What the Belgian did in Belgium

A different look at Roland's depredations by focusing on what he did at Standard Liege: Duchatelet as Standard Liege owner

Roland is a shrewd businessman and he has probably not walked away from The Valley empty handed. The article notes, 'Duchatelet sold Standard in 2015 for around €30m, making a small loss, but he is thought to have made plenty of financial gains over his time there, paying himself a hearty executive’s salary replete with bonus and dividends payments, including a €10m divestment to Standard shareholders (himself, mainly) shortly before selling the club.'

Analyst Thomas Driesen did not like the contents of the piece, describing it on social media as a bull**** article.

French paper mocks Roland

French sports paper L'Equipe has mocked Roland for putting memorabilia for sale on e-bay. The report is illustrated by a picture of Charlton stalwart Jean Tindall, who has contributed to Voice of the Valley from time to time.

The report states: 'English club Charlton, owned by a wealthy Belgian politician, is selling jerseys signed by the club on eBay to finance its media department. Club Charlton Athletic, which has just been relegated to League One (English D3), put up for sale on eBay signed jerseys and other memorabilia from the club to fund "equipment for the media relations team," of the club for the 2016/17 season.'

'An amazing sale given that the unpopular owner of the club, the Belgian politician Roland Duchâtelet, is head of one of the largest fortunes of his country, estimated at over a billion euros.'

'Among the items for sale, are signed shirts of the game where the Addicks lifted the League One trophy in 2011/12, or shirts signed by the French [Breton] Yann Kermorgant, former favourite of the fans.'

The report in French is here: Amazing sale

Roland buys back club

Roland Duchatelet is buying back Belgian club Sint Truiden, apparently desperate to own a club on his home turf: Buy back

Roland said in a press conference that a foreign buyer would not have been as good as they would lack knowledge of Belgian competition and mentality. Quite.

Disrespectful fans have suggested that there is an ideal candidate for the post of chief executive.

Roland may be closer to selling than is realised

An interesting article by Rick Everitt on the Wilder affair, making the point that it was not a public relations stunt: History repeated as farce

The Ramsgate resident thinks that Duchatelet may be closer to selling than his acolytes realise which is what I have heard from other sources. First, he is going to try and boost the value of the club by the conventional route, but if this doesn't work out by Christmas he may be ready to cut and run.

Over at Leeds United, Massimo Cellino has decided to throw in the towel: I quit

Would promotion deal with customer concerns?

Apparently there is a view at the top at Charlton that if the club won promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, supporters' concerns would be assuaged: Wishful thinking

In my view, the fans' relationship with Roland Duchatelet has been damaged beyond repair. Trust would not be rebuilt, even if he replaced Katrien Meire with a competent chief executive and brought in a manager with appropriate experience. CAST have urged him to sell, but he has no inclination to do that.

Fans may, of course, have already been consoled by the club receiving the 'most improved pitch in the Championship award: Top turf. They don't come much more meaningless than that.

Duchatelet won't sell

Roland Duchatelet is not prepared to consider offers for Charlton, according to the normally well informed Richard Cawley of the SLP: No sale

This is not a surprise, as I thought it was likely to be his stance.

Meire likened to Comical Ali

Chris Dunlavy gives it large to Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire in his column in today's Football League Paper. Noting Roland's visit to The Valley, he says that he was surprised he could find it, given that 'he is spotted as regularly as Haley's comet.' As for his ownership, 'his policy of hiring cut-rate continentals and no-mark managers has turned Charlton into an embarrassing punch-bag.'

As for Meire 'For much of the last eighteen months she has done her best Comical Ali impression, belligerently lauding the wisdom of Roland while his plans unravelled about her.'

Dunlavy concludes, referring to the chief executive's pledge to learn from her mistakes, 'Only when we get to September and Charlton aren't flooded to the gunwales with Belgian Sunday Leaguers will we know that Meire and Duchatelet really have learned.'

Luzon said he did not have final say on signings

Guy Luzon has said that he did not have the final say on signings when he was Charlton head coach. It was the network scout who was behind the deals: Guy Luzon

Roland Duchatelet claimed that the manager had a crucial role.

Roland won't be attending games

Roland Duchatelet does not plan to step up attendance at Charlton games, pointing out that he has been to The Valley more than other clubs in his network. Richard Murray is, in any case, the president, insists the Belgian: Absent owner

If he did come, he might meet customers dissatisfied with their match day experience.

Another member of the backroom team is set to leave with the head of sport science Laurence Bloom set to join Nottingham Forest: Valete

Changes to financial fair play a disaster, says Roland

Roland Duchatelet has said that the changes made to financial fair play were a disaster: Disaster

No doubt he is right in the sense that they wrecked his whole strategy. However, either he or Katrien Meire (a competition lawyer) might have anticipated that they would succumb to a legal challenge and/or political pressure.

Roland also says that any future owner of Charlton is likely to be from China or Qatar rather than England.

Varney gives it large

Former Charlton chief executive Peter Varney has responded to claims made by Roland Duchatelet in his interview with the South London Press last week: Peter Varney

Not surprisingly, the Ebbsfleet executive vice-chairman is disappointed at a reference to him as a 'billboard salesman'. The investor he wanted to introduce to Roland would have been prepared to meet him in Belgium. He pointedly notes that he arrived at 7.30 am on match days and was fully occupied thereafter. Katrien customarily arrives around 1.30 pm.

One of the most bizarre aspects of this recent development is that Katrien Meire approached VOTV editor Rick Everitt while he was selling the magazine outside The Valley on Saturday. Apparently clutching a Pinnocchio mask, and wearing the accompanying sticker, she apparently suggested to the Rickster that he was frightened to speak to her. It is difficult to envisage the Ramsgate resident being frightened of anyone and I am sure he would have welcomed a fuller exchange of views than occurred.

Roland: I'm not going to sell

In an interview with the South London Press Roland Duchatelet has said that he is not going to sell Charlton Athletic. He says that he and the fans need to work together. He is very dismissive of the approach from Peter Varney which he says was phrased in such a way that it could have been a request for a billboard: No sale

Roland said that he understood that most of the fans were extremely unhappy and he felt empathy for them. In his industry there was a culture of learning from mistakes. Having too big a squad caused problems in the dressing room. No contingency planning was taking place for relegation: Learning from mistakes

Roland defended chief executive Katrien Meire as a 'fantastic lady' with a 'big heart for Charlton.' He also defended Richard Murray against criticism: Katrien Meire

Roland said that he wanted to buy more British-based players as part of a recruitment rethink, but any head coach would have to subscribe to his philosophy of developing the academy: Player recruitment

In a set of four short videos on the official site, Roland says that he is 'extremely sad' to be bottom. He says that he is listening to the fans. He admits that appointing Karel Fraeye was a mistake. A reason for appointing Bob Peeters was that he had lived in London (I suppose at least he knew how to use an Oyster card). Roland says that we need a bigger squad, which contradicts what he told the SLP: Video fun

VOTV editor Rick Everitt comments that Roland has spoken, but has nothing to say: Empty words

Double treat in store

Charlton fans are in for a double treat tomorrow as owner Roland Duchatelet breaks his silence. Apparently, he has been in town and was photographed on the Docklands Light Railway.

He has given a long interview to the SLP's Richard Cawley of which the first instalment will be published tomorrow, covering some key issues. He has also recorded a video for release via the CAFC website.

VOTV editor Rick Everitt reckons this shows that he is rattled, but one thing can be relied on: he won't be going.

Roland's special experiment

The Times is the latest paper to look in depth at Charlton's problems.

'There is a plaque to commemorate those Charlton Athletic supporters who worked tirelessly to return the club to The Valley and some of them will gather at the stadium today, this time in protest at the owner. Ending a nomadic existence ground-sharing in 1992 represented a triumph of fan power and community spirit and the southeast London club went on to become synonymous with stability. A decade later, Alan Curbishley’s side were battling for a European spot, but the end of his 15-year reign in 2006 started a descent that plunged the club into the third tier three years later.

With only four league wins this season, the worst goal difference in the top four divisions, and four points adrift from safety in the Sky Bet Championship, Charlton are faced with a similar fate. Since Curbishley left, there have been two takeovers and ten new managers, the third of which this season was the return of José Riga, who has been asked for a second time to save the club. He succeeded Karel Fraeye, who was out of his depth after arriving from Belgium’s third division to replace Guy Luzon, who was short tactically and hamstrung by injuries to his squad.

The recent downturn has prompted the uprising of a group called Coalition Against Roland Duchâtelet, the owner worth £400 million who rarely visits the club. Their online petition calls on Duchâtelet to sell or invest and respect the role of the fans. What makes this fans’ group different is that some members held positions of power at the club as recognition of their efforts to bring the club back to The Valley. They feel disconnected, questioning Duchâtelet’s tenure, investment and the fruitless turnover of players and managers from his network of teams. Ultimately, they are no closer to understanding why he bought the club two years ago.

Since the second protest after the draw with Nottingham Forest this month, Charlton have lost 5-0 and 6-0 to Huddersfield Town and Hull City respectively, while exiting from the FA Cup at the hands of Colchester United, who had not won in their previous 11 league games in Sky Bet League One. The group have asked for a peaceful demonstration after the home game against Blackburn Rovers today and plan a flash protest at noon.

Sue Parkes, who is married to Chris Parkes, Charlton’s long-serving club secretary, took to Facebook to vent her anger. “The continual stirring up of hatred and vile vocal attacks will cause lasting damage and bring humiliation to the club far worse than any owner ever could,” Parkes said. “Many of you are like sheep now, losing track of your original aim but continuing to follow aimlessly those who perpetuate rumours intended to destabilise the club. Think of the players and staff having to work under this pressure.”

Yet history is repeating for Duchâtelet, who also controls clubs in Germany, Spain and Hungary. He was forced to sell Standard Liège, the Belgian club, in the summer when repeated fan protests turned aggressive. There were clashes with police near the stadium, a group of fans broke into Duchâtelet’s office and others stormed an event for sponsors, who had to ask the media to help them to safety. Liège fans had similar grievances, including the lack of reinvestment from the sale of their best players, such as Axel Witsel, and the sacking of favoured managers.

He departed with a slightly morbid leaving speech in June. “An average person will live mentally and physically healthy until 75, so I have another 350 weeks [seven years],” he said. “A club is not easy to control. It is more difficult than running a business or politics.”

He has made clear that he will not sell Charlton, despite Peter Varney, the club’s former chief executive, seeking to hold talks on a possible takeover. Duchâtelet never had an affinity for the game, but became aware of its power when he bought Sint-Truiden, the Belgian club, in 2004. He introduced a pitchside fan sofa at Charlton this season and once suggested, to his players’ amusement, that midfielders and defenders could swap at the interval to maximise energy. Given such ideas, it has been concluded in Belgium that football is a special experiment to Duchâtelet and he wants to prove he can be successful his way.

Charlton have invested large sums on a new screen and have planning permission to upgrade the training ground to Category One status, at a cost of £12 million, to give them greater protection over their young prospects. Their debt is about £44 million and the club loses about £4 million each year, which would worsen in League One. There could be more hostile writing on the wall if they do not survive.'

Dunlavy lays into Belgians

Chris Dunlavy lays into the Belgian owners and management of Charlton in a full page article in The Football League Paper today.

He starts by referring to a greeting card which says 'I never make the same mistake twice - I make it five or six times just to make sure.' Dunlavy suggests that one might be sent to Roland.

Of Katrien Meire, he says, '[her] crass comments and embarrassing naivety have exposed a shameful condescension towards supporters.' She has proved 'by word and deed that football is beyond her expertise.'

Of Roland he says, 'the bloke is either willfully ignorant or deliberately neglectful ... [he] is an idealist determined to make his network succeed despite increasing evidence to the contrary.'

Referring to the plan to use the Academy to 'produce the Premier League players of the future', Dunlavy says 'That would undoubtedly be easier without the burden of a Championship wage bill. Not to say he seeks relegation. Simply that relegation would not harm the business plan.'

He concludes, 'if Charlton were a restaurant, trading standards would close it down and kick this pair of comedians out on to the street.'

The Daily Telegraph takes a long look at the situation at Charlton: Toxic yet positive

Not so quiet in the West Stand

Daryl Chamberlain was one of the original Charlton bloggers with 'All Quiet in the West Stand.' He has now written a long but nuanced and informative post analysing the current crisis at Charlton.

He argues that Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire have a point in their diagnosis of what is wrong with English football, but one club can't change things. If the Addicks are relegated to League One, they face a fatal squeeze. Read his analysis here: How Charlton is being killed.

I was struck by a quote in today's Times obituary of Brian Lomax who was the initiator of the supporters' trust movement in England and later managing director of Supporters' Direct. A theology graduate, he compared football to following a religion: 'There is a sense of pilgrimage, of going to a sacred place, there is loyalty, sticking with something through good and bad times.'

Roland not looking to sell

Roland Duchatelet is not looking to sell Charlton Athletic. This confirms what we already knew, but it is frustrating to learn that the Americans who recently invested in Crystal Palace were interested in Charlton before the Belgian takeover: No sale

Roland in town

Addicks owner Roland Duchatelet has been in South-East London this week for talks. Indeed, one Addick claimed to have seen him on the DLR at Woolwich. Be that as it may, he's not staying around for Saturday's game at Leeds United. It's over a year since he has seen a game in person: Belgian visit

A blog from the Football Supporters' Federation on the two per cent protest can be found here: Black and white

CAS Trust questions protest disruption

CAS Trust has issued a statement in response to the club's rather tawdry and last minute decision to create a Family Activity Zone in the West Stand car park on Saturday where some supporters are planning to protest against the current regime at the club: Peaceful protest

Roland has a low opinion of football fans which the protest may simply confirm, although clearly supporters want to show how they feel. The most ingenious idea has come from the Chicago Addick which is to use the Belgian media to embarrass Roland.

There is quite a lot of interest in his activities there, although surprisingly a special Financial Times supplement on Wallonia earlier this week failed to mention him.

Rickster gives it large

A typically robust and well-written piece from Voice of the Valley editor Rick Everitt on Roland Duchatelet, concluding that he needs to be defeated by events or unrest: A club being ruined

The Rickster has now returned from his visit to the United States where he is said to have been working on a new biography of Elvis Presley which will reveal that he was an Addick [shome mishtake shurely, ed - don't you mean addict?