Charlton crisis hits new depths as fans protest
Bowyer vows to keep focus as supporters give backing to unpaid staff, writes Molly Mcelwee
It says everything about the turmoil engulfing Charlton Athletic that the prospect of the club’s caretaker manager, Lee Bowyer, coming up against fellow former top-flight midfielder Joey Barton is a mere sub-plot to today’s League One match against Fleetwood Town.
While Barton’s side arrive in south London off the back of a 5-0 win over Scunthorpe – the biggest victory in the club’s League history – Bowyer is battling on all fronts. Once a thriving Premier League club, Charlton have been working at a reported loss of £10million a season since their Belgian owner, Roland Duchatelet, took over in 2014, and he has been looking for an escape route for more than a year.
As takeover talks with Australian investors stall, the revelations surrounding Duchatelet’s cost-cutting methods have laid bare the extent of the club’s woes. Employees have been told not to eat at their own desks because of cleaners’ hours being cut – most recently, it was claimed that a member of staff had to ask permission from the club’s human resources department to eat a packet of crisps in the office – while bottled water at the training ground has been rationed during the hottest summer in decades and towel dispensers have been blocked.
Most seriously, around 30 club employees have claimed Duchatelet – who has not been seen at a Charlton fixture since 2014 – failed to pay the 10-per-cent bonuses worth between £50,000 and £100,000 promised for meeting certain targets. Duchatelet cited the club’s “bad financial year” as the reason in an email to staff, who are now seeking legal action against the club. Even the leader of Greenwich Council has stepped in, urging Duchatelet to meet his obligations.
The Football League confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that it was monitoring the situation, and reports are circulating that it is seeking a meeting with Duchatelet.
Bowyer, in public at least, insists this turmoil is having no impact on his team. “What’s happening on the financial side is nothing to do with us,” he says. “All we’re in control of is what we do out on the pitch every day – anything else going on behind closed doors has no effect. I won’t allow it.”
Except problems are no longer “behind closed doors”. The doors have come off their hinges, with tensions likely to reach boiling point again today when a protest organised by the Coalition Against Roland Duchatelet is planned outside the Valley.
Alan Davies, a representative of the fan group, says it has put aside funds to support employees in potential legal action. It expects “several hundred” people to join today’s protest, where they plan to give out bags of crisps.
“It’s a light-hearted highlighting of the absurdity of the club’s management,” Davies says. “It will be a morale booster for protesting fans as clearly we now no longer believe the club is close to being sold, so we think there are lies about why the delay is happening.
“We believe the club is close to being unable to fulfil a fixture, either because the staff will take strike action or the fans will tip over the edge from the goodnatured, peaceful protest we’ve had in the past to trying to get a game abandoned. That’s not something we’ve called for but we believe it’s not too far away.”
Amid the gloom, on-field form has not improved the mood. Charlton have earned just four points from as many league games, and sit 14th after their defeat by Peterborough on Tuesday. Bowyer refutes the idea that losses during the summer, namely of Josh Magennis and Ezri Konsa, have had an impact on results. “Have we had the money that the other clubs have had to spend? No, but I look at my squad and I’m happy,” he says. Interim manager since March (he was assistant coach from July 2017), he talks like a man with plans to stay long-term, despite the uncertainty. Asked how secure he feels, he says: “I don’t think I’ve done much wrong since I’ve been in charge.”
He adds that if a takeover is not settled by the end of the month, he will have a discussion with the owner about his role, but that is not his top priority.
“The most important thing for me is to get as many points on the board as I can. Everything else is out of my control.”