The above is what you wrote last night, @AFKABartram.
There is never "nothing" that anyone can do, about anything. Never ever. I'm really susprised to have to say to you of all people that the recent history of Charlton and its fans is the best evidence to support my statement.
kin ell.
I know what i wrote last night. I wrote it.
You tell me then what can be done to make him lower his demands?
What has been done so far, which has been unsuccessful in making him sell at a fair value / lower his demands has been:
- 50+ protests at home - 20+ protests in his own country - multiple game stoppages - massive security costs - 300+ marching through his town - picketing of his places of ownership and places of work - leafleting in his town - multiple flytipping of his property - graffeti of his properties - reduced income to the club - international press ridiculing his name - disruption to his local elections - harrassement to his key employees and their families - disruption at games of other clubs in his network - multiple interuption at STVV to his social engagements - disruption to his birthday celebrations with his family - hate mail / threats to his personal safety
basically, the kitchen sink has been thrown at it and not one of those things has been successful in forcing / encouraging him to lower his demands to a level his not comfortable with. If rumours are true, over the last couple of months he has allegedly increased his demands.
So what based on the above is so outlandish in my viewpoint that there is no evidence that protesting has been / will be successful in leading him to sell outside of a level that he in his own mind sees as him comfortable with (delivering faith in his own mind that he has not 'lost' during this experiment?)
Surely all that has happened over the last five years points to that, no?
I've noticed for some time this @AFKABartram
character trolling and undermining the protests at every turn.
Wouldn't surprise me if he is a Duchatelet plant and the whole forum was set up in early to mid 2000s to facilitate this eventuality.
I mean has anyone even met him?
Real Charlton fans only on here please.
Time for a ban methinks and an end to all the naysaying.
Sadly will only be a matter of time before he emerges somewhere else on the web peddling his bile and pro Duchatelet agenda under the moniker of the AFKA AFKA Bartram. :-(
So true, takes promotes away from real fans who dare to protest too.
Has anyone ever seen De Turck and AFKA in the same room.
The above is what you wrote last night, @AFKABartram.
There is never "nothing" that anyone can do, about anything. Never ever. I'm really susprised to have to say to you of all people that the recent history of Charlton and its fans is the best evidence to support my statement.
kin ell.
I know what i wrote last night. I wrote it.
You tell me then what can be done to make him lower his demands?
What has been done so far, which has been unsuccessful in making him sell at a fair value / lower his demands has been:
- 50+ protests at home - 20+ protests in his own country - multiple game stoppages - massive security costs - 300+ marching through his town - picketing of his places of ownership and places of work - leafleting in his town - multiple flytipping of his property - graffeti of his properties - reduced income to the club - international press ridiculing his name - disruption to his local elections - harrassement to his key employees and their families - disruption at games of other clubs in his network - multiple interuption at STVV to his social engagements - disruption to his birthday celebrations with his family - hate mail / threats to his personal safety
basically, the kitchen sink has been thrown at it and not one of those things has been successful in forcing / encouraging him to lower his demands to a level his not comfortable with. If rumours are true, over the last couple of months he has allegedly increased his demands.
So what based on the above is so outlandish in my viewpoint that there is no evidence that protesting has been / will be successful in leading him to sell outside of a level that he in his own mind sees as him comfortable with (delivering faith in his own mind that he has not 'lost' during this experiment?)
Surely all that has happened over the last five years points to that, no?
The same arguments were made in the 1980s. Nothing can be done; no one is going to pay to resurrect The Valley; we’ve been protesting for five years and we’re still not back there, etc, etc. Then we won.
This is a different problem but we are a long way from where we were four years ago. Duchatelet is publicly exposed and ridiculed. We have a credible football management set-up. He has met and engaged with a whole series of buyers and spent large sums on professional fees.
The argument that nothing has been achieved because everything hasn’t yet been achieved doesn’t really stand up, any more than it did at Selhurst Park.
If @Airman Brown is right, which I’m sure he is, and the club might actually make a profit while on its way to probable relegation, wouldn’t it make sense for RD to take a tiny hit and invest a couple of million in order to increase the chances of Championship survival? Only an utter fool wouldn’t follow that path.
Or perhaps his plan is to sell just hours before the season starts?
It is a fair enough point of view that nothing can be done - but it doesn't mean it is right. If you hold that view and accept you could be wrong, it is probably a good idea not to keep saying it. If you know you are right, I suppose it is fair enough but I don't know how you can know that. Ultimately, action has more chance of achieving something than doing nothing. How much more chance, well we will all have differing views on that.
Occasionally I have thought about how dramatic a gesture I could create. I have fantasized that when I get my terminal cancer diagnosis, then I should invade the pitch during a game in petrol soaked clothing and burn myself to death in the centre circle. At the moment this remains a fantasy, but as a futile gesture towards Roland it would go down in history and be remembered. Better that way than fading away in a hospice.
Occasionally I have thought about how dramatic a gesture I could create. I have fantasized that when I get my terminal cancer diagnosis, then I should invade the pitch during a game in petrol soaked clothing and burn myself to death in the centre circle. At the moment this remains a fantasy, but as a futile gesture towards Roland it would go down in history and be remembered. Better that way than fading away in a hospice.
Roland would send your family a bill for damage to the pitch.
Oh fuck off Jim White. Said about an owner saying EFL not fit for person. We get to hear this morning. Just now stating coming up "an owner who has written out a cheque (woopie doo) we have an interview Roland Duchatulet. Let's hear more crap now. Be usual shit. Get your bingo cards ready.
The above is what you wrote last night, @AFKABartram.
There is never "nothing" that anyone can do, about anything. Never ever. I'm really susprised to have to say to you of all people that the recent history of Charlton and its fans is the best evidence to support my statement.
kin ell.
I know what i wrote last night. I wrote it.
You tell me then what can be done to make him lower his demands?
What has been done so far, which has been unsuccessful in making him sell at a fair value / lower his demands has been:
- 50+ protests at home - 20+ protests in his own country - multiple game stoppages - massive security costs - 300+ marching through his town - picketing of his places of ownership and places of work - leafleting in his town - multiple flytipping of his property - graffeti of his properties - reduced income to the club - international press ridiculing his name - disruption to his local elections - harrassement to his key employees and their families - disruption at games of other clubs in his network - multiple interuption at STVV to his social engagements - disruption to his birthday celebrations with his family - hate mail / threats to his personal safety
basically, the kitchen sink has been thrown at it and not one of those things has been successful in forcing / encouraging him to lower his demands to a level his not comfortable with. If rumours are true, over the last couple of months he has allegedly increased his demands.
So what based on the above is so outlandish in my viewpoint that there is no evidence that protesting has been / will be successful in leading him to sell outside of a level that he in his own mind sees as him comfortable with (delivering faith in his own mind that he has not 'lost' during this experiment?)
Surely all that has happened over the last five years points to that, no?
Not to mention the £60k plus, spunked up the wall in the process!
So, the European deal is not moving forward. Discussions have been halted.
That is the only verifiable fact that I have.
As for my comment last week which seems to have wound up a certain accountant, that comment was
Had a further message, which I had better leave until Monday to get further verified, because it is meltdown material.
Well it has not been verified. The buyer and the intermediary have not spoken in detail since the meeting, and the intermediary is now on holiday with his wife who has recently been very ill, and they need the break. There is also a second British adviser involved who was the source of the comment that was very concerning last week but it now seems that neither he nor the intermediary were actually in the meeting between the buyer and RD's people. Until the intermediary speaks with the buyer at length, he's not able to tell me (assuming he wants to) what exactly was the reason for the breakdown. It also occurred to me that they might on reflection not be open about the reason in case they infringe an NDA.
But patently this is not happening before the transfer window. Apart from anything else there is no Heads of Agreement reached so they can't go to the EFL.
Massively pissed off all round.
Thanks @PragueAddick for the update, despite it being bad news, again!! I think there will be no takeover this side of Christmas, if at all this season. RD will be the owner and LB will have to perform miracles on a shoestring budget. Next fans forum needs to really make LVT squirm and tell the bloody truth!!
That's if he attends. Receptionist will probably stand in for him.
It seems to me that should RD or his 'people' are reading this site they will be reporting back that we are once again turning on each other. There are no right or wrong answers here, it's opinions, which sometimes are held differently. Can we just agree to disagree about the effectiveness or not of past action, and look to what we might be able to do? I don't hold out much hope but, later today, I will be sending an email to the club asking them if they will, as per the minutes of the last meeting, be updating everyone before the season starts on takeover news as they promised. I hope at least to get a response and if I do I'll let you know.
Occasionally I have thought about how dramatic a gesture I could create. I have fantasized that when I get my terminal cancer diagnosis, then I should invade the pitch during a game in petrol soaked clothing and burn myself to death in the centre circle. At the moment this remains a fantasy, but as a futile gesture towards Roland it would go down in history and be remembered. Better that way than fading away in a hospice.
Occasionally I have thought about how dramatic a gesture I could create. I have fantasized that when I get my terminal cancer diagnosis, then I should invade the pitch during a game in petrol soaked clothing and burn myself to death in the centre circle. At the moment this remains a fantasy, but as a futile gesture towards Roland it would go down in history and be remembered. Better that way than fading away in a hospice.
The level of delusion on this thread is some times laughable and actually some times very worrying. Some normally sane and sensible people become almost irrational, no not almost, actually irrational.
The protests at home shouldn't have stopped for the simple reason nothing changed, when they start again we will look like spoilt brats, because they will start again when we are bottom of the championship.
Roland won't sell for less than the price he wants. In my OPINION he has agreed that price with at least one party, if not more. If that price is more than other people will agree to what's the point of him negotiating? If someone has agreed that price, no matter how inflated we think it is, he is entitled to either wait for them to pay it or tell him to stick it.
@AFKABartram is right, nothing we can do now will make him reduce the price, if he thinks that there is that offer on the table. It might make you feel better, but it won't actually achieve anything other than a rant on the official site.
Also if you think he is spending circa ten million a year just to piss you off, I suggest you go and seek help. You are either a narcissist or suffer from paranoia. If he is paying millions a year just to screw with @Airman Brown, the only fan I have ever known him name, I'll happily do it for "2%" if it means the twat sells the club.
The irony is he isn't killing the club but keeping it in a finance induced coma, giving it the bear minimum of life support to keep it breathing.
This is the first non distressed sale of our club in the last 25 years, I would happily wait another 6 months on the condition he to sells it to someone that can actually provide the vision and finance to improve things, not a short term "fix" like the spivs.
There is no reason for him not to want to sell, the "network" has gone, KM has gone. Owning Charlton Athletic Football Club has no benifit now for old Roland, it's a pure liability. But given the choice I would rather wait than gift the club to a Ken Anderson, Stuart Day, Tony Jimenez or Bill Archer.
The above is what you wrote last night, @AFKABartram.
There is never "nothing" that anyone can do, about anything. Never ever. I'm really susprised to have to say to you of all people that the recent history of Charlton and its fans is the best evidence to support my statement.
kin ell.
I know what i wrote last night. I wrote it.
You tell me then what can be done to make him lower his demands?
What has been done so far, which has been unsuccessful in making him sell at a fair value / lower his demands has been:
- 50+ protests at home - 20+ protests in his own country - multiple game stoppages - massive security costs - 300+ marching through his town - picketing of his places of ownership and places of work - leafleting in his town - multiple flytipping of his property - graffeti of his properties - reduced income to the club - international press ridiculing his name - disruption to his local elections - harrassement to his key employees and their families - disruption at games of other clubs in his network - multiple interuption at STVV to his social engagements - disruption to his birthday celebrations with his family - hate mail / threats to his personal safety
basically, the kitchen sink has been thrown at it and not one of those things has been successful in forcing / encouraging him to lower his demands to a level his not comfortable with. If rumours are true, over the last couple of months he has allegedly increased his demands.
So what based on the above is so outlandish in my viewpoint that there is no evidence that protesting has been / will be successful in leading him to sell outside of a level that he in his own mind sees as him comfortable with (delivering faith in his own mind that he has not 'lost' during this experiment?)
Surely all that has happened over the last five years points to that, no?
Not to mention the £60k plus, spunked up the wall in the process!
Don't agree with you, we are coming at this from two very different angles.
One feature of the protests has been about an expression of the feeling of some fans. It is seen as futile by some, almost therapeutic by others. It has not been my expectation really on any protesting I have done that it would lead to him selling, it has probably been more about trying to express in some way that one fan at least does not want to roll over and have his tummy tickled by him. Roland blithely foisted Fraeye on our club as if he thought it wouldn't matter to us, as Meire told us, Roland is the owner he can do as he wants. So if Roland can do what he wants as the owner, we can do what we want as fans as long as we exercise lawful constraint. If that means some deep blue kind of thinking is needed to help our next bit of self expression to be...err...satisfying, then we need to get creative thinking caps on. Not because it would directly force him to sell, but as some kind of memorable message, even if it is futile in some regards.
Billboards in his home town, he hates being embarrassed. Someone who is a dab hand with graphics to mock up some really annoying things that you know will piss him off, then get them up as close to his house, office hq and any other places that he frequents in his home town. I'd even go as far as local radio adverts, quoting his most ridiculous quotes, the man need to feel embarrassed and ridiculed.
And that will convince him to sell? Don't think so.
When CAST started to realise that he was becoming a serious problem, it established contact with the Standard Socios, the equivalent of a supporters trust, and I became the main contact point with their president Jacques Seron. Eventually I visited him in Liege. I have been back over the shed load of correspondence between us.
It is by no means evidence-based to say that Duchatelet sold Standard because of an issue with STVV getting promoted.
Quote from RD, sent to me by Jacques, no link, date around 25 June 2015. (my emphasis in bold) He will remain involved in Charlton, Ujpest Dosza, Carl Zeiss Iena and Alcorcon. And in Belgium? He still denies any direct involvement in the management of the club of Sint-Truiden (which his companion is owner, ed) and ensures that the rise of the Canaries in Jupiler Pro League did not weigh in his decision to sell the Standard. "Anderlecht did a bit of a trick by raising the issue in the Pro League but it stops there," he said. "I would have left the Standard even if Sint-Truiden had remained in division 2."
Perhaps more revealing are his quotes in this article, for which i do have the link:
Personally, the quality of my life and my personal happiness play a preponderant role. I felt it had become a little complicated for me here at Standard. Not only for me but also for many fans who no longer saw me as the leader they wanted to have. It was therefore necessary that I find a solution as well for me as for the supporters of Standard. And I found the ideal solution for the club to go into the hands of someone I trust. "
And it's moved and the flickering voice that he also confided: "The Standard is a club that I love, I leave it but I'm confident for its future.It's going to be okay because we found someone who has the vision, the grip, and the intelligence to lead a club running a club is more complicated than running a normal business and it's more complicated than politics, I wish good luck and good luck to Bruno. Venanzi ".
Roland Duchâtelet returned to RTBF's microphone about the mistakes he made during his presidency, which lasted for four years and exactly one day: "I have not really mastered the communication aspect with the supporters. I've learned a lot in recent years, if I had to do it again, I would buy Standard but in another way I knew the life of a small club with Sint-Truiden but I did not know the life of a big club and all that means at the level of the games of influence, it's still a bit special "
"It was partly a relief and at the same time it was a personal will because the situation was no longer ideal and for the good of the club, the supporters felt that I was not the president of their heart. to the extent that people believe everything that is said on TV, etc ... it's normal to react like that.They have no other sources of information, "he notes again.
Now, getting past the Google mangle if you can, let me ask you all this: Are those the words of a cold, calculating businessman doing a business deal? I suggest, far from it. They sound to me like a man who desperately wants to be adored, and has discovered that he is in fact hated. Back to Jacques Seron. he's a retired chartered accountant, (albeit in personality with the fire and fury of the leader of the RMT union, whose name I forget). So his mails over the years were peppered with exhortations for us to take a leaf out of Ultras' book, because in Jacques words he is a "coward". Now I didn't think it was effective to do things like busting into his office, especially if all you do when you get there is take turns to rant and scream "merde" at him while he stays silent, drumming his fingers. But look at those comments above. He felt the wrath of the Standard fans, and he didn't try to pretend it was just 2% either. Standard was his big club, a national football jewel in Belgium, and yet he sold it, while still believing he wanted to stay in "football". Liege is only 50kms from S-T. But once he got shot of them, he clearly felt that he could live a quiet life in S-T where he is Mr Big and can feel very pleased with himself sitting in Cafe Stayen every day. Charlton seemed a long way away, and he had Katrien Meire to execute his instructions. OK I'll pause there, although you can already hopefully see the case I'm making and have always made: Let's continue to carry the fight to him in Belgium, but let's continue to do it the smart Charlton way.
Whilst the protests have not yet forced RD to sign the dotted line, they have to my mind,
Cost him money
Changed the way he runs the club (or lack of) which in turn has made it felt like Bowyer does.
Removed or at the least hastened the departure of KM
Dismantled any credible reputation he held within the wider public
Brought attention to our clubs plight under his ownership os of SE London
Brought him discomfort and embarrassment in his hometown
I dont think now is the time to tap-out with Roland, protests have to continue but in different ways.
Protests at the Valley I dont think would work due to (a) lack of numbers (b) lack of support (c) lack of people to protest at, he is never there.
Bill boards have been explored 2/3 times a year but restrictions on what you can display and the cost just mean they have always been non starters, that said we have always only looked at legal advertising...
The main negatives the protests have brought are that no, he hasnt sold and maybe, just maybe they have made him more belligerent. Secondly and more depressing for me, split the fan base into tribes, when all us want the same thing Roland Out.
@AFKABartram was, I think, just sharing his opinion on what is a very frustrating matter, I dont agree with it but neither of us is right or wrong and Duchatelet is the true tosser in all this.
There seem to be two options - have enough money to buy the club off him or resort to extreme protests to encourage him to leave? I can't see either happening.
The above is what you wrote last night, @AFKABartram.
There is never "nothing" that anyone can do, about anything. Never ever. I'm really susprised to have to say to you of all people that the recent history of Charlton and its fans is the best evidence to support my statement.
kin ell.
I know what i wrote last night. I wrote it.
You tell me then what can be done to make him lower his demands?
What has been done so far, which has been unsuccessful in making him sell at a fair value / lower his demands has been:
- 50+ protests at home - 20+ protests in his own country - multiple game stoppages - massive security costs - 300+ marching through his town - picketing of his places of ownership and places of work - leafleting in his town - multiple flytipping of his property - graffeti of his properties - reduced income to the club - international press ridiculing his name - disruption to his local elections - harrassement to his key employees and their families - disruption at games of other clubs in his network - multiple interuption at STVV to his social engagements - disruption to his birthday celebrations with his family - hate mail / threats to his personal safety
basically, the kitchen sink has been thrown at it and not one of those things has been successful in forcing / encouraging him to lower his demands to a level his not comfortable with. If rumours are true, over the last couple of months he has allegedly increased his demands.
So what based on the above is so outlandish in my viewpoint that there is no evidence that protesting has been / will be successful in leading him to sell outside of a level that he in his own mind sees as him comfortable with (delivering faith in his own mind that he has not 'lost' during this experiment?)
Surely all that has happened over the last five years points to that, no?
Not to mention the £60k plus, spunked up the wall in the process!
Don't agree with you, we are coming at this from two very different angles.
Even more depressing that Essex Al now thinks you're on his side.
It seems to me that should RD or his 'people' are reading this site they will be reporting back that we are once again turning on each other. There are no right or wrong answers here, it's opinions, which sometimes are held differently. Can we just agree to disagree about the effectiveness or not of past action, and look to what we might be able to do? I don't hold out much hope but, later today, I will be sending an email to the club asking them if they will, as per the minutes of the last meeting, be updating everyone before the season starts on takeover news as they promised. I hope at least to get a response and if I do I'll let you know.
Wally save your breath, go out for a drink with A or walk the dogs together. Please don’t waste your time, life’s to short to concentrate on this idiot. x
Bart.....may I ask then what is to be done.....Do we just give up or continue to oppose him in whatever way each and everyone of us sees fit, be it as a committed protester, visitor to Belgium, complete non attender, away games only supporter, non purchaser of merchandise, food and drink or a non season ticket purchaser......there are some I have left out. Those of us who choose to be proactive have their own way of protesting in some way or another.....some of which will naturally conflict with others views, that’s a given. I hope you and the CL ethos will continue to support ‘everyone’ who at least tries to do something, we just can’t give up, isn’t that what he would like to see. I agree that nothing thus far seems to have worked but it doesn’t mean we should continue to allow him to play games with OUR club without recourse to us giving him an ongoing hard time because of it. We all love you as a person D.....you’re a great fella, thoughtful and almost 100% spot on with your fairness and numerous daily decisions on CL. We just need to see that no matter whether we are succeeding or not in our various methods of protest that you and CL will be one of the rocks behind our efforts. The thought of anything otherwise would be very hard to accept.
Comments
kin ell.
I know what i wrote last night. I wrote it.
You tell me then what can be done to make him lower his demands?
What has been done so far, which has been unsuccessful in making him sell at a fair value / lower his demands has been:
- 50+ protests at home
- 20+ protests in his own country
- multiple game stoppages
- massive security costs
- 300+ marching through his town
- picketing of his places of ownership and places of work
- leafleting in his town
- multiple flytipping of his property
- graffeti of his properties
- reduced income to the club
- international press ridiculing his name
- disruption to his local elections
- harrassement to his key employees and their families
- disruption at games of other clubs in his network
- multiple interuption at STVV to his social engagements
- disruption to his birthday celebrations with his family
- hate mail / threats to his personal safety
basically, the kitchen sink has been thrown at it and not one of those things has been successful in forcing / encouraging him to lower his demands to a level his not comfortable with. If rumours are true, over the last couple of months he has allegedly increased his demands.
So what based on the above is so outlandish in my viewpoint that there is no evidence that protesting has been / will be successful in leading him to sell outside of a level that he in his own mind sees as him comfortable with (delivering faith in his own mind that he has not 'lost' during this experiment?)
Surely all that has happened over the last five years points to that, no?
Has anyone ever seen De Turck and AFKA in the same room.
This is a different problem but we are a long way from where we were four years ago. Duchatelet is publicly exposed and ridiculed. We have a credible football management set-up. He has met and engaged with a whole series of buyers and spent large sums on professional fees.
The argument that nothing has been achieved because everything hasn’t yet been achieved doesn’t really stand up, any more than it did at Selhurst Park.
let the madness begin
I have fantasized that when I get my terminal cancer diagnosis, then I should invade the pitch during a game in petrol soaked clothing and burn myself to death in the centre circle.
At the moment this remains a fantasy, but as a futile gesture towards Roland it would go down in history and be remembered.
Better that way than fading away in a hospice.
That's if he attends. Receptionist will probably stand in for him.
Can we just agree to disagree about the effectiveness or not of past action, and look to what we might be able to do?
I don't hold out much hope but, later today, I will be sending an email to the club asking them if they will, as per the minutes of the last meeting, be updating everyone before the season starts on takeover news as they promised. I hope at least to get a response and if I do I'll let you know.
Top post so far.
And that will convince him to sell? Don't think so.
When CAST started to realise that he was becoming a serious problem, it established contact with the Standard Socios, the equivalent of a supporters trust, and I became the main contact point with their president Jacques Seron. Eventually I visited him in Liege. I have been back over the shed load of correspondence between us.
It is by no means evidence-based to say that Duchatelet sold Standard because of an issue with STVV getting promoted.
Quote from RD, sent to me by Jacques, no link, date around 25 June 2015. (my emphasis in bold)
He will remain involved in Charlton, Ujpest Dosza, Carl Zeiss Iena and Alcorcon. And in Belgium? He still denies any direct involvement in the management of the club of Sint-Truiden (which his companion is owner, ed) and ensures that the rise of the Canaries in Jupiler Pro League did not weigh in his decision to sell the Standard. "Anderlecht did a bit of a trick by raising the issue in the Pro League but it stops there," he said. "I would have left the Standard even if Sint-Truiden had remained in division 2."
Perhaps more revealing are his quotes in this article, for which i do have the link:
Personally, the quality of my life and my personal happiness play a preponderant role. I felt it had become a little complicated for me here at Standard. Not only for me but also for many fans who no longer saw me as the leader they wanted to have. It was therefore necessary that I find a solution as well for me as for the supporters of Standard. And I found the ideal solution for the club to go into the hands of someone I trust. "
And it's moved and the flickering voice that he also confided: "The Standard is a club that I love, I leave it but I'm confident for its future.It's going to be okay because we found someone who has the vision, the grip, and the intelligence to lead a club running a club is more complicated than running a normal business and it's more complicated than politics, I wish good luck and good luck to Bruno. Venanzi ".
Now, getting past the Google mangle if you can, let me ask you all this: Are those the words of a cold, calculating businessman doing a business deal? I suggest, far from it. They sound to me like a man who desperately wants to be adored, and has discovered that he is in fact hated.
Back to Jacques Seron. he's a retired chartered accountant, (albeit in personality with the fire and fury of the leader of the RMT union, whose name I forget). So his mails over the years were peppered with exhortations for us to take a leaf out of Ultras' book, because in Jacques words he is a "coward". Now I didn't think it was effective to do things like busting into his office, especially if all you do when you get there is take turns to rant and scream "merde" at him while he stays silent, drumming his fingers. But look at those comments above. He felt the wrath of the Standard fans, and he didn't try to pretend it was just 2% either. Standard was his big club, a national football jewel in Belgium, and yet he sold it, while still believing he wanted to stay in "football". Liege is only 50kms from S-T. But once he got shot of them, he clearly felt that he could live a quiet life in S-T where he is Mr Big and can feel very pleased with himself sitting in Cafe Stayen every day. Charlton seemed a long way away, and he had Katrien Meire to execute his instructions.
OK I'll pause there, although you can already hopefully see the case I'm making and have always made: Let's continue to carry the fight to him in Belgium, but let's continue to do it the smart Charlton way.
Cost him money
Changed the way he runs the club (or lack of) which in turn has made it felt like Bowyer does.
Removed or at the least hastened the departure of KM
Dismantled any credible reputation he held within the wider public
Brought attention to our clubs plight under his ownership os of SE London
Brought him discomfort and embarrassment in his hometown
I dont think now is the time to tap-out with Roland, protests have to continue but in different ways.
Protests at the Valley I dont think would work due to (a) lack of numbers (b) lack of support (c) lack of people to protest at, he is never there.
Bill boards have been explored 2/3 times a year but restrictions on what you can display and the cost just mean they have always been non starters, that said we have always only looked at legal advertising...
The main negatives the protests have brought are that no, he hasnt sold and maybe, just maybe they have made him more belligerent. Secondly and more depressing for me, split the fan base into tribes, when all us want the same thing Roland Out.
@AFKABartram was, I think, just sharing his opinion on what is a very frustrating matter, I dont agree with it but neither of us is right or wrong and Duchatelet is the true tosser in all this.
RD coming out with conspiracies on manipulated EFL votes now.
Those of us who choose to be proactive have their own way of protesting in some way or another.....some of which will naturally conflict with others views, that’s a given.
I hope you and the CL ethos will continue to support ‘everyone’ who at least tries to do something, we just can’t give up, isn’t that what he would like to see.
I agree that nothing thus far seems to have worked but it doesn’t mean we should continue to allow him to play games with OUR club without recourse to us giving him an ongoing hard time because of it.
We all love you as a person D.....you’re a great fella, thoughtful and almost 100% spot on with your fairness and numerous daily decisions on CL.
We just need to see that no matter whether we are succeeding or not in our various methods of protest that you and CL will be one of the rocks behind our efforts. The thought of anything otherwise would be very hard to accept.