Very simply, in order to manage a club in the pyramid, you need to accept that the relative success of all of the clubs and especially those above you in the pyramid, especially the top dog is paramount. If you can provide free talent worthy of a side above you, then you do the right thing. In return, players edged out of sides above you become available to you as they move down the pyramid. The whole system is largely (but not exclusively) fed by cheap home-grown talent. There are no hideous transfer fees involved and we do away with ghastly Agents.
So, the model creates value at the top where the rewards are greatest and shifts the cost down to the lower clubs who live to compete. Any better players who are surplus to requirements of the sides above them, and particularly the top side, will be sold on wherever possible to help running costs of the feeder clubs.
By-passing the open market and stifling individual club ambition and risk-taking may be the downside but Roland's model gives us protection against Administration and other worldly perils. In effect it's the equivalent of Football Communism and that, my fellow Addicks, is why Sir Chris Powell couldn't sign his new deal and has been removed. It's not just because of his inherited title and selfish ambitions of taking his club back to the top of the English game, but because he didn't want to live under a regime that stifles personal ambition and freedom for the greater good.
As we all know, communism doesn't work in the long run because human beings are not equal and we all have dreams and ambitions that we want to believe we can achieve. This encapsulates how I feel today. I desperately want to support my club but I don't want to support a regime that will be happy for my club to muddle along for the greater good of someone else's. I only support Charlton Athletic, not Standard Liege or any other clubs. To use a Roland Duchatelet analogy, it's like putting five of your children in the workhouse so one can go to university.
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh, not sure if that was the intention though, but as they say, many a true word is spoken in jest.
I think its how a lot of us see it but you've not taken into account the riches of the Premiership.
If we were to get back to the Premiership and at the moment that looks as likely as getting the proverbial from the Pope, would we then replace Liege at the top of the pyramid ?.
We had warnings from supporters of RD"s other teams via CL, one in particular was very articulate in his thoughts on RD"s football model and his description of what we should expect under RD"s ownership has been spot on.
PH
Dave, love the outline and the thinking but the final analogy I'm not sure grabs the point. The purpose of the consortium/collective is the greater glory of its maker.
ReplyDeletePH - if he had any serious intention of the Premier League, surely he had to act decisively in January and strengthen the side, renew contracts and ensured we moved forward this season? He has done the exact opposite and we are now facing almost certain relegation. I'm not jesting with this post - a large number of of "fans" still don't get it.
ReplyDeleteThis whole strategy of Duchatelet is flawed. At a high level it has merit but get into the detail then it makes no sense. As others have pointed out before.
ReplyDeletePoint 1 If he is in it for the money, then revenues from Charlton getting into the premier league far outweigh what standard liege are going to generate locally or in Europe, as i cant see them progressing them very far in Europe. So why put standard liege at top of Pyramid
Point 2 if you can sell a top player for millions - Bent, Parker in the past, why give them away to a parent club and make no transfer fee - again if he is in it for the money
Point 3 - a lot of people are not going to put up with this strategy and vote with their feet. Who knows if the players we got dumped with are good enough but on the basis of the shocking shot stopper who we didn't need, then i would say not. I will reserve judgement but if it pans out that we get lumbered with third rate players and all the talent is drained from charlton to go to Roland other clubs, then i wont be wasting my hard earned money to watch them anymore if their is no hope of progressing anywhere, where as in the past their was always hope. I have supported them for 38 years through thick and thin
So what do you intend to do? Got home and the season ticket application form was on the mat - that decision was easy. But just giving up is going to be hard - and I've already asked for a refund on my current season ticket which of course won't be forthcoming. As you say, I desperately want to support my club - but not with it being run like this. How sad - because doing away with agents would be top of my list of things to change in football today. Really can't face going tomorrow night. I'll be cancelling Valley Gold for the time being too.
ReplyDeleteBA - Damn! You are right. I forgot about the glory of our leader. He must be working on his mausoleum in tandem. Those yellow teeth make me suspect he's a lot older than 67. That or he has been a chain-smoker. Either way the Mausoleum might be our eventual way out of this. It's just our luck to get lumbered with a wealthy owner who isn't really going to invest in our club. In fact potentially the opposite.
ReplyDeleteScooter - I'm not saying it's all for the beloved Standard Liege. The fans want him out there too and there is strong rumours he may sell. The fact is they are in pole position with Champions League in touching distance. We are nowhere close to that and are unlikely ever to be. I'm not sure it's about making money - he's worth £600m and he's 67. BA is closer to the motivation which may be personal satisfaction from proving his model if not simply ego.
ReplyDeleteDon't cancel Valley Gold, no matter how much you might hate these b&%$"£Dz. The people involved in this are truly amazing and represent all that's good about Charlton. They have fought in the face of adversity before, in an often thankless role. There are other ways to fight this. What about a mass movement towards the Jimmy Seed Stand in the middle of the game from both the east and west stands? Anything to make a statement but don't hit the kids and the community.
ReplyDeleteAnon - I am still mulling that over. I am not rushing to renew my season ticket for starters -even at their flawed pricing strategy. I did think about stopping Valley Gold but then thought I would miss out on semi-final tickets. Oh no, I mean for the youth development that helps fund Duchatelet's model. Actually, stopping VG might be a start but it seems self-defeating. Relegation is going to cost him so much money in the long run that VG contributions would be a drop in the ocean.
ReplyDeleteBut hopefully Duchatelet will either be gone in half a decade or will have turned things around. Don't trust the man at all but he can't want to have Charlton as a feeder club for some second rate league that's not even as good as the Scottish (and being a Celtic fan as well, that's no disrespect to the Scottish league) but the English league is way better than the Belgian and far more profitable if that's all he's interested in. I just don't think the good people associated with Valley Gold should suffer because the kids in today's academy might well be just reaching maturity by the time Doochey's gone back to Belgium a few years from now.
ReplyDeleteIve seen all the sackings since 1966
ReplyDeletestarting with Bob Stokoe
but none come close to this in making me feel ashamed of my club.
SCP did have shortcomings all managers in this league do. But given finacial support in january we would have had mid table safety and a Semi Final (at least).
Now we have Riga and relegation. In a peverse way I actually don't care. Chris briefly brought My Charlton back, now it's gone ....
A bit more fight on here. Dave I saw your CL comment and this generation has lost its fight. If Duchatelet announces tomorrow that we are leaving The Valley I can see people just shrugging their shoulders. Jeez, Colin Holland will be turning in his grave.
ReplyDelete