Monday 3 November 2008

The cost of saying goodbye

As manager Alan Pardew apparently spouts more of the same rallying cries on the official website, reasonably reliable sources suggest that it would cost £2.5m to get rid of him, plus another £2m to compensate Phil Parkinson and to bring in support staff for the new manager.

I am suspicious of the latter figure which wouldn't apply at all if we had an internal caretaker appointment which could be made permanent if it worked out. Nor would it apply if Chris Powell came in as manager with Keith Peacock as mentor and Kinsella staying in his current role.

My branch of the supporters' club has only had a 50 per cent renewal rate on subscriptions. Given that the sub doesn't cost that much, this is possibly one reflection of how dislluisoned and fed up the core support is.

A lot of money and effort has gone into building up the Rickshaw network. It's a sensible strategy given that many of the Addickted now live well away from South-East London. However, people are not going to travel long distances to see poor performances on the pitch. Hence, the whole Valley Express network could be undermined.

The following from the club's E mail bulletin: 'a half-season ticket is the perfect Christmas present for any Charlton fan.' Admittedly, it's the way I re-started my Addicktion seriously after buying tickets on a match-by-match basis. But even at a knockdown price, is it good value? There isn't even an offer of a free or discounted season ticket in League 1.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why cannot he be dismissed for gross negligence.He must have been on a final warning

Anonymous said...

If the bloke had an ounce of decency in him, he would resign and take no more than his salary until this season's end.

Wyn Grant said...

Sadly, gross negligence is difficult to prove in a football context. His body language suggests gross indifference.

Anonymous said...

I understand the anger and panic people are going through. It's a sign we all care for the club.

The priority for CAFC is to continue to exist. At the moment this means financial considerations above player performance issues. It's clear the club made this decision during the summer and Pards is dealing with the consequences.

Anyone should be able to see a new manager would not be able to guarantee better performances from the current squad. Nor would they have any money to bring in new players. In fact if we brought in a new management team we would probably have to sell a couple of players to balance the books.

If we can't afford to get rid of Pards, then we can either continue to abuse him or get behind him.

Anonymous said...

If these figures are true then we are paying £4.5 million to stay up.If he stays and we get relegated then the situation will be even worse. The patient is on life support and we need a top class surgeon not a GP who cannot recognise either the cause or the condition.It will be money well spent.

Anonymous said...

It appears Watford and their Manager have just shown the way to go - a parting "By mutual consent"

What price honourable conclusions ?

I doubt SE7 will find out.

Anonymous said...

If it's going to cost £4.5m then you can see why the board are hesitating. I agree with Johnny. I know it's difficult, but let's try and get behind him and the team
for the next 4 games. If we don't get more than 3 points during that period then then it's time to bite the bullet, sack him and try and bring back Curbs...he could be our 'Steve Coppell'!

Anonymous said...

Well said Johnny! My only concern though is, having had the situation put to him in the summer, is Pards heart still in the job? You have to wonder given the team selections and tatics.

Anonymous said...

We need to be decisive, leaving it rot for another two or three games is just putting it off and we could be bottom by then. Watford show us the way, whats the betting they get a bounce in their results?

Anonymous said...

You do have to wonder how the board got itself into this situation, agreeing a contract of that length on that money, come what may, at a time when relegation was already the more likely outcome.

Mal