Oh dear, perfect timing of the article release to coincide with a poor run of form. To quote a variation on a theme the ride just gets bumpier. Hope I'm wrong but with these latest revelations I just can't see a happy ending to this Belgian experiment.
Had no time for the woman since she told porkies at the time of Peeters departure. To not care about our history says it all really. I haven't watched one game this season and, sadly, I'm not bothered.
As others have posted like Kap 10 and stonemuse a very strange interview, I feel there must indeed have been 'something lost in translation', I would have that you should at least treat your customers/supporters with dignity and respect, wether you feel that there opinions are wrong, misguided, or inappropriate. The coffee quote is rather bizzare, and the comment about the 80 year old supporter is frankly a cheap shot and not really worthy of someone in her position.
Success with Charlton will place you very highly in the market. Static movement / no promotion is not a success, no matter how much you sell the tea/coffee story.
You'd like to think that, but I expect many of us have seen plenty of examples of people's ability to climb the greasy pole despite having a distinctly chequered track record. The whole thing gives an impression that we are nothing more than a stepping stone towards something bigger/better/cooler.
It probably doesn’t occur to her that mature fans/customers who have been supporting the club for many years may have some valid points to make and are worth listening to. It isn’t a big deal to most of us, but the new mascots are embarrassing and it worries me anybody at the club hasn’t got the judgement to realise. I reckon I could knock up a better outfit than the Robin one in my lunch break!
She seems to fall into the same trap in that when things are looking good, it is all about the owner and her being so great and so much better than went before. I do think they are better than went before by the way, but what went before was probably as bad as it got – and I do think Jiminez had better football knowledge just not business knowledge!
Surprised with her being a lawyer that she presented as fact a statement that was nonsense about 90,000 crowds. It sort of shows a laziness to try to understand the club and unfortunately no little arrogance.
We have already received the message that if we don’t like it we can lump it from her. Well, maybe revenue from fans doesn’t matter. All developments have not been bad, but many fans are losing that link they felt with the club. Some will say that doesn’t matter but I think it does. The blueprint of how to run a club of our size has already been accomplished, and emulated by our friends at Selhurst. It wasn’t a complex plan and certainly we could see what it was from an early stage – unlike the plan of the owner where to be honest, we are still scratching our heads over.
Success with Charlton will place you very highly in the market. Static movement / no promotion is not a success, no matter how much you sell the tea/coffee story.
You'd like to think that, but I expect many of us have seen plenty of examples of people's ability to climb the greasy pole despite having a distinctly chequered track record. The whole thing gives an impression that we are nothing more than a stepping stone towards something bigger/better/cooler.
agreed ... but if we did go up, it would raise her earning potential significantly
Had no time for the woman since she told porkies at the time of Peeters departure. To not care about our history says it all really. I haven't watched one game this season and, sadly, I'm not bothered.
I know what you mean. I've only been to 3 games this season, I am free on Sunday but I may have a day out rather than subsidise her wages and Duchatelet's "experiment".
'I struggled. Especially the first few months, I happened to cry. I could not speak at Roland but it was busy and I had ensure that it does not have to endure our problems. Fortunately, the staff lovingly supported me.'
'Through layoffs and outsourcing, Meire rose (ed. reduced??) from 150 to 100 employees. She gave a great sweep in this dusty club'
Those two quotes are almost right next to each other. Either it's a very dodgy translation or the guy writing up the interview has no sense of irony. Honestly I really do hope it's just carried over wrong because I know the business world is an unpleasant place but it's still horrendously inappropriate to talk about how you only got through the first few months in your job with the support of your staff and then immediately revel in clearing out a third of them. 'You guys really helped me out at the start when I had no idea what I was doing. Well, anyway, laters you dusty bastards, the future's calling'.
'I struggled. Especially the first few months, I happened to cry. I could not speak at Roland but it was busy and I had ensure that it does not have to endure our problems. Fortunately, the staff lovingly supported me.'
'Through layoffs and outsourcing, Meire rose (ed. reduced??) from 150 to 100 employees. She gave a great sweep in this dusty club'
Those two quotes are almost right next to each other. Either it's a very dodgy translation or the guy writing up the interview has no sense of irony. Honestly I really do hope it's just carried over wrong because I know the business world is an unpleasant place but it's still horrendously inappropriate to talk about how you only got through the first few months in your job with the support of your staff and then immediately revel in clearing out a third of them. 'You guys really helped me out at the start when I had no idea what I was doing. Well, anyway, laters you dusty bastards, the future's calling'.
I presume she meant the ones she didn't clear out!
'I struggled. Especially the first few months, I happened to cry. I could not speak at Roland but it was busy and I had ensure that it does not have to endure our problems. Fortunately, the staff lovingly supported me.'
'Through layoffs and outsourcing, Meire rose (ed. reduced??) from 150 to 100 employees. She gave a great sweep in this dusty club'
Those two quotes are almost right next to each other. Either it's a very dodgy translation or the guy writing up the interview has no sense of irony. Honestly I really do hope it's just carried over wrong because I know the business world is an unpleasant place but it's still horrendously inappropriate to talk about how you only got through the first few months in your job with the support of your staff and then immediately revel in clearing out a third of them. 'You guys really helped me out at the start when I had no idea what I was doing. Well, anyway, laters you dusty bastards, the future's calling'.
I presume she meant the ones she didn't clear out!
Not tremendously better. 'Linda, that time you walked into the ladies bogs to have a smoke and saw me crying and made me a free cup of tea. That was really nice of you. You can stay. Dave, you asked me how my cat was last Thursday. You are now head of marketing. As for you Cheryl, I sneezed three months ago and you didn't say 'bless you', so I hope you enjoy the queue at the job centre you heinous cow. Comms team, you didn't sign my birthday card and I'm not sure who any of you are so you've been outsourced to an office in India. The Katrien broom is a-sweeping!'
The gist of the mildly facetious and weird article is how the young Belgian whiz kid is making a clean sweep through the old fuddy duddies both in the stands and back office at the decrepit old working class British club (no more free teas and coffees for you fans, ground used to hold 90,000, that's where they scatter the ashes, etc).
Therefore, there's a certain irony in the fact that the interview apparently took place at a game on 22 August but the article was only published on 28 September. They must have slow broadband in Belgium.
Sums up my take in general , MP.
The new broom ( and broomess) clearly want to do it their way & have little , if any time for the old ways whether they worked or not. I can understand the thinking behind that to a degree but for a CEO with no previous experience in the Beautiful Game per se, you would feel that she would welcome constructive suggestions & input from those that have been there. done that & have the Tshirt ( wet, or otherwise....:-)) Clearly, that was never part of the cunning plan.
Many lifelong & committed supporters have been upset/offended/angered by the manner in which they have been treated by the machinations of the current regime. As others have already stated, the season ticket fiasco was NOT the best way to start a new season and was not dealt with in the best possible taste by those concerned. Purchasing tickets in general was initially chaotic although I have to admit that my personal experience of late shows that lessons were learned.
The catering, despite assurances given to individuals, has seemingly continued to disappoint and I understand that the situation regarding Valley Away ( coaches) has deteriorated since Dhiran left the building, leading, I believe to a trusted steward vacating his role in frustration.
And we are well aware that the Comms Team has struggled( manfully, I might add) to fulfil their varied role in light of departures from their number....The reluctance by the CEO to provide fans with the names of those in various posts at our Club surely stems from the fact that staff come & go at such a pace that such details are rapidly out of date.
Of course, I applaud the provision of a new, state of the art pitch at The Valley , the development of facilities at Sparrows Lane and the extension of contracts for certain valued players but, like a stuck 78, the issue of communication & serious thought about the well being of the Club's paying customers rears its head time & time again......And when performances on the pitch are as disappointing & worrying as of late, there really is only one way that said customers will show their feelings.
BTW, the next Fans' Forum meeting is to be held on Thursday 15th October......
I don't get the bit about her missing the winner against Hull. I sit just below the Directors area and she was there. She went up to GL's wife at the end after GL was walking back through the stand.
All in all, not the most inspiring article. I don't know what to make of it. Yes, I am grateful for RD saving the club from administration, his continued support and financial assistance. I am grateful for the transfers this season. Yet, we have a history, we have people that have put a lot of time and effort into this club from a community perspective and this is important not to lose.
Am I the only one who read that and isn't outraged by it?
I mean, the club was in a mess when Roland took over, they have spent money on players and infrastructure, and you only have to read Charlton Life to know there we have a significant number of fans who think they know everything there is to know about the club and love a good moan about what whoever is in charge at the time is doing wrong. It's not her job to live in the past, she's a custodian of our present and future.
You can question the wisdom of sharing some of these thoughts with a journo and I understand that people with a better knowledge of how the club was and is being run have, I'm sure, legitimate concerns and criticisms, but even someone like Airman Brown is broadly of the opinion that KM & RD's intentions are honourable and are still preaching general patient approach. The bit about support of the staff and then firing them is a bit jarring but her job can be pretty thankless so I can sympathise why she might occasionally become a bit jaded by her dealings with some fans.
Am I the only one who read that and isn't outraged by it?
I mean, the club was in a mess when Roland took over, they have spent money on players and infrastructure, and you only have to read Charlton Life to know there we have a significant number of fans who think they know everything there is to know about the club and love a good moan about what whoever is in charge at the time is doing wrong. It's not her job to live in the past, she's a custodian of our present and future.
You can question the wisdom of sharing some of these thoughts with a journo and I understand that people with a better knowledge of how the club was and is being run have, I'm sure, legitimate concerns and criticisms, but even some like Airman Brown is broadly of the opinion that KM & RD's intentions are honourable and are still preaching general patient approach. The bit about support of the staff and then firing them is a bit jarring but her job can be pretty thankless so I can sympathise why she might occasionally become a bit jaded by her dealings with some fans.
Am I the only one who read that and isn't outraged by it?
I mean, the club was in a mess when Roland took over, they have spent money on players and infrastructure, and you only have to read Charlton Life to know there we have a significant number of fans who think they know everything there is to know about the club and love a good moan about what whoever is in charge at the time is doing wrong. It's not her job to live in the past, she's a custodian of our present and future.
You can question the wisdom of sharing some of these thoughts with a journo and I understand that people with a better knowledge of how the club was and is being run have, I'm sure, legitimate concerns and criticisms, but even some like Airman Brown is broadly of the opinion that KM & RD's intentions are honourable and are still preaching general patient approach. The bit about support of the staff and then firing them is a bit jarring but her job can be pretty thankless so I can sympathise why she might occasionally become a bit jaded by her dealings with some fans.
i think the 90k may be referring to The Who crowd at The Valley and shes a few years out on that maths and accuracy of time has never really been her game
She is not stupid. I cannot believe she was expressing those views knowingly 'on record'. Sounds like she got too friendly with this journalist (or someone who has a journalist contact) and said a lot more in a social setting, over a few glasses of wine maybe, which she was not expecting to be reported.
She is not stupid. I cannot believe she was expressing those views knowingly 'on record'. Sounds like she got too friendly with this journalist (or someone who has a journalist contact) and said a lot more in a social setting, over a few glasses of wine maybe, which she was not expecting to be reported.
She is not stupid. I cannot believe she was expressing those views knowingly 'on record'. Sounds like she got too friendly with this journalist (or someone who has a journalist contact) and said a lot more in a social setting, over a few glasses of wine maybe, which she was not expecting to be reported.
Which is pretty stupid.
Yes, I see your point. Naïve and too trusting as well maybe.
She is not stupid. I cannot believe she was expressing those views knowingly 'on record'. Sounds like she got too friendly with this journalist (or someone who has a journalist contact) and said a lot more in a social setting, over a few glasses of wine maybe, which she was not expecting to be reported.
I agree that that is how it sounds.
But that is why she would be better using a media source where the writers are going to be positive, can check facts relating to Charlton and where she has some control over the final content.
Something like an official website belonging to the Club but that is just about the only site we don't see anything from the CEO, even articles already published in the programme.
You know when the new guy starts at school and he's a bit of a bell end but you start to warm to him a little. Then it turns out he's been calling you 'fatty no mates' behind your back?
Am I the only one who read that and isn't outraged by it?
I mean, the club was in a mess when Roland took over, they have spent money on players and infrastructure, and you only have to read Charlton Life to know there we have a significant number of fans who think they know everything there is to know about the club and love a good moan about what whoever is in charge at the time is doing wrong. It's not her job to live in the past, she's a custodian of our present and future.
You can question the wisdom of sharing some of these thoughts with a journo and I understand that people with a better knowledge of how the club was and is being run have, I'm sure, legitimate concerns and criticisms, but even someone like Airman Brown is broadly of the opinion that KM & RD's intentions are honourable and are still preaching general patient approach. The bit about support of the staff and then firing them is a bit jarring but her job can be pretty thankless so I can sympathise why she might occasionally become a bit jaded by her dealings with some fans.
I don't think there's much outrage on here (yet, give it time). I just think she's quite a strange lady, assuming that this article is more or less accurate. I work in an environment where customer satisfaction is vaguely relevant yet isn't the central part of my role, but at the same time if I went off spouting about how I don't really care about their issues and how stupid I think their whiny complaints are I'd get a well deserved bollocking. Similarly, I wouldn't get too far if I publicly had a carefree chat about all the rubbish members of staff I'd sacked in the past year.
It just doesn't make sense to me. If they're unfeeling, cold, calculating Belgian robots then you'd expect them to have no care for the emotional football side of things but still run things very professionally. An article like this doesn't support that theory, and I do think Katrien wants to love the club, but then she brazenly says she's not bothered about our history or the fans' concerns. They're not cold business people but they're not passionate supporters looking to involve the fans either. They're some weird hybrid of not being bothered about the fans from a personal or professional perspective. They're like that parent who works every hour of every day and always misses the kid's birthday but also buys them expensive birthday presents, then wonders why the kid still doesn't connect with them.
The Belgian football-lover who manages an English club
“The glorious past of the club, I’m not too excited about that.” After a year and a half, the challenge is always there for Belgian KM (31): to revitalise the 2nd tier English club.
“You understand now why I fell in love with this club?” says KM jokingly. At 31, she occupies the post of CEO at the London club, Charlton Athletic. Around us, 15,000 old guard fans and their families are bursting their lungs singing the club hymn before the kick-off against Hull City in the 2nd tier English “Championship”. In this working class district of the British capital, it would be impossible to find anything more traditional than this venerable club of 100 years. Meire points out a corner of the ground: “That’s where the ashes of deceased fans are scattered. The club chaplain organises the ceremony every time. Did you know that, 30 years ago, this stadium could hold 90,000 ?”
But that golden age is gone. At the end of 2013, businessman RD bought the moribund club, which had just been relegated and badly run. “It was a real culture shock,” recalls Meire, CEO since the start of Jan 2014. This lawyer with a specialism in competition law had behind her barely 5 years experience in an international law firm in the Brussels region and at the European Commission.
“Charlton was overstaffed and many of them did not have the right skill set for their jobs,” says Meire. In May last year, she sacked 10 old employees. It was a delicate moment, since the players had just avoided relegation.
“I had told my people in the previous weeks that it would be a catastrophe to get relegated to the 3rd tier. Days after our salvation on the field, I had to dispense with a part of my staff. It was difficult but unavoidable. I only kept the financial director. We are in the process of assembling a good team. The problem is that we’re very close to the centre of London. Top staff want to work there, because salaries are modest out here. Sometimes, I’ve nearly been driven up the wall. For example, a colleague in the commercial department nearly managed to send off to a potential kit sponsor a scruffy, amended document instead of final and pristine documents. And that was a matter of 480,000 euros. I’ve often said I need a punchbag in my office [translator's comment: job for Mr Murray?].”
Clenched fists
On the pitch, there is no sign of a goal. The first half is a long series of disappointments. But just after the restart, Meire is rocked by a single blow. Charlton have opened the scoring. “Yes, yes [in English]”, she cries with clenched fists, before falling into the arms of a pensioner star. Meire is passionately happy. “I’m a football nut. Since I was nine, I’ve followed STVV back home every season. I’ve always wanted to work in the field of sport and particularly football.”
She realised her dream by offering her services to RD some years ago. “He was still the owner of STVV (Saint Trond), who were then playing in the Belgian 2nd tier. I had read that several clubs were asking for the service of Jef Vermassen in respect of the sale of television rights, a criminal lawyer, ffs [literally, “merde alors”]. I thought I should let RD know that was precisely my specialism.” RD was won over by Meire’s determination. He took me on during the winter of 2013 at Standard Liege (which he then owned) as “Legal and international relations manager [in English]”. Barely 2 months later, he sent her off to the arena of Charlton Athletic.
“I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have any experience in football club management, I’d never even spoken to a player’s agent. In the early months, the pressure was enormous. I didn’t want to have to answer for a relegation. I was very unhappy and even cried. My only recourse was to Roland, but he was very busy and I had to go about it in such a way that he wasn’t burdened with our problems. Fortunately, the staff were supportive and friendly. Perhaps Roland asked them to do that (laughs).”
By dint of redundancies and contracting-out, Meire has reduced her staff from 150 to 100. She has been a new broom sweeping through the dusty club. “For example? I could give you as many as you want. Previously, one person ran all the food stalls in the stadium. He hadn’t signed a contract; he just had a “gentleman’s agreement [in English]” with the club. After every match day, he would let the club know the value of sales and the club would get its percentage. There was no control.”
Mascot
And suddenly, silence. “Damned [in English]” Meire swears repeatedly. Two minutes before the final whistle, Hull equalise. “Do your job [in English]!" Shout the furious fans at the players. Among them is a clan [uses English word] of hard and pure fans, as Meire learned the hard way from day one. “Most of the correspondence I get consists of complaints. Some fans have been season ticket holders here for 60 years and know better than anyone else. Like the lady of over 80 who criticised me for changing the club mascot…”
When Meire stopped free tea and coffee for the supporters on match day, many found it to be a true sacrilege. “I still get many criticisms. What difference does it make to give us a little tea or coffee? Unfortunately, it does matter. That’s probably where we would get our best profit margins.”
“I shouldn’t say it, but I’m not fussed about the club history. We should cherish it, but not at any price.” While the 4th official is signalling 8 minutes of added time, Meire emphasises that she has no regrets about abandoning her law career. “The work was too monotonous. I was sat in front of my computer for 13 hours a day. This job can be exhausting, but so much more exhilarating. For example, I do all the transfer negotiations myself [whole sentence in bold]. In football, you soon see the results. It’s positive. My only frustration is that things don’t move as quickly as you would wish.”
“This summer, Roland has spent millions of euros on seven new players. He’s also just invested 2.7 million euros on our ground and 16 million euros on upgrading the facilities of the youth academy. He’s beginning to put pressure on me to show returns on investments (laughs). Of course, I know that. I fear that some day something will fail to go as planned and I’ll be sacked. But as long as I think Charlton can make progress, I’ll stay. I’m really very happy here.
Am I the only one who read that and isn't outraged by it?
I mean, the club was in a mess when Roland took over, they have spent money on players and infrastructure
The club was indeed in a mess when they took over, and they have indeed spent money on players and infrastructure - how much better off are we as a result? Not very, if at all in my opinion.
No shame in being stuck near the bottom of the table when you haven't got a pot to piss in, but not great to be boasting about significant investment in players when you're still flirting with the relegation zone.
Comments
To not care about our history says it all really.
I haven't watched one game this season and, sadly, I'm not bothered.
She seems to fall into the same trap in that when things are looking good, it is all about the owner and her being so great and so much better than went before. I do think they are better than went before by the way, but what went before was probably as bad as it got – and I do think Jiminez had better football knowledge just not business knowledge!
Surprised with her being a lawyer that she presented as fact a statement that was nonsense about 90,000 crowds. It sort of shows a laziness to try to understand the club and unfortunately no little arrogance.
We have already received the message that if we don’t like it we can lump it from her. Well, maybe revenue from fans doesn’t matter. All developments have not been bad, but many fans are losing that link they felt with the club. Some will say that doesn’t matter but I think it does. The blueprint of how to run a club of our size has already been accomplished, and emulated by our friends at Selhurst. It wasn’t a complex plan and certainly we could see what it was from an early stage – unlike the plan of the owner where to be honest, we are still scratching our heads over.
'Through layoffs and outsourcing, Meire rose (ed. reduced??) from 150 to 100 employees. She gave a great sweep in this dusty club'
Those two quotes are almost right next to each other. Either it's a very dodgy translation or the guy writing up the interview has no sense of irony. Honestly I really do hope it's just carried over wrong because I know the business world is an unpleasant place but it's still horrendously inappropriate to talk about how you only got through the first few months in your job with the support of your staff and then immediately revel in clearing out a third of them. 'You guys really helped me out at the start when I had no idea what I was doing. Well, anyway, laters you dusty bastards, the future's calling'.
The new broom ( and broomess) clearly want to do it their way & have little , if any time for the old ways whether they worked or not. I can understand the thinking behind that to a degree but for a CEO with no previous experience in the Beautiful Game per se, you would feel that she would welcome constructive suggestions & input from those that have been there. done that & have the Tshirt ( wet, or otherwise....:-)) Clearly, that was never part of the cunning plan.
Many lifelong & committed supporters have been upset/offended/angered by the manner in which they have been treated by the machinations of the current regime. As others have already stated, the season ticket fiasco was NOT the best way to start a new season and was not dealt with in the best possible taste by those concerned. Purchasing tickets in general was initially chaotic although I have to admit that my personal experience of late shows that lessons were learned.
The catering, despite assurances given to individuals, has seemingly continued to disappoint and I understand that the situation regarding Valley Away ( coaches) has deteriorated since Dhiran left the building, leading, I believe to a trusted steward vacating his role in frustration.
And we are well aware that the Comms Team has struggled( manfully, I might add) to fulfil their varied role in light of departures from their number....The reluctance by the CEO to provide fans with the names of those in various posts at our Club surely stems from the fact that staff come & go at such a pace that such details are rapidly out of date.
Of course, I applaud the provision of a new, state of the art pitch at The Valley , the development of facilities at Sparrows Lane and the extension of contracts for certain valued players but, like a stuck 78, the issue of communication & serious thought about the well being of the Club's paying customers rears its head time & time again......And when performances on the pitch are as disappointing & worrying as of late, there really is only one way that said customers will show their feelings.
BTW, the next Fans' Forum meeting is to be held on Thursday 15th October......
All in all, not the most inspiring article. I don't know what to make of it. Yes, I am grateful for RD saving the club from administration, his continued support and financial assistance. I am grateful for the transfers this season. Yet, we have a history, we have people that have put a lot of time and effort into this club from a community perspective and this is important not to lose.
I mean, the club was in a mess when Roland took over, they have spent money on players and infrastructure, and you only have to read Charlton Life to know there we have a significant number of fans who think they know everything there is to know about the club and love a good moan about what whoever is in charge at the time is doing wrong. It's not her job to live in the past, she's a custodian of our present and future.
You can question the wisdom of sharing some of these thoughts with a journo and I understand that people with a better knowledge of how the club was and is being run have, I'm sure, legitimate concerns and criticisms, but even someone like Airman Brown is broadly of the opinion that KM & RD's intentions are honourable and are still preaching general patient approach. The bit about support of the staff and then firing them is a bit jarring but her job can be pretty thankless so I can sympathise why she might occasionally become a bit jaded by her dealings with some fans.
maths and accuracy of time has never really been her game
But that is why she would be better using a media source where the writers are going to be positive, can check facts relating to Charlton and where she has some control over the final content.
Something like an official website belonging to the Club but that is just about the only site we don't see anything from the CEO, even articles already published in the programme.
No me neither.
But this kind of feels like that
didwouldIt just doesn't make sense to me. If they're unfeeling, cold, calculating Belgian robots then you'd expect them to have no care for the emotional football side of things but still run things very professionally. An article like this doesn't support that theory, and I do think Katrien wants to love the club, but then she brazenly says she's not bothered about our history or the fans' concerns. They're not cold business people but they're not passionate supporters looking to involve the fans either. They're some weird hybrid of not being bothered about the fans from a personal or professional perspective. They're like that parent who works every hour of every day and always misses the kid's birthday but also buys them expensive birthday presents, then wonders why the kid still doesn't connect with them.
“The glorious past of the club, I’m not too excited about that.” After a year and a half, the challenge is always there for Belgian KM (31): to revitalise the 2nd tier English club.
“You understand now why I fell in love with this club?” says KM jokingly. At 31, she occupies the post of CEO at the London club, Charlton Athletic. Around us, 15,000 old guard fans and their families are bursting their lungs singing the club hymn before the kick-off against Hull City in the 2nd tier English “Championship”. In this working class district of the British capital, it would be impossible to find anything more traditional than this venerable club of 100 years. Meire points out a corner of the ground: “That’s where the ashes of deceased fans are scattered. The club chaplain organises the ceremony every time. Did you know that, 30 years ago, this stadium could hold 90,000 ?”
But that golden age is gone. At the end of 2013, businessman RD bought the moribund club, which had just been relegated and badly run. “It was a real culture shock,” recalls Meire, CEO since the start of Jan 2014. This lawyer with a specialism in competition law had behind her barely 5 years experience in an international law firm in the Brussels region and at the European Commission.
“Charlton was overstaffed and many of them did not have the right skill set for their jobs,” says Meire. In May last year, she sacked 10 old employees. It was a delicate moment, since the players had just avoided relegation.
“I had told my people in the previous weeks that it would be a catastrophe to get relegated to the 3rd tier. Days after our salvation on the field, I had to dispense with a part of my staff. It was difficult but unavoidable. I only kept the financial director. We are in the process of assembling a good team. The problem is that we’re very close to the centre of London. Top staff want to work there, because salaries are modest out here. Sometimes, I’ve nearly been driven up the wall. For example, a colleague in the commercial department nearly managed to send off to a potential kit sponsor a scruffy, amended document instead of final and pristine documents. And that was a matter of 480,000 euros. I’ve often said I need a punchbag in my office [translator's comment: job for Mr Murray?].”
Clenched fists
On the pitch, there is no sign of a goal. The first half is a long series of disappointments. But just after the restart, Meire is rocked by a single blow. Charlton have opened the scoring. “Yes, yes [in English]”, she cries with clenched fists, before falling into the arms of a pensioner star. Meire is passionately happy. “I’m a football nut. Since I was nine, I’ve followed STVV back home every season. I’ve always wanted to work in the field of sport and particularly football.”
She realised her dream by offering her services to RD some years ago. “He was still the owner of STVV (Saint Trond), who were then playing in the Belgian 2nd tier. I had read that several clubs were asking for the service of Jef Vermassen in respect of the sale of television rights, a criminal lawyer, ffs [literally, “merde alors”]. I thought I should let RD know that was precisely my specialism.” RD was won over by Meire’s determination. He took me on during the winter of 2013 at Standard Liege (which he then owned) as “Legal and international relations manager [in English]”. Barely 2 months later, he sent her off to the arena of Charlton Athletic.
“I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have any experience in football club management, I’d never even spoken to a player’s agent. In the early months, the pressure was enormous. I didn’t want to have to answer for a relegation. I was very unhappy and even cried. My only recourse was to Roland, but he was very busy and I had to go about it in such a way that he wasn’t burdened with our problems. Fortunately, the staff were supportive and friendly. Perhaps Roland asked them to do that (laughs).”
By dint of redundancies and contracting-out, Meire has reduced her staff from 150 to 100. She has been a new broom sweeping through the dusty club. “For example? I could give you as many as you want. Previously, one person ran all the food stalls in the stadium. He hadn’t signed a contract; he just had a “gentleman’s agreement [in English]” with the club. After every match day, he would let the club know the value of sales and the club would get its percentage. There was no control.”
Mascot
And suddenly, silence. “Damned [in English]” Meire swears repeatedly. Two minutes before the final whistle, Hull equalise. “Do your job [in English]!" Shout the furious fans at the players. Among them is a clan [uses English word] of hard and pure fans, as Meire learned the hard way from day one. “Most of the correspondence I get consists of complaints. Some fans have been season ticket holders here for 60 years and know better than anyone else. Like the lady of over 80 who criticised me for changing the club mascot…”
When Meire stopped free tea and coffee for the supporters on match day, many found it to be a true sacrilege. “I still get many criticisms. What difference does it make to give us a little tea or coffee? Unfortunately, it does matter. That’s probably where we would get our best profit margins.”
“I shouldn’t say it, but I’m not fussed about the club history. We should cherish it, but not at any price.”
While the 4th official is signalling 8 minutes of added time, Meire emphasises that she has no regrets about abandoning her law career. “The work was too monotonous. I was sat in front of my computer for 13 hours a day. This job can be exhausting, but so much more exhilarating. For example, I do all the transfer negotiations myself [whole sentence in bold]. In football, you soon see the results. It’s positive. My only frustration is that things don’t move as quickly as you would wish.”
“This summer, Roland has spent millions of euros on seven new players. He’s also just invested 2.7 million euros on our ground and 16 million euros on upgrading the facilities of the youth academy. He’s beginning to put pressure on me to show returns on investments (laughs). Of course, I know that. I fear that some day something will fail to go as planned and I’ll be sacked. But as long as I think Charlton can make progress, I’ll stay. I’m really very happy here.
No shame in being stuck near the bottom of the table when you haven't got a pot to piss in, but not great to be boasting about significant investment in players when you're still flirting with the relegation zone.