A well measured statement with a commendable aim, but if Slade isn't in control any longer by the time the season starts then I think it needs to be reconsidered.
The mind boggles that there's serious talk of having "CASACARD - Charlton Athletic Supporters Against CARD". If that happens then I think I'll be taking a break from Charlton for quite a while.
CASACARD ? Who's proposing that ?
You really can't guess?
I'd tell you, but the muppet would probably start throwing threats around again.
If people want to protest, and seemingly have trouble with CARD, then they can protest. To simultaneously moan about CARD not being the boss of them and then get in a huff because CARD aren't disrupting the first few games of the season is frankly pathetic. Just protest however you see fit, if you want. It's not rocket surgery.
Absolutely BP. The current CARD approach is entirely sound.
I am however concerned with a major misconception/ misinterpretation bordering on "disinformation" concerning the coalition. It was reflected in certain protests against the Duchatelet regime. It seems some are determined to personalise the debate.
The CARD protest against the regime is not about being Belgian nor about being female it is about the regime performance as the custodians and operating executive of the club. Against every performance criterion, they have been an unmitigated disaster.
Many who have attacked CARD again choose to try to personalise the debate as if thousands are being led by the nose by some Machiavellian pied pipers. The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet is a network and facilitator of protest aimed at removing this calamitous regime. It provides the vehicle for the voices of ordinary supporters, wishing to register their dissatisfaction, to be heard.
There is no formal membership. There are no subscriptions. There are no rules or terms and conditions. There is no election of officers. The coalition is available to any individual supporter, any group of supporters and supporter organisations wishing to secure possible financial and logistical support to do just that, providing any such protest remains within the law of the land.
We have seen many protests within the umbrella of CARD but more than a few outside.
It is however an imperative such an organisation necessarily carries the broadest church of opinion. Indeed some have challenged organised protests as being too weak and ineffectual while others attach consequences with regard to team performances which the statistics indicate are palpably untrue.
I have seen challenges to CARD which mirror the Duchatelet "rant" last season suggesting CARD wish to see the club fail this season. The suggestion is a perverse and reverse logic.
Protests are a response to, not the cause, of failure. In truth you may as well pose such challenges to the entire fan base. I am sure there will be those who would take such failure if it guaranteed the departure of this regime. They would categorise such opinion as short term pain for long term gain.
CARD neither promotes, nor is accountable for such opinion.
Most supporters will be wishing Slade, his coaching team and the players every success for the coming season. They are not our target. They represent the one vestige left of what our club is supposed to be about.
CARD is not accountable for that opinion either.
CARD is merely reflective of the mood of a very large number of supporters, e.g. season ticket sales do not reduce by circa 4000 for no reason.
To attack CARD is merely attacking fellow supporters. I have even seen threats of violence in such regard. Such action would be unlawful and should be condemned by any and every supporter based entity.
To those questioning the current statement I can but repeat the view offered by most military historians which suggests battles and or wars are won not by any stroke of brilliant strategy/ manoeuvre but lost by one side making a serious or a series of mistakes.
The club executive is in the middle of travelling any number of crossroads.
To offer our support to Slade and his team at this time let us pause, to ease the pressure just a little, to allow a clear space for the executive to show which path they intend to follow without external interference.
There are those who desperately want to believe the executive are about to pursue a path to salvation and view any supporter "negativity" as potentially interfering with their "road to Damascus moment". 6 weeks in the life of a football club balanced against the decades of supporter investment is a small price to pay.
However those sitting in the club offices in SE7 and their bosses sitting in Staprix NV overseas are on notice their actions over coming weeks will be scrutinized against 31 months of failure.
Crucially at this time their actions will reveal their intent and/or competence to support the clubs' manager in delivering the required quality, experience and depth of squad to compete successfully throughout the coming season.
It is a task in which they have abysmally failed the 6 previous incumbents. It is a track record which one managerial appointment felt he could not trust. He chose to walk away. If a 7th appointee chose to walk away I suggest it will bring the total and immediate condemnation of the industry, media and all supporters.
The executive position would be virtually untenable. That the club are today able to trade at all in the UK market is almost entirely down to Slades' market profile.
Yesterday he made public his immediate concerns and expectations. The coming days and weeks will tell us all we need to know about the executive intent and competence to meet such expectations.
Our scrutiny will then extend to their ability to show leadership and continue to support the team throughout the season in the face of inevitable injuries and loss of form.
Should they fall short I am entirely comfortable CARD in representing the view of very many supporters will facilitate the appropriate response, at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.
Absolutely BP. The current CARD approach is entirely sound.
I am however concerned in a major misconception/ misinterpretation bordering on "disinformation" concerning the coalition. It was reflected in certain protests against the Duchatelet regime. It seems some are determined to personalise the debate.
The CARD protest against the regime is not about being Belgian nor about being female it is about the regime performance as the custodians and operating executive of the club. Against every performance criterion, they have been an unmitigated disaster.
Many who have attacked CARD again choose to try to personalise the debate as if thousands are being led by the nose by some Machiavellian pied pipers. The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet is a network and facilitator of protest aimed at removing this calamitous regime. It provides the vehicle for the voices of ordinary supporters, wishing to register their dissatisfaction, to be heard.
There is no formal membership. There are no subscriptions. There are no rules or terms and conditions. There is no election of officers. The coalition is available to any individual supporter, any group of supporters and supporter organisations wishing to secure possible financial and logistical support to do just that, providing any such protest remains within the law of the land.
We have seen many protests within the umbrella of CARD but more than a few outside.
It is however an imperative such an organisation necessarily carries the broadest church of opinion. Indeed some have challenged organised protests as being too weak and ineffectual while others attach consequences with regard to team performances which the statistics indicate are palpably untrue.
I have seen challenges to CARD which mirror the Duchatelet "rant" last season suggesting CARD wish to see the club fail this season. The suggestion is a perverse and reverse logic.
Protests are a response to, not the cause, of failure. In truth you may as well pose such challenges to the entire fan base. I am sure there will be those who would take such failure if it guaranteed the departure of this regime. They would categorise such opinion as short term pain for long term gain.
CARD neither promotes, nor is accountable for such opinion.
Most supporters will be wishing Slade, his coaching team and the players every success for the coming season. They are not our target. They represent the one vestige left of what our club is supposed to be about.
CARD is not accountable for that opinion either.
CARD is merely reflective of the mood of a vey large number of supporters, e.g. season ticket sales do not reduce by circa 4000 for no reason.
To attack CARD is merely attacking fellow supporters. I have even seen threats of violence in such regard. Such action would be unlawful and should be condemned by any and every supporter based entity.
To those questioning the current statement I can but repeat the view offered by most military historians which suggests battles and or wars are won not by any stroke of brilliant strategy/ manoeuvre but lost by one side making a serious or a series of mistakes.
The club executive is in the middle of travelling any number of crossroads.
To offer our support to Slade and his team at this time let us pause, to ease the pressure just a little, to allow a clear space for the executive to show which path they intend to follow without external interference.
There are those who desperately want to believe the executive are about to pursue a path to salvation and view any supporter "negativity" as potentially interfering with their "road to Damascus moment". 6 weeks in the life of a football club balanced against the decades of supporter investment is a small price to pay.
However those sitting in the club offices in SE7 and their bosses sitting in Staprix NV overseas are on notice their actions over coming weeks will be scrutinized against 31 months of failure.
Crucially at this time their actions will reveal their intent and/or competence to support the clubs' manager in delivering the required quality, experience and depth of squad to compete successfully throughout the coming season.
It is a task in which they have abysmally failed the 6 previous incumbents. It is a track record which one managerial appointment felt he could not trust. He chose to walk away. If a 7th appointee chose to walk away I suggest it will bring the total and immediate condemnation of the industry, media and all supporters.
The executive position would be virtually untenable. That the club are today able to trade at all in the UK market is almost entirely down to Slades' market profile.
Yesterday he made public his immediate concerns and expectations. The coming days and weeks will tell us all we need to know about the executive intent and competence to meet such expectations.
Our scrutiny will then extend to their ability to show leadership and continue to support the team throughout the season in the face of inevitable injuries and loss of form.
Should they fall short I am entirely comfortable CARD in representing the view of very many supporters will facilitate the appropriate response, at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.
CARD in my opinion have done a great job. This whole situation has never been easy. Numerous view points on our ownership ranging from the extreme 'we must target their families', through to those who just want to support the club and focus with what's going on on the pitch. I still speak to people who say 'but for RD we wouldn't have club etc, he's the one pumping the money in and funding us'.
I respect their views even though I disagree with them. CARD has to tread a fine line and the response to deciding not to do anything during the first few games of the season was very fair imo. I'm the same. I've decided to cease all in game protests for the time being, purely because I don't think it's fair on the new manager and players. We have to try and draw a line under last season.
I do not believe for one second that the regime has learnt its lesson, more that it has been backed into a corner because of its failed model of football and how to run a club. They have been forced to abandon all previous plans and ideas because it hasn't worked. They now do not know what they are doing, and operate more in hope than expectation. I still believe KM tries to pull the wool over RD's eyes by telling him that she is on top of everything and can turn it round.
Yes, the initial signs of optimism back in June of appointing Slade and a few new faces have now, dissipated as we find ourselves 2 weeks away from the start of the season and '6 players short of competing for promotion'
This just goes to show that they will never have a grip on what/how you run a football club. The interesting thing about Slade's comments for me was that we never would've heard that in the 2 years previous, because all managerial appointments were network puppets. They would never dare speak out of turn, yet Slade has nothing to lose. He's not stupid. Why should he take the flack for KM's ineptitude on not providing him with a squad capable to compete. Peeters, Luzon & Riga would all have towed the party line, I like that Slade hasn't.
I will continue to join in with any outside game protests as I still firmly believe that they aren't right for the club, but welcome this mini freeze for the start of the season. 3 opening defeats will test my resolve however, so I am interested to see how others may feel if this happens
The point is, CARD can't do everything on their own. It needs others to step up and take more 'radical' actions (I'm not talking about violence here, but things that would really disrupt these people's lives (I'm thinking Meire and Murray, (and Duchatelet which is obviously impossible without going to his own back yard)).
In my opinion the reason the Burnley game demos were such a success was due to other people doing stuff off their own bat as WELL as CARD's protests. So on top of CARD's sit-in, programmes distributed, posters and the banner in the ground etc etc, we ALSO had the LIAR bedsheet (brilliant), a pitch invader, flares/smokebombs (whichever they were - it's irrelevant) to disrupt the game. Then obviously a protest on the pitch at the end.
CARD have mostly done a great job I think, but people can't expect them to do EVERYTHING. Others need to come up with imaginative ways of making these people's lives hell, to run alongside CARD stuff. If people don't step up, or simply blot out everything these people have done and hope for the best (for the umpteenth time) then our football club is going to be in real peril.
A very good idea, given that 1) The club have appointed a manager with British experience 2) The window doesn't close until the end of August. 3) There is a risk of "protest fatigue"
I do not believe anything has changed with this regime, but I think that protesting during the first match(es) of the season could backfire from a PR standpoint. The club would have every right to come out and say "we did what you asked, we hired a British manager, and there is still time in the window." And they would technically be right on both counts (and the fact that the window doesn't close until a month into the season is a silliness that is not their doing).
It is far easier to pick up the protests in September once we've seen the final squad for the first few months of the season assembled and, shock surprise, JJ and Crofts are our first choice central midfield pairing. But you can't "undo" protests so to speak.
This is a PR battle, and I am always impressed and proud of how CARD handle PR. This is a very measured approach, and one that ensures there is no risk of long-term backlash. For the public narrative to change, CARD only has to be wrong once, unfortunately, whereas the regime by nature of being in situ in the club have a seemingly unlimited number of "lives." It's excellent that CARD leadership recognizes this, and takes their time over such decisions, clearly measuring things from a strategic perspective, rather than just an emotional one. It would be easy to let emotions get in the way, one only needs to read the posts about those torn on renewing season tickets to see just how straining this is on everyone, but this is a marathon not a sprint.
Though I may not agree with them on all of their public-facing stances (namely that a British manager is an improvement), I am incredibly proud to have CARD represent me as a Charlton supporter.
Comments
I'd tell you, but the muppet would probably start throwing threats around again.
CARD are right to take this stance at the start of the season, I am sure they have plenty planned for before and after the games.
I am however concerned with a major misconception/ misinterpretation bordering on "disinformation" concerning the coalition. It was reflected in certain protests against the Duchatelet regime. It seems some are determined to personalise the debate.
The CARD protest against the regime is not about being Belgian nor about being female it is about the regime performance as the custodians and operating executive of the club. Against every performance criterion, they have been an unmitigated disaster.
Many who have attacked CARD again choose to try to personalise the debate as if thousands are being led by the nose by some Machiavellian pied pipers. The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet is a network and facilitator of protest aimed at removing this calamitous regime. It provides the vehicle for the voices of ordinary supporters, wishing to register their dissatisfaction, to be heard.
There is no formal membership. There are no subscriptions. There are no rules or terms and conditions. There is no election of officers. The coalition is available to any individual supporter, any group of supporters and supporter organisations wishing to secure possible financial and logistical support to do just that, providing any such protest remains within the law of the land.
We have seen many protests within the umbrella of CARD but more than a few outside.
It is however an imperative such an organisation necessarily carries the broadest church of opinion. Indeed some have challenged organised protests as being too weak and ineffectual while others attach consequences with regard to team performances which the statistics indicate are palpably untrue.
I have seen challenges to CARD which mirror the Duchatelet "rant" last season suggesting CARD wish to see the club fail this season. The suggestion is a perverse and reverse logic.
Protests are a response to, not the cause, of failure. In truth you may as well pose such challenges to the entire fan base. I am sure there will be those who would take such failure if it guaranteed the departure of this regime. They would categorise such opinion as short term pain for long term gain.
CARD neither promotes, nor is accountable for such opinion.
Most supporters will be wishing Slade, his coaching team and the players every success for the coming season. They are not our target. They represent the one vestige left of what our club is supposed to be about.
CARD is not accountable for that opinion either.
CARD is merely reflective of the mood of a very large number of supporters, e.g. season ticket sales do not reduce by circa 4000 for no reason.
To attack CARD is merely attacking fellow supporters. I have even seen threats of violence in such regard. Such action would be unlawful and should be condemned by any and every supporter based entity.
To those questioning the current statement I can but repeat the view offered by most military historians which suggests battles and or wars are won not by any stroke of brilliant strategy/ manoeuvre but lost by one side making a serious or a series of mistakes.
The club executive is in the middle of travelling any number of crossroads.
To offer our support to Slade and his team at this time let us pause, to ease the pressure just a little, to allow a clear space for the executive to show which path they intend to follow without external interference.
There are those who desperately want to believe the executive are about to pursue a path to salvation and view any supporter "negativity" as potentially interfering with their "road to Damascus moment". 6 weeks in the life of a football club balanced against the decades of supporter investment is a small price to pay.
However those sitting in the club offices in SE7 and their bosses sitting in Staprix NV overseas are on notice their actions over coming weeks will be scrutinized against 31 months of failure.
Crucially at this time their actions will reveal their intent and/or competence to support the clubs' manager in delivering the required quality, experience and depth of squad to compete successfully throughout the coming season.
It is a task in which they have abysmally failed the 6 previous incumbents. It is a track record which one managerial appointment felt he could not trust. He chose to walk away. If a 7th appointee chose to walk away I suggest it will bring the total and immediate condemnation of the industry, media and all supporters.
The executive position would be virtually untenable. That the club are today able to trade at all in the UK market is almost entirely down to Slades' market profile.
Yesterday he made public his immediate concerns and expectations. The coming days and weeks will tell us all we need to know about the executive intent and competence to meet such expectations.
Our scrutiny will then extend to their ability to show leadership and continue to support the team throughout the season in the face of inevitable injuries and loss of form.
Should they fall short I am entirely comfortable CARD in representing the view of very many supporters will facilitate the appropriate response, at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner.
Great stuff as always.
I respect their views even though I disagree with them. CARD has to tread a fine line and the response to deciding not to do anything during the first few games of the season was very fair imo. I'm the same. I've decided to cease all in game protests for the time being, purely because I don't think it's fair on the new manager and players. We have to try and draw a line under last season.
I do not believe for one second that the regime has learnt its lesson, more that it has been backed into a corner because of its failed model of football and how to run a club. They have been forced to abandon all previous plans and ideas because it hasn't worked. They now do not know what they are doing, and operate more in hope than expectation. I still believe KM tries to pull the wool over RD's eyes by telling him that she is on top of everything and can turn it round.
Yes, the initial signs of optimism back in June of appointing Slade and a few new faces have now, dissipated as we find ourselves 2 weeks away from the start of the season and '6 players short of competing for promotion'
This just goes to show that they will never have a grip on what/how you run a football club. The interesting thing about Slade's comments for me was that we never would've heard that in the 2 years previous, because all managerial appointments were network puppets. They would never dare speak out of turn, yet Slade has nothing to lose. He's not stupid. Why should he take the flack for KM's ineptitude on not providing him with a squad capable to compete. Peeters, Luzon & Riga would all have towed the party line, I like that Slade hasn't.
I will continue to join in with any outside game protests as I still firmly believe that they aren't right for the club, but welcome this mini freeze for the start of the season. 3 opening defeats will test my resolve however, so I am interested to see how others may feel if this happens
In my opinion the reason the Burnley game demos were such a success was due to other people doing stuff off their own bat as WELL as CARD's protests. So on top of CARD's sit-in, programmes distributed, posters and the banner in the ground etc etc, we ALSO had the LIAR bedsheet (brilliant), a pitch invader, flares/smokebombs (whichever they were - it's irrelevant) to disrupt the game. Then obviously a protest on the pitch at the end.
CARD have mostly done a great job I think, but people can't expect them to do EVERYTHING. Others need to come up with imaginative ways of making these people's lives hell, to run alongside CARD stuff. If people don't step up, or simply blot out everything these people have done and hope for the best (for the umpteenth time) then our football club is going to be in real peril.
Or go in & drop a huge amount of stink bombs, clear out the wankers subsidising the Belgians