Chairmen and CEOs of many businesses are quite frequently at loggerheads about the direction of a business. Indeed, some may say it's healthy.
To have a CEO who cannot either argue their corner with the Chairman or is put in an untenable position and does nothing about it is impotent and/or unprincipled.
To be honest I have a degree of sympathy for her, met her at the Valley in a meeting and she is undoubtably intelligent, she had no support from her boss and just did not understand the football business. I reckon she will go on to be a success at another club as she will have surely learnt from her bloody idiotic mistakes.
Whether she's had any support from her boss or not does not excuse the lying, the incompetence, the inability to get even the most basic things right and the alienation of many, many long standing and loyal supporters.
Despite the repeated claims of having learned from her mistakes, she made it quite clear, as if it wasn't clear already, in her most recent interview in the Belgian press that she's learned absolutely nothing.
Despite absolutely ruining our club, doing damage that'll take years and years to rectify, she still thinks that she's had a rough deal, and that the protests against her were motivated by her gender and nationality, rather than the fact that she was appalling at her job.
Bewildered that anyone can have any sympathy for her.
I have always said it is questionable anyway whether a CEO of a football club is really a CEO as in a normal business. In the latter a CEO has full profit and loss responsibility for all decisions, and stands or falls on the results. That's hardly possible in most clubs, where the owner directly injects much of the revenue or capital funds, and then expects to have a much bigger say in the big decisions, (i.e. players). Football CEOs are more like general managers and to a greater or lesser extent implement the owner's decisions. This is obvioulsy the case if you work for RD. He has said himself it's a hobby, so he's going to play with it, not sit back and wtach what someone else does with it.
Which is a long winded way of saying I am puzzled when people suggest she didn't have "support from above".What kind of support could she reasonably have expected, that she did not get?
To be honest I have a degree of sympathy for her, met her at the Valley in a meeting and she is undoubtably intelligent, she had no support from her boss and just did not understand the football business. I reckon she will go on to be a success at another club as she will have surely learnt from her bloody idiotic mistakes.
Do me a favour, no one made her say the things she’s said or do the things she’s done.
To be honest I have a degree of sympathy for her, met her at the Valley in a meeting and she is undoubtably intelligent, she had no support from her boss and just did not understand the football business. I reckon she will go on to be a success at another club as she will have surely learnt from her bloody idiotic mistakes.
You can run a business by setting the example, inspiring your staff, working harder than anyone. Or you can act however you please because you're the boss and there's nobody to tell you otherwise.
The fact that Meire is famed for her slack timekeeping, patchy attendance, dismissive attitude to her 'customers' and unprofessional dealings with prospective buyers of the club show her true colours. She will never make a true success of anything while she remains an idle, self-entitled princess. I don't see her character ever changing. God help whichever club she rocks up at.
I have always said it is questionable anyway whether a CEO of a football club is really a CEO as in a normal business. In the latter a CEO has full profit and loss responsibility for all decisions, and stands or falls on the results. That's hardly possible in most clubs, where the owner directly injects much of the revenue or capital funds, and then expects to have a much bigger say in the big decisions, (i.e. players). Football CEOs are more like general managers and to a greater or lesser extent implement the owner's decisions. This is obvioulsy the case if you work for RD. He has said himself it's a hobby, so he's going to play with it, not sit back and wtach what someone else does with it.
Which is a long winded way of saying I am puzzled when people suggest she didn't have "support from above".What kind of support could she reasonably have expected, that she did not get?
I have no desire to defend Meire. She was a hopelessly incompetent, arrogant liar who spent far too much of her time and effort trying to raise her personal profile and not nearly enough trying to develop the club and repair the damage that she herself had done. In many ways she was worse than useless. Putting her energies into many personal vanity projects cost the club more than it would have benefitted from any good things that she might have done.
That she was abominable in her own right, does not mean that Duchatelet couldn't have reasonably done more to support her. Off the top of my head I can think of the following:
1. Turning up occasionally to watch the team. 2. Sitting with her in the Directors box occasionally to show a united front. 3. Being honest to her about decisions he was going to make, so that her public pronouncements didn't make her look a complete fool. 4. Not making ridiculous personal attacks on fans which ultimately made her position more difficult. 5. Giving her clearer guidance on who to speak with and what to say to get people on board and avoid ruffling feathers (that said, communications is an area he's particularly shit at so it's no surprise he couldn't do this).
Ultimately though, Duchatelet is on record of saying that he particularly likes working with young managers. It seems clear to me that the chief reason for that is that they are not so worldly wise and are less likely to stand up for themselves. If he'd really supported her properly, he would not have appointed her to such a prominent role so soon and would have provided a suitable mentor so that she could learn the job properly without being made to sink or swim.
Meire was a useless CEO, hopelessly out of her depth. That said, if I was her I'd be fuming at the lack of support I got from my boss.
I wonder how many fans of the other 91 will be playing "where's Wally" with the faces in the directors' boxes this afternoon, hoping they won't spot a familiar smirk?
Not posted for a long time but had to comment, Daarrzzetbum.
Perhaps you wanted to give her more than your sympathy young man!
Ego the size of a planet, she had paid "Pitch" handsomely for the advice to shut the feck up!
One very stupid person who can see no fault in her own actions, it's always someone else's fault in her delusional little world, compounded by being surrounded by hand picked Sycophants and strict good news culture.
Emperors Clothes! Best gone, god help who employs her next she will have learned now't!
There no delusion like self delusion and she has bucket fulls
I know for a fact she is considered a joke in football circles.Apparently though, she is of the opinion she has done a great job at Charlton, and she is quick to boast about it. Apparently her football knowledge is up there with that other woman whose Dad printed some of Sullivan’s dirty mags, Karen Brady. Mind you, in a recent interview Brady said she got to the top working for a magazine and becoming their top salesperson, so selective memory does help.
No mention of the role of a snooker table, I suppose? But of course that is just scurrilous rumour.
But it's instructive to look at the 'example' of Brady. One of her most outrageous self-PR conceits is that she is a champion of small businesses. This is how her Tory friends promote her. In fact she has always been a hired hand, a loyal, life-time employee for Gullivan. That is why I am very surprised if the umbilical cord between RD and Meire has been cut. I am still a bit sceptical, especially if it is being presented as her choice. RD was her passport to a highly lucrative lifetime career where the only KPIs she would need to deliver would be whatever RD himself dictated. She surely knew that very well, since she showed intense loyalty in implementing his plan, no matter how mad it is.
We need more women in football.
Why ? Given the ineptitude at the FA and at a lot of clubs, I’d say we need more competent people in football - male or female.
Nobody is debating that, and the two are not mutually exclusive. But you get KM on FA boards when you don't have enough women involved in the upper echelons of the game and need someone, anyone to provide a different perspective.
Also, given the FA has spent years spending silly money and giving all their power to the Premier League, given how many clubs are poorly run, and this is almost 100% by men, particularly old rich white men, perhaps it's time for a change.....
Surely it'll be a london club so she can get herself to the Eurostar at every available opportunity.
As I understand it, if you want to fly direct to Dubai you have to go from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester or Newcastle. Got to be near one of them.
Why do fans want her to do well in her new job. She was as bad as RD in ruining this club and I do not see why she should do well wherever she goes and I hope her career falls as dramatically as our clubs soul under them
I wonder if there was genuinely a desire on RD’s part to appoint a female CEO to fly in the face of the very male-dominated world of football? Where of course he failed in this sense is that he appointed Meire. The average trained chimp could run a football club better than she has. He has actually done more harm than good in many ways. I have no sympathy for Meire. I think CAFC would be a place where she could have done well had she been any good. She and Roland failed to understand English football and were only focussed on their idea for how the network could work - although had they been even half competent it might have been more successful. I sincerely hope Meire finds a role which she is good at. From what we have seen so far that would probably be outside of football - although what remains to be seen is how she might operate without Duchatalet. I do wonder if she was forced to follow orders she disagreed with - but of course she could have left a long time ago unless it was particularly lucrative for her to stay in post until she absolutely had to go. I just hope that whoever comes in to replace the Belgians has a clue and has a care. There is lots to do to turn things around. I also hope we aren’t bent over and shafted in the sale either - Roland could still do a lot of damage to us....
Hate to break the bad news but KM is still CEO and director of Charlton Athletic, according to her LinkedIn profile or maybe she is applying the same attention to detail as she displayed in her epic tenure at Charlton.
Fascinating to hear where she turns up next, she is not one for learning from her mistakes. I can see some fun watching this unravel.
I know for a fact she is considered a joke in football circles.Apparently though, she is of the opinion she has done a great job at Charlton, and she is quick to boast about it. Apparently her football knowledge is up there with that other woman whose Dad printed some of Sullivan’s dirty mags, Karen Brady. Mind you, in a recent interview Brady said she got to the top working for a magazine and becoming their top salesperson, so selective memory does help.
No mention of the role of a snooker table, I suppose? But of course that is just scurrilous rumour.
But it's instructive to look at the 'example' of Brady. One of her most outrageous self-PR conceits is that she is a champion of small businesses. This is how her Tory friends promote her. In fact she has always been a hired hand, a loyal, life-time employee for Gullivan. That is why I am very surprised if the umbilical cord between RD and Meire has been cut. I am still a bit sceptical, especially if it is being presented as her choice. RD was her passport to a highly lucrative lifetime career where the only KPIs she would need to deliver would be whatever RD himself dictated. She surely knew that very well, since she showed intense loyalty in implementing his plan, no matter how mad it is.
We need more women in football.
Why ? Given the ineptitude at the FA and at a lot of clubs, I’d say we need more competent people in football - male or female.
Nobody is debating that, and the two are not mutually exclusive. But you get KM on FA boards when you don't have enough women involved in the upper echelons of the game and need someone, anyone to provide a different perspective.
Also, given the FA has spent years spending silly money and giving all their power to the Premier League, given how many clubs are poorly run, and this is almost 100% by men, particularly old rich white men, perhaps it's time for a change.....
From a different angle Meire’s time at Charlton is perfect training for the FA. Duchatelet took all the major decisions & gave limited control to Meire. She was like a general shop manager with a title of CEO. She was happy enough with that pretension & swan around the place like she had some status & control.
Similar the FA has no real power in comparison to the Premiership & stuffed full of incompetents who make many incomprehensible & stupid decisions for the limited things they have control of. I would say that Katrien Meire fits right in.
Hate to break the bad news but KM is still CEO and director of Charlton Athletic, according to her LinkedIn profile or maybe she is applying the same attention to detail as she displayed in her epic tenure at Charlton.
Fascinating to hear where she turns up next, she is not one for learning from her mistakes. I can see some fun watching this unravel.
And according to this, but I expect the good folk at Companies House are on leave today.
b great if its millwall but can't see it - if it was however i'd be worried that they would get added to network and he flogs both our grounds and merges us in a new ground on the dome. This is purely a theory and have heard nothing of the sort - my bet is on a position at the fa. And btw - if an owner provides an alternative ground, the valleyt can be sold for housing - we do not want that under any circumstances - no valley, no charlton for me.
Maybe you missed it, but I checked with QPR Trust and they have no knowledge at all of a change of CEO, no discusssion about the need for one either. By now, they would surely know, if it was them.
It ought to come out in the wash today from somewhere, as Jan 1 is her starting date
Think we are forgetting 1 very important person in all this who is probably now jobless,her matchday goon in the directors box...whats happened to him i wonder?!
Comments
To have a CEO who cannot either argue their corner with the Chairman or is put in an untenable position and does nothing about it is impotent and/or unprincipled.
See ya Katrien
Despite the repeated claims of having learned from her mistakes, she made it quite clear, as if it wasn't clear already, in her most recent interview in the Belgian press that she's learned absolutely nothing.
Despite absolutely ruining our club, doing damage that'll take years and years to rectify, she still thinks that she's had a rough deal, and that the protests against her were motivated by her gender and nationality, rather than the fact that she was appalling at her job.
Bewildered that anyone can have any sympathy for her.
Which is a long winded way of saying I am puzzled when people suggest she didn't have "support from above".What kind of support could she reasonably have expected, that she did not get?
The fact that Meire is famed for her slack timekeeping, patchy attendance, dismissive attitude to her 'customers' and unprofessional dealings with prospective buyers of the club show her true colours. She will never make a true success of anything while she remains an idle, self-entitled princess. I don't see her character ever changing. God help whichever club she rocks up at.
That she was abominable in her own right, does not mean that Duchatelet couldn't have reasonably done more to support her. Off the top of my head I can think of the following:
1. Turning up occasionally to watch the team.
2. Sitting with her in the Directors box occasionally to show a united front.
3. Being honest to her about decisions he was going to make, so that her public pronouncements didn't make her look a complete fool.
4. Not making ridiculous personal attacks on fans which ultimately made her position more difficult.
5. Giving her clearer guidance on who to speak with and what to say to get people on board and avoid ruffling feathers (that said, communications is an area he's particularly shit at so it's no surprise he couldn't do this).
Ultimately though, Duchatelet is on record of saying that he particularly likes working with young managers. It seems clear to me that the chief reason for that is that they are not so worldly wise and are less likely to stand up for themselves. If he'd really supported her properly, he would not have appointed her to such a prominent role so soon and would have provided a suitable mentor so that she could learn the job properly without being made to sink or swim.
Meire was a useless CEO, hopelessly out of her depth. That said, if I was her I'd be fuming at the lack of support I got from my boss.
Perhaps you wanted to give her more than your sympathy young man!
Ego the size of a planet, she had paid "Pitch" handsomely for the advice to shut the feck up!
One very stupid person who can see no fault in her own actions, it's always someone else's fault in her delusional little world, compounded by being surrounded by hand picked Sycophants and strict good news culture.
Emperors Clothes! Best gone, god help who employs her next she will have learned now't!
There no delusion like self delusion and she has bucket fulls
Also, given the FA has spent years spending silly money and giving all their power to the Premier League, given how many clubs are poorly run, and this is almost 100% by men, particularly old rich white men, perhaps it's time for a change.....
Where of course he failed in this sense is that he appointed Meire. The average trained chimp could run a football club better than she has. He has actually done more harm than good in many ways.
I have no sympathy for Meire. I think CAFC would be a place where she could have done well had she been any good. She and Roland failed to understand English football and were only focussed on their idea for how the network could work - although had they been even half competent it might have been more successful.
I sincerely hope Meire finds a role which she is good at. From what we have seen so far that would probably be outside of football - although what remains to be seen is how she might operate without Duchatalet. I do wonder if she was forced to follow orders she disagreed with - but of course she could have left a long time ago unless it was particularly lucrative for her to stay in post until she absolutely had to go.
I just hope that whoever comes in to replace the Belgians has a clue and has a care. There is lots to do to turn things around. I also hope we aren’t bent over and shafted in the sale either -
Roland could still do a lot of damage to us....
Fascinating to hear where she turns up next, she is not one for learning from her mistakes. I can see some fun watching this unravel.
Similar the FA has no real power in comparison to the Premiership & stuffed full of incompetents who make many incomprehensible & stupid decisions for the limited things they have control of. I would say that Katrien Meire fits right in.
She’d be like a Rabbatts caught in headlights.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02689249/officers
It ought to come out in the wash today from somewhere, as Jan 1 is her starting date