A proportionate protest

Joint statement by Voice of The Valley and the Spell It Out campaign

At the recent meeting with fans, Charlton chief executive Katrien Meire suggested that it was only 2 per cent of fans who are unhappy with the way the club is being run, despite it having five head coaches in under two years, three major crises on the pitch and numerous problems off it.

While it's great that the team has won the last two games and Meire has started to talk about having more discussions with fans, the Spell It Out campaign and Voice of The Valley believe this is just the time to keep up the pressure and show her that she is wrong about the extent of ongoing dissatisfaction.

We've therefore come together to ask fans to join a 60 second demonstration in the second minute of the televised game against Ipswich, holding up A4 posters to show the extent of the 2 per cent and joining with a chant of "stand up for the 2 per cent".

This is not a protest based on gender or nationality. It doesn't focus on any individual or demand the owner spends more money. It is legal and respectful. It simply reflects a demand for the club to be run in a more professional and intelligent way, and for the ownership to work with supporters to strengthen the club.

It is intended to be a proportionate show of the strength of feeling that doesn't have any impact on supporting the team, but does get the message across to Meire and the TV audience - in the UK and over in Belgium. Of course the black and white campaign continues at the same time - and indeed the posters will be black and white.