Sunday 17 July 2016

Roland, I thank yew

The transitional period when posts were being made both here and on Addick's Third Division Diary has come to an end and all future posts will be made on the League One site in recognition of our diminished status. Thank you, Roland and Katrien, for screwing up the club.

The signs that they are learning are still limited, notwithstanding the appointment of an English manager and a few new signings, offset by quality exits. Nick Pope is having his medical at Burnley today. I think he would have been good enough for League One, instead he will have to sit on a cold bench at Turf Moor.

I have renewed my season ticket, because I know that if I didn't have a season ticket, I would stop going. Five hours travelling is quite a bit, even though I can read, sleep and use my tablet. All those around me have renewed. Whether I would renew after another season, I don't know.

However, I do think that the club needs to kept going so that there is something left for a new owner to build on. I don't buy into conspiracy theories that Roland wants to run down the club to redevelop The Valley. It would be a very expensive, perhaps impossible, site to develop.

The considerable reputational damage inflicted on Roland by the CARD campaign has not shifted this obdurate eccentric. Sometimes it feels like we are the victims of a failed social experiment.

What can we expect of the season ahead? Those who like wallowing in gloom and doom, and there are always plenty of those at Charlton (or any club), think that we will be relegated to League Two, and then to the Conference. In that case, given its infrastucture, the club would no longer be viable and would have to be closed in its present form.

Some optimists think the play offs might be possible. My hunch is that we will turn out to be a solid, mid-table League One club, punching below what should be our weight.

Older readers will know that the 'I thank yew' in the headline refers to the comedian Arthur Askey.

1 comment:

  1. We started well following Slades appointment and his initial signings. Now we may witness the temporaryowners true intent as we are going to need up to two goalkeepers at least one defender,and potentially three midfielders.We'll see what the next few weeks bring,we're likely to lose a few more during those days too.

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