CARD statement on Roland

CARD has issued a statement refuting the main points made by Roland Duchatelet in his TalkSport interview: Statement

Some people have argued that we should move on and not rake over past events, but it is Roland who is doing that in order to justify the situation the club is now in. The easiest way to move on would be for him to accept a realistic price for the club. It's just like selling a house: you may have a notion of its true value, but if you want to move, you have to accept the price the market will bear.

Roland was clearly quite emotional in his interview, as Jim White noted, and he clearly does not regard it as his finest hour. This should not obscure the fact that he is an Onanist and, what is worse, does not recognise himself as one. Instead he sees himself as a well-meaning visionary dealt unfair blows by embittered opponents.

C'est Roland qui parle

I have been listening to Roland Duchatelet being interviewed on Talksport, not helped by the fact that it kept cutting out online. We do better at Radio Scilly! However, he didn't really say anything new. There is a Part 2 to come, but I doubt whether it will be very revealing.

It was really the same old line: relationships with the fans were spoilt by poor communication, and protests by the fans were stopping the club being sold. Asked why he didn't sort out the communications team, he said that Katrien did make some changes. As I recall, that involved the departure of experienced and trusted staff. It was the message that was the problem, not the way that it was conveyed.

VOTV editor and former comms supremo Rick Everitt has commented: 'but chose to have no head of comms for two years from time he arrived. When one was finally appointed she walked out after seven weeks because of his incoherent public rant at fans after the Boro game.'

Roland denied that he was involved in team matters, saying he didn't have the time but 'my people did suggest to play in some ways'. Presumably that included the likes of Thomas Dreisen.

On Chris Wilder, Richard Cawley of the SLP has tweeted, 'RD blaming Wilder for not coming on negative reaction from fans - and mentions Charlton Life messageboard - over his appointment. My understanding has always been he played off Charlton interest with knowledge Sheffield United situation was developing.' Anyway, Cawley added, 'Also on Wilder, he had the chance to go to Sheffield United or Charlton - a very easy decision when you looked at the state of both clubs at that point.'

Former pitch announcer Big Dave Lockwood has tweeted: 'Less than 2 minutes in and he's lying already. I know he interfered in team selection, I've seen the emails!'

Asked if he was scared to go to The Valley, Roland said that he wasn't, but there were times when it wouldn't have been very appealing. As we know, he enjoys a 'live feed' (of moules et frites).

On the bonuses issue, Roland said that the club had made a huge loss and it was not normal to pay bonuses in such circumstances as the word bonus meant 'extra'. Well, perhaps it does in Flemish, but my understanding was that the bonuses were not linked to profit targets. Apparently the 'contractual' bonuses have been paid, but not the 'discretionary' one.

Roland confirmed that Charlton still represented two per cent of his business empire.

Roland said that he had decided that he had to tell 'the truth' and he didn't care how people reacted, the interviewer having suggested that Charlton fans hated him, later adding that they were decent people too. This exchange would seem to imply that Roland had been economical with the actualité in the past.

Roland claimed that it was not easy to sell a club during 'the competition' as potential buyers reacted to wins or losses. It's difficult to believe that a 1-0 loss at Rochdale would lead a serious buyer to demand a discount.

Roland argued that the protests were a real problem for a new owner. The interviewer suggested that as he was a wealthy individual why didn't he just sell the club. In a bizarre conclusion, Roland kept repeating 'That's what I tried to do.' But at a realistic price?

Roland: I feel guilty

In an interview with Talksport, Roland Duchatelet has said he feels guilty and sad for the fans, but emphasises that Charlton is not his life. Once again he insists the main problem was one of poor communication rather than daft decisions.

This is just a trailer and the full interview will be available tomorrow.

One way to expunge any feelings of guilt would be to sell the club at a reasonable price.

Pratley's call to arms

Charlton need to bounce back after their defeat to Rochdale says Darren Pratley: Important to bounce back

Perhaps a clue to what went wrong is his statement, 'We expected to come here and win the game.' Perhaps they didn't realise how much hard graft would be needed, although I like Pratley, an experienced player who puts himself about, albeit adding to his yellow card collection.

Football is a game of fine margins and we could have got a draw (my forecast) or better out of this game. There is no need to panic yet, although we have a tough test against Doncaster on Saturday. We are fifth from bottom in the form table which is a concern.

Leicester City

I would like to express my condolences to Leicester City fans (especially my friend Stacey) and to family and friends at the death of their popular owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who was killed when his helicopter crashed near the ground after last night's match against West Ham United. The BBC has confirmed that he was on board: Accident

It is at times like this that the world of football comes together. As a Leicester University graduate, I was delighted when Leicester City won the Premier League title and that will be a lasting legacy.

One Leicester fan described him as the best owner one could hope for.

Charlton down to 13th

Charlton are down to 13th in League One after losing 1-0 to Rochdale, succumbing to an early goal in the 4th minute from danger man captain Ian Henderson. It was his 99th goal for Dale. Despite having 14 shots on target to Rochdale's 12, the Addicks were unable even to find an equaliser.

Stephen Dooley's square pass found Henderson and the Dale skipper slammed home a low drive from 10 yards. Charlton hit back with Lyle Taylor close to an equaliser, collecting the ball in the centre circle and advancing towards goal before skimming the top of the bar from the edge of the area.

Charlton had a golden chance to equalise in the 20th minute when Brendan Moore was deemed to have fouled Darren Pratley inside the area, but the Dale stopper made amends by diving to his right and beating away Taylor’s penalty.

Charlton created the first efforts of the second-half as Jason Pearce and Taylor both sent efforts off target, before Moore produced a fingertip stop from Josh Cullen’s strike.

And Cullen was frustrated again when his direct free-kick beat Moore and found the back of the net - only to be ruled out for an infringement by Taylor.

Shell shocked supremo Lee Bowyer said after the game that Charlton were very poor first half and did not compete. He has questioned the attitude of his squad in failing to build on the win against Barnsley: Bowyer gives it large

Bowyer thought that Krystian Bielik kept getting caught in possession: Loanee needs to learn

The SLP's report of the game can be found here: Slip to defeat

The small number of Charlton fans calling for Bowyer to go need their heads examined. We can do without more revolving door management. However, Bowyer is relatively inexperienced and he could do with some guidance. The name of Alan Curbishley comes to mind, although some might think it a back to the future move and Roland would never agree anyway.

Justice at last

A Charlton fan who had his finger broken at Fulham gets recompense from the Metropolitan Police at last: Incident at the Cottage

I am afraid that football fans are still not treated as the decent people the vast majority of them are. Respect is a two way street.