I feel like enough hasn't been made of the fact that the CAFC fan adviser is openly dissenting against the club? That's a pretty big deal and might suggest that she feels her position is pointless so is finally airing her views.
Oh to be a normal football club again. 99% of clubs are only discussing what is happening on the pitch every week, we have been focused on off field shenanigans for 10 years. I think TS may be realising he has bitten off more than he can chew. He has two options now:
- Sell up
- Change his approach, listen to the fans and those with experience and try to get back on track
Do we know if Leo Rifkind is related to ex poltitician Malcolm Rifkind? Maybe I am reading a bit to much in to it, both studied law.. Can't find anything to say they are, but Leo looks a lot like Hugo is Malcolm's son..
I'd given TS the benefit of the doubt - albeit i'd taken a lot of what he said with a pinch of salt - but the closing of the transfer window with no goalscorer on board has confirmed a lot of things for me. He will forever be thanked for saving us but whatever his intentions originally were, its all gone tits now for one reason or another and the sooner he sells up, the better - hopefully !!!
I'd given TS the benefit of the doubt - albeit i'd taken a lot of what he said with a pinch of salt - but the closing of the transfer window with no goalscorer on board has confirmed a lot of things for me. He will forever be thanked for saving us but whatever his intentions originally were, its all gone tits now for one reason or another and the sooner he sells up, the better - hopefully !!!
I'd given TS the benefit of the doubt - albeit i'd taken a lot of what he said with a pinch of salt - but the closing of the transfer window with no goalscorer on board has confirmed a lot of things for me. He will forever be thanked for saving us but whatever his intentions originally were, its all gone tits now for one reason or another and the sooner he sells up, the better - hopefully !!!
Exactly where I am
It's the me too brigade this afternoon as this particular worm turned after the deadline day debacle, which was either gross incompetence or a statement of lack of intent. It tipped me from being positive, which never sat comfortably with me, back into my more natural negative state.
Oh well, I have to hand it to those who can smugly say "I told you so," although I realise that won't be any comfort to them as we're all in the same foundering boat.
There's only two basic types these days at the higher level - crooks and ego maniacs. (The third option of "local lads/fans made good" has largely disappeared from the higher levels of the game. You need to be a multi-billionaire - or a sovereign state - to play with the big boys.)
Over the past X years we seem to have just swapped one type for the other. Next up is the crooks turn to have another go, in case you haven't been paying attention.
So, unfortunately, the sad question for the modern football fan is a stark choice between the two options; do you want a dodgy owner who will potentially bankrupt the club with their shady dealings and sell the family silver on the way; or would you prefer an ego maniac who does things "their way" , makes some truly weird and unfathomable decisions, but ultimately is going t make sure the bills get paid.
What a choice to have to make.
That's the thing though mate....how long does he make sure the bills get paid altruistically for? How long does a man lose £8m a year of the family silver paying the bills. The break even model is flawed for so many reasons without really degenerating the size and or quality of the club and likely the football which potentially sees people stop coming in their droves and even dropping down a league.
It's not sustainable to stay in this league losing £8m each season or £5m even you are able to reduce the loss with a sale of a young starlet each season whilst stripping back to the barebones. There is very little to strip back on left in material terms and player wages is the only real area which will impact the quality and/ or seniority of the squad.
We won't get 20 plus thousand turning up regularly to watch league one football really especially not at silly prices.
He's not got infinite wealth and surely no matter how large an ego there comes a point where you say enough is enough I'm doing millions a year and pleasing no one and not much to stroke an ego about being an owner of a stable, established mid table 3rd division club with fan expectation that we should be pushing for better.
Garner's comments at end of the window convinced me he's accepting of that's how he sees us and our limitations under the present ownership.
I'd given TS the benefit of the doubt - albeit i'd taken a lot of what he said with a pinch of salt - but the closing of the transfer window with no goalscorer on board has confirmed a lot of things for me. He will forever be thanked for saving us but whatever his intentions originally were, its all gone tits now for one reason or another and the sooner he sells up, the better - hopefully !!!
Exactly where I am
Unfortunately and me, really started to get concerned however when I saw the season ticket prices, followed by the ridiculous cost for attending a single game, that really started to ring alarm bells.
I have just read the CAST response to Rifkind's untutored and insulting comments. In particular, the following passage from CAST struck a particular chord......
If Rifkind can ask us with a straight face "How are we prepared to support our club?” he has clearly learned nothing in his short time at Charlton Athletic. It is 30 years since our fans founded a political party, dug weeds with their bare hands, did everything in their power to get us home. More recently we campaigned imaginatively against the absurdities of Duchatelet's ownership while actively supporting the team on the pitch. Two years ago CAST raised pledges from nearly 5K supporters ready to come to the fore as the club faced administration or even liquidation.
It was exactly the same with Katrien Meire. There was no sense that she understood the nature and history of the club or the special relationship between club and supporters - preferring instead to view that relationship not as a lifetime bond but something more detached hence her calling fans 'customers'. She even openly told a Belgian newspaper that she didn't care about the history of the club (Brussels, L'Echo 28/09/2015).
Rifkind of course is not a CEO but has a voice as a non-executive director, but how dare he make the kind of statements that he has put out. The full CAST article shoots down all of his points and also takes aim at some of the ridiculous recent decisions made by TS as he lurches evermore towards the Duchatelet regime style of ownership even to the extent of making Olly Groome 'redundant' (no doubt to be 'replaced' by some outsourced agency or any spare member of the TS family/friends who might be at a loose end!).
(NB one of the first acts of Meire - even before she showed the door to Yann Kermorgant I believe) was to axe long-time servant of the club and former successful Valley Party candidate Paul Ellis).
This Club deserves an owner who loves it unconditionally doesn't it?
Tommy has become a victim of his own hubris. He had everybody's support and affection for rescuing us from the crooks and for stating ambitions that resonated with a punch drunk support base. He has stated that running a football club is common sense and has eschewed sound advice and expertise from those qualified. It's now evident that his benchmarks for progress have gone a bit Pete Tong and it looks like maybe he has reached some sort of tipping point. Or has he? Is this how Lifer's see it? Or has he just revised his ambition, decided to cut his cloth accordingly, but still thinks he is part of the future at CAFC? It's all just speculation, but it really feels very volatile and uncertain again.
Pompous, pretentious, wallyish tweet that was. "We the fans...". Probably thought Charlton was a brand of Australian Shiraz to before he was on the payroll.
Very patronising, ill-informed and misguided. As expected from someone who knows very little about Charlton or association football beyond the corporate machine the game now sits within.
I'd given TS the benefit of the doubt - albeit i'd taken a lot of what he said with a pinch of salt - but the closing of the transfer window with no goalscorer on board has confirmed a lot of things for me. He will forever be thanked for saving us but whatever his intentions originally were, its all gone tits now for one reason or another and the sooner he sells up, the better - hopefully !!!
Exactly where I am
yep gotta agree - although in reality I'm almost past the point of caring anymore, got far more important things going on in my life, football is definitely down the list of priorities now
I realised Tuesday that I actually didn't care whether I went or not, I did go but had no real enthusiasm for it at all
There has been real noticeable change in mood regarding Thomas this year, for many the writing has been on the wall for a long time for others like me I was clinging to hope that he might be the man. Looking at his tweets this season or lack of them, for me the novelty has cleary worn off and he its seems he gone in to businessman mode as it is what knows best. It really wouldn't surprise if he isn't gone before the end of the season
He isn't going anywhere. He is a businessman and will want to recoup his losses which he has attached to the club in the form of loans. Who would pay this when all your buying is the liability for a 5m loss per season, without any of the assets other than a handful of players probably worth 5m put together The club is worth £1.
Haven't bought a season ticket since before RD took ownership and have been going on an ad hock basis but after Tuesday night plus the disappointment of lack of investment I am done with spending £32 to watch a dyer performance like that anymore. The club is not going anywhere while TS has control in what seems to be a bit of an arrogant and delusional stance in how to run things . Travel 30 miles and then back to watch that on top of the cost of the ticket. No thanks, not any more for now.
I feel things could turn sour for Sandgaard very quickly now. Sandgaard's ridiculous pricing structure was bad enough, but that message from the idiot director will tip a lot of fans over the edge.
Going to war with fans never ends well. The fan advisor's tweet suggests to me that there's a lot of shit going on behind the scenes & they are listening to the wrong people.
Didn't they recently announce that they were going to hire a second Fan's Adviser? If you're not even going to listen to the first one, what's the point of having two?
Comments
I feel like enough hasn't been made of the fact that the CAFC fan adviser is openly dissenting against the club? That's a pretty big deal and might suggest that she feels her position is pointless so is finally airing her views.
Makes me proud to be a CAST member.
Makes me sad to be an Addick 'til I die under the stewardship of this regime.
Oh well, I have to hand it to those who can smugly say "I told you so," although I realise that won't be any comfort to them as we're all in the same foundering boat.
That's the thing though mate....how long does he make sure the bills get paid altruistically for? How long does a man lose £8m a year of the family silver paying the bills. The break even model is flawed for so many reasons without really degenerating the size and or quality of the club and likely the football which potentially sees people stop coming in their droves and even dropping down a league.
It's not sustainable to stay in this league losing £8m each season or £5m even you are able to reduce the loss with a sale of a young starlet each season whilst stripping back to the barebones. There is very little to strip back on left in material terms and player wages is the only real area which will impact the quality and/ or seniority of the squad.
We won't get 20 plus thousand turning up regularly to watch league one football really especially not at silly prices.
He's not got infinite wealth and surely no matter how large an ego there comes a point where you say enough is enough I'm doing millions a year and pleasing no one and not much to stroke an ego about being an owner of a stable, established mid table 3rd division club with fan expectation that we should be pushing for better.
Garner's comments at end of the window convinced me he's accepting of that's how he sees us and our limitations under the present ownership.
In particular, the following passage from CAST struck a particular chord......
If Rifkind can ask us with a straight face "How are we prepared to support our club?” he has clearly learned nothing in his short time at Charlton Athletic. It is 30 years since our fans founded a political party, dug weeds with their bare hands, did everything in their power to get us home. More recently we campaigned imaginatively against the absurdities of Duchatelet's ownership while actively supporting the team on the pitch. Two years ago CAST raised pledges from nearly 5K supporters ready to come to the fore as the club faced administration or even liquidation.
It was exactly the same with Katrien Meire. There was no sense that she understood the nature and history of the club or the special relationship between club and supporters - preferring instead to view that relationship not as a lifetime bond but something more detached hence her calling fans 'customers'. She even openly told a Belgian newspaper that she didn't care about the history of the club (Brussels, L'Echo 28/09/2015).
Rifkind of course is not a CEO but has a voice as a non-executive director, but how dare he make the kind of statements that he has put out. The full CAST article shoots down all of his points and also takes aim at some of the ridiculous recent decisions made by TS as he lurches evermore towards the Duchatelet regime style of ownership even to the extent of making Olly Groome 'redundant' (no doubt to be 'replaced' by some outsourced agency or any spare member of the TS family/friends who might be at a loose end!).
(NB one of the first acts of Meire - even before she showed the door to Yann Kermorgant I believe) was to axe long-time servant of the club and former successful Valley Party candidate Paul Ellis).
This Club deserves an owner who loves it unconditionally doesn't it?
He had everybody's support and affection for rescuing us from the crooks and for stating ambitions that resonated with a punch drunk support base.
He has stated that running a football club is common sense and has eschewed sound advice and expertise from those qualified.
It's now evident that his benchmarks for progress have gone a bit Pete Tong and it looks like maybe he has reached some sort of tipping point. Or has he?
Is this how Lifer's see it?
Or has he just revised his ambition, decided to cut his cloth accordingly, but still thinks he is part of the future at CAFC?
It's all just speculation, but it really feels very volatile and uncertain again.
Very patronising, ill-informed and misguided. As expected from someone who knows very little about Charlton or association football beyond the corporate machine the game now sits within.
I realised Tuesday that I actually didn't care whether I went or not, I did go but had no real enthusiasm for it at all
Not seen Airman on here for a while. Him and Varney busy on the phone?!
Who would pay this when all your buying is the liability for a 5m loss per season, without any of the assets other than a handful of players probably worth 5m put together
The club is worth £1.
The club is not going anywhere while TS has control in what seems to be a bit of an arrogant and delusional stance in how to run things .
Travel 30 miles and then back to watch that on top of the cost of the ticket.
No thanks, not any more for now.
Going to war with fans never ends well. The fan advisor's tweet suggests to me that there's a lot of shit going on behind the scenes & they are listening to the wrong people.
It's deeply concerning