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A message to Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire

edited December 2015 in General Charlton
Dear Roland and Katrien,

I understand that as business people, you wish to run Charlton Athletic, like any other business.

You wish to run your business at a profit if possible, or at break even.

I understand this.

You wish to do this by planning for the medium to long term, making improvements to the stadium and building a new academy.

This is all good business practice and is very sensible for any normal business.

However, this is the crazy world of football. It is not and will not ever be a normal business.

We are fans as well as customers. You do not seem able to understand this simple concept.

We do not turn up randomly, like a customer choosing to go to the cinema or a restaurant.

We are fans, we truly love “our” club.

Some of us love “our” club, nearly as much as our own families.

We love, yes we truly love our club, as much as our husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers.

Many of us have made the bi weekly pilgrimage to The Valley with our loved ones and friends for decades and our fathers and grandfathers did so, even before we were born.

You say that you want to make it an entertaining and great day out coming to The Valley.

Do you not understand that you are doing precisely the opposite ?

We are not entertained by DJ’s blasting out music at midday, when you want to talk to your friends and family.

We are not entertained by you placing a sofa by the corner flag.

In fact many are insulted.

Do you not understand that you are making our lives empty and miserable ?

Do you not understand, that you have to spend on an adequate first team SQUAD, as well as on The Academy ?

No fan, enjoys watching the team that they adore, being outplayed and losing week in week out, because you have not provided adequate resources.

This no doubt does not effect you, as you do not love Charlton like we love Charlton. It is akin to one of our family be ill or deliberately mistreated by you. Yet when we complain, you just laugh at us. Do you have any feelings for Charlton and the fans, other than scorn ?

Your plan cannot and will not work, unless you make Charlton’s first team squad strong enough, to at the very least, remain in The Championship, without having to fight relegation every season.

Your plan cannot work, because you are presiding over a football club that has no football ambition.

Your plan cannot work, because you care not whether Charlton win games.

Your plan cannot work, because your customers (we are actually fans) are deserting you in their thousands and will not return, unless your plan changes, to run this football club like a football club and give us a decent team (you would call it product) to watch.

No business will survive by treating their customers/fans as appallingly, as you have treated your customers/fans.

You treat us with contempt and laugh at us. Shame on you.

If this was a normal business, you would likely already have lost, the vast majority of your customers/fans. You shop would be closed.

As it is, you have lost around 50% and this will continue to increase.

Please, please, please understand, that you are killing this football club.

There can be no medium to long term, if there is no short term.

We love our club. We do not wish to be simply a feeder club for The Premierrship and a football swap shop.

We want a proper manager/coach that knows how to manage/coach. We want to get to know and love our players. We do not want them shipped out annually.

How can you run a business with a £12M turnover and put a succession of under qualified coaches in charge ?

Well, we know the reason. It is because they will go along with your crazy plan and not tell you that you are wrong.

You do not care about the first team. If you did you would provide them with adequate numbers and a suitably qualified coach to lead them.

Well you are wrong and everyone knows it. I suspect that possibly Katrien even knows it.

If you change your ways, it is not too late.

Charlton fans, yes fans, are the finest in the country and I believe the vast majority will forgive you, if you amend your plan to one that will provide entertainment as you promise. If you provide a team that is enjoyable to watch. A team that we can be proud of.

If you don't amend your plan, then we all lose. The team will continue losing, we will continue to be miserable and NOT ENTERTAINED and you will lose more and more money. If Katrien is unhappy at the way she is being treated at the moment, then she better be prepared, for another Battle of The Valley, because she hasn't seen anything yet.


Comments

  • ctrl+f 'christmas'

    poor form tbh
  • Great post Covered End, hits the spot perfectly, for me.
  • Too long ; didn't read
  • suggest you actually send it to them
  • Mine has been emailed (edited in the obvious places). Look forward to receiving a reply.
  • The end is coming soon,trust me,goodbye.KM
  • 10.17 on Christmas Day! Great post.

    I was laying on bed thinking about these bastards during the night.
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  • The end is coming soon,trust me,goodbye.KM

    I bloody hope so mate,i really do :)
  • The end is coming soon,trust me,goodbye.KM

    Inside information?
  • limeygent said:

    The end is coming soon,trust me,goodbye.KM

    Inside information?
    If this is the case, that is a start.

    Still a long way to go.
  • limeygent said:

    The end is coming soon,trust me,goodbye.KM

    Inside information?
    No inside information just have agut feeling things is about to happen to the CEO.
  • edited December 2015
    "Katrien, you are as welcome as …"

    Finish with an appropriate idiom. Try and make it clean or the abuse police will be on to you!
    I'll try first:

    Katrien, you're as welcome as a hole in a condom.

    Oops!

    Edit - sorry, forgot to add Roland.
  • "Katrien, you are as welcome as …"

    Finish with an appropriate idiom. Try and make it clean or the abuse police will be on to you!
    I'll try first:

    Katrien, you're as welcome as a hole in a condom.

    Oops!

    Edit - sorry, forgot to add Roland.

    Fart in a spacesuit?
  • Dear Roland and Katrien,

    I understand that as business people, you wish to run Charlton Athletic, like any other business.

    You wish to run your business at a profit if possible, or at break even.

    I understand this.

    You wish to do this by planning for the medium to long term, making improvements to the stadium and building a new academy.

    This is all good business practice and is very sensible for any normal business.

    However, this is the crazy world of football. It is not and will not ever be a normal business.

    We are fans as well as customers. You do not seem able to understand this simple concept.

    We do not turn up randomly, like a customer choosing to go to the cinema or a restaurant.

    We are fans, we truly love “our” club.

    Some of us love “our” club, nearly as much as our own families.

    We love, yes we truly love our club, as much as our husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers.

    Many of us have made the bi weekly pilgrimage to The Valley with our loved ones and friends for decades and our fathers and grandfathers did so, even before we were born.

    You say that you want to make it an entertaining and great day out coming to The Valley.

    Do you not understand that you are doing precisely the opposite ?

    We are not entertained by DJ’s blasting out music at midday, when you want to talk to your friends and family.

    We are not entertained by you placing a sofa by the corner flag.

    In fact many are insulted.

    Do you not understand that you are making our lives empty and miserable ?

    Do you not understand, that you have to spend on an adequate first team SQUAD, as well as on The Academy ?

    No fan, enjoys watching the team that they adore, being outplayed and losing week in week out, because you have not provided adequate resources.

    This no doubt does not effect you, as you do not love Charlton like we love Charlton. It is akin to one of our family be ill or deliberately mistreated by you. Yet when we complain, you just laugh at us. Do you have any feelings for Charlton and the fans, other than scorn ?

    Your plan cannot and will not work, unless you make Charlton’s first team squad strong enough, to at the very least, remain in The Championship, without having to fight relegation every season.

    Your plan cannot work, because you are presiding over a football club that has no football ambition.

    Your plan cannot work, because you care not whether Charlton win games.

    Your plan cannot work, because your customers (we are actually fans) are deserting you in their thousands and will not return, unless your plan changes, to run this football club like a football club and give us a decent team (you would call it product) to watch.

    No business will survive by treating their customers/fans as appallingly, as you have treated your customers/fans.

    You treat us with contempt and laugh at us. Shame on you.

    If this was a normal business, you would likely already have lost, the vast majority of your customers/fans. You shop would be closed.

    As it is, you have lost around 50% and this will continue to increase.

    Please, please, please understand, that you are killing this football club.

    There can be no medium to long term, if there is no short term.

    We love our club. We do not wish to be simply a feeder club for The Premierrship and a football swap shop.

    We want a proper manager/coach that knows how to manage/coach. We want to get to know and love our players. We do not want them shipped out annually.

    How can you run a business with a £12M turnover and put a succession of under qualified coaches in charge ?

    Well, we know the reason. It is because they will go along with your crazy plan and not tell you that you are wrong.

    You do not care about the first team. If you did you would provide them with adequate numbers and a suitably qualified coach to lead them.

    Well you are wrong and everyone knows it. I suspect that possibly Katrien even knows it.

    If you change your ways, it is not too late.

    Charlton fans, yes fans, are the finest in the country and I believe the vast majority will forgive you, if you amend your plan to one that will provide entertainment as you promise. If you provide a team that is enjoyable to watch. A team that we can be proud of.

    If you don't amend your plan, then we all lose. The team will continue losing, we will continue to be miserable and NOT ENTERTAINED and you will lose more and more money. If Katrien is unhappy at the way she is being treated at the moment, then she better be prepared, for another Battle of The Valley, because she hasn't seen anything yet.


    Stigs Post Of The Week 2%
  • The best Christmas message i have heard for years.

    The Queen,
    The Pope,
    Archbishop of Canterbury,
    Your speeches are poor compared to the above.

    Amen to Covered End, (Even thou i'm a Humanist and Atheist)
  • Spot on Covered End. Loved you saying that if the club was a normal business that it would be closed by now. Hadn't thought about it like that but you couldn't be more right. The fans truly are the only thing keeping this "business" afloat
  • edited December 2015
    The plan could still work if adapted. That means continuity - with the right manager in it for the long haul. If you are not going to break the bank on the squad, it has to be his squad. So the adaption, needs to be to find the right man, and to back him/trust him. There are three men that present the best chance. 1.Alan Curbishley - What Curbishley's greatest ability was knowing/understanding why one player is better than another and how they fit into a team. Despite his absence from management, there is absolutely no reason why he would have lost this skill. A bonus would be the lift his appointment would give the club, at a time where everybody is pulling against each other. 2. Nigel Pearson - It is easy to overlook the part he played in Leicester's success. He would need autonomy, and would build his squad but he would stand a greater chance than most in bringing us success. And 3. Neil Warnock. A manager proven at lower levels. Almost guaranteed to get you up, but will use the dark side of the force to achieve success (ANTI-FOOTBALL), and his limited approach finds him out at the very top and is a reason why he is generally unpopular. Will not get on with players with big egos, and will also need autonomy.

    So my Christmas message to RD is one of advice. Though I have seen enough to know he is too proud and arrogant, with a good helping of foolish to heed any of it. His path is a downward one, but I think he will walk it where it takes him and he'll walk away with a big loss and leave us with a massively damaged club. Merry Christmas!
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  • Brilliant post Covered End. Do hope you have sent it to both of them.
  • "Katrien, you are as welcome as …"

    Finish with an appropriate idiom. Try and make it clean or the abuse police will be on to you!
    I'll try first:

    Katrien, you're as welcome as a hole in a condom.

    Oops!

    Edit - sorry, forgot to add Roland.

    'Katrien, you are as welcome as ....Josef Fritzl at a suprise family party'
  • I doubt KM knows RD is wrong. Why would she? She would have to have an insight in relation to football to understand the issues.
  • Here's a question why does rd not attend a meeting and tell us just what he is trying to achieve and not send his lackie who knows bugger all about football
  • redmick said:

    Here's a question why does rd not attend a meeting and tell us just what he is trying to achieve and not send his lackie who knows bugger all about football

    Either he's a coward or he simply doesn't give a s**t about us! Sorry for the language I rarely speak like this but I feel so sad to see the club's dramatic decline under this regime. There's no light at the end of the tunnel as long as he owns the club.
  • edited December 2015
    He has a playing side model that is better suited to bags of money thrown at it, and an overall spending model that is about sustainability. A wiser man would ditch one of them. It has the be the playing side management, the second bit of his plan does make sense. It is all in the execution, which has been beyond poor since he bought the club.
  • redmick said:

    Here's a question why does rd not attend a meeting and tell us just what he is trying to achieve and not send his lackie who knows bugger all about football

    Either he's a coward or he simply doesn't give a s**t about us! Sorry for the language I rarely speak like this but I feel so sad to see the club's dramatic decline under this regime. There's no light at the end of the tunnel as long as he owns the club.
    They both know nothing about Football which is a recipe for disaster as we are seeing now
  • So does anyone have Roland and Katrien's e mail address, so I can send it to them ?
  • So does anyone have Roland and Katrien's e mail address, so I can send it to them ?

    Get in touch with Varney, I reckon he'll be more than happy to oblige.
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Roland Out Forever!