Charlton Athletic's wealthy new owner began this month by making a humble admission. "I regret what happened – and I am the one who caused it," Roland Duchâtelet said. "I have many qualities but I do not always communicate well and I didn't read the situation right. I'm not perfect but now we understand each other better and that's why we have signed a charter that stipulates that fans will have a say in issues that closely affect them such as facilities and ticket prices."

Duchâtelet was not addressing fans of Charlton but rather of Standard Liège, one of the other holdings in his expanding empire of football clubs. Last summer there had been mass protests against his running of the Belgian side and a group of fans tried to ransack his office. Now the hostility has been replaced by admiration for the job being done by Duchâtelet. The 67-year-old's time at Liège offers clues as to what Charlton supporters might expect from the man who paid around £14m for the Championship club five weeks ago.

What provoked the fans' revolt last summer was Duchâtelet's decision to sack a popular manager, Mircea Rednic, and replace him with a little-known 37-year-old from Israel, Guy Luzon. That was interpreted as a cost-cutting measure too far by a man who had already presided over the sale of several of the club's best players since taking over in 2011 and seemed more interested in cashing in. Now Liège are top of the Belgian league thanks to the performances of a crop of young players who have blossomed under Luzon, and Duchâtelet's model is not seen as purely self-serving.

Duchâtelet has never been short of ideas. Success in electronics made him one of Belgium's wealthiest men and he has embellished his fortune with ventures in a host of other sectors. He has even tried his hand at politics, establishing a small party in 1997 with the aim of radically revamping the Belgian economy so that everyone would be paid a minimum wage whether they worked or not, and tax would be levied not on income but expenditure. His party was eventually absorbed into a bigger one, Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, and his plans for football also seem to involve handy alliances. A little like Watford and Udinese, Charlton have become part of a chain that is supposed to benefit each link.

Essentially Duchâtelet, who does not disguise his belief that money can be made from football, seems to be operating on the idea that it works out cheaper to buy loads of clubs as opposed to loads of players. Along with Charlton and Liège, he also owns FC Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany and AD Alcorcón in the Spanish second division, while entrusting Hungary's Ujpest FC to his son and another Belgian club, Sint-Truidense, to his long-time partner.

He is also believed to be seeking clubs in Portugal and Italy. While Duchâtelet has specific objectives for each club – for instance, he has long campaigned for the creation of a combined Belgian and Dutch league to enable Liège to grow – it is clear that he also sees how they can help each other.

Charlton's January transfer activity was a demonstration. They sold two of the manager Chris Powell's most trusted players, Yann Kermorgant and Dale Stephens, and drafted in several replacements from abroad, including four (three on loan) from Liège. The economic logic was clear. Kermorgant and Stephens were nearing the end of their contracts so could have left for nothing in the summer and the link with Liège meant replacements were available at no cost. Powell's challenge is to ensure that makes sense from a football viewpoint: with Charlton in the relegation zone, the arrivals have to adapt quickly.

The Swedish midfielder Astrit Ajdarevic at least has rudimentary experience of English football – before joining Liège he was on Leicester City's book at the same time as Powell – but the others, such as the goalkeeper Yohann Thuram (cousin of the former France great, Lilian), the midfielder Anil Koc and the striker Reza Ghoochannejhad do not. While some relegation-threatened clubs might rest key players for an FA Cup tie, one of Powell's aims from Saturday's trip to Sheffield Wednesday will be to use the game to further harden the players he now has to rely on for survival.

"I was disappointed to see [Kermorgant and Stephens] go but we can't dwell on that, especially not in the position we're in. We have a number of foreign players that have to get used to the Championship and FA Cup straight away. It's now a different Charlton.

"In the two games we've played since we've made a lot of changes [defeats to Wigan and Birmingham] we've played some very good stuff. Football-wise and possession-wise and in terms of creating chances it was very good but ultimately I'd rather us play badly and have 1% of the game and win. We've got to find a way asap of making sure they fit in and get used to Championship pace. You look at someone like [Mesut] Özil in the Premier League, they find it quite tough because of the relentlessness and physicality of English football, so that's something they've got to get used to. It'll be interesting but it's up to me, my staff, and them, to get them up to speed."

Like any manager of a club with a new owner, especially one not afraid to sack fan favourites, Powell knows his position is precarious. "I'm not naive, I know what happens," he says. "At the moment I'm fine. I'm having to build a relationship with someone who doesn't know me and I don't know him but it's about trying to make sure we can do the best for the football club."

"I speak to him on a regular basis. I'll give him my take on a game whenever it's appropriate. He's a very busy man. He comes over and normally spends a few days speaking with myself and other staff around the club. Normally I call him at my leisure over the weekend or the beginning of the week and just give him my thoughts."

One of the assets that attracted Duchâtelet to Charlton was the club's fruitful academy. The Liège precedent suggests even more young Addicks can expect to injected into the first team at The Valley – and perhaps into other associated teams around Europe.

If things continue to go well, Powell envisages making the most of being a member of the Duchâtelet web. "Why not use the network of clubs and players that are available?" he says. "I'd be silly not to look at players at Standard. That may be something we look at in the future. I'll be going over to those clubs and speaking to the managers. Why not use it if it's there? In any business you take opportunities to share ideas."