We all know this will resemble a trainspotters convention, with various self-appointed gurus bickering among each other rather than thinking about the bigger aim. But it's still better than doing nothing.
Once the venue has been decided, and organized, then the internal physical structure could be considered. Personally I hate the 'classroom' style where people sit in seats facing a 'top table'. It is a bit divisive, and lends perhaps un-sought for authority to those on the top table, and closes an aspect of the openness of the meeting. Ideally there would be a great big round table, but that is unlikely. Anybody got any idea how we can avoid the physical structure from creating a hierarchy, and how we could best structure the space, and use any technology, to make as many people as possible feel comfortable about contributing?
If it's just lifers, you can have some real fun with the seating. PL54 and Henry Irving to sit next to one another surely
Once the venue has been decided, and organized, then the internal physical structure could be considered. Personally I hate the 'classroom' style where people sit in seats facing a 'top table'. It is a bit divisive, and lends perhaps un-sought for authority to those on the top table, and closes an aspect of the openness of the meeting. Ideally there would be a great big round table, but that is unlikely. Anybody got any idea how we can avoid the physical structure from creating a hierarchy, and how we could best structure the space, and use any technology, to make as many people as possible feel comfortable about contributing?
I go to games just this season before the fear even raised its head I made the decision not to go
As for lecturing I disagree, if people are as serious as they say on here and genuinely believe the heart has been ripped out and that we are on the brink of terrible things ahead
Then this meeting is a must attend, others who don't even agree with the points made are going to attend
You can't make noises and statements like the hearts been ripped out, Rd is killing the soul of the club then not attend to find out what you can do about it
Will seem to me if that's the case that people will post and vent their anger yet do nothing about it therefore it can't really be that bad or that important
If that's a lecture then so be it, my support history of cafc is there to be counted alongside many others, in the years money time effort and blood I have put in following cafc
If I was concerned that much I'd probably change my work pattern to suit the meeting and also my travel plans
You are lucky enough to be in control of your work pattern? Some of us aren't. I could resign, I suppose.
what happens if you get a venue that holds 250 and 400 turn-up? That surely raises safety issues. Plus if some fans, as indicated, have travelled maybe a couple of hundred miles and can't get in they won't be best pleased. Has ticketing been considered?
Those involved are aware of these issues. Work is going on to secure a venue, but no point crossing that bridge until it's reached.
AB are you now part of the Trust organisers?
I and others who are not part of the trust board have been having a regular dialogue over the last year. I am a member of the trust and I know a number of the people on the board, so we have been exchanging ideas, had done so before the event was announced and continue to do so.
Further to our statement of 14th January 2015, the Charlton Athletic Supporters' Trust wrote to the club's CEO Katrien Meire to follow up our offer to discuss the growing anxiety of supporters about the direction of the club, and how they might be better involved.
We have received a disappointing response. Whilst Ms Meire has suggested that we meet with a colleague to discuss what the club needs to do to maintain and grow the fanbase, she declined any dialogue on the vital matter of where the club is heading.
Her explanation - that she had nothing more to tell supporters regarding the direction of the club - reminds us of her words in the London Evening Standard, when she insisted that fans would just “need to accept” the owner’s way. We respectfully but strongly disagree with her. We continue to hear daily from supporters of a growing discontent at the inconsistency between the club’s words and actions, and a frustration with a lack of true engagement.
The Supporters’ Trust’s offer to meet with Ms Meire remains open, but with regret we conclude that the time has now come to seek other channels by which the supporters' voice can be heard regarding the damage being done to our historic club and its identity.
Therefore, we intend to:
• Organise and chair an open public meeting within the next two weeks, for all Charlton supporters to air their views on the current situation. This meeting is intended to be an opportunity to bring together as many as possible of the various organisational, internet and publication elements of the Charlton family, as well as individual supporters, and secure the widest possible mandate for any approach we jointly decide to adopt. We will also seek input via the Trust website from those who cannot attend the meeting. • Based on conclusions from the meeting, agree a unified and appropriate supporters’ response at the earliest opportunity
History tells us the club is at its strongest when its supporters are informed, consulted and involved in the setting of its direction. We are committed to persuading the board of that fact and restoring the supporter to the heart of Charlton Athletic.
We will provide further details as soon as possible.
Oh dear, this doesn't sound good does it?
Without knowing exactly what you put across to Katrien Meire and how you put it across, I find it difficult to support this. But I'm not supporting Roland, Kat and co in saying that, just I remain on the fence.
As someone has mentioned earlier, if the trust could put up a thread with a document so people can give their name to, who unable to be at the meeting, enabling the trust to act on their behalf (proxy vote), that would increase the numbers, and although I think at first, RD would not care less if 30,000 voted against him, it may give him something to think about
Further to our statement of 14th January 2015, the Charlton Athletic Supporters' Trust wrote to the club's CEO Katrien Meire to follow up our offer to discuss the growing anxiety of supporters about the direction of the club, and how they might be better involved.
We have received a disappointing response. Whilst Ms Meire has suggested that we meet with a colleague to discuss what the club needs to do to maintain and grow the fanbase, she declined any dialogue on the vital matter of where the club is heading.
Her explanation - that she had nothing more to tell supporters regarding the direction of the club - reminds us of her words in the London Evening Standard, when she insisted that fans would just “need to accept” the owner’s way. We respectfully but strongly disagree with her. We continue to hear daily from supporters of a growing discontent at the inconsistency between the club’s words and actions, and a frustration with a lack of true engagement.
The Supporters’ Trust’s offer to meet with Ms Meire remains open, but with regret we conclude that the time has now come to seek other channels by which the supporters' voice can be heard regarding the damage being done to our historic club and its identity.
Therefore, we intend to:
• Organise and chair an open public meeting within the next two weeks, for all Charlton supporters to air their views on the current situation. This meeting is intended to be an opportunity to bring together as many as possible of the various organisational, internet and publication elements of the Charlton family, as well as individual supporters, and secure the widest possible mandate for any approach we jointly decide to adopt. We will also seek input via the Trust website from those who cannot attend the meeting. • Based on conclusions from the meeting, agree a unified and appropriate supporters’ response at the earliest opportunity
History tells us the club is at its strongest when its supporters are informed, consulted and involved in the setting of its direction. We are committed to persuading the board of that fact and restoring the supporter to the heart of Charlton Athletic.
We will provide further details as soon as possible.
Oh dear, this doesn't sound good does it?
Without knowing exactly what you put across to Katrien Meire and how you put it across, I find it difficult to support this. But I'm not supporting Roland, Kat and co in saying that, just I remain on the fence.
I'm a bit confused by that - what is troubling you about that sentence?
I don't know how Katrien has worded her response, I don't know what was said to her. I don't know how they expressed their request, maybe Katrien found it threatening or rude?
I'm not saying that is what happened, but surely a copy of their letter wording and Katrien's response would help fans decide how much to get behind this?
I skimmed the past 9 pages without seeing anything like what I say but I wasn't about to read however many posts to find it either!
Do you really think the Trust would have been anything other than polite, diplomatic and professional? They have their faults but they've always been anything but rude and threatening(!).
I aggree with Dippenhall's comments. The meeting needs to be done with a list of objectives and a few well thought out questions, which can then voted on and can be used at future meetings with KM or RD.
Do you really think the Trust would have been anything other than polite, diplomatic and professional? They have their faults but they've always been anything but rude and threatening(!).
Ha ha ha not entirely no. But I have seen how so many Charlton fans are acting massively out of sorts and far from their normal behaviour over the last year.
I don't know how Katrien has worded her response, I don't know what was said to her. I don't know how they expressed their request, maybe Katrien found it threatening or rude?
I'm not saying that is what happened, but surely a copy of their letter wording and Katrien's response would help fans decide how much to get behind this?
I skimmed the past 9 pages without seeing anything like what I say but I wasn't about to read however many posts to find it either!
Hi Dazzler. I think that the sentence you picked out is meant to refer back to our previous public statement on 14th January, which ended:
Therefore for the long term, the Supporters’ Trust strongly urges the club to prioritise meaningful and sincere engagement with its fans, since we believe their involvement accompanied by transparency and a shared vision will bring the greatest security and success to Charlton Athletic. We repeat our offer for open, ongoing dialogue with the owner and the board. We also urge the club to explain to supporters the current strategy, how it engages the owner’s network of clubs, and how it will secure Charlton Athletic for the long term.
REG: Right. Now, uh, item four: attainment of world supremacy within the next five years. Uh, Francis, you've been doing some work on this.
FRANCIS: Yeah. Thank you, Reg. Well, quite frankly, siblings, I think five years is optimistic, unless we can smash the Roman empire within the next twelve months.
REG: Twelve months?
FRANCIS: Yeah, twelve months. And, let's face it. As empires go, this is the big one, so we've got to get up off our arses and stop just talking about it!
Anyway -I intend to be at the meeting, depending on date/venue.
I don't know how Katrien has worded her response, I don't know what was said to her. I don't know how they expressed their request, maybe Katrien found it threatening or rude?
I'm not saying that is what happened, but surely a copy of their letter wording and Katrien's response would help fans decide how much to get behind this?
I skimmed the past 9 pages without seeing anything like what I say but I wasn't about to read however many posts to find it either!
Hi Dazzler. I think that the sentence you picked out is meant to refer back to our previous public statement on 14th January, which ended:
Therefore for the long term, the Supporters’ Trust strongly urges the club to prioritise meaningful and sincere engagement with its fans, since we believe their involvement accompanied by transparency and a shared vision will bring the greatest security and success to Charlton Athletic. We repeat our offer for open, ongoing dialogue with the owner and the board. We also urge the club to explain to supporters the current strategy, how it engages the owner’s network of clubs, and how it will secure Charlton Athletic for the long term.
It wouldn't be correct to publish the text of an email KM wrote to the Supporters' Trust on a public forum, but it is probably worth saying that the thrust of the email from the Supporters' Trust was an offer of help. It was courteous, supportive and well-reasoned, evidencing a case for a correlation between the club's success and the depth of supporter involvement. It was also a lot more concise than that sounds, although not as concise as the disappointing response.
Personally I'm surprised that a CEO doesn't want to engage with their customers, particularly those offering something valuable for free, but there you go. No-one can say that the Supporters' Trust didn't give dialogue the priority it should have. Now we need to head in a different direction, which surely we all agree was avoidable and is a real shame.
I don't know how Katrien has worded her response, I don't know what was said to her. I don't know how they expressed their request, maybe Katrien found it threatening or rude?
I'm not saying that is what happened, but surely a copy of their letter wording and Katrien's response would help fans decide how much to get behind this?
I skimmed the past 9 pages without seeing anything like what I say but I wasn't about to read however many posts to find it either!
Hi Dazzler. I think that the sentence you picked out is meant to refer back to our previous public statement on 14th January, which ended:
Therefore for the long term, the Supporters’ Trust strongly urges the club to prioritise meaningful and sincere engagement with its fans, since we believe their involvement accompanied by transparency and a shared vision will bring the greatest security and success to Charlton Athletic. We repeat our offer for open, ongoing dialogue with the owner and the board. We also urge the club to explain to supporters the current strategy, how it engages the owner’s network of clubs, and how it will secure Charlton Athletic for the long term.
It wouldn't be correct to publish the text of an email KM wrote to the Supporters' Trust on a public forum, but it is probably worth saying that the thrust of the email from the Supporters' Trust was an offer of help. It was courteous, supportive and well-reasoned, evidencing a case for a correlation between the club's success and the depth of supporter involvement. It was also a lot more concise than that sounds, although not as concise as the disappointing response.
Personally I'm surprised that a CEO doesn't want to engage with their customers, particularly those offering something valuable for free, but there you go. No-one can say that the Supporters' Trust didn't give dialogue the priority it should have. Now we need to head in a different direction, which surely we all agree was avoidable and is a real shame.
After engaging with one of the customers on the train back from Watford perhaps she's not so keen.
I don't know how Katrien has worded her response, I don't know what was said to her. I don't know how they expressed their request, maybe Katrien found it threatening or rude?
I'm not saying that is what happened, but surely a copy of their letter wording and Katrien's response would help fans decide how much to get behind this?
I skimmed the past 9 pages without seeing anything like what I say but I wasn't about to read however many posts to find it either!
Hi Dazzler. I think that the sentence you picked out is meant to refer back to our previous public statement on 14th January, which ended:
Therefore for the long term, the Supporters’ Trust strongly urges the club to prioritise meaningful and sincere engagement with its fans, since we believe their involvement accompanied by transparency and a shared vision will bring the greatest security and success to Charlton Athletic. We repeat our offer for open, ongoing dialogue with the owner and the board. We also urge the club to explain to supporters the current strategy, how it engages the owner’s network of clubs, and how it will secure Charlton Athletic for the long term.
It wouldn't be correct to publish the text of an email KM wrote to the Supporters' Trust on a public forum, but it is probably worth saying that the thrust of the email from the Supporters' Trust was an offer of help. It was courteous, supportive and well-reasoned, evidencing a case for a correlation between the club's success and the depth of supporter involvement. It was also a lot more concise than that sounds, although not as concise as the disappointing response.
Personally I'm surprised that a CEO doesn't want to engage with their customers, particularly those offering something valuable for free, but there you go. No-one can say that the Supporters' Trust didn't give dialogue the priority it should have. Now we need to head in a different direction, which surely we all agree was avoidable and is a real shame.
After engaging with one of the customers on the train back from Watford perhaps she's not so keen.
I think she probably would be reasonably certain that a meeting with the Trust would be less alcohol fueled than a trip on a train from watford
I'll be at the meeting if I can get in, but see it as only the first step in a long haul. After all there is no evidence that Roly has any time for the views of the fans at any of his Network clubs.
I'll be at the meeting if I can get in, but see it as only the first step in a long haul. After all there is no evidence that Roly has any time for the views of the fans at any of his Network clubs.
We'll just have to come up with something different then, andy.
Once the venue has been decided, and organized, then the internal physical structure could be considered. Personally I hate the 'classroom' style where people sit in seats facing a 'top table'. It is a bit divisive, and lends perhaps un-sought for authority to those on the top table, and closes an aspect of the openness of the meeting. Ideally there would be a great big round table, but that is unlikely. Anybody got any idea how we can avoid the physical structure from creating a hierarchy, and how we could best structure the space, and use any technology, to make as many people as possible feel comfortable about contributing?
If it's just lifers, you can have some real fun with the seating. PL54 and Henry Irving to sit next to one another surely
I'd rather do glue.
Seriously though, in light of the mass concern and self-harming tendencies being shown over the macro issue, has someone asked what the seating arrangements are going to be? In advance of the venue being sorted of course.
As someone has mentioned earlier, if the trust could put up a thread with a document so people can give their name to, who unable to be at the meeting, enabling the trust to act on their behalf (proxy vote), that would increase the numbers, and although I think at first, RD would not care less if 30,000 voted against him, it may give him something to think about
How can the Trust act as your proxy vote before you know what's being voted on ?
Comments
To be serious I agree.
Without knowing exactly what you put across to Katrien Meire and how you put it across, I find it difficult to support this. But I'm not supporting Roland, Kat and co in saying that, just I remain on the fence.
I'm not saying that is what happened, but surely a copy of their letter wording and Katrien's response would help fans decide how much to get behind this?
I skimmed the past 9 pages without seeing anything like what I say but I wasn't about to read however many posts to find it either!
Therefore for the long term, the Supporters’ Trust strongly urges the club to prioritise meaningful and sincere engagement with its fans, since we believe their involvement accompanied by transparency and a shared vision will bring the greatest security and success to Charlton Athletic. We repeat our offer for open, ongoing dialogue with the owner and the board. We also urge the club to explain to supporters the current strategy, how it engages the owner’s network of clubs, and how it will secure Charlton Athletic for the long term.
REG: Right. Now, uh, item four: attainment of world supremacy within the next five years. Uh, Francis, you've been doing some work on this.
FRANCIS: Yeah. Thank you, Reg. Well, quite frankly, siblings, I think five years is optimistic, unless we can smash the Roman empire within the next twelve months.
REG: Twelve months?
FRANCIS: Yeah, twelve months. And, let's face it. As empires go, this is the big one, so we've got to get up off our arses and stop just talking about it!
Anyway -I intend to be at the meeting, depending on date/venue.
Personally I'm surprised that a CEO doesn't want to engage with their customers, particularly those offering something valuable for free, but there you go. No-one can say that the Supporters' Trust didn't give dialogue the priority it should have. Now we need to head in a different direction, which surely we all agree was avoidable and is a real shame.
Gave me the kick up the arse I needed to renew my Trust membership. I'll be at the meeting if I can.
I think I may have got the last one.
Must have an Achilles' heel somewhere....
Seriously though, in light of the mass concern and self-harming tendencies being shown over the macro issue, has someone asked what the seating arrangements are going to be? In advance of the venue being sorted of course.