The problem is Ken, we are looking more and more like a 'Property Development opportunity' rather than a 'Football Club opportunity'.... I think people must accept that remaining at the Valley is becoming unlikely in a 10 to 15 year timeframe. and that Citizen Khan would probably look kindly on property development at Sparrow Lane if asked nicely. Simples!
Why did Robinson give the players the day off on Xmas day, given our dire recent form? Trying to be their best mate again.
Never a truer word spoken - you only had to look at last week’s Court paperwork regarding Jiminez to understand that the vultures are circling over Charlton for non footballing reasons. How long now until a prospective new owner says “I will clear the debts but I want Charlton out of the Valley”
The opportunity to move to the peninsular has gone now, so there was a workable alternative then, not now.
When you look at the job Neil Harris has done at Millwall it shows once again what a charlatan Robinson is. It’s not all about money.
Cray Wanderers are building themselves a brand new ground on the Sidcup by-pass.... there is always an alternative.
If Roland is really intent on recouping his losses, a property developer would be the only possibility. There are a lot of ifs and buts though.
Would be a doublé whammy. First Roland drives the fans away with his lack of ambition and idiot CEO. Then he sells on to a developed who moves us into a nice 5000 capacity ground in Ebbsfleet as there are no fans left who care enough to oppose it. That's the nightmare scenario anyway. Anything is posible, but a move would generate as much upheval and disruption as Katrien at her incompetent worst. As it stands, I don't see that as a problem, or at least if it is it's one for the future. The immediate problem is the squad, and that doesn't look like changing any time soon.
Perhaps they could 'downsize' the Valley for roughly the same cost as building a new cheap flat-pack 10,000 capacity stadium. (Knock down the North & West stands and put smaller ones in their places) Then sell the car park, shop and the land saved behind the West stand from the downsizing. There you go - a half-new 12,000 capacity Valley, and a pile of money from the sold land. And everybody's happy. I would email this idea to the Club, but I understand they don't read emails from fans. Perhaps somebody from ITTV could re-post it there so Katrien can read it.
Duchatelet is like a dead weight clinging to the throat of the club. The warning signs regarding the damage he is doing are there for all to see (apart from Seriously) - only 2,900 at the Legends game, and only 10,000 Charlton fans turning up for the Portsmouth Anniversary game. I haven’t been able to attend since the Truro game due to personal circumstances, but you do soon get out of the habit of going - especially when the product on offer is filth.
Not for the better, anyway. We're approaching the nightmarescenario. An owner who has publicly given up on us, a manager who is being exposed as a charlatan, and an excuse of a CEO.
If we can’t beat Gillingham that will be something like 3-4 points from 10 league games, Russell Slade eat your heart out. I would fire Robinson & give Bowyer a go, if only to spare the fans another 4 months of bullsh1t.
There was a time when I thought this Club had unlimited prospects, but sadly see it this way now. Club sold, by Saint Richard "will always do what's best for the Club" Murray to Slater & Jimenez...Chancers Now Duchatelet, who by his own admission has very little interest in football. Building a successful "football" Club hasn't been the priority for quite some time. #Shiphassailed
I don't know if this post is tongue in cheek Mr Lardiman, but if you have seen Sint Truiden's ground then you do not know how plausible this really is.
Duchatelet will not sack the Scouser as that will be an unnecessary expense. Robinson, understandably will not resign. Stalemate, mate.
I know it's no laughing matter really. And I'm not angling for a move back to Katrien's 'Target 20 Apologists' Group. The whole situation is utterly miserable. Robinson has had the easiest ride he could possibly have wanted from Charlton fans this season. Yet all he has done is string them along with stupid claims about our 'culture' while delivering little more than smoke and mirrors. And when his trickery is exposed at Southend he runs away and leaves his players to face the fans. It's about time that he was told in front of his own dugout at the Valley that it isn't good enough.
Even now, I really don't want to shout for another change of manager (though it would be great if the next one could be better chosed tan the other recent appointees) as it sounds like another upheaval with limited returns. Any manager incoming would have to work within the boundaries RD sets, as well as the Budget, Besides, while Robinson may be married to the same formation, the injury list is a genuine excuse. Few clubs wouldn't notice a dip in results with the injuries we have. Thst's all by the by though. Why does anyone expect RD to fork out another termination payment? The only one he is interested in is the one he will recieve in return for the sale of the club. The clubs' value may be sinking as I write - it looks more and more likely that we are going nowhere this season so any buyer would have to plan to get us out of league 1 as a priority, with the accompanying losses that entails. If a sale is hanging in the balance, he might consider reburbishing the squad, in the same way that a house seller might repaint his property in order to make a sale easier. However there has never been a point in this ownership where I would bet money on Roland making a decisión that would favor Charlton Athletic. The fact that he owns it and running it well would at the least reduce losses has sailed over his head for four years, and if his mind is on the exit, that is unlikely to change.
