On the basis of Divide and Rule, I think Roland would enjoy reading this thread.
He might. But equally, the discussion of a diversity of tactics within a broader movement aimed at toppling the Saddam of Sint Truiden might leave him wondering what is coming next.
Particularly if people aren't talking about it on here...
@The_President has clearly stirred opinion here and I'm not trying to defend his / our actions but what I will say is this:
Visiting her parents house was not the sole aim of the trip. My understanding is the address came up and it was a chance taken. The visit was handled peacefully. The aim was not to cause disruption or intimidate her parents; more along the lines of she's causing disruption at our club, the message coming from the Roland's camp is that the problem extends to no more than a few trouble makers, lets see if her parents know the full extent. If the consensus is that it was a mistake, so be it, but it was a visit made with good intentions.
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
Didnt want to admit it was me !! - and its always been a group thing - we're a pretty tight-knit group now.
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
Not all - I certainly don't. Thanks for your dedication to the cause.
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
What's this now? The Spanish Inquisition? Who gives a shit?
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
No, as i said in the post, we knew that a Mr and Mrs Meire lived there - we didnt know it was her father until much later.
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
Not all - I certainly don't. Thanks for your dedication to the cause.
"Hi there sir, are you Mr Meire, and do you have a daughter called Katrien?"
"Err, no."
"Ok well anyway I think you're lying, so me and my friends are here to tell you she is shit at her job and has a horrible smirk and is destroying my football club over in London, here's a leaflet to let you know what she's doing"
"Err, thanks?"
"No, thank you, random Belgian who denies knowing who I am banging on about, after all I have traveled all the way from England to specifically knock on your door to tell you how hateful your (possible) daughter is, goodbye!"
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
No, as i said in the post, we knew that a Mr and Mrs Meire lived there - we didnt know it was her father until much later.
So the answer to my question is "yes" then, isn't it ?
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
No, as i said in the post, we knew that a Mr and Mrs Meire lived there - we didnt know it was her father until much later.
So you travelled the 20 odd miles to go to a house that you weren't sure even belonged to the person we're protesting about?
"Hi there sir, are you Mr Miere, and do you have a daughter called Katrien?"
"Err, no."
"Ok well anyway I think you're lying, so me and my friends are here to tell you she is shit at her job and has a horrible smirk and is destroying my football club over in London, here's a leaflet to let you know what she's doing"
"Err, thanks?"
"No, thank you, random Belgian who denies knowing who I am banging on about, after all I have traveled all the way from England to specifically knock on your door to tell you how hateful your (possible) daughter is, goodbye!"
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
What's this now? The Spanish Inquisition? Who gives a shit?
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
No, as i said in the post, we knew that a Mr and Mrs Meire lived there - we didnt know it was her father until much later.
So the answer to my question is "yes" then, isn't it ?
Errr, no, for the third time we DID NOT know that it was Katriens parents house until much later.
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
No, as i said in the post, we knew that a Mr and Mrs Meire lived there - we didnt know it was her father until much later.
So you travelled the 20 odd miles to go to a house that you weren't sure even belonged to the person we're protesting about?
Correct, we had a few addresses surrounding the name Meire - and we split tinto 2 groups to leaflet all Meire addresses (there werent many) in a radius - the only down side about this one was that the bloke opened the door !
Wow , just got home to this hailstorm. Must admit, I wasn’t expecting this reaction (obviously).
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably more negative posts than positive .
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate ) ) I was there..…
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes” “ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no” “ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok” Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable. Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
So just to clarify - you knew it was Katriens parents house & you knocked on the door ?
No, as i said in the post, we knew that a Mr and Mrs Meire lived there - we didnt know it was her father until much later.
So the answer to my question is "yes" then, isn't it ?
No, not really, you asked if he knew it was her parents house, he said no, he knew A Mr & Mrs Miere lived there, not THE Mr & Mrs Miere. Subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless...
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
What's this now? The Spanish Inquisition? Who gives a shit?
That's plenty from you, Sonny Jim.
Not really. Not when you and others are going to continue banging on about the minutiae of an event that probably happened on the spur of the moment. What are you going to come out with next? "I put it to you Mr President that you are lying? This is not a court but it is certainly turning into some sort of pathetic witch-hunt. What's coming next to salve the consciousnesses? Burning The President at the stake perhaps? Talk about mountains and molehills. There are priorities here and the sensibilities of Meire Snr is not one of them.
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
What's this now? The Spanish Inquisition? Who gives a shit?
That's plenty from you, Sonny Jim.
Not really. Not when you and others are going to continue banging on about the minutiae of an event that probably happened on the spur of the moment. What are you going to come out with next? "I put it to you Mr President that you are lying? This is not a court but it is certainly turning into some sort of pathetic witch-hunt. What's coming next to salve the consciousnesses? Burning The President at the stake perhaps? Talk about mountains and molehills. There are priorities here and the sensibilities of Meire Snr is not one of them.
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
What's this now? The Spanish Inquisition? Who gives a shit?
That's plenty from you, Sonny Jim.
Not really. Not when you and others are going to continue banging on about the minutiae of an event that probably happened on the spur of the moment. What are you going to come out with next? "I put it to you Mr President that you are lying? This is not a court but it is certainly turning into some sort of pathetic witch-hunt. What's coming next to salve the consciousnesses? Burning The President at the stake perhaps? Talk about mountains and molehills. There are priorities here and the sensibilities of Meire Snr is not one of them.
The first point to make is that Belgium protests are a MUST for us to succeed. The demonstrations, posters and leafleting have all been very positive actions which we need to see more of. I think (almost) everyone is agreed in this.
I think most people are agreed that posting leaflets to RD, his neighbours and business associates is also positive (indeed there is some evidence that this has infuriated him).
I'm taking a portion of what you said here Redman, but hopefully context remains intact. I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a moment:
Do we have anything beyond speculation regarding what succeeds and what doesn't? We heard that the leafletting last time made Roland mad, and there was clearly a reaction in the form of "The Statement," but we now have a sample size of two (including this past weekend) and roughly a 50% success rate--assuming that it was the leafletting and not the other protests on the day that infuriated him.
I'm not saying this to be intentionally petulant or to say "well we don't know if it's working so let's pack it up and stop protesting," but instead trying to make the point that we don't have a lot of insight into what is successful and what isn't. Furthermore, what is successful in infuriating Roland may not be successful in terms of getting him to sell up.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because I think in general we'll start to need to get into the mindset that there may not be direct, measurable, or traceable cause and effect with the protests. It's something I think is particularly important when it comes to renewing season tickets. I certainly understand and support those who will not renew and will not give this regime money on principle, but it seems clear that, to date, Roland has no problem continuing to prop the club up with capital. As such, reducing the club's revenue may not rank that highly with him if his ultimate goal is to build some sort of footballing empire.
In short, there is no inarguable right and wrong here, only a series of best ideas and intentions, and it's something I think most on here have kept in mind, and something we'll need to continue considering in the weeks, months, and possibly years ahead.
I think this is a very good point. Because of the lack of real communication from RD, we remain uncertain of his intent and motivation. Therefore we do not know for certain what will make him leave other than, presumably: a) him losing a considerable part of his fortune on the club b) someone making him such a good financial offer to buy the club that he cannot turn it down.
I have absolutely no understanding of what drives someone to buy a football club and be so disrespectful and dismissive of its supporter base, but it seems unlikely he will be easily moved by our concerns and actions unless we are able to get under his skin and past the protective wall that his money and consequent power affords him. Whether getting under his skin gets us the result we want, or if it just makes him dig in like some sort of cavity wall human rawl plug, who knows. But, as it stands, CAFC does not seem to be draining him sufficiently of money to make a) above very likely. The only way I can get my head round what it must be like is to imagine I have got 500k and I'm blowing 1k a month on a cut price experiment to manufacture gold from some old crap. I can ride out a good few years of turbulence and failure before I need to get too alarmed, and I may even produce a few gold nuggets. Roland's plan, motivation and breaking point remain unfathomable. His business sense, in footballing terms, seems mainly ludicrous and he is unlikely to suddenly see sense and give up His Mysterious Plan. CARD have carried the fight with great dignity, wit, intelligence, and have maintained the moral high ground. But the question remains how do the protests release this man's stranglehold on the club? For me it is becoming something akin to unblocking a toilet: we don't know quite what's going on in there, but it's a dirty business and we may have to resort to a lot of direct simple pushing to get the matter resolved. ( apologies to anyone having their tea for that analogy) Faced with the likes of Roland, sometimes the moral compass has to shift a little. In the end, the question is how far are you prepared to go to try to rescue a community football club from a despot?
"Hi there sir, are you Mr Miere, and do you have a daughter called Katrien?"
"Err, no."
"Ok well anyway I think you're lying, so me and my friends are here to tell you she is shit at her job and has a horrible smirk and is destroying my football club over in London, here's a leaflet to let you know what she's doing"
"Err, thanks?"
"No, thank you, random Belgian who denies knowing who I am banging on about, after all I have traveled all the way from England to specifically knock on your door to tell you how hateful your (possible) daughter is, goodbye!"
That's not crazy in the slightest, right?
Am i meant to lol that ?
Whatever you want mate, you already seem to do what you like. I'm pointing out how crazy it is to knock on the door of someone you don't know, ask them if they know someone, and then hand them a leaflet on that person, in another country, all because of the job the person in question is doing isn't satisfactory in people's eyes.
I don't agree with how certain directors in my company work, but there's no way in hell I'd travel to America to leaflet his hometown and try to find out where his parents live
@President Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
What's this now? The Spanish Inquisition? Who gives a shit?
That's plenty from you, Sonny Jim.
Not really. Not when you and others are going to continue banging on about the minutiae of an event that probably happened on the spur of the moment. What are you going to come out with next? "I put it to you Mr President that you are lying? This is not a court but it is certainly turning into some sort of pathetic witch-hunt. What's coming next to salve the consciousnesses? Burning The President at the stake perhaps? Talk about mountains and molehills. There are priorities here and the sensibilities of Meire Snr is not one of them.
And what are your priorities ?
Blimey, when i saw you'd posted, i thought i was in for a right juicy scathing, but you're not even talking to me
"Hi there sir, are you Mr Miere, and do you have a daughter called Katrien?"
"Err, no."
"Ok well anyway I think you're lying, so me and my friends are here to tell you she is shit at her job and has a horrible smirk and is destroying my football club over in London, here's a leaflet to let you know what she's doing"
"Err, thanks?"
"No, thank you, random Belgian who denies knowing who I am banging on about, after all I have traveled all the way from England to specifically knock on your door to tell you how hateful your (possible) daughter is, goodbye!"
That's not crazy in the slightest, right?
Am i meant to lol that ?
Whatever you want mate, you already seem to do what you like. I'm pointing out how crazy it is to knock on the door of someone you don't know, ask them if they know someone, and then hand them a leaflet on that person, in another country, all because of the job the person in question is doing isn't satisfactory in people's eyes.
I don't agree with how certain directors in my company work, but there's no way in hell I'd travel to America to leaflet his hometown and try to find out where his parents live
oh well, sometimes you do crazy things for things you think are important.
Comments
Particularly if people aren't talking about it on here...
Visiting her parents house was not the sole aim of the trip. My understanding is the address came up and it was a chance taken. The visit was handled peacefully. The aim was not to cause disruption or intimidate her parents; more along the lines of she's causing disruption at our club, the message coming from the Roland's camp is that the problem extends to no more than a few trouble makers, lets see if her parents know the full extent. If the consensus is that it was a mistake, so be it, but it was a visit made with good intentions.
OK, must admit havnt read most of the posts on here- but notice there are 40 ‘likes’ – so for that I take it that 40 people agreed with the comments therein. Although I think, that generally there are probably
There has been a massive over-reaction.
Let me explain what happened and the dialogue that happened at the house (I should know, coz as @jamescafc has mentioned (cheers mate
Knocked on door, …
“Mr Meire ?” ……”yes”
“ Do you know Katrien Meire?” ……. “……no”
“ Ok, would you mind reading this literature re Katrien” ….”ok”
Shake Hands…closes door, walks away.
Now, we had no idea at the time that it was her father, we simply knew that Meire lived at the address – it was only after perusing through some photos and searching the net that we established it was her father- and once we found out, we thought it best to get it out there.
Now,in hindsight, I probably agree with the sentiment of most of the posters that we over-stepped the mark, but there was never any intention of being aggressive or any intent to ambush or terrorise Mr Meire – to the contrary.
During the protests in Belgium we have always been fully respectful of the local people and police – even consulting with the Police on one occasion to determine what was acceptable.
Now , it seems you all want to scapegoat me (and others) because of what was a simple engagement which was not sinister in any shape or form despite how it may seem portrayed on the OP.
Simple question: why say 'one of the group managed to have a conversation with her father...' and not, I managed to have a conversation with her father...' ?
"Err, no."
"Ok well anyway I think you're lying, so me and my friends are here to tell you she is shit at her job and has a horrible smirk and is destroying my football club over in London, here's a leaflet to let you know what she's doing"
"Err, thanks?"
"No, thank you, random Belgian who denies knowing who I am banging on about, after all I have traveled all the way from England to specifically knock on your door to tell you how hateful your (possible) daughter is, goodbye!"
That's not crazy in the slightest, right?
Would he have sold Standard Leige if this is his plan?
Weren't a bad guess that, if you ask me
You're not a Divorce barrister , by any chance ?!
What are you going to come out with next? "I put it to you Mr President that you are lying? This is not a court but it is certainly turning into some sort of pathetic witch-hunt.
What's coming next to salve the consciousnesses? Burning The President at the stake perhaps?
Talk about mountains and molehills.
There are priorities here and the sensibilities of Meire Snr is not one of them.
a) him losing a considerable part of his fortune on the club
b) someone making him such a good financial offer to buy the club that he cannot turn it down.
I have absolutely no understanding of what drives someone to buy a football club and be so disrespectful and dismissive of its supporter base, but it seems unlikely he will be easily moved by our concerns and actions unless we are able to get under his skin and past the protective wall that his money and consequent power affords him.
Whether getting under his skin gets us the result we want, or if it just makes him dig in like some sort of cavity wall human rawl plug, who knows.
But, as it stands, CAFC does not seem to be draining him sufficiently of money to make a) above very likely. The only way I can get my head round what it must be like is to imagine I have got 500k and I'm blowing 1k a month on a cut price experiment to manufacture gold from some old crap.
I can ride out a good few years of turbulence and failure before I need to get too alarmed, and I may even produce a few gold nuggets.
Roland's plan, motivation and breaking point remain unfathomable. His business sense, in footballing terms, seems mainly ludicrous and he is unlikely to suddenly see sense and give up His Mysterious Plan.
CARD have carried the fight with great dignity, wit, intelligence, and have maintained the moral high ground.
But the question remains how do the protests release this man's stranglehold on the club? For me it is becoming something akin to unblocking a toilet: we don't know quite what's going on in there, but it's a dirty business and we may have to resort to a lot of direct simple pushing to get the matter resolved. ( apologies to anyone having their tea for that analogy)
Faced with the likes of Roland, sometimes the moral compass has to shift a little. In the end, the question is how far are you prepared to go to try to rescue a community football club from a despot?
I don't agree with how certain directors in my company work, but there's no way in hell I'd travel to America to leaflet his hometown and try to find out where his parents live