The Coalition Against Roland Duchâtelet (CARD) is calling on Charlton fans to make clear that they will not commit to buying season tickets for the 2019/20 season until there is clarity about what will be left at The Valley to support.
After a week in which the club’s Belgian owner said on national radio that foreign club owners should be banned; criticised the EFL for allowing him to take Charlton over in 2014; said that he will not sell to a foreign owner; and then provoked national ridicule by “demanding” that the EFL should itself take the club over and operate it in competition with its other members, CARD says it is time for fans to take a stand.
Charlton currently have around a dozen first-team players out of contract at the end of the season and a further four loanees are set to leave, while manager Lee Bowyer and his assistant Johnnie Jackson’s deals are also up in the summer.
The club said it planned to discuss ticket prices at a twice-rescheduled fans’ forum meeting on Monday. It has no functioning board of directors and there has been no chief executive or chief financial officer for more than a year. It remains in dispute with its own staff over unpaid bonuses and Bowyer has said publicly that Duchâtelet would not allow him to sign a free agent to replace Karlan Grant, who joined Huddersfield Town in January for a reported £1.5m.
A CARD spokesperson said: “It must now be apparent to everyone, whatever their position over the last five years, that behind the scenes the club is in chaos and the owner is out of control. There is no commitment to the staff, no commitment to the players, no commitment to the manager and hence no commitment to the fans. Why would any supporter want to make a financial commitment to Duchâtelet in return?
“CARD believes that the fans’ forum should advise the club not to bring forward any season-ticket plan until it has a credible offer to make, including a commitment to the manager, a commitment to a proper squad of players and a serious effort to sell the club to new owners of whatever nationality at a credible market price.
“If the club does not heed this advice then we will campaign for fans to reject its season-ticket offer until it does. In effect we are calling for a strike that does not impact on the current team. We give Duchâtelet notice that our response may also include lawful protests against him in Belgium.”
Comments
great idea but do not know whether it will work, desperately need a buyer but when they come in we are going to need a big investment to be able to compete.
Have you even read the statement, or are you just wallowing in your own self righteousness?
The statement is trying to explain that the last 5 years is very different to what is happening today. Digging your trenches a bit deeper is not going to help and you stand a good chance of pissing off the very fans that presumably you would wish to win over.
I have always followed CARD. I did not renew until the date they suggested in previous years, and if they say do not renew next season, I will not.
I would also urge current season ticket holders to do the same. For CARD to be respected they need to be able to show that the vast majority of fans agree with what they say and will support them in anyway that is asked. Not to do so will render them irrelevant. Please, please do not renew until CARD say you may.
If we got promoted, would we even have a squad for next season? It isn't looking like it either way!
And can you see roland investing to bring a squad together? (competitive championship squad) absolutely not.
None of us need CARD's permission.
We are being asked, not told, what to do.
I welcome and agree with CARD's statement but will make my own decision to again not buy a season ticket or home match tickets.
Also, if like me you have attend matches & won't boycott because it's in your blood & don't feel why a stupid owner should stop you enjoying your Saturday afternoons......then its easy to get away with paying the minimum amount needed to get in...
That's what supporters do: they support the team.
How you manage to presume I'm suggesting that I'm more of a supporter than anyone else is, frankly, wilful delusion on your part. I suggested nothing of the sort.
I am boycotting and I will continue to do so until Roland departs. I am doing so because I honestly believe that boycotting is in the long term interest of the club. If you disagree then fair enough, but please don’t imply that my actions are not those of a supporter
A welcome suggestion from CARD, and one which puts the ball firmly in Roland’s court.
Attendances appear to have risen at home games this year, which I am sure pleases the advertisers as well as the owner, but have the increased ticket sales been rewarded by investment in the team? We only have to look at the striker situation to get the answer to that.
We need to hang on to our pennies for as long as possible in the hope they will go to a new owner who will provide supporters with value for money, not recompense Roland for the 5 years of disappointment his negligence has served up!
There are more ways than one of supporting the team. Yes, we can shout them on from the stands – but might they not also appreciate fans pressing to have contract situations sorted out? The non-playing staff are also vital members of the team, and might they be heartened to see we have not forgotten about their unpaid bonuses?
As for further legal protests in Belgium – my passport is up-to-date, and there are plenty on here who have been calling for this. Time to start saving up for the coach fare?
Again however, its only a suggestion so buy away
The lack of planning for next season suggests something has to happen. RD appears to have given up on his 'investment' completely so WTF is his exit plan?
For the record I don't give a f@ck if we get promoted or not, I will not be renewing the season ticket next season.