Who’d have thought a few days ago that an away game at Watford would become one of the most important in the club’s recent history?

After the somewhat shocking sacking of Big Bad Bobby Peeters and the hasty ‘search’ for a new head coach that has resulted in the in-no-way-surprising appointment of Guy Luzon, the club is faced with a fan base who feel more alienated than ever before, it seems.

After the way they lost so many of their favourites last season (Yann Kermorgant and Chris Powell the two standout examples), supporters are hyper sensitive to any decision made by owner Roland Duchâtelet.

Football is a hugely emotive game. People dedicate their lives to the teams they support. One of the first things you would find out about a football fan if you were to get chatting to them as a new colleague at work, or as someone you’re introduced to at a party, is the football team that they support.

This is because, for football fans, their football team is a huge part of their identity. Going to football on a Saturday is the time they can identify with their fathers, their community, their friends and the heroes of their childhood.

Sometimes they may be rubbish. In fact, with us, most the time they will be rubbish. But normally it doesn’t matter. Because when you watch a team trying their very best to outdo their opponents, sometimes trying to overcome the odds, but with the passion that the Charlton shirt deserves, knowing that they will spend the next few years working towards something special, you feel part of it.

The best thing about Charlton is the way everyone at the club rallies together, to do the very best for Charlton Athletic. Or at least they did. There is now a wedge between the supporter base and owner so large you could fit three Peter Garlands through it.

Duchâtelet saved this club from administration, without doubt. He spent money on the pitch and he’s worked hard to improve the supporter experience on a match day. 

However, if the fans wanted to enjoy a burger and pint near a flatscreen TV we’d spend all afternoon in Wetherspoons (sometimes I happily do).

The Belgian billionaire also purchased us a couple of good players in the summer. Igor Vetokele was not bought for a few magic beans, and Johann Berg Gudmundsson is a quality prospect whose wages probably compensate for a lack of transfer fee. 

But these weren’t enough. 

The failure to finish building the squad has left us too short. Battling against the odds is one thing but sending the cadets into war is a step too far.

The reluctance to stick with a manager for more than a few months is testing the patience of this club. We need someone to become emotionally attached to. 

These new managers keep being thrust upon us and this time it appears patience has run out. After the sacking of Peeters, a statement was released stating the search for a new head coach had been launched.

Within 24 hours, former Standard Liege man Luzon is appointed, and has made him the least popular appointment in living memory.

His record at Liege was mixed. He started off well in his first season. But then, after his squad was stripped of its best assets he struggled in the second. Liege fans rioted. Sure, the results weren’t good, but they clearly weren’t looking at the profit the network had made!

Duchâtelet is developing a track record of ripping the soul out of clubs. They become a money-making experiment. A farm for talent to be sold on when it realises its greatest value regardless of if that is the best decision for the playing side. Managers have their hands tied behind their back and are then ruthlessly fired because they can’t perform miracles.

Imagine if at work today they took away your PC and replaced it with a typewriter. Then in three months you’re fired because you haven’t sent enough emails. That's what it is like to be Charlton head coach these days.

Jose Riga and Bob Peeters started off with clean slates at The Valley. The fans grew fond of them because they displayed passion and the will to achieve with Charlton.

Luzon starts with such a handicap. Charlton fans don’t want him, they don’t like the way he’s been appointed and they’re growing disillusioned with the club.

And that is why Saturday’s game at Watford is one of the biggest in the club’s recent history. If this tenure doesn’t get off to a barnstorming start that somehow justifies the sacking of Peeters, and proves that sending the youth club to run the council works, then we will see just how far the spirit of this once well respected club can sink. 

Follow News Shopper Sport on Twitter @NewsShopperSprt