Trust response to Club Q&A

castrust

The CAS Trust welcomes the Q&A with Richard Murray published today on the Club website and covered in the Evening Standard. However, we are disappointed that many key concerns and frustrations of supporters have not been addressed. The Trust has been committed to meaningful dialogue and would therefore welcome a response from the Club’s directors to the following questions raised by our members:

•Why are the same mistakes still being made in player recruitment and underestimating the Championship two years on?
•We are informed that the wages budget has increased by 40%, yet the league position is worse and the squad seems weaker. What has gone wrong and how will the club address this?
•Why is Karel Fraeye still interim head coach? Does the board genuinely believe that Karel Fraeye has the knowledge and experience to get Charlton out of the relegation zone? If not, what is being done to recruit a permanent manager?
•The stated strategy is to be a financially stable club, who can be competitive in the Championship, but has Premier League ambitions. In our view this is a goal, not a strategy. Katrien Meire described her proposition as being uniquely focused on being able to watch young footballers in the shop window before they’re sold to Premier League clubs and become stars. Is this consistent with Premier League ambition for Charlton?
•What does the club understand to be the reasons that fans are protesting in large and growing numbers?
•Why does the Club, contrary to the commitments of the Club’s Charter, repeatedly fail to respond to correspondence from fans politely expressing their concerns?
•What does the club intend to do to rebuild the relationship with fans?
•Why was the recent approach from Peter Varney ignored?

Read more here.

LenGlover

I like it.

Has it been emailed to the Big 3?

Callumcafc

1) because Roland is tight and won't pay anywhere near the going rate for a competitive squad
2) because Roland is tight so our scouting network is pants
3) because Roland is tight and doesn't want to pay for a proper manager
4) no - because Roland is tight and chasing $$$ from selling players while imcompetent club officials (because Roland is tight and won't pay a proper CEO) are trying to tell us what they think we want to hear
5) because Roland is tight and doesn't want to pay for a proper back room structure
6) because, bizarrely, Roland still thinks he can make money out of our club

Addickted

Excellent.

However, no timescales as to a response has been given. A polite request to respond to the Trust questions need to include time speak and if an agreed deadline is not met, then a clear explanation as to how the Trust will act and react if the set timetable is not met.

Otherwise we will just continue to get the platitudes we received earlier today.

Curb_It

Addickted said:

Excellent.

However, no timescales as to a response has been given. A polite request to respond to the Trust questions need to include time speak and if an agreed deadline is not met, then a clear explanation as to how the Trust will act and react if the set timetable is not met.

Otherwise we will just continue to get the platitudes we received earlier today.

Fuck em. Let's get the billboards out!

CAFCTrev

Callumcafc said:

1) because Roland
2) because Roland
3) because Roland
4) because Roland
5) because Roland
6) because Roland

Made a few amendments for ya....

WestCountryAddick

Good stuff. Plenty of searching questions for them, though I think we all know they will dodge them. Keeps the pressure on though, which is crucial right now.

InspectorSands

Would have been better with a deadline, but glad to see the Trust asking questions. Hope this has gone to national, London and local media.

addickson

Good stuff, important to respond to the ludicrously stage-managed Q&A with some really important questions that the club should answer.

RanTooFar

InspectorSands said:

Would have been better with a deadline, but glad to see the Trust asking questions. Hope this has gone to national, London and local media.

Agreed, always set a reasonable deadline to respond

WrightCharlie

A nicely put together bunch of questions. Be great to get straight-talking answers to these.
Personally I don't think it matters about not having a deadline, the Trust can "impose" one at a time of their choosing if the Directors don't respond. The Trust can choose a time which best suits the cause.

As a member I'm glad to see the Trust leading a fans response in this matter.

For those who aren't members and who have been saying they'd like to see the Trust a wee bit more aggressive (sorry, aggressive is the wrong word really but it's getting late and it's the best I've got ) why not fling them a fiver and get on to them? If they get more and more "go get 'em" feedback from their members, they'll have to take more notice. Better to be on the inside influencing policy than taking pot shots from the outside.

cafc999

Good questions but as noted elsewhere, need a timescale.

And give them to the evening standard to ask

ElfsborgAddick

Dead horses being flogged.

Henry Irving

Good set of questions.

But as said without a time scale for a response or a consequence if they don't respond they can and most likely will be ignored by the club.

They should, if picked up by the media, go some way to countering yesterday's attempted whitewash of the problems.

WestCountryAddick

Henry Irving said:

Good set of questions.

But as said without a time scale for a response or a consequence if they don't respond they can and most likely will be ignored by the club.

They should, if picked up by the media, go some way to countering yesterday's attempted whitewash of the problems.

Even with a timescale they can and likely will be ignored. As stated a deadline can be set later if it looks like the club are giving it the silent treatment.

Henry Irving

WestCountryAddick said:

Henry Irving said:

Good set of questions.

But as said without a time scale for a response or a consequence if they don't respond they can and most likely will be ignored by the club.

They should, if picked up by the media, go some way to countering yesterday's attempted whitewash of the problems.

Even with a timescale they can and likely will be ignored. As stated a deadline can be set later if it looks like the club are giving it the silent treatment.

True, but then why not set one now. As much for fans as for the club.

If there is no consequence for the club they don't act.

We have seen that with the protests.

Within days of the protests and subsequent media attention they responded with yesterday's press release.

They won't respond to the questions until they feel have to.

Cardinal Sin

All a waste of time I'm afraid. We have done this to death and the response is the same. More soft soap, even from Murray. It's time to up the ante. The sooner we get to a mass boycott the better. It's incumbent on us to show them what next season looks like before we sleep-walk into it. I get the support the team, not the regime stuff but that's plainly not working either. We need to support the team by getting the three stooges to wake-up. If they are going to tough this out with Roly's money, then the sooner they understand the bottom-line the better. Next season will be too late - I, for one, will be throwing the towel in. We need to do this sooner rather than later as there will be sod all interest once we are down anyway.

C4FC4L1f3

This is good to wake up to! It is a start I suppose.

se9addick

Questions are spot on and well articulated.

What happens if they don't respond ?

What happens if they do respond and we don't like what they say ?

When should they respond by ?

lancashire lad

very good CAS Trust but what are you going to do with it, you could:

1: Put at time limit on a reply from CAFC, suggest 21 Jan just before Blackburn game.
2: Just leave it on your web site
3: Send it to the KM, RM, RD and put a time limit on the reply
4: Make it into a press release to all local and major media outlets
5: If no reply make a leaflet out of it and hand out at next home match

rikofold

It's good practice to have clear timescales in many ways, but I believe this is an exception. We're not issuing an ultimatum, we're not taking the option of proper engagement with supporters off the table - we're simply asking the club to explain themselves.

They saw fit to respond when they did, we've come back in less than 24 hours to point out some key areas where their communication is remiss.

The priority the club places on its response will tell us much more than their adherence to an arbitrary deadline. And indeed about their true intentions for what they put out there yesterday.

shirty5

se9addick said:

Questions are spot on and well articulated.

What happens if they don't respond ? Report them to the Football League for breaking their own club charter

What happens if they do respond and we don't like what they say ? All for one and one for all on the protest front

When should they respond by ? 1700hrs next friday

AFKABartram

Good pressure. Has this just been posted as an article, or has it additionally been delivered as an addressed letter to the Board?

If not the latter, then it should, otherwise it's just another website piece.

lancashire lad

rikofold said:

It's good practice to have clear timescales in many ways, but I believe this is an exception. We're not issuing an ultimatum, we're not taking the option of proper engagement with supporters off the table - we're simply asking the club to explain themselves.

They saw fit to respond when they did, we've come back in less than 24 hours to point out some key areas where their communication is remiss.

The priority the club places on its response will tell us much more than their adherence to an arbitrary deadline. And indeed about their true intentions for what they put out there yesterday.

Sorry Rik but in this case I think you are wrong. We have put pressure on the club with our protests. Any protest needs an impetus and while many of us are still willing to continue we need more supporters to join and this piece by the Trust could be that impetus. The next scheduled home game is 23 Jan so if a deadline for an answer of 21 Jan is included it gives people time to organise a protest around your questions for the Blackburn game without the Trust actually having to organise a protest.

If there is no deadline the club can ignore the questions, it is time for the Trust to take off the gloves and join the fight.

PragueAddick

Glad that so far people can see that we are exactly aligned with all other fans about the key questions that should be answered by the Board. Regarding set a deadline we disagree with what has been written here. We don't think its helpful in a public statement unless you have a specific step that it is obvious both to us and the other side that we would take if they do not "comply". Further, if indeed there is a bunker mentality at the Club right now, it is more likely that they would make sure they were not seen to publicly 'comply'. @WrightCharlie 's post above pretty much nails it. By the way before anyone jumps on us demanding what our plan is, if they don't comply, the answer is that of course we are not going to splash that all over CL for tactical reasons which should be obvious.

The most important thing that should now be obvious to RM and KM is that there is no difference between the Trust and the other active fan groups about what the key issues which are vexing all reasonable fans of Charlton Athletic.

Yes we will make sure this is seen not just by the Club Board, but also the media.

Eynsfordaddick

Speedy response. Thanks to all who clearly worked late!
Just a thought but do we need to add something about the need to replace the incompetent CEO whose position has become untenable as she has ostracised and insulted the fanbase, and who is clearly out of her depth?

5_12_2004at1752

Stop mincing about and listen to what people on here are asking for. Send the questions again with a deadline for response.

lancashire lad

sorry Prague but I for one will now consider leaving the Trust as I see no future in it, I understand that you wish to keep any future moves secret from the club but I can only judge your actions on what I know and all I know is that you have waved a bit of paper in the air and the club will just ignore you, a bit like 1939. we need a Churchill not a Chamberlain.

Let me remind you of one of the objectives in your constitution:
4.2 achieving the greatest possible supporter and community influence in the running and ownership of the Club;

with your current action you are not fulfilling that objective.

WestCountryAddick

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Cardinal Sin said:

All a waste of time I'm afraid. We have done this to death and the response is the same. More soft soap, even from Murray. It's time to up the ante. The sooner we get to a mass boycott the better. It's incumbent on us to show them what next season looks like before we sleep-walk into it. I get the support the team, not the regime stuff but that's plainly not working either. We need to support the team by getting the three stooges to wake-up. If they are going to tough this out with Roly's money, then the sooner they understand the bottom-line the better. Next season will be too late - I, for one, will be throwing the towel in. We need to do this sooner rather than later as there will be sod all interest once we are down anyway.

I don't think we'll ever get to a mass boycott, except for the natural wastage of people just not turning up.

Daggs

rikofold said:

It's good practice to have clear timescales in many ways, but I believe this is an exception. We're not issuing an ultimatum, we're not taking the option of proper engagement with supporters off the table - we're simply asking the club to explain themselves.

They saw fit to respond when they did, we've come back in less than 24 hours to point out some key areas where their communication is remiss.

The priority the club places on its response will tell us much more than their adherence to an arbitrary deadline. And indeed about their true intentions for what they put out there yesterday.

It looks like the Trust are continuing the policy of 'seeking dialogue' When almost everyone else is seeking action.

WestCountryAddick

lancashire lad said:

sorry Prague but I for one will now consider leaving the Trust as I see no future in it, I understand that you wish to keep any future moves secret from the club but I can only judge your actions on what I know and all I know is that you have waved a bit of paper in the air and the club will just ignore you, a bit like 1939. we need a Churchill not a Chamberlain.

Let me remind you of one of the objectives in your constitution:
4.2 achieving the greatest possible supporter and community influence in the running and ownership of the Club;

with your current action you are not fulfilling that objective.

To be fair, they have also said that everything will be assessed properly after the transfer window closes. I think this is just a response to the Q&A yesterday rather than a response to the general issues.