At first We were afraid We were petrified Kept thinking We could never live Without you by our side But then We spent so many Saturday's Thinking how you did us wrong And We grew strong And We learned how to get along And so you're back From some Belgian place We just walked in to find you here With that smug look upon your face We should have changed that stupid lock We should have made you leave your key If we had known for just one second How much of a night-Meire you would be
Go on now go walk out the door Just turn around now 'Cause you're not welcome anymore Weren't you the one who tried to hurt us with goodbye Did you think we'd crumble Did you think We'd lay down and die Oh no, not us We will survive Oh as long as We know how to live, laugh, love We know We'll stay alive We've got all our life to live We've got all the love to give And we'll survive We will survive (in league one)
It has been said, but I emphasise, the relegation was avoidable. Who makes the decisions RD or KM? Whoever it is they are totally responsible. The season started with a weak squad. 11 decent players but not enough depth to cope with, injuries, suspensions loss of form. We all knew this. Mid season, failure was getting greater. A coach bought in who was never good enough. Put in charge of the team because of his connection to RD, not his coaching/ managerial ability. Just one example. I know nothing of Tony Watt personally. From my seat in the stand I see a talented footballer. If he is so unmanageable why did RD bring him to the club? I repeat the relegation was avoidable. It is the responsibility of failed management.
Bit of a contrast of thoughts and feeling between this QPR fixture and the one we had at the start of the season.
I remember thinking "F*ck you sky bet how dare you have as as the second worst team in the league and favourites for relegation" we just beat QPR in your face, Luzon knows what he's doing and we have a great squad!"
Roland, I cannot be bothered to list your mistakes - they just go on and on. Katrien is still CEO after years of mismanagement shows how little you understand what is going on, and how happy she is to cling on to a job she in no way deserves. You recently stated the protesters at the Valley were a bunch of unemployed people with nothing better to do with their time. Well mate, you are a vain, inarticulate moron with nothing apart from the money in your bank. Your arrogance almost makes it a pleasure to wipe this faliure in yoour face, and make no mistake, this faliure is yours, for your cheapskate, cost cutting, smarmy empty headed management. Katrien may have got one thing right. Roland doesn't do faliure.
Roland Duchatalet is a faliure, and all the money in the world won't hide the ridiculous spectacle you have achieved. Now go and buy a restaurant.
So now we are in the shit big time in a place we as fans knew was beckoning with all our last games. God knows why you thought your way of approaching the championship was superior to people in the English game who know what is needed to be succeful here. RD KM and RM(how could you let the fans down so badly you chose the wrong side this time) get out of our club now and at least give our once great club the opportunity of rebuilding with a new owner who will work with the FANS who care more about this club than any of you. Just get out now.
Roland, I cannot be bothered to list your mistakes - they just go on and on. Katrien is still CEO after years of mismanagement shows how little you understand what is going on, and how happy she is to cling on to a job she in no way deserves. You recently stated the protesters at the Valley were a bunch of unemployed people with nothing better to do with their time. Well mate, you are a vain, inarticulate moron with nothing apart from the money in your bank. Your arrogance almost makes it a pleasure to wipe this faliure in yoour face, and make no mistake, this faliure is yours, for your cheapskate, cost cutting, smarmy empty headed management. Katrien may have got one thing right. Roland doesn't do faliure.
Roland Duchatalet is a faliure, and all the money in the world won't hide the ridiculous spectacle you have achieved. Now go and buy a restaurant.
Charlton chief executive Katrien Meire: Fans must accept how we run club
GIUSEPPE MURO Thursday 15 January 20150 comments
Charlton chief executive Katrien Meire admits she understands fans’ frustration but has told them to accept owner Roland Duchatelet’s way of running the club.
Some supporters are unhappy with the appointment of Guy Luzon and have criticised Meire on social media, claiming she “lied” about the process of his arrival.
Meire released a statement after Bob Peeters was sacked last week and said Charlton had not earmarked a new head coach before his dismissal. But some fans believe Luzon, who worked under Duchatelet at Standard Liege before the owner axed him in October, had been lined up.
They also fear Duchatelet is running Charlton like a business and not a football club. The Belgian moves players and coaches within his network of European teams and is rarely seen at The Valley.
But Meire has defended Duchatelet and the appointment of Luzon and has called for patience. She also admits it is up to the club to prove that Duchatelet’s business model can be successful.
“Of course I can understand their frustration and they have every right to be [frustrated],” she said. “But I hope they understand the owner wants the best for Charlton. He does it his way and they need to accept that.
“They will not always agree with our decisions. No fans in the world will always agree with the decisions of the board. I always try to take into account the fans, but sometimes you have to make hard decisions.
“We are investing in Charlton. I feel the fans sometimes forget that. At the moment, they only notice the results on the pitch. But it is not only in the squad we are investing in. We are going to build a training ground and build for the future.
“We do not want Charlton to lose their identity. We want success for Charlton and they need to be patient. We have improved a lot from last year and it is up to us to prove to the fans that we do not only want to bring in imports from Standard Liege.”
Luzon is Charlton’s fourth manager in a year and Meire now wants stability. “I would like him to be the next Sir Alex Ferguson,” said the Belgian, who says the immediate aim is to make Charlton competitive in the Championship. “I know people are a bit worried about the instability. But our recent actions have shown a sense of decisiveness and I hope that Guy will stay for a long time.”
On criticism of the way Duchatelet is running Charlton, Meire said: “It is important to find a balance — the reality is that a football club is a business. But every decision I make is judged by thousands of people, which is different from any other business.”
Luzon was due to meet the players and take training for the first time today and he has held discussions with Meire about plans for the transfer window.
To celebrate your visionary ownership of our club, Katrien and all the guys have organised that the Football League will put a great big "R" beside Charlton Athletic in the league table. Obviously, as I am sure that Katrien will make clear, the "R" symbolises how your brilliant network strategy is changing the face of football.
Trust me when I say that the name Duchatelet is becoming a benchmark of standards in ownership in English football. In years to come fans and the media will compare other owners with you...
I would just like you to know, Roland, that you have had that big impact on the club, that you talked about in this season's message to the masses. Rest assured, Charlton fans will not forget your "stewardship" of our club, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for having rekindled the spirit of Charlton.
Now, as a polite fan of, possibly, the nicest club in England, can I please ask you to do one little thing for the fans? I know you have done so much already, but, just for me, could you please just fuck off out of our club, and take your scheming, mendacious henchpersons with you (yesterday would be good, but now will do)?
Roland, I cannot be bothered to list your mistakes - they just go on and on. Katrien is still CEO after years of mismanagement shows how little you understand what is going on, and how happy she is to cling on to a job she in no way deserves. You recently stated the protesters at the Valley were a bunch of unemployed people with nothing better to do with their time. Well mate, you are a vain, inarticulate moron with nothing apart from the money in your bank. Your arrogance almost makes it a pleasure to wipe this faliure in yoour face, and make no mistake, this faliure is yours, for your cheapskate, cost cutting, smarmy empty headed management. Katrien may have got one thing right. Roland doesn't do faliure.
Roland Duchatalet is a faliure, and all the money in the world won't hide the ridiculous spectacle you have achieved. Now go and buy a restaurant.
I would love to think that somewhere as we speak Nug and the other geniuses at CARD are busy producing a set of posters along these lines to display all over St Truiden.
RD, KM, RM - in 2 short years you have turned our once proud club in to the laughing stock of English football. Fuck off out of our club, you useless, arrogant arseholes.
We are not a total laughing stock. Due to the action of supporters we have the backing of most of the football world who are backing us and very sympathetic to us. RD is the laughing stock not us
I have adapted your recent statement of 15 March to save myself time here. Many thanks for the inspirational words. It didn't take much wit to make them into something that was far more appropriate...
In January 2014, some Belgians did not come to The Valley to watch the game and support the team, but came to create disorder on the pitch and interfere with the players and management at that time. Disorder which is, allegedly, needed to drive change in how football clubs are run (into the ground) in the Duchatelet way!
Whom did we expect the club had been sold to? How long would sales of our talented players take? Is it easier to sell the ground for development when it is in League One rather than Championship?
Some individuals are only qualified to see the club fail. This is a confused approach, but one which you have persevered with and which, logically, has led to exactly what it was always going to: dropping out of the Championship.
Allegations regarding the CEO are well documented and backed by countless instances of idiocy & incompetence. The fact that they have been continuously used as a method to discredit and fuel personal abuse, hatred and a risk to personal safety has been exacerbated by your arrogant dismissal of any view other than your own.
Although you told us that Roland has met the fans and the CEO has met with several different groups of fans and the communications team have attended several fans meetings, the Supporters Response Team had to embarrassingly backtrack on the first claim, Latrine embarrassingly failed with a PowerPoint lecture to a bewildered gathering in the 2nd & the Communications Team of Mel Baroni - the first sign of professionalism in 2 years - left as soon as she realised what a bunch of clueless no-marks she found herself working with - yes that includes you Keohane! We do not wish you to continue these meetings and destructive dialogue with fans.
We have 5 games left in which we have to get 11 points more than our competitors. I don't think it takes Alan Turing to work out we are screwed...give it a go Roland...I am sure you can work it out.
We have no chance of making it happen even with the support of the fans until the very last game. Even you must realise it is impossible. Every football fan knows the 12th man is a crucial factor in the success on the pitch. Sadly, we also know that a competent manager, experienced in his field, is also a crucial factor, as is a scouting, medical, recruitment and management team. Sadly, we lacked all of those things thanks to your style and vision, both of which have been found repeatedly lacking and which can only be described as a failure.
You have shown a complete lack of foresight or ability to adapt. For your own sakes, cut your losses before you further damage us. Go home, regroup, rethink your strategy and see how you get on somewhere else. Anywhere else. As long as it is nowhere near SE7!
Most Charlton fans actively welcomed you. Not just because you were 'loaded' but because you appeared to be a "proper" businessman, so we assumed you would make good business decisions.
Some of us were actively interested in your network concept, after all it seemed to be working at Watford.
Some of us thought you sounded like an interesting guy all round, with some interesting ideas about the world and how it should work.
But you were not and are not interested in us at all. You thought that your money entitled you to indulge your own madcap societal ideas in football, in a way that your board members and shareholders would never allow you to do at Melexis. There are computer games you could have played with, to test your theories. Instead you chose to do it in real life, and you chose us. You will now have to face the consequences of your vanity and arrogance.
You should sell the club, and ideally to a buyer represented by Peter Varney, without delay.
Roland, I cannot be bothered to list your mistakes - they just go on and on. Katrien is still CEO after years of mismanagement shows how little you understand what is going on, and how happy she is to cling on to a job she in no way deserves. You recently stated the protesters at the Valley were a bunch of unemployed people with nothing better to do with their time. Well mate, you are a vain, inarticulate moron with nothing apart from the money in your bank. Your arrogance almost makes it a pleasure to wipe this faliure in yoour face, and make no mistake, this faliure is yours, for your cheapskate, cost cutting, smarmy empty headed management. Katrien may have got one thing right. Roland doesn't do faliure.
Roland Duchatalet is a faliure, and all the money in the world won't hide the ridiculous spectacle you have achieved. Now go and buy a restaurant.
Now that's a poster!
'Roland Duchatlet is a failure'.
With Flemish translation / versions for the Belgium media !
Roland, I cannot be bothered to list your mistakes - they just go on and on. Katrien is still CEO after years of mismanagement shows how little you understand what is going on, and how happy she is to cling on to a job she in no way deserves. You recently stated the protesters at the Valley were a bunch of unemployed people with nothing better to do with their time. Well mate, you are a vain, inarticulate moron with nothing apart from the money in your bank. Your arrogance almost makes it a pleasure to wipe this faliure in yoour face, and make no mistake, this faliure is yours, for your cheapskate, cost cutting, smarmy empty headed management. Katrien may have got one thing right. Roland doesn't do faliure.
Roland Duchatalet is a faliure, and all the money in the world won't hide the ridiculous spectacle you have achieved. Now go and buy a restaurant.
I would love to think that somewhere as we speak Nug and the other geniuses at CARD are busy producing a set of posters along these lines to display all over St Truiden.
Under Duchatelet and his regime we have reached the lowest point in my 50+ years of supporting this club. We will rise again, and sooner rather than later with him and his useless, poisonous, arrogant, incompetent acolytes gone for ever.
Comments
At first We were afraid
We were petrified
Kept thinking We could never live
Without you by our side
But then We spent so many Saturday's
Thinking how you did us wrong
And We grew strong
And We learned how to get along
And so you're back
From some Belgian place
We just walked in to find you here
With that smug look upon your face
We should have changed that stupid lock
We should have made you leave your key
If we had known for just one second
How much of a night-Meire you would be
Go on now go walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to hurt us with goodbye
Did you think we'd crumble
Did you think We'd lay down and die
Oh no, not us
We will survive
Oh as long as We know how to live, laugh, love
We know We'll stay alive
We've got all our life to live
We've got all the love to give
And we'll survive
We will survive (in league one)
P.S F.O.R.D
Who makes the decisions RD or KM? Whoever it is they are totally responsible. The season started with a weak squad. 11 decent players but not enough depth to cope with, injuries, suspensions loss of form. We all knew this.
Mid season, failure was getting greater. A coach bought in who was never good enough. Put in charge of the team because of his connection to RD, not his coaching/ managerial ability.
Just one example. I know nothing of Tony Watt personally. From my seat in the stand I see a talented footballer. If he is so unmanageable why did RD bring him to the club?
I repeat the relegation was avoidable. It is the responsibility of failed management.
Toy slogan befitting of North Korea.
We are charlton. Yous fuck Off. Get the fuck out of our club Staprix or we will tear u apart, in true Ian Curtis style, cause love is all we do.
We love our club, you just want to make a quick buck from your chattels (we call em footballers, heroes, team-members).
I remember thinking "F*ck you sky bet how dare you have as as the second worst team in the league and favourites for relegation" we just beat QPR in your face, Luzon knows what he's doing and we have a great squad!"
Thanks for making a mug of everyone Roland
Roland Duchatalet is a faliure, and all the money in the world won't hide the ridiculous spectacle you have achieved. Now go and buy a restaurant.
GIUSEPPE MURO Thursday 15 January 20150 comments
Charlton chief executive Katrien Meire admits she understands fans’ frustration but has told them to accept owner Roland Duchatelet’s way of running the club.
Some supporters are unhappy with the appointment of Guy Luzon and have criticised Meire on social media, claiming she “lied” about the process of his arrival.
Meire released a statement after Bob Peeters was sacked last week and said Charlton had not earmarked a new head coach before his dismissal. But some fans believe Luzon, who worked under Duchatelet at Standard Liege before the owner axed him in October, had been lined up.
They also fear Duchatelet is running Charlton like a business and not a football club. The Belgian moves players and coaches within his network of European teams and is rarely seen at The Valley.
But Meire has defended Duchatelet and the appointment of Luzon and has called for patience. She also admits it is up to the club to prove that Duchatelet’s business model can be successful.
“Of course I can understand their frustration and they have every right to be [frustrated],” she said. “But I hope they understand the owner wants the best for Charlton. He does it his way and they need to accept that.
“They will not always agree with our decisions. No fans in the world will always agree with the decisions of the board. I always try to take into account the fans, but sometimes you have to make hard decisions.
“We are investing in Charlton. I feel the fans sometimes forget that. At the moment, they only notice the results on the pitch. But it is not only in the squad we are investing in. We are going to build a training ground and build for the future.
“We do not want Charlton to lose their identity. We want success for Charlton and they need to be patient. We have improved a lot from last year and it is up to us to prove to the fans that we do not only want to bring in imports from Standard Liege.”
Luzon is Charlton’s fourth manager in a year and Meire now wants stability. “I would like him to be the next Sir Alex Ferguson,” said the Belgian, who says the immediate aim is to make Charlton competitive in the Championship. “I know people are a bit worried about the instability. But our recent actions have shown a sense of decisiveness and I hope that Guy will stay for a long time.”
On criticism of the way Duchatelet is running Charlton, Meire said: “It is important to find a balance — the reality is that a football club is a business. But every decision I make is judged by thousands of people, which is different from any other business.”
Luzon was due to meet the players and take training for the first time today and he has held discussions with Meire about plans for the transfer window.
To celebrate your visionary ownership of our club, Katrien and all the guys have organised that the Football League will put a great big "R" beside Charlton Athletic in the league table. Obviously, as I am sure that Katrien will make clear, the "R" symbolises how your brilliant network strategy is changing the face of football.
Trust me when I say that the name Duchatelet is becoming a benchmark of standards in ownership in English football. In years to come fans and the media will compare other owners with you...
I would just like you to know, Roland, that you have had that big impact on the club, that you talked about in this season's message to the masses. Rest assured, Charlton fans will not forget your "stewardship" of our club, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for having rekindled the spirit of Charlton.
Now, as a polite fan of, possibly, the nicest club in England, can I please ask you to do one little thing for the fans? I know you have done so much already, but, just for me, could you please just fuck off out of our club, and take your scheming, mendacious henchpersons with you (yesterday would be good, but now will do)?
Thank you...
I have adapted your recent statement of 15 March to save myself time here. Many thanks for the inspirational words. It didn't take much wit to make them into something that was far more appropriate...
In January 2014, some Belgians did not come to The Valley to watch the game and support the team, but came to create disorder on the pitch and interfere with the players and management at that time. Disorder which is, allegedly, needed to drive change in how football clubs are run (into the ground) in the Duchatelet way!
Whom did we expect the club had been sold to? How long would sales of our talented players take? Is it easier to sell the ground for development when it is in League One rather than Championship?
Some individuals are only qualified to see the club fail. This is a confused approach, but one which you have persevered with and which, logically, has led to exactly what it was always going to: dropping out of the Championship.
Allegations regarding the CEO are well documented and backed by countless instances of idiocy & incompetence. The fact that they have been continuously used as a method to discredit and fuel personal abuse, hatred and a risk to personal safety has been exacerbated by your arrogant dismissal of any view other than your own.
Although you told us that Roland has met the fans and the CEO has met with several different groups of fans and the communications team have attended several fans meetings, the Supporters Response Team had to embarrassingly backtrack on the first claim, Latrine embarrassingly failed with a PowerPoint lecture to a bewildered gathering in the 2nd & the Communications Team of Mel Baroni - the first sign of professionalism in 2 years - left as soon as she realised what a bunch of clueless no-marks she found herself working with - yes that includes you Keohane! We do not wish you to continue these meetings and destructive dialogue with fans.
We have 5 games left in which we have to get 11 points more than our competitors. I don't think it takes Alan Turing to work out we are screwed...give it a go Roland...I am sure you can work it out.
We have no chance of making it happen even with the support of the fans until the very last game. Even you must realise it is impossible. Every football fan knows the 12th man is a crucial factor in the success on the pitch. Sadly, we also know that a competent manager, experienced in his field, is also a crucial factor, as is a scouting, medical, recruitment and management team. Sadly, we lacked all of those things thanks to your style and vision, both of which have been found repeatedly lacking and which can only be described as a failure.
You have shown a complete lack of foresight or ability to adapt. For your own sakes, cut your losses before you further damage us. Go home, regroup, rethink your strategy and see how you get on somewhere else. Anywhere else. As long as it is nowhere near SE7!
Yours sincerely
Terry
Brilliant. Well played sir!
Most Charlton fans actively welcomed you. Not just because you were 'loaded' but because you appeared to be a "proper" businessman, so we assumed you would make good business decisions.
Some of us were actively interested in your network concept, after all it seemed to be working at Watford.
Some of us thought you sounded like an interesting guy all round, with some interesting ideas about the world and how it should work.
But you were not and are not interested in us at all. You thought that your money entitled you to indulge your own madcap societal ideas in football, in a way that your board members and shareholders would never allow you to do at Melexis. There are computer games you could have played with, to test your theories. Instead you chose to do it in real life, and you chose us. You will now have to face the consequences of your vanity and arrogance.
You should sell the club, and ideally to a buyer represented by Peter Varney, without delay.
With Flemish translation / versions for the Belgium media !
Please just go,