There's an old adage about Neil Armstrong that if you were talking to him how long it would be before you mentioned the word MOON. With this in mind and tomorrow nights Q&A at the valley with Richard Murray I was wondering how long it would be before the word TAKEOVER was muttered to him from a questioner. Those attending might wish to keep us informed.
This got me thinking about conversations with various others .....
Simon Jordon and the word ORANGE or Mr Pardew and the word TWAT.
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RU1986 and Millwall
Curbs and West Ham
Mendonca and Wembley
Rufus and God
MOG and Carpet
Rangers and Queen
Celtic and Pope
Henry Irving and Led Zep
Henry Irving and Bromley Addicks
Henry Irving and Blog
Henry Irving and Addicks no........
Henry Irving and ChaFrlton Supporters Trust
Henry Irving and Joni Mitchell
Bless him :-)
Iain dowie and the word GOONIES!
Danny dyer and the word PWOPA!
Derek hales and the word LEGEND!
Keith peacock and the word SUBSTITUTE!
Under 18's and the word INNIT!?
Millwall and the word C***S!
;-)
And neither do I.
There were regular updates on twitter from the club's comms team and other fans there.
Takeover question was first.
http://drinkingduringthegame.blogspot.com/2009/11/reflective-murray.html
Why is it a big secret, no respect for other fans who couldn't make it, blah blah wibble wibble.
Well done to the Fans Forum. Whoever has the idea to set that up must be feeling just a little pleased this morning ; - )
What with the minutes from the last meeting with the Exec team and then the RAM meeting all going well.
Shows just how badly let down fans in Greenwich and Bexley and more widely have been by the "Rotten Borough" that is the so called Greenwich and Bexley Supporters' Club.
This meeting and the Parky one last month show how much demand there is for these gatherings yet for years G & B told us no one would come.
Look forward to hearing more.
If only Charlton Life had a whisper function, nudge, nudge, nods as good as a wink to a blind horse, know what I mean, hey.
A little harsh, but point taken. In defence, there were a lot of people to thank and we also wanted to use the opportunity to raise the profile of the Fans' Forum. Add on to that the need to ensure that the meeting was conducted according to sensible 'ground rules', plus a reminder to register votes for the Charlton Upbeats and I defy anyone to do that much quicker than I did.
But I'll take the hit.
:-)
It was meant in jest and not a dig.
Nice write ups.
It was a good, enjoyable meeting, but i am becoming an old hand at these events and for me personally it was kind of like watching a film i had already seen. A decent film, i'll give you that, but i personally didn't really learn anything new that i had not heard before. However, it appeared a different, more wider audience than the regional do's i've been to so i suppose that should be expected.
But personally, i'm bored of talking about the past. Premiership, Curbs, Dowie etc, if the questions are asked then that dictates what is said, but i wish everyone will move on.
For the first time ever i think at these things, i didn't ask a question, because at the time i could not think of one that would add any value to the subjects at the time. In hindsight, it would have been interesting to ask while the list of previous mistakes were reeled off what actually have the board learnt from those mistakes, and what measures, if any, have been put in place to ensure that they are not repeated. But i suppose that is one for another day.
I didn't come away with the warm feeling i normally leave with from these events, but i suppose that is probably because all the times i have in the recent past, the club has then fallen further.
Richard Murray is a fantastic orator, and comes across with a warmth that automatically gets you onside. Unlike other hard-nosed businessmen, i think he has a constant desire to be liked by the masses, and it is obvious our fall from grace has hit personally. His obvious desire is to leave a strong legacy, and i think that is in the balance on whether that will be achieved.
My fear is that in the boards desire to admirably keep our heads above water, we are taking ourselves further and further away from financial recovery, attractiveness to outside investment and a fresh start. It is a horrible catch-22 position, which i'm really not sure even short-term success on the pitch will have much impact on.
I wish you'd asked that, Danny. It was a great meeting from our (the Fans' Forum) perspective, but it was crying out for that type of 'killer' question. What has the Board learned from previous mistakes, did Richard Murray ever consider walking away and what positive steps are being taken by the Club to secure suitable investment? I got near that last one towards the end of the meeting when Gold and Sullivan were mentioned and I thought that Richard's response - broadly that the Club doesn't go looking, but waits for an approach - was fascinating and quite revealing from a business strategy perspective.
Not really our place to ask such questions from the Chair as it was very much a fans' meeting, but I hope that we don't look back on last night, even in part, as a wasted opportunity.
Thanks for the links.
Blackheath Addicted mentions 14 players out of contract next summer, from what I can tell they are-
Sam, Sodje, Randolph, Basey, Dailly, Burton, McKenzie, Spring, Sinclair, Dickson, Clark, Wagstaff, Solly and Stavrinou.
So out of them, only Sam, Sodje (think this includes him, don't think it was confirmed anywhere how long his deal was), Dailly and Burton are regulars. McKenzie we're waiting to get fit, Spring, Randolph, Solly and Wagstaff are backup, Sinclair might become backup after his loan with Barnet. Dickson we might let go in January. Clark and Stavrinou have too many players ahead of them at the moment, partly the reason they're now both out on loan (and to get experience obviously).
The rest of the squad (another 11/12 players roughly, including Moutaouakil and Fleetwood out on loan currently) are out of contract the summer after, apart from Elliot and Shelvey, who have an extra year (2012, both signed not long ago).
It would be a cost benefit equation I imagine.
If it was considered (using your hypothetical example) we could generate more by being promoted than £250k then yes they could since Sam's wages have been already budgeted for presumably.
So not only will many of our players be out of contract in the summer but so will many others. Hence we could pick up Dailly, Richardson and McKenzie (OK but good if ever fit) for no transfer fees.
The big question is who would bid £250k for Sam?
agreed but beggers can't be choosers.
Curbs being a good example.
Looking at purely League One, I should think most clubs are concerned not to commit themselves to transfers they can't afford over the longer term. Many of us just look at a transfer fee without considering the "hidden" costs - not only salary, of course, but particularly signing on fees and help with relocation costs, assuming agents fees are not paid by the club.
Looking at Charlton's situation this year of promotion or bust .........means we are prepared to take the risk of paying perhaps an above average (for the division) salary to better players, as a bit of a gamble to get that promotion - naturally, to attract better players, you have to pay them more or they sign elsewhere.
Should we win promotion, some of these better players may be offered extended contracts. And with extended contracts, you later have a chance of attracting a worthwhile transfer fee if they are sold.
And if we don't get promoted, and the budget is slashed - these high paid or high risk players can be released to fit in with next season's budget.
One year contracts are also a safe option for the club signing inexperienced or squad players. If promoted, we need to replace same of them with players more suited to the Championship - so again not tying up big sums of money on player costs of those who could be considered surplus.
Glad someone asked the question re the CEO, Deputy CEO and the Managing director role. Never fun for anyone to lose their job, but if the club want to cut their cloth, then IMO this needed to happen.