What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently? o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
If by that they mean the Training Ground Experience which I attended last week, the questions earlier in the day were brought to a quick halt when we were told the day wasn't meant for that. We were not given the opportunity later in the day at the Q & A session, to put questions to the SMT.
What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently? o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
If by that they mean the Training Ground Experience which I attended last week, the questions earlier in the day were brought to a quick halt when we were told the day wasn't meant for that. We were not given the opportunity later in the day at the Q & A session, to put questions to the SMT.
Surely that would mean they are not being entirely truthful
What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently? o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
If by that they mean the Training Ground Experience which I attended last week, the questions earlier in the day were brought to a quick halt when we were told the day wasn't meant for that. We were not given the opportunity later in the day at the Q & A session, to put questions to the SMT.
Surely that would mean they are not being entirely truthful
This is what I sent over to that email address. I'm not expecting a customised response but in lieu of my personal stance of continuing to boycott attending matches (I sincerely applaud those of you which continue to protest at the games, as I initially did myself) I thought the least I could do was to add to the mounting critical emails I am sure the club will receive.
Dear CAFC,
Firstly, thank you for providing this contact address for fans to contact the club. Communication is obviously a two-way process and so I look forward to hearing back from you promptly.
I have been a fan of the club since a young child and as my family originates from SE London, it really is a hereditary tradition that my family supports the club.
I am somewhat concerned by the semi-coherent statement released on the official site:
I already feel disenfranchised as a fan/stakeholder and have stopped attending games as a result (I'm not a season ticket holder, so that is a loss in your revenue). I have a few questions I would appreciate the answers to:
> Please can you confirm that this is an official statement from the board and/or owners? > Is the club seriously not aware of the Peter Varney backed consortium who are interested in buying the club? > What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently?
I understand that at a purely business level, I am indeed a customer. I pay money and you provide an entertainment service. However, clearly football in the UK is linked to communities and families in a way like no other institution can compare to.
Were I to have the opportunity, I would literally beg the owners to find a way to sell the club, because the relationship with the fans has clearly reached a point of irreparable damage, regardless of the league we find ourselves playing in next season.
Response (received on the 17th March):
Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We understand your concerns and we are taking all comments on board.
With regards to the points raised in your email we will try and address these and your concerns as much as possible. · Please can you confirm that this is an official statement from the board and/or owners?
o This was an official statement from senior executives at the club, including Mr Duchâtelet. While he knows fans care deeply about the club, for right or wrong he wanted to publicly address his concerns about those who he perceives want the club to lose matches.
· Is the club seriously not aware of the Peter Varney backed consortium who are interested in buying the club?
o The club was aware that Peter Varney had approached us in relation to a consortium. On August 19th 2015 he wrote to us saying: “I have an interesting investment proposal to discuss with you in relation to Charlton Athletic.” This is however a very different message than “I have a buyer for your club”. The club agreed then that there was not a need for anybody else to provide additional financial investment. On Jan 6th 2016 it became clear what Mr Varney meant when he wrote: “I met in London today with the overseas investor interested in acquiring Charlton Athletic FC.” All that said, currently, Mr Duchâtelet has no intention of selling the club.
o It may be useful us providing background on the sales process and how it relates to Charlton (apologies if this is something you have knowledge of). The owner gets many enquiries regarding the sale of the club, however they are nearly all from middlemen/brokers who want to earn a commission on the sale transaction. The brokers will ask for a mandate to sell the club and then they will start to search for buyers. There are exceptions of course when they have an “interested party” already. Mr Duchatelet’s business has extensive experience of acquiring and selling firms, so could can handle this type of transaction if it is decided to do so. Since a serious buyer will want to have lots of representation and warranties, this means that the financials need to be 100% correct, available and recently audited. A data room needs to be organised with all contracts for example. Terms and conditions need to be negotiated as well as representations and warranties. This process can easily take up over six months of work. In such a case, the sale would start with a structured approach whereby parties which expressed interest in the past would be contacted, and possibly an investment bank or other specialised M&A organisation might be involved in the process.
What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently? o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
At the club we do understand the emotional and historical connection of Charlton Athletic to the community and families like yours. We also know that we have a job to do to win back the trust of many fans, but we will endeavour to do that.
Best regards
Well, we ask then to answer their emails and communicate more (or at least I did) and now they are.
And this has been written or at least proof read by someone with English as their first language. It is still very much legalise but better than nothing.
As for the content. Well, M. Duchatelet bought the club via an agent and in a lot less than 6 months (more like 1). But it is interesting that despite the club not being for sale they are talking about the sales process.
Of course if they had bothered to speak to Peter Varney in August those 6 months would have elapsed by now.
They haven't said who the fans were that Roland meant and ME14 has already pointed out the false statement regarding club partners.
I was impressed with the speed of response to my email, however as we all well know talk is cheap...
I do wonder if my response was from the head of comms before she quit, as it is clearly written by someone versed in PR. I tried to keep my email succinct and asked very clear and direct questions in as an impassive tone as I could muster given the emotive nature of the subject, rather than a more narrative approach which can be harder to respond to quickly.
My personal favourite line was: "for right or wrong he wanted to publicly address his concerns about those who he perceives want the club to lose matches"
Read: "We were mortified when he told us to put this on the website"
I do wonder if my response was from the head of comms before she quit, as it is clearly written by someone versed in PR.
Or have the club brought in someone who might be billed as a "football crisis communications consultant" to try to get everyone back on message. I don't know, but it seems possible.
This is what I sent over to that email address. I'm not expecting a customised response but in lieu of my personal stance of continuing to boycott attending matches (I sincerely applaud those of you which continue to protest at the games, as I initially did myself) I thought the least I could do was to add to the mounting critical emails I am sure the club will receive.
Dear CAFC,
Firstly, thank you for providing this contact address for fans to contact the club. Communication is obviously a two-way process and so I look forward to hearing back from you promptly.
I have been a fan of the club since a young child and as my family originates from SE London, it really is a hereditary tradition that my family supports the club.
I am somewhat concerned by the semi-coherent statement released on the official site:
I already feel disenfranchised as a fan/stakeholder and have stopped attending games as a result (I'm not a season ticket holder, so that is a loss in your revenue). I have a few questions I would appreciate the answers to:
> Please can you confirm that this is an official statement from the board and/or owners? > Is the club seriously not aware of the Peter Varney backed consortium who are interested in buying the club? > What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently?
I understand that at a purely business level, I am indeed a customer. I pay money and you provide an entertainment service. However, clearly football in the UK is linked to communities and families in a way like no other institution can compare to.
Were I to have the opportunity, I would literally beg the owners to find a way to sell the club, because the relationship with the fans has clearly reached a point of irreparable damage, regardless of the league we find ourselves playing in next season.
Response (received on the 17th March):
Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We understand your concerns and we are taking all comments on board.
With regards to the points raised in your email we will try and address these and your concerns as much as possible. · Please can you confirm that this is an official statement from the board and/or owners?
o This was an official statement from senior executives at the club, including Mr Duchâtelet. While he knows fans care deeply about the club, for right or wrong he wanted to publicly address his concerns about those who he perceives want the club to lose matches.
· Is the club seriously not aware of the Peter Varney backed consortium who are interested in buying the club?
o The club was aware that Peter Varney had approached us in relation to a consortium. On August 19th 2015 he wrote to us saying: “I have an interesting investment proposal to discuss with you in relation to Charlton Athletic.” This is however a very different message than “I have a buyer for your club”. The club agreed then that there was not a need for anybody else to provide additional financial investment. On Jan 6th 2016 it became clear what Mr Varney meant when he wrote: “I met in London today with the overseas investor interested in acquiring Charlton Athletic FC.” All that said, currently, Mr Duchâtelet has no intention of selling the club.
o It may be useful us providing background on the sales process and how it relates to Charlton (apologies if this is something you have knowledge of). The owner gets many enquiries regarding the sale of the club, however they are nearly all from middlemen/brokers who want to earn a commission on the sale transaction. The brokers will ask for a mandate to sell the club and then they will start to search for buyers. There are exceptions of course when they have an “interested party” already. Mr Duchatelet’s business has extensive experience of acquiring and selling firms, so could can handle this type of transaction if it is decided to do so. Since a serious buyer will want to have lots of representation and warranties, this means that the financials need to be 100% correct, available and recently audited. A data room needs to be organised with all contracts for example. Terms and conditions need to be negotiated as well as representations and warranties. This process can easily take up over six months of work. In such a case, the sale would start with a structured approach whereby parties which expressed interest in the past would be contacted, and possibly an investment bank or other specialised M&A organisation might be involved in the process.
What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently? o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
At the club we do understand the emotional and historical connection of Charlton Athletic to the community and families like yours. We also know that we have a job to do to win back the trust of many fans, but we will endeavour to do that.
Best regards
If there was no need or intention to meet Peter Varney, why did Katrien Meire (and her PA on her behalf) engage in correspondence, since published, about setting up meetings to take place on both October 5th and November 10th and then cancel each of them at very short notice? If the Belgians did not know there was a potential takeover behind it until January 6th, why did Meire tell me on February 13th that there had been no point in having the meetings, which she had scheduled, as the club was not for sale? Why did she not say to Varney at any point before Christmas, thanks but no thanks? And why was Richard Murray bragging before Christmas that he had put a stop to Varney's approach?
Neither of the last two takeovers have taken anything like six months, as a matter of record.
Very interesting that they have given specifics about the likely sales process. I suspect that whoever wrote this would need to have been given that information so it might just indicate that they are at least thinking about a possible sale - if not now then at some point in the foreseeable future.
Very interesting that they have given specifics about the likely sales process. I suspect that whoever wrote this would need to have been given that information so it might just indicate that they are at least thinking about a possible sale - if not now then at some point in the foreseeable future.
Any more straws i can clutch at?
The way I read it , is that they are trying to make any sale of the club look like it will take up to a year to take place and be successful- hoping the fans think "shit we'll be in limbo should this happen" and change our minds!
Very interesting that they have given specifics about the likely sales process. I suspect that whoever wrote this would need to have been given that information so it might just indicate that they are at least thinking about a possible sale - if not now then at some point in the foreseeable future.
Any more straws i can clutch at?
The way I read it , is that they are trying to make any sale of the club look like it will take up to a year to take place and be successful- hoping the fans think "shit we'll be in limbo should this happen" and change our minds!
I wish for all my details to be removed from your database. I have supported Charlton Athletic since 1970, including having season tickets at both Selhurst and Upton Parks.
The current ownership of MY club have ruined everything.
I am also disappointed that I was not one of those who have met with the owner, please remind me when and where these meetings took place ?
Please let me know how I go about removing myself from your system / computers ASAP.
Got an email this morning from the club. (22/03/16).
Good Morning Mr Harley
Further to your email below I have now amended your accounts to show that you do not wish to receive any type of communication from Charlton Athletic. I am unable to remove you completely from our records as this will de-activate your season cards
I wish for all my details to be removed from your database. I have supported Charlton Athletic since 1970, including having season tickets at both Selhurst and Upton Parks.
The current ownership of MY club have ruined everything.
I am also disappointed that I was not one of those who have met with the owner, please remind me when and where these meetings took place ?
Please let me know how I go about removing myself from your system / computers ASAP.
Got an email this morning from the club. (22/03/16).
Good Morning Mr Harley
Further to your email below I have now amended your accounts to show that you do not wish to receive any type of communication from Charlton Athletic. I am unable to remove you completely from our records as this will de-activate your season cards
This is what I sent over to that email address. I'm not expecting a customised response but in lieu of my personal stance of continuing to boycott attending matches (I sincerely applaud those of you which continue to protest at the games, as I initially did myself) I thought the least I could do was to add to the mounting critical emails I am sure the club will receive.
Dear CAFC,
Firstly, thank you for providing this contact address for fans to contact the club. Communication is obviously a two-way process and so I look forward to hearing back from you promptly.
I have been a fan of the club since a young child and as my family originates from SE London, it really is a hereditary tradition that my family supports the club.
I am somewhat concerned by the semi-coherent statement released on the official site:
I already feel disenfranchised as a fan/stakeholder and have stopped attending games as a result (I'm not a season ticket holder, so that is a loss in your revenue). I have a few questions I would appreciate the answers to:
> Please can you confirm that this is an official statement from the board and/or owners? > Is the club seriously not aware of the Peter Varney backed consortium who are interested in buying the club? > What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently?
I understand that at a purely business level, I am indeed a customer. I pay money and you provide an entertainment service. However, clearly football in the UK is linked to communities and families in a way like no other institution can compare to.
Were I to have the opportunity, I would literally beg the owners to find a way to sell the club, because the relationship with the fans has clearly reached a point of irreparable damage, regardless of the league we find ourselves playing in next season.
Response (received on the 17th March):
Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We understand your concerns and we are taking all comments on board.
With regards to the points raised in your email we will try and address these and your concerns as much as possible. · Please can you confirm that this is an official statement from the board and/or owners?
o This was an official statement from senior executives at the club, including Mr Duchâtelet. While he knows fans care deeply about the club, for right or wrong he wanted to publicly address his concerns about those who he perceives want the club to lose matches.
· Is the club seriously not aware of the Peter Varney backed consortium who are interested in buying the club?
o The club was aware that Peter Varney had approached us in relation to a consortium. On August 19th 2015 he wrote to us saying: “I have an interesting investment proposal to discuss with you in relation to Charlton Athletic.” This is however a very different message than “I have a buyer for your club”. The club agreed then that there was not a need for anybody else to provide additional financial investment. On Jan 6th 2016 it became clear what Mr Varney meant when he wrote: “I met in London today with the overseas investor interested in acquiring Charlton Athletic FC.” All that said, currently, Mr Duchâtelet has no intention of selling the club.
o It may be useful us providing background on the sales process and how it relates to Charlton (apologies if this is something you have knowledge of). The owner gets many enquiries regarding the sale of the club, however they are nearly all from middlemen/brokers who want to earn a commission on the sale transaction. The brokers will ask for a mandate to sell the club and then they will start to search for buyers. There are exceptions of course when they have an “interested party” already. Mr Duchatelet’s business has extensive experience of acquiring and selling firms, so could can handle this type of transaction if it is decided to do so. Since a serious buyer will want to have lots of representation and warranties, this means that the financials need to be 100% correct, available and recently audited. A data room needs to be organised with all contracts for example. Terms and conditions need to be negotiated as well as representations and warranties. This process can easily take up over six months of work. In such a case, the sale would start with a structured approach whereby parties which expressed interest in the past would be contacted, and possibly an investment bank or other specialised M&A organisation might be involved in the process.
What fans/fan groups were consulted with recently? o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
At the club we do understand the emotional and historical connection of Charlton Athletic to the community and families like yours. We also know that we have a job to do to win back the trust of many fans, but we will endeavour to do that.
Best regards
If there was no need or intention to meet Peter Varney, why did Katrien Meire (and her PA on her behalf) engage in correspondence, since published, about setting up meetings to take place on both October 5th and November 10th and then cancel each of them at very short notice? If the Belgians did not know there was a potential takeover behind it until January 6th, why did Meire tell me on February 13th that there had been no point in having the meetings, which she had scheduled, as the club was not for sale? Why did she not say to Varney at any point before Christmas, thanks but no thanks? And why was Richard Murray bragging before Christmas that he had put a stop to Varney's approach?
Neither of the last two takeovers have taken anything like six months, as a matter of record.
Exactly Airman, a polite Not for Sale would have been the correct response surely. From point of interest in Charlton to handing over his debit card , how long did it take RD to buy the club? It sounds to me like someone dug a bloody big hole last tuesday, then handed the shovel to someone else and, you can fill that in
Has anyone sent an email about the food debacle and if so, got a reply? I sent one over 3 weeks ago and so far heard nothing back. Previous emails were sent last year but didn't get a reply from Mandy or previous catering managers.
Feeling particularly despondent after last night I've just replied a little late to the response I received when we first started these. Here goes:
Thank-you for your reply to my original letter, although I feel a few points went unanswered, not least regarding the very title of my post. I do not envy you having to defend your "superiors" - working with your hands effectively tied behind your back must give you some idea how the ridiculous number of first team managers / coaches have felt. Those appointments have gone well, haven't they?
So here we are with another season on the brink of disaster. Surpassing last year's failures would be some achievement, even for a senior management team that has overseen the complete alienation of some 10,000 of their own supporters. But the stats don't stop there, under Mr. Duchatelet and Ms. Meire's visionary stewardship we've witnessed seven managerial changes, wasted ludicrous sums of money on players selected by an under-qualified little boy with a lap-top, and are within touching distance of successive relegations, whilst well run clubs with next to no backing take their turn to embarrass us.
Perhaps most tellingly of all, we now have a club openly at war with the vast majority of its own supporters (not 2%) and a first team manager at loggerheads with his own players. What a marvellous recipe for success. Does nobody there really comprehend that no number of silly little gimmicks or highly-paid PR companies will gloss over what just about every true football fan nationwide can see - Charlton Athletic Football Club is rapidly heading for complete meltdown.
You claim that Ms. Meire would like to listen. Please ask her then to address my concerns. On what possible level can anything she has overseen be considered a success? But more importantly please try to provide a sensible, credible answer to my next question. What exactly does Mr. Duchatelet want from CAFC? As a fan of 42 years it's not an unreasonable question. As a bizarre experiment his idiotic plan has failed, and clearly not just at Charlton. As a financial venture it has failed. As Chairman of a once great club, he has failed. Genuinely, sincerely, why does he want to stay when he is understandably so loathed?
Please do me the courtesy of a sincere reply; meaningless marketing waffle is transparent to say the least. I genuinely fear now for the future of the club my family and I love. Like the vast majority of supporters I would like the very rich Mr. Duchatelet to acknowledge his numerous errors, admit defeat, and leave us to begin rebuilding without him.
Comments
Or at least my blood pressure did.
o All of the Senior Management Team attend the quarterly Fans’ Forum and several of them also attend the Target 20,000 meetings (there have been four meetings since the group started in December). The Senior Management team also met with club partners this week, who are nearly all Charlton fans. During his visit in February, Mr Duchâtelet met a similar group of fans who have an excellent knowledge of the club. There was a full exchange of views on issues like recruitment, communication, supporter relations, finance and the importance of the club to community.
If by that they mean the Training Ground Experience which I attended last week, the questions earlier in the day were brought to a quick halt when we were told the day wasn't meant for that. We were not given the opportunity later in the day at the Q & A session, to put questions to the SMT.
And this has been written or at least proof read by someone with English as their first language. It is still very much legalise but better than nothing.
As for the content. Well, M. Duchatelet bought the club via an agent and in a lot less than 6 months (more like 1). But it is interesting that despite the club not being for sale they are talking about the sales process.
Of course if they had bothered to speak to Peter Varney in August those 6 months would have elapsed by now.
They haven't said who the fans were that Roland meant and ME14 has already pointed out the false statement regarding club partners.
But keep it coming.
I do wonder if my response was from the head of comms before she quit, as it is clearly written by someone versed in PR. I tried to keep my email succinct and asked very clear and direct questions in as an impassive tone as I could muster given the emotive nature of the subject, rather than a more narrative approach which can be harder to respond to quickly.
My personal favourite line was:
"for right or wrong he wanted to publicly address his concerns about those who he perceives want the club to lose matches"
Read: "We were mortified when he told us to put this on the website"
Neither of the last two takeovers have taken anything like six months, as a matter of record.
Any more straws i can clutch at?
Got an email this morning from the club. (22/03/16).
Good Morning Mr Harley
Further to your email below I have now amended your accounts to show that you do not wish to receive any type of communication from Charlton Athletic. I am unable to remove you completely from our records as this will de-activate your season cards
Regards
Mandy Anderson-Myers
So, Valley Gold, cancelled, email address, cancelled, and after May 7th, season ticket, cancelled.
Thank you Katrien, Charlton Athletic have only been a major part of my life for 46 years.
I sent one over 3 weeks ago and so far heard nothing back. Previous emails were sent last year but didn't get a reply from Mandy or previous catering managers.
Thank-you for your reply to my original letter, although I feel a few points went unanswered, not
least regarding the very title of my post. I do not envy you having to defend your "superiors" -
working with your hands effectively tied behind your back must give you some idea how the ridiculous
number of first team managers / coaches have felt. Those appointments have gone well, haven't they?
So here we are with another season on the brink of disaster. Surpassing last year's failures would be
some achievement, even for a senior management team that has overseen the complete alienation of some
10,000 of their own supporters. But the stats don't stop there, under Mr. Duchatelet and Ms. Meire's
visionary stewardship we've witnessed seven managerial changes, wasted ludicrous sums of money on
players selected by an under-qualified little boy with a lap-top, and are within touching distance of
successive relegations, whilst well run clubs with next to no backing take their turn to embarrass
us.
Perhaps most tellingly of all, we now have a club openly at war with the vast majority of its own
supporters (not 2%) and a first team manager at loggerheads with his own players. What a marvellous
recipe for success. Does nobody there really comprehend that no number of silly little gimmicks or
highly-paid PR companies will gloss over what just about every true football fan nationwide can see -
Charlton Athletic Football Club is rapidly heading for complete meltdown.
You claim that Ms. Meire would like to listen. Please ask her then to address my concerns. On what
possible level can anything she has overseen be considered a success? But more importantly please try
to provide a sensible, credible answer to my next question. What exactly does Mr. Duchatelet want
from CAFC? As a fan of 42 years it's not an unreasonable question. As a bizarre experiment his
idiotic plan has failed, and clearly not just at Charlton. As a financial venture it has failed. As
Chairman of a once great club, he has failed. Genuinely, sincerely, why does he want to stay when he
is understandably so loathed?
Please do me the courtesy of a sincere reply; meaningless marketing waffle is transparent to say the
least. I genuinely fear now for the future of the club my family and I love. Like the vast majority
of supporters I would like the very rich Mr. Duchatelet to acknowledge his numerous errors, admit
defeat, and leave us to begin rebuilding without him.
Yours sincerely,