AGENDA FOR INITIAL MEETING FOR A CHARLTON ATHLETIC SUPPORTERS’ TRUST

Time, date and venue:
7.00 pm Tuesday 4th August 2009,
Conservative Club, 51 Charlton Church Lane, SE7 7AE

Purpose of Meeting:
This is an initial meeting for Charlton fans to find out more about the concept of a Supporters’ Trust.
The representative from Supporters’ Direct has pointed out that this is normally, in the case of other trusts, 5 or 6 people discussing the idea in a pub. While interest at Charlton has already exceeded this he is still keen to follow a process which is open and inclusive to as many fans as possible.

Aims of the Meeting:
To discuss with James Mathie, a representative from Supporters’ Direct, the stages of setting up a Trust.
To gauge if there is sufficient support for the setting up of a Trust and if so;
To start to plan the legal and other processes needed to set up a Trust.
To collect the names and contact details of any interested parties.

Agenda
1. Q & A with James Mathie - Supporters’ Direct (http://www.supporters-direct.org/)
a. Legal structure of Trusts
b. Examples from other Trusts
c. Reasons for setting up a Trust and model aims

2. Next Steps
a. Setting up a Trust – What is involved?
b. Time scales and Stages
c. Constitution and model rules

3. Open discussion on possible aims of the Charlton Athletic Supporters’ Trust

4. Any other business and close

This is an open meeting and all fans are welcome to attend.

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Welcome to the new updated Many Miles ...


More importantly, check out the below link for a very important upcoming meeting on 4th August at 7.00pm to discuss the potential formulation of a Supporters Trust.

Charlton Life

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Got back from Portugal last Thursday and intended to start blogging again on Monday ... fat chance with the power-cuts! Currently in one of our 3-hour rota allocations so taking advantage.

Not very easy working from home this week without regular power ... having to continually locate a power source for my laptop ... I’ve not hand-written so much for years!

Holiday started well, but got screwed up at the end of the first week ... walking back from a restaurant talking to my son and son-in-law whilst my daughter and wife were a few yards behind us. Suddenly heard my wife screaming and realised that a local scumbag had stolen her bag ... son and son-in law tried to catch him but to no avail. He obviously had done this before and had his escape route well planned. Bloody typical that my wallet was in the bag, full of cash ... and my credit cards! ... which I had got out that day ... I rarely carry cash but a lot of the local restaurants did not take credit cards. Also my wife lost her purse with all her cash, both our cameras ... and the bloody villa keys!

Some helpful locals called the police for us, and took us to the police station to make a report ... total waste of time as despite their excellent English they decided that we had to come back in the morning with an official interpreter! They then called an emergency locksmith who took us back to the villa, broke into the villa garden gates and the villa back door, charging us 200 quid for the privilege.

Suffice to say it put a downer on the rest of the holiday and money was at a premium although fortunately I had some backup travellers cheques and my son used his debit card. From what the locksmith told us, this is now a regular occurrence in Vilamoura so be careful ... we also had an intruder in our garden a day or two later who pretended he was a gardener. The people next door told us this is a common thing these days and most villas have experienced problems.

On the plus side we got to see Perry and Karen a couple of times at Floyds, the best Charlton bar in continental Europe! Equally fortunate that on the first visit, it was Karen’s birthday so a good time was had by all.

Provided power cuts are over, will get back to Charlton blogging tomorrow ... all sorts of things appear to be possibly happening ... or not ... over next few days!

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Charlton you gotta let me know
Should Parky stay or should he go?
If you say that he is ours
Then he’ll be here with reduced powers
So you got to let us know
Should Parky stay or should he go?

Always tease tease tease
You’re happy when I’m on my knees
One day is fine, next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on and let me know
Should Parky stay or should he go?

Should he stay or should he go now?
Should he stay or should he go now?
If he goes there will be trouble
And if he stays it will be double
So come on and let me know
Should Parky stay or should he go?

This indecisions bugging me
If you don’t want him, set him free
Exactly whom he’s supposed to be
Come on and let me know
Should he cool it or should he blow?

Should he stay or should he go now?
If he goes there will be trouble
And if he stays it will be double
So you gotta let me know
Should he stay or should he go?


Cheers Joe and Mick ;-)

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Strange birthday yesterday, starting on a flight from Singapore and landing back at Heathrow yesterday morning at 5.15 ... good time to use the M25, I was back home by 6.30 and working by 7.00 ... makes a nice change to later in the day!

Got some great presents including an anthology of George Orwell books ... it's years since I read them so very timely for my hols next week! Also got the Karine Polwart album Fairest Floo'er ... getting quite into this type of music lately along with artists such Cara Dillon and Alyth McCormack.

Talking of music the new Madness and Yusuf albums have been on my iPod a lot lately ... highly recommended.

So the OS shows the players and management returning to training ... except we can't tell who everyone is, there are not many there, and were the pics taken this week anyway? ... I like the conspiracy theory CA ;-)

Regardless, one point remains ... as supporters of this club, we have always been able to pride ourselves on the openness in communication between club and fans ... well, over the last 20 years or so anyway, wasn't so good in the Gliksten days when I first started supporting ... what has happened!

It would appear that Phil Parkinson ... and Mark Kinsella ... are still with us. Will that change before the season starts? To be honest, I can't see it ... even if takeover rumours are true (although personally I think that if anything happens it will be some form of investment rather than full takeover). Perhaps the last thing that is needed 6 weeks before the season starts is even more disruption ... but the contra-side is that if Parky continues with the run of results that we had since he took over, we may be in total freefall.

There is a fans forum meeting on 9th July, and the one down side of going on holiday next week is that I will miss the meeting ... however I am sure that Perry will give me an update from Charlton Life when I meet up with him at Floyds.

Well, hopefully one more post next week before I go to Portugal ... unfortunately I have a further business trip first, leaving on Sunday to Frankfurt ... but will be over fairly quickly.

My son is currently at Glastonbury and by the sound of the weather reports last night and today ... he may well be getting pretty wet! Not that he will care, a few good bands and a lot of booze and he won't notice lol

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Wow … is it really 8 months since I last posted? And also, incidentally, the same period of time since I actually attended a Charlton game.

Not that I had that many people reading this blog, but I guess it’s worth giving an explanation. Basically I have spent a lot of the intervening time coming to grips with the fact that in October I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis … not a happy time! I had been having problems with my legs, heaviness, and difficulty in walking very far, problems with stairs, etc., for about a year. To cut a long story short, after many months of being referred up the ladder from one doctor to another, having MRI scans, spending time in hospital being given steroid infusions, etc., the problem was finally narrowed down to MS.

My seat at the Valley was in the East Stand, 4 rows from the front, and there was no way I could continue to manoeuvre my way down the steepish stairs especially without a handrail, and the ascent back up the stairs made my legs so heavy that it was a problem getting back to my car … which was another problem as I normally parked up by Charlton Park, in Cemetery Lane, which was now too far for me to walk. Thankfully, it has not prevented me from driving although I have to admit it is now only for fairly short distances.

Fortunately my season ticket was not wasted as my son was able to take a friend with him most of the time.

I am writing this from Singapore as I have been here for a few days on a business trip and only returning later in the week. Those of you that know me are aware that I travel approximately 50% of my time, normally to Frankfurt, less often to Singapore, and then just about anywhere in between. In fact, working in that way is easier than travelling to my London office as I use taxis between hotel and office. The only problem can be walking through some of the larger airports such as Heathrow and Changi, but it can be done. I normally only have to get up to the London office once a month, which is good as it is quite an effort to do so … fortunately they have no problem with me working from home.

It is also quite surreal that I am now entitled to a disabled parking badge … I just can’t relate to myself in that way!

Coming back to Charlton, my saviours since last October have been the various excellent Charlton blogs, as listed in my links on the right (many of which I may need to re-check – let me know if any of your blogs are missing), and Charlton Life. Additionally, I have managed to listen to just about every game via CAFCTV – not the greatest at times, but a lifeline if you can’t get to the Valley!

So what about next season? I have been determined that I will be getting back down to the Valley and I have to give my sincere thanks to the staff at the ticket office who have helped in this regard … including one who was amongst those made redundant but still went out of her way to help. Even before swap week had started, they had re-located both my own and my son’s seat to a higher level in the East Stand which means I will no longer have to navigate the steps. And now they are looking into whether or not they can get me a parking space either behind the West Stand, or more likely in Lansdowne Mews. Fingers crossed that they will succeed otherwise I am going to have the same problem of getting to the ground! I had considered purchasing a parking space in the West Stand car park but at £720 per season, it is far too much especially as I cannot be sure I will be at every game.

Strange to be back in the 3rd division as I remember the last time with mixed emotions. Obviously there were a lot of bad times then, but I can recall lots of high-scoring games and some terrific away-days. Very unlikely that I will be able to attend so many away games this time, but I hope to get to some … however I will now have to restrict myself to coach travel rather than train or car, as walking any significant distance is too much of a problem.

So, will I be blogging on a more regular basis now I am back? It’s certainly my intention, but not for a few more days until I am back in the UK … and then I won’t bore you with explanations as to why I have been gone, but will concentrate on Charlton!

I’m off on holiday on 2nd July for a couple of weeks but should manage at least one posting before then, although I still have to arrange a day or two in Frankfurt once I am back. There is a Charlton aspect of my holiday that I am looking forward to … we are going to Portugal so it will give me a chance to catch up again with Perry and Karen at Floyd’s, the best Charlton bar in Europe!

Anyway, onwards and upwards!

Cheers to you all and it’s good to be back :-)

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Couldn't get down to the Valley today, so had to listen on radio and take part in the thread on Charlton Life.

Well ... I've heard of a game of 2 halves, but this definitely seemd to be a prime example. There was an early scare when Burnley appeared to have scored, but after discussion with the linesman, the ref called it as offside. Seemed that the ref got his first decision completely wrong.

The crowd started brilliantly and the songs were coming through loud and clear.

But it didn't take too long before Burnley did score and within a few minutes, the crowd was very quiet and a few boos came across on the radio. What is the point of that? This team needs confidence at the moment, and booing them only gives the away team confidence. OK, you have paid your money and you can do what you want, but why not wait until the end, and if you don't like it, don't bother coming back.

The impression given by Phil Parry and Steve Brown was that Burnley started very strongly, yet according to BBC stats, we had 55% of possession. Didn't sound that way on the radio.

The booing came across at a more frequent rate especially when Burnley were on the attack, and it appeared to be affecting the players.

At half-time, it seemed clear that a change in shape, and a change in players was needed to change the game. Good to hear Dave Lockwood do his part to get things moving when he played Valley Floyd Road and Into the Valley before the 2nd half started.

And it seemed to work! The crowd got going and the team improved ... good job, Dave! Toddy and Sam joined the 2nd half and both of them had a storming game. Our first shot on target came on 46 minutes and got an ironic cheer. Ambrose transformed himself after a rubbish first half and sounded excellent.

The crowd were very loud at this stage and we eventually received our just desserts for our 2nd half display with a great goal from Toddy. The rest of the game was all Charlton, apart from a couple of Burnley counter-attacks, and we were very unfortunate not to win. Having said that, I still heard a few boos at the final whistle, but the rest of the crowd proceeded to drown them out.

We need to go on from here, the confidence of the 2nd half has to be maintained. We have not turned a corner yet, but the signs are there. This squad is good enough to move up the table and challenge for the play-offs. Equally, with such a close division, we could be near the bottom. Confidence is all, and I hope that we now have enough to change it around.

Oh, and Josh Wright received a standing ovation when he was subbed - sounds like he had a terrific debut.

C'mon you Reds!


Stay Positive - The Streets

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