I often speak as I find. My openness and frankness have ruffled a few supporters` feathers that sometimes their comments have become very vulgar and in a few cases personal. The events over the last few years since our takeover by the Belgian tycoon Roland Duchatelet have been far from smooth. The club has been subjected to demonstration inside and outside the ground. An organisation was formed by the name of C.A.R.D which stands for Collation against Roland Duchatelet. Last season in particular after having drummed up masses of support from gullible Addick supporters, they set about to systematically disrupt games which quite frankly was an act of sabotage that spoiled many games and if this was designed to dent the faith of the true supporter who in spite of the efforts from CARD will not be intimidated to follow a lost cause.
I have often said, who are all the stay away supporters ‘`I use that word with reservation ‘` hurting. Can all those who stopped coming truly be called supporters? I have read many reasons on why they have turned their backs on Charlton. Many have made it personal. We will have to go back to when the club was sold to Roland Duchatelet to get a better inside to what has turned a staunch Addick into a none believer of this fine club that proudly represents the community of Charlton and Royal Borough of Greenwich. No one can deny the club Charlton whose home is at the Valley was in a mess. Close to administration and in a need for some drastic restructuring throughout the stadium, but there was no money to change the fortunes and bring the Valley back from the brink.
The then owners we all know who they were, sold the club to our present owners and that is where everything went from he is a jolly good fellow to we hate him with vengeance. The first season we avoided the drop when Jose Riga pulled out all the stops and secured another season in the Championship. Bob Peeters, Luzon Kyle and Riga who again tried to bring stability to the team but failed and the Addicks dropped out of the Championship and back into division one. We were subjected to so much uncertainty with network players and managers coming, and with unrest amongst supporters beginning to surface that the present organisation was born. With the team continuing to slide, it gave fuel to their cause that soon gathered volumes and was used against the club and its owners in a campaign of hatred and revenge.
The clubs supporters were divided. From a healthy crowd filling the stands it became apparent that many of the supporters were boycotting the club to show their displeasure to the owner and the CEO who many felt could not organise a shootout at a fair let alone a football club steeped in history. So the downward trend continues and along with it come the speculations. The Addicks home support has hit an all-time low. Many supporters have said they will only support the team on away games. That is not entirely true. I have gone to away games and the highest average was no more than 2,000, hardly hard core support. The trend is to hit Roland in his pocket. Rubbish, he could not care a fiddler`s f… mere pocket money not going to swell his bank account.
The whole idea of forcing him out by not buying match day tickets only hurts those who really want to come to support the club and team but their pride want let them. The excuses I have heard are very childish and belong in a kindergarten. In fact if all who have the need to follow a useless cause that deep down if the truth is known they should own up and admit it was never going to make the slightest difference regarding the ownership. They should accept the changes that have been made installing English managers, ok Slade only lasted six months. Our latest manager Karl Robinson has the vision to take this club upwards, but he needs the support of the fans. The team entering the Valley on match days and seeing more empty seats than spectators is not good for moral.
The January window has brought in some useful players. They have come here knowing full well the unrest that has engulfed this club for the past three years. This club has returned from obscurity and certain extinction the least we can do is to show our appreciation for those who fought over twenty five years ago to put Charlton back on the map. All that is needed is common sense to prevail that all the hard work was not in vain. Charlton needs its supporters they are the heart beat that drives the team forward. It is still not too late to make amends. The Millwall game could be the start needed to take the Addicks forward. Let`s embrace the moment and turn twenty years into the start all Addicks are yearning for.
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