I had tried to post prior to the Reading game, but the rubbish app I've been using on my iPad for whatever reason froze and I needed to get on to the game.
Now that things seem to be stabilising down in SE7 I think it' time to take a step back away from all of the recent hysteria surrounding the new owners and their network and have a look at the pluses.
The players and manager that have come in since the departure of Bob Peeters (who it would seem was well out of his depth, both tactically and from a man management point of view) have certainly stepped upto the mark, along with the existing squad players. A great run of results with the exception of the home game against Blackburn have seen us climb the table, leaving even some of the wonderfully optimistic cup half full Addicks whispering of a miracle run to sixth place. A bit premature me thinks - but blind optomism is a general must if your to endure a long term love affair with our club.
Broadcasting the Millwall game live to The Valley is a great idea, I appreciate it's mainly commercial, but it shows that the club is begining to understand and reconnect a bit with the supporters.
Katrien Meirre has been on a media offensive, appearing on Sky Sports, Radio Four and in The Evening Standard. To be fair I understand and appreciate her comments about unpleasant emails and being accosted on the train returning from the Watford Debacle. I quite like her, she seems articulate, if not a little un-media savvy in some of the things she comes out with.
All in all it's a different Charlton to the last few incarnations we've seen. Different to 'the model football club' that we saw under Varney et al's stewardship, different to the well invested record breaking Leaggue One winning squad AND the club left to die on the vine by Jiminez and Slater once their backer bailed, different to the nomadic days of Selhurst and Upton Park.
Owners come and go. At the moment, all be it through a bit of trial and error, the current owners seem to have managed to get their incarnation of Charlton Athletic on an upwards curve. I'll wait and see what the summer brings, what will say though is that I'm actually optimistic that in a sensible way (ie. Not breaking the bank) the incumbent owners and individuals running the club at the front end will do their best to keep the current trajectory of the club going.
It is not rocket science to suggest the new owner has ambitions for Charlton to be successful .
ReplyDeleteIn just over a year we have gone from bottom to mid table , ground refurbished , new pitch , training facilities and best of all the owner has found a manager who seems to know that fans need to be entertained. I am glad you think Charlton may be on a upward curve even though by trial and error. Perhaps you can publish a blue print of how to make a club successful and sell it to potential football club owners, along with the other bloggers you would make a fortune.
Good to see Millwall are ranked approximately the same size as Bury.
Charlton Forever
Wasn't attempting a 'Dowie' and inventing a new space rocket. Simply trying to begin to inject some much needed positivity into proceedings. If I was a judge, I'd still be deliberating (due my slightly paranoid nature) until the summers been and gone and we see what we have got come the start of next season, however I think the knockers mat find they have less and less to moan about as time goes on. If they keep as much of the current squad together, particularly Watt (huge legend in the making) and the rejuvinated Buyons, Gudmunnson and Gomez plus adding one or two more I'll be an extremely optimistic Addick come next August.
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