Mid table finish is where I thought we would end up,this summer will be interesting who goes and who comes in then we will see where Roland wants to take us
We end the season with more fragmentation and disunity than we have for many a year. It looks like the 'togethrr' part of building a better future together is going to be a challenge for this regime. I believe having our spectacularly excellent pitch is a unifying factor, but most of all we would like to see success on that pitch. We need an 18℅ improvement from Guy Luzon as a minimum next season.
Really ? I don't feel that the club is that disunited. I think the squad is stronger than in "many a year" we have a manager that has already proved that he knows what he wants and how to achieve it. A rich owner that is not compelled to accept the first offer that comes in for our Crown Jewels. A fantastic pitch to make us proud again. A progressive youth policy which I think most would agree is a very big positive. We are not looking over our shoulders worrying when the next bill arrives and we were like that under both Murray and the spivs.
Sure there are issues and you will never satisfy everybody but you tell me a club where that isnt the case. Our fall was monumental and it was never likely to be halted and reversed quickly. I think RD is an oddball but he has halted our slide and the tankers engines are now firmly taking us back in the right direction.
For me this season was always about consolidation and I believe that's been well and truly achieved.
Well I hope you're right, but I'm not sure who is now working at Charlton that aspires to 'build a legacy'. I see a group of people interested in their personal standing before being prepared to sacrifice all for footballing success.
I really hope you're right, but in your analysis how come we spent £1.3 million on Lepoint and gave him a 2.5 year contract, don't you think that is 'funny business' to say the least?
I really really hope you're right, but next season might yet be groundhog day of this, with different characters playing the parts. This close season is going to be one of the most pivotal we've ever had.
It is what I've been told, won't name the source, and of course it could be wrong, presumably the fullness of time will tell. Even if he was free (which he wasn't) how do we justify signing him and giving him a 2.5year contract?
So we are looking somewhat like a player terminus, like a glorified motorway services on a footballing spaghetti junction. We provide the Travelodge Valley whilst players move hither and thither and it all gets put down to expenses.
I know Lepoint has a contract, but so does Nego, Reza, and Polish Pete. Throw the loans, the temps, the short term contracts into the mix, and it's beginning to look like bewildered footballing backpackers bumping into each other at a strange station in a strange land, all scanning the departure boards for better destinations.
Good analogy Seth, and great posts from Paul Sturgess - spot on. Good luck to those that ignore/can use blinkers for how our club is run... I just want owners/management/team who want to win every game and want the best for Charlton. Under this lot that will never happen. That's why I barely care now, a horrible feeling.
Not a bad season - just feels bad. Bit of a rollercoaster - good start, then tail off, then a bad run-, then a good run only to be disappointed with a poor ending. Still we finished in the top half (just) and the £45 return on my pre-season bet sweetens it all a little. Hoping for strengthening in the summer break and a push next year (ever the optimist)...
I think it has been an excellent season (for the owner).
He solved a managerial crisis with someone who was already on his payroll and the playing crisis with players (mostly) already on his books.
He was able to successfully showcase young Academy products like Solly, Fox, Cousins and Gomez, at least two of whom will be sold in the summer for a significant profit. Those players he did pay real Euros for (eg. JBG and Igor) increased their value and at least one of them will also be sold on with a healthy margin. His failing network personnel (eg Buyens, Bulot and Watt) got a new lease of life should Liege need them back and more market exposure should they need to be sold .
I assume the overall business overhead was also slashed so the week-to week losses were reduced and his Chief Executive held her own up during a rocky patch with fans, without him having to get too involved.
With continued careful business planning, the new owner should be congratulated on being able to recover a large chunk of his original investment in his first full season. A rare achievement indeed in professional football.
What position we finished (as long as it was generally mid table) and how you or I might feel about the season is neither here nor there.
You can only take a realistic view of the season if you include last summer and especially this coming summer's transfer activity. Whilst the rose-tinted mob are drooling at the thought of £Ms spent on incoming targets, I fear the story we will hear at the end of the main and loan windows is the same old "we have been working very hard but just couldn't quite get the deals over the line". Even last October (roughly) KM stated they knew what they had to do (regarding team inadequacies) yet with months to work on things still couldn't get any real deals done.
If grumpy is correct then there will be limited activity, enough just to provide a smokescreen on RD's real intentions. Time will tell !!
I suppose it is a bit disappointing that we didn't finish higher than the lads that got us promoted from league one, seeing as the current squad are technically much better players (minus Stephens and Yann).
In general, where you finish in the table is where you deserve to be. Our long winless run was bad, but it wouldn't have felt so bad if we'd had the same amount of losses but spread throughout the season.
Fact is, we have a mid-table squad and we've finished mid-table. Our main concern now is to see what the close season has in-store. We'll get to see what the clubs ambitions are through it's actions over the coming months rather than any words said by Katrien Meire.
Overall it's been OK, but that doesn't really tell the who story. It's been a roller coaster ride with two main peaks and two main troughs. Not a season for people with bi-polar issues.
A roller coaster really is the best way to put it, but still I've enjoyed it all. Had we managed a draw somehow today perhaps some tones may be different. Ending the season with two clean sheets against us hurts, but that doesn't tell the tale of the season. Guy Luzon has done a wonderful job to turn us around to a point where I didn't think we'd be during the festive period. As I mentioned on another thread, my first season as a Charlton fan has really been enjoyable and I can't wait for the next one!
Comments
I really hope you're right, but in your analysis how come we spent £1.3 million on Lepoint and gave him a 2.5 year contract, don't you think that is 'funny business' to say the least?
I really really hope you're right, but next season might yet be groundhog day of this, with different characters playing the parts. This close season is going to be one of the most pivotal we've ever had.
Even so a bit of waste but as we've learned, it's not the club's money, it's the network's.
I know Lepoint has a contract, but so does Nego, Reza, and Polish Pete. Throw the loans, the temps, the short term contracts into the mix, and it's beginning to look like bewildered footballing backpackers bumping into each other at a strange station in a strange land, all scanning the departure boards for better destinations.
Still want my Charlton back.
If grumpy is correct then there will be limited activity, enough just to provide a smokescreen on RD's real intentions. Time will tell !!
Fact is, we have a mid-table squad and we've finished mid-table. Our main concern now is to see what the close season has in-store. We'll get to see what the clubs ambitions are through it's actions over the coming months rather than any words said by Katrien Meire.
https://staddickstics.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/the-2015-16-roller-coaster-ride/