Translated quote from Mircea Rednic the sacked SL coach.
'If Adrian Cristea is the reason for giving me sack then there is only one word: awkward. Was my decision and as a coach I refused the intervention of people in the club. Unable to receive lessons from club president. Roland Duchatelet does not need a coach good, but a puppet to approve it and do everything he says. believe that's the real reason for my dismissal. '
Translated quote from Mircea Rednic the sacked SL coach.
'If Adrian Cristea is the reason for giving me sack then there is only one word: awkward. Was my decision and as a coach I refused the intervention of people in the club. Unable to receive lessons from club president. Roland Duchatelet does not need a coach good, but a puppet to approve it and do everything he says. believe that's the real reason for my dismissal. '
To me this just sounds a bit like a bitter ex employee. At the end of the day they are five points clear at the top of the league so something must be going well
SE9 - think he was only a Senator from 2007 to 2010, after Vivant merged with the more established VLD?
Found an interview where he talks about becoming disillusioned with politics in the end - went into it full of optimism, thinking if he could solve complicated problems in his work, then he should give it a go as no-one seemed able to do anything about big issues in society. After experiencing it, he feels the system is wrong, with parties too caught up in their own future, and lots of bright people on the outside of politics. He would prefer a system that he calls direct democracy, with management teams rather than political parties running things.
In terms of his motivations, he chose civil engineering at university because it was the hardest subject, he has a strong work/ involvement ethic - didn't specifically set out to be an entrepreneur, but found it suited him not to have a boss. Politically he says it is good for the socialists to have to learn to save rather than expect handouts all the time, yet he nevertheless believes there is enough money in the world that no-one should live in poverty. He supports relatively low taxation as that encourages people to build companies and grow the whole economy, otherwise people/ companies will vote with their feet and move away eg to Switzerland. (Interesting to note that he has not chosen tax exile himself.)
He does not admit to a grand plan when taking over Standard. He also talks about reducing his workload and travelling less.
Above all, he thinks life is about being happy: "Sometimes people forget that once you are dead you can no longer be happy."
So, on the face of it, there is no masterplan. I wonder if he is keen to build up a legacy through football for his children? He also loves to challenge authority, so by having influence in several different countries through football, he will be in a stronger position to do this.
We need a takeover and we need one now. However, I can't shake the feeling that it won't be good news for us if this fella end ups in charge - there are just too many potential pitfalls and this guy may well represent the archetypal interfering foreign owner, but one without any serious money to really change things. Think what it would be like having Vincent Tan's guiding 'input' without the corresponding finances....
Of course, I hope I'm wrong, but there are many things that I have seen related to this man that have flagged up as potential problems (not least his hobby of collecting football clubs and allegedly distributing them to family members). However, given that none of us yet know that he is definitely going to be running the club, I'll wait and see before thinking about the possible consequences!
That disillusion bit fits Weegie with what I have read. Certainly the general disillusion of the left pervades the political scene with no alternative in sight so looking elsewhere in a bid to enter the history books makes sense.
That's a fascinating and insightful profile - thanks, Weegie. An owner with other interests in football might be a double-edged sword, but I get the feeling this is going to be a more exciting and eventful ride than under the American owner of a basketball franchise or an Oriental egomaniac intent on changing our colours. Belgium has always been quirky - is it now the new cool?
It is now the new cool? Better not tell the dutch that. If this guy is the new owner still can not find any good reason why he has his fingers in so many football clubs. Watching the news in the lowlands will let you know if we have anymore news.
Many thanks, Weegie, for a most engaging article. It feels like we already know more about this enigmatic stranger than we do about the shadowy figures in whose hands we've been for the past three years.
His motivation in assembling such a stable of clubs remains a mystery - only time will tell. He is clearly a grounded and modest guy - even more impressive when you consider his achievements as a self-made man. He seems truer to his St Truiden roots than to have gained some kind of big-shot mentality.
Perhaps he is at an age where past accomplishments and interests no longer quite do it for him, and he is ready to hand things over to others - he is young enough to relish a new challenge. The potential that CAFC offers in this respect might be quite enticing - a heady mixture of sport, business and politics. The politics should be no problem. As a significant player in the, let's say, idiosyncratic world of Belgian affairs he should find few difficulties in dealing with our home-grown variety, the most prominent of which seems to have a more or less permanent presence in our board room.
Interesting times ahead. Oh, and my preference in Belgian beers - Palm or De Koninck. Lekker !!
conservative club shuts down leaving only the Lib. he see us as a bunch of leftie liberal supporters. and we have a black manager.
on a more serious note I am worried about his policies at standard liege. with the selling and sacking of players and managers. however i guess standard are the team he supports so he might be more emotionally attached with them, and have more clearer opinions on how the team should play. i doubt he would of seen much of Charlton and would end up listening to those who are already here. giving time to powell and the players and improving certain areas that have been highlighted by those already at the club.
Interesting the comments re :artificial pitch and standing, could be a positive move forward, perhaps he may be prepared to act on constructive comments about the club from the supporters, and he recognises the history of the club, which his background give some reason to believe that he might be open to dialogue, and social connection, and that football does have an important part to play in peoples lives. Good article weegie.
Just a comment i read on ceefax re Michy Batshuagyi Standards top scorer he is not going anywhere at the moment but the likes of Reza,Biton and Iandoli who only play bit parts for Standard could be loaned out.
This guy has a plan of that I'm sure. You don't go out and buy five football clubs without knowing exactly why. He's obviously smart enough to know that Charlton will lose him money each and every year unless he can get us at a bare minimum to a top championship club where he can sell on at a profit or more likely try to reach the golden nugget where as we know Fulham were sold for £200 million ? I just hope he takes the fans with him on whatever journey he has planned. Join CASTrust.
Someone on the other forum of Charlton (Into the Valley) asked me that I post my view on the new situation of your future manager here! So here I go:
Hello, I'm a football fan from Belgium.
First i'll excuse me for my bad English but I'll try to explain something about this Belgian Millionaire.
I'm not a Standard fan neither a Charlton fan, I'm just a football fan who's loving the game (and watching at the moment to West Ham - West Brom on television).
A few years ago he was owner of First Division club 'Sint Truiden'. He build a new stadium and bought some good players. The best example of a transfer from this man is Simon Mignolet (the Belgian goalkeeper of LIVERPOOL at the moment!!!).
A few years later he bought Standard de Liège, one of the best teams in Belgium and the leader of our first division now! He bought this club for 20 million euro and last summer he want to take 20 million out of the club and said that he can do that because he had increase the value of the club.
We can say that he bought a club with the stadion and the others grounds next to the stadium, get the 20 million for his own and sell the club. That money is off course also for him and then he had also the stadium and the grounds.
We can say he bought the club for 20 million euros and sell it for around 50 million. So the Standard fans protested because he thinks only at himself and bought some unknown, 'bad' players and also the coach was new. The old coach wasn't bad! But he want to get a new coach from Israël.
Nobody in Belgium trust that man and didn't know what he was doing and what were the plans of this millionaire.
The law from the FIFA said that you can't get two teams in the same league so he 'gave' Sint Truiden (just also his own club) to his woman. At this moment in the story he was owner of Standard (1st place first division) and his woman was owner of Sint Truiden (at the moment 4 place in the Second division).
But this is not the end of the story! He also bought the Hungarian team Ujpest and 'gave' it to his son! So we can conclude he is at that moment owner of Standard, Sint Truiden en Ujpest.
Between those three teams he made some transfers (the best one to Standard, the bad one for Standard to Ujpest and Sint Truiden). Nobody in Belgium know what's the goal of this man.
Last week the news reached Belgium that he had bought Carl Zeiss Jena from the 4st division in Germany (financiël problems like your club) and today the news that he bought Charlton!
I don't know what we want to do but in the next days and hours I'll stay watching this forum and give you guys updates about the situation and the news from Belgium!
I hope the best for your club, your financiël problems has ended but what's the goal of this man with your club is unknown!
Someone on the other forum of Charlton (Into the Valley) asked me that I post my view on the new situation of your future manager here! So here I go:
Hello, I'm a football fan from Belgium.
First i'll excuse me for my bad English but I'll try to explain something about this Belgian Millionaire.
I'm not a Standard fan neither a Charlton fan, I'm just a football fan who's loving the game (and watching at the moment to West Ham - West Brom on television).
A few years ago he was owner of First Division club 'Sint Truiden'. He build a new stadium and bought some good players. The best example of a transfer from this man is Simon Mignolet (the Belgian goalkeeper of LIVERPOOL at the moment!!!).
A few years later he bought Standard de Liège, one of the best teams in Belgium and the leader of our first division now! He bought this club for 20 million euro and last summer he want to take 20 million out of the club and said that he can do that because he had increase the value of the club.
We can say that he bought a club with the stadion and the others grounds next to the stadium, get the 20 million for his own and sell the club. That money is off course also for him and then he had also the stadium and the grounds.
We can say he bought the club for 20 million euros and sell it for around 50 million. So the Standard fans protested because he thinks only at himself and bought some unknown, 'bad' players and also the coach was new. The old coach wasn't bad! But he want to get a new coach from Israël.
Nobody in Belgium trust that man and didn't know what he was doing and what were the plans of this millionaire.
The law from the FIFA said that you can't get two teams in the same league so he 'gave' Sint Truiden (just also his own club) to his woman. At this moment in the story he was owner of Standard (1st place first division) and his woman was owner of Sint Truiden (at the moment 4 place in the Second division).
But this is not the end of the story! He also bought the Hungarian team Ujpest and 'gave' it to his son! So we can conclude he is at that moment owner of Standard, Sint Truiden en Ujpest.
Between those three teams he made some transfers (the best one to Standard, the bad one for Standard to Ujpest and Sint Truiden). Nobody in Belgium know what's the goal of this man.
Last week the news reached Belgium that he had bought Carl Zeiss Jena from the 4st division in Germany (financiël problems like your club) and today the news that he bought Charlton!
I don't know what we want to do but in the next days and hours I'll stay watching this forum and give you guys updates about the situation and the news from Belgium!
I hope the best for your club, your financiël problems has ended but what's the goal of this man with your club is unknown!
Cheers and Greetz from Belgium!
Thanks for the information @matthi2553 . It sounds like his man is collecting football clubs as a hobby but he is in for a shock if he treats Charlton Athletic as plaything . If the deal does go through we could have some interesting months ahead .
This guy has a plan of that I'm sure. You don't go out and buy five football clubs without knowing exactly why.
A Watford type scenario potentially?
Someone will tell me if I'm wrong but don't Udinese have an absolute gem of a production line of very high quality players that they loan out and sell to fund themselves. Not sure that any of Charlton, Standard, Ujpest or Carl Zeiss Jena can claim that. I suspect that there is something along those lines intended but I doubt Standard have enough Championship quality players surplus to requirements to have a Watford planned for us.
I thought the Watford scenario was banned now, anyway? That's not to say that there aren't benefits to be had from owning more than one club in different countries.
Just a comment i read on ceefax re Michy Batshuagyi Standards top scorer he is not going anywhere at the moment but the likes of Reza,Biton and Iandoli who only play bit parts for Standard could be loaned out.
Really LC? Does Ceefax still exist? I thought it was phased out with Betamax.
There are numerous figures bandied about regarding the price he paid for Liege, but the most common one seems to be 41 million euro, not the 20m quoted above.
Comments
'If Adrian Cristea is the reason for giving me sack then there is only one word: awkward. Was my decision and as a coach I refused the intervention of people in the club. Unable to receive lessons from club president. Roland Duchatelet does not need a coach good, but a puppet to approve it and do everything he says. believe that's the real reason for my dismissal. '
Found an interview where he talks about becoming disillusioned with politics in the end - went into it full of optimism, thinking if he could solve complicated problems in his work, then he should give it a go as no-one seemed able to do anything about big issues in society. After experiencing it, he feels the system is wrong, with parties too caught up in their own future, and lots of bright people on the outside of politics. He would prefer a system that he calls direct democracy, with management teams rather than political parties running things.
In terms of his motivations, he chose civil engineering at university because it was the hardest subject, he has a strong work/ involvement ethic - didn't specifically set out to be an entrepreneur, but found it suited him not to have a boss. Politically he says it is good for the socialists to have to learn to save rather than expect handouts all the time, yet he nevertheless believes there is enough money in the world that no-one should live in poverty. He supports relatively low taxation as that encourages people to build companies and grow the whole economy, otherwise people/ companies will vote with their feet and move away eg to Switzerland. (Interesting to note that he has not chosen tax exile himself.)
He does not admit to a grand plan when taking over Standard. He also talks about reducing his workload and travelling less.
Above all, he thinks life is about being happy: "Sometimes people forget that once you are dead you can no longer be happy."
So, on the face of it, there is no masterplan. I wonder if he is keen to build up a legacy through football for his children? He also loves to challenge authority, so by having influence in several different countries through football, he will be in a stronger position to do this.
We need a takeover and we need one now. However, I can't shake the feeling that it won't be good news for us if this fella end ups in charge - there are just too many potential pitfalls and this guy may well represent the archetypal interfering foreign owner, but one without any serious money to really change things. Think what it would be like having Vincent Tan's guiding 'input' without the corresponding finances....
Of course, I hope I'm wrong, but there are many things that I have seen related to this man that have flagged up as potential problems (not least his hobby of collecting football clubs and allegedly distributing them to family members). However, given that none of us yet know that he is definitely going to be running the club, I'll wait and see before thinking about the possible consequences!
Better not tell the dutch that.
If this guy is the new owner still can not find any good reason why he has his fingers in so many football clubs.
Watching the news in the lowlands will let you know if we have anymore news.
His motivation in assembling such a stable of clubs remains a mystery - only time will tell. He is clearly a grounded and modest guy - even more impressive when you consider his achievements as a self-made man. He seems truer to his St Truiden roots than to have gained some kind of big-shot mentality.
Perhaps he is at an age where past accomplishments and interests no longer quite do it for him, and he is ready to hand things over to others - he is young enough to relish a new challenge. The potential that CAFC offers in this respect might be quite enticing - a heady mixture of sport, business and politics. The politics should be no problem. As a significant player in the, let's say, idiosyncratic world of Belgian affairs he should find few difficulties in dealing with our home-grown variety, the most prominent of which seems to have a more or less permanent presence in our board room.
Interesting times ahead. Oh, and my preference in Belgian beers - Palm or De Koninck. Lekker !!
conservative club shuts down leaving only the Lib.
he see us as a bunch of leftie liberal supporters. and we have a black manager.
on a more serious note I am worried about his policies at standard liege. with the selling and sacking of players and managers.
however i guess standard are the team he supports so he might be more emotionally attached with them, and have more clearer opinions on how the team should play.
i doubt he would of seen much of Charlton and would end up listening to those who are already here. giving time to powell and the players and improving certain areas that have been highlighted by those already at the club.
i hope I'm right.
Hello, I'm a football fan from Belgium.
First i'll excuse me for my bad English but I'll try to explain something about this Belgian Millionaire.
I'm not a Standard fan neither a Charlton fan, I'm just a football fan who's loving the game (and watching at the moment to West Ham - West Brom on television).
A few years ago he was owner of First Division club 'Sint Truiden'. He build a new stadium and bought some good players. The best example of a transfer from this man is Simon Mignolet (the Belgian goalkeeper of LIVERPOOL at the moment!!!).
A few years later he bought Standard de Liège, one of the best teams in Belgium and the leader of our first division now! He bought this club for 20 million euro and last summer he want to take 20 million out of the club and said that he can do that because he had increase the value of the club.
We can say that he bought a club with the stadion and the others grounds next to the stadium, get the 20 million for his own and sell the club. That money is off course also for him and then he had also the stadium and the grounds.
We can say he bought the club for 20 million euros and sell it for around 50 million. So the Standard fans protested because he thinks only at himself and bought some unknown, 'bad' players and also the coach was new. The old coach wasn't bad! But he want to get a new coach from Israël.
Nobody in Belgium trust that man and didn't know what he was doing and what were the plans of this millionaire.
The law from the FIFA said that you can't get two teams in the same league so he 'gave' Sint Truiden (just also his own club) to his woman. At this moment in the story he was owner of Standard (1st place first division) and his woman was owner of Sint Truiden (at the moment 4 place in the Second division).
But this is not the end of the story! He also bought the Hungarian team Ujpest and 'gave' it to his son! So we can conclude he is at that moment owner of Standard, Sint Truiden en Ujpest.
Between those three teams he made some transfers (the best one to Standard, the bad one for Standard to Ujpest and Sint Truiden). Nobody in Belgium know what's the goal of this man.
Last week the news reached Belgium that he had bought Carl Zeiss Jena from the 4st division in Germany (financiël problems like your club) and today the news that he bought Charlton!
I don't know what we want to do but in the next days and hours I'll stay watching this forum and give you guys updates about the situation and the news from Belgium!
I hope the best for your club, your financiël problems has ended but what's the goal of this man with your club is unknown!
Cheers and Greetz from Belgium!
If the deal does go through we could have some interesting months ahead .
Keep the info coming. Cheers
Mike Small and Gonzalo Sorondo played for Standard Liege