There seems to be a gathering consensus that Douchatelet doesn't want to sell, which is how it looks to me. Which means a lack of funds for the team, a poor start to the season and mounting anger from the fans. They won't turn on Bowjacko either.
I agree that Charlton fans will not turn on Lee Bowyer. But if things go very badly on the pitch and Charlton are adrift at the bottom of the table, the toxic atmosphere within the Valley will return I think, with all the anger directed at Duchatelet (and Richard Murray if he is present). And of course attendances will slump to below 10,000 again. Some fans will despair at this, and call for everyone to 'get behind the lads'. But calls like that will just be missing the point entirely.
If we go 8 games without a win then the mood will turn, that’s football. I don’t see where any goals are coming from at the moment, and creative players cost money.
Atm it's Prague who's peddling optimism. He's a newcomer to the ITK scene, so let's see, but I don't buy it. Douchatelet is too bloody-minded.
What sort of injection do clubs get now, entering the championship ? Or has it all dissipated since the restructure ?
I think Champ Clubs get £5m per season from TV against £350,000 for L1 Clubs? Plus we will probably have two TV games this season against one in L1... I think a live game is worth about £500,000 to the Club??
Listening to the Lee Bowyer interview last night, he seems increasingly peeved about the budget he has been given by Duchatelet. He mentions that Sunderland have pipped them for a striker and how they are competing with League one clubs. He also said that it was unlikely that there would be any incomings before the Villa game. Which is worrying as the Chelsea youngster was due to sign. He has probably gone elsewhere.
Where can we hear that interview @DickPlumb ? I made the point earlier this week that Bowyer cannot be enamoured signing players from Orient, Wimbledon & MK Dons. It speaks volumes.
Less than three weeks ago Lee Bowyer was saying this; "...And I'm over the moon you know. He's backed us in the market already like in the summer. We've spent a bit of money, which for somebody who wants to sell the Club is good to see you know... For me it shows that he does care and he wants to do the right thing. Is he going to spend millions? No. But if he thinks that it's going to be good and something, an asset maybe for the Club, then he's supported us... and I believe he'll keep doing that. So he did last season... OK we didn't spend any money but he backed us on the players we wanted to bring in. So yes, he's giving players that are here now new contracts; the ones that we're trying to tie down, so it's all good. It's all good at the moment. So we'll see how it goes." Duchatelet cares, he's backing the team and it's all good.
Looks like Douchatelet is still chasing the dream, which is to break even. Selling up is not the priority.
There are those who still point to his millions as proof he is a competent businessman. But a simple chat with Mark Hulyer (who apparently still goes to the Valley) would put him right. The only way to break even would be to strip the club to the bones and run the youth team for a season, being watched by the season ticket holders who have now spent their money, plus the away fans who come to see their teams run up cricket scores. Deep down, there is no way of reading exactly what RD is up to here. Besides the rumours floating around muddy the waters. There was one that suggested he had raised the price (or that DD had uncovered some murky debts that made his asking price even more foolish than it appears) on gaining promotion, despite his own admission that the Championship would be desperately expensive and debts would rise. Impossible to apply logic, but the basics are so simple - if you don't want to pay the debts that are coming nest season. check the offers you have, take the best one, and walk. When that doesn't happen, it simply suggests logic has gone away with the pixies. The odd thing is that for around three days now, the rumours have dried up. Could the silence mean something is finally happening?
When we get sold there will be no prior warning. We'll open the Metro/OS and it will say he has gone.
Some have said the take-over will happen before the season begins. There is also supposed to be an important meeting taking place some time in the next week or so. But we have heard these kinds of things countless times before. Dozens of deadlines for the take-over have come and gone, and important meetings have come and gone as well. I think Elfs is right. When it happens we fans will read about it the following morning. There won't be any prior warning. Until then we just have to read the ITK rumours and listen twenty more times to Jim White telling us it's happening in 24/48 hours...
i disagree. i think it'll leak first. there are a lot of people at the club who would know first (e.g. comms) who have friends who do commentary or write articles that they would tell. these people have friends and family...
Grapevine has a nice analysis of Duchatalets sales plan over on the takeover thread on CL. It aint short, but covers a lot of what has happened, and paints a nice portrait of RD as the deluded buffoon most of us see him as.
