Club Strategy and the future of Charlton

Thu Jan 7 2016

CAS Trust welcomes the Q&A with Richard Murray published today on the Club website and covered in the Evening Standard. However, we are disappointed that many key concerns and frustrations of supporters have not been addressed. The Trust has been committed to meaningful dialogue and would therefore welcome a response from the Club’s directors to the following questions raised by our members:

    • Why are the same mistakes still being made in player recruitment and underestimating the Championship two years on?
    • We are informed that the wages budget has increased by 40%, yet the league position is worse and the squad seems weaker. What has gone wrong and how will the club address this?
    • Why is Karel Fraeye still interim head coach? Does the board genuinely believe that Karel Fraeye has the knowledge and experience to get Charlton out of the relegation zone? If not, what is being done to recruit a permanent manager?
    • The stated strategy is to be a financially stable club, who can be competitive in the Championship, but has Premier League ambitions. In our view this is a goal, not a strategy. Katrien Meire described her proposition as being uniquely focused on being able to watch young footballers in the shop window before they’re sold to Premier League clubs and become stars. Is this consistent with Premier League ambition for Charlton?
    • What does the club understand to be the reasons that fans are protesting in large and growing numbers?
    • Why does the Club, contrary to the commitments of the Club’s Charter, repeatedly fail to respond to correspondence from fans politely expressing their concerns?
    • What does the club intend to do to rebuild the relationship with fans?
    • Why was the recent approach from Peter Varney ignored?

The feedback from our members has been clear that these are the questions to which they seek answers. Our members have previously mandated us to continue to seek dialogue with the Board, but unfortunately we have not been able to report to them that meaningful dialogue has been started.

At the recent fans’ meeting Katrien Meire accepted that there was a need for greater transparency from the club and for their communication to improve. The Supporters’ Trust therefore invites the board to answer the real questions concerning supporters.