Nope. As Henry Irving said, 98% of the most recent survey had concerns about the way Duchatalet etc are running the club. In my book, that makes just 2% who are happy - one of which includes RoytheBoy.
98% of 830 people who completed the survey. At a generous estimate that's just over 6% of the last home attendance. A lot of people are pissed off, but let's not get carried away with 'statistics'.
@JeSuisCharltonaise, I assume that you do not support the protests against the current regime...
I would agree with your idea that financial stability is to be admired, but do you believe that loading debt, friendly or otherwise, on the club (which I had sort of assumed was what had happened at Bolton) promotes stability? Would you agree that RD's footballing experiment is harming the club? Has the calibre of players, coaches and CEO brought in under the current owner been up to the standard required? Is it odd that the owner doggedly sticks to a tactic of having a threadbare squad assembled each season, and expects to prosper? Do you honestly think that the club will be better off at the end of RD's tenure?
I detest the regime with a passion (and I know this sort of thing might seem a bit OTT to some) because I feel that what they are doing is undermining everything that makes Charlton special to me. Yes, I want the team to be successful on the pitch, we all like to win more often than we lose. But.... When I fell in love with the club it was equally important to me what happened off the pitch, and not just the big things like the Valley Party - one of the best things about the Play-Off Final for me was that, the night before, directors were buying fans pints (including glory hunting Norn Irish fans). There was a time where both the club and the fans had a common purpose and a sense of shared ambition - Duchatelet and his cronies have done everything in their power to destroy this relationship.
I would like all the fans support the team tomorrow, but I'd also like them all to protest loud and long against the regime at half time and after the game. And to keep protesting...
@soapboxsam@Fanny Fanackapan@stonemuse you are such a bunch of cynics, I have absolutely no idea who @PL54 is and certainly think my other half would be startled to know they have morphed into somebody else. You need to accept that not everybody has the same views as you. Support the team during the 90 mins and protest if you must AFTER the final whistle.
Methinks you would benefit from a sense of humour transplant, dear fellow.
Or use your time more beneficially by reading in full the thread about Karel Fraeye ....
As long as the protests are clean, and targeted to the regime, they are likely to maintain or increase support.
They affect the behaviour of the current regime for the better.
They may not, until season ticket renewal and maybe not even then force a change in ownership.
Even standard liege fans may not have fully got rid of him and they were in his face, in his country and he said he had sold up, maybe only in part though.
I don't expect we will dislodge him as owner though I'd like to be surprised. We need to change his mind.
It is not a question of moan, moan, moan it is a question of recognising the incompetent performance of this regime in putting the future of the club as a serious football organisation at risk. For a third time we are scrambling about trying to fix the recruitment blunders made in the close season.
The first mess was as a result of the then impecunious owners having no ability to strengthen the squad.
The new regimes approach in meeting those challenges was flawed and extremely damaging.
The second and third iterations of the failed recruitment process have been profligate and entirely of their own manufacture.
The condemnation of the clubs footballing policies and approach is now industry wide.
Do you seriously think any professional player with any other serious options will choose to play for this regime on anything but a temporary basis? Just consider the length of contracts they have had to offer to bring in two senior players like Johnson and Texeira on a more permanent basis.
Clearly for PL54 the future of the club is really of little consequence. He clearly has better things to focus on but for someone who does he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time delighting in any range of derogatory and sardonic comments.
The club is in the position it is today not due to lack of funds but due to the perverse pursuit of unproven footballing policies which have seen 5 inappropriate head coaching decisions and the turnaround of over 100 largely ill equipped players in 2yrs. It could hardly be worse.
In terms of any alternative prospective investor I have not a clue but then I have not a clue as to the real intentions of this investor who has a troubling record of exploitation for personal gain with both of the senior clubs with which he was involved in Belgium.
Under this regime the club is leaderless as the primary investor remains in absentia.
Crucially not only are we in danger of relegation to League 1 despite the apparent investment of a net £9mn plus in the squad but 1000's are today no longer attending with the threat of 1000's more doing the same next season.
I have supported the club through any number of relegation battles cheering on the appearances of Cliff Holton and the return of Eddie Firmani from Southend reserves but these are different times.
Today there is a fundamental principle at stake. It is the unequivocal and unwritten contract the club is fully committed to supporting those representing the club in achieving the best possible results to secure its footballing status within the upper echelons of the game.
I have argued and will continue to argue this unwritten contract has been broken by this regime to the detriment of its employees, its coaches, its players, its fans and general supporters.
First team playing success has been reduced to being largely incidental against the primary focus of successfully developing and trading footballers. An endeavour, as with every other performance benchmark, in which this regime has spectacularly failed.
I suggest if you bother to look hard enough the conclusive evidence is all too readily apparent.
However everybody is entitled to their opinion though I would contend even your comments "it could be worse" damns this regime with the faintest of praise.
If indeed you are content with the current performance I must strongly suggest you are in the minority.
@Fanny Fanackapan if you are referring to Fraeye's News Shopper article I have read it in full, but do I think it has credibility? It's a big fat no, talk about trying to appeal to fans once you've been put in the laundry bin, and yes he was 100% incompetent and should not have been left in post for as long as he was, a massive mistake of the Fuhrer RD, one of many amongst his massive mistakes. But until there is a truly credible replacement we are where we are and supporting the 11 on the pitch for 90 minutes and staying in the Championship should be our number one priority. If you want to protest AFTER the game that's your choice in our wonderfully democratic country.
@Fanny Fanackapan I believe I am a little younger than thee but I won't bother responding to your immature jibes - each to their own and all that and I do advertise myself as having a GSOH on Tinder!
For someone who has such a wishy-washy, laid back, couldn't care less attitude to the club apart from winning matches, you are, in comparison, remarkably aggressive towards fellow supporters.
I'm sorry if my protesting interrupts your peaceful 90 minutes of football tomorrow (I'm not really!).
My biggest gripe with the moaning Lifers is protest to your hearts content AFTER the game but NOT during the game. If you really want us to stay up you MUST get behind the team during the match, if you think the protests during the game don't affect the players then you must have sawdust between your ears. Unless of course you are so warped that really you want us to get relegated so that RD loses those millions. The ultimate reason for going to football is to see your team play well and to win. Yes there are many other things we want, to be appreciated as fans, to feel included, not to feel they don't get it and are taking the pee out of us but winning games matters most. Until Sheikh Money Bags rides into SE7 on his cash cow, I mean cash camel support the team.
And by the way I am not a KM troll I am a middle-aged season ticket holder attending with 7 very long-term season ticket holders.
There was plenty of protesting throughout the Rotherham game, yet we won 4-1. Fans were also getting behind the team. It's possible to do both believe it or not.
It is not a question of moan, moan, moan it is a question of recognising the incompetent performance of this regime in putting the future of the club as a serious football organisation at risk. For a third time we are scrambling about trying to fix the recruitment blunders made in the close season.Don't disagree with this, but you can't say that there are some who even if we appointed Pep, Messi, Ronaldo and Bale wouldn't still moan and shout KM/RD out.
The first mess was as a result of the then impecunious owners having no ability to strengthen the squad.
The new regimes approach in meeting those challenges was flawed and extremely damaging.don't disagree with this either and other points you have made.
The second and third iterations of the failed recruitment process have been profligate and entirely of their own manufacture.
The condemnation of the clubs footballing policies and approach is now industry wide.
Do you seriously think any professional player with any other serious options will choose to play for this regime on anything but a temporary basis? Just consider the length of contracts they have had to offer to bring in two senior players like Johnson and Texeira on a more permanent basis.
Clearly for PL54 the future of the club is really of little consequence. He clearly has better things to focus on but for someone who does he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time delighting in any range of derogatory and sardonic comments.I am not a PL54 stalker but some of the comments he/she makes that I have seen seem reasonable to me, but perhaps I am unreasonable in your book.
The club is in the position it is today not due to lack of funds but due to the perverse pursuit of unproven footballing policies which have seen 5 inappropriate head coaching decisions and the turnaround of over 100 largely ill equipped players in 2yrs. It could hardly be worse. I would have been much happier if Riga had stayed on at the end of last season rather than having to have clown 1 and then clown 2 and then clown 3 at the pitch side, but maybe the stubborn Fuhrer is just very slightly admitting he got it wrong. I don't believe for one minute that KM had anything to do with any of the managerial appointments. And yes there has been some seriously deficient player recruitment.
In terms of any alternative prospective investor I have not a clue but then I have not a clue as to the real intentions of this investor who has a troubling record of exploitation for personal gain with both of the senior clubs with which he was involved in Belgium.I'm still waiting for the Sheikh on his camel, but until then.......
Under this regime the club is leaderless as the primary investor remains in absentia.He is clearly not a CAFC fan.
Crucially not only are we in danger of relegation to League 1 despite the apparent investment of a net £9mn plus in the squad but 1000's are today no longer attending with the threat of 1000's more doing the same next season.I and my magnificent 7 shall not be renewing our STs until we see what happens in the summer in terms of coach/manager and player recruitment.
I have supported the club through any number of relegation battles cheering on the appearances of Cliff Holton and the return of Eddie Firmani from Southend reserves but these are different times.Too young to compete with that, but one amongst my seven is with you on that.
Today there is a fundamental principle at stake. It is the unequivocal and unwritten contract the club is fully committed to supporting those representing the club in achieving the best possible results to secure its footballing status within the upper echelons of the game.
I have argued and will continue to argue such a unwritten contract has been broken by this regime to the detriment of its employees, its coaches, its players, its fans and general supporters.We're not at the end of the road yet, I could be wrong but am clinging to small flecks of recent admission of wrong doing.
First team playing success has been reduced to being largely incidental against the primary focus of successfully developing and trading footballers.A slight over reaction no?An endeavour, as with every other performance benchmark, in which this regime has spectacularly failed.
I suggest if you bother to look hard enough the conclusive evidence is all too readily apparent.
However everybody is entitled to their opinion though I would contend even your comments "it could be worse" damns this regime with the faintest of praise.I'll say it again, show me the alternative, I might happily sign up to it.
If indeed you are content with the current performance I must strongly suggest you are in the minority.Far from happy, have attended some of the protests including after the Backburn game, but I still want to support the team for 90 minutes without protesting and distracting them during that time, I want us to win and I want us to stay up.
Yes, we are being financially kept alive and currently have that element of protection. No one wants to see charlton go under. But is this enough?
Are the fans enjoying it? No Do the fans feel at least respected and considered? No
Life is not all about money (when you have it)
Not many people connected with charlton are happy at all with how the club is being run, myself included.
There's your answer.
Your answer to what exactly? Is your answer a resolution to the current problems?
If we go on a ten-match winning run I'll bet the majority will feel a whole lot better. I went to the meeting in Woolwich in that cold dank room but that soon died a death after we picked up a few results.
Yes we'd all like it to be how it was when the club and fans were rubbing together as one but I'll say it again, until there is a credible alternative........
And to answer some other posters, yes it is everyone's democratic right to protest during the game as well as after but I personally feel it poisons the atmosphere for players and supporters during the game. That's just my flim flam wishy washy opinion as I don my kaftan and floppy hat!
JeSuisCharltonaise it is confusing when you conflate different posters words in your post.
Having trouble trying to embolden text, tried to highlight two words of Grapevine's and then add my comment but failed - oops, that's my laissez faire attitude again!
Hi Roy. You are entitled to your opinion. The problem that the vast majority have with the current regime is that they spelt it out in Black & White that winning games is not their priority. It was to break even on running costs and make profits on wheeling and dealing with youth and foreign imported players. Though this is good business sense it doesn't bode well for a football club. Fans yes Fans (which you could compare to a religious cult) are only interested in a Sucessful Winning team if they have resources to enable this to happen (Duchalets wealth) If he dosent want to adhere to this then he needs to go because winning games and promotion is what it's all about. So RICHARD somewhere along the line you have lost the plot. When this Nightmeire is over how ever long it takes because as some of us remember the Glikstein era. It eventually ended. Along with all the rest of them. You will have burnt your bridges with the Charlton faithful who under your stewardship saw us get to where we are today. Unlike RD & KM you have still got a chance by speaking up against this lot and you will help to regain the respect you once had because we know you are a Charlton fan but as sometimes happens you have stayed.
That's all great but if we were top of the league under these Belgian squirrel sluts, nobody would be shouting at windows after the game or wearing Fulham scarves whatever was going on.
So yes it is all linked to results.
Thought I’d just add my pennyworth to this. Results are clearly not the important issue and the protests are not about that at all. They are about the mismanagement of the club by the owners and administrators, mismanagement which threatens the ethos of the club as well as its continuance as a Championship/Premier League outfit. Would there be protests if we were top of the league? Clearly not, because results on the pitch are a product of the club being well run. If it were not well run it wouldn’t be top of the league. It stands to reason that a club which is well run and top of its league would be unlikely to be targeted by protesters. So you are addressing the wrong question. You might more profitably consider if there would be the same kind of protests were we bottom of the league but nevertheless a club that was well run and managed. We know from our own recent past that there would not. So to keep suggesting that results are the all-important issue reveals, shall we say, a misunderstanding. It is not and never has been about results but about the incompetence, mismanagement, stubborn blindness and deceitfulness of the current owners. I can’t make it any clearer than that.
That's all great but if we were top of the league under these Belgian squirrel sluts, nobody would be shouting at windows after the game or wearing Fulham scarves whatever was going on.
So yes it is all linked to results.
Of course it is.
The way the club is being run it would be a shock to see Charlton anywhere near the top of the league over 46 games.
If we was top of the league after all this then Roland would have credibility....but we are not and not even close by a long shot and the reasons for that are self inflicted and obvious as to why it fails.
If we were top of the league with the players staff management and vision we had then I guess Roland would be a lucky genius that saw something no one else could. (Happened by accident)
It's just bollocks though, isn't it.
I know the point your trying to make but try to understand the IF part. When has a football club gained success being run like this?
That's all great but if we were top of the league under these Belgian squirrel sluts, nobody would be shouting at windows after the game or wearing Fulham scarves whatever was going on.
So yes it is all linked to results.
Of course it is.
The way the club is being run it would be a shock to see Charlton anywhere near the top of the league over 46 games.
If we was top of the league after all this then Roland would have credibility....but we are not and not even close by a long shot and the reasons for that are self inflicted and obvious as to why it fails.
If we were top of the league with the players staff management and vision we had then I guess Roland would be a lucky genius that saw something no one else could. (Happened by accident)
It's just bollocks though, isn't it.
I know the point your trying to make but try to understand the IF part. When has a football club gained success being run like this?
Give examples.
My thoughts exactly. It's the way Duchatelet runs this club that leads to the very very poor results we've had. I don't understand why some people talk about the Belgians and the results as if they were two unrelated issues. After two years of shit we've been through, just how can you still think we could be anywhere near the top under these crazy Belgians? Wake up. That will never ever happen when they are in control of the club!
I'll take Chris Powell's assertions over Katrien's, thanks. It's safe to say that RD has forced players upon coaches, told them who to play, and that it's not about success on the pitch.
If a team is some how doing well then he only sells their best players, ask Liege and St Truiden. That money isn't reinvested in the club.
It is not a question of moan, moan, moan it is a question of recognising the incompetent performance of this regime in putting the future of the club as a serious football organisation at risk. For a third time we are scrambling about trying to fix the recruitment blunders made in the close season.Don't disagree with this, but you can't say that there are some who even if we appointed Pep, Messi, Ronaldo and Bale wouldn't still moan and shout KM/RD out.
The first mess was as a result of the then impecunious owners having no ability to strengthen the squad.
The new regimes approach in meeting those challenges was flawed and extremely damaging.don't disagree with this either and other points you have made.
The second and third iterations of the failed recruitment process have been profligate and entirely of their own manufacture.
The condemnation of the clubs footballing policies and approach is now industry wide.
Do you seriously think any professional player with any other serious options will choose to play for this regime on anything but a temporary basis? Just consider the length of contracts they have had to offer to bring in two senior players like Johnson and Texeira on a more permanent basis.
Clearly for PL54 the future of the club is really of little consequence. He clearly has better things to focus on but for someone who does he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time delighting in any range of derogatory and sardonic comments.I am not a PL54 stalker but some of the comments he/she makes that I have seen seem reasonable to me, but perhaps I am unreasonable in your book.
The club is in the position it is today not due to lack of funds but due to the perverse pursuit of unproven footballing policies which have seen 5 inappropriate head coaching decisions and the turnaround of over 100 largely ill equipped players in 2yrs. It could hardly be worse. I would have been much happier if Riga had stayed on at the end of last season rather than having to have clown 1 and then clown 2 and then clown 3 at the pitch side, but maybe the stubborn Fuhrer is just very slightly admitting he got it wrong. I don't believe for one minute that KM had anything to do with any of the managerial appointments. And yes there has been some seriously deficient player recruitment.
In terms of any alternative prospective investor I have not a clue but then I have not a clue as to the real intentions of this investor who has a troubling record of exploitation for personal gain with both of the senior clubs with which he was involved in Belgium.I'm still waiting for the Sheikh on his camel, but until then.......
Under this regime the club is leaderless as the primary investor remains in absentia.He is clearly not a CAFC fan.
Crucially not only are we in danger of relegation to League 1 despite the apparent investment of a net £9mn plus in the squad but 1000's are today no longer attending with the threat of 1000's more doing the same next season.I and my magnificent 7 shall not be renewing our STs until we see what happens in the summer in terms of coach/manager and player recruitment.
I have supported the club through any number of relegation battles cheering on the appearances of Cliff Holton and the return of Eddie Firmani from Southend reserves but these are different times.Too young to compete with that, but one amongst my seven is with you on that.
Today there is a fundamental principle at stake. It is the unequivocal and unwritten contract the club is fully committed to supporting those representing the club in achieving the best possible results to secure its footballing status within the upper echelons of the game.
I have argued and will continue to argue such a unwritten contract has been broken by this regime to the detriment of its employees, its coaches, its players, its fans and general supporters.We're not at the end of the road yet, I could be wrong but am clinging to small flecks of recent admission of wrong doing.
First team playing success has been reduced to being largely incidental against the primary focus of successfully developing and trading footballers.A slight over reaction no?An endeavour, as with every other performance benchmark, in which this regime has spectacularly failed.
I suggest if you bother to look hard enough the conclusive evidence is all too readily apparent.
However everybody is entitled to their opinion though I would contend even your comments "it could be worse" damns this regime with the faintest of praise.I'll say it again, show me the alternative, I might happily sign up to it.
If indeed you are content with the current performance I must strongly suggest you are in the minority.Far from happy, have attended some of the protests including after the Backburn game, but I still want to support the team for 90 minutes without protesting and distracting them during that time, I want us to win and I want us to stay up.
I think much of what you say is true and basically you agree with the majority.
You're only real difference to some, is saying don't protest during the game.
I wish it was true as you surmise, that RD has come to his senses and appointed Riga.
However, this is not true. RD wanted to appoint the Serbian Upjest manager and the press release was prepared and ready to press send (as confirmed within the club).
KM & RM told RD that they refused to support this so he relented. The Serb also turned RD down.
RD is an autocrat who is determined to run Charlton with no care as to we win games or not.
This is NOT a proper football club and in all honesty, he should be found to be "not fit and proper".
Your last points about the definition of " fit and proper" are absolutely right, in my view. There has to be a clear evidential commitment from any club owners of realistic intent for the first team to be properly competitive in their league. That said, most owners would probably pass that test almost as a matter of course. Only Charlton's seemingly crackpot owner might struggle to do so, with his vision of Charlton Factory Farm Athletic. I cannot see any signs the football powers will ever do this, nor am I sure if it would prove workable. We're stuck with loopy Roland for the moment, it seems.
@soapboxsam@Fanny Fanackapan@stonemuse you are such a bunch of cynics, I have absolutely no idea who @PL54 is and certainly think my other half would be startled to know they have morphed into somebody else. You need to accept that not everybody has the same views as you. Support the team during the 90 mins and protest if you must AFTER the final whistle.
Methinks you would benefit from a sense of humour transplant, dear fellow.
Or use your time more beneficially by reading in full the thread about Karel Fraeye ....
Fuel to "our "fire, rather than yours ?
Fanny you are by far my favourite poster but I cannot see why some must always try to find fault in people who post views that are not in accordance to the majority. I personally do not agree with all of JeSuisCharltonaise's suggestions/opinions but I like to read someone who has an alternative view/opinion because this is the way one learns or understands better. Most posters on this forum appear to want to condemn rather than understand. Enjoy the game today!
Yes, we are being financially kept alive and currently have that element of protection. No one wants to see charlton go under. But is this enough?
Are the fans enjoying it? No Do the fans feel at least respected and considered? No
Life is not all about money (when you have it)
Not many people connected with charlton are happy at all with how the club is being run, myself included.
There's your answer.
Your answer to what exactly? Is your answer a resolution to the current problems?
If we go on a ten-match winning run I'll bet the majority will feel a whole lot better. I went to the meeting in Woolwich in that cold dank room but that soon died a death after we picked up a few results.
Yes we'd all like it to be how it was when the club and fans were rubbing together as one but I'll say it again, until there is a credible alternative........
And to answer some other posters, yes it is everyone's democratic right to protest during the game as well as after but I personally feel it poisons the atmosphere for players and supporters during the game. That's just my flim flam wishy washy opinion as I don my kaftan and floppy hat!
It is b******* saying protesting during the game effects the players performance. Supporting the the team over the past 18 months, and in particular this season, has achieved f*** all. Protest during the game as it makes no difference to the performance.
I have been at all the protests and have withdrawn from Valley Gold and no longer spend money at the valley but for me it has never been about RD selling the club, although if he does then that's fine. My protest has been about making the owner and CEO aware that they need to change. Time will tell but I suspect that we have made them sit up and think.
Clearly the managerial appointments have been the key issue. Had Luzon kept his early season run going, I doubt we would be at this point of unrest. I must say that in all my time coming to the Valley (40 years) I've never cared about the owners, it's always been about the manager and now is no different.
Mostly, I agree with your points and without doubt, social media has fanned the flames of this situation. It's created a sort of mass-hysteria and I feel it's time for me to take a step back and give Riga and the team a chance. (I didn't really agree with his appointment but so far so good)
Most of all, I want us to stay up, but I fear that an intensification of the anti-board movement may be self-defeating in that respect. I feel this was at least partly responsible for the black week starting with the Colchester away game.
If the situation deteriorates I will consider not renewing our families 5 season tickets, voting with me feet so to speak but it will be with a heavy heart.
But, for the first time in months I am optimistic and so this Saturday, my amazon purchased black and white scarf will stay at home and if we win I suspect more scarfs will be left at home the following week.
Jeez...one win and suddenly things are looking optimistic !!
This is precisely what I was banging on about a while a go, and I think part of the reluctance of the trust to get involved - football fans are fickle and with some good results and a new manager there was always going to be a reduction in the protests.. how much though, will be interesting. I'm hoping it will be minimal.
I thought it would take more than one result though.
The most frustrating thing is these protests have absolutely fuck all to do with results.
You know that is not the case - if we were top of the league nobody would give two hoots about sofas, managerial changes and ticket office opening hours.
Of course results have a bearing on the level of Support for a protest. Football is a competitive results driven Game. That is the point we have been trying to get across to KM and her boss.
IF we were top ? We would have to have a U21 side full of Joe Gomez type of players. Their are a very good side but as we've seen other than Lookman, It's a tough gig to come into a championship side.
IF we were Top ? Only 7 players brought in at the beginning to replace the 12 or so who were released. Those 7 players would've had to stay fit and perform straight away, only 2 of them did.
If we were Top ? We would need one if not 2 strikers near the 15 goal mark; we haven't. We would need to pay the extra money for players who are proven at a high level; Premier or top half of champ, We don't.
If we were top ? If your Raison d'etre is to break even in the championship you will finish nearer to the bottom than the top. That is the Mantra from Katrien Meire. (to break even)
So no protests, if we were top: that is such a spurious argument.
Comments
At a generous estimate that's just over 6% of the last home attendance.
A lot of people are pissed off, but let's not get carried away with 'statistics'.
I would agree with your idea that financial stability is to be admired, but do you believe that loading debt, friendly or otherwise, on the club (which I had sort of assumed was what had happened at Bolton) promotes stability? Would you agree that RD's footballing experiment is harming the club? Has the calibre of players, coaches and CEO brought in under the current owner been up to the standard required? Is it odd that the owner doggedly sticks to a tactic of having a threadbare squad assembled each season, and expects to prosper? Do you honestly think that the club will be better off at the end of RD's tenure?
I detest the regime with a passion (and I know this sort of thing might seem a bit OTT to some) because I feel that what they are doing is undermining everything that makes Charlton special to me. Yes, I want the team to be successful on the pitch, we all like to win more often than we lose. But.... When I fell in love with the club it was equally important to me what happened off the pitch, and not just the big things like the Valley Party - one of the best things about the Play-Off Final for me was that, the night before, directors were buying fans pints (including glory hunting Norn Irish fans). There was a time where both the club and the fans had a common purpose and a sense of shared ambition - Duchatelet and his cronies have done everything in their power to destroy this relationship.
I would like all the fans support the team tomorrow, but I'd also like them all to protest loud and long against the regime at half time and after the game. And to keep protesting...
Or use your time more beneficially by reading in full the thread about Karel Fraeye ....
Fuel to "our "fire, rather than yours ?
They affect the behaviour of the current regime for the better.
They may not, until season ticket renewal and maybe not even then force a change in ownership.
Even standard liege fans may not have fully got rid of him and they were in his face, in his country and he said he had sold up, maybe only in part though.
I don't expect we will dislodge him as owner though I'd like to be surprised. We need to change his mind.
It is not a question of moan, moan, moan it is a question of recognising the incompetent performance of this regime in putting the future of the club as a serious football organisation at risk. For a third time we are scrambling about trying to fix the recruitment blunders made in the close season.
The first mess was as a result of the then impecunious owners having no ability to strengthen the squad.
The new regimes approach in meeting those challenges was flawed and extremely damaging.
The second and third iterations of the failed recruitment process have been profligate and entirely of their own manufacture.
The condemnation of the clubs footballing policies and approach is now industry wide.
Do you seriously think any professional player with any other serious options will choose to play for this regime on anything but a temporary basis? Just consider the length of contracts they have had to offer to bring in two senior players like Johnson and Texeira on a more permanent basis.
Clearly for PL54 the future of the club is really of little consequence. He clearly has better things to focus on but for someone who does he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time delighting in any range of derogatory and sardonic comments.
The club is in the position it is today not due to lack of funds but due to the perverse pursuit of unproven footballing policies which have seen 5 inappropriate head coaching decisions and the turnaround of over 100 largely ill equipped players in 2yrs. It could hardly be worse.
In terms of any alternative prospective investor I have not a clue but then I have not a clue as to the real intentions of this investor who has a troubling record of exploitation for personal gain with both of the senior clubs with which he was involved in Belgium.
Under this regime the club is leaderless as the primary investor remains in absentia.
Crucially not only are we in danger of relegation to League 1 despite the apparent investment of a net £9mn plus in the squad but 1000's are today no longer attending with the threat of 1000's more doing the same next season.
I have supported the club through any number of relegation battles cheering on the appearances of Cliff Holton and the return of Eddie Firmani from Southend reserves but these are different times.
Today there is a fundamental principle at stake. It is the unequivocal and unwritten contract the club is fully committed to supporting those representing the club in achieving the best possible results to secure its footballing status within the upper echelons of the game.
I have argued and will continue to argue this unwritten contract has been broken by this regime to the detriment of its employees, its coaches, its players, its fans and general supporters.
First team playing success has been reduced to being largely incidental against the primary focus of successfully developing and trading footballers. An endeavour, as with every other performance benchmark, in which this regime has spectacularly failed.
I suggest if you bother to look hard enough the conclusive evidence is all too readily apparent.
However everybody is entitled to their opinion though I would contend even your comments "it could be worse" damns this regime with the faintest of praise.
If indeed you are content with the current performance I must strongly suggest you are in the minority.
You've done it again !
Love it when you talk "dirty" about the current regime !
For someone who has such a wishy-washy, laid back, couldn't care less attitude to the club apart from winning matches, you are, in comparison, remarkably aggressive towards fellow supporters.
I'm sorry if my protesting interrupts your peaceful 90 minutes of football tomorrow (I'm not really!).
Yes, we are being financially kept alive and currently have that element of protection. No one wants to see charlton go under. But is this enough?
Are the fans enjoying it? No
Do the fans feel at least respected and considered? No
Life is not all about money (when you have it)
Not many people connected with charlton are happy at all with how the club is being run, myself included.
There's your answer.
If we go on a ten-match winning run I'll bet the majority will feel a whole lot better. I went to the meeting in Woolwich in that cold dank room but that soon died a death after we picked up a few results.
Yes we'd all like it to be how it was when the club and fans were rubbing together as one but I'll say it again, until there is a credible alternative........
And to answer some other posters, yes it is everyone's democratic right to protest during the game as well as after but I personally feel it poisons the atmosphere for players and supporters during the game. That's just my flim flam wishy washy opinion as I don my kaftan and floppy hat!
So RICHARD somewhere along the line you have lost the plot. When this Nightmeire is over how ever long it takes because as some of us remember the Glikstein era. It eventually ended. Along with all the rest of them. You will have burnt your bridges with the Charlton faithful who under your stewardship saw us get to where we are today.
Unlike RD & KM you have still got a chance by speaking up against this lot and you will help to regain the respect you once had because we know you are a Charlton fan but as sometimes happens you have stayed.
The way the club is being run it would be a shock to see Charlton anywhere near the top of the league over 46 games.
If we was top of the league after all this then Roland would have credibility....but we are not and not even close by a long shot and the reasons for that are self inflicted and obvious as to why it fails.
If we were top of the league with the players staff management and vision we had then I guess Roland would be a lucky genius that saw something no one else could. (Happened by accident)
It's just bollocks though, isn't it.
I know the point your trying to make but try to understand the IF part. When has a football club gained success being run like this?
Give examples.
If a team is some how doing well then he only sells their best players, ask Liege and St Truiden. That money isn't reinvested in the club.
You're only real difference to some, is saying don't protest during the game.
I wish it was true as you surmise, that RD has come to his senses and appointed Riga.
However, this is not true. RD wanted to appoint the Serbian Upjest manager and the press release was prepared and ready to press send (as confirmed within the club).
KM & RM told RD that they refused to support this so he relented. The Serb also turned RD down.
RD is an autocrat who is determined to run Charlton with no care as to we win games or not.
This is NOT a proper football club and in all honesty, he should be found to be "not fit and proper".
The definition for f&p, needs to be changed.
That said, most owners would probably pass that test almost as a matter of course. Only Charlton's seemingly crackpot owner might struggle to do so, with his vision of Charlton Factory Farm Athletic.
I cannot see any signs the football powers will ever do this, nor am I sure if it would prove workable.
We're stuck with loopy Roland for the moment, it seems.
Or use your time more beneficially by reading in full the thread about Karel Fraeye ....
Fuel to "our "fire, rather than yours ?
Fanny you are by far my favourite poster but I cannot see why some must always try to find fault in people who post views that are not in accordance to the majority.
I personally do not agree with all of JeSuisCharltonaise's suggestions/opinions but I like to read someone who has an alternative view/opinion because this is the way one learns or understands better.
Most posters on this forum appear to want to condemn rather than understand.
Enjoy the game today!
Protest during the game as it makes no difference to the performance.