Roland Duchatelet, the former owner of Charlton Athletic, is not a popular character in SE7 because his six-year reign saw the team fall from Championship status to League One obscurity.

Duchatelet secured a takeover at The Valley in January 2014, after the Addicks placed ninth in the Championship the previous season – their best league position since being relegated from the Premier League in 2007.

Within a few months of coming in South London, he fired popular manager Chris Powell for interfering with team selection and frustrating the League One title-winning manager.

To be fair, Powell’s replacement, Jose Riga, kept the team out of relegation at the end of the 2013/14 season, but that was the sole successful managerial choice made by the Belgian owner.

Bob Peeters, Guy Luzon, and Karel Fraeye were all trusted to lead Charlton forward in the Championship before Riga was re-appointed to try to prevent relegation in 2016, but he was unable to duplicate his feat of saving the Addicks from League One relegation under Duchatelet.

The series of unsuccessful management appointments did not end there, with Russell Slade and Karl Robinson both failing to challenge for a return to the second division during their time in command of SE7.

Charlton supporters protested against Duchatelet’s ownership due to poor communication, uninspiring signings, disappointing management appointments, and dismal results throughout the years.

However, Duchatelet made one decision that Addicks may appreciate, which came after Karl Robinson’s departure in 2018.

Lee Bowyer gave Charlton fans something to grin about.

Roland Duchatelet’s choice to choose Lee Bowyer as manager in 2018 may have pleased Charlton fans.

The former Charlton midfielder led the Addicks to the play-offs as caretaker manager after Robinson’s resignation in 2018, and happily for fans, he was given the job permanently that summer.

Bowyer went on to have the most pleasurable season under Duchatelet’s leadership, taking Charlton to promotion in spectacular manner through the League One play-offs in 2019.

Unfortunately, Bowyer was unable to retain the Addicks in the second tier the following season, owing primarily to an incredibly dismal January transfer window in 2020.

Despite the harsh circumstances Bowyer was working under, Charlton were only relegated in the dying minutes of the season, and they may have survived if they had a stronger owner who supported the manager.

While Charlton fans may appreciate Duchatelet’s decision to select Bowyer, the fact that he was not supported after correcting all of the previous years’ terrible work will undoubtedly make it tough to give the Belgian much credit.

Bowyer decision was more down to luck than judgement

Duchatelet’s decision to hire Bowyer was, predictably, not influenced by the Belgian’s aptitude to find outstanding young coaches.

Karl Robinson had introduced Bowyer to the club as a member of his backroom staff, and it was only after Robinson’s dismissal that Duchatelet realised he had the credentials to be a successful manager.

In reality, Duchatelet had no choice but to hire Bowyer permanently when he defied the odds to reach the play-offs in 2018, but considering his track record of poor decisions, Charlton fans may be grateful that he did.

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