Changes for Charlton

Duchatelet

Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet has completed a takeover of Charlton Athletic Football Club. His company, Staprix NV, will take 100% of the club's shares. It is difficult to say whether Charlton fans should be optimistic, or pessimistic, about this switch at the top. Here is an analysis of what the future may have in store for the Addicks.

As it stands, Charlton are struggling. Despite an impressive first season in the Championship, Chris Powell has been granted very little funds. Then-chairman Michael Slater, along with directors Tony Jimenez and Martin Prothero, were content not to invest in the squad. The owners have in fact had very little contact with the club and its fans, leaving Powell in a difficult position. All three of Charlton’s signings this summer, Richard Wood, Simon Church and Mark Gower, have been on a free transfer.

Powell

Since the start of this campaign, the Addicks have suffered from a severe dose of second-season syndrome. Finishing strongly in their last campaign to finish ninth, they are now nineteenth, only three points above the relegation zone. By all accounts, a very poor quality of football has been played at the Valley, with the team struggling to keep possession and often resorting to long ball tactics. Although they have a better defensive record than most teams in the bottom half, only Doncaster, Yeovil and Barnsley have scored less goals.

Indeed, the main reason Charlton are out of the relegation zone is the lack of quality elsewhere. In every second tier campaign since 1985, the team who stays up has had more points than the number of games played. Charlton currently have just twenty-four points from the same number of matches. They could be closer to, if not in the relegation zone, but for teams below them doing poorly.

If Charlton were to continue with the current lack of investment, even if they stayed up, they could really struggle in their next campaign. Yeovil and Barnsley have been by a long way the bottom two clubs, and will more than likely be out of the equation next season. The current teams competing for promotion in League One have all have an average of over two points per game so far. This is a lot more than Doncaster, Bournemouth or Yeovil attained. It is dangerous to do too much guesswork given the unpredictability of the Football League, but the quality in the division next season could be higher.

Standard Liege

From that point of view, a fresh injection of cash would be vital for Charlton. And the man taking them over, Roland Duchatelet, was ranked as the eighteenth richest man in Belgium in 2011, with a fortune of €502 million. He does own four other football clubs, but Charlton is likely to be his main priority, with potential for massive sums of Premier League TV money. Apart from Standard Liege, the other clubs he runs present less financial opportunity – one is in the Hungarian top flight, one is in the Belgian second division, one in the fourth tier in Germany. Charlton fans can expect a fair proportion of his money to be invested into the club.

However, with this new chairman’s cash could come a lack of sense and stability. According to an interview with a Belgian football expert on Valley Talk, the Charlton fanzine, Duchatelet belongs to a rather regular breed of impatient, money-orientated owners. He had sold Standard Liege’s best players, and was happy to make the club for sale when pressurized into doing so, yet not his shares in it. He also has a history for parting company with his manager quickly. Duchatelet worked with five different head coaches in his two and a half year reign at Standard Liege. This all suggests he will take a knee-jerk approach to try and get Charlton into the Premier League, sacking as quickly as he spends. Rather than gradually building a football club from the bottom upwards, we can expect the Belgian to look for an instant return of success and money. This makes Chris Powell’s position as manager look ominous, to say the least. Will Duchatelet want his own coach in charge?

Ajdarevic

He may be able to pull off some transfer dealings with Standard Liege, to add to Charlton’s squad. This is evidenced by the six month loan signing of Astrit Ajdarevic from the Belgian club. Unless this was a massive coincidence, you wouldn’t have thought that would be a decision made by Chris Powell. Already, we can see a sign that Duchatelet is the kind of chairman that will interfere with footballing matters.

Ajdarevic has only made nineteen appearances for Standard Liege since signing in summer 2012, and has hardly featured for them this season. The Belgian Pro League is not a particularly higher level than the Championship in England. Anderlecht, who have dominated the country, nearly always finish bottom of their Champions League group. Standard Liege finished sixth last season, although they are currently top, you have to question if a few players coming in from their reserves will be of much use to Charlton’s squad.

Another possibility, is that he will personally arrange a transfer of Standard Liege’s best players to Charlton, and give them a bigger wage. When he first took over Liege he showed a willingness to sell his key men on for financial gain, and with more money at stake in England, he might well be prepared to hand some of their players over to Charlton. Liege are up for sale, their fans have a loathing attitude towards Duchatelet, so presumably he does not care about their fortunes.

The more we find out about this Belgian businessman, the more he seems in the Vincent Tan mould. Unpredictable, ego-driven, nonsensical, yet rich and powerful. If he could pump some serious money into the club, Charlton will no doubt improve results on a short-term scale. Better quality players would mean the threat of relegation to League One will be reduced. The dour football that has been played at the Valley over the last few weeks could be improved, so Charlton could be able to adopt a more enjoyable style of play. And possibly, the club could begin to look at getting back into the Premier League, where it had been established for so many years under Alan Curbishley.

Yet this potential progress comes at a cost. Roland Duchatelet now owns 100% of Charlton Athletic, meaning the club is selling its’ history, heart and soul to the hands of one maniac who only cares about money. The truth is, fans have no say in the destiny of their football club. Everything is decided by the actions of businessmen, and whoever has the most cash. That is the hard, hard reality of modern football.