CAST don't represent my viewpoint on anything, and never will. Surprised people can't see through their "actions" [LOL] over the last 4 years - collectively they couldn't knock the skin off a rice pudding.
I'm sure that you'd get a full house if the fiver included a mug of Bovril and a plate of vol au vents
Find it strange that CAST appear to be positioning themselves with the Aussies, given the damage Muir & Co have themselves done to OUR club. When they boastfully turned up at the Play offs in their borrowed Charlton scarves, who would have thought that we would go into the next season with Karlan Grant as our only striking option. But they are “very hopeful” though, so that keep some folk happy...
I have to disagree Royston ,Forest said there were 25 members at the last AGM about 2%of the membership. So I would guess Anyone that wanted to get on the board or get someone on the trust board probably could.
The Trust is suffering from the same thing that is affecting Charlton's entire fan base. Disillusionment and apathy - both now so deeply ingrained that the damage might take a decade or more to undo even when the cause of it is finally gone. The fewer fans there are, the louder will be the individual voices of the 'noisy' ones (opportunists, activists, even extremists). Just like an early round league cup game, when there were so few fans in the ground you can clearly hear individuals shouting at what they can see going on. Most of the fans who give in to the apathy are (by definition) moderate in their opinions. Everyday fans who support the team but are not very fired up by the endless political wrangling, or seeking to climb any greasy poles themselves. Folk who are usually loyal supporters, but have just had their fill of decline and disinterest from our absent owner, season-in season-out. In a climate like that, radicals will flourish. And little good will come of it.
All that matters at the moment, IMO, is supporting the remnants of the team (away only in my case) so that we help them stay out of the relegation zone. Knowing on sight as I do a few CAST grandees, you don’t / won’t see many of them at Sunderland or Accrington. Too busy playing toy soldiers with their imaginary job titles. Ruritania is alive and well - just join CARD or CAST and get to feel really important with your chums.
PS- Two weeks ago, CARD/CAST announced their Big Boycott of the first home game v Shrewsbury. If Duchatelet is still the owner. Well, Duchatelet is still the owner...so how is their fantastic boycott going? I’ve not seen much since ? #wetblankets #impotent #AllAboutThem
Genuine question Royston, As I see it, there are two basic staps and a third optional one. Step 1. Call a boycott for a set match Step 2. Do not attend the match optional 3. Mount some sort of protest before the match, knowing that those who most back your plan may not show up, and you'll be stuck with the people who go rain or shine to the home matches. The problema with all the protests was always that Roland is never here at the Valley. He also made it quite clear through his mouthpiece KM that having paid for the club, he didn't want or need advise on how to run it. There has never been fan interaction or any of the stuff that built small bridges between club and fans with previous regimes. The club is in a right old state now, but there has never been much of an option for the fans to influence that - they have tried asking, fawning, begging and protesting. The nearest I have seen to any sort of interaction has been ITTV having meetings at the club, and while not wishing to poke fun, that didn't really achieve anything more tan the taxi throwing protest or that two man pitch invasión.
@ken shabby I feel that Duchatelet has been motivated to sell because even multi millionaires have an aversion to losing £1m a month. Therefore every £27 he is now being deprived of at the gate irritates and pains him more. They all add up. This morning as I walked down Floyd Road I bumped into a well known Charlton face walking up. We stopped and chatted. He and his son have just cancelled their VG memberships and not renewed their season tickets. In sadness, we departed wishing each other well.
Trusts CAN be quite a strong force in a football club- look at what they achieved at Swansea. This won't happen at Charlton unfortunately because too few fans are buying into the idea. It's a vicious circle, they achieve nothing because of lack of support; lack of support because they achieve nothing.
Not arguing at all - I am usually back in november and I have always made a point of including a match at the Valley while back - I don't see who I should not visit my team because the owner is a /&%/&). However, if this year's visit goes ahead, I doubt I'll be going. It's finally got to the point where I can't justify even the tiny amount of cash I'd be handing over to him. May his debts mount ever higher.