In the past few days a Sirocco has been blowing through these pages, and although nerves are still pretty raw, I thought maybe it would be worth taking a few moments to see if it's possible to re-adjust our perspective. I for one have enjoyed the new connection with our near-neighbours across the North Sea, and in turn it's been gratifying to see their considerable interest in CAFC. I look forward to the days when nose-to-tail Eurostar specials glide elegantly into Charlton Station. (I'm also hoping to attend Roland's Rodeo in Sint Truiden in July, but there's a bit of a problem - that weekend is the birthday of my long-suffering partner, aka My Darling Also, and she's not gonna be happy: may be time to dust off the old alien-abduction script.)
Firstly, what of the country itself ? Well, it's pretty young as countries go, having seized its independence from The Netherlands in 1830. However, this does actually pre-date the unifications of Germany and Italy, so there you go. It's a bit of an odd shape, with its western border - the North Sea coastline, of course - only about 50km in length between the seaside French and Dutch borders. Belgium definitely has its idiosyncrasies, the most stunning of which is that Brussels not only lies at the heart of an almost entirely unified Europe (bloody Swiss, bloody Norwegians ...), in the process relegating the likes of Dave Cameron to the status of England County Councillors, but is simultaneously the capital of a home nation irreparably and bitterly damaged and divided. Nonetheless, ask any Belgian and he will shed a manly tear as he describes his country's majestic rivers and lakes, the unparalleled scenic beauty of the Ardennes, the amazing culture and the masterly cuisine. Oh, and of course the beer, the frites and the chocolates.
And what of our new friends ? Starting naturally with the Guvnor, we know that he is highly accomplished (how else would you grow a stash of a demi-billion?), resolute, controlling (boy, is he ???), resourceful, inflexible (or so it seems), unconventional and highly focused. His recent treatment of JR has been little short of ruthless, mostly because JR's independence of spirit in RD's eyes was virtually insubordination. To compound the offence, JR made the cardinal error of winning - to defy the Master's protocols and fail would only prove the point, but to win - that would send absolutely the wrong signal to the rest of the network. On RD's very first day he brought in the pitch cover and a new player, the latter alone a rare event in the last faltering months of the previous regime. He has been heavily criticised for his activities in the January window, but this seems harsh to me, because he had been dealt a very poor hand by his predecessors and he had very little time. He was not afraid to dismiss the iconic but floundering SCP, at Bramall Lane reduced to a mere shadow of himself. RD then summoned the entirely unknown JR in an unequivocal masterstroke. Undoubtedly RD continues to fund the club's on-going losses he inherited, constricted for now by the insane financial merry-go-round of the Championship. His single-mindedness and commitment should be seen as positives, but in painful circumstances such as the present he seems merely dictatorial. Let's face it - in re-appointing JR he could have taken the simple, quick, easy and above all popular decision, but he chose not to. He stands accused of reckless self-interest but why would he want to deliberately sabotage one of his own prized assets? His treatment of JR borders on the totally disrespectful, and his disregard of the fans and their opinions equally so, but he seems oblivious. I wouldn't be surprised if his missus has to present a weekly account and go through the shopping bills line by line ("Good God, woman, do you think I'm made of money?") Hopefully soon enough he will mellow, and don't forget - his initials are the outer letters of the word Red. Oh, and also, there's the new pitch and the academy ....
And briefly, what of our other acquaintances? JR - nuff said. A great manager - not a coach, a manager - in the making, a top top guy, a saint, a hero, a martyr, and now - very sadly - a memory. His mate KF - thanks for your brief time with us, Chas, and all success in the future. KM - well, any louche comments sent in her direction get short shrift from the tribal elders on here, so we will confine our comments to one word : goddess. The new PR bloke whatshisname, something like Amore (as in Traore) - well, this very personable-looking and charming young gentleman may be the cause of many a weeping gusset, but this week's events, his first major test, have been catastrophic PR, on a par with Barnsley 11 Jan (shudder). Lots of room for improvement. And lastly - BP. As was said at the time of SCP's demise : The King is dead - long live the King !! Again, there's a hard act to follow but he himself starts with a clean slate. It is hoped that our traditional patience and hospitality will soon allow him to relax and then thrive in his new surroundings. Although we're still all suffering from Riga mortis, we hope that RD's choice will again prove to be a faultless one. As always, we're all in this together, from the Big Boss downwards. Not only can we say once more - We are many, we are one - but now also Eendracht maakt macht, the Belgian national motto : Unity gives strength. COYR !! COYRD !!
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Comments
Belgians havent done much for us. That pitch they provided for us in 1815 was a mud slag. Still, got the result when it mattered.
First time I have seen the word Sirocco on CL. A jolly good one it is as well. You mean one of these right?
How much of his own money is he investing into the academy build and how much is that is coming from grants etc ?
Evidence for the prosecution
1) I have to admit i am not happy about all the players he brought in (i was pleased with AA though and i do think Reza will come good with the right players around him and the correct positioning)
2) I was not of the opinion that Powell should have gone at the time.
3) I am not pleased that he's decided to over look Riga for the permanent role as i think he deserved the opportunity.
4) Players like Hamer and Dervite supposedly leaving.
5) Rumours that he only wants players he has picked to play. Sorry but they are still only rumours until he or the new manager come out and say "we will only play the players RD picks".
6) He only wants to play youth and up and coming players (to be honest this can be seen as both a pro and a con, depending on the players).
7) I wasn't happy with him selling Kermorgant and the way it was handled. I honestly wasn't bother about Stephens, because regardless of how good he could be on his day and he was improving, out of him and Poyet i'd pick Poyet in my squad over him any day of the week.
But am i worried?
Evidence in his defence:-
1) He is spending a great deal improving the training facilities. This cannot be seen as a bad thing at all and from the looks of the plans look quite extravagant.
2) Unlike the previous owners he is doing something about the pitch. Something i know has been driving Paddy nuts.
3) Appointment of Riga over Powell did change things around in my opinion performance wise and with the same players as Powell had and got them all playing better and more positively.
4) When Riga took over he immediately picked the players he thought would get the results, those players didn't change much during his reign and if RD was that adamant he wanted Thuram, Nego and PP to play they would have, but they didn't. If RD truly picked the team like people say then i don't care who the Manager is the Manager does what the owner tells him to do or they lose their job. Yes i know Riga is no longer in charge but technically his contract ran out as previously agreed with the owner so you can look at this both ways.
5) Apparently he tried to sign Gradel for 1.5m but was turned down by the player and supposedly tried to sign other players of value and also got turned down; most likely because of the position we were in when we approached them and you can't blame them for that. Surely this shows he is willing to spend if needed.
6) We haven't signed any players yet. OK sounds bad, but to be honest proves to me that he wants input from the new manager who comes in as to who the manager want's. If he truly only wanted certain players surely the recruitment would have started already without a manager in place?
7) Oh and he bought the club when it was in financial turmoil, saved us from administration and we were so so close to doing so and we are now in a position to be able to spend on club improvements (training ground being one of the things we previously wouldn't have been able to pay for).
No one likes change because people are generally afraid of change, its natural. At the moment i am not on the full "everything is bad, RD is ruining us" side of things but i can see some of what people are not happy about, though not all. Are people generally annoyed because he hasn't gone out and spent multi millions on proven players as soon as the season closed or do people generally just not like him because he is not the old board when Curbs was in charge?
I am willing to give him a chance and see what he does to hopefully improve Charlton Athletic Football Club. If things turn out bad then he deserves all the abuse that i am sure will come his way. But as of now he has done nothing majorly wrong in my opinion (apart from forcing Kermorgant out which is my only really cripe with him that i am finding hard to deal with. Even losing Powell, we were playing bad, losing and if it weren't Powell in charge we would have all wanted him out) and am willing to see what he does for us this season.
I know people will disagree which is entirely your right. This is just my opinion which others are entitled to.
Very good OP too.
In the end, a club that was inching perilously close to admin by most accounts and flirting dangerously with relegation without money coming in fast, was saved, but it took the rest of the season to do it and no chairman would really start his plans until that situation was resolved. It's going to be not just this window but this whole season when we see exactly how RD reacts (positively and negatively both) and make a judgment appropriately.