Matt Southall’s first interview

king addick

This thing with Bowyers contract...Managers from the Curbs era had stability with no knee jerk sackings so if players sat down with those managers they knew it was a good chance that same manager would be around for a while. Players must see that managers come and go with ease these days so if you want to potentially play for a certain club then you know theres a chance that the manager could be gone in 2 months results depending. 
Players will follow the money and the clubs standing first. If youre coming from AFC Wimbledon to Charlton...big step up....if you leave Charlton for West Brom....step up and more money.

Obviously getting on with the manager is important but I dont think its the most important. 

Chunes

CAFCsayer said:

Chunes said:

Does this finally put it to bed that we're not going to be spending bajillions on players and wages? I really hope so. 

Nope

Sigh... If people want to live in a fantasy land for a bit longer, who am I to break down the walls eh

ForeverAddickted

joeaddick said:

eaststandmike said:

Covered End said:

Personally, I didn't learn that much new from that.
He didn't say anything wrong and came across as somewhat nervous, which surprised me.
I thought he'd be very/overly confident, yet the longer it went on the more you knows there were.

Surprised Bowyer's contract won't be sorted until after the window closes, but Bowyer has always said he's not in a rush over his own contract. 

Overall, sounded promising and sensible, but not overly exciting.
He could of course be playing things down, as he said agents are already adding 2 zeros to all negotiations. 

100% this for me. His body language looked a bit iffy with certain questions and I was intrigued with the decisions he is going to make that will not go down well with us.

However on the whole a huge step up from Roland so can’t complain.

COYR

Yes, a 'strange' comment...didn't go down to well when Duchatelet said the exact same thing.

Time will tell...

To be fair I dont care if Southall makes decisions we the fans dont like - Am sure there will be some cases where some fans are happy with the decision whereas others are not

To spin the old line, he and his associates own the club so its their right to make the decisions they want, provided that

(1) Its in the best interests of the club and not them
(2) He explains the decisions like he says he will

Henry Irving

JamesSeed said:

Can I be the first to say I thought that the interview was ok. 

No critique of the camera work, Jim : - ) @JamesSeed

oohaahmortimer

AFKABartram said:

Quite surprised to be honest at just how much positivity has been taken from what would have been a well prepared fluff piece aimed at generating support. Not saying that’s a bad thing but surprised others have taken a lot more from it than I did. 

Really , I think most are desperate just to accept anything (I personally am happy cos it’s not Roland time to worry further down the line)  to me it was pretty much the same reaction after Roland spoke with everyone saying oh great we’ll get to see more of our youngsters before they are sold off , our richest owner had people all deferential as well and how progressive having a woman CEO could be ...
Even after the Helmet pissed on SCP and Kermo there were plenty sticking up for old Roly .

charente addick

AFKABartram said:

Quite surprised to be honest at just how much positivity has been taken from what would have been a well prepared fluff piece aimed at generating support. Not saying that’s a bad thing but surprised others have taken a lot more from it than I did. 

I think that’s probably symptomatic of where we’ve immediately come from i.e. an ownership full of duff decisions and mismanagement. It’s just refreshing to hear someone talk with, you know, a modicum of common sense.

But, I agree that there was nothing particularly revelatory in there - ‘we’re going to concentrate on strengthening the squad in Jan to stay up without doing it in such a way that’s going to piss the rest of the squad off’, ‘we’re going to sit down and negotiate contracts for the management team after the window’, ‘we’re going to reconnect with the fans/community’, ‘we will still have to sell academy grown players but not in a reckless way’ etc. etc.. All a bit no shit Sherlock but I’m not sure what else he’s going to say at this stage.

He’s hardly going to reveal much detail at this point a) because the club was bought less than a week ago, and, b) they wouldn’t wish to show their full hand too early particularly if, as it seems, there is serious money available.

All you can judge is whether he and the ownership understand the club and what’s required and, for me, the answer to that is a clear ‘yes’.

As with everything in life, actions speak far louder than words and we’ll see. But, for now, I’m happy to take this new ownership without scepticism.

Mendonca In Asdas

I thought Matt came across as a amiable ,caring & likeable guy, that genuinely wants us to do well.

Obviously he can’t give a lot away, but if he’s been involved with players before, you’d hope he’d have contacts and a network which he’ll use, and although we won’t see it necessarily, I’m hoping he is absolutely ruthless.

He certainly doesn’t come across as arrogant, and will take on board comments from supporters of mistakes made in the past.

Proof of pudding is always in the pudding as they say and whatever happens is out of control, all we can do is come back to the club, start buying food at the ground, spend dosh in the club shop on merch and back the team vocally.

Matts a new guy, he’s going to make mistakes, but seems humble enough on that showing to learn from them, might announce Bowyer contract first imo if times ticks buy and we’ve got bugger all  quality through the door.

Its going to be a lively January by the sounds of it, I always thought it would take the new owners 3 transfer windows to have a championship quality squad ( providing we can stay in it!)

Matt if you’re reading this, you seriously need to get along to the Bromley Addicks :-0

RodneyCharltonTrotta

AFKABartram said:

Quite surprised to be honest at just how much positivity has been taken from what would have been a well prepared fluff piece aimed at generating support. Not saying that’s a bad thing but surprised others have taken a lot more from it than I did. 

People desperately seek a messiah in life.

Comes across as a very likeable and earnest bloke but that doesn't guarantee success.

Young but knows the football world and, crucially, the current football world by all accounts.

As has been said it's actions over the next 18 months that will signal success. 

An aspect hugely in their favour is a clear willingness to engage with the fanbase and acknowledge the ethos of our club. Even if it is just PR 101 it's a huge step change from the disastrous communication methods of the previous mob.

A further aspect that will serve the club well is if there is unity between fans and those running Charlton that will resonate throughout the club. 

They'll be judged on actions and will make decisions that we dont like or understand and the rationale will not always be published but that is normal with business and football is no different. 

And whilst history teaches us to be reserved and hold back in our fawning until we have seen actions that command it we should appreciate that we are free of the turgid and toxic regime that had stagnated our club for 6 years and welcome the hope and opportunity that comes with this new ownership.

Hopefully they will prosper and if the actions match the soundbites I'm sure that we will together.

sillav nitram

i_b_b_o_r_g said:

sillav nitram said:

Talking about the Academy, anyone know the difference between Category 2 and 1 and it’s implications?

I think -

- 1 Cat is the holly grail and where players would like to be ie - Chelsea, Man U, Citeh and AFC Fylde
- 2 Cat are  feeder Clubs who can hold onto their youngsters a couple of years
- 3 Cat are the ones who bring youngsters on and they get moved on straight away without seeing any benefit, apart from a few quid

Henry Irving said:

sillav nitram said:

Talking about the Academy, anyone know the difference between Category 2 and 1 and it’s implications?

It costs more to run and you need better facilities.

But your teams play other cat 1 teams IE the best academies.

You can recruit players at a younger age than cat 2.

Your players can't be poached, or not as easily, by other cat 1 clubs unlike now when they can take who they want essentially.

We are more attractive to players and their parents when recruiting.

Thanks. Good news.

carly burn

Be interested to know their stance should we go down.
Not the kind of question is have expected Olly to ask, but all the same I'd have liked to hear some commitment should it happen.
 It sounds like Matt Southall waited to know our fate and then sold it to Nimer on the premise were one step away from the prem.

Two steps away might not have gone down so well.

seth plum

On attendances/London/catchment area/27000 I know it was a special occasion but we needed an extra lot of tickets for Wembley. The people are out there, they need a reason to turn up each game, because if we build it they will come.

Sillybilly

Rufus_Ambition said:

He said all the right things, and he comes across as reasonable and likeable, yet I can't help but feel a bit uneasy. Once bitten, twice shy and all that (yes, I know we've been bitten way more than once!)

He glossed over the issues of Bow's contract and the ownership of SL, as you would expect.

I don't mean to sound miserable about it – it was a good interview, and he couldn't really have said much more – but experience has taught me to be cautious about being sold a line (not just relating to Charlton) and to judge on actions rather than words. So the next few months will be very interesting.

This was my view too. I thought it was all a bit staged and high level with the interviewer only just stopping short of getting up and licking Southall’s arse. And I almost had to stop listening as the “you knows” we’re driving me even more potty that the “huhs” did before. Hard for it to be anything else of course at this stage. Southall is cutting a dash, he’s here and visible and, to the extent that he said anything of substance, he gave good sensible answers. We travel hopefully. 

Pavoren007

An articulate, pretty transparent appraisal of where we are at and what happens next. No big surprises, but delighted to hear their intention not to let our top young talent go on the cheap. That was very frustrating to witness over recent years, amongst many other things.

Main message, fans, please come back and fill the Valley. 

Interested to see who arrives this week and whether that adds a few 000s to our crowd come Saturday?

grumpyaddick

Some very gullible punters on here.  Polished piece of puff and spin.  

Lyle Taylor?
Lee Bowyer?
New striker?
How much investment in pounds?

Will take more than 15 chips to win me over. 

iaitch

Ok we'll bung in a saveloy, ok now.

Scratchingvalleycat

Lets start looking at facts:
Matt Southall has some skin in the game as well as  Panorama Magic (HE). The PSC02 forms filed at Companies House show that he controls 25% or more of ESI and Panorama Magic control 50% or more. The share capiital return (SH02) show that ESI have 2 classes of capital, A and B. Of the £100 issued  £65 are A shares and £35 are B shares. That "may" but only "may" give an indication of the split of control but may be a red herring so dont rely on him having 35% of the investment since that can be weighted differently between the share classes. 
Since  Matt Southall appears to be a holder of B shares it is reasonable to assume that he has  that 25+% control  but that Panorama magic have the 65% control. The articles of Association of ESI allow the 65% to sell 100% of ESI  using a "drag along" 
So although he has a significant level of interest and a degree of control he can always be bought out by Panorama magic.
Implications are that he will be running the show on a day to day basis with something to lose if he gets it wrong but that the funding will be Panorama Magic.

Cue a rewrite of "Could it be magic" for Saturday aftrnoon.

MuttleyCAFC

The rule should always be, promise little, deliver a lot.

JaysusTheJay

grumpyaddick said:

Some very gullible punters on here.  Polished piece of puff and spin.  

Lyle Taylor?
Lee Bowyer?
New striker?
How much investment in pounds?

Will take more than 15 chips to win me over. 

Did you expect ANYTHING like that in an introduction video?

"We've got £30 million to spend in this window!"

Honestly

shine166

grumpyaddick said:

Some very gullible punters on here.  Polished piece of puff and spin.  

Lyle Taylor?
Lee Bowyer?
New striker?
How much investment in pounds?

Will take more than 15 chips to win me over. 

Grumpy by name.

'Here's our total player budget for the world to see, so we continue to get over inflated quotes' 

stonemuse

grumpyaddick said:

Some very gullible punters on here.  Polished piece of puff and spin.  

Lyle Taylor?
Lee Bowyer?
New striker?
How much investment in pounds?

Will take more than 15 chips to win me over. 

Gullible? More like it sounded better than anything we have heard in six years. 

As I pointed out, it shows promise and potential. The reality is yet to emerge. 

Redrobo

charltonbob said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Covered End said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Covered End said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Covered End said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Covered End said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Covered End said:

Cafc43v3r said:

Random thoughts after watching that. 

1 or possibly both of Bowyer and Southall won't be here in 18 months time.   

He is a football fan, former player and agent.  He knows what fans want and want to hear. 

He is an excellent sales man.  Probably an excellent man manager as well.  

He will personally know every employee's birthday, partners name, children's names name and favourite animal by Friday. 

Something will happen before the 1st of Feb that will cause up roar on here. 

"We as investors" hit me, I wouldn't mind being £10 behind him, but it's not his money.  

Not so concerned about "exit strategy" but being a medium term "established championship club" is just a good way of throwing good money after bad. 

No idea what you watched.

The same interview as most people I would imagine unless they beamed a "unique" one to my TV. 

What of those 7 points do you think weren't evidenced in that? 

Points 1,4,5,6 & 7 weren't evidenced in that.

1) 1 or possibly both of Bowyer and Southall won't be here in 18 months time.   That is my opinion, I honestly don't think they will mix well.  I have said that from the start. I hope I am wrong. 

4) He will personally know every employee's birthday, partners name, children's names name and favourite animal by Friday.   That was ment as a positive from what he said, he even mention ex players by first name only.  

5) Something will happen before the 1st of Feb that will cause up roar on here.  He will "explain" it though. 

6) "We as investors" hit me, I wouldn't mind being £10 behind him, but it's not his money.  Did he not say that, or did I make it up? 

7) Not so concerned about "exit strategy" but being a medium term "established championship club" is just a good way of throwing good money after bad. Name one club, bar Leeds, that has been in the championship for a longish time and doesn't loose money left right and center.  Birmingham, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby are prime examples. 

Pointless discussion but these are your opinions they were not evidenced in that interview.

1) Zero evidence.
4) I understand the gist, but factually it is not true and not evidenced.
5) Pure guesswork by you.
6) His investment is his 25% shareholding, plus no doubt remuneration package.
7) I presume you assume their long term objective is to stay in The Championship (I heard no clarity re long term stated).

Like I said, random thoughts and MY OPINION, or do I not qualify for an opinion?

1) I said MY OPINION

4) FFS I say something that anyone with a notion of what makes a good leader would see as a positive but you see fit to dig me out for it?

5) Come back to me on the 1st of feb and I will gladly eat humble pie.  Its my OPINION.

6) Oh his "salary" I should start including that as investment in my employer.

7) the strategy was stated as being an "established" championship side.  If he didn't say that I am sorry. 

You can have any opinion you want.
You said your opinions were evidenced in the interview and I proved they were not.

You "proved" sod all mate, I said my opinion was evidenced.  I didn't say you had to draw the same conclusion. 

Your opinion is different to mine, but pray tell me, where did Mr Southall get, in the region of £10+ million, to invest?

Which you are suggesting he has done.  Or is that a misunderstanding? 

He didn't invest £10M.
But he owns 25% of the shares, which would be viewed as part of his "remuneration package", so he has every incentive for us to be a success.

So he isn't an "invester" is he?  He won't be investing in the squad, academy, training ground.  He is a salesman that has sold an opportunity to HE. So to suggest "we as investors" isn't totally honest is it?   He is playing with someone else's money. 

As Mike Tyson used to say "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face".

He also said WE tried to sign Green in August when he had no involvement with Charlton. More lies, burn him at the stake the bloody norvenor

Makes you laugh doesn’t it? He is involved now so WE is correct as far as I am concerned.

Success will be measured over time - three years seems reasonable to build a squad.

Three months seems reasonable to lay a few foundations and he is off to a flier so far and has put himself about and is saying the right things. Targets for me in this period are:-
1) Bows says he wants three signings this window and he has already got one through the door. Let’s see if he gets his other two.
2) Bows and team tied down to longer contracts.
3) Meeting with our Fans forum group and CAST.

Alwaysneil

Solidgone said:

Im going to continue protesting by not buying a season ticket until they reduce the senior season ticket to 60 years! 

May have to wait 5 years or so for that

JaysusTheJay

For me, regarding the Bower contract situation...

I take it that it's obvious that he's going to get one for him and this team, and so the priority is strengthening the team

This whole thing about "players wanting a manager to be there long term" blah blah is nonsense. How many journeyman players are there?

Bedsaddick

I’m not convinced that Bowyers job is that safe . I think if come the end of the transfer window if we have dropped into the relegation zone he will be gone . I don’t think they want to commit to giving Lee a contract until we are clearer as to if we are going to stay up . 

New owners nearly always want their own man in charge . 

Alwaysneil

ShootersHillGuru said:

I think it’s also very important that Tahnoon Nimer shows up and is made to feel very welcome. The closer that he becomes to the club, fans and team the more likely he is to get involved. I hope he doesn’t just turn up and sit anonymously in the directors box. Think he should do the full scarfy bit on the pitch.

We don’t get a lot of people wearing the Kheffiyeh head scarf at Charlton. I reckon when he does turn up, he and his entourage will be fairly noticeable. 

Valiantphil

A Chairman that comes to games with his family, wants to talk to fans, buy players, can remember results and former players, and chats with the Groundsman.

What can I say ?

I like him.

Roland, maybe you should watch the interview and see where you went wrong.

i_b_b_o_r_g

AFKABartram said:

Quite surprised to be honest at just how much positivity has been taken from what would have been a well prepared fluff piece aimed at generating support. Not saying that’s a bad thing but surprised others have taken a lot more from it than I did. 

Do agree with this, but I think it's just a relief to get clarification on certain things like SL and Bowyer's contract etc, from the horse's mouth. We also now know they're not gonna be chucking shit loads of dough about on signings and wages, which I reckon is also good to at least get confirmation on. I'm sure he did day something about spending money in January so, if he did, that should be another positive that they're gonna be spending something on real signings.

Don't know how hard it is to get a transcript of the interview. Will it be on the OS?

Weegie Addick

Just Tweeted:

Thanks for all the kind comments about the interview yesterday. Don’t know if you know that I was a bit nervous, you know, but I promise to get better. You know...😀 #rockthevalley #youknow #COYR https://t.co/Hl3ZplO0a9

soapboxsam

Bedsaddick said:

I’m not convinced that Bowyers job is that safe . I think if come the end of the transfer window if we have dropped into the relegation zone he will be gone . I don’t think they want to commit to giving Lee a contract until we are clearer as to if we are going to stay up . 

New owners nearly always want their own man in charge . 

Well, as we have only 2 League games this month, and both Bonne and Taylor won't be playing because of injury or Transfer, we will be in the Bottom 3 judging by the results of Wigan and Stoke last week.

ESI want to be liked and playing in front of 27k. How do they achieve both of these objectives, if in the first month of their Tenure, both Taylor and Bowyer are gone?

Strange and bizarre, don't you think ?

Chris_from_Sidcup

seth plum said:

On attendances/London/catchment area/27000 I know it was a special occasion but we needed an extra lot of tickets for Wembley. The people are out there, they need a reason to turn up each game, because if we build it they will come.

That's just the same for any London club though. Even Millwall would sell out games in the premier league.