Charlton Athletic and the media, Madrid daily life and the quiz team.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 The Focus of Attention Charlton 1 Manchester United 3The world's eyes were on The Valley last weekend, but, as regular readers will be well aware, not for any reasons connected with the proprietors of said ground, Charlton Athletic FC.For it was time for the visit of the most famous club in the Universe, Manchester United, not doing as well as formerly, but still a very exciting prospect because they are so, er, famous. Their fans, like those of my neighbours up in the north of the city, Real Madrid, have been brought up on this fame, and expect to be treated as befits people who support a club so famous. Mention to any of these people that you support Charlton, or West Bromwich Albion, or even have a soft spot for a lower league side like Shrewsbury or Yeovil, and you will receive a faint, pitying smile from these superior beings, whose wisdom and skill in matters pertaining to football led them to choose United, or as it might be, Liverpool or Real Madrid, for they are all much the same.In vain do you protest that childhood affinities die hard, and that the loyal supporter who sticks with his club through thick and thin has more to recommend him than these fair weather types who only want to follow 'big' clubs, but it won't wash. It is not cool to be a supporter of a smaller club and that's the end of it.So Manchester United without Roy Keane faced their first challenge. Would everything be all right? Would United still be able to win matches without him? (Though I thought he hadn't been playing all that much lately, anyway).Well in fact, unfortunately, yes. Charlton held on to 1-1 until the last ten minutes, and then caved in. But that doesn't matter. Manchester United can go on being great, and that's what counts.And don't all you supporters of this great club worry about the damage done to the ground, or the high numbers of away fans who tricked their way into the home seats, or the female member of the ground staff who was sexually assaulted. It's only Charlton; it is of no account.(More on the Roy Keane phenomenon soon) posted by Jonathan Blake @ 17:41 0 comments 0 Comments: Post a Comment << Home Reference Links Frankie Valley All Quiet in the East Stand (Inspector Sands) Addicks Championship Diary (Wyn Grant) New York Addick Livescore Charlton Athletic FC Latest Posts Easy Does It? A Gloomy Afternoon in East Lancs Curses! A Credit to London Curbs Expects Point of Murphy's (and other matters) Changes in the Air? Half Expected Update Digest A Little Month - Archives - May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 March 2008 April 2008 free hit counter About Me Name: Jonathan Blake Location: Argüelles, Madrid West, Spain "Jonathan Blake" came into being when I was supplementing my teaching salary by editing a small tourist magazine which was distributed free every month to visitors at a five-star hotel in the centre of Madrid. The production and layout were all done by non-English speakers, and that meant that all the writing had to be done by me. My own name appeared as editor and also over what I regarded as the best piece of the month. "Jonathan Blake" (the first name and surname of two acquaintances from university) was the name I made up (I thought then, and still do, that it has a nice ring to it) for second-best pieces and general features. It's nice to be able to resurrect Jonathan after all this time to help me out with the writing.... View my complete profile
Charlton 1 Manchester United 3The world's eyes were on The Valley last weekend, but, as regular readers will be well aware, not for any reasons connected with the proprietors of said ground, Charlton Athletic FC.For it was time for the visit of the most famous club in the Universe, Manchester United, not doing as well as formerly, but still a very exciting prospect because they are so, er, famous. Their fans, like those of my neighbours up in the north of the city, Real Madrid, have been brought up on this fame, and expect to be treated as befits people who support a club so famous. Mention to any of these people that you support Charlton, or West Bromwich Albion, or even have a soft spot for a lower league side like Shrewsbury or Yeovil, and you will receive a faint, pitying smile from these superior beings, whose wisdom and skill in matters pertaining to football led them to choose United, or as it might be, Liverpool or Real Madrid, for they are all much the same.In vain do you protest that childhood affinities die hard, and that the loyal supporter who sticks with his club through thick and thin has more to recommend him than these fair weather types who only want to follow 'big' clubs, but it won't wash. It is not cool to be a supporter of a smaller club and that's the end of it.So Manchester United without Roy Keane faced their first challenge. Would everything be all right? Would United still be able to win matches without him? (Though I thought he hadn't been playing all that much lately, anyway).Well in fact, unfortunately, yes. Charlton held on to 1-1 until the last ten minutes, and then caved in. But that doesn't matter. Manchester United can go on being great, and that's what counts.And don't all you supporters of this great club worry about the damage done to the ground, or the high numbers of away fans who tricked their way into the home seats, or the female member of the ground staff who was sexually assaulted. It's only Charlton; it is of no account.(More on the Roy Keane phenomenon soon)
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"Jonathan Blake" came into being when I was supplementing my teaching salary by editing a small tourist magazine which was distributed free every month to visitors at a five-star hotel in the centre of Madrid. The production and layout were all done by non-English speakers, and that meant that all the writing had to be done by me. My own name appeared as editor and also over what I regarded as the best piece of the month. "Jonathan Blake" (the first name and surname of two acquaintances from university) was the name I made up (I thought then, and still do, that it has a nice ring to it) for second-best pieces and general features. It's nice to be able to resurrect Jonathan after all this time to help me out with the writing....
View my complete profile