After many fruitless attempts at contacting her (and given that Mademoiselle Meire is so reticent to reply to e-mails or engage with fans in any meaningful way (even those who are former CEOs with potential multi-million pound investments) The Lone Gunman decided to ambush the elusive Belgian outside the ground just before the Bristol City game. Not to talk about the team or results but her role as CEO at Charlton and her relationship with the fans following the protests. The unlikely venue for our vox-pop style interview was the little tunnel at Ransom Walk. Read on:
The Lone Gunman: Bonjour Katrien, sava?
Katrien Meire: Bon, Merci, mais j’espère que votre pistolet n’est pas chargé……..ha ha.
TLG: Ok, Katrien not exactly sure what you said there but you will have seen the size of the protest outside the West Stand after the Blackburn game and the many pictures on social media showed Sam Bartram surrounded by crowds of fans. Do you have any comment?
KM: Look, if this Bertrand or whoever was the ringleader then I’m sorry but I’ve never heard of him, he didn’t speak to us though any official channels and I’m not going to stand here and discuss the opinions of a minority of the fans who don’t understand what we are trying to……...
TLG: Err………No, Katrien we were referring to Sam!........Sam Bartram – you know …………, the legendary post-war goalkeeper at Charlton? His statue stands outside the front entrance……. where all the protesters congregated around …………
KM: (Puzzled look).
TLG: OK, then what about inside the ground? There were several occasions in the Blackburn game when large numbers of fans were standing and calling for Duchâtelet to go – far more than the 2% you previously suggested were disenchanted.
KM: Yes maybe so, but there were many thousands of season ticket holders in attendance at the game that did not take part in the protest.
TLG: How can you possibly know that?
KM: Because we checked the figures afterwards and discovered that nearly 3,000 season ticket holders hadn’t gone through the turnstiles. We do count them as having been at the game as they have paid for a seat but clearly they can’t have been part of the protest can they – that’s obvious!
There is more including toe-curling revelations about future managers and the infamous Call Centre.
The Lone Gunman
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