Good to see the end of the YouTube video where Katrien read out a statement from the owner:
'I'm sorry I can't be there in person tonight. I realise that we've made a few mistakes over these past two years, but I really want this club to succeed and be a force in the Premiership. With the change to the FInancial Fair Play rules I now realise that my plan to simply tick over, use youth team players and the network to keep costs down to break even and prove Championship clubs can make a profit, does not match the ambition that fans at this proud club demand.
Reflecting on the past two years, we have not invested in the first team in the way we should have done. And there has not been enough stability in the management of the team. I will continue to invest in the Academy and will now bring in a manager with Championship experience to support Karel so that we can invest in the transfer window. We need to identify transfer targets now, based on knowledge rather than video analysis, so that in January we can get the team up the league as quickly as possible.
We will take stock in the summer to see what changes are needed for a serious push for promotion. We will not waste money, but it is now clear that we need to invest in quality players if we want to achieve the ambition shown by our supporters.
This meeting marks a turning point in the history of this great club. We will work with our supporters to build a great future together.'
They have come to the table, they have agreed to have dialog , we are moving forward. Great start to the campaign with very little effort. Well done all concerned.
Need to clarify exactly what we want and by when. Something tangible, simple and that can be delivered before Ipswich.
A meeting with the trust to agree terms of reference for target 20000?
Really sorry about the delay, I know it's a phrase said a lot but the delay was out of our hands and we worked as quickly as we could.
To quickly answer a few tweets and questions received :
We haven't got full broadcast cameras, they aren't awful but they aren't Sky Sports' best camera on the market, meaning we don't have that much leverage in terms of colour levels on the camera itself. We live mixed the VIP meeting earlier in the year and it looked awful due to the lighting and colour levels on the cameras.
We lit yesterday for cameras and also spent time trying to make sure that we could get the best colour out of our cameras as possible but this sadly meant we couldn't live mix it.
The way a lot of professional cameras work, especially with how they encode footage it's not the case that you can just upload the raw file straight to YouTube, you have to put it through an editing programme first.
We also had a sound recorder recording clear audio from the mixer to make the questions and answers as clear as we could.
After the question and answer session ended (around 9:30ish) I started work on editing it and worked until 11-11:30ish , then I was in early today to continue editing.
Just to clarify the term editing, this is adding stings (5 second CAFC YouTube clip) on the front, enhancing audio, balancing the pictures colour and choosing the best camera shot.
I can assure you nothing has been removed and I'm sure everyone at the meeting will confirm this when they watch the video back.
We had to enhance things like the audio as some people answered questions without the microphone and there's no point us releasing the video if you can't hear what they are saying, so we boosted audio levels in these segments.
The whole video is almost 2 hours long so if anyone has made any videos before they can vouch it takes time to edit. The edit was finished quickly but for some reason it's taken over 4 hours to fully export and then a further 3 hours for YouTube to process
Sorry for the delay but hopefully this explains what's caused it and why we couldn't have got it out any faster.
They have come to the table, they have agreed to have dialog , we are moving forward. Great start to the campaign with very little effort. Well done all concerned.
Need to clarify exactly what we want and by when. Something tangible, simple and that can be delivered before Ipswich.
A meeting with the trust to agree terms of reference for target 20000?
Are you for real? They would love nothing more than the Trust etc to roll over for its tummy to be rubbed in exchange for a talking shop over an impossible target.
sadamson84 - thanks for coming on and giving a complete explanation. That helps enormously. If Katrien did the same thing every now and again she might have avoided painting herself into the corner she's now in. Unfortunately, she got caught out telling porkies when she tried once before and has been making such a pigs ear of things since that avoiding any open dialogue has been her choice and deliberate plan. She has used the Fan's Forum as a sop instead and thinks we are all gullible enough not to recognise it. On with the protest....
Yes, I know people have genuine grievances, but there is currently something distinctly unsavoury about this BB and indeed others. Add to that the embarrassment I felt watching and listening to protesters on Saturday. No problems with "Roland Out", "Miere Out", but when it dropped to gutter level with references to where one might stick the sofa I thought "I'm Off". Add to that the overtly racist anti-Belgian chants and I thought this lot are losing the plot. It had hints of a lynch mob. I've been through thick and thin (more thin than thick, I might add) with Charlton, having followed them loyally for 52 years at all three of their home grounds and I have actively fought many just causes on the fans' behalf, but somehow, the behaviour I witnessed on Saturday, and what I am seeing repeated on many BBs, doesn't quite square with reality. Yes, communications have been poor. No, I don't think Katrien is guilty of deliberately lying, just guilty of being the proverbial "meat in the sandwich". I'm sure Roland has undermined her on more than one occasion and will do so again. I don't think it matters one iota whether it's Katrien or a Varney who is the CEO, ultimately the power resides across the water. For her own peace of mind she may well walk, but her successor will be similarly neutered. Ultimately discontent correlates with results on the pitch. Go on a winning run and play excellent football (which for the first time this season we did on Saturday) and discontent simply evaporates. Return to losing ways and the clamour will return and intensify. All well and good, but where is the Plan B for the board's detractors? Who is going to take over and why? It's my understanding that buyers are currently few and far between at the moment (there are several clubs up for sale, many of which are more attractive than Charlton), so it might be a long time before Roland is dislodged. For all of his faults (and there are many) he has at least kept the club afloat and for that alone I'm grateful, having seen us first hand flirt with extinction in the High Court (saved with 30 minutes to go). I'm sure my views will go down like a lead balloon with many of you, but at least I know I'm not alone in thinking this way. Call us the "silent majority".
Sorry, I cannot sit and watch 2 hours of this, all I want to know is what questions were asked and what was the answers? I do not expect others to do what I will not do myself, but if anyone is keen enough to watch it all can they post fans questions and answers for myself and others like me, if you do not mind. If not, I will probably get the gist when people start moaning about the Q&A later. Thank you
Yes, I know people have genuine grievances, but there is currently something distinctly unsavoury about this BB and indeed others. Add to that the embarrassment I felt watching and listening to protesters on Saturday. No problems with "Roland Out", "Miere Out", but when it dropped to gutter level with references to where one might stick the sofa I thought "I'm Off". Add to that the overtly racist anti-Belgian chants and I thought this lot are losing the plot. It had hints of a lynch mob. I've been through thick and thin (more thin than thick, I might add) with Charlton, having followed them loyally for 52 years at all three of their home grounds and I have actively fought many just causes on the fans' behalf, but somehow, the behaviour I witnessed on Saturday, and what I am seeing repeated on many BBs, doesn't quite square with reality. Yes, communications have been poor. No, I don't think Katrien is guilty of deliberately lying, just guilty of being the proverbial "meat in the sandwich". I'm sure Roland has undermined her on more than one occasion and will do so again. I don't think it matters one iota whether it's Katrien or a Varney who is the CEO, ultimately the power resides across the water. For her own peace of mind she may well walk, but her successor will be similarly neutered. Ultimately discontent correlates with results on the pitch. Go on a winning run and play excellent football (which for the first time this season we did on Saturday) and discontent simply evaporates. Return to losing ways and the clamour will return and intensify. All well and good, but where is the Plan B for the board's detractors? Who is going to take over and why? It's my understanding that buyers are currently few and far between at the moment (there are several clubs up for sale, many of which are more attractive than Charlton), so it might be a long time before Roland is dislodged. For all of his faults (and there are many) he has at least kept the club afloat and for that alone I'm grateful, having seen us first hand flirt with extinction in the High Court (saved with 30 minutes to go). I'm sure my views will go down like a lead balloon with many of you, but at least I know I'm not alone in thinking this way. Call us the "silent majority".
If you're in the silent majority you might need to think about your user name.
I've just started watching it. Who is the chap that started talking. He talked for about five minutes and then proceeded to ask come questions? Is he the Trust chap or a randomly invited fan?
Yes, I know people have genuine grievances, but there is currently something distinctly unsavoury about this BB and indeed others. Add to that the embarrassment I felt watching and listening to protesters on Saturday. No problems with "Roland Out", "Miere Out", but when it dropped to gutter level with references to where one might stick the sofa I thought "I'm Off". Add to that the overtly racist anti-Belgian chants and I thought this lot are losing the plot. It had hints of a lynch mob. I've been through thick and thin (more thin than thick, I might add) with Charlton, having followed them loyally for 52 years at all three of their home grounds and I have actively fought many just causes on the fans' behalf, but somehow, the behaviour I witnessed on Saturday, and what I am seeing repeated on many BBs, doesn't quite square with reality. Yes, communications have been poor. No, I don't think Katrien is guilty of deliberately lying, just guilty of being the proverbial "meat in the sandwich". I'm sure Roland has undermined her on more than one occasion and will do so again. I don't think it matters one iota whether it's Katrien or a Varney who is the CEO, ultimately the power resides across the water. For her own peace of mind she may well walk, but her successor will be similarly neutered. Ultimately discontent correlates with results on the pitch. Go on a winning run and play excellent football (which for the first time this season we did on Saturday) and discontent simply evaporates. Return to losing ways and the clamour will return and intensify. All well and good, but where is the Plan B for the board's detractors? Who is going to take over and why? It's my understanding that buyers are currently few and far between at the moment (there are several clubs up for sale, many of which are more attractive than Charlton), so it might be a long time before Roland is dislodged. For all of his faults (and there are many) he has at least kept the club afloat and for that alone I'm grateful, having seen us first hand flirt with extinction in the High Court (saved with 30 minutes to go). I'm sure my views will go down like a lead balloon with many of you, but at least I know I'm not alone in thinking this way. Call us the "silent majority".
KM still trying to pass Powell (and Dyer) off an ex-employee whose comments regarding team interference shouldn't be trusted. Even those who don't like him as a manager are generally positive about his character - given the previous form of both Chris Powell and Katrien "Interview" Meire, I know who I'll choose to believe.
Got to 45 mins of full video and stopped. KM admits the 5 or 6 SL players didn't prove the right ones. Her words, to the effect of "recognising the specific nature of Charlton" but sadly its taken her and Roland 18 months to realise that.
Interesting to compare the reaction to the tweet about her hatred of older fans versus what was actually said.
KM: Yes I know the interview was translated twice and badly. I was talking about bringing in different things for the younger fans, like family zone etc. Older fans are upset but I wasn't discriminating against the elderly. It is bad business if you don't value your customers, a [%] of our fans are over 50.
Re. the infamous L'Echo article, I can assure you as one of the people that translated from the French to English, I checked my translation over and over, word by word, to make sure I didn't misrepresent it or add anything to make it inflammatory. I actually softened the tone of the comments attributed to her in the Belgian media article, and the raw Google translate reflected the tone quite well, too.
If there was any misrepresentation, it was in the Belgian article, which she may be saying was a French language translation of an interview or dialogue carried out in English. For example, the article contained nothing about family zone.
Do we have the most docile fans in the country? looking at that Q&A I would say yes.
If this was any other other team you would at least hear some dissent. With us we just suck it up and stay tight lipped.
KM must be delighted at what an easy ride she got.
Whilst I agree it's correct that there shouldn't be any screaming and shouting , nobody seems to be pulling them up on their answers. Especially at Murray who seems to annoyingly butt in on every question despite that fact that he really has no say in how this club is being run.
Do we have the most docile fans in the country? looking at that Q&A I would say yes.
If this was any other other team you would at least hear some dissent. With us we just suck it up and stay tight lipped.
Whilst I agree it's correct that there shouldn't be any screaming and shouting , nobody seems to be pulling them up on their answers. Especially at Murray who seems to annoyingly butt in on every question despite that fact that he really has no say in how this club is being run.
It's fair to say sone of the fans at the VIP meeting in february were certainly not "docile"
Tough and to the point questions. Certainly had the CEO rattled back then
Comments
'I'm sorry I can't be there in person tonight. I realise that we've made a few mistakes over these past two years, but I really want this club to succeed and be a force in the Premiership. With the change to the FInancial Fair Play rules I now realise that my plan to simply tick over, use youth team players and the network to keep costs down to break even and prove Championship clubs can make a profit, does not match the ambition that fans at this proud club demand.
Reflecting on the past two years, we have not invested in the first team in the way we should have done. And there has not been enough stability in the management of the team. I will continue to invest in the Academy and will now bring in a manager with Championship experience to support Karel so that we can invest in the transfer window. We need to identify transfer targets now, based on knowledge rather than video analysis, so that in January we can get the team up the league as quickly as possible.
We will take stock in the summer to see what changes are needed for a serious push for promotion. We will not waste money, but it is now clear that we need to invest in quality players if we want to achieve the ambition shown by our supporters.
This meeting marks a turning point in the history of this great club. We will work with our supporters to build a great future together.'
Or did I dream that bit?
;-)
Need to clarify exactly what we want and by when. Something tangible, simple and that can be delivered before Ipswich.
A meeting with the trust to agree terms of reference for target 20000?
To quickly answer a few tweets and questions received :
We haven't got full broadcast cameras, they aren't awful but they aren't Sky Sports' best camera on the market, meaning we don't have that much leverage in terms of colour levels on the camera itself. We live mixed the VIP meeting earlier in the year and it looked awful due to the lighting and colour levels on the cameras.
We lit yesterday for cameras and also spent time trying to make sure that we could get the best colour out of our cameras as possible but this sadly meant we couldn't live mix it.
The way a lot of professional cameras work, especially with how they encode footage it's not the case that you can just upload the raw file straight to YouTube, you have to put it through an editing programme first.
We also had a sound recorder recording clear audio from the mixer to make the questions and answers as clear as we could.
After the question and answer session ended (around 9:30ish) I started work on editing it and worked until 11-11:30ish , then I was in early today to continue editing.
Just to clarify the term editing, this is adding stings (5 second CAFC YouTube clip) on the front, enhancing audio, balancing the pictures colour and choosing the best camera shot.
I can assure you nothing has been removed and I'm sure everyone at the meeting will confirm this when they watch the video back.
We had to enhance things like the audio as some people answered questions without the microphone and there's no point us releasing the video if you can't hear what they are saying, so we boosted audio levels in these segments.
The whole video is almost 2 hours long so if anyone has made any videos before they can vouch it takes time to edit. The edit was finished quickly but for some reason it's taken over 4 hours to fully export and then a further 3 hours for YouTube to process
Sorry for the delay but hopefully this explains what's caused it and why we couldn't have got it out any faster.
The sofa, the DJ, increase fans to 20K, £9M in transfer fees, but how much in outgoing transfers ?
God, I'd have been questioning her for about 30 mins !
Thanks.
Also, zip it iainment, everyone digs the Captain
Blancmange.
Well quite obviously it is. I struggle to put it politely the words I have for her, would love to be 1 on 1 in a room for a proper chat.
If this was any other other team you would at least hear some dissent. With us we just suck it up and stay tight lipped.
KM must be delighted at what an easy ride she got.
Whilst I agree it's correct that there shouldn't be any screaming and shouting , nobody seems to be pulling them up on their answers. Especially at Murray who seems to annoyingly butt in on every question despite that fact that he really has no say in how this club is being run.
Tough and to the point questions. Certainly had the CEO rattled back then