Roland Duchatelet is looking to start his tenure as Charlton owner with a new contract for manager Chris Powell.
Club legend Powell has been Addicks boss since 2011 but his current deal expires in the summer and his future has shrouded in uncertainty since Duchatelet’s takeover last month.
The Belgian businessman faced the British media for the first time today, and he revealed talks have already begun over a new contract for Powell.
“We are discussing that now, to renew his contract for the coming years,” he said. “I hope we can reach an agreement.
“There is no doubt in my mind that he is an extremely good coach and it is certainly our desire to continue to work with Chris.”
Duchatelet also owns Standard Liege as well as a number of other clubs in Belgium and Spain.
The 67-year-old’s long-term goal is to see Charlton back in the Premier League, but he warned that he won’t throw money around to make it happen overnight.
“Charlton is one of the famous clubs in this country and more specifically London,” he said.
“It has not only its history but it’s the kind of club that one should be proud of.
“The kind of attitude the fans have in this club is extremely good. Throughout the history of this club it shows that it’s a very attractive club.
“Of course there is still a lot of work but we’re going to try and help to bring this club to a more stable level than it has been recently.”
Asked if the funds were available to invest in Charlton both on and off the field, he said: “That’s no problem, but I think it’s important for football clubs to break even.
“I’m strongly in favour of Financial Fair Play. If you look at the statistics of Championship clubs, you will find that all make losses, except maybe the ones who have the financial parachutes from the Premier League.
“It is fair to say that in Spain it is the same in the second division, and even in many first divisions, football clubs make losses.
“It has led to a situation where Chris is in competition with other clubs who have more money that he has and he will have.
“He needs to be equally creative as he has been. His big merit is that he kept this club afloat with a very low investment in players in the past.
“This is the challenge in the future, combine good results with financial equilibrium.”
He added: “You don’t build a huge, tall building on small foundations. The foundations have to be there.
“I think there are many things which are very good already in this club, but we have to strengthen the foundations and then if we can eventually can move to the Premier League, then we have also a better chance of staying there.
“Going there and being relegated all the time is not so desirable from a fan standpoint.
“All the things I do, I’m working in the long-run.”
So from this press conference we have heard directly from the four most important people involved in the future of the club that we will invest in our academy, replace the pitch ASAP, not move away from our home, there are ongoing negotiations to extend Powell's contract and the owner will aim to bring in decent players from all over Europe in a way that will not make our club go into the red. And people are somehow unhappy? Bloody hell.
Words are cheap and there appears no plan for the short term = relegation this season due to lack of investment/good loans. Jeez how many of our fans don't get this!
We do not have to take a step back to take two forwards. Selling our best players and replacing them with not good enough foreign mercenaries does not get the job doe:(
I couldnt disagree with you more selling best players who dont want to be there and are out of contract was necessary to cash in a little and would rather have players who want to be here and working hard to try and keep club up then a player who is looking for his next payday and regardless of going down or not knows they will stay in this league. At least players who have come in know that its up to them to keep their club up and not be playing League One next year.
And who are you to judge 1 that they are not good enough when you havent really seen them play and that they are mercenaries as far as you know they could be paid half what an english player is taking home
I don't see how you can claim Kermorgant didn't want to be here. OK things haven't worked out him staying but he has stated he wanted to be at CAFC.
We put a contract in front of him and he didn't sign it.
We did yes, but when was that contract offered? Pre-Roland?
Complete waste of time. At least now we can all agree that the team is weaker for the shambolic January window rather than pretending, as some have, that these dealings were part of some RD master plan.
I make Bolloxbolder and Weegie right here...far too many people are believing that relegation will be a one season blip. League one is a brute of a League to get out of. We did it by recruiting players who were good at that level, I suspect the plan this time is loads of youngsters to keep the wage bill down.
I make Bolloxbolder and Weegie right here...far too many people are believing that relegation will be a one season blip. League one is a brute of a League to get out of. We did it by recruiting players who were good at that level, I suspect the plan this time is loads of youngsters to keep the wage bill down.
Totally agree. Hate the assumption that we'd bounce straight back-up. From our own experience alone we should know that's not true. Bigger clubs than us (Leeds for one) have struggled to escape that division).
The last owners barely said a word about their plans/intentions and they were criticised by plenty on here. RD holds a press conference which let's face it, he didn't have to do, and unbelievably some are criticising him for it and saying it's not enough. Some of our fans are never happy.
I'm not criticising Chris, i just don't really see the objective / gain when it is a repeat of what they did a few weeks ago. People can say 'its to meet the press', well i'm sure those guys would have been just as happy receiving those quotes in a release. And if it was just for the press and not supporters, why have the club been flogging it so much this week?
A lot of what RD has done so far just doesn't make sense (to me).
R.D. trying to raise the profile of the club and reach out to potential supporters,press and players at the club and those we are looking to sign. Press reports of the 'Off field antics' of Charlton Athletic in recent years have usually been of the negative variety. Well done R.D. for trying to put a positive spin on the future of our club.
Totally agree. Hate the assumption that we'd bounce straight back-up. From our own experience alone we should know that's not true. Bigger clubs than us (Leeds for one) have struggled to escape that division).
We'll bounce back with Powell at the helm, so long as he's supported. This conference at least suggests that he will be backed.
Totally agree. Hate the assumption that we'd bounce straight back-up. From our own experience alone we should know that's not true. Bigger clubs than us (Leeds for one) have struggled to escape that division).
We'll bounce back with Powell at the helm, so long as he's supported. This conference at least suggests that he will be backed.
Well let's hope we're not relegated in the first place and that we're pushing for the playoffs next season in The Championship.
Wonder if he will insult Powell with the terms of any offered contract, I guess only time will tell, but after scanning through what has been said think we are going to have a real struggle with Roland & his puppet Katrien.
I agree it is positive that they are more open in communicating with the fans, and that there is a long-term vision focussed on youth. I just feel that there is a massive naivety in not taking the prospect of relegation seriously enough (perhaps the reserve £4M is too much of a comfort zone?) leading to a real lack of urgency. We drifted in to losing Yann, it seems, whilst Powell's future continues to drift. All the while, we are losing ground on our rivals who have been strengthening and picking up points. In the end, actions speak louder than words...
Spot on Weegie.
Everything said today is good stuff (except perhaps for the inference that CP doesn't choose transfer targets) but it isn't enough to simply express confidence in our remaining a Championship club next season. If there is funds available - let's get some reinforcements in sharpish. The clock really is ticking down very quickly and we have to start winning games now. I'm fine with aiming to break even but no-one said that has to happen on a yearly basis. Go a bit into the red for a season or two and aim to recoup that in the future.
Roland Duchatelet is looking to start his tenure as Charlton owner with a new contract for manager Chris Powell.
Club legend Powell has been Addicks boss since 2011 but his current deal expires in the summer and his future has shrouded in uncertainty since Duchatelet’s takeover last month.
The Belgian businessman faced the British media for the first time today, and he revealed talks have already begun over a new contract for Powell.
“We are discussing that now, to renew his contract for the coming years,” he said. “I hope we can reach an agreement.
“There is no doubt in my mind that he is an extremely good coach and it is certainly our desire to continue to work with Chris.”
Duchatelet also owns Standard Liege as well as a number of other clubs in Belgium and Spain.
The 67-year-old’s long-term goal is to see Charlton back in the Premier League, but he warned that he won’t throw money around to make it happen overnight.
“Charlton is one of the famous clubs in this country and more specifically London,” he said.
“It has not only its history but it’s the kind of club that one should be proud of.
“The kind of attitude the fans have in this club is extremely good. Throughout the history of this club it shows that it’s a very attractive club.
“Of course there is still a lot of work but we’re going to try and help to bring this club to a more stable level than it has been recently.”
Asked if the funds were available to invest in Charlton both on and off the field, he said: “That’s no problem, but I think it’s important for football clubs to break even.
“I’m strongly in favour of Financial Fair Play. If you look at the statistics of Championship clubs, you will find that all make losses, except maybe the ones who have the financial parachutes from the Premier League.
“It is fair to say that in Spain it is the same in the second division, and even in many first divisions, football clubs make losses.
“It has led to a situation where Chris is in competition with other clubs who have more money that he has and he will have.
“He needs to be equally creative as he has been. His big merit is that he kept this club afloat with a very low investment in players in the past.
“This is the challenge in the future, combine good results with financial equilibrium.”
He added: “You don’t build a huge, tall building on small foundations. The foundations have to be there.
“I think there are many things which are very good already in this club, but we have to strengthen the foundations and then if we can eventually can move to the Premier League, then we have also a better chance of staying there.
“Going there and being relegated all the time is not so desirable from a fan standpoint.
“All the things I do, I’m working in the long-run.”
So basically Roland has said that he has funds available but he won't be using them, that he could throw money at the team and get us into the premier league but CP has proved he can keep us afloat on nothing and he is confident he can keep on doing that....?
Ok fair enough you don't want to make a huge loss RD, but how about just throwing just enough money at it to keep us up then let's build from them foundations??? It sounds to me that he wants to build foundations from the very bottom or at least league 1 then premier league in the very distant future. Not sure this is that positive to be honest.
Where has that rumour come from? Is there some sort of clause in the deal that he has to shell out a further few million if we stay up? Bizarre (and stupid) if true.
Still feel that long term RD will be good for the Club but short to medium (2 or 3 seasons) it will be painful
Totally agree Henry. Prepare for a bumpy ride with some big disappointments in the short term but light at the end of the tunnel.
Can anyone give an example of where this has worked? Not convinced that getting worse in the short term and failing to invest is the way to build those foundations - we are sleepwalking into relegation so unnecessarily at this rate. I'm getting more and more cross...
Did I understand correctly that RD stood to save £3m on the takeover deal if we got relegated this season?
only on the purchase price from spanish tony et al - the club will definitely lose far more than that in league 1 than the championship next season as has been explained at length elsewhere on this forum
What they have done today is continue the narrative and build up the communications... this time to everyone and not just on player. In the meantime Richard Murray spoke to fans last week at a Trust event last week and Chris Powell is at a Q&A tonight in Bromley
The item missing from today and "meet the board" but was clearly stated by Richard Murray last week is that the club are looking to bring in two to three quality loan signings to add to the squad.
We will know several things within a month: have they been successful in that quest, can we win any games in cup and league and are the new strikers good enough to score and help keep us up.
I didn't expect anyone today to name targets or failed efforts (SWP?) but I do expect continuing communications. If the club fails to sign the right players on loan AND also fails to win games then it is sleepwalking into relegation... but I prefer to make a call on that at 5pm 15th March. And I expect quite a few season ticket holders might think along those lines when it comes to renewing.
Our club doesn't need to get relegated and doesn't need to lose any more fans so I really hope that the right players are on their way to SE7 in order to patch up the squad and get us through two games a week for the next 10 weeks.
We may all share a passion for the Club but we don't have a divine right to expect this support to be heavily subsidised by the wealthily, despite the fact this has been the the way in which far too many clubs are currently allowed to survive. The previous owners took a punt at making somthing out of nothing but ened up taking us to the doors of administration. This is not something we now have to worry about.
So RD was able to strike a good deal for himself but we have a new owner who gives us financial security despite having to fund both our current losses and pay for the promiissed pitch improvements. Today we have him re-emphasising his approach to football club investment. It is not without it's pitfalls but, in my opinion, we ae in a far better position than we were two months ago. Whether dissenters like it or not, it is his money that means we have still have a club to support at this level both now and in the forsseable future.
Comments
'Even Roland, even Roland, even Roland thinks you're shit!'.
Granted it's not a very constructive song but progress is progress
At least now we can all agree that the team is weaker for the shambolic January window rather than pretending, as some have, that these dealings were part of some RD master plan.
Press reports of the 'Off field antics' of Charlton Athletic in recent years have usually been of the negative variety.
Well done R.D. for trying to put a positive spin on the future of our club.
Everything said today is good stuff (except perhaps for the inference that CP doesn't choose transfer targets) but it isn't enough to simply express confidence in our remaining a Championship club next season. If there is funds available - let's get some reinforcements in sharpish. The clock really is ticking down very quickly and we have to start winning games now. I'm fine with aiming to break even but no-one said that has to happen on a yearly basis. Go a bit into the red for a season or two and aim to recoup that in the future.
So basically Roland has said that he has funds available but he won't be using them, that he could throw money at the team and get us into the premier league but CP has proved he can keep us afloat on nothing and he is confident he can keep on doing that....?
Ok fair enough you don't want to make a huge loss RD, but how about just throwing just enough money at it to keep us up then let's build from them foundations??? It sounds to me that he wants to build foundations from the very bottom or at least league 1 then premier league in the very distant future. Not sure this is that positive to be honest.
Well I want a twelve inch penis and the face of Ryan Reynolds but it's never gonna happen :-(
The item missing from today and "meet the board" but was clearly stated by Richard Murray last week is that the club are looking to bring in two to three quality loan signings to add to the squad.
We will know several things within a month: have they been successful in that quest, can we win any games in cup and league and are the new strikers good enough to score and help keep us up.
I didn't expect anyone today to name targets or failed efforts (SWP?) but I do expect continuing communications. If the club fails to sign the right players on loan AND also fails to win games then it is sleepwalking into relegation... but I prefer to make a call on that at 5pm 15th March. And I expect quite a few season ticket holders might think along those lines when it comes to renewing.
Our club doesn't need to get relegated and doesn't need to lose any more fans so I really hope that the right players are on their way to SE7 in order to patch up the squad and get us through two games a week for the next 10 weeks.
So RD was able to strike a good deal for himself but we have a new owner who gives us financial security despite having to fund both our current losses and pay for the promiissed pitch improvements. Today we have him re-emphasising his approach to football club investment. It is not without it's pitfalls but, in my opinion, we ae in a far better position than we were two months ago. Whether dissenters like it or not, it is his money that means we have still have a club to support at this level both now and in the forsseable future.