Roland Duchâtelet | Chicago Addick

Nov 16

Cracks were appearing for Slade in an earthquake behind the scenes

I was skeptical when Russell Slade was first unveiled as the club’s first manager since Chris Powell, but I warmed to him. He talked in honest terms in words we could understand and clearly was much better qualified for the English game than all of his recent predecessors. He also talked of promotion being the only goal.

However nothing ever seemed perfect, or anywhere close. There were rumblings of discontent over transfer policy and interference from Duchatelet’s network scouts. The signing of Andrew Crofts took an age, and it was clear to everybody that as the season kicked off at Bury we were very short on numbers, and this was not improved before the transfer deadline.

Nonetheless money was spent, and a lot for this level, and Russell Slade cannot complain that this was not a team that he built, albeit missing a few bricks in midfield. He bought known firepower, had a wealth of riches at centre-back, a goalie too good for League One and had the added benefit of the further emergence of Ademola Lookman and the potential of Ezri Konsa to work with. We were short on numbers and our midfield was like a 14-year old addicted to football manager had put it together…. but there was more than enough to have us knocking around the top 6, a position we made just once in the early weeks of the season.
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Nov 14

8 Comments

Slade sacked

Within the next hour Charlton will announce that they have sacked Russell Slade after just 16 league games. Slade was heralded by Katrien Meire as some sort of saviour, thinking that appointing a British manager was the answer to the destruction her and Roland Duchatelet had caused since he bought the club in January 2014.
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Nov 14

3 Comments

Taxi for Roland

Yesterday a London cab driven, I am proud to say, by one of my best and oldest mates left The Valley for a road trip to take the ongoing CARD led protests to Belgium, the home of our absent and apathetic owner, and his lying and worse than useless CEO.

12 Addicks with the CARD sponsored taxi leading the way took the Eurotunnel to Belgium and drove last night to St Truiden. My mate reported a “proper good and funny night with a few beers” was had before after breakfast they made their way to the town’s main square to spread Addicks’ message for Roland Duchâtelet to sell our famous football club. 2,000 leaflets were handed out and with black and white beach balls rolling around the square, the group made quite the entrance and received a warm welcome with overwhelming support from locals.

The entourage then moved onto Stayen, St Truiden’s ground, where a whole load of birthday gifts for Roland to celebrate his 70th year were delivered including those gorgeous pink pigs. Apparently security were waiting and Roland has already told the local media that “he is very upset.”
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Oct 31

28 Comments

Nothing

From the age of 8 to my mid 30’s I scarcely missed a Charlton home game and went to hundreds of aways. Other than maybe a late consolation in a stuffing, and there were a fair few of those, the feeling of a Charlton goal would without fail every time drive me to the edge of frenzy.

My brother had a phrase for it. Bro, he would say, when we scored I just didn’t know what to do. I could not celebrate enough. It’s a beautiful thing and something all true fans of football clubs can relate to. My euphoria of a Charlton goal felt no different to me as an 8-year old as it did to me as 35-year old.
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Oct 16

4 Comments

Charlton Athletic 3 Coventry City 0

For me trying to follow the game remotely, the game and therefore the result was a little secondary on Saturday. Greater forces of importance were at play yesterday afternoon in a wonderful coming together of two sets of supporters. Coventry fans take a bow and I really hope you rid yourselves of the imposters that have somehow got themselves to be leaders of your famous club’s future.

As for us, the result, a much needed 3 points, showed again that there is no correlation between full scale protests and the team’s performance on the pitch, in fact to the contrary if anything, it has been a spark provided by fans to give the team a platform to actually show us what they can do.

The first half, a cracker of a goal by Ricky Holmes aside, was pretty uneventful on the pitch accept for the arrival of 3,000 pink pigs thrown on by Addicks and Sky Blues’ fans just after kick off to remind our respective owners that pigs are more likely to fly than they give two snorts about the future of our historic football clubs.
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Sep 28

CARD to resume protests

The Coalition Against Roland Duchâtelet (CARD) announced today after last night’s most recent on the field disappointment that they will resume their organized protests at the home game versus Coventry on October 15th.

Whilst away from The Valley anti Duchâtelet and Meire songs, chants and flags have filled away ends, the sparse home crowds have been devoid of the pre, during and post match protests we saw last season, although there was a black and white day to coincide with the visit of AFC Wimbledon.

At the beginning of the season CARD said that they would not organize any protests during the opening month of Russell Slade’s reign as manager, and in that time The Valley faithful have seen just one league win from 5 games and a League Cup defeat.

Many Addicks, myself included, have been calling out for a resumption of the protests, especially since Duchâtelet and the so called senior management team appear to have learnt nothing from their previous mistakes.
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Jul 21

15 Comments

Less than 5,500 season tickets sold

The club felt compelled to announce season ticket sales today. “Nearly 5,500,” which is almost half of last season, way down on previous League One seasons and the lowest total (thus far) for 20 years. Meire may well trumpet 5,500 with three weeks left until the first home game, but that number is embarrassing for a club of our size. Bradford announced 3 weeks ago that they had sold more than 11,000, Coventry at the same time 7,000.

Duchatelet will be hit in the pocket by around £1m from up front ticket sales, particularly as a third of the sales are in the cheapest seats in the Lower North. That £1m is shadowed by the £5m lost from relegation from The Championship. Add to this a reduction in sponsorship, matchday hospitality and a dent in fan spending in the ground.
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Jul 19

2 Comments

Players come, players go. Well players go..

It is neither a shock, nor the end of the world that players are being moved on. Players each partly culpable for our relegation sold to raise funds through fees and wages, or allowing them to move to a higher level because of contractual obligations (JBG), or because it is fair and proper (Cousins) or simply because they are rubbish (Sarr).

As expected Nick Pope and Johann Berg Gundmundsson were officially unveiled by Burnley today. Tony Watt beat the rush out of Austria to return home to pack his well worn overnight bag and looks set to move to Hearts of the SPL for family reasons. Must be a right pain for our Tony listing his past 5-year addresses when he’s applying to Sky for his movie channel.
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Jun 23

4 Comments

No closure. Yet

So last season. Have you moved on? The fixtures are out. Bury away on the first day. Northampton up first at home. Is there closure yet? Is the fact that the liar and her enabler may have after two and a half years finally accepted that their judgement was utter garbage. No apologies, but a poker faced acceptance that the two of them don’t have a clue what they are doing.

I am still mentally digesting this past season. It’s going to take me a while. In fact for me anyway there will never be closure. Those scars will not fade, the bare faced lies will never vanish. The treading of Belgium feet all over my Lego Millennium Falcon, disintegrating it into a thousand pieces, can never be rebuilt under the hands of Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire.
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Jun 17

Novak in, Vetokele out

Another Addicks addition was complimented by a departure today. Charlton announced that Birmingham striker Lee Novak will join on July 1st on a 3-year contract. Meanwhile, although not officially announced, Igor Vetokele signed on a season long loan with a view to permanent transfer with Belgium side Zulte Waregem.
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Jun 7

2 Comments

Verbal agreement

“It’s not in my contract about having that control over my players, but it’s a verbal agreement.” *Bangs head on desk and nips down to bookies to put a tenner on Slade being gone by Christmas*

Just 20 minutes allowed for this morning’s press conference, with Meire getting an easy ride but making sure she got in that she was not fearful of her job and that everything will be alright, from today. Richard Murray thought the meeting was all about him and had a good old cry: “I was disappointed with the treatment I got last year, considering what I’ve tried to do for this club.” Yep, those ruddy customers. Pain in the ass aren’t they Rich.
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Jun 6

5 Comments

Slade appointed as ‘manager’

As expected the club announced Russell Slade today as not the club’s new head coach, but it’s manager. The first time an individual has carried that title under Roland Duchatelet not just at Charlton, but at any of his clubs. He has signed a 3-year contract.

No one was witness to see if Meire’s nose grew bigger but she said: “Russell has vast experience in the division and is a two-time League One Manager of The Year. He joins us as Manager on a long-term contract and his appointment represents the start of an exciting new era at the club under his guidance.”

This certainly spells a change of direction from the owner, and also from Meire who from only weeks ago was telling customers not to raise their expectations has now charged her new employee with a target of promotion.

“We don’t underestimate the challenge of getting Charlton back into the Championship.We believe Russell is the man to help us achieve this and, with the help of everyone involved in the club, ensure that Charlton have a successful 2016/17 campaign.”
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Jun 3

6 Comments

Slade leaves Cardiff

Although he is meant to be on his holidays Russell Slade’s current club Cardiff City have announced that he has left the club by mutual agreement.

Slade was made Cardiff’s head of football at the end of the season, moving upstairs after leading the Welsh club to an 8th place Championship finish. Clearly Slade wasn’t happy with losing his managerial job and has been in the frame for a host of vacancies since.
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May 29

13 Comments

Will it be Jacko?

With news that Rochdale’s Keith Hill could not “agree terms” and would rather stay in Rochdale than move to Charlton, that Russell Slade is now in the sights of Blackburn and the Nigel Adkins’ trail has gone a little cold, it is skipper Johnnie Jackson who is now installed as the bookies favourite.

After the fruitless efforts to hire Chris Wilder were carried out in the media, Duchatelet has covered his search for a new manager in a security blanket. Mind you the day we were expected to announce a new manager the Belgian instead was at press conference to unveil that he has ‘bought back’ Sint-Truiden when he openly trolled Addicks’ fans about the pitfall’s of foreign ownership. More from me on that another day.
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May 27

8 Comments

Will it be Slade?

Doctor Kish has revealed that a new manager could be announced in SE7 today. Russell Slade seems the most likely nominee with the newly appointed Cardiff City head of football as low as 1/2 with the bookies.

Slade moved from Leyton Orient to Cardiff as the Bluebirds manager in October 2014 replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Slade was pretty unpopular at Cardiff mostly due to his efforts to steady the ship and get rid of high earners, which were his orders, but he did achieve positions of 11th and 8th in his two seasons.
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May 24

1 Comment

Who is Steve Head?

Well apparently he is Charlton’s new chief scout and head of recruitment. Despite Meire suggesting that a new manager would be appointed first and allowed to pick his staff, the club have gone ahead and selected 52-year old Steve Head anyway. According to SLP’s Rich Cawley, Head was one of the original four on a short list first drawn up over a month ago, three months since Duchatelet said that we need to improve “adult scouting” and just the seven months since Phil Chapple left for Fulham!

Head was hired from Wolves, where he had been since last August. Before that he was at Wolves for 9 months and prior to that Reading, where he played as a junior, for almost two years. How you put together a long term recruitment strategy in short spells like that I am not sure!
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May 22

6 Comments

Billy Davies eyes

Dour, paranoid, control freak Billy Davies is the latest name to be linked with the Charlton job. Davies is a serial authority hater who bears grudges. Roland Duchatelet, Katrien Meire and Davies are a match made in hell and either the media are bored of inactivity and silence coming out of the club or Meire wants to practice her fine man-management skills.
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May 16

6 Comments

Contract talks

As clubs start to issue their ‘not retained list’ the Addicks have very few players actually out of contract this summer.

Only young Serbian keeper Marko Dmitrovic, World Cup ‘star’ Reza Ghoochnannejhad, Joe Pigott and Zak Ansah are recognizable names that have their contracts ending. From the U21 squad stopper 20-year old Dillon Phillips, who played 37 games for National League champions Cheltenham before injury curtailed his season and Ayo Obileye, who had a spell on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge are two noticeable exits.

Both Callum Harriott and Alou Diarra have their contracts ending but have a one-year extension offer built into their deals. I would suspect that Harriott will feel it’s time to move on after being at The Valley since the age of 9, and Diarra’s salary is now out of range.
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May 11

17 Comments

Well, well, well….

“Charlton Athletic can confirm that following discussions with Northampton Town manager Chris Wilder and his assistant Alan Knill over the vacant managerial role at The Valley, the club has been unable to reach an agreement.” (more)
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May 9

6 Comments

Total control

That is what Chris Wilder has demanded from Roland Duchatelet as he and Alan Knill discuss contract terms with Charlton to be their 7th manager/head coach in just over two years. Today both clubs announced that permission had been given to Wilder and his assistant Alan Knill to open discussions, although it is thought that Wilder at least had a conversation with the Belgian owner last week.

Compensation on the year Wilder and Knill’s contract has to run has been agreed and those contracts have break clauses in them allowing a move. Wilder and Knill are the archetypical journeymen football people. Good people, but neither would be more than comfortable financially and they will feel they deserve their opportunity following recent success at Northampton and, for Wilder anyway, Oxford United. I don’t begrudge it them at all.
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May 8

18 Comments

Chris Wilder

Farewell Jose, see you around some time. Possibly after Chris Wilder sticks two fingers up at Roland Duchatelet due to team interference and replacement Nebojsa Vignjevic takes us dangerously close to the bottom four of League One. I’ll put you down for March 2017 Jose.

I know, I’m in that kind of mood.
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May 7

3 Comments

Charlton Athletic 0 Burnley 3

A 3-0 defeat. Probably could have got evens on that before the game. Congratulations to the Clarets on their title.

Anyway enough about the game. What an awesome day for Charlton fans as chaos reigned at The Valley. Despite sniffer dogs, over zealous searches, 100’s of additional security, aggressive stewarding, a net behind the length of the Covered End and more police, with some bazaar crowd control tactics, than SE7 has seen for many a long year, it was a landmark day for Addicks as we thrust our plight into the forefront of the national media and the conscious of fellow football fans everywhere.
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May 6

2 Comments

Good riddance

The last miserly game of a torrid and destructive football season. Not one Addick will shed a tear when the curtain falls tomorrow afternoon. Burnley fans will be in celebratory mood whilst Charlton fans mischievous and angry.

CARD have been a little bit low key this week allowing the buzz around what may happen on Saturday fill the space and pose questions. I know however there is a lot planned for the watching Sky TV cameras making life once again uncomfortable for Ms Meire, the self-titled Senior Management Team (sic) and that oaf of an owner Roland Duchatelet, up a little bit earlier than normal from his coffin to get his weekly football fix via a dodgy internet feed.
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May 3

1 Comment

One last stand

Congratulations to Burnley. Proper little club (pop: 87,000), owned by local businessmen with a grounded but forward thinking vision. A club that didn’t flaunt FFP to win promotion last time, and did not risk it all once in the big time, but made friends by playing the right way. Very much like us after relegation in 1999, they held onto players, added astutely and boldly in the case of Andre Gray, but most importantly the owners backed their very bright and visionary young manager.

Part of me was hoping that Burnley would still need to win at The Valley on Saturday. I love the drama. But I’m glad we can park that side story and the Clarets will deservedly be promoted whatever happens. In fact as in now tradition they will wipe the floor with us and win the title.
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Apr 23

4 Comments

Charlton Athletic 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 3

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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Apr 21

2 Comments

The day after the day after

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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Apr 19

3 Comments

Encouraging

Unsubstantiated stories continue to flutter around SE7 of Roland Duchatelet coming to terms with failure for apparently the first time in his life. See, he’s human after all huh?

Following on from the Belgian acknowledging that there are suitors out there with a price of £38m quoted to former defender Paul Elliott. Peter Varney and his backers are known to still be interested in acquiring the club and there is also an American based interest as well.

It has been mentioned before but it now appears apparent that work had been halted at Sparrows Lane. A Category One youth academy is pretty much impossible to acquire in League One and would also be a huge hit to the bottom line. Maybe another scenario that Duchatelet didn’t envision when he was clearly content to accept relegation.
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Apr 17

2 Comments

Lennie Lawrence

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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Apr 13

13 Comments

Give us yer money

Roland Duchatelet is going to get none of my money, at least, up front, this summer. Whether that is tickets or sponsorship. It is a personal thing, I understand that. Some Addicks plan their whole week, often with family, around a 90 minute escape on a Saturday. Others like or need the quotidian ritual of having the same seat surrounded by longstanding mates. I don’t of course because I live here. So I am not going to ram boycotting down anyone’s throats. It is a personal decision.

However for the sake of £25, I would implore fans to wait. Cash flow particularly unencumbered cash is vital to any business, even to a multi-millionaire. Word is that season tickets numbers are way down, although these last few days before the initial deadline is traditionally the busiest.

The club reminded supporters of the deadline today and that they will release seats after that. That would be bad business but I reckon a ploy by the club to force supporters’ hands. Our league position alone should mean a more compliant approach. But, hey get in quick before all of those 3,400 seats sell out in the North Lower.
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Apr 10

3 Comments

Queens Park Rangers 2 Charlton Athletic 1

A last minute winner for QPR is almost the final nail in the coffin as we face the distress of relegation in mid-April as soon as next Saturday. We have been relying on other teams slipping up for a long while now but it is simply not happening and the odd win was never going to cut it. We needed 7 points from the last week, but instead got 4 and the gap is now 11 points with our awful goal difference. The Championship relegation places will embarrassingly be resolved quickly without any fuss or contention.

The emptiness of relegation has been felt for a long, long while. The bitterness, the ugliness, the anger of how completely unnecessary it all was. Meire told us in the summer that we are to accept how her and Duchatelet run the club and to judge them over this season. Well, thanks for nothing.
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Apr 6

10 Comments

Ipswich Town 0 Charlton Athletic 0

In isolation a decent result, and performance. Tactically we were accomplished, not outplayed in any part of the pitch and we controlled large facets of the game. There were some good performances and we gave it a good go. Yet last night was the game that probably sent us down. Other results went against us and this is all too little too late.

We weren’t relegated last night we were relegated during that 14-game spell under the interim reign of Karel Fraeye. Interim. 3 months. Fraeye, handpicked by Roland Duchatelet. Every decision better than the last and let us not forget Guy Luzon. His bloody hands are all over this disgraceful relegation of our great club.

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Mar 24

3 Comments

Meet & greet at Sparrows Lane

Addicks’ fans took to Sparrows Lane this morning to greet club sponsors and business partners invited by Katrien Meire to give them a tour of the training ground followed by a trip to The Valley in an effort to convince them to renew their corporate packages next season.

It is understood that around 20 different entities were originally invited, although one, Data Techniques, who have made their feelings very clear towards to the owner and CEO, were uninvited. How you can pay £10,000 for an executive box and be treated with such disdain because you disagree with the running of the club is shameful.

The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet (CARD) asked for Charlton fans to show up at the gates of Sparrows Lane this morning to show their dissatisfaction of the owner and his puppets and at the same time attempt to convince companies to disassociate themselves from the toxic brand that has become Charlton Athletic.
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Mar 18

4 Comments

Respect to Mel

In further embarrassment following the {…} rant from Roly on Wednesday, new Head of Communications Mel Baroni resigned after just 46 days in the job. Mel had joined from M&C Saatchi some two years after the last Head of Communications Matt Wright left. Baroni came with some fanfare as the club waited for her to finish her notice. It now seems that Mel has finished with Charlton and who can blame her.

Those that had met her said she was charming, bright and up for a challenge. The trouble is that the challenge presented by her new ignorant and nutcase, ooh, I almost said unique, bosses was impossible and I would wager that the {…} rant was the final straw.
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Mar 16

14 Comments

Dear Fans {…}

Nope. It wasn’t a dream. That crackpot statement was and is still on the club’s official website. {…}

I have it on very good authority that the comms team tried for a good hour to convince Roland Duchatelet that this statement written by his fair hand was a very, very bad idea. The owner forced the issue and it was relayed unedited onto the club’s website. The comms guys by not promoting it on the club’s social media outlets tells its own story. {…}

I believe Katrien Meire was against it also. I used to get embarrassed when my Dad would go up the school and complain to the teachers about something as well. But it does make you wonder about their relationship. We know she is not paid, at least by the football club. Huh {…}
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Mar 11

6 Comments

Funeral march

Fans from the Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet (CARD) will carry a coffin to The Valley 45 minutes before Sunday’s televised kick-off to symbolise what the club’s owner and chief executive Katrien Meire have done to the Addicks, and they are inviting supporters to line the route to pay their respects.

The mock funeral procession will kick off what CARD intends to be an afternoon of protest and unrest. Other protests are planned that will become apparent during the game, showing live to a national audience.

A CARD spokesman said: “This is not just about the team’s prospects, although they look very grim. It is a measure of the damage being done to Charlton by Duchatelet and Meire, which is unlikely to end with relegation. They are destroying decades of work to build up our club in the name of a soulless experiment conducted by remote control from Belgium. This is not the Charlton Athletic that has been a vital part of so many people’s lives for decades.
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Feb 28

9 Comments

Proper Charlton

Under a cloak of darkness 20 Charlton fans made their way to Belgium tonight and took the Anti Duchatelet to his homeland and demonstrated at the St Truiden home game against Zulte Waregem.

The 20 Addicks paid for the trip themselves and planned their journey meticulously. They met up before the game to work out how their protest could get both maximum impact, and buy-in from STVV supporters. The group also looked at various scenarios, perhaps expecting that their arrival in the small town had already peeked some unwanted interest.

The 20 Addicks handed out flyers in both English and Dutch before the game and then in the ground and after 15 minutes of the game unveiled a huge banner (photo) along one side of the ground.

Within 5 minutes stewards came down to the Charlton fans to force them to take down the banner. Stragically placed in the stand opposite were two other Addicks who took photos and at the time of the steward kerfuffle opposite starting doing a massive flyer drop to as many fans around them as possible.
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Feb 24

8 Comments

Lookman stays until 2020

Well ok, that’s a bit far fetched even in Pinocchio’s world.

First things first though, thank you to young Ademola, who at 18 at least has a sensible head on his teenage shoulders and thanks to those around him who at least preach patience and reality. Ademola could have gone in the window cheaply and for what? To sit in an academy full of high paid, pampered, appearance-less teenagers? Ademola has come up the hard way, the Jamie Vardy way, let’s call it, so rare that young player’s break into professional football via the back door these days. He comes from a different world than a Cristian Cebellos for example.

Ademola Lookman we will at least get to enjoy for a bit longer. To 2020? Do me a favour. To the end of this season? Probably.
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Feb 21

4 Comments

Chris Solly

Not good enough according to that expert on picking a player, Roland Duchatelet, but he has always been good enough for me and every other Charlton fan.

Chris Solly played his 200th game for Charlton yesterday. He said this on Twitter last night: “Certainly not the performance or result we need in our position right now, but a real honour today for me personally reaching 200 games for the club, been an extremely difficult season but I love playing for this club and will continue to give 100%!”
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Feb 20

4 Comments

Fulham 3 Charlton Athletic 0

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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Feb 15

6 Comments

A different sort of customer

Seeing Katrien Meire walk along Harvey Gardens with her headphones in, holding a Pinnochio mask, and with a CARD sticker attached to her coat was a strange sight. Then by all accounts she approached Rick Everitt selling the latest VOTV (with me in it, plug, plug) and asked him if he was afraid to talk to her!

After seeing this play out on social media my immediate thoughts were – is this woman for real?

A qualified lawyer, even a novice one, will have adopted a very good poker face and an uber thick skin, but we have often seen her crack in front of the camera. However with Roland’s vote of confidence this week – “she is a fantastic lady,” there was a renewed skip in her step yesterday.
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Feb 13

7 Comments

Charlton Athletic 0 Cardiff City 0

1 point from 2 home games is not good enough. The 4 goals at Rotherham seems like a long, long time ago and Jose Riga has been unable to galvanize the side since then, even with the addition of three new players.

The first half sounded miserable and the crowd only being able to cheer anything late in the game as the Addicks finally threw themselves at the Welshmen following the introduction of Poyet and Sanogo. Before then Cardiff should have pocketed the 3 points, but the point takes us off the bottom, although with our dreadful goal difference we are now 7 points from safety. One plus was that it was our first clean sheet in over 2 months.
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Feb 12

3 Comments

Nicest club in country

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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Feb 5

9 Comments

Charlton in failed bid shocker

Smiling is back at Sparrows Lane. After Karel Fraeye failed to crack a smile on anyone’s face Jose Riga has brought it back to SE7, and we hope that continues tomorrow in another 6-pointer at home to Bristol City.

The Addicks were busy before the transfer deadline making two loan signings, two players very different, both French and apparently the head coaches choice. Both Yaya Sanogo and Rod Fanni (photo) are not expected to feature tomorrow with Riga insisting that both newbies get up to speed. Sanogo hasn’t played 90 first team minutes this season and Fanni’s last played for Gianfranco Zola’s Al-Arabi in October.
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Feb 1

2 Comments

In Riga we trust

Well what choice do we have? But in a pack full of liars, sycophants and total incompetence Jose maybe the only chance we have and we need him on our side, like he needs us on his.
We are in the last chance saloon and we find the 58-year old in there with us. Siege mentality is what is needed, and trust.

Riga earned our respect first time around. I thought he deserved to continue his work, but he was denied, possibly because he asked for too much self governing, possibly because Roland Duchatelet thought he knew better. I know who I trust.
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Jan 16

2 Comments

CARD

Amongst all of the apathy, depression and anger at watching something so dear to so many thousands of us be torn apart by appalling and arrogant mis-management, something good has come out such a dark times in the club’s history.

Meire and Duchatelet have systematically stripped the club of it’s passionate support, one that just a few seasons ago partnered Chris Powell’s team to a record points League One title. But Addicks fans all over the globe have had enough and undeterred by the massive cloud we have been living under, it has been truly great to see Charlton fans coming together, unifying, protesting and taking action to make ‘this’ all stop.

Charlton fans, young and old, those so disinfranchised that they are refusing to go to The Valley, and those who still find hard earned money to watch the team around the country, mostly for scant reward, are in concert and united. A single loud voice coming together again to protect the future of OUR club.

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Jan 14

6 Comments

Changes nothing

What exactly does “a search for a new Head Coach has commenced.” mean?

Roland calls Jose Riga on speed dial, concedes on a couple of points, agrees to give him a proper contract after last time, and hey presto. The search for a new Head Coach ends 18 hours after it started.

Lies, lies, lies.
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Jan 13

12 Comments

Comedy gold

Unlike Karel Fraeye, who took little persuading to take the Interim job at Charlton following the departure of Guy Luzon, mostly because old Karel had his head up Roland’s backside at the time, it appears that Nebojša Vignjević was less than happy with Roly’s suggestion that he should leave 2nd placed Ujpest of the Hungarian League and take charge of the laughing stock that is Charlton Athletic.

A backward career step he presumed added to the fact that he would be forced to work with Katrien Meire, so Vignjević said “ne” and who can blame him.

Jose Riga was ahead of Vignjević in the new old coach queue but apparently made too many demands.
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Jan 13

7 Comments

Nebojša Vignjević

Someone kill me now.

47-year old Serbian, current manager of Duchatelet’s Hungarian club Újpest FC in line to become Charlton’s next manager.

Only ever managed in Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary. Sounds perfect.

Someone please wake me up from this nightmare.

Jan 12

4 Comments

Huddersfield Town 5 Charlton Athletic 0

This is not like watching a slow death, it is like witnessing a murder.

This madness has to stop. Now.

And as for the gutless coward Fraeye, who refused to speak to press and ran onto the team bus leaving Stephen Henderson to apologise to fans. What sort of person does that? Fraeye, Meire, Duchatelet all refusing to talk to us. It is some kind of sick joke.
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Jan 10

13 Comments

The mark of insanity – Mark 6

Incredulous.

It is widely expected, and we can’t be shocked, that Jose Riga will become Roland Duchaletet’s 6th manager in less than two years by the time Charlton take to the field at Huddersfield on Tuesday night. 6th, 5th, whose counting?

Now if Jose and Karel were the last two managers left in the playground and it was your pick, then there is absolutely no doubt who would be left standing staring at their feet, but REALLY?
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Jan 7

9 Comments

“You talk to them Richard”

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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Jan 3

1 Comment

Poyet to return

Still buzzing today following the incredible coming together of Addicks and the subsequent media coverage of yesterday’s protests against the owners and his puppet administration. The unity of fans, young and old, makes me proud and confident that we will achieve our goal of removing Meire and forcing Duchatelet into putting the club up for sale.

There of course is much work, planning and effort to put in but we must never waiver from our purpose. These demonstrations will get bigger and louder and there are some imaginative and very achievable ideas being proposed amongst the support, none less that taking our aims to Belgium and embarrassing the owner on his doorstep.
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Jan 2

7 Comments

Proud

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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Jan 1

2 Comments

Loud and clear

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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Dec 30

7 Comments

Time to unite and protest before it is too late

It is now time to unify and take our protestations against Roland Duchatelet and his utter mismanagement of OUR football club to a new level.

For many months, and in fact since Duchatelet bought the club nearly two years ago, there has been much division amongst the supporters, more than at any time in at least the previous 50 years, which has only helped Duchatelet and Meire continue their arrogant and systematic destruction of everything Charlton Athletic stands for.

But even now the most ardent Duchatelet apologists or understandably those Addicks who didn’t concern themselves with what goes on off the pitch, must now have no doubt where this ruinous occupation of OUR club is going.
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Dec 27

16 Comments

Katrien Meire’s Christmas message

Many of you may have seen this already but I thought it was important to get it out to as wide as audience as possible. After months and months of asking for Roland Duchatelet’s plan, well here it is not in black & white, but in full colour.
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Dec 23

8 Comments

If M. Duchatelet doesn’t do failure….

January is such an important transfer window for the club. At least it is for everyone I talk to. There is not a lot of evidence that Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire think this, but the squad gravely needs reinforcements. Effective ones at that, not any old network rubbish.

But who is charge of this essential transfer window? And who can we trust? Let’s look at the candidates.
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Dec 21

31 Comments

The circus of Karel Fraeye

The timing of Guy Luzon’s sacking was a surprise to a lot of people but not to Karel Fraeye. He was waiting patiently in the wings confident and ready for the job that he had long been earmarked for. The Interim tag was to appease us, Duchalelet and Meire hopeful that his articulate and open manner would grow on Charlton fans. More engaging with the players especially Johnnie Jackson, all he had to do was turn around the disastrous form of Guy Luzon before being given the job of his dreams full time.

I wrote after Fraeye took over as Interim Head Coach that his ability or lack thereof would stand on its own two feet. His appointment was another piss take, but there would be no hiding place. Time would judge him in front of us all.

After his 9th game which has yielded two wins in Fraeye said “To be fair, we’ve had an away game at Middlesbrough, an away game at Birmingham, an away game at Burnley and a home game against Ipswich.” Yes Karel my old son this is The Championship. It does not suffer fools gladly.
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Dec 17

6 Comments

Empty seats sabotage’s Target 20,000

Attracting more supporters to come and watch the team here at The Valley – and ensuring we are doing everything we can to make their matchday experience enjoyable – is crucial to us. – Katrien Meire’s Target 20,000 plan.

Last night’s attendance of 12,294 which included over 4,000 no show season ticket holders was the lowest Valley crowd since March 1998. In the region of just 8,000 Addicks were actually inside the ground to watch a depressing performance from Karel Fraeye’s men. This was borne out by a very low jackpot ticket payout of £245, which is a good guide to how many home fans were actually in the ground.
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Dec 15

16 Comments

Charlton Athletic 2 Bolton Wanderers 2

Depressing, utterly depressing. Two points from two importantly winnable games is simply not good enough. Bolton are a train wreck, 6 points adrift, have players that have not been paid for a month, yet still for long periods dominated us on our own turf tonight and found the will and desire to come back from 0-2 down.

2-0 up in 26 minutes we should have managed the game to conclusion, whatever that took. Yet for the second time in three games we throw it away. Duchatelet and Meire have to face up to the fact that Fraeye is not up to the level of this division and nor are half of the rag tag squad. It is neither 100% fit nor prepared nor disciplined.
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Dec 11

3 Comments

On with the protests

The 2% will gather again behind the West Stand tomorrow at 2.30 to continue to show their displeasure at how the club is being run by Roland Duchatelet and effectively led by Katrien Meire. My opinion is that fans should continue to express their unhappiness until a more formalized strategy evolves. Nothing obnoxious that Meire can pick holes in but plenty of “We want our Charlton back.” Then onto the game to back the team 100%.

Duchatelet was in SE7 this week, but won’t be staying for tomorrow’s game, either because he is scared, has his socks to put into pairs or maybe he too is boycotting matches like many thousands of others, which is their prerogative but to me says more about our current plight than anything else. Leeds, who are the poster child for football ownership mismanagement will undoubtedly have 3,000 noisy supporters backing them. It could be a tough afternoon.
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Nov 24

15 Comments

Stand up for the 2%

“We’ve therefore come together to ask fans to join a 60 second demonstration in the second minute of the televised game against Ipswich, holding up A4 posters to show the extent of the 2 per cent and joining with a chant of “stand up for the 2 per cent”.

This is not a protest based on gender or nationality. It doesn’t focus on any individual or demand the owner spends more money. It is legal and respectful. It simply reflects a demand for the club to be run in a more professional and intelligent way, and for the ownership to work with supporters to strengthen the club.”

– Voice of The Valley and the Spell It Out campaign.
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