In all my fifty six years of being a Charlton Supporter I have never known the Supporters to be as split as we are now. You only have to look at ITTV to see how vitriolic the attacks on fellow Charlton/ Card supporters is. Every second thread is an attack on Card, an individual or Charlton Life. In three years the owner and his lapdog have got us to a situation where we are fighting each other. We have lost 4000 Season ticket holders and supporters, like me, of over fifty years are not going anymore. What an awful state of affairs and one that was totally avoidable. At last we have got a good Manager and if he is backed in the transfer window I can see us making the play offs. I think Card is reaching the end of its life. What other pressure we can put on the owners I have no idea. Duchatelet seems to want to stick around and ride out the storm.
I think the turning point for CARD/CAST was when one of them (pretty much the same to be fair) rejected dialogue with the club a month or so back. At that point, I suggested a poll would have been the right thing to do, but they seemed to have the majority distributing praise towards their stance. Since then a lot more people are seemingly referring back to that point and questioning whether it was the right thing to do. Footballs a result based business. Often a cliche you'll hear when discussing a manager, but it runs throughout football. If results pick up, the voices to let the team get on with it will grow louder and louder and they'll have to reconsider the approach as things have threatened to boil over several times - difference is that right now there is the first bit of real optimism in 20(?) months.
I ran a poll on Twitter yesterday, asking Charlton fans if the CARD sponsored match disruption should now be stopped with Karl Robinson in charge. Over 200 votes, and 43% said yes, the CARD disruption should stop [I specifically mentioned CARD]. Even a few months ago, that figure would have been much lower than 43%. Without wishing to offend my two Socialist chums Super & FHB by dragging up the "other forum", someone on there has published Everitt's self serving statement in September 2012 when he was sacked by Charlton for "gross misconduct". Everitt goes out of his way to praise Richard Murray, calling him a "friend". BUT....Murray started screwing the Club through his bovine incompetence from 2006 - so why the SIX YEAR SILENCE Rick ??? People are seeing thru this transparent charlatan for what he is.
The future of CARD will also depend on what happens in the January transfer window. Keep Lookman and get Holmes back, plus make a few decent signings, and we will be top 6 under Karl Robinson. He has already improved an average bunch of players. Sell Lookman & trouser the money, and CARD will be back. Duchatelet is a rodent, but I would still much rather be campaigning against him in the Championship next season.
I've got nothing against Everitt personally. But if there's no unity among the fans then CARD may as well give up. Fans make individual decisions, we're not a paid-up trade union, and CARD will become more and more isolated if they try to force the issue.
Personally I would not stop the boycott, whomever is conducting it. Every way I look at it, he's ruined the club and even if he wants to fix it I just don't trust the guy. He's had three years now to change and really does not show signs of it. If he stays, what do we have to look forward to? A consistent squad lacking depth and strength? Any young prospect being sold before he's even made his mark? Continued apathy setting in due to the lack of any ambition? All the fans gone will not come back, even if we do well, they just don't trust the people running it. We just need a clean slate, new owner; keep Robinson (as I agree he's the calibre we need) and start to remind people what Charlton is about... Family and Community Club. What it means to be a supporter of this club too.
Reams and Incorruptible have stoked up an anti-CARD feeling. In truth how many people are we talking about? On Saturday I did not hear one comment against the group or individuals, all exagerrated in my view.
Yeah the internet makes it seem bigger than it is. I've been to most of our games this season and I'm yet to see any genuine conflict between fans. People need to remember that the forums and the matches are two very different things.
I've supported all the protests so far, and helped CARD, but the little foam rubber taxis were feeble. I pulled out of helping with those, and I'm going on Saturday. Any decent protests, like another march, I'm in.
Agree with Elfs. There is a hysterical anti-CARD faction on ITTV. Colin is wildly involved, and at one point last week, every thread seemed to be their ravings about how out of touch CARD are. They aren't a terribly relevant forum, and the dedicated CARD haters seem to number around ten at most. From there, you have to admit most Charlton fans are not on any forum at all. CL has the most members, but even there, you could argue they are an enclave, attracting similarly minded people. The damage isn't that hidden. The attendances have been decimated at home. The regime apologists spend hours blaming every aspect of the fan base, but it's really Katrien's restaurant analogy writ large. Most people tire of being fed lies and poor football, and a lot have voted with their feet. Quite a lot won't be back. That is huge damage and will take years to repair, but the repairs can't start as things stand. KM's ghastly presence shows Roland still can't accept his role or hers in the long term problems, and she will continue to divide. Incorruptable and Colin have gone on and on about the protesters needing to stay away. They are away, the Valley is emptying. We now have a new manager, who actually took the team to Bradford with the intention of winning the match. We only dree 0-0 but it was light years from some of the draws Slade ground out. If he can continue to get the team to play ball to feet football, if we start to win games and challenge for promotion, fans will return. But we have lost a lot, and Roland and Katrien are unlikely to see a 'ground full' sign at the Valley.
Nigel Williamson has posted that while Charlton were playing Bradford on Saturday he was "in the garden with the leaf blower". I can imagine what he was doing with it.
