That he does, Fanny. I haven't a yet seen one where he looks anything other than pissed off. I'm very confused about what is going on. Bad feeling about it...
“For example there could be a young player at Charlton who is not as strong as the other boys but is technically very good, like Eden Hazard for example.
We could put him in Spain for a few years where the football is more technical than physical. "
**"And send those with no technical ability, but are good at kicking lumps out of others to Charlton".
**Last bit was made up by a bored fan trying desperately to find something of value from todays press conference................;-)
The Roland vision is one based on the development of youth. Getting the Academy to Category A will protect the club from decent young player being poached by the bigger club for minimal fees. The only hope that I can see Charlton competing is by having the best youth academy that it can have. Attracting great young players who will know that they will get a decent chance of first team football. If RD does not develop the Academy then it will the be signal that all Rolands talk is just that.
Developing decent young players and a strategy around that is the only part of the RD vision that I have full agreement or belief about. Investigation the possibility doesn't exactly inspire with confidence. I am not being swept up by the RD project for Charlton.
Well, knock me down with a feather, vff ! You could have fooled me...
Seriously, I was told a couple of weeks ago that the plan to build a wall behind the bust of Pierre Bolangi in the Memorial Garden (more of that later!) has been shelved due to the possibility of relocating the garden when the new facilities are built. Sounded more like "when" rather than "if" ....
Well, knock me down with a feather, vff ! You could have fooled me...
Seriously, I was told a couple of weeks ago that the plan to build a wall behind the bust of Pierre Bolangi in the Memorial Garden (more of that later!) has been shelved due to the possibility of relocating the garden when the new facilities are built. Sounded more like "when" rather than "if" ....
Does that mean Charlton will be Category A or is it just a few new buildings ? If Category A is definitely going to happen then why not share that part of the vision with the Charlton supporters / customers and give something concrete for Charlton supporters to believe in ? It will be something very positive for the Charlton / Duchatelet brand and give Charlton supporters a reason to be proud of the club.
“We could put him in Spain for a few years where the football is more technical than physical.
“This kind of player will get the chance to make it in football, whereas if they stay in England it will be more difficult to make it into the first team.
“That is a great benefit of the network. There are some definite advantages in this model, in terms of youth development.
“All the things I do, I’m working in the long-run.
“Throwing money at players and so forth, that is definitely not the strategy here.”
I think this gives a very good clue as to the future business model that the new owner is trying to develop. It is consistant with his approach to his other clubs, my contact in Belgium wrote for the trust news.
Trouble is, that is great in theory, and may happen, but it is not a proven model that can deliver quick instant results. Otherwise, I am sure it would have been adopted by the other clubs. The advantage that RD has is that he can 'loan out' to his stable of clubs. When I interviewed Paul Hart at the academy only three weeks ago, impressive as his plans might be , he was talking to me about having to expand the structure, and scope to be able to deliver Cat 1. Besides the financial cost, this is not about a new changing room, a couple of pitches , and a few more qualified coaches, it is a considerable investment, with the right people, resources and structure. I think I am correct they only had there assement for Cat 2 two weeks ago, so the time scale may be a little longer than RD thinks. Of course money helps, and I am sure Paul and his team are up for it, but this could well need three or four years to develop, and develop the academy towards this. So more of a medium business plan there for me?
The possibility of being able to go for a spell to one of our sister clubs may be an attraction to get players to sign with us, it's something the likes of Millwall and Palace can't offer.
When you consider how many great players Belgium is producing at the moment, a spell training with the Liege youngsters would be an attractive carrot to dangle.
.......or if you are at Liege, a spell in League 1 with a Wednesday night away trip to Port Vale.
It's all meaningless. We need players to fight for our survival NOW, and there was a press conference where some Belgian said he was INVESTIGATING the POSSIBILITY !
Well, knock me down with a feather, vff ! You could have fooled me...
Seriously, I was told a couple of weeks ago that the plan to build a wall behind the bust of Pierre Bolangi in the Memorial Garden (more of that later!) has been shelved due to the possibility of relocating the garden when the new facilities are built. Sounded more like "when" rather than "if" ....
Does that mean Charlton will be Category A or is it just a few new buildings ? If Category A is definitely going to happen then why not share that part of the vision with the Charlton supporters / customers and give something concrete for Charlton supporters to believe in ? It will be something very positive for the Charlton / Duchatelet brand and give Charlton supporters a reason to be proud of the club.
Make of it what you will, vff, but my view is that we're talking about taking steps towards Category A status.
Do you really believe that within weeks of purchasing our Club, RD could categorically state that he will be rebuilding the Training Ground without having a detailed plan or the funds to do so ? He will be fully aware that this is necessary for the status upgrade & this will be crucial to his plans to bring more youngsters through from the Academy. You don't have to be a Brain of Britain to acknowledge this...
But, no doubt you would complain if an announcement was made before the i's were dotted and the t's crossed & , heaven forbid, the project was delayed .
Give the guy a chance for feck's sake ! He may not be the Messiah but...well you know how that one goes.
I want to believe but am struggling to find evidence of intent rather than nice sounding words. Just because it is evident that Category A is necessary for the strategy to succeed don't mean it is actually going to happen. Most of us are struggling to accept the state of weakness of the team and the lack of any experienced players heightening the risk of relegation but that's happening.
Trouble is, that is great in theory, and may happen, but it is not a proven model that can deliver quick instant results.
Personally, I think that most of the problems within English football today can be traced back to people wanting or expecting "quick instant results". Ask a Portsmouth fan what they think?
I'd rather have medium to long term stability, thank you very much.
I want to believe but am struggling to find evidence of intent rather than nice sounding words. Just because it is evident that Category A is necessary for the strategy to succeed don't mean it is actually going to happen. Most of us are struggling to accept the state of weakness of the team and the lack of any experienced players heightening the risk of relegation but that's happening.
I didn't say "week", vff , but "weeks".
Believe me, I do understand where you're coming from but Rome wasn't built in a day ...
Try to have a little faith & patience, difficult though it might be at this moment in time.
the club already has a blueprint of how to upgrade to Cat 1. The work was done for this back in the days of Mr Varney. I believe it is true that we can't apply for Cat 1 for 2 years which just about gives time to get planning permission and build the new centre.
Trouble is, that is great in theory, and may happen, but it is not a proven model that can deliver quick instant results.
Personally, I think that most of the problems within English football today can be traced back to people wanting or expecting "quick instant results". Ask a Portsmouth fan what they think?
I'd rather have medium to long term stability, thank you very much.
You are quite right..... and my sloppy grammar did not convey the point I was trying to make The issue is it cannot and will not happen overnight, next week, or next year. I am going to see the lads against Arsenal tommorow night in the cup game at Ebbsfleet. Let's hope they do well.
Comments
I hope he endeavors to persevere with that, because a noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.
We could put him in Spain for a few years where the football is more technical than physical. "
**"And send those with no technical ability, but are good at kicking lumps out of others to Charlton".
**Last bit was made up by a bored fan trying desperately to find something of value from todays press conference................;-)
Developing decent young players and a strategy around that is the only part of the RD vision that I have full agreement or belief about. Investigation the possibility doesn't exactly inspire with confidence. I am not being swept up by the RD project for Charlton.
Seriously, I was told a couple of weeks ago that the plan to build a wall behind the bust of Pierre Bolangi in the Memorial Garden (more of that later!) has been shelved due to the possibility of relocating the garden when the new facilities are built. Sounded more like "when" rather than "if" ....
“This kind of player will get the chance to make it in football, whereas if they stay in England it will be more difficult to make it into the first team.
“That is a great benefit of the network. There are some definite advantages in this model, in terms of youth development.
“All the things I do, I’m working in the long-run.
“Throwing money at players and so forth, that is definitely not the strategy here.”
I think this gives a very good clue as to the future business model that the new owner is trying to develop.
It is consistant with his approach to his other clubs, my contact in Belgium wrote for the trust news.
Trouble is, that is great in theory, and may happen, but it is not a proven model that can deliver quick instant results.
Otherwise, I am sure it would have been adopted by the other clubs. The advantage that RD has is that he can 'loan out' to his stable of clubs.
When I interviewed Paul Hart at the academy only three weeks ago, impressive as his plans might be , he was talking to me about having to expand the structure, and scope to be able to deliver Cat 1. Besides the financial cost, this is not about a new changing room, a couple of pitches , and a few more qualified coaches, it is a considerable investment, with the right people, resources and structure. I think I am correct they only had there assement for Cat 2 two weeks ago, so the time scale may be a little longer than RD thinks. Of course money helps, and I am sure Paul and his team are up for it, but this could well need three or four years to develop, and develop the academy towards this. So more of a medium business plan there for me?
Paul Hart is definitely the right man for the job to oversee the change to Category A.
When you consider how many great players Belgium is producing at the moment, a spell training with the Liege youngsters would be an attractive carrot to dangle.
It's all meaningless. We need players to fight for our survival NOW, and there was a press conference where some Belgian said he was INVESTIGATING the POSSIBILITY !
Do you really believe that within weeks of purchasing our Club, RD could categorically state that he will be rebuilding the Training Ground without having a detailed plan or the funds to do so ? He will be fully aware that this is necessary for the status upgrade & this will be crucial to his plans to bring more youngsters through from the Academy. You don't have to be a Brain of Britain to acknowledge this...
But, no doubt you would complain if an announcement was made before the i's were dotted and the t's crossed & , heaven forbid, the project was delayed .
Give the guy a chance for feck's sake ! He may not be the Messiah but...well you know how that one goes.
I want to believe but am struggling to find evidence of intent rather than nice sounding words. Just because it is evident that Category A is necessary for the strategy to succeed don't mean it is actually going to happen. Most of us are struggling to accept the state of weakness of the team and the lack of any experienced players heightening the risk of relegation but that's happening.
I'd rather have medium to long term stability, thank you very much.
Believe me, I do understand where you're coming from but Rome wasn't built in a day ...
Try to have a little faith & patience, difficult though it might be at this moment in time.
The issue is it cannot and will not happen overnight, next week, or next year.
I am going to see the lads against Arsenal tommorow night in the cup game at Ebbsfleet. Let's hope they do well.