This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Steve Gallen has claimed that he is beginning to be trusted more by those at Charlton Athletic, as reported by News Shopper.
What did he say?
The Addicks’ Director of Football has opened up about the struggles that he faced in fulfilling his role during years gone by, due to the constraints placed upon him.
He joined the club as Head of Recruitment in 2017, before moving up to his current position in September 2019, which he claims has allowed him to hold greater influence over the decisions being made at the club.
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The 46-year-old spoke openly about how things have progressed, as quoted by News Shopper: “At the start, if I wanted a player and [Duchatelet’s advisor] Thomas Driessen didn’t believe in that player, I wouldn’t get that player, I learned that early on. That was frustrating for me and Lee but we’re in a much better place now.
“Thomas works directly for Roland, he doesn’t work for Charlton, I get on with him and I like him and I respect his relationship with Roland.
“We are in a good place with him now and he trusts us, he’s seen the players we’ve brought in – Cullen, Bielik and Taylor.
“Being a Director has helped me as an influencer within the club and I think Roland is beginning to trust me on a lot of things.
“For example, if I said in the summer that I wanted to buy a certain player, it pretty much got done whereas when I first arrived two and a half years ago it didn’t.”
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Making an impact
Gallen being given the trust to identify targets for Lee Bowyer to utilise is the only way that things are going to move forward for Charlton.
Not only does it mean that he will be able to recruit players to compliment the manager’s style of play, working with Bowyer to ensure this happens, but it should also help to develop a coherent transfer policy.
This development does indicate that things could be improving behind the scenes, which should give some hope that the team can move forward, even if Roland Duchatelet stays for an extended period of time.
Bowyer has shown that he can step up to the challenge set by the Belgian, but having the added help from Gallen should allow him to do so with even greater effect.
