It was building nicely between 2.30 and 3pm yesterday, the trumpet was sounded in the North Upper and the Wall end was packed. What a shame that CAFC continue to inflict two 80s - centric own goals on the fans. The tannoy system in the Covered End remains crap, but pitch side announcer Dave Lockwood screaming his trite, 80s cliches "lets get behind the boys and make some noise " (no, **** off you fat git...) had a few people around me mouthing expletives. Get rid of this overblown clown and let the fans create their own atmosphere. Let him do his Samshy and Nicey tribute act elsewhere. And the RedRed Robin really serves no purpose on days like this, other than to get fogeys in the West Stand tapping their mittens in rhythm.
I agree that Big Dave shouldn't try to be a cheerleader, stick to being an announcer. Red Red Robin can hardly be heard from the NW anyway. I love the song but only wish more fans sang it instead of drowning it out. I try to sing along with it but could not do so yesterday as I couldn't hear it, which was a bad start to the proceedings. The song is more lively than the team were for the first 45 minutes anyway.
So long as Into The Valley stays then that's fine by me. Quite like Bartender And The Thief as the second half starts too. I'd like to know how the Charlton Live Media Mafia of Lockwood, Finch, 'Olly Groome' and Co. got their jobs? Merit? An 'Olly Groome' sounds like a Cypriot Pervert.
Half-agree... the announcements are just embarrassing and seriously need a make-over. There must be a better way of getting some atmosphere built. Red Red Robin is a key part of the experience, though, and singing that as the players come out is one of the remaining traditions of the club that it's good to cling on to. Having attended for the last 30 years, the first 20 of those were with a group including a guy we lost to cancer last year. They played 'Red Red Robin' at his funeral and it seriously choked me up... and at the other end of the extreme I took my 3-year old to her first game against Wednesday, and it was one of the things she remembers best from the game and keeps pestering me to take her again (needless to say I didn't feel yesterday was the best way to continue her intro... I do want her to see us win at some point!). So... no.
I'd much rather have The Red, Red Robin than the generic dramatic music most other clubs have. It's an integral part of the Charlton matchday experience as far as I'm concerned. Agree to an extent about Dave Lockwood though. He yells 'Get behind the boys!', there's a half-hearted cheer which then dies down as the game kicks off and then the atmosphere is quiet unless we start well on the pitch.
I think it's best left to the fans to generate the noise before KO - too many people switch off once he starts going on. If he wasn't there then I think there would be more focus on getting some chants going.
Red Red Robin is an integral part of Charlton Athletic. Get rid of it..? You'll be telling us next that it would make commercial sense to, let's say, ground share with Crystal Palace. Agree that Lockwood should go. OK, so the guy is only doing what he's paid to do. Presumably the club employed him to do this very thing and are happy with the way he does it otherwise they would give him the hook. If we're going to complain, do it by telling those in a position to either moderate his rantings or better still, get rid of them altogether, how we feel. OK, so 'Robin' is a bit old fashioned now and some may suggest it needs a makeover. Perhaps it could be given a remix with a drum machine and some hip-hop electronic gadzookery. Perhaps we could get a 'crew' from Thamesmead to turn it into a rap. How about "Yo man, when dat Robin done slappin' him bitch up, he go'n pop a cap in Millwall motherfucker ass goooooooood." Bringing Charlton into the 21st Century. Not all it's cracked up to be, eh? Where the Robin's concerned, leave well alone.
Don't knock Dave Lockwood he does what he is asked to do. However, the one thing that is beginning to annoy is the playing of Mull of Kintyre rather than some perfectly good recordings of Valley Floyd Road. At some other clubs, and I am sure that those who went to Elland Road a couple of weeks back can vouch they feed back or start the Leeds version of the Eton Boating Song playing back into the crowd through the tannoy and thus whip the crowd up. I have a cd of the Valley Floyd Road sung by Harvey Gardens and the Robins that they could borrow!
Cut Lockwood's tongue out but keep the Robin. Once our Belgian Fuehrer has completed his plans by sending Solly, Wilson, and Cousins out "on loan" and replaced them with garbage from the Belgian second tier it may be the last remnant of authentic Charlton we have left.
, The only garbage is what you have just posted. Solly has a knee condition, Cousins is going nowhere, Wilson will be released at the end of the Season. I think it is time to give up your antipathy towards our owner. It is totally misplaced.
Dave Lockwood and Peter Finch are both "typical Charlton" in so much as they have been around for years, are not very good at their jobs, but possess a healthy self regard. I mean, FFS...that " mums and dads boys n girls" line it like something out of frickin Tiswas. The guy clearly gets his rocks off bestriding the pitch side like Alan Partridge after too many donuts, but he kills the atmosphere every game. Agree about Mull of Kintyre too...play it properly or not at all.
To paraphrase someone. Where there is darkness may I bring light Where there is despair may I bring hope. Just rejoice at these words!
Was that somebody ...... 'the Hammer of the North' ? .......... basically Northern men being 'beaten up' by a Northern woman? Lincolnshire's finest
But ding dong, still dead. Her family made certain by cremating the corpse AND then burying it just to be sure.
I know peter finch quite well hes a decent Charlton fan but I think he should bring in mark Mansfield as he was superb