Absolute tosh. Sorry, your supposed to work hard for the team that pays you money! Are we that starry eyed guff that we have to single him out? Why not Steve Brown? Mark kinsellla, Richard Rufus were all more influential as players than CP ever was. I think AC knocks spots off any purchase made by CP. Clive Mendonca, Andy Hunt, Kinsella, are just three of about twenty players that AC bought that make Kermogant look quite ordinary ( who incidentally was thrown out of Leicester for cocking up a penalty kick.) As we have found out recently, you and I and nobody knows what the board have given or not given CP. it's all been a lie from the plastic revolutionaries at CL who have continually undermined the board in favour of themselves and championing Cp so they can get their cardigans in the paper. To say no manager in the world blah blah is wild nonsense and more than a little desperate. You simply don't know, it's all history now, but I do think it was an oppoutunity lost last season. Nobody thought Palce would get promoted last season did they? I cannot abide the term sir. It is patronising and I have already dealt with this. Nobody I knew ever called him sir while he was playing. King Clive was a headline in the sun once but that never stuck, so why did Sir? Unless its more apologetic guff from those bottom polishers over on CL to drive a wedge between the board and the management.
I have thought for some time now that a section of our supports ardour for Chris Powell has little to do with football, and more to do with displacing middle class angst about wider issues. Its very unfortunate (but somehow not surprising) that we just happen to be the poor club that benchmarks its relationship with its manager in this way. When I see comments from apparently sentinent human beings like "I love SCP" and "he is the club", its time to pass the sick bag, Alice. At the club open day in July at the Q and A Powell was asked which team he supported. I am quite sure that the assorted bovril guzzlers, white van men with a guilt complex, and cardigan wearers who form the SCP Fan Club, were shocked at his response. "Spurs" That's right. The living Saint. The deity of SE7....does NOT support Charlton. And who gives a toss ? As long as he does a decent job, it should not matter who he supports. If we don't turn up v Millwall like last season, I will boo Powell at the end. That's the price of the ticket and his six figure salary. And if we win, I will cheer him. But can we please STOP this awful " we live very near Eltham , so have to be seen as holier than thou" hero worship ? P S These comments are not aimed at any poster on this site, all of whom I know from over the years to be decent people. Its the cringeworthy holier than thou wanabee Tony Parsons idiots over on that other site.
@ Jimmy I have just read your post. If "being a great servant to the club" is a criteria for being awarded demi God status and a truly crass nickname there are at least 50 other Charlton people far more deserving that Powell, starting with Seed and Bartram and adding Hales, Norris, Alwen, Lawrence, Gritt, Curbs, and the 5,000 of us who went to ****hurst for four seasons. Some fans are viewing Powell through a free pair of rose tinted specs, provided by the Guardian newspaper, and paid for by the Eltham Labour Party. The rest of us are starting to see through it. @ Captain I had the honour of having good chat with Curbs recently. Let me assure you, he bears no grudge whatsoever to any element of our support, quite the opposite in fact.
Having reviewed the last few posts on this thread it appears that we largely agree but are divided by the way our agreement is expressed. CP does not deserve the unadulterated adulation and near deification that he gets on other sites. We largely agree that he has done a reasonable job with the resources he has been given and some reserve the right to boo if we lose to Millwall. We all have subjective views over the quality of players he has signed compared with the players that were available to Curbishley and Lawrence. We must remember that was a different era with different economics in the game a different board and dare I say it different refereeing standards. I would say it is comparing apples and pears but a better description might be comparing granny's apple pie with black forest gateaux and tarte au citron. Let's agree that we have a manager that has great affection for Charlton but was raised a Spurs supporter, who has been professional enough to get us out of the difficult league 1 into the challenging environs of the championship and is working on a very limited budget and who hasn't had a totally successful start to the season. However we must also recognise that the season is 46 matches long and we have only completed 8.7% of the season. We appear to violently agree on the majority of issues but are desperately trying to find the small nuances - the pastry in this tarte is not as good as granny made. However please refrain from trying to associate any individuals views with a political standpoint - that is something we can all truly disagree on!
Like most fans you don't give John Cartwright any of the credit he deserves for the youngsters who came through while he was running the Academy. After he left us and was replaced by the ineffectual Mick Browne not a single youngster came through to the first team in his 6 years in charge, during which time Curbs was still in charge (although Michael Turner should have). Now we have a well-run Academy again and the supply line has started again. Players like Poyet, Gomez and Edwardes are stars of the future whoever the manager is. I'm sure you will agree that our current owners deserve a lot of credit for investing in the Academy!
Hang on???!!!! How in the name of Chris Powell do you find that I have somehow in my numerous posts about John Cartwright and the academy find that I have somehow discredited his work? talk about stretching the point....
OK, what I mean is that it's unfair to compare the kids that Curbs brought through to the ones we have now. He had John Cartwright running the Academy who was outstanding at his job, and it showed. The worst signing Curbs made was Mick Browne. Curbs, like The Doctor, is human therefore fallible, and I was told at the time that he (Mick Browne) was useless, and that he had a terrible track record. Curbs was still the same manager but no more Parkers or Konchesky's came through. Now we have Paul Hart running the Academy and I hope he gets credit for the job he's doing. And the owners get credit for appointing him. Still with me?
Fair points. But have you not noticed the political element seeping into this club? Join this, do that, . Sack the board, lest buy the club for a fiver.This club formed a political party with a single issue, it was then disbanded having achieved its objective, now we have all manner of plastic chinned revolutionaries looking to throw overthrow the board for failing to wave to them at a recent home match. That is my real gripe, trying to decipher real footballing concerns with political spinning and mischief.
Typical, I was meaning the party political side swipes that we get occasionally. I fully agree that politics in its purest sense of the desire for personal power is definitely creeping into the debate which is totally unhealthy. Unless the world is turned upside down we as supporters do not have the ability to sack the board and I personally will not associate myself with any grouping that believes that they have the right to sack the board or question their decisions. We are not even shareholders in the business just paying customers and we have the right to vote only with our feet, pretending otherwise is delusional. If, and it is a very big if, the company owning the club went t1ts up, there would be a case for getting involved and trying to rescue something from the wreckage. However, despite the posturing of many, the players have been paid, the valley is still open for business on a Saturday afternoon or a Tuesday night and our season tickets are being honoured. Trying to establish a power base when there is no justifiable reason is, I agree, self serving and usually the sign of the power lusting tin pots of this world. If a Portsmouth or Coventry situation arises then those of a more practical and commercial persuasion come into their own and the world will get sorted. As I have previously stated, we appear to have the Warmington on sea warriors to the fore at the moment.
My thoughts are.....(normally about Kaley Cuoco, sometimes about Cheryl Cole's new tattoo on her arse and also sometimes about food) .... but if I think about the Good Doctor they are as follows 1) He has been a Manager for less than 3 seasons. I would say that it takes a MINIMUM of 5 seasons to become competant and more often 10 seasons to become comfortable, The Good Doctor is showing signs that his 'all round' abilities as a manager are developing nicely. 2) Anybody who questions his love for Charlton was obviously not at The Valley for his last game as a player..... parading his kids around the ground saying goodbye with continual tears in his eyes. 3) Mostly (excluding Mourinho) Managers do best when they are given time at a Club....SAF @ Manure, Curbs @ Charlton, Lawrence @ Charlton, Wenger @ Arsenal, Brian Clough @ Derby.... so I would like to see a new contract for our Doctor 4) The fact that he is black has got nothing to do with anything! If the owners think he is no longer an asset he will be sacked just like any other manager! 5) So far he has performed above expectations in winning L1 in his first full season and finishing last season in 9th BUT the start to this season has been poor (performance wise) so Chris needs to show his mettle (like he did during last season's blip) and turn things around on the back of the Leicester performance.
Chris Powell is highly regarded at all of his previous clubs. His first act after the final whistle v Leicester was to go over and applaud their fans, a gesture they reciprocated. It's a reflection on someone we can all agree , is a nice guy. As for the comment " this wasn't the Charlton I knew", many , many of our previous hundred percenters could have said that, including Mark Kinsella...who also failed dismally as a coach for us. Did CL strip him of his peerage ? Was CP a better full back than John Humphery, or Scott Minto, or Gary Borrowdale ? Ok, maybe Borrowdale but I don't hear the Clique giving honorary knighthoods to the latter two. Is CP really a bigger "club legend" than Lord Derek Hales, or Baron Garry Nelson ? Of course he is not. It's just twee venerating, with plenty of subliminal messaging thrown in for the handful that are bright enough to notice.
Chris Powell the player was the best left back ever to play for Charlton, well, since 1975 anyway. Of course, that's just my opinion, but isn't football all about opinions? Now Chris Powell the manager, now that's a different matter. The best manager since Curbs is an opinion very few would argue with. Let's not forget that Curbs wasn't particularly popular at first, and Richard Murray faced some criticism for standing by him, especially when he got rid of Gritty. "Curbs" and "Gritty"-quite good nicknames,mmm? I like "The Doctor" or "The Good Doctor", although I don't have any problems with SCP. I don't have any problem either with the nickname given to pardew when he visited the Valley.Harmless affectionate nicknames are surely not something to get apoplectic about?
I really like Chris Powell. He is new to management, but has already achieved more than many managers will in their whole careers. He won us a title - albeit in a pony league - and it is something we all rejoiced in. He is honest, open and affable. He garners the respect of the football world, which can only be a good thing for our club. He has nurtured the talents of Solly and Harriott, while also bringing in top performers such as Kermit, Wiggins and Morro. The way he has gone about his affairs - despite the restricted budget and gloom-laden atmosphere at The Valley - has been admirable. And he was really kind to me and my nippers at the Barnet friendly. Top bloke. Will be a top manager. Bonus is his CAFC history. And he is not Steve Lomas.
I have no problem with having to justify my support of The Good Doctor ..... I think it is healthy that we can have a discussion like this without reverting to insults
Chris Powell is my favourite ever Charlton player (Matt Holland a close second). He's done a very good job over the last 2 seasons, and i'm confident he will turn our season around. His quiet, dignified and insightful approach to management leads me to believe he has the potential to be an excellent football manager.
Cannot believe what i am reading to be honest. Powell is a club legend end of story, that has never been questioned before by any sensible Charlton fan and never should be. Tell me a single manager on the face of this earth that could get our current squad to do really well in this division, you cant because there isn't one. People are actually sat here thinking Powelly is to blame for our form? Really? So it has nothing to do with our exceptionally weak squad that he had no funds to strengthen? A squad that was not good enough last season and has been weakened even further. I can keep repeating the same obvious statistics but sadly Typical will disagree anyway, with no valid reason to do so. All this guff about rose tinted spectacles as well? How is anything i have said rose tinted? We are in a poor state and are not looking like we can even stay up. The boardroom is a mess clearly, and everything about the club feels negative. However if pointing out the blindingly obvious to some people who seem to think changing one of the only good things about the club is rose tinted then i think i might end up taking another prolonged absence from this forum. I don't mind people disagreeing with me, but i do get annoyed with being told my opinions are tosh by someone who always ends up coming across as up himself, no need for it Typical
