definately would.
with so many people coming and going it will take a while to gel/adjust. at the moment i don't think our midfield has the bottle to handle the scrap that is the ccc.
Because I think we are one of the best few teams in the division (though I'm not saying that means we'll get promoted directly, or that we deserve to) - after all we have English internationals in our squad, plus international class players in many other positions, that is if they aren't already internationals in their team, plus some of the players we have acquired have good form at this level last season, that includes players like Walton who has played for three clubs at this level and drawn good reviews at each, Iwelumo scored 16 goals in a rival team at this level and so on.
What gets me about Charlton fans is that we are too easy when it comes to accepting second best, and play-offs are second best, our objective and target must be a top two finish, we did it last time, it won't be easy but it should be within our grasp, a defeatist approach won't get us there. Winning and losing is about many things - teamwork, having the resources and the squad, but it's also about mental desire.
We have in Pardew a great manager, behind him there is a great coaching set up, backed by a management team that are Charlton through and through and know what they are doing, we have a developing squad of the right sort of young and hungry players, we have little or no unstructured debt, we have one of the best stadiums in the league, and ca 20,000 season tickets already sold and a great marketing system, we have money in the bank now that Bent has been sold, we have the Eltham training centre and we have finally a team that many clubs in the division are not going to want to play. For sure right now what you are seeing in the squad isn't the final picture, we need a couple of experienced players to come in and complete the picture and they'll arrive once the season starts to draw closer and one or two Premiership stars find themselves shunted out of first team recognition or even transfer listed. But in essence this second or third best negativity pisses me off, in the Premiership we won' ever be able to compete with the billionaire funded teams, in the CCC the playing field is going to be a lot flatter.
Sure.... BFR ... Im not being defeatist by saying yes to a playoff spot and i understand that our target is top two finish... Im defintely excited about what we have and what we have bought, a couple of players and were looking pretty good, pards man management has been good up til now.. so hopefully hell get the ypoung ones firing and really get these boys playing...
Shame I wont be there but if i can get lookout to sort out the reruns Ill be chuffed..... wont have to stay up til flippin 4 am either!
I think we need to target the top 2. We still have enough in the team to beat most of the other sides in the division, and the money to make it even stronger if needs be. Also, in terms of the players gelling, the extra games mean there is plenty of time to allow for a bad start, just look at Sunderland last year.
The difference between this relegation and the last one is that we kept most of the squad together.
To expect 8 or 9 new players to blend straight away and romp the league is laughable.
Didnt Pards say he expected 99% of the squad to stay after the Liverpool game...
Would definitely take the play offs. I reckon its gonna be the second year that we bounce back, once the finances are sorted and we get the second parachute payment.
when we were installed as favourites to win the ccc pards said he thought this was understandable, and i'll be shocked if we're not in the top 2. in a few weeks we'll easily have the best squad in this division, if we don't have it already. although it may take a while to fully gel the squad this league is different to the prem as sunderland's and brum's slow starts showed last season.
Bent and Carson aside, have we yet lost anyone THAT good? I'm feeling strangely optimistic, but to me it depends if our new forward line can gel and score goals.
The likes of Reid (when fit), Ambrose, Thomas (if he stays), this new Danish winger and Sam (hopefully) should be plenty good enough for the Championship and create chances. Pards obviously rates Mullins, and must be confident he'll do a job if we get him. Holland won't look out of place, and there will no doubt be other reinforcements, especially if Walton isn't thought good enough.
Young is likely to go, but I wasn't a big fan of Herman and El Kak was prone to more than the odd howler. We've got Gibbs to come in and play every match, McCarthy knows this league - as does Bougherrra - and Diawara might yet stay. We've also got Semedo and Moutaouakil, either of whom could turn out to be young stars. Even Weaver played a lot of Premiership games last year, and Randolph will be fighting him for his place.
So if two of Varney, Iwelumo, Dickson, Todorov or even Marcus Bent can score some goals, I'll expect us to be up there competing. It's a tough league, but we should be thinking that we've got as much chance as anybody else.
some good points, I certainly couldn't handle another play off final like 98!
realistically I guess my heart says no way would i take play off's again, head says it would be good to be in it at the end of the season when our squad would have gelled fully.
It's strange how we are all so confident, i don't remember such confidence after relegation in 99, is it just because we have a bit of cash?
New manager, new players (not many that were wanted by prem clubs), we don't just have a right to be up there just because we were in the prem for a while.
I certainly don't feel we have any right to expect that, just because we were in the prem for a few years, we have the right to expect to walk back into it.
Compared to 2001- this time around it is totally different
However, i still don't think we should settle for the play-offs at the start of the season- we should be aiming to win in- end of!
Settling for the playoffs is pointless - unless we are 'guaranteed' to win at Wembley.
Then it becomes our Cup Final.
No guarantees in life, so we've got to go for the title. If we foul up, then so be it - but you've got to start the season aiming for top place. Absolutely no point settling for a third best, Russian roulette option.
Pards has already said as much - everything we are putting in place now is geared up to winning back our Premier place at the first attempt.
Great question. Once upon a time we'd have jumped at the chance, but things are surely different now. 3-6th position guarantees nothing. Wembley was the greatest footballing day of our lives, but could so easily have turned sour on eg. a Keith Jones penalty! Seems sensible, level-headed, and reasonable to say now I'd settle for a hypothetical guarantee of top 6; other teams raising their game (weird being seen as a big scalp eh?), players needing time to gel etc. But I just can't. Ambrose & a fitter Reid to score the goals from midfield. Steady if unspectacular start, gradually overhauling the early surprise package to fight it out with WBA for the title (kneels facing The Valley and prays).
i don't think we will touch the play offs. Our squad isn't complete and the next bits of business we do will shape our season.
We have no idea if a few of our signings, Samedi, Christensen and Moo2 are even going to settle in England, let alone at Championship football. Dickson we don't even know if he is good enough for the Conference. All four of them could go on and become suprise stars, but they could all equally crash and burn. I'm worried at present that if we get a couple of key injuries, we could suffer quite bad.
So i expect us to be comfortably top two if things click, or failing that a very disappointing season between 7-9. We'll know more with the business we are still to do though.
At present, i have a sneaky feeling we might win it.
Comments
I think i would....
with so many people coming and going it will take a while to gel/adjust. at the moment i don't think our midfield has the bottle to handle the scrap that is the ccc.
ask me 1st sept again you could get another answer
What gets me about Charlton fans is that we are too easy when it comes to accepting second best, and play-offs are second best, our objective and target must be a top two finish, we did it last time, it won't be easy but it should be within our grasp, a defeatist approach won't get us there. Winning and losing is about many things - teamwork, having the resources and the squad, but it's also about mental desire.
We have in Pardew a great manager, behind him there is a great coaching set up, backed by a management team that are Charlton through and through and know what they are doing, we have a developing squad of the right sort of young and hungry players, we have little or no unstructured debt, we have one of the best stadiums in the league, and ca 20,000 season tickets already sold and a great marketing system, we have money in the bank now that Bent has been sold, we have the Eltham training centre and we have finally a team that many clubs in the division are not going to want to play. For sure right now what you are seeing in the squad isn't the final picture, we need a couple of experienced players to come in and complete the picture and they'll arrive once the season starts to draw closer and one or two Premiership stars find themselves shunted out of first team recognition or even transfer listed. But in essence this second or third best negativity pisses me off, in the Premiership we won' ever be able to compete with the billionaire funded teams, in the CCC the playing field is going to be a lot flatter.
Shame I wont be there but if i can get lookout to sort out the reruns Ill be chuffed..... wont have to stay up til flippin 4 am either!
To expect 8 or 9 new players to blend straight away and romp the league is laughable.
Didnt Pards say he expected 99% of the squad to stay after the Liverpool game...
Would definitely take the play offs. I reckon its gonna be the second year that we bounce back, once the finances are sorted and we get the second parachute payment.
I can see Watford doing what we did in 99/00.
I'm feeling strangely optimistic, but to me it depends if our new forward line can gel and score goals.
The likes of Reid (when fit), Ambrose, Thomas (if he stays), this new Danish winger and Sam (hopefully) should be plenty good enough for the Championship and create chances.
Pards obviously rates Mullins, and must be confident he'll do a job if we get him. Holland won't look out of place, and there will no doubt be other reinforcements, especially if Walton isn't thought good enough.
Young is likely to go, but I wasn't a big fan of Herman and El Kak was prone to more than the odd howler. We've got Gibbs to come in and play every match, McCarthy knows this league - as does Bougherrra - and Diawara might yet stay. We've also got Semedo and Moutaouakil, either of whom could turn out to be young stars.
Even Weaver played a lot of Premiership games last year, and Randolph will be fighting him for his place.
So if two of Varney, Iwelumo, Dickson, Todorov or even Marcus Bent can score some goals, I'll expect us to be up there competing.
It's a tough league, but we should be thinking that we've got as much chance as anybody else.
10-15 new players lost the first 3/4 of the season and then won the thing.
I think we should be looking at top 6 at Christmas and then push on.
realistically I guess my heart says no way would i take play off's again, head says it would be good to be in it at the end of the season when our squad would have gelled fully.
It's strange how we are all so confident, i don't remember such confidence after relegation in 99, is it just because we have a bit of cash?
New manager, new players (not many that were wanted by prem clubs), we don't just have a right to be up there just because we were in the prem for a while.
Compared to 2001- this time around it is totally different
However, i still don't think we should settle for the play-offs at the start of the season- we should be aiming to win in- end of!
My feeling for the moment is that there is a 50% chance we will finish top 2 and a 90% chance we will finish top six, so pointless saying "yes".
Then it becomes our Cup Final.
No guarantees in life, so we've got to go for the title. If we foul up, then so be it - but you've got to start the season aiming for top place. Absolutely no point settling for a third best, Russian roulette option.
Pards has already said as much - everything we are putting in place now is geared up to winning back our Premier place at the first attempt.
I think theres gonna be a lot of that next season...
i don't think we will touch the play offs. Our squad isn't complete and the next bits of business we do will shape our season.
We have no idea if a few of our signings, Samedi, Christensen and Moo2 are even going to settle in England, let alone at Championship football. Dickson we don't even know if he is good enough for the Conference. All four of them could go on and become suprise stars, but they could all equally crash and burn. I'm worried at present that if we get a couple of key injuries, we could suffer quite bad.
So i expect us to be comfortably top two if things click, or failing that a very disappointing season between 7-9. We'll know more with the business we are still to do though.
At present, i have a sneaky feeling we might win it.
Charlton vs. Crystal Palace - Championship Play Off Final 2008
Result:
Charlton 2 - 1 Palace.
Jon Fortune will score the winner in the 88th minute in his first game for Charlton after being on loan at Stoke for the whole season.
Interesting to read our pre-season thoughts, guess we'd all take a place off place now...