“We had agreed heads of terms on a new contract with him and his staff. But, after we lost the FA Cup quarter-final at Sheffield United and with the pressure of relegation [Charlton were then bottom], we decided to dismiss him because it wasn’t working. He is a great hero. But people need to understand, the owner and I need to be able to work with the manager. It is the most important relationship at the club."
“We had agreed heads of terms on a new contract with him and his staff. But, after we lost the FA Cup quarter-final at Sheffield United and with the pressure of relegation [Charlton were then bottom], we decided to dismiss him because it wasn’t working. He is a great hero. But people need to understand, the owner and I need to be able to work with the manager. It is the most important relationship at the club."
“We had agreed heads of terms on a new contract with him and his staff. But, after we lost the FA Cup quarter-final at Sheffield United and with the pressure of relegation [Charlton were then bottom], we decided to dismiss him because it wasn’t working. He is a great hero. But people need to understand, the owner and I need to be able to work with the manager. It is the most important relationship at the club."
Stil pretending he was sacked because of results.
Still saying it was not working!!
Also probably thinks public mudsligning over the details will do the club no favours. CEO of the club, her job is to protect the club's image and reputation... the papers love a sniff of disharmony and a slanging match across the pages.
Many Charlton fans will know what went on with CP from reading various things here, VOTV and trust publications etc and from what else has been publicised in the press including the ES previously. Many won't care or will also be of the view results were a factor but who cares what anyone outside of Charlton is told particularly if it is damaging.
Not about rewriting or denying history but no point stoking over old ground when those who matter (the club, CP the Charlton fans) already know the score.
Don't need to spell it out for some by airing our dirty laundry in the Standard for some tubby West Ham fan on his train home to Chelmsford to thumb through in between his sudoku and cross word.
I am fully accepting that we have to work within our budget even if that means relegation. Is that the story? We were told Bob Peeters was sacked because of results, not because he wasn't balancing the books.
I am fully accepting that we have to work within our budget even if that means relegation. Is that the story? We were told Bob Peeters was sacked because of results, not because he wasn't balancing the books.
To be fair, it was because of results and he'd fallen out with players after publicly criticising them. He had to go.
Ok i think it safe to say that she's now said her piece about Charlton fans being abusive. Time to put it behind her, I wouldnt want her to come across as playing at being a victim.
She's a CEO of a championship club. You got to take the rough with the smooth regardless of what sex you are.
And this doesnt mean I agree with people screaming in her face.
Thing is that as a rarity (female CEO) she is going to be asked about being a woman in football at every interview just as SCP was asked about being a Black manager.
And journos will have seen the Watford video and so will ask about that. To that extent the Standard controls the agenda. The alternative is to do interviews or write articles in the programme or for the OS but that will have a smaller audience.
The Watford incident makes a "good story" and is seen as being of more interest to their general readership than spending or transfers which are of more interest to most of us on CL.
I think those anti-the network made a big tactical error when they started calling her "incompetent" and demanded to speak to Roland over her head. She is smart but she is human and is hardly likely to respond positively to such remarks/tactics. It has, I believe, made it less likely that she will talk to them and less likely to take advice, even if it is well meaning, from certain fans and groups. Maybe she is using that as an excuse not to speak to them as some have claimed but who handed her that excuse on a plate?
She has been saying for a while that mistakes were made last season. That I think we all agree on.
I like her, her heart is in the right place and she, I'm told, works very hard and has a lot of respect from those she works with.
But, and you knew that there has to be a but, it shouldn't be about her and is she a nice person.
That is a bonus but for me the test is how well is the club being run and are we moving forward? Do we have the stability, the capacity and the resources to progress on and off the pitch.
We've not seen much stability but maybe that will change. But Luzon as only been here a couple of months so too early to claim we are now stable.
The key issues for me were and remain the investment in the infrastructure and in the team.
The pitch, the seats, the further refurbishment of the Valley this summer (ignorantly dismissed as £1m on air con by those that don't understand or don't want to understand) but most importantly the training ground are all example of long term infrastructure improvements. And they are needed after the mess left by the last lot and just because any business needs to be kept uptodate.
On the team money has been spent. The shame is that quite often is has been misspent. We can say that was last year but Tuchedean and Lepoint were this year and we still have Polish Pete, Reza and Nego on the books.
To progress on the third lowest budget in the division we can't be just as good as the other clubs with recruitment we need to be much much better. Igor, JBG and Tony Watt show we can but remember TWWW is only here because he flopped at Standard. That was good fortune not good planning.
The signings of Eagles, Diarra and Johnson appear to be herald a change in policy but are they? I hope so but we'll shall see over the summer if those sort of players are the first choice in July rather than the emergency purchases in February when things are going wrong. Two and half years for Lepoint makes me think that not everything has changed yet.
I'm positive and feel that we might be moving in the right direction but the bumpy ride continues for a while yet
On the Powell sacking, well Katrien said yesterday and now today that 'it' wasn't working. I fully understand that in those circumstances something's gotta give, and it won't be the owner. I am intrigued by the 'it'. Does she mean results? Does she mean compliance? Does she mean playing players as instructed? Does she mean the traditional style of manager rather than the continental head coach? Judging by the Powell interview the new regime did virtually nothing to support Powell when they took over, indeed they undermined him, and then let it drag on because it would've looked even worse if Powell was sacked during the cup run. The it that Katrien refers to is a small word covering a big problem which the current regime might now admit was handled disastrously, as it has clumsily handled other stuff since. I suppose I am musing on to what degree the pattern might repeat itself in the future. The it is a very ambiguous term in this context, for example I presume it wasn't working for Guy Luzon at Liege so they sacked him there. I would like to think that the definition of working is results and success, I would also accept that 'working' could mean driving down costs until the club breaks even on it's own terms, and if that means poor results and relegation, then fair enough. I wonder however if the it that is supposed to work is about creating a player farm, or some kind of convoluted thing that it is hard to understand. Anyway like Guy Luzon, at the moment I understand wins, and also don't like to lose. I suspect Guy and I are also both well cheesed off that we're not going to make the play offs, and the it that can work next season ought to be promotion rather than air conditioned pulled pork.
On the Powell sacking, well Katrien said yesterday and now today that 'it' wasn't working. I fully understand that in those circumstances something's gotta give, and it won't be the owner. I am intrigued by the 'it'. Does she mean results? Does she mean compliance? Does she mean playing players as instructed? Does she mean the traditional style of manager rather than the continental head coach? Judging by the Powell interview the new regime did virtually nothing to support Powell when they took over, indeed they undermined him, and then let it drag on because it would've looked even worse if Powell was sacked during the cup run. The it that Katrien refers to is a small word covering a big problem which the current regime might now admit was handled disastrously, as it has clumsily handled other stuff since. I suppose I am musing on to what degree the pattern might repeat itself in the future. The it is a very ambiguous term in this context, for example I presume it wasn't working for Guy Luzon at Liege so they sacked him there. I would like to think that the definition of working is results and success, I would also accept that 'working' could mean driving down costs until the club breaks even on it's own terms, and if that means poor results and relegation, then fair enough. I wonder however if the it that is supposed to work is about creating a player farm, or some kind of convoluted thing that it is hard to understand. Anyway like Guy Luzon, at the moment I understand wins, and also don't like to lose. I suspect Guy and I are also both well cheesed off that we're not going to make the play offs, and the it that can work next season ought to be promotion rather than air conditioned pulled pork.
Get over it
He's gone.
I got over it ages ago, and have made it a personal policy very soon after he left not to go on about Powell. If you want to be bored out of your mind you can check my posts over the past year and see that compared to many many others I have avoided the Powell topic 90% of the time. If you think I make my points on here are fueled by bitterness about Powell you are mistaken.
on the 'air con v players' debate, its a silly non issue, the infrastructure of the club is still needs sorting, be it air con, ticketing, or ovens that don't work. It's clear RD will fund both if sensible investments in the future.
The interview has been changed online now (and hopefully in the final version of today's Standard) as there was a misunderstanding relating to the section on Fulham. Katrien didn't say there was any interest in purchasing Fulham before the takeover at Charlton.
Seth: 'it' means compliance with the control RD expects his managers to allow. From all that I heard, Chris was refusing RD his requirement to insist on network players being selected and that meant he had to go. If it is now accepted that those players were not good enough then, it could be argued that the owner wrongly sacked the manager who was doing the right thing. Heaven forbid!
The interview has been changed online now (and hopefully in the final version of today's Standard) as there was a misunderstanding relating to the section on Fulham. Katrien didn't say there was any interest in purchasing Fulham before the takeover at Charlton.
All her recent media pieces clearly show that she wants to communicate, especially while things on the pitch are going so well. She's made it clear that she won't speak directly to the Trust as requested so is presumably using these outlets instead. Importantly she acknowledges some of the errors that have been made, and unfortunately there will probably be more yet as both she and the owner gradually become more accustomed to the new environment (which could perhaps be aided by more regular visits from the latter).
I guess we also have to accept some financial restraint, albeit with far more investment than was clearly the case in the final days of the last regime, but that needs to be balanced by continuing the obvious improvement in the suitability of signings, demonstrating that lessons really have been learned. Providing a realistic budget to make us competitive is of course essential but the likes of Burnley last season illustrate what can be done within sensible limits. It's the longer term investment that really pays dividends, as we saw only too well with the careful, structured planning of the Curbs era.
Winning seven in every nine next season would be bloody marvellous, albeit extremely unlikely. Yet if transfer activity over the summer leaves the squad close to the quality we have now, Luzon has already shown he can motivate the current players. If and when levels inevitably dip again it might be time to judge the shortcomings as we would in any other circumstances on footballing issues, rather than on the over-riding issue of whether the network model is working - IF we can see progress being made and lessons still being learned.
The interview has been changed online now (and hopefully in the final version of today's Standard) as there was a misunderstanding relating to the section on Fulham. Katrien didn't say there was any interest in purchasing Fulham before the takeover at Charlton.
I take the interview with a pinch of salt. Slow newsday due to no football this week, lets go interview a good looking CEO.
I will be more impressed with her if we keep a manager/coach longer than the 3 they have sacked and on the playing staff, who stays and who go's. That said, I want her to suceed. If she does the football should be more enjoyable than some of tripe we've been served in recent years.
"When I ask why didn’t you buy Fulham she laughs and then says: “At the time I think the price was a bit too high, they were still in the Premier League. Also the idea is to have clubs at different levels."
Well there you have it... proof that Roland doesn't care about us getting promoted...
Not sure it was solely because fans wanted Curbs back that people were annoyed. Probably more to do with the 14 game winless streak we were on at the time. Or the lack of transparency in the hiring process. Or the seeming lack of investment in key areas such as a number 9. Or the vacuum of communication. No mention of those reasons though, or the lovely flowers sent.
Things have improved since Jan, heavily due to the new faces of Watt, Johnson, Eagles, Diarra, the return of Bulot and Henderson, and of course Guy seeming to prove his worth.
Fair play to her getting out there and raising her profile though. Good to see Katrien getting stuck into the celebrations during the match too. A summer of good quality signings on top of quality replacements for those who may be sold (JBG, Cousins, Gomez) will go a long way to appeasing most.
"When I ask why didn’t you buy Fulham she laughs and then says: “At the time I think the price was a bit too high, they were still in the Premier League. Also the idea is to have clubs at different levels."
Well there you have it... proof that Roland doesn't care about us getting promoted...
I read as having different levels of 'standard' and condition - not just buying clubs in good condition , hence the part about not being able to repair the ovens
I think I'm more surprised that the Standard have a feature on the CEO of a club they normally treat as if it doesn't exist.
So what have we learnt.
Some board members in football are still sexist and don't bother to find out who is visiting them
Being screamed at while on your own can be "frightening" despite many on here defending it
Roland ain't going to talk to us as he's too busy making more money.
LM got a lot of abusive emails (although I still think she should respond to the non-abusive ones)
The budget is the third lowest in the Championship but we spent £4 on player acquisitions this year (assume that means YE June 15)
The spivs had run out of money and were letting the club fall apart as some of us were saying at the time.
I imagine the £4m (I presume you didn't mean £4 ) refers to what was revealed in last year's accounts, unless we've spent £8m since they took over.
Yeah we've not learned much, but then it's not as if the Standard writes anything for Charlton supporters. She comes across well again, and (whilst I wish she'd stop telling us we don't get it) she's certainly putting a good positive message out there. It probably helps it's against a background of a run of form, of course.
As for Powell, there's a bit of a mixed message there - either it's the results or it isn't - but I think the key thing to take away is that it wasn't working between CP and RD. She's right, it's a key relationship and there's only one possible outcome if it's not working.
The more she's talking out in the open the better I think.
"When I ask why didn’t you buy Fulham she laughs and then says: “At the time I think the price was a bit too high, they were still in the Premier League. Also the idea is to have clubs at different levels."
Well there you have it... proof that Roland doesn't care about us getting promoted...
Thought struck me as well. Would prefer interpretation that says lower level clubs have scope for good returns, bigger clubs provide resources.
The interview has been changed online now (and hopefully in the final version of today's Standard) as there was a misunderstanding relating to the section on Fulham. Katrien didn't say there was any interest in purchasing Fulham before the takeover at Charlton.
Comments
Stil pretending he was sacked because of results.
Many Charlton fans will know what went on with CP from reading various things here, VOTV and trust publications etc and from what else has been publicised in the press including the ES previously. Many won't care or will also be of the view results were a factor but who cares what anyone outside of Charlton is told particularly if it is damaging.
Not about rewriting or denying history but no point stoking over old ground when those who matter (the club, CP the Charlton fans) already know the score.
Don't need to spell it out for some by airing our dirty laundry in the Standard for some tubby West Ham fan on his train home to Chelmsford to thumb through in between his sudoku and cross word.
Then getting to the den will be a stroll for her from where she Lives.
And journos will have seen the Watford video and so will ask about that. To that extent the Standard controls the agenda. The alternative is to do interviews or write articles in the programme or for the OS but that will have a smaller audience.
The Watford incident makes a "good story" and is seen as being of more interest to their general readership than spending or transfers which are of more interest to most of us on CL.
I think those anti-the network made a big tactical error when they started calling her "incompetent" and demanded to speak to Roland over her head. She is smart but she is human and is hardly likely to respond positively to such remarks/tactics. It has, I believe, made it less likely that she will talk to them and less likely to take advice, even if it is well meaning, from certain fans and groups. Maybe she is using that as an excuse not to speak to them as some have claimed but who handed her that excuse on a plate?
She has been saying for a while that mistakes were made last season. That I think we all agree on.
I like her, her heart is in the right place and she, I'm told, works very hard and has a lot of respect from those she works with.
But, and you knew that there has to be a but, it shouldn't be about her and is she a nice person.
That is a bonus but for me the test is how well is the club being run and are we moving forward? Do we have the stability, the capacity and the resources to progress on and off the pitch.
We've not seen much stability but maybe that will change. But Luzon as only been here a couple of months so too early to claim we are now stable.
The key issues for me were and remain the investment in the infrastructure and in the team.
The pitch, the seats, the further refurbishment of the Valley this summer (ignorantly dismissed as £1m on air con by those that don't understand or don't want to understand) but most importantly the training ground are all example of long term infrastructure improvements. And they are needed after the mess left by the last lot and just because any business needs to be kept uptodate.
On the team money has been spent. The shame is that quite often is has been misspent. We can say that was last year but Tuchedean and Lepoint were this year and we still have Polish Pete, Reza and Nego on the books.
To progress on the third lowest budget in the division we can't be just as good as the other clubs with recruitment we need to be much much better. Igor, JBG and Tony Watt show we can but remember TWWW is only here because he flopped at Standard. That was good fortune not good planning.
The signings of Eagles, Diarra and Johnson appear to be herald a change in policy but are they? I hope so but we'll shall see over the summer if those sort of players are the first choice in July rather than the emergency purchases in February when things are going wrong. Two and half years for Lepoint makes me think that not everything has changed yet.
I'm positive and feel that we might be moving in the right direction but the bumpy ride continues for a while yet
He's gone.
If you think I make my points on here are fueled by bitterness about Powell you are mistaken.
The interview has been changed online now (and hopefully in the final version of today's Standard) as there was a misunderstanding relating to the section on Fulham. Katrien didn't say there was any interest in purchasing Fulham before the takeover at Charlton.
--> http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/katrien-meire-ive-had-frightening-abuse-from-charlton-fans-but-i-love-leading-role-10131362.html
IL
I guess we also have to accept some financial restraint, albeit with far more investment than was clearly the case in the final days of the last regime, but that needs to be balanced by continuing the obvious improvement in the suitability of signings, demonstrating that lessons really have been learned. Providing a realistic budget to make us competitive is of course essential but the likes of Burnley last season illustrate what can be done within sensible limits. It's the longer term investment that really pays dividends, as we saw only too well with the careful, structured planning of the Curbs era.
Winning seven in every nine next season would be bloody marvellous, albeit extremely unlikely. Yet if transfer activity over the summer leaves the squad close to the quality we have now, Luzon has already shown he can motivate the current players. If and when levels inevitably dip again it might be time to judge the shortcomings as we would in any other circumstances on footballing issues, rather than on the over-riding issue of whether the network model is working - IF we can see progress being made and lessons still being learned.
I will be more impressed with her if we keep a manager/coach longer than the 3 they have sacked and on the playing staff, who stays and who go's.
That said, I want her to suceed. If she does the football should be more enjoyable than some of tripe we've been served in recent years.
Well there you have it... proof that Roland doesn't care about us getting promoted...
Things have improved since Jan, heavily due to the new faces of Watt, Johnson, Eagles, Diarra, the return of Bulot and Henderson, and of course Guy seeming to prove his worth.
Fair play to her getting out there and raising her profile though. Good to see Katrien getting stuck into the celebrations during the match too. A summer of good quality signings on top of quality replacements for those who may be sold (JBG, Cousins, Gomez) will go a long way to appeasing most.
Yeah we've not learned much, but then it's not as if the Standard writes anything for Charlton supporters. She comes across well again, and (whilst I wish she'd stop telling us we don't get it) she's certainly putting a good positive message out there. It probably helps it's against a background of a run of form, of course.
As for Powell, there's a bit of a mixed message there - either it's the results or it isn't - but I think the key thing to take away is that it wasn't working between CP and RD. She's right, it's a key relationship and there's only one possible outcome if it's not working.
The more she's talking out in the open the better I think.