very much agree Lancashire Lad, it's a massive turn off to many, and not helpful and something I have tried to rise above, haven't always managed it but I do try as much as possible
I guess it comes down to individual opinions as to whether initiatives put forward by the Club such as abolishing Red, Red, Robin, imposing Cheer leaders and arbitarily removing long standing season ticket holders from their seats, seemingly without consultation, to name just three, should be meekly accepted in Stepford Wife fashion in order "not to attack the Club" or do we take ownership of the Club in as far as we are the Owner's "customers" and make our views known?
For myself I am very happy to have a forthright publication like 'Voice of The Valley' imposing a bit of sanity in the background and, since the Supporters Trust has been mentioned, as a paid up member whilst I fully support the Trust engaging in "constructive dialogue," or whatever the buzz phrase is, with the Club when push comes to shove I would expect the Trust to represent the interests of the supporters.
Good examples of how and why you can (or should) constructively criticise some actions of the club without in any way being seen as attacking the club overall.
didn't they back down from moving people in the end? They did increase kids prices disproportionately, breaking the universal pricing established for decades at the Valley, something which I've made various representations on in person and online/Trust website
didn't they back down from moving people in the end? They did increase kids prices disproportionately, breaking the universal pricing established for decades at the Valley, something which I've made various representations on in person and online/Trust website
Yes they did back down because we protested. There were a lot of season ticket holders affected who said they would not renew if moved.
It appears some would interpret our protests as 'attacking the Club' however.
Some of you make me laugh. It would be very difficult, if not impossible to buy a Fanzine of any football club and see it 100% of the time singing the praises of that club. By their very being they are the voice of the non conformist or those that don't accept the party line as being the whole truth and nothing but the truth and VOTV is no different.
I doubt if many people have more opposite views than AB and I but I would never deny him the right to say what he thinks and I expect the same would be said by him. I actually buy it now and again to remind me why not to buy it next time. Everyone has the opportunity to make their own minds up through a myriad of publications or information mediums but that wouldn't be the case if nobody observed and reported the counter argument.
"Kensell's performance likewise is going to be analysed because he was one of the three/four most senior people employed by the club on the non-football side"
Serious question - does anyone (aside from AB) invest any effort in analysing the work performance of this guy ?
Some of you make me laugh. It would be very difficult, if not impossible to buy a Fanzine of any football club and see it 100% of the time singing the praises of that club. By their very being they are the voice of the non conformist or those that don't accept the party line as being the whole truth and nothing but the truth and VOTV is no different.
I doubt if many people have more opposite views than AB and I but I would never deny him the right to say what he thinks and I expect the same would be said by him. I actually buy it now and again to remind me why not to buy it next time. Everyone has the opportunity to make their own minds up through a myriad of publications or information mediums but that wouldn't be the case if nobody observed and reported the counter argument.
Good post and reflects my own views. I no longer by VOTV because it does not reflect my views and opinions, but that is really irrelevant, as long as VOTV reflects an honest opinion and interpretation of facts and people want to buy it then it has a role to play in Charlton.
I won't stop buying it, if I stop buying it the it'll stop being produced. I don't agree with everything that's in it. Some of it is complete tosh, but that's the same with any publication I ever pick up. If you want to read something where you agree with everything that's inside then there is something seriously wrong.
A lot of it is very good and gives me an insight into the club that I wouldn't otherwise have received, it isn't overpriced and I'd rather purchase that than the matchday programme. My only real criticism is, as a (part-time) graphic designer I think it looks a little outdated, still I guess that's part of the charm.
I have just come across an item which I feel is very apposite wrt to the supporter's Trust - the whole piece on ITTV articulates my view on the Supporters' Trust. The paragraph below appears particularly relevant and applies to all fan based organisations:
The challenge is THERE IS ONLY ONE FOOTBALL CLUB to support. If you attack one part of the club you are still attacking the club. As we have seen it is divisive at every level and breaks people into factions which then leads to the personal abuse.
Ben Kensell is not a player on a multi-million contract. He's not an elected official and he's not on the board. So why is his performance out of all of the hundreds of full time and casual staff at CAFC being reviewed in such a detailed manner?
We have £150 Season tickets sold out; a winning team which is the youngest squad in the league; we have £275 Season tickets which need promoting and selling off the back of the best start in years. We have the old sponsors AND a new deal with University of Greenwich worth ??? in contra value. New caterers who are delivering a better service.
So why is a publication with a circulation of c. 2,000 Charlton fans not promoting the changes and offers for empty seats? Unequivocally... no blame... wtf is the reason for the emphasis on £30,000 of lost revenue at Crossbars - what percentage of the annual £17M turnover is that? That's it 200 fans at £150 per head. Why sneer at the style of introduction to the caterers. Why try to box a member of the management team of our club into a corner.
As per the poster above THERE IS ONLY ONE FOOTBALL CLUB to support. If you attack one part of the club you are still attacking the club.
The trouble with Grapevine's posts is that they sound as though he has never been to a football match in his life, preferring instead to pore over Dickensian ledgers. It's the job of the owner and the club to manage the finances - never forget that Duchatelet has a personal fortune of around £340 million, incidentally - and it's the responsibility of us fans to hold them to account. Similarly, the role of fanzines like VOTV is not to act as the marketing or PR department of the club, but to dig and delve, to stimulate enquiry and dissent, and to be scurrilous.
"Kensell's performance likewise is going to be analysed because he was one of the three/four most senior people employed by the club on the non-football side"
Serious question - does anyone (aside from AB) invest any effort in analysing the work performance of this guy ?
No they don't. Thank you for pointing out a very good reason for purchasing VOTV; without Rick's diligence people in positions such as Mr Kensell's would be able to do what they wished without anyone there to add a note of caution when their activities might not be in the best interest of the club and it's supporters.
Just finished reading my copy, certainly the most enjoyable read overall since the return in my personal opinion, especially the articles about Jackson, the history of club ownership and the famous 5-4 Cardiff game from an exiled fans perspective.
Obviously it is helped by the general more positive atmosphere about the club this season compared to last but at times possibly incorrectly it felt like it had too much focus on some personal dislikes/disagreements or even snipes between former staff which despite my respect for them, did not make an enjoyable read at times, this almost lead me to consider if a fanzine would be a regular purchase for me in the future.
I will continue to be a regular buyer for the foreseeable future as if i agree with the content or not, it is just great to have a regular detailed read about all things Charlton especially considering i have been a long distance fan for the last 8 years & as i missed out on the fanzine experience in the past due to the previous years of VOTV finishing when i was 10/11 years old i believe.
My football love at the time was purely focussed on how my heroes performed that week rather then the goings on behind the scenes.
Shame the titbit about the Sparrows Lane development was so small.
A freedom of information request has uncovered info about more floors and a basement swimming pool but also some uncertainty over planning permission and start dates
Very good article by @WeegieAddick in the latest edition
Big interview with @thecenturion and a review of his book.
The haters will be disappointed as lots of praise for the Club and what was done over the summer.
Excellent article by Weegie, I agree. Also Matt's Martin Pringle interview, the secret life of Alan Simonsen, good piece by Kyle Andrews on Vetokele, and more from Kevin Nolan, Professor Grant and Terry Bushell.
Excellent edition of voice of the valley, i sure if Katrien reads her copy carefully she will see it's full of positives.
It also made me realise the only club i really hate is Chelsea, because of the way they smashed up our ground back in 1977. If they go out of business any time soon i can go to my grave contented ( heavy Shite soapbox)
Martin Pringle and Simonsen articles by Matt Wright recalled some memories, and more stories i have not got round to yet.
Maybe it's changed a bit this season but I thought the 1 copy I was given last year was very biased,critical,opinionated, of the way the club was being run where at the time the only way seemed to be going down! And the club needed a injection of something? But nothing written seemed to be giving it a chance? Wished I had kept that issue to see if the opinions have changed ? Everything needs a second chance so Maybee I'll get one and judge for myself? Watch this space
Maybe it's changed a bit this season but I thought the 1 copy I was given last year was very biased,critical,opinionated, of the way the club was being run where at the time the only way seemed to be going down! And the club needed a injection of something? But nothing written seemed to be giving it a chance? Wished I had kept that issue to see if the opinions have changed ? Everything needs a second chance so Maybee I'll get one and judge for myself? Watch this space
I hope VOTV was critical last season as the Slater mob had stopped putting any cash into the club, and when Roland took over appeared to be telling the manager who to pick, as well as selling two of our best players.
a fanzine is not there just to brown nose, but to keep pushing for improvements, on and off the pitch. as well as taking us down memory lane.
Shame the titbit about the Sparrows Lane development was so small.
A freedom of information request has uncovered info about more floors and a basement swimming pool but also some uncertainty over planning permission and start dates
I'll post the full FOI at www.votvonline.com tomorrow. I think I gave it what it is worth!
The club has a lot of money behind it to put out the statements IT wants. That is normal business,all companies will try to put a positive spin on things. I always saw VOTV as telling me things that the club might not want me to hear. That seems to me an example of the much needed checks and balances which we should encounter in all walks of life. But in fact a lot of the articles are just packed full of very neutral and highly interesting information. It is my magazine of choice and i look forward to reading every issue.
The club has a lot of money behind it to put out the statements IT wants. That is normal business,all companies will try to put a positive spin on things. I always saw VOTV as telling me things that the club might not want me to hear. That seems to me an example of the much needed checks and balances which we should encounter in all walks of life. But in fact a lot of the articles are just packed full of very neutral and highly interesting information. It is my magazine of choice and i look forward to reading every issue.
Agree with the above. Challenge for any editor is to make the next edition better than the last and VoTV has been consistently improving since the relaunch. Latest had fair analysis, and varied and interesting articles. Great to read about our former Swedish centre forward. Well done all contributors and, of course, the editor.
Shame the titbit about the Sparrows Lane development was so small.
A freedom of information request has uncovered info about more floors and a basement swimming pool but also some uncertainty over planning permission and start dates
I'll post the full FOI at www.votvonline.com tomorrow. I think I gave it what it is worth!
Be grateful for that...... I did see the reference and emailed RBG planning department, at the weekend for an update...... so far no acknowledgement... I can see a personal visit on the cards later this week.
I presume Airman didn't use WhatDoTheyKnow.com to make his FOI request. Had he done so we would all have instant access to the entire dialogue. When you make FOIs on that website the authorities come under more pressure to answer properly and in a timely fashion.
I presume Airman didn't use WhatDoTheyKnow.com to make his FOI request. Had he done so we would all have instant access to the entire dialogue. When you make FOIs on that website the authorities come under more pressure to answer properly and in a timely fashion.
Comments
It appears some would interpret our protests as 'attacking the Club' however.
I doubt if many people have more opposite views than AB and I but I would never deny him the right to say what he thinks and I expect the same would be said by him. I actually buy it now and again to remind me why not to buy it next time. Everyone has the opportunity to make their own minds up through a myriad of publications or information mediums but that wouldn't be the case if nobody observed and reported the counter argument.
Serious question - does anyone (aside from AB) invest any effort in analysing the work performance of this guy ?
Good post and reflects my own views. I no longer by VOTV because it does not reflect my views and opinions, but that is really irrelevant, as long as VOTV reflects an honest opinion and interpretation of facts and people want to buy it then it has a role to play in Charlton.
I can't wait for him to publish those photographs of Peter Varney, the Geordie Smiler, the tin of Golden Syrup and the camel.
A lot of it is very good and gives me an insight into the club that I wouldn't otherwise have received, it isn't overpriced and I'd rather purchase that than the matchday programme. My only real criticism is, as a (part-time) graphic designer I think it looks a little outdated, still I guess that's part of the charm.
Obviously it is helped by the general more positive atmosphere about the club this season compared to last but at times possibly incorrectly it felt like it had too much focus on some personal dislikes/disagreements or even snipes between former staff which despite my respect for them, did not make an enjoyable read at times, this almost lead me to consider if a fanzine would be a regular purchase for me in the future.
I will continue to be a regular buyer for the foreseeable future as if i agree with the content or not, it is just great to have a regular detailed read about all things Charlton especially considering i have been a long distance fan for the last 8 years & as i missed out on the fanzine experience in the past due to the previous years of VOTV finishing when i was 10/11 years old i believe.
My football love at the time was purely focussed on how my heroes performed that week rather then the goings on behind the scenes.
Big interview with @thecenturion and a review of his book.
The haters will be disappointed as lots of praise for the Club and what was done over the summer.
A freedom of information request has uncovered info about more floors and a basement swimming pool but also some uncertainty over planning permission and start dates
Available from www.votvonline.com and next Saturday if you missed it.
It also made me realise the only club i really hate is Chelsea, because of the way they smashed up our ground back in 1977. If they go out of business any time soon i can go to my grave contented ( heavy Shite soapbox)
Martin Pringle and Simonsen articles by Matt Wright recalled some memories, and more stories i have not got round to yet.
£2 from all good street corners
Watch this space
a fanzine is not there just to brown nose, but to keep pushing for improvements, on and off the pitch.
as well as taking us down memory lane.
at the weekend for an update...... so far no acknowledgement... I can see a personal visit on the cards later this week.
Looking forward to my electronic Voice...
Going in bin unless someone's wants them. Free of course