No problem with this, the club' statement needed responding to and the Trust have the moral high ground with it.
The club's bluff has been called, whether a response and subsequent meeting takes place, only time will tell but as long it remains on our terms with a request for Douchbag to sell up nothing ventured, nothing gained. If not Nightmeire being removed and proper football people installed as a minimum, which is highly unlikely.
Therefore the protests and damage to the business will continue under notice if no change is evident within a short timeframe.
It's a long game and we continue to dictate the play with this statement IMO. Well done CAST.
We need the press to follow it up, not just print the club statement and leave it at that. Saddened was their key word. Well we are all saddened by the way they are running the club. Looking forward to the SLP on Friday. Other papers/websites often take their lead from their articles.
Thank you for your letter which I have discussed with the club's Chief Executive and find that I do not understand your request for dialogue with myself with regard to the managemant of the club. My Chief Executive informd me that she and her senior team are in regular conversation with the Target20k group with regard to the matchday experience. If you and your membership care about the future of the club then I suggest that you apply to Ms Meire to join this group.
Ms Meire has previously informed supporters that the Chief Executive of the club is the person with whom to liaise, as with all my businesses I do expect my chosen deputy to manage each company.
I think this is the right move. The Club issued a statement that we all believe was for the press and not us. This will be proven when this letter fails to get a response - which we know is highly highly likely. But it is important to send it as the club can't claim the moral high ground saying the supporters didn't approach it following its offer.
Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust were interested to see the statement on the Club’s official website on Sunday which finally publicly acknowledged the true extent of fans' protests and which stated that the club is determined to do everything it can to work together with supporters to "build our relationship with them and make sure they remain at the heart of the club".
As you are fully aware, CAS Trust has more than once requested constructive dialogue with you - most recently when I wrote to you three weeks ago - yet so far this has failed to materialise or receive any genuine and positive response from you. Indeed, we were very surprised by the mention in Katrien's email reply to me of an on-going “strategy group”. We do not believe that such a group has in fact been set up and you can therefore perhaps understand why we are inclined to approach Sunday's statement with a high degree of scepticism.
I’m sure you have now come to the realisation that the protests are an expression of extreme dissatisfaction among the vast majority of supporters and that they are not going to go away until such time as there are dramatic changes in how the club is owned and run. CAS Trust have long campaigned amongst our members for continued efforts in establishing dialogue with you, and a continued lack of anything close to meaningful progress has led us to participate in the on-going protests.
As it stands today, you have not begun to address supporters' concerns and I therefore repeat the offer I made three weeks ago to meet you for an open and frank dialogue about the club’s future direction and what collectively we can do. Take us up on this offer within the next two weeks and we will perhaps start to believe that Sunday’s statement does actually represent a serious message, and is not simply intended as media appeasement.
This club has always enjoyed fantastic support on so many levels from the fans. Like you we are also extremely saddened by the position we find ourselves in - both on and off the pitch.
Steve Clarke CAS Trust Chairman
I attempted something similar but found myself typing Belgian cn*t every couple of lines, must of developed Tourettes...
Thank you for your letter which I have discussed with the club's Chief Executive and find that I do not understand your request for dialogue with myself with regard to the managemant of the club. My Chief Executive informd me that she and her senior team are in regular conversation with the Target20k group with regard to the matchday experience. If you and your membership care about the future of the club then I suggest that you apply to Ms Meire to join this group.
Ms Meire has previously informed supporters that the Chief Executive of the club is the person with whom to liaise, as with all my businesses I do expect my chosen deputy to manage each company.
Yours sincerely
RD
Lancs, do you really think he will reply himself and not just delegate to KM to reply, as happened the last time the Trust wrote directly to RD (referred to within this letter)?
no probs Weegie no I don't think he will, any reply will come from KM. my spoof reply was tongue in cheek but I do think that the Target20K is a worry and a red herring to any meaningful dialogue
no probs Weegie no I don't think he will, any reply will come from KM. my spoof reply was tongue in cheek but I do think that the Target20K is a worry and a red herring to any meaningful dialogue
After tonight's effort, I don't think Target 20k is a worry any more :-)
I agree with the statement regarding the 'customer' speech. Far too much has been made of that, there is no point jumping on every comment someone makes, especially someone who speaks English as a 2nd language. If everything was going great and she had made that speech, no-one would care.
It's the big picture that really matters: 6 changes of manager, Belgian managers only policy, player purchase/sales policy etc.
I agree with the statement regarding the 'customer' speech. Far too much has been made of that, there is no point jumping on every comment someone makes, especially someone who speaks English as a 2nd language. If everything was going great and she had made that speech, no-one would care.
It's the big picture that really matters: 6 changes of manager, Belgian managers only policy, player purchase/sales policy etc.
I've said to Katrien that she is responsible for the words she uses. Her biggest problem with that particular part of the Debacle in Dublin is that she distanced herself from the fans' views [that they are not customers] from the off. She also used a tone that could be described as mocking, particularly when she was talking about ownership, and accompanied it with a description of that view as "weird".
You can't redefine what everyone has seen you say in a video by pretending words you use mean something else. She cannot hide behind English as a second language - she is the CEO of a high profile English football club, she has a public profile and is fully and solely responsible for her words. End of.
I agree with the statement regarding the 'customer' speech. Far too much has been made of that, there is no point jumping on every comment someone makes, especially someone who speaks English as a 2nd language. If everything was going great and she had made that speech, no-one would care.
It's the big picture that really matters: 6 changes of manager, Belgian managers only policy, player purchase/sales policy etc.
I've said to Katrien that she is responsible for the words she uses. Her biggest problem with that particular part of the Debacle in Dublin is that she distanced herself from the fans' views [that they are not customers] from the off. She also used a tone that could be described as mocking, particularly when she was talking about ownership, and accompanied it with a description of that view as "weird".
You can't redefine what everyone has seen you say in a video by pretending words you use mean something else. She cannot hide behind English as a second language - she is the CEO of a high profile English football club, she has a public profile and is fully and solely responsible for her words. End of.
She can claim what she wants, but the tone of voice and the look on her face when she said "wierd" said it all.
Katrien has also never addressed the "unique real football fan experience" part of the Dublin interview either - to me, she was saying she wanted the Championship to market itself better, so that in turn Charlton could attract day tripper customers on the premise of being the club to see tomorrow's premier league players today. A lower league version of what Duchatelet did with Standard Liege.
And that part was the most frightening. We all have hopes and dreams for our football side - most of which are unrealistic - but to hear a CEO excitedly talking about uniquely positioning the side as a second tier feeder, is crushing. And the terminology of "Unique real football fan experience" sounds like something aimed at tourists, Starbucks will sell coffee to accompany the experience at the Valley soon I'm sure!
To be frank, I am sick of all this focus on talking/communicating by both sides. In a normal world, that should be the right way forward. Sadly, Roly does not live in that world. There is not a single word that anybody could say to him that would result in him selling the club. He will do that only when he wants to. You know my view; his (warped) plan is to lead the club to fail, break it up, sell the assets and make a tidy profit - probably a 5 year plan since day one.
There can be no other explanation why a foreign, non-football/Charlton-supporting, successful businessman wants to stay involved with a failing, heavily loss-making London-based football team.
.....we already know that his 'investment' in Charlton is in the form in loans repayable with interest which simply supports my theory and expedites his master plan.
Taken from the the Sponsors Meeting thread posted by ME14.
ME14addick
9:56AM
I asked her if she was going to respond to CARD's statement after Sunday and whether she would be meeting with the Supporter's Trust. She told me that the Trust will only meet with Roland and that he won't do that.
Several of us gave a her some tough questioning first thing and she did seem quite shocked.
I agree with the statement regarding the 'customer' speech. Far too much has been made of that, there is no point jumping on every comment someone makes, especially someone who speaks English as a 2nd language. If everything was going great and she had made that speech, no-one would care.
It's the big picture that really matters: 6 changes of manager, Belgian managers only policy, player purchase/sales policy etc.
I partly agree with the 2nd language issue - after all, most Premier League managers make gaffes all the time - even Wenger, and he's been here 20 odd years. A 2nd language, a foreign accent - they can all work the other way in someone's favour (look at Klopp - worth the licence fee alone for his interviews!)
I think the real problem is that KM (rightly) got lots of media attention when she started; first female CEO (I think the first, I maybe wrong, anyways...), and eventually it's all gone to her head - delusions of grandeur - to the point where she was so up her own arse in the Dublin interview you'd have thought she was managing the New York Yankees.
And aside from the network issues, it's all gone horribly wrong because of her mistakenn belief that English football fans want some kind of American football family day out kind of 'experience' with sofas, pom pom girls and all the other glitz and razzmatazz that goes with it - she doesn't understand what football fans are actually about.
Sinbce then, it's just firefighting on a daily basis, and now even the lies aren't true anymore. I don't agree at all with the mysoginistic abuse thrown at her, but it seems to be the case that she's completely out of her depth and has been for a very long time. The statement last night just proves how things are spinning out of control.
Markwest49 I think the real problem is that KM (rightly) got lots of media attention when she started; first female CEO (I think the first, I maybe wrong, anyways...), and eventually it's all gone to her head - delusions of grandeur - to the point where she was so up her own arse in the Dublin interview you'd have thought she was managing the New York Yankees.
And aside from the network issues, it's all gone horribly wrong because of her mistakenn belief that English football fans want some kind of American football family day out kind of 'experience' with sofas, pom pom girls and all the other glitz and razzmatazz that goes with it - she doesn't understand what football fans are actually about.
Sinbce then, it's just firefighting on a daily basis, and now even the lies aren't true anymore. I don't agree at all with the mysoginistic abuse thrown at her, but it seems to be the case that she's completely out of her depth and has been for a very long time. The statement last night just proves how things are spinning out of control.
I agree totally. But my real concern is how far she has set back the cause for women in football. Her ineptitude, lack of experience, inability to accept advice from knowledgeable people, as well as totally misunderstanding football fans, can only deter other owners etc from giving women a chance at the highest levels. As a woman who has watched football avidly since hooked by the 1966 world cup (plastic I know), I feel appalled by that she has not resigned. I wouldn't employ her as my lawyer if this experience is anything to go off!
Comments
The club's bluff has been called, whether a response and subsequent meeting takes place, only time will tell but as long it remains on our terms with a request for Douchbag to sell up nothing ventured, nothing gained. If not Nightmeire being removed and proper football people installed as a minimum, which is highly unlikely.
Therefore the protests and damage to the business will continue under notice if no change is evident within a short timeframe.
It's a long game and we continue to dictate the play with this statement IMO. Well done CAST.
Keep up the pressure and flush them out.
Thank you for your letter which I have discussed with the club's Chief Executive and find that I do not understand your request for dialogue with myself with regard to the managemant of the club. My Chief Executive informd me that she and her senior team are in regular conversation with the Target20k group with regard to the matchday experience. If you and your membership care about the future of the club then I suggest that you apply to Ms Meire to join this group.
Ms Meire has previously informed supporters that the Chief Executive of the club is the person with whom to liaise, as with all my businesses I do expect my chosen deputy to manage each company.
Yours sincerely
RD
So, first question: are you going to stop buying shit players, hire a proper manager and put together a decent football infrastructure?
You already have? Ok Bye."
Very good effort as usual the Trust.
I'm not digging you out at all, for clarity.
no I don't think he will, any reply will come from KM. my spoof reply was tongue in cheek but I do think that the Target20K is a worry and a red herring to any meaningful dialogue
It's the big picture that really matters: 6 changes of manager, Belgian managers only policy, player purchase/sales policy etc.
You can't redefine what everyone has seen you say in a video by pretending words you use mean something else. She cannot hide behind English as a second language - she is the CEO of a high profile English football club, she has a public profile and is fully and solely responsible for her words. End of.
Katrien has also never addressed the "unique real football fan experience" part of the Dublin interview either - to me, she was saying she wanted the Championship to market itself better, so that in turn Charlton could attract day tripper customers on the premise of being the club to see tomorrow's premier league players today. A lower league version of what Duchatelet did with Standard Liege.
And that part was the most frightening. We all have hopes and dreams for our football side - most of which are unrealistic - but to hear a CEO excitedly talking about uniquely positioning the side as a second tier feeder, is crushing. And the terminology of "Unique real football fan experience" sounds like something aimed at tourists, Starbucks will sell coffee to accompany the experience at the Valley soon I'm sure!
There can be no other explanation why a foreign, non-football/Charlton-supporting, successful businessman wants to stay involved with a failing, heavily loss-making London-based football team.
ME14addick
9:56AM
I asked her if she was going to respond to CARD's statement after Sunday and whether she would be meeting with the Supporter's Trust. She told me that the Trust will only meet with Roland and that he won't do that.
Several of us gave a her some tough questioning first thing and she did seem quite shocked.
Douchbag and his cronies live in a world of fantasy where if you keep telling yourselves what you want hear you end up believing it.
Some work for the club.
What the actual fuck are you playing at?
Love
CAST xxx
(Or the full length version... "Roland, would you care to step outside?" "COME TO ME SON OF CHARLTON, KNEEL BEFORE DUD!!")
I think the real problem is that KM (rightly) got lots of media attention when she started; first female CEO (I think the first, I maybe wrong, anyways...), and eventually it's all gone to her head - delusions of grandeur - to the point where she was so up her own arse in the Dublin interview you'd have thought she was managing the New York Yankees.
And aside from the network issues, it's all gone horribly wrong because of her mistakenn belief that English football fans want some kind of American football family day out kind of 'experience' with sofas, pom pom girls and all the other glitz and razzmatazz that goes with it - she doesn't understand what football fans are actually about.
Sinbce then, it's just firefighting on a daily basis, and now even the lies aren't true anymore. I don't agree at all with the mysoginistic abuse thrown at her, but it seems to be the case that she's completely out of her depth and has been for a very long time. The statement last night just proves how things are spinning out of control.
I think the real problem is that KM (rightly) got lots of media attention when she started; first female CEO (I think the first, I maybe wrong, anyways...), and eventually it's all gone to her head - delusions of grandeur - to the point where she was so up her own arse in the Dublin interview you'd have thought she was managing the New York Yankees.
And aside from the network issues, it's all gone horribly wrong because of her mistakenn belief that English football fans want some kind of American football family day out kind of 'experience' with sofas, pom pom girls and all the other glitz and razzmatazz that goes with it - she doesn't understand what football fans are actually about.
Sinbce then, it's just firefighting on a daily basis, and now even the lies aren't true anymore. I don't agree at all with the mysoginistic abuse thrown at her, but it seems to be the case that she's completely out of her depth and has been for a very long time. The statement last night just proves how things are spinning out of control.
I agree totally. But my real concern is how far she has set back the cause for women in football. Her ineptitude, lack of experience, inability to accept advice from knowledgeable people, as well as totally misunderstanding football fans, can only deter other owners etc from giving women a chance at the highest levels. As a woman who has watched football avidly since hooked by the 1966 world cup (plastic I know), I feel appalled by that she has not resigned. I wouldn't employ her as my lawyer if this experience is anything to go off!