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The Official Bristol City v Charlton Athletic Match Day Thread


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How pleasant from that dome-crowned hill,

To view the varied scene below,

Woods, ships and spires and, lovelier still,

The encircling Thames' majestic flow!

That is how Poet William Gifford wrote of the view from Greenwich Hill and how it would also have been from Charlton House before being largely surrounded by urban sprawl and apartment towers. Crossing Blackheath from the top end of Greenwich Park and you will find yourself in Charlton. One of the oldest settlements in London laying bear an Iron Age Hill Fort uncovered in the 1920's in Maryon Park and there is a likelihood Stone Age inhabitants were also in the area. Charlton is blessed with swathes of parkland stretching from the Thames barrier right up to Charlton Village and the Jacobean splendour of Charlton House arguably the finest example in Britain built from a John Thorpe design between 1607 and 1612, during the reign of James I, for Adam Newton the Dean of Durham. Visiting Charlton Church and the House, the village green and a very old pub and one can still find a sense that this was once one of London's true Kentish villages.

In the heart of Charlton, at the Valley, is Charlton Athletic Football Club. Formed in 1905 by a group of teenagers, it arguably resembles a revamped Ashton Gate stand format, with three enclosed sides and a small stand sitting rather lonely on its own. it also has a similar capacity to the new City ground. The club have plans for increasing capacity to 30,000 and then on to 40,000 but if the Belgium owners' recent decision making is anything to go by the club probably won't be needing those increases anytime soon. Charlton's other commonality with City is finishing 2nd in the top flight, for them, in 1937 and they won the FA Cup once, appearing in a final one more time than us; losing in 1946 but coming back a year later to win it. Either side of World War II then was and remains the most successful time in their history and The Addicks were managed throughout by Jimmy Seed. Charlton were late entrants to the Football League though; Not until August 1921 did they play their first match winning 1-0 against Exeter City. The Seed era of the late thirties saw the club being the first to gain a double promotion from Division 3 to 1. The pivotal game being a local derby win over West Ham in front of 41,000 fans that saw centre half John Oakes playing through a broken nose and concussion. They were hard players back then. After their runner up spot in 1937 they finished 3rd in each of the following two seasons. Amazingly Charlton continued their dominance immediately after the war; Jimmy Seed must have been a truly innovative and top manager in his day to have carried on where he left off. It is worth remembering that up until Charlton moved away from the Valley to ground share with Palace, back in the 80's, they resided in a ground with huge banks of terracing that in the immediate aftermath of the War were attracting crowds in excess of 70,000 in what was, at the time, the largest ground capacity in the country. How short sighted then that the clubs owners allowed little investment in the club and by the early 50's this undermined Jimmy Seed's development of the squad; Chairman Stanley Gliksten asked that Seed resign after 23 years in charge. The club were relegated a year later. It seems they did exactly the same thing some 40 odd years later when then Chairman Richard Murray seemingly announced, to national ridicule, that Alan Curbishley had 'taken the club as far as he could and it was time to go to the next level. That it was Curbishley who said he would not renew his contract seems lost in the larger order of things; that the club and the fans drifted in their support for the man who, like Seed before him, gained two promotions for the club and when he left at the end of the 2005-6 season he had presided over 729 matches, just one less than Jimmy Seed.

Charlton arrive at Ashton Gate today perhaps considered a similarly sized club with a more recent and very admirable Premier League journey and in a similar league position. The supporter base is similar, the ground capacity and its layout is or will also be very similar. End there the similarities. Ownership of Charlton is in the hands of a Belgian who seems to have polarised opinions inside The Valley and the club face a real battle to remain in the Second Tier. Time will tell how it plays out in the remaining 4 months of the campaign but all the ingredients are there, today, for this somewhat pivotal game, and how many times have we said that, to know a little more who is best placed to use it as a platform to rein in Fulham in 18th.

City have shown enough for me to believe that in this final home game of 2015, assuming we take Steve Lansdown's words on face value regarding team strengthening in January, the club have the wherewithal not to squander the incredible journey we all enjoyed last season. And the history of todays opponents should teach our clubs majority owner that coveting the best manager we may end up enjoying in the years to come requires work, a lot of it. Charlton tried to change the paradigm of Premiership status by replacing a supremely successful manager and 'kicking on'. I hope we can wallow and be hysterically happy in mid table Premiership obscurity and boredom and not press the trap door for what I hope will still be Steve Cotterill. 

I hope everybody who has had the patience to read this far and find at least part of my post of some interest will have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day. Now it is down to Steve Cotterill and his band of tirelessly working playing staff to give us a Boxing day to remember by resoundingly beating Charlton Athletic. 

3-1.

Kodjia, Wilbraham, Kodjia

15,576

And Big Tone... lets be a little more deferential to our fellow Championship Club today yeah? Go exploring next time you are in that part of London.. in large part it is actually a very nice little spot. I have been to the Valley on a couple of previous occasions and always felt the staff to make it one of the more friendlier grounds to visit.. lets all make it a hospitable welcome to Charlton off the pitch; goes without saying what happens on it.

By the way... we will be heading to the Valley for the return fixture as early as February 6th. Forgive me right now if there is even a glimmer of repetition. UTC

 

 

Edited by havanatopia
  • Like 7
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Oh my merry word, Havanatopia, how did you have the time to write that epic introduction to the match thread over the Christmas period????

Any idea why they are called the Addicks?  And what's this malarkey about a group of teenagers forming the club?  Sounds a bit preposterous that, teenagers aren't good for anything I tell you, just daubing their tags on street walls, fretting over their acne, pulverising their ear drums with raucous music, but surely not forming a football club!

I share your score today, City to win 3-1, and I stick with my tip for kodjia to score 3.

COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!!!!!

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16 minutes ago, reddogkev said:

Oh my merry word, Havanatopia, how did you have the time to write that epic introduction to the match thread over the Christmas period????

Any idea why they are called the Addicks?  And what's this malarkey about a group of teenagers forming the club?  Sounds a bit preposterous that, teenagers aren't good for anything I tell you, just daubing their tags on street walls, fretting over their acne, pulverising their ear drums with raucous music, but surely not forming a football club!

I share your score today, City to win 3-1, and I stick with my tip for kodjia to score 3.

COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!!!!!

Tis a real challenge Kev but somehow I manage it!

More on the Addicks and the Juveniles on February 6th. ;)

  • Like 1
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2 hours ago, havanatopia said:

How pleasant from that dome-crowned hill,

To view the varied scene below,

Woods, ships and spires and, lovelier still,

The encircling Thames' majestic flow!

That is how Poet William Gifford wrote of the view from Greenwich Hill and how it would also have been from Charlton House before being largely surrounded by urban sprawl and apartment towers. Crossing Blackheath from the top end of Greenwich Park and you will find yourself in Charlton. One of the oldest settlements in London laying bear an Iron Age Hill Fort uncovered in the 1920's in Maryon Park and there is a likelihood Stone Age inhabitants were also in the area. Charlton is blessed with swathes of parkland stretching from the Thames barrier right up to Charlton Village and the Jacobean splendour of Charlton House arguably the finest example in Britain built from a John Thorpe design between 1607 and 1612, during the reign of James I, for Adam Newton the Dean of Durham. Visiting Charlton Church and the House, the village green and a very old pub and one can still find a sense that this was once one of London's true Kentish villages.

In the heart of Charlton, at the Valley, is Charlton Athletic Football Club. Formed in 1905 by a group of teenagers, it arguably resembles a revamped Ashton Gate stand format, with three enclosed sides and a small stand sitting rather lonely on its own. it also has a similar capacity to the new City ground. The club have plans for increasing capacity to 30,000 and then on to 40,000 but if the Belgium owners' recent decision making is anything to go by the club probably won't be needing those increases anytime soon. Charlton's other commonality with City is finishing 2nd in the top flight, for them, in 1937 and they won the FA Cup once, appearing in a final one more time than us; losing in 1946 but coming back a year later to win it. Either side of World War II then was and remains the most successful time in their history and The Addicks were managed throughout by Jimmy Seed. Charlton were late entrants to the Football League though; Not until August 1921 did they play their first match winning 1-0 against Exeter City. The Seed era of the late thirties saw the club being the first to gain a double promotion from Division 3 to 1. The pivotal game being a local derby win over West Ham in front of 41,000 fans that saw centre half John Oakes playing through a broken nose and concussion. They were hard players back then. After their runner up spot in 1937 they finished 3rd in each of the following two seasons. Amazingly Charlton continued their dominance immediately after the war; Jimmy Seed must have been a truly innovative and top manager in his day to have carried on where he left off. It is worth remembering that up until Charlton moved away from the Valley to ground share with Palace, back in the 80's, they resided in a ground with huge banks of terracing that in the immediate aftermath of the War were attracting crowds in excess of 70,000 in what was, at the time, the largest ground capacity in the country. How short sighted then that the clubs owners allowed little investment in the club and by the early 50's this undermined Jimmy Seed's development of the squad; Chairman Stanley Gliksten asked that Seed resign after 23 years in charge. The club were relegated a year later. It seems they did exactly the same thing some 40 odd years later when then Chairman Richard Murray seemingly announced, to national ridicule, that Alan Curbishley had 'taken the club as far as he could and it was time to go to the next level. That it was Curbishley who said he would not renew his contract seems lost in the larger order of things; that the club and the fans drifted in their support for the man who, like Seed before him, gained two promotions for the club and when he left at the end of the 2005-6 season he had presided over 729 matches, just one less than Jimmy Seed.

Charlton arrive at Ashton Gate today perhaps considered a similarly sized club with a more recent and very admirable Premier League journey and in a similar league position. The supporter base is similar, the ground capacity and its layout is or will also be very similar. End there the similarities. Ownership of Charlton is in the hands of a Belgian who seems to have polarised opinions inside The Valley and the club face a real battle to remain in the Second Tier. Time will tell how it plays out in the remaining 4 months of the campaign but all the ingredients are there, today, for this somewhat pivotal game, and how many times have we said that, to know a little more who is best placed to use it as a platform to rein in Fulham in 18th.

City have shown enough for me to believe that in this final home game of 2015, assuming we take Steve Lansdown's words on face value regarding team strengthening in January, the club have the wherewithal not to squander the incredible journey we all enjoyed last season. And the history of todays opponents should teach our clubs majority owner that coveting the best manager we may end up enjoying in the years to come requires work, a lot of it. Charlton tried to change the paradigm of Premiership status by replacing a supremely successful manager and 'kicking on'. I hope we can wallow and be hysterically happy in mid table Premiership obscurity and boredom and not press the trap door for what I hope will still be Steve Cotterill. 

I hope everybody who has had the patience to read this far and find at least part of my post of some interest will have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day. Now it is down to Steve Cotterill and his band of tirelessly working playing staff to give us a Boxing day to remember by resoundingly beating Charlton Athletic. 

3-1.

Kodjia, Wilbraham, Kodjia

15,576

And Big Tone... lets be a little more deferential to our fellow Championship Club today yeah? Go exploring next time you are in that part of London.. in large part it is actually a very nice little spot. I have been to the Valley on a couple of previous occasions and always felt the staff to make it one of the more friendlier grounds to visit.. lets all make it a hospitable welcome to Charlton off the pitch; goes without saying what happens on it.

By the way... we will be heading to the Valley for the return fixture as early as February 6th. Forgive me right now if there is even a glimmer of repetition. UTC

 

 

You did n't mention Bobby or Jackie .   :disapointed2se:

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The last time I saw us play Charlton was the playoff final year when we drew 1-1 at The Valley, I remember Michael McIndoe hitting the underside of the bar with a free kick in the dying minutes of the game and majority of the packed away end (myself included) thought it was in.....

A bit less drama today would be nice, would take a comfortable 1-0 win, pretty much a must win here.

 

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2 hours ago, reddogkev said:

Oh my merry word, Havanatopia, how did you have the time to write that epic introduction to the match thread over the Christmas period????

Any idea why they are called the Addicks?  And what's this malarkey about a group of teenagers forming the club?  Sounds a bit preposterous that, teenagers aren't good for anything I tell you, just daubing their tags on street walls, fretting over their acne, pulverising their ear drums with raucous music, but surely not forming a football club!

I share your score today, City to win 3-1, and I stick with my tip for kodjia to score 3.

COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!!!!!

im in the Jonny K hat trick squad today too.should get this wrapped up by half time with any luck.

come on city,finish the year with a double barrel bang

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3 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

im in the Jonny K hat trick squad today too.should get this wrapped up by half time with any luck.

come on city,finish the year with a double barrel bang

After JK knocking on the door with no luck against QPR last week, imagine he'll be well up for today.

And from what I've seen of Charlton's defence this year so far, can't imagine them being as resistant to his efforts as the hoops were.

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1 hour ago, robin_unreliant said:

Charlton were two up at Brighton after 20 minutes so will be no pushover. Hope we aren't complacent and start well today. Coyr!

We certainly shouldn't be complacent but the team should take the bull by the horns and attack Charlton assertively from the start.

City are the home team with a 15,000 strong Boxing Day crowd behind them and Charlton have lost 8 of their last 9 away games in the Championship.

We really, really need to win this game and it will be a huge disappointment if we don't take the 3 points.

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