Reading some of the stats that people have posted in some of the other threads about our form got me thinking that this really is (if it happens, as seems highly likely) one of the most unnecessary and avoidable relegations in our history.
The paper thin squad, the ridiculous and embarrassing reign of KF, random and strange short term recruitment policy, the TW debacle, the off-field distractions caused by KM, to name but a few.
Yes, we've been unlucky with injuries, but all in all this team should never have been relegated. I know not all is set in stone, but it will take a really impressive run to get out of this and I can't see where that can come from (although I hope to be wrong of course).
VERY different mistakes were made in our relegation season from the Prem last time around, but you could at least see what RM was thinking at the time and that his heart was in the right place (letting Curbs leave a year early, giving Dowie money, etc).
All in all, very upsetting when you really think about it.
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How to go down fighting:
In contrast this season (if we go down) and the previous one are/were utter failures and utterly avoidable.
I really fear these vile people are going to kill the Club completely. It is deliberate to get the Real Estate.
And appointing Karel, and the crap imported from the network, and crazy awful signings had to be because they want us to go down, and probably down again so they can say in the best case scenario, the crowds are too small for the Valley, and move to a 8,000 seat ground to build on The Valley. Or the business is not sustainable, and close it down altogether and build on The Valley.
Oh. And Steve Brown. And a rip-roaring performance of such spirit it makes me a little sad to think of it today.
Unless the Premier League choose to lower its amount of teams, three sides will always get relegated from the top tier, three from the Championship, four from League One and two from League Two etc.
Why not us?
*Us is reference to whichever club moans about relegation rather than Charlton in general
As I've posted before, we have to realise that Duchatelet is a genuine 24 carat crackpot with some kind of 'messiah' complex, and anyone who doubts it should read his interview by a Belgian journalist in issue 10 of the Trust News where he compares himself with the war time code breaker Alan Turing and believes himself to be a “visionary” who sees things others can't:
http://issuu.com/castrust/docs/tnt10/15?e=6744795/30366687
The most pissed I have ever been at a football match.
The sudden flurry of signings recently, whilst not particularly inspiring, implies an interest in getting us out of trouble. Too little, too late unfortunately.
However, if we go down this season then I will personally be blaming the entire regime, and Karel Fraeye deserves a huge dose of that blame. We were leaderless during his reign, and that it was left to go on so long was utterly disgusting - not to mention the underhand tactics that Katrien played with Jacko and Hendo when it came to decision time.
At the risk of sounding petty, I think it says a lot that this sign - http://twitpic.com/3z38vj - was ripped down and not replaced. I don't care if the advertising contract no longer exists, something like that is perfect and says everything that needs to be said; "when you leave this tunnel you put in 110%".