Charlton - league one's biggest club

[CarlMcBlade]

Bolton didn't always sell out their poxy little stadium in the Premier league.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I desperately want to get into a league where we won't be the biggest team. That would fucking great.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Bolton and Charlton have achieved more in recent times, and have both been established Premier League clubs, with some respectable finishes.

That's the only point you could make in their favour really. Obviously they aren't 'bigger' in the slightest.

Bournemouth, Swansea, Burnley and Shitty Hull have been in Premier now more times than us in last 10 years. They all could out spend us quite easily in the transfer market and they probably all have a higher profile than us on the national and international stage. Does that make them bigger than us?
Does it fuck!

 

[Revolution]

Last major final reached:

Bradford 2013
Bolton 2004
Charlton 1947
United 1936

Last major trophy won

Bolton 1958
Charlton1947
United 1925
Bradford 1911

Last top flight season

Bolton 2012
United and Charlton 2007
Bradford 2001

Seasons in top flight in last 30 years

Bolton 13
Charlton 12
United 4
Bradford 2

Lots of underachievement to go around. Biggest club? Tallest dwarf more like.

 

[mattbianco1]

FATTYFOULKE - Depends how you look at it.

In terms of honours, we have the best set, we're split like this:

Charlton - 3
Top Flight Titles - 0
2nd Tier - 1
3rd Tier - 1
4th Tier - 0
FA Cup - 1
League Cup - 0

Bolton - 8
Top Flight Titles - 0
2nd Tier - 3
3rd Tier - 1
4th Tier - 0
FA Cup - 4
League Cup - 0

Blades - 7/8
Top Flight Titles - 1 (2 if you count wartime league)
2nd Tier - 1
3rd Tier - 0
4th Tier - 1
FA Cup - 4
League Cup - 0

So technically the Blades have a bigger history due to Major Titles.

But recent history - you would have to say Bolton are bigger than both SUFC and CAFC. Look at the last 25 years:

Seasons in top flight:
Blades - 4
Bolton - 13
Charlton - 8

Honours:

Blades
Championship R/U

Bolton
League 1 R/U
Champ Play Off Winners x 2
League Cup R/U x 2
Champ Winners
Qualification for UEFA Cup x 2

Charlton
Champ Play Off Winners
Champ Winners
League 1 Winners

So basically, if you were born in the 90s, you would have no idea that we used to be any good.

 

[BushBlade]

I started supporting the Blades because they were my local club and my mate supported them, not because they had won some things before the war or they got bigger crowds than Chesterfield or Rotherham or whoever.
So Farley can say what he likes when he brown noses Charlton fans. I couldn't give a shit about who's biggest, just who's successful in the future. And that will probably be us.

 

[SwissBlade]

Bless him. Its not even a discussion

 

[ljk]

He might be wise to stop putting pressure on his rubbish football team and instead spend his time trying to make his rubbish football team less rubbish.

 

[Kendal]

So basically, if you were born in the 90s, you would have no idea that we used to be any good.

Unless you were born before the early 70s, you'd have no idea that we used to be any good! ;-) In my lifetime, the highest we've been is 6th in the top flight with a grand total of 6 years in the top flight.

The other clubs in League one are like the irritating little brother that you just put up with their delusions - we're at our nadir, their mostly at their zenith.

But do we really give a stuff? If we were that bothered about supporting a successful team, we'd be following the upstart United over the hills. Through the 80s, our porcine neighbours were the 'bigger' club, but really we've both been very much also-rans of a similar size, despite their delusions. The dirtywhites can just F-off.

Its a bit irritating when the media go on about how well newcastle, leicester etc were supported when they were at their lowest but never mention that we're STILL getting around 20k at home despite 4 and a half seasons in this godforsaken league. We may be fickle when it comes to switching from thinking we're world beaters to panel beaters, but we stick by the club whatever.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Ask all the other 23 clubs in this division. Who they order more pies and beer in for, sells more programs at games and charge more for in category A tickets?

 

[ljk]

Ask all the other 23 clubs in this division. Who they order more pies and beer in for, sells more programs at games and charge more for in category A tickets?

The thing is we clearly are the biggest club in the division, but that's not something any of us actually want. You almost get the impression that he wants Charlton to be the biggest team in League 1. If you're the biggest team in this division it means you've been doing monumentally shit.

 

[Jesus_was_a_Blade]

Last major final reached:

Bradford 2013
Bolton 2004
Charlton 1947
United 1936

Last major trophy won

Bolton 1958
Charlton1947
United 1925
Bradford 1911

Last top flight season

Bolton 2012
United and Charlton 2007
Bradford 2001

Seasons in top flight in last 30 years

Bolton 13
Charlton 12
United 4
Bradford 2

Lots of underachievement to go around. Biggest club? Tallest dwarf more like.

Like a dwarf amongst midgets

 

[The Crab]

..according to Karl Robinson!

“The remit of this football club is that we’re the biggest club in this league. Okay, that will upset Bolton, Sheffield United and someone else. When the fixtures came out I was looking when I was going to The Valley – you look when you are playing the big boys. We’re the ones to be shot down.”

Strange one that, you have to wonder how he could come to that conclusion.

I know this thread won't interest many so if so, just ignore it. But I find this subject interesting so here we go.

I was reading a thread on the Bolton forum the othe other day where they said the reason we disliked them so much was because "we've took their mantle as league one's biggest club" followed by comments that although we (United) get far bigger crowds they are the bigger club. No justification or reasoning, they just are.

We all know it means nowt at the end of the day but how anybody could argue against United being this divisions biggest club is beyond me. ..and I find the comments of Karl Robinson bizarre.

Here's to next season anyway, when hopefully we'll be back amongst clubs of a similar size!

UTB

I think he's started on the Christmas Port a bit early.

 

[8lade]

Reminds me of the time Welsh micro-minnows Llansantffraid (effectively a pub team) beat Barry Town in the Welsh Cup Final and were in the UEFA Cup. Their manager was on TV (straight face) saying, 'we've taken on the best now bring on the rest, we're going to win this cup.'
At least he was joking.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Charlton have won 6 (SIX) games all season.

But other clubs are obviously terrified of their massiveness.

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

I don't give a flying really. What has being the biggest club in this division done for us these past 6 seasons ?, getting outgunned in the past by the likes of Burton, PNE, Rotherham etc.

 

[Good Pinch Of Snuff]

Fuck Off Karl see you on March 18th prick

 

[anglian blade]

I don't care who is more massive than who. I think this argument should be consigned to porktalk

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Come and join the party Karl. We'll be virtually up with all OUR peers, OUR rivals and OUR old foes, by the time we play you again.

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

Charlton V Peterborough Utd today
Att. 10,183 with 1017 visitors
Delusions of piggery porkprotions

 

[BLADES1988]

The new "MASSIVE" are getting spanked!! Surprised you can't hear the mighty legions crying from all the way daaaan saaaaaf!

 

[itsinyerblood]

Does any of this really matter? Does anyone truly care about such a pointless question? A fat lot of fucking good it's done us since we 'earned' our Division 1 accreditation.

 

[Gimli]

It's like when a kid gets held back a year in school because he isn't bright enough to move up - yeah he'll probably be the biggest kid in that year but it's pretty embarrassing for him to be there in the first place.

 

[Rodley]

Thread smells a bit porky. Couldn't give a toss if Buryfans start claiming they're the biggest club outside the Prem. it's meaningless.

 

[DaveBassettsgoneonholiday]

Don't get this animosity towards Robinson. More than a few of the contributors to this forum would have gladly given him a blow job had he joined us post Wilson & Clough.

I think a lot stems from the snidey manner in which they beat us at The Lane the season they went up.

 

[Ollessendro]

The problem with this whole debate is that it is so subjective. A lot of people are poo poo-ing Robinson's comments but I don't actually think they are that daft. I think there are a lot of people with red and white tinted spectacles out there that think we are MASSIVE. But anyway, back to my original point ....

Has anyone defined what a big club is? It gets banded about but is there an actual definition we can use? Not as far as I am aware and that makes it all subjective. Is it the size of the ground, attendance/support base, history of club, achievements (trophies, titles etc), recent success, years in top flight or something else? Do we gove greater weight to different variables and even if we decide that one factor is more important than another many of them are difficult to quantity.

The theme on here is that we are a bigger club becausewe have a bigger stadium and have more followers, possibly with the historical element playing into it. But the Valley is a decent size and Charlton were filling it every week when they were in the Prem. When we were in the Championship and Charlton finished 8th and has Scott Parker, Darren Bent and the likes playing for them would we have all argued we are a bigger club. They lost their way recently but were an established Premiership club in the naughties.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Charlton have got whole lot more massive as a massive luvvin Richie Barker has now joined Charlton.

 

[8lade]

Ollessendro I'd be happy to bat some ideas about on this on a different thread but I think the important thing is (certainly at this level) is it's not the strength/size of a club that matters given that Burton, Yeovil and even tiny wee sheff Wednesday have been promoted from this league whilst we've been messing about.

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

The problem with this whole debate is that it is so subjective. A lot of people are poo poo-ing Robinson's comments but I don't actually think they are that daft. I think there are a lot of people with red and white tinted spectacles out there that think we are MASSIVE. But anyway, back to my original point ....

Has anyone defined what a big club is? It gets banded about but is there an actual definition we can use? Not as far as I am aware and that makes it all subjective. Is it the size of the ground, attendance/support base, history of club, achievements (trophies, titles etc), recent success, years in top flight or something else? Do we gove greater weight to different variables and even if we decide that one factor is more important than another many of them are difficult to quantity.

The theme on here is that we are a bigger club becausewe have a bigger stadium and have more followers, possibly with the historical element playing into it. But the Valley is a decent size and Charlton were filling it every week when they were in the Prem. When we were in the Championship and Charlton finished 8th and has Scott Parker, Darren Bent and the likes playing for them would we have all argued we are a bigger club. They lost their way recently but were an established Premiership club in the naughties.

I can't think of any possible way anybody could possibly see Charlton as league one's biggest club.

TBH for me it's not about who is or isn't anyway, it's more about Robinson actually coming out with such a obviously stupid statement in the first place, clearly just to get the supporters onside.

I know managers will say just about anything to curry favour, but they should remember to try and retain a bit of credibility at the same time.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

As daft as it sounds. Lack of success also defines what a big club is. After years and years of fuck all, SUFC are still considered a "big club"
It's easy to fill your ground in the Premier league but keeping a good level of support and interest in the lower leagues has all hallmarks of a "big club."