No need for a witch hunt against @Pico and easy to say stuff like this out of context. Christ if I got pulled up every time I said something out of place I would have been exiled years ago.
We need to be more unified as a fan base than ever at the moment.
But with the greatest of respect. You are not Chair of the Supporters Trust.
The Trust represents fans views by surveying them and publishing them including opposing viewpoints. Amazing some still people still don’t understand that. If people can suggest a better way of doing that please do, and stand for the TB - but I make you wrong in saying it’s unrepresentative for that reason.
Some of you above clearly formed an opinion about the organisation and its merits way way back, good luck to you but no surprise when you find another excuse to bash it.
Sorry I just keep thinking of this character when I read this
I found it strange that he chose Michael Gray's poorly-struck penalty - an individual's misfortune - as CAFC's 'Best moment'. Was that an attempt at jest? There are countless examples of skill and bravery shown by Charlton players from which to choose.
Blimey what a shit thread, surprised the mods have not closed it. The age of internet outrage.
RW said something a bit odd and out of place in an interview, but as far as i can tell, factually accurate, then apologised on here and still gets pelters.
Something tells me a fella like Bowyer who seems remarkably thick skinned would not get himself as worked up as many on here have.
I couldn't disagree more. It is quite an extreme thing to say about your manager, but of course people are entitled to their views and entitled to make mistakes/misjudgments. The problem is, when you are representing others, you have to be more careful. There is a danger when the trust is linked to your comments as it is here, that this comment can be associated with the trust. I can't see how it can be otherwise.
I have nothing against the trust personally or Pico. He has apologised, but I do think this is a serious off the scale misjudgement considering his position. As the trust is a democratic body, it is probably for its members to decide what is appropriate here. I would imagine many are hopping mad.
Blimey what a shit thread, surprised the mods have not closed it. The age of internet outrage.
RW said something a bit odd and out of place in an interview, but as far as i can tell, factually accurate, then apologised on here and still gets pelters.
Something tells me a fella like Bowyer who seems remarkably thick skinned would not get himself as worked up as many on here have.
I am not outraged, more concerned that the chairman of the CAS Trust has unwittingly liable our manager, don't you think we have enough problems........
comments about us being a divided fanbase. Well of course we are when the chairman of the Charlton Athletic supporters trust makes comments like this for fucks sake. Just another shitty incident as our club continues to plummet lower and lower.
NLA one of the only ones speaking sense here, unbelievable statement by someone who clearly has no grip on reality. Shouldn't continue as cannot represent fan views clearly.
No need for a witch hunt against @Pico and easy to say stuff like this out of context. Christ if I got pulled up every time I said something out of place I would have been exiled years ago.
We need to be more unified as a fan base than ever at the moment.
Yeah, I let that one you said about seating on the rattler go, didn't I mate and I'd never bring that up
He was never convicted of racism. Baring in mind he was with his black mate Duberry at the time of the incident and has had black mates all through his footballing career.
He was never convicted of racism. Baring in mind he was with his black mate Duberry at the time of the incident and has had black mates all through his footballing career.
Not that he needs any of us to defend him.
But he wasn't accused of racism against a black man, he was accused of racism against someone of South Asian descent.
I am Richard Wiseman and I have just read through the comments above.
The comments which are critical of my answer are fully justified. Even though I would have liked Lee Bowyer at some point to have said something which distanced himself from his earlier actions and attitudes, having re-read my answer I can see that it was unnecessarily judgemental (and a bit pompous) on my part to make that point in this interview. I fully accept that we all do stuff in our youth that we later regret and that this doesn't have to be demonstrated through words, but can be demonstrated through actions, which is what Lee has done.
Please let me stress that this was not a CAST opinion and any anger or disappointment about my comment should be directed at me not CAST.
Fair play for coming on here and putting your hand up and saying you got this wrong. I really commend you for that, as you didn't have to do it.
He admitted affray, as far as I can tell he was never charged with any racist crime.
Nope, but when you're shouting obscenities about "pakis" while you're abusing and throwing chairs at asian waiters then it's probably not libellous to suggest race was a factor in the whole thing. Hard to argue with that really.
I don't for a second believe that the Lee Bowyer of today is a racist. And it's hard to argue with the fact that it's an odd statement for the Trust chairman to make unprompted. But on a completely personal level, for me, all of the stuff in the past makes Bowyer an uneasy fit for a Charlton manager, but I get that most people don't feel the same.
Completely agree with you @Rob62, and even if the setting and timing wasn't right, I also agree with @Pico that I too would feel better if Bowyer had, at some point, come out and apologized for his actions.
He was never convicted of racism. Baring in mind he was with his black mate Duberry at the time of the incident and has had black mates all through his footballing career.
Not that he needs any of us to defend him.
More than one incident.
Regardless of what we might think of RW's comments, Bowyer's record is hardly smoke without fire. But it was a long time ago and he's not showing any signs of that guy at the moment
If practically anyone else had said it I think it would still have been bizarre under the circumstances of the interview but as it was the Chair of the Supporters Trust the comments are on a different level.
Richard is a good guy. He’s come on the forum and taken it on the chin. I hope he gets through this but it was a bad mistake.
He was never convicted of racism. Baring in mind he was with his black mate Duberry at the time of the incident and has had black mates all through his footballing career.
Not that he needs any of us to defend him.
More than one incident.
Regardless of what we might think of RW's comments, Bowyer's record is hardly smoke without fire. But it was a long time ago and he's not showing any signs of that guy at the moment
Outrageous thing to say, regardless of what you "think"
No idea but he'll be at Bromley Addicks on 6 September
Nothing to do with Bromley Addicks, I know, but if LB reads that interview, it wouldn't be surprising if he withdrew from that meeting, and refused to do any more Supporters meetings anymore...
No idea but he'll be at Bromley Addicks on 6 September
Nothing to do with Bromley Addicks, I know, but if LB reads that interview, it wouldn't be surprising if he withdrew from that meeting, and refused to do any more Supporters meetings anymore...
Hardly likely. Part of a managers job is communicating with the fans. Comments by one individual no matter how high profile could hardly be grounds for not speaking at all.
It's not just the racist stuff, it's also the fact that the representative of the supporters' trust, instead of giving our present manager the full support he needs at the start of what is bound to be a difficult season, wishes that we had a manager from the past in his place. What kind of support is that?
It was a terrible thing to say because the clear insinuation is that because Bowyer has not apologised publicly for his actions that he is either not sorry for what he did or that he still holds racist views.
The CAST bloke has no way of knowing if either of those things are true so should be keeping his comments to himself.
He then doubles down by saying he'd prefer a manager like Chris Powell, again clearly setting a white alleged racist in Bowyer against a sainted, universally respected black man.
Seems to me to be a classic case of virtue-signalling which would be fine on his own time but not when he is talking with his CAST hat on.
I was appalled at what Bowyer did all the way back then but it's twenty years ago and there is absolutely no reason to bring it up in the public domain now apart from gratuitous attention seeking.
It was a terrible thing to say because the clear insinuation is that because Bowyer has not apologised publicly for his actions that he is either not sorry for what he did or that he still holds racist views.
The CAST bloke has no way of knowing if either of those things are true so should be keeping his comments to himself.
He then doubles down by saying he'd prefer a manager like Chris Powell, again clearly setting a white alleged racist in Bowyer against a sainted, universally respected black man.
Seems to me to be a classic case of virtue-signalling which would be fine on his own time but not when he is talking with his CAST hat on.
I was appalled at what Bowyer did all the way back then but it's twenty years ago and there is absolutely no reason to bring it up in the public domain now apart from gratuitous attention seeking.
Charlton managers are constantly compared to Chris Powell in one way or another. I don't agree with what was said in the context, but if we're going to blame people for comparing a Charlton manager to Chris Powell as a non sequitur, then we're going to need to look at pretty much everyone on this board, myself included.
I have a lot of time for Richard and like him as a person - I'm actually the Returning Officer for the Trust elections this year at his request, as my membership has lapsed.
But he's definitely said the wrong thing here, and it's a shame that people are therefore going to tie this one comment to both the man and the Trust as a whole (which is also the wrong thing to do imo).
I have no idea what would have prompted him to say that and at the risk of sounding condescending, I thought he would have known better...
Since its inception, has there beena single contested election for a trust position?
Comments
Credit where it is due in that Pico has issued an apology.
If he does feel the need to stand down I am sure he has a ready made replacement.
RW said something a bit odd and out of place in an interview, but as far as i can tell, factually accurate, then apologised on here and still gets pelters.
Something tells me a fella like Bowyer who seems remarkably thick skinned would not get himself as worked up as many on here have.
I have nothing against the trust personally or Pico. He has apologised, but I do think this is a serious off the scale misjudgement considering his position. As the trust is a democratic body, it is probably for its members to decide what is appropriate here. I would imagine many are hopping mad.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/aug/23/newsstory.sport3
It's not the "snowflakes" who are up in arms,
He was never convicted of racism. Baring in mind he was with his black mate Duberry at the time of the incident and has had black mates all through his footballing career.
Not that he needs any of us to defend him.
Regardless of what we might think of RW's comments, Bowyer's record is hardly smoke without fire. But it was a long time ago and he's not showing any signs of that guy at the moment
Our owner doesn’t give a shit.
This is the message that should have gone out in the interview and would have answered the question perfectly.
Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, an entirely different and considerably deprecating message was given.
I wouldn’t blame Bowyer in the slightest if he never went near CAST after this.
Richard is a good guy. He’s come on the forum and taken it on the chin. I hope he gets through this but it was a bad mistake.
The CAST bloke has no way of knowing if either of those things are true so should be keeping his comments to himself.
He then doubles down by saying he'd prefer a manager like Chris Powell, again clearly setting a white alleged racist in Bowyer against a sainted, universally respected black man.
Seems to me to be a classic case of virtue-signalling which would be fine on his own time but not when he is talking with his CAST hat on.
I was appalled at what Bowyer did all the way back then but it's twenty years ago and there is absolutely no reason to bring it up in the public domain now apart from gratuitous attention seeking.