tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post3385357113878450110..comments2024-02-29T09:58:18.342+01:00Comments on The Swiss Ramble: Charlton Athletic - Into The ValleyThe Swiss Ramblerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11423088862174893998noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-90358852426381308402011-11-27T20:39:36.750+01:002011-11-27T20:39:36.750+01:00We did not waste any money on Bougherra. He cost £...We did not waste any money on Bougherra. He cost £2.5m and we sold him for the same fee. He went on to play in the Champions League - as did Diawara.<br />Ben Thatcher was inexpensive, and Reid was far above "average" (as has already been remarked upon).<br /><br />To clear up the question posed by Richard above (about Curbs staying if given funds) - this was a big factor in Curbs going. He had negotiated to get Sidwell from Reading and Bullard from Wigan for a total of £5m. Murray refused him the funding and the rest is history.Valiantphilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-32315283051437016032011-11-21T22:15:15.148+01:002011-11-21T22:15:15.148+01:00I have been going to Charlton for nearly 10 years ...I have been going to Charlton for nearly 10 years and this article has spoke what has been going on for the last 5 or so years!! I just hope we do have a strategic plan that is sensible and most importantly sustainable. <br /><br />I think the takeover on new years eve 2010 will shape the future of Charlton Athletic, and that it may only be 3 or 4 years from the premiership days again. <br /><br />One thing the new and former board members can take from the past 6 seasons is that nothing is guaranteed from football and mistakes on the field will have severe effects of the field. <br /><br />Lets hope that in the very near future we see the Valley full again each week and the expansion of the stadium if the club survives in the top flight. <br /><br />Greenwich Council has already passed plans to develop both east and the 'jimmy seed stand' in 2 phases firstly the east stand getting an upper tier, followed by the complete re-development of the south stand as it stands on former terracing. As a avid Charlton fan it would be amazing to see the Valley with 40,000 fans. This as you will well know brings in additional revenue for the club, thus attracting bigger players<br /><br />COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-40427439460490027062011-11-20T21:56:32.255+01:002011-11-20T21:56:32.255+01:00Never saw a blog post with soo much information. T...Never saw a blog post with soo much information. Thanks for writing it.Santiagohttp://getbettingtips.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-62766204979585881302011-11-20T14:36:42.404+01:002011-11-20T14:36:42.404+01:00Congratulations on a great article. Yes it's l...Congratulations on a great article. Yes it's long, and requires much mental effort to fathom, but i guess the effort on my part in reading is less than yours in the researching and writing. <br /><br />I do wonder if the board had promised Curbs the budget given to Dowie, if he would have stayed.<br /><br />I am also angry to read that Murphy said he was irritated by some thinking we should have been higher up the table than we were. This was a noisy minority, and Mr Murphy always thought he was too good for us. <br /><br />Well done sir on a great article.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05929243023575233715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-26279032671961393302011-11-19T13:30:45.274+01:002011-11-19T13:30:45.274+01:00great article enjoyed the read thank you ....great article enjoyed the read thank you ....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-36962937733285143312011-11-19T02:05:19.118+01:002011-11-19T02:05:19.118+01:00I can appreciate the effort required to present su...I can appreciate the effort required to present such a thorough analysis. However, It would be much easier to appreciate the flow of the argument if findings were summarised intermittently to detail the steps in your thinking.<br /><br />My point is that you have done all the work but you are failing to capitalise on it by leaving too much unnecessary mental effort for your readers.Mareknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-20544476789046031052011-11-18T23:29:52.346+01:002011-11-18T23:29:52.346+01:00Superb article. You’ve set out very clearly the vi...Superb article. You’ve set out very clearly the vicious and seemingly vindictive dynamics of relegation from the Premier League. The precipitous collapse in revenues means that the Club immediately begins to burn cash at a rate only those with deep pockets can manage; leading to cost cutting, with inevitable implications for the playing squad, and the risk of a debt spiral which can lead to administration.<br /> <br />There is no doubt that Charlton made mistakes, but in my view it would have taken real skill and perhaps an element of luck to have achieved a much better outcome. The £19m transfer spend in the 2006/7 season is hard to reconcile with my recollection of events, but whatever the spend was it did make sense for the Club to “speculate” a little; there was the prospect, as you noted, of an even more lucrative TV deal and in my view at least the playing squad was “tired” and in desperate need of improvement. The problem, of course, was that the investment didn’t work. <br /><br />It’s still not clear what caused Iain Dowie’s departure, but it might be argued that bad luck on the field during Dowie’s time in charge and the disastrous Les Reed interlude relegated a side that could so easily have stayed up had West Ham not “cheated” [and escaped punishment] and had a poor Fulham side not somehow scrambled to safety. The margins between success and failure are just so fine; Fulham scored an equaliser in the League game at the Valley with the last kick of the match as a result of an appalling error by referee Graham Poll. Poll even apologised. Charlton deserved at least a draw at Craven Cottage , but lost 2-1. Reverse the two results and Charlton would have finished above Fulham in the table. It’s often that close.<br /><br />It wasn’t to be and down they went. However, the Club recouped much if not all of the money spent on transfers in the previous season [though not the wages obviously] with the sales of a number of established players, Bent, Young, Rommedhal etc. and most if not all of the new players, Diawara, Reid [in the January window and Bougherra [the following summer]; these latter three were not bad buys. <br /><br />On relegation though the Club faced another dilemma; cut costs quickly in preparation for the expiry of the parachute payments or attempt to build a promotion winning squad? This is where it really went wrong in my view. The Club “went for promotion” and with hindsight spent too much money signing a number of “very average” players on expensive four year contracts. Again, it didn’t work; Alan Pardew really messed up. He seemed “a good appointment at the time”, but proved to be a disaster for the Club. <br /><br />The Club’s failure here was not so much in hiring him [it happens], but in failing to control him. It would appear that when the Directors “gulped” as they contemplated the 08/09 season [and the last parachute payment] they became frozen in the headlights; it all went wrong on the field and Pardew was finally sacked in November, but rather than roll the dice one more time a hire a decent Manager [Sam Allardyce was desperate for a job, Gus Poyet applied] the Board went for the easy and cheap option and promoted the likeable, but entirely uninspiring Phil Parkinson. Relegation followed as night follows day.<br /><br />What might the Club have done differently? Make better decisions, employ better Managers and get “lucky”. Spending less money may not have helped. The cash burn may have been a little easier to manage, but the outcome the same in all likelihood. And the learning point? Give me good generals, lucky generals and deep pockets. The increase in parachute payments [and their extension to four years] should help of course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-57684883443396530352011-11-18T22:54:06.309+01:002011-11-18T22:54:06.309+01:00I always felt the board lost their nerve. They we...I always felt the board lost their nerve. They were on the downward curve and Curbishley had clearly come to the end of his shelf life. Money had to be spent and they couldn't keep hoping the manager would find a winning formula to get them 45 points in one brilliant run and be toilet the rest of the season. They appointed Dowie and just as things seemed to be coming together, they lost their bottle because of the sums of money involved. It wasn't so much a season of madness but a calculated gamble that they lost confidence in.Michael Farrowhttp://twitter.com/michaeljfarrownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-16694442304063122822011-11-18T21:47:43.041+01:002011-11-18T21:47:43.041+01:00Terrific read, and well worthy of a higher profile...Terrific read, and well worthy of a higher profile. Please re-publish in full view of CAFC fans everywhere!Pedro45http://www.charltonathleticonline.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-59453204532465420692011-11-18T20:20:56.543+01:002011-11-18T20:20:56.543+01:00Could you please tell me im.simple terms How much ...Could you please tell me im.simple terms How much money CHARLTON owe good readAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-47011002237907945952011-11-18T17:31:27.373+01:002011-11-18T17:31:27.373+01:00I've already posted on here a few hours ago bu...I've already posted on here a few hours ago but is there any possibility of posting this article on the actual web site so all CAFC fans can appreciate the true position of the last 10 years, all fans should be aware of this article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-5596650979636795042011-11-18T16:55:21.513+01:002011-11-18T16:55:21.513+01:00Excellent article providing a lot of clarity. Rem...Excellent article providing a lot of clarity. Reminds us all that, however bleak things have been recently on the pitch, we still have Richard Murray and past directors to thank for keeping the club going through very, very tough times. I'm not sure many other clubs would have avoided administration in such circumstances. New let's hope it is finally onwards and upwards once more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-52592648744373793012011-11-18T15:39:25.529+01:002011-11-18T15:39:25.529+01:00OMG what a fantastic article, with the few errors ...OMG what a fantastic article, with the few errors noted above accepted, it gives great insight into Charlton Athletic and its finances. Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to produce the article, I found it very interesting and informative.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-30191692983576660132011-11-18T15:06:08.867+01:002011-11-18T15:06:08.867+01:00Excellent review of our plight over the last few y...Excellent review of our plight over the last few years.<br /><br />I would like to challenge the view that Andy Reid was "incredibly average". He may not have been a top Premiership standard midfielder but he was absolutely key for us particularly following relegation from the Premiership and if I recall correctly, it was his sale to Sunderland that effectively led to our tailing off in our fight to get back into the Premiership. <br /><br />To include him with the likes of Traore, Diawara and Faye is deeply unjust.<br /><br />Oh, and by the way, it is Amdy Faye, not Andy.<br /><br />However, this niggle doesn't detract from a superb, well informed read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-9716603329115536592011-11-18T12:47:12.705+01:002011-11-18T12:47:12.705+01:00Great Overview and puts many things into perspecti...Great Overview and puts many things into perspective, sometime we as fans forget what we have and the potential thats on our doorstep, better to of had than not at all regarding our premier status for 7 years and with the new board in place who want the same as we do, I see further investment, the clearance of dead wood and promotion around the cornerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-46308657198270872622011-11-18T12:00:56.918+01:002011-11-18T12:00:56.918+01:00Very good article indeed -- well done
Unbiased an...Very good article indeed -- well done<br /><br />Unbiased and factual. Yes mistakes where mad but learned from by honest caring people<br /><br />The potential is there for the club - lets hope the first step of promotion to the Championship is achieved this season - on which i feel will act as spring board over ac measured time frameAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-56533436461896859692011-11-18T11:43:46.834+01:002011-11-18T11:43:46.834+01:00@Anonymous (11:20),
Yes, you're absolutely ri...@Anonymous (11:20),<br /><br />Yes, you're absolutely right. Complete mental lapse, only excused by mainly relating the article to the 09/10 financial results. Thanks for pointing that out - now corrected.The Swiss Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11423088862174893998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487486960623783530.post-5982843440182549732011-11-18T11:20:58.190+01:002011-11-18T11:20:58.190+01:00Please note that this is CAFC's THIRD season i...Please note that this is CAFC's THIRD season in Div 1 and that the playoff against Swindon took place under Phil Parkinson's stewardship, not last year, but the year before.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com