Is Thomas Driesen Gone? - he popped in on p16, and back out on p26
Comments
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Well done those who told him to fuck off . Classy . It was just getting interesting as well .24
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Maybe he didn’t like my photo 😬0
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This thread has only just been pointed out to me, it's a very interesting read.
Just in relation to the podcast, I understand why Thomas isn’t a fan but as a piece of journalism we’re extremely confident that it stands up. We spoke to every head coach on the record, three first-team coaches, countless players, agents and worked hard on finding who the network scouts were before speaking to many on and off the record. We spoke to plenty more people off the record and obtained emails sent by the owner and his scouts - some published and others that weren’t. The overwhelming view from almost every relevant person that we spoke to was that Thomas had the biggest influence on player recruitment at that time. Many suggested that Duchâtelet’s trust in him ultimately meant Thomas had the final say. I know Thomas holds the view that many of the people we spoke to were (also) pissed off having been sacked and therefore he was an easy target for them. Personally I think that’s extremely unlikely. We offered Thomas the chance to have his say 7/8 times and we even sent him a list of written questions and he decided not to respond.
The series was not an exhaustive list of who signed who but that wasn’t the point of it. It was to provide an insight into the running of the club at that point in time and every claim made in the podcast had to be corroborated by numerous sources. Anything that wasn’t, was removed by our lawyers who looked over it a number of times. We really, really, really didn’t want to get sued by Roland Duchâtelet! It’s not perfect, there’s plenty missing but to be clear, it wasn’t the work of one ‘pissed off’ person who had an issue with Thomas Driesen.
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Bedsaddick said:Well done those who told him to fuck off . Classy . It was just getting interesting as well .
If that has upset some on here I’m sorry to have given him that. But I stand by everything I said. Without him and some other useful idiots Duchatelet would not have been enabled in ruining the club so readily.9 -
AFKABartram said:I just hope Simon Church enjoyed his complimentary car…
He used to wash it with his feet.
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How could any scout watch Yann and Church, and decide that Yann was finished. Bizarre.11
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I have no idea if we're finally getting the real truth here or if we're being fed a load of revisionist bollocks but I will say, not for the first time, I will never find forgiveness in my heart for whoever was truly at the root of the decision to sell Kermorgant.He will always be one of the most talismanic players we've ever had. A Rolls Royce with bull bars and a battering ram. A ballet dancer in hobnail boots. A bullet with butterfly wings. He was absolutely mustard and I loved watching him play and he was taken away from us far far too early by some know-nothing prick in a far away land who probably never even took the time to properly watch him play.I'll never forget or forgive!23
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Exiled_Addick said:I have no idea if we're finally getting the real truth here or if we're being fed a load of revisionist bollocks but I will say, not for the first time, I will never find forgiveness in my heart for whoever was truly at the root of the decision to sell Kermorgant.He will always be one of the most talismanic players we've ever head. A Rolls Royce with bull bars and a battering ram. A ballet dancer in hobnail boots. A bullet with butterfly wings. He was absolutely mustard and I loved watching him play and he was taken away from us far far too early by some know-nothing prick in a far away land who probably never even took the time to properly watch him play.I'll never forget or forgive!8
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Airman Brown said:Exiled_Addick said:I have no idea if we're finally getting the real truth here or if we're being fed a load of revisionist bollocks but I will say, not for the first time, I will never find forgiveness in my heart for whoever was truly at the root of the decision to sell Kermorgant.He will always be one of the most talismanic players we've ever head. A Rolls Royce with bull bars and a battering ram. A ballet dancer in hobnail boots. A bullet with butterfly wings. He was absolutely mustard and I loved watching him play and he was taken away from us far far too early by some know-nothing prick in a far away land who probably never even took the time to properly watch him play.I'll never forget or forgive!
The only person that 100% knows why Yann was sold, and on who's advice, and against who's advice is Roland. IMO it's very conceivable that KM, SCP and Yann were all told different stories as to who and why.0 -
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Cafc43v3r said:Airman Brown said:Exiled_Addick said:I have no idea if we're finally getting the real truth here or if we're being fed a load of revisionist bollocks but I will say, not for the first time, I will never find forgiveness in my heart for whoever was truly at the root of the decision to sell Kermorgant.He will always be one of the most talismanic players we've ever head. A Rolls Royce with bull bars and a battering ram. A ballet dancer in hobnail boots. A bullet with butterfly wings. He was absolutely mustard and I loved watching him play and he was taken away from us far far too early by some know-nothing prick in a far away land who probably never even took the time to properly watch him play.I'll never forget or forgive!
The only person that 100% knows why Yann was sold, and on who's advice, and against who's advice is Roland. IMO it's very conceivable that KM, SCP and Yann were all told different stories as to who and why.7 -
I’m sure I’ve said this before.Roland Diuchatelet personally stated that he was unhappy with the wage demands of Yann, felt he was being blackmailed and he personally disliked that more than anything, went against everything he believed in and so binned Yann off.Whether Yann had more years left in him was entirely irrelevant.0
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Alwaysneil said:I’m sure I’ve said this before.Roland Diuchatelet personally stated that he was unhappy with the wage demands of Yann, felt he was being blackmailed and he personally disliked that more than anything, went against everything he believed in and so binned Yann off.Whether Yann had more years left in him was entirely irrelevant.
Look at the money this idiot shovelled out to players who contributed very little.18 -
I hated being part of a network, that is not how football works for me.
The idiot regime Roland bought in with all these faceless coaches having a say in whats what ... any combination of two to decide on what happens? Plenty of wiggle room there for Thomas and his mates to dip in and out of their selected highlights while pointing fingers at each other..
I wished that energy and money was invested in Chris Powell and his team. The consummate pro with 667 games under his belt, 5 England caps and a successful opening into management to boot. For him to be usurped by this lot including the mouthy kid with a computer was an absolute disgrace imo. I wonder if Thomas was embarrassed by his role in this ... although from his demeanour I'd guess not.
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Some people on here showing how blinded by rage they are, especially people who were in and around the club at the same time as Tommy was. I get why you would be, but at the end of the day he came on here to provide his version of events, and was actually producing some evidence to back things up, but with so many people jumping down his throat and insulting him, he's decided to leave before everything came out. It's a shame as I've always wondered how that period in our history went so drastically wrong, and he could provide a unique insight into the club at that time, from a different side of the whole debacle
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Garrymanilow said:I don't think it's a coincidence, I think that unfortunately signing players isn't an exact science, and some DoFs have their moment and it passes. I hope that isn't the case with Gallen but he did seem to do excellent work bringing in players he was aware of from previous years and experiences and that well may have run a little dry. Driesen didn't scout anything, he looked at data, which is essentially what Martin Sandgaard will be doing. The problem we had in the early days of Driesen was actual football people were being overuled based on data and only data. It's very important that that isn't the case now and we will see. There's no evidence that the pool of players we're signing from has reduced because of Driesen, none whatsoever. We have been for the last few years and continue to be now recruiting players exclusively from the UK, and we know that it was Gallen and his contacts who were unearthing the Gallaghers and the Bieliks, we're hardly missing out on the finest League Two talent because Tommy is no longer reading data reports on Rochdale's left back. With Gallen at the moment I think of Steve Walsh. At Leicester, he identified Mahrez, Vardy and Kante among others and contributed to Leciester's ridiculous title win. He then went to Everton and recommended £150m worth of dross. He also says he suggested Andy Robertson, Harry Maguire and 16 year old Erling Haaland, but I find it hard to believe anyone chose Davy Klaassen, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Keane over them. He now works as a special adviser for Charlotte FC in the MLS. His moment has passed.I also think the difference this season is we aren't necessarily buying bad players, we're getting decent players and wrecking them. Alex Gilbey was MK Dons' player of the year for two successive seasons at this level, and last night looked like a non-league player against that same team. MacGillivray was Pompey's player of the season last year, Scott Fraser was everyone's favourite player but I'm sure we'll ruin him yet. Chuks was a logical signing based on how well he did for us in League One, Stockley was good for actual Charlton before looking like an imposter the whole time Adkins was there after we signed him permanently. DJ was excellent for Swindon at L1 level and looked ready for a step up, Leko was good for us in the Championship but now looks atrocious in League One. There's some signings in there that aren't great, mostly last season under the cap at short notice, but there's few signings I've looked at this season and thought were a terrible idea. In fact, the players who arguably seemed least logical - George Dobson run out by Sunderland and Sean Clare unwanted at Oxford, CBT let go by L2 Tranmere - have given better accounts of themselves than most of the others. The loans have gone sideways, there's no doubt Gallen is struggling to identify usable potential, but the profile of our signings has actually been pretty good on paper. I don't know how far he can be blamed for the failure of the coaching staff to get that talent onto the pitch where others have succeeded. Fresh ideas might be the answer, but as Airman says Driesen was nothing more than an obstacle that has been removed.6
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Airman Brown said:Cafc43v3r said:Airman Brown said:Exiled_Addick said:I have no idea if we're finally getting the real truth here or if we're being fed a load of revisionist bollocks but I will say, not for the first time, I will never find forgiveness in my heart for whoever was truly at the root of the decision to sell Kermorgant.He will always be one of the most talismanic players we've ever head. A Rolls Royce with bull bars and a battering ram. A ballet dancer in hobnail boots. A bullet with butterfly wings. He was absolutely mustard and I loved watching him play and he was taken away from us far far too early by some know-nothing prick in a far away land who probably never even took the time to properly watch him play.I'll never forget or forgive!
The only person that 100% knows why Yann was sold, and on who's advice, and against who's advice is Roland. IMO it's very conceivable that KM, SCP and Yann were all told different stories as to who and why.
Yes Yann leaving was a significant marker but wasn't the reason we got relegated 2 years later.2 -
Bedsaddick said:Well done those who told him to fuck off . Classy . It was just getting interesting as well .0
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Raith_C_Chattonell said:I hated being part of a network, that is not how football works for me.
The idiot regime Roland bought in with all these faceless coaches having a say in whats what ... any combination of two to decide on what happens? Plenty of wiggle room there for Thomas and his mates to dip in and out of their selected highlights while pointing fingers at each other..
I wished that energy and money was invested in Chris Powell and his team. The consummate pro with 667 games under his belt, 5 England caps and a successful opening into management to boot. For him to be usurped by this lot including the mouthy kid with a computer was an absolute disgrace imo. I wonder if Thomas was embarrassed by his role in this ... although from his demeanour I'd guess not.
If Standard had "sold" us Michy Batshuayi, for example, Roland would have ultimately got 3 or 4 times what he did from selling him from Standard.1 -
ThomasD said:BDL said:You know what, with all the shit that's going down at the moment in the world, I don't give a flying f*ck for what Football Manager Boy wants to say or do. Just probabaly best to ignore from now on, that chapter is closed.
Ignores all questions that don't fit his pathetic narrative and agenda then puts personal attack against a Charlton fan and ex employee whom has had the clubs best interests at heart.
Shocker.1 -
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Did I recall Diego Poyet refusing a contract, as it was rumoured that if signed he would be considered ‘part of the network’ and thus potentially farmed to Standard Liege or wherever? Or was that a convenient excuse not to sign so that he could sign a big deal for West Ham? I’d like to know if the rumours at the time about Poyet and the potential for loaning out were true.0
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kinveachyaddick said:Garrymanilow said:I don't think it's a coincidence, I think that unfortunately signing players isn't an exact science, and some DoFs have their moment and it passes. I hope that isn't the case with Gallen but he did seem to do excellent work bringing in players he was aware of from previous years and experiences and that well may have run a little dry. Driesen didn't scout anything, he looked at data, which is essentially what Martin Sandgaard will be doing. The problem we had in the early days of Driesen was actual football people were being overuled based on data and only data. It's very important that that isn't the case now and we will see. There's no evidence that the pool of players we're signing from has reduced because of Driesen, none whatsoever. We have been for the last few years and continue to be now recruiting players exclusively from the UK, and we know that it was Gallen and his contacts who were unearthing the Gallaghers and the Bieliks, we're hardly missing out on the finest League Two talent because Tommy is no longer reading data reports on Rochdale's left back. With Gallen at the moment I think of Steve Walsh. At Leicester, he identified Mahrez, Vardy and Kante among others and contributed to Leciester's ridiculous title win. He then went to Everton and recommended £150m worth of dross. He also says he suggested Andy Robertson, Harry Maguire and 16 year old Erling Haaland, but I find it hard to believe anyone chose Davy Klaassen, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Keane over them. He now works as a special adviser for Charlotte FC in the MLS. His moment has passed.I also think the difference this season is we aren't necessarily buying bad players, we're getting decent players and wrecking them. Alex Gilbey was MK Dons' player of the year for two successive seasons at this level, and last night looked like a non-league player against that same team. MacGillivray was Pompey's player of the season last year, Scott Fraser was everyone's favourite player but I'm sure we'll ruin him yet. Chuks was a logical signing based on how well he did for us in League One, Stockley was good for actual Charlton before looking like an imposter the whole time Adkins was there after we signed him permanently. DJ was excellent for Swindon at L1 level and looked ready for a step up, Leko was good for us in the Championship but now looks atrocious in League One. There's some signings in there that aren't great, mostly last season under the cap at short notice, but there's few signings I've looked at this season and thought were a terrible idea. In fact, the players who arguably seemed least logical - George Dobson run out by Sunderland and Sean Clare unwanted at Oxford, CBT let go by L2 Tranmere - have given better accounts of themselves than most of the others. The loans have gone sideways, there's no doubt Gallen is struggling to identify usable potential, but the profile of our signings has actually been pretty good on paper. I don't know how far he can be blamed for the failure of the coaching staff to get that talent onto the pitch where others have succeeded. Fresh ideas might be the answer, but as Airman says Driesen was nothing more than an obstacle that has been removed.
And there you have it. How difficult is it?
Using stats and data is completely correct ... but not in isolation. You use them to support or undermine your instincts/opinion/advice whatever.
And this is where Driesen was clearly out of his depth. Analytical nerd maybe (and I mean that in a nice way), but with no idea what a decent footballer looks like.
Hence, the 'hit or miss' success rate.1 -
Dizzle said:Did I recall Diego Poyet refusing a contract, as it was rumoured that if signed he would be considered ‘part of the network’ and thus potentially farmed to Standard Liege or wherever? Or was that a convenient excuse not to sign so that he could sign a big deal for West Ham? I’d like to know if the rumours at the time about Poyet and the potential for loaning out were true.0
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Dizzle said:Did I recall Diego Poyet refusing a contract, as it was rumoured that if signed he would be considered ‘part of the network’ and thus potentially farmed to Standard Liege or wherever? Or was that a convenient excuse not to sign so that he could sign a big deal for West Ham? I’d like to know if the rumours at the time about Poyet and the potential for loaning out were true.0
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iainment said:Bedsaddick said:Well done those who told him to fuck off . Classy . It was just getting interesting as well .
If that has upset some on here I’m sorry to have given him that. But I stand by everything I said. Without him and some other useful idiots Duchatelet would not have been enabled in ruining the club so readily.3 -
Chunes said:
That time Driesen decided the tactics and team selection.0 -
se9addick said:Chunes said:Shame this wasn't done with a journalist who could verify these ominous "screenshots" with other sources
The guy could post whatever he likes
No idea if TD’s version of events are accurate, but I have to say he’s doing well at holding his own in a foreign language in the face of an onslaught.7 -
sam3110 said:Some people on here showing how blinded by rage they are, especially people who were in and around the club at the same time as Tommy was. I get why you would be, but at the end of the day he came on here to provide his version of events, and was actually producing some evidence to back things up, but with so many people jumping down his throat and insulting him, he's decided to leave before everything came out. It's a shame as I've always wondered how that period in our history went so drastically wrong, and he could provide a unique insight into the club at that time, from a different side of the whole debacleBut was that all he came here for?I certainly thought that was the case at first. By and large he received a relatively friendly welcome from most, under the circumstances. We almost all wanted to hear what he had to say, because he was a protagonist during a critical time in the club’s history, and because he might have some insight in the club’s recent recruitment issues.Unfortunately he quite quickly went on the attack, and made some pretty defamatory statements about two former club insiders who have documented that period when he was part of the Roland set up. It all went rapidly downhill from there. I think he was at least partly here to settle old scores. Bear in mind that he was always given the right of reply, but always chose to turn the offers down. Perhaps if he hadn’t accused them of lying and ‘fabricating stories’ we might have got somewhere. It was also obvious early on that he had little interest in engaging in the way we hoped he would. Disappointingly, he chose to ignore practically any question that didn’t relate to one of the transfers he believes he got right.Couldn’t help feeling we were being used.20
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JamesSeed said:sam3110 said:Some people on here showing how blinded by rage they are, especially people who were in and around the club at the same time as Tommy was. I get why you would be, but at the end of the day he came on here to provide his version of events, and was actually producing some evidence to back things up, but with so many people jumping down his throat and insulting him, he's decided to leave before everything came out. It's a shame as I've always wondered how that period in our history went so drastically wrong, and he could provide a unique insight into the club at that time, from a different side of the whole debacleBut was that all he came here for?I certainly thought that was the case at first. By and large he received a relatively friendly welcome from most, under the circumstances. We almost all wanted to hear what he had to say, because he was a protagonist during a critical time in the club’s history, and because he might have some insight in the club’s recent recruitment issues.Unfortunately he quite quickly went on the attack, and made some pretty defamatory statements about two former club insiders who have documented that period when he was part of the Roland set up. It all went rapidly downhill there. I think he was at least partly here to settle old scores. Bear in mind that he was always given the right of reply, but always chose to turn the offers down. Perhaps if he hadn’t accused them of lying and ‘fabricating stories’ we might have got somewhere. It was also obvious early on that he had little interest in engaging in the way we hoped he would. Disappointingly, he chose to ignore practically any question that didn’t relate to one of the transfers he believes he got right.Couldn’t help feeling we were being used.1
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TD is on Twitter, if you’re so keen to know his side of events, give him a message on there, see how you get on.7