After all these years I've finally been able to re watch the Prem years now the pain has evaporated - my word we were good.
Absolutely fantastic football at times.
The rebuilding of The Valley.
Curbishley driving all the growth.
Blooding the noses of everyone around us.
The rebuidling of these teams season after season.
Some of goals are just unbelievable football - very high quality at times.
So close to Europe a few times.
I could just listen to Curbishley forever.
These huge games for us - just wonderful.
Oh the memories.
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Kish or Kinsella completely taking an opponent out , Darren Bent running at lightspeed across the valley, (and that was only preseason!) to stick the ball in the net.
JJ, what a finisher, the list goes on.
I think i took it all a bit for granted, but saying that, i worked weekends, and the only reason i bought a season ticket, was because i knew i wouldn't get in the ground!
The comeback is greater than the setback
We would outstanding!
So many fantastic moments.
I'd go into work the day after a game and my colleagues would all know how we'd got on, good or bad. Nowadays, they occasionally ask how Charlton are doing and then glaze over when I describe our most recent humiliation.
I don't think we'll ever see anything like that again. We've picked the worst possible era to deteriorate. Much more challenging journey back up now than it used to be.
Only memory I have is the Berbatov goal in the game that banged the final nail in the relegation coffin but can't for the life of me remember when we sold him now.
But blimey, 16 years ago feels like a very long time ago now.
Was in contention in the Championship until Reid was sold, although play-off contention rather than top 2, so slightly under-achieving. After that, an absolute shambles. And he wasted a lot of money. Izale McLeod was a poor, expensive signing. When the funds ran out, he squandered what little he did have. £200k on Dean Sinclair from Barnet, who was never going to get anywhere near the first team, Stuart Fleetwood as well.
That first relegation to League 1 felt like we'd hit rock bottom. Subsequently learned that rock bottom was a lot worse than that.
He then massively underperformed with Southampton, if there was no points deduction they would have still finished below us. He then gets a plumb job at Newcastle becauses football these days is pestilential.
Anyway, it doesn’t really matter. Just another trip down another unhappy lane!
I am 37 and I have conceded that I probably won’t see it again in my lifetime but even if it did, the game has changed dramatically.
The heights we got to were significant - the quality of staff and players was at such at high level.
An utter joy.
It's really strange I can finally enjoy it again - for years I couldn't watch any of it.
I'm at the acceptance stage of my grief