Nov 22
Half of the Covered End and probably every kid under 16’s favourite player, my son included, is being sent out on loan. Tony Watt, one of the club’s best players is set to leave for rival Championship club Cardiff City.
Dave hinted at this yesterday and his fears have been confirmed by the SLP tonight. The ludicrous decisions continue apace down at The Valley.
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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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It has not been easy being a Charlton fan in recent weeks, in fact it has been pretty depressing, but my slumber has been awoken by the unification of Charlton fans, those who remember Sam Bartram, those that remember Derek Hales, those that remember Clive Mendonca, those that now cheer on Johan Berg Gudmundsson. All Charlton fans coming together to claim the football club that we love back.
I was today at my daughter’s first ever swimming meet. I was nervous for her, but those nerves turned to an upside down stomach when on my phone I watched footage on Twitter of around a 1,000 fans gathered in the West Stand car park demonstrating against the leadership of our club before the game.
This had a poignant effect on me as I watched video clips, saw photos and read on the ground comments from those Addicks amongst them. This was a very significant moment for Addicks as all ages came together, men and women, and protested peacefully, pointedly and loudly.
And this is only the beginning.
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Anger, apathy and action will come together at The Valley tomorrow with a 2.30pm protest against the club owner Roland Duchatelet and his CEO Katrien Meire set to take place behind the West Stand.
I hope the protest is peaceful especially with kids and families occupying the same area thanks to the club’s Family Activity Day. However I also hope the protest makes Meire as uncomfortable as possible with her office and ‘her’ lounge facing out towards the car park. After, during the game, there will be plenty of time to express how deeply we are hurt and angry by their mismanagement of our football club.
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I am actually embarrassed for the club with their pitiful attempts to veto a fan demonstration behind the West Stand on Saturday by organising a Family Activity Zone in the car park. What a joke.
Oh well take your kids in November (forecast: rain) to get their face painted and jump on a wet bouncy castle then trudge into The Valley to watch a clown picked by a puppet manage a team of misfits.
The last Family Activity Zone the club did was in August and now suddenly they plan to do it for every weekend home game. If this was a long term plan then why announce it 3 days before the game? Long term plan. Heck look at me. Ooh the irony.
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Yep, the jokes keep coming. The London Standard have confirmed earlier whispers that Katrien Meire has pursued ex-Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro and will offer her a job working with the Addicks medical team once her legal dispute with Jose Mourinho has run it’s course all over the back pages.
I’m glad Katrien has got her priorities right and we can still find room in the budget. Next I hear she is having all the flushes replaced on The Valley toilets to those eco-friendly dual flush ones….
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Cynicism comes easy when you have been a Charlton supporter for 40 years and sadly I read this morning’s announcement of a planned meeting with fan’s representatives through a lens of mistrust. No sign of his lordship getting on the Eurostar of course, but I am sure he will send his apologies with a message to like it or lump it.
It seems strange to me that the CEO continues to avoid direct communication with the Supporter’s Trust. I know it doesn’t represent everybody, but what would? But it is the largest organised group of supporters that has over 1,000 paid up members. It will contain a broad mix of supporters and includes many bright minds that can only contribute to the future well being of the club.
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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.
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Not a dickie bird in the main stream press about the stealing of a club’s identity in broad daylight in a little corner of south east London. Googling Karel Fraye or Roland Duchatelet brings up a couple of local press paragraph fillers but nothing from a national press too wrapped up in Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Wayne Rooney and the best league in the world (sic).
Yet today, SLP journalist Richard Cawley who has been closer than most to the recent theatre at The Valley has written an excellent piece which sums up the despair with which Addicks’ fans look on helpless with what is happening to their club.
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I don’t know whether to laugh of cry. Mind you, I can’t imagine what it must be like working in the media department at the club. Poor sods.
“Interim Head Coach.” In capitals. So Fraeye has given up a full time job at homely VW Hamme to take up an interim position? As has Wim De Corte. Then again it is like giving up a full time paper round to take up a makeshift role in the city at an investment bank. You wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth would you?
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To the surprise of no one the South London Press appear to think that Roland Duchatelet will once again ignore any semblence of common sense and install Belgian network patsy Karel Fraeye at The Valley this week, initially in a caretaker role. What is it they say about insanity? Doing the same things over and over again but expecting different results.
This for many Addicks will be a step too far.
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Well not really. A slight maunder of “Guy Luzon’s red and white army” from a few in the Upper Covered End but that was about it as the Israeli left just like he arrived. By the back door looking like a rabbit in the headlights.
I grew to accept Luzon like a child-hating Auntie, but then the £5 WH Smith voucher at Christmas would see that acceptance grow to a like and when Luzon talked passionately and sensibly about his players and the club in a language that wasn’t his mother tongue, I think a lot of Addicks took kindly to him. I know I did.
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A second 0-3 home defeat in a week as Lee Carsley like Simon Grayson on Tuesday comfortably picked a team short in confidence and backbone apart. It was to be Guy Luzon’s 33rd and last league game in charge of the Addicks
Understandably Luzon gambled and threw back in 90% fit Mackienok plus Jacko, Gudmundsson and Henderson and although Diarra was missing through suspension it was the strongest team we had available with Reza and Moussa on the bench. Only Kashi and Igor were sidelined and the fact that we were well beaten says about everything we need to know.
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I started a number of Blog posts this week, but after a few sentences I stopped, counted to 20 and closed it down. There are so many things wrong but I don’t know yet if Guy Luzon is one of those things. I watched yesterday’s press conference and felt myself siding with him again. I like some of the things he says, I like his passion, I do, and I am willing to see how tomorrow goes.
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A huge week for Guy Luzon as the vultures arrive in SE7 ready for their next meal. Tomorrow night 8 games without a win Charlton host 8 games without a win Preston at what could be an angry Valley.
I think in most cases the anger is not against Luzon, who joined in very difficult circumstances but slowly won the Valley faithful over by doing his work on the field, and in public providing honest assessments of his team and their performances.
Luzon needs to be backed by the owner and his CEO, who suggested that the Israeli could emulate Sir Alex Ferguson on his arrival. You have to laugh, Fergie was the poster child for stability, the opposite of what we have seen under the Belgians.
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Roland Duchatelet broke his long silence on Friday commenting on the successful planning permission for The Addicks training ground development.
The last quote attributed to Duchatelet regarding Charlton was when he appointed Guy Luzon as head coach in January. On Friday he said “Plans have been progressing for a long time and now we can finally say, that this is great news for the future of Charlton Athletic.”
Working alongside shirt sponsor’s the University of Greenwich and neighbouring Footscray Rugby Club the plans include an complete overhaul of the club’s facilities in New Eltham and will be centered around a brand new three-storey building (photo) with complete renovation of pitches to providing varying surfaces for Charlton players at all levels. The 3G all-weather playing surfaces could be ready as early as mid-October.
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“This is our squad and we go with this squad.”
Guy Luzon at today’s press conference saying that the club won’t be adding any more players to the squad. Hmm, lessons don’t appeared to have been learnt and I am fearing an incredible amount of deju-vu.
No cover then for an injury prone Chris Solly, no experienced keeper, no centre-half alternatives other than the young Lennon and Sarr and no left sided midfielder options which means Luzon will also have to play someone out of position there. Luzon indicated that we can expect Conor McAleny on the left at Blackburn on Saturday. I hope the Evertonian can impress and get some goals, but the lad’s injury record is very poor.
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Three out and no new arrivals as we enter the last day of the August transfer window. Andre Bikey had his contract cancelled yesterday, why both parties waited that long to divorce I don’t know, but it allows Bikey free agency and the chance to find another club.
Bikey had been frozen out by Guy Luzon and was playing in the stiffs, if the reserve team made up of youngsters can be called that these days. A year ago he was an intricate part of Bob Peeters unbeaten start to the season, but Luzon didn’t like how the experienced Cameroonian negatively dominated the dressing room. Add to that a couple of defensive howlers and a drop in professionalism and Luzon pulled rank.
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He’s back, world cup hero, mercenary, domestic superstar, lightweight, match winner. Whatever he is Roland thinks he has an investment that needs realizing. Our owner got paid for Reza’s loans in Kuwait and Qatar, although probably not as well as Reza, and now he is back under Guy Luzon’s wing, who saw less in him whilst head coach of Standard Liege than Roland obviously did.
The World Cup was a shining moment for Reza, and rightly he wanted to maximize that. However he chose cash over career and now he is back in SE7. I am sure Jacko and Solly are rolling their eyes, but fortunately for Reza most of the rest of the players don’t have a clue who he is, unless they continuously watch highlights of Iran’s Brazil 2014 games.
Whether Reza eats some humble pie and gets his head down and at the prime age of 27 really makes a go of his career in the cut, thrust and globally recognised Championship or he cries off for another lucrative loan spell in India or somewhere, who the hell knows. I’ll guess we’ll see over the next month or so.
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“We also wait for another four or five players, so it was not a fair game, but it’s ok.” Not really ok, but I assume that there is a big element of Luzon biting his tongue there after an unsatisfactory weekend of friendly games.
I had already questioned the worthiness of playing St-Truiden on their 3G pitch, but the way it panned out with a 2nd half team of development players was ridiculous. “60 or 70 per cent of the players who played today will not be in our first-team squad, it was the young players from the academy.” Luzon said.
Add this to the mixed team of trialists, U21’s and first teamers that turned out at Dulwich ending in a pre-match knock to Stephen Henderson and a much worse injury to Rhoys Wiggins, this part of pre-season was little short of disastrous. Please click for more
Two Charlton friendlies to wet your whistle tomorrow.
Tha Addicks play Sint-Truiden Saturday evening in Limburg, whilst a CAFC XI goes to Dulwich Hamlet in the afternoon but will include Stephen Henderson, Rhoys Wiggins, Chris Solly, Johnnie Jackson and Tareiq Holmes-Dennis in their line up.
There may well be other first teamers too as Guy Luzon is concerned about Sint-Truiden’s artificial pitch, and how it could hamper or cause injuries, which begs the question why we are playing them in the first place. The only reason I can think of is that it suits Katrien Meire, the two loves of her life locking horns in a lazy kickabout at dusk on carpet.
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Frederic Bulot’s non appearance at Park View Road yesterday confirmed Addicks worse fears that Roland Duchatelet refuses to pay the asking price set by Standard Liege, and the Gabonese international will probably be playing next season in Ligue 1.
It does pose the question of why Duchatelet couldn’t do the deal when he was head of both clubs. I suspect a lack of a clear plan thrown in with some stubbornness by the owner was probably the reason.
A vision of a plan beyond English football being saddled with FFP has never been forthcoming from our Belgium owner and his CEO and 18 months into their leadership nothing much has changed and it has been some time since our SE7 mouthpiece has given us any of her utterances. Maybe this week as the players head of to Belgium maybe a good time.
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Standard Liege announced that Roland Duchâtelet has sold the club today for, you’ve guessed it, an undisclosed fee. What this means for Charlton is any bodies guess.
Bruno Venanzi, who owns Belgium utility company Lampiris and is a life-long fan, has taken over Standard with immediate effect.
The Standard fans unsurprisingly are rejoicing at the sudden news of Duchâtelet’s departure, brought on if I got the translation correct of his difficult relationship with the supporters and the fact that the 68-year old is not getting any younger. “The quality of my life, my personal happiness play an important role in my life” Duchâtelet said.
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Despite it being no surprise to any Addick, confirmation of Joe Gomez’s transfer to Liverpool today has left me with an air of despondency. This has not been helped by the apparent readiness with which Ben Roberts is talking to Brighton about moving there as their goalkeeping coach, after Katrien Meire gave the parties permission.
Despite the fee being typically undisclosed by Charlton (Liverpool historically have been happy to announce fees) all of the media outlets are stating that Gomez signed for £3.5m on a 5-year deal. Meanwhile those in the club have attempted to squash that and say it is higher. Whatever it is, Charlton fans will want to see all of the sale money redistributed back into the squad and not Roland Duchatelet’s network.
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Various outlets including the Guardian, Telegraph and the Liverpool Echo are predicting that Liverpool will make Joe Gomez their latest summer signing this week. The price mentioned, which I think originated in the Echo, is a paltry £3.5m, with further performance-related add-ons.
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Really? You wouldn’t put it past him would you?
The social media rumour mill was alive with stories this morning suggesting that Evian Thonon Gaillard manager Pascal Dupraz will be leaving the club, who he just got relegated to French Ligue 2, to join Charlton.
Fanciful, ridiculous, crazy, insane. Yes, all of those things.
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Part one of Luzon/Duchatelet/Meire’s summer transfer strategy was executed today with the announcement of 15 players released.
They are: Tal Ben Haim; Simon Church; Chris Eagles; Roger Johnson; Lawrie Wilson; Oguchi Onyewu; Neil Etheridge; Jack Munns; Harry Osborne; Harry Gerard; Kadell Daniel; Kurtis Cumberbatch; Kieran Monlouis; Rhys Browne; Levander Pyke.
A mixture of the unfortunate attrition of young pros who were unable to step up plus 7 first teamers. My only disappointment is seeing Ben Haim go, although it was apparently his own decision. Not so much disappointed but sad to see Lawrie Wilson and Simon Church move on.
The Welshman scored just 10 goals in Charlton colours, but his work rate could never be questioned, but I expect his career will have to continue down a division.
Lawrie Wilson’s form dipped this season after an excellent 2014/15 season, when I personally thought he was player of the year. He was very friendly with Hamer, Morrison, Hughes and Jackson and an integral part of Chris Powell’s squad but he was sidelined under both Peeters and Luzon and the writing was on the wall. However I am pleased that he was able to come back to the club where he began his career to show us what a great pro he is. Best of luck Lawrie.
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9 months ago 1,600 Addicks welcomed Bob Peeters’ new look team with 7 new signings at Griffin Park, and most left with a positive feeling. It was a gritty Charlton performance that Charlton fans could relate to. Yet the biggest reservations pre-season were over the unknown head coach and the lack of obvious goals in the side. Roland Duchatelet had added some much needed quality, but on the face of it, Peeters’ squad was thin and lacking in Championship experience.
Nonetheless by the time pre-season promotion favourites Derby came to The Valley we were three games unbeaten and Peeters had warmed the Addicks’ fans with his over enthusiastic tête-à-tête with then Wigan boss Uwe Rosler the game before.
The Derby game was a little surreal if we are honest. Peeters’ passing game, still a work in progress, was some of the best I had seen for a long time, but the Valley crowd came across as unsure to what they were witnessing. However it was a great 3 points won at a spruced up Valley and with two away draws following we sat happily in 6th place at the end of the opening month. Please click for more
Our 18-year old defensive prodigy lost out to Leeds United’s Lewis Cook in the Football League Championship Apprentice of the Year award tonight. Midfielder Cook missed the game yesterday due to injury but has played twice the games than Gomez has this season. Cook is also a year older. The other nomination for the award was Millwall’s Fred Onyedinma.
Catford-born Gomez, who was playing for Charlton’s U18’s when he was just 13 has been a revelation since breaking in the first team under Bob Peeters early in the season. The best way to describe Gomez is that he plays as if this is his tenth season and not his first and has that ability to simply glide across the pitch. Joe compares very favourably in my mind to Richard Rufus and Paul Elliott and I just hope Charlton fans get to enjoy this great kid for another season or two. Please click for more
An international break to relax before our thoughts turn to Millwall on Good Friday. Addicks’ fans have only been allocated the top tier, which was quickly sold out, but the game will be beamed back to The Valley. I will be in the far more scenic and hospitable setting of Florida Easter weekend and will have to rely on mobile updates.
During this break Guy Luzon has returned to Belgium (not for good, hopefully) whilst Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Tal Ben Haim and Simon Church, who face each other, are away on international duty.
Back at home Katrien Meire is making the most of the upturn in fortunes by getting out in front of the press. I can’t blame her, I am always looking for my boss when I’ve had a good result.
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I watched Guy Luzon’s press conference yesterday and noticed how he had morphed from a rabbit caught in the headlines to an assured and relaxed football head coach.
It is amazing what a couple of wins can do, good ones at that, and three in front of your own public, a public that were screaming “you don’t know what you’re doing” just a few weeks back.
The bitterness of Luzon’s arrival may still be lingering but the man himself, clearly at the first interview a combination of uneasy and unprepared, can afford to smile and he does, quite often.
Interesting also how his accent and command of the English language has gone from Manuel to Mourinho, at least in our perception anyway.
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There are certain people that will forever be associated with Charlton Athletic – Jimmy Seed, Sam Bartram, Keith Peacock, Derek Hales, Alan Curbishley for example. Chris Powell can be added to that list, whatever and wherever his career now takes him.
Chris played for the club on three separate occasions, wore the colours of England whilst a Charlton player, and then managed the club, dragging it out of a seemingly endless downward spiral and being one of only four men in 110 years of history to win a league title. Above all of that Chris Powell is a genuine, warm and upstanding individual.
I have mentioned this before, but with no apologies will mention it again. 14 years ago my ex, my son and I spent a 2-week holiday in Italy in the company of Chris and his wife and oldest daughter. I bumped into him literally on the 2nd night at the hotel buffet, and we got talking, the wives got on and we then spent pretty much the rest of our holidays together. He had not long made his England debut and the experience was both surreal and very, very enjoyable and I won’t ever forget it.
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I heard a lot of good things about last night. The fan’s meeting was expertly arranged by CAST and it sounded constructive and, importantly, respectful, with the overriding agreement from those present that we need much more engagement from the owner.
My hope was that a plan of intention was scoped out by the end, but that was probably asking for too much, and I support the view that we need to be ready for the long game by being organized, smart, rational and lucid. We also need to separate results from fan actions and back Luzon and the team.
I won’t dwell on the meeting because I wasn’t there, but these people were – Dave, Kyle, Blackheath and Ted. Video’s of the opening speeches are on VOTV, including Rick Everitt’s impassioned address to the 400 or so that were at the Woolwich Grand Theatre, a very impressive number that tells it’s own story.
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An uncomfortable night at The Valley Tuesday for Katrien Meire, but probably more so for Johnnie Jackson, Steve Avory and Tony Watt, who must have wondered why an earth he got a last minute invite to a heated VIP Q&A and was asked a question about Scottish sexual monsters!
With Guy Luzon bailing deciding to watch Wigan play Reading last minute instead, it seems Katrien pulled rank on a mixture of football staff to take a large part of the heat away from her. It may have worked, it may not have done, it just comes across as another PR gaff.
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A first win since November 8th, and a long awaited burst of pride. Charlton fans deserve their smiles on their faces tonight.
Not for the first time in recent years Addicks’ fans backed the shirt and not the regime today and they got their rewards with not only the biggest win of the season, but also a performance from the players befitting of wearing the famous shirt.
Credit to Luzon, he had them fired up, organized and put round pegs in round holes. I said before the game that he picked the best team possible, even with the inclusion of Bulot, who by all accounts had a very good game on the left side of midfield.
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I have no idea if Guy Luzon is a good coach/manager or not, and I have already made my mind up that I don’t want to find out. Harsh on the Israeli I know, but when one gives up professional pride and nails their colours to a mast of a man, so clearly bonkers, then what are you to expect.
Equally there is no evidence in the month since he was been appointed that he has any man-management skills, an ounce of tactical invention or an actual game plan. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on his ludicrous rabbit in the headlights press conferences because he is not speaking in his first language.
Unfortunately in the dressing room only Tal Ben Haim speaks in the same tongue and the centre back hates him.
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It’s frankly depressing putting these words down on ‘paper.’
I have only the post match views of online Addicks to gauge what happened at The Valley last night. The atmosphere around the fanbase is a mix of anger and sheer hopelessness at the quite staggering negative momentum that we are in, although extraordinary there are still people out there that think it’s all going to be alright.
With what wisdom they make this judgement I do not have a clue.
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It really is no wonder Charlton were not within a sniff of buying a player on transfer deadline day, our industrious leader was doing something else. Not only did he replace the manager at Standard, he also entered into negotiations to buy Ligue 1 club RC Lens.
France has long been on Roland Duchâtelet list, and after a dalliance with Tours, he may well have turned his attention to Lens. Just like with Tours, it was a potential transfer target that turned the conversation onto something bigger. Duchâtelet was attempting to buy Lens’ young midfielder Wylan Cyprien for Standard, just like Andy Delort and Charlton, Standard didn’t reach agreement on Cyprien, but it now appears the Belgian may have ended up with a bigger fish.
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Following the rapidly worsening relationship and the continuing lack of any fan engagement by owner Roland Duchatelet and CEO Katrien Meire, the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust (CAST) have this evening issued the following statement:
“Further to the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust (CAST) statement of 14th January 2015, the CAST wrote to the club’s CEO Katrien Meire to follow up our offer to discuss the growing anxiety of supporters about the direction of the club, and how they might be better involved.
We have received a disappointing response. Whilst Ms Meire has suggested that we meet with a colleague to discuss what the club needs to do to maintain and grow the fanbase, she declined any dialogue on the vital matter of where the club is heading.
Her explanation – that she had nothing more to tell supporters regarding the direction of the club – reminds us of her words in the London Evening Standard, when she insisted that fans would just “need to accept” the owner’s way. We respectfully but strongly disagree with her. We continue to hear daily from supporters of a growing discontent at the inconsistency between the club’s words and actions, and a frustration with a lack of true engagement.
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No new deadline beating signings down at The Valley, oh no, not even a washed up old network jolly that no one else wants.
Who knows what Roly promised Guy Luzon, except for a job at a future date at Újpest, but Luzon said on Saturday that he was anticipating on bringing in two more players, yet we know he has as much clout as Harvey the mascot.
The club stated in September that they would add to the squad if we were still in the play-off race in January. In fact, because of the paper thin quality of the squad, and poor management decisions, we are now in a relegation battle. Meire and Duchatelet have had at least since New Year’s Day to work on additions and what have we got.
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If only the makers of Spitting Image were still about, they would have an absolute field day with Roland Duchatelet and his crazy network of puppets characters…. actually I think I was right first time….
Is this really for real? Someone please wake me from this very strange dream I am having.
Standard, who won yesterday in an eventful game at bottom place Lierse, have already fired Guy Luzon and Duchatelet appointed his number two Ivan Vukomanovic in November.
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The apathy, you can feel it running pretty deep amongst Addicks at the moment. The 2nd lowest Valley league crowd this season (despite a healthy Rotherham following) had to endure a much needed 3 points snatched away from them in injury time as Guy Luzon substituted a forward and put another defender on to entice pressure.
Sat in my car with my phone in my hand, the probability of that happening was about as obvious as night following day.
I am willing to give Roland Duchâtelet until Monday night then I might have a right old paddy.
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Rotherham hit four goals tonight, one for every week that we have failed to find the net in the league. If Saturday wasn’t a big game before, it is now.
Guy Luzon would have had another week to get his ideas and positivity across to the players, although yet he has no additional players to work with.
Milos Veljkovic impressed at Wolves with a confident performance but the young Serb just adds to the ranks of holding midfielders. For so long we have lacked that midfield creativity and the club have only until Monday to address that.
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Most unexpected.
I was more interested in the performance, attitude and reaction today than the result, and from what I have read those attributes were all there, so credit to Guy Luzon and the players.
This is a windy road, and I expect plenty more divots in it as we navigate in the darkness around Duchâtelet’s network gimmick.
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You can spin it through Google Translator, but if you allow me to paraphrase it for you, Peeters says he was “idolised” by fans, and he thought he had a good relationship with Katrien Meire, but they ended up in conflict. The supporters could see we needed better players, but the owner thought he was exaggerating.
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What a shambles.
Very few times in my years as a Charlton Athletic fan can I ever predict a result or a performance, because we have always been so unpredictable, save the days of games against Manchester United, or the FA Cup.
However today’s defeat was a dead cert, but despite this 2,024 Addicks spent hard earned money to travel and watch the team they love, and gave the players total backing for the entire game. And this was their reward.
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He may well not turn out to be the next Alex Ferguson, but perhaps we have a budding Ronald Koeman on our hands, or Marc Wilmots, or a young Avram Grant. Hey, a young José Riga would satisfy me.
Known by Standard fans and most of the Belgium sports media as a clown, who brought some strange touch-line antics and the long ball to the Belgium’s Jupiler League that had along with the Belgium FA developed some excellent academies and talented young players in less than a decade, we will find out soon enough whether keeping Guy Luzon on the payroll was one of Roland Duchâtelet’s more insightful decisions or one of that of a madman.
The name Guy Luzon first came into our sightline when he was sacked by Standard Liege in October, and I wrote then with an element of surprise that Luzon would remain in the network.
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Anyone see the press conference this afternoon? It was an embarrassment to the club.
No Roland of course, allergic to talking to supporters, but Katrien was there complete with shovel in her hand. They rolled Richard Murray out to put our minds at rest and then there was Guy Luzon, who I had trouble understanding.
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New manager head coach, new sheet of paper, clean slate.
Of course, I’m willing to give anyone a chance, including Guy Luzon, despite his press being worse than a combination of Iain Dowie and Alan Pardew. Read this interview with respected Belgian journalist and Standard Liege fan Douglas de Coninck and weep.
A British born Belgium journalist I have grown to respect John Chapman said this:
“And so it came to pass that Guy Luzon became coach of Charlton Athletic. Only reason is that he’s already on Duchatelet’s payroll. Luzon made no friends at Standard Liege. Had promising start but lost the plot when pressure on. Has no record of club success.
Duchatelet running his network of clubs like he would a multinational company. People ‘transferred’ between countries as vacancies arise. But football ain’t like that. To be successful, all football clubs need a soul. Sadly lacking now at CAFC and Standard.”
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Well, well, well, who would have thought it!
24 hours after the club said they were in the process of searching for the right appointment, after a night at the Bexleyheath Marriott, Guy Luzon shows up at The Valley with his suitcase as shown on Sky Sports for the shortest of short interviews, and is appointed as Charlton Athletic’s new head coach
“I think the appointment of Guy Luzon will prove to be a very good one for the club.” – Roland Duchâtelet (more)
What a joke!
Football is all about the blame game, whether we like it or not. Personally my only blame laid at the door of Bob Peeters was his tactical naivety, and as time went on I questioned whether he was able to get his points across to the players.
However Peeters was responsible for introducing a momentous change in the way Charlton played the game. Some of our play was truly inspiring and I thank him for giving that to me, albeit for a only a tiny amount of time, but it is something I will remember.
Peeters’ trouble, our trouble, is the squad is made of straw and has more perforations in it than a Belgium waffle.
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“Charlton have terminated the contract of Head Coach Bob Peeters with immediate effect, the club can confirm. The contracts of Senior Professional Development Coach Patrick Van Houdt and Performance Analyst Guy Kiala have also been terminated.” (Club statement)
24 hours after CEO Katrien Meire told supporters in the matchday programme that the club can take many positives from the first six months of the season, tonight the club decided that Bob Peeters, given to us by Roland Duchâtelet, wasn’t one of them.
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Whilst I don’t understand a lot about the benefits of the network, it does seem strange to me that the club let two of it’s young goalkeepers leave on loan, but then sign another young keeper on a permanent deal from Roland Duchâtelet’s Újpest. A 22-year old who has not played a competitive league game this season.
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“There were some arguments in the dressing room – it has to happen. The manager has to understand. No one is happy. We have to try and get a solution.” Andre Bikey (more)
Probably comes as no surprise to most, but cracks have started to appear in Bob Peeters armour, and need to be addressed.
Whether Bikey was right to take this to the press I don’t know, but it clearly smells of frustration and exhaustion.
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I hope Bob Peeters is showing a little more variation in his training techniques than he is in his post-match conferences. Sadly since the Duchâtelet era began we rarely hear from our head coaches other than a few sentences post-game, which is not helpful in building rapport with supporters.
The last few weeks Peeters’ has bemoaned tiredness, other teams being better headers of the ball, injuries, young guns, a lack of physicality, set pieces, Tal Ben Haim and the size of the squad. It’s getting a little tiresome.
I took to Bob early because he came across as passionate and honest, and had an endearing amalgam of naivety and ambitious. This is a massive test for Bob, both in managing and getting the best out of his players and how he gets the best out of those that employ him.
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And not just down at Selhurst Park where apparently Steve Parish has agreed a £2m compensation with Mike Ashley for Alan Pardew’s services! A marriage made in heaven.
The transfer window opens on New Year’s Day and although it remains to be seen what plans Roland Duchâtelet has for us, the Charlton rumours are rolling in.
The gift that keeps on giving is Andy Delort, signed by Wigan for £3m on summer deadline day in a blaze of self-social media publicity driven mostly by his Dad. It was no secret that Duchâtelet had banked on bringing in the 23-year old from Tours who was joint top scorer in Ligue 2 last season.
In the end, and the Belgian could hardly be blamed, the self-aggrandizing and inflated fee was enough to put the Addicks off. Since, Delort has struggled to make any impact at all with Wigan. Signed by Uwe Rosler, but dropped to the development team, Delort has not even made a matchday squad for the Latics under new manager Malky Mackay. Delort in 8 Championship appearances has yet to register a goal, but has scored 5 for Wigan’s development side against the likes of Morecombe, Walsall and Tranmere.
Talk is that Delort will move to The Valley on loan until the end of the season.
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I don’t quite understand why almost every team in The Championship plays tomorrow afternoon, yet we don’t play until Tuesday night. Possibly it’s the trains, but I did note that Boxing Day’s schedule of games took us to the middle point of the season, 23 games.
Charlton sit in 12th, which represents the lowest place we have occupied all season. The night we beat Derby at home we went 4th, which was our highest point.
Between you and me I still look at the bottom of the table before I peak at the top, but at the halfway point of the season, although there has been frustrations, I can’t help but think that Bob Peeters has done a more than fair job with the squad that was mostly put together for him.
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As a reminder to those that thought Charlton would be picking up the Standard Liege pick of the crop, news comes that Tony Watt is ready to move to the The Valley in January on a permanent deal, with the Addicks probably picking up the remainder of the Scotsman’s 5-year deal.
Watt is a proven bad egg, with from what I can see six managers having failed to get anything but disrespect and laziness out of the obviously talented 20-year old. Now it seems it is Bob Peeters turn as Roland Duchâtelet again flips us a player that Standard don’t want.
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Following Charlton Athletic has often made me think that I am part of one big giant social experiment.
Some greater sociological power watching over us. Like the time for no apparent reason when Derek Hales knocked his striking partner out during a game or when a European Footballer of Year was revealed on News at Ten as without-a-pot-to-pee-in Charlton’s new signing.
Being handed a piece of A4 paper telling us that we were leaving our ground of 69 years and to be the first club in the modern game to have to share a ground, with that lot as well! Then after an unlikely promotion to the countries top table, being forced into a play-off when for the first time in 100 years, it was deemed that the team normally considered safe from relegation, would for a change have to go into a play-off.
Surviving a heart stopping winner-takes-all game at the old Wembley and being made to watch 14 penalties including one from Shaun Newton!
Iain Dowie and Alan Pardew. Need I say more.
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And you thought it was the orange shirts? My last two games – Bournemouth and Ipswich Town!
It was a horrible way to lose a game we should never have, especially as our own sloppiness was integral to Noel Hunt’s 95th minute winning goal. Ben Haim had been outstanding until he decided he was Claus Jensen in the last minute. As I have written many times since Peeters’ arrival, over playing the football is on occasion going to come a cropper. That’s not Ben Haim’s first offence.
It was tough on the Israeli, who Peeters was furious with, but I have really been impressed with TBH and it is admirable that his immediate thought was to avoid safety first and attempt to find some space and a pass that might have given us an opportunity to score a 95th minute winner. Why not, it is what you pay your money for.
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In these days of Alan Pardew 8-year contracts it is refreshing to see head coaches and managers except the harsh reality that if they are a total failure there is no lump sum pay-off. When Bob Peeters signed a one-year contract with Charlton in the summer he said he was happy with the offer and it allowed both parties to mutually see how the relationship worked out.
The upside for Charlton is that the club can budget accordingly and I would expect Roland Duchâtelet gave his new employee some strict but achievable goals. Not for a minute do I believe that Duchâtelet said to Peeters ‘promotion or you’re out.’ I would think it was more likely along the lines of ‘safety, progress and player development.’
Peeters, who celebrates 6 months in charge of Charlton tomorrow and is already the 48th longest serving manager in the English leagues, has impressed the majority of us Addicks so far, including me.
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Too nostalgic or a welcome homecoming? We’ll never know as Darren Bent didn’t seem to be on our loan radar, but he was on Brighton’s, who plan to sign Darren on loan until the end of the year.
I personally would have taken the gamble, although said to be earning a stonking £60,000 a week, it would be interesting to see how much of that Brighton are paying every 7 days. Roland Duchâtelet would have spat out his waffle at the thought of it and certainly that kind of money doesn’t appear in our Financial Fair Play (FFP) plan, although it makes you realise why clubs such as Brighton voted against the FFP proposals.
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