Unless there is a all out boycott (or at the very least somewhere above 90%) there will be little impact. Whilst many of us are actively boycotting home matches it's more for personal reasons than to make a big statement.
I like the way the campaign has been going. A few minor protests with some larger ones organised from time to time. Regardless of whether the protests will be instrumental in persuading the regime to leave, it at least makes their life more difficult.
With continued average performances on the pitch, the obvious pots of money that need to be pumped in to keep the administrators at bay and the headaches of the protests, some day soon someone may say enough is enough and throw in the towel.
The club is losing money hand over fist, and whilst it might be peanuts to Roly, nobody in their right mind can keep throwing good money after bad. Roly may not be in his right mind, but somewhere there must be an accountant scratching his head and asking what the hell he is doing.
The attacks by the witless SMT against our colleagues on here tell me that both protests and boycotts are working. Apart from the stay-aways, the extra PR, security and legal advice must have blitzed any sensible budget. Most of our highest earners aren't actually playing for us. That will have an impact. Things at SL weren't half as bad as here yet he sold. I think only his support for Daisy is stopping him quit.
Those that say that Duchatelet can absorb the losses forget the Duchatelet edict that the club needs to be self supporting. The non attendance hurts Duchatelet's business plan. The empty seats exposes the lie that things are working.
One of things that really is knocking the legs out of the attendance, is that how much fun is the dispiriting fare served up. That affects both supporters who dislike Duchatelet or are not that bothered, & want to watch a game of football.
The shrinking attendance is a rational response to the poor match day experience and thin gruel served up as entertainment. The poor quality football & clear lack of ambition in the team building by Duchatelet & Meire, is driven by the inept mismanagement of the club and emptyness of any Duchatelet strategic plan. It is spectacular the complete misunderstanding of football supporters and the market they are operating in.
There doesn't need to be an active boycott. The Duchatelet & Meire running of the club is destroying the attendance themselves.
I agree, the lost revenue probably won't be the main factor. But I think RD has shown already that he can make rash decisions in a fit of anger. He has undermined his CEO which he normally unconditionally backs a few times already. One day he may just get irritated enough to decide to sell us. Our job has to be to try to irritate him and create that day! We have to try! He said we are only 1.5% of his business interests - so we have to use that and make us a much higher percentage in terms of inconvenience.
I get the not going/not funding RD but ultimately, in my view, that will make no difference unless you can get 98% of people not to attend. If gates are 5k a game or less we'll simply get a team of that value (SCMP and all that) and less likely RD sells.
I actually believe 15-20k gates with 98% protesting will drive them out far far quicker.
The extra gate receipts will be mostly taken up with the costs to 'Marshall' a protesting crowd of that size anyway so won't be directly going to RD as such.
This may well be right but in my view is just as unlikely as the total boycott position.
Most fans I suspect have chosen how they are going to respond to what is going on. Some will go to the matches come what may. Some will stay away and won't come back. Others will come back when the ownership changes etc. etc. Many (like me) are choosing to go to the odd match here and there.
RD and KM have set on a path they may well destroy the club in its current form. I still don't understand why they are doing it but in truth only they have the power to change direction. Whether they will or not depends on their ultimate goal, if they have one.
I won't go until Duchatelet has sold up. I don't enjoy it any more. The thing I helped save all those years ago is not the thing I see now. I was a regular at Selhurst Park because I wanted to help keep Lennie's lads going. They were worth the effort, so I gave it. As to the present day: Better, I think, that senior management look out over an empty stadium (or as near-empty as can be). Better still that the boycotting fans are outside on the street, making a noise, voicing their opposition, during the game, if such a thing could be arranged. (With money in their pocket, too).
Management had a golden opportunity. Where, from the very start, was some degree of humility? Where was the offer of meaningful engagement with us, including, perhaps, a request from management for us to assist them, where we could? (which we might well have done, had the thing been put to us in a spirit of collaboration). But, no. What we got was dictat - "Do It This Way, for We Know Best". I acknowledge the right of owner and management to enact things as it sees fit, but I believe that, had things been done differently, the outcome might have been a lot better for us all. The new management imposed its will on us. And look at the state of things now. Retrograde, relegated, ridiculed. Perhaps ruined.
A true story: When I met Katrien, early on in Duchatelet's tenure, I advised, as politely as I could, that she might take note of two things. (1) That Charlton Athletic had a recent history of being a trailblazing club, with fans noted for their activism (Red, White & Black, having a supporter on the Board of Directors, The Valley Party, etc). (2) That Chris Powell knew the club inside out and understood us, the supporters. "He's one of the best things about this club" I offered.
I'm still hacked off that I renewed my season ticket for last season. We were all but relegated by Christmas! Why should I go to watch my team in the third division, when it could / should have been pushing for a position at the top of the second? Why should I do so in a three-quarters empty stadium? I do not recognise the thing as 'mine' any longer.
I think that we stand a better chance of realising a situation where Duchatelet seeks to sell if we present his staff and team with an empty Valley. Skeptical from the outset, I offered the benefit of my doubt and tried The Duchatelet Way. I didn't like it. Relegation amidst mayhem. The line in the sand was drawn. So, I'm a boycotting 'Addick.....hoping that the hiatus will not be long.
Great post AK. I agree with every word apart from watching our team in the third division. I have supported Charlton for 49 years and watched them through thick and thin times. I would be just as happy standing on the East terrace in pouring rain watching us get turned over in the old third division as I would sitting in a seat watching them in the Premiership if I had just the slightest inkling that our owners were doing the best they could for the club.
However I refuse to put one penny more into the club until these incompetent owners have gone. Especially KM who is not qualified to run a football club in this, or for that matter any other country.
I have said it in other posts on here before, I used to have a table in hospitality for every home game, buy drinks and jackpot tickets for my guests, 4 x season tickets etc. My spend per season at The Valley was in the region of £5k per season so I feel some comfort in my boycott as it would take 10 x new season tickets in the East/West stands to replace me.
I still don't know why RD bought the club so I don't know if boycotting will have a positive or negative impact on his aims. I do know I don't want anything to do with what he is actually creating.
The attacks by the witless SMT against our colleagues on here tell me that both protests and boycotts are working. Apart from the stay-aways, the extra PR, security and legal advice must have blitzed any sensible budget. Most of our highest earners aren't actually playing for us. That will have an impact. Things at SL weren't half as bad as here yet he sold. I think only his support for Daisy is stopping him quit.
Didn't he have to sell because he had two clubs in the Belgium top flight? The protests may have made him choose Belgium.
Personally don't think the boycotts will touch him - a ground full of protestors seems to be more effective. I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
Personally don't think the boycotts will touch him - a ground full of protestors seems to be more effective. I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
If the guy is not even in the ground I am not sure the protests will hurt him either. The throwing of items on the pitch has not even created a response from the FA, I would have thought the club would have had at least a warning/caution about this as it has happened more than once. However with the games only being held up for a few minutes it does not seem to be appearing on anyone's radar.
Personally don't think the boycotts will touch him - a ground full of protestors seems to be more effective. I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
If the guy is not even in the ground I am not sure the protests will hurt him either. The throwing of items on the pitch has not even created a response from the FA, I would have thought the club would have had at least a warning/caution about this as it has happened more than once. However with the games only being held up for a few minutes it does not seem to be appearing on anyone's radar.
Its about publicity, protests work in the ground, its proven because it gets publicity and it must hurt their reputations. You must have seen all the free publicity on the Tv and especially on Talksport. Not going will not have any effect on RD or KM, BUT bad publicity will, i.e. in ground protests, also if we end up with 1500 per game, he'll just sell the ground to property developers because there will be no need for a sports stadium in SE7. Its your choice, sit at home and do nothing, or go to selected games and shout and protest, if you choose the former dont moan when theres no club left.
It probably would have been good to have alternated boycott matches with non-boycott matches. People torn between boycotting and not boycotting might then find it easier to not attend a boycott match, and then attend the non-boycott match in order to protest. The contrast between the two might have been a good angle for the media.
Personally don't think the boycotts will touch him - a ground full of protestors seems to be more effective. I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
If the guy is not even in the ground I am not sure the protests will hurt him either. The throwing of items on the pitch has not even created a response from the FA, I would have thought the club would have had at least a warning/caution about this as it has happened more than once. However with the games only being held up for a few minutes it does not seem to be appearing on anyone's radar.
Its about publicity, protests work in the ground, its proven because it gets publicity and it must hurt their reputations. You must have seen all the free publicity on the Tv and especially on Talksport. Not going will not have any effect on RD or KM, BUT bad publicity will, i.e. in ground protests, also if we end up with 1500 per game, he'll just sell the ground to property developers because there will be no need for a sports stadium in SE7. Its your choice, sit at home and do nothing, or go to selected games and shout and protest, if you choose the former dont moan when theres no club left.
Thank you Greenie and you are quite correct, it is my choice. And I will not put another penny into the current owners pockets until they have left the building.
CARD have conducted a brilliant campaign, and if this matter was decided on merit, skill and integrity, I would suggest that it would have already long been all over bar the shouting. In a sense CARD has won. It seems pretty clear that the current Charlton administration is held in considerably low regard across the football community. That, in part, is due to CARD, and partly at the hands of the regime itself. But the regime endures. Albeit with little credibility and little real meaningful support, and seemingly having to deploy fairly blunt instruments to impose its will on its supposed customers, RD and Co are still at the helm. At the Coventry game, the flying pigs and the march were great and took the headlines, but for much of the game, which felt almost like the side show, the atmosphere was dead, the club a shadow of its former self as people stay away. There it felt like RD and co had won. Quite what the point of winning a battle against your loyal customers actually is, only this regime can answer. But apathy, disillusionment, and the gradual drip drip of finding others things to do on a Saturday is the thing that will hurt the protest the most in the long run. It will also hurt the club too,significantly, in the long run, but RD and Co do not seem to really understand this. That is why it is so easy to be suspicious of their intentions. This is no way to run a successful football club. But if we do not return at some point fairly soon, the club will slowly die anyway, it looked pretty unwell at the Coventry game. Who blinks first, us or RD ? It is a ridiculous situation, not caused by supporters.
The one sure thing is that there is no easy answer. Like many others I have been a supporter for many years, my dad once told me I saw Stanley Matthews play at the Valley, but I have never known an atmosphere quite like now, not the Gliksten years or days ground sharing. I don't go as often now, not particularly as a direct protest but more about the atmosphere around the club. I share Cabbies dads worries / thoughts:
A - we would go under if it weren't for RD's money - how many of us were positive when he first came in B - we could get sold to an even bigger bunch of twats - a real worry with all that is happening in football now. The only thing I would feel confident in is we surely would not have as many `second rate' managers imposed on us C - he just wants to watch the game and support the team - like many of us
There have been some positives in the pitch, ground and hopefully, training area. I am probably also one of the very few that did not mind the sofa as the kids picked that sat there loved it which can not be all bad.
My last game was away at Gillingham and the football was bad enough but the actions and attitude of a fair number of our supporters towards stewards (who I thought were trying to be helpful and friendly) was embarrassing. I really felt for the two elderly ladies we were sat next to.
I am not sure what my next game will be, or how the sorry saga can possibly end in a result that gives us back a united club and support
Personally don't think the boycotts will touch him - a ground full of protestors seems to be more effective. I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
If the guy is not even in the ground I am not sure the protests will hurt him either. The throwing of items on the pitch has not even created a response from the FA, I would have thought the club would have had at least a warning/caution about this as it has happened more than once. However with the games only being held up for a few minutes it does not seem to be appearing on anyone's radar.
The FA got involved before the last game of last season I think.
They sent someone in to assess the position, he was surprised at how well funded the protests were and ultimately the large net was erected in front of the covered end to try and prevent or limit the effects of any actions.
It did not in fact prevent significant disruption to the game.
The decision to move many of the upper covered end into the lower by reducing season ticket prices there and breaking up the long term fan base has contributed, along with many just not being prepared to attend, to the very poor atmosphere we now have at home games.
Any estimate at the moment how much of every £1 spent goes into Duchatalatet's pocket?
Well as Charlton now are @£45M in debt to RD, I presume the answer is nil.
So the very understandable argument of not wishing to line Yellow Tooth's pockets can be side stepped with a clear conscience. You can go & make your voice heard.
I do think that a continued hostile anti-regime presence is a clear sign that they are not winning the war.
Why should we leave our great club to the likes of Perks, Williamson & the other regime leeches?
Whether you really want to waste your time & money watching Brussell Slade play 9-0-1 against Hartlepool Reserves in the Checkatrade Trophy is another matter.
Personally don't think the boycotts will touch him - a ground full of protestors seems to be more effective. I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
If the incoming owner(s) play their cards right , work with supporters as in the good old days, revamp KM's infamous "matchday experience" AND get the team playing positive & increasingly successful football, then , as Kevin Costner said " they will come" (back).
The kind of incentives that the earlier incumbents offered with the expertise of Rick & Wendy would be re-employed , no doubt with further additions/refinements to tempt the waverers into returning home, and with them hooked, a new generation of young 'uns - the future lifeblood of our club.
A well run football club with respect on both sides of the table, some much needed investment in players & coaches suitable for the task in hand and a cunning plan/achievable goal season on season would inevitably turn the tide.
I'm not suggesting this would happen overnight - even my rose tinted contact lenses don't foresee miracles- but surely ANY owner worth his/her salt would realise the potential of a club such as ours at the time of purchase & due diligence , hence be prepared to do whatever it takes to rebuild the shell of a once famous club.
Comments
I like the way the campaign has been going. A few minor protests with some larger ones organised from time to time. Regardless of whether the protests will be instrumental in persuading the regime to leave, it at least makes their life more difficult.
With continued average performances on the pitch, the obvious pots of money that need to be pumped in to keep the administrators at bay and the headaches of the protests, some day soon someone may say enough is enough and throw in the towel.
The club is losing money hand over fist, and whilst it might be peanuts to Roly, nobody in their right mind can keep throwing good money after bad. Roly may not be in his right mind, but somewhere there must be an accountant scratching his head and asking what the hell he is doing.
When CARD call for match protest the boycott should be broken. When they don't eg Port Vale they should, along with the Trust, call for a boycott.
The only legitimate reason for any fan to be at a match is to protest. Low attendances only rising at protest matches is ideal.
Mainly not wishing to endorse the owner by giving him anything. I attend protests when I can.
I will decide when I go back - after consideration of various factors. Have RD & KM gone being the main one.
Each to their own.
One of things that really is knocking the legs out of the attendance, is that how much fun is the dispiriting fare served up. That affects both supporters who dislike Duchatelet or are not that bothered, & want to watch a game of football.
The shrinking attendance is a rational response to the poor match day experience and thin gruel served up as entertainment. The poor quality football & clear lack of ambition in the team building by Duchatelet & Meire, is driven by the inept mismanagement of the club and emptyness of any Duchatelet strategic plan. It is spectacular the complete misunderstanding of football supporters and the market they are operating in.
There doesn't need to be an active boycott. The Duchatelet & Meire running of the club is destroying the attendance themselves.
Most fans I suspect have chosen how they are going to respond to what is going on. Some will go to the matches come what may. Some will stay away and won't come back. Others will come back when the ownership changes etc. etc. Many (like me) are choosing to go to the odd match here and there.
RD and KM have set on a path they may well destroy the club in its current form. I still don't understand why they are doing it but in truth only they have the power to change direction. Whether they will or not depends on their ultimate goal, if they have one.
However I refuse to put one penny more into the club until these incompetent owners have gone. Especially KM who is not qualified to run a football club in this, or for that matter any other country.
I have said it in other posts on here before, I used to have a table in hospitality for every home game, buy drinks and jackpot tickets for my guests, 4 x season tickets etc. My spend per season at The Valley was in the region of £5k per season so I feel some comfort in my boycott as it would take 10 x new season tickets in the East/West stands to replace me.
#notapennymore
I fear a lot of our support will never return even with a change of ownership.
Not going will not have any effect on RD or KM, BUT bad publicity will, i.e. in ground protests, also if we end up with 1500 per game, he'll just sell the ground to property developers because there will be no need for a sports stadium in SE7.
Its your choice, sit at home and do nothing, or go to selected games and shout and protest, if you choose the former dont moan when theres no club left.
People torn between boycotting and not boycotting might then find it easier to not attend a boycott match, and then attend the non-boycott match in order to protest.
The contrast between the two might have been a good angle for the media.
#notapennymore
In a sense CARD has won. It seems pretty clear that the current Charlton administration is held in considerably low regard across the football community. That, in part, is due to CARD, and partly at the hands of the regime itself.
But the regime endures. Albeit with little credibility and little real meaningful support, and seemingly having to deploy fairly blunt instruments to impose its will on its supposed customers, RD and Co are still at the helm.
At the Coventry game, the flying pigs and the march were great and took the headlines, but for much of the game, which felt almost like the side show, the atmosphere was dead, the club a shadow of its former self as people stay away.
There it felt like RD and co had won.
Quite what the point of winning a battle against your loyal customers actually is, only this regime can answer.
But apathy, disillusionment, and the gradual drip drip of finding others things to do on a Saturday is the thing that will hurt the protest the most in the long run.
It will also hurt the club too,significantly, in the long run, but RD and Co do not seem to really understand this.
That is why it is so easy to be suspicious of their intentions.
This is no way to run a successful football club.
But if we do not return at some point fairly soon, the club will slowly die anyway, it looked pretty unwell at the Coventry game.
Who blinks first, us or RD ?
It is a ridiculous situation, not caused by supporters.
A - we would go under if it weren't for RD's money - how many of us were positive when he first came in
B - we could get sold to an even bigger bunch of twats - a real worry with all that is happening in football now. The only thing I would feel confident in is we surely would not have as many `second rate' managers imposed on us
C - he just wants to watch the game and support the team - like many of us
There have been some positives in the pitch, ground and hopefully, training area. I am probably also one of the very few that did not mind the sofa as the kids picked that sat there loved it which can not be all bad.
My last game was away at Gillingham and the football was bad enough but the actions and attitude of a fair number of our supporters towards stewards (who I thought were trying to be helpful and friendly) was embarrassing. I really felt for the two elderly ladies we were sat next to.
I am not sure what my next game will be, or how the sorry saga can possibly end in a result that gives us back a united club and support
They sent someone in to assess the position, he was surprised at how well funded the protests were and ultimately the large net was erected in front of the covered end to try and prevent or limit the effects of any actions.
It did not in fact prevent significant disruption to the game.
The decision to move many of the upper covered end into the lower by reducing season ticket prices there and breaking up the long term fan base has contributed, along with many just not being prepared to attend, to the very poor atmosphere we now have at home games.
I do think that a continued hostile anti-regime presence is a clear sign that they are not winning the war.
Why should we leave our great club to the likes of Perks, Williamson & the other regime leeches?
Whether you really want to waste your time & money watching Brussell Slade play 9-0-1 against Hartlepool Reserves in the Checkatrade Trophy is another matter.
The kind of incentives that the earlier incumbents offered with the expertise of Rick & Wendy would be re-employed , no doubt with further additions/refinements to tempt the waverers into returning home, and with them hooked, a new generation of young 'uns - the future lifeblood of our club.
A well run football club with respect on both sides of the table, some much needed investment in players & coaches suitable for the task in hand and a cunning plan/achievable goal season on season would inevitably turn the tide.
I'm not suggesting this would happen overnight - even my rose tinted contact lenses don't foresee miracles- but surely ANY owner worth his/her salt would realise the potential of a club such as ours at the time of purchase & due diligence , hence be prepared to do whatever it takes to rebuild the shell of a once famous club.
But this time, with love.