"Here is a box, a musical box, wound up and ready to play. But this box can hide a secret inside. Can you guess what is in it today?"
"Someone already on Roland's payroll by any chance?"Well I don’t know about you lot, but I’m finding this all completely gut-wrenching.
For well over twenty five years, I’ll have you know that me and Charlton Athletic have been in a very happy relationship. Not always good times, and there’s no doubting that neither of us have been perfect. But as they say on the X-Factor, we’ve ‘been on a journey’ and most importantly, we’ve been on it together. Particularly through the bad times, and our in-it-together approach made most of that perversely enjoyable.
Now it feels so different.
She’s changed you see. My god, has she changed. And I’m not sure how much I love her anymore. It’s definitely not the unconditional love it once was. It’s almost begrudged; even the small things are really starting to wind me up. I genuinely think we need counselling, but what scares me is I really don’t think she is willing to meet me half way. I don’t think she really cares at all to be honest, which is making this all so much harder.
And then our old mucker Curbs pops up on the telly, offering a smidgen of hope by not ruling himself out for a return. Just as my anger of recent events was marginally starting to subside as well.
Why did he have to do it? It’s this kind of stuff that makes things so bloody frustrating and what makes me so fundamentally against the approach that Roland and his sidekick continue to maintain.
In the case of using Curbs as an example, try looking at things impartially.
At the moment you have a football club pretty much in crisis; it doesn’t really know where it is, or what it needs to exist at this level in this country. The football aspects are being destroyed by instability, inadequate planning and squad building, and inexperience of the requirements and demands of Championship football.
On the other hand, you will struggle to find many manager’s in the whole of the English game who have recorded such consistent relative success than Alan Curbishley. By relative, I mean taking into account budget constraints, getting the sum from parts etc. So successful was he working within that framework, he got to within a hair’s breadth of securing the England job. He particularly knows what it takes to succeed at Championship level, has impeccable contacts throughout the game, and through recent work for Fulham, has good working knowledge of Championship trends, players etc
Do you think the Belgium Naffia will make any attempt to reach out to dip into that wealth of Charlton-sympathising knowledge and experience? Whether as a manager, Director of Football or even a plain old advisor? Will they ‘eck.
Curbs made it perfectly clear publicly when Peters got the boot that he was interested in some involvement. Instead, Roland wound the key on his Camberwick Green-style musical box of European football Z-listers retained on his payroll, and out popped Guy Luzon. Nice guy, but he was out of work because he failed at his last job, he knew nothing about Championship football, and he was given no real scope to build a balanced squad right for this league.
Fast forward just 9 months and we are in exactly the same world. In fact this one that on paper is even worse.
It was widely reported that Fraeye made it clear seventeen months ago he was lined up for the manager’s job here. Which means that unless Roland really is operating a musical box-style approach, fourteen months ago he saw Bob Peters as a better bet. Ten months ago Luzon was then favoured to be next in line. So rewind fourteen months, and Fraeye was seen then as at best, third in line for the job. Since then, he has secured negligible experience in the bottom half of a regional league where isotonic drinks are probably replaced by boxes of cigarettes.
Fraeye is cheap and already on the books. Same old, same old.
Three days ago, I was completely lost to the RD regime. Bags were packed and the key was close to being posted back through the letterbox. I’ve counted to ten and softened a fraction now, and I think I can still be saved.
But I need some form of acceptance that the detached, budgetary constrained or inappropriately allocated, inexperienced European-based model just isn’t working. That it is appreciated that it is beginning to cause huge resentment and needs addressing immediately. That some approaches, measures, and appointments are made that aims to properly address what Charlton Athletic is about as a Club, and what it needs to survive and potentially progress at the level it is at. That if it loses any more waves of support, it is in real trouble.
If that does not occur, and the cheap retainer option fails to work out on the pitch and the regime makes no increased effort to address issues off the pitch, then I’m not sure I’ve anymore last chances in me left to give. Whether that means continuing to support but with increased emotional detachment and less enjoyment, or joining the growing numbers in simply walking away, I really don’t know.
Never thought I’d ever have to give it serious consideration to be honest. What a mess.
Comments
I'm not qualified to run a football club. I'm not stupid enough to believe that if I was manager of the Man City squad that I would do better than to struggle to keep them up. However, call me big headed, but I think I could do at least as well as KM, the various coaches and some of the players (well, maybe not the players at my age).
I've run a business for years and try not to make the same mistakes. You just know with this lot that there will be more summer wheeling and dealing, a whole lot of unknowns will arrive and unless we are very lucky, it will all go wrong.
A point or even a shock win at Boro doesn't change it for me. We need some direction and some characters to make us proud again - JJ is about the only one and he is in the last part of his career. We need some hope.
You always hit my spot....:-)
Seriously, everything you say is true & , at the same time, very worrying.
Today, I read Karel's first statement of intent and noted that Jason has now joined the interim team.
The first indicates a U turn by KM as it was initially indicated that our new man would not speak to us until after the Boro game.
The second was somewhat of a surprise, albeit a good one.
But both appear to be in answer to the obvious anger & concerns of us, the supporters.
So, does that mean this lady IS for turning ( apart from the cartwheels she performs for her boss...) ?
Or does it show that the powers that be think we are easily pleased?
Answers on the usual small, white, stiff thing, please.
And that sense of being regarded as some sort of gullible unimportant mug, Roland I can get that perfectly well at home from the wife, so that approach is really not going to drive any of us through the gates to support the latest give it a go experiment.
I must still care cos I keep reading on here but until he goes i don't think my enthusiasm for Charlton will reach anywhere near previous highs even if we made it to the top flight
He has Championship experience and something to prove. If he were to fail then we would be in no worse place than we are today with some geezer from the Waffle third division taking over.
Big Jace is ace, but his appointment is just an excuse to keep the fans quiet / get rid of him from the club.
Belgians Out !
For the first time ever I'm not looking forward to doing the match thread tomorrow, but I will do it. However if this continues I can see the time coming, like many of you you who can get to The Valley that, like you we just give up. That time hasn't come yet, but it is only just round the corner. Like you I need hope re-ignited, will KM/RD give us that.....doubtful in my opinion...sad times indeed!!
Right now the tunnel is very dark you would have thought that with his theory and idea of running a Football club unraveling in front of him Duchatelet as a "genius business man" would start to look at the strategy, understand that to compete in one of the toughest leagues in Europe you need deep understanding of how it works. But no lets carry on because I am right and everyone else is wrong he is like the lunatic in the asylum who thinks the rest of the world is mad.
Problem is that this is now ego driven in the sense that he feels the need to prove everyone wrong and so will not stop. My fear is that if we get relegated he will carry on trying to prove that you can be successful on an even smaller budget with teenagers forming a large part of the team. How different from Millwall who have got Steve Coppell working in the background in an advisory role, anyone noticed how their results have improved?
Rich men's vanity projects have always been around going all the way back to Howard Hughes and that multi-winged airplane he tried to develop, killing plenty of test pilots on the way, same goes for Goldilocks Branson and his bloody spaceship. Money is not the motivation it's about legacy they want to be remembered for doing something nobody else has. For old Duchatelet his legacy on his gravestone will say "Here lies the man that shagged one Football club after another but was still right"
As for attending, I have my season ticket but until I see some signs of improvement (The Flanders Meier back to Belgium would be a start) I will only attend if I have nothing better to do.
Great post AFKA and pretty much sums up my feelings too.
I know I wrote it deliberately a bit melodramatic in the linking it to a relationship angle, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has a different viewpoint
My problem is that after 61 years I love this Club so much, I can't walk away from it. This Roland is a brilliant money maker, but when it comes to running an English football Club he is a complete idiot. He seems to be certain that he is always right, which is his first mistake because no one has ever achieved that and never will. But I am stuck like glue to Charlton Athletic even if I finish up watching them in the bottom Division. Also I have a great deal of empathy with the players such as Jordan Cousins who have committed to the Club, and to loyal staff members. So unfortunately I am stuck with Roland and his silly bloody sofa, because I don't believe he will ever accept that his way could be wrong.
When we lived abroad, all I could think about was bringing my son down to the valley.
In the last year we have been back, I can't bring myself to put my son through the same pain.
I no longer look forward to the (football) weekends, I can't even bring myself to watch a stream on line, I even turned off the Fulham game when we went a goal down.
Perhaps Curbs back would fire the enthusiasm, but the club is so far removed from what we loved it's hard to see it.
How can afan that has been going to the valley since 1967 get to this point.My saturdays have Always involved Charlton, life would not be the same without them,but slowly over the years it has come tothe point that defeat on a match day is what i wish for.....All Charlton fans i am sorry for saying this ,it is not your fault but the fault of the people or persons that own and run the club that i LOVE that has made me feel this way.
Things have to change i will do want i can to help get rid of the -------- that is growing at this club my club of 49years.
Trying to bring 4 boys up to love Charlton isn't easy in these conditions and is leading to a few white lies to get them down there (when I can be asked)
I'm also a bit peeeed off with some of our fans who , im gonna put it crudely/childishly cos im not capable of dressing it up, lick arse of the owners , although admittedly those numbers have dwindled , although in fairness to them we all see things differently
A very good piece from AFKA, and mostly sensible stuff from lots of others. Sums up my feelings since Riga was appointed. Now we have the fourth Manager that I've never heard of and all with CVs that would not get them the job at Crockenhill or Greenwich Borough, and I think we've only signed about two players I have ever heard of. Some of them have been quite good, some absolute rubbish.
I normally miss four to five games at home each season, and all for good reasons. This season I've seen just two games and I've only got reasons for missing about two of all the others. Will I be there this Saturday, if it is cold or raining, or I get a better offer, then probably not. Otherwise I might, and if we lose it will just be a shrug of the shoulders instead of what used to be genuine gloom.