So after months of rumours, reports, uncertainty, botched deals and the rest, it seems that our club could be on the verge of a takeover. Charlton yesterday confirmed that negotiations are taking place for Belgian businessman and owner of Standard Liege, Roland Duchâtelet, to take over the club.
It’s the news many of us have been waiting for, but who is Duchâtelet? I’d never heard of him before yesterday, and I doubt many other Addicks had either, so I spoke to Belgian football expert Bjorn de Cock of Benefoot to find out more.
1) Roland Duchâtelet took over Standard Liege in 2011. Has it been a happy relationship between owner and fans since?
Duchâtelet has a very bad relationship with the fans! The fans of Standard Liège are known as ultra-loyal fans, ready to do everything to support their team. The only thing they want in return are players who do the same and a president with who’s as passionate as they are. Roland Duchâtelet, however, is a business man. He buys a football club to earn money not because he’s a big fan of the game.
2) What happened to make fans so angry?
The first thing Duchâtelet did was to sell Standard Liège’s best players. He wanted an instant “Return On Investment” you could say. Fans went crazy and threatened their President. They broke in into his office in the stadium and almost attacked him while working. After this incident he decided to sell the club. Things also went wrong in the league, making fans even more angry.
3) How much credit can he take for Standard’s current strong position in the league? Was it all part of a master plan?
This season things are going very well with the new coach Guy Luzon. Standard are top of the league after 21 matches. Tensions have cooled and now the fans are just waiting until Duchâtelet will sell the club. However, there is the business man again. He would only sell the club but not the shares he bought. He is even considering buying more ground. It will all depend on what the new owner will want to do with the club.
For this encouraging start to the season? All credit should go to four talented attackers at Standard. Huge potential in one team, certainly for a Belgian club. Batshuayi, Mpoku, Mujangi Bia and Ezekiel are gold standard. Guy Luzon and Roland Duchâtelet are lucky to have such talented youngsters.
4) Could you see Duchâtelet being good for Charlton?
He could be good if he appoints a good sporting director and doesn’t interfere in anything to do with the squad. He’s a business man and should only keep himself busy making Charlton Athletic a wealthier club. He’s very rich but will never throw money away. He could be the perfect owner, but I’m not sure if he will ever be.
Valley Talk 
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