Free Speech Day...

Photo by @MarcoCasualty

Around a sparsely populated Valley the occasional protest banner was visible, but I would doubt Meire or her senior management team bothered to strain their eyes to read any of them. Many fans had put a great deal of effort into their critical creations, but sadly, in such an apathetic atmosphere, Free Speech Day came and went with only a tiny fraction of the impact of those foam pigs.

 

In a week when Meire claimed some ground back with those who will know no better, the protests needed a big impact. Instead, it looked a little like the wind had been taken out of our sails.

 

Earlier in the week I had screamed with every ounce of breath I had at the radio when Meire claimed relegation was the reason 4,000+ season ticket holders had not renewed and gates had fallen. No admission of her own breathtakingly poor mismanagement.

 

Sadly, today I could barely be bothered to cheer our winning goal. 

 

Remarkably, yesterday's win lifts Charlton into 14th and to within 4 points of a Play-Off spot. Proof, if you need it, that the standard of League One is shockingly poor.  

 

Photo by @MarcoCasualty

Next week we host Scunthorpe at the Valley in the FA Cup when only the lower sections of the North and West will be open. If the gate exceeds 3,500 I will be genuinely surprised, and for those hardy souls who do turn out we can expect the odd image posted on social media that may well be the vision of the Valley in the not-too-distant future. As Charlton continue to decline under this cancerous regime, you might even expect the upper tiers of both of those stands to be shut permanently.

 

I will not be attending, and beyond that I'm afraid I just can't say anymore. Yesterday was truly awful; entertainment value of zero. Other than the company of @MarcoCasualty and @Robontiod there was nothing whatsoever about yesterday that I enjoyed. The football under Slade is a glaring indictment of why he has never seen promotion in over two decades of management, and the atmosphere was as dead as I've ever know it for a league game in the same period.

 

Charlton's official attendance was given as 10,153, but the reality was nearer 7,500 at best, and this on the day that kids could get in for one singular pound! Compare that with the 22,151 that were in attendance the last time Chesterfield came to the Valley in 2011 (figures courtesy of a tweet posted by @JoeHallWords).

 

A loss of 12,000 fans in a relatively short period since Duchatelet bought our cub. Just let that sink in for a brief moment... 

 

I know only too well that my attendance is nothing more than a sorry and pathetic attempt to cling to the very thinnest threads of hope, whilst all along I know in my heart I want them out so much more than I want Charlton to win. As the war of attrition continues, and in the absence of any direct or believable action from the club to halt the decline, it seems clear Meire will stubbornly hold out for a time when Charlton's fan base is a small and manageable group of clapping seals who'll 'back the boys' blissfully and will put up with any old shit.

 

Just imagine what level we'll be playing at by then?

 

I've resisted the thought to some degree, but yesterday confirmed to me that a full boycott may well be the only way forward. If not harmful to a club that doesn't care about it's fan base, it might be better for my own mind state...    

Repressive, Despotic, Paranoid...



The author of the tweets above posted them openly on twitter last night (remember, on twitter the posts read bottom up chronologically) around the time that Russell Slade was taking a page out of Katrien Meire's 'Book of Successful Public Speaking' with a harsh and inappropriate dig at the 250 odd hardy souls who travelled up to Vale Park to witness another defensive tactical disaster.

 

I doff my cap to the author of those tweets, who by way of action, resigned from a very well respected Charlton supporter group rather than conform to the sycophants and flunkies. A man of obvious principles - something not found within the senior management of this once-proud football club. His actions leave him free to protest.

 

Oh dear, Charlton, what on earth have you become?

 

In the space of a few days a young fan is set-upon outside the Valley (ironically, for waving a North Korean flag during Saturdays game) by the Regime's heavy-handed covert security team, the manager has a dig at loyal fans to disguise his own failings, and now indisputable proof that censorship is at large.

 

Roland, Katrien, Tony...if you don't like the comparisons to a repressive, despotic, paranoid regime, then don't do things to make you out to be acting like a repressive, despotic, paranoid regime.

 

Pretty simple really, even for you lot...

 

I'm not flattering myself to assume the critical words wrote by myself regularly on this blog are known to the club, but on the off-chance they are, I have a simple message. Please go now. You are killing this club. My club. The demise of Charlton is way beyond any heartbreak you will ever understand not being fans of the club. Be under no illusions that your mismanagement is the reason we are in this mess, and the situation is non-recoverable. Progression can only happen when you have gone.

 

This is a war of attrition you will not win.   

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?

Meeting Cancelled...

So Katrien want's a cosy chat with the CARD, eh? Well I'll admit I never saw that one coming. Duchatelet and Meire have chosen to ignore the growing discontent amongst Charlton's fan base for far too long and thankfully, and unsurprisingly, CARD have declined the meeting through the release of this statement, which ends with this blunt appraisal.

 

"CARD therefore endorses the view previously put forward by the supporters' trust that the situation is irretrievable under your management and under Roland Duchatelet's ownership. You had two years to talk and you declined to do so. Now it is time for you to go"

 

Bravo, CARD. Superbly put.

 

I've always felt that Meire's approach is not all about arrogance, but as much about that child-like approach of thinking that if you ignore a problem for long enough it will eventually go away. Perhaps, finally, Meire has realised that the dark clouds will not disperse on their own, although it's more likely her outsourced PR machine has failed in an attempt to save face with the protests about to resume. Every time she's created a PR disaster for herself or the club, or has made decisions that have proven to be undeniably wrong, I get the impression she hopes a few wins on the pitch will calm everyone down and we'll all move on. Regardless of whether she's managed to surround herself with a close circle of sycophants, even Katrien must begin to wonder if she's in the right job. Money aside, quite what she's getting out of it beggars belief.

 

I expect the club to now make public their disappointment that attempts to reach out to fans have been rebuffed and what a shame that is, blah, blah, blah. Don't worry, Target20k, I'm sure Meire still loves you...  

 

I can't deny it, I'm struggling massively with Charlton at the moment. Of the three home games I've watched this season I've yet to be inspired by anything I've seen on the pitch and the falling attendances are beyond depressing. This is the lowest the club has been in terms of league position since I've been a regular supporter, and there are no signs it will improve.  

 

Of the games I've attended, I felt absolutely no emotion whatsoever whenever we've scored or even when Johnnie missed that penalty. I'd hoped things might be different under Slade, but his cautious and unattractive style of football is a depressing appendage of Roland's dark and depressing regime. I get now why Slade has never seen promotion as a manager.

 

I've also come to realise that I cannot easily coexist with those fellow Addicks who want me to ignore the immense harm caused by Duchatelet and Meire and to simply 'back the boys' in a naïve belief that success on the pitch is even achievable, let alone would lift the gloom. I'm also growing quite resentful of those who actually think the protest action is the reason Charlton are shit. I'm a fair-minded man and I can understand, even if I don't agree, with those folk who just want to turn up and blindly watch the football, just as they've always done, clapping like seals, but I just can't do it anymore.

 

Because of that, I came away from the Rochdale defeat convinced I was done with Charlton until this regime has gone. In the space of 7 months (which, by coincidence, is around the time I last saw Charlton win) I've gone from a loyal season ticket holder of some 20 years, who's missed little more than a half dozen home games in that time, to a man more than capable of completely walking away.

 

But with CARD resuming their protest action, I now have an undeniable incentive to attend the Coventry game. I've got a ticket for the Lower West (coincidentally that's where I've been sitting this year anyway, now I have the freedom to choose a seat anywhere) and I will voice my discontent with everything I have.

 

What happens on the pitch is largely irrelevant to me now, sadly my only motivation is to fight for the future of my club in the slim hope I can get back to those days I miss so much, when winning felt wonderful and losing really hurt.

A New Low...

 

"There was no consistency that we have seen before. We lost our identity a little bit tonight, from where we've been at. We looked devoid of ideas"

 

Words above from Russell Slade post match. I guess that's why he's a professional football manager and I'm not. My view is that the 'consistency' he laments as missing from last night's draw is what I'm recognising as the dull, unambitious football we've seen under his management. I came to the Valley hoping not to see it, but instead the alternative was indescribably shitter than before. 

 

I agree with him that we were 'devoid of idea', but that has been a constant all season. Slade's conservative approach as much the reason we are mid-table as Duchatelet or Meire's immense failings. His reference to a 'loss of identity' hit very, very hard with me. I might well be unfairly extending the context beyond what Slade was directly referencing to, but a loss of identity is the sorest of points, and he needs to know why it touches a very raw nerve...

 

Last night's depressing draw with Oldham was up there with that woeful Carling Cup defeat to Wycombe at The Valley in December '06, when the hapless Les Reed cut a lonely figure in the dugout. Similar in stature and effectiveness, Slade may well be looking over his shoulder nervously, with Duchatelet desperate to tell us all that the weird British experiment us protestors forced upon him never worked, before reverting to his tried and failed network model. And so the cycle continues. 

 

In the farce that is Charlton Athletic, one could be easily believe that Slade has been told not to win games by the clueless Meire because Rolly doesn't want to pay win bonuses...

 

Just 8,500 home fans bothered to turn up last night, which would be depressing enough if the reality wasn't worst still. My estimates put the 'real' attendance closer to 7,500, but even that might be generous. It says a lot that the gate is dropping so alarmingly that even the club can't spin the numbers into double figures in an attempt to save face. With the standard of football at an all-time low and without even the smallest shred of evidence that things on and off the pitch will improve any time soon, I can't believe there is an incentive to go, even for the hardiest fan.

 

Still, not Meire's fault, is it, Sue Parkes? 

 

Beyond blind loyalty that is hard to break, I can't really explain why I went last night. I got a ticket in the West Stand just to shake up my 'matchday experience' but the picture looked just a grim from there. I wonder if my attendance is more like a form of macabre voyeurism, like a rubbernecker taking in the car-crash, joyless, uninviting drama that is Charlton Athletic.

 

What is wrong with me?

 

Like a complete fool, I bet I still go on Saturday. I'm in Southwark on business in the morning and with 80% of my journey south covered, I thought a trip to the Valley would give me something to look forward to after work. I certainly won't buy a ticket in advance now, and will see how I feel on the day.  

The Great Mystery of CAFC Target 20k...

Given the current state of Charlton Athletic on and off the field, it would be very easy to mistake CAFC Target20k as just another parody twitter account set up by a mischievous fan looking for some cheap laughs. To have aspirations of attracting 20k fans to the Valley is genuinely funny, so in that respect, it works perfectly well. The problem is, it's not a parody account, it's a real 'thing', albeit a very mysterious one.

 

The committee has, in it's own words, designs to 'improve the matchday experience, attracting new support and retain current support'. All well and good, you might think. No fair minded Addick would argue against that, right?

 

So why do I feel like Target 20k is contributing to a problem, not solving one? 

 

It is impossible not to be cynical about the way in which Target 20k has come about, who is behind it and who exactly is benefiting from its existence. When they first emerged I questioned T20k via Twitter as to why they were a faceless organisation and whomever replied on their behalf stated that they feared abuse from Charlton fans. I can only have assumed was because of their uncharacteristically positive standpoint that was the polar opposite of what the vast majority of Addicks were feeling then and now. I replied that, in my opinion, by remaining anonymous it completely devalued their position and opened them up to suspicion. To my knowledge (and believe me, I've lazily not done a single second of research for the benefit of this piece), the members of T20k remain faceless, bar a member that left in April as the 'real issues were being ignored' and the most recent departure directly after Wednesday's meeting when a member was asked to resign after releasing some details in advance of an 'agreed time'. Sceptics might wonder if the 'agreed time' was set to allow the club a chance to portray the contents of that meeting via the OS to suit their own agenda. As I say, only sceptics would think that...

 

Oh, did I mention that Roland was there on Wednesday?    

 

For reasons that only Katrien Meire can answer, our much-maligned and otherwise fan-dismissive CEO has strangely embraced T20k in a way that is the complete opposite to every other group, including CAST. I, like many others, are left wondering why this group of individuals gained her attention enough that she was prepared to talk with them. With T20k remaining anonymous, it is no surprise there is a growing view that they have simply become a propaganda machine for a woefully failing regime. The last thing Charlton fans need right now.  

 

In having the occasional chat with T20k, Katrien Meire can rightly claim to be talking to 'fans' about 'improving Charlton', and thus straight-batting some of the negative press surrounding the club. Meanwhile, beyond the same words being repeated time and time again, nothing appears to change.

 

With no light at the end of the tunnel, Charlton's demise remains heart-breaking.

 

Only yesterday former Charlton media man and Addick, Jimmy Stone, ran a poll on twitter simply asking whether CAFC Target 20k should disband, with 91% of the 714 people who voted saying yes. That's a pretty clear indication that the vast majority of Addicks do not feel T20k speaks for them and would prefer them gone.

 

Rumours that Meire is trying to round up the 9% who want T20k to remain to bolster the group are unsubstantiated at the moment. 

 

Whilst I don't doubt the intentions of those individuals involved with T20k were anything other than sincere from the outset, no more than I would question whether they are actually Addicks, it's my personal view that they have allowed over time Meire and Duchatelet to use them as a smoke-screen for the mind-bogglingly appalling communications we typically associate with Charlton under this regime.

What is most alarming for me is that despite supposedly representing us, the fans, T20k clearly do not feel they have the responsibility to reveal the details of the meeting they are privalaged to attend, especially when Rolly turns up unannounced (not my perception - check their twitter account and you'll see). They talk of 'confidential minutes' taken, claiming they are not something they can distribute.

Let that sink in before drawing your own conclusions. 

 

Perhaps the greatest action T20k can do for the betterment of Charlton Athletic is to disband?    

First Impressions, Same Problems...

Normally a Saturday at the football is what gets me through the week. I say normally, it's been that way for as long as I can remember, up until early October of last year when I first began to accept things felt very different. Instead of counting down the days to get behind my team I was dreading it. I still went: enduring matches rather than enjoying them. Having a season ticket made me go.

 

Fast forward nearly 12 months and my lack of enthusiasm feels worryingly normal. I could have not bothered on Saturday even as late as when I was tying my shoelaces by the front door, wondering what I was doing with my life. No longer a season ticket holder, and with my home-printed ticket in hand, I reluctantly made my way to The Valley.

 

As documented in my previous couple of posts, Saturday was my first game of the season, so my first chance to take a look at Slade's new-look Charlton. I wasn't impressed. A serious lack of positive intention, verve and creativity continues to blight the team. Remember, this was AFC Wimbledon at home (with all due respect, blah, blah, blah...) and a game Charlton have to be expected to win if we are to believe there's any chance of a quick escape from League One. The effort appeared there, but the application was embarrassingly predictable and tactically basic at best.

 

Our two  most creative players, Lookman and Holmes, looked frustrated at times, surrounded by players more likely to destroy the momentum they were trying to build. Ulvestad and Crofts worked hard enough but neither appeared willing, or perhaps capable, to play anything other than the easiest option sideways. Ajose was non-existent, whilst at the back I struggled to understand how young Konsa is picked ahead of Bauer if the latter is fully fit and willing. I don't know if it's typical of Slade's style or not, but people will not be flocking back to The Valley to see our defence lump long balls forward to the sizable figure that is Megennis, that's for sure.

 

Mind you, perhaps I'm no longer the right person to judge...

 

Talking of crowds, Charlton announced an attendance of 11,927 for Saturday's game. I'm genuinely curious about this. Whilst it is obvious that inflating the true attendance will help hide the embarrassment of falling gates, surely there is an issue with gate revenue and what has to be declared in relation to the true attendance? I'd love to know the finer details of what clubs are allowed to manipulate to suit their own agendas (clearly they can, as I'm not suggesting anything illegal). CARD have announced they will provide a more realistic figure going forward, but I'm not quite sure how they will achieve this as their agenda (to which I obviously back 100%) is the polar opposite of the club. My own estimate puts Saturday's gate at around 9,500-10,000 at best, and this, remember, a London derby.

 

My own son didn't want to come, and I attempted to give his ticket away for free via Twitter. No takers, unsurprisingly.

 

On the plus side, I sat with Paul, who I was very pleased to bump into on the East Stand concourse. We both gave up our old ST seats last season, and I wondered if I'd see him much going forward. It's good, honest chaps like him, and others who cannot bring themselves to attend just yet, that are the last remaining incentive to go...

 

The only positive thing about my continual Charlton apathy is Wimbledon's late winner was never going to spoil my evening, let alone my weekend as it would have in the past. I don't thank Meire or Duchatelet for that, though. I want to have the hump in defeat because I want it to mean everything again. Sadly, the one thing Saturday confirmed to me is that it doesn't.