Now that Tucudean has gone out on loan, like Reza and Polish Pete, I wonder if Roland will rethink his scouting and recruitment policy? Igor was brought in on Bob's recommendation by all accounts, and Watt has just arrived so surely the penny will have dropped that his scouts are useless?
You still don't get it, Billy. For RD it is not about the team being successful. Although clearly he would rather it be successful than not. Not is it mainly about making money, or even about not wasting money, although he would rather it were profitable, or at least self-funding, than not. For RD, the most important thing is to have his own way all time. If he were to follow others advice against his own instincts and have a successful and profitable team it would give him little satisfaction.
Of course it is about making money, of course it is about the club being successful. Because the money is in the Premiership. But he is under the misapprehension that he can do it via the network. You and I cannot know for sure what RDs plan is.
That's the spirit, Dick. Never say die. Your post immediately reminded me of a film I was watching two nights ago. Last weeks of WWII, Russians within 100 km of Berlin, Allies have crossed the Rhine, former allies like Italy and Romania have long since switched sides. The loyal Nazi colonel is trying to convince his men, "Don't you see lads, it is all part of the Fuehrer's cunning plan. Of course, we are not worthy to know what it is, but it will astonish us all once unleashed". Funny how these megalomaniacs can inspire blind faith among some people.
Roland doesn't inspire blind faith in anyone(not on his payroll) as far as I can see. Charlton Athletic, however, does inspire blind loyalty in it's fans. And he is used to fans turning against him, it's happening at Liege, so he won't be bothered by "Roland Out" chants.Whether or not he's bothered by falling revenue, especially season ticket sales, remains to be seen.
I'm sure I read somewhere else that the percentage of income, combined with the fact that a lot of fans will continue to go, means that this is something he can probably ride out. To a certain extent, Watt and Le Pointe don't seem like bad signings, it's their point of origin that suggests his scouting network does'nt go much beyond a Walloon versión of Football Manager 2015. Further, if he's in it for the money, he could argue he is turning the club round. The installations are better, the club are (for the momento) higher up the table, the losses are slowing down. On that balance sheet, the rise and fall of the supporterd aspirations, does'nt feature at all. If he keeps us ticking, he could probably sell us for a profit in five years time, and a lot of business types would clap him on the back.
Interesting blog from Albury Addick. This is the blueprint we should be looking at. I don’t begrudge Bournemouth their time in the sun. They are due some success after decades of struggle. We know that their Russian owner is prepared to put in more money than our owner but there are other aspects to bournemouth’s success which really aren’t that difficult to copy. Their team is full of talented British players plucked mostly inexpensively from the lower leagues, Matt Ritchie , Harry Arter, Simon Francis, Mark Pugh , Tommy Elphick, Callum Wilson , Charlie Daniels, Andrew Surman, Steve Cook, Brett Pitman and a few others not to mention the odd highly talented and very championship experienced Breton. Their management team of Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall are lower league experienced British managers. The team has been built steadily over a 2 to 5 year period so that players are familiar with each other and understand the system. (Under our current ownership philosophy can you imagine any of our current team still playing for charlton in 3 years time , even the young ones ?) Tactically they are very good but essentially it’s not that complicated , they play 2 guys up front, one who is particularly good in the air and one who is a quick proven goal scorer. They play 2 wingers and 1 , sometimes 2 overlapping full backs . They move about a lot and play with a high tempo . It is exciting to watch and they rely on their attack to compensate for lack of numbers at the back. Finally , you feel like they care , they are part of the club building something together, they are on a journey as a team, taking the fans and the town with them. They don’t look like short term mercenaries like Watford and you know who. Shame the Russian preferred the Seaside to Greenwich park. We ended up with a Belgian with less money and a lot less common sense.
The answer to the original question which I asked: Yes it can work for The Douche No it can't work for Charlton. You test a player or manager out on Charlton. If he's good he goes to Liege, if not he goes elsewhere in the network. Charlton are a useful cog in his wheel, and will continue to be even in L1. Why else would he sign Le Point on a 2.5 year contact?
Mike Ashley seems to working on similar lines with Newcastle and Rangers: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31099950 In principle, the idea could be beneficial to all parties, but it would work best where there was a distinct gap in class between the two clubs. Perhaps RD thinks there is? If not, there soon will be.
Interesting contribution on CL from a Charlton fan in Spain. Alcorcoran fans are very disillusioned with the Network, selling their best players, falling attendances, "want their Alcorcoran back". Presumably roland fills all his clubs with yes-men who only tell him what he wants to hear.
