Trying to stay positive but with both The Cherries and now this lot getting American investment this last week it's tough not to mentally take a stroll down the 'coulda, shoulda, woulda' street.
We must have collectively broken a shed load of mirrors somewhere along the line :-(
In Sangley road(off of park road) in the 2-1 defeat at Palace two years ago.
Not sure about the 4-1 league cup defeat because I refused to walk the wrong way to where my car was parked this time so didn't see what carnage happen this time but heard about the nonsense.
Trying to stay positive but with both The Cherries and now this lot getting American investment this last week it's tough not to mentally take a stroll down the 'coulda, shoulda, woulda' street.
We must have collectively broken a shed load of mirrors somewhere along the line :-(
In Sangley road(off of park road) in the 2-1 defeat at Palace two years ago.
Not sure about the 4-1 league cup defeat because I refused to walk the wrong way to where my car was parked this time so didn't see what carnage happen this time but heard about the nonsense.
We've had our car windows smashed twice this year, in our drive, by some kindly passer by . Sad to hear that Charlton fans also attack people's cars.
The title, as the writer says, is jaw-droppingly shocking. But the rest of what Parish said all makes good sense I think.
Two things worth noting in case anyone doesn't want to read the full interview: 1. David Blitzer has already been to a few Palace matches. (Duchatelet has only been to one even he's been the owner for two years now.) Besides, Blitzer lived in London for 10 years.
2. Parish:“They say most businessmen spend two per cent of their time on recruitment and 50 per cent clearing up their recruitment mistakes. Steve Jobs once said 33 per cent of his time was spent recruiting because the difference between good people and great people is massive. It’s easy to hire good people but it’s f***ing difficult to hire great people. If you can get great people into your club or business then you have got a chance.”
We are doing exactly the opposite of those two things. So, much as I hate Palace, I can see why they have progressed in the past few years whereas we, who used to be the example of how to run a club well, are now left way way behind.
The myth touted by Colin and other apologists for the Roland disaster is that "he saved us when there no other buyers out there".
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
The myth touted by Colin and other apologists for the Roland disaster is that "he saved us when there no other buyers out there".
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
Roland has had 2 years to really put his mark on the club. He has undoubtedly achieved that. He can be immensely proud of the fact that, in the league, we are pretty much exactly where we were when he bought us. We now also sell pulled pork in a bun. Sometimes. Brilliant. Thanks Roland.
If Palace hadn't scraped into the playoffs on the last day of the season none of this would be happening. They were even allowed to have Zaha play for them on a loan-back (why can't we ever do good deals like that?) On the positive side: we are a London club with a decent ground and a bit of history - someone could but us too if RD can't get things right.
The myth touted by Colin and other apologists for the Roland disaster is that "he saved us when there no other buyers out there".
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
Correct.
Hang on a minute.
It's irresponsible in my opinion for fans who presume to lead other fans to blithely suggest that all we have to do is get an owner out, and then sit back and let other people (who exactly?) find a new and better one.
With regard to Harris himself a few more facts and informed comments are in the public domain and need to be considered
1. He and his partner are buying only 36% between them
2. They are private equity investors. They are therefore in it for profit. Nothing intrinsically bad about that, but lets keep in mind that they will evaluate their investment on the same figure as RD uses.
3. It is widely understood in the US that their real interest is to bring the NFL to London, this is just a toe in the water to help them understand the market
However much more important is that after we sold, Harris was linked with Reading, QPR, and substantively Aston Villa. Doubtless he toured Villa Park. Costs nothing to do that, does it? But no bid.
Furthermore the Palace bid took well over a year for them to conclude. At one point it appeared to have broken down completely.. At the very least that should tell you that dealing with Josh Harris is no more easy than dealing with Tony Jiminez. You might (or might not) be right that the spivs were holding out for an unrealistic figure. But you are wrong to imply that had they been more sensible Harris would have bought a majority, quickly and all would have been well. The subsequent behaviour of Harris suggests that he realised that profit is much more achievable if he buys into a FAPL club where revenue is continuously rising due to TV deals.
As for other bids, well what do we know beyond reasonable doubt? Beyond fevered whispers on here or other forums? I know that only one other consortium wanted to offer a substantive, credible bid. Its problem for the spivs was that it came very late to the table. Its problem for itself was that it was a consortium with a money man in the same role as Kevin Cash. Unfortunately it had to make a late substitute in that role. The Ukrainian oligarch, realising that he had more pressing problems back home was seamlessly replaced by an Englishman previously involved in football and whose name would not have you jumping up and down with excitement. For us though an equally important issue was that this bid was all about a move to a new stadium on the Peninsula.
Finally it is widely asserted by independent analysts of the game that many Championship clubs, by some count more than half, are up for sale. They definitely include Wolves, who we play in our next home game, as well as our last visitors.
And if you bracket me as an "apologist" for RD, I will see you in court.
The myth touted by Colin and other apologists for the Roland disaster is that "he saved us when there no other buyers out there".
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
Correct.
Hang on a minute.
It's irresponsible in my opinion for fans who presume to lead other fans to blithely suggest that all we have to do is get an owner out, and then sit back and let other people (who exactly?) find a new and better one.
With regard to Harris himself a few more facts and informed comments are in the public domain and need to be considered
1. He and his partner are buying only 36% between them
2. They are private equity investors. They are therefore in it for profit. Nothing intrinsically bad about that, but lets keep in mind that they will evaluate their investment on the same figure as RD uses.
3. It is widely understood in the US that their real interest is to bring the NFL to London, this is just a toe in the water to help them understand the market
However much more important is that after we sold, Harris was linked with Reading, QPR, and substantively Aston Villa. Doubtless he toured Villa Park. Costs nothing to do that, does it? But no bid.
Furthermore the Palace bid took well over a year for them to conclude. At one point it appeared to have broken down completely.. At the very least that should tell you that dealing with Josh Harris is no more easy than dealing with Tony Jiminez. You might (or might not) be right that the spivs were holding out for an unrealistic figure. But you are wrong to imply that had they been more sensible Harris would have bought a majority, quickly and all would have been well. The subsequent behaviour of Harris suggests that he realised that profit is much more achievable if he buys into a FAPL club where revenue is continuously rising due to TV deals.
As for other bids, well what do we know beyond reasonable doubt? Beyond fevered whispers on here or other forums? I know that only one other consortium wanted to offer a substantive, credible bid. Its problem for the spivs was that it came very late to the table. Its problem for itself was that it was a consortium with a money man in the same role as Kevin Cash. Unfortunately it had to make a late substitute in that role. The Ukrainian oligarch, realising that he had more pressing problems back home was seamlessly replaced by an Englishman previously involved in football and whose name would not have you jumping up and down with excitement. For us though an equally important issue was that this bid was all about a move to a new stadium on the Peninsula.
Finally it is widely asserted by independent analysts of the game that many Championship clubs, by some count more than half, are up for sale. They definitely include Wolves, who we play in our next home game, as well as our last visitors.
And if you bracket me as an "apologist" for RD, I will see you in court.
Wow!
Where the fuck did all that come from?
Not sure who this person is that "presumes to lead fans" is? Certainly not me and I doubt is is Airman either. I thought that was the Trust's mission but we all know they have abdicated that role.
I didn't say that Harris, Koch or any others would have been better than Roland.
But what was clear is that there WERE alternatives. He was not the only show in town.
Yes, a tour of a ground does not mean he was about to buy but he was interested enough to travel from the states to have a look. Same with Koch coming from Turkey.
That the Spivs were asking too much is a matter of record. The sales doc asked for £35m but they sold for £11m plus £3m top up.
And all this talk of a move to the peninsula is a red herring. Always has been. There has never been a realistic option to move there regardless of what misleading stories the spivs tried to spin. No one connected with Charlton ever owned any land or had any control over it. It's another myth and nothing to do with Roland and no defence of his continuing mismanagement of CAFC.
I can't see this investment as being that good for existing palace fans...selhurst park isn't located in a spot that lends itself to a large stadium, IMO, but then again I'm not an expert. My back of the envelope view is what makes palace an attractive investment is it's got a saleable football franchise (more so at the moment while they are still in the PL) and it's got real estate in commutable distance from the city and central London that you could put a lot of flats on, as is happening all over its neighbouring south west London boroughs...add in a Westfield shopping centre being built at nearby Croydon and its 'Value' as an investment is looking pretty good...to me, the question palace fans might want to be asking themselves is where will the team be playing in 5 years time.
The myth touted by Colin and other apologists for the Roland disaster is that "he saved us when there no other buyers out there".
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
Correct.
Hang on a minute.
It's irresponsible in my opinion for fans who presume to lead other fans to blithely suggest that all we have to do is get an owner out, and then sit back and let other people (who exactly?) find a new and better one.
With regard to Harris himself a few more facts and informed comments are in the public domain and need to be considered
1. He and his partner are buying only 36% between them
2. They are private equity investors. They are therefore in it for profit. Nothing intrinsically bad about that, but lets keep in mind that they will evaluate their investment on the same figure as RD uses.
3. It is widely understood in the US that their real interest is to bring the NFL to London, this is just a toe in the water to help them understand the market
However much more important is that after we sold, Harris was linked with Reading, QPR, and substantively Aston Villa. Doubtless he toured Villa Park. Costs nothing to do that, does it? But no bid.
Furthermore the Palace bid took well over a year for them to conclude. At one point it appeared to have broken down completely.. At the very least that should tell you that dealing with Josh Harris is no more easy than dealing with Tony Jiminez. You might (or might not) be right that the spivs were holding out for an unrealistic figure. But you are wrong to imply that had they been more sensible Harris would have bought a majority, quickly and all would have been well. The subsequent behaviour of Harris suggests that he realised that profit is much more achievable if he buys into a FAPL club where revenue is continuously rising due to TV deals.
As for other bids, well what do we know beyond reasonable doubt? Beyond fevered whispers on here or other forums? I know that only one other consortium wanted to offer a substantive, credible bid. Its problem for the spivs was that it came very late to the table. Its problem for itself was that it was a consortium with a money man in the same role as Kevin Cash. Unfortunately it had to make a late substitute in that role. The Ukrainian oligarch, realising that he had more pressing problems back home was seamlessly replaced by an Englishman previously involved in football and whose name would not have you jumping up and down with excitement. For us though an equally important issue was that this bid was all about a move to a new stadium on the Peninsula.
Finally it is widely asserted by independent analysts of the game that many Championship clubs, by some count more than half, are up for sale. They definitely include Wolves, who we play in our next home game, as well as our last visitors.
And if you bracket me as an "apologist" for RD, I will see you in court.
The trouble is you get this stuff from Richard Murray, but he 1) doesn't know everything and 2) puts a spin on things that suits him, neither of which is surprising, but at some point you will need to accept that he doesn't tell you the whole truth all of the time. You should talk to the person who showed the Harris people round The Valley. I have and he's every bit as credible as Murray.
The situation at Palace really shows up our current plight in sharp relief. I find it monumentally depressing. While Steve Parrish talks of one day winning the Premier League, and more realistically of a 40k stadium; telling supporters to prepare for an exciting future - we sit by, impotently watching the apparent slow death of our football club. It should have been us, surely? Everything was in place 10 years ago - the infrastructure, the momentum, the synchronicity between board, management players and fans and a "stable" position in the Premier League. (That in itself makes me incredulous that Richard Murray can sit by whilst those he serves stubbornly and wilfully proceed to dismantle and destroy his legacy)
What worries me more is that this obscenely destructive experiment is possibly exposing a deeper malaise amongst the Charlton faithful. It frightens me how many people are claiming "apathy" and still more simply not bothering to turn up anymore. The fanbase seem split with many apparently having no stomach for a fight. I suppose I should declare that I am one of those, albeit that age, distance and current ill health are factors for me. I wonder whether the age demographic of the fanbase is a factor and I worry that should our decline continue that the younger fans will gradually desert and the old guard will not be replaced. Our ground is already too big for us. I do take great comfort from the effort and drive of the young lad taking a mantle of leadership in the protest movement (sorry forget the name, is it AddictedtoReds?) and hope their are others like him ready to take up the mantle.
I have to admit I am a born pessimist and part of me hopes that a few wins, a couple of astute signings in January and a strong wind will drive us up the league and put "the bigger picture" on the back burner. I can't bear the thought of ending up like Luton Town or the like.
Harris was interested in buying a club, ANY club. It was the spivs that put an end to discussions rather than JH. He did DD on us, Villa and Palace and has been mentioned earlier, the Palace deal has taken over a year to complete. Some way in to the deal he didn't even know he was buying Palace !
Where did that come from? From links provided in my post, from personal meetings in the case of the other bid I refer to (which happened as a result of a geographical coincidence),and from another thread last week in which I invited people including @Airman Brown to describe what they believe to be a "better" owner.
You grandly pronounce that moving to the Peninsula was a "red herring". Nevertheless, this consortium believed it was possible and it included a proper Charlton fan who comes from Bexley (no it's not Colin :-). They did not rely on the spivs, they were doing their own diligence on that. You say that there were "alternatives". The only alternative that matters is one that actually tables a bid. And then there is the separate question of whether that bid is credible (e.g do they actually have the money).
If anyone believes (regardless of whether that was your intended message) that "we could have had Josh Harris", I'm saying that is wrong, he never made a bid, and it is far too easy to blame the spivs for that, for evidential reasons I've provided.
I'm also saying to anyone who infers from your post that if fans "get Roland out" there will be a queue of better potential owners waiting to buy from him, it is dangerously unwise to believe that. It was not the case last time, and I think it is irresponsible of you to suggest otherwise.
The myth touted by Colin and other apologists for the Roland disaster is that "he saved us when there no other buyers out there".
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
Correct.
Hang on a minute.
It's irresponsible in my opinion for fans who presume to lead other fans to blithely suggest that all we have to do is get an owner out, and then sit back and let other people (who exactly?) find a new and better one.
With regard to Harris himself a few more facts and informed comments are in the public domain and need to be considered
1. He and his partner are buying only 36% between them
2. They are private equity investors. They are therefore in it for profit. Nothing intrinsically bad about that, but lets keep in mind that they will evaluate their investment on the same figure as RD uses.
3. It is widely understood in the US that their real interest is to bring the NFL to London, this is just a toe in the water to help them understand the market
However much more important is that after we sold, Harris was linked with Reading, QPR, and substantively Aston Villa. Doubtless he toured Villa Park. Costs nothing to do that, does it? But no bid.
Furthermore the Palace bid took well over a year for them to conclude. At one point it appeared to have broken down completely.. At the very least that should tell you that dealing with Josh Harris is no more easy than dealing with Tony Jiminez. You might (or might not) be right that the spivs were holding out for an unrealistic figure. But you are wrong to imply that had they been more sensible Harris would have bought a majority, quickly and all would have been well. The subsequent behaviour of Harris suggests that he realised that profit is much more achievable if he buys into a FAPL club where revenue is continuously rising due to TV deals.
As for other bids, well what do we know beyond reasonable doubt? Beyond fevered whispers on here or other forums? I know that only one other consortium wanted to offer a substantive, credible bid. Its problem for the spivs was that it came very late to the table. Its problem for itself was that it was a consortium with a money man in the same role as Kevin Cash. Unfortunately it had to make a late substitute in that role. The Ukrainian oligarch, realising that he had more pressing problems back home was seamlessly replaced by an Englishman previously involved in football and whose name would not have you jumping up and down with excitement. For us though an equally important issue was that this bid was all about a move to a new stadium on the Peninsula.
Finally it is widely asserted by independent analysts of the game that many Championship clubs, by some count more than half, are up for sale. They definitely include Wolves, who we play in our next home game, as well as our last visitors.
And if you bracket me as an "apologist" for RD, I will see you in court.
The trouble is you get this stuff from Richard Murray, but he 1) doesn't know everything and 2) puts a spin on things that suits him, neither of which is surprising, but at some point you will need to accept that he doesn't tell you the whole truth all of the time. You should talk to the person who showed the Harris people round The Valley. I have and he's every bit as credible as Murray.
Incorrect. Apart from RM I had two other sources during that period:
1. Members of the bid consortium I'm referring to
2. Slater's neighbour, an old mate and ex client of mine from London agency days, who had got in contact and visited me in the summer. (not for reasons connected to Charlton, he's a Leicester fan)
By and large they corroborated (spontaneously) things I learnt from RM.
Sure I accept the Harris people were shown round the Valley. That is light years away from a bid. As Steve Parrish has himself said in one of the articles I've read today.
1. To be clear, I'm not talking about the consortium. 2. You realise he gets his information from Slater, right? And Murray got his from the spivs too. You regard them as reliable witnesses? Really?
1. To be clear, I'm not talking about the consortium. 2. You realise he gets his information from Slater, right? And Murray got his from the spivs too. You regard them as reliable witnesses? Really?
You may not be talking about the consortium, but I am. You questioned the reliability of my sources. That's one of them.
As for my mate, he was, as I said, not in touch with me because of anything to do with Charlton. Nor did he tell Slater anything about me, even when he obtained me the signed Yann Kermorgant shirt to bring over that August.
If all three sources said similar things that's good enough for me, and you haven't actually contradicted them. You are not as I understand it asserting that Harris actually made a bid. Right? Which is the point of my post this morning.
1. To be clear, I'm not talking about the consortium. 2. You realise he gets his information from Slater, right? And Murray got his from the spivs too. You regard them as reliable witnesses? Really?
You may not be talking about the consortium, but I am. You questioned the reliability of my sources. That's one of them.
As for my mate, he was, as I said, not in touch with me because of anything to do with Charlton. Nor did he tell Slater anything about me, even when he obtained me the signed Yann Kermorgant shirt to bring over that August.
If all three sources said similar things that's good enough for me, and you haven't actually contradicted them. You are not as I understand it asserting that Harris actually made a bid. Right? Which is the point of my post this morning.
I'm saying that his interest had more substance than you are suggesting. The commentator on Sky on Thursday night suggested there are 38 current expressions of interest in Wolves, of which the club views 10 as serious. Have they all made "a bid"? I doubt it. Does it mean none of them are serious? I doubt that too.
We both know that there are a lot of bullshitters out there and that a lot of "bids" have no substance. Equally, there are serious parties who never get to the end of the process because of due diligence. I would say the fact that Harris HAS invested in Palace shows that he falls into the serious category, rather than the bullshitters, wouldn't you? Regardless of the precise nature of his investment in Palace.
Comments
Not sure about the 4-1 league cup defeat because
I refused to walk the wrong way to where my car was parked this time so didn't see what carnage happen this time but heard about the nonsense.
Great
Steve Parish sets sights on Crystal Palace winning Premier League
The title, as the writer says, is jaw-droppingly shocking. But the rest of what Parish said all makes good sense I think.
Two things worth noting in case anyone doesn't want to read the full interview:
1. David Blitzer has already been to a few Palace matches. (Duchatelet has only been to one even he's been the owner for two years now.) Besides, Blitzer lived in London for 10 years.
2. Parish:“They say most businessmen spend two per cent of their time on recruitment and 50 per cent clearing up their recruitment mistakes. Steve Jobs once said 33 per cent of his time was spent recruiting because the difference between good people and great people is massive. It’s easy to hire good people but it’s f***ing difficult to hire great people. If you can get great people into your club or business then you have got a chance.”
We are doing exactly the opposite of those two things. So, much as I hate Palace, I can see why they have progressed in the past few years whereas we, who used to be the example of how to run a club well, are now left way way behind.
But Harris was interested.
He got as close as having a tour of the Valley which went badly wrong. Don't know why but most likely The Spivs were "misleading" Harris and asking for silly money.
And there were others. Koch was one and there were others. That's not Roland's fault but let's not pretend that he was the only option. It was just that the spivs were too greedy to sell until they were desperate.
But remember we are one of Roland's children. Someone call social services.
He has undoubtedly achieved that.
He can be immensely proud of the fact that, in the league, we are pretty much exactly where we were when he bought us.
We now also sell pulled pork in a bun. Sometimes.
Brilliant.
Thanks Roland.
It's irresponsible in my opinion for fans who presume to lead other fans to blithely suggest that all we have to do is get an owner out, and then sit back and let other people (who exactly?) find a new and better one.
With regard to Harris himself a few more facts and informed comments are in the public domain and need to be considered
1. He and his partner are buying only 36% between them
2. They are private equity investors. They are therefore in it for profit. Nothing intrinsically bad about that, but lets keep in mind that they will evaluate their investment on the same figure as RD uses.
3. It is widely understood in the US that their real interest is to bring the NFL to London, this is just a toe in the water to help them understand the market
However much more important is that after we sold, Harris was linked with Reading, QPR, and substantively Aston Villa. Doubtless he toured Villa Park. Costs nothing to do that, does it? But no bid.
Furthermore the Palace bid took well over a year for them to conclude. At one point it appeared to have broken down completely.. At the very least that should tell you that dealing with Josh Harris is no more easy than dealing with Tony Jiminez. You might (or might not) be right that the spivs were holding out for an unrealistic figure. But you are wrong to imply that had they been more sensible Harris would have bought a majority, quickly and all would have been well. The subsequent behaviour of Harris suggests that he realised that profit is much more achievable if he buys into a FAPL club where revenue is continuously rising due to TV deals.
As for other bids, well what do we know beyond reasonable doubt? Beyond fevered whispers on here or other forums? I know that only one other consortium wanted to offer a substantive, credible bid. Its problem for the spivs was that it came very late to the table. Its problem for itself was that it was a consortium with a money man in the same role as Kevin Cash. Unfortunately it had to make a late substitute in that role. The Ukrainian oligarch, realising that he had more pressing problems back home was seamlessly replaced by an Englishman previously involved in football and whose name would not have you jumping up and down with excitement. For us though an equally important issue was that this bid was all about a move to a new stadium on the Peninsula.
Finally it is widely asserted by independent analysts of the game that many Championship clubs, by some count more than half, are up for sale. They definitely include Wolves, who we play in our next home game, as well as our last visitors.
And if you bracket me as an "apologist" for RD, I will see you in court.
Where the fuck did all that come from?
Not sure who this person is that "presumes to lead fans" is? Certainly not me and I doubt is is Airman either. I thought that was the Trust's mission but we all know they have abdicated that role.
I didn't say that Harris, Koch or any others would have been better than Roland.
But what was clear is that there WERE alternatives. He was not the only show in town.
Yes, a tour of a ground does not mean he was about to buy but he was interested enough to travel from the states to have a look. Same with Koch coming from Turkey.
That the Spivs were asking too much is a matter of record. The sales doc asked for £35m but they sold for £11m plus £3m top up.
And all this talk of a move to the peninsula is a red herring. Always has been. There has never been a realistic option to move there regardless of what misleading stories the spivs tried to spin. No one connected with Charlton ever owned any land or had any control over it. It's another myth and nothing to do with Roland and no defence of his continuing mismanagement of CAFC.
'Enjoy the championship, tosser' indeed.
I find it monumentally depressing.
While Steve Parrish talks of one day winning the Premier League, and more realistically of a 40k stadium; telling supporters to prepare for an exciting future - we sit by, impotently watching the apparent slow death of our football club.
It should have been us, surely? Everything was in place 10 years ago - the infrastructure, the momentum, the synchronicity between board, management players and fans and a "stable" position in the Premier League.
(That in itself makes me incredulous that Richard Murray can sit by whilst those he serves stubbornly and wilfully proceed to dismantle and destroy his legacy)
What worries me more is that this obscenely destructive experiment is possibly exposing a deeper malaise amongst the Charlton faithful.
It frightens me how many people are claiming "apathy" and still more simply not bothering to turn up anymore.
The fanbase seem split with many apparently having no stomach for a fight.
I suppose I should declare that I am one of those, albeit that age, distance and current ill health are factors for me.
I wonder whether the age demographic of the fanbase is a factor and I worry that should our decline continue that the younger fans will gradually desert and the old guard will not be replaced.
Our ground is already too big for us.
I do take great comfort from the effort and drive of the young lad taking a mantle of leadership in the protest movement (sorry forget the name, is it AddictedtoReds?) and hope their are others like him ready to take up the mantle.
I have to admit I am a born pessimist and part of me hopes that a few wins, a couple of astute signings in January and a strong wind will drive us up the league and put "the bigger picture" on the back burner.
I can't bear the thought of ending up like Luton Town or the like.
Where did that come from? From links provided in my post, from personal meetings in the case of the other bid I refer to (which happened as a result of a geographical coincidence),and from another thread last week in which I invited people including @Airman Brown to describe what they believe to be a "better" owner.
You grandly pronounce that moving to the Peninsula was a "red herring". Nevertheless, this consortium believed it was possible and it included a proper Charlton fan who comes from Bexley (no it's not Colin :-). They did not rely on the spivs, they were doing their own diligence on that. You say that there were "alternatives". The only alternative that matters is one that actually tables a bid. And then there is the separate question of whether that bid is credible (e.g do they actually have the money).
If anyone believes (regardless of whether that was your intended message) that "we could have had Josh Harris", I'm saying that is wrong, he never made a bid, and it is far too easy to blame the spivs for that, for evidential reasons I've provided.
I'm also saying to anyone who infers from your post that if fans "get Roland out" there will be a queue of better potential owners waiting to buy from him, it is dangerously unwise to believe that. It was not the case last time, and I think it is irresponsible of you to suggest otherwise.
1. Members of the bid consortium I'm referring to
2. Slater's neighbour, an old mate and ex client of mine from London agency days, who had got in contact and visited me in the summer. (not for reasons connected to Charlton, he's a Leicester fan)
By and large they corroborated (spontaneously) things I learnt from RM.
Sure I accept the Harris people were shown round the Valley. That is light years away from a bid. As Steve Parrish has himself said in one of the articles I've read today.
2. You realise he gets his information from Slater, right? And Murray got his from the spivs too. You regard them as reliable witnesses? Really?
And it's midday so not even the excuse of posting while drunk.
As for my mate, he was, as I said, not in touch with me because of anything to do with Charlton. Nor did he tell Slater anything about me, even when he obtained me the signed Yann Kermorgant shirt to bring over that August.
If all three sources said similar things that's good enough for me, and you haven't actually contradicted them. You are not as I understand it asserting that Harris actually made a bid. Right? Which is the point of my post this morning.
We both know that there are a lot of bullshitters out there and that a lot of "bids" have no substance. Equally, there are serious parties who never get to the end of the process because of due diligence. I would say the fact that Harris HAS invested in Palace shows that he falls into the serious category, rather than the bullshitters, wouldn't you? Regardless of the precise nature of his investment in Palace.