With charlton losing their first league game, and a tsunami of criticism that has come with it, was followed up with Standard Liege game being called off when 2-1 down due to protesting from fans over how the club is being run. And it gets worse. Tomorrow is Monday.
Just read a report of the troubles. Apparently SL fans were trying to force their way into the box where RD was sitting. I must say I respect their passion, something which is not RD's strong point.
News headline: "Charlton Athletic lose football match: Shocker" To be honest, I don't really care about what happens to Standard Liege. Although I'm (obviously) aware of the link between us and SL, as much as is humanly possible, I try to keep my focus on how CAFC fare. We didn't play well at Bournemouth and that's putting it mildly. I lost count of the number of corners Bournemouth had and frankly we were lucky it was only 0 - 1. Oh, and we look silly in orange, too. I'm none too happy about the way the club is being run by RD and it was with some irony that I discovered that the English translation of his political party BANAAN, was: "Better Seeking for Alternatives Than Doing Nothing in Apathy". Apparently they gained only 1% of the vote in the 1995 elections. Perhaps the public found something better to do than vote, or just couldn't be ar sed. Where's it all heading..? I haven't got a Scooby, but as long as this old club keeps rolling along, and if we stay in the top ten of the league, and are still in with a shout at a place in the play offs by mid April, we won't have done that badly for a club who were just about everybody's favourites to struggle against relegation this season. And if RD is given a hard time in the process, frankly my dears, I don't give a damn.
" I'm none too happy about the way the club is being run by RD." What exactly are you unhappy about Blackheath? RD has made a few wrong moves, like the January transfer window importing so many duff players into the Club. Also not strengthening in the August transfer window will prove to be a mistake. But there is no doubt that the Club has been improved. Appointing Katrien, sorting out the pitch. Putting in new seats and sprucing up the Valley. Introducing new food outlets. Work to start on renovating the training ground. Getting better players into the Club like Vetokele, Bikey, Ben Haim, Buyens, Gudmundsson. He has also given long contracts to our better youngsters like Gomez, Mitov, Ahearne-Grant etc.
I am as patriotic as a British bulldog, but I also agree with DP in that Roland has not been all bad. Personally I could not give a f--k about Liege, and never check for any news on them. My sole interest is in what he does in SE7. The gloss has slightly come off in recent weeks. We could do with a win tomorrow night. For all the investment, the squad is clearly too thin and lop sided. Selling Yann and "replacing" him with Tucadean/Moussa/Bulot was a very bad error.
For all the good things that Dickp has mentioned, RD's strategy on the first team has risks, which are there for all to see. I can't wait to see what the Bolton game brings, it is Bob's biggest test so far, and the Millwall game is looming too. On the one hand, OK we've only lost one game, it's been a great start compared to what was expected; on the other hand it's been the first time in living memory that I think we've had a run of good luck. So the next few games will shape our season one way or the other IMO.
yep, to be fair, RD has proved most of us wrong. we are in a better state than a year ago - despite some really bad bits of business (selling yann, letting go of CP, failure to give poyet, hamer a contract) - we're now stable, the ground looks good etc. this season so far, i have been waiting for our first loss, to prove that it's all been a fluke so i can go back to moaning about RD. but 11 games in and for it to happen then cant be just luck. we're a step up now.
Since the G21 nonsence several terrabytes of opinion have been aired on the merrits or lack of of RD. Mostly opinion, reasonable arguments to be had on both sides. I am in the camp that says we can now look at the facts of vastly improved facitlities, marketing and the physical turn around of a club that was literally decaying. On the pitch, to compare the fortunes of the club to the last couple of years is not setting a particularly high bar, and I think most people can see that the 12 match ubeaten scorecard was not painting an accurate picture. I have made 4 games this year I reckon we have been without the ball for about 70% of those games - and they were home games. We are where we are because we have a great asset - a very frugal defence which should see us to at least a mid-table no dramas season. The rest is all very flaky as people point out on this thread. On balance it all points to us moving in the right direction which justifies the RD approach - bottom line if we have no choice but to give him the benefit, he isn't going anywhere. But when I see SL fans revolting, I think we should all be a little alarmed, because possibly the same sources of disquiet will eventually head our way. On the other hand it may be because RD is now stepping out with us with an eye on the prem - who knows?!
We should keep an eye on Standard, and even the other clubs in the network. It gives us further insight as to how RD does business a few years in to a project. There's not to say he will follow the same blueprint, but I imagine someone with so much experience in business will stray far from their current practice. Overall I'm happy with what he's done. January was a disaster, as was holding off on negotiations on Poyet whilst Wiggins commited, but there has been an improvment on the pitch, though our early form heightened expectations. Hopefully we don't see a ''Standard'', huge turnarounds with the paying staff come the summer.
Plus it is interesting to see which of their players cannot make it into their match-day squads, because they will be dumped on us in January and June. I am sure there will be. He will clear out all the remaining Powell players (whether good, bad, or indifferent) and replace them with Belgians (bad and indifferent, because any good ones he will keep at Standard). I should think Morrison, Wilson, Harriott, Pigott, and maybe Cousins may go as early as January if they get the chance, because their careers are going nowhere under this regime. Jackson should be looking for a coaching or managerial position because he is all washed up as a player. We already know Church is unwanted. I think that would leave only Wiggins and the half-fit Solly of the old gang? Plus, of course, he will rotate his own continental flops. Some of them are only on loan anyway. And Vetokele, if he can maintain his fitness and form, will be sold for big bucks. I would be very surprised if the team that kicks off next season contains more than two or three who have played during the first half of this season.
