Positivity

Hi Folks!

Well as you know this is not necessarily  the place to be if you want informed comments based on clear facts.  There are plenty of people far better than me who can  provide this and I find it very informative and interesting to read.
Here at Happy Vally we can only really cope with the here and now and what we think will happen based on what we know and an unshakable belief that Charlton Athletic will win every game from now until eternity.  Totally deluded I know but if you don't believe then what have you got?
Now I'm not saying it isn't tough here in this dream like world, because if you believe that you will win every game then any defeat or in fact draw can be like a hammer blow to your heart.  It takes an awful lot of effort to pick yourself up and carry on but carry on you must.
We may have the best manager in the division, we may have the worst, we may have the most money to spend or we may have the least but whatever it is, we here in HV have absolutely no idea, so we can only really comment on each game as it happens, each player as they arrive or each point that is dropped or gloriously gained.
Now I am not so presumptuous as to think I can tell people how they should be, why they should remain positive at all times or even how they should support our club but as an aid that you can take or leave as you see fit here are my five most important rules when supporting our lads.

1. Always, always, always go to a game believing we will win.  You won't always be right (honestly!) but believe me "If you think you're beaten, you are" http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/jmif_you_think.htm
2. Never boo the players, with very few exceptions (and there are always those) every single player who pulls on that shirt is doing their best.  It may not be their best in your eyes and it may not be good enough but it is almost certainly the best they have got on that day, we are all human.
3. Never and I mean never, leave a game before that final whistle has been blown.  You just never know (most of the time!) it could all go spectacularly right and there is no better feeling than Dennis in The Last Minute. After all how can you complain about the players if you are not prepared to put the effort in yourself.
4. Remember this is just like a marriage except divorce is not really possible, "Till death do us part, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer ......."
5. Finally, and you cannot under estimate the importance of this, when you blow out those candles there is only really one thing you can wish for!!

Remember

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

Kyel Reid

So the first of perhaps a long line of first team players leaving the club is Kyel Reid.  This player, to me, typifies the world of football today and why Chris Powell, the board and the 2011/12 players should get the support of the fans for the whole season.
How many fans saw Kyel Reid as one of the reasons Charlton would be there or thereabouts last season.  At worst he was seen by the majority as one of our better players even if the rest of the team couldn't cut it.  Throughout the whole season he has been greeted with fans calling his name whenever he runs along the touchline (as a sub of course not on the pitch itself!)
Yet, has been mentioned in other places, Scott Wagstaff is seen as not good enough, in and out of games etc.etc.
Looking at the facts which player would you rather have in your team and therefore as Charlton fans which players name should we be singing??
So many fans think Reidy is a good player and should have more game time and Waggy is only an impact player and should be a sub.
The bottom line in all this is, as fans we all have opinions but frankly very few of us really know, when it comes to the finer details, who is good and who is bad.  Even "football" people keep getting it wrong, there is a long list of players that managers (including Curbishley, Wenger and Ferguson) have signed that have not been "good enough".

Managers are "easy" though, they stand or fall on results and Chris Powell's results have been terrible, therefore he should be sacked.  This makes us as bad as "The Owners", instant success means everything, we can't wait a year or two you've got to get it right now.

If we assume that all managers make mistakes when signing players then the most important factor must be their tactics and how they want the game to be played.  Although it is possible to change the way a team plays in half a season, it is by no means guaranteed, it is possible to stop the rot in half a season but it is not guaranteed, in fact nothing is guaranteed.

Surely if you give a manager time and that means years not months, there is more chance that he will build a team playing winning football with good players in most positions.  Its seems madness that the manager changes, the results get worse, we sack him, new manager, the results don't improve, we sack him, new manager, results don't improve etc. etc.................

Chris Powell may not be the right man for the job but I do not believe anyone can tell me with absolute certainty that he is or he is not, he needs time before we can make that judgement.
As you would imagine there really is only one opinion that counts and he says  "He will do well in the future" lets just hope that future is soon!


Remember

Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.

Dopey By Name...........

Well there you have it!! Our first attempt to decide on the outcome of a game and we messed it up.  So are we downhearted?  Of course not, it was a nice day, the fans seemed to be happy enough, we did feel that dressing up as our arch enemies was a bit over the top but it was quite funny!

So now we move on to the serious business of preparing for the promotion season.  It's certainly not going to be easy but at some point we all have to stop deciding we know better and just get behind the team, the manager and the board.  We should take this summer as that point!

It may not have been the win we wanted but a system of play does seem to be taking shape.  It was quite nice to be watching the players pass the ball to someone wearing the same kit as them, not get too worried when the opposition moved the ball into our half and generally watch a game when were never really going to loose. Lets face it after the season we've had you've got to be Happy with that!

As for us, well due to the current economic climate we will all be down the mines for the next three months or so.  Over this time each of us will try to bring their own unique ideas to you, giving insight into how well each new signing will do, who the teams to be wary of are and why we should all try to be Happy no matter how bad you think it's getting (football wise that is!).

Remember

Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.

Hartlepool and Beyond

Well, the last game of the season is upon us and after this the speculation can start.  I suppose it's a bit of fun deciding who will stay and who will go, but to be honest we have far better things to be doing here in Happy Valley.  The most important of which is making sure we keep the spirits up of all you non-residents out there who think, especially after SCP's latest comments, that we are all off to hell in a handcart!

But before we start with that we have tomorrows game to consider and in a desperate attempt to prove we know what we are talking about we've decided to take a vote here on what the result will be.  Despite what you might think we can't predict the score, well Dopey says he can (3-0) but what does he know.

Anyway the Happy Valley prediction for tomorrows game is a nice day and a good home win, which will certainly keep us all happy here!  It will almost certainly have the usual suspects (off to hell... etc.) pointing us in the direction of 2007/2008 when we finished with a 4-1 victory over Coventry City, and we all know what happened the next year!

But as you know we are nothing if not optimistic, so don't listen to them, fear not, victory will be ours and roll on 20011/12, its going to be our season!

We'll be back on Sunday morning to gloat and start the mammoth task of convincing you all, next year is gonna be good!

Remember

Victory belongs to the most persevering.

Chris Powell

Nothing, apart from a criticism of our leader KP, will send all of the residents here in Happy Valley to see Doc for some of my pills quicker than the comment by fans that Chris Powell should be replaced as manager.

Now it's worth pointing out that neither I nor the others wanted Phil Parkinson sacked but that has now happened and we must move on.

Everyone has their opinions, but there really is only one right one, Chris Powell must stay and have at least next season,  not just 10 games, to see if he is the right man to be manager of Charlton Athletic Football Club.  This is the only question that needs to be asked, certainly not is he a good or a bad Manager. How can anyone answer that?  He hasn't been in the job long enough for any of you to make that sort of statement and anyone who makes either, is at best misguided.  Even if he fails does that make him a bad manager, not necessarily, we may not be the right club for him.

You see the issue really is "who is the right man for the job?". Roy Hodgson was according to Fulham fans, according to Liverpool fans he wasn't and my guess is according to West Brom fans he is.

Only time will tell if he is right for this club, but nobody can tell if the next man will be either even if he is seen as a "good manager", just ask West Ham fans about a certain Alan Curbishley.

So for Docs sake, stop banging on about getting rid of Chris Powell, you have NO IDEA, ABSOLUTELY NONE if your new man will do any better.

Remember

To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.

Happy Birthday

You see, there is ALWAYS something to be Happy about.............

Today is a cause for celebration in Happy Valley. Our glorious leader, true Charlton legend and all round top man, Keith Peacock was born on this day in 1945. Probably the nicest man we, here in The Valley, have ever had the pleasure and privilege to meet, you won't remember us Keith but believe me we will never forget you.

If there is one man who typifies what Charlton is all about it is Keith Peacock and as we said yesterday, if he says "Chris will become a very good manager", then trust us, he will.

So "Happy Birthday, Keith" from all of us here at Happy Valley.

A really great man is known by three signs... generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success.

You Heard It Hear First

Remember this day, 1st May 2011.

If you follow Charlton Athletic, and lets face it if you don't you've got lost on the Web again, then you are probably not the happiest football fan in the country at the moment.

However, I bring you tidings of great joy!

In approximately 365 days time your beloved club will be promoted to the English Championship, see I told you we were the most optimistic blog around!

Forget all this doom and gloom, don't worry if Chris Powell is a novice manager, don't worry about who will be leaving, staying or arriving on a fast train from somewhere good, we're going up!

Its a nailed on certainty, we heard it the other day and we believe it, Keith told us and here in Happy Valley we know it's true, next year will be OUR year!

If you like to moan or feel fed up then this isn't the place for you, because on this site there is only happiness and positivity. This season may have seemed like the worst but at the end of it we have a true legend in charge and the greatest man ever to wear the shirt is there to oversee it all, if that doesn't make you happy and proud, be off with you and don't darken my doors again.

Remember

A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them.