Matt Southall’s first interview

Croydon said:

Some truly joyless souls on here. We've just spent 5 years campaigning and protesting against one of the worst owners in English football and one of the worst in our history, and now we've got people slagging off the new chairman because he dared to name some of our recent academy graduates.

I genuinely think that some of you enjoy hating a regime more than supporting the team and will therefore look to pick any and as many holes in anything going forward. It'll be very interesting to see how many boycotters return to The Valley regularly and how many were just using it as an excuse to gain back their Saturdays. 

I completely agree with you, there are defo a couple of negative Nellies on here, but I've seen more people whinge about whingers than I have seen people actually whinge!

As a famous Red once said

"Even a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step"

Croydon said:

eaststandmike said:

AFKABartram said:

Quite surprised to be honest at just how much positivity has been taken from what would have been a well prepared fluff piece aimed at generating support. Not saying that’s a bad thing but surprised others have taken a lot more from it than I did. 

100% I am with you on this, still a long way to go.

Are you coming back Mike? From memory you were in the NAPM crew.

I am, already mentioned on another thread.  I cannot make this week as already had plans in place before the sale went through but after that all is good.

I am not going to bother with a half season ticket, just pay week by week but then next year will look at a ST. I am going to try and get one of my grandsons down with me and get rid of the Arsenal shirt he currently wears. 

Croydon said:

Some truly joyless souls on here. We've just spent 5 years campaigning and protesting against one of the worst owners in English football and one of the worst in our history, and now we've got people slagging off the new chairman because he dared to name some of our recent academy graduates.

I genuinely think that some of you enjoy hating a regime more than supporting the team and will therefore look to pick any and as many holes in anything going forward. It'll be very interesting to see how many boycotters return to The Valley regularly and how many were just using it as an excuse to gain back their Saturdays. 

Yep...wot is is it with people guessing.2nd guessing,3rd guessing & rumour after rumour of the running of CAFC,the only ones that do know abso everything about where we are going & what we are doing is HE,MS & JH & it seems maybe’ish Bows & Gallen...I just think some of us are trying to dissect too much into every snippet of what’s being said right now,can we not just enjoy it that we have someone who seems to get it...!!,(ok time will tell) but without the knowledge of running a football club,lock stock & barrel or being directly involved how can any of us know or ever know what this new owner era of ours take us,without the guessing.until it happens or doesn’t,that’s when the questions should be asked...let them settle in 1st,we all want what’s best for our club & right now we HAVE to believe that’s what ESI want also...none of this guessing lark which seems once again splitting our fan differences,not preaching here,but let’s get behind this mob,get on the same song sheet & enjoy the journey...then if & a big if...only the names have changed and the banners get an airing...

CAFCTrev said:

Even if he said "im guaranteeing champions league football in 3 years, and free beer at every home game", people would still complain. 

Sounds like a section of the Labour election manifesto.

ValleyGary said:

oohaahmortimer said:

oohaahmortimer said:

I’m sure Matt will watch it back again and realise he’s said a few “you knows” and prolly take the piss out of himself 

Exactly , good to see a Charlton Chairman who isn’t as lame and precious as some fans and can have a laugh , 👍 from me ! 

It aint about being precious, its about having a bit of respect. He's took it well, fair play to him.

If he was bothered about it that’d say more about him than any interview .
It wasn’t like he had a speech impediment or anything cos that would be stepping over the line .

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

oohaahmortimer said:

oohaahmortimer said:

I’m sure Matt will watch it back again and realise he’s said a few “you knows” and prolly take the piss out of himself 

Exactly , good to see a Charlton Chairman who isn’t as lame and precious as some fans and can have a laugh , 👍 from me ! 

Personally think you're misgauging this a little bit mate tbh. Not saying in months to come there can't be a good craic, but just a little restraint for the first couple of weeks, I fancy

You not seen the tweet he put out taking the pee out of himself for Saying “you know” a lot .
restraint from what , him having a laugh at himself , us laughing with him 
he’s cool with it , no ones ripping him a new one 
He gets the banter 

So what have we learned from this interview?

The idea that we will be the next Man City can now be completely forgotten.

We will still be selling our best young players but maybe not just in desperation for funds.

Mr Southall will be a prominent presence around the club, in stark contrast to his predecessor.

On the other hand, there is no firm indication that the playing budget will change significantly (unless I missed something).

My overall impression is good, but maybe not as good as some might have been expecting. But definitely better than the status quo under Ronald Duct-tape.

I see he’s met up with the Peterborough Chairman this morning and asked if he’s received the email 🤔

Source: Twitter

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

oohaahmortimer said:

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

oohaahmortimer said:

oohaahmortimer said:

I’m sure Matt will watch it back again and realise he’s said a few “you knows” and prolly take the piss out of himself 

Exactly , good to see a Charlton Chairman who isn’t as lame and precious as some fans and can have a laugh , 👍 from me ! 

Personally think you're misgauging this a little bit mate tbh. Not saying in months to come there can't be a good craic, but just a little restraint for the first couple of weeks, I fancy

You not seen the tweet he put out taking the pee out of himself for Saying “you know” a lot .
restraint from what , him having a laugh at himself , us laughing with him 
he’s cool with it , no ones ripping him a new one 
He gets the banter 

Yes I saw the Tweet and wouldnt expect anything other than that from anyone else in the same situation tbh. It still don't mean to say that he don't feel like a bit of a dick and he aint trying to style it out though does it. But if you think you've gauged it right, crack on, I just think it's best to let him find his feet first, that's all mate

You reckon Meire would've responded like that? 

Talal said:

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

oohaahmortimer said:

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

oohaahmortimer said:

oohaahmortimer said:

I’m sure Matt will watch it back again and realise he’s said a few “you knows” and prolly take the piss out of himself 

Exactly , good to see a Charlton Chairman who isn’t as lame and precious as some fans and can have a laugh , 👍 from me ! 

Personally think you're misgauging this a little bit mate tbh. Not saying in months to come there can't be a good craic, but just a little restraint for the first couple of weeks, I fancy

You not seen the tweet he put out taking the pee out of himself for Saying “you know” a lot .
restraint from what , him having a laugh at himself , us laughing with him 
he’s cool with it , no ones ripping him a new one 
He gets the banter 

Yes I saw the Tweet and wouldnt expect anything other than that from anyone else in the same situation tbh. It still don't mean to say that he don't feel like a bit of a dick and he aint trying to style it out though does it. But if you think you've gauged it right, crack on, I just think it's best to let him find his feet first, that's all mate

You reckon Meire would've responded like that? 

Bloody woman never responded at all

soapboxsam said:

oohaahmortimer said:

Over our years in the prem when ground was 27k how often were the 24k home seats sold out @Airman Brown

We had about 8k who were football tourists, fans of other prem clubs, folk who came to watch Prem football without any connection with Cafc, fair weather fans who pick and choose. I'm talking about the home end, which also had a few thousand away fans who couldn't get in the Jimmy Seed. 
If Leeds had scored this season in their bizarre 1-0 defeat the 2k Leeds fans in the east and west would have been even more noticeable. 

When West ham get 60k in the stadium that they mugged off the British public; they aren't all thick Hammers? Maybe about 35K are 

What a load of cobblers.

superclive98 said:

soapboxsam said:

oohaahmortimer said:

Over our years in the prem when ground was 27k how often were the 24k home seats sold out @Airman Brown

We had about 8k who were football tourists, fans of other prem clubs, folk who came to watch Prem football without any connection with Cafc, fair weather fans who pick and choose. I'm talking about the home end, which also had a few thousand away fans who couldn't get in the Jimmy Seed. 
If Leeds had scored this season in their bizarre 1-0 defeat the 2k Leeds fans in the east and west would have been even more noticeable. 

When West ham get 60k in the stadium that they mugged off the British public; they aren't all thick Hammers? Maybe about 35K are 

What a load of cobblers.

So they are all Northampton fans then?

I agree its good to see he can have a bit of a laugh at himself - i'm sure most of us (not me obviously) would have been umming and arrghing throughout it so no issues there. I don't think we can necessarily rule out 'going large' at some point but i guess we can't go bringing in 3 or 4 players this window on double or treble what the rest are on and upsetting the whole applecart so yes, it has to be done gradually. The summer will possibly see a move to a higher wage structure possibly. Difficult to know how to do it really but being an ex agent may just come in useful (i know some don't think so) as i'm sure he'll know how players feel / react to this sort of thing, as will Bowyer and Gallen. I think the reference to doing things not all fans like is being taken out of context and he understands there will be times (like if he's had to let our top striker go) when he won't be as popular as that first walk round crossbars. But, he gets it and will try and explain the reasoning where he can. Academy - well, spending £15m and going for A status is excellent news (that was the only part that was any good about rd til he pulled the plug) and i like the fact he wants to fill the ground - he and the owners clearly get the buzz of a big crowd / atmosphere and want to enjoy that which is great coz it suggests they will have the emotional attachment we all have and will react to what is going on on the pitch rather than on a spreadsheet (as rd). It's all good but i really do think we as fans need to react and fill the valley up to show them that they ain't gonna be flogging dead horse if they decide to start 'going large' with the dosh. This really is our chance to become something, let's get on this journey with them, coral lapsed supporters / friends and family and bang the drum. This could be the equivalent to when Jimmy Seed was asked by the chairmen if he could guarantee a minimum of 2 more years in the top division. He said no and apparently if he had said yes, the board were going to redevelop the ground and we would have been the Arsenal or Spurs of South London. Instead we missed that bus - this could just be another chance, i hope we don't mess it up.          

Mendonca In Asdas said:

eaststandmike said:

Croydon said:

eaststandmike said:

AFKABartram said:

Quite surprised to be honest at just how much positivity has been taken from what would have been a well prepared fluff piece aimed at generating support. Not saying that’s a bad thing but surprised others have taken a lot more from it than I did. 

100% I am with you on this, still a long way to go.

Are you coming back Mike? From memory you were in the NAPM crew.

I am, already mentioned on another thread.  I cannot make this week as already had plans in place before the sale went through but after that all is good.

I am not going to bother with a half season ticket, just pay week by week but then next year will look at a ST. I am going to try and get one of my grandsons down with me and get rid of the Arsenal shirt he currently wears. 

Hi Mike,

Great news to hear you’re coming back, And well done for holding your nerve.

Just a word of caution, if we sign a few half decent players in January, and get some upward momentum , you might not get the desired seats you were expecting? 

Whatever you do is up to you,  and rightly so, just don’t want you too miss out.

I was thinking of buying an extra season ticket, because I had a spare seat next to me , just so I can

a) Invite different friends or family along.
b) Just stretch out!

I don’t think they’ll be as many tickets available in the summer as you might expect.

Im hoping there will be an increased renewal of interest now that Roland is history.

Hi M.I.A,

I appreciate what you are saying but I will take a chance on the seats for the 20/21 season. I have said it many times before on here, my annual spend at The Valley was around the £5k per season mark, this included 4 x season tickets in the East Stand, a table for 4 x people in Legends at every home game plus drinks, jackpot tickets and money spent in the club shop.

However after Roland's ownership I am a wounded animal that is cautious and looking over his shoulder, I am not going back to pumping the above mentioned money into the club until ESI show what their intentions really are. 

Last nights interview with Matt was great and a huge step forward from what we have been used too however it was clearly scripted and fluffed up so until we get under the skin of ESI and see what they are really going to do I will take it slowly.