Over land and sea
Talking Point đŁď¸
It does amaze me that Charlton fans continue to sell out away ends and take large numbers away. Somehow despite the desperate last few seasons we seem to have found a new generation of âyoofâ who are prepared to invest time and money following the club.
Of course the game can be a bit of a sideshow to the day out itself. Even now my âlotâ still reminisce of away games decades ago and often the worse ones get the most laughs, Like any football fan you wake on the morning ever hopeful, but knowing deep inside that a football match is about one of the most arbitrary things you can watch.
Yesterdayâs away end which could probably have been sold out twice was ever hopeful from kick-off as Charlton songs swirled around the tiny ground squashing any kind of noise from the home fans.
An away following is different to a home one in that the backing and the optimism never lets up, even when whatâs on show is dire. Plausibly these are the clubâs most ardent fans, and they can find solace or a rowdy round of applause in simply winning a throw-on in an opponents half. Every scrappy tackle or track back is cheered.
Yesterday though despite the constant backing that edge of the seat, heart thumping away experience didnât seem to materialize, and dampened almost immediately after we went behind.
Sure, late corners in front of us, the ball pinging around the six-yard box and even a late mini punch up got people riled, but there was an overall acceptance that we werenât going to score, Stevenage were going to waste every second, and most of all any inventiveness or excitement to get us up on our toes was not there.
The hope never dies, but that smallest spark just wasnât returned. Away fans can grab onto any flicker but it never came, and didnât look as if it ever would.
I was pleased to see the young Addicks around me yesterday, although I wish theyâd slow down the bloody songs for us oldies. At their age, well and mine too, it is all about shared experiences and memories but we are there first and foremost to see the team.
Addicks fans donât ask for much but a little flicker of hope goes a long way and believe me youâd cheer and clap that all game long. We live in forlorn hope that this latest lot can inspire some kind of belief.
sorry you didnât get to see an away win CA on your visit over. Next time. Always a next time I hope. Best wishes and keep up the blogs they are fantastic.
Many thanks, very kind. There is always the next time.
Hope you arrived home safely and Helen didn’t create to many
problems. Who knows perhaps Chicago and Paris can meet up one day near the Valley for a pint or two. First round will be on me.
Cheers
Alan (from Paris)
Iâd like that Alan. Stay well.
I enjoy reading your posts very much . For some reason my contribution was not getting through . CAFC will always have a special place in my heart and the support is just superb. Itâs all about money and we are skint . Hopefully one day a famous actor/ actress from Hollywood will step up . Perhaps I will take a billionaire out for dinner from the kardasian family . Keep the faith
As a Birmingham fan I remember the way we used to use gallows humour during tough times. The ironic cheers when we’d win a corner. Some great chants include
We’ve got a corner, how shit must you be we’ve got a corner
We’ve had a shot, how …. (Same chant)
We’re shit and we know we are
In the 1980s (very bleak days) the only thing fans used to enjoy was meeting with their mates and the chants were just bizarre like
I’d rather be a sausage than an egg, sizzle sozzle.
Really unreal watching us win every game. It’s like waking up in an alternative reality. After watching it go wrong year in year out I’m expecting either a whole load of injuries and everything going tits up or the Russians to drop a nuclear bomb.
Thanks for visiting ijazh4. Of course you also have one of the very best terrace songs.
I was reading that the feeling around the club is unparalleled in recent years despite dropping down to L1. My, you guys have spent some money. See you at The Valley next Saturday.
May the best team win tomorrow (which it will đ). Last season we were playing to half a stadium with a team of freebies and loan players because we didn’t have a pot to piss in. We’ve suffered 13 long years of this bullshit. Somehow we’ve survived relegation from the championship 8 times on the last day. The new owners have been amazing it’s like winning the lottery. I keep on thinking it’s a dream and I’ll wake up to the same shit. The ground is rocking with home sell outs every game. We’ve spent a lot of money but we have sold 19 players and brought in ÂŁ12m from sales so only about ÂŁ8m nett building a championship ready side in league. Apart from Stansfield (about ÂŁ10m), Klarer (ÂŁ2 5m), Willumson (ÂŁ3), Cochrane (ÂŁ1m) everyone else bought has been below ÂŁ1m with 2 frees, 3 loans, Dykes, May, Hansson, Iwata, Wright, Yokoyama, Leonard. The football we are playing is the best I’ve ever seen us play. I’m confident going into every game which is a bit different from fully expecting us to fuck it up. I fully expect Charlton to be in the playoff picture. Wish you guys all the best and hope someday you too get a knight in shining armour to rescue from a life of treading water. KRO.
The best team did win đ. I am still in shock. Best of luck for the rest of the season ijazh4. Keep popping by here, your comments are very welcome.
Well done you thoroughly deserved to win. Top many players had an off day for us. Maybe a bit of complacency thinking all they needed to do was turn up. Still it should serve as a wake up call to those believing the hype. I was reading Don Goodman saying we will get 100 goals and points. Bielik was misquoted he said we’ve signed players from the EPL, SPL, internationals and championship and they’re a higher standard than league 1. They are good enough to play in the championship or higher. Somehow this was construed as “We are too good for league 1 and will piss this league”. I think a few others will try to follow the Charlton blueprint of packing out the midfield. Chris Davies is a good manager though and will analyse the defeat meticulously and no doubt devise counter plans should this happen. On to Lincoln away who look a good side. Hopefully we won’t pick up any injuries to our internationals.