Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

READ and REACT: SLP ARTICLES - RD

17891012

Comments

  • LoOkOuT said:

    Not taking you to task personally on this @ValleyMick, but this notion crops up from time to time and I don't think it's helpful.

    I don't want to overstate my point, and I realise the danger in that, but we often do hear that this site is one of two things:

    1. a small number of obsessives
    2. Not representative or particularly significant of the wider fanbase

    Perhaps the first is at least partially true! But most often, we hear this when someone feels the need to be dismissive: "That's just a message board thing!"—Richard Murray helping to birth the 2% movement.

    Well, in the past thirty days, we have had more than 68,000 unique visitors and well over 4 million page views. Though this is somewhat affected by the current situation and external interest, of the visitors from 150 different countries (shoutout to Belgium, who moved into the top 10 list this month), over 40,000 or 90%+ are UK based (60%+ of that, directly from the club's catchment area: guess what, that's about the same as the capacity of The Valley!). And these numbers actually aren't unusual. In fact, we're down on the comparative period last year in terms of new users and up only a little on number of pages consumed per visit. And we're down 16% from the same period in 2014.

    We don't do anything to actively encourage this (in fact, you could argue that we've willfully neglected growing the site, and I'll hold my hand up to that... sorry!), beyond providing, in the best way we currently can, a space for productive Charlton-related discussion, organisation and action (witness, just in recent times, CAST, Spell it Out, CARD, supporting the Upbeats, Member-causes etc., etc.).

    We can argue about the meaning of this data all day long, but the fact is, this little message board plays its role and plays its role well. We have a very active number of regular contributors. If you confuse the number of active contributors with the power of this site's reach... well, you've made a mistake. Our active members may or may not be representative of the total fanbase, but you'd be wrong in saying that we as a collective (and including other Charlton-related message boards and blogs, or any kind of websites) aren't influential. We can't be dismissed easily.
    Those are very impressive numbers. I have to confess that until I saw that, my thinking was probably more toward @ValleyMick 's. I've done web development and all kinds of data and analytics for almost a decade now, and determining "active users" is a pain for everyone, but even if you were to assume that you could illuminate half as being inactive and/or that those with the strong opinions are the loudest and are heard the most, that is still a very large user base.

    @LoOkOuT you're absolutely correct when you say the Nasty Charlton Anorak Ultras (I'm just going to use it until it catches on) aren't to be considered numerically irrelevant, in fact quite the opposite.

    As far as the numbers remaining roughly static, that's something I would more or less expect. Keep in mind that your prospective user base is finite, and given the 1 support=~1 account, over time you would expect your growth rate to be tied closer and closer to the growth of the CAFC fanbase, which I doubt is something that is growing drastically. I find all of this very interesting, but I doubt anyone else does.

    Well done to the Mods on here, and for those of you who protest. Keep in mind that you have brought RD to the table. What he is saying is obviously not ideal, rather it's incredibly stupid, but you have forced him to start speaking to his decisions and attempting to outline how he runs the club. The problem remains, how on earth does he run this club?
  • edited February 2016
    cabbles said:

    Actually, I'm going to publish a retraction and an apology to NornIrish. Upon closer inspection, and to my detriment I felt pressured to publish a fact that I panicked and didn't think it through. I have a good general knowledge, I know penguins only exist on the antarctic, not the arctic.

    Someone must have given a polar bear a bunch of penguins and watched how many he ate, then put it on the internet.

    It was a shit fact, I will return tomorrow with a much better one
    Sorry to throw this at you, but there are penguins living very near the Equator, as well as in quite warm places which happen to have cold sea currents like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Peru.

    But still, nowhere near enough to be eaten by a polar bear.
  • TELTEL
    edited February 2016

    @Grapevine49 loved your analysis - especially the new academy reference.

    Under Duchatelet we will only be Charlton Academy FC.

    Maybe that's what he thought the A in CAFC meant?
  • SDAddick said:



    Well done to the Mods on here, and for those of you who protest. Keep in mind that you have brought RD to the table. What he is saying is obviously not ideal, rather it's incredibly stupid, but you have forced him to start speaking to his decisions and attempting to outline how he runs the club. The problem remains, how on earth does he run this club?

    This is something I have been thinking about over the last few days. It seems RD is determined to be with us for the a while yet. He also seems to be worried about things and has shown some signs of wanting to communicate. Against that, the protest aims are for him to leave which, at the moment, seems unlikely.

    Assuming that RD does want to listen and do things in a better way (I know this might not be the case) what, if anything, would people be willing to accept so that we go from being a club at war with itself to one where we have people working collaboratively for the benefit for the club and for all?

    The fight and the stand off can continue and that potentially leads to the club withering and dying. But if we can get RD properly to a negotiating table and we decide to work together, what does that look like in practice?

    I know this might never happen and that there will be a wide range of views on this. For some it is all or nothing, for others it is purely about results on the playing field. But I think it is worth discussing what a plan B might be if there is an opportunity to change the club's direction.
  • Http://www.votvonline.com
    Very well put. This just feels like a never ending nightmare at the moment. Everyone can see how inept Pinnochio is, except he who can do something about it. I really do despair. I think the only thing that will be effective now is some kind of organised total boycott or walk out. Im sure many people feel like me.

    I just cannot see anyway back for this regime and that in turn makes me really fear for the future of the club.
  • The bit where he says a big squad will leave 2/3rds of the players unhappy.

    Unhappy individuals (that could also still be loaned out and managed better) is more important then charlton itself. Can he give an example of a big squad f*cking things up?

    The clubs failings makes the fans unhappy.
  • Http://www.votvonline.com
    Superb.
  • Sponsored links:


  • I think PITL has it right. If the protests die, the significant number of protesters will stay away. Unfortunately some for good. L1 will lose fans anyway. Was in Spain for last protest but there Saturday but not at match. Going to Bees and Fulham but in away ends. Will have no contact with the club financially until they are gone. My nephew ditto. Harder for him in away ends as he has a tattoo of the badge.

    Damn, I missed the protest in Spain...
  • The reasoning is how RD sees football and his ownership of football clubs. A number of people have said that he has no interest in football, but this is wrong. I know that he is very interested in football but in a way that is different to the rest of us. We see football as trying to build a team that can compete, trying to get a balanced side, looking for some entertainment during the game. We want to see our academy producing players for the first team, but in the context of a side which also has experienced pros who can mentor them through the toughness of competing in the championship.

    In the world of RD, everything is reduced down to numbers. How much is this player worth when he comes in? how can we add value? What is the target value for them when the player is sold? Then in terms of play, how many accurate passes, assists, goals, tackles, and so on does the player make. He is the ultimate statto. The good player is the one with the best stats and can give the best financial return. Which league and level the player is at does not seem relevant,

    I think that RD is measuring Riga's success on stats as well. How many games left, how many points needed, how many points per game required. So in RD's mind, is the team returning enough points per the games whilst Riga is charge for the rest of the season? At the moment we are below the determined line, but a win tomorrow and we are back on track, so would be considered a success. I think this is how he has measured all of the coaches. I suspect that RD's thinks Fraeye was a good coach but his statistical return was not good enough so had to go. RD treats coaches as junior business managers with targets to meet. I also think that RD has done the same sort of statistical analysis on potential coaches as he has on players. There little chance on having a UK coach as they are, in his mind, not good enough on a value for money basis (using his model). The are just too expensive against what they might return. This seems to go for the support coaching staff as well.

    RD still believes that the club can break even and be competitive in the Championship. He was counting of FFP coming into place, so the changes to it has been a set back. However, as far as I can tell, he thinks that there is a model out there which will allow break even. His arguments seems to be that as he can achieve nearly break even in other parts of Europe, so why not in the UK. I believe he has been told that the Championship, with its financial madness (too much money coming down from the PL but not enough shared around all sides to make it truly competitive in both footballing and financial terms), is different to virtually every other league in Europe. The cost of players here is inflated and there is little that can be done to stop this as an individual club. I'm not sure he accepts this line and is determined to press ahead with his experiment.

    He does seem to have acknowledged that there has not been enough depth in the squad to be competitive but I'm not sure he understands how to add the necessary depth. This is partly because players are measured by him as a set of statistics, so if the stats show the player is, say, a good RB, then he must be. How can the stats be wrong? This ignores all of the human elements, such as would this player be a good fit, how well do they know the Championship, and so on.

    Every transfer window we have Colin saying we are chasing after this player or that and is often accused of making this stuff up. I think this is unfair because as far as I can tell, we have gone after many of the players he has talked about. But this is only half the story. For the most part, we will never sign them. Because RD is holding to this idea of treating players as assets which he can get a (financial) return on, his budgeting for each player seems to be very strict, both in terms of price and running cost. He is looking at what return he can get. There have been players where negotiations were a long way down the road, but the running costs were then evaluated and considered just too much to get a return. So we end up constantly getting cheap players, but with good playing stats, from other leagues.

    We can see the major flaws in all of this, that reducing everything to the bottom line and a series of stats, ignores the real value of building a balanced side of players who can play in this league, and having a competitive team which might get you into the PL. (although I understand that RD still stating an ambition to get to the PL). It is where we are though, and there is little evidence that RD wants to abandon his project.

    For what its worth, I think RD is concerned about the current state of the club the protests, and so on, and is looking for solutions. I suspect that he has been told a great deal this week. Whether he has properly heard the reality of the situation and where solutions can be found is an entirely different matter.
    Think you've nailed it what you say makes sense and clicks.

    Looking at a human being...a footballer and just seeing numbers floating about is quite creepy and just wrong... completely stupid and naive.

    Running a football club like F*ckin FIFA ultimate team.

  • Two excellent posts from @henrythecat and @MuttleyCAFC both worthy of their own thread.
  • I feel really let down by this owner and his cronies, to make me sad and angry when ever I see RD's face is not what football is supposed to be about.

  • Listening to him, I can understand why we got Peeters, Luzon and Fraeye because of his philosophy regarding younger players and the academy, but he made the same mistake 3 times because they were all under prepared for the rigours of the Championship. Now maybe making the same mistake twice with Bob and Guy was just about acceptable possibly, doing it again with dear Karel was unforgivable. As was getting shot of some of our best players and recruiting crap. The guy just can't see beyond the bubble that is Belgium or his chums.


    Would've been 4 times if the Ujpest guy had taken the job.
  • Brilliant insight by henrythecat. Thank you. Helps me understand why he does what he does.
    I assume he doesn't tell us himself because he thinks that he doesn't want other clubs to copy him. I don't think there is much of a risk there myself.
  • edited February 2016
    Was talking to my next door neighbours best mate last night,he works as a scout,primarily for Fulham. As if we didnt know already,he said Charlton is a basket case of a club,no one in football wants to deal with them and theres LOTS of off field problems. Happy Saturday everyone :(
  • Was talking to my next door neighbours best mate last night,he works as a scout,primarily for Fulham. As if we didnt know already,he said Charlton is a basket case of a club,no one in football wants to deal with them and theres LOTS of off field problems. Happy Saturday everyone :(

    I'd "like" this, meaning you speak the truth, but like isn't quite the right word. Did he elaborate on the problems, as he understands them?
  • Sponsored links:


  • I'd "like" this, meaning you speak the truth, but like isn't quite the right word. Did he elaborate on the problems, as he understands them?
    No,he wouldnt elaborate but just said in the football world,no one is surprised at whats happening at Charlton. Whether it was because he didnt know or wasnt prepared to divulge im not sure. Had no reason to disbelieve him,will try to find out more.It was only a brief chat but he wished us supporters good luck for the future.
  • No,he wouldnt elaborate but just said in the football world,no one is surprised at whats happening at Charlton. Whether it was because he didnt know or wasnt prepared to divulge im not sure. Had no reason to disbelieve him,will try to find out more.It was only a brief chat but he wished us supporters good luck for the future.
    Understood, thanks.
  • Http://www.votvonline.com
    Great response.
  • I don't know what to say anymore. He's on another planet.

  • The only upside I can detect is that the photos clearly indicate he has been dead for some weeks..

    "And now I must return to the sweet embrace of the crypt. But I'll be back! Muahahahahaha!"
  • "And now I must return to the sweet embrace of the crypt. But I'll be back! Muahahahahaha!"
    Wear black & white and garlic for Cardiff..
  • edited February 2016

    Wear black & white and garlic for Cardiff..
    Hopefully Peter Cushing will soon launch a stakeover bid

    (Sorry)
  • Hopefully Peter Cushing will soon launch a stakeover bid

    (Sorry)
    He's sucking the blood out of this club, that's for sure.

Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!