Stooge
The media team rolled out Simon Makienok today and he spoke with some heart about how difficult the past week or so has been, and I don’t doubt it. Makienok’s absence had become a bit of mitigation for the team’s recent form, but for the on-loan striker who has played just 7 games to be pushed into the spotlight to speak on behalf of the team and the new managerial staff I found odd.
The word had it that Charlton players have been told not to talk to the press and new Interim Head Coach Karel Fraeye wasn’t going to talk publicly until after Saturday’s game with Middlesbrough. However the Official Site will carry an exclusive interview with Fraeye tomorrow.
My beef is not with Fraeye. Believe me I have witnessed many people be over-promoted in my time in business and once they have nowhere to hide, especially under many attentive eyes, they get found out.
Credit to Makienok, but where is the CEO this week? Where is the stewardship of the company, the leadership. Who is laying out strategy and messaging? The last time Meire opened her gob, she had her foot in it when she gave Guy Luzon a vote of confidence just over a week ago and her boss, the mad professor, is too busy mixing water with liquid nitrogen in his bunker in Belgium to talk to anybody.
Duchatelet is the person we need to get to, and we will, but in the meantime Katrie Meire’s contribution as the club’s most senior executive gets more and more embarrassing. Her credibility is now zero. She disrespects our history and she refuses to enagage with the club’s stakeholders.
Tony Jimenez has far more understanding of how football clubs should be run, and I can’t believe I just said that, but it is true. You can get away with little experience as long as you listen, learn and surround yourself with good people. But there is an arrogance and a naivety that has presided over nothing but disaster since she walked in the door.
No more playing nice with one of the few female executives in sport. She has shown that she is little more than a stooge. Take some responsibilty Katrien or get Roland to find you something else to do.
Chicago Addick 
Totally agree – She is a clueless, spineless, gutless….
CA, each time at a staged event she sighs wearily but agrees to answer (one more time) a fan’s question related to past decisions/blunders, then gives an account materially at odds with what others who earned our trust have said, I’m reminded of the comments attributed to Dryden in Lawrence of Arabia: “a man who tells lies, like me, merely hides the truth; but a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it”.
CA, I reckon she is banking on the new coach “bounce”. We pull off a result on Saturday, and she can then take all the credit for steadying the ship and the wise appointment of Fraeye. We might see something from her then.
Ah, a visionary. I like it.
“Arrogance and naivety” sum it up CA. Surprisingly their total silence this week is not surprising me! I’ve become conditioned to it.
Pembury Addick
CA, I continue to marvel how Duchatelet can positively pump money into Charlton and then so negatively shoot himself in the foot at the same time, as summarized in your “just a tad angry” rant above. When all the dust settles and this monstrous situation reaches whatever conclusion is in the books, it will make a fantastic case study at those business schools which follow the Harvard School of Business model!
very good mate
Thank you sm
I’ve always enjoyed your blog, never commented though.
The strangest thing is that all these events have no impact on me what so ever, I’ve become so used to their incompetence that I barely even notice it. Things have become so strange
Louis, thanks for commenting. Once we become used to their incompetence there will be no going back. Time for us to speak up.
Correct on all points.
BTW-The noise of the new manager interviewing process is deafening. When do you think we should hear that after an exhaustive one nighter that surprisingly they have found the best candidate called Fraye.
The ONLY solution is to get these people out. At the time of Luzon’s appointment, I wrote and tried to contact two investors in the US who reportedly were looking to buy a UK team but got nowhere. And after all who would want to buy a team in the position it is in.
For Saturday, my only hope is that Middlesboro are exhausted after Man U game.
Has anyone used ‘the Belgian bungler’ yet?
I commend your optimism on actually being able to reach Roland one day – we’re his experiment, not his priority so who knows where this ends. In the meantime keep up the fantastic blog…
I will do my best. Thanks.
I’ve just misread Martin’s post – thought it said ‘she is relying on new couch bounce’. (Think I may have reached a new low point).