Like all Charlton fans we are currently waiting to hear any news which might bring some hope that next season will inspire us rather than disappoint us.
Our April survey demonstrates very graphically the level of dismay amongst Charlton fans at the moment:
When we asked the question: Overall, how do you feel about the future prospects of Charlton Athletic?
We received 1210 responses:
- 45% felt QUITE NEGATIVE
- 30% felt VERY NEGATIVE
- 14% felt QUITE POSITIVE
- 1% felt VERY POSITIVE
- 10% were NOT SURE how they felt
We also asked: If you had to use one word to describe Charlton Athletic Football Club, what would it be ? This elicited 1072 responses and the most popular words were:
- SHAMBLES / SHAMBOLIC 85
- FRUSTRATING 54
- UNDERACHIEVING / UNDERPERFORMING 54
- DISAPPOINTING 47
- FAMILY 36
- SAD 26
- CHAOTIC 25
- MESS 24
- RUDDERLESS 20
- DEPRESSING 17
- FAILING 16
- DECLINING 15
The only word among the top twelve that is in any way positive is FAMILY. This serves as a timely reminder of how important the club is in bringing people together and strengthening bonds. A continuation of shambolic underperformance on and off the pitch would only lead to greater frustration and disappointment which would in turn bring about a drop in attendance and fewer opportunities for families and friends to get together.
What makes the whole situation even sadder is the comparison with how supporters were feeling just two years ago. Our 2021 survey produced the following results from 1462 respondents:
- 99% agreed (83% strongly) that they were proud to support CAFC
- 97% agreed (48% strongly) that the owner had sensible ambitions for the club.
- 95% agreed (47% strongly) that they trusted the owner to invest wisely in the squad
- 93% agreed (35% strongly) that the club listens to and respects the opinions of fans.
- 89% agreed (31% strongly) that the financial future is secure.
Journalist Richard Cawley tweeted on Wednesday that:
"Sounds as if it is crunch time for the cafc takeover bid by the consortium involving Joshua Friedman and Gabriel Brener, in terms of a resolution either way by the end of this week."
Let's hope that, whatever the crunch is, it leads to some reasons to be cheerful.
If you are not already among the 2,700 Charlton supporters who are members of CAST, do join today - it only costs £5 annually.