[Dapper Doug]

Interesting article from Kevin McCarra in thew Guardian:


http://football.guardian.co.uk/comme...113961,00.html

[hartley]

Pretty good article until the end.

Tottenham does have it over Charlton Athletic because of the long history. But Charlton are in it for the same sort of long haul. The club has a plan and is sticking to it.

Seems to me that some of the other clubs, including Tottenham, who consider themselves big and are not have forgotten planning. They continue to live on long history. At some point, the history being made now will affect the future of their bottom line.

I picked Charlton because geographically it is the EPL club closest to where my Dad's family comes from in Kent. The more I learn about the club, the happier I am to have luckily chosen to support them.

It is truly good to be an Addick. And I have a feeling it will be for a very long time.

[RobtheAggie]

That was a good article. I started to follow Charlton because they used to have the great match highlights. As I became acustomed to the players I realised that it was a class act and a hardworking bunch. Having Shaun Bartlett whom I remembered from his Colorado Rapids and FC Zurich days helped also.

[kevruth]

I became supporter of the club because of TalkSport. They used to have a show called "Inside the Boardroom" which was hosted by the legendary commentator, the late Brian Moore. The show would invite a club to send a representative from the club's front office to field questions and complaints for two hours.

One week, Charlton was the club and their representative was Chairman Richard Murray. At the time I was new to football and was looking for a club to follow. I emailed the show asking, "Why should I become Charlton Supporter?" Richard's answer was that it was because that Charlton was a community club. That Charlton was the only club in the 92 team football league to have a fan elected to their board of directors which meant they hid nothing from the fans. He said that with all the club went through from almost going out business to returning to The Valley that just having a club meant more to Charlton supporters than anything else.

After that, many more Charlton fans called in stating their reasons why I should be a Charlton supporter. However, it was one call at the end of the show stuck in my mind more than any other. This gentleman pointed out that he listened to the show every week. During this entire show Richard had not received one negative call from a Charlton fan. That never happened on this show and he was right. Most clubs were torn to shreads by callers, but not this day. Callers from other clubs called Richard to congratulate him and the club on everything they had done and how much of a model Charlton was for all football clubs.

TalkSport's website at the time posted all emails so my question showed up there. There were tons of replies to me offering to help me get information on the club and begging me to be a Charlton supporter. It was nothing short of amazing.

Later that night I went to the Charlton website where I found a video about the club. It lasted about five minutes and explained about the amazing rise from the ashes. The video of The Valley empty and covered with waist-high weeds only for the stadium to be cleaned up and the club moving up to the Premiership. It's too bad that video isn't there anymore as you would be moved by it, too.

I've since become a member of Charlton's International Supporters Club. I provide Charlton with the North American television schedule which they then email to everyone in the club. I've even had some of ny stuff reported in the daily email bulletin that goes out to all Charlton supporters.

I've never been treated better by any sports club than I've been by Charlton. They reply to my emails and treat me like a local even though I live here in Ohio and will probably never get to London. They are truly a community club.

So it can be said that I became Charlton supporter because of a personal invitation of Richard Murray over national radio in England and for all of Charlton's supporters who called or emailed that show that day. I'm lucky enough to have an mp3 of that show which I listen to often to remind me how good it really is to be Charlton fan.

[RobtheAggie]

That is a great story. How do you get the daily e-mails? I can never find the spot on the web site.

What a great club!

[kevruth]

Originally posted by RobtheAggie
That is a great story. How do you get the daily e-mails? I can never find the spot on the web site.

Here's the link:

http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/email_bulletin.jsp

This will tell you how to sign up.

Here's a link to join the International Supporters Club:

http://www.cafc.co.uk/fans/international.jsp

Enjoy!

[HuntKop]

In today's footballing climate, it truly is a joy to watch the goings on at the Valley.

I was lucky enough to visit the Valley just two days ago (unfortunately, no game that day), and was quite impressed by the staff, who let my friend and I into the ground, down by the pitch to take some photos. It's a great place, a great club, and I hope they're destined to continue their great run thus far.

[kevruth]

Originally posted by HuntKop
In today's footballing climate, it truly is a joy to watch the goings on at the Valley.

I was lucky enough to visit the Valley just two days ago (unfortunately, no game that day), and was quite impressed by the staff, who let my friend and I into the ground, down by the pitch to take some photos. It's a great place, a great club, and I hope they're destined to continue their great run thus far.

You wouldn't be interested in posting your photos here for us would you? Always interested in pics of The Valley.

[HuntKop]

To do this, I need to put the pictures on a website, then link them on a post, correct?

[kevruth]

Originally posted by HuntKop
To do this, I need to put the pictures on a website, then link them on a post, correct?

I would guess that to be true. Sorry. Although I've sometimes seen pictures in actual posts here. I just don't know how its done. Oh well.....