Various conspiracy theories are floated to explain the actions of Charlton's Belgian owners, but I think it is a more a case of cock up than conspiracy. A flawed vision has been ineptly executed.
Remember that the original assumption made by Roland was that financial fair play would be sufficiently stringent to create a more level playing field in the Championship. That was never very likely for legal and political reasons and, even if it had been achieved, one would still have to cope with relegated teams with increasingly generous parachute payments.
The latest conspiracy theory being touted is that Roland wants to run the club down so that it can be moved to a new and smaller stadium elsewhere. It was, of course, the intention of the previous regime to move the club to a site on the peninsula.
This doesn't seem very likely to me. The demolition costs at The Valley (on a constricted site) would be enormous and I doubt whether any of the stadium could be converted into living accommodation. There is also a major outfall sewer running under the stadium which has caused problems in the past.
It's all more to do with obduracy rather than conspiracy. And unwelcome though Katrien Miere's remarks are, they do reflect an era in which football has become a business and subject to the whims of owners.
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Having read the recent interview/remarks from the new Standard Liege owner, is Roland just asset stripping Charlton like he did at SL? He could potentially sell a large number of players this January (or in the summer) - Lookman, Gudmundsson, Watt, Cousins, Moussa, Bergdich, Harriott, Henderson, Fox, Pigott, Phillips, Ba, Kashi, Sarr, Ceballos - which could return some £15m in transfer fees if he got the negotiations right (not guaranteed!). This would still leave the club with the majority of its successful u21 and u18 side to play the season in League 1 (thus increasing their value). With lower gates (west upper closed), and lower running costs (i.e. no programme costs (as sales have dipped due to lower gates...); the ticket office being closed and online sales only; office space outsourced, etc), the inherent value of the club would still be there for a sale (returning maybe most of his £14m plus interest on debts). Is this his plan?
Anything is possible. Given that he says very little about his intentions, it is difficult to say.
Meire's laughing comment about how weird it is that football supporters should feel ownership of their club was a truly chilling statement. The last time I heard a football club CEO talk like this was Bill Archer's mouthpiece David Bellotti at Brighton & Hove Albion; and that, I fear, is the measure of what we are facing.
Luv Robin.
Very good summary. The Financial Fair Play issue does seem to have been the key issue. But if, as you say, the new rules were always unlikely to survive legal challenge was he wise to base his acquisition on an improbable scenario. Flawed due diligence to say the least.
Particularly odd given that Meire is a competition lawyer and should be aware of the threat of legal challenges to FFP which would always be in the back of the Football League's mind.
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