On Saturday morning some Charlton Athletic supporters will tuck into a free breakfast at The Valley and board coaches laid on by the club to transport them to Sixfields for their match at Northampton. At the same time a similar number will be travelling in an entirely different direction. An estimated 200-250 Charlton loyalists are off to Sint-Truiden, the Flemish town that happens to be home to the club’s Belgian owner, Roland Duchâtelet, in a bid to air their gripes.
Charlton are one of a number of clubs embroiled in a malaise that is not helped by a fractured relationship between ownership and a largely frustrated fanbase. As is the case at Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn Rovers, Leyton Orient, Blackpool et al, the most determined of supporters feel compelled to protest, to yearn for better times and to rail at distant owners. Charlton’s weak form has focused a few minds and the fan groups dedicated to challenging Duchâtelet have decided to pay their owner a visit, considering the last time he attended a match at The Valley was in October 2014.
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