Pigs Do Fly...

It remains symptomatic of the sad times we're in that for a great many of us what is happening off the pitch has taken a greater significance to matters on it.

It's likely that had CARD not announced the protest action would recommence from today, I may not have even attended, such is my apathy and immense disillusionment for the current state of Charlton.

 

I'm glad I did bother. Adding my voice to the crowd offered a cathartic release that I needed.  

 

Many would have broken their self-imposed boycotts to stand shoulder to shoulder with Coventry City fans for the short walk from the Lib Club down Floyd Road to The Valley.

 

It would ordinarily be a story in itself that two sets of rival fans can mix freely and openly work together for a common cause, but the big headline was stolen by Porky, Wilbur, Percy, Rasher, Peppa, Pinky, Perky and a few thousand of their little squishy mates!  

 

No sooner had the game started, for 7 glorious minutes, whilst ground staff and players cleared the pitch of piles of foam pigs, social media was working on overdrive to spread the word. In no time at all, sympathetic approval poured in from everywhere. The exposure reminds people of the shocking nature of our demise, and embarrasses two failing regimes nationally.

 

I have no idea if Katrien held on to her trademark smirk throughout the break in play, but even with such arrogance it cannot have been a comfortable time sat in the directors box surrounded by so many people who want the regime she leads with such inglorious ineptitude gone forever. 

 

  

Of course we all long for a time this sort of action isn't required, and hopefully days like today push us a few steps closer to the conclusion we dream about. Two clubs on their knees due to the staggering incompetence of their owners. Two sets of fans that care so much more than the unwanted custodians of their clubs. Two sets of fans that will not allow their clubs to die.

 

And somewhere mixed up in all this drama was a game of football, which, despite plenty of nervy moments, Charlton won 3 zero, if not as convincingly as the scoreline would suggest. The win was the first I'd seen since we beat Birmingham way back in early April, when, coincidentally, there was major protest action. Post match Chris Solly joked that perhaps we should 'bring pigs to every game if that's the result', which will really upset the protest naysayers and Roland apologists who prefer to have us all believe that those poor players are suffering terribly under the grey clouds of the protests.

 

As switched on as Solly clearly is, I was disappointed to hear Slade refer to the protests in a post match interview alongside comments on our league position. I was left wondering if he actually gets what the protests are for. Internal censorship at work, perhaps? Maybe Meire has convinced him that a few wins and we'll all calm down.

 

 

For Charlton it was a good result on the pitch but arguably more importantly for both sets of fans it was a very decent result off it. The fight continues...

UPDATE: Since writing this post late Saturday night I've picked up on the story of the young fan who, by all accounts, was needlessly and heavily man-handled by what appears to be members of a private, plain clothed security firm whilst leaving the Valley. It would appear his 'crime' was waving a North Korean flag throughout the game. I saw him with it plenty of times, notably behind the visitor dugout area. Of all Saturday's protest action it appears this act has upset someone of high importance enough for the young lad to be tracked and followed to the exits before being set upon. A cheeky dig at the running of Roland's regime, perhaps, instantly censored by heavy-handed minions.

Very Kim Jong-un! How laughably ironic! 

Quite what rule he's broken remains to be seen, and I would fully expect the club to make a very swift public statement to clarify their precarious position on this. Setting about your own fans is not a smart move at all. It's also worth noting that one of the two gentlemen identified by many as the perpetrators of the assault appeared in an image (see Kyle' post here) sat in the director box during the game. Perhaps somebody expected trouble that never materialised, but the high-leader's henchmen had a bit of pent up energy they wanted to burn?