General Duchâtelet and the New Regime

Article by e-Charlton Athletic Correspondent Luke Goldsmith

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To every fan, their club’s history is nothing less than a tumultuous roller coaster of emotions unrivalled by anyone else. Despite this, most fans would look at Charlton’s history and concede that we’ve had more ups and downs than a yo-yo. From FA Cup champions and Division One (old Premiership) regulars in 1940’s - 1950’s to near bankruptcy and homelessness in the 1980’s, Charlton’s recent history has been on a general downward slide since the ‘heady’ premiership days of 2000 – 2007. After multiple relegations, the Jimenez/Slater ownership team seemed to have brought stability and success (our League One championship year) back to the Valley, but this proved to be a false dawn. Chronic underinvestment in both the playing squad and club assets left Charlton on the brink of bankruptcy once again. With Jimenez and Slater evidently uninterested and desperate to sell, a saviour was needed . . . . . this saviour’s/destroyer’s (delete as appropriate) name is Roland Duchâtelet.

A Multimillionaire electronics businessman and politician, Duchâtelet owns a network of football clubs across Europe (FC Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany and AD Alcorcon.in Spain, plus indirect involvement in others), with the crown jewel being Royal Standard de Liège. Dismayed with exorbitant transfer and agent fees, Duchâtelet’s network intends to address the needs of a network club at any given moment by allowing the free movement of players between teams. In theory this should allow fringe players to be able to gain match fitness in one club, whilst also allowing every team access to a talent pool across Europe. Magnificent idea in theory, although supporters of any team other than Liège feel that they are nothing other than an elaborate ‘B’ team or feeder club for Roland’s mighty Royal Standard. So, will Charlton’s new owner bring back so element of glory to South East London or are we destined, hence forth to become Belgium’s newest ‘B’ team. Let’s review Roland’s Charlton record thus far.

Duchâtelet completed his takeover of Charlton on 3rd January 2014, for a fee believed to be in the region of £14 million. With Charlton struggling against relegation, one his first acts as owner was to sell to top goal scorer Yann Kermorgant to division rivals Bournemouth and attacking midfielder Dale Stephens to division rivals Brighton & Hove Albion. Making sure that manager at the time, Chris Powell (living legend), was not short of players, in came the following:

- Astrit Ajdarevic (on loan from Standard de Liège)
- Reza Ghoochannejhad (on loan from Standard de Liège)
- Yohan Ulien-Thuram (on loan from Standard de Liège)
- Loic Nego (purchased from Újpest FC (owned by Duchâtelet’s son, Roderick))
- Anil Koc (on loan from Standard de Liège)

All of the above were fringe players at Standard, and were sent with guarantees that they would play (this guarantee was confirmed by former Charlton assistant, Alex Dyer in his somewhat revealing interview in the Southeast London Press). Powell did not play these players regularly, which was a cause of friction with Duchâtelet. This friction came to the fore on 11th March, when Chris Powell was sacked as manager (just weeks after contract negotiations had begun). Bottom of the league and out of the FA Cup, Duchâtelet turn to an old colleague to save Charlton’s fortunes. This man was former Standard de Liège boss, Jose Riga. Brought in a short-term contract with the sole remit of keeping Charlton in the Championship, Riga achieved this and did it in style. Charlton fans took to the Belgian’s attacking flare and charismatic personality. He had a calming effect across the club, but made the fatal error of playing the same players as Powell. Once Riga’s mission was successfully accomplished, and with fans calling for his permanent appointment, Riga was relieved of his duties. Duchâtelet stuck again, in what appeared to be an almost deliberate act of baiting Charlton fans. All of the above does not portray Duchâtelet in the kindest light, but looking behind the scene there is cause for optimism among Charlton fans.

With Duchâtelet’s arrival, investment has arrived too (albeit after survival was secured). Over £1 million was spent upgrading the Valley pitch and stadium facilities. The result should mean that we won’t have to see players sweeping water off the pitch this season:

Plans are already in progress to upgrade the youth academy facilities to EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) category one. The intention to further develop an already excellent youth academy is welcomed news. This is further supported by the appointment of new head coach Bob Peeters and his philosophy of playing and developing youth players. There has finally been investment in the first team as well. Despite losing thirteen first team players over the summer (most of them fringe players of little use, but the loss of Hamer and Poyet is unfortunate), new terms have been agreed with centre back Michael Morrison. €3 Million was spent to secure the services of Champions League striker Igor Vetokele from FC Copenhagen. And Andre Bikey, Franck Moussa and Yoni Buyens have all been added.

Duchâtelet’s reign might not have had the most seamless start. What appeared to be brutally ruthless decisions which were poorly communicated, had many fans questioning and fearing Duchâtelet’s motives. Since the end of the season though, Charlton fans have seen significant investment in both club assets and the playing squad. New, quality players have been added and an overall level of optimism for the new season is pervading over the Valley. Duchâtelet is at Charlton for the long haul, and he is intent on running the business properly, which is more than can be said for clubs like Bolton, QPR and Blackburn for example. The investment and sound business planning that Duchâtelet has brought pleases me, and certainly secures Charlton’s long term future. The outstanding and unanswered question is this; will General Duchâtelet bring success back to the Valley or are we merely a feeder club for his favoured Royal Standard?

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