In the thirty months we've been acquainted with the gentleman, it's become no easier to second-guess him - in fact, most of us can't even manage a first guess. We know he's got a lot of money, a lot of (remarkable) ideas and for a man of nearly 70 an enviable vigour, but sadly these assorted attributes are outweighed by a disturbing absence of common sense. Why he chose to go about his CAFC business the way he did will forever be a mystery. The amount of fans' goodwill and support casually and needlessly squandered over the past year particularly is simply inexplicable. So to apply any form of logic to the Taped Crusader and his next moves is none too easy.
It's been said many times that in CAFC RD bought the wrong club; however, since no-one knows his true motivation, who can really say ? Without doubt, though, we have been a stone in his famous shoe from the very beginning, starting with the very first home game called off at 1.30 on match-day due to a deficient pitch, a pretty basic issue. The protests of last season - astonishingly, for their scale, frequency and intensity, achieved with minimal damage, injury and criminal charges, must have been exceedingly uncomfortable for him, especially when brought home to his own back-yard in Sint-Truiden.
To sell up, if seen as the result of failure, would not have been a ready course of action for someone convinced of his own unerring infallibility. However, two events might well have persuaded him to cut his losses, pull up the steps and move on. In May and distinctly not in the planning came relegation, and a few weeks later came Brexit.
Although our current lowly status is not exactly impressive, it does mean that a prospective buyer looking for an under-priced bargain, a.k.a. fire sale, could do worse. After all, in Germany RB Leipzig and TSG Hoffenheim, both now in the Bundesliga, started out from much lower levels but had all the financial blessings of respectively Red Bull and SAP. Furthermore, CAFC has the benefit of a decent location in London, with some tasty real estate in SE7 and SE9. Also of no little interest would be the sharp post-Brexit fall in the value of Sterling (the currency, not the winger).
At present English football is (selectively) awash with money as never before; part is TV money, of course, but also there has been significant investment from overseas. That Wolves can be preparing a 20 million pound bid for a player shows that even the underrated and stodgy old EFL is a hot ticket.
The club's charm/smarm offensive of late will have fallen on deaf ears if addressed purely to the faithful, but could well be a hasty attempt at window-dressing, in the same way that no opportunity is lost to connect the club with the peerless CACT.
RD must sell this autumn because any new owner will want/need the January window either to capitalise on a good start to the season or to recover from a bad one. A failure to sell will expose The Shareholder to growing and totally irrecoverable losses and even greater difficulty in finding an exit strategy that will not bruise too much a very delicate ego.
So, Guv'nor, if you're at home in Belgium-land carefully counting and polishing your centjes, you can be assured in due course of the fervent support of countless thousands of Addicks world-wide if the next few months will indeed be the last we all spend together. Come on, you know you want to ....
CTID
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Comments
And, "Taped Crusader" = love it!
Sadly I don't think he's selling up just yet - he'll load us with more debt owed to him for a while yet.
Though your post is optimistic, it is also laden with a lot of good sense. Like you I find it hard to believe that Roland is feeling content about the Charlton situation, even if he feels stubborn. I would have liked to see a few more signs, but amongst the readable runes is the Katrien Miere appointment in the FA.
On the one hand Katrien may thirst for any kind of recognition like a D list celebrity, and she jumped at the open door to the FA establishment for personal reasons, and sees it as a position easily relinquished once it can be put on her CV. On the other hand Katrien escalating her profile in this way might be read as her digging in deeper in the fabric of English football, with Roland encouraging his protege all the way, and as a consequence both needing to hold on at Charlton.
I might have read it here, or in VOTV that Roland is most likely to sell if promotion isn't obvious this season, and when that might become evident is unclear. Part of me wishes our poor start could further convince Roland to get out now with a degree of decorum, but where that leaves Katrien is the awkward bit.
He clearly feels some kind of sense of loyalty to her, and she clearly has influence over him in Charlton matters, indeed it might be better to imagine a 'face saving' exit strategy for Katrien, than a face saving exit strategy for Roland.
I don't think Roland sees Katrien as disposable as he sees managers, coaches or footballers...or even football clubs.
Knowing you as I do, I'm sure you have chosen your words carefully & you paint a picture ( based on common sense, not emotion) that gladdens an old lady's heart.
Great to hear Curbs on Saturday night highlights show talking about how low the crowd was due to the regime actions.
Further comments ....
It is undeniable that there is a special bond between RD and KM, although whether it exceeds his life-long love affair with his wallet only the man himself could say, and of course he's not telling. I think it's not to be ignored that he has allowed KM to spend six months in the firing line of a conflict that has become increasingly embittered and personal. That's some mean exposure, during a near two-year period when RD himself has not bothered/dared to attend any Charlton match in person.
RD has to calculate his likely losses not just on the team and the stadium administration but also on the further significant cost of continuing the investment in the supposed cash cow of the Academy.
An opportunist bid that gets him out from under might just do the trick.
If it is not disrespectful to bring RM into this after today's very sad news, there will undoubtedly be an impact from his untimely absence. (I wish him the speediest and fullest of recoveries.)
All this is without reference to the next round of protests. If they morph into a much more focused attack on RD and his many other personal and business interests he may feel that the reputational damage and possible commercial consequences are too great a risk to bear. At 70, who in God's name wants to provoke such aggravation, and even if his pride puts him up for the challenge I don't think his family will be too happy about it.
@Bostonaddick
Reasons (in no particular order) why RD might sell now ....
1) He doesn't like football
2) At 70 he and his family have better things to do with their time and money
3) Running our club is demonstrably beyond the capability of him and his entourage
4) It took only his second full season to achieve an entirely unnecessary relegation - realistically, how can a swiftish return to the Champ be anything but a pipe-dream on his watch. Just ask the Blades
5) Club administration a train wreck and all-round embarrassment
6) Player recruitment has produced numerous costly misfits, and too many good guys let go for nix
7) Coaching staff appointments an expensive exercise in serial failure and futility
8) Fan relations at an all-time low - he just doesn't get it. Lost revenue will never return while he stays
9) Interest in English clubs running very high and CAFC the ONLY senior London club available
10) Currently a favourable exchange rate for an overseas purchaser
11) Current and future losses will be huge and irrecoverable - why should an eventual buyer be expected to pay for RD's mistakes ? Our accounts will be a giant bottomless pit
12) He has little to lose and much to gain by bailing now
13) Hanging on nothing but a colossal gamble with slim odds of success and frighteningly high stakes
14) Sparrows Lane a huge investment for the long term and a major present burden
15) The next protest season will likely be extremely stressful and damaging
16) The January transfer window is an important factor for buyers
Reason to stay - stubbornness/ego
The present fan engagement is essentially a smoke-screen to impress possible buyers - why else would our history-shunning CEO sanction a 50s-style programme cover last weekend ? We're being fattened for market.
Time to go, Ro !!
Far more likely he will wait to see if we can get back to the championship where he would get a much better return.
But with the utter incompetence that this club is being run I can't see that happening any time soon
unfortunately I don't think he will give a shit who he sells too, which worries me just as much.
This is not a short term project for him. My best guess is that he views the last couple of years as a set back but still believes in the long term viability of his break even plan.
He's rich enough for this last couple of years and the next couple to mean very little to his fortune. He's much richer now than when he bought us.
He's remote in Belgium and not really interested in results. Do the protests really bother him that much. He's not there to see or suffer them and I already think that he's used to being viewed in Belgium as an oddball character. Do we really think that the Belgians are that bothered or interested by his antics at a third teir English football club.
This is all going to get a lot worse before it gets any better unless RD has it right and everyone else has it wrong.
Thank you all for your comments.
I'm tempted to say that as it's virtually unanimous he's expected to stay RD will naturally do the opposite and sell.
I'm sure that the club receive offers all the time but they are either derisory or from unappealing sources. If, however, a promising bid comes in RD might structure the deal to receive so much now and privately lend the bidder an agreed balance to be repaid subject to certain criteria (promotion etc.) That way he extricates himself with no loss of face. In the event of a default for any reason he would be no worse off than he would have been anyway but would be able to write off the loan against his more successful companies.
We shall see. Meanwhile the poor old glass may be chipped and cracked but I'll still keep it topped up ....
Every now and then I daydream about the day RD sells up - all the brilliant things that could be done to re-establish the club in the community, the opportunities to rebuild and pack out The Valley again, the chance to use the energy and imagination of the protests to start again and do something special. Some day, that's going to happen. And I really should buy a Euromillions ticket, just in case...