CAST has been approached by a guy writing a book about football in this country (at all levels) and he wants to talk to us about having an "unpopular or damaging" owner. He says:
"Part of the book is looking at what happens when fans are faced with an unpopular (and possibly damaging owner). So, I'd be interested in the emotional and the practical side of this, essentially what it feels like and also what can (practically) be done about it."
It would be really helpful to get CL posters thoughts on this over the next few days so that we have a wide variety of responses to offer him when we speak to him next week. Thanks in advance
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IMHO, your starting point is right there, so point him in that direction for starters.
Who knows, maybe Grapevine would be willing to be quoted in some way, which would be the least his superb missive deserves.
A strange comment ltgtr.
The demonstrations gave me a sense of purpose. I still felt angry, but I felt a oneness with other Charlton fans that rarely comes about under normal conditions. I was determined to make a difference, I was proud to be a part of things. I felt privileged to be part of such an innovative and determined group of supporters.
Then the positive vibe fizzled out for me. The demonstrations ended, there was squabbling amongst fans, and incredibly, the bad guys were still here. True to my belief that the only way to dislodge them would be a boycott, I stopped going to the Valley. Sadly, we could not agree a coordinated approach and this led to a total malaise amongst the fans. Those who had been magnificent in their leadership, seemed more interested in good guys from Melbourne or elsewhere coming to rescue us from outside. Fans drifted away - some as boycotters, some just fed up with the shitness of it all. Those that kept going argued that boycotting would lead to disassociation; they were right. The Stig who spent his life obsessing about Charlton and for whom match day was the weekly highlight is no more. A new Stig who spends Saturdays riding a motorbike, taking country walks or fiddling with his camera has taken his place. I have been told off before, and even called a liar, for writing on here that I often don't know when or who we are playing. It may be an uncomfortable message for some, but it is the absolute truth.
I still want Charlton to win. I still say that they are my club. But I no longer feel a part of things. I no longer daydream thoughts of Charlton. I no longer come on here with Charlton in mind. I've become more interested in peripheral issues. That is what these bastards have done!
Any players that have the potential get moved on swiftly and in the constant revolving door its impossible to get any consistency.
I will not let Roland beat me or Charlton but i do wish he would just do one!
A while after another colleague, a football obsessed Geordie with a fixation on Bowyer (or Rat Boy, as he likes to call him), entered the room:
How did your boys get on tonight?
We won.
What was the score?
I'm not sure, I think we got two.
Who scored?
I don't know.
Don't know a lot do you?
Nah!
Duchatelet may have stated about watching the stars of the future before being sold but in my childhood, from Mike Bailey, Billy Bonds, Len Glover, Marvin Hinton, Mike Kenning, Alan Campbell etc to giving away Elliott and Paul Walsh for peanuts we have had Shite owners who had the same strategy, even if it was just a tacit agreement.
The Douchebag Shitweasel is a Nightmare, but just add his name to the list.
*see what I did there? I'm so fecking funny 😂*
Each to their own and all that.
I’m off to santas grotto tomorrow so can’t make the game, didn’t even cross my mind to see if we were playing at home. 3 years ago I checked before booking anything into the diary, rarely ever missed a home game and would go to a few away.
On Tuesday I realised we were playing Pompey at 1am Weds morning when I looked on here.
There are many types of unpopular owner; ours through his lack of interest in the club and even in winning or being competitive has sucked the joy and fun out of being a fan.
I followed us through Selhurst and West Ham, went to clear The Valley, and the most games I ever went to in a season was our first season in L1 when the Spivs owned us and Akpo Sodje played upfront so it is not exactly like I am a glory hunter.
What can we do about it- protest in the UK, protest in his home town. Try to shame the bloke but in reality when you are up against a billionaire who can afford to keep throwing money at something he doesn’t like it is difficult to have much impact.
He could cut his losses and sell and then gift a million a month to his favourite charity but that does not appear to be our Roland.
I want them gone so it feels like I can fully support the club again rather than just the team. I can't try and get people to come along and watch us because of the regime. When St Truiden's village idiot finally cuts his losses, there will be a lot of rebuilding to do. I'd like us to get on with that now, rather than 1,2,5,10 years time, as the longer it takes the harder it will be
1.5 (saw half the cup tie the other week) games ive been to this season so I’ve found plenty of excuses .
I wouldn’t have gone to them if it wasn’t for keeping a small interest for the kids .
I see a lot less of my sisters , niece and nephews and friends due to living on the wrong side of the river and Charlton was our meeting place but they don’t go at all anymore .
I’m a lot better off financially for it , no Valley Gold , no kids kits , no match sponsorships but emotionally it’s not good.
As soon as that fuck brained fossil sells I’ll be back more regular and won’t have to argue with the mrs about not getting the kids a new kit .
I wish I didn’t have any Charlton principles but that shitbag is getting as little is humanly possible out of me .
I’m still obsessed , reading all the Charlton football on here but even trying to find that amongst all the grown up “bore off” politics shit on here is a drag .
Anyone but Roland for me , be careful what you wish for , fuck off I didnt wish for this .
Of course, there are some who have always disagreed on principle with any form of protest, but they are a small minority with whom the majority have just agreed to politely disagree.
CARD and the Protest Fund have acted as excellent umbrella organisations.
Although not all Charlton protest groups have formally affiliated to CARD, it has enabled us to avoid working against each other, and different groups have had different focuses of action – such as WAR, the women's group set up to counteract false claims that complaints about Meire were due to misogyny, or B20 and then ROT taking the protest to Belgium. CARD’s expertise in liaising with the police has been invaluable.
Inevitably there have been some clashes of strong personalities – but, again in my opinion, strong personalities have been a necessary part of driving things forward. We would never have got anywhere if we were all shrinking violets! However, most difficulties have been resolved in a civilized way in private, and people have been able to prioritise the main aims of publicising our complaints and, latterly, striking at our owner’s perceived weak point, his own ego.
As for success – well, how do you measure that?
We have certainly got a lot of publicity in the media – and it was worldwide in the case of the flying pigs protest. Nobody in the football world could legitimately claim to be unaware of our complaints.
We have stirred the EFL into investigating the situation. Whether or not that ultimately bears useful fruit remains to be seen.
Have we got rid of our despised inept owner? Not yet, but most of us realised this was going to be a long battle, not a quick fix. Just how long remains to be seen.
I’ve been to 2 games this season and that’s just purely to make sure I don’t lose interest completely - but I’ve sat there during the game and felt totally disconnected from it all. My boys would always ask to go, but they’ve stopped doing that now and whenever I’ve felt guilty and suggest we go, they aren’t particularly interested.