The Despair Deepens Down In The Valley

CAFC picture 1

Robson Friend reports on Charlton fans and their campaign against the club’s owners.

Charlton Athletic, one of English football’s historic clubs, are on the brink of something potentially disastrous. The once-stable Premier League side are involved in what can only be described as a massive fall from grace as they continue to slip towards relegation despite a recent upturn in results. For many Charlton fans the real problems lie with owner, Roland Duchâtelet and his way of directing the club.

Recently, the Valley hosted mid-table Reading. Fans were greeted by volunteers handing out unofficial match day programmes that were created by fan group, Coalition against Roland Duchâtelet (CARD). Due to the club’s severe and dire situation, a small group of concerned season ticket holders appealed towards their own fans in a bid to boycott future 2016-2017 season ticket purchases until the club’s future is resolved.

Criticism

The game ended 4-3 in Reading’s favour, an eventful match to say the least with Yaya Sanogo grabbing a hat trick. However, it was the protests that followed the meeting that garnered most of the attention as fans gathered in numbers protesting both inside and outside the Valley in a bid to oust the current club owner Duchâtelet and chief executive Katrien Meire from power. Meire, a former law firm worker, also a figure on the receiving end of much supporter criticism.

The theme of the game was meant to be different, with ‘football for a fiver’ the slogan of the day, an appeal to the football fans fed up with money-orientated priorities of English clubs. The Valley attracted punters making the most of a rare deal in the business that is football. It was, perhaps, a cry for more voices as the club searched for the backing of their fans as José Riga and his men battle for survival yet again.

Duchâtelet has appointed a series of inexperienced coaches and staff members, with questions raised about recruitment. In response devoted Addick fans have gone to remarkable lengths to protest against their owner. Fans travelled to Belgium, attending a Sint-Truiden (one of Duchâtelet’s other teams) v Zulte Waregem match to protest their beliefs on a continental scale.

Protests

Matias Grez of CNN who also covers Charlton Athletic locally, explained his view on the demonstrations of C.A.R.D: “I think the initiative is certainly a good idea, although some protests have been hit and miss. They’ve set up some really effective protests, such as attempting to convince supporters not to buy anything at the ground on match day, which was to try and hit the owner where it hurts – in the pockets. But others, such as handing out Pinocchio masks as a ‘protest’, achieve nothing and are just gimmicks.”

On the wider situation at The Valley, Grez said: “Honestly, I don’t think the terrible signings and horrible managerial appointments are even the main problem. The way he [Duchâtelet]. . . treats the club and the fans is what everyone is most angry about. Having an inexperienced and inadequate (to put it nicely) CEO in Katrien Meire running the club into the ground is one of the biggest problems.”

Charlton currently sit second from bottom of the table, five points away from MK Dons who sit one place above the dreaded drop. However, this weekend saw the South-East London outfit beat 2nd place Middlesborough 2-0 in front of a pitiful crowd who boycotted the first five minutes of the encounter. The Addick fans released black-and-white beach balls onto the field as part of C.A.R.D’s latest voice against their owners, with an unimpressed Katrien Meire in attendance. The black-and-white colours stand as a tribute to kit worn in one of the club’s happier times when they lifted the FA cup in 1947.

Unrelenting

Grez believes Charlton have a mountain to climb and fans have reason to voice their concerns: “Charlton are 100% relegated, no doubt about it. Fans have every reason to be frustrated by the way they’ve been treated. As long as the players have shown to be putting in the effort on the pitch, the support from the stands has been unrelenting. When the players look like they don’t care or don’t want to be on the pitch, that’s when the fans get on their back. That hasn’t happened for a while now, though.”

As the coalition of fans continue to rally to save their beloved club, only time will tell if José Riga and his staff can find a way to turn the season around, as Charlton Athletic seem to be on the cusp of something quite catastrophic. With their followers continuing to show disbelief towards the direction of the club’s future and identity in the hands of their current Belgian owner, the team will look forward towards their next fixture, a must win away trip to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

No posts to display