It might just be me, and maybe I'm crazy, but maybe, just maybe, the chairman has been good for the club. Spending millions on a new pitch, making the ground look great again, lots of new players, focusing on our great academy and having a manager that will blood the youth!
Maybe just maybe, "the network", "the mothership" etc etc is not a bad idea. I mean why wouldnt you look to bring in people that you know? Players that you already have an idea could work? I mean its brought players to us like Vetekole, Buyens and Gudmunsson who I don't think anyone could argue have improved us! Maybe just maybe it's not crazy to make the most of your knowledge and expertise....!
Whether sacking, or even appointing Peeters in the first place is the right thing remains to be seen, but no one really knows. I doubt anyone was particularly overjoyed at Peeters appointment, yet after ten games was anyone questioning it...?
Love Powell, but probably wasn't really good enough at the time for us.
Really liked Peeters but maybe no win in 12 and some recent poor performances aren't good enough.
Maybe, just maybe, the chairman knows what he's doing....
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Comments
I will remember names
A lot of people are getting on Roly's case, but I don't think Bob gave him a lot of choice but to sack him, one win in 2.5 months is simply not good enough. What happens next is crucial. I for one do not want to go back into Div. 1, so lets hope it works out all round!
He's done some good things and he's made some mistakes IMHO.
One thing though. Neither of the two best signings, Igor and JBG came from the network.
Some of the worst signings (take your pick) have come from the network.
The concern I'd that now the FFP rules have changed completely so RDs plan has to change too.
Maybe Peeters going is the first part of that change.
As said above, Igor and Gudmundsson weren't from the network.
Powell, 3 seasons, 1 promotion, one of the highest win percentages of any Charlton manager.
Cheers for the new pitch though Roland, you can have that one.
My main point being what is wrong with him utilising his knowledge base to bring players who are available?
Just seems strange that we would criticise that, and also then not give him credit for other players bought from outside "the network"
I'm not necessarily anti Roland, but there have been more misses than hits thus far
Thuram, Nego, Polish Pete, Koc etc etc.
We need him to bring in the players we need, not who have been left on the shelf.
We had 2 good goalies last season & now both gone. We now have Oldham's no 3 instead, because he was available.
I'm not sure I can see what all the misses are that RD has had/caused that's all?
We were going down and close to administration last season with boring football, no side, and not even a pitch ha ha. This season it's very different. Not everything has been perfect naturally but surely the anti RD campaigns and comments are a bit much
Cheers Roland for - Making the Valley look good again, a decent pitch, Bringing in Riga to keep us up, Splashing a lot of cash on Igor, Bikey,TBH, and Gudmudsson, Training Ground Plans, Making sure the club don't go into Admin and fold, realising there is a problem and dealing with it this season.
Also I don't think Bulot got a fair run in
I'm willing to give it more time, I mean it has only been just over a year and I think things have improved albeit slowly. It seems like some won't be happy until we are sitting comfortably in the PL after another 6 years or so in there then they'll find something else to moan about.
As for the rest of your nonsensical thank you list, here's a few observations -
Making the Valley look good again - is it just me who goes to The Valley to watch the football?! Seems to be a lot of people on here who's primary reason for attending is so that they can spend the afternoon licking their shiny new plastic seat.
Splashing a lot of cash on Igor and Gudmundsson - yep granted. But unfortunately he's not invested in any back up for Igor, so he's been having to play with an injury for about 3 months and he's now a shadow of the player who started the season as a consequence.
Splashing a lot of cash on Bikey and Ben Haim - Bikey: Free transfer. Tal Ben Haim: Free transfer from within the network, under contract at Liege so Roland was paying his wages this season whether he signed for Charlton or not.
Training Ground Plans - they're just plans!
Realising there is a problem and dealing with it this season - he created the problem, Peeter's was his choice. And the main problem, that he still hasn't noticed or done anything about, is that the squad he has provided does not have anything like the necessary depth to compete in the Championship, hence we've not won for ages, and we keep having to field players in key positions who just aren't ready for regular first team football yet.
In terms of the playing staff, we have seen a few players who have either been not good enough or probably didn't want to be here.
I don't think it's possible to move forward without the impression of continuity. If we are trying to recruit new players, then we need to offer them some sort of coherent vision, particularly as we are not seemingly in a position to offer attractive wages in comparison to our peers within this division.
Your point about the ground is very poor, i mean surely its better to sit in a nice ground than poor? And surely a nice ground goes some-way, not entirely, but certainly some-way to enticing new fans and new players...
Yes bought players, and tried for others, surely he cant be held responsible for not bringing in everyone we tried for.
Free transfers yes, but as you rightly say we pay wages on those - bit of a strange point to say he's already paying the wage so it doesnt count???
Training ground plans - it would be impossible to build the new training ground instantly without plans - not really sure you can knock him there ha ha.
No one is saying he's been perfect, but personally I just fail to see exactly what people are getting so irate about with RD - no one has made any real valid points for me liking.
So whats your best case scenario from February last year then?
Roman getting bored at Chelsea?
Honestly Im interested
Investing in Igor and Johann were investments into assets that if they perform will not devalue but increase in value, but we are the platform for that, if they perform well at this level then they are worth a lot more than elsewhere, that's due to the nature and level of competition week in week out at this level. I don't think you guys realise our signings are not our signings to keep hold of and secure our future, once they get bored/too good/not good enough they are to be shipped elsewhere. Astrit - he was good.. he's a goner. Reza, hugely talked up for us everyone made a huge thing of it, goner. Not to mention every key asset bar a couple last season, sold..
Bikey & Ben Haim, spending a lot of money!? On 9 July 2014, Bikey signed for Charlton Athletic on a two-year deal on a free transfer... & TBH free aswell as conveniently he's come over from Standard Liege.
To say he's done a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong would be pushing it too, player wise his hit ratio is incredibly poor. The guys that should be scouting are professionals, meant to be anyway, and with all the signings it was pretty obvious pre-season only Johann, Igor & Buyens would be the ones to make any sort of impact (I even posted this at the time).. how they think most of the rest of them are going to perform at this level I will never know. Yes he's gave us the Valley a lick of paint etc. but then most of this is not money down the drain to him, if he sells us up, a new invigorated Valley is worth more ££.
A lot of it is opinion and some people it takes a lot longer to wake up and smell the coffee than others, some don't smell it at all, whereas some simply refuse to. That is fine with me, what is not fine with me is the future of my football club. DESPITE the lack of investment from Jim & Cash, the way we went about things on the pitch at the time had laid the foundations for a security in Championship and a push forward, we almost even made Play-Offs some people forget. Now look at us, 6 marginal 1 goal wins in half a season and taking some big spankings along the way... a squad who are arguing, not happy and which is simply not big enough.
-Fans are leaving in the hundreds, so many season tickets are being left at home on a match day. That is so unlike Charlton, usually it's a habit and way of life that way we love to go to the match, now everyone is 'Hmm, think I'll pass today - got other things I can do *make up some things to do*' .. That's exactly how you run a football club into the ground, they say they're all about the match day experience - it's got worse, that is not arguable. Their plans to us are all contradicting, we've seen player's not wanting to play for us, who are paid thousands of pounds a week, while fans travel thousands of miles to follow us over land & sea paying their hard earned.. that was a product of the 'network' and will always supply results like it due to the nature of the set up of the network.
I'd love to go on and answer your question Charltonparklane but I won't jump in.
Again, the pitch, as I said above, prob before you started your post, it needed doing for 10 plus years and wasn't done.
However, just a small point and I don't mean this patronising but laying the foundations for Championship security, do you remember where we were in March last year?
So my best scenario would have been for someone else to buy the club and to run it with at least a little bit of respect for its history, and its supporters.