Okay Katrien, you have told us how the fans are misguided for believing the club is somehow theirs. Thanks for taking the blinkers off our eyes. By way of thanks, let me explain a little faux pas you seem to have inadvertently made. The Charlton fans are not a homogenous block. Some may enjoy a bit of house music in crossbars, but the majority were going there because the music was'nt there. Effectively, you've driven them out without having a guaraneed replacement group to come in. Some of my mates like a bit of real ale in Greenwich before and after a game. Others opt for nightlife, lager and a frolic in old Bexley. Overall, we all have our stuff we like, and changing the valley to accomodate one group, will annoy another, so if the machine ain't broke, don't fix it. The one thing we all want from our matchday experience, however, is a win. If we could play well into the bargain, even better. That's it!! While the sofá is a fairly inoffensive itself, it shows you are looking at the wrong priorities. We need a good manager, and good players, in order to win. I know this may seem a bit left field at first Reading, but think about it a bit and it may begin to make a bit of sense. If it doesn't, it may be time to send out a few CV's.
I don't use Crossbars, but it appears that she is trying to cater for young people who are just out for a drink. The same thing just happened to the Golden Lion in Sydenham, a pub which I had used for about 30 years. The answer is simple if you cross the road there is The Dolphin. I assume that the owners of The Lion did their market research because they have put the prices up and clearly want to cater for the group which will pay those prices- young people with decent jobs still living with their parents. It may work in Sydenham, but at a football CLUB it is just a sign of her flawed approach. In her giggly interview she was talking about rebranding and marketing as being the solution, and this is an example an arrogant woman following the wrong strategy. The Project 20,000 has its first meeting at 1 o'clock today, and although Rick may not be everyone's favourite I'm glad he'll be there because you know he won't be taken in.
Provide a competitive Charlton side, stuffed with players of commitment & integrity, and all will follow. Until that happens, everything else is distracting background noise. From 1986 to 1990 we played in the top flight of English football on someone else's ground on a shoestring budget, in front of 'crowds' of 5,000. We didn't need a Pie Cam, a Fans Sofa or cheerleaders in those days. We believed in Lennie and the lads. As Lennie memorably said at the time.. "Supporting Charlton isn't a hobby, it's a cause". We survived because the 5,000 fans refused to be beaten by our then twat of an owner, and because the 11 guys in red shirts- honest toilers like Gritty, Steve Thompson, Mark Reid etc, had pride in their performances and an affinity with us fans. Times are now equally fraught, and our hardcore support is back down to parlous levels. Speaking as one of the 850 fans who was actually at the two Simod Cup home games, I don't want to see us go back to those depths. The difference this time compared to the 80s is that our fans lack balls and a collective determination to fight back. Only Charlton fans can save Charlton from these utter ****ers.
Agree I was at every game at selhurst and most of the away ones we were all in it together United as one today sadly too many fans sit on their hands and just accept and want to suck up to Katrienne and co
I'm going to have to miss today's game due to manflu. I'm more sorry about missing the prematch protest. Let's hope the interview will get the hackles up of enough supporters to stop our CEO from giggling at the window like she did last time.
