Debunking one of the biggest myths in football… did Charlton fans really want Alan Curbishley sacked?

02/23/2024 04:30 AM

Charlton Athletic have become the ultimate Premier League cautionary tale ever since their decline down the football pyramid.

Football fans of those clubs outside the top six are often warned not to get too carried away in thinking they should be pushing for Europe… and exhibit A is brought out – Charlton Athletic.

So the story goes that Addicks supporters hounded out Alan Curbishley for not being satisfied with merely finishing in the mid-table of the Premier League.

Ask anyone at The Valley about this and they'll tell you it is one of the biggest myths in football.

This story gets trotted out all too regularly… and was even heard on the talkSPORT airwaves recently.

West Ham fans have been wanting David Moyes out despite being in the top half of the Premier League and winning a European trophy last season.

'Moyes Out' banners were recently unveiled by fans as they expressed their fury with the, in their opinion, turgid football on display.

talkSPORT's Breakfast host Jeff Stelling used the age old tale of Charlton to warn the Hammers they should be careful.

He said: "It's a case of being careful what you wish for. Everybody talks about what Charlton did with Alan Curbishley, you've just got to be careful what you wish for."

This is not in any way saying Jeff is out of line. No, it’s just a story that has been told so often, it almost becomes true. And it almost certainly won't be the last it is heard.

Charlton fits the bill as a cautionary tale because, after relegation from the top flight in 2007, they've not been back and are currently fighting to avoid dropping down to League Two.

Alan Curbishley left the club in 2006 and the following season they crashed out of the league, going through three managers in the process from Iain Dowie to Les Reed to Alan Pardew.

One key error that pundits and other fans make is saying that the club and fans wanted Curbishley out. That's just not true.

Never once were there 'Curbishley Out' banners on display at The Valley, with supporters having nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude to Curbs.

After all, he took the club from the wilderness of being forced to play away from their home at Selhurst Park and Upton Park to getting back to The Valley and twice winning promotion to the Premier League.

Charlton fans know more than most the reality of your club going out of existence, there was never a moment of thinking they were bigger than they are.

But don't take our word for it, here's what the man himself told talkSPORT about his exit.

Curbishley, who held talks with the Football Association over replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson as England manager, left in 2006 after agreeing it was best for the club and him at that moment.

"I had been linked with a few teams and there was all the England stuff happening," he said. "There was no secrets. I had a year left and I said to the chairman I wanted to sign a couple of players.

"Around the time the season was ending we got interested in some players, and tried to get something done early and I was interested.

"Quite rightly, he said if we start talking to players and they know you have a year left and you want them to sign for three or four is that going to be a difficulty? I understood where he was coming from.

"He wanted me to sign a three year contract but I didn't want to. I perhaps wanted to let my contract run out after 16-odd years and have a think about things.

"In the discussions it came round to the fact, why not leave now? That was on the Friday and it got announced on the Saturday against Blackburn. I hadn't even told my staff what was going on. We played Blackburn and then went to Old Trafford for my last game where everyone knew I was leaving.

"I had no problem doing another year but I just didn't think signing for another three years, even if it was a better contract and more money, etc, was the right thing to do."

There we are… myth firmly debunked. So please stop using Charlton as a cautionary tale… we've got enough problems as it is.