Thursday 21 January 2016

Can Riga get Charlton out of the Valley of Doom?

This report from The Guardian is one of the fullest I have seen on Charlton and includes an interview with the elusive Katrien Meire in which she reiterates that the club is not for sale: Valley of Doom

It also makes the key point that the Duchatelet plan was fatally undermined when the Football League decided to relax its financial fair play rules.

In any case, even if the club was put up for sale, it is not clear that a buyer would be available with the apparent withdrawal of the Peter Varney fronted consortium. Wolves has been for sale since the beginning of the season without finding a purchaser.

There is an interesting quote from a Belgian journalist who makes the point that Duchatelet bought Charlton because his ideas were not being taken seriously in Belgium.

At the end of the article, Steve Clarke states his view that the fans always win in the end. Maybe, but at what cost to the future viability of the club?

The article does bring out what a strange individual Duchatelet is. Whether protests that are long and loud will make him go away remains to be seen. CARD is planning a 'flash' protest for Saturday which will not be announced until midday through social media channels: CARD plans

Our sister site, the Political Economy of Football, assesses the situation here: Can owner be forced out?

Charlton hero Steve Brown has told the owners to embrace the club's history and use it in the club's fight back against relegation: He won't let you down

5 comments:

Lungrot said...

I've just uploaded a video that i came across this week on one of my old VHS cassettes. The present owners should have a look.
https://youtu.be/6_lPKRCT8Jc

Unknown said...

No he won't. we r going down as the fans "not all" are as been quoted b4 acting like sheep to some methods to rid RD. Now I want him out just as much. But with fans hurling abuse from the stands the players ain't going to give a monkeys anymore. & who going 2 what 2 buy a club with a bunch of unruly fans. We r making our selfes so unattractive 4 some 2 buy. Let's all get behind the team Coyr

Unknown said...

The Guardian is invariably a good read unlike The Daily Fail and other tabloids which have an obsession with so called celebrities and the value of their houses !
I don't presently envisage the Fair Play Rules ever being fully implemented. Football Club owners have a tendency to "chase rainbows." Besides the "parachute" money given to relegated Clubs from the Premiership hardly "levels the playing field !" as oft quoted by Politicians within the comfort of their Westminster "bubble."
Investing in sport ventures is something of a gamble. it's interesting to note the trend that even the uber rich are involving themselves in consortiums rather than gong it alone !

Burgundy Addick said...

Can't help but be disappointed that in the Guardian piece there's no indication from Ms Meire that she realises she is part of the problem, that if she really did love the club as it really is (rather than as the regime is trying to reinvent it) she would resign. And of course she still talks nonsense: "once it gets out that the club is interested in investment, it upsets the fans ..."!!! Just why the Guardian refers to Meire 'pressing on with her plans' for 'fan engagement', when all the evidence since the takeover is that meaningful engagement is not wanted, is a mystery to me.

Unknown said...

NO STRONG LEADERSHIP ON AND OFF THE PITCH