Unless the club have a credible explanation for Katrien Meire's disappearance to Dubai at this critical time (and if it is a holiday) then her actions amount to a dereliction of duty as in the role of CEO - in other words a betrayal and her position is untenable and she should tender her resignation.
Alternatively, if Roland D has temporarily removed her from the firing line during the run in then her position is equally untenable as she will at last have been exposed in Roland's eyes as incapable of continuing in office and should be replaced and she should be requested by him to resign or be re-assigned.
Either way (and lacking a fully credible forthcoming explanation) I cannot see how Katrien Meire can take her place in the Directors Box for the game v Derby.
Hey Sue, perhaps things would be JUST a little bit less hectic in the summer if the club didn't keep churning players? Someone calculated the numbers for the last two years. I can't remember them but they were huge.
Hey Sue, perhaps things would be JUST a little bit less hectic in the summer if the club didn't keep churning players? Someone calculated the numbers for the last two years. I can't remember them but they were huge.
Plus, average 'life-span' of a Charlton manager is below that of the Championship average as a whole (which I believe is 11 months). Someone may tell me this is wrong but in any event the managerial changes (including ridiculous interim manager appointments) have not as Katrien Meire infamously put it 'improved our situation every time'.
I'm not trying to stir up trouble therefore I am simply deeply concerned that the club I support has been purchased by a madman who has put an incompetent person in the most senior management post at the club (and I don't care about gender) - I would be saying exactly the same thing if it was a man making these comments and decisions. Sue Parkes comments sound (although I haven't seen them in detail) as if she is valiantly trying to defend the indefensible.
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
In fairness I would imagine that the closed season is the busiest time of year for a CEO. Why she never took her holiday during the international break is very odd.
This is so weird. I really can't think of another time when I've heard of senior club officials going on holiday at such a crucial point in a club's season. Surely the captain always goes down with the ship. I've been mulling over in my mind possible reasons why she might have chosen to go. As far as I can see, they are all good:
1. It's a working holiday and she is busy meeting potential buyers. Good - the sooner the club is sold, the better, 2. She is suffering from stress and her doctor has advised the she needs a holiday. Good - the pressure is getting to her. Hopefully she won't last long. 3. She knows that she's going to get the boot and is using up her leave allowance. Good - adios amigo. 4. She has just pissed off on a beano because she doesn't care for the club and knows Roly will let her get away with it. Good - if there's still anyone out there who believes that this regime's stewardship of the club is acceptable, this will help them to see things as they are.
Is it really necessary to keep dragging quotes from Sue Parkes across from Facebook in order to slag her off without even the opportunity to defend herself? Agree or disagree with her, she is entitled to her opinion and has a right to voice it. Personally not particularly comfortable with her being singled out, especially as most of the people doing it are hiding behind an anonymous alias on a message board while she posts openly under her real name.
She is to a reasonable extent privy to what is happening behind the scenes and has taken it on herself to defend the regime, repeatedly, which is her right, but equally to rubbish those who have the affront to challenge the way the club is being run.
As for hiding, I am not sure anyone is doing that. Everyone on here has an alias. On Facebook they do not and I have had 'discussions' with her on a number of occasions using my own name. The same allegations of hiding could be used against those who come on here pretending to be supporters who peddle the club line. Only they are claiming to be something they are clearly not.
I have also suggested more than once to Sue that given her husband's role, she would be well advised not to blindly defend Squirrel Face at every turn and also to perhaps stay off social media, especially the Charlton forum, for his sake.
Is it really necessary to keep dragging quotes from Sue Parkes across from Facebook in order to slag her off without even the opportunity to defend herself? Agree or disagree with her, she is entitled to her opinion and has a right to voice it. Personally not particularly comfortable with her being singled out, especially as most of the people doing it are hiding behind an anonymous alias on a message board while she posts openly under her real name.
What an incredibly strange post.
If you put something on Facebook, you want people to see it. (If you don't want people to know your opinion, you keep it to yourself and do not post on a social media site).
Sure she has a right to an opinion. Just as everyone else has a right to an opinion on her post.
If she disagrees with what people are posting about her comments, come on here and defend those comments.
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
In fairness I would imagine that the closed season is the busiest time of year for a CEO. Why she never took her holiday during the international break is very odd.
It's really not. The players are away from early May to early July, after all. They don't all get new contracts each year, or in the summer. There are no matches, which makes a huge difference to workload. During the season, staff are often working a six-day week. It's true that there is more to do in the summer than people think, in terms of all the jobs that can't be done for practical or time reasons during the season, but it's also the big opportunity for senior staff to take their holidays.
I wouldn't argue that a chief executive should never take time off during the season, but there's a right time and a wrong one. The staff clearly didn't think this was the right time.
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
In fairness I would imagine that the closed season is the busiest time of year for a CEO. Why she never took her holiday during the international break is very odd.
It's really not. The players are away from early May to early July, after all. There are no matches, which makes a huge difference to workload. During the season, staff are often working a six-day week. It's true that there is more to do than people think, in terms of all the jobs that can't be done for practical or time reasons during the season, but it's also the big opportunity for senior staff to take their holidays.
I wouldn't argue that a chief executive should never take time off during the season, but there's a right time and a wrong one. The staff clearly didn't think this was the right time.
Fair enough, I assumed the final whistle on the last day signalled the start of the execution phase of the recruitment strategy (some of the recent recruits could do with literal execution) so would be a really busy. Incredibly odd that she's gone off, for 10 days no less, at this moment then.
If Katrien is stressed and this holiday is part of a healing process then I understand it, especially as she seems to do nothing when she is here so her absence will have scant impact. The notion that Tony Keohane is in charge chills the blood though. My perception of Keohane is that he is even more ignorant about the nature of the club than Katrien, does not give a damn anyway, and is typically either incompetent in his day to day work, or merely reactive to events which he handles badly. It was Tony Keohane who instructed Steve Adamson to film the Sparrows Lane protestors. And his aspiration is to identify and ban protestors.
Oh dear. She just can't help herself when KM is under fire ...
Sue Parkes "You really cannot know how many hours are involved in the work during the summer unless you live with it on a daily basis. Seems nothing that the Club does is palatable to a lot of supporters these days. They can't win in any way at all. Some people just wish to stir up trouble about everything."
If the club was being run correctly then no one would give a toss if Meire went on holiday during the season, but as she could not run a bath at the moment and we are in a relegation battle with protests taking place every home game, you would think to try and rectify these issues instead of doing a bunk for ten days.
How many international breaks are there during a season? 3/4? We have just had one recently last month, so why not have a break then. Does Chris and Sue go away and miss games? I highly doubt it, so what makes that arrogant prat of a CEO any different.
She must have more money then sense to go away during the kids Easter break. The price must have doubled compared to last month. Brains of a rocking horse.
Totally unprofessional and the sooner we see the back of her, the better.
I'm pretty sure that in the past the run up to the end of the season has been a busy time at the club as they've been preparing behind the scenes for the summer before players etc go on holiday so we can hit the ground running with recruitment etc. What are the chances that Meire is just leaving everything until the first day of close season and will caught out unprepared yet again.
2. She is suffering from stress and her doctor has advised the she needs a holiday. Good - the pressure is getting to her. Hopefully she won't last long.
Could this be the reason that the staff were unaware of her absence ?
To get the better of an opponent in Sport or Business, or any walk of life, you have to know their personal Achilles heel.
Katrien Meire is never seen with a support team. (i don't mean Murray) She is never seen with any Family member. She is never seen with any friends. she is never seen with any Partner.
She is Billie No mates, and no woman is an Island.
She will not be at Charlton in August. (Fingers and toes crossed) I fear Duchatelet will be.
If Katrien is stressed and this holiday is part of a healing process then I understand it, especially as she seems to do nothing when she is here so her absence will have scant impact. The notion that Tony Keohane is in charge chills the blood though. My perception of Keohane is that he is even more ignorant about the nature of the club than Katrien, does not give a damn anyway, and is typically either incompetent in his day to day work, or merely reactive to events which he handles badly. It was Tony Keohane who instructed Steve Adamson to film the Sparrows Lane protestors. And his aspiration is to identify and ban protestors.
In among all the anger about this holiday, you raise a very good point. What the hell does she do when she is here? Seriously ...
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
In fairness I would imagine that the closed season is the busiest time of year for a CEO. Why she never took her holiday during the international break is very odd.
Maybe whoever she has gone with couldn't get the time off during the international break
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
In fairness I would imagine that the closed season is the busiest time of year for a CEO. Why she never took her holiday during the international break is very odd.
Maybe whoever she has gone with couldn't get the time off during the international break
Ooh a great bit of rumourmongering, I like it. I'm thinking JBG in that case...
If Katrien is stressed and this holiday is part of a healing process then I understand it, especially as she seems to do nothing when she is here so her absence will have scant impact. The notion that Tony Keohane is in charge chills the blood though. My perception of Keohane is that he is even more ignorant about the nature of the club than Katrien, does not give a damn anyway, and is typically either incompetent in his day to day work, or merely reactive to events which he handles badly. It was Tony Keohane who instructed Steve Adamson to film the Sparrows Lane protestors. And his aspiration is to identify and ban protestors.
In among all the anger about this holiday, you raise a very good point. What the hell does she do when she is here? Seriously ...
Well, we know by her own admission that she keeps two days free from any appointments. It is well documented that she does not arrive at the ground on match-days until about 1,30pm or sometimes later. I strongly suspect that she clears her e-mail traffic each day without opening it. Doesn't do any fan communication and has a Human Resources lady to do non-football related recruitment.
But these are perhaps minor details in a way. Even if she does work on the running of the club and transfer negotiations (as she boasts) it is the quality of the work and the flawed decision making and consistently poor communication which makes her 'work' damaging and counter-productive no matter how many hours or not she puts into it. One can't help thinking that unless she is in Dubai on a credible business venture for the club (and I have asked them if this is the case) then she is on a beach somewhere reading a kindle.
After all, perhaps her most damning phrase amongst many in 2015 was: 'I don't care' (about the history of the club).
Guys, give the lady a break please. If you stop to think about it it makes perfect sense to go now so we can get all of our shiny new squad signed up between the end of the season and before they leave for the start of the Euro's.
While taking a holiday while there was any chance of us staying up is ridiculous, instead of the outrage on here, I'm quite surprised people aren't happy with this...@airmanbrown clearly suggests this has upset staff which can only add the the pressure on the inside. Which surely must help the fans achieve their goal.
If they're still around in the close season, I do worry about the mean blood pressure readings on here, when there really is nothing to talk about!
To address the minor part of this debate first when is the wife of the clubs secretary and her husband going to realise endlessly putting your personal comments in the public domain serves only to stir the discontent and alienation of the club with a great number of supporters?
As the wife of a company official you are in a position of and enjoy privilege. With privilege comes responsibility. Please, please, stop abusing such privilege to the detriment of the club, its staff and supporters. No matter how much it makes you feel better to defend all and sundry it is personally and professionally irresponsible and does considerably more harm than good.
I think the message of the moment is along the lines "you are really not helping"
Please, please stop confusing "the personality" involved with "the job" and stop embarrassing the club with your personal comments. Thousands of senior company officials work horrendous hours in pursuing their professional careers and in fulfilling their duties to the companies who employ them.
Such a workload comes with the territory and it needs to be professionally managed.
If for personal or family reasons this was the only/ best time for Ms Meire to take her annual holiday then it is at best unfortunate timing. When you operate under pressure for long periods of time a break becomes a necessity not a luxury.
She is a very inexperienced company official who has been subject to a huge amount of scrutiny for the first time in her life and the consequences of the clubs' performance under her executive control will increase the scrutiny and pressure as the day of dawning comes ever closer.
On a personal level I have a little sympathy for anyone in such a position. It is not a nice place to be but you have to remain professional throughout.
I have no idea of the circumstances behind this latest PR "faux pas".
In truth there could be any number of reasons for her absence at this time, from her reflecting on her personal future to being charged with planning a complete overhaul/ revamp of the club "in preparation for League 1", to talking to potential investors (remember Duchatelet has referred all such enquiries to her for initial investigation) which tasks she chose to complete while taking her annual break.
Very clearly to take a leave of absence at this time is not in the best interests of the club. It sends the wrong message at nearly every level. It is the same message this regime has failed to understand/ recognise throughout their stewardship it screams "we do not do leadership".
That the club has chosen for her to be absent at this time is unfortunate. To make such choice without sending proper communication to all parties is once again completely unprofessional.
Why would you keep putting her "allies" in a position of having to defend her after the event? It is not as if someone was not going to notice. Who advises them on these sorts of issues?
Leadership is crucial at a time when the credibility and futures of all parties involved with the club from the executive, to all playing and non playing staff, will come under even greater scrutiny both in terms of club finances and their roles in rebuilding the club.
Once again this regime fails to learn from its past mistakes. It really does not augur well.
This smacks of Meire being granted a leave of absence by Duchatelet, otherwise she could have taken her break in three weeks time when the season ends. If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
In fairness I would imagine that the closed season is the busiest time of year for a CEO. Why she never took her holiday during the international break is very odd.
Maybe whoever she has gone with couldn't get the time off during the international break
The International break coincided with Easter this year and would have been too expensive for our CEO to go then as deep pockets, and short arms advised her to go when it was cheaper. He told her she had carried out her Remit for the season, and relax from the 2% for 10 days.
He was Disappointed it took 3 seasons to get relegated as he won't get his 5 million refund, but at least we are a one division nearer to his nirvana of Kids for a fiver?
Kids for a fiver is a weird yet unique way of running a football club where the U21 are more important than the first team and no player earns over 1500 pounds a week, and when they are too good to earn so little in the modern money rich world of football they are sold. The lower you drop down the football pyramid the threshold of £1500 is lowered.
It is the polar opposite way of thinking to what his Customers want.
Duchatelet wants the senior player who are not in the 1st team to clean the boots of the Academy boys !
Comments
Alternatively, if Roland D has temporarily removed her from the firing line during the run in then her position is equally untenable as she will at last have been exposed in Roland's eyes as incapable of continuing in office and should be replaced and she should be requested by him to resign or be re-assigned.
Either way (and lacking a fully credible forthcoming explanation) I cannot see how Katrien Meire can take her place in the Directors Box for the game v Derby.
Someone calculated the numbers for the last two years. I can't remember them but they were huge.
I'm not trying to stir up trouble therefore I am simply deeply concerned that the club I support has been purchased by a madman who has put an incompetent person in the most senior management post at the club (and I don't care about gender) - I would be saying exactly the same thing if it was a man making these comments and decisions.
Sue Parkes comments sound (although I haven't seen them in detail) as if she is valiantly trying to defend the indefensible.
If her need to be absent was so pressing, it certainly suggests that she needed to be taken out of the firing line.
1. It's a working holiday and she is busy meeting potential buyers. Good - the sooner the club is sold, the better,
2. She is suffering from stress and her doctor has advised the she needs a holiday. Good - the pressure is getting to her. Hopefully she won't last long.
3. She knows that she's going to get the boot and is using up her leave allowance. Good - adios amigo.
4. She has just pissed off on a beano because she doesn't care for the club and knows Roly will let her get away with it. Good - if there's still anyone out there who believes that this regime's stewardship of the club is acceptable, this will help them to see things as they are.
As for hiding, I am not sure anyone is doing that. Everyone on here has an alias. On Facebook they do not and I have had 'discussions' with her on a number of occasions using my own name. The same allegations of hiding could be used against those who come on here pretending to be supporters who peddle the club line. Only they are claiming to be something they are clearly not.
I have also suggested more than once to Sue that given her husband's role, she would be well advised not to blindly defend Squirrel Face at every turn and also to perhaps stay off social media, especially the Charlton forum, for his sake.
If you put something on Facebook, you want people to see it. (If you don't want people to know your opinion, you keep it to yourself and do not post on a social media site).
Sure she has a right to an opinion. Just as everyone else has a right to an opinion on her post.
If she disagrees with what people are posting about her comments, come on here and defend those comments.
I wouldn't argue that a chief executive should never take time off during the season, but there's a right time and a wrong one. The staff clearly didn't think this was the right time.
The notion that Tony Keohane is in charge chills the blood though. My perception of Keohane is that he is even more ignorant about the nature of the club than Katrien, does not give a damn anyway, and is typically either incompetent in his day to day work, or merely reactive to events which he handles badly.
It was Tony Keohane who instructed Steve Adamson to film the Sparrows Lane protestors. And his aspiration is to identify and ban protestors.
How many international breaks are there during a season? 3/4? We have just had one recently last month, so why not have a break then. Does Chris and Sue go away and miss games? I highly doubt it, so what makes that arrogant prat of a CEO any different.
She must have more money then sense to go away during the kids Easter break. The price must have doubled compared to last month. Brains of a rocking horse.
Totally unprofessional and the sooner we see the back of her, the better.
Could this be the reason that the staff were unaware of her absence ?
To get the better of an opponent in Sport or Business, or any walk of life, you have to know their personal Achilles heel.
Katrien Meire is never seen with a support team. (i don't mean Murray)
She is never seen with any Family member.
She is never seen with any friends.
she is never seen with any Partner.
She is Billie No mates, and no woman is an Island.
She will not be at Charlton in August. (Fingers and toes crossed)
I fear Duchatelet will be.
It is well documented that she does not arrive at the ground on match-days until about 1,30pm or sometimes later.
I strongly suspect that she clears her e-mail traffic each day without opening it. Doesn't do any fan communication and has a Human Resources lady to do non-football related recruitment.
But these are perhaps minor details in a way. Even if she does work on the running of the club and transfer negotiations (as she boasts) it is the quality of the work and the flawed decision making and consistently poor communication which makes her 'work' damaging and counter-productive no matter how many hours or not she puts into it.
One can't help thinking that unless she is in Dubai on a credible business venture for the club (and I have asked them if this is the case) then she is on a beach somewhere reading a kindle.
After all, perhaps her most damning phrase amongst many in 2015 was: 'I don't care' (about the history of the club).
Makes perfect sense, trust me on this...
If they're still around in the close season, I do worry about the mean blood pressure readings on here, when there really is nothing to talk about!
As the wife of a company official you are in a position of and enjoy privilege. With privilege comes responsibility. Please, please, stop abusing such privilege to the detriment of the club, its staff and supporters. No matter how much it makes you feel better to defend all and sundry it is personally and professionally irresponsible and does considerably more harm than good.
I think the message of the moment is along the lines "you are really not helping"
Please, please stop confusing "the personality" involved with "the job" and stop embarrassing the club with your personal comments. Thousands of senior company officials work horrendous hours in pursuing their professional careers and in fulfilling their duties to the companies who employ them.
Such a workload comes with the territory and it needs to be professionally managed.
If for personal or family reasons this was the only/ best time for Ms Meire to take her annual holiday then it is at best unfortunate timing. When you operate under pressure for long periods of time a break becomes a necessity not a luxury.
She is a very inexperienced company official who has been subject to a huge amount of scrutiny for the first time in her life and the consequences of the clubs' performance under her executive control will increase the scrutiny and pressure as the day of dawning comes ever closer.
On a personal level I have a little sympathy for anyone in such a position. It is not a nice place to be but you have to remain professional throughout.
I have no idea of the circumstances behind this latest PR "faux pas".
In truth there could be any number of reasons for her absence at this time, from her reflecting on her personal future to being charged with planning a complete overhaul/ revamp of the club "in preparation for League 1", to talking to potential investors (remember Duchatelet has referred all such enquiries to her for initial investigation) which tasks she chose to complete while taking her annual break.
Very clearly to take a leave of absence at this time is not in the best interests of the club. It sends the wrong message at nearly every level. It is the same message this regime has failed to understand/ recognise throughout their stewardship it screams "we do not do leadership".
That the club has chosen for her to be absent at this time is unfortunate. To make such choice without sending proper communication to all parties is once again completely unprofessional.
Why would you keep putting her "allies" in a position of having to defend her after the event? It is not as if someone was not going to notice. Who advises them on these sorts of issues?
Leadership is crucial at a time when the credibility and futures of all parties involved with the club from the executive, to all playing and non playing staff, will come under even greater scrutiny both in terms of club finances and their roles in rebuilding the club.
Once again this regime fails to learn from its past mistakes. It really does not augur well.
advised her to go when it was cheaper.
He told her she had carried out her Remit for the season, and relax from the 2% for 10 days.
He was Disappointed it took 3 seasons to get relegated as he won't get his 5 million refund, but at least we are a one division nearer to his nirvana of
Kids for a fiver?
Kids for a fiver is a weird yet unique way of running a football club where the U21 are more important than the first team and no player earns over 1500 pounds a week, and when they are too good to earn so little in the modern money rich world of football they are sold.
The lower you drop down the football pyramid the threshold of £1500 is lowered.
It is the polar opposite way of thinking to what his Customers want.
Duchatelet wants the senior player who are not in the 1st team to clean the boots of the Academy boys !
Fucking Cobblers said Roger Johnson.