Was what Lennie Lawrence achieved in taking Charlton into the top division ...... taking into account losing his home ground, being within a hour of going out of business, being forced to sell his better players to pay bills and the total lack of resources available to him ..... a more remarkable feat than Curbs taking us there several years later when Curbs had far more supportive Owners/Directors? This is not who was the better manager but..... who made the most of the resources available to them AllHell
Based solely on your question of whose was the most remarkable feat, I'd have to plump for Lennie 'Houdini' Lawrence. To have got us up and kept us up for those years was nothing short of miraculous - especially considering the lack of TV money, gate receipts and merchandise. Curbs is an undoubted legend and footballing genius, yet one could point to the relative comfort (during the Premiership years) of Sky cash, increased ground capacity and the additional finance that comes with that - not to mention his special relationship with Richard Murray. Having said that, it is testament to Curbs' skill and leadership that the club plummeted once he left. He really was the club's central pillar. Both are Charlton greats and both shall be remembered for magnificent achievements.
I agree with Ponders that both Lennie & Curbs are all time Charlton greats, joining the pantheon of CAFC giants occupied only by Jimmy Seed, Sam Bartram and Omar Pouso. Lennie'a achievement was by far the greater, IMO. Don't underestimate the psychological effect it had on our team running out for 'home' games where we were almost always outnumbered by the opposition fans. Anyone remember when Millwall beat us at Selhurst 3-0 and Les Briley scored from 30 yards? We must have been outnumbered 3 to 1 at least that day .....for a home game. Motivating a team in those circumstances was an unparalleled achievement.
Can I vote for both of them? How about another vote on who was worse, Dowie or pardew? Or..............who is your favourite stooge, Millwall Bob, or our own Sir Alex?
Yes, but I couldn't vote against either of them. The case has been made for Lennie, but IMO the case for Curbs is equally strong. Although Murray loosened the purse strings for Dowie and pardew, Curbs was not allowed this luxury, and had to bear the cost of building up the ground as well.
Lennie said at my Dad's funeral that he would never have achieved what he did at Charlton without him and it was like losing his left arm when he left to manage in Norway..
I think Lennie achieved the greater feat, and that's no disrespect to Curbs at all. In the same way, I think what Lee Bowyer did in 2018-19 was a greater achievement than what Chris Powell did in 2011-12. Taking nothing away from Powell, it was a terrific season. But Bowyer simply had so much more stacked up against him achieving anything, as Lenny did compared to Curbs.
