100,000 visitors
This blog recently had its 100,000th visitor - from Shawford in Hampshire as far as I can work out. The original web page version of Addick's Diary was started in 1997 with a 1-3 home defeat by Stockport County. In those days we just did match reports, but these days our news items attract more attention than our match reports. As a Premiership team, there are more match reports available.
The Charlton blogosphere has expanded rapidly and the general quality is very high. I read most of them, but my personal favourites include the two US contributions, Chicago Addick and New York Addick perhaps because I have also worked in the US and followed Charlton from a distance. All Quiet in the East Stand offers the distinctive and penetrating insights of Inspector Sands while Cynic Athletic is setting a high standard. CAFCpicks is very fan friendly. This is not to criticise those I have not mentioned. And we all rely on Forever Charlton to access them easily - Dave Roberts deserves a resounding vote of thanks.
The blogs are often better than the lazy sports journalism we have in this country. It often seems that stock stories littered with clichés are filled with the names of the appropriate club or player. It is often local journalists who write the best reports.
As is well known to readers, this blog tends to defend Alan Curbishley and the current Charlton management which I think is of a much better quality than at many comparable clubs. I've been Alan Curbishley's kit sponsor for getting on for ten years now and have got to know him reasonably well and I think that his qualities are considerable. It will be a tough call to replace him when he eventually goes. For those who want the club to be taken to the next level, my fear is that the next level is the Championship.
The club does face some challenges, particularly with the five year season ticket scheme ending this year. The bigger the ground becomes, the less the incentive to have a season ticket. I think that an underlying problem is the structure of football. The financial penalties of relegation from the Premiership are so great that it encourages teams outside the top six to play relatively defensively and that does not often make for good entertainment. Having said that, there is nothing to compare with coming up against teams Liverpool and beating them or drawing away at Chelsea.
With good fortune, we may be around for another eight years. Come on you Reds!
The Charlton blogosphere has expanded rapidly and the general quality is very high. I read most of them, but my personal favourites include the two US contributions, Chicago Addick and New York Addick perhaps because I have also worked in the US and followed Charlton from a distance. All Quiet in the East Stand offers the distinctive and penetrating insights of Inspector Sands while Cynic Athletic is setting a high standard. CAFCpicks is very fan friendly. This is not to criticise those I have not mentioned. And we all rely on Forever Charlton to access them easily - Dave Roberts deserves a resounding vote of thanks.
The blogs are often better than the lazy sports journalism we have in this country. It often seems that stock stories littered with clichés are filled with the names of the appropriate club or player. It is often local journalists who write the best reports.
As is well known to readers, this blog tends to defend Alan Curbishley and the current Charlton management which I think is of a much better quality than at many comparable clubs. I've been Alan Curbishley's kit sponsor for getting on for ten years now and have got to know him reasonably well and I think that his qualities are considerable. It will be a tough call to replace him when he eventually goes. For those who want the club to be taken to the next level, my fear is that the next level is the Championship.
The club does face some challenges, particularly with the five year season ticket scheme ending this year. The bigger the ground becomes, the less the incentive to have a season ticket. I think that an underlying problem is the structure of football. The financial penalties of relegation from the Premiership are so great that it encourages teams outside the top six to play relatively defensively and that does not often make for good entertainment. Having said that, there is nothing to compare with coming up against teams Liverpool and beating them or drawing away at Chelsea.
With good fortune, we may be around for another eight years. Come on you Reds!
posted by Wyn Grant at 9:25 AM
7 Comments:
I've been reading the various tables recently on cynic athletic and managed to find a table at
http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engalltime.html
showing our position in all-time first class football which shows that after our 25 seasons our game next Wednesday against the Toons will be our 1000th at the top level ie First Division and Premier. Maybe my maths are wrong but no-body seems to have noticed.
I mentioned this to him and he suggested I pass the news on to you as you may be able to check. I added up the stats in Colin Cameron's 'Home & Away' and it looks correct.
Maybe you'd like to read http://nelsonsforeignblog.blogspot.com where there's an article on the table.
Cheers,
petekennedy1@lineone.net
Congratulations on your 100,000 visitor from Shawford. How about a couple of the old stories revisited, What did you write following the play of final, rpomotion to the Prem as Champions etc.. key events in the life of the club.
Congratulations on your landmark, a huge achievement.
Here's to the next 100,000.
Nelson, I will follow up your links. As far as revisiting old stories is concerned, that is a good idea at the right time, meanwhile you can read the Wembley final story at: http://members.tripod.com/~WynGrant/Volume4.html
Congratulations - a well-researched and written blog!
nyah, hit 200,000 last month, whippersnapper! ;-) Congrats, mind!
Blogs and local journalists will always be better for clubs like Charlton because they care.
Most journalism really just boils down to a matter of "A hit B", and it takes a combination of something and someone special to get beyond that. Or you end up with the usual back page lead in Metro sticking its tongue up Chelsea's bum.
At least with blogs - be they journalism or just a personal diary - there's a bit of passion there. Even if they do leave you screaming insults at your monitor :-)
Congratulations on your 1000,000ths. Just goes to show you don't have to live in SE... or DA..... or BR... to be an addick come on you CV...ers
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