'The real man behind Charlton's new ownership'

 

I was going to compose a photo shopped hybrid image of Duchatelet posing as famous Bond baddie Ernst Blofeld, but following the events that have unfolded since his takeover thought better of it, don't fancy a midnight visit from Jaws or one of his other hench men.  What a horrible day. Sure Sir Chris, as he will always be known, got his tactics all wrong at the weekend. But lets be fair, for the last season and a half he has been working with his shoelaces tied together and one hand tied behind his back.

Lets face it, regardless of what Blofeld and his sidekick, the stunning Pussy Galore - Oops sorry, I think they call that a fraudulun slip or something. Regardless of What Roly and Katrien said regarding CP's contract terms being all but agreed with the exception of the footballing strategy going forward (surley thats got to be the most important thing?) I think we all know along with Sir Chris the writing was on the wall the day that Smersh brought the club.

I wish Chris good luck, and have no doubt he should and will forge a great career out as a top rate manager. Just a real shame it won't be with us.

So we have to move onto the next step in the turbulent history of Charlton Athletic. I've said it before, never a dull moment. Well that may be about to change - isn't Belguim known for it's blandness after all?

I've had varying conversations on sound bites they've heard with Millwall supporting friends, secretly luxuriating in our current calamtious predicament.

As far as I see it Roly has a plan. A pretty plain, sensible, unambitous plan at that. Buy some lessthan-mediocre football clubs throughout the European leagues. Turn them into mediocre club sides in the top flight of their respective leagues. Borrow and buy players from the Smersh Network, Oops there I go again, I mean the Duchatelet stable of clubs, maybe win the odd league cup if your lucky, and the minute any potential Scotty Parkers come through the ranks don't sell them to Chelsea, sell them to Daddy club Standard Liegge for a knock down price. Every one (at Standard Leigge )a winner.

Prior to this enter new Head Coach (horrible term), Jose Rega. And you guessed it, he's from Belgium. (everyone keeping up, or have you all gone to sleep at the idea of mayonaise on chips. mmm spicey)

Or Jaws as i think i'll refer to him.

Now I know what some of you are thinking, i'm coming across as a bit negative. Sorry!

Football aint about anthropology, or great experiments. At the cost of ripping the heart, soul, history out of clubs and turning them into a sterile shadow of their former selves. Stating the bleak reality "Charlton will never be a top four premiership club Mr Bond, Never!" It's dreaming that one day, just one day (even knowing deep down this isn't the case) that keeps us sending off our season ticket renewel forms, and some even more dedicated supporters to far flung corners (like Yeovil) of our great Kingdom.

I'll take a look at his track record in a later post. For know I'm off to look at a book, watch the tele. As long as it's not football related i'll be happy.

A couple of foot notes. The CAS Trust have said they would be releasing a staement. I hope it's proactive in it's intent. I'm not sure i'll be going tomorrow night. I may just decide an initial boycott prior to the Millwall game on Saturday.

I will just whisper this at this point 'come on you addicks, lets get these jokers out of our club!'

Time to say goodbye?

Without wanting to court controversy I feel I may with this post. Or perhaps just say what some through loyalty have failed to say.

Today was supposed to be a welcome distraction to the relegation battle we are now well and truly ensconced in. The reality was we turned up with the ridiculous game plan of grinding out a draw and bringing United back to 'fortress' (?) Valley. The same United that had won their last 8 games and only conceded one goal in the process. This was not a league game where a point gained could be the difference between staying up and Scunthorpe away, it was an FA Cup quarter final and the best chance in the last 67 years of getting beyond this point of the cup.

I am bewildered by the negative tactic that we approached this game with. And would go as far to say that the players can take less blame than the manager on this occasion, however much it pains me to say (and it really does). Our attacking impetuous was none excistent, we defended so deeply and showed no creative nouse at all. I'll be interested to see what Sir Chris has to say - the usual 'dust ourselves down/it wasn't our day' simply won't cut it this time.

An apology to those intrepid Addicks who made it upto the Steel City would be a start. Where from here, I simply don't know. Sure, we were never going to win the Cup, but it would have been nice to see us try.

RD Press conference part one...

I've just watched the opening gambit/statement from RD and team on 'Charlton Wall', basically nothing surprising, but none the less despite being well rehearsed everything makes sense hence.

Basically RD is a firm believer in the new fair play rules (as am I), and if his belief that it will over time make for a more level playing field we really could see mid to long term some exciting times ahead for our sensibly run club. We may experience some pain and minor hiccups in the interim but on the whole this opening statement fills me with quiet confidence that after these wilderness years we have an intelligent and sensible owner with the best interests of the club, fans, and needless to say their own investment at heart.

His comments on moving players around his stable of clubs does make sense (although we'll all agree that the squad does need a fresh injection of some more quality and depth if the immediate collective goal of Championship survival is to be obtained) and his firm belief in a quality youth development program is another factor that bodes well for the long term future of our club.

I'll post later on once I've watched the press conference in full, paying particular attention to the actual press questions and how they are answered. (This will be the really telling part of what we are to expect over the coming years, although what I have heard so far does leave me quietly confident of better times ahead).

Say hello...wave goodbye

Well that was a busy old couple of days, with one or two surprises.

I'm perhaps going to go against general consensus amongst us Addicks and reserve judgment as to whether the comings and goings of the last two days are good or bad. As disappointing as it is to see Yan the Man make his way down the A303 to the Jurassic Coast I can understand why he might have gone, bare in mind his age and the fact he does have a family to provide for beyond his football career.

Stephens and Alnwick i'm not so sure about. Stephens wants bigger and better things than he feels Charlton can offer him, and despite being one of the very few shining stars this season, i'd previously not rated him to highly. Alnwick, despite his recent good performances we shipped goals and do now have a bit of a plethora of Goalies. I wish him luck at the O's.

As for those incoming from a variety of Rolands clubs we will just have to wait and see what they bring. I think something that we all seem to forget is that at this point of the season there's nothing unlucky about being in the bottom three, we are there based on results and the fact that our thin squad of players collectively have not been quite good enough.

The signing that is most intriguing is the one true new signing - from a none Roland affiliate - whose name I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce. He's only 20 and by all accounts a bit of a goal poacher, so hopefully he'll come straight into the side and make an impact. Lets be fair, however honest and hard working he is, Church really don't cut it as a striker in this division. And Sordell? I don't even think I need to go there.

Finally there's the question of outstanding contract renewals, of both the management and some playing staff. I think it's great that Wiggins has signed a long contract - 4 and half years seems to be the going rate that Roland likes to dish out. But be under no illusion that this does not mean he'll be here for that term. It simply means for him to leave in the summer someones going to have to part with some proper dollars.

I think we all know what will happen to Sir Chris if we don't hear of him signing a new contract in the next few weeks. My guess is, if no new contract is the case, we'll see him make an emotional farewell at the end of the season. And if indeed this eventuality does happen and we see some no mark or oddly named foreign manager coming in Roland can take my season ticket re-newel form and stick it where the sun don't shine.(Maybe)

If you look back at the history of our great club, it's been when 'Charlton' people have managed the club that we've experienced the good times.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out after this afternoons tough game up in Wigan and reevaluate what we think then.

A Cup Run!

So following our dogged disposal of Huddersfield yesterday it would seem we are now officially on a cup run!

There will be those saying 'oooh we need to be concentrating on the league...blah blah blah', personally I say bring it on.

We've only had a few in my memory from the last 33 years of watching and supporting Charlton, and those I was pretty fond of. I'll never forget my first ever away game with my Dad at Colchester. Followed by a shock 1-1 draw with Spurs and Mark 'marmite' Aizlewood's goal celebration of a double two fingered salute to the Charlton faithful who alot of whom had been giving him stick for much of the first half of that season. Having to get on my toes when confornted by an angry mob of Bristolians after beating them to book a quarter final place against Man Utd. (The ensuing trip, pre the purple patch premiership years, to Old Trafford). The disappointment of choking at Middlesborough. I bloody love it!

I'll be excitedly glued to the TV at half five this afternoon, beer in hand, not sure whether i'll be willing a big name to come out of the hat. Lets face it it's been some time since we played the likes of Everton, Liverpool, United, City, Arsenal (away, I fancy that one). Or hoping for something beatable to be put in front of us and the anticipation of a quarter final appearance with the possibility of even a Wembley visit for a semi final.

Yes, I know i'm getting carried away, but at a time when I was really beginning to fall out of love with the game this sort of thing really re-invigorates and galvanizes your enthusiasm for the game.

Av it!

Expect the unexpected (but in a very sensible way, a bit like Belgium really!)

There seems to be quite a bit of knee jerk 'whats going on?  whats not going on? Whys nothing going on?' reaction to our very recent takeover.

And some people suspicions that we'll sell some of our players of value and move in, initially loanee's, to plug those gaps left does ring a touch true.

However this is not necessarily a bad thing, just what needs to be done to make our club viable again.

Lets not forget that until this takeover took place the club we love was very much withering and on it's way to dying on the vine. And that's a fact. Relegation back to the third tier a month ago was the least of our worries in my opinion. Charlton could well have been the first high profile football club in England  literally to evaporate into the history of footballs economics.

It's well documented that the new owner plays things sensibly from a economic point of view, and looks at creating revenue where there is not enough through player sales. Although this is done for the good of the club and to help it move forward.

What would people really want. Another Abramovich type Russian villain sacking managers willy nilly, or even an egomaniac from the far east with too much money and too little sense. Our kit changed to whatever whimsical color he feels will sell more shirts in Malaysia and make us luckier and our name changed to 'The Greenwich Royales' or some such nonsense.

I think perhaps it's time to take a deep breath and keep calm and carry on.

I'm sure the new board will make some minor decisions that are not popular, and those with shortsighted views will bemoan them, but the guys done a sensible job at Standard, reestablishing them as one of Belgium's top sides - whilst retaining the integrity of the clubs history AND running them as a going concern rather than a toy with which he can entertain himself and his mates until such a time as he gets bored or arrested leaving the club in the poo once he moves on.

Lets give Roland a chance to sort out the mess we've decended intoand let's face it things CAN only get better.

Cheers.

Another Charlton legend returns...

I'd spent much of last week telling my Millwall supporting best mate and Palarse supporting boss that the Belgian takeover was never going to happen, and whatever was hiding in the closet at The Valley had put the anchors on the deal. Call it a natural leaning to pessimism/realism that us Addicks have.

I was wrong RD has taken over and immediately after such a long time of nout coming out of the boardroom actions taking place. Big time. Hopefully the attention that is being paid to sorting out the pitch is just a taste of sensible things to come. Along with the welcome return of Mr Murray. He may have been part of the management team that dropped the ball so magnificently when Dowie was appointed Curbs successor and our monumentally rapid decline therein after, but he hung on in there, managed to get the mugs to buy us, stave off administration, employ SCP AND get us back up from the third division. And most importantly, i'm sure was an integral player in getting this deal done. Hence, i'm guessing, his appointment as non exec chairman.

Despite some of the woeful performances this season, we are only two or three players short of having a very competitive Championship squad. And once contract issues are sorted with some of our senior players and manager i expect to see a return of the momentum we saw a season ago.

I certainly don't expect immediate glory. From what i can gather we now have a level headed owner, who may make some tough decisions, but they will be considered, measured and if Standard Liege are anything to go on will be for the long term best of our club.

Whatever has happened over the last few years, Murray has always had the best interests of the club HE supports just like us at heart. Whatever Jiminez and Slater have said in the press (following the best part of two years silence) it's Richard Murray we should thank for getting our great club back on track.

What a difference a week can make!


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