My understanding is that RM is the driving force behind this change in strategy and that he may well have 'jumped' himself if that had not happened.
RM trying to drive a change is certainly more plausible than it being Katrien. Whether anyone CAN actually change Roly's mind about anything is another story entirely...
Is it? He hasn't done anything sensible since about 2003
Are Doucher, Colin1961 and BelgiumBun all related?
Indeed, they are members of the Mare family, an English branch of the Meire clan of Belgique, who famously have that coat of arms displaying a cock and two bollocks dipped in bullshit.
When I went to cancel my Valley Gold membership pre 2000 Steve Dixon (who was high up in command at that stage ) called me to talk me out of it (£120) When I cancelled match sponsorship and matchday mascot packages this season approximately £6.5k and cc'd her in on my withdrawal and reasons as to why , nothing ..... That shows you how much she cares about her customers
Everything Henry Irving has said in previous post plus the fact that Katrien Meire has operated a year zero approach to the running of the club which means that nothing before 2014 counts for anything and certainly not the history of the club which she famously said she didn't care about.
She's lied before and she will lie again. She cannot even remotely be entrusted with the running of the club and to suggest that in some way she may act as a check and balance against the excesses of RD (if I have understood the OP correctly) is naive in the extreme.
Meire is very much a major contributor to the state we are in .. perhaps not entirely her fault .. she was a gimmick appointment from the start and many fans fell for it until well after the seagull hit the propeller .. directing a football club is a job for an experienced football person and not one for a callow, well educated, inexperienced but very stubborn young(ish) lady who is a lawyer, not a football person at heart .. Meire must go .. though I will not hold my breath until it happens
My understanding is that RM is the driving force behind this change in strategy and that he may well have 'jumped' himself if that had not happened.
He does not see a problem, it's a message board thing isn't Richard
That was some time back now
It wasn't that long ago. Protests had already started and we were onto the regime 5th Manager. The meeting be said this was the clubs attempt at dealing with the issue.
Any one with common sense could see this lot were a problem. Mr Murray clearly did not and with that comment and the q&a he did in January showed what side of the fence he was on.
If he has finally come round to the idea 30 months in after a needless relegation, Protests and our 7th Managerial appointment that there is a problem then he is useless
It makes you laugh, a FL conference for its CEO's, they will all be representing English clubs, so why (stupid question) is it in Portugal?
It's not a stupid question, but it is quite possible that it works out cheaper than a similar UK hotel with conference facilities for 150 to 200 people? And we all know if you book flights well enough in advance, it can be cheaper than getting a train from London to Birmingham.
The other big issue, change of strategy or not, is that the team re-building has to be funded.
Like any relegated team we have high earners we can no longer afford and who is some cases (JBG) who want to leave.
We'll also have players who are on decent money and long contracts who are unlikely to attract much interest in the UK and who are just as unlikely to get offered anything like the same wages outside the UK (Sarr). Think Semedo and Racon from when we can done before who were eating up 1/3 of the wages and who we couldn't shift.
So to give Slade a chance we needs to clear the decks. He did similar at Cardiff and is used to operating on tight budgets at Orient and Yeovil which are some of the reasons he was chosen IMHO.
The issue is that KM hasn't proved very good at selling players. She couldn't sell Reza or Tucedean and she couldn't move Watt on either. All went on loan, some would have attracted loan fees but Tucedean was left in limbo for 1/2 a season while still on our books. As it stands he'll be back in July. Reza's contract ran out while Watt, moved because of his behaviour it was said, is also back for the time being.
So for the plan to work KM has to sell the assets such as JBG and Lookman for big another fees to cover losses and fund Slade. She also needs to shift other high earners such as Cousins and maybe also Solly and Watt. Easier said than done.
There is also no emergency loan system next year. Loan rules will be as in the Prem ie loans only in summer and January. This means gaps in the squad can't be filled other than with out of contract players. So we have to get it right first time.
KM hasn't shone in the transfer market (has she anywhere?) and yet she is still in charge of that vital aspect as far as we can see. Slade is a "manager" and so might get more influence that the head coaches but this summer succeeds or fails on KMs dealing in the transfer market.
Speaking as a woman she has been the biggest let down of all. I was pleased we had a woman CEO. That eventually lead to massive disappointment as it became clear she is totally out of her depth and hopeless at her job.
In some ways that's almost forgiveable. Appointing a junior lawyer to lead a business is a bit like asking a 4 year old to pass GCSEs. However what is unforgiveable is the fact she's responded to her shortfalls by blaming everyone else, rather than take up offers of help, be humble and conciliatory, or learning her bloody lessons.
I am not sure we should confuse her policy of (generally) saying nothing and doing less with her cannily trying to dissuade Roland from the path he is taking. I have seen no evidence of her wising up (certainly not from her most recent utterances) and I suspect we have all worked with people like her who will crawl to their boss however much it compromises their beliefs and thinking.
Meire is just about bright enough to know she is doing a job well above her pay grade and ability. She also knows Roland is pretty much her only ally. She's not going to rock the boat for anything, especially a club she cares nothing for and fans she hates. And, that said, I am not sure she is intelligent enough to realise that what is happening is such a catastrophically bad way to run a club.
Her outburst at the sport conference suggests she has learnt nothing.
That was only last month and it was clear that she hadn't learnt to keep her mouth shut or exercise any sort of communication control.
She hadn't learnt that the club is seen in a very negative light by the rest of football for a good reason. She still thought the club is well run.
She hadn't learnt that she and the regime are to blame for the mess, preferring to blame the fans for protesting and the authorities for not stopping them.
At no point has she learnt that she is a huge part of the problem.
No doubt Roland is the biggest problem but her inability to stand up to him and she "No" for example with the Roland rant press release after the Boro game means that she's has to take the responsibility. Mel Baroni and Fizz Weller resigned. She didn't.
She has made mistake after mistake and not all have been Roland's interference.
Let's be clear. She may or may not have been lobbying for a change of strategy but it is relegation that has made Roland shift tack.
She hasn't said, in public at least, that she was wrong to say that every manager has been an improvement or that player recruitment has been a disaster.
I'm told that to agents reluctant to let their players come to Charlton she is saying in private that things have changed, that while it before "was all run from Brussells now it will be OK as she is in charge". The agent I spoke to still wasn't very reassured.
She's off to Portugal this week, for work, as the FL conference is there. She thinks she'll wow the other CEOs but is a laughing stock with them and with agents.
I tell you what Katrien. You go and I'll buy a season ticket.
Speaking as a woman she has been the biggest let down of all. I was pleased we had a woman CEO. That eventually lead to massive disappointment as it became clear she is totally out of her depth and hopeless at her job.
In some ways that's almost forgiveable. Appointing a junior lawyer to lead a business is a bit like asking a 4 year old to pass GCSEs. However what is unforgiveable is the fact she's responded to her shortfalls by blaming everyone else, rather than take up offers of help, be humble and conciliatory, or learning her bloody lessons.
Do not underestimate how damaging her presence is to the club's ability to operate in an ultra competitive market for players and advertising/sponsorship cash.
In all seriousness, proper football people probably meet her and go away thinking, "Are they taking the fucking piss or something?"
Yes I think she is. Firstly of course she is useless in a job she has no qualifications or experience for. So the decline is down to her.
But why is she in the job? My view increasingly is Uncle Roland bought cafc to not only be part of his whacky plans but also as her toy. He doesn't really care what happens to the club as long as she is happy and not losing him too much money. Once she has had enough he will sell.
So the protests must be upped to be aimed at her (and her supporters in the club, especially her main crutch in failure Murray.... One lucky appointment and he thinks he should be loved forever!) to make sure she has had enough. Will be hard as she is thick skinned (though she seemed visibly shocked when verbally attacked in the directors box) and doesn't even care that all of English football is laughing at her but it can be done.
Comments
...and then saying that again with a straight face.
When I cancelled match sponsorship and matchday mascot packages this season approximately £6.5k and cc'd her in on my withdrawal and reasons as to why , nothing .....
That shows you how much she cares about her customers
She's lied before and she will lie again. She cannot even remotely be entrusted with the running of the club and to suggest that in some way she may act as a check and balance against the excesses of RD (if I have understood the OP correctly) is naive in the extreme.
Meire must go .. though I will not hold my breath until it happens
Any one with common sense could see this lot were a problem. Mr Murray clearly did not and with that comment and the q&a he did in January showed what side of the fence he was on.
If he has finally come round to the idea 30 months in after a needless relegation, Protests and our 7th Managerial appointment that there is a problem then he is useless
Like any relegated team we have high earners we can no longer afford and who is some cases (JBG) who want to leave.
We'll also have players who are on decent money and long contracts who are unlikely to attract much interest in the UK and who are just as unlikely to get offered anything like the same wages outside the UK (Sarr). Think Semedo and Racon from when we can done before who were eating up 1/3 of the wages and who we couldn't shift.
So to give Slade a chance we needs to clear the decks. He did similar at Cardiff and is used to operating on tight budgets at Orient and Yeovil which are some of the reasons he was chosen IMHO.
The issue is that KM hasn't proved very good at selling players. She couldn't sell Reza or Tucedean and she couldn't move Watt on either. All went on loan, some would have attracted loan fees but Tucedean was left in limbo for 1/2 a season while still on our books. As it stands he'll be back in July. Reza's contract ran out while Watt, moved because of his behaviour it was said, is also back for the time being.
So for the plan to work KM has to sell the assets such as JBG and Lookman for big another fees to cover losses and fund Slade. She also needs to shift other high earners such as Cousins and maybe also Solly and Watt. Easier said than done.
There is also no emergency loan system next year. Loan rules will be as in the Prem ie loans only in summer and January. This means gaps in the squad can't be filled other than with out of contract players. So we have to get it right first time.
KM hasn't shone in the transfer market (has she anywhere?) and yet she is still in charge of that vital aspect as far as we can see. Slade is a "manager" and so might get more influence that the head coaches but this summer succeeds or fails on KMs dealing in the transfer market.
(In answer to the question posed on the thread title).
Murray has also become infected.
A triple termination order is needed.
Meire is just about bright enough to know she is doing a job well above her pay grade and ability. She also knows Roland is pretty much her only ally. She's not going to rock the boat for anything, especially a club she cares nothing for and fans she hates. And, that said, I am not sure she is intelligent enough to realise that what is happening is such a catastrophically bad way to run a club.
Have a look at the list below and see just how many positive things/initiatives she and her SMT have brought to the club
1) -
Do not underestimate how damaging her presence is to the club's ability to operate in an ultra competitive market for players and advertising/sponsorship cash.
In all seriousness, proper football people probably meet her and go away thinking, "Are they taking the fucking piss or something?"
But why is she in the job? My view increasingly is Uncle Roland bought cafc to not only be part of his whacky plans but also as her toy. He doesn't really care what happens to the club as long as she is happy and not losing him too much money. Once she has had enough he will sell.
So the protests must be upped to be aimed at her (and her supporters in the club, especially her main crutch in failure Murray.... One lucky appointment and he thinks he should be loved forever!) to make sure she has had enough. Will be hard as she is thick skinned (though she seemed visibly shocked when verbally attacked in the directors box) and doesn't even care that all of English football is laughing at her but it can be done.
Yes, she really is that stupid.