*n.b. The comments/opinions below are solely those of the author of the posting and are not necessarily those of CARD or any associated organisation.
Dear Richard Murray,
It appears, from one of the few occasions when you have spoken in public over the past two years that you are not a fan of this or perhaps any other Message Board.
Your interjection at the infamous “it’s only 2%” reaction by Katrien Meire to a difficult question about the increasing fan protest was telling. You said, I believe, in an openly dismissive manner “It’s just a Message Board thing”. Oh Dear! Richard, were you so star struck by promises made in Belgium and the superficial charm and winning accent of Katrien that you lost your ability to think clearly?
I may be wrong here but you seem to be very adept at keeping your mouth shut with regard to all the other issues of real or perceived mismanagement surrounding the club but on that occasion you were more than quick to be seen (no doubt for the benefit of Mlle. Meire) to jump to her defence when she appeared initially taken aback by the protest question.
Richard. Katrien Meire may not know nor care about the history of Charlton Athletic but you do know and it was assumed until the takeover that you also cared. Perhaps in some warped way you still do care about the Club but your actions (or more correctly inaction) almost suggest otherwise. To continue, you of all people in a senior position at the Club (irrespective of your non-exec status) know intimately exactly what the fan base at Charlton Athletic is capable of in adversity. For example, although it wasn’t a Message Board campaign which got the Club back to the Valley it was driven very much by the equivalent of those times with the fanzine Voice of The Valley acting as a vehicle for communication across an exiled community of fans which arose and formed their own political party for crying out loud – how many footballing campaign groups have the wherewithal to have done that?
It should, this time round, not have been any great surprise to you then that this CL message board has been employed to announce a series of protest events at home games (and at Sparrows Lane) and to publicise and/or report on related protest initiatives.
These have included:
• The ‘coffin’ march
• The Pinocchio ambush.
• The production of alternative and free match-day programmes
• The provision of Black and White scarfs, Beach Balls, Stress Balls, We want you out posters, badges and more.
• CARD T-shirts.
• The commissioning and placement at strategic locations of mobile billboards (e.g. at The Sparrows Lane Sponsorship Event)
• The 5,000 strong protest march attended by fan groups from Brighton and Blackpool.
• The rejection by some potential sponsors of overtures made by the club.
• The reporting of almost weekly faux pas from the mouth of Katrien Meire, some so divorced from reason that national sports journalists are left open-mouthed –
these carefully reported on CL so that informed judgement may be made on the CEO role.
• The transfer of sponsorship from Club sponsor AXIS to CARD.
• Outstandingly well-written articles by Rick Everitt of VOTV and author Charlie Connelly which graphically articulate the feelings of the fans and expose the depth of
alienation and disconnect created by the current regime.
• The creation of a new alternative kit for next season
• A wonderfully witty and well-crafted song ‘More than just a Toy’.
Tailored videos ridiculing Meire and Duchatelet produced for exposure on You Tube and other social media.
• Impromptu protest events at the Ground as and when required and at short notice.
• Overseas banner protests at the St Truiden ground and during a televised Cycling event (with the merits or otherwise of the Meire ‘home visits’ openly discussed
and evoking a range of varying opinion both for and against).
• Postings on CL from a broad range of professionals from various occupational fields and expertise who are able to comment with great insight on issues such as
the Olympic Stadium. FFP, Football Club Financing and Regulation, Company Law and more.
So, it’s just a Message Board thing is it Richard?
Take a look above and reflect also that one of the most high profile protest events (which achieved a photographic PR coup of stupendous impact) was engineered by a few enterprising people at the cost of only a couple of quid by the simple expedient of unfurling a bedsheet with the word LIAR emblazoned and an arrow directly above the head of Katrien Meire.
Contrast that Richard with the thousands of pounds spent under the stewardship of CEO Katrien Meire on-the ill-judged Score at The Valley campaign which bought ridicule on the Club and the censorship of the British Advertising Standards Authority.
FOR Part 2 see Second Posting same title.
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Comments
Open Message Board Message for Richard Murray (Part 2) Coyotejohn1947 2:34PM in General Charlton
*n.b. The comments/opinions below are solely those of the author of the posting and are not necessarily those of CARD or any associated organisation.
There is so much more but this is a long posting and you will probably never read it Richard. However, in the unlikely event you do there is one other function that a Message Board provides. It allows fans who have no real access to the hierarchy of the Club to voice their views in a meaningful way (the fans@cafc e-mail has seemingly collapsed and never fulfilled its proper function anyway). These same fans who have been summarily dismissed by Meire as mere customers who should know their place and who should be treated as idiots for believing they have any sense of ownership or attachment to the club,
It is this, a shared experience, a shared community, a shared history which binds us together and allows us not only to express our shared grievances on this site but provides the mechanism by which the fans will play their part in working together as they did before to be custodians of the spirit of the club if not its physical assets and to carry this spirit through to a brighter future.
Whatever happens, you, Richard Murray will probably still be sitting in the Directors box next season in your designer sunglasses and 'attempt to look cool' insouciance. However, if Duchâtelet and his mind-numbingly dim assistant are still in place then some of the empty seats at The Valley which surround you will once have been occupied by fans who have attended for decades but who can no longer continue to finance a regime which treats its customers/fans with such open contempt. One of those empty seats will be mine and you will forgive me Richard if I state that the respect in which I held you previously is long gone. From my seat at The Valley I see you nearby sitting next to the now totally discredited Katrien Meire home game after home game – no one else but you. But here’s the funny thing I never see you talking to her during the game – are you not enjoying your match-day experience together?
So, finally, is your sole function now a shoulder for Katrien to cry on? It was notable at the Burnley game that you both disappeared at half-time following the Liar Banner. Had you provided more guidance perhaps it wouldn’t have come to that or does she simply ignore you and go her own sweet way with everything?
Here’s the rub Richard – you are a successful businessman who has in my opinion been duped. You must know that Meire was inserted into the CEO role by Duchâtelet as a sinecure – she can do whatever she likes, say whatever she likes, act with total disregard to professional standards and be utterly useless in the role without threat of censure by Duchâtelet. In any other business to have allowed Meire to continue as CEO after her performance over the past 6 months would be professional suicide for the incumbent and possibly terminally damaging for the business.
But you Richard, despite all your experience, continue to offer support to this deluded woman and her so-called visionary (read Crackpot) boss. It does beggar belief and if there is one clue, one hint, one alarm bell going off which you should have picked up on last year then you might, you just might have realised what kind of people you were dealing with when Katrien Meire stated in Brussels on September 28th 2015 “I don’t care about the history of the Club”.
A little bit of Charlton died that day Richard but perhaps you didn’t know about it.
After all it was only reported on the Message Boards and you don’t read those do you?
PS If you PM me Richard (not quite sure how though for the reasons already stated) I will provide my full name and contact details should you wish to take issue with any of the above comments.
But frankly it was only really to get it out there that I wasn't going to hide behind anonymity of the MB.
You might have picked up on the fact that the rather long posting was very heartfelt rather than zero in on the PS.
Again, wow, is that all you took from it? Jeezzz.
After all, he is on record as saying that his connection to the fans was a part of his job that he really looked forward to.
What better, easier and safer ( ie no misreporting of actual words) way of communicating with supporters than through this generally well respected board?
Yes, he might get some digs at him, but he would also get the chance to put his message across, whatever that may be. And most on here would at least listen as well as put their case.
It would certainly be a better thing for him to do than just be silent in my view.
But....don't think it too likely to happen.
Also I don't think he needs to justify himself on here, especially when many of the posts about him (rather like the OP) are harsh, unnecessarily spiteful and questionable, in that they draw conclusions when a completely different view can be drawn from the same data.
As for expecting the man that bankrolled (all be it in part) the best period in the club's history, using/losing a fortune in the process, to send a PM to someone that has been so critical, and in my view spiteful, is just plain ridiculous.
This OP, like many 'open letter to xxx' are so repetitive that if you removed all the names from them I suspect that no one would be able to tell who wrote which one. I understand that they might be therapeutic but I wonder if they need to keep appearing on here. JaShea99 is quite right that having another thread for other Lifers to 'like' and agree with is so beyond pointless it's untrue.
I do of course realise that the chances of RM engaging through this medium are remote. However, you must recognise that for many long-term supporters the events over the past two years have been traumatic culminating in the decision for many not to attend further home games under the current regime. If RDandKM are still there next season I will be missing my first home game of the season since 1962. My choice yes but I am not going to apologise for giving vent against those responsible for inflicting so much damage to the Club irrespective of whether they get to hear about it directly or not (but I do believe there is a cumulative effect in adding to the voiced discontent on this site). My one regret is that my postings were way too long.
Anyway, having got this out of my system now I can provide you with some good news JaShea. My next posting (hopefully later today) will be exactly about utilising tools at our disposal in order to address a wrong which has festered on since September 2015 when Katrien Meire gave her interview in Belgium to L'Echo.
Re: spiteful? There is some ribbing in there for RM its true but I question whether its spiteful in this day and age I've seen a lot worse on Facebook!
In his own words he said that there would better communication and that he would be something of a link between supporters and the owners.
My point would be that he should never let the situation get this bad in the first place, if he is genuinely that link. It is the silence from him whilst club ties with the traditional support are being cast aside so dismissively, that is the problem for most people.
He must be well aware of the discontent. But there appears to be no platform for either parties to move anything forward
I think most people on here would at least listen/read what what he says, and be fair in their responses Undoubtedly there would be criticism aimed at him, but he could at least answer that from a keyboard ( and I don't mean a Hammond organ), without a hostile crowd at him, whilst trying to address specific points.
But it is not going to happen, so it is probably not worth much more time discussing it, eh, tbh.