Roland Duchatelet's call to Jim White’s talkSPORT’s show on Tuesday has once again stoked the fires amongst Addicks fans.
Following media reports in Belgium that unknown individuals, assumed to be Charlton fans, vandalised the owner’s property, Duchatelet phoned White to say where he stands in regard to the attack and the sale of the club.
White’s fellow host, ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, pulled no punches with his evaluation of Duchatelet’s reign much to the delight of the Addick’s faithful who once saw the 51-year-old as a fierce rival.
“Roland, I’m sorry, mate, it has to be your fault,” Jordan said of the owner's complaints of the trouble he's had since his takeover.
"You picked the wrong club, with the wrong culture, with the wrong outlook.
"You can’t look at it and say that it’s the EFL’s fault."
During the interview Duchatelet addressed how he doesn’t think people like himself should ‘become owners of clubs like Charlton or any other club', how he only spends 2% of this time on the club, and how it was a ‘mistake' to buy the Addicks.
Jordan’s reply, calling the owner’s arguments ‘laughable’ and ‘contemptible’ rang true with all Addicks fans.
Jordan told Duchatelet:
I used to own Crystal Palace so I have a degree of empathy for you and the situation that you find yourself in, but ultimately do you feel that you’ve been helped… because one of the things that English football fans have is a great deal of tribalism and passion to their clubs and of course that’s part and parcel of football per se.
Jordan on Duchatelet’s claims the EFL should’ve warned him against buying the club in 2014:
It’s not the EFL’s responsibility. If you’re a fit and proper person you can buy whatever you want. Ultimately, a lot of it’s PR. Charlton seem to be in the ascendancy as a club now, coming back up the pyramid. This vitriol that’s being levied at you seems to be so unnecessary, because ultimately you are trying to get out of this club. What can you look at and say maybe I should have done differently and what I can do to make sure that at least I get away with this with the least amount of damage?
You’re a big boy. You don’t like the temperature of this, which I don’t blame you. How does it get resolved? You’ve got the club up for sale. You’ve got people that are going to try and capitalise on the distress that you have and ultimately the reaction that it’s causing in you, but you have an economic value on this football club. Is it the economic value that you are putting on it that is stopping it from being sold or is it a consortium that don’t really have the money or are trying to get everything for nothing and ten per cent off? Why isn’t this deal happening, Roland, so that you can get away from this miserable existence?
Jordan on if the sale will go through:
This will come down to whether they have got the money to buy this football club from you and whether what they are offering you is what they are prepared to accept. They won’t look at you and go, oh, hang on, you’re a cautionary tale. Something’s happened to Roland. They will look at you and say you’ve made mistakes, you’ve alienated yourself. We’re not going to do that, we’re going to galvanise the fanbase. I’ve bought and lost a football club, so I understand this. So, it must be more to do, Roland, with the economics.
Jordan on Duchatelet’s thoughts of not wanting to sell to foreign owners:
You’ve got many, many owners in English football – and I’m a former English owner that laments the fact that we have to get foreign owners – many, many foreign owners are enjoying a different relationship. You picked the wrong club, with the wrong culture, with the wrong outlook. You can’t look at it and say that it’s the EFL’s fault. Roland, I’m sorry, mate, it has to be your fault. It has to be your relationship with the club, your appointment of your PR, your appointment of chief executive. You’ve let this get out of control and now it’s got out of control and these people are stepping over the line and doing dreadful things to you and yours around you.
READ: What we learned from Charlton's 2-1 win at AFC Wimbledon
Addicks fans took to twitter to Champion Jordan who it seems was behind the fans calls to oust the Charlton owner.
Blames everyone else but himself ... well done to @Sjopinion10 for putting it on RD. A lot of muttering and stuttering when being put on the spot #cafc https://t.co/FvamVoEahc
— Mark Hadley (@MarkHadley22) February 27, 2019
Yep first one who called out Richard Murray for what he is ... a spineless prawn who has sat in silence and betrayed all at #cafc
— john roach (@CHARLTONTILIDIE) February 27, 2019
As a CAFC fan, I can only say thank you. Huge respect to you for taking him to task and calling out the absolute drivel he was coming out with #cafc #Rolandout
— Jane Chalkley☇ (@janieann66) February 27, 2019
@Sjopinion10 thanks from #cafc
— Matmiller99 (@MatmillerCAFC) February 27, 2019
Simon Jordan didn’t hold back on Roland. Fair play 👍🏼 #cafc
— J0E (@fludder_) February 27, 2019
RD wants 50 million! Ridiculous #cafc
— Churchy 🏃🏻 (@benchurchcafc) February 27, 2019
He’s an idiot. Why the f*** would anyone pay £50m to basically compensate him for his mistakes. He bought it, he messed it up, not his press dpt, not El-Nino, not gravity, not house music, not floyd & harvey or whatever other ridiculous excuse you want to throw at it. #cafc
— Robert Sullivan (@Cabbles14) February 27, 2019
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