As a result of Lee Bowyer’s fine work and the efforts of the staff and players last season, Roland Duchatelet was gifted a window of opportunity to sell Charlton Athletic to one of several interested parties for the optimum amount he is ever likely to achieve.
He has once again failed to do so, and now claims that the multiple interested parties have been deterred by the level of investment needed to operate the club in the Championship.
“The big problem is that on average every Championship club loses £15 million per year," he told talkSPORT earlier this week. "Every owner of a Championship football club is expected to lose £15 million in operational losses every year … it is not sustainable and it also explains to a large extent why so many owners want to sell their club and why so few people buy a club in England.”
The Charlton owner blames the EFL for changing its Financial Fair Play rules. The Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet (CARD) rejects his explanation out of hand.
· In the 2017/18 season (the last for which accounts have been published), there were FOURTEEN Championship clubs which had operating losses of £12m or less, EIGHT of which were not in receipt of parachute payments. The average operating loss of the eight was £7m.
· In the 2017/18 season there were TEN clubs not in receipt of parachute payments who made a combined net loss after player trading of £19m – an average of £1.9m.
· All the three known parties who have shown interest this summer were well placed to understand the economics of the Championship in advance and all have let it be known that it is Duchatelet who is the significant obstacle to a sale.
· At least NINE clubs have been bought and sold in the Championship since the changes to the FFP regulations took effect in 2016.
· According to Bowyer, Charlton have the lowest playing budget of any Championship club in 2019/20 and the club is unable to compete financially with League One sides on wages when recruiting. He said this week that agents are laughing at their offers to players.
· Contrary to his own arguments, Duchatelet is aiming to break even in the Championship and Bowyer has confirmed that none of the seven-figure windfall from Ademola Lookman’s move from Everton to Leipzig will be made available to him either.
· The owner boasts that he is paying the wages and bills. In fact, most – and perhaps all – of the club’s spending this season will be funded by central payments, income and player sales.
Unlike Duchatelet, CARD stands with Bowyer and the Charlton players in their efforts to retain Championship status. We have no current plans to organise protests that have potential to impact on the players and the team by disrupting matches.
However, we will not stand idly by while Duchatelet undermines what Bowyer achieved last season either. We therefore give notice that we regard Duchatelet and his collaborators, Richard Murray and Lieven De Turck, as legitimate targets for lawful direct action over the coming weeks and months.
We don’t ask Duchatelet to invest in the club, we simply want him to stop pretending that it is worth more than anyone will pay and sell it to one of the willing parties who want to buy it.
We say to Duchatelet, get real and get out.
What about Tommy D? That photo of him with the play-off trophy alone should make him a legitimate target, let alone the damage his advice has caused.
Any clear photos of Duchatelet's bag man who turns up from a Tuesday to a Thursday to....errm....to do....errm....to play Candy Crush and Fortnight and moan about how London chips are worse than Belgian ones. Need to be able to recognize the geezer.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
I understand that. However, personally i think we have gone past the point of worrying about ST folk - we've tried the nice way, it didnt help or work - imo its time to get serious with the protesting. Just an idea to chew over.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
If they're not willing to help, do we really need 'em onside?
Sorry,he wont give a toss about a protest at Belgian Embassy. The only way is to embarass him in his own town.
This 100 per cent. Protesting at the embassy might get a few lines and a small photo in the Belgian press. He won't worry about that.
Although more complicated and more expensive, " hurting" him in his own town is more efficient.
A few people spending a few minutes with spray cans gave him apoplexy.
I don't quite agree with you there.
What is our overall strategy, that makes S-T an important tactical venue? I'd suggest it is to target his ego, influencing those whose opinions of him he cares about. So we suspect that he hangs around S-T because he feels loved an appreciated by many there, whereas he probably will never set foot in Liege again if he can possibly avoid it. I believe that the other group he cares about are Belgium's business elite, his peer-group. And then that peer group is influenced for example by the senior managers they employ and also the various other influential groups around business.
One such group are Embassies, and I know a bit of which I speak here. The fact is that in any Belgian Embassy, RD and any of his local management will be treated preferentially. His companies are Big in Belgium. But at the same time, Embassy staff will give discreet feedback to such people about external noise which might affect their reputations. Unfortunately for us, and AFAIK, his companies don't have a big footprint in the UK. On the other hand, which Belgian companies do, and Embassy staff will be well aware that RD is routinely described in virtually all media as a "Belgian businessman". By now, and thanks to @Davo55 initiative, they have already decided that his antics at Charlton are not helpful to Belgium, NV.
So while I agree that S-T is the main focus, anything which is a route to influencing his reputation with his Belgian peer group is well worth it.
Two more points. One, its a war of attrition. No one event will be do-or-die. In that sense it is different to the Valley Party. So in one sense we must focus, but so long as we all understand our overall strategy, all kinds of people can do all kinds of things, big and small, which bug him. And by bugging him we disrupt his "2%" time allocation. Which I suspect he really hates, and would be a compelling reason for him to think "oh, sod it, I need to just sell this thing"
Two, a side effect of communal protests is that people get to know each other, ideas are pooled, working groups set up. I think most people who went to S-T really enjoyed it, and I personally met several fine people on that trip whom I previously only knew as names on here. The personal group involvement sustains a protest movement for the long haul, just as the shared experiences of great games, home and away, are what keep us close to our club and stop us from drifting away.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
If they're not willing to help, do we really need 'em onside?
YES!!
Apart from anything else, the police are partly in RD's pocket, and last mass protest took careful negotiation before it could happen. This time, we will be able to truthfully say that most people in S-T agreed we were no trouble and enjoyed hosting us, so please let us return.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
If they're not willing to help, do we really need 'em onside?
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
If they're not willing to help, do we really need 'em onside?
YES!!
Apart from anything else, the police are partly in RD's pocket, and last mass protest took careful negotiation before it could happen. This time, we will be able to truthfully say that most people in S-T agreed we were no trouble and enjoyed hosting us, so please let us return.
The chief of police is totally in his pocket. ROT’s first visit to St T involved leafleting in the market place. It didn’t take long before police came and asked us to move. We hadn’t realised that we needed a permit. Anyway, it was legal to leaflet in the streets surrounding the market where we had moved to. Police moved us on, followed us back to our hotel. There were two separate police knocking on the door and scanned passports etc on the order of chief of police. We could have argued as they had no right to do that but as ROT was trying to be squeaky clean we didn’t. Also told if we were thinking of going to the football that evening that we were not to turn up in our ROT gear! Sure enough they were waiting for us, searched us on the way in etc.
What I’m saying is that I don’t think it would take long for the police to get involved if people turned up, and attempt to remove us by quoting some ancient bylaw.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
If they're not willing to help, do we really need 'em onside?
YES!!
Apart from anything else, the police are partly in RD's pocket, and last mass protest took careful negotiation before it could happen. This time, we will be able to truthfully say that most people in S-T agreed we were no trouble and enjoyed hosting us, so please let us return.
The chief of police is totally in his pocket. ROT’s first visit to St T involved leafleting in the market place. It didn’t take long before police came and asked us to move. We hadn’t realised that we needed a permit. Anyway, it was legal to leaflet in the streets surrounding the market where we had moved to. Police moved us on, followed us back to our hotel. There were two separate police knocking on the door and scanned passports etc on the order of chief of police. We could have argued as they had no right to do that but as ROT was trying to be squeaky clean we didn’t. Also told if we were thinking of going to the football that evening that we were not to turn up in our ROT gear! Sure enough they were waiting for us, searched us on the way in etc.
What I’m saying is that I don’t think it would take long for the police to get involved if people turned up, and attempt to remove us by quoting some ancient bylaw.
Would it not be possible that in the future if this sort of thing was to go ahead again, to pay to have a legal representative with you. That way, you’d be able to argue the point (in legal terms) straight away? I guess it would come down to funding again though.
Just putting this 'out there' - the Sint Truiden Saturday market in the main square is a big highlight for the Town. Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Or could backfire badly. We want the people on our side, not piss them off.
If they're not willing to help, do we really need 'em onside?
YES!!
Apart from anything else, the police are partly in RD's pocket, and last mass protest took careful negotiation before it could happen. This time, we will be able to truthfully say that most people in S-T agreed we were no trouble and enjoyed hosting us, so please let us return.
The chief of police is totally in his pocket. ROT’s first visit to St T involved leafleting in the market place. It didn’t take long before police came and asked us to move. We hadn’t realised that we needed a permit. Anyway, it was legal to leaflet in the streets surrounding the market where we had moved to. Police moved us on, followed us back to our hotel. There were two separate police knocking on the door and scanned passports etc on the order of chief of police. We could have argued as they had no right to do that but as ROT was trying to be squeaky clean we didn’t. Also told if we were thinking of going to the football that evening that we were not to turn up in our ROT gear! Sure enough they were waiting for us, searched us on the way in etc.
What I’m saying is that I don’t think it would take long for the police to get involved if people turned up, and attempt to remove us by quoting some ancient bylaw.
Would it not be possible that in the future if this sort of thing was to go ahead again, to pay to have a legal representative with you. That way, you’d be able to argue the point (in legal terms) straight away? I guess it would come down to funding again though.
Good idea, but I think they’d have to be up to date with the local bylaws. I’ve got a feeling the Chief of Pol sent ROT a copy. He tweets from time to time - @provost_steve
Comments
Although I did get someone to buy me the new away shirt
Protesting at the embassy might get a few lines and a small photo in the Belgian press. He won't worry about that.
Although more complicated and more expensive, " hurting" him in his own town is more efficient.
A few people spending a few minutes with spray cans gave him apoplexy.
Need to be able to recognize the geezer.
This is him
Now, if it wasnt able to function properly one Saturday then this would cause huge ripples in the Town and negativity towards RD
Just an idea to chew over.
What is our overall strategy, that makes S-T an important tactical venue? I'd suggest it is to target his ego, influencing those whose opinions of him he cares about. So we suspect that he hangs around S-T because he feels loved an appreciated by many there, whereas he probably will never set foot in Liege again if he can possibly avoid it. I believe that the other group he cares about are Belgium's business elite, his peer-group. And then that peer group is influenced for example by the senior managers they employ and also the various other influential groups around business.
One such group are Embassies, and I know a bit of which I speak here. The fact is that in any Belgian Embassy, RD and any of his local management will be treated preferentially. His companies are Big in Belgium. But at the same time, Embassy staff will give discreet feedback to such people about external noise which might affect their reputations. Unfortunately for us, and AFAIK, his companies don't have a big footprint in the UK. On the other hand, which Belgian companies do, and Embassy staff will be well aware that RD is routinely described in virtually all media as a "Belgian businessman". By now, and thanks to @Davo55 initiative, they have already decided that his antics at Charlton are not helpful to Belgium, NV.
So while I agree that S-T is the main focus, anything which is a route to influencing his reputation with his Belgian peer group is well worth it.
Two more points. One, its a war of attrition. No one event will be do-or-die. In that sense it is different to the Valley Party. So in one sense we must focus, but so long as we all understand our overall strategy, all kinds of people can do all kinds of things, big and small, which bug him. And by bugging him we disrupt his "2%" time allocation. Which I suspect he really hates, and would be a compelling reason for him to think "oh, sod it, I need to just sell this thing"
Two, a side effect of communal protests is that people get to know each other, ideas are pooled, working groups set up. I think most people who went to S-T really enjoyed it, and I personally met several fine people on that trip whom I previously only knew as names on here. The personal group involvement sustains a protest movement for the long haul, just as the shared experiences of great games, home and away, are what keep us close to our club and stop us from drifting away.
Apart from anything else, the police are partly in RD's pocket, and last mass protest took careful negotiation before it could happen. This time, we will be able to truthfully say that most people in S-T agreed we were no trouble and enjoyed hosting us, so please let us return.
Why should they help?
What I’m saying is that I don’t think it would take long for the police to get involved if people turned up, and attempt to remove us by quoting some ancient bylaw.
Mind you she's useless.