The Addicks faithful are nonplussed as, before their eyes, our fortress turns into a sandcastle.
Taking up the fight - the ultimate in friendly fire - seems unthinkable. For one thing, the "opposition" is extremely wealthy, a self-made man whose career and achievements command the greatest respect. He is our latest benefactor and has unquestionably done many good things for the club. How is it possible that he seems to have got this so wrong, and how do you tackle such a powerful guy ? He's clearly unafraid to follow his own path. Besides, being Belgian he's not bothered about confrontation, a place where you may not speak to (certain) neighbours for decades .... did you know that after their general election early in 2010 the Belgians took 589 days to agree an official government ? Twenty months from now could see us well on the way to League 2.
And even more daunting - to see our special club, our unique club ripping itself apart is just heartbreaking. Civil wars seldom produce a winner, only varying degrees of hurt and loss, and an infinite legacy of bitterness.
So how to change things, especially when the opponent has written the rules of engagement and holds the high ground - such a battle is surely unwinnable ?
Well, consider this. If an obstacle is insurmountable it is always possible to swerve past it and try from a different direction, so I propose the Charlton Sell Out Day.
On a day when the JS is likely to be full we too sell out the home areas. If you don't want to pay the full tariff you can always buy tickets for your granddad or the old guy down the street who used to go, or the kids and their mates. But, of course, many tickets will be a no-show. In a sold-out stadium there could be 8000-10000 empty seats, every one a silent accusation, the unmistakeable sign of an alienated supporter who has chosen to stay away.
Then - for the first half everyone dresses in black/dark clothes - not one bit of colour- and regardless of events on the pitch we sit in stony silence, the only exception to give a home goal a brief hand-clap. In such monochrome surroundings every scarlet seat stands out as stark as a gravestone. As the half-time whistle goes there is an almighty roar and all the black disappears to reveal the notorious sea of red. The second half is played out to wild enthusiasm, with every kind of celebration for the merest throw-in, bouncing, Poznans in the NU and so forth. The audio-visual impact of the respective halves would be inescapable and huge.
It's affordable, it's respectful and non-violent, As one who finds CL currently resembling a Tourette's convention I for one would welcome such a user-friendly and inclusive form of protest. Oh well. just a thought ....
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Turn our backs on them I say..........Poznan style, just like RD is doing with our current struggle.
I reckon RD may thank us for our efforts but probably not bother to ask why we all spent the dollar.
Such a dramatic display of disaffection would actually be very hard to ignore or explain away. One picture is worth a thousand words, right?
£20 per concessionary ticket seems very expensive. Just a thought - hi-jacking Kid for a quid would bring you TWENTY empty seats for your score ....
It's a question of finding winnable battles. It's simply untrue to say RD has done nothing good, nor is it feasible to attack a billionaire financially - his pockets are plenty deep enough. As for abuse, he's already seen and heard it all with Standard Liege - a lot worse, I imagine.
RD can only be persuaded or embarrassed into changing his ways. A sold-out stadium signifies a committed supporter base but when a third of the seats remain empty that sends the clearest possible message. Every ticket sold counts - use the club's own rule against it.
Pitch ? Wasn't that paid for with the money for Yann and essentially demanded by the FA (and probably negotiated into the purchase price)
Training ground ? As far as I'm aware a pound hasn't been spent on building anything or a brick laid.
Avoided administration ? That's like saying a great thing I've done with my flat is avoiding burning it down.
Thanks, all, for your comments (and for keeping them polite).
A Charlton musical, btw, would surely be Les Miserables ....
The main point I was trying to make is that RD cannot be bullied or intimidated into change. He can only be persuaded, shamed or perhaps bored into it. Buying a match ticket is the clearest possible expression of active support, and a collective no-show is an unmistakeable expression of dissent.
RD was the only one to step forward to put his money down and keep us afloat (no pitch pun intended), and doubtless for his own reasons he continues to bankroll us.
The club's stumbling administration, combined with a feeling that we're some kind of giant ant farm that every so often needs poking with a sharp stick, is a big enough problem, but bigger still is the failure of player and coaching staff recruitment. This was meant to be the major Network benefit. Well, even so Roland is not alone in such misjudgements - just our history between 2006 and 2008 proves that, and from which we have never really recovered.
Getting things to change will surely take something very special where our present ownership is concerned.
We have to stop arguing amongst ourselves, have different opinions, yes, but we all want one thing, a successful club. Everyone will consider a different scenario to what is success, but more than we have now. We were warned by Standard Liege fans what he will do, and he is doing that. He considers the training ground more important than the players. Easier to sell the club with good training ground.
Unfortunately, I realised a while ago, that things will get worse before (if at all) they get better, and after playing youth football and watching the club all my life (I am 70), I have never felt so detached from the club I love.
I will still follow the club and enjoy Redmidland's match comments, but expect nothing. I have never felt like this before with all the up's and down's we have had in the past, I was hoping to enjoy the club's progress for the rest of my life, but while RD is owner, it is not to be. Sorry to go on, and I know there are probably many who will disagree with me, but it is just how I feel.
We've already seen that he does stand up and take notice, as he did with standard liege. Their fans rallied together, protested and vocalised their disapproval of RD's ownership. Eventually he gave in to the pressure the fans put on him and sold up. Not before asset stripping some of the club's best players, admittedly but I'm sure the fans could live with that outcome and will still see it as a victory.
With a bit of media attention here and in Belgium to help us get our message across he may well pack up and leave. The blokes 70 odd years old. I'm sure he's said before in interviews that he doesn't really want the aggro - so let's give him some!
I'm already resigned to us playing league 1 football next season and the club feels like it's dieing. We need to start rebuilding the club we all love before we lose it forever. That is only possible with a Charlton man at the helm.
#RolandOut
Sorry to be so cynical, but I think reducing his income not increasing it is the way to go on this.
If you let RD drive you away, he is setting the agenda. If you have a match ticket and come to the stadium but choose not to enter, that is your decision.
I think we are on the right track with the 2% campaign - we just need to up the ante a little to really drive the message home.
The revenue per ticket sold will plummet. Ghosts do not buy programmes or beverages, and they don't need hospitality.
The following home game would then presumably be a return to less than12k
I don't think it matters to RD. He invests in training ground / facilities with a view to producing a Poyet / Cousins / Gomez / Lookman / Holmes-Dennis, every season. Get them in the first team (shop window) and sell them to cover his losses. It all falls down, if / when the academy has a lean period. We won't produce players that can be sold for millions, every year.
We're screwed
I had hoped that we would get a home FA cup draw against minnows, that could have given us a chance to spread the message 'do not attend this game',and produce an empty Stadium with just a few away fans.
That would have bought us a lot of publicity, and plenty of attention. The simpler your plan, the better chance you have of achieving a result.