Exactly the devils advocate point I was going to make. Morrison was effectively given to a league rival, strengthening them and weakening us, just to get off wage bill. If RD has the clout to hold out for higher fees as suggested, and his model is selling players at a profit, then this business play was contradictory to that.
Has it actually been stated anywhere that Morrison was 'given' away?
Birmingham have not got a pot to piss in. The owner is in jail if i am not mistaken.
Cannot see them spending any money on any players.
I don't think it's primarily the youngsters he's looking to cash in on.
It's the likes of Vetokele and Gudmondson that he really thinks he can make a few quid on. Players that have probably been looked at by prem clubs in the past but none have made offers. Roland's idea is to get them over, settle them in England hand hope they flourish and then back come the Prem clubs, who would be getting a player that is more used to the English game and who are settled with their families in the English way of life.
I believe one of the reasons Bob got the boot was the fact that the goals had dried up for Vetokele and Roland could see one of his pay days slipping away so held him responsible. Either way you look at it,we are now a shop window club imo,that will see very little of any money made should we have a Gem in the 'shop'. Not good.
Both pretty young still. Igor is 22 and JBG is 24.
Exactly the devils advocate point I was going to make. Morrison was effectively given to a league rival, strengthening them and weakening us, just to get off wage bill. If RD has the clout to hold out for higher fees as suggested, and his model is selling players at a profit, then this business play was contradictory to that.
Exactly. Which is why I don't buy it for a second.
It's a good point about Morrison' case contradicting the theory. However if you look at what he has done at Standard, it may seem more plausible, and the guy NLA spoke to will have a Belgian perspective first and foremost. Then again, Standard are making a bigger operating loss than we are in the most recent figures. There have been two waves of player sales at Standard. The first wave may have had the consequence he didn't expect - failure in Europe, which cuts into subsequent operating revenue.
Whatever his plan is, the only certain fact is that it is failing at every club except Sint-Truiden, which unfortunately is a club where we currently have no fan group links….
They were relegated last season though weren't they?
The political party Duchatelet set up in Belgium, Vivant? Does this still exsist? Was it ever taken at all seriously over there? Somebody one said he wrote some books on politics, again were they taken seriously or just the ramblings of an Icke type charactor? I'm just trying to work out what we are dealing with here, other than he is rich and likes to control.
It's all very difficult to understand. here is his Wiki page. As I understand it Vivant still exists, their webpage seems to be still active, if hardly vibrant. But I understand that RD is no long involved with it. It is difficult to even map Vivant in British political terms, they believe in something called the Basic Income model, which I'll try to get round to reading about. You get the impression of something Utopian full of good intentions but failing when confronted by reality. Rather like...
.......On the issue of whether there should be more places made available for women at football's top executive levels, she says: "I am not a believer in positive discrimination.
"But it might be a good idea to get more football fans involved in the running of clubs, people who have a real genuine love of the game.".........
She was obviously misquoted when she said words to the effect of the owner does what he wants and the fans have to lump it!
I suppose one model would be to bring in talented European players and put them in an English shop window, which would work even better if there is more money about - but apart from JBG and Vetokele signings which might back this approach up - there hasn't been anything else. Also, by bringing decent players in you always have an off chance of promotion and if you yo yo, lots of money to be made and even better chances to get players noticed (season in premiership). Now I could see a logic to that plan but if it is his plan, it proves how useless he is because all we have is a giant balls up! No league 1 player goes for any real money!
The political party Duchatelet set up in Belgium, Vivant? Does this still exsist? Was it ever taken at all seriously over there? Somebody one said he wrote some books on politics, again were they taken seriously or just the ramblings of an Icke type charactor? I'm just trying to work out what we are dealing with here, other than he is rich and likes to control.
It's all very difficult to understand. here is his Wiki page. As I understand it Vivant still exists, their webpage seems to be still active, if hardly vibrant. But I understand that RD is no long involved with it. It is difficult to even map Vivant in British political terms, they believe in something called the Basic Income model, which I'll try to get round to reading about. You get the impression of something Utopian full of good intentions but failing when confronted by reality. Rather like...
Thanks for the link, a few quick skims but seems Roly was at Leuven involved in the student riots in Belgium in 1968 at the same time as in many European countries. Leuven sounds like a right wing catholic establishment and In Belgium there seems an odd mix of left and right wing "revolutionists" sharing a common unrest.
Here is an extract from an article on this.
"Even the most bourgeois-seeming individuals continuously shouted with clenched fists: 'Revolution;' and people who, two weeks earlier, still personified moderation and tranquillity turned out to have become frightful agitators. The entire Leuven student body seemed to have been infected by a rebellious virus and had become propagators of the most radical points of view" (Goossens, 1993, 97).
Could be taken from next week's Newsshopper, just replace Leuven student body with Charlton fans.
Looks like he understands direct action, and perhaps why he is unmoved.
I don't think it's primarily the youngsters he's looking to cash in on.
It's the likes of Vetokele and Gudmondson that he really thinks he can make a few quid on. Players that have probably been looked at by prem clubs in the past but none have made offers. Roland's idea is to get them over, settle them in England hand hope they flourish and then back come the Prem clubs, who would be getting a player that is more used to the English game and who are settled with their families in the English way of life.
I believe one of the reasons Bob got the boot was the fact that the goals had dried up for Vetokele and Roland could see one of his pay days slipping away so held him responsible. Either way you look at it,we are now a shop window club imo,that will see very little of any money made should we have a Gem in the 'shop'. Not good.
Both pretty young still. Igor is 22 and JBG is 24.
Not through our academy though as is how I read the initial post.
We've had a brilliant response with regards to volunteers to help hand out flyers on Saturday, but we've got 5,000 to get through so we need as many as possible. If you have a spare half hour between 2-3pm on Saturday and you'd like to help out then please email;
We've had a brilliant response with regards to volunteers to help hand out flyers on Saturday, but we've got 5,000 to get through so we need as many as possible. If you have a spare half hour between 2-3pm on Saturday and you'd like to help out then please email;
secretary@castrust.org
Would love to help. But my CV doesnt look too good in this capacity, as I found some ingenious ways to get rid of my News shoppers, back in the day. Old habits die hard ........
Trying to get into the head of Duchatelet. As stated he played a part in student protests in 1968, so is not bothered about any direct action ala Standard Liege, which he probably looks upon as jolly rag week japes. He has published 2 books neither of which I can find a review, but seem to be manifestoes of his thoughts after which he then formed his political party Vivant. Either in one of these books or whilst being interviewed he complained that too much money was being given in grants by national or local governments to private companies forgetting the fact that one of his own companies Melexis has received €3m in grants from the Flanders government. So he will not let facts get in the way of his own rhetoric. But, he merged, I don't know how closely, his political party with another and did serve in the Belgian Senate for 3 years 2007-10 but after that all seems quiet politically, his party still looks like it exists but with no proclamations from him. So he gets bored with things if it doesn't go his way but never quite cuts the strings. I think it leaves us fecked in the short to medium term, he won't listen to anyone, and won't sell us (he doesn't need the money) even though whatever way you look at it, his network can't work.
After a lengthy chat with a man who would know from personal dealings with RD he assures me that relegation would be a devastating blow to RD and his plan, he also has now convinced me that his plan is to invest in the youth infrastructure and then sell the players for a profit, similar to a factory production line where the commodity and product is footballers
For this reason I withdraw my support from his project
I stand by my stance on Sheffield utd abysmal performance
I thank him from saving us from financial abyss
I thank him for the ground improvements And his investment in the training ground his support of the museum and his cheap season tickets
Now is the time to react,
The person I spoke to will remain nameless he is a very wealthy man who has no football background but has numerous dealings with RD and is also Belgian and that I met in Brussels three weeks ago
Any chance you could invite him to a certain meeting in Woolwich next Weds evening, NLA ?
If he stood up & told the assembled Addicks of his dealings with RD , then I think ALL present would become "believers" .
We've had a brilliant response with regards to volunteers to help hand out flyers on Saturday, but we've got 5,000 to get through so we need as many as possible. If you have a spare half hour between 2-3pm on Saturday and you'd like to help out then please email;
secretary@castrust.org
Would love to help. But my CV doesnt look too good in this capacity, as I found some ingenious ways to get rid of my News shoppers, back in the day. Old habits die hard ........
You and I both, I was actually sacked as a paper boy, which I thought was impossible !
I would like to apologise to the people of central Eltham who didn't receive their newspapers in the autumn of 1999
One of the best contributions I read early on ( I forget who by my apologies ) was the quote by the management theorist Mintzberg that each action would demonstrate its part in the overall strategy.
Our recent signings go against the player farm theory as AFKA points out above . I would be surprised as things stand at the moment if Etheridge or Onewyu are here next season . We certainly won't be getting transfer fees for them . Add Johnson , Lepoint and Veljkovic to the list of players who have been signed primarily with a short term objective of getting us through until the end of the season . That leaves the two network signings Marko Dmitrovic and Tony Watt as potential player farm options.This indicates to me that the short term strategy would be to ensure we are at this level next season .
If player farming is Roland's objective then surely he would want us to reach the Premier League because that would increase the transfer value of his 'assets' ? Some years ago I met a guy called Simon Miotto . You probably have never heard of him as he was an obscure Australian goalie who played for a number of lower league teams in this country and Scotland normally as a perennial number two / three . He was signed by West Brom in 2003 and never played a game as they got promoted to the Premier League . He told me that he was convinced that his next move to the Danish League and subsequent moves into coaching were achieved because he had been awarded a Premier League contract and could brand himself an ex Premier League player . In the same way Brazil famously gave cheap International Caps to average players to achieve moves to Europe and obtain better transfer fees for their clubs . Famously Celtic purchased the interestingly named Rafael Scheidt who never came close to living up to his billing as a Brazilian International.
So in my view it makes no sense for Roland to just keep us at this level if this is his objective . Surely his player farm would be better suited to the Premier League than the Championship ?
We've had a brilliant response with regards to volunteers to help hand out flyers on Saturday, but we've got 5,000 to get through so we need as many as possible. If you have a spare half hour between 2-3pm on Saturday and you'd like to help out then please email;
secretary@castrust.org
Would love to help. But my CV doesnt look too good in this capacity, as I found some ingenious ways to get rid of my News shoppers, back in the day. Old habits die hard ........
You and I both, I was actually sacked as a paper boy, which I thought was impossible !
I would like to apologise to the people of central Eltham who didn't receive their newspapers in the autumn of 1999
If I am standing next to a drain cover empty handed and looking guilty then all I can say is sorry.
In all seriousness I cant make Saturday, but will be cutting short a business trip to York so that I can get back in time on Wednesday.
The political party Duchatelet set up in Belgium, Vivant? Does this still exsist? Was it ever taken at all seriously over there? Somebody one said he wrote some books on politics, again were they taken seriously or just the ramblings of an Icke type charactor? I'm just trying to work out what we are dealing with here, other than he is rich and likes to control.
As I posted on the ''Jimmy Stone' thread - he obsessively persisted in pursuing his somewhat eccentric and contradictory political ideas over more than a decade (i.e. a guaranteed 'Basic Income' for all citizens while at the same time reducing state spending by 30%) despite derisory results (1 - 2% of the vote) :
So it's possible (but far from certain) that he's effectively a 'serial crank' now pursuing his football 'network' scheme as obsessively as he did his unsuccessful political ambitions. It also possible that certain individual(s) have latched onto him as football 'advisers' but are basically promoting their own clients?
One of the best contributions I read early on ( I forget who by my apologies ) was the quote by the management theorist Mintzberg that each action would demonstrate its part in the overall strategy.
Our recent signings go against the player farm theory as AFKA points out above . I would be surprised as things stand at the moment if Etheridge or Onewyu are here next season . We certainly won't be getting transfer fees for them . Add Johnson , Lepoint and Veljkovic to the list of players who have been signed primarily with a short term objective of getting us through until the end of the season . That leaves the two network signings Marko Dmitrovic and Tony Watt as potential player farm options.This indicates to me that the short term strategy would be to ensure we are at this level next season .
If player farming is Roland's objective then surely he would want us to reach the Premier League because that would increase the transfer value of his 'assets' ? Some years ago I met a guy called Simon Miotto . You probably have never heard of him as he was an obscure Australian goalie who played for a number of lower league teams in this country and Scotland normally as a perennial number two / three . He was signed by West Brom in 2003 and never played a game as they got promoted to the Premier League . He told me that he was convinced that his next move to the Danish League and subsequent moves into coaching were achieved because he had been awarded a Premier League contract and could brand himself an ex Premier League player . In the same way Brazil famously gave cheap International Caps to average players to achieve moves to Europe and obtain better transfer fees for their clubs . Famously Celtic purchased the interestingly named Rafael Scheidt who never came close to living up to his billing as a Brazilian International.
So in my view it makes no sense for Roland to just keep us at this level if this is his objective . Surely his player farm would be better suited to the Premier League than the Championship ?
That may be true, Richard, but by your deeds shall ye know them. Whether RD 'wants' us to be in the PL or not is irrelevant, as his business strategy is guaranteeing we are on our way to League One. I have supported the club for over 50 years and although it is easy to get nostalgic about the past, I am certain that we have never been in such a terrible place as we are now. even when we were being run by a bunch of shysters like the Glikstens, the players carried on doing their best. This carried on when we left the Valley and some of the fans got demoralised. When we were relegated from the PL and then down to league One, the fans stuck with the club and the players kept trying.
We now have a situation where the players AND the fans have largely given up on the club. This is unprecedented in my memory. i have never experienced such a toxic atmosphere at the club, even when Dowie and Reed were in charge. There was still a sense then that it was temporary and things could get better. That feeling has evaporated now and there seems no bottom to where RD will take us with his crazy strategy.
We've had a brilliant response with regards to volunteers to help hand out flyers on Saturday, but we've got 5,000 to get through so we need as many as possible. If you have a spare half hour between 2-3pm on Saturday and you'd like to help out then please email;
secretary@castrust.org
Would love to help. But my CV doesnt look too good in this capacity, as I found some ingenious ways to get rid of my News shoppers, back in the day. Old habits die hard ........
You and I both, I was actually sacked as a paper boy, which I thought was impossible !
I would like to apologise to the people of central Eltham who didn't receive their newspapers in the autumn of 1999
Wait outside KM's office after school, and explain what you did!
One of the best contributions I read early on ( I forget who by my apologies ) was the quote by the management theorist Mintzberg that each action would demonstrate its part in the overall strategy.
Our recent signings go against the player farm theory as AFKA points out above . I would be surprised as things stand at the moment if Etheridge or Onewyu are here next season . We certainly won't be getting transfer fees for them . Add Johnson , Lepoint and Veljkovic to the list of players who have been signed primarily with a short term objective of getting us through until the end of the season . That leaves the two network signings Marko Dmitrovic and Tony Watt as potential player farm options.This indicates to me that the short term strategy would be to ensure we are at this level next season .
If player farming is Roland's objective then surely he would want us to reach the Premier League because that would increase the transfer value of his 'assets' ? Some years ago I met a guy called Simon Miotto . You probably have never heard of him as he was an obscure Australian goalie who played for a number of lower league teams in this country and Scotland normally as a perennial number two / three . He was signed by West Brom in 2003 and never played a game as they got promoted to the Premier League . He told me that he was convinced that his next move to the Danish League and subsequent moves into coaching were achieved because he had been awarded a Premier League contract and could brand himself an ex Premier League player . In the same way Brazil famously gave cheap International Caps to average players to achieve moves to Europe and obtain better transfer fees for their clubs . Famously Celtic purchased the interestingly named Rafael Scheidt who never came close to living up to his billing as a Brazilian International.
So in my view it makes no sense for Roland to just keep us at this level if this is his objective . Surely his player farm would be better suited to the Premier League than the Championship ?
But is that really the case ? If we first assume the Championship is the place for RD to be then can a case be made for aiming at play-offs, mid table or just above the relegation spots ? If youth player farming is the primary objective then the higher up the table we get, especially in sight of promotion, there is less incentive to play the youth. Conversely, most youth players are not best equiped when relegation is on the cards. So, a comfortable mid table spot would suit youth player farming best hence the Bob Peeters objective of "don't get relegated".
If you reach the PL promised land then, as Curbs so ably demonstrated, the youth are even less likely to be visible. But also only your exceptional players are likely to attract the attention of the established PL clubs.
I think ! have convinced myself that player farming only works at the medium level - medium club in medium division with medium results.
Can I also put in a word of support for the term 'player farming'. If we are going to get anywhere with RD then it will be via the media and 'player farming' has really good ring about it.
After a lengthy chat with a man who would know from personal dealings with RD he assures me that relegation would be a devastating blow to RD and his plan, he also has now convinced me that his plan is to invest in the youth infrastructure and then sell the players for a profit, similar to a factory production line where the commodity and product is footballers
For this reason I withdraw my support from his project
I stand by my stance on Sheffield utd abysmal performance
I thank him from saving us from financial abyss
I thank him for the ground improvements And his investment in the training ground his support of the museum and his cheap season tickets
Now is the time to react,
The person I spoke to will remain nameless he is a very wealthy man who has no football background but has numerous dealings with RD and is also Belgian and that I met in Brussels three weeks ago
Charlton Alexandra - bouncing around Leagues 1&2, but selling players on to keep breaking even. why else would he invest bundles in the Academy and nothing in the team? short term loss, long term gain. Whereas us mugs are supposed to help finance it through Valley Gold (indirectly) and buy season tickets because we are loyal supporters/customers. (I would be surprised if he was advised before he bought the club that there will 12,000 or so loyal enough to keep turning up whatever the Division).
There are a number of astute people on here, also attending the VIP meeting, with pointed questions.I would be interested in hearing an answer to a direct question to Kat the Liar....How long does Roly expect his overall plan to come to fruition? Just so I know how long I'm gonna have to suffer watching this experiment pan out, before we have to pick up the pieces and start again when it fails.
I'll ask for you. If they let me. But they kept ignoring me last year, after I offended/embarassed Katrien.
After your superb question put to Wiggins about why dosn't he wear some protection around his feet to stop his injuries ( he called you his mother LOL) you were proved right when he got injured again 5 days later!
Katrien only agreed to come to Bromley because she heard you were away at Cheltenham, perhaps we should have a link to the course after you had one over the eight. she is used to that as she travel on the train a lot.
I'll ask for you. If they let me. But they kept ignoring me last year, after I offended/embarassed Katrien.
After your superb question put to Wiggins about why dosn't he wear some protection around his feet to stop his injuries ( he called you his mother LOL) you were proved right when he got injured again 5 days later!
Katrien only agreed to come to Bromley because she heard you were away at Cheltenham, perhaps we should have a link to the course after you had one over the eight. she is used to that as she travel on the train a lot.
I may leave Cheltenham early to give her some grief. I had to leave early last year for the rearranged game v Hudds. All my fellow Charlton supporters stayed there & thought I was mad. I'm not, wibble, wibble.
One of the best contributions I read early on ( I forget who by my apologies ) was the quote by the management theorist Mintzberg that each action would demonstrate its part in the overall strategy.
Our recent signings go against the player farm theory as AFKA points out above . I would be surprised as things stand at the moment if Etheridge or Onewyu are here next season . We certainly won't be getting transfer fees for them . Add Johnson , Lepoint and Veljkovic to the list of players who have been signed primarily with a short term objective of getting us through until the end of the season . That leaves the two network signings Marko Dmitrovic and Tony Watt as potential player farm options.This indicates to me that the short term strategy would be to ensure we are at this level next season .
If player farming is Roland's objective then surely he would want us to reach the Premier League because that would increase the transfer value of his 'assets' ? Some years ago I met a guy called Simon Miotto . You probably have never heard of him as he was an obscure Australian goalie who played for a number of lower league teams in this country and Scotland normally as a perennial number two / three . He was signed by West Brom in 2003 and never played a game as they got promoted to the Premier League . He told me that he was convinced that his next move to the Danish League and subsequent moves into coaching were achieved because he had been awarded a Premier League contract and could brand himself an ex Premier League player . In the same way Brazil famously gave cheap International Caps to average players to achieve moves to Europe and obtain better transfer fees for their clubs . Famously Celtic purchased the interestingly named Rafael Scheidt who never came close to living up to his billing as a Brazilian International.
So in my view it makes no sense for Roland to just keep us at this level if this is his objective . Surely his player farm would be better suited to the Premier League than the Championship ?
But is that really the case ? If we first assume the Championship is the place for RD to be then can a case be made for aiming at play-offs, mid table or just above the relegation spots ? If youth player farming is the primary objective then the higher up the table we get, especially in sight of promotion, there is less incentive to play the youth. Conversely, most youth players are not best equiped when relegation is on the cards. So, a comfortable mid table spot would suit youth player farming best hence the Bob Peeters objective of "don't get relegated".
If you reach the PL promised land then, as Curbs so ably demonstrated, the youth are even less likely to be visible. But also only your exceptional players are likely to attract the attention of the established PL clubs.
I think ! have convinced myself that player farming only works at the medium level - medium club in medium division with medium results.
Can I also put in a word of support for the term 'player farming'. If we are going to get anywhere with RD then it will be via the media and 'player farming' has really good ring about it.
We did produce league players for other clubs during those years Shittu , Turner ,Weston never played in the first team for us but have gone on to have good professional careers . Campbell-Ryce barely featured for us and is also still playing now . My point about Miotto was that he told me that the fact he was on the books of a Premier League club had boosted his esteem and value to other clubs .
Spurs have done well in player farming selling on players like David Button who was 23 when he joined us for a reported £500k . He had only played 15 minutes first team football in a League Cup game for them and was their 4th choice goalie when we signed him .Jonathan Obika was 24 when they sold him for £200,000 last year. He too never featured in the Premier League.
As I said above some decisions made recently are not consistent with this philosophy . As well as the signings described above ,why did we let Morro go on a free ?Nothing appears to be rational.
Comments
Cannot see them spending any money on any players.
We're on the same page after all!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29130982
.......On the issue of whether there should be more places made available for women at football's top executive levels, she says: "I am not a believer in positive discrimination.
"But it might be a good idea to get more football fans involved in the running of clubs, people who have a real genuine love of the game.".........
She was obviously misquoted when she said words to the effect of the owner does what he wants and the fans have to lump it!
Here is an extract from an article on this.
"Even the most bourgeois-seeming individuals continuously shouted with clenched fists: 'Revolution;' and people who, two weeks earlier, still personified moderation and tranquillity turned out to have become frightful agitators. The entire Leuven student body seemed to have been infected by a rebellious virus and had become propagators of the most radical points of view" (Goossens, 1993, 97).
Could be taken from next week's Newsshopper, just replace Leuven student body with Charlton fans.
Looks like he understands direct action, and perhaps why he is unmoved.
Let's see what Tuesday's VIP meeting & Wednesday's public meeting bring.
secretary@castrust.org
I think it leaves us fecked in the short to medium term, he won't listen to anyone, and won't sell us (he doesn't need the money) even though whatever way you look at it, his network can't work.
If he stood up & told the assembled Addicks of his dealings with RD , then I think ALL present would become "believers" .
I would like to apologise to the people of central Eltham who didn't receive their newspapers in the autumn of 1999
One of the best contributions I read early on ( I forget who by my apologies ) was the quote by the management theorist Mintzberg that each action would demonstrate its part in the overall strategy.
Our recent signings go against the player farm theory as AFKA points out above . I would be surprised as things stand at the moment if Etheridge or Onewyu are here next season . We certainly won't be getting transfer fees for them . Add Johnson , Lepoint and Veljkovic to the list of players who have been signed primarily with a short term objective of getting us through until the end of the season . That leaves the two network signings Marko Dmitrovic and Tony Watt as potential player farm options.This indicates to me that the short term strategy would be to ensure we are at this level next season .
If player farming is Roland's objective then surely he would want us to reach the Premier League because that would increase the transfer value of his 'assets' ? Some years ago I met a guy called Simon Miotto . You probably have never heard of him as he was an obscure Australian goalie who played for a number of lower league teams in this country and Scotland normally as a perennial number two / three . He was signed by West Brom in 2003 and never played a game as they got promoted to the Premier League . He told me that he was convinced that his next move to the Danish League and subsequent moves into coaching were achieved because he had been awarded a Premier League contract and could brand himself an ex Premier League player . In the same way Brazil famously gave cheap International Caps to average players to achieve moves to Europe and obtain better transfer fees for their clubs . Famously Celtic purchased the interestingly named Rafael Scheidt who never came close to living up to his billing as a Brazilian International.
So in my view it makes no sense for Roland to just keep us at this level if this is his objective . Surely his player farm would be better suited to the Premier League than the Championship ?
In all seriousness I cant make Saturday, but will be cutting short a business trip to York so that I can get back in time on Wednesday.
#Duchâteletout
As I posted on the ''Jimmy Stone' thread - he obsessively persisted in pursuing his somewhat eccentric and contradictory political ideas over more than a decade (i.e. a guaranteed 'Basic Income' for all citizens while at the same time reducing state spending by 30%) despite derisory results (1 - 2% of the vote) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Duchâtelet
And he appears to have embarked on the creation of his football 'network' about the same time as he seems to have withdrawn from politics:
http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/sports/1.1817955
So it's possible (but far from certain) that he's effectively a 'serial crank' now pursuing his football 'network' scheme as obsessively as he did his unsuccessful political ambitions. It also possible that certain individual(s) have latched onto him as football 'advisers' but are basically promoting their own clients?
We now have a situation where the players AND the fans have largely given up on the club. This is unprecedented in my memory. i have never experienced such a toxic atmosphere at the club, even when Dowie and Reed were in charge. There was still a sense then that it was temporary and things could get better. That feeling has evaporated now and there seems no bottom to where RD will take us with his crazy strategy.
If you reach the PL promised land then, as Curbs so ably demonstrated, the youth are even less likely to be visible. But also only your exceptional players are likely to attract the attention of the established PL clubs.
I think ! have convinced myself that player farming only works at the medium level - medium club in medium division with medium results.
Can I also put in a word of support for the term 'player farming'. If we are going to get anywhere with RD then it will be via the media and 'player farming' has really good ring about it.
There are a number of astute people on here, also attending the VIP meeting, with pointed questions.I would be interested in hearing an answer to a direct question to Kat the Liar....How long does Roly expect his overall plan to come to fruition? Just so I know how long I'm gonna have to suffer watching this experiment pan out, before we have to pick up the pieces and start again when it fails.
you were proved right when he got injured again 5 days later!
Katrien only agreed to come to Bromley because she heard you were away at Cheltenham, perhaps we should have a link to the course after you had one over the eight. she is used to that as she travel on the train a lot.
All my fellow Charlton supporters stayed there & thought I was mad. I'm not, wibble, wibble.
We did produce league players for other clubs during those years Shittu , Turner ,Weston never played in the first team for us but have gone on to have good professional careers . Campbell-Ryce barely featured for us and is also still playing now . My point about Miotto was that he told me that the fact he was on the books of a Premier League club had boosted his esteem and value to other clubs .
Spurs have done well in player farming selling on players like David Button who was 23 when he joined us for a reported £500k . He had only played 15 minutes first team football in a League Cup game for them and was their 4th choice goalie when we signed him .Jonathan Obika was 24 when they sold him for £200,000 last year. He too never featured in the Premier League.
As I said above some decisions made recently are not consistent with this philosophy . As well as the signings described above ,why did we let Morro go on a free ?Nothing appears to be rational.