The staff numbers of 150 to 100 are likely to be off, but in any event contracting out doesn't mean your net income ceases to reflect the staff costs. You just don't see the revenue that covers them. The average number of non-football employees was 56 in 2013 and 60 in 2014; the number of football staff was 90 in 2013 and 101 in 2014.
The line about one person who ran "all the food stalls in the stadium" and handed over a percentage is complete nonsense, but presumably a misunderstanding between Meire and the interviewer.
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.
Is she boasting? She doesn't say "we've done this amazing thing" or anything like that, she just states the fact they've spent them money (which is true) and then says the pressure is on here to deliver results, she doesn't even claim they are delivering results but given this interview was done while we were still unbeaten, after tough start on paper, the general mood on here would have been that they were delivering results so she could be forgiven for feeling upbeat about things at the time. I highly doubt she is oblivious to the fact we've lost a few games on the spin now.
Like I say, I don't think she says anything particularly offensive or disrespectful, especially when you read MountsfieldPark's translation.
The results The supporters The traditions The attendances The catering The ticket selling The programme selling The loyal backroom staff The communications The size and quality of the football staff
what does that leave?
Caring about
Academy infrastructure The stadium quality The pitch Cutting costs and losses. Player stats Not getting relegated if possible.
and possibly the regime are afraid of a lot of other things too.
I did say IF, but this interview is very very unhelpful in trying to improve matters at Charlton Athletic. I hope a huge amount is lost in translation.
In online French language journalism (not just blogs) I've read about RD and his empire, the tone often seems to be a kind of jaunty, slightly mocking tone. I think that is mostly just a common cultural style, perhaps especially where RD is concerned. Although different, it is comparable to our tabloid stuff.
Having said that, I think that KM's comments deserve the benefit of the doubt, i.e. it is the way the guy has transcribed and ordered her words, rather than her personal tone. But perhaps she should be a little more guarded in her choice of words.
It seems to me that this might be another clue as to the long term intentions of RD and KM. And I do mean LONG term because I believe that those of us/you who are hoping that the Duchatalet era will be relatively short-lived are in for a disappointment.
The biggest clue must surely be in RD's willingness to invest millions in our academy whilst keeping the purse strings tight in respect of transfers, wages and other operating costs. I believe he is quite content to do just enough to keep us in the Championship, using the occasional profit on player sales to help keep operating losses manageable. Creating a state of the art training and fitness complex and gaining category one status is crucial to his strategy. That, together with academy graduates standing a higher chance of breaking into the first team at Championship level than in the Premier League, will (he believes) attract top youth talent from the UK and elsewhere in the EU. Some, like Gomez, will receive accelerated development and then be sold to finance the club and, hopefully, enough talent will be retained, blended with younger, more experienced players from overseas to give us a chance - eventually - of getting promoted ourselves.
KM's disregard of our history and in particular the apparent contempt for the older fans (which she must surely understand currently form, like it or not, the core of our support) is indicative of a single-minded focus on the future. Never mind the past, never mind the older fans - they are changing the paradigm. Over time, a new model will be established, a higher calibre team will gradually be created, a new, younger fan base will be grown. If the current fans are pissed off along the way, so be it. Gates might drop a bit, but a new generation of fans will emerge as the strategy starts to bear fruit.
A lot of conjecture on my part, granted, but after 20 months of hoping and looking for more positive signs this is settling into a pretty compelling scenario to me. The big question is, what will happen when Roly decides to retire? I believe he is 69 years old in November and has stated somewhere that he has another 6 years or so to go (I stand to be corrected on the detail of this). The strategy is unlikely to be successful (if at all) in this sort of timescale so what then? Perhaps he will pass the baton on to a family member to continue the "project". Perhaps he will seek to sell and reflect the academy investment in the asking price. Whatever, I can't help thinking that RD at least is here until at least he reaches 75 unless he pops his clogs before then. As for Katrien, who knows? My guess is that her managerial shortcomings will be overlooked/forgiven by RD as long as a) Championship status is preserved, b) the operating budget is met and c) the conveyor belt of successful academy graduates keeps producing.
Unlike some on here, my love for Charlton has not diminished over the years (although when my kids were young and I had loads of DIY to do, my attendance waned) and I find it very hard to imagine becoming so disenchanted with the club that I will stop going to games or avidly following all the news, rumours and debate. I suspect I will continue to get excited by the occasional quality performance and victory, the run of good form, the new signings, the latest academy graduate debut - all the things that have kept me going since the takeover. I also suspect I will continue to take pride in our history (even if RD and KM don't) and in the great work of the Community Trust. But I honestly can't say that it feels quite the same. If my long history with Charlton Athletic Football Club was a marriage, it would most certainly currently be regarded as going through quite a prolonged bad patch.
It seems to me that this might be another clue as to the long term intentions of RD and KM. And I do mean LONG term because I believe that those of us/you who are hoping that the Duchatalet era will be relatively short-lived are in for a disappointment.
The biggest clue must surely be in RD's willingness to invest millions in our academy whilst keeping the purse strings tight in respect of transfers, wages and other operating costs. I believe he is quite content to do just enough to keep us in the Championship, using the occasional profit on player sales to help keep operating losses manageable. Creating a state of the art training and fitness complex and gaining category one status is crucial to his strategy. That, together with academy graduates standing a higher chance of breaking into the first team at Championship level than in the Premier League, will (he believes) attract top youth talent from the UK and elsewhere in the EU. Some, like Gomez, will receive accelerated development and then be sold to finance the club and, hopefully, enough talent will be retained, blended with younger, more experienced players from overseas to give us a chance - eventually - of getting promoted ourselves.
KM's disregard of our history and in particular the apparent contempt for the older fans (which she must surely understand currently form, like it or not, the core of our support) is indicative of a single-minded focus on the future. Never mind the past, never mind the older fans - they are changing the paradigm. Over time, a new model will be established, a higher calibre team will gradually be created, a new, younger fan base will be grown. If the current fans are pissed off along the way, so be it. Gates might drop a bit, but a new generation of fans will emerge as the strategy starts to bear fruit.
A lot of conjecture on my part, granted, but after 20 months of hoping and looking for more positive signs this is settling into a pretty compelling scenario to me. The big question is, what will happen when Roly decides to retire? I believe he is 69 years old in November and has stated somewhere that he has another 6 years or so to go (I stand to be corrected on the detail of this). The strategy is unlikely to be successful (if at all) in this sort of timescale so what then? Perhaps he will pass the baton on to a family member to continue the "project". Perhaps he will seek to sell and reflect the academy investment in the asking price. Whatever, I can't help thinking that RD at least is here until at least he reaches 75 unless he pops his clogs before then. As for Katrien, who knows? My guess is that her managerial shortcomings will be overlooked/forgiven by RD as long as a) Championship status is preserved, b) the operating budget is met and c) the conveyor belt of successful academy graduates keeps producing.
Unlike some on here, my love for Charlton has not diminished over the years (although when my kids were young and I had loads of DIY to do, my attendance waned) and I find it very hard to imagine becoming so disenchanted with the club that I will stop going to games or avidly following all the news, rumours and debate. I suspect I will continue to get excited by the occasional quality performance and victory, the run of good form, the new signings, the latest academy graduate debut - all the things that have kept me going since the takeover. I also suspect I will continue to take pride in our history (even if RD and KM don't) and in the great work of the Community Trust. But I honestly can't say that it feels quite the same. If my long history with Charlton Athletic Football Club was a marriage, it would most certainly currently be regarded as going through quite a prolonged bad patch.
Pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly, although we are spending some time apart at the moment when hopefully the old feelings are reignited.
Slightly off topic but has anyone else ever left a job and then spent 2 years discussing the circumstances around his dismissal, constantly commenting on the way his now-ex workplace is being run, jumps at any opportunity to put down the company and still seems bitter about it? I honestly don't mean offence by that, I just don't really understand it.
Slightly off topic but has anyone else ever left a job and then spent 2 years discussing the circumstances around his dismissal, constantly commenting on the way his now-ex workplace is being run, jumps at any opportunity to put down the company and still seems bitter about it? I honestly don't mean offence by that, I just don't really understand it.
Slightly off topic but has anyone else ever left a job and then spent 2 years discussing the circumstances around his dismissal, constantly commenting on the way his now-ex workplace is being run, jumps at any opportunity to put down the company and still seems bitter about it? I honestly don't mean offence by that, I just don't really understand it.
Slightly off topic but has anyone else ever left a job and then spent 2 years discussing the circumstances around his dismissal, constantly commenting on the way his now-ex workplace is being run, jumps at any opportunity to put down the company and still seems bitter about it? I honestly don't mean offence by that, I just don't really understand it.
Actually I think a lot of people do. I certainly have and continue to do so mostly out of exasperation.
My ex company called me the other day asking for business - if I'd laughed more I'd have shat myself but I don't constantly, or ever, put them down to anyone who'd be sad enough to listen.
It seems to me that this might be another clue as to the long term intentions of RD and KM. And I do mean LONG term because I believe that those of us/you who are hoping that the Duchatalet era will be relatively short-lived are in for a disappointment.
The biggest clue must surely be in RD's willingness to invest millions in our academy whilst keeping the purse strings tight in respect of transfers, wages and other operating costs. I believe he is quite content to do just enough to keep us in the Championship, using the occasional profit on player sales to help keep operating losses manageable. Creating a state of the art training and fitness complex and gaining category one status is crucial to his strategy. That, together with academy graduates standing a higher chance of breaking into the first team at Championship level than in the Premier League, will (he believes) attract top youth talent from the UK and elsewhere in the EU. Some, like Gomez, will receive accelerated development and then be sold to finance the club and, hopefully, enough talent will be retained, blended with younger, more experienced players from overseas to give us a chance - eventually - of getting promoted ourselves.
KM's disregard of our history and in particular the apparent contempt for the older fans (which she must surely understand currently form, like it or not, the core of our support) is indicative of a single-minded focus on the future. Never mind the past, never mind the older fans - they are changing the paradigm. Over time, a new model will be established, a higher calibre team will gradually be created, a new, younger fan base will be grown. If the current fans are pissed off along the way, so be it. Gates might drop a bit, but a new generation of fans will emerge as the strategy starts to bear fruit.
A lot of conjecture on my part, granted, but after 20 months of hoping and looking for more positive signs this is settling into a pretty compelling scenario to me. The big question is, what will happen when Roly decides to retire? I believe he is 69 years old in November and has stated somewhere that he has another 6 years or so to go (I stand to be corrected on the detail of this). The strategy is unlikely to be successful (if at all) in this sort of timescale so what then? Perhaps he will pass the baton on to a family member to continue the "project". Perhaps he will seek to sell and reflect the academy investment in the asking price. Whatever, I can't help thinking that RD at least is here until at least he reaches 75 unless he pops his clogs before then. As for Katrien, who knows? My guess is that her managerial shortcomings will be overlooked/forgiven by RD as long as a) Championship status is preserved, b) the operating budget is met and c) the conveyor belt of successful academy graduates keeps producing.
Unlike some on here, my love for Charlton has not diminished over the years (although when my kids were young and I had loads of DIY to do, my attendance waned) and I find it very hard to imagine becoming so disenchanted with the club that I will stop going to games or avidly following all the news, rumours and debate. I suspect I will continue to get excited by the occasional quality performance and victory, the run of good form, the new signings, the latest academy graduate debut - all the things that have kept me going since the takeover. I also suspect I will continue to take pride in our history (even if RD and KM don't) and in the great work of the Community Trust. But I honestly can't say that it feels quite the same. If my long history with Charlton Athletic Football Club was a marriage, it would most certainly currently be regarded as going through quite a prolonged bad patch.
Pretty much sums up my feelings perfectly, although we are spending some time apart at the moment when hopefully the old feelings are reignited.
Captain Blackadder: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war two great super-armies developed. Us, the Russians and the French on one side, Germany and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea being that each army would act as the other's deterrent. That way, there could never be a war.
Private Baldrick: Except, this is sort of a war, isn't it?
Captain Blackadder: That's right. There was one tiny flaw in the plan.
To be honest, I was angry about her lack of knowledge and arrogance, but I'm not sure that is fair. Duchatelet has chosen her for a reason. She is what she is.
It seems to me that this might be another clue as to the long term intentions of RD and KM. And I do mean LONG term because I believe that those of us/you who are hoping that the Duchatalet era will be relatively short-lived are in for a disappointment.
The biggest clue must surely be in RD's willingness to invest millions in our academy whilst keeping the purse strings tight in respect of transfers, wages and other operating costs. I believe he is quite content to do just enough to keep us in the Championship, using the occasional profit on player sales to help keep operating losses manageable. Creating a state of the art training and fitness complex and gaining category one status is crucial to his strategy. That, together with academy graduates standing a higher chance of breaking into the first team at Championship level than in the Premier League, will (he believes) attract top youth talent from the UK and elsewhere in the EU. Some, like Gomez, will receive accelerated development and then be sold to finance the club and, hopefully, enough talent will be retained, blended with younger, more experienced players from overseas to give us a chance - eventually - of getting promoted ourselves.
KM's disregard of our history and in particular the apparent contempt for the older fans (which she must surely understand currently form, like it or not, the core of our support) is indicative of a single-minded focus on the future. Never mind the past, never mind the older fans - they are changing the paradigm. Over time, a new model will be established, a higher calibre team will gradually be created, a new, younger fan base will be grown. If the current fans are pissed off along the way, so be it. Gates might drop a bit, but a new generation of fans will emerge as the strategy starts to bear fruit.
A lot of conjecture on my part, granted, but after 20 months of hoping and looking for more positive signs this is settling into a pretty compelling scenario to me. The big question is, what will happen when Roly decides to retire? I believe he is 69 years old in November and has stated somewhere that he has another 6 years or so to go (I stand to be corrected on the detail of this). The strategy is unlikely to be successful (if at all) in this sort of timescale so what then? Perhaps he will pass the baton on to a family member to continue the "project". Perhaps he will seek to sell and reflect the academy investment in the asking price. Whatever, I can't help thinking that RD at least is here until at least he reaches 75 unless he pops his clogs before then. As for Katrien, who knows? My guess is that her managerial shortcomings will be overlooked/forgiven by RD as long as a) Championship status is preserved, b) the operating budget is met and c) the conveyor belt of successful academy graduates keeps producing.
Unlike some on here, my love for Charlton has not diminished over the years (although when my kids were young and I had loads of DIY to do, my attendance waned) and I find it very hard to imagine becoming so disenchanted with the club that I will stop going to games or avidly following all the news, rumours and debate. I suspect I will continue to get excited by the occasional quality performance and victory, the run of good form, the new signings, the latest academy graduate debut - all the things that have kept me going since the takeover. I also suspect I will continue to take pride in our history (even if RD and KM don't) and in the great work of the Community Trust. But I honestly can't say that it feels quite the same. If my long history with Charlton Athletic Football Club was a marriage, it would most certainly currently be regarded as going through quite a prolonged bad patch.
I'm hoping that Google translate has messed up what she intended, because some of that message will be downright insulting to supporters, particularly long term ones.
I've taken the view that KM hadn't understood why our history is so important, why when you've been so intimately involved in saving something previous you'll guard it with your life. Now I wonder if this is wilful.
I do accept that we probably do need to change focus a little into future generations but there are plenty of reasons - including business ones - why you would look after the interests of those who have been loyal over years and typically are in a much better position to commit their money to you than the younger generations.
Most of all, the understanding that the Valley and Charlton are written on the hearts of people should be a constant reminder of ask that's good about the club. That's an energy - if tiring - that's worth taking into.
Instead, we're told "like it or lump it" and "only the new generation matters".
I hope it's lost in translation, because she can't afford these people to lose their affinity because of her and the owner.
EDIT: now read Mountfield's translation and reads much better, although the content is much the same I note. Feels like someone still feeling her way through the deep end.
Yes, bring all these new fans in first before you dump us oldies. If you are good business people, surely this makes sense rather than the other way round!!!
My ex company called me the other day asking for business - if I'd laughed more I'd have shat myself but I don't constantly, or ever, put them down to anyone who'd be sad enough to listen.
But most people on here don't give a shit about your ex company whereas we do about charlton. And I think there are also articles of praise readily available in print from same person.
The Google translation is clear enough, so I won't be buying the "I've been misquoted" line. She simply isn't as clever as likes to think and insulting your Customers is never a good idea.
My ex company called me the other day asking for business - if I'd laughed more I'd have shat myself but I don't constantly, or ever, put them down to anyone who'd be sad enough to listen.
Once a line is crossed I bear a grudge for ever. It is a fault I know but after 50 years I am not going to change.
My ex company called me the other day asking for business - if I'd laughed more I'd have shat myself but I don't constantly, or ever, put them down to anyone who'd be sad enough to listen.
But most people on here don't give a shit about your ex company whereas we do about charlton. And I think there are also articles of praise readily available in print from same person.
The comments I've made in this thread today relate to misleading aspects of - and factual inaccuracies in - the article. However, for the record I was writing about the way the club is run for many, many years before I went to work there, and for the same reason that most people contribute here now. If some posters can't see beyond the fact that I stopped working there and prefer to believe that this must drive anything and everything I say subsequently that's their problem. It's not mine . . .
If the translation is true I find her comments appalling and she has a lot to learn.
Unless the first team is successful new fans won't want to come to Charlton. A team whose ambition is Championship survival each year is not attractive to prospective new fans. Alienating long standing season ticket holders and fans is not a good way to attract new 'customers'.
I have used the hospitality lounges for many years and the cost has risen enormously in the last two years and at the same time what you get for your money has diminished.
The staff and 'legends' are all wonderful and really do make it a very pleasant experience, but the food is very overpriced and the lack of choice when you are paying in excess of £70 per match is frustrating . Little things like cutting out biscuits at half time and mints with coffee are penny pinching and wouldn't cost much to provide.
The withdrawal of passes for those who cannot walk up the stairs to the Upper West stand on the grounds of health and safety is disgusting. Many of those people have held season tickets for many years and were made to use the service lift until seats could be found elsewhere in the stadium. Although the reason for not allowing them to use the West Stand lift was health and safety, it is pretty obvious that the real reason was that they did not want people walking through the new Vista Lounge which is very nice but at £350 per season is very expensive when you still have to buy your food and drink.
I hope that she can explain whether the translation is correct.
Comments
Still think it would have been better on the OS.
The line about one person who ran "all the food stalls in the stadium" and handed over a percentage is complete nonsense, but presumably a misunderstanding between Meire and the interviewer.
Like I say, I don't think she says anything particularly offensive or disrespectful, especially when you read MountsfieldPark's translation.
IF
The regime doesn't give a chite for:
The results
The supporters
The traditions
The attendances
The catering
The ticket selling
The programme selling
The loyal backroom staff
The communications
The size and quality of the football staff
what does that leave?
Caring about
Academy infrastructure
The stadium quality
The pitch
Cutting costs and losses.
Player stats
Not getting relegated if possible.
and possibly the regime are afraid of a lot of other things too.
I did say IF, but this interview is very very unhelpful in trying to improve matters at Charlton Athletic. I hope a huge amount is lost in translation.
Having said that, I think that KM's comments deserve the benefit of the doubt, i.e. it is the way the guy has transcribed and ordered her words, rather than her personal tone. But perhaps she should be a little more guarded in her choice of words.
The biggest clue must surely be in RD's willingness to invest millions in our academy whilst keeping the purse strings tight in respect of transfers, wages and other operating costs. I believe he is quite content to do just enough to keep us in the Championship, using the occasional profit on player sales to help keep operating losses manageable. Creating a state of the art training and fitness complex and gaining category one status is crucial to his strategy. That, together with academy graduates standing a higher chance of breaking into the first team at Championship level than in the Premier League, will (he believes) attract top youth talent from the UK and elsewhere in the EU. Some, like Gomez, will receive accelerated development and then be sold to finance the club and, hopefully, enough talent will be retained, blended with younger, more experienced players from overseas to give us a chance - eventually - of getting promoted ourselves.
KM's disregard of our history and in particular the apparent contempt for the older fans (which she must surely understand currently form, like it or not, the core of our support) is indicative of a single-minded focus on the future. Never mind the past, never mind the older fans - they are changing the paradigm. Over time, a new model will be established, a higher calibre team will gradually be created, a new, younger fan base will be grown. If the current fans are pissed off along the way, so be it. Gates might drop a bit, but a new generation of fans will emerge as the strategy starts to bear fruit.
A lot of conjecture on my part, granted, but after 20 months of hoping and looking for more positive signs this is settling into a pretty compelling scenario to me. The big question is, what will happen when Roly decides to retire? I believe he is 69 years old in November and has stated somewhere that he has another 6 years or so to go (I stand to be corrected on the detail of this). The strategy is unlikely to be successful (if at all) in this sort of timescale so what then? Perhaps he will pass the baton on to a family member to continue the "project". Perhaps he will seek to sell and reflect the academy investment in the asking price. Whatever, I can't help thinking that RD at least is here until at least he reaches 75 unless he pops his clogs before then. As for Katrien, who knows? My guess is that her managerial shortcomings will be overlooked/forgiven by RD as long as a) Championship status is preserved, b) the operating budget is met and c) the conveyor belt of successful academy graduates keeps producing.
Unlike some on here, my love for Charlton has not diminished over the years (although when my kids were young and I had loads of DIY to do, my attendance waned) and I find it very hard to imagine becoming so disenchanted with the club that I will stop going to games or avidly following all the news, rumours and debate. I suspect I will continue to get excited by the occasional quality performance and victory, the run of good form, the new signings, the latest academy graduate debut - all the things that have kept me going since the takeover. I also suspect I will continue to take pride in our history (even if RD and KM don't) and in the great work of the Community Trust. But I honestly can't say that it feels quite the same. If my long history with Charlton Athletic Football Club was a marriage, it would most certainly currently be regarded as going through quite a prolonged bad patch.
Panic over!
How old are you Henners?
No wonder we paid over the odds for Polish Pete.
You clearly don't understand it.
Snipers on here need to put their guns down.
Captain Blackadder: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war two great super-armies developed. Us, the Russians and the French on one side, Germany and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea being that each army would act as the other's deterrent. That way, there could never be a war.
Private Baldrick: Except, this is sort of a war, isn't it?
Captain Blackadder: That's right. There was one tiny flaw in the plan.
Lieutenant George: O, what was that?
Captain Blackadder: It was bollocks.
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"
If I could be bothered, I'd put together, an article of what she's really achieved, but I can't be arsed.
I've taken the view that KM hadn't understood why our history is so important, why when you've been so intimately involved in saving something previous you'll guard it with your life. Now I wonder if this is wilful.
I do accept that we probably do need to change focus a little into future generations but there are plenty of reasons - including business ones - why you would look after the interests of those who have been loyal over years and typically are in a much better position to commit their money to you than the younger generations.
Most of all, the understanding that the Valley and Charlton are written on the hearts of people should be a constant reminder of ask that's good about the club. That's an energy - if tiring - that's worth taking into.
Instead, we're told "like it or lump it" and "only the new generation matters".
I hope it's lost in translation, because she can't afford these people to lose their affinity because of her and the owner.
EDIT: now read Mountfield's translation and reads much better, although the content is much the same I note. Feels like someone still feeling her way through the deep end.
Unless the first team is successful new fans won't want to come to Charlton. A team whose ambition is Championship survival each year is not attractive to prospective new fans. Alienating long standing season ticket holders and fans is not a good way to attract new 'customers'.
I have used the hospitality lounges for many years and the cost has risen enormously in the last two years and at the same time what you get for your money has diminished.
The staff and 'legends' are all wonderful and really do make it a very pleasant experience, but the food is very overpriced and the lack of choice when you are paying in excess of £70 per match is frustrating . Little things like cutting out biscuits at half time and mints with coffee are penny pinching and wouldn't cost much to provide.
The withdrawal of passes for those who cannot walk up the stairs to the Upper West stand on the grounds of health and safety is disgusting. Many of those people have held season tickets for many years and were made to use the service lift until seats could be found elsewhere in the stadium. Although the reason for not allowing them to use the West Stand lift was health and safety, it is pretty obvious that the real reason was that they did not want people walking through the new Vista Lounge which is very nice but at £350 per season is very expensive when you still have to buy your food and drink.
I hope that she can explain whether the translation is correct.