I found episode 3 depressing. Hearing from so many hard working professional people doing their best to make Charlton a success and being undermined and belittled by the very person who should be their most avid supporter is quite shocking. Why would you persuade someone to work for you and do that to them? Roland is clearly a nasty person or mentally unstable.
I suspect from what is said about KM, she is also a victim. Others have worked their way into other jobs. Maybe she has not yet found a path out yet or finds it normal in some way?
The thing is, and this maybe where Major is coming from as well, is that I so want it to be right at our club. I want to be positive and proud again. I want us to be out of this league, and I want to believe and cheer everything Robbo says. I have always loved going to games. For a couple of hours you can forget all your troubles and lose yourself in a crowd united in one purpose.
I suspect that there are a few that are so lost in their hatred of Roland that they will never see any good in anything the regime ever do, and this is at the point of being ridiculous in some cases. The club can't even put on free coaches without being criticised.
I like to look for the positives and I think there have been quite a few. The appointment of Robbo as a real stand out positive. I like the way he sets up teams to attack and he has really freshened up a squad that now looks both youthful and skillful. I like that he tells us what is happening- especially before kick off (please put on the big screen so those in the ground can hear!).
No one has criticised the club for putting on free coaches. The way they operate the coaches - with a two-hour tour of pick-ups before setting off - is silly and a persistent cause of frustration to many people who would otherwise use them and some who do. The only relevance to them being free is that this tour of SE London NW/Kent is plainly unnecessary because there will be more than one coach. It isn't required for all coaches to attend all pick-ups, but planning for one coach that does this leaves people sitting on coaches for hours unnecessarily. It's a waste of everybody's time.
In the past (Colchester in the cup last season for instance) the times changed as more booked and more coaches needed. If only 1 coach then all these pick ups would be needed. What I would say, is advertise this so people understand as a minimum. The club could also take a small risk and assume we will be taking (say) at least 3 coaches, plan the pickups based on that and you will pick up more customers. I am certainly not getting a coach at 6am and being dropped off last at gone 11 at night.
I found episode 3 depressing. Hearing from so many hard working professional people doing their best to make Charlton a success and being undermined and belittled by the very person who should be their most avid supporter is quite shocking. Why would you persuade someone to work for you and do that to them? Roland is clearly a nasty person or mentally unstable.
I suspect from what is said about KM, she is also a victim. Others have worked their way into other jobs. Maybe she has not yet found a path out yet or finds it normal in some way?
The thing is, and this maybe where Major is coming from as well, is that I so want it to be right at our club. I want to be positive and proud again. I want us to be out of this league, and I want to believe and cheer everything Robbo says. I have always loved going to games. For a couple of hours you can forget all your troubles and lose yourself in a crowd united in one purpose.
I suspect that there are a few that are so lost in their hatred of Roland that they will never see any good in anything the regime ever do, and this is at the point of being ridiculous in some cases. The club can't even put on free coaches without being criticised.
I like to look for the positives and I think there have been quite a few. The appointment of Robbo as a real stand out positive. I like the way he sets up teams to attack and he has really freshened up a squad that now looks both youthful and skillful. I like that he tells us what is happening- especially before kick off (please put on the big screen so those in the ground can hear!).
No one has criticised the club for putting on free coaches. The way they operate the coaches - with a two-hour tour of pick-ups before setting off - is silly and a persistent cause of frustration to many people who would otherwise use them and some who do. The only relevance to them being free is that this tour of SE London NW/Kent is plainly unnecessary because there will be more than one coach. It isn't required for all coaches to attend all pick-ups, but planning for one coach that does this leaves people sitting on coaches for hours unnecessarily. It's a waste of everybody's time.
In the past (Colchester in the cup last season for instance) the times changed as more booked and more coaches needed. If only 1 coach then all these pick ups would be needed. What I would say, is advertise this so people understand as a minimum. The club could also take a small risk and assume we will be taking (say) at least 3 coaches, plan the pickups based on that and you will pick up more customers. I am certainly not getting a coach at 6am and being dropped off last at gone 11 at night.
Having been involved in organising the coaches for more than 20 years, we never once ran one coach round all these pick-ups AFAIK. On the very rare occasions there was only one coach, usually for a midweek game, we would either drop Bromley or drop some of the Kent pick-ups. I could give you all the numbers last time we were in League One and the fact that the club is regularly running only one coach even on a Saturday can only be a direct consequence of 1) the pick-up route, 2) the fares and 3) a determination to stick on one if they can.
Aside from the poor service to supporters, the club's approach is nonsense from a business point of view as you make more money running four or five coaches to somewhere like Oxford than by filling every seat on one coach to Fleetwood, for example. Away travel always ran at a profit in League One. In any event the point is moot because the only way you would not get more than one coach to Rochdale on a Saturday with free travel is by turning people away and if that had been the plan they should have said it was one free coach in the first place.
Yes, you can change times, but what that does is cause confusion and put people off. It's not the biggest problem facing the club, but the current approach is bonkers and I don't see the point of pretending otherwise.
If it wasn't for Roland's money, you wouldn't even have a chance to be bitching and whining at every opportunity because there would likely not even be a club thanks to the Spiv front men for Kevin Cash. You name me one club that has not burned money on shit players. How about listing the useless players (and managers) that Richard Murray blew millions on. Suck it up buttercup, like it or lump it, we now have a better manager, a better squad and more and more supporters that recognize the efforts and are more interested in the success of the team than jaded agendas from a time when new owner got it completely wrong. What is actually 'dumb as fuck' is willful wilful ignorance.
Just the one L. Everyday a school day! You're welcome.
That comment indicating RD was our saviour sounds awfully familiar.....
Do you like vol au vents by any chance, Major ?
I adore them, Fanny. I also like inspiring debate. :-)
Surely you don't find it inspiring to post on a forum which you have made clear many times you loathe? BTW Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
Many times I loathe? Well, you have either had a bad dream or you are delusional. My reply to Fanny was genuine. See, that's the problem with closed minds. Always looking for the worst in people, when if fact, you are just reflecting yourself. Basically, it is like trying to reason with a drunk. A complete waste of time but this once, I'll indulge you with a response.
That comment indicating RD was our saviour sounds awfully familiar.....
Do you like vol au vents by any chance, Major ?
I adore them, Fanny. I also like inspiring debate. :-)
Or trolling as it's commonly known.
Perhaps it is, in your ridiculously small and increasingly miserable world.
My world is rather large and for the most part very happy. I should imagine that living under that bridge is rather small and quite a miserable experience though.
Is that when I am not in a mental hospital messing in my pyjamas? You seem to have a small group of particularly nasty people on here who cannot stand someone with a different perspective and so engage in OTT attacks, name calling, etc. I have to wonder where the fear comes from and why it is so close to the surface. Things not as bad as you had hoped?
Insults which are very happy to indulge in yourself and often initiate.
There is no fear other than a fans fear of seeing their club's three year decline continue.
Ahhh, I wondered when the Perfect Being would bless us with His wisdom. There are none so blind..... well, you know the rest of it, being all knowing and all. (Just banter, Henry. 'When in Rome' and all that).
Another attempted insult I see.
Really not needed and water off a ducks back to me so not worth your effort.
I know it is water off a duck's back (There is an apostrophe there, before bazonwhatsit tell us off) and as such it is all just having a bit of fun, right? No effort involved. You say I talk bollocks, I grin. Whatever happened to the 'Live love laugh and be happy' bit , Henry?
That comment indicating RD was our saviour sounds awfully familiar.....
Do you like vol au vents by any chance, Major ?
I adore them, Fanny. I also like inspiring debate. :-)
Surely you don't find it inspiring to post on a forum which you have made clear many times you loathe? BTW Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
Many times I loathe? Well, you have either had a bad dream or you are delusional. My reply to Fanny was genuine. See, that's the problem with closed minds. Always looking for the worst in people, when if fact, you are just reflecting yourself. Basically, it is like trying to reason with a drunk. A complete waste of time but this once, I'll indulge you with a response.
And the full quote: “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.”
What is clearer by the minute is that Roland Duchatelets brain is like an egg shell filled with manure.
Oh right - The owner with the 'egg shell filled with manure' is a multi millionaire pumping a ton of money into CAFC. What do you offer? Smart arsed comments. What does that make you?
This may be a little belated if Major is no longer viewing CL posts but his clear admiration for a multi-millionaire pumping 'a ton of money into CAFC' exposes to the bone his lack of a credible insight into the current situation at the Club - one which was very eruditely explained by @Grapevine49 last year.
I apologise to @GV for copying a truncated version of his post below but the sections quoted are particularly apposite in addressing Major's vacuous 'just look at the money' being pumped in offering and has been updated only where shown in Italics. Surely, nothing has changed in this respect. No corners turned?
The shallow cry of "just look at the money" being spent does seem a little desperate. The truth however is every investor will normally look at the money being spent not with any sense of admiration but in terms of the value it generates for the club and its supporters.
In our case seldom can so much debt have been incurred to have achieved such a negative outcome.
The fact the owner still apparently needs to fund the club to the tune of £1m a month after 3 years of having his people in place pursuing his strategies, his policies and his modus operandi is no ringing endorsement.
Indeed it is entirely the reverse. It is testimony to the failed administration he put in place, to the arrogant disdain of the industry in which he chose to invest, and to the disdain of supporters he chose to alienate.
Virtually everything they have done provides clear evidence these people have ultimately nothing to offer the future of this club.
I seriously doubt you could get it more wrong if you tried.
------------------------------------------
If, you are still out there Major perhaps you would care to accept that @GV's assessment carries rather more weight than your own blinkered 'just look at the money coming in' view.
If, you are still out there Major perhaps you would care to accept that @GV's assessment carries rather more weight than your own blinkered 'just look at the money coming in.'
If, you are still out there Major perhaps you would care to accept that @GV's assessment carries rather more weight than your own blinkered 'just look at the money coming in.'
Let''s hope not. Bloke's a prize plum.
Too many of those plums & we'll call him Major Bumsore ......
Varney and Damien Matthew explaining the recruitment process in the Powell rebuild.
'All in the planning' during the season, so that you aren't competing with other clubs in the offseason. Checking out a player's salary, home life, whether they are married, how long they have been at previous clubs. Meticulous.
Very good . A lot is repeating what was said in the previous podcasts but nevertheless an interesting listen. Surprisingly Karel Fraeye comes out of this well.
Interesting and to me hearing Chris Powell at the end and his understanding off us the fans in a few sentences just annoys me even more at the current ownership who simply do not, nor will ever, understand.
If it wasn't for Roland's money, you wouldn't even have a chance to be bitching and whining at every opportunity because there would likely not even be a club thanks to the Spiv front men for Kevin Cash. You name me one club that has not burned money on shit players. How about listing the useless players (and managers) that Richard Murray blew millions on. Suck it up buttercup, like it or lump it, we now have a better manager, a better squad and more and more supporters that recognize the efforts and are more interested in the success of the team than jaded agendas from a time when new owner got it completely wrong. What is actually 'dumb as fuck' is willful ignorance.
@Major You really should take a listen to the Getting to know the Network part 4 podcast. It is a completely clear explanation of how Duchatelet went wrong. You posted before listening eh.
Following on from release of losses of 13.5m of the previous season, & a record level of debt & near the lowest league position since 1926, it is difficult to see many people being able to support Duchatelet remaining at Charlton.
Hopefully the club is completing the final parts of the sale process. Charlton Athletic can be rebuilt & become successful again, away from the cluelessness, incompetence & utter ineptitude of the Duchatelet & Meire reign.
Take a listen to Getting to Know the Network part 4. Its very good.
Fraeye said first time he was at Charlton with Riga team spirit was good and the crowd were behind them.
When he returned it was toxic. The players hadn't been recruited to form a team. The policy was to recruit young foreign players who could increase in value. Many players didn't care whether they were playing or not, but were happy to live in London. Fraeye said it was a high risk strategy.
Duchatelet wasn't interested in building a balanced squad.
To start the season with Bauer, Sarr & Diarra as your only centre halves was high risk as two of them had never played in England.
Luzon confirmed that Driesen had the final say on player recruitment.
Luzon, Peeters, Fraeye all confirmed that the squads weren't big enough, good enough and relied too heavily on young players that weren't ready.
The players hadn't been recruited to form a team. The policy was to recruit young foreign players who could increase in value. Many players didn't care whether they were playing or not, but were happy to live in London. Fraeye said it was a high risk strategy.
Duchatelet wasn't interested in building a balanced squad.
It would be interesting to get a final episode with Russell Slade and Kevin Nugent from this season to see if any of this has actually changed. Or whether the table cloths have just been placed on tables to cover the mess that is really underneath
Liege didn't have the time to develop their young players, so the plan was to farm them out to the Network and recall them, when they were ready for Liege's 1st team.
RD chose Charlton because they were available, based in London (so airports make it easier for players to come and go presumably) and they were a level between Standard Liege and Alcorcon to enable the upward and downward movement of players.
RD didn't explain his strategy to anyone at Charlton. There was no respect and no explaining the project.
De-Sart thinks RD thought he could run football clubs like other businesses. He couldn't because you have passionate fans that you can't ignore.
A Belgian journalist Bart Lagae (sp) said RD sold Liege, because their fans broke into his house as well as his office and although he wasn't bothered himself, he was concerned for his family.
Fraeye said RD has positive intentions for Charlton and wanted to make them a family club, but he doesn't understand the emotional side of football.
Chris Powell said the fans need to get through this and will get through this, even though Charlton have become a laughing stock.
I was fighting back the tears, when Powelly spoke at the end.
Comments
Aside from the poor service to supporters, the club's approach is nonsense from a business point of view as you make more money running four or five coaches to somewhere like Oxford than by filling every seat on one coach to Fleetwood, for example. Away travel always ran at a profit in League One. In any event the point is moot because the only way you would not get more than one coach to Rochdale on a Saturday with free travel is by turning people away and if that had been the plan they should have said it was one free coach in the first place.
Yes, you can change times, but what that does is cause confusion and put people off. It's not the biggest problem facing the club, but the current approach is bonkers and I don't see the point of pretending otherwise.
Many times I loathe? Well, you have either had a bad dream or you are delusional. My reply to Fanny was genuine. See, that's the problem with closed minds. Always looking for the worst in people, when if fact, you are just reflecting yourself. Basically, it is like trying to reason with a drunk. A complete waste of time but this once, I'll indulge you with a response.
And what about the Lenglet kid... He's just signed for Sevilla in the last window - 18 months after we were linked.
I apologise to @GV for copying a truncated version of his post below but the sections quoted are particularly apposite in addressing Major's vacuous 'just look at the money' being pumped in offering and has been updated only where shown in Italics. Surely, nothing has changed in this respect. No corners turned?
-----------------------------@GV 2016
The shallow cry of "just look at the money" being spent does seem a little desperate. The truth however is every investor will normally look at the money being spent not with any sense of admiration but in terms of the value it generates for the club and its supporters.
In our case seldom can so much debt have been incurred to have achieved such a negative outcome.
The fact the owner still apparently needs to fund the club to the tune of £1m a month after 3 years of having his people in place pursuing his strategies, his policies and his modus operandi is no ringing endorsement.
Indeed it is entirely the reverse. It is testimony to the failed administration he put in place, to the arrogant disdain of the industry in which he chose to invest, and to the disdain of supporters he chose to alienate.
Virtually everything they have done provides clear evidence these people have ultimately nothing to offer the future of this club.
I seriously doubt you could get it more wrong if you tried.
------------------------------------------
If, you are still out there Major perhaps you would care to accept that @GV's assessment carries rather more weight than your own blinkered 'just look at the money coming in' view.
If, you are still out there Major perhaps you would care to accept that @GV's assessment carries rather more weight than your own blinkered 'just look at the money coming in.'
Let''s hope not. Bloke's a prize plum.
Too many of those plums & we'll call him Major Bumsore ......
- Luzon sounds like a proper c*ck.
'All in the planning' during the season, so that you aren't competing with other clubs in the offseason. Checking out a player's salary, home life, whether they are married, how long they have been at previous clubs. Meticulous.
Surprisingly Karel Fraeye comes out of this well.
Following on from release of losses of 13.5m of the previous season, & a record level of debt & near the lowest league position since 1926, it is difficult to see many people being able to support Duchatelet remaining at Charlton.
Hopefully the club is completing the final parts of the sale process. Charlton Athletic can be rebuilt & become successful again, away from the cluelessness, incompetence & utter ineptitude of the Duchatelet & Meire reign.
Take a listen to Getting to Know the Network part 4. Its very good.
Excellent piece - some real eye-opening stuff. Agree with @Bedsaddick that KF comes across well.
Despite the inspiring finale by SCP, overall simply heartbreaking.
When he returned it was toxic. The players hadn't been recruited to form a team. The policy was to recruit young foreign players who could increase in value. Many players didn't care whether they were playing or not, but were happy to live in London. Fraeye said it was a high risk strategy.
Duchatelet wasn't interested in building a balanced squad.
To start the season with Bauer, Sarr & Diarra as your only centre halves was high risk as two of them had never played in England.
Luzon confirmed that Driesen had the final say on player recruitment.
Luzon, Peeters, Fraeye all confirmed that the squads weren't big enough, good enough and relied too heavily on young players that weren't ready.
Fraeye recommended to Meire that Nobby Vinegar should not be appointed & urged the appointment of a British manager.
Fraeye said he really cared for Charlton and I have to say he sounded sincere.
Riga then came, in a last minute change of mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-François_De_Sart.
Liege didn't have the time to develop their young players, so the plan was to farm them out to the Network and recall them, when they were ready for Liege's 1st team.
RD chose Charlton because they were available, based in London (so airports make it easier for players to come and go presumably) and they were a level between Standard Liege and Alcorcon to enable the upward and downward movement of players.
RD didn't explain his strategy to anyone at Charlton. There was no respect and no explaining the project.
De-Sart thinks RD thought he could run football clubs like other businesses. He couldn't because you have passionate fans that you can't ignore.
A Belgian journalist Bart Lagae (sp) said RD sold Liege, because their fans broke into his house as well as his office and although he wasn't bothered himself, he was concerned for his family.
Fraeye said RD has positive intentions for Charlton and wanted to make them a family club, but he doesn't understand the emotional side of football.
Chris Powell said the fans need to get through this and will get through this, even though Charlton have become a laughing stock.
I was fighting back the tears, when Powelly spoke at the end.