Charlton Athletic: 25 years

Today I stopped in at the Valley, home of my football love of my life, Charlton Athletic.

Regular readers to these pages and to my twitter feed will know I have not been happy at the Valley for the last few seasons, for a variety of reasons, not least the owner and his cohorts.

For the first time in twenty four years last season, I elected to not buy a season ticket and thus went only very occasionally, mostly when there were protests organised by C.A.R.D. (the group protesting the owners).

I've been encouraged by friends and by family to try and get more information on the overall situation, and I spoke to a few employees off the record today, a few of which were brave enough to venture their views and give an alternative to that printed in outlets such as Voice of the Valley.

For the record, I am trying to look at this with my old ombudsman's hat on. I want to be better informed, and I want to be balanced in my views on this. I accept we're at a stage where some views have hardened on all sides, but that does not in my opinion preclude a change in approach if that is what is required.

Some of the employees pointed out to me, rightly, that they are not normally allowed a voice. They have to remain silent on many issues.

This has not happened during Roland's ownership of the club, and it has meant that many of the long term staff are finally getting some stability in their lives which they did not have before.

Another point of view put to me was on Katrien Miere. Readers here and on Twitter will be well aware of my personal views on Miere. However it was pointed out to me that much of what Miere does do for the club is not published - and in fairness I agree that much of what is written in the press is only the negative side of the Katrien Miere story. 

One long term employee stated to me that Miere spends a lot of time with the youth teams, watching their matches and encouraging them. She ventured that actually, there's a lot of love for the club there and its youth development, and much of the work that goes unseen is in developing this and the training ground. She also cited much of the contracts for the daily running of the club and its merchandise which never gets mentioned as part of her overall work. 

There's a clear disconnect between many parts of the Charlton Athletic family at present. The employees I spoke to felt that the protests (which I have been a part of) were not helping in many ways, particularly one occasion which I was not aware of in the club shop where stink bombs and other items were let off, making life a lot more difficult for those running the shop. 

That's clearly unacceptable if the main aim is peaceful protests, and I hope C.A.R.D. amongst others can take note of this and make sure that anyone protesting under their banner in future will not conduct acts such as this (and I accept, in fairness that I have only one side of this story and that C.A.R.D. members or supporters may not have been involved, but that this was the inference I had).

The atmosphere on Saturday was electric. I know - I was there. The employees I spoke to felt that the protests had had a very detrimental effect on the team last season. One employee was again brave enough to tell me that he had spoken to two players of the main team who were very clearly shaken and affected by the protests last year.

One thing we all agreed on was that everyone across the spectrum wants Charlton Athletic to succeed, otherwise we wouldn't be here. 

I myself have felt the protests have been necessary, and whilst I would disagree with one employee's assertion that they have had no effect on the club (and I would cite manager, player and network influence as several ways the protests have had a positive effect) I can absolutely accept that there has been a lot of collateral damage in the way the protests have gone forward. 

So what is the solution? Is there one?

For me, I feel that I will never be happy with Roland's ownership. However I can learn to live with it and actively support the parts of it that will keep our Charlton above water and push for greater things. 

From my conversations today I think there is a whole other side to this debate. Perhaps we on the protesting side have been very vocal and not been as open to debate and more information as we could have been. I think I have been guilty of that (which is unusual for me given my career choices) and in that respect I feel there are some things I can put my hands up on and say "sorry" for.

On that note, I do need to apologise to Tony Watt. I got hugely frustrated when he didn't chase down a number of balls and - whilst not being abusive - I did call him out loudly on this. 

So Tony - sincerely - my apologies. You were following orders and that's fair. 

(But please do something about your shin pads!)

In conclusion, I think it's fair to say that this could be a positive new era for the club. I am not, I hasten to add, calling on C.A.R.D. to disband or anyone to start condemning protestors of the regime. 

Far from it.

What I am saying, is that on this occasion, given the circumstances, perhaps we need to take a step back, and get back behind the team in the ground once more. We're all here for a common goal - the success and future of Charlton Athletic Football Club. So perhaps C.A.R.D. - and myself included in that - can look at a positive protest. Let's be more balanced, and lets be fairer in our criticism.

We're still here - we're still watching - and we'll still hold the regime to account when they go wrong. But let's bring it back to the stands, to the cheering, to singing Valley Floyd Road, and going mental when the lads score a goal.

Last Saturday was the first time in four years that I felt I was watching my childhood club again. The combination of the passionate manager, some great moves in the transfer window, and the stunning Fosu - he's one for the future - really convinced me that the club is heading in a good direction again.

Let's get behind the boys, and make some noise once more.

After all, in this the club's 25th year back at the Valley - and my 25th season supporting it - we need to be united now more than ever.

"Following Charlton, my only desire"

There aren't many words that I have at my disposal right now. It's a sad evening to be a Charlton fan, but in light of the joyous news elsewhere in my friends circle (the birth of a beautiful baby girl) it's hard to get entirely worked up over the inevitable end to what has been the worst season at Charlton Athletic for many, many years.

The above photograph hangs in our study, and it's one of my earliest memories of football. It stands out because it is taken in front of the old Wembley Stadium, with my little sister Claire on my left, my mother Jill clutching her flag and my father Jerry stood behind. All of us are wearing Charlton gear in some form or another, and to our left and behind us is a Charlton fan looking directly at the camera, and to our immediate right and behind us, a Sunderland fan is also looking at the camera.

Football matches are unique. They are the coming together of two different teams, playing the same game on one pitch, having to deal with the same factors, both internal and external, and ultimately the end result is a game of two halves, and two stories to tell.

Following the 1st Division play-off final of 1997-1998, there were two stories to tell. One was the big team from the North failing at the last hurdle to gain promotion, despite playing some exceptional football, with a big, passionate, and very much brilliant crowd behind them, and the other story was the small club from south east London, coming off the back of some of the worst years of their club's history, against all odds being promoted to the Premiership.

This match sticks out in my mind because it summed up what football has always been about for me. From start to end, it was a joyous, nerve wracking, exciting, brilliant display of football from two football teams who just wanted to play to win and were doing it for their incredible supporters.

It is the one game of football I remember where there doesn't seem to be a controversial decision, there's no diving, the fouls were minimal, but there were lots of goals, end to end action, and at the end of it, some beautiful and respectful sportsmanship from the Sunderland and Charlton faithful to each other. Either team could have gone on and won that match: but for the hand of Saca Ilic, it could have been Sunderland.

History records this as one of the greatest matches played at the old Wembley Stadium. Ending 4-4 after extra time, it was 7-6 to Charlton on penalties, with club legend Clive Mendonca becoming the last English player to score a hat trick in a cup final at Wembley. He was my hero of heroes, and to this day the urge to sing out "Super Clive Mendonca" remains strong.

The point of this article is that this photograph wouldn't have been possible without a number of decisions being made in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For the fans to take on an election and win to get the ground back, after years in the wilderness at Selhurst and Upton Parks. For the fans to clear out the derelict Valley, with people of all ages, ethnicity and creed coming together with shovels, black bin bags and hope, to make the ground afresh and the club renewed.

Without the fans, there would have been no Wembley play-off final. No chance at glory in the Premier League. Alan Curbishley would have been unlikely to remain in charge if Charlton had not returned to the Valley and we wouldn't have had 13 amazing years with him at the helm.

The fans saved the club, and they supported it through the good times and bad. The fans even bought into the club: my father owned shares in Charlton Athletic PLC and was a non executive director at one point, with seats in the director's box (Dad if I have got these details wrong, and you're reading, please correct me!)

At every stage of Charlton's development the fans have been there to support the club and help it.

Which is why with tonight's relegation, we have to come today and fight for the club stronger than ever. Because without every single fan standing up, with one voice, and helping to remove the current regime from their stranglehold on the club, we will never have the one thing the picture above symbolises: hope.

We will never again hope for better things, we will never again sit in the stands and cheer on the team with hope and passion in our hearts, and we will never hope to reach the upper echelons of English football again.

The word "strangle" is apt: since Chris Powell's League 1 winning side and his controversial dismissal from the club, we have seen the first team starved of its star players, the manager with a passion for the team and winning, and we have seen our youngest and brightest sold at prices well below their worth, when their true value is standing on that football pitch in a bright red shirt.

So if you can, come to the Brighton match on Saturday. I am not promising that the team will win. It's about so much more than the result. It's the future of our family club, and the future of our family. I'm game to try and save it if you are. Fans have done it before, and it is time for the new generation to stand up and be counted.

I want our Charlton back.

Simon A.C. Martin