After reading this thread I felt I should add a comment here as a lot of this unrest and bad feeling towards the club was fuelled by me this week in the thread I posted relating to Millwall comments on the O/S.
As you can see I am one of the “New kids on the block” and I have only been a member of this site for approx 3 weeks, and whilst we all have to begin somewhere it was never my intention to stir things up and rock the boat.
I was guided towards this site /forum via a comment posted in the “Your Views” section on the O/S, I cannot remember the exact wording but someone suggested taking a look on here for the correct facts about something that was posted in “Your Views”, I googled you, liked what I saw, joined and the rest is history.
If it helps any of you I would like to go on record and say that despite the fact some of you think things are bitter and angry on this forum I would disagree, when I checked this site out three weeks ago I was totally impressed with the content and the level of humour, in fact it was the humour, sarcasm and friendly banter going on that made my mind up to join.
Not wishing to start another debate but if you compare the forum on this site to “Your Views” on the O/S…………….well there is no comparison, chalk & cheese spring to mind.
As to the Millwall comments on the O/S, I was as gobsmacked at the reply I received from the club as some of you were but in hindsight and in light of the situation we all find ourselves in maybe it was insensitive of me to post it on here, it was a personal issue between myself and the club and maybe I should have kept it that way, but hindsight, etc, etc, I was more than happy with the apology Matt Wright sent me and I would like to confirm he was not the sender of the original reply so he stepped in and sorted it.
I am hurting just like the rest of you, in over 40 years of supporting the lads I have never felt so deflated, frustrated, sad, angry, depressed etc, and all this adds up to the fact that I may post something in anger on here and have a hint of regret afterwards or I might talk to a fellow fan with an attitude because I am pissed off with what is happening to Charlton.
However I apologise if I overstepped the mark earlier in the week with my comments, I shall engage the brain before I type for the rest of this season at least, let’s hope happier times return from May onwards whatever division we are playing in come August.
Mike, you did nothing wrong and have nothing to apologise for. Thanks for the post, its interesting to gain the views of people who are relatively new to the site on what they see, how they judge it etc.
Henry,what do you think as fans we can do,you say a lot lot more,i would genuinely be interested in what we can do coz,i have never felt so dis-illusioned as a Charlton fan.
[cite]Posted By: northstandsteve[/cite]Henry,what do you think as fans we can do,you say a lot lot more,i would genuinely be interested in what we can do coz,i have never felt so dis-illusioned as a Charlton fan.
OK, a quick off the top of the head agenda. Not thought out, just some ideas I've had bouncing about my head but before you read a couple of points.
These are not easy or quick solutions, nor are they glamorous. I'm not precious about them so change them, disagree with them but don't dismiss them unless you can come up with something better.
More importantly none will be achieved by discussing them behind a keyboard or complaining that the club should never have let it get in this state in the first place. It's happened. The house is on fire. We can discuss who left the gas on later. For now let's start putting the fire out. Or we can bask in the warmth of the blaze for a while feeling good about how right we were, how we would have done if differently but we could then just be left with ashes.
You/we need to get out there and make them happen.
1. Get in touch with the Fans Forum members. They've got a direct ear to the board so with them put together a coherent policy for how you/we think club should move forward for them to present. Not play Moo2 or spend more money but some overarching objectives for the club. What direction should we be taking? Youth development like Crewe, overseas clubs like ASEC, whatever you think it should be.
2. From this create a picture of what Charlton should be. I hate the word "vision" but it's the best I can do in a hurry. Again this is not about "winning 6 - 0 in the Champions league" but what is it that we want Charlton to represent. Local, community based, hard nosed business models, whatever. Not for me to say.
3. Get organising some meetings. People complain that the board aren't communicating enough so get down to your local CIU club/pub etc or whatever, book it and get some directors/managers etc down. Not only is it a chance to question them but it gets different fans together in one room. You may not like the answers but they will have heard directly what we think and vice versa. If me and Curb it can do it why can't any of you? (sorry Curb-it that not saying you don't do a hell of a lot of work or worrying. You do and you do it very well. The point is it can be done). And they don't have to be physical meetings. On-line chat rooms, video links, Facebook whatever that is. You kids know what can be done.
4. Take over the Supporters' Club. It's a dead organisation or as good as but it has huge potential. until now it has been organised geographically and that made sense once but does it any more? Why should we stick to that? We have a Disabled Supporters branch so why not a Charlton Life Branch (Danny is now swearing at the keyboard) but why stop there. Why not a beer drinkers Branch, Ex-hooligan Group, Train travellers group, Over 60s group, Cardigan wearers Group, use your imagination.
5. Get the Junior Addicks up and running again. (Junior Reds as was) OK I happen to know this is already on the agenda but it will need people to make it work, sign their kids up, organise matches against other teams kids (as Charlton life does already) or End of season tournaments at the Valley. Chase up the club and make it happen.
6 And last but not least form a Supporters' Trust. A legal entity that can control shares in the club and even get a place on the board or it the worse came to the worse, own a new club. Unity is strength. Radical yes but you wanted ideas now you've got them.
As Obama says Time for Change. Either you are part of the solution or you are part of the problem.
Henry I think all of these ideas are fine - however, it doesn't solve the immediate problem we have right now - with the club in terminal decline there needs to be some fans' opinion that the board will listen to now.
All I know is that 16,000 fans each week can't be wrong - none of us have a personal agenda, and even if we did, it gets lost in the throng of the masses.
If we can see there are things wrong - I am sure the board can.
I do have to agree, that occassionaly your flippent, keyboard retorts are half jest and half truth and I would expect someone like me - not you, to do that - I don't have the patience nor political correctness to have ever got voted as the fans' director on the board - however, that does not give you the right at times to use your inane wit to put people down and set yourself above others, because believe me - there are far more many people with a justified right to question what is going on, than throw a witting or sarcastic remark in, put a ;-) in and expect it to pass without comments.
We all have opinions and occassionally I think you don't like people questioning your own choices or agendas - and as someone who used to represent "us" on the board - too many times you appear blinded by the fact you used to sit around the very people who appear to be driving this club into the ground ......
[cite]Posted By: supaclive[/cite]Henry I think all of these ideas are fine - however, it doesn't solve the immediate problem we have right now - with the club in terminal decline there needs to be some fans' opinion that the board will listen to now.
There are no quick instant solutions IMHO short of a massive multi million £ cash injection. Did I not just suggest three ideas about fans opinions getting to the board?
[cite]Posted By: supaclive[/cite]
I do have to agree, that occassionaly your flippent, keyboard retorts are half jest and half truth and I would expect someone like me - not you, to do that - I don't have the patience nor political correctness to have ever got voted as the fans' director on the board - however, that does not give you the right at times to use your inane wit to put people down and set yourself above others, because believe me - there are far more many people with a justified right to question what is going on, than throw a witting or sarcastic remark in, put a ;-) in and expect it to pass without comments.
So it's OK for you but not for me. Strange. If you cut me do I not bleed. If you tickle me do I not laugh. Why do you expect more of me than you expect of yourself?
You can either attack me which I can live with, I don't like it but hey I've had it before or YOU can DO something about the problems at the club.
You are either part of the problem or YOU Superclive are part of the solution. Make a choice,
[cite]Posted By: supaclive[/cite]Henry I think all of these ideas are fine - however, it doesn't solve the immediate problem we have right now - with the club in terminal decline there needs to be some fans' opinion that the board will listen to now.
i like the idea of Charlton Life supporters branch and very much the junior reds and i wouldn't mind helping organise matches against other junior supporters clubs.
The supporters trust is intersting but in the current economic climate may be difficult,but yes Henry very interesting points.
I've more or less resigned myself to the fact that we are going to be relegated. My personal feeling is that the club has been mismanaged to such a terrible extent that given the inevitability of our relegation, I worry about our ability to maintain our position in League 1.
I wish I could put my finger on exactly what it is that has led to our clubs sad and shocking decline. All I know is what I see on match days, and that is often a disorganised mess. Players who don't play for the shirt, no pride. What lays behind that can only be guessed at.
People asked - and you made some extremely positive suggestions.
They might not provide the instant remedy we are all craving right now - but they can go a long way towards rebuilding the foundations of our club that are apparently suffering from the cracks of subsidence.
Anyway, Charlton is a club, not just a business.
It's OUR club and if we join together then we can have a voice and influence.
People, ask yourself, what can each of us do as individuals - and what can we achieve if we band together?
I reckoned it was pretty good to get some ideas put forward TBH. It seems to me that some clarity could be achieved if we could break down our objectives into three groups - short, medium and long term. For example, in the short term it seems to me pretty essential that we have a clear idea of exactly what the board intends to do. Is it preparing for admin. or surviving relegation etc? Are we keeping Parkinson and if so, for how long? Is it all down to money or does the board really believe that Parkinson is 'the man'? Presumably some answers will be forthcoming at the AGM, so do we have a list of questions prepared? I would add the suggestion that at this stage it might be useful to think about what questions we can USEFULLY ask, and to prevail upon share holders to ask them. The answers would provide a clearer idea of what could/needs be done in addition to the ideas proposed by Henry. I also wondered whether we could do an internet equivalent of brain storming?
[cite]Posted By: Valley_floyd_red[/cite]All I know is what I see on match days, and that is often a disorganised mess. Players who don't play for the shirt, no pride. What lays behind that can only be guessed at.
Easy to blame a lack of pride, passion, whatever you want to call it, but even if it's true, it was caused by a lot of other problems.
Agree about us often looking disorganised. I'm rarely impressed by other Championship clubs on overall ability, but most of them are far more organised and reliable than a lot of our players. When was the last time one of our managers got the best out of any of our players?
Well at least my post sparked a reaction, much of it thought provoking.
Mike, I really wasn't trying to suggest you didn't have a legitimate beef with the club. I was pointing up the fact that things were said in the course of that thread which demonstrated a sense of disharmony.
Henry, I think your ideas are on the right lines. There are things that many of us can do to take a more active role in club affairs. I like the Supporters Trust idea and I know that Glynne Johns was trying to get that off the ground a while ago but it didn't fly because (and I'm smiling at the irony), most fans thought that there was no need for one because our Board were doing such a great job! I also like the idea of a CL Supporters branch as well. (Sorry AFKA).
Arthur, I understand what you say. I'm not familiar with the specifics of Luton’s plight but I get the point.
Many who lived through the time of the disasters of our move to Sell-out Park saw the leading lights in the Supporters Club stand aside with hands wringing claiming that the Directors are fans too, and there is no alternative. That position needed to be challenged and sometimes that needed to be loud either physically or in print. Better though those who fought the move were determined and had a constructive alternative to present.
Sometimes I wonder, in a reflective moment, if the move to Sell-out was not actually the thing that was needed in order for the club to be re-born. I wonder what would have happened to the club if Glicksten didn't insist on his bit of land behind the stand, if they discovered at the time that the problem with the sewer wasn't the problem they thought. What direction would the club have taken? Would the Airman Browns, the Roger Alwens and the Richard Murrays of this world have come along when they did? History is always being re-appraised as time goes on and defined again in a new light. Who knows now what the future holds?
For me as a devout non-Buddhist, I think that constructive criticism is the way forward. The main difference between now and back then was there was no conduit through which fans who wanted to object to what the club was doing could voice their concerns until along came The Voice. I remember buying it for the first time but the shock and wonder at learning that others felt as I did and there was an alternative view to the Club policy line was very empowering. We are lucky that today we have instant access to our mates who share our love and concern for the club.
I am sure that the Directors are well aware of the feelings of the fans, and accept with weary stoicism the criticism that comes their way, much of it ill informed and intemperate, but some justified and damningly accurate. I do believe the time may come when it may right to man the barricades, I have done this before when the powers to be ignored the needs of those they represented. I don't see that we are yet at that stage.
As Henry has said, we need to come together through official and unofficial channels to present our constructive critique to those running club and how we might change the club for the benefit of us as a key stakeholder. Key to this is, I would say, is:
1. The survival and health of the club off the field, for us and our children and those who come after,
2. The stabilisation of our on field activities leading to renewed prosperity of success at the highest level
Without a large sackful of cash, there is going to be no easy way to achieve 2. But on the first point we have the strength of us as an empowered fan base and we can make change happen if we get involved. We do that better when we engage constructively, when we don't allow ourselves lose focus by becoming too embittered, and when we unite to help ensure the club we love survives and prospers.
[cite]Posted By: Valley_floyd_red[/cite]
I wish I could put my finger on exactly what it is that has led to our clubs sad and shocking decline.
well once upon a time we had a manager who wasn't really appreciated and his football wasn't exciting enough for some and we didn't try hard enough to keep him or make him feel loved , one day he upped and left , it's all his fault
[cite]Posted By: Valley_floyd_red[/cite]
I wish I could put my finger on exactly what it is that has led to our clubs sad and shocking decline.
well once upon a time we had a manager who wasn't really appreciated and his football wasn't exciting enough for some and we didn't try hard enough to keep him or make him feel loved , one day he upped and left , it's all his fault
A new angle I haven't seen expressed on here before. : - )
Seriously, this is where we are. What lessons can we learn from the past but more importantly how do we go forward now.
Stilladdickted, I like your idea of short, medium and long term. SHirty5 was compiling a list of questions for the AGM on another thread.
[cite]Posted By: northstandsteve[/cite]i like the idea of Charlton Life supporters branch and very much the junior reds and i wouldn't mind helping organise matches against other junior supporters clubs.
.
Great, one person doing one thing and it moves forward.
[cite]Posted By: bingaddick[/cite]
I like the Supporters Trust idea and I know that Glynne Johns was trying to get that off the ground a while ago but it didn't fly because (and I'm smiling at the irony), most fans thought that there was no need for one because our Board were doing such a great job! I also like the idea of a CL Supporters branch as well. (Sorry AFKA).
He was and I went to a meeting with him and the Supporters Trust co-ordinator. A couple of other lifers were there as well. It was partly that people didn't think we needed a trust but also that those driving it didn't take it forward at the time. Now there might be more response.
So any other offers to take on one of the current ideas or suggest others you will play a part in?
May we see the list of questions for the AGM please? Does it include a question about the Valley Express? Without the coaches, I can't get to the games and I know that this affects most of us who stand and wait at pick up points. Is our immediate objective to remove Parky? Could we raise money to achieve this? Is there any agreement as to who might replace? Is there any merit in organising a petition to plead to Curbs to come back for the short term? I'll join a supporters trust and will also join the disabled supporters club. I can write letters, make phone calls, got lots of time on my hands, willing to use it in what ever way may help.
[cite]Posted By: bingaddick[/cite]Well at least my post sparked a reaction, much of it thought provoking.
Mike, I really wasn't trying to suggest you didn't have a legitimate beef with the club. I was pointing up the fact that things were said in the course of that thread which demonstrated a sense of disharmony.
No offence taken here Bing, I thought your post was a good one, I just felt being new to the site I needed to explain my actions because I too sparked a reaction, some of you guys on here seem to be putting forward some great ideas and if I can help in any way and join the revolution then count me in, I want my Charlton back!!!
Some have been covered before, but a lot of interesting views. I have some thoughts, but need toime to get them down on paper.
On the Trust aspect, with no disrespect to Glynn, but it was a no-goer right from the start purely because individuals involved were known to have grievances with the club, some that many others felt were petty and individual.
That alone meant the public perception of the direction was wrong.
[cite]Posted By: AFKABartram[/cite]Some have been covered before, but a lot of interesting views. I have some thoughts, but need toime to get them down on paper.
On the Trust aspect, with no disrespect to Glynn, but it was a no-goer right from the start purely because individuals involved were known to have grievances with the club, some that many others felt were petty and individual.
That alone meant the public perception of the direction was wrong.
One reason I've avoided the Supporters' Club, branches etc, etc, is that my experience of life tells me that the underlying cause or aim all too often becomes subsumed by the agendas and petty vendettas of individuals.
My sole rationale in posting the link to the Rochdale Supporters Trust is to educate others (and myself come to that) in what a Supporters Trust does and /or can do.
It is for others to decide whether or not such a thing is appropiate in the context of Charlton Athletic.
On the Trust aspect, with no disrespect to Glynn, but it was a no-goer right from the start purely because individuals involved were known to have grievances with the club, some that many others felt were petty and individual.
That alone meant the public perception of the direction was wrong.
Yes, that what the guy from Supporters Direct sussed out after about 15 minutes. The concept is still sound.
One reason I've avoided the Supporters' Club, branches etc, etc, is that my experience of life tells me that the underlying cause or aim all too often becomes subsumed by the agendas and petty vendettas of individuals.
Sadly that has very much been the case with CASC which is one reason it is in the state it is.
Comments
i feel sorry for Lookie and AFKA having all their hard work undone - it the chairman /manager/ directors fault tho.
It all went wrong when they brought in WSS, the Andrew Mills of Charlton life. :-)
my first chuckle of the day !
After reading this thread I felt I should add a comment here as a lot of this unrest and bad feeling towards the club was fuelled by me this week in the thread I posted relating to Millwall comments on the O/S.
As you can see I am one of the “New kids on the block” and I have only been a member of this site for approx 3 weeks, and whilst we all have to begin somewhere it was never my intention to stir things up and rock the boat.
I was guided towards this site /forum via a comment posted in the “Your Views” section on the O/S, I cannot remember the exact wording but someone suggested taking a look on here for the correct facts about something that was posted in “Your Views”, I googled you, liked what I saw, joined and the rest is history.
If it helps any of you I would like to go on record and say that despite the fact some of you think things are bitter and angry on this forum I would disagree, when I checked this site out three weeks ago I was totally impressed with the content and the level of humour, in fact it was the humour, sarcasm and friendly banter going on that made my mind up to join.
Not wishing to start another debate but if you compare the forum on this site to “Your Views” on the O/S…………….well there is no comparison, chalk & cheese spring to mind.
As to the Millwall comments on the O/S, I was as gobsmacked at the reply I received from the club as some of you were but in hindsight and in light of the situation we all find ourselves in maybe it was insensitive of me to post it on here, it was a personal issue between myself and the club and maybe I should have kept it that way, but hindsight, etc, etc, I was more than happy with the apology Matt Wright sent me and I would like to confirm he was not the sender of the original reply so he stepped in and sorted it.
I am hurting just like the rest of you, in over 40 years of supporting the lads I have never felt so deflated, frustrated, sad, angry, depressed etc, and all this adds up to the fact that I may post something in anger on here and have a hint of regret afterwards or I might talk to a fellow fan with an attitude because I am pissed off with what is happening to Charlton.
However I apologise if I overstepped the mark earlier in the week with my comments, I shall engage the brain before I type for the rest of this season at least, let’s hope happier times return from May onwards whatever division we are playing in come August.
OK, a quick off the top of the head agenda. Not thought out, just some ideas I've had bouncing about my head but before you read a couple of points.
These are not easy or quick solutions, nor are they glamorous. I'm not precious about them so change them, disagree with them but don't dismiss them unless you can come up with something better.
More importantly none will be achieved by discussing them behind a keyboard or complaining that the club should never have let it get in this state in the first place. It's happened. The house is on fire. We can discuss who left the gas on later. For now let's start putting the fire out. Or we can bask in the warmth of the blaze for a while feeling good about how right we were, how we would have done if differently but we could then just be left with ashes.
You/we need to get out there and make them happen.
1. Get in touch with the Fans Forum members. They've got a direct ear to the board so with them put together a coherent policy for how you/we think club should move forward for them to present. Not play Moo2 or spend more money but some overarching objectives for the club. What direction should we be taking? Youth development like Crewe, overseas clubs like ASEC, whatever you think it should be.
2. From this create a picture of what Charlton should be. I hate the word "vision" but it's the best I can do in a hurry. Again this is not about "winning 6 - 0 in the Champions league" but what is it that we want Charlton to represent. Local, community based, hard nosed business models, whatever. Not for me to say.
3. Get organising some meetings. People complain that the board aren't communicating enough so get down to your local CIU club/pub etc or whatever, book it and get some directors/managers etc down. Not only is it a chance to question them but it gets different fans together in one room. You may not like the answers but they will have heard directly what we think and vice versa. If me and Curb it can do it why can't any of you? (sorry Curb-it that not saying you don't do a hell of a lot of work or worrying. You do and you do it very well. The point is it can be done). And they don't have to be physical meetings. On-line chat rooms, video links, Facebook whatever that is. You kids know what can be done.
4. Take over the Supporters' Club. It's a dead organisation or as good as but it has huge potential. until now it has been organised geographically and that made sense once but does it any more? Why should we stick to that? We have a Disabled Supporters branch so why not a Charlton Life Branch (Danny is now swearing at the keyboard) but why stop there. Why not a beer drinkers Branch, Ex-hooligan Group, Train travellers group, Over 60s group, Cardigan wearers Group, use your imagination.
5. Get the Junior Addicks up and running again. (Junior Reds as was) OK I happen to know this is already on the agenda but it will need people to make it work, sign their kids up, organise matches against other teams kids (as Charlton life does already) or End of season tournaments at the Valley. Chase up the club and make it happen.
6 And last but not least form a Supporters' Trust. A legal entity that can control shares in the club and even get a place on the board or it the worse came to the worse, own a new club. Unity is strength. Radical yes but you wanted ideas now you've got them.
As Obama says Time for Change. Either you are part of the solution or you are part of the problem.
And my son would love to be a Junior Red.
All I know is that 16,000 fans each week can't be wrong - none of us have a personal agenda, and even if we did, it gets lost in the throng of the masses.
If we can see there are things wrong - I am sure the board can.
I do have to agree, that occassionaly your flippent, keyboard retorts are half jest and half truth and I would expect someone like me - not you, to do that - I don't have the patience nor political correctness to have ever got voted as the fans' director on the board - however, that does not give you the right at times to use your inane wit to put people down and set yourself above others, because believe me - there are far more many people with a justified right to question what is going on, than throw a witting or sarcastic remark in, put a ;-) in and expect it to pass without comments.
We all have opinions and occassionally I think you don't like people questioning your own choices or agendas - and as someone who used to represent "us" on the board - too many times you appear blinded by the fact you used to sit around the very people who appear to be driving this club into the ground ......
There are no quick instant solutions IMHO short of a massive multi million £ cash injection. Did I not just suggest three ideas about fans opinions getting to the board?
So it's OK for you but not for me. Strange. If you cut me do I not bleed. If you tickle me do I not laugh. Why do you expect more of me than you expect of yourself?
You can either attack me which I can live with, I don't like it but hey I've had it before or YOU can DO something about the problems at the club.
You are either part of the problem or YOU Superclive are part of the solution. Make a choice,
Isnt that covered in point 1.
The supporters trust is intersting but in the current economic climate may be difficult,but yes Henry very interesting points.
I wish I could put my finger on exactly what it is that has led to our clubs sad and shocking decline. All I know is what I see on match days, and that is often a disorganised mess. Players who don't play for the shirt, no pride. What lays behind that can only be guessed at.
People asked - and you made some extremely positive suggestions.
They might not provide the instant remedy we are all craving right now - but they can go a long way towards rebuilding the foundations of our club that are apparently suffering from the cracks of subsidence.
Anyway, Charlton is a club, not just a business.
It's OUR club and if we join together then we can have a voice and influence.
People, ask yourself, what can each of us do as individuals - and what can we achieve if we band together?
Guess what ? We've already done it before.
Brainstorming .....? Henry has made a start there.
Over to others now.
Easy to blame a lack of pride, passion, whatever you want to call it, but even if it's true, it was caused by a lot of other problems.
Agree about us often looking disorganised. I'm rarely impressed by other Championship clubs on overall ability, but most of them are far more organised and reliable than a lot of our players. When was the last time one of our managers got the best out of any of our players?
Mike, I really wasn't trying to suggest you didn't have a legitimate beef with the club. I was pointing up the fact that things were said in the course of that thread which demonstrated a sense of disharmony.
Henry, I think your ideas are on the right lines. There are things that many of us can do to take a more active role in club affairs. I like the Supporters Trust idea and I know that Glynne Johns was trying to get that off the ground a while ago but it didn't fly because (and I'm smiling at the irony), most fans thought that there was no need for one because our Board were doing such a great job! I also like the idea of a CL Supporters branch as well. (Sorry AFKA).
Arthur, I understand what you say. I'm not familiar with the specifics of Luton’s plight but I get the point.
Many who lived through the time of the disasters of our move to Sell-out Park saw the leading lights in the Supporters Club stand aside with hands wringing claiming that the Directors are fans too, and there is no alternative. That position needed to be challenged and sometimes that needed to be loud either physically or in print. Better though those who fought the move were determined and had a constructive alternative to present.
Sometimes I wonder, in a reflective moment, if the move to Sell-out was not actually the thing that was needed in order for the club to be re-born. I wonder what would have happened to the club if Glicksten didn't insist on his bit of land behind the stand, if they discovered at the time that the problem with the sewer wasn't the problem they thought. What direction would the club have taken? Would the Airman Browns, the Roger Alwens and the Richard Murrays of this world have come along when they did? History is always being re-appraised as time goes on and defined again in a new light. Who knows now what the future holds?
For me as a devout non-Buddhist, I think that constructive criticism is the way forward. The main difference between now and back then was there was no conduit through which fans who wanted to object to what the club was doing could voice their concerns until along came The Voice. I remember buying it for the first time but the shock and wonder at learning that others felt as I did and there was an alternative view to the Club policy line was very empowering. We are lucky that today we have instant access to our mates who share our love and concern for the club.
I am sure that the Directors are well aware of the feelings of the fans, and accept with weary stoicism the criticism that comes their way, much of it ill informed and intemperate, but some justified and damningly accurate. I do believe the time may come when it may right to man the barricades, I have done this before when the powers to be ignored the needs of those they represented. I don't see that we are yet at that stage.
As Henry has said, we need to come together through official and unofficial channels to present our constructive critique to those running club and how we might change the club for the benefit of us as a key stakeholder. Key to this is, I would say, is:
1. The survival and health of the club off the field, for us and our children and those who come after,
2. The stabilisation of our on field activities leading to renewed prosperity of success at the highest level
Without a large sackful of cash, there is going to be no easy way to achieve 2. But on the first point we have the strength of us as an empowered fan base and we can make change happen if we get involved. We do that better when we engage constructively, when we don't allow ourselves lose focus by becoming too embittered, and when we unite to help ensure the club we love survives and prospers.
well once upon a time we had a manager who wasn't really appreciated and his football wasn't exciting enough for some and we didn't try hard enough to keep him or make him feel loved , one day he upped and left , it's all his fault
A new angle I haven't seen expressed on here before. : - )
Seriously, this is where we are. What lessons can we learn from the past but more importantly how do we go forward now.
Stilladdickted, I like your idea of short, medium and long term. SHirty5 was compiling a list of questions for the AGM on another thread.
Great, one person doing one thing and it moves forward.
He was and I went to a meeting with him and the Supporters Trust co-ordinator. A couple of other lifers were there as well. It was partly that people didn't think we needed a trust but also that those driving it didn't take it forward at the time. Now there might be more response.
So any other offers to take on one of the current ideas or suggest others you will play a part in?
I'm planning on doing an article on this at the weekend, so i'll touch base with Shirty today
No offence taken here Bing, I thought your post was a good one, I just felt being new to the site I needed to explain my actions because I too sparked a reaction, some of you guys on here seem to be putting forward some great ideas and if I can help in any way and join the revolution then count me in, I want my Charlton back!!!
Rochdale's has been going 5 years. I've linked the site in case anybody wants to read up on what it does.
http://www.daletrust.org.uk/trust_news.asp
On the Trust aspect, with no disrespect to Glynn, but it was a no-goer right from the start purely because individuals involved were known to have grievances with the club, some that many others felt were petty and individual.
That alone meant the public perception of the direction was wrong.
One reason I've avoided the Supporters' Club, branches etc, etc, is that my experience of life tells me that the underlying cause or aim all too often becomes subsumed by the agendas and petty vendettas of individuals.
My sole rationale in posting the link to the Rochdale Supporters Trust is to educate others (and myself come to that) in what a Supporters Trust does and /or can do.
It is for others to decide whether or not such a thing is appropiate in the context of Charlton Athletic.
Yes, that what the guy from Supporters Direct sussed out after about 15 minutes. The concept is still sound.
The Rochdale site made very interesting reading.
I quite liked the idea until I read that.
But seriously it looks so Charlton that I wonder why it hasnt happened here before.