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New Article: Happy Birthday Charlton Athletic

The old girl will be 108 on Sunday 9th June. One day soon I hope we shall have a place to display, preserve and celebrate our history but for now these poor words will have to do.

We are also approaching 100 seasons of competitive football. We joined a league in 1906 but didn't play from 1915 - 18 and had non-official games from 1939 - 45. Someone needs to have a proper count so we can have a commemorative shirt.

2021 will mark 100 years since joining the Football League and another special shirt.

Since joining the league, although our 26 seasons at the top table are not to be sneered at, we've played most often at the second level so unsurprisingly that's where we find ourselves now.

Despite a few hip-coughs we're still at the same, if radically changed, ground our predecessors (including my great uncle Bob Sims) dug out in 1919. Fewer and fewer Clubs can claim such a long association with one site and for the reasons you all (should) know The Valley plays an even more significant part in our identity than the home ground does to all clubs.

On the pitch we have a manager and team most can be happy with albeit we, like every other set of fans, want just a few more players and one of those ever, ever so easy to find 25 goals a season strikers.

Off the pitch we have owners who for the first time in many years aren't Charlton people. But they have never claimed to be and as seen at many other clubs long term support does not always equate to "better" or "success". As Chairman Mao said when he was asked in the 1960s to comment on the success or otherwise of the French Revolution in 1789 "It's too early to say" how the Jimenez/Slater era will be judged by history.

The academy appears strong, even with only category two status, and it maybe that like so many other times in our history we will have to rely on some youngsters to plug gaps in the squad. But that is not always a bad thing with Financial Fair Play making a virtue of a necessity added to the parental like pleasure in seeing some of "our kids" come through.

We have a lot to thank those 14 and 15 year olds who formed the club back in the summer of 1905 for. All the joys and heartaches along the way and if nothing else without them we might be, God forbid, Millwall fans.

Happy Birthday Charlton Athletic.

Comments

  • Good to read that , Henry. A pertinent reminder of all that has gone before and the way it is at this moment in time.

    So much to be grateful for with so much more to come...

    Well done you !
  • Happy Birthday

    Come on you Addicks
  • Happy Birthday to a great club!!
  • Happy birthday to a great team club and community
    COME ON YOU REDS
  • Well Said Henry. Happy Birthday CAFC.
  • Stig said:

    Well Said Henry. Happy Birthday CAFC.

    Cheers but was expected a Stig classic image/birthday card.
  • thanks Henry, glad to see something/one at CAFC is older than me :)
  • Happy Birthday CAFC.
  • We celebrated its bday yesterday heres a pic we took


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  • Ha ha ha - brilliant!
  • Apart from it being Chou en Lai in a conversation with Nixon in 1972 who made the comment about France, I agree with everything said above.

    And for history buffs amongst you it seems that Chou misunderstood the question and was actually referring to les évenéments of 1968, when there was almost a revolution in France.

    http://peterhousehold.blogspot.ie/2011/07/chou-en-lai-on-french-revolution-did-he.html

    Pip pip.
  • Ha, top man. He looks terrified !
  • Stig said:

    Well Said Henry. Happy Birthday CAFC.

    Cheers but was expected a Stig classic image/birthday card.
    I thought about it ;-)
  • A great time to reflect upon being a Charlton fan...
    We can look back briefly and we can then look forward - fixture list comes out soon :)
    Previous seasons merge into eras in the memory - perhaps next season is make or break - for the squad, management and owners! After all we are on an 8 game unbeaten run and are one of the few clubs to keep the same squad and manager for two seasons running.

    Are we destined to continue in this division as per the stats or are we looking at a genuine challenge for the play-offs?

    As per the OPs question of having a place to display and preserve our history? One for the medium term perhaps but plenty of work to get the team right, the attendances up and the queues down.

    So great post and Happy Birthday CAFC
  • He certainly looks it in that photo but he was prob still in pain from the whipping he took

    Was a great night very messy

    Happy bday cafc

    Oh yeah and happy stag morning after fatrob
  • Good to see the Club joining in the celebrations on Facebook.

    Great photo too.
  • "We are also approaching 100 seasons of competitive football. We joined a league in 1906 but didn't play from 1915 - 18 and had non-official games from 1939 - 45. Someone needs to have a proper count so we can have a commemorative shirt.

    2021 will mark 100 years since joining the Football League and another special shirt."

    But PLEASE not designed by those responsible for the Centenary Shirt - my biggest disappointment in 40 odd years of following the mighty Charlton!!!
  • "We are also approaching 100 seasons of competitive football. We joined a league in 1906 but didn't play from 1915 - 18 and had non-official games from 1939 - 45. Someone needs to have a proper count so we can have a commemorative shirt.

    2021 will mark 100 years since joining the Football League and another special shirt."

    But PLEASE not designed by those responsible for the Centenary Shirt - my biggest disappointment in 40 odd years of following the mighty Charlton!!!

    I assume we lost a fair few seasons to the World Wars, would 2028 be our 100th Football League season ?
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