Doodle of Death...

I had a pretty lengthy phone conversation yesterday afternoon for work. Armed with a pencil and pad to make notes, I clearly got a bit distracted. I'm a doodler; always have been. The quality isn't great (image and cartoon) but I thought I'd share my scribbles with you. Seems my mind wasn't entirely focused on my job! 

 

In hindsight, I wish I'd made Katrien Meire's nose longer, much, much longer...

 

You can enlarge the image by clicking on it.

 

Call Collymore...

 

I've never had the inclination to call into a radio show before, but when Stan Collymore requested Charlton fans ring his TalkSPORT show to discuss the on-going protests, I grabbed my mobile straight away. It is so important for us to take every single opportunity to get the issues at Charlton out to a wider audience.

 

I was half way through preparing our Sunday dinner at the time and I actually hung up after around 10 mins of waiting as I was naturally conscious of the bill (13p per min blah, blah, blah...) and getting grief from two very hungry kids! To their credit, TalkSPORT called me back immediately and said Stan really wanted to talk about it, and as no other Charlton fan had called in would I hold. I couldn't say no...

 

The link to the conversation I eventually had with Stan on-air can be found here: Call Collymore

 

Hopefully I done our cause some level of justice. To his immense credit, Stan is clearly very knowledgeable on our problems and I was very pleased he'd seen the recent shocking seminar video footage of Meire as I was very conscious of appearing to be one of those fans who spread false rumour to whip-up ill-feeling. Sadly, that's not required here.

 

There have been others who have taken the chance to get our thoughts and feelings across on air, and the guys behind the Spell It Out campaign have compiled them here: Spell It Out

 

By the way, I'm sure I confused many with the name I spoke under. I think I've explained this before, but my name is actually Rod; Ted is just an alias that has followed me around for years and years and the name I used when I first set up this blog...

A Serious Lack of Festive Cheer...

If I had a Christmas wish, I'm damn sure I wouldn't waste it on Charlton. And anyway, it would take more than a Christmas miracle to change our fortunes any time soon.

 

Saturday's defeat ensures that we will be spending Christmas Day in the relegation zone and after the Boxing Day game at Bristol City we will have reached the half-way point of the season with the worst goal difference in the division. It could be a very bleak 2016!

 

My fellow blogger, Chicago Addick, wrote this excellent piece on Karel Fraeye earlier today: The Circus of Karel Fraeye. I think we all realised pretty quickly that Fraeye was going nowhere. His appointment permanent from the outset: the 'interim' tag just a very poorly actioned smoke-screen to fool very stupid people. It fooled nobody. Meire was foolish enough to think it would.

 

There is no recruitment process is there, Katrien? Another lie. It is painfully clear that Duchatelet was hoping for an upturn in results (a new manager bounce) before announcing his man in the post. It hasn't happened. It was never going to. I wonder if Roland and Meire are as embarrassed as they should be? 

 

On the desk of those poor chaps in the media team, still waiting issue, is a dusty memo from Meire that reads something like 'in light of the encouraging upturn in form and following an extensive and painstaking search, we have come to the conclusion that Karel Fraeye is the right man to lead us into the next exciting period in this club's history'.

 

Oh dear! The hapless Meire has got her work cut out justifying the appointment of a man who might well be 'nice enough' but is woefully short of the required basic credentials to run a Championship team.

 

I noticed yesterday that there are a few conspiracy theories doing the rounds surrounding Duchatelet's intentions, one of which relates to him actually orchestrating and  ultimately benefiting from Charlton's demise by justifying a lucrative sale of the Valley to property developers. Such is the state of the club at the moment, it's not hard to see how people have come to this highly pessimistic train of thought, although I'm less convinced. Mr. Duchatelet clearly doesn't give one ounce of a toss about us, so if he wants to put a 'for sale' sign up outside The Valley he will not waste time plotting our demise over a number of seasons.

 

Not that I can offer any explanation to his bizarre ownership. Nobody in their right mind would. 

 

As for me, I'm looking forward to my enforced hiatus over the holiday period and it will not be until Blackburn at home on the 23rd of Jan before I see the Addicks again. Heaven only knows what state we'll be in by then, but I'm not going to allow it to spoil my Christmas and a holiday with the family. I was going to do Colchester away on the 9th, but I can't be bothered now. Simple as that. I've decided to take my son to watch Arsenal v's Sunderland instead. He's an Addick, but he's found his own natural draw to the Gunners and I will not discourage it. What right would I have to anyway? I spent many happy Saturday afternoons on the North Bank at Highbury in my mid-teens with my Arsenal supporting mates, and I'm keen to visit the Emirates myself.

 

It will be nice going to watch a game of football knowing it can't spoil my Saturday night...

 

Anyway, enough of this negativity. Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read anything I've wrote this year and especially those who take the time to comment. Have a great Christmas and New Year.

 

Not Good Enough...

I can only hope that some time in the not-to-distant future, when we're languishing in mid-table mediocrity in League One, struggling to get a foothold in another tough, uncompromising division Duchatelet has woefully underestimated, that him and the embarrassingly naïve Meire both eventually reflect on evenings like last night with deep regret. If ever there was a lamentable sign of the times, this was it.

 

Bolton Wanderers, a financial shambles of a club that's very future is in serious question, should have been easy fodder, even for us. Players unpaid again, bottom of the league, lowest goal scorers...etc You might imagine their players would be demotivated and demoralized. In reality, they looked far hungrier than our rudderless, worn-out, threadbare squad.

 

The game lacked quality all over the pitch. It was a poor example of a football match from two sides facing down the barrel of a gun.

 

Despite the unexpected surprise of a first minute goal and another on 26 mins, Charlton failed to take any form of control and with a mixture of truly embarrassing defending, poor decision making and tired passing, it was only a matter of time before Bolton got back in the game. Lookman's brace almost forgotten as the team trudged off, heads down, at half time. The Valley faithful struggling to hold back their anger.

 

Apparently there was 12,294 inside The Valley last night. My best guess would be nearer 8,000. The image above was taken 10 mins before kick off. I know the club must include season ticket holders who, for whatever reason, don't attend, but a 'true' figure of attendance should be printed as well, if only to embarrass the breathtakingly ridiculous Target 20,000 that Meire will undoubtedly persist with. I shake my head every time I think about it. Laughable!    

 

Duchatelet's immense stubbornness and Meire's naivity is killing this great club. I feel angry, but not in a way that wants to fight. It's a feeling that I've had enough. I'm fed up with feeling so negative about something I have given everything to for years and years. It's not good for you to feel that way.

 

Thankfully, I miss the next two home games as I'm away with the family over Christmas and New Year. I can count on two hands the total of home games I've missed in the last two decades, but it will be the first time in 21 years I have missed back-to-back games. At this point, I see it as a blessing: an enforced hiatus, if you will. My only regret is Duchatelet already has my money as a season ticket holder, so despite my empty seat, and my boy's next to me, Roland and Katrien will not care.

 

But that's what comes when generating a level of income is more important than ambition.

 

By the time I return I fully expect us to be cut well adrift in the bottom three, and....Fraeye to have been appointed full time. Lets not kid ourselves, Fraeye is going nowhere despite the poor results. Charlton's lack of managerial direction, ability and experience the very reason we're in this mess. 

Man v's Mountain?

Hill walkers amongst us will no doubt be familiar with a huge big rock formation in the eastern fells of the Lake District that looms ominously above anyone who dares to try and pass. A difficult enough obstacle at the best of times, but when tackled in conjunction with some of it's near neighbours like Fairfield and Heron Pike, it might well prove too much of a challenge for some. The mountain's name is Nab Scar. Now as you read that name you might be, as I was earlier this week, instantly reminded of our very own Naby Sarr, but unlike the natural rock formation noted above, our French defender is proving to be anything other than a forbidding, impenetrable rock.

 

I've had the great pleasure to walk the slopes of Nab Scar, and as fell walking goes, the most you really need to worry about is ensuring a firm footing for your feet. For the vast majority of Mr. Duchatelet's foreign imports, finding your feet appears the biggest challenge of all, and many have fallen over the precipice trying (if you can call it that) in some cases, never to return. My guess is Naby will end the same way, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

With Partick Bauer starting his suspension following another red card against Brighton, Charlton's leaky defence is under even greater pressure tomorrow against a physical Leeds United, and young Naby will need to step up and make something of his 6ft 5in frame. Let's hope tomorrow is a turning point for him.

 

I believe there is another protest planned behind the West Stand tomorrow at 14:30 which I will be fully supporting in principle if not in person. My boy is due to come with me tomorrow and I don't want him exposed to that side of following Charlton at the moment. He knows I'm not happy, but he doesn't really understand why. Perhaps you need to have done the decades of unabridged and uncompromised support to fully understand what is at risk here...at least in my opinion and those who will protest again tomorrow. At 9 years of age he's the future of this club, but after seeing his favourite player in Tony Watt given away loaned out recently, finding a reason to get excited about watching Charlton is harder to find than seeing Roland at the Valley on a matchday! 

 

Funnily enough, by all accounts, Mr. Duchatelet was at the Valley most of this week, no doubt listening to the hyperbole, rhetoric nonsense spilling out of Meire's mouth. She will have painted a very different picture than those of us in the 2% are seeing, that's for sure. I wonder what his thoughts are on Target 20,000 when gates continue to fall. He may be unrelentingly stubborn, but surely he's not as naïve as Meire?

 

Unsurprisingly, as he's not a Charlton fan, Mr. Duchatelet will not be staying on to watch the game tomorrow. His absence clearly setting a growing trend amongst so many other genuine Addicks...  

Meire's Faulty Abacus...

 

If I didn't know any better, I'd think Meire has been tapping away at her faulty abacus again (the same one that calculated that just 2% of us had the hump). One thing is for certain, if you exclude the 2,500 odd traveling Tractor Boys, then there was never 13,500 odd Addicks in the Valley on Saturday. I'd hazard a guess that it was well below 10k in the home areas, and with 10mins to go, I'd put that figure as low as 8k.

 

Sorry, Katrien, can you run through Target 20,000 again?

 

It was very disappointing to see Johann's comments in News Shopper this morning. If you've not seen them, they can be found here. Whether he misunderstood (or wasn't fully aware) of what the protest was for, my view is that it's an embarrassing reflection on Johann if he can honestly say that a peaceful protest staged in the 2nd minute of the game that lasted no more than a minute adversely effected his (or Charlton's) performance. It's certainly true that the stadium was drowning in a tsunami of apathy, but rather than criticise the fans for taking measures out of sheer desperation, how about looking up at the directors box for a change of attitude.

 

Might I also remind Johann that it is as much his job to produce a performance to lift the fans? We can' always rely on Johnnie...  

 

Ironically, I didn't actually feel the protest had quite the effect I was anticipating. It was actually very difficult to make out the posters (see image above) and gauge it's impact, but one thing is for sure, it wasn't supported by many. The chap behind me, for example, put a very good case forward to support certain aspects of what Mr. Duchatelet was doing, although he did accept he needs to address his approach to the playing side of things and that Meire was woefully out of her depth and far too dismissive of genuine issues. Both of those points, by the way, form the bases of my concerns. Beyond that, we could be closer to a happy conclusion than you might think.    

 

But sadly it's obvious that Mr. Duchatelet has no intention of picking a manager / head coach without whom there is already an established working relationship, and as such, I fully expect Fraeye to be given the job until the end of the season under the pretence that 'after a carefully considered search and detailed recruitment process, no suitable person has been found' followed by some ironic nonsense about 'stability during a difficult period'.

 

I like Fraeye; I think he speaks well and there is no question he's throwing his heart and soul into the job. I'll back him all day long for that. The big problem is, when wily old managers like Mick McCarthy roll into town with a team that is, on paper, no more impressive than ours, there is a high probability we'll get turned over. With all due respect, has Fraeye got the depth to his tactical nous to compete in the Championship long-term? Maybe a good addition to a back-room staff. Imagine him and a Mick McCarthy together and you're not far off, right?  

 

Therefore, it appears we will continue to amble aimlessly, winning the odd game here and there, but will inevitably lose more. Mid-table is a distant dream at the moment. Once again, I am left hoping there are three teams worst than us come 5pm, Sat 7th May.  

 

Nothing to suggest the apathy will lift any time soon then...    

A 'Proportionate Protest'...

This blog is intended to provide a chance for me to air my own personal views, but you'll have to forgive me if I bang the drum for what I believe is a greater cause.

 

Full credit to the Voice of the Valley and those behind the 'Spell It Out' campaign for joining forces to get what they have sensibly called a 'proportionate protest' underway this Saturday. Full details and the poster (as above) can be found here. It's a great idea that, in front of the Sky cameras, should provide maximum exposure to the legitimate concerns of Addicks. It should also encourage the otherwise clearly intelligent Katrien to calibrate her calculator and redo her sums. Whether she wants to believe it or not, 2% is not representative of those unhappy at certain aspects of the way the club is being run.

It is also right that the initiative encourages the full support of the players. I will extend that support to Karel Fraeye as well. I can't agree with the nature of his appointment, but like the Network flunkies deemed worthy enough to coach manage before him, he is not to blame here.

In many respects, I would favour this form of protest over the mass gathering behind the West Stand, which always has the potential of descending into primeval sexism or racial abuse, which detracts from the intended impact and plays into the hands of Meire. I'll stand alongside my fellow concerned Addicks all day long, but I won't entertain that sort of approach.      

 

I guess Katrien will have hoped the recent fans' meeting and the subsequent update that followed a few days later will have appeased restless fans. To her credit, it's a tentative step in the right direction and two back-to-back wins will have helped her cause still further (and those of the interim manager she has employed). Football fans are a fickle bunch, so I'm sure it has placated some, but not me. Not just yet.

Actions speak far louder than words.

My feelings on this matter are not a petulant rant against a regime that has undoubtedly done some good, but more about the concerns of what I'm slowly losing: the identity of a club I fell in love with many years ago and one that is intrinsically linked to my heart and soul.

Oddly enough, despite all this, I actually believe Katrien's intentions are good (regrettably I can't say the same at this point regarding Mr. Duchatelet), but for me, the fans' meeting highlighted just how detached she is from the true feeling of so many Addicks. She spoke in detail, but her words lacked any form of genuine depth and were, for the most part, woefully short of a credible, achievable conclusion that I can believe in. Perhaps nothing represent this better than her Target 20,000 initiative. Sounds wonderful in principle, and I'm sure some were wooed with the positivity of it all, but we all know that this club will never get 20,000 fans regularly through the gate unless we are in the Premier League. That's not being defeatist or negative, it's being a realist.

As a season ticket holder of 18 years I have never been closer to not renewing. That's not an idol threat, but the thought frightens me more than I can say.

I wonder if she even cares why I feel this disenchanted, or is her priority the 'new fans' who might not share my nostalgia for what this club has stood for? Perhaps rather than prioritising new fans she should first try and retain those who have stuck with this club through the dark days...
 

Anyway, as I said right at the start, this is my view alone and I make no attempts to sway anyone's opinion. Join the 2% only if you want to.