Jan 30
Probably to help balance the wage bill a little 20-year old Karlan-Ahearne Grant went on loan to Crawley today for the rest of the season.
With Mavididi, Kaikai and Zyro, KAG was expendable and a run in a lower division will hopefully see him find his feet, and possibly his level. Harry Kewell’s Crawley are on a good run and have moved to 7 points off the play-off’s and play at lowly Chesterfield tomorrow.
To 10 questions like:
1) Will fan’s liaison and last remaining mouthpiece Richard Murray follow up on Karl Robinson’s claim that he would address supporters this week.
2) Come on, since Kat left what the f is Tom Rubashow doing all day?
3) Will any transfer money received by RD be pledged towards adding to the squad?
4) When will Ezri Konsa be sold?
5) Will Murray and Keith Peacock make up the numbers on the bench on Saturday?
6) Does the old scrote and the remaining SMT members actually want promotion?
7) Is that a little too over-ambitious for us foul mouthed customers?
8) And how are those half-season ticket sales?
9) Oh, and how are those takeover talks?
10) Can us little people get a timeline please?
As expected Ricky Holmes was unveiled as a Sheffield United player today. The fee was undisclosed bu5 reckoned of be no more than £400,000. Richard Murray, remember hump?, said that due to takeover talks the money will not be reinvested in the team, but Holmes wages will, meaning loans and free agents only.
Don’t ask me how during takeover talks players can be sold but not bought. Best to ask Roland how that works. This could get nastier as Duchatelet flogs the family silver one by one.
Making a point..
Pre-game Karl Robinson was again chatting to Addicks outside Gigg Lane and told a fan that Ricky Holmes has been sold from under him by Roland Duchatelet for “debt management.” Afterwards to the press he said that Duchatelet refused to sanction a part exchange with Sheffield United getting Samir Carruthers plus cash for Holmes as Duchatelet just wanted the money.
Duchatelet is taking his last kicks in the stomach of our proud club, which is already doubled up in pain following the Belgian’s 4-year ownership. Just 5 players on the bench today including two long term injuries, an academy player and a goalkeeper.
Rats and ships.
Rick Everitt has heard what I heard yesterday (from a fellow Blogger) that Charlton CFO David Jones has resigned. Possibly he has a job elsewhere lined up, like Meire apparently.
Richard Murray is to step down as chairman of Charlton due to ill health.
A statement on the Official Site Murray said: “Over the past few weeks I have been having various tests regarding my health and it’s been discovered I have a number of malignant tumours in my stomach which require minor surgery at this stage.”
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Football took second place today at an anarchic Valley as Addicks upped the protests against Pinnochio, Judas and Roland Rat. 5,500 Charlton and Brighton fans marched on The Valley before the game in a fantastic show of fans being united against a noxious owner. The game was less than 30 seconds old when it was stopped for 7 minutes after hundreds of black & white beach balls were thrown onto the pitch as thousands of balloons of the same colour floated around the stadium.
Of course in true Charlton style, Brighton then scored in the 8th minute, which was really the first!
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Whilst relegation has been an obvious outcome to a calamitous season, I am finding it hard to digest. Looking at that League One table and the top of League Two does not scream ‘Ooh a new ground’ it shouts ‘up yours.’
The days after the Bolton game have produced a whole range of stories, with I am sure many more to come. Roland Duchatelet was at The Valley today and meetings continue with what Meire called the Senior Management Team this afternoon in a London hotel. Undoubtedly whilst it should be Meire’s future on top of the agenda I would expect it to be Jose Riga.
It is also understood that Paul Elliott planned to meet with Duchatelet, although there will be no uplifting videos or media meetings. The owner was greeted this morning at The Valley gates by a flashmob of Addicks complete with banners. Good work.
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Lennie Lawrence has watched the last 3 Charlton games, which has fuelled rumours that he is negotiating with the club’s current board about re-joining Charlton in the summer. It is thought that Richard Murray is pushing Roland Duchatelet to embrace a British coaching and management structure with Lawrence as Director of Football supporting a Head of Recruitment and a young Head Coach. Where this leaves Jose Riga is unknown.
Of course, and it is my opinion, that Duchatelet will ignore Murray and simply employ another one of his lackeys with Ujpest coach Nebojša Vignjević in pole position.
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I think that is it. 7 points from safety isn’t any different from this morning, but a gutless 2nd half ending in a sixth 3-0 defeat leaves us rooted to the bottom of The Championship and there isn’t a cat in hells chance of us being able to finish above three other teams.
This relegation was totally avoidable but everything points to it being so meticulously planned by Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire, with Richard Murray looking on, encouraging the complete dismantling of this once proud football club. Whereas Meire can’t get out of her own way and Duchatelet, he who doesn’t do failure, happy that his experiement is working, Murray should be utterly ashamed of himself.
If Riga, who I am starting to think we gave far too much credit for in keeping Powell’s squad up last time, is banging the nails in the coffin, then it was the clown Karel Fraeye that bought them from Homebase and left them on the side with a hammer.
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Roland Duchatelet took time out from his busy schedule to visit one of his children this week. He praised his CEO Katrien Meire. “She is a fantastic lady and she has a huge heart for Charlton. Charlton is something she lives for and it hurts her tremendously to be attacked that way by some fans.” and the “very influential” Richard Murray. “Richard is, in my view, the ultimate fan.”
The owner did agree that there maybe more than 2% of the customers not happy. “I think most of the fans are extremely unhappy now, at least a big part of them.”
But fans “don’t understand everything” and have to rely on Roly and his team even though he is “away, far away,” a million miles away the other side of the Channel, and he has “so many other things to do.” Warren Buffet would know what he meant.
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Really, has communication gotten so bad that we now have to be given a Q&A session? Crafted questions that took 5 minutes to write a response to. What kind of statement is that?
Is this Richard Murray attempting to be the conduit between customers and the owner and his CEO? Well, thank you Richard. I can see it now.
RM to RD – “You should really do one of those video pieces again Roland.”
RD to RM – “Huh. No thanks, you talk to them.”
RM – KM – “Katrien darling you really need to address the fans they think you’re lying.”
KM to RM – “Me, no way I’m the CEO I don’t need to talk to the customers. Anyway it’s only around 3,000 of them that are unhappy.”
RM – “Oh bugger I’ll do it then. Right, how do I turn this computer thing on?”
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A momentous day. Some incredible video and photographs out there of large protests before and after the game, the post game one attended by many thousands of Addicks making their feelings clear in a passionate but orderly manner. It was a day to remember and sat here tonight I am so proud to be an Addick.
Also, there has been much media attention. Talksport, Channel 5 and the BBC both covered it as did many media outlets and commentators. Rick Everitt was interviewed on Talksport, who talked extensively about the protests today and C5 had Chirs Powell on, bringing a tear to my eye if I’m honest. The protest made the Belgium press and there was a lot of support from other club’s supporters, including Forest fans. Even James Corden mentioned it on Twitter, calling the demise a tragedy. And he has 5.9 million followers.
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Happy New Year.
As the quest of Charlton fans to reclaim our club grows in the national media, tomorrow’s game against Nottingham Forest is the last home game for 3 weeks and it is essential that we make our voices heard loud and clear. Protests behind the west stand are planned for 2.30pm and at 5pm.
The 5pm protest will be an hour-long sit in and I urge Addicks to make their feelings known towards the owner, his CEO and the amateur of a manager. I also hope that for the 90 minutes in between the fans in the stadium make Meire and Murray as uncomfortable as possible.
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I was one of hundreds of Addicks getting angrier and angrier on Twitter last night following Tweets from a couple of media outlets supposedly reporting the fan’s meeting with Katrien Meire and Richard Murray at The Valley. I got myself so wound up I had to go to the pub.
Upon watching the video this evening the narrative from last night as recorded by the News Shopper and London24 certainly painted a different picture and many of the 140 character missives took out of the context what was actually said.
I sat through the whole 110 minutes of the video, and a lot of it was respectful and uneventful. However my own opinion is that this was not the discussion that I was hoping for. It is possibly a start but there was still no substance to the same old trotted out mantra we have heard many times before.
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Chicago Addick 