'm not sure if I'd be more than an occasional attender as I've found lots to do at the weekend.