Charlton Athletic for Beginners

Now that Charlton have a North American tie up with Global Image Sports, I thought this might be a bit of fun on the slight off chance that we might have a few potential fans from across the water wondering what the club is all about.  I’ve only been a supporter since 1996 so other fans will have different memories to me.

If you are a fellow Charlton supporter then please do provide me with some more suggestions.  The guide is meant as a bit of fun so the quirkier the better so I have not included the obvious like how old the club is or what honours we have won (go to Wikipedia for that if you need it).

Where do we play? The Valley (yes because it is in a valley!), South  East London.  “South” is pronounced “Saaarrf” if you want to blend in with the locals.

Nick Name: The Addicks, apparently derived from “Haddock” (it’s a choice between a local chippy providing fish suppers for the players or a match where the fans swung fish around their heads – you decide)

What music do we play:  The stirring build up music is called O Vernoa, which then changes to the charming “Red Red Robin” as the teams come onto the field.  More recently we have added the “A-Team” theme music as the team names are read out.  This really is old school cool and only Charlton can get away with it!  We also have our own song “Valley Floyd Road” sung to the tune of Mull of Kintyre. 

If you’d like to hear this music then can I refer you to the excellent website of Dave Lockwood our match day announcer http://bigdavel.wordpress.com/music

Oh, and we also have our own radio show on Meridian radio!

Debt of Thanks:  There are many unsung heroes at Charlton but for me has to go to director and former Chairman Richard Murray who brought us back to the Valley and has devoted his life and money into the club since he became involved.

Weird things we do: Shout “Fiiiish”, every time the goldfish appear in the advert displayed on the big screen.  This is in honour of former defender Mark Fish.

Our Proudest Moment: Controversial question and the answer very much depends on your age.  Some would say it was winning the 1947 FA cup final but for me it was winning the then Division One Playoff final against Sunderland in 1998 to reach the Premiership.

Best TV mention: From Only Fools and Horses

"I didn't know Rodney's middle name was Charlton."

"Yeah, it was me Mum. She was a fan."

    "Of Charlton Heston?"

    "No, Charlton Athletic."

(I found this thanks to @MattJarvisCAFC who is a big Charlton and Only Fools fan)

Worst Charlton Joke: See above !

Who do we get confused with? Whenever I get asked who I support people (mainly foreigners) mistake what I say for Chelsea or oddly Carsholten.  If you are following us on twitter the hastag is #cafc but you’ll also get commentary from Crewe Alexander and Crick Athletic Football Club.

Our Values: We are a family club and proud of our support for the community and academy set up.  The club even went so far as to turn down shirt sponsorship from online gambling companies as they felt it portrayed the wrong image for families and young supporters.

The Opposition: Millwall and Crystal Palace.  Millwall are our closest rivals but in the same way that we don’t really see nearby Leyton Orient as our rivals I don’t think Millwall really care about anyone except West Ham.  Be clear, Charlton fans have a great respect for Millwall football club itself and their former manager Kenny Jackett, we just don’t like the type of fans they unfortunately seem to attract.  The Crystal Palace rivalry was for our treatment when we were forced out of the Valley and had to ground share at Selhurst Park.  For younger supporters our ire was reserved for former owner Simon Jordan.  The fans themselves are a good bunch but we have to maintain the banter! Oh and Gillingham aren't too keen on us either (See below)

Our First in Football History: Charlton’s Keith Peacock became the Football League’s first ever substitute on 21 August 1965.

Things other clubs hate us for: The club runs a regular coach service picking up fans from all over the South East from as far away as Dover and Hastings.  We've been accused by Gillingham of pinching their fan base.

Our favourite Away Fans: Hartlepool United who always turn up en mass in fancy dress on the last away game of the season.  The sight of a stand of Umpa Lumpas or Smurfs in the Jimmy Seed Stand is one of my long standing memories. 

Club Jinx: We always lose any game shown live on TV and our sponsors have had a tendency to go bust.  Witness the demise of Spanish property developer Llanera and before that All: Sports. 

Media: Just like all other fans we believe that we don’t get much coverage in the mainstream press but have a rich vein of consistently good bloggers (see right for a selection) as well as decent coverage from South London Press and the in-house team at www.cafc.co.uk and Charlton Live.

What to do after the Game: A pub crawl along the Thames going into Greenwich (especially if you like your real ale).  This will be for a later blog posting.

If you’re still not sure then come along to our long standing pre-season friendly opener against Welling United on 6^th July.

Do you have any suggestions as to what else I could include in this list?  All submissions gratefully received and I'll publish another guide somewhere around the start of the season.