Last night's meeting was attended by members of the Fans' Forum, the club's Head of Communications Tom Rubashow and Lieven De Turck (LDT), who is representing the club in takeover talks. The below notes were produced by the club and approved by fan representatives at the meeting.
The meeting was initially set to be a full Fans’ Forum but following vandalism that took place in Belgium over the weekend the decision was made to focus on the vandalism and what had been described as a “proposal” from the club’s owner.
It was agreed in the meeting the scheduled full Fans’ Forum will take place on Monday (March 4th), with the agenda points already submitted by fans and the club.
Barnie Razzell (Swedish Addicks) said he wasn’t happy that the agenda for this meeting was changed at late notice. He said there were only two things the fans really cared about:
• Why the takeover hasn’t happened
• Why the club didn’t bring in another striker in January
Striker
On the second point Steve Clarke (CAST) asked why Lee Bowyer was able to attempt to bring in a striker on transfer deadline day but then not allowed the salary budget to sign a free agent after the transfer window had closed.
LDT explained he is not involved on the footballing side. He said this is a discussion between Roland Duchatelet, Head of Recruitment Steve Gallen and Lee Bowyer. He said this is something that can be asked in next week’s Fans’ Forum.
Vandalism
Clive Harris (City Addicks) said he has contact with the Chief of Police in St Truiden. He said he knows that none of the protest groups are involved and said in his opinion no supporter of the club would draw a love heart on the wall in relation to the club (one of the pieces of graffiti that appeared). He said he could tell because of the grammar, the spelling and the style, he said it wasn’t even in the English language. CH said he’d just walked past “Roland Out” in Floyd Road and that is what would be written. CH said he thinks it isn’t something a Charlton supporter has done and therefore it isn’t relevant to a Charlton Fans' Forum.
BR said he felt it was not the business of the Fans’ Forum.
LDT said he wanted an open communication to inform the fans about the incident, as with all Fans’ Forum meetings he wanted correct, transparent communication.
CH said there is no way a Charlton fan from the UK was involved more importantly we should not be discussing an ongoing criminal investigation.
Takeover
LDT said that the previous day there had been an interview with RD on TalkSPORT and it was mentioned there would be a “proposal” to the Fans’ Forum. He explained it’s not a proposal but something the club wanted to ask the fans about.
He said he has been trying to sell the club for more than a year and while a price is agreed with two parties because it hasn’t been sold he is looking to think outside the box at other options.
He asked the Fans’ Forum what they would think about the EFL being offered to acquire the club. He said they would pass the EFL Fit and Proper Persons test, they understand the monthly losses as they have the financial figures of the club and they have the football know how to run it.
The Fans’ Forum unanimously rejected the proposal saying it was unfeasible. They asked that Roland Duchatelet lower the asking price so that the club is sold.
LDT said RD is willing to give the footballing side of the club away for free (£1 officially), this wouldn’t include the land (stadium and training ground). He said there is an issue with the ex-directors, as it would need a consensus with them as well.
Ian Wallis (Bromley Addicks) said he is 100% against the club being split from the training ground/Valley. IW said “never in 1 million years”.
The Fans’ Forum unanimously insisted that the football club not be separated from the stadium and training ground in any deal.
LDT said there are still three parties interested in buying the club.
When asked why the Australians haven’t completed the deal yet LDT said he feels the Australian group is too complex. He said he still speaks with Australians every two to three days.
LDT said with the second group due diligence is done. He said they are collecting the money reserved for the takeover. He said they are serious but added that he’s been speaking to them for one year now too. LDT said it’s not as many people as the Australian consortium and he had a face-to-face meeting with them last week. He said he speaks to them once every two weeks.
LDT said parties three and four (mentioned at previous Fans’ Forum meetings) are no longer around and the fifth party still have some way to go.
LDT was asked if RD was taking a cut of future player sales in any of the deals. He said he wasn’t. He was asked if RD would benefit from future promotions and LDT said he would in one of the deals.
BR said while he didn’t like the EFL idea, he encouraged the creativity and said keep the ideas coming. LDT said he was open to listening to creative ideas.
Paul Nottage (Valley Gold) said he would like confirmation at the next meeting that LDT has asked for a new Proof of Funds from the two parties a price is agreed with.
In my head, i imagine as LDT said this the entire group of fans burst into laughter
Fair play to @razil and others who attend these meetings. Sounds like they did us proud last night.
RD is rattled, and has confirmed he's more than a little bonkers. Unless you buy the idea he's trying to deliberately mislead and annoy us (I'm still not completely ruling that out).
Assuming it's the former, hopefully during his next blue sky thinking session, he'll stumble across the radical idea of actually just accepting a genuine offer, and giving himself 2% of his life back.
The comment that the absolutely insane idea of selling the club to the EFL is a good idea as it would mean the the fit and proper persons test would be met surely indicates that this has been the main stumbling block thus far? Apologies if that’s already widely known, hard to keep up sometimes!
With that in mind, RD needs to be questioned by the EFL and his mental state reviewed in a new Fit & Proper Person's test.
Seriously, if an owner of a EFL club was found wandering the streets of his home town, naked, screaming in the local lingo "Infamy, infamy, the b*ggers have it infamy!" would the EFL still consider him to be fit to own a club ?
The trouble is, he does own the club.
So even if they found he did not have the mental capacity and a P of A was needed, it doesn't alter the issue of who will buy the club.
Although if they dropped the asking price to a realistic one I suppose it could.
All fantasy though, because it would never happen, unless he really is approaching a mental break down.
There are no viable buyers that RD is prepared to entertain at the price they are offering. The ludicrous idea that the EFL could buy us is one of three things - a wind up, a stalling tactic or a diversion for what RD really has on the agenda for the Club.
The FF are doing as good a job as they can. Despite our owner, his lunatic ideas and the notion the club's assets are "worth" £50m because the balance sheet says that. They are worth what somebody will pay for them.
My big issue with last night is no-one is accountable for the lack of backing for Bowyer because there is no CEO and LdT can just say its not his remit, or that he hadn't prepared for that subject - which he did last night.
What is the point of fan consultation when no-one is there to be held to account for decisions? I don't expect Gallen to give us answers on the why not.
If, and I'm clinging to the doubt for my own sanity, if roly is genuinely considering that the football league could buy the club, has he not clearly demonstrated his unfitness for a role as a club director/owner? Can an individual's conduct bring about a restaging of the 'fit & proper person' test? Admittedly the "offer" isn't any form of misconduct or transgression but it reveals roly's utter lack of any knowledge or respect for the rules or even context of football club stewardship. I'd always had his ludicrous behaviour and outbursts rooted in his megalomania but it seems after all just to be idiocy and ignorance.
So, in 2019 the pantomime season starts even earlier than usual in SE7.
Where are them en in the white coats !
'Oh no it doesn't'
Actually it has never stopped since the Spring of 2014! EFL owning us ffs, the egotistical sociopath has now completely lost it assuming he ever had it in the first place. Ive just told ther wife if I ever show those tendancies to take me to Beechy Head in a wheelchair and take the handbrake off!
Brilliant idea RD, get the EFL to buy Charlton, you couldn't make it up !
Mind you, I'm sure they could arrange for us to win all our games and we'll be back in The Premier League in no time at all.
I'm struggling to have ever heard anything so ridiculous in football.
The bloke should be sectioned.
F%$%&%g clowns.
Maybe in Roland's warped mind that would make up for them wrongly allowing/inviting him to buy the club. It's been a humourous week but getting even more embarrassing now, if that's possible.
I can’t wait to hear about the goings on when trying to replace Grant. We’ll probably find out Roland had made offers for 3 incomings but couldn’t get them over the line. We’ll then find out the offers were for a referee and 2 linesman.
A quite incredible 'proposal', which really beggars belief. How can LDT keep a straight face whilst putting that forward ? It will surely prompt further incredulity and contempt for Duchatelet in the football world and media - including, hopefully, in his own back yard. For me, this demonstrates the benefit of the FF meetings, however frustrating the ongoing impasse is and I'm grateful to the supporters who devote time and energy to it.
The thought did cross my mind that Roland was taking the piss but I then reminded myself that he has no sense of humour. His insidious plan to retain The Valley and Sparrows Lane has at last been made public. It's also consistent with Cohones' trip to Brisbane Road to see how they managed to incorporate flats in the ground's footprint.
As representatives of the FF made abundantly clear, a separation of the club and its ground is an absolute non-starter. We've been down that road before and any attempt to conclude a deal on that basis would be met with a furious response from Charlton supporters - something which must be made clear to any potential purchaser idiotic enough to give the idea a second thought.
I don't believe for a moment that there are any serious buyers at present. Football clubs always attract 'expressions of interest' and what we are being fed by LDT is Duchatelet's wishful thinking. As has been correctly pointed out by Henry Irving and others, this is entirely inconsistent with the TalkSport interview, when Duchatelet himself said that "there are no negotiations". I interpret that as meaning that he agreed an inflated price in principle a year ago and he is not now prepared to budge from that.
If this situation rolls into the summer, the consequences for the club will be very serious and I think there is likely to be more widespread support for further concerted protests and a Blackpool style boycott.
Brilliant idea RD, get the EFL to buy Charlton, you couldn't make it up !
Mind you, I'm sure they could arrange for us to win all our games and we'll be back in The Premier League in no time at all.
I'm struggling to have ever heard anything so ridiculous in football.
The bloke should be sectioned.
F%$%&%g clowns.
Maybe in Roland's warped mind that would make up for them wrongly allowing/inviting him to buy the club. It's been a humourous week but getting even more embarrassing now, if that's possible.
Comments
No?
Thought not.
I'm telling people here at work and they're struggling to believe it.
RD is rattled, and has confirmed he's more than a little bonkers. Unless you buy the idea he's trying to deliberately mislead and annoy us (I'm still not completely ruling that out).
Assuming it's the former, hopefully during his next blue sky thinking session, he'll stumble across the radical idea of actually just accepting a genuine offer, and giving himself 2% of his life back.
So even if they found he did not have the mental capacity and a P of A was needed, it doesn't alter the issue of who will buy the club.
Although if they dropped the asking price to a realistic one I suppose it could.
All fantasy though, because it would never happen, unless he really is approaching a mental break down.
Ofcom make combined bid for BBC and ITV.
The FF are doing as good a job as they can. Despite our owner, his lunatic ideas and the notion the club's assets are "worth" £50m because the balance sheet says that. They are worth what somebody will pay for them.
He literally is bonkers.
My big issue with last night is no-one is accountable for the lack of backing for Bowyer because there is no CEO and LdT can just say its not his remit, or that he hadn't prepared for that subject - which he did last night.
What is the point of fan consultation when no-one is there to be held to account for decisions? I don't expect Gallen to give us answers on the why not.
I believe LdT is dialling in to Monday's meeting.
Can an individual's conduct bring about a restaging of the 'fit & proper person' test? Admittedly the "offer" isn't any form of misconduct or transgression but it reveals roly's utter lack of any knowledge or respect for the rules or even context of football club stewardship.
I'd always had his ludicrous behaviour and outbursts rooted in his megalomania but it seems after all just to be idiocy and ignorance.
Actually it has never stopped since the Spring of 2014! EFL owning us ffs, the egotistical sociopath has now completely lost it assuming he ever had it in the first place. Ive just told ther wife if I ever show those tendancies to take me to Beechy Head in a wheelchair and take the handbrake off!
Roland
- your experiment hasn't worked
- yes it's cost you a lot of money, buy hey, you can afford it!
- it's still costing you c£1m @ month (apparently) to 'run' the club
- set the price at c£20m* lock stock and barrel 'all in' and walk away with at least something in your back pocket
- safe in the knowledge you'll never have to concern yourself with English football again
*I'd hope the above price would draw a few people out of the woodwork
What are you doing to aid the sale of our club ?
Anything ? Anything at all ?
We’ll probably find out Roland had made offers for 3 incomings but couldn’t get them over the line.
We’ll then find out the offers were for a referee and 2 linesman.
The thought did cross my mind that Roland was taking the piss but I then reminded myself that he has no sense of humour. His insidious plan to retain The Valley and Sparrows Lane has at last been made public. It's also consistent with Cohones' trip to Brisbane Road to see how they managed to incorporate flats in the ground's footprint.
As representatives of the FF made abundantly clear, a separation of the club and its ground is an absolute non-starter. We've been down that road before and any attempt to conclude a deal on that basis would be met with a furious response from Charlton supporters - something which must be made clear to any potential purchaser idiotic enough to give the idea a second thought.
I don't believe for a moment that there are any serious buyers at present. Football clubs always attract 'expressions of interest' and what we are being fed by LDT is Duchatelet's wishful thinking. As has been correctly pointed out by Henry Irving and others, this is entirely inconsistent with the TalkSport interview, when Duchatelet himself said that "there are no negotiations". I interpret that as meaning that he agreed an inflated price in principle a year ago and he is not now prepared to budge from that.
If this situation rolls into the summer, the consequences for the club will be very serious and I think there is likely to be more widespread support for further concerted protests and a Blackpool style boycott.