Sunday 28 July 2013

Crying shame

After an unbeaten run of friendlies that has whetted appetites and had talk of promotion, albeit with a striker or two, a limp home defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle and the wrist-slitters are out. To make matters worse Chrissie Powell dropped a very large hint post-match by saying he wanted to strengthen upfront "if allowed." My take is that was not a slip of the tongue and it tells you, if you didn't already believe it, that we are borassic. This could be a very tough season for us on and off the field. I was also very disappointed to see that only 2800 bothered to make the effort both for a rare home pre-season match and, more importantly, because it was for Colin Powell who could do with the money and deserved four times that gate. Perhaps it's as much a reflection that I am 50 and I have vivid memories of Powell in full flight, whereas many of our current day fans know him only as the Groundsman. Either way it was disappointing. I think that seals the prospects of home friendlies for the foreseeable future. Mr Jiminez may want to stay away from home games for a while because I sense the die-hards are turning on him specifically as largest individual shareholder and a man whose reputation has been taking a buffeting in the courts lately. He might find he's going to get some proper stick which could be damaging for a potential club owner who wants to sell. Up Shit Creek without a paddle is not a nice place to be but that's where we are two years into the new regime.

2 comments:

  1. I agree Colin Powell deserved more but the spiral into the tirade against the current regime is, I would suggest a bit if an over reaction. I think we are in a good place with a good manager, good team spirit and some promising youngsters coming on two consecutive seasons of success. I first went to The Valley in 1968 as am 11 year old and so have seen many regimes and by comparison the present stands up well to many. Good luck to all players and supporters for the new season.

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  2. Anon - there's always an argument that says "don't worry until it's a real problem." Unfortunately, before seismic events, there is inevitably a trail of indicators and, like many others life-long Charlton fans with our ears to the ground, we can hear them. Not only that, we have the actions of the current Board and the personal testament of those prepared to speak as to unhealthy goings on behind the scenes. I have already posted in support of overall progress to date but it's pretty clear the current owners don't have the money to invest or aren't prepared to and we are being run on tick. Cash flow is obviously a problem and that is what most clubs who enter Administration suffer from. The dilemma for the current Board is that they want to sell a going concern so can't cash in on their assets ie sell the better players. But we clearly aren't spending and player sales would be the final step of desperation to pay the bills. We have been hear before when Paul Elliot and Paul Walsh were flogged cheap in a used deal to Luton to stave of a winding up which came in the end. If the doubters are wrong, the Board should act to reassure us. They refuse to communicate with us either because they are so arrogant they don't see why they should or because there is nothing they can say that would make their position any better. It's a bit like the accused using their option of silence in the dock. It usually means they have been advised by their Briefs that they can only makes things worse by debating the issue, invariably because there is too much evidence to the contrary.

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