Charlton Athletic's plight this season is nothing compared to worrying scenes under Roland Duchatalet's ownership
Six managers in two years has seen a period of turmoil and disruption leave the Addicks sittting in the Championship relegation zone
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.“We want our Charlton back.”
This is one of the more pertinent (and polite) chants you may have heard Charlton Atheltic fans sing recently.
Sitting in 23rd place in The Championship, with just two wins from their last 24 matches, Charlton fans again face the prospect of relegation. This however is not the greatest concern.
The club have seen a change in manager for the sixth time in two years this week as Jose Riga returns to the hotseat. Despite arriving with some affection after his previous tenure, protests against the current ownership show no signs of dissipating.
Protest at #cafc four times the size of earlier - fans calling for owner Duchatlet to sell #bbcfootball @bbcsport pic.twitter.com/O9aGbTZKYB
— Faye Carruthers (@FayeCarruthers) January 2, 2016 Once an example to others of how a football club should be run, at the hands of Chairman Roland Duchatelet and CEO Katrien Meire, Charlton are now a shadow of their former selves.
The Belgian millionaire swept in to purchase the club back in January 2014, adding the London side to his network of European clubs that included Standard Liege (since sold after sizeable protests).
His first step was selling the squad’s strongest players in Yann Kermorgant and Dale Stephens to Championship rivals while trying to replace them with cheaper alternatives from his network.
Not only were these signings woefully inadequate replacements but reports emerged of players turning up at the training ground with suitcases yet without any prior warning to the manager.
Reportedly it was by refusing to play these substandard signings and let his teamsheet be dictated by Mr Duchatelet that saw then-manager (and club legend) Chris Powell soon replaced by someone within the network.
That was the first of five managers to be sacked by Duchatelet and Meire within two years, decisions the CEO had defended as ‘the right decision every time’ at a forum last year.
Karel Fraeye was appointed as interim manager from the Belgian Third Division earlier this season, whose tactical naivety and inability to harmonise the dressing room was only too expected considering his inexperience. Highlights include starting four strikers only for a last minute equaliser to come from a centre back.
Fraeye somehow managed to stay in the job for three months till being sacked yesterday, as the club wrote itself into football folklore by being the first to have to sack an interim manager.
The focus of fans’ ire stems from the management’s apparent misunderstanding of both the club they invested in and the wider culture of English football. Watford have proved that a network system can work, often saving money on expensive agents’ fees that can be reinvested in the academy, one of a few moves Duchatelet has taken to boost the club’s infrastructure.
What Watford’s CEO might not have done is call fans ‘customers’ as Meire did at a tech conference aired online. She claimed that as ticket sales only provided a third of the club’s income, it was ‘weird’ that fans should feel like they can express their anger in the way they have.
A side to the regime that was supported by Meire's interview with L’Echo where she referred to lifelong fans as people “who know everything better than anyone”.
Fans may not be shareholders but they are certainly emotional stakeholders, with a right to express opinion and feel entitled to be heard.
Such a statement is even more grating for fans of a club who once stood in local elections to enact change and succeeded in bringing Charlton back to The Valley, one of football’s more heartwarming tales.
The merry-go-round of managers coming from within the network and without any semblance of English football experience appeared to continue yesterday.
Nebojša Vignjevic, manager of the Duchatelet-owned Újpest FC, was poised to take the helm, only for him to reportedly turn down the position.
Riga's return after avoiding relegation in 2014 is both a step in the right direction and a setup admitting its mistake. A similar move to signing both Roger Johnson and Diego Poyet this January, having let them both previously move away from Charlton.
Other more comic missteps include advertising pitch rental with an on-field sex stunt, fans not able to receive their season tickets till the morning of the first game of the season (Meire blamed the Royal Mail) and employing a DJ to inappropriately pump house music into a family area before a game.
The new manager was welcomed with a statement that showed a glimpse of humility in an otherwise uncommunicative (Duchatelet hasn't seen a live game since October 2014) and stubborn regime.
“This has been a disappointing season for everyone connected with Charlton and the board take responsibility for that," wrote Duchatelet.
"Some things, like an unprecedented number of injuries, we could not have foreseen. But we have also made errors in recruitment, mistakes we have immediately tried to address in January. "
Emails were recently leaked between Peter Varney, former Chief Exective and Vice Chairman and the club, showing how Duchatelet and Meire were unwilling to entertain any proposition of investment. Another figurehead of Charlton’s past, Richard Murray, remains on the board but continues to defend the club’s management saying recently “No owner wants to run down a football club, it defies logic.”
The latest fan protest was strongly attended and after Tuesday’s 5-0 loss to Huddersfield, differing groups have united under the banner ‘Coalition against Roland Duchatelet.’
Under Chris Powell, a determined set of players gave fans something to cheer about as they were crowned League 1 champions and finished a creditable 9th in their first season back in the Championship.
Chants of “We’ve got our Charlton back” rung around The Valley back then. The chance to sing that song again seems agonisingly unlikely.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments