You make some good points there , @altrinchamaddick, and respect to you for posting as you did.
@LoOkOuT has pointed out that in truth there's a spectrum of opinion, as there nearly always is. There were people in 1990 who didn't want us to return to the Valley, but to stay at Selhurst. I met them. Part of the spectrum will involve what is meant by "protest".
Really ? (Unless they were palarse fans) Whatever was their reason for that because as a club we were dying on our feet.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I have not been on this site for a long time but I've looked at this site a bit the last week or so because of the recent meeting and the protest. I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to. No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well. However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read. People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club. Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I have not been on this site for a long time but I've looked at this site a bit the last week or so because of the recent meeting and the protest. I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to. No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well. However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read. People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club. Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I have not been on this site for a long time but I've looked at this site a bit the last week or so because of the recent meeting and the protest. I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to. No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well. However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read. People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club. Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
You should stay silent because what you have just said is completely wrong, misguided and quite offensive.
RD's experiment is what we don't like, and KM's arrogance, lies and inability to do her, quite important job, is what makes us dislike them.
As the original poster of this thread I have to take issue with some of your quotes DF. I used the 98% rather tongue in cheek as I watched the KM/ Fans forum meeting. I'm sure that there are much more than 2% of fans who are concerned with the way that the club is being run, especially by the CEO. Katrien has made mistakes, and communication with the fans needs to improve. As she was appointed by Roland, he also takes some of the blame. My main concerns were would the fans protests affect the performance on the pitch, during this relegation scrap. Having read many informative comments on this thread, I have changed my view on some of the protests. I still don't want to see fans congregating outside the West Stand venting their anger, but the black and white scheme seems to be the right way to go. I hope that the organisers of this protest have thought of ways of explaining to the players what the aims of this protest is, as it is not directed at the team, but designed to improve the interaction between the club and the fans.
@DRF as a female (the word woman is allowed, it's not a dirty word) I would like to tell you that you are talking such a massive pile of balls it is quite hard to see the point you are making.
None of the people who like the current regime have access to a computer? And ALL those who dislike the current regime are here on Charlton Life and nowhere else?
And all of us are xenophobic women haters who can't see the genius of investing in a sofa, a house DJ and a bunch of players/manager no one has ever heard of based on computer statistics and/or personal knowledge as a fantastic way to propel us into the top flight?
What is this rubbish that people on here are against the owners because they're foreign or female?
For the third time in this post - will the OP or anyone else for that matter please show me a post which backs these allegations.
I don't have anything against RD other than his Network experiment. He could be any nationality and I wouldn't like the policies used.
KM - out of her depth, lied to fans, arrogant. That's why I don't like her. Absolutely nothing to do with gender and for posters to say so is disgraceful.
I am glad @altrinchamaddick started this thread and posted what he did. I think many people will disagree with him, but it's really good to have a vehicle through which his views can be expressed.
The board's stated goals for the club are unarguable. But unless there's competent management overseeing their delivery, they will be nothing other than goals.
A visible and noisy, "black and white" protest that is also, absolutely non-violent is a great way to demonstrate against the mis-managtement of the Club.
But, equally, ignoring the protest, letting the management get on with running the Club and giving one hundred per cent backing to the team is an equally valid means of showing you support Charlton.
In short, there are two groups of fans right now. One group that is happy with the current set up and another that demands it that proper changes are made. The only difference between these two is who we want to see take the credit at the end of this season for two successful visits to Wembley.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I have not been on this site for a long time but I've looked at this site a bit the last week or so because of the recent meeting and the protest. I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to. No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well. However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read. People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club. Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
The only apparent xenophobia in evidence comes from Belgium - four head coaches, three of them Belgian and one the former head coach of the owner's Belgian club; a Belgian chief executive; a clutch of Belgian signings in 2014/15, both Belgian nationals and from Belgian clubs; multiple other Belgian assistants and coaches; Belgian scouts - all at an English football club.
You could understand if all these roles were filled by English nationals, given the club is in England, or a smattering from all over Europe and beyond. When so many are filled by Belgians, one of the smaller European countries, it is legitimate to question whether they can all possibly be the best people for the jobs or whether the person making the appointments is a xenophobe, not whether the people observing this remarkable phenomenon are guilty of same.
As William Shakespeare one famously said, a week is a long time in Championship football. It wasnt that long ago that we were desperate for someone to buy us, and bail us out from bankruptcy. Lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Either a, Change what we have under the current owner, or b, nail down a new buyer (not literally, that would be religious nut-casery) who is guaranteed to be better than the man currently investing in us.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I have not been on this site for a long time but I've looked at this site a bit the last week or so because of the recent meeting and the protest. I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to. No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well. However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read. People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club. Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
So according to a couple of posters here, the people against RD and KM are all neo-nazi, xenophobic sexists.
@DRF as a female (the word woman is allowed, it's not a dirty word) I would like to tell you that you are talking such a massive pile of balls it is quite hard to see the point you are making.
None of the people who like the current regime have access to a computer? And ALL those who dislike the current regime are here on Charlton Life and nowhere else?
And all of us are xenophobic women haters who can't see the genius of investing in a sofa, a house DJ and a bunch of players/manager no one has ever heard of based on computer statistics and/or personal knowledge as a fantastic way to propel us into the top flight?
Criticism should be about behaviour and actions not about being Belgian or a woman although criticism can be about being inexperienced and lacking in leadership qualities or being too sensitive (keep sex and nationality out of it is my point as you will not put off the vast swathe of people you may be hoping to attract to your argumenmt)
Can I confine myself to just one area, the appointment of Katrin Meire. During my career I worked with a number of very wealthy and highly successful business people. Each of them I'm sure when appointing a CEO would have begun with very carefully written job specification, outlining very clear requirements from candidates. Bearing in mind the history of our Club, and it's current situation, I firmly believe that requirement number one would have been to appoint someone with experience and good knowledge of running a Club in the English Leagues. That would have been totally essential.
Now consider the qualifications of KM. Only my opinion of course, but I have to imagine that top of Roland's list would have been ' I want someone who wil do exactly what I say without argument '. My experience over 60 years is that putting a square peg into a square hole is essential, plus of course good support and motivation. Make your own conclusions.
So I too work with "C/executive Level" people including presidents and CEOs, and in my experience, "someone who will do exactly what I tell them" is the norm. Not just the norm, but so ensconced that I am sitting here struggling to think of anyone I've worked with at that level who was/is willing to speak their mind honestly with the exception of myself (not a brag, I'm just a mouthy bastard).
That all said, and I have no idea what KM's background is, but I have long been a proponent of the notion that if someone is smart and adaptable enough, they are good enough in business, and that they will learn the specificities of the job. Whether this stretches to football is another question. I do think it's worth asking if it is possible to run football clubs as a business as when you make investments and then cash in on them (Joe Gomez, for a crude example), you are pilloried. And yet, we don't want to be in the financial positions (past/present) of: 1. Blackpool 2. Bolton 3. Wigan 4. Blackburn 5. QPR 6. Palace 7. Man City (who were reportedly close to going to the wall under Shinawatra before Abu Dhabi stepped in) 8. Leeds 9. Leeds, again 10. Luton and so on
Criticism should be about behaviour and actions not about being Belgian or a woman although criticism can be about being inexperienced and lacking in leadership qualities or being too sensitive (keep sex and nationality out of it is my point as you will not put off the vast swathe of people you may be hoping to attract to your argumenmt)
As Airman Brown spelt out the ownership and control of our club is almost entirely Belgian. I have absolutely nothing against Belgians or Belgium but the use of "Belgians" as the group term to describe them is both accurate and appropriate. Unfortunately, some people like to see racism (or whatever term you want to use) where it doesn't exist. That is their problem, not mine.
Were I to buy a business in France I would hope that my nationality would not be held against me especially if I owned all of the business and not just a little bit of it.
Were I to buy a business in France I would hope that my nationality would not be held against me especially if I owned all of the business and not just a little bit of it.
I think you have misunderstood. It's not about owning all of a business but rather nearly all of those in control of the important parts of the business are Belgium-connected.
Were I to buy a business in France I would hope that my nationality would not be held against me especially if I owned all of the business and not just a little bit of it.
Nothing is held against him for being Belgian, but you have to understand he's overtook an English Football Club and replaced almost all important job roles at the Club with Belgians, if you did the same at let's say Gent, or Anderlecht... You'd be called an English this and that, and it's not going to offend you.
To be fair, if people were happy with the owner they would be waving Belgian Flags. Nobody has anything against Belgium per se. If you are angry with somebody, you are more likely to be more offensive the angrier you get.
While we are pfaffing about with the usefull but unqualified Fraye, Blackburn have signed on Lambert as manager. Who apart from us would regard Karel Fraye as better qualified for taking the club ahead, while the likes of Lambert are available. With no alternative in sight, we're stuck with Duchelet, and the marvellously incompetent Meire, so a decent manager passes us by because Roland just slam dunked Karel into the championship. I'll acknowledge the good things Roland has done, but at the end of the day, football is the house rule, and he does'nt listen and won't learn.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
good post - i was up for protest - i have now protested and since then we have won well and signed a new striker - i am happy to support again - if we start hurtling towards league 1 again and don't continue to add proven quality to the squad, i will be back in protest mode again. I like the objectives and don't doubt them - i was protesting to change their methods, not their aims. Others, i'm not sure about - some r narked at being held at arms length, some are a bit dim and get whipped up in hysteria but the vast majority r just scared of league 1 again - im well in that vast majority - keep repeating the same mistakes and skirting with league 1 and i will be for all out change - this is their last chance to show they have learnt what is needed and i will support them to do that.
I wish my wife was as easily pleased as you !
If there was a queue of better alternatives lining up to pump in millions i may be a bit more choosy. Given that in the last 10 years, these are the only lot that have taken it on (apart from the spivs and this lot are far less dangerous than them) then i think we owe them another chance to get it right. Whether KM is up to it or not is irrelevant - she's just a mouthpiece - rd and rm r running this show.
You think Richard Murray is running the show? Really? I doubt if even 2% think that and it wouldn't include Murray himself.
none of us really know though do we? rd in charge - rm as consultant
You said: "Whether KM is up to it or not is irrelevant - she's just a mouthpiece - rd and rm r running this show."
The idea that Murray exerts more influence than the chief executive, who is the line manager for all the non-football staff and apparently the head coach, given she is very obviously Duchatelet's proxy, is far-fetched to the point of being ridiculous. Perhaps Prague would like to comment, based on his conversations with RM.
Yes, Richard Murray has made it very clear that he is a non-executive director, and as such he is effectively an employee who plays the role RD wishes him to play. I think its also been not so easy for him to define what that role is, because he doesn't get to speak to RD that much either. I think he tries to act as an adviser to Katrien (that's usually the role a NED plays). It would be up to Katrien rather than RM to decide how big a role that is. So, basically, Airman is right.
I don't know of any management model for a club of our size that changing the manager every few months has brought success. Surely Murray understands the importance of stability. I don't think Peeters or Luzon were bad managers, but if they were sacked, which they were, the owner must have thought they were. And for Miere to claim they were a success, as we had a few moderately promising results for a time, is surely stretching the truth to the point of incredulity.
I don't know of any management model for a club of our size that changing the manager every few months has brought success. Surely Murray understands the importance of stability. I don't think Peeters or Luzon were bad managers, but if they were sacked, which they were, the owner must have thought they were. And for Miere to claim they were a success, as we had a few moderately promising results for a time, is surely stretching the truth to the point of incredulity.
As the rain pours down in Manchester, I thought I would try to get my views on the current crisis across, as I am one of the 98% silent majority.
I have been following Charlton since 1965 and after retiring I have been a season ticket holder and a Valley Gold member. I have been to every home and away fixture this season ( bar MK Dons).
I fully support Roland Duchatelet’s aims of: 1. Creating a team that is competitive in the Championship with Premiere League ambitions. 2. Develop and improve the infrastructure of The Valley. 3. Improve the training facilities and Academy setup at Sparrows Lane, in order to provide our own players of the future.
I am pretty sure that most fans would support these objectives, so the arguments are around how they are to be achieved and how fast they happen.
Having been through the traumatic times of Hulyer and Fryer and the gradual decline of The Valley under Jimenez and Slater I want to see a steady evolution of the club, with a realistic budget that does not put the club in financial jeopardy in the future.
Duchatelet has certainly not got everything right. Player recruitment has obviously been a concern, especially last season and to a lesser extent this, with some signings not up to the standard or especially the rigour of the Championship. The important point is that he and his management team are learning from their mistakes, and the quality of the present squad shows a steady improvement. (although results might harm this argument!)
The second issue that some fans have complained about is the rapid turnover of managers/coaches. I personally supported all the changes except not giving Jose Riga a chance at the start of last season after his performance in the relegation battle. I supported the sacking of Guy Luzon because towards the end of his tenure he was playing players in unfamiliar positions and his rigid adherence to 4-4-2 left us undermanned in midfield. He seemed to lack tactical understanding that would have enabled us to scrape some points during our injury crisis.
The third issue is the CEO, Katrien Meire, she appears to have upset a great deal of people and has been accused of lying to fans, incompetent management of the club’s staff and mismanaging several issues such as the season ticket sales and the reorganisation of the lounges. I really don’t have enough insite or knowledge into what is going on inside the club, day to day to have a firm view on whether she has been beneficial to the development of CAFC. At the moment I’m on the fence, but I am willing at this stage to give her the benefit of the doubt until the end of this season. Changing CEO’s mid season may cause more problems than it solves.
Onto the protests, I have been disappointed at the crude sledging of RD and KM on here. What has it got to do with whether they come from Belgium or that KM is a woman? You are either successful at running a football club or not. The xenophobic and misogynistic rants that have appeared on Charlton Life are unacceptable. If you want to campaign for a change use arguments containing factual information not swearing rants, and empty talk. It concerns me that CL gets hijacked by some people for their own agenda, a bit like Militant infiltrating the Labour Party in the ‘80’s. Perhaps we have some UKIP/BNP/EDL members spouting their abhorrent rhetoric on here.
So, as a member of the 98% silent majority what am I going to do next? 1. I will not support the protest outside the West Stand against Ipswich. 2. I will not be supporting the Black and White campaign. 3. I will get behind the team fully during this relegation battle, I really don’t want to be in Div 1 next season. 4. I will continue to monitor the decision making prowess of our owners/CEO to try and get a balanced view as to their progress and intentions of CAFC.
What should the 2% vocal majority do? Well that is a thing that I should leave up to you. I fully support your right to protest, and make your complaints heard. What I’m not picking up is what you want to change other than wanting Duchatelet and Meire to leave the club with immediate effect.
My own opinion is while the club is in this difficult relegation fight, that you postpone your protests at the Ipswich game, both inside and outside the ground. Communicate with the club that you were going to hold mass demonstrations, but in light of the on-field problems they are being held back until the New Year. If, in your views, that the club have not shown a willingness to address the issues raised in the Fans Forum, start up your protests after Christmas.
My emotions for the club haven’t changed over the past 50 years, if anything, since I have retired and can spend more time following CAFC, they have strengthened. I am continually surprised on reading CL how many fans comment on, “ I want my Charlton back” and “ I’ve fallen out of love with my team”. Well the club is still here and it needs all the support it can get at the present moment.
So, finally, AM I THE ONLY ONE?
I have not been on this site for a long time but I've looked at this site a bit the last week or so because of the recent meeting and the protest. I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to. No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well. However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read. People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club. Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
And the 3,000 who are no longer going to games despite the fact they hold a season ticket? Also part of the 2%?
Bloody hell, we are packing a lot of numbers into that 2%!
While I don't agree with DRF, I do agree that there is some frustrating xenophobia. Perhaps not amongst some of the more considered posts on here - but it's definitely pretty common. Venture over to Twitter and Facebook and you will constantly see anti-Belgian sentiment. 'Bloody Belgiums!', 'loopy Belgian tosser' etc
My view throughout this whole saga has been fairly balanced - very keen to give the owner a chance, but very deflated with our current low-wattage setup. Unlike many, I was quite excited to see the club adopt a continental style, recruit more players from the Europe and thought the whole thing could be quite an interesting twist to my Charlton Life.
Many of those with fears about the new regime from the outset may ultimately be proven right, and fair play if so. The trouble is, for much of the time that message has been confused and jumbled with so much 'Belgiums out!' type stuff that the more balanced folk found it very off putting. Any valid points tend to arrive amongst a flood of thicko sentiment, and unfortunately it can be a little difficult to pick the bones out.
My personal feeling is that this jumbled message even extends to the current disappointment in the manager, and the obsession that many have with 'English' recruitment. To declare that we can only be successful with English players and coaches completely misses the point, and is demonstrably untrue when you look around the league. Experience and quality, absolutely. Recruiting any old kack that happens to be English, absolutely not. To think, some were keen on the idea of Paul Jewell managing us.
It appears that the latest round of anti-Duchatelet matchday leaflets employ a Belgian flag as a backdrop. While I appreciate that this is probably just convenient shorthand for the current ownership, it is the sort of thing that I find a bit silly, and diminishes the impact of the overall message.
DF - As a sometime resident of France and a 20yr proponent of equal opportunities I find your comments offensive.
AA - I appreciate the post. If you look back at my posts on the takeover by M Duchatelet you will read I was greatly in favour of his goals and applauded the "concept" to bring some sanity to an industry which is out of control. In principle I still am.
I will always acknowledge the investment the owner made in acquiring the club. He stepped in to keep the club operating. I have acknowledged the further investment in the clubs infrastructure but it still prompts the issue of why step into the space in the first place and having done so where do we all go now?
The network model, as Watford proved, can have value. Financial Fair Play would have exercised some control over competitor excesses. Even with these in place the concept he is trying to deliver in probably the most competitive football market place on the planet is always going to be exceptionally difficult. The network & FFP have now gone.
Thus a greater emphasis is placed on the strategies & policies needed to deliver the concept. The business plan has to be right with little margin for error. On the evidence to date, the business plan appears under capitalized, contains several flaws, lacks market understanding and has been poorly implemented - e.g. 4 coaches in 20 months. I fear much of the Staprix due diligence in entering the UK market was based on a number of inaccurate assumptions.
Paradoxically we appear as fans to be an unfortunate consequence of the purchase yet faced with such a challenge why would you not want every interested party to buy into what you are trying you to deliver, presuming of course you can define it in the first place?
Some may be happy to accept the clubs failure to progress and may enjoy the match experience no matter at what level we play. It is not for me to challenge their view but far more (3000/5000 non attendee season ticket holders) than you allude to, are most concerned at the manner in which we are seeing the club operate.
We have seen too many stumbles as in; - Retaining 1 coach and sacking him months later. It was a mistake leading to confusion and much bad feeling. - Appointing another coach, who is successful, but months later failing to extend the appointment. - Appointing another coach, with a remit to avoid relegation and develop young players, yet failing to support him with the needed resources causing him to be dismissed within months. It was a failure in leadership and a mistake - Appointing a further head coach, with the same remit, and failing to support him, in the face of a crippling injury list, with the needed resources causing him to be dismissed months later - another failure of leadership, another mistake.
To argue Luzon lost the plot may have a grain of truth but is simplistic. You consider working a match day dressing room with 3 senior players carrying injuries, half of the others barely out of school with the remainder having 10 games experience in the most competitive of divisions. It would test the ability of any coach. Too often it was men against boys.
Anyone of the above coaches may have had the ability to succeed but with just months in the job and a glaring lack of the needed resources we can never know! While others may risk their financial stability this executive risk destroying peoples coaching careers. It is unproductive and destabilizing.
I challenge your assertion the signings for this season were an improvement. We start the season with 14 senior players from last season but Bikey, Wiggins & Harriott soon depart.
Sadly 5 or 6 - Henderson, Vetokele, Moussa, Jackson, Solly & Diarra will always carry concerning injury profiles leaving a very small core resource of Pope a 2nd string keeper, Fox, Cousins, Watt and Berg Gudmondsson.
None of the 8 recruits have material experience of the Championship. Ba, Cebellos & Makienok barely play in 2014/5 while Reza returns from the wilderness. Academy graduates step up to fill the gaps. Risk, risk, risk and risk again.
I am pleased to see the youngsters have their chance. I do not discount their or the new players potential but if injuries hit, and they did, it places an unreasonable demand on the remaining senior players. I could argue only Bauer & Diarra can be said to have come through unscathed.
The business essential is to retain Championship status over a 46 game season. Recruitment of players has to be at a level to meet this requirement. The profiles detailed carry too greater a risk to provide the structure for and/or the depth of the necessary attributes to be fit for purpose. Compared to the Curbishley/ Varney player profiles the Staprix recruitment matrix is seriously flawed.
The signing of Vaz Te, Doyley and possibly Mc Anuff may assist with the challenge going forward if for no other reason than they are extra bodies and they have been in this division before.
We are calling for change. It is true some have lost total faith in the owner and senior executive and want "regime" change. I will not criticise them for their complete lack of confidence in the current administration. I suggest many more want to understand exactly what the club are trying to achieve, how they propose to achieve it and in what planned timescale?
On what possible basis can that be detrimental to the club. In the absence of such dialogue and any evidence of a viable coherent plan it is extremely hard not to share a similar lack of confidence.
They are all questions the club had a huge opportunity on Tuesday to address while building a dialogue with supporters. If you feel the events of last Tuesday met this objective I should be grateful if you offer some detail for that view. You saw enough to call for patience. I saw absolutely no tangible evidence of any appetite for change.
I apologise to everyone for repeating much that I have commented on before but perhaps I can give one further example of the overriding impression created by the current executive.
Ms Meire apparently gave an interview to a Dutch journalist, which once translated into French and again into English purported to dismiss much of the concern for the club as coming from elderly supporters in whom she effectively had no interest. A wiser head will a) have had checks in place to monitor the content of any media release b) with any whiff of such a "Ratner moment interpretation" moved to counter it before/ as it was put in the public domain.
Once again as with so many of the issues raised she had to act after the event. Similarly we are again scrambling after the event to find "sticking plasters" to put over the wounds of a poorly constructed playing squad.
With all the patience in the world it is simply not good enough.
Not for the first( and hopefully not the last time) Grapevine has hit my spot.
His post encapsulates everything that I could wish to say about our Club and the main shortfalls of the current regime.
THIS is the kind of message that has to be cascaded to our supporters who either choose to bury their cumulative heads in the sand or who are somehow oblivious of the way the currant cookie is crumbling....
And if only those who choose to vote with their feet could be persuaded to return to The Valley in numbers for ongoing black & white protests within the ground, we might see some positive results from said campaign.
Comments
I wasn't going to comment but then I read this and felt I had to.
No, you are not alone. Yes you are part of the 98%. The problem is the 2% spend their lives on here so whilst you are the majority 98% of the club, you are the minority 0.005% on this site. Like you point out we are the silent majority, not just silent in person at games, but silent online as well.
However people spin it on here they dislike RD because he is not English. And they dislike KM because she is female. Of course they will not come out and say that clearly, but it is written between the lines of most of the post I've read.
People have been quick to forget the past and are looking only at the money spent on the players, not money spent on the club.
Stay strong, stay independent and accept that most of us will stay silent.
RD's experiment is what we don't like, and KM's arrogance, lies and inability to do her, quite important job, is what makes us dislike them.
My main concerns were would the fans protests affect the performance on the pitch, during this relegation scrap.
Having read many informative comments on this thread, I have changed my view on some of the protests. I still don't want to see fans congregating outside the West Stand venting their anger, but the black and white scheme seems to be the right way to go.
I hope that the organisers of this protest have thought of ways of explaining to the players what the aims of this protest is, as it is not directed at the team, but designed to improve the interaction between the club and the fans.
None of the people who like the current regime have access to a computer? And ALL those who dislike the current regime are here on Charlton Life and nowhere else?
And all of us are xenophobic women haters who can't see the genius of investing in a sofa, a house DJ and a bunch of players/manager no one has ever heard of based on computer statistics and/or personal knowledge as a fantastic way to propel us into the top flight?
For the third time in this post - will the OP or anyone else for that matter please show me a post which backs these allegations.
I don't have anything against RD other than his Network experiment. He could be any nationality and I wouldn't like the policies used.
KM - out of her depth, lied to fans, arrogant. That's why I don't like her. Absolutely nothing to do with gender and for posters to say so is disgraceful.
The board's stated goals for the club are unarguable. But unless there's competent management overseeing their delivery, they will be nothing other than goals.
A visible and noisy, "black and white" protest that is also, absolutely non-violent is a great way to demonstrate against the mis-managtement of the Club.
But, equally, ignoring the protest, letting the management get on with running the Club and giving one hundred per cent backing to the team is an equally valid means of showing you support Charlton.
In short, there are two groups of fans right now. One group that is happy with the current set up and another that demands it that proper changes are made. The only difference between these two is who we want to see take the credit at the end of this season for two successful visits to Wembley.
You could understand if all these roles were filled by English nationals, given the club is in England, or a smattering from all over Europe and beyond. When so many are filled by Belgians, one of the smaller European countries, it is legitimate to question whether they can all possibly be the best people for the jobs or whether the person making the appointments is a xenophobe, not whether the people observing this remarkable phenomenon are guilty of same.
It wasnt that long ago that we were desperate for someone to buy us, and bail us out from bankruptcy.
Lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Either
a, Change what we have under the current owner, or
b, nail down a new buyer (not literally, that would be religious nut-casery) who is guaranteed to be better than the man currently investing in us.
Those are the only 2 options.
Thanks for clearing that up...
That all said, and I have no idea what KM's background is, but I have long been a proponent of the notion that if someone is smart and adaptable enough, they are good enough in business, and that they will learn the specificities of the job. Whether this stretches to football is another question. I do think it's worth asking if it is possible to run football clubs as a business as when you make investments and then cash in on them (Joe Gomez, for a crude example), you are pilloried. And yet, we don't want to be in the financial positions (past/present) of:
1. Blackpool
2. Bolton
3. Wigan
4. Blackburn
5. QPR
6. Palace
7. Man City (who were reportedly close to going to the wall under Shinawatra before Abu Dhabi stepped in)
8. Leeds
9. Leeds, again
10. Luton
and so on
Bloody hell, we are packing a lot of numbers into that 2%!
My view throughout this whole saga has been fairly balanced - very keen to give the owner a chance, but very deflated with our current low-wattage setup. Unlike many, I was quite excited to see the club adopt a continental style, recruit more players from the Europe and thought the whole thing could be quite an interesting twist to my Charlton Life.
Many of those with fears about the new regime from the outset may ultimately be proven right, and fair play if so. The trouble is, for much of the time that message has been confused and jumbled with so much 'Belgiums out!' type stuff that the more balanced folk found it very off putting. Any valid points tend to arrive amongst a flood of thicko sentiment, and unfortunately it can be a little difficult to pick the bones out.
My personal feeling is that this jumbled message even extends to the current disappointment in the manager, and the obsession that many have with 'English' recruitment. To declare that we can only be successful with English players and coaches completely misses the point, and is demonstrably untrue when you look around the league. Experience and quality, absolutely. Recruiting any old kack that happens to be English, absolutely not. To think, some were keen on the idea of Paul Jewell managing us.
It appears that the latest round of anti-Duchatelet matchday leaflets employ a Belgian flag as a backdrop. While I appreciate that this is probably just convenient shorthand for the current ownership, it is the sort of thing that I find a bit silly, and diminishes the impact of the overall message.
AA - I appreciate the post. If you look back at my posts on the takeover by M Duchatelet you will read I was greatly in favour of his goals and applauded the "concept" to bring some sanity to an industry which is out of control. In principle I still am.
I will always acknowledge the investment the owner made in acquiring the club. He stepped in to keep the club operating. I have acknowledged the further investment in the clubs infrastructure but it still prompts the issue of why step into the space in the first place and having done so where do we all go now?
The network model, as Watford proved, can have value. Financial Fair Play would have exercised some control over competitor excesses. Even with these in place the concept he is trying to deliver in probably the most competitive football market place on the planet is always going to be exceptionally difficult. The network & FFP have now gone.
Thus a greater emphasis is placed on the strategies & policies needed to deliver the concept. The business plan has to be right with little margin for error. On the evidence to date, the business plan appears under capitalized, contains several flaws, lacks market understanding and has been poorly implemented - e.g. 4 coaches in 20 months. I fear much of the Staprix due diligence in entering the UK market was based on a number of inaccurate assumptions.
Paradoxically we appear as fans to be an unfortunate consequence of the purchase yet faced with such a challenge why would you not want every interested party to buy into what you are trying you to deliver, presuming of course you can define it in the first place?
Some may be happy to accept the clubs failure to progress and may enjoy the match experience no matter at what level we play. It is not for me to challenge their view but far more (3000/5000 non attendee season ticket holders) than you allude to, are most concerned at the manner in which we are seeing the club operate.
We have seen too many stumbles as in;
- Retaining 1 coach and sacking him months later. It was a mistake leading to confusion and much bad feeling.
- Appointing another coach, who is successful, but months later failing to extend the appointment.
- Appointing another coach, with a remit to avoid relegation and develop young players, yet failing to support him with the needed resources causing him to be dismissed within months. It was a failure in leadership and a mistake
- Appointing a further head coach, with the same remit, and failing to support him, in the face of a crippling injury list, with the needed resources causing him to be dismissed months later - another failure of leadership, another mistake.
To argue Luzon lost the plot may have a grain of truth but is simplistic. You consider working a match day dressing room with 3 senior players carrying injuries, half of the others barely out of school with the remainder having 10 games experience in the most competitive of divisions. It would test the ability of any coach. Too often it was men against boys.
Anyone of the above coaches may have had the ability to succeed but with just months in the job and a glaring lack of the needed resources we can never know! While others may risk their financial stability this executive risk destroying peoples coaching careers. It is unproductive and destabilizing.
I challenge your assertion the signings for this season were an improvement. We start the season with 14 senior players from last season but Bikey, Wiggins & Harriott soon depart.
Sadly 5 or 6 - Henderson, Vetokele, Moussa, Jackson, Solly & Diarra will always carry concerning injury profiles leaving a very small core resource of Pope a 2nd string keeper, Fox, Cousins, Watt and Berg Gudmondsson.
None of the 8 recruits have material experience of the Championship. Ba, Cebellos & Makienok barely play in 2014/5 while Reza returns from the wilderness. Academy graduates step up to fill the gaps. Risk, risk, risk and risk again.
I am pleased to see the youngsters have their chance. I do not discount their or the new players potential but if injuries hit, and they did, it places an unreasonable demand on the remaining senior players. I could argue only Bauer & Diarra can be said to have come through unscathed.
The business essential is to retain Championship status over a 46 game season. Recruitment of players has to be at a level to meet this requirement. The profiles detailed carry too greater a risk to provide the structure for and/or the depth of the necessary attributes to be fit for purpose. Compared to the Curbishley/ Varney player profiles the Staprix recruitment matrix is seriously flawed.
The signing of Vaz Te, Doyley and possibly Mc Anuff may assist with the challenge going forward if for no other reason than they are extra bodies and they have been in this division before.
We are calling for change. It is true some have lost total faith in the owner and senior executive and want "regime" change. I will not criticise them for their complete lack of confidence in the current administration. I suggest many more want to understand exactly what the club are trying to achieve, how they propose to achieve it and in what planned timescale?
On what possible basis can that be detrimental to the club. In the absence of such dialogue and any evidence of a viable coherent plan it is extremely hard not to share a similar lack of confidence.
They are all questions the club had a huge opportunity on Tuesday to address while building a dialogue with supporters. If you feel the events of last Tuesday met this objective I should be grateful if you offer some detail for that view. You saw enough to call for patience. I saw absolutely no tangible evidence of any appetite for change.
I apologise to everyone for repeating much that I have commented on before but perhaps I can give one further example of the overriding impression created by the current executive.
Ms Meire apparently gave an interview to a Dutch journalist, which once translated into French and again into English purported to dismiss much of the concern for the club as coming from elderly supporters in whom she effectively had no interest. A wiser head will a) have had checks in place to monitor the content of any media release b) with any whiff of such a "Ratner moment interpretation" moved to counter it before/ as it was put in the public domain.
Once again as with so many of the issues raised she had to act after the event. Similarly we are again scrambling after the event to find "sticking plasters" to put over the wounds of a poorly constructed playing squad.
With all the patience in the world it is simply not good enough.
His post encapsulates everything that I could wish to say about our Club and the main shortfalls of the current regime.
THIS is the kind of message that has to be cascaded to our supporters who either choose to bury their cumulative heads in the sand or who are somehow oblivious of the way the currant cookie is crumbling....
And if only those who choose to vote with their feet could be persuaded to return to The Valley in numbers for ongoing black & white protests within the ground, we might see some positive results from said campaign.