If Roland Duchâtelet's objective really is to run a successful football club, he would surely have shown Katrien Meire the same ruthlessness and impatience he exhibits towards Head Coaches. By any normal measure, her management of the club has been an embarrassing failure. Most obviously on the pitch, of course, but income and profit must already be falling steadily - all those empty seats every week. And all those stewards to control a protest that may or may not materialise don't come cheap.
And in this, a relatively quiet week, we had the farce of her resignation/dismissal as a director of Charlton Athletic Holdings being mischievously hoaxed. Whoever did it (and I must point out that the stifled laugh you hear from this blog in no way condones the illegal act) must have been amazed at how easy it was to get away with it. All because the company didn't use the free verification service offered by Companies House, apparently. Something that any competent lawyer should have corrected. Where's a competent lawyer when you need one, Katrien?
So her failures as a CEO have led to financial turmoil, and have left the holding company unprotected against corporate identity theft, the consequences of which could have been much worse than the embarrassment we saw this week. If it wasn't already, the reputation of the club is in tatters.
In any normal business, the owner would have been replacing the fake document with a real one. Sorry, Katrien, but you've failed.
But this isn't a normal business, of course. It's certainly not a normal football club and Duchâtelet's long-term objectives remain as obscure as ever, although footballing success seems ever lower on his list of priorities.So the protests must continue. We won't know until noon on Saturday what the twist will be this week, but we do know that there will be a protest after the game. Let's make it another big one.
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At least at this week's protest Brian you'll have brand new flood-lights in the car park....!
I went to the mini-protest after the Bristol City game and saw the 2 generators with a set of floodlights attached to each pointing out into the car park. I suspected I thought I knew what they were for - and my suspicions were confirmed the minute that I saw 2 Plod on the stairs down from the West Stand start filming the minute that 20 people gathered outside the club offices. Then the generators were started up and on came the lights, brightly illuminating those present so that Plod can easily identify anyone who steps out of line as they appear on their own HD video.
Of course, I could be wrong and it may be that Katrien wants a better view of the demo from the Directors Lounge - but she should remember to raise the large blind that has now been put up so that she and Richard Murray and their guests can hide behind it and pretend that the assembled multitude are singing praises to them and Roland the Rat....
Nah, I reckon the lights are there for use by Police 5! Remember to smile at Plod on Saturday, they'll probably be videoing from both sides of the stand so don't forget to give them a wave and perhaps even sing them a song or two.... They ain't that shrewd, the red light on their videos are a dead giveaway!!!
I won't be at the Valley on Saturday (or any other Saturday until Duchatelet either does a 180 or sells the club) but for those that are give 'em hell but stay safe.
Of course,
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