NEW ARTICLE: Why I Tried to Give you a Leaflet (Nov 2015)
Comments
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Top bloke is Ravi as are most the staff. Feel sorry for themoohaahmortimer said:
Immediate response and acknowledgement from Ravi and nothing from mascot person or CEOshirty5 said:
Then report the club to the Football League for Not following its own club charter.Henry Irving said:
I hope to be proved wrong but I doubt he'll even get a response from the CEO. Why should he, he's only a fan?shirty5 said:
If people like yourself take this action, then she will have to take notice when the money is not coming into the club.oohaahmortimer said:Well put and sadly on the money
I took the " easier" option of spending time with my kids, although I watched the game on telly with my sons , whose interest soon disappeared and we made an earlier than expected visit to poxy Bluewater
I wrote a couple of emails to people yesterday at Charlton explaining the reasons why I'm not gonna be involved in match sponsorship or my sons being mascots further down the season as we had earlier indicated and previously done in the past
I cc'd the CEO in on it , will she read it , will she care , who knows but the joke of a club we have become is linked firmly to this regime because even in previous worse footballing times it never felt anywhere near this bad or sad7 -
Top bloke is Ravi as are most the staff. Feel sorry for themoohaahmortimer said:
Immediate response and acknowledgement from Ravi and nothing from mascot person or CEOshirty5 said:
Then report the club to the Football League for Not following its own club charter.Henry Irving said:
I hope to be proved wrong but I doubt he'll even get a response from the CEO. Why should he, he's only a fan?shirty5 said:
If people like yourself take this action, then she will have to take notice when the money is not coming into the club.oohaahmortimer said:Well put and sadly on the money
I took the " easier" option of spending time with my kids, although I watched the game on telly with my sons , whose interest soon disappeared and we made an earlier than expected visit to poxy Bluewater
I wrote a couple of emails to people yesterday at Charlton explaining the reasons why I'm not gonna be involved in match sponsorship or my sons being mascots further down the season as we had earlier indicated and previously done in the past
I cc'd the CEO in on it , will she read it , will she care , who knows but the joke of a club we have become is linked firmly to this regime because even in previous worse footballing times it never felt anywhere near this bad or sad0 -
Only just read your article AFKA, You are one hell of a writer, yep sums up how I feel 100%, but I could never articulate like that.
Glad to have met you on Saturday. As has already been posted on here, if we stick together and support each other we can come through these times -however long.
COYR!!0 -
I suspect that many supporters like me are going through the 5 stages of grief. Most of us have done Denial ( His strategy sounds crazy but let us give Duchatelet the benefit of the doubt), Anger (what the f*** is going on!! 5 managers!!) and Bargaining (the demo and the protest trying to change the owners plans). Depression is now prevalent and I fear that when we get to Acceptance it will be accepting that our love affair with Charlton is over, until there is a big change at least.7
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Come on, don't get too despairing. The protest began something. Let it continue and the only thing that can be achieved is the actions that are taken on our part. After all hope rather than expectation is still rather enjoyable when you remember no-one is going to die over this and certainly not the club. I on reflection will get a black and white scarf for the next home game; yes not much of an action I know but someone like me is more likely to follow some kind of rational plan of campaign which is discussed reasonably and acted on wholeheartedly. So let's continue but how?2
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Most enjoyable read.0
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rikofold, your unpaid hard work is massively appreciated by many fans including me.rikofold said:Thanks for that Dan - speaks for me, as I find it so hard to articulate what I'm feeling. I walked away from Saturday's game lacking the anger or disappointment of years gone by at a poor defeat. In its place was indifference, and I wondered why I bother with it all.
I've been going to the Valley since the 70s, and I went to Selhurst Park and Upton Park. I was there at the triumphs of the return to the Valley and the Play Off final, and through 3 relegations. I was part of the sub-1000 Full-Members crowds, and watched us lose to a puddle in the final. I've been to Bury to watch a midweek 0-0, I've travelled all round the country to support our red-shirted men (well, a variety of increasingly bizarre coloured shirts) more in hope than expectation for much of it. I watched us grow as a club throughout the 90s and 2000s, and was proud that even on relegation to League One and some awful awful days we could still command a crowd and humour. In recent years I've got more involved in trying to make a difference through the Supporters Trust and Valley Gold.
More in hope than expectation. I think that's what's summed up my time supporting Charlton - it was never about expectation, always about hope. The reason the 90s/2000s were so enjoyable was because we didn't expect those years, but we knew the people running the club cared enough to build it slowly over the long term and crucially to take us with them, to make us part of the journey. It worked.
The hope is a dying ember for me. Our club is in the hands of people who think they know best, without for a second stopping to listen to those who have been the lifeblood of the club over several decades. I do hope that by finally agreeing to take the time to talk to supporters, Katrien intends to listen, to learn, to understand, to change and to influence change. I want to believe it's all been genuine mistakes rather than willful neglect - but many more indifferent walks away from the ground and I fear I'll be past caring.
Great piece as ever Dan, and a really important one I think.
I believe our 2 pronged approach, of the Trust trying to negotiate, plus others demonstrating at the same time is the way to go.
It gives you the opportunity to say to KM, hey look we're the moderates here, please talk to us, please let us help, please ask RD to reconsider his plan, which has to be rethought as his assumptions have gone up in smoke.
If the Trust can't find a way forward via discussion, then it really will be the time to step up the action.
We will step up the action, if RD/KM do not come to their senses and realise that the ill thought out plan could never work and even more so, will never work, now that FFP and Standard Liege have gone.
Thank-you sincerely for everything you are doing and that goes to everyone else, who are trying to change things before it is too late.
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Another great contribution to an excellent thread.rikofold said:Thanks for that Dan - speaks for me, as I find it so hard to articulate what I'm feeling. I walked away from Saturday's game lacking the anger or disappointment of years gone by at a poor defeat. In its place was indifference, and I wondered why I bother with it all.
I've been going to the Valley since the 70s, and I went to Selhurst Park and Upton Park. I was there at the triumphs of the return to the Valley and the Play Off final, and through 3 relegations. I was part of the sub-1000 Full-Members crowds, and watched us lose to a puddle in the final. I've been to Bury to watch a midweek 0-0, I've travelled all round the country to support our red-shirted men (well, a variety of increasingly bizarre coloured shirts) more in hope than expectation for much of it. I watched us grow as a club throughout the 90s and 2000s, and was proud that even on relegation to League One and some awful awful days we could still command a crowd and humour. In recent years I've got more involved in trying to make a difference through the Supporters Trust and Valley Gold.
More in hope than expectation. I think that's what's summed up my time supporting Charlton - it was never about expectation, always about hope. The reason the 90s/2000s were so enjoyable was because we didn't expect those years, but we knew the people running the club cared enough to build it slowly over the long term and crucially to take us with them, to make us part of the journey. It worked.
The hope is a dying ember for me. Our club is in the hands of people who think they know best, without for a second stopping to listen to those who have been the lifeblood of the club over several decades. I do hope that by finally agreeing to take the time to talk to supporters, Katrien intends to listen, to learn, to understand, to change and to influence change. I want to believe it's all been genuine mistakes rather than willful neglect - but many more indifferent walks away from the ground and I fear I'll be past caring.
Great piece as ever Dan, and a really important one I think.
Willful neglect is a pretty good expression for what is going on. The thing about willful neglect is that the people doing it, don't like it being pointed out and exposed. They rarely admit that they wrong and get angry at those identifying it.6 -
just read it and spot on AFKA
I'm sadly edging towards not bothering....i've missed four home games this year, haven't done that for near 16-17yrs?!?
I never thought my life would pan out this way, wanting Nigel Pearson quite as much as I do5 - Sponsored links:
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Most of the the things that made our club special have gone, for some of us those were a lot of the reasons we loved it.9
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I keep swinging from apathy to anger. I renewed our STs for family reasons but feel that is unlikely next season. At the moment I am in an anger phase, though - I'm not going to let them ruin my club without a fight - but how long can I keep the apathy at bay ?2
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What a beautiful piece of writing. It conveys the oft unwritten spirit of so many of us. As someone who all too readily and somewhat painfully gets into the "nuts and bolts" of the club failings I can but applaud the manner in which it touches a nerve in what the club almost unknowingly means to so many of us.
I would like to think whatever peoples view of the campaigns, protests and very heavy criticism of this regime it will explain, to those who perhaps do not see the club in quite the same way, why there are those who feel so disenchanted at the moment. At this level there is no right and wrong here, no "one up man ship" just a reflection of fans' relationship with the club. Perhaps we can all now respect other peoples view of the current challenges they see for the club.
I respect some do not see such matters in the same light but please understand there is no agenda here, no witch hunt, no clamour for self importance just for many a huge frustration at what we see going so horribly wrong. Quite frankly it hurts, and yes for some at times it hurts badly who may on occasion choose to lash out.
If you do not "get it" then that's OK.
If you think some have "unreasonable expectations then that's OK.
If you think some are "tilting at windmills" then that's Ok.
However for many all is very far from right with the world of Charlton, some have already walked away, others show every intention of doing the same, if not this season, then next, others are simply arguing, on occasion almost begging in pure frustration for the club executive to understand what they have, where they are and to find and listen to people who have been there before, often done it and have more than one "T shirt" to go with it.
Yes it is a true some have tired of trying to influence the executive and just want them gone.
I doubt we will see a clearer contrast of two differing "modus operandi" than the one on Saturday. One team full of experience knowing they can play at this level, exactly how to get "the job done" and fully committed to the task while the other displaying all too frequently they were not quite sure what the job was let alone how to do it. A disappointingly limited Ipswich, who in competitive terms barely moved through the gears, posed a few basic questions. Uncertain of how to meet such challenge it took us about 80 minutes to come up with any sort of answers.
The tragic irony is, on the basis of the investment actually being made, it in no way has to be like this. Seldom can an executive have strived so hard to target and achieve such mediocrity of purpose and performance.
To once again go into the excruciating detail would disrespect the message of the original post. Putting our opinions on such detail aside it would be very sad if we cannot all fully respect and share the spirit.
Good job AFKA.
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Grapevine you're like my Mrs in that you just go on and on.
You're unlike my Mrs because it actually means something... :-)
Nice one. Some great posts here summing everything up.4 -
This. I started going to The Valley in 1997 (good timing, eh?) and was given an old copy of Battle for The Valley by a family friend. I read it cover to cover, and it convinced me that the club I was falling in love with was something special, that it meant all the more to the fans because of how hard people fought to save it and put it on the track to stability and success.razil said:Most of the the things that made our club special have gone, for some of us those were a lot of the reasons we loved it.
If we lose what made Charlton special, I must admit my bond to the club is loosened. I'll never stop loving Charlton, but I no longer have the zeal of a true believer, someone who knows deep down that there is something that sets us apart from the rest. It's very sad.3 -
A great and very well written piece. I agree on most points and have the same sad feelings of losing interest which I never thought would happen but one of the points I completely disagree with is that the protest was anything like successful. I would like to bet that KM was over the moon that she got off so lightly and her disdain for the fans could only have been enhanced.2
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what do you think was missing?Brunello said:A great and very well written piece. I agree on most points and have the same sad feelings of losing interest which I never thought would happen but one of the points I completely disagree with is that the protest was anything like successful. I would like to bet that KM was over the moon that she got off so lightly and her disdain for the fans could only have been enhanced.
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Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
He doesn't care about Charlton or anyone involved with the club, he's taking a money shot and trying to (relatively) do it on the cheap.
The problem is he isn't succeeding.
My guess is that if he tried to sell a significant proportion of the club to another investor (on the basis of him remaining in control and maintaining the current trajectory), he wouldn't find anyone who would put up serious money. They would look at what has been done, what has been achieved and where things are headed and would turn away from any proposition. His record of developing football clubs as a business is abysmal.
Target 20,000 might as well be Target 2 million, neither have a snowballs.
A spiffing Fans Forum won't change his strategy or business model and we can all see his current model is useless.
I feel sorry for KM in one way. She's the front person for a pretty crappy business who is being asked by her customers to engage in open and constructive dialogue, the problem is the business is so rotten there isn't much she can say which doesn't show it up for what it really is and if she tries to spin a story there's enough customer knowledge to discredit her spin immediately. The further she's pulled into customer engagement the more apparent to rotten-ness becomes. With customer engagement, she simply can't win. Her best option is to keep the engagement to a minimum and to be as slow as possible, which is what we're seeing.
For my blood there are 2 practical alternative ways forward, one is to turn my back and wait for it all to go away (the boycott option let's call it), the other is to try to get rid of the current regime. The third option, dialogue, Target 20k, Fans Forum etc. I believe are dead in the water as far as effecting meaningful change.
For what it's worth, I'm not ready to give up on my club yet, I want them gone.
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That's the thing. I really don't think that is his driverWrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
7 - Sponsored links:
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None of us can know for sure what is driving him but his personal lack of involvement smacks of a money play somehow, what else is there? What do you think it is?AFKABartram said:
That's the thing. I really don't think that is his driverWrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
Really, his effect on the club is what's at stake for us isn't it? I guess we each decide what that means to us and what we intend to do or not to do about it.0 -
I think it is / was some form of happy-clappy utopian self-sufficiency model providing stability by drawing on pooled resources across a network, utilizing cross-border tax / financial efficiencies, and in time sees funding covered by the development and sale of young players, or buying cheap and selling high.WrightCharlie said:
None of us can know for sure what is driving him but his personal lack of involvement smacks of a money play somehow, what else is there? What do you think it is?AFKABartram said:
That's the thing. I really don't think that is his driverWrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
.
I'm not saying he doesn't want the Club to advance, I just don't think that would have been his driver.
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I fear you are right. As a Trust member I would still like them to proceed with dialogue BUT it must be time-limited and I mean limited. I know @Rikofold as said it's only 2 weeks but I do believe KM is playing for time and her bluff needs to be called. If KM can dismiss and appoint head coaches in the blink of an eye then tangible progress, including a change of direction on and off the field, can certainly be made/announced in weeks and definitely BEFORE Christmas. Anything else will leave us cast adrift as a club. For me it is very important that the Trust take this onboard as we need them to be free to take a leading role in the protests as soon as possible. KM knows this hence her need to prevaricate.WrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
He doesn't care about Charlton or anyone involved with the club, he's taking a money shot and trying to (relatively) do it on the cheap.
The problem is he isn't succeeding.
My guess is that if he tried to sell a significant proportion of the club to another investor (on the basis of him remaining in control and maintaining the current trajectory), he wouldn't find anyone who would put up serious money. They would look at what has been done, what has been achieved and where things are headed and would turn away from any proposition. His record of developing football clubs as a business is abysmal.
Target 20,000 might as well be Target 2 million, neither have a snowballs.
A spiffing Fans Forum won't change his strategy or business model and we can all see his current model is useless.
I feel sorry for KM in one way. She's the front person for a pretty crappy business who is being asked by her customers to engage in open and constructive dialogue, the problem is the business is so rotten there isn't much she can say which doesn't show it up for what it really is and if she tries to spin a story there's enough customer knowledge to discredit her spin immediately. The further she's pulled into customer engagement the more apparent to rotten-ness becomes. With customer engagement, she simply can't win. Her best option is to keep the engagement to a minimum and to be as slow as possible, which is what we're seeing.
For my blood there are 2 practical alternative ways forward, one is to turn my back and wait for it all to go away (the boycott option let's call it), the other is to try to get rid of the current regime. The third option, dialogue, Target 20k, Fans Forum etc. I believe are dead in the water as far as effecting meaningful change.
For what it's worth, I'm not ready to give up on my club yet, I want them gone.2 -
You may be right about that @AFKABartram , I think what you outline reflects his failed political aspirations.AFKABartram said:
I think it is / was some form of happy-clappy utopian self-sufficiency model providing stability by drawing on pooled resources across a network, utilizing cross-border tax / financial efficiencies, and in time sees funding covered by the development and sale of young players, or buying cheap and selling high.WrightCharlie said:
None of us can know for sure what is driving him but his personal lack of involvement smacks of a money play somehow, what else is there? What do you think it is?AFKABartram said:
That's the thing. I really don't think that is his driverWrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
.
I'm not saying he doesn't want the Club to advance, I just don't think that would have been his driver.
The people of Belgium were able to democratically reject his attempt at leadership, unfortunately we're not blessed to be able to reject him so effectively and unequivocally.1 -
I know we have Brighton away on Saturday (My wife wanted to go, but I didn’t), but I don’t know what the games are after that. I think we have a midweek game before Christmas, but don’t know for certain or who against. If we do, I will turn up as a season ticket holder but if you knew me, my admission on this post would be cause for concern. I have supported the club from boy to man to aging man. I now bring my wife and son to games. I have signed Charlton shirts and pictures on display around my house. My son was christened at the Valley. But I am losing my energy and desire. I hope this won’t be my last season, but fear it might. Maybe I still have a couple more in me – but something has to change. It isn’t about results, but the state of the team reflects the whole poor management of the club in every aspect. I was warned on here not to watch KM’s presentation, but I did, and that has only served to make me more apathetic. I can’t even get angry – It is just a dull feeling of loss. Thank you RD and KM – you have achieved something that I would have said was impossible a year ago. If you want to lose fans of 40 years plus like me, you almost have to try to! That is the level of incompetence or madness – I’m not sure which – probably both.7
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People. You either need a full ground or an empty one be heardrazil said:
what do you think was missing?Brunello said:A great and very well written piece. I agree on most points and have the same sad feelings of losing interest which I never thought would happen but one of the points I completely disagree with is that the protest was anything like successful. I would like to bet that KM was over the moon that she got off so lightly and her disdain for the fans could only have been enhanced.
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Steve Clarke is taking the lead on this and his last public statement said that change was necessary. I think we need to be realistic in terms of whether a complete change of direction on and off the field is likely be achievable before Christmas (if ever - KM isn't in control of every aspect of the club). That's not to say that we aren't aiming for significant action, but you can't ask for dialogue then go in with a monologue and an ultimatum.Hex said:
I fear you are right. As a Trust member I would still like them to proceed with dialogue BUT it must be time-limited and I mean limited. I know @Rikofold as said it's only 2 weeks but I do believe KM is playing for time and her bluff needs to be called. If KM can dismiss and appoint head coaches in the blink of an eye then tangible progress, including a change of direction on and off the field, can certainly be made/announced in weeks and definitely BEFORE Christmas. Anything else will leave us cast adrift as a club. For me it is very important that the Trust take this onboard as we need them to be free to take a leading role in the protests as soon as possible. KM knows this hence her need to prevaricate.WrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
He doesn't care about Charlton or anyone involved with the club, he's taking a money shot and trying to (relatively) do it on the cheap.
The problem is he isn't succeeding.
My guess is that if he tried to sell a significant proportion of the club to another investor (on the basis of him remaining in control and maintaining the current trajectory), he wouldn't find anyone who would put up serious money. They would look at what has been done, what has been achieved and where things are headed and would turn away from any proposition. His record of developing football clubs as a business is abysmal.
Target 20,000 might as well be Target 2 million, neither have a snowballs.
A spiffing Fans Forum won't change his strategy or business model and we can all see his current model is useless.
I feel sorry for KM in one way. She's the front person for a pretty crappy business who is being asked by her customers to engage in open and constructive dialogue, the problem is the business is so rotten there isn't much she can say which doesn't show it up for what it really is and if she tries to spin a story there's enough customer knowledge to discredit her spin immediately. The further she's pulled into customer engagement the more apparent to rotten-ness becomes. With customer engagement, she simply can't win. Her best option is to keep the engagement to a minimum and to be as slow as possible, which is what we're seeing.
For my blood there are 2 practical alternative ways forward, one is to turn my back and wait for it all to go away (the boycott option let's call it), the other is to try to get rid of the current regime. The third option, dialogue, Target 20k, Fans Forum etc. I believe are dead in the water as far as effecting meaningful change.
For what it's worth, I'm not ready to give up on my club yet, I want them gone.
Joe's proved that protests don't need the Supporters' Trust to be leading them. Someone else made the sage observation that at the moment we have a two-pronged approach, and I think that's probably what's needed right now - in which case we'll take the lead on the dialogue, and others can continue leading the protests. The Trust doesn't need to be at the forefront of everything, there are very capable people not on the Trust board too.
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I thought the empty seats complimented the protesters as did the lethargic apathy. This is RDs bleak club.1
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I think that is a very good question posed by @WrightCharlie and certainly is food for thought. Who knows what is driving him. The most bizarre decision, in my opinion, was turning his back on the proven partnership of Jose Riga and Karel Fraeye and replacing them with Bob Peeters. In JR and KF he had the ideal partnership. It was proven (at least there was something to build on), there was the old wise head and the young pretender syndrome. He choose to rip that apart, appoint Peeters and yet go back eventually to Fraeye. What was the point of that? For me that is what is concerning - the lack of rationale behind our owner's decisions. Who knows what will happen next.AFKABartram said:
I think it is / was some form of happy-clappy utopian self-sufficiency model providing stability by drawing on pooled resources across a network, utilizing cross-border tax / financial efficiencies, and in time sees funding covered by the development and sale of young players, or buying cheap and selling high.WrightCharlie said:
None of us can know for sure what is driving him but his personal lack of involvement smacks of a money play somehow, what else is there? What do you think it is?AFKABartram said:
That's the thing. I really don't think that is his driverWrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
.
I'm not saying he doesn't want the Club to advance, I just don't think that would have been his driver.3 -
To be clear, I am not saying that a complete change of direction on and off the field has to be achieved by Christmas, rather that tangible evidence of realistic progress towards that goal has to be communicated to the supporters if this season is to be saved. I have previously posted that I like the "two-pronged approach", a sort of good cop, bad cop, but I think the Trust must make an early decision on whether any progress is honest or just prevarication and I suggest this decision needs to be made before Christmas. That's not an ultimatum, just a realisation of the size of the mess we are in.rikofold said:.
Steve Clarke is taking the lead on this and his last public statement said that change was necessary. I think we need to be realistic in terms of whether a complete change of direction on and off the field is likely be achievable before Christmas (if ever - KM isn't in control of every aspect of the club). That's not to say that we aren't aiming for significant action, but you can't ask for dialogue then go in with a monologue and an ultimatum.Hex said:
I fear you are right. As a Trust member I would still like them to proceed with dialogue BUT it must be time-limited and I mean limited. I know @Rikofold as said it's only 2 weeks but I do believe KM is playing for time and her bluff needs to be called. If KM can dismiss and appoint head coaches in the blink of an eye then tangible progress, including a change of direction on and off the field, can certainly be made/announced in weeks and definitely BEFORE Christmas. Anything else will leave us cast adrift as a club. For me it is very important that the Trust take this onboard as we need them to be free to take a leading role in the protests as soon as possible. KM knows this hence her need to prevaricate.WrightCharlie said:Looking at a couple of the Man City numbers this morning - £351m revenue (Commercial £173m + Broadcasting £135m + TV £43m) and selling 13% of the club for £265m is indicative of the size of prize available, at the top end, for an established Premier club.
That's the prize RD has his eye on.
He doesn't care about Charlton or anyone involved with the club, he's taking a money shot and trying to (relatively) do it on the cheap.
The problem is he isn't succeeding.
My guess is that if he tried to sell a significant proportion of the club to another investor (on the basis of him remaining in control and maintaining the current trajectory), he wouldn't find anyone who would put up serious money. They would look at what has been done, what has been achieved and where things are headed and would turn away from any proposition. His record of developing football clubs as a business is abysmal.
Target 20,000 might as well be Target 2 million, neither have a snowballs.
A spiffing Fans Forum won't change his strategy or business model and we can all see his current model is useless.
I feel sorry for KM in one way. She's the front person for a pretty crappy business who is being asked by her customers to engage in open and constructive dialogue, the problem is the business is so rotten there isn't much she can say which doesn't show it up for what it really is and if she tries to spin a story there's enough customer knowledge to discredit her spin immediately. The further she's pulled into customer engagement the more apparent to rotten-ness becomes. With customer engagement, she simply can't win. Her best option is to keep the engagement to a minimum and to be as slow as possible, which is what we're seeing.
For my blood there are 2 practical alternative ways forward, one is to turn my back and wait for it all to go away (the boycott option let's call it), the other is to try to get rid of the current regime. The third option, dialogue, Target 20k, Fans Forum etc. I believe are dead in the water as far as effecting meaningful change.
For what it's worth, I'm not ready to give up on my club yet, I want them gone.
Joe's proved that protests don't need the Supporters' Trust to be leading them. Someone else made the sage observation that at the moment we have a two-pronged approach, and I think that's probably what's needed right now - in which case we'll take the lead on the dialogue, and others can continue leading the protests. The Trust doesn't need to be at the forefront of everything, there are very capable people not on the Trust board too.1
