Worst team ever
It never says a lot about a season when you reach almost it’s closure and post match talk turns to me and my mates digging deep into our memories to remember similarly bad sides or players that were worse.
Worst team ever, best team ever conversations are always subjective and romance of an age and tricks on the memory play games. Was such and such really that bad? Nah, I quite liked him really. Oh come on he was bloody useless. Yes, you get the sketch.
This team, this season has sucked, but as incompetent as they are I find it hard to dislike this team more than the one that Pardew took down or Russell Slade left us with. I was very young at the time and almost certainly a little more patient, but that relegated 1979/80 team was truly dreadful as well.
One way to judge how bad a team was, is their final league position and there has been much discussion amongst Addicks to how low that has ever been in our history, and will this season’s mob take the title of lowest ever Charlton finish.
Well, thanks to great work by the guys at the Charlton Athletic Museum they have done all of the research for us.
Read this thread to the bottom, and take joy in it can only get worse 😉
The Museum is open 11am to 1pm on home match days (Saturday 3pm kick offs) and 11am to 3pm every Friday.
Chicago Addick 
CAFC’s lowest ever league position was finishing 85th in the tier system in season 1925/26 when we had to seek (and obtain) re-election. In that year we finished 21st in Division 3 (south). Our lowest position in the tier system since the 2nd World War was in season 1973/74 when we finished 14th in Division 3 which was position 58 in the tier.
Of course this is the worst team ever. 3rd largest player budget in L1 (TS words) and our season effectively ended in October. By any stretch that is abject failure. Of course various factors beyond anyone control come into play, but then again I suppose every team has similar issues.
I started watching CAFC in the Foley days, and had on heart have never felt so dis spirited going forward. We know the summer recruitment will be left to last minute.com waste of space and money loanees, just look at our record………Souare, those 2 from the PL, the list is endless..
Under the mad Belgian we at least knew what was coming, and even the various second hand car dealers gave us something to talk about.
Still though have the Sunderland play off game to lift the spirits.
What would we give for another Clive Mendonca, ultimate CAFC legend.
Ah Super Clive. When was the last time we had a Super anyone?
SUPER CLIVE MENDONCA!!
All time ultimate legend for me.
What a hat-trick!!
Derek Hales of the old brigade would be on my list, and of modern day era Darren Bent and Yann Kermorgant. Matt Holland and Mark Kinsella too were great servants to CAFC.
No one now comes close sadly.
The most depressing teams I remember were in the early 70s when we were able to watch players like Endean, Bolland and Bobby Hunt but at least within a few years we had Colin Powell, Hales, Flanagan and my favourite Arthur Horsfield let’s hope a similar scenario awaits us.
I think that the U18 team this year has a lot of very promising players but we will lose many of them if the first team is poorly positioned in Div.1. Offers from higher placed teams in the Championship and above are likely to lure several away when they are offered their first pro contracts.
Some players in the U23s also have potential, Henry, Clayden, Ness, Harness, Powell, Barker come to mind not forgetting Elewere, still an U18, who has already acquitted himself well before injury curtailed his season.
With such players available there is no need to take sub standard loanees to augment the squad
Any weaknesses in the squad should be filled with well judged permanent signings.
Hi Chicago Addick – always enjoy reading your posts, but quite a surprise with this one to be greeted with a photo of my Mum (centre), my Auntie Brenda (right), and their friend Eileen taken at Wembley, 1947. A few years back the family donated the plywood model of the FA Cup that mum is holding to the CAFC museum. They got it signed by all the winning team.
Some great memories here – remember singing la-la-la Barry Endean to the tune of T Rex’s “Hot Love” – I think he came to us with high hopes after his exploits with Watford, but sadly he proved totally inept at putting the ball into the net.
And oh for players of the quality of my heroes from the 60’s … Wright, Curtis, Kinsey, Campbell, Went, Reeves, Gregory, Tees, Treacy, Moore, Peacock still rolls off the tongue, and of course later, as mentioned above, Colin Powell and of course the twin strikers (when they weren’t striking each other) Hales and Flanagan. Hoping for better times ahead … keep up the good work,
Keith
Love that Keith. Thanks for your comment. My first team of the mid 70’s still rolls of the tongue.
Here’s the better times ahead and future heroes.