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ESI Ownership shenanigans bite size thread - now dormant
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Sunday 9th August Part 1 - Miscellaneous Weekend EditionSUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- The EFL wrote to Matt Pennycook, and say that those who failed the ODT should be removed from certain roles at the club within 14 days (subject to appeal)
- Marian Mihail explained why his brother failed the ODT
- Voice of The Valley has a Q&A for those confused by/unfamiliar with the current situation. It may already be slightly out of date.
- ESI seem to want to bring Dave Jones in over Bowyer and Gallen's heads. This may be thwarted by Bowyer's "final say on players" clause in his contract.
- @Airman Brown got in a twitter spat with Sun journalist Alan Nixon, who ended up getting ridiculed by, and blocking, a significant number of our fans.
- Fans have been doing further digging on the links between Dave Jones, Bury and a company called SJ Global
More Owners And Directors Test Stuff
On Saturday morning, CAST published a copy of a letter from the EFL's Chief Executive to Matthew Pennycook MP:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1292028112302202883
"Response from @EFL to @mtpennycook . P1 reveals that the three failing OADT must leave #cafc within 14 days (subject to appeal). 1/2"
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1292028747357487104
"P2 includes @EFL admission that engagement with supporters groups is "limited". As we are still awaiting our long-promised meeting, we'd second that. #cafc. 2/2"
One of the CAST board provided a bit more detail about "relevant persons"
https://twitter.com/ab54666/status/1292055492257341441
"And in case anyone needs a reminder as to what a relevant person is and therefore what they CANNOT do"
https://www.efl.com/-more/governance/efl-rules--regulations/appendix-3---owners-and-directors-test/(You need to scroll about halfway down to find the Relevant Person definition, and even then you need to have some knowledge of the Companies Act 2006 to fully understand it by the looks of things).The letter led @Airman Brown to wonder: https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292056670449872896
"EFL having said that Farnell must be removed from any position with #cafc" that qualifies him as a “relevant person” raises questions of whether that includes acting as legal adviser for the club. Not sure if their jurisdiction extends that far.but Andrew Buckland reckons not:
https://twitter.com/ab54666/status/1292057125884231680
""but the definition of 'Relevant Person' expressly excludes any external legal, financial or other professional advisers where they are acting in a capacity regulated by a professional regulatory body and do not hold any interest (in excess of a 5% shareholding) in the Club.""https://twitter.com/ab54666/status/1292057506714353665
"Question probably is on the 'external' element. That said, post yesterday his only remaining involvement I can see is as a prospective purchaser and supposed club lawyer. The club simply need to remove him as club lawyer."@Chunes had a pertinent question about this:When the EFL says "The Club" must work to remove these disqualified members within 14 days, who is the club? Nimer? Other members of the consortium?and @Gary Poole asked:I wonder with a court establishing a few weeks ago that Elliot and Farnell do not own the club and now with them failing the EFL tests, could an injunction be taken out to stop them having access to the clubs records, accounts, website and operations and to prevent them from going to the valley and the training ground. Anyone know?to which @bexleyaddick suggested:I'm guessing it would have to be done by the current actual owner, who as far as I can tell, is Nimer. Good luck finding him.........Following Marian Mihail reminiscing about the Play-off final on twitter, he was asked about his brother's ODT failure:
https://twitter.com/CafcFacts/status/1292157014739693568
"Evening Marian. Is it true that your brother was one of the 3 individuals that failed the EFL fit and proper test yesterday?"https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1292158765802848257
"Yes, but it’s because we didn’t submit an application for him when he was appointed to the ESI board, our mistake. He’ll resign and we’ll have a lot of awkward Christmas dinners in the family from now on."https://twitter.com/StuartC21647213/status/1292400282693967873
"Hi Marian, would you not say that this is pretty amateurish at best? Through dialogue between #cafc and EFL, would this not have been brought up before the disqualification? It just seems a “technical/administrative” issue would be easy to pick up and fix? @Chris_Farnell #cafc"He's not replied to that one yet...For those wondering why M.Mihail and Florica were submtted but not the others, @Airman Brown has an explanation:Marian Mihail and Claudiu Florica were submitted because they were directors of CAFC. It appears that the new directors of ESI only, Andrei Mihail and Chris Farnell, didn't put themselves forward in April. Obviously they should have got some decent legal advice and done so. Then Elliott turns up in June and others are submitted, none of which have so far been approved.For some reason @bobmunro is feeling quite positive:Call me an eternal optimist if you like but I genuinely believe that, right now, the EFL are desperate for an outcome that saves us rather than buries us.and @Stig had an interesting take which is sadly too long to quote in full:... Bury must have been a huge embarrassment to them, they can't relish more of the same. I'm sure they are on our side rather than agin us. There are however at least four fundamental problems with the EFL ...
More From Voice Of The Valley
As the situation becomes increasingly complicated, @Airman Brown tried to cut through all the confusion:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292045161640468482
"NEW FROM VOTV: It's been another dramatic 24 hours in the unfolding chaos at #cafc". I've put together a quick Q&A on the situation as I see it currently in an attempt to help fans (and media!) peer through the fog of war. Now at http://www.votvonline.com"That links to an introductory note, but the actual piece is here:
http://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2019-20-blogs/8-8-an-airman-s-quick-guide-to-the-continuing-chaos/Matt Wright made an interesting point:
https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1292075158581260289
"As this excellent article relates - but seems to have been generally overlooked - it's pretty *astonishing* that a practising solicitor has been deemed by the @EFL to be not “fit and proper” to be involved with #cafc" (quoting this tweet from @Airman Brown)while @JamesSeed had a request:
https://twitter.com/JamesMSeed/status/1292074019802550279
"Can the next article about what it is that these ESI chancers think they can get out of their ownership of Charlton. It can’t just be about consultancy fees can it (although it may well be for some of the fringe players)? Is or isn’t there a property play involved?
"
More On Farnell
Farnell has continued to have various online interactions with fans. @AndyG emailed him and got this replyDear sir
Thank you for your email .
I note your comments and do understand the fans frustration.
Mr Elliot has no no plans to sell the club
Yours
Mr C W Farnellwhich was received with varying levels of derision. As StrikerFirmani pointed out:Mr Farnell, I am sure you are aware that Mr Elliot can't sell what he does not own.while Isawsummersplay saidFarnell reminds me of a character in the Vicar of Dibley.
'Does Mr Elliot have plans to sell the club?'
'No, no, no, no, no, no, Yes'.Meanwhile over on twitter, he was being questioned over the money currently being put into the club
and the proposed involvement of Dave Jones (more on that later) was also coming under scrutiny:
In addition, the spoof Farnell account continues to stir the pot, this time over the fate of the club range rovers:
I'm a bit confused by this one, as the range rovers shown in IPS Law's car park were black, and I thought the club ones were white? Unless someone took a note of the registration numbers, I'm not sure that's conclusive, given how ubiquitous those types of vehicle are in certain areas.
Fan Action
CAFCFansForFans are pleased with the news from the EFL, and appear to have something planned they'd like people to get involved with:
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1292011553005416449
"Well what a week this has been ladies and gents. Fans united ESI falling at the first hurdle. We keep on until we secure the future of our football club. Stand up and be counted. Information will be shared in due course @CAStrust @CharltonCARD #backbarclayandvarney #keepitlocal"https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1292016136054341632
"Charlton young and old. All voices. Now we need you all. S.O.S. save the date. Next Saturday............. TBC. Please please please keep this date free."Meanwhile CAST are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1292441066214436864
"CAFC FANS | Let's be ready just in case we need to fundraise. Not asking for money now, just your details. Open to all fans. Pls sign-up and RT. #cafc @CAFCfansforfans @CharltonCARD @Dodger @afc_charlton @CAFC_PV #OurClubOurFuture
https://castrust.org/ourclub/
Media Coverage
On Saturday afternoon, @LouisMend was on BBC Radio London:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08lm513 - it starts on 1hr 43minsAnd Saturday's i-paper clearly hadn't done their homework properly:
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Sunday 9th August Part 2 - Dave Jones SpecialMore On The Possible Role For Dave Jones
Nixon's description of Friday's events at Farnell's office has rankled amongst the fans, and on Saturday @Airman Brown had a bit of a dig about Dave Jones' involvement:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292119602743345152
"Hey @reluctantnicko - rather than taking dictation from Farnell, why don’t you ask him what his pal Dave Jones was up to at #cafc this week and how that went down with Lee Bowyer. Then you might actually have a story. @BenHayes77"Nixon responded with his usual passive aggressive quote tweeting:
https://twitter.com/reluctantnicko/status/1292120368510115846
"Well you’re the Pr coms expert."
(quoting the tweet above from @airmanbrown)Former Fans' Director Ben Hayes took up the story:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292163389444239361
"To clarify what @airmanbrown is saying Dave Jones was to be announced as an "Advisor to the board", IE Farnell, this week and that he also met with Bowyer & Gallen this week. Lee was less than impressed with the three overseas players that Jones wanted to bring in 1/ #cafc"https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292165475640778761
"Jones said that Lee Bowyer "would love them" but Lee saw them on video and he didn't.
Lee had to point out he has a "final say on players" clause in his contract.
We have Gallen, we don't need or want Jones especially if he's forcing players on LB for the wrong reasons. #cafc"https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292170118362005505
"One more point. Steve Avory head of #cafc academy is very protective of young players which is why the club never announce signings of 16 year olds. News of such a deal was leaked to @reluctantnicko
Not blaming him, that's his job, but wrong of Farnell to heap pressure on a kid"Given the role suggested for Jones, some unflattering comparisons sprang immediately to mind:
https://twitter.com/SiTrill/status/1292178330402336769
"So Dave Jones was going to be the new Thomas Driesen? God help us!"Elsewhere on twitter someone described him as a "Scouse Thomas Driesen" and I've had that going round my head football chant style intermittently since.As Ben says here, the general consensus from fans is Jones is neither wanted nor needed:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292183929416560644
"I think Dave Jones is better qualified than Little Tommy Driesen but then so is everyone.
Point is we don't need or want another self-interested hanger on making money on the back of #cafc. We have enough already
Jones is already driving one of the infamous Range Rovers I hear."https://twitter.com/jack_cafc/status/1292185288324919296
"So if Dave has one of the RR already he must be on the payroll.
This is just one big scam #cafc"and the issue of our beefed-up transfer embargo was raised a lot too.
https://twitter.com/_crusey/status/1292167169787265025
"Very good info. Wonder why a club under a transfer embargo and facing expulsion from the league would need a 2nd DOF who coincidentally is an associate of the club's lawyer who coincidentally is an associate of the club's owner-in-waiting. Every element of this saga stinks #cafc"https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292168311007043584
"To be fair I don't think the @efl let anyone know about the new embargo other than Nimer and possibly Duchatelet. #cafc"I become increasingly convinced that twitter needs some way of indicating sarcasm, as this tweet from @Airman Brown demonstrates:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292175849047969793
"That can’t be right because it says in the Sun that Elliott is fighting “to stay in control and get a team on the pitch”, despite not owning the club and assurances provided to the @EFL that he isn’t currently involved."https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292182156266164230
"There certainly do seem to be a large number of, shall we say, contradictory, remarks coming from Elliot and Farnell."
Another Twitter Spat
Then on Sunday, Nixon treated us to further pearls of wisdom:
https://twitter.com/reluctantnicko/status/1292385286702366720
"Charlton. Dave Jones in to advise on transfers. Behind two last week."and got repeatedly corrected by the Charlton fanbase:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292398130588274691
"Gallen and Bowyer identified and conducted the deals for Gilbey and Washington. Nothing to do with Jones.
DJ was trying to force LB to take three overseas players. LB watched video and said "no", then cited the final say clause in his #cafc contract.
Jones not wanted or needed"Matt Wright went in on him even harder:
https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1292403836963913728
"1. #cafc are under a registration embargo (at the very least)
2. Steve Gallen already does this, & has done a frankly incredible job over the last few years given resources available
3. This just looks like further attempts to siphon money out of club to @Chris_Farnell's mates"
(quoting the tweet above from @reluctantnicko)https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1292404243031359488
"Honestly @reluctantnicko, the way you are just parroting what Farnell is telling you is embarrassing.
What about giving some scrutiny to what you are being told? When did you give up on your role to hold power to account? When did you hand in your journalistic integrity? #cafc"https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1292538487061843968
"While @reluctantnicko is entitled to block whomever he wants, his behaviour is weird.
Why on earth would a journalist regularly writing about #cafc's ownership block the likes of @airmanbrown & @RichCawleySLP, who are contributing such key info to the developing story?
"
and @LouisMend highlighted Nixon's hypocrisy:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1292406544123002882
"Christ. Nixon accused Rick Everitt of being a “PR man” yesterday but wtf is this then?!"(quoting the tweet above from @reluctantnicko)Luckily, Richard Cawley had a more informative take on Jones
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1292422173878104065
"ESI want to bring in Dave Jones to be in charge of the football side of the club. He would be above director of football Steve Gallen and Lee Bowyer and have final say on transfers." (with a picture of Jones from his Sheffield Wednesday days)This sparked confusion and anger. @MattF queried:Transfer embargo aside, how can he have final say on transfers, when its been established that Bowyer has that responsibility in his contract?Because they want Bowyer gone perhaps... Who was it that leaked the amount Birmingham would have to pay in compensation right before that game?while @dickplumb was livid:I think that they want Bowyer and Gallen gone so the fire sale can begin. I am beyond angry at what is going on. You could say I am incandescent with rage.So while most clubs, including even Arsenal, are reducing staff to cut costs because of significant income decline, we're adding an unneeded has been to the staff who can't do his job because we're under an embargo.
Scandal in plain sight.Cawley continued:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1292422176893739008
"I know been reported elsewhere that DJ working on two signings for the club. Maybe they are different players because my understanding is that he didn't want to sign Conor Washington and Alex Gilbey."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1292422178194042880
"Also worth adding that Charlton still in talks with the EFL to try and see if the Washington and Gilbey deals can go through this week."
The Bury Connection
Of course, one of the reasons fans are so wary of Jones is his involvement in the last days of Bury before their expulsion from the league
https://twitter.com/JimmyStone_/status/1292447303823962113
"Who by another incredible coincidence was working at #BuryFC as a consultant when they were expelled from the @EFL.
So now a former Bury FC Director, Lawyer and Consultant all involved at both Charlton and Bury. #cafc"(quoting the tweet above from Richard Cawley)https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1292423026739486721
"After the sterling work he did with Bury last summer, we'd be mad to turn down this opportunity.....
This whole scam stinks to high heaven #cafc"(quoting the tweet above from Richard Cawley)Our fans have been looking back at what happened there last year, and in this report from the Sun, both Farnell and Jones are extolling the virtues of SJ Global, the company who apparently made a late bid to buy Bury. @Swords_alive has done some digging on SJ Global and it's all a bit odd. There's too much to quote here, but one bit in particular stands out:@Airman Brown tweeted out some of what swords_alive had found
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292208169838620679
"And here’s another story about SJ Global
https://edp24.co.uk/news/crime/sj-global-investments-accused-over-fatburger-fraud-1-6434068
Check out their letterbox in Norwich..."
This seems to tally with the convoluted network of companies you find if you look at one of their Companies House listings, as they seem to be registered both as an officer and as a company?! These listings may reward further examination, particularly the accounts filed.Also, in a reply to that tweet, someone's kindly provided a link to details of the dockets and filings in the case, and @swords_alive has found another link that suggests the case is still on-goingThe tweet thread concluded:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292209999066869761
"Full credit to swords_alive for the detective work. Now, who thinks we should be getting behind Chris Farnell and Dave Jones at #cafc? Don’t all shout at once!"9 -
Monday 10th August Part1 - "In, out, in, out, shake it all about..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Farnell and A.Mihail have been removed as directors on Companies House
- Farnell claims he's still the club lawyer though (and continues to have weird text conversations with fans)
- The CAFC Companies House confirmation statement caused some confusion in relation to the December share issue.
- Nothing further announced with regard to Dave Jones as yet and Lee Bowyer has gone fishing (literally, not metaphorically)
- The Sun reckon the appeal against the ODT decision is doomed to fail (and it's not an Alan Nixon story, so may not be total cobblers)
-----------------------------------------------------------------Companies House Confusion
On Sunday there had been some mutterings of possibly good news today, so people were on the lookout for any signs of what it might be, and then mid-afternoon @Addickted posted:East Street Investments have acquired 26,477,268 Ordinary Shares in CAFC.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01788466/filing-history
Has to be Nimer.I think they must've got that from this tweet from Kieran Maguire, which he now seems to have deleted:
(As an aside, Kieran Maguire also tweeted out a link to the latest Price of Football podcast today which has a small bit about us. On Spotify, our bit starts at about 5min30 but I'm not sure if the same applies on Apple Podcasts)This triggered a flurry of questions about what issuing more shares would mean, whether Nimer had bought out Southall, was this the good news we were waiting for, and so on, but the actual explanation is much duller, with all due respect to @IdleHans who advised:This is just the confirmation statement that is filed annually. It used to be called the Annual Return.
It is just an update on changes in persons of significant control, capital and shareholdings that have happened since the previous year's filing.
This isn't new news.Indeed if you look at the date on the screenshot Maguire shared, it shows that capitalisation of shares happened on 27/12/2019, which tallies with these entries on the filing list:
and the value of the "Statement of capital following an allotment of shares" entry on the 27/12/2019 tallies with the filing share details shown on the confirmation statement, assuming each share is valued at £1:
Simple explanation - CAFC Limited owed Baton 2010 Limited just over £21m before Roland rocked up. That stayed on the books and got added to progressively as Roland put money in to run the club via Staprix using Baton 2010 Limited as the conduit and adding 2% interest per year until by January 2020 that figure was up at around £66m...
The pre-Roland chunk effectively got written off in December as part of the ESI deal. It was turned into shares and given to ESI rather than written off because writing off debt triggers tax issues. But issuing more shares in an entity like this is nothing more than window-dressing.So, as suspected, nothing new, and we waited to see if anything else would emerge.Director Removals
Then at around 4:15 there was more Companies House related excitement, as @LouisMend tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1292841575689707520
"Andrei Mihail, one of the three said to have not passed the @EFL OADT test, has been removed as a director of ESI #cafc"followed by @Airman Brown tweeting this:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292842497383763969
"Bye now! Farnell off ESI board #cafc"
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292843047282237440
"This was actioned on Friday, so suggests a response to the @EFL decision to disqualify them rather than anything that might be going on behind the scenes now."@ISawLeaburnScore was cautious about what this actually meant:Could be Farnell resigning as a tactic of supporting his appeal by distancing himself from being a Relevant Person for EFL rules purposes. Needs context to understand the meaning!while @ForeverAddickted was confused :So why hasnt Elliott been terminated too then?Never been added!If, and I mean IF, this the good news we've been waiting to be stated and confirmed since we were promised good news yesterday, can I please put an invoice into Charlton Life for my time, money and broadband wasted ?MOD NOTE: No.Although any joy that had been generated was shortlived:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1292875986489544706
"Understand Chris Farnell expects to stay on as Charlton’s club lawyer."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1292876440418095106
"As to what this means in terms of the way things will play out for Charlton Athletic, I don’t know."Although as @jams points out:Chris farnell expects and Chris farnell will be are two very different thingsChris Farnell expected him and Elliott to pass the oadt. Your not wrong mate.Sun journo Justin Allen seemed a bit surprised:
https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1292851760751575040
"Chris Farnell stepping down as a director of Charlton's owners ESI today is a bit of a turn-up. Club will clarify his position at #CAFC this evening. #EFL"The clarification had a familiar tone to it, at least for anyone who's been reading the interactions between Farnell and fans:
https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1292894451657039875
"I've received clarification regarding Chris Farnell. In a nutshell, he's resigned his position as a director of ESI but remains as #Charlton club lawyer. I'm told he's never been a director of the Addicks nor acted on behalf of any buyer or seller. #EFL (continues) #CAFC"https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1292894597123911683
"It's claimed he joined ESI as a director only to enable the orderly running of the club, following concerns raised by Tahnoon Nimer about the conduct of one of the directors." (i.e. Matt Southall) He is working on an appeal on behalf of two individuals who failed the ODT | #CAFC"and as @Airman Brown points out:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292908461660020745
"If he’s never acted on behalf of any buyer or seller, why is he drawing up the appeal of the other party disqualified by the EFL, who he had himself presented as the buyer?"Just to add to the general sense of trepidation, Allen had a late night update linking to his piece on our predicament:
https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1292943790949445638
"#Charlton are heading the same way as #BuryFC unless owners ESI sell the club. Here is my report on a worrying time for long-suffering #CAFC fans whose beloved #Addicks are in a shambles | #EFL
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12366459/charlton-efl-expulsion-threat-bury-elliott-farnell/"Allen, Nixon and Farnell are currently the most vocal people on our club, and it would be best if everyone here doesn’t trust a word they say.
That should allow all our stress levels to decrease for now.Agreed. I’m more optimistic now.9 - Farnell and A.Mihail have been removed as directors on Companies House
-
Monday 10th August Part 2 - The less heavy bitsMore on Farnell
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1292881209169764352
"One of the many things that's mental about this is how much time Chris Farnell appears to have to email, text, WhatsApp random fans. Shouldn't he have other stuff on? #cafc"Our regular Farnell correspondent had another update, although it seems that Farnell does have a bunch of rehearsed lines that he's using:
From these screenshots, it seems like Farnell is determined to brazen it out:
although I'd be interested to hear his explanation for the discrepancy between the answer he gave to @mid_life_crisis and the details registered on Companies House:Asked CF a direct question: 'Do you believe Mr Elliott has bought the club'
Reply: 'He has'And I'm not going to post it in full here, but @cabbles posted a great spoof advert for Farnell's law firmHas your football club been involved in accident and it wasn’t their fault, then call IPS Law on (505) 503-4455 and ask for Chris Farnell.More On Dave Jones
It's generally gone quiet on this front today, although @Airman Brown tweeted:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1292708992716865538
"Chris Farnell may have overplayed his hand with Dave Jones. Looks as if his first role was to sell players, e.g. Dillon Phillips. ESI2 want him in, he’s due to start this week, but there is now pushback from within #cafc"and the results of a twitter poll as to who the fans would prefer between Jones and Bowyer/Gallen resulted in a crushing defeat for Jones:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292837148480217088
"So 857 people voted and 98.6% of those would prefer Bowyer and Gallen to have control over #cafc recruitment.
No surprise there.
Clear message for Dave Jones: You're not needed and you're not wanted at @CAFCofficial Same goes for @Chris_Farnell, Paul Elliot and Mo Kashashy"Although even this may have overestimated Jones' support:
https://twitter.com/CDSummerfield/status/1292865589594263558
"To be clear - I’d like to state that I was part of the 1.4% and it was an ACCIDENT that twitter doesn’t let you change - so let’s not give Jones more credit than he deserves 😅"Meanwhile Lee Bowyer may be unaware of the level of support he enjoys, as he seems to be on a well-deserved fishing holiday. If you're into photos of topless football managers with weird-looking fish Scoham can help you out.Fan Action
Big Dave Lockwood (sometimes of this parish) is canvassing support for a new protest fund:
https://twitter.com/bigdl/status/1292818228079714304
"Quick poll - If we were to run a new #CAFC protest fund would you contribute to it? It would not pay for anything illegal or contribute towards legal costs. You may not know what the money is spent on until something happens as well.
Final Results: YES 85.6% NO 14.4%"And the CAFCFacts twitter account has a rallying cry
https://twitter.com/CafcFacts/status/1292830365569224709
"What Chris Powell said about Charlton Athletic fans 2 years ago this month. Not wrong then, Not wrong now. We fight and we will never give up!! #cafc"
And Finally...
It seems that the complexity and uncertainty of the situation is wearing people down a bit. As @Markg2004 saidI still don't know, at 10pm after todays events, if we should be more optimistic than this morning or not. And I've read all the posts.Bloody hell, I didn't think this thread could get anymore complicated.I'm sure that @siblers isn't the only one who feels like this:That awkward moment you realise you need a degree in business and sports law to understand how to support Charlton.
I'm beyond lost and feel dumb.I understand there's a new degree course on offer at Oxford , starting in September.
It's entitled " Charlton Athletic FC - Making sense of the chaos ".I think this tweet from Ben Hayes sums up where we're at:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1292884981879115778
"Never a dull moment at @CAFCofficial
Expecting a few more twists and turn on the rollercoaster ride that is #cafc this week.
Those of a nervous disposition may want to look away.
UTA"
Media Coverage
The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12366459/charlton-efl-expulsion-threat-bury-elliott-farnell/ (or webarchive version)6 -
Tuesday 11th August - "...you do the hokey-cokey and you turn around..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- The current CAFC board have backed Gallen and Bowyer, and say they won't bring in Dave Jones
- It looks like there may be a fight brewing between ESI v1 and ESI v2
- @BDL organised a twitter storm that made #SaveCAFC the top UK trend for a while
- The EFL's successful appeal against the suspension of Macclesfield's points deduction raised questions about their handling of disciplinary matters
-----------------------------------------------------------------More On Dave Jones
This morning Richard Cawley had a somewhat unexpected story:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293134229669392384
"Current Charlton Athletic board won't bring in Dave Jones - as they back Steve Gallen and Lee Bowyer.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/current-charlton-athletic-board-wont-bring-in-dave-jones-as-they-back-gallen-and-bowyer/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293134510129897474
"The key thing - and it's mentioned in the piece - is that Jones still very likely to arrive if the EFL ruling is overturned or the new version of ESI is approved."This seems good news for Bowyer and Gallen as they work to build a squad for next season. Interestingly, it looks like the deal to bring in Conor Washington may not be completely dead, just in limbo, if this report from the Daily Record is to be believed:
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/conor-washington-hearts-transfer-sweat-22502094.ampAfter all the bated breath about possible good news, Henry Irving felt that this counted:For those asking
"Where's the good news?"
Jones not coming is good news in itself.
It also suggests two other pieces of good news. Gallen and Bowyer are back in control and so more likely to stay and secondly that Farnell's influence is on the wane.So Is There Some Kind Of Rift Between ESI v1 and ESI v2?
That assessment from @Henry Irving about Farnell seems to be backed up by what was coming from other quarters:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1293142114923089920
"Embarrassing for @Chris_Farnell and his attempt to take control of matters at the club. #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1293142677085708290
"Noteable that the statement that Farnell seemed to be saying would appear from club channels last night never materialised as well #cafc"https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1293142967549657088
"(Other than via Justin Allen at the Sun who then wrote a decent piece summing up afterwards)"This may be partly related to the legal implications of him having resigned as a director of ESI, as PeanutsMolloy explained:As Club lawyer, he has no authority to make any decisions or appointments on behalf of CAFC. As with any company's legal counsel, his input is confined to advice only.and @Airman Brown seems to think it's the first skirmish in a longer war:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293140694882754566
"Nimer, Mihail and Florica - the three #cafc directors – have now taken a public stand against ESI2 by rejecting Dave Jones' appointment. This is the first instalment of the ownership drama and they are the good guys in this episode, to be clear."Some people queried this interpretation on the main thread, and Airman Brown indicated:Think you can assume that there is a battle going on. That's why I have been nervous about the outcome, but Mihail has won this round.I don't understand the battle. You have 3 ESI directors vs 2 non-directors. How can there be a power struggle?Could be something legal or an agreement made when Elliot wanted to buy the club from TN that means its not as straight forward eg: tell them to get lost.
Our best hope is the Romanians have experience in sports law and stuff like that so they will not give Farnell an easy ride. I believe they are the closes people in this mess to being on ''our side'' from what has come out today.The one thing that really gets me is that this is all happening within sight of the EFL, yet there seems to be very little they can do to stop it. At this moment in time the only sanctions they appear to have hurt the clubs, not the scumbags that they've allowed in to fleece those very clubs.I don’t think prospective buyers should even be able to approach a club unless they’ve been ‘approved‘ by the EFL in advance. Tests passed. Sufficiency & source of funding included.More On The EFL
This evening it was announced that Macclesfield WILL be being relegated, after the EFL won their appeal against their suspended points deduction, and there was discussion about what bearing that would have on the Sheffield Wednesday situation:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293272186355154947
"So the EFL have won an appeal over an independent disciplinary commission that changes the relegation outcome in League Two - the question is will they also look at Charlton's situation and the Sheffield Wednesday deduction which doesn't come into effect until next season?"(quoting this tweet from EFL_Comms)https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293272188326486017
"I know plenty of people at clubs - not just Charlton - who absolutely feel the punishment should have been enforced this season. And that it wasn't severe enough."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293272189907673088
"Charlton had said they were considering an appeal. But when you look at this ruling then surely it HAS to happen as a matter of urgency."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293272191035936769
"This latest development means Stevenage stay up and Macclesfield go down. I know people might say the ownership situation at Charlton is crucial - and it is - but potentially staying in the Championship would be huge too in terms of other potential buyers and finances involved."Not seen any reaction from the club lawyer as yet. Maybe he's been too busy working on his appeal against failing the Owners and Directors Test?Fan Action
Former stadium announcer Dave Lockwood suggested aiming to generate a storm of twitter tweets to highlight our plight:
https://twitter.com/BigDL/status/1293224246227996673
"So tonight at 6pm, can we all tweet the hashtag #SaveCAFC - copy in news orgs, journos etc but keep it clean? Then do it every night and get our plight trending. It may not be much but it’s something. @CharltonCARD @CAFCfansforfans @CAStrust @LouisMend @airmanbrown @dodgercafc"CAST piled in to support:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1293231462335107074
"There's so much energy and activism in this fanbase, let alone history, community and memories. Working together, we will and must #SaveCAFC.
Sign-up to be counted if we need to fundraise - it could be soon.
https://castrust.org/ourclub/
#OurClubOurFuture"As did @CAFCFansForFans:
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1293393904616775681
"Unity is key to success in this. Whatever your view on CAFC fan groups, just pause that. We're in this together. Unity is strength. #SaveCAFC #ESIout @CharltonCARD @CAStrust"
And I think it's fair to say it went pretty well. This is the top tweet for the hashtag as of midnight:
https://twitter.com/jackkkkkkk00/status/1293244645540081664
"Football twitter- you cried last year when Bury went under and promised you’d never let it happen again. Well it’s happening again. We don’t want your sympathy when it’s too late- we need your help now. #SaveCAFC #FansUnited #ESIOut"
LouisMend posted pictures of himself with the Charlton Live team, the Valley and with the Playoff trophy, while Olly Groom did similar including the infamous one on the pitch when we got promoted at Carlisle. And Jimmy Stone really wasn't pulling his punches with his contribution.We've had support from fans in the media:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1293296678171283457
"Been playing cricket, but logging on and seeing the number of Charlton fans fighting to #SaveCAFC is something truly special.
There’s no doubt it’s the biggest mess since I’ve followed the club, but with this level of support #cafc will live on.
It’s more than football."https://twitter.com/MarkKleinmanSky/status/1293267632318304266
"I’ve supported Charlton Athletic since the early 1980s, through near-extinction, homelessness, two spells of ground-sharing, the return to The Valley, a golden age of Premier League football and then a decade of negligent ownership. Our club is too important to die. #SaveCAFC"former players such as Lawrie Wilson, Matt Holland and Matt Fry, while Steve Brown went on a bit of a retweeting spree, including this one:
https://twitter.com/hjmckinlay/status/1293234306605875200
"115 years of history cannot be destroyed by chancers and dodgy characters. #SaveCAFC
Please sign-up if you will put money in should we need to fundraise.
https://castrust.org/ourclub/
#OurClubOurFuture"
fans of other clubs:
https://twitter.com/OfficialBuryAFC/status/1293260707434246144
"We're rooting for you, @CAFCofficial ❤ #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/joeythorpe96/status/1293244704449007616
"Charlton fans showed support for Brighton when we was in trouble as a club, and I’m gonna be there to show support to them, a fantastic club who deserve the best 👊🏻 #SaveCAFC"and even a Millwall fan!
https://twitter.com/BenGroomGP/status/1293252681197326337
"I am #Millwall till I die, and hate Charlton. But I want them around to hate for the rest of my life. If I can do anything to help #saveCAFC let me know @CAStrust
Even if I'm only doing it for the easy 3 points 😉" (quoting this tweet from CAST)ETA: @Chizz has created a thread where he's put links to some of the best ones he's seen:
https://charltonlife.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/89647/savecafc-some-of-the-best-tweets
Media Coverage:
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/current-charlton-athletic-board-wont-bring-in-dave-jones-as-they-back-gallen-and-bowyer/
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-future-clouded-in-doubt-amid-resignation-and-appeals-a4521836.html
Daily Record: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/conor-washington-hearts-transfer-sweat-22502094.amp
9 - The current CAFC board have backed Gallen and Bowyer, and say they won't bring in Dave Jones
-
Wednesday 12th August Part1 - "...Hasta la vista, baby..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Farnell has been terminated as club lawyer
- Farnell has made a public statement on his termination which seems to conflict with certain things he's said previously
- Ben Ransom from Sky reporting that Marian Mihail has informed the EFL that the club won't be appealing the ODT failures, nor will it be proceeding with the Elliott take over
- Simon Stone from BBC Sport reporting that Elliott is taking legal advice over the takeover abandonment
- #SaveCAFC was trending on twitter again.
- There's obviously been some movement on the transfer embargo, as Alex Gilbey's signed from MK Dons on a 3 year deal
-----------------------------------------------------------------Farnell Is No Longer The Club Lawyer
Richard Cawley gets all the best scoops:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293456680223748096
"Chris Farnell has been TERMINATED as Charlton's club solicitor."This was the cue for everyone to break out the metaphorical popcorn:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293463103808708609
"Second episode in the latest ownership drama now available for you to enjoy in your own homes... #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1293458088515731457
"Let's hope he goes quietly...#cafc." (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)and CAFCFansForFans reminded us that there's still work to be done:
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1293461955714351104
"Good morning guys and gals. Whilst this is a small victory today the hard Road is still ahead of us. Stay together,unite and lets save our football club. We are all charlton. ❤ 🤍 COYA."The Charlton supporting journos had slightly different views on where this was probably heading next:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1293471736982315009
"As per @RichCawleySLP
Chris Farnell has been told he is no longer #cafc lawyer.
As I understand it, Marian Mihail made the decision.
Farnell has told @SkySportsNews that his appeal against EFL's decision on OADT continues and doesn't affect proposed takeover by Paul Elliott."https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1293461328061923328
"Yet another twist in the #CAFC saga. The right decision. Now ESI must start talking to Peter Varney & Andrew Barclay and get them in prompto. #CharltonAthletic #addicks" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)while Mendonca In Asdas thought:Farnell gone is a good step in the right direction, lots more hurdles to go, need to get the transfer embargo lifted etc.Justin Allen mentioned a detail that might help on that score:
https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1293488543428415489
One thing Chris Farnell's removal does guarantee is a better working relationship with the #EFL's legal eagle Nick Craig. The two simply don't get on. There is huge previous between the two from the #BuryFC situation last summer. #CAFC #Charlton"Farnell's Statement
The spoof Chris Farnell twitter account responded to the news of Farnell's removal like this:
https://twitter.com/FarnellMorris/status/1293461413927755782
"Can someone please bloody explain ffs why the club have given me the sack? Honestly none of this is my fault. I shitting hate the efl."but we soon had a response from the real one:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293471224140570626
"Had a statement from Chris Farnell.....
"I have been informed by one of the club’s directors that my relationship with Charlton Athletic FC has been brought to an end."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293471225340145664
""It was always my intention to provide Charlton Athletic FC with legal assistance and advice in my capacity as a lawyer, for a short period. I was never a director or owner of the football club, nor was I ever intending to be."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293471226531319812
""Once it became clear that one of the consequences of the boardroom dispute at Charlton was it’s likely expulsion from the football league, I focused my efforts on trying to facilitate the orderly running of the club as best I could in what were very challenging circumstances."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293471227726766081
""The significant work undertaken, against the back drop of intense speculation, much of which was inaccurate and misinformed, I believe greatly improves the prospects of Charlton Athletic FC remaining in the EFL."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293471228943007744
""I sincerely hope this is the case and the fans get the stability and success they and their club deserve. I wish them all the best.""This prompted the return of an old favourite meme. Todds_right_hook saidDon’t celebrate yet, Chris farnell has employed a new pr agency and they’ve released a statement.
I can't make up my mind whether he is so arrogant he thinks he's untouchable or is just a god awful lawyer. Fancy keeping the level of public profile he did, whilst flagrantly rigging a sales process to put a known associate forward as the sole interested party/prospective purchaser but claiming to only act for and owe duties to ESI and/or the club. And then ploughing into an EFL approval process sponsoring a twice bankrupt small time businessman 12 months after making enough false claims relating to saving Bury for a lifetime.It wasn't long before the inevitable discrepancies between this statement and earlier ones were pointed out:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293473440612130816
"This statement directly contradicts the Chris Parkes statement 12 days ago which said there was “not one mention of the club being expelled” in that day’s @EFL meeting and that #cafc was in a “completely different set of circumstances to Bury”." (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)Unfortunately for him, he was stupid enough to send plenty of emails and texts to fans, detailing the complete opposite of what he’s said today.From screenshots posted elsewhere the texts to fans were continuing :
That first set seemed to flag up yet another discrepancy as stoneroses19 pointed out:If Elliott owns the club, Chris lied in a witness statement and is in contempt of court. Your move Chris.although swords_alive provided a scenario where both could still be true:It could be that Elliott took ownership (loan or equity stake?) after the Southall court case, or through some prior agreement, and in doing so, Southall may have been dragged and dropped. Hence CF claiming he was protecting the club's interest and carrying out an instruction. We could do with knowing on what basis he has been terminated, including the tone of it if nothing else.It would be interesting to hear from those in contact with Southall whether he is under the impression that the ownership status has changed in the weeks since the court case, although I think we'd need to see documentary evidence, rather than just take his word for it.@Airman Brown had some thoughts about why the statement was in the form that it was:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293473787107844096
"Farnell’s statement is clearly intended to underpin financial demands that he will make on #cafc."Now I am no expert in these matters, but if I engaged a solicitor in contract negotiations and they represented other parties in these negotiations at the same time, I would not be paying any of their subsequent invoices and would probably let it play out in court. "and Blucher had some more detailed thoughts which began:Before Farnell starts issuing invoices for his “significant work”, he - or perhaps more accurately, the SRA - need to work out on whose behalf he has been acting and at what times....Farnell's comment about not being a director of the club also raised certain issues:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293474779534630915
"Was a key error by Farnell becoming a director of ESI, which put him under @EFL approval, but in addition he has said himself he put money in. #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)He’s being careful with words.
Being a director of ESI (alongside Elliott) is not being “a director or owner of the club”, but does bring him in scope as a Relevant Person under the Owners and Directors Test (hence the need to apply, and be approved).
So he’s factually correct in his words, but being deceitful through omission / obfuscationFarnell's statement is the solicitor's version of
"She didn't dump me, I dumped her"and the spoof Farnell twitter account bowed out:
https://twitter.com/FarnellMorris/status/1293529519870160899
"Well ladies and gents this was fun. I am not fully gone just yet but I will be less active. I am like the last boss on a game and charlton fans have defeated me but not finished me. I am in the background and will reappear when needed. Well done to you all you reds!!!"Impact On The ODT Appeal
An obvious question following on from Farnell's removal was the status of the Owner and Directors Test appeal he supposedly submitted on Friday:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293460547653054464
"Of course Farnell was working on appealing to the EFL on the OADT verdict for two individuals. I'm assuming that now doesn't happen...."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293466352892641280
"My understanding is that applications for the @EFL owners’ and directors’ test have to be made via #cafc, so the next question is whether they are still considering any put forward by ESI2, including the supposed appeals."Can the club now inform the EFL that we no longer wish to pursue the appeal that was raised by an ex employee?It seemed it might be a bit more complicated than that:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293467013466251264
"Removing Farnell from the club was a key step, but we need clarity that the sale of ESI to Elliott and others has now been abandoned. It was reportedly dependent on EFL approval but there have been some suggestions recently wasn’t the case."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293467407005224960
"The court proceedings in Manchester, Companies House and the version given to the @EFL all support the view the deal was contingent."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293470629224763392
"Removing ESI2 is the first step on a difficult journey for any serious buyer because we don’t know the real extent of liabilities that may have been put on #cafc since January. And that’s before we even get to RD. But today is another good day. So far!"However, a little while afterwards, Ben Ransom put an end to most of the speculation with this welcome news:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1293488714027589632
"UPDATE: Individuals cannot appeal against the OADT decisions, only the member (ie Charlton Athletic).
I'm told Marian Mihail has informed the EFL that the club will not be proceeding with the Elliott takeover, so that appears to end that #cafc #SaveCAFC" (quoting his earlier tweet)The reaction was a mixture of snarking, joy and a little unease. Chunes said:How embarrassing that Farnell would release a statement saying the OADT will not be affected...
And then we're told moments later that it absolutely is affected, and is essentially the end of the bid!
What a lawyerAmazing news. The thing that worries me most is the huge number of liabilities CAFC has amassed since January.
Even if AB/PV takeover tomorrow, I can still see these parasites dragging CAFC through the courts until it's no longer financially viable for them.And at this point, it was barely lunchtime! Part 2 to follow in a bit...10 -
Wednesday 12th August Part 2 - "...Go on now go, walk out the door..."Elliott's Taking Legal Advice
@ElliotCAFC's concerns about CAFC being dragged through the court's may soon be realised according to this tweet from BBC Sport's Simon Stone
https://twitter.com/sistoney67/status/1293548081628295168
"Charlton situation rumbling on. Paul Elliott now taking legal advice. Feels he has legally binding agreement with Nimer that cannot be unilaterally scrapped." https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53751242If Elliott is saying he owns the club, then companies house can go for him as they didn't update that, which he should've done.This is very worrying: if he has a legal agreement that he owns the club, then he owns the club and that is it; it makes no difference whether that club is allowed to play in any league or not. I wonder if he has actually put money into the club to pay wages, if so (certainly a big if), he will not just give it back to Nimar so that Nimar can sell it to someone else unless he is legally obliged to do so.If Elliot truly thought his agreement and ownership of the club was watertight, his buddy Farnell wouldn't have accepted being fired as the club's lawyer.
Elliot's just making a frivolous claim in the hope of an extra earner somehow.Chris_from_Sidcup had a question about how binding it actually might be:Surely any legally binding agreement he may or may not have is rendered worthless if he failed the OADT?And he will never pass it because Charlton will not put his name forward to test again so he will never be able to buy the club under the stated agreed terms.
He should of course be paid back any money he has paid in.
Minus expensesThe question surely is then if Elliot has a binding agreement to buy ESI then why hasn't he? ... if he has a watertight binding agreement then he doesn't need legal advice, he just need to show that agreement, show the money, and show whatever dependant item was holding it up. If he can't show all 3 then he has nothing. He would only need legal advice if he already has all 3 and TN still refused to sell the club to him, but we know he hasn't got all 3 or he'd already be owner.but SCT1980 had a more nuanced assessment that is worth reading in full, and ends:... All down to the exact wording of the agreement I’d expect but seems a desperate move from PE and best outcome they can hope for is allowed to appeal which would hopefully be rejected by the EFL anyway..Off_it was cynical about the circumstances surrounding the drafting of the agreement:So, this "legally binding contract" to buy/sell the club to ET's mate.
Would love to know who drafted it and who was acting for the buyer and seller in the discussions/negotiations at the time. It certainly can't have been Farnell, because he was only working for the club and wasn't advising either the buyer or the seller. We have his latest word on that. So definitely no conflict of interests there, no sir-eee. No way Pedro.while Henry Irving had a theory:I think we need to bear in mind when listening to the lies and spin from Farnell and Elliot who the intended audience is.
I don't think it's the football league or Nimer/Mahail/Florici.
It maybe a few Charlton fans who they wrongly think are gullible enough to fall for it....Another Companies House Interlude
There was a brief flurry of concern when Richard Cawley tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293517756281827328
"Directors details changed for Marian Mihail and Claudiu Florica. Another couple of Companies House alerts."Had Farnell done a Southall and removed them as directors as some kind of petty revenge? Nah, they've just changed their correspondence addresses from The Valley back to the original Romanian one they had before their previous entries got removed. So it's basically just a bit of admin rather than anything exciting.More On The #SaveCAFC Campaign
The campaign to get #SaveCAFC trending on twitter has been successful in attracting media attention.
Darren Bent discussed it on TalkSport Breakfast:
https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1293510794341240832
"😔 “The situation at Charlton is poor.”
😡 “Owners & people trying to buy the club for their own interests...”
😩 “It’s only punishing the fans.”
🙏 “We don’t want to see a great club like Charlton go out of existence.”
@DarrenBent slams the current state of former club #CAFC" (with video attached)For those of you who don't do twitter, you can hear the audio from 17 mins hereAt lunch time @Airman Brown's daughter was talking about it on Radio 1
https://twitter.com/tashaeveritt/status/1293524620390342661
"Piece on @bbcradio1 Newsbeat on the Charlton situation, including my interview - Tried to get across as much as possible. #SaveCAFC is doing it’s job, let’s keep going 🤞🏼 #cafc" (with audio of the conversation)and later in the afternoon, her dad was on TalkSport2:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1293535710880964608
"I’m not being upstaged by @tashaeverittx - due on talkSPORT2 at 2.15pm. #cafc"I've not been able to track down audio for this one, so if anyone can provide me with a link I'd be very gratefulwhile Heather McKinlay from CAST was on Sky Sports News later at night:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1293649694556659715
"Just got back from a swift Guinness after a wander around the hills, and @hjmckinlay from @CAStrust is on @SkySportsNews talking about #SaveCAFC" (with a screenshot of Heather)We also had some sympathetic coverage in the papers:
https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1293593285219569664
"The first time I went to Charlton to cover the ownership was in 2016. Straightaway, I was struck by how determined the fans were to fight for the club’s future. English football is dead if we can’t protect a club so many people love so fiercely. #SaveCAFC
https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-athletic-takeover-save-cafc-esi-paul-elliott-chris-farnell-tahnoon-nimer-577591"https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1293594188706189313
"Anyone who saw the protests against Duchatelet and the way Charlton fans have organised should know that they won’t go quietly. Read about The Valley Party and their fight to return home in the nineties, they are hardcore fan-activists. Only an idiot would take them on, imo."https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1293595713344016385
"There are few clubs where the fans are so acutely aware of what it means to be a community. We need more of that in football, not less. We need better governance, not another club lost to exploitative ownership and utter negligence. So, everyone, keep shouting it: #SaveCAFC."Meanwhile Marian Mihail took time out from the current boardroom intrigue:
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1293572165355347970
"A big thanks to everyone putting the #SaveCAFC up"I'm not going to post a load more #SaveCAFC tweets up here, but the second set of trending tweets included Darren Bent, Steve Brown and the leader of Greenwich CouncilHowever at the risk of sounding like I'm crawling to the management, my favourite one was this tweet, and the montage of pictures attached to it and the follow-up tweets:
https://twitter.com/CharltonLife/status/1293615446797750278
"No fans will fight harder for their club than those of Charlton Athletic.
We’ve been doing it all our lives.
#SaveCAFC #ESIOUT #cafc"
More On The Transfer Embargo
After the initial excitement of the Farnell departure, Richard Cawley tweeted out this:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293475602830446593
"Understand that Charlton had a meeting with the EFL yesterday regarding their transfer embargo. Not clear yet what the upshot of those discussions were. Neither party commenting at this stage."Initially that didn't really generate a lot of comment, as we were distracted by other things, so when JamesSeed interjected during mid-afternoonAnnounce Gilbey!it was generally ignored as a request rather than an indication that something was about to happen. However, at just gone 8pm DubaiCAFC popped in with another bit of insider gossip:Heard there is going to be an announcement within an hour, it is ‘significant’ I don’t know what it is thoughThen half an hour later, Richard Cawley tweeted: https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293633156453629961
"Alex Gilbey to Charlton is on like Donkey Kong baby. Very close to becoming the first new signing this summer." (with a picture of Gilbey in action for MK Dons)It has to be said the Donkey Kong reference confused a number of posters, but we'll draw a veil over that. He than clarified:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293633779471458304
"This doesn't mean that Charlton aren't still under transfer embargo. As mentioned before, been plenty of negotiations with the EFL over the past few days."and sounded an optimistic note on Washington too:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293633780746510336
"This is a promising sign in terms of Conor Washington. The Addicks have also been pushing for that one too."Then just before 9pm, we had a teasing quote from the Official twitter account:
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1293638111751217160
"✍️ Wednesday has felt like a good news kind of day...who fancies a little bit more? 🤔 #cafc"followed by the announcement of an actual signing!:
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1293638376814456834
"✍️ Welcome to The Valley, Alex Gilbey! 🙌
👉https://cafc.co.uk/news/view/5f2c1644c54f4/done-deal-alex-gilbey-arrives-on-three-year-deal #cafc"
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1293638829488865283
"✍️ The midfielder joins on a three-year deal from @MKDonsFC and becomes Lee Bowyer's first signing of the summer transfer window
👉https://cafc.co.uk/news/view/5f2c1644c54f4/done-deal-alex-gilbey-arrives-on-three-year-deal #cafc"
There was a fair amount of confusion as to how this signing would be possible given we're supposedly under a transfer embargo, but Henry Irving explained:Couple of things:
We are still under a registration embargo.
But the EFL have, thanks to Chris Parkes and Mihail, given us an exemption to sign Gilbey and I assume Washington.
This embargo is still in place. In January we could only sign players up to our existing budget.
Now we can't register any new players unless we get, like today, an exemption.
As for who's paying? I fear the answer is Dillon Philips.That last bit may not go down well in all quarters, as sillav nitram said, slightly tongue in cheek:Bloody typical, you have to go and spoil it, don't you!;)but there seemed to be a general consensus along the lines of MuttleyCAFC's take:Phillips deserves a good move and we need the money to get a decent squad together. No complaints here.And Finally...
Late on, Ben Hayes posted the following on twitter;
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1293668685970898951
"Seems to have been a subtle change in the tone of the comms on the official site last 24/48 hours.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it's as if the shackles have been taken off.
Long may it continue.
#cafc @CAFCofficial @ollygroome
#backbarclayandvarney
#WIOTOSI don't know what he could possibly have been thinking of...
https://twitter.com/ollygroome/status/1293644927667245058
"Believe in Bowyer and Gallen 🙌
Accept no imitations 🙅♂️ #cafc "
(quoting this tweet from @CAFCOfficial)
Media Coverage:
Voice Of The Valley: http://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2019-20-blogs/11-8-farnell-ousted-as-esi2-takeover-appears-over/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-chris-farnell-terminated-as-charltons-club-solicitor/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/mk-done-alex-gilbey-signs-for-charlton-athletic-on-a-three-year-contract-for-undisclosed-fee/
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chris-farnell-terminated-charlton-solicitor-a4522846.html
BBC Sport: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53751242
The i Paper: https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-athletic-takeover-save-cafc-esi-paul-elliott-chris-farnell-tahnoon-nimer-5775915 -
Thursday 13th August Part1 - Things calm down a bit temporarily...SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Transfer embargo clarification likely tomorrow, but in the mean time we've signed Conor Washington from Hearts on a 2 year deal
- US based Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard wants to buy the club (and the Valley and the training ground)
- Southall sets a recovery firm on Farnell and Dave Jones in an attempt to retrieve the club range rovers they have.
- The event CAFCFansForFans were proposing to hold this weekend has been moved back to the 22nd
-----------------------------------------------------------------More On The Transfer Embargo
You'd be forgiven for thinking we weren't under a transfer embargo really:
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1293895102084063236
"✍️ Conor Washington is in the building! #cafc" (with video of Washington playing and at The Valley attached)https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1293895644009177088
"✍️ Striker Conor Washington arrives from @JamTarts on a two-year deal
https://cafc.co.uk/news/view/5f33e080c2eb7/done-deal-conor-washington-joins-on-two-year-deall #cafc"
There's also the usual interviews etc on the @CAFCOfficial twitter feed, but before anyone could get too carried away, Richard Cawley tweeted:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293908364284444673
"There is a bit more in tomorrow's paper explaining how the current transfer embargo will impact Charlton.
I'm not saying it answers all the questions, but it certainly gives a better picture of what lies ahead unless the restrictions are eased/lifted."Hopefully this will clear up the confusion a bit, because as this post from BR7_addick demonstrates things aren't really making sense at the moment:What do the two signings mean, broad question I know, but surely a club that will be extinct in a months time do not sign players full stop, let alone on long term contracts?!And then Alan Nixon weighed in:
https://twitter.com/reluctantnicko/status/1293890270887542787
"Charlton told Efl were planning to sign four. EFL then said under a strict embargo. EFL had told Nimer this in April but word had not been passed on. Once this was corrected and appeal made they got to sign one. With another to follow." (quoting this tweet asking why we're allowed to sign players now)Leeds_Addick was sceptical about the source of this information:Is that Farnell telling Nixon that Nimer was to blame for the transfer embargo and nothing to do with him and Elliot at all?? I think it might beMore On The #SaveCAFC Campaign
The #SaveCAFC campaign continues to to yield results. The Deputy Leader and Leader of Greenwich Tories have written to the Sports Minister, seeking his "support and intervention, working with the EFL and the wider football community, to ensure that the Club has a future in the Borough":
https://twitter.com/CDavisEltham/status/1293930287886409728
"I’m a #WHUFC season ticket holder, but I’m also an SE London boy who’s grown up knowing the impact #CAFC have on our community and how much the club means to the fans. That’s why today, alongside @ElthamNigel, I’ve written the below to the Sport Minister to help #SaveCAFC"
There's also a NewsShopper article about it here:
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/18650017.government-urged-save-charlton-athletic-fc-expulsion/Meanwhile Heather McKinley from CAST was on TalkSport during the morning show talking about our situation
https://twitter.com/hjmckinlay/status/1293881109646843904
"Huge thanks to @maxrushden and @jermainebecks83 for not only having me as a guest on @talksport this morning but for showing empathy and understanding for the plight of #cafc. Will cope with relegation as long as we still have a club to watch, win or lose. #SaveCAFC" (with a picture of Cullen and Lockyer as relegation was confirmed)This seems to have been very well received, but annoyingly the TalkSport Listen Again service seems to be a bit broken at the moment. Luckily CAST have uploaded a copyIn addition, there was also a segment about us on the Guardian Football Weekly Extra podcast - our bit starts at about 45 minutes.There have also been supportive tweets from Shaun Bartlett, Gary Lineker and this really nice assessment of what makes the club special from former club journalist Benjy NurickFinally, @CAFCFansForFans had an announcement
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1293820388644970497
"1.Good morning ladies and gents. I hope you are all well. Apologies first, The "meeting" on Saturday will not take place due to logistics and the change in circumstance yesterday. This needs to be a cohesive approach with all fans and groups united for a coordinated outcome..."https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1293820389932621824
"2. In light of this it has now been pushed back to August the 22nd. This will ensure a thorough organised approach and outcome focused "meeting". It was just not achievable for outcomes we hope to achieve. Hopefully a few magic tricks up our sleeves 😉 💯❤🤍 COYA."A Bit Of A Lull In Proceedings
Generally it was a much less frenetic day than previous ones.
Cabbles posted a great spoof meeting transcript featuring two of the main players, and there was the usual amount of discussion and speculation about the Varney/Barclay approach, whether any other bidders were really on the scene, a bit of reaction to the signing of Washington, and the occasional fish pun. And then se9addick said:Today is so boring.As someone who's worked in tech support, people going on about how quiet or boring things are generates a Pavlovian response, as it's often the prelude to things going totally pearshaped. But for a while it wasn't too bad - @DubaiCAFC shared the happy news that his wife had just had a baby, so there was a cascade of congratulations and people jokingly suggesting they hoped it wouldn't stop him providing more tips about what might be going on, plus the on-going discussion fo the topics above. And then just before 5 it all kicked off again due to this tweet from Richard Cawley:But that's going to take us WAY over the character limit, so more on that in part 2
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293937459823144966
"A big exclusive - super-wealthy Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard wants to buy Charlton Athletic.
Story and quotes from him to the SLP are in the link 👇
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-super-wealthy-danish-businessman-thomas-sandgaard-wants-to-buy-charlton-athletic/"
8 - Transfer embargo clarification likely tomorrow, but in the mean time we've signed Conor Washington from Hearts on a 2 year deal
-
Thursday 13th August Part 2 - Aaaand we're off again...Another Ownership Contender?
As mentioned at the end of Part 1, just before 5pm Richard Cawley tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293937459823144966
"A big exclusive - super-wealthy Danish businessman Thomas Sandgaard wants to buy Charlton Athletic.
Story and quotes from him to the SLP are in the link 👇
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-super-wealthy-danish-businessman-thomas-sandgaard-wants-to-buy-charlton-athletic/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293937844294234116
"Sandgaard owns Zynex Inc - a major manufacturer of medical devices. Lives in the US but is set to spend more time in the UK.
Something tells me the 62-year-old won't struggle to pass the OADT...."Although he did row back ever so slightly a few minutes later
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1293942663578890243
"Probably shouldn't have said 'big' exclusive. I should have said it's nice to put another name in the mix. Time will tell if this move to go public can get Sandgaard into a position to negotiate with Duchatelet."Initial Reaction To The Sandgaard news
As ever, opinions on this development were spread across a range of positions, from SWEnglandAddick's cynicismSomeone do some research on this bloke, must be a crook of some sort if he’s interested in us 🤣😂I can’t help but think this is a red herring and it’s a story released reasons we are yet to understand.I know he's bona fide, but I can't forget that Nimer said all the same things, in fact he said a lot more. Why now?and the disconcerting sight (for frequenters of past Match threads) of golfaddick feeling positiveAs a pp said, I like the cut of his jib. I think he's broken cover because Farnell wouldn't pass on his details to RD......and maybe the 2 Romanians have been a bit busy lately too.
I see it as a positive. If there was only the AB/PV deal then RD might have felt he had them over a barrel. Good to have someone else wanting to take us over.Although like @Rufus_Ambition, many of us were somewhat confused:This is all very strange and unexpected. I'm just a bit taken aback and don't know what to make of it.
He's working with a serious law firm, showing genuine intent, and says that he visited The Valley ten days ago. Who would have sanctioned that?
I wonder if the timing of Nimer wrestling back control of ESI is because he got wind of this interest and wanted to ensure he benefited from it?There was some discussion about Sandgaard's finances, and as Scoham pointed out:At least Googling his name and net worth brings up the sort of results you'd expect for someone genuinely wealthy. Doing the same for Nimer just brings up this site and articles about the ESI takeover.although J BLOCK wasn't exactly overwhelmed:Without splitting hairs. I wouldn’t say 500m USD is ‘Super rich’ in footballing termsTrue, but we had one of footballs richest men and look what he did. Still wealtier than Sheffield/Watford bosses and look where they are - sometimes it's just doing things the right way, not spending the world - especially with salary caps coming in.and mart77 agreedTbh I think most fans would take a stable owner who gets us to compete and has us focusing on football and working together as a unit. Roland was rich as we all know!Several fans were also worried that no matter how genuine Sandgaard might be, Roland would end up putting a spanner in the works, as ElliotCAFC observed:I imagine his ardent interest will cool when he first sits down with Roland, and then even further if he completes DD.
I just fear that the last four owners (I think, I've lost count) have muddled our books so much it sends serious investors running for the hills.while PemburyAddick reckoned:Roland will just use this to keep the price high. This is a major hindrance, not a help. Prefer the Varney/Barclay bid to be the sole bidder.and I'm not entirely sure whether MuttleyCAFC was joking here:Somebody tell him not to mention Varney when he speaks to Roland.It seems we are able to find humour in most developments in this saga. Addickted4life had better be joking with this or there's likely to be a meltdown of epic proportions:The emergence of Sandgaard is just the start of the elaborate kit reveal by Hummel and I claim my five pounds.At least Copenhagen is a nice place to go for the protestswhile Sandgaard's business background inspired this thought from Paul Edwards:
https://twitter.com/pedwards72/status/1293941533335576576
"Apparently he produces electrotherapy devices for pain management. Could be handy. One for every season ticket holder."and se9addick confessed:Thomas Sandgaard is a totally invented figment of my imagination that I introduced just to liven today up a bit.
Comments From Sangaard Himself:Sandgard has set up his own twitter account and his first post was:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1293966927321128960
"Charlton Athletic has a formidable fan-base and a strong history. I remember watching Rommedahl charge the wings and I want Charlton supporters to know I am committed to first and foremost winning and returning the club to the Premier League."Followed by:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1294006601418829824
"We all are aware Charlton has found itself in a difficult situation. The fans feel it too. One of the things I am very good at is turning things around. Can't wait."He also spoke to @LouisMend:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1293983685205790721
"Just spoken to Thomas, he confirms this is his Twitter account #cafc" (quoting the tweet above from Thomas Sandgaard)https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294003795010224129
"Few bits of what Sandgaard has told me this eve - he says he’s been “working on this for over a month” & has “met with people relevant to this”
Says The Valley is a beautiful stadium & he was there 10 days ago & that the training ground is “worthy of a @premierleague club” #cafc"https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294005056581271573
"Asked if he’d buy the club without the stadium/TG (which Roland still own) or try to make a deal
“We'll see what a final deal will look like, could be club, stadium, training grounds or any combination that makes a deal happen. There's always a way to make things happen” #cafc"https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294005748826025985
"He adds: “I don't think 50m [for the stadium/Sparrows Lane] is the right number in today's environment but we'll see where we end up” #cafc"Given the prevalence of fake accounts on twitter, there was some scepticism as to whether the twitter account was really Sandsgaard, so he posted this as proof:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1294015803155558401
"Hello Twitter!"
Well its one way to verify your accountalthough perhaps someone should have warned him what tends to happen if you post photos of yourself holding a sheet of paper:
Interaction With Fans
Sandgaard has also been doing a fair amount of email and social media interaction with fans, although as _MrDick saysAnyone who responds to emails and WhatsApp messages is ok with me .... oh wait 🙄(It seems he brought up Rommedahl spontaneously without @cafc_will asking about him, so he does seem to know a little about us.)
If he's really had Freshfields on this for a month: (a) he knows what he's doing (i.e. not fishing around the Manchester market with JMW and Farnell) and (b) this is proper.
At least he has the savvy to know that being publicly appreciative of Bowyer is likely to keep the fans on side to some extent. He was equally positive with @ElliotCAFC:
Not sure if this was him posting on Facebook or just someone uploading the message to Facebook:
MattF is less sceptical than some about this approach:As for why he's able to reply to people on LinkedIn/setting up Twitter account, seems logical if you know your name is about to be fed to a large fan base that you might make a little time to field some of the questions we are going to have, and by the sounds of what he's saying he's already made a significant time investment in this anyway.Is Sandgaard Or Varney/Barclay Better?
There was a lot of discussion about why Sandgaard has popped out of the woodwork now, and whether he would be a better or worse bet than the Varney/Barclay bid. On the first point,
charltonnick thought:Maybe the removal of Farnell has now allowed approaches to happen whereas before Farnell would not engageOn the comparison point Davo55 outlined his priorities, but preferred the Varney/Barclay optionFor me, it's.
1. First and foremost, we must avoid expulsion from the EFL. That means we need a buyer....although Vfrf reckoned that Sandgaard was the safer option due to the Roland factor:....I come back to my earlier point, RD is clearly looking to use The Valley for development - it's been his gameplan since he agreed the sale it's painfully obvious. Both options have the same endgame, but Sangaard would save us in the short term.Yes some of his announcements today have been a bit "media trained" as if he's been coached to say the right things, but to me (with my accountant hat on) he is a highly credible individual....I'm not saying he's better than Varney/Barclay (or worse for that matter), will be able to negotiate with Roland successfully, or that I think he would be a good owner (as I don't know) but I'm relatively excited by his arrival on the scene.while I'm identifying quite strongly with Stig's internal dialogue here:...Realist Stig: It doesn't matter what we think. We have no control over who comes in. We do have a good track record of chasing out undesirables once they are in. Let's see what happens. Give a cautious welcome and watch with a suspicious eye....Meanwhile, there was some concern as to why @Airman Brown wasn't commenting - was he maintaining a discreet silence because he knew things he couldn't share, or was off penning another epic Voice of the Valley column (as suggested by _MrDick)? Turns out the truth was far more prosaic:So, for those looking for me to comment on this latest bizarre development and wondering why I haven’t, I’ve actually been out for a meal and as this saga never stops I deliberately didn’t take my phone.
I don’t know anything about Thomas Sandgaard, but he certainly wasn’t on anyone’s horizon this morning. There are a few things that don’t smell right here but I’m certainly not in the business of arguing PV/AB are the only game in town. I said on the radio yesterday that other substantial individuals should be given fair wind. What I would be absolutely wary of is anything involving Murray.
Mr Sandgaard doesn’t appear to have the level of wealth that PV/AB can bring to the table, but let’s see what develops. The important thing is not who the next owner is but what they can do for the club. There are risks in every direction, but the main difficulty remains getting Duchatelet out. It always has been.More Background Information
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-sandgaard-42b748
Sandgaard Capital: https//www.sandgaardcapital.com/about
Sandgaard Foundation: https://www.sandgaardfoundation.org/who-we-are/
Titan100: Profile on Colorado business website
Guru Focus: Story about recent $27.5m shareholding sale
Nasdaq: Nasdaq interview on youtube5 -
Thursday 13th August Part 3 - Just when you thought things were silly enough...More Range Rover Shenanigans
Former club journalist Benjy Nurick had an interesting update:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003287591727104
"Alright, Addicks, who wants a Range Rover update? (Is Range-Rover-Gate too much?)
Well, there are still at least two RRs on the loose, one in Chris Farnell's possession and the other with Dave Jones. #cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003289076510721
"Matt Southall (remember him?), as director of ESI, sent letters to Farnell and Jones demanding the Range Rovers be returned to The Valley.
Southall hired a Midlands-based Logistics company, to collect the cars.
Now is where things really get interesting... #cafc #SaveCAFC"
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003291211300868
"Two employees of the logistics company went to Dave Jones' house to retrieve RR1.
They spoke with Jones for 45 mins. He refused to return the car, saying he was buying it from Elliott (who of course, is not an owner/director of ESI/CAFC per Companies House) #cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003292561973250
"Jones also told the employees of the logistics company that he did not need to return the Range Rover as Elliott would be confirmed as owner next week (I'd take that with one massive pinch of salt personally). #cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003294843670530
"Farnell, meanwhile, also refused to return his Range Rover, stating that it was a gift from Elliott.
So where does that leave things?
Well, Jones and Farnell, who both have no involvement with the club, each have of one of the infamous Ranger Rovers. #cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003296353554432
"Unconfirmed rumours that the club is also now attempting to get the Range Rovers back from Farnell/Jones.
Will update more on Range-Rover-Gate as I get it...#cafc #SaveCAFC"Is that another lie from Farnell then? Sure i saw his reply to a fan 1-2 days ago saying that Southall had the Range Rovers.Southall demanding the return of the Range Rovers is like Lyle Taylor criticising someone for lack of loyalty
If Farnell - who was working for Nimer/ESI to sell the club to Elliott - is now saying he will not return the Range Rover because it was a gift from Elliott - who was a buyer for the club, and for whom Farnell was DEFINITELY NOT working (because it would be a conflict of interest, wouldn't it, Chris?) - then doesn't this gift of a Range Rover look suspiciously like an attempt to bribe? Which Farnell by his own admission has accepted?
Please explain the mistake in my logic, someone!"I think Farnell's claiming that he wasn't working to sell the club to Elliott, just acting as club lawyer. At least that's the story this week. However, even so, Bangkokaddick pondered:I'm wondering how Farnell is pemitted to accept a "gift" as large as this and I hope this has been brought to the attention of the SRA.A little later, Benjy had some further updates
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294003296353554432
"Another important update: Matt Southall, who’s chasing after Farnell/Jones’ RRs, also has two Range Rovers himself and is refusing to return them #cafc #SaveCAFC"Wouldn't it be easier for Southall to return the two range rovers he still has rather than chasing someone else to return "theirs"?This was an answer to CAST on 29/5/2020
Q: Are all five Range Rovers back in possession of the club? If not why not?
Three out of the five Range Rovers are now under the club’s control.
The remaining two Range Rovers which have not been recovered are those used at some point by Mr. Southall and which he has not returned voluntarily despite repeated requests.
There are legal proceedings taking place, so I can't comment anymore on this at this stageI don't suppose if anyone knows if those proceedings were ever concluded, and if not, given the club lawyer at that time no longer works for the club, who is dealing with it now?And there was another problem:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294014355969900547
"In addition, Southall has been told he should not be using the Charlton headed paper considering he’s only involved with the club by default (of still being part of ESI) #cafc #SaveCAFC"@LouisMend was distinctly unimpressed:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294014762892787714
"Thing with this is, it’s still part of this stupid game playing we’ve had for months and it’s ironic that Southall is involved as he’s one of the main protagonists in this whole mess and should never be forgiven by any Charlton fan. #cafc"and as Ben observes:
https://twitter.com/benathl/status/1294015855190315010
"Plus the fact that it’s his 50m agreement that’s arguably the main reason we’re still in this mess"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294017309774938114
"What’s clear from all of this is that everyone involved in this game played with Charlton can’t be trusted and clearly doesn’t have the club’s interests at heart.
That includes Southall, Elliott, Farnell, Jones, etc #cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1294022476838600713
"Another important note: I don’t believe Southall had authorization from the club to chase these RRs, so remains to be seen whether Farnell/Jones agree to hand them over to the club #cafc"Curiouser And Curiouser
MattF noticed an interesting ad on a car sales website:Anyone want to buy the Range Rover in Dave Jones' possession?
https://www.carcraft.co.uk/used-land-rover/range-rover/details-16356700/land-rover-range-rover-vogue-seFor those asking how he knows it's the same car, it's the same registration number as quoted in the first letter at the top of this post. This is puzzling - why would he be advertising a car for sale that he was saying he was buying from Elliott?Can't really figure out who it is taking the pictures from the reflection but the infotainment system suggests the name Lee as the user
which leads to a fairly elementary conclusionMattF said
Assume its someone from carcraft taking the pictures, obviously Amis gave "his" range rover back and the "club" have redistributed itI wonder if Amis still has access to the tracking details for it?Media Coverage:
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-make-it-second-time-lucky-as-they-land-hearts-striker-conor-washington/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-new-boy-washington-backed-to-improve-end-product-after-working-with-manager-lee-bowyer/
BBC Sport: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53765631
BBC Sport: https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/18650017.government-urged-save-charlton-athletic-fc-expulsion/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-super-wealthy-danish-businessman-thomas-sandgaard-wants-to-buy-charlton-athletic/
The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12396837/charlton-survival-thomas-sandgaard-club-takeover/ (or webarchive version)
Bold.dk: https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/nyheder/dansker-vil-koebe-charlton-athletic/ (or translation from Danish)3 - Sponsored links:
-
Friday 14th August - A quieter day thankfullySUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Update on the transfer embargo - limit of £1.3k a week in wages
- Varney confirms he met with Sandgaard in the last month, but more as a general chat about English football, and reiterates that he's representing Barclay not anyone else.
- Mihail says he doesn't think "any updates on ownership will come out from the club soon, I’m sorry
More On The Transfer Embargo
Richard Cawley had further explanation as to how the transfer embargo would pan out in practice:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294170886321381378
"More on Charlton's transfer embargo. They can't pay more than £1.3k a week to any player (Gilbey and Washington were the exceptions to that).
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-face-a-restricted-wage-limit-under-efl-transfer-embargo-that-will-impact-on-their-remaining-summer-targets/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294170887843913734
"If they weren't under the embargo that would rise to £2k per week. And there would be no limit to wages for loans and U21 players."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294170889186160645
"But as it stands they are going to have to get very creative in this window.
There are League Two players who earn more than £1.3k per week. Going to be a real struggle to add established players under those restrictions."Looking at it from a slightly different angle, paulbaconsarnie calculated:So the 4 range rovers @ 100k a pop plus the 2 years rent on the flat equates to funding 5 players wages on 2 year contracts.Cawley continued:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294171549654814720
"The reason why Charlton wanted to push through deals before the salary cap vote on Friday was that contracts signed before that did not apply. EFL initially blocked their transfers. They'd also lined up Kieran Sadlier, who ended up signing for Rotherham."And when asked about whether this would affect offering new deals to existing players:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294172995704037377
"Yeah. I think from now it also applies on that. It wouldn't apply for someone like JFC, Williams or Amos who all had options to extend.
So if they wanted Matthews to stay, for example, they can only offer a total package (including bonuses and agent fees) of £1.3k a week."There was some confusion as to whether that limit was purely a matter of being in League 1 or a function of the embargo:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294175389598851072
"The latter. If embargo was lifted then Charlton could pay £2k and they'd also be able to have unlimited spend on loan additions and players under the age of 21.
Now they can't do more than £1.3k - on anybody."I'm not sure whether this next bit means that even the club aren't entirely sure of the parameters of the embargo, or are asking for an exemption as he was with us last season:
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1294273555052535808
"Charlton would like to be able to offer a new contract to Adam Matthews and have asked the EFL if this is possible given the current restrictions it is under"More On Sandgaard
After the initial excitement, the forensic examination of Sandgaard's comments began to kick in first thing in the morning:
So he either went round the back of the East stand had a look through the gates or has a rocket pack.Although dickplumb had a more obvious answer:Or he saw it from Charlton Heights.he actually has a council flat in Valiant House : - )Another lifer also had an email reply from Sandgaard, which rather implied that Farnell and Elliott failing the ODT may have been a critical factor:
Not sure what to make of it all. European/American businessman with bone fide business and wealth is good. Bit of a character is not bad. Such bold claims and confidence seem naive.Meanwhile Greg Thame on twitter posted a good thread in response to Sandgaard's first tweet, starting from here (although twitter seems to have screwed up the tweet order a bit):
https://twitter.com/GregoryThame/status/1294077420253908992
"Hi Thomas. The English have an expression, "once bitten, twice shy", so forgive us if you do not receive a warm reception. Previous owners only saw Charlton as an asset or investment opportunity, not as a mutual relationship between custodian and fans. #SaveCAFC 1/6"and Sandgaard responded:
https://twitter.com/sandgaardthomas/status/1294111481638932481
"Trust is earned. I understand that more than you can imagine."Over on the dedicated Sandgaard thread, PaddyP17 confided:I can't go into too much detail, but I had dealings with Thomas Sandgaard a couple of years ago in my line of work and spoke to him a few times. He is a pleasant and articulate man, and any concerns about his character should be regarded with minimal suspicion....Clarification On The Varney Connection
After a bit of confusion on Thursday evening, @Airman Brown was able to clarify that Varney had previously met Sandgaard:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1294197275749687296
"Have confirmed that @_PeterVarney has met Thomas Sandgaard in the last month or so, which was as a favour to someone at Joma, #cafc’s former kit supplier, although for a more general chat about English football. He is not representing him, however."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1294197275749687296
"Confident that Sandgaard is a clean pair of hands in this - had never approached ESI and doesn’t have connections to any of the villains, but he’s had no official access to #cafc. But early to say he is a genuine contender but he’s credible."(@Airman Brown has expanded on this in a little more detail on the main thread)And Varney himself tweeted to confirm that a little later
https://twitter.com/_PeterVarney/status/1294219574171381763
"Just to confirm, I did meet Thomas Sandgaard. I had a good idea back in January how #CAFC would play out and have had many discussions since then, but I represent Andrew Barclay. I will do what I can to save the club. I’m just a fan trying to help and nothing more."Some fans are getting impatient about the lack of progress with the Varney/Barclay bid, and a query as to whether it was all just hot air got this slightly tetchy response:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1294222370513747968
"Sure, it’s all been a pantomime to get #cafc fans excited ... they’ve never had access to the full paperwork, and RD won’t talk to them. But Mihail is now. Can’t expect people to chuck millions at a project without understanding the liabilities first."and later in the day, Mihail dashed hopes of any imminent updates
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1294314336429715457
"I don’t think any updates on ownership will come out from the club soon, I’m sorry. We’re all bound by confidentiality and NDAs in one way or another. The EFL could make some decision next week on the remaining issues, though."and when asked about whether staff wages would be getting paid this month:
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1294329618317672451
"Getting paid on the last business day of the month, as it has always been."Further Sandgaard Fan Contact
Sandgaard continues to interact with Charlton fans on social media:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1294236963785117696
"It's overwhelming and heartwarming to see all of the support from Charlton fans."which led to one of the weirder things I've seen in this whole saga (although Seth Plum's webchat with a Zynex employee gave it a good go, and I don't think anything's likely to top the whole Princess Wossname thing).Absolute Radio DJ and Charlton fan, Dave Berry tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/daveberry_tweet/status/1294286637225181184
"Hi Thomas, Judging by your social media you’re clearly a keen guitarist and music fan. If, IF you rescue @CAFCofficial and treat the club well I PROMISE YOU your own show on @absoluteradio Classic Rock. #CAFC #SaveCAFC #IKnowPeople" (quoting this tweet)His boss (Absolute Radio's Content Director, Paul Sylvester) then followed up:
https://twitter.com/paulsylvester75/status/1294288379811635200
"I'll need to hear a demo and go through a robust piloting process, but in principle yes...."Another Lifer also used Sandgaard's love of music as a lead in to a message to him over on Linked In about the need for stability, calm and opportunity for the club, and got this response:Hi
Sounds like we'll be jamming together here soon!!
Anyway, I certainly hope I can provide all those things to the club as you describe.
I already have a dialog with the Community Trust and will be supporting them as much as possible in their efforts!
Best regards, ThomasThere was also a minor bit of drama when one fan seemed to suggest that Sandgaard had been seen at Farnell's office, but this email denies that happened:
Sandgaard Interviews
Later Sandgaard tweeted out a link to a short interview he'd done with the Zynex Director Of Communications:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1294263104084357120
"Some of you asked to hear from me ... here is the link to a recent brief interview" (with a link to this video)@Rikofold made some very pertinent observations in response:
https://twitter.com/rikofold/status/1294510239329464325
"Thomas, the ambition is great. Let's hear more about the how - the short-mid term is going to be tough for any owner. How are you going to reunite the club with its stadium and training ground? How do you see football success returning after recent owners have set us back years?"https://twitter.com/rikofold/status/1294511614364995584
"You've got the most amazing fan base here - just look to their campaigning in the 80s, to CARD, both creating in pennies what it would cost Zynex millions to achieve. How will you engage with the incredible resources they offer to move the club forward?"https://twitter.com/rikofold/status/1294513066823090176
"If you can put flesh on the bones of these questions, there's the potential for an effective partnership between board and fans that's been absent too long, that the footballing world used to envy. You'd find strong backing here. It's why @_PeterVarney is trusted - he gets it."From the response here, this video may have been a bit of a tactical error (although certain Lifers where somewhat distracted by the charms of the interviewer). ForeverAddickted spotted:Very vague with his answers and gave very easy responses that are too designed to placate peoplewhile soapboxsam went with a historical reference for their critique of it:Thomas Sandgaard makes Mark Hulyer plans seem really modest back in June 82 and he brought us a two time European Footballer of the year in Allan Simonsen.Think it's time for the prospective buyers to stop talking and using social media and put all there energies into buying the clubHe's also done an interview with the Charlton Vital Football site, which you can read here.More On The #SaveCAFC Campaign
CAST issued their weekly update, including what's been going on with the #SaveCAFC Campaign:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/08/what-is-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update-16/Also Heather Alderson from CAST appeared on the "Going Up, Going Down" EFL podcast from The Athletic, along with Johnnie Jackson, talking about our situation.More On Range Rover-gate
As a follow up to a @Bangkokaddick's question in the last post _MrDick pointed out:Even if Farnell was gifted a £100k car by a loyal client, I’m sure HMRC and the relevant authorities would want to be assured it had been properly declared.and on the question of whether it was allowable to sell on one or more of the carsCardinal Sin advisedIn terms of the Range Rovers, back at the start of all this a fan with access to JLR's database told us there were six cars and that four had been leased for two years and two purchased. It's possible the ones Farnell and Dave Jones have are the ones purchased. The process of selling cars via chain dealers is fairly well regulated and it's pretty easy and routine to check owner history and any oustanding lease or HP terms. It's a criminal offence to sell a vehicle you don't own and there will be a paper trail.although as far as YA69ZKZ went Rob7Lee saidAlready done checks, it's on HP with Investec Asset Finance.I don't know how recently those checks were done mind you, so I don't know if it's possible that the finance has been bought out recently?And Finally...
RodneysMiddleName came up with an interesting idea which he outlined in a long post the first bit of which is quoted belowI know this has probably been covered before but based on fans' general distrust of the League's Fit and Proper testing, it's probably something that we as fans should introduce as well. It obviously won't be binding but if a prospective owner wants to know the things we feel they need to do to avoid pigs on the pitch then at least they'll have no excuse if they ignore it. Maybe the Trust would be better placed to do this, but anyway, here some things I'd expect an owner to be aware they have to measure up to:.....
Media Coverage:
Charlton Vital Football: https://charlton.vitalfootball.co.uk/exclusive-thomas-sandgaard-to-back-lee-bowyer-and-steve-gallen-if-he-acquires-the-club/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-face-a-restricted-wage-limit-under-efl-transfer-embargo-that-will-impact-on-their-remaining-summer-targets/
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-boost-wealthy-businessman-thomas-sandgaard-buy-club-a4525056.html/3 -
Monday 17th August Part 1 - mostly catching up after the weekendElliott Pops Back UpSUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Elliott is seeking an injunction to prevent ESI being sold to another party
- The club are waiting for clarification from the EFL regarding re-signing Adam Matthews in relation to the transfer embargo
- The
decision in the Sheffield Wednesday case has been published, but
there's no news as to whether the EFL will appeal the timing of the
punishment
- Varney & Barclay have dropped out of the
takeover race, citing Roland's failure to engage as one of the main
stumbling blocks
- Barclay has endorsed Sandgaard's approach as "by far the best option" (presumably of those remaining in play)
On Saturday afternoon Vfrf announced:Rumours on Twitter circulating that Farnell is causing mischief still and something should come out tomorrow about that.and just over half an hour later, Richard Cawley tweeted:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1294680012990406658
"Paul Elliott is seeking an injunction to prevent East Street Investments being sold to any other party."This was received as well as might have been expected
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294684090038452224
"Give it up Paul. It won’t end well for you. #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1294687575756754946
"Here we go again. #SaveCAFC" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)@Airman Brown didn't think this would work:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1294684582206484481
"If the purchase agreement is contingent on Elliott getting @efl approval then this is pointless unless his disqualification is overturned. If it’s not contingent on that then the judge in Manchester was misled. Think Elliott needs some better legal advice. #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)Well this is interesting if Elliott moves for an injunction he will have to outline his case and reasoning, which will put it all in the public domain. I wonder who his solicitor will be.Perhaps they're going to argue that the EFL process was not allowed to run its course (by going through the appeals process) and so the Nimer gang are not able to action the contingency clause, and so are in breachalthough despite Mihail saying that the appeals to the EFL on Elliott and Farnell's behalf were not continuing, Airman Brown thought there might still be some uncertainty over that:...My understanding is that it might be possible for an individual to appeal a refusal without club support because otherwise they could be left in an unfair position in future, but the situation is unclear because, as ever, the EFL haven’t clarified it.This injunction tactic has been tried before elsewhere:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294688291439226880
"As pointed out by someone in the comments on @RichCawleySLP’s tweet, Bassini did similar at Bolton last year #cafc
BLOCKED: Laurence Bassini prevents Wanderers sale with court injunction"
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/17825561.blocked-laurence-bassini-prevents-bolton-sale-court-writ/https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1294690541922394114
"He achieved it at first but seems it was overturned about a week later
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49347728although it may have the potential to backfire spectacularly according to Gary Poole:As I understand it if you take out an injunction to stop someone or some entity doing something, if you then go on to lose the subsequent court case you will not only be liable for the other parties legal cost, but also any loses they suffered as a result of the injunction. Elliot would need deep pockets if he did this and it went wrongSandgaard was a bit perplexed:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1294809736655896577
"We all saw Paul Elliot’s recent stunt. Can someone please explain why that was necessary?!?"I'm not sure anyone apart from Elliott can answer that, but it may be helpful in one respect, as Chizz suggestsIf there were still any doubts whatsoever, then this move by Elliot clears it up completely: he's just demonstrated he doesn't own the club. If he's the owner, he would have no need at all to "seek an injunction" to prevent the club being sold. He would simply not sell it....There was some discussion of this on the Jim White show at Monday lunchtime, which you can hear from about 11minutes here, but I'm not sure I'd bother unless you're really keen to hear a load of Farnell's talking points regurgitated.More On Sandgaard's Fan Engagement
Sandgaard continues with his Tiggerish approach to the fanbase and wider Charlton community. He had an email exchange with Redmidland via LinkedIn, shared this screenshot of a conversation with another fan:
and enthused about the Community Trust:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1294649244792565761
"I’m excited to have started a dialogue with the CACT. That will be an important part of our future."He's also done a phone interview with Jack Burton (@JackstaBee on twitter), the Charlton fan who also did the Peter Varney interview a little while back:
https://twitter.com/JackstaBee/status/1295100197480075266
"Thomas Sandgaard Interview https://youtu.be/nr06lvaYC2A #cafc #SaveCAFC
Today I had the privilege of having a chat with @SandgaardThomas regarding Charlton Athletic have a listen in the link attached very interesting interview and a very nice man Thanks for your time Thomas 😊 👍🏻"and then on Monday he retweeted this tweet about the new VOTV piece about him:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1295298440117854210
"NEW FROM VOTV: Sandgaard rocks up playing all the right tunes - new article on weekend developments in the #cafc takeover saga, which is suddenly moving forward at pace. Read it now at http://votvonline.com" (with the Sandgaard picture)(The actual piece is here: http://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2019-20-blogs/17-8-sandgaard-rocks-up-playing-all-the-right-tunes/)while later on he seems to have spoken to Dodger too:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1295395056577257472
"Just had a great personal phone call with @dodgercafc. He reminded me that I am not only buying a club, I am also becoming part of a great family"The level of engagement is causing 2121 a little concern:I find it strange he is texting and tweeting et al with fans like all the other conmen did. Out of interest is this common with other takeover bids at other clubs?and while that's a fair question, se9addick is probably right here:I honestly don’t think anything that happens at Charlton is “common” anymore. We have transcended normality at this point.Referring back to the brief video interview from Friday, mascot88 was warming to him:He's a bit awkward and his choice of the interviewer is not on the money, some septic who doesn't know anything about football...
...He's not a naturally charismatic guy, if you ask me, but he has massive success and has won many commercial battles, he feels from the outside like the dream we have all been waiting for.
I am trying hard not to get excited.I think there is a big difference between RD and TS in attitude from the starting point. TS has ambition, passion and drive, whilst RD right from the off showed none of these things.Weekend Discussion Points
Finally for part 1, a few bits of discussion that came up over the weekend that may have a bearing on what happens later in this saga. Despite today's events, this post from @Airman Brown provides some useful background:There are a few misunderstandings around which I might be able to clear up. Firstly, I know a bit more about the Barclay interest than I am able to say, which is why I am more positive about it than the known facts encourage others to be....The question as to whether ESI could sell the club and then fold leaving Roland a worthless guarantee was floated again, which led to this exchange:Airman Brown explained:
No, the debt is with CAFC Ltd and secured over it. No one is going to be able to move things around to leave it over a defunct company.
Cafc43v3r wondered
How enforceable would a personal guarantee between a Belgian, a Syrian who lives in the UAE that's passed on to an American be in the the Post Brexit UK?
NornIrishAddick replied:
The likelihood would be quite high if it's part of a properly worded and notarised legal agreement drawn up in the UK.
Cafc43v3r said
I would accept its probably legally sound, but how likely would it be that anyone would be forced into paying it. It could take years to enforce, if it ever wasWhile we're on the subject of legal niceties, ElliotCAFC asked:What legally stops Nimer from cancelling the deal?
if it’s his to sell, surely he can cancel the deal at any point before completion?to which ISawLeaburnScore replied:All depends what the sale and purchase agreement says. I have concerns that it doesn't allow Nimer to abort and have had since this angle emerged. Nimer was desperate to sell. He wouldn't have been putting in potential barriers to impede the sale.and on the question of what would happen if various authorities have been misled regarding the true ownership status of ESI ISawLeaburnScore said... If the position has been misrepresented to the High Court, there could foreseeably be criminal proceedings, SRA disciplinary proceedings, etcThe actual cost of completing the purchase of the club, Valley and Training Ground came up again. While speculating on the likelihood of a quick deal, Airman Brown said:It’s not difficult to do a deal with ESI if you are also willing to 1) take on unknown potential liabilities 2) abandon any future leverage with RD and 3) accept the full burden of the ex-director loans. Let’s say £70m. However, RD may still have a veto on the sale of ESI.Sorry to mention the dreaded Aussies again, but I think they mentioned £55mIt’s not a fixed amount, but it could be more.Then there's the issue of the ex-director's loans. Garrymanilow wondered:I'm a bit more concerned if TS has got a bit giddy and is willing to just take the club on without looking into absolutely everything, because that's what Roland did minus the joy.... Are the ex-director loans really that great a liability to take on? I thought it was £7m only payable upon promotion to the Prem, which is, what 4% of what you get for going up?Except the terms have been breached and you have to take on the risk of being forced to pay them now. If TS comes in waving money around and without speaking to the ex-directors, they will probably think that they’ll have some of that too.
After all, if Nimer and Southall are profiting from creating chaos, why shouldn’t they be paid out for their genuine investment?And finally, Chizz saidIf TS closes the deal to purchase Charlton, by paying off Nimer (et al) and taking ownership of ESI it would create one, big advantage. It would bring a badly needed period of certainty and stability that has been missing for years.
And I can imagine that lasting all the way to the end of this month.16 -
Monday 17th August Part 2 - "... it's a shame, the way you mess around with my heart..."Varney and Barclay pull out
In mid afternoon, @Airman Brown tweeted out this
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1295364678172971008
"More dramatic developments coming today on the #cafc saga."Cue a brief flurry of trepidation, including from me:I think it may be time to set up a keyboard shortcut for "Oh FFS!"which was short lived as Peter Varney soon tweeted out this statement:
https://twitter.com/_PeterVarney/status/1295365472209248256
"A #CAFC update."
meaning that trepidation was inevitably followed by a lot of disappointment, although not total meltdown because as Chunes observed:Thank god TS is around. Otherwise that would have been absolutely devastating news.Appreciation for the Barclay and Varney approach came from both Richard Cawley:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295367884860985355
"Andrew Barclay drops out of buying Charlton Athletic.
Think he'd have been a really good choice but couldn't really get negotiations off the ground - wanted to do a deal for The Valley, training ground and the football club.
Thomas Sandgaard seems to be in pole position."and @Airman Brown, who was scathing about the input of certain other parties:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1295368852495380480
"Remains my view that the Barclay/Varney approach was the best one for #cafc, but @andrewdbarclay has behaved professionally and therefore deserves respect. There are various people in/around the club who set out to poison his chances."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1295370441251577856
"Murray will now try to climb aboard the Sandgaard bandwagon clutching a copy of the fantasy peninsula prospectus. We need to make very clear to @SandgaardThomas that as #cafc fans we want Murray nowhere near influence in the club ever again."...I do think that he is desperate to restore his reputation and position within the club and he has worked to try to find a way back in...and in a detailed post, Alwaysneil discussed how Murray's relationship with Roland may be affecting all this:Isn’t the issue we have that Murray may not be in the running with ESI, but he is the only person involved in and around Charlton that Duchatelet seems to trust. ...CAST sent their thanks to Varney as a fellow fan:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1295449413381500928
"Thank you for all your efforts, Peter. Look forward to seeing you back at The Valley as soon as we can all be there."Barclay then tweeted out his take on the situation:
https://twitter.com/andrewdbarclay/status/1295372084982538240
"Peter & I have worked hard to reach a deal over the last 6 months to resolve the CAFC situation.
Valley & SL was key to our plans as Peter said, in order to construct a state of the art facility in order to double down & invest in academy / youth"https://twitter.com/andrewdbarclay/status/1295372659266641920
"Unfortunately we weren’t able to make any headway with the owners of those assets despite our best efforts.
On top of that, the risks around doing business with ESI has made it very difficult.
I believe it’s best to step aside and let TS have a go"https://twitter.com/andrewdbarclay/status/1295373297652293633
"We spoke not long ago and he seems to have a bigger apetite to take on the risks associated and therefore it’s best that he has a clear run at it.
I wish him the best of luck with it as he is by far the best option."https://twitter.com/andrewdbarclay/status/1295373849752633351
"Lastly, PV deserves all the respect and applause he can get. From day 1, he worked on this project with me for FREE. There was nothing in it for him if we were successfully. Not a dime.
He did this for the love of the club.
TS should build a statue of PV if he gets control !!"This from GoOnYouHaddocks summed up many of the reactions to that:It's a shame that Barclay has bowed out, he seems like a good bloke and has handled this with a lot of class. It may be best in the long run to only have one potential buyer though, so that RD can't try to set up a bidding war.This led to a discussion of Roland's impact on the whole process, and randy andy came up with a detailed analysis of what he thinks Roland's motivation is:...He wants to be right, he wants to have gone into football and come out with a profit, or at least break even...which led Rothko to suggest:I think TS will buy the club, rent the ground and training ground, and then work to try and resolve the ownership longer term.I agree which means it's up to TS and ESI to make that deal.
Unless there is some clause in the original sale allowing RD to block a new owner then there's nothing RD, or Murray, can do to block TS.
The AB deal was different as he wanted TV/SL so Roland was key...
Further Fallout From The Varney/Barclay Announcement
Richard Cawley linked to his piece on the Varney statement, and highlighted the mention of moving away from the Valley
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295381062751784960
"Dropped that Peter Varney statement into a piece.
Interesting that he mentions talk of moving the club away from The Valley - original version of ESI seemed to feel this had legs too.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/andrew-barclay-drops-out-of-contention-to-buy-charlton-athletic/"and the leader of the council reiterated the club's importance to the borough:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295393979173875713
"Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe says they would oppose any plan to move Charlton Athletic out of the borough.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/greenwich-council-chief-well-oppose-any-plan-to-move-charlton-athletic-out-of-the-borough/"https://twitter.com/CharltonCARD/status/1295412284962082819
""#cafc belongs in the Royal Borough of Greenwich & we will oppose anything that could lead to them being moved out of the borough.
"The stadium & training ground sites are designated for specific uses & we would not be interested in any proposals that involved a change of use."
(quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)"although PragueAddick observed they hadn't made a commitment to the club staying at the Valley:...You also have RBG appearing to make a strong statement, although the RBG cynic in me notes that they say they are against Charlton moving out of the borough ... So I've just whacked in this FOI question to RBG...
@robroy has a mate that works in planning, so asked him about the risks to the Valley and Sparrows Lane from changes in planning law, and he replied as follows:
Meanwhile Sandgaard also did an interview with the SLP:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295399087186022401
"Thomas Sandgaard still very positive on his bid to buy Charlton Athletic - and reckons it could potentially be done very soon.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-aiming-to-quickly-wrap-up-a-deal-for-charlton-athletic/"where he said:“For me it is about the Valley immediately and The Valley in the medium term,” said Sandgaard. “In the long term we could be doing so well in the Premier League that we need a stadium that is bigger and better than West Ham.
But I have got no plans to do that. We’ve got to win some games first before anything else becomes a reality.”which is vaguely reassuring I suppose.Sandgaard's general positivity in this interview seems to tally with whatDubaiCAFC has been hearing:The speed he is getting things done, and pleasing all parties, maybe it could be done before the end of the week, subject to EFL approval!and even though JamesSeed is still a bit worried:Let’s hope TS doesn’t start losing interest, as so many have before him, when he hears more about all the liabilities and complications. We can only hope that he or his legal team are already fully informed....he doesn’t seem put off by skeletons he is finding, might delay things slightly, but I am 90% sure he will be the owner of the club by the time the season starts.
More On The EFL And The Transfer Embargo
Over the weekend the Sun had a story based on a leak of the Independent Disciplinary Commission report into Sheffield Wednesday's financial irregularities:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12413633/sheffield-wednesday-efl-relegate-charlton/This seemed to suggest that the punishment was delayed due to the EFL's errors in handling the case, and seems to have been confirmed with the official publication of the report. There's not been any further noises from the club about taking legal action over this as far as I can see, but they're probably distracted by the potential sale of ESI. However, with the news that Sheffield Wednesday are going to be appealing the punishment, this may not be all over, as Blucher suggests:I agree with @CAFCsayer that Wednesday may be making a mistake by appealing, as it may conceivably trigger a cross-appeal from the EFL on the timing of the points deduction...You could argue that as in order to be consistent they really should do, given that they appealed against the suspension of part of Macclesfield's points deduction which got them relegated, but they may be reluctant to given the effect it'll have on the impending start of the new season.While on the subject of the EFL, Richard Cawley had some more information on how the transfer embargo is affecting the squad:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295270080025112578
"Charlton are waiting on EFL feedback as they look to get Adam Matthews signed up.
Lee Bowyer quoted in this piece👇
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/lee-bowyer-provides-contract-update-on-charlton-athletic-defender/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295297721981640704
"Lee Bowyer has spoken about Naby Sarr leaving Charlton.
He wanted to keep the Frenchman, but the club's transfer embargo prevented that.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-boss-bowyer-reacts-to-naby-sarrs-departure-how-he-got-best-out-of-french-defender/"
New Fan Action
Details of the rumoured demonstration for this Saturday have now emerged:
https://twitter.com/ParodyCharlton/status/1295474361684635648
"DEMONSTRATION | 115 years of history were risked after ESI bought #cafc for just £1, so fans are asked to leave a symbolic £1 at Bartram’s statue.
Let’s show the world, including @SandgaardThomas & the @EFL, what our special club means to the community.
https://www.castrust.org/2020/08/bring-1-to-the-valley-on-saturday-at-noon/"
Good to see that a common Charlton Life gag made it into the CAST publicity for the event:£1 - how far does it stretch these days?
• 4.7 chips at a Valley kiosk (based on claims of 14 chips per portion)
• Just under a litre of unleaded fuel for your Range Rover* (if a Costco member)
• The right to claim ownership of Charlton Athletic Football ClubCAST and CAFCFansFor Fans confirmed it was a joint protest across various groups:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1295481680074072067
"Joint action across fan groups including @CAFCfansforfans @CharltonCARD @dodgercafc @dneventslogist1 @BigDL @airmanbrown ."https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1295470447920844802
"Get pictures of you, the kids, pet in an @CAFCofficial shirt with your pound coin. Lets give ESI the message.
Get #CAFCquid trending just like #SaveCAFC #ESIout @CharltonCARD @CAStrust @BigDL/"while Benjy Nurick tweeted out a reminder of our fans' resilience:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1295441457466286083
More Range Rover Nonsense
Just before lunch idealworld informed us about the progress of his complaint to Car Craft that they were advertising a Range Rover apparently owned by the club for sale:Car Craft have replied this morning!: "Many thanks for bringing this to our attention. We no longer have physical branches, we use our website to stock vehicles from dealerships all across the UK. I have raised this to our complaints team who will look into the matter further and make the relevant reports and get this removed off our listings. Kind Regards Car Craft"and then late on that night a story about it showed up on the Daily Mail website:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1295485274273853440
"Charlton company car mysteriously put up for sale https://mol.im/a/8636767 via @MailSport (but the byline ought to have been shared by the Mail's lawyer, on reading it!) #cafc"That story immediately raises 2 questions - who at Charlton disputed the claim that they'd demanded the cars' recovery, and who agreed Farnell would keep the cars for safe keeping?
And Finally...
Benjy Nurick retweeted a definition that we could probably relate to this ongoing saga
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1295430870451527681
Media Coverage:
Voice Of The Valley: http://www.votvonline.com/home/the-2019-20-blogs/17-8-sandgaard-rocks-up-playing-all-the-right-tunes/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/andrew-barclay-drops-out-of-contention-to-buy-charlton-athletic/
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-athletic-news-takeover-charlton-athletic-andrew-barclay-ends-interest-duchatelet-a4526941.html
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/greenwich-council-chief-well-oppose-any-plan-to-move-charlton-athletic-out-of-the-borough/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-aiming-to-quickly-wrap-up-a-deal-for-charlton-athletic/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/lee-bowyer-provides-contract-update-on-charlton-athletic-defender/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-boss-bowyer-reacts-to-naby-sarrs-departure-how-he-got-best-out-of-french-defender/
The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12413633/sheffield-wednesday-efl-relegate-charlton/ (or webarchive version)
BBC Sport: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53803735
Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8636767/Charlton-company-car-club-allegedly-trying-recover-mysteriously-sale.html5 -
Tuesday 18th August - "... smoke on the water..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Bid for a quid
protest on Saturday launched (this was actually last night, but happened
after part 1 went up, and I forgot to add it after I did part 2)
- Club have requested that the EFL appeal the Sheffield Wednesday points deduction
- Hints from Mihail that the Sandgaard deal will not include the Valley or Sparrows Lane
Sandgaard Continues The Charm Offensive
A number of fans seem to have had conversations with Sandgaard in the last few days:
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1295688438302334985
"1. Good afternoon ladies and gents. Just an update. We had the pleasure of a teams chat with @SandgaardThomas late last night. Thomas was very forthcoming and his passion for charlton is real. Truly grateful for his time and his project with charlton looks to be fantastic...."https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1295688439334133761
"2. He spoke of stability, players being at the club longer than 12/24 months, a drive to improve fan engagement, support for the coaching staff in terms of transfers. His excitement is visible and it was fantastic to have an honest and open discussion. COYA. ❤🤍💯."and he evens seems to be supportive of the weekend protest?
https://twitter.com/BakesSe7/status/1295723558698655745
"Spoken to @SandgaardThomas today and he is 90% confident that a deal will be agreed, also happy about protest and hopes it is good weather and is expecting some unknown surprises when having talks with Roland this week #cafc #SaveCAFC"
although as se9addick saidIncredibly “90% confident” sounds like a step down in his confidence levels!Plus he's given the Vital Charlton site another interview:
https://twitter.com/VitalCharlton/status/1295399355906772993
"@SandgaardThomas says that after a deal for the club has been secured he will speak to Varney and Barclay.
Follow Vital Charlton for more! 🔴⚪
Read here 👇 #cafc #SaveCAFC
https://charlton.vitalfootball.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-could-offer-peter-varney-a-role-if-he-were-to-secure-a-deal-for-charlton/"Then this evening, out came the replica shirt:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1295800473379799040
"Waiting to put this on until it is official. I’m working on it and look forward to wearing it."
although that did trigger a little snark from @LouisMend
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1295801812700876800
"Club shop finally sorted out that lockdown delivery delay it seems" (quoting the above tweet from Sandgaard)More Takeover Progress?
First thing in the morning, Mihail posted another one of his cryptic musical tweets:
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1295617830273024000
"Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water 1972 (High Quality)
https://youtu.be/ikGyZh0VbPQ"
This led to a load of speculation as to what this meant. Given that Sandgaard is a rock fan, the general assumption was this must be a sign that negotiations were progressing well, although this tweet headed in a different but familiar direction:
https://twitter.com/JordanJLDicks/status/1295626669059964929
"Aka - the mist rolling in from the Thames? #cafc"while those who were familiar with the lyrics and not just the iconic riff would've appreciated this guess from thenewbiePresumably he's spending his honeymoon in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline...In the end all became clear on reading the latest piece from The Sun:
https://twitter.com/TheSunFootball/status/1295836111634337792
"Rock ‘n roll businessman @SandgaardThomas in #CAFC takeover talks - and vows to have Addicks challenging for European silverware | @justinallen1976"
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12437759/thomas-sandgaard-charlton-takeover-talks-exclusive/as it reveals that apparently Smoke On The Water is Sandgaard's ringtone.One bit in particular stuck out to Scoham though:We've gone from Southall and his five year plans to this:
“Then we can be playing for silverware on a European level and I mean the Europa League and Champions League.”And this is the point where I think someone needs to take him to one side and say "mate, the enthusiasm's great, but let's not be thinking about running marathons before we can walk here."During the afternoon, Henry Irving spotted an odd coincidence:Interesting that Thomas might have a former Premier League chairman working for him
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Mort
No idea if he's working on our case but might explain how they can move so fast. Having someone who understands Football would help.However, later on, this pair of tweets from Marian Mihail seemed to indicate that negotiations with Roland have not progressed in the way we might have hoped, although probably in the way most of us anticipated:
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1295809674923606016
"I see this as a fair and accurate statement and will make no further comments. Their plan was great, it was just not the time for it. I hope the club, Valley and Sparrows Lane will one day get back under the same owner too, but maybe 2020 is not the year for that.." (quoting this tweet from Peter Varney)https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1295812558780280832
"There are 5 years to do the deal; the rent is more than fair; plenty of big clubs in Europe rent their stadium. Don’t panic, club’s in a better place than it was two weeks ago"and @Airman Brown voiced a common concern with this approach:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1295828184123023360
"Better, perhaps, but #cafc will never be truly secure without The Valley." (quoting this tweet from Marian Mihail)Again I'm not sure whether Richard Cawley has further inside information or is surmising based on those tweets, but he reckons:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295835112156934145
"It's looking likely that Thomas Sandgaard's deal will just be for Charlton Athletic.
If he does get an agreement with ESI then it looks like the same rental agreement will be in place with Roland Duchatelet for The Valley and training ground."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295835112156934145
"Has been mentioned before by other interested parties that the annual rent of £200k - that's for both sites - is a low figure.
Of course the ideal outcome is to own the whole lot."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295835113322946560
"That £200k rental agreement runs until 2025 - at which point ESI were supposed to cough up the £50m+ to buy both sites.
I also don't think you can discount Duchatelet being prepared to stretch the length of his lease."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295835585328943108
"Sandgaard has described himself as "flexible" in putting together a deal that gets across the line.
He hasn't said he won't buy The Valley and the training ground.
But I'd imagine the negotiations with RD would not be swift for either."SoundAsa£ wondered if just buying Sparrows Lane might be an option for now:There’s absolutely no way it could be turned over to housing development and there’s little or nothing in it for Duchatalet in the short or long term.
It would leave us free to develop the academy in whatever way we wished......I’m sure he doesn’t want the headache of being involved in the planning permission and building regs etc which as the owner he would have to be constantly consulted on.....Have the ex-Directors got to approve the deal?to which Airman Brown repliedThe ex-directors’ consent is needed for the lease of the ground, unless they are paid off. I am not saying they would block a takeover, because they are fans, but that doesn’t change just because RD ignores it.The difference between now and last December's takeover is that time really is of the essence now, if we want to avoid administration or even worse....
Thus I think we need to be realistic and accept that any deal with Roland might have to be done to a separate timescale.More On The EFL
After I mentioned in Monday's Bitesize that the club might be distracted by the ongoing sale activity to appeal Sheffield Wednesday's punishment, it was interesting to see this tweet from Richard Cawley:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295747984106360833
"Charlton Athletic have asked the EFL to appeal the points penalty punishment on Sheffield Wednesday.
They want it enforced for the 2019-20 season. If that had happened the Addicks would have stayed in the Championship at the expense of the Owls.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-request-efl-to-appeal-independent-disciplinary-commission-ruling-on-sheffield-wednesday/"Still no word from the EFL as to whether they're actually going to though.Fan Action
Richard Cawley tweeted out a link to an SLP story about Saturday's Quid protest:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1295623913754562560
"Charlton fans being urged to join a protest at The Valley on Saturday.
Charlton Athletic Supporters' Trust, CARD and Fans4Fans all joining together to support the event.
More details in the story 👇
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-fans-set-to-stage-protest-at-valley-on-saturday-and-want-supporters-to-be-quids-in/"and Heather McKinley from CAST made an appearance on Radio 5 live talking aobut our situation:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1295836895658876931
"Tune in to @ColinMurray on @bbc5live after 11pm tonight for #SaveWAFC and #SaveCAFC discussion on crisis in football. Meanwhile 🤞 for @SandgaardThomas completing the #cafc deal."(The audio starts here after about 44mins although if you want to listen to the segment from the beginning it starts at about 35 minutes)And Finally
Grapevine produced one of their epic posts which is worth taking a bit of time to read.
Media Coverage:
Charlton Vital Football: https://charlton.vitalfootball.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-could-offer-peter-varney-a-role-if-he-were-to-secure-a-deal-for-charlton/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletic-fans-set-to-stage-protest-at-valley-on-saturday-and-want-supporters-to-be-quids-in/
The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12437759/thomas-sandgaard-charlton-takeover-talks-exclusive/ (or webarchive version)1 - Bid for a quid
protest on Saturday launched (this was actually last night, but happened
after part 1 went up, and I forgot to add it after I did part 2)
-
Wednesday 19th August - "...guess who's back, back again..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- SLP report suggests Elliott has made an application for an injunction, and the club aren't standing in the way of his appeal regarding the ODT
- Same report also suggests that two other groups apart from Sandgaard have signed an NDA, one from the UK, one from Turkey.
- Sky interview with Sandgaard says he was looking at several different clubs including Sunderland and Wigan before deciding on us
The Elliott Injunction Issue Resurfaces
While the fact that it had all gone quiet on the injunction front had made some of us wonder whether it was just an empty threat from Elliott, this update from Richard Cawley seems to suggest otherwise :
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296009287647612928
"Thomas Sandgaard's move for Charlton likely to face at least a little delay due to Paul Elliott's attempts to obtain an injunction to prevent ESI selling the football club to anyone else.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sandgaards-charlton-athletic-takeover-talks-progress-but-elliott-court-injunction-set-to-slow-proceedings/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296009794583658496
"Elliott's case set to be listed to take place in the next couple of weeks.
Doesn't prevent Sandgaard effectively getting a deal totally in place - but the court needs to rule on the injunction first."There's been a fair amount of discussion around the legal niceties of injunctions and the likelihood of this one succeeding. A couple of days ago, Jac_52 posted a bit about the principles that apply to injunctions and said:Was doing a bit of reading and I think he stands very little chance of being granted one if the courts do their job......If the injunction was to go against PE and CF they would know that they would be in not just for the other side's costs but also any losses as a result of the club not being able to proceed with its legitimate business interests. This could be a very significant amount of money indeed.
It is for this reason that I have my doubts that this is merely a frivolous or vexatious application. They surely must consider they have some grounds for success or have been advised so by a barrister....Farnell has previously publicly claimed there is a binding sales agreement for the ESI shares to be transferred to Elliott and that Nimer and Elliott were independently advised on its drafting and agreement by a QC and a barrister respectively.
Looking forward to hearing the gory details in public court and to whatever consequences might follow...... Injunctive relief is a discretionary remedy and it will be interesting to see what Elliot and Farnell have to say about the ODT test, their appeal and the representations made to the Court in the Southall hearing - referred to specifically by the Judge - that the Elliot acquisition of ESI was conditional upon EFL approval.
There is a duty of candour on parties seeking injunctive relief, although I expect the evidence will try and skirt around their inability to fund the club going forward....As regards the effort to obtain an injunction, I struggle to see based on the information available that a court would compel specific performance of a sale contract which would leave the club indirectly owned by an individual who cannot pass the OADT.....However the issue of the Owners and Directors Test failure may not be as clearcut as we thought:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1296055556898160641
"Lots happening again. It seems Elliott and Farnell are appealing @EFL OADT after all, as current decision blocks them from future involvement at any club #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)... This suggest to me the club are allowing the appeals for PE & CF now to proceed with the expectation they are rejected, it’s a decision the club probably made in agreement with TS to get ahead of the injunction to shorten the delay PE is attempting.
Once he’s appealed and loss he has no grounds for injunction and we may finally be rid of them.and as Blucher points out this does leave us reliant on the EFL:The EFL should certainly be able to say something about the existence of the ODT appeals and when they are likely to be resolved. It is ridiculous that the club can find itself stuck in limbo and in a position where both it and a potential bona fide purchaser are effectively being held to ransom.A number of posters were looking forward to Farnell getting his arse handed to him by Sandgaard's expensive lawyer, but they may be disappointed as cafcfan advised:...Freshfields, persumably acting for Sandgaard, would not be in a position to act Nimer/ESI as well.
However, it might be possible for Sandgaard to request to be enjoined in the proceedings as a third party.
In any event, while a firm of solicitors could be the instructing solicitors I would expect the parties to be represented in court by barristers.TS, Freshfields and any other advisors acting for TS would not be involved in any injunction or court proceedings over the validity of the sale to Elliott but 100% they would be all over the supposed agreement for sale as part of due diligence. Otherwise their client would potentially be purchasing an asset that the seller has no authority to sell.Meanwhile Elliott himself continues to keep his head down, although it's not doing him a lot of good, as a concerted effort from Charlton fans led to #ElliottOut trending on twitter. This was probably one of the politer tweets I saw:
https://twitter.com/BigDL/status/1296144215035072517
"Paul, ever get the feeling that you aren’t wanted? #ElliottOutInterestingly a number of characters have come out of the woodwork to defend Elliott's honour on twitter, but there are definite signs that a few of them are sockpuppets (ie accounts that aren't who they claim to be, and whose main function is to back up the person behind them or one of their associates, a bit like the "John Burke" character has done previously). @HandG has done a reverse image search on the profile pictures of a couple of them, that shows they definitely aren't who they claim to be. If you're on twitter, you might want to mute or block @DerekJohnson65, @MartyPeterson60, @vikramlcfc and @MikoLCFC unless you can be bothered arguing about Charlton with people who don't have the first clue about the club.
Sandgaard Continues To Impress
In contrast to Elliott, Sandgaard's engagement with fans and media is still going over well. Sun journalist and Charlton fan Justin Allen was virtually gushing about him after their interview:
https://twitter.com/justinallen1976/status/1295988243943632898
"It was a pleasure to speak to @SandgaardThomas about his plans for #CharltonAthletic. I speak to lots of people in football & this man is genuine, passionate and sincere. If he takes over, #cafc fans can finally sleep easy | @CAFCofficial #EFL #Charlton"
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12437759/thomas-sandgaard-charlton-takeover-talks-exclusive/and while Jimmy Stone sounds a note of caution in light of our recent experiences:
https://twitter.com/JimmyStone_/status/1295967393169248257
"Good morning @SandgaardThomas,
I put this to ESI in November and they catastrophically failed to do any of the below.
Yes investment is needed, but being honest, realistic and treating #cafc fans with respect is just as important right now.
If you do that, we will back you." (quoting this tweet from Jimmy Stone)this from CAST sounds like he's ticking at least one of those boxes
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1296109607530700800
"Having exchanged messages with @SandgaardThomas for the past few days, we had initial chat on the phone today, with more extensive discussions to follow - providing all goes to plan. Passion, enthusiasm and respect for fans a good start! #cafc" (with a screenshot of this tweet from Sandgaard)and if this BBC interview is anything to go by, he's certainly listening
https://twitter.com/sistoney67/status/1296149424964542464
"Charlton Athletic: Thomas Sandgaard says it will take time to earn fans' trust
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53837348"Benjy Nurick expressed a commonly held note of caution:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1296126621133414401
"More importantly than time, it will take action. Saying the right things is much too easy. Trust can only be earned by doing right. #cafc" (quoting this tweet from CafcFacts)https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1296177288418074626
"A grounded piece here - some realism from @SandgaardThomas over the likely timescales of a deal and earning fans' trust #cafc" (quoting this tweet from Simon Stone of BBC Sport)Ben Ransom tweeted about his interview with Sandgaard and posted up a link:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1296173875970048005
"This evening was my turn to get 15 minutes with @SandgaardThomas
Full video below so you can hear everything he says including:
-Already begun EFL’s OADT
-Elliott’s transaction was never completed
-will settle with all #cafc creditors inc ex-directors"
https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12052679/sandgaard-closes-on-charlton-dealand when asked by a fan of his impression of Sandgaard he said:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1296178947374436353
"There’s no doubt he comes across really well and appears genuine. His plan to settle with all the creditors is going to cost him so if he does that then his intentions are there for all to see. He was determined to do right by the former Directors too which bodes well."Being a Charlton fan, Ben's well up on the issues so asks a lot of good questions, and gets a generally engaging response. It's definitely worth 15 minutes of your time, and the response on the main thread was very positive. In particular Scoham gave a good detailed assessment of the pros and cons of what we've heard from Sandgaard so far, which began:Never wanted to be fooled again but I'm finding it impossible not to get excited. He says everything you want to hear, but (thinking of other interviews/quotes as well as this one) he appears to know he still has to prove it's more than just talk...There's also been further discussion about the possible strategy re the Valley and Sparrows Lane purchase. PeanutsMolloy thought there might be benefits to a delay:Given that TS is prepared to buy CAFC now, albeit with lack of clarity on liabilities (perhaps mitigated by escrow, as suggested by others in the thread), it's arguably a smart move by him to leave RD with the assets both to speed the resolution of CAFC's ownership and to enjoy a lowish rent for the next 4-5 years.
Yes, RD would have a "windfall" on the property (relative to current value) if we do make the Prem (and that might stick in our throats) but in the meantime TS gets to focus his funds on supporting the playing squad.but Garrymanilow wan't convinced, particularly with regards to the training ground:...What is a bit frustrating though is it makes you wonder how much further behind we are going to fall in those five years. The training ground has needed upgrading for years and nothing has been done, and we would really benefit from moving to category 1 academy status. This would all involve large investment, but you're not going to do that for an asset you don't own.
More Revelations From The SLP
The tweet thread from Richard Cawley about Elliott's injunction continues:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296009985902686208
"Charlton director Marian Mihail: “I’ve had several calls with him [Sandgaard]. He has instructed solicitors in the UK to work on this. We have all been working over the weekend as well. We are confident in a positive outcome for the club.”"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296010311917543424
"Also mentioned in story that two other parties signed NDAs - an English-based one and also one from Turkey.
Think it's fair to say that Sandgaard is absolutely the red-hot favourite though to get an agreement with ESI.
Mihail also talks in the piece about the OADT appeals."The bit about the NDAs led another fan to ask:
https://twitter.com/CNODSY/status/1296057450831982597
" Presuming one party is linked to Murray, does anyone know who the Turkish group is, could they be linked to Mehmet Dalman who was considering a takeover previously?"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296058331883347968
"I'm pretty sure Dalman wanted to own everything. I'd be very surprised if it was him, believe he felt you couldn't negotiate with RD."On the subject of a possible Turkish bid Athletico Charlton jokedTurkish have signed an NDA. Did the Koc's come back? Already plenty of them in the ownership of CharltonI have to admit I've completely forgotten who the Kocs are at this point, so can't enlight further on thisIn addition, a little later Cawley had an update on the club's financial position:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296013860424626176
"I also spoke to Marian Mihail about the financial situation at Charlton.
There is money to pay wages in August + plans afoot for Sept & October (without that being dependent on outside help)."
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-charlton-director-outlines-financial-position-with-no-wage-issues-for-august/2 - SLP report suggests Elliott has made an application for an injunction, and the club aren't standing in the way of his appeal regarding the ODT
-
Wednesday 19th August - media coverage appendixI hit the character limit on the last post, so am including the links to the various bits of media coverage in this one.Media Coverage:
Charlton Times: https://charltontimes.co.uk/exclusive-interview-with-thomas-sandgaard
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/sandgaards-charlton-athletic-takeover-talks-progress-but-elliott-court-injunction-set-to-slow-proceedings/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-charlton-director-outlines-financial-position-with-no-wage-issues-for-august/
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-takeover-latest-thomas-sandgaard-wants-rental-agreement-the-valley-a4528626.html
BBC Sport: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53837348
Sky Sports: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11684/12052662/charlton-takeover-thomas-sandgaard-believes-he-is-closing-in-on-a-deal3 -
Thursday 19th August - first time I've not tested the character limit in a while
SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:- Update from Mihail on the OS, although it's not especially informative
- Sandgaard was on TalkSport with Jim White
- The deadline for the EFL to appeal the delay to Sheffield Wednesday's points deduction appears to have passed
-----------------------------------------------------------------Update From Mihail
Marian Mihail tweeted out a link to an open letter to the fans on the OS:
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1296380114025029638
"💬 Director Marian Mihail on getting fans at games, club ownership, the transfer embargo and the #SaveCAFC campaign.
"We seem to be moving forwards positively. At this stage I ask for your patience and support in helping us through this period"
👉 https://cafc.co.uk/news/view/5f3d4a633c064/a-letter-to-charlton-fans-from-club-director-marian-mihail #cafc"https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1296408093950173187
"It’s the best I can do at the moment. I know others are saying more, but they’re not bound by the same legal duties. My main duty is towards the outcome" (quoting this tweet from CAFCofficial)Apart from mention of a proposed consultation with supporters as to how allowing fans back to watch games would work once the Government permits, there was little new of note in it, and the lack of comment regarding the ownership issues was largely blamed on the existence of various NDAs.More on Sandgaard
After Wednesday's interview with Ben Ransom, Dippenhall saidBen Ransom and Jim White - compare and contrast.and we had the opportunity to do that sooner than we might have expected, as he appeared on TalkSport with Jim White this morning, poor sod - audio from about 6 minutes here, although I'd skip to the 7 minute mark if you want to avoid White's introductory guff.A brief summary of new information from the interview was provided by @supaclive:Ok the two relevant points from Talksport
Nimer has agreed NOT to officially sell ESI / CAFC therefore for two weeks (probably while both sides put together their cases on the injunction / negotiate a settlement)
Farnell has told White that Elliot owns the shares now. TS's lawyers believe different.....As for his motivation, I'm more inclined to look at the guitarist than the businessman for that. If you've ever stood on a stage and been cheered by a crowd I'm sure it must be a great feeling. There aren't many opportunities to do that sort of thing unless you're a top musician, an actor or an elite sportsperson, but being the owner of a football club is probably a good way to get that level of adulation when your team is on the up....The issue of whether Sandgaard is willing or able to take on the ownership of the Valley and Sparrows Lane continues to exercise posters. Of particular interest is whether not owning the freehold would affect the club's ability to upgrade the training ground in order to achieve Category 1 status for the academy, and @TellyTubby reckoned:...I don't see an agreement over the Valley price, I think that the only hope is that the club has turned around and risen the pyramid in 4 or 5 years to make the valuation viable when this comes to a head.
TS also wouldn't develop SL unless he has the freehold surely? ......Not the case that Leaseholders don’t invest in their properties. It may mean limited building work but there’s plenty of other ways of upgrading the quality of the facilities at SL - TS would figure to be the accepted cost of running a top professional football club. ...Speaking from personal experience, @RichmondSE10Exile thought it would still be a worthwhile investmentAdmittedly it’s a different sport but whilst on the board of my rugby club we invested £3/4m on a top end 3G pitch. We don’t own the freehold and are very aware that we have increased the value of the estate to the ultimate owner, a private members Golf Club. The bottom line is that, within the remaining period of our lease, it was deemed worthwhile to make that investment. A few years on from that decision everyone involved would concur that it was a good decision.
So if the chance comes to spend money on SL to achieve the top academy status and to improve the facility for the 1st team I would see it as a no-brainer. The UK model of clubs owning their facilities is pretty unique - as is the sheer number of professional football teams. I know RD counts as a fairly special type of owner but as long as TS can achieve a long enough lease agreement an investment in SL would make sense.Meanwhile, the news that the former Wigan owner is willing to waive £36m in loans to them triggered more questions about the ex-directors loans, although Stig reckonedI don't see any reason why the ex-directors should waive their loans. They lent the money in good faith and the club has benefitted from that.
Roly's claims are another matter altogether....If you listen to the Ransom interview, creditors and ex-directors were mentioned and he said something along the lines of paying back creditors and people who have been loyal to the club.
There's no immediate benefit in paying off the ex-directors apart from being a gesture of goodwill and by getting RD off the hook for a liability and potential litigation, so smoothing the negotiations with RD.And What Of Elliott?
Elliott continues to keep his head down, and speculation continues as to whether his relationship to the club is going to be resolved in court, or is going to involve some kind of pay off. @StigThundercock had some thoughts on how a financial settlement might work:...However sleazy and uncomfortable it feels, hard cash is often a way to smooth out these sorts of wrinkles. That cash can come with strings e.g. 'The claimant accepts this £sum as full and final settlement of all claims on the company and accepts the company's right to pursue the claimant for any and all costs which may crystallize later from hitherto undisclosed matters arising from the claimant's involvement to this point.' i.e. "take this and go away but if you've tucked us up we'll be back"...while @Blucher was unsurprisingly more interested in the legal angle:I've not heard the interview but I expect that Nimer offered an undertaking to obviate the need for Elliot to seek an ex parte injunction, so that an application can be dealt with on notice, with evidence from both sides. I wonder if Nimer needed some time to instruct an English law firm as, hitherto, he's been muddling along with Farnell until the latter was given the boot.
Does anybody know which firm of solicitors Nimer and ESI 1 have instructed ? Freshfields are acting for Thomas Sandgaard (who is negotiating with ESI 1) and Marian Mihail is not qualified in this jurisdiction.More On The EFL
It seems that the deadline for the EFL to appeal the deferral of the Sheffield Wednesday points deduction has now passed, and as ever with the EFL there seems to be no hurry to confirm publicly what the situation actually is with regards to that. A journo for one of the local papers in Sheffield seems to think they haven't though:
https://twitter.com/YesWeCrann/status/1296417398136999938
"The deadline for the #EFL to appeal the Independent Panel’s decision to deduct #SWFC 12 points for 2020/21 has passed…
I’m told that the league have not appealed, only the club have.
Appeal hearing expected to be in autumn this year
https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/latest-efls-sheffield-wednesday-appeal-deadline-passes-2947976 🦉 ⚽"And Finally...
@Glosfan said on the main threadI've recently taken to disappearing into the toilet for twenty minutes, 3 or 4 times a day, to catch up with this thread. My partner now thinks that I'm having an affair. I attempted to prove my innocence by trying to explain the recent goings on at our club. After a quick run through of all things Douchbag, Nimer, Southall, Elliott, Farnell, Murray, The Romanians, TS etc etc, she congratulated me on my imagination but said it was obviously far too far fetched to be true. On reflection she has a fair point. I am now banned from taking my phone to the toilet.😂
Media Coverage:
TalkSport: https://talksport.com/football/efl/748432/charlton-takeover-thomas-sandgaard-deal-days-away/
Sheffield Star: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-wednesday/latest-efls-sheffield-wednesday-appeal-deadline-passes-2947976 (on the Sheffield Wednesday appeal)
6 -
Friday 21st August - "... and things'll be just fine, if you and I just use a little patience ..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Rumour has it the Elliott injunction court date is 1st September
- Sandgaard has started the EFL Owner and Directors Test processes
- The UK based bidders have apparently made some progress, although it's unclear exactly what this means
- Bowyer continues to be unhappy about the transfer embargo
- CAST have issued their weekly bulletin and are supporting the Sustain The Game campaign from the FSA.
More On The Elliott Injunction
@Airman Brown had some news about a possible court date :
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1296764408409006080
"Hard to keep up with what’s in the public domain already, but I’ve been told the court date for the Elliott injunction is September 1st. So not expecting a #cafc deal to go through ahead of that. Dates can change though and cases can be pulled."This seems to tally with something Jim White said on TalkSport during the Sandgaard interview about a 2 week delay, and Ben Hayes suggested:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1296852975135186946
"Possibly good news as that sounds like it isn't an interim injunction but a date agreed by both parties.
So no excuse for either side not to have its paperwork ready so decision likely on day or very soon after.
Assuming it's not settled before
PS I'm not a lawyer #cafc"Ben may not be a lawyer, but Blucher is/was and they saidElliot may feel he has a case or this may simply be a transparent attempt to squeeze out some sort of settlement before the return date. Another possibility is that, if ESI 1 are free to sell the club to Thomas Sandgaard, then Elliot and his consortium (whoever they are) could conceivably have no ability to reclaim the wages and other expenses funded in recent months. If that was the case and they are potentially down for £1 million or so, they may have calculated that a court application is worth a punt and a trip down the bookies, even if the odds are stacked against them....Some people have been wondering, if the injunction is just a punt to extract a pay off, whether Elliott would pull out of the case at the last minute, either because the gambit had worked, or because it had failed and he didn't want to risk the cost and possible reputational damage of going through with the hearing. However, ISawLeaburnScore advised...Discontinuing proceedings is a messy business. Once you have issued an application, if there are parties who have incurred costs, short of there being a mutual settlement which would include costs, there could still be a court determination of costs. You can't just unilaterally withdraw with no consequences - the law does not want to encourage troublemakers to run around starting litigation they have no intention to follow through with and then cause financial loss to others as a result....This is really high stakes stuff from Elliott. He's either being advised he has a good claim, is desperate or is willing to gamble (or a combination).And how high could these costs be? Chizz gave a detailed breakdown of possible costsIt's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question. The costs will likely comprise two parts: Court fees and legal fees. The Court fee will be capped at £10,000.... Once he's got a handle on the likely size of his costs, he will have to take into consideration the "loser pays costs" convention. This means all his costs and Nimer's costs will land on him, personally, if he loses the case (in other words, if the Judge determines that the injunction should not be enforced). ...If the case does proceed, Rothko asked something several of us have been wondering:How will the court view that CF has been sitting on both sides of the table on this?If that particular chapter were to get any focus, I would say pretty horrifically. However I think unfortunately this application won't allow that detail to be properly explored unless there is some sort of argument led from Nimer's side that the transaction was a sham from the start...Meanwhile, Blucher sounded a note of concern regarding how the glacial pace of EFL processes might affect the case:...Perhaps, for once - just once - the EFL could recognise the urgency of the situation and get their finger out to determine any appeal or appeals that have been lodged. The sooner the better but certainly before the hearing on 1 September. What we don't want is to end up with an adjournment or the date being pushed back pending the EFL's decision.
One nagging concern about the EFL's announcement that three individuals had failed the ODT test was the statement that applications from other individuals were being considered. Are they other members of the consortium or proxies for them and, if so, how, if at all, would that affect the agreement between ESI 1 and 2 ?More On Sangaard's Takeover Bid
The Elliott Injunction appears not to have dented Sandgaard's confidence, as Richard Cawley tweeted:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296712064774307841
"Thomas Sandgaard still totally confident his takeover of Charlton Athletic will go through - despite Paul Elliott's attempts to obtain an injunction preventing ESI selling.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-confident-of-charlton-athletic-deal-despite-court-injunction-move-by-paul-elliott/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296712067018379264
"Sandgaard has started the EFL's OADT.
On Elliott legal move: “I don’t see it having any impact. There are many arguments for why it is a non-issue. But we are going to go the legal route and make sure everything is done right.”"Quite a few people are getting twitchy about the delays, and ISawLeaburnScore attempted some reassurance:The way I see it (no inside knowledge whatsoever), there is no impetus at all to negotiate and finalise contracts now if it is true that the injunction won't be heard until 1 September. TS cannot complete the purchase yet even if he wanted to. More time to investigate, reflect and play a long game on some of the more difficult terms. That's business and based on what he's achieved, TS clearly knows how to approach things.I imagine Freshfields have now got their teeth into the due diligence, and he is sat waiting for the info from them - no doubt some issues will be uncovered and will be highlighted to TS - but it’s TS who makes the decision whether he wants to press on, not Freshfields - they only provide advice - at the end of the day he may say ‘ok I hear what you say, but I have the wealth to overcome what you say, and I’m going to press on’
Or maybe he will run for the hills 😳 ...... There is plenty to justify why this isn't something to be rushed into and why progression might understandably slow for a while.
The legal and financial due diligence report on this deal is going to have more red flags in than a golf course.
Let's hope, be (cautiously) optimistic and try to keep sane! A week ago, barely any of us knew this chap, let's see what happens in the next week or so...and Rothko made a very good point about being patient:I think people are hearing what they want to hear, TS has said that he wants to get it done by September 12, and that’s a lifetime away in Charlton time.
If the deal is done in September 11th then great, transfer window still has weeks on it.
The jumpiness to every comment isn’t good for your healthMeanwhile, after being asked about claims by one of the suspected Elliott sockpuppets on twitter that he's set to walk away because (among other reasons) he considers Wigan a more attractive prospect, Sandgard attempted to be reassuring:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1296906458806628352
"Not surprising to see. Don't anyone worry. I'm not backing out. I’m all in!"More On Other Possible Bidders
@AirmanBrown also had an update on one the other groups currently under a Non Disclosure Agreement with ESI:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1296884353658687489
"Been told that the UK-based party with an NDA in place with ESI has moved forward in recent days. Not saying in front of @SandgaardThomas or a better proposition for #cafc but have heard evidence they have been busy. Might complicate matters (as if!)"https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1296885720917909506
"I’ve not found any evidence to link this approach to Murray, but I do believe he has been trying to find a way in with others.”"More On The Transfer Embargo
The transfer embargo continues to cause frustration for Bowyer:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296727375535845376
"Lee Bowyer says there are non-league clubs spending more on wages than what Charlton can offer under their transfer embargo.
He says Paul Konchesky was earning more at National South side Billericay last season.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/lee-bowyer-non-league-clubs-can-pay-bigger-wages-than-charlton-athletic-allowed-to-offer/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1296727378199289858
"LB: "Now we are playing in League One and have got to offer less than that. So who do they want us to bring in? What level do you want us to bring in? It’s not right.""Fan Action
CAST have produced their weekly update here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/08/what-is-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update-sandgaard-interviews-media-spotlight/and have also tweeted out in support of the FSA's new Sustain The Game campaign, which is calling for action from the authorities to protect the existence of clubs throughout the pyramid:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1296730424237010944
"CAMPAIGN | We fully support this new initiative from @WeAreTheFSA.
Charlton fans know just how important clubs are to their communities yet right now many clubs, like us, are in peril.
#cafc #SustainTheGame
https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fan-groups-politicians-and-pundits-call-for-urgent-action-to-protect-the-very-existence-of-clubs/"And of course, many fans and groups have been publicising Saturday's demonstration at the Valley
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1296876861130182668
"The clock is ticking .......is nearly time that the pound dropped!
Elliott and ESI you are not wanted.
The Valley, West Stand Car Park Saturday 22nd August Midday.
#ElliottOut #FansforFans"https://twitter.com/CharltonLife/status/1296897663942754304
"REMINDER: If you’re able to get down The Valley tomorrow at midday for an hour it would be good to put some numbers to the clear strength of feeling. #CharltonTillIDie #cafc"
And Finally...
StigThundercock sees good omens in the results of the 2020 First Fixture Sweepstake:Dansk Red gets the first game
RolandsOut gets the last game...
Coincidence? piffle
Keep the faith boys'n'girls, stranger things have happened, probably.4 -
Sunday 23rd August Part 1 - Club for a Quid protest specialSUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- More than 500 fans turned up at the Valley for the protest, including one or two from Brighton, Wigan and Peterborough
- Nearly £650 was raised from the coins put on the Sam Bartram statue, and Thomas Sandgaard matched that with a donation on JustGiving
- Fans managed to get into the ground and a small group occupied the boardroom - police were called but no arrests made
- CAFCFans4Fans issued a statement demanding immediate change of the ODT from the EFL, and threatening occupation of their offices if that didn't happen
- Lots of supportive media coverage, although there was some controversy over a club statement highlighting damage and theft of wine and a games console (apparently money was left for the wine and the console has now been returned)
A Few Introductory Bits And Pieces
I started writing a brief summary of the events that have led us to this point, but began to lose the will to live 2 paragraphs in. But in short, the source of our current woes is the fact that ESI were able to buy the club for £1 in January, separating it from the ownership of the Valley and training ground, without demonstrating the appropriate source and sufficiency of funding to the EFL. The status of the supposed takeover by Paul Elliott and his mystery consortium is unclear, but as he and Chris Farnell have failed the Owners and Directors Test, the fact remains that neither of the two groups that claim to own us have satisfied all the EFL's requirements. It is uncertain how long the EFL will allow this state of affairs to continue before expelling the club from the League, hence the concern of fans about the future of the club, and the urgent need for a takeover by a credible party.Or as CAST put it:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1297127705708830720
"Money can't buy you love, but a quid can buy you the right to mess with the hopes and dreams of thousands. Such a scandal has to stop. #cafc #CAFCquid #esiout #SustainTheGame @EFL @EFL_Comms"
As is often the case with a Charlton fan protest, there were a few memorable items especially produced for use or display on the day. Given the covid pandemic, face masks were an obvious choice:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1297170872638283778
"The must have fashion item in SE London today #cafc #savecafc #esiout"
There were a couple of different sticker designs:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297123490479386629
"Stickers being handed out #cafc"
The Gathering Of The Fans
The protest was pleasingly well attended:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1297134350342004736
"Good turnout at The Valley today, with a clear message to turf out the chancers who are trying to destroy our football clubs. #cafc #CAFCquid"
Ben Tegg from CARD reckoned there were more than 500 fans there:
https://twitter.com/bentegg/status/1297132747706818560
"Over 500 #cafc fans turn out to reclaim our club from the crooks. #cafcquid"
and David Thomson had a nice aerial shot of the crowd
https://twitter.com/davepeeps/status/1297128135197106178
"Charlton supporters gather at the Valley to protest against Paul Elliott's unwanted and fake attempted takeover of the club for £1 so he can leverage a sale to a better, genuine buyer. #CAFCquid #SaveCAFC"
Quite a few fans made the protest a family affair:
https://twitter.com/ClareSadlier/status/1297126969172254721
"Kids fighting for their club. Another protest #savecafc @Starbar82 #esiout #cafc #fansunited"
I want my grandsons Charlton back....(Although it has to be said that the grandson in question does not appear impressed by his older relatives' posing in that photo)Even some pets took part:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1297135162011070471
"Fans come in all shapes and guises! #CAFCquid"
I've not seen many witty placards in the photos, but I think this one would be my favourite anyway:
https://twitter.com/JimmyStone_/status/1297201454797729795
and I don't know whose idea it was to bring the piper along, but he definitely added to the ambience of the day:
https://twitter.com/pedwards72/status/1297172341248729088
"Valley Floyd Road🎵🎶🎵 #CAFCquid"
Fans who couldn't be there in person also sent their support, including The Prince-e-PaulOur tweet #CAFCQuid
Sorry I can't be there #
ESIout
Protest Speeches
Representatives of the various groups organising the protest gave speeches outside the West Stand main reception, although annoyingly we've only got brief video clips of them. (If anyone has links to longer clips, or even has footage that's not been uploaded, I'd be grateful to see it)
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297127602562441216
"“Not one of these ESI guys care about the football club” #cafc" (with video of speech from @SE7toSG3)https://twitter.com/WRENSHIP/status/1297129235702833153
"@sam_s_cooke from @CAStrust thanks his grandad for introducing him to the club. It’s not just football, it’s families #CAFCquid" (with a small snippet of the speech)https://twitter.com/sarahmonahan11/status/1297146307199590400
"#SaveCAFC" (with a small video clip of the speech)https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297129872079433729
"Brett from @CAFCfansforfans came with a message from @SandgaardThomas and then quoted the great Lee Bowyer" (with a small video clip of the speech)I'm not sure whose speech these quotes came from:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297127869391556609
"“We might not be the last club this happens to if we don’t fight this.” #cafc"https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297128062602141707
"“If anyone from ESI is hearing this - you chose the wrong club and the wrong fans” #cafc"Journalist Will Magee, who recently wrote a good piece for the i paper on the #SaveCAFC campaign highlighted some more quotes from the speeches:
https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297133533480321025
"Charlton fan protest outside The Valley, good turnout with several hundred supporters here. One line from the speeches stands out: “Demonstrating is not something we enjoy. It’s something we have to do.”"https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297169711239757824
"Some more snippets from the speeches given outside The Valley this afternoon. “These people [ESI] are absolutely no good, they have no plans for this football club, they have no intentions for this football club, and they didn’t when they first came in. It’s a bloody disgrace.”"He also mentioned a statement sent along from Clive Efford:
https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297184457452118016
"There was a statement sent on to the protest by Eltham MP Clive Efford which nicely summed up the club as an institution. “For over 100 years, Charlton Athletic has been at the heart of this community. Few clubs can match its record of community involvement over many years..."https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297184460136501248
"“Football clubs are not just businesses, they are rooted in their local communities. It is the fans that have nourished and supported them through thick and thin, generation after generation..."https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297184462611120128
"“There are few other examples where communities have such a large stake in an institution. They should not be allowed to be bought and sold for as little as £1. This is a fight not just for Charlton but for all football fans up and down the country..."https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297184465098334209
"“What is happening at The Valley could happen at any club in the future.” Pledged to continue to demand answers from the EFL on how a club could be sold to ESI without proof of funds."
Inside The Ground
While the protest started outside the ground, it soon made its way inside:
https://twitter.com/bentegg/status/1297135074228527105
"Taking back our home. #cafc #cafcquid" (with video of fans making their way in through one of the exit gates)https://twitter.com/DanJDobson/status/1297125951910883328
"BREAKING NEWS
CHARLTON FANS ARE INSIDE THE VALLEY.
#OccupyTheValley #SaveCAFC #CAFC"
And of course, if you've bought the club for a quid, where do you go and sit?
https://twitter.com/connorfawdry/status/1297134939578793984
"Paid my pound got my directors seat #cafc"
to which ex-director David Sumner responded:
https://twitter.com/Dave76s/status/1297233989510594562
"Mine cost me a lot more than that; well done!"SX_Addick had a bit of trouble making it over from the wrong side of the river but still got to enjoy the view
Got held up coming through the Blackwall Tunnel but made it in the end.while the piper popped up to play "Valley Floyd Road" in the West Stand. AFKABartram described it asBest open day the club has ever put on.
My lad sat in the press seats, conducted an interview against the TV panel, sat in the dugout and done the tunnel jump better than Lyle ever did. Walked round and gave it to the absent away fans, sat in our seats in the East and then nostalgically visited my old seat in the North Upper....But as this tweet from Dan Dobson indicates, fans weren't just in the stands:
https://twitter.com/DanJDobson/status/1297136420931407877
"Charlton fans are in boardroom and the stands.
#OccupyTheValley #SaveCAFC #CAFC"
1 -
Sunday 23rd August Part 2 - More Club for a Quid protest coverageThe Boardroom Occupation
As mentioned in Part 1, and as those who are familiar with the layout of the ground will have spotted from some of the photos, a group of fans also managed to get access to the Valley boardroom:
https://twitter.com/crshort79/status/1297128636525551619
https://twitter.com/charltonrealta1/status/1297129513411911681
"#SaveCAFC #ESIout #Elliottout #cafc simple message!!! CHARLTON TILL WE DIE!" (with video of the group)Once there, they issued a statement explaining the reasons for their occupation, and what it would take to get them to leave:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297133776888377344
"This statement is being handed out by @CAFCfansforfans - they are still in the ground and say they won’t leave “until the current owners of Charlton Athletic club formally request, in person, that we vacate the premises with immediate effect” #cafc"
although that bit about the current owners requesting them to leave caused some hilarity, as AndyG saidthat could be interesting waiting for the "owner" to say something loland N01R4M pointed out:What with covid travel restrictions, I guess the only owner who could visit The Valley in person within a reasonable time-frame would be Matt Southall?
Could be interesting...This shot of the protesters' "cheese and wine party" in the boardroom seems to have caught the imagination of many outside observers:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297153312517763073
"Been sent this photo from within the boardroom and given permission to share it. The protesters are currently enjoying wine and cheese during their peaceful occupation #cafc"
and the piper popped up here too:
https://twitter.com/footyawayday/status/1297149266046128128
"Charlton fans occupying the boardroom today in protest at what’s going on with their club #cafc" (with video of the piper leading a rendition of "Valley Floyd Road")At some point the police arrived:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297145870073442304
"Guessing the officers will try and get the protestors out of the boardroom #cafc"
NLA tweeting they have politely declined polices request to leaveThis reminded CARD of the previous boardroom stand-off
https://twitter.com/CharltonCARD/status/1297148104253333506
"Might as well give the local police tickets to the boardroom, the amount of time they spend there #cafc #cafcquid" (quoting this tweet from @LouisMend)and then even more police showed up:
https://twitter.com/bentegg/status/1297146933161730049
"Reinforcements arriving at The Valley. Over 50 fans have locked themselves in now. Entirely peaceful here. #cafc #cafcquid" (with video of more police arriving)At about 3:15, @LouisMend had an update before he headed home:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297175804191940612
"I’m leaving The Valley now but the boardroom occupation isn’t ending any time soon. Understand @SandgaardThomas has been on a Zoom call to the protestors in there. #cafc"You can see video footage of that call here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZwXsp8bWCYIn the end the boardroom occupiers left peacefully at about 6pm.
Fundraising For NHS Covid Relief
As part of the protest, fans were asked to leave a pound on the Sam Bartram statue outside the West Stand:
https://twitter.com/CharltonCARD/status/1297568447681957888
"30 seconds of unbelievably great #cafc fans each contributing £1 in protest - the same amount a series of charlatan owners have paid to own the club.
With added bagpipes #CAFCquid" (with video of the fans doing so)Paul Edwards had some nice photos from this bit of the protest (taken from this tweet and this tweet):
As Will Magee explained:
https://twitter.com/W_F_Magee/status/1297180596817494016
"The money left under Bartram’s statue will be going to the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust’s Covid relief fund, which says everything about Charlton fans really. Given the total self-interest of their various owners in recent years, the contrast in values couldn’t be more stark."Ben Hayes announced the final tally:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1297173725004140544
"Thanks to everyone who left £1(or more) at the feet of Sam Bartram today.
£646.11p raised for Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Covid19 fund. Plus 8 old pound coins, 1€ (Thanks Thomas) and 25 Canadian cents.
#cafc #savecafc #esiout @CharltonCARD @CAFCfansforfans @CAStrust"
while Thomas Sandgaard continued to endear himself to the fanbase by matching it:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1297268108814557185
"Wanted to double today's donations by matching what Charlton fans collectively brought in support of this incredible club. Done! What a fan base. What a family! #AddicktedToCharltonFootball"
and just in case anyone wants to make an additional donation:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1297423699398856704
"Anyone who'd like to join other #cafc fans, and @SandgaardThomas, in donating a symbolic £1, or more, to the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Covid19 fund here's the just giving link https://www.justgiving.com/lewishamandgreenwich
#savecafc #CAFCquid @CAStrust @CharltonCARD" (quoting this tweet from himself)(Ben initially put the wrong link in his tweet, then corrected it in a follow-up, but I've just replaced it in the above quote)
Non Charlton Support For The Protests
Attendance at the protest wasn't just limited to Charlton fans:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297117842823876609
"Not just #cafc fans at the protest today #bhafc"
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1297123490479386629
"Greg the Wigan fan says “the last few months make us realise how precious football clubs are. Fans must stick together through adversity and #cafc fans have supported our plight” #wafc"
https://twitter.com/decwarrington/status/1297202489679327232
"There’s so much to admire about fans like this. It’s such a shame they’ll never get anything like the publicity of those seen to be letting themselves or their clubs down — plenty actually exist" (quoting this tweet from @LouisMend about the Wigan fan)...Spoke to and thanked the Brighton fan, and as well as him there was a Wigan fan, and I also spoke to a Peterborough United fan too....Online support came from numerous quarters, including the Orient fanzine Pandamonium:
https://twitter.com/Pandamonium1881/status/1297228284925628416
"Well done to everyone down at The Valley today. @CAFCfansforfans @CAStrust @CharltonCARD and all the supporters for showing the football world who REALLY matter in the beautiful game. It’s the FANS!
This club cannot & WONT die #CAFC #fansmatter"The Times' journalist Henry Winter:
https://twitter.com/henrywinter/status/1297137532816306176
"#EFL take note, too. #cafc @CAFCfansforfans" (quoting this tweet from @LouisMend showing the CAFCFansForFans statement)and Martin Calladine, author of The Ugly Game:
https://twitter.com/uglygame/status/1297192770046746625
"This is on every football administrator and sports minister who failed to push for reform. Charlton fans have been protesting *for years*, desperate for action from the authorities. After a long list of smart, eye-catching initiatives, this is really the only place left to go." (quoting this tweet from @LouisMend showing the CAFCFansForFans statement)https://twitter.com/uglygame/status/1297193367579889664
"This is measured direct action in pursuit of a clear and completely sensible set of demands. All football fans should support them now and in stage three."https://twitter.com/uglygame/status/1297200392716025856
"Cannot be said too often: your club could be next. Unless you're fan-owned, there's nothing other than dumb luck stopping your club going the same way as Charlton. All football fans need to pull together and demand change."
Satisfaction At A Job Well Done
I think it's safe to say pretty much everyone was pleased with how the protests had gone:
https://twitter.com/CAFCfansforfans/status/1297220245829103616
"Ladies and gentleman what a fantastic day. You're support and attendance young and old was amazing. Brilliant to see charlton fans join together to fight for a cause. We are not finished yet and will keep on fighting to achieve our goals. @CharltonCARD @CAStrust" 👏 👏❤🤍💯 COYAWe even made the news bulletins:- Louis Mendez shared this snippet from BBC London News
- BSmith did the same for ITV London News (you may need to turn the volume up a little for this one)
- Josh Hirst tweeted a clip of the Sky Sports News Headlines
- This is the Sky Sports News report
- Sky Sports also had a short interview with Dodger
50 years to the day of my first Charlton game so quite emotional to be there today.while seth plum was reminded of the Valley Clean Up Day in 1990:...I thought there might be a rag tag and bobtail group of about 20 of us, very similar to my thoughts going to the Valley on that clean up day all those years ago.
Just like that day, to arrive early and find a large number there, and swell to hundreds was fantastic. Also there was something cathartic about both events, simply being there in that beautiful place, the smell of the cut grass and the sun shining yesterday and people of all ages milling about was very lovely....I really liked this description of the different elements of the "Charlton Family" that were there:
https://twitter.com/ScottJHamilton/status/1297184274874093573
"Thanks to all #cafc" at The Valley today. Great seeing fans come together, whether @CAFCfansforfans, @CAStrust, @CharltonCARD, young or old, male or female, Covered End, East or West, beer or bovril.
We’re united by the goal of getting #ESIout and @SandgaardThomas in"and let's hope current and prospective owners, and the EFL heed this warning from Jimmy Stone:
https://twitter.com/JimmyStone_/status/1297199214980628481
6 - Sponsored links:
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Sunday 23rd August Part 3 - The Protest AftermathA Club Press Release
Unfortunately, this satisfaction did not last long following this tweet from CARD:
https://twitter.com/CharltonCARD/status/1297263688353812491
"Media statement from @cafcofficial #cafc"
@Airman Brown thought this was inadvisable:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1297262171311738883
"#cafc criticising the behaviour of some fans today in response to media enquiries. Not sure that I’d be doing that, to be honest."https://twitter.com/WhyTwoJamie/status/1297265187540684800
"I understand that mate, but it takes so much away from our cause if people actually did this stuff."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1297267029230182400
"I agree but #cafc can deal with these issues without telling the national media. When it does that its purpose is to discredit the protest overall, not address the issue. I’d be asking who thought this was a good idea."In response to a question as to who had released the statement, Ollywozere explainedThe comms team alongside the SMT. We spent a lot of time deliberating over it as it's an extremely sensitive subject. It's no secret that the staff generally are supportive of the fans and the planned protest today which I want to emphasise and we're desperate not to give any impression of an 'us against them' scenario as we are all in it together.
The actions of certain individuals shouldn't take away from the overall message of the protest, but some of the stuff was clearly unacceptable and only risks undermining that message. It does no damage to the likes of Elliott or Farnell, the only damage it does is to the staff that have to deal with it and to the reputations of those individuals themselves.
We wanted to strike that balance in the statement provided to media and I hope that's understandable to most. We don't want anyone to think there's any criticism of today's protest in general.... if you want to address fans about the unacceptable behaviour, put the statement on the club website where it’s transparent and the club is accountable. You don’t just give it to the national media.I’m sorry but the comms team and SMT should of gone to the fansforfans group and should have tried to settle this matter between the club and fans. They are not responsible for the actions of a few little pricks, but this could have been potentially resolved without going to the media.If anyone has damaged the fans reputation, it's the twits who thought that kind of behaviour was appropriate, acceptable, or in anyway helpful.while RodneyCharltonTrotta seemed to think the Comms Team have complete autonomy on what they put out on the various club channels:Perhaps if they had piped up whilst the club has been torn apart the past few years days like today would not have happened. Don't lecture proper fans whilst you have have sat there silent and pumping out the pro ownership stuff whilst rome burned....to which Ollywozere repliedNo one is lecturing 'proper' fans, that's kind of the point. There's nothing proper about stealing from the club you support.
As I explained, I understand this a hugely sensitive subject and it's not my individual call to provide the statement, but I did my best to help strike the balance... As always, we're just trying our best in a shitty and stressful situation.SporadicAddick had suspicions about whose viewpoint needed balancing:I'd hazard a guess at who in the SMT was the driving force behind the "tone" of the statementMeanwhile back on twitter, Marian Mihail got a bit philosophical:
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1297271401695645696
"Growing up in a former communist country you tend to value freedom of speech in high regard.Everyone is entitled to SAY anything.Doing,that’s where the law comes in.If things at #TheValley went too far today, then it is for the fans to clean up their own house and speak as one."which got a similar reception to the one Olly got here:
https://twitter.com/Maccn5/status/1297272870834450434
"Why isn’t the statement on the club site and who wrote this... not somebody from ESI was it?"https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1297274037752729600
"Because everyone at the Club understands that everyone’s heart is in the right place. It’s a call to unity, not divison"https://twitter.com/CafcFacts/status/1297274755855388673
"Then you could have resolved this with the fans groups instead of running to the media with it. Underhand tactics"
So What Exactly Happened?
As one of those who'd occupied the boardroom, PopIcon described what they'd observed:I'm in no way defending those who stole drinks. Had they popped open a bottle of fizz to celebrate 'taking the boardroom' I would have had a glass.
The guys I saw taking liberties with booze were young and tried to justify by saying the owners has stolen from the club.
It probably didn't occur to them at the time that the club is not Nimer or Southall and that this tab would have to be picked up sometime.
The toilets were all locked, as were the changing rooms. I personally find pissing in the sink massively disrespectful, its inconsiderate as some poor sod has to clean it up. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I didn't see it....and PragueAddick added what he'd heard from another of them:... One of the organisers has told me that he left more than £100 in the boardroom to cover damages, and he and one other of that group left their names with staff...Just to complicate matters, LouisMend saidI've been told by two separate people involved with the boardroom (one yesterday, one today) that they understood Southall had given permission for them to help themselves to drinks so it's certainly something that was being said.
Obviously Southall isn't in a position to be giving that permission.While not having attended themself palarsehater had heard:The damage referred to is people going on the pitch, which the ground staff specifically asked people not to do. With such a short amount of time till the start of the season it can damage the surface, now it wasn’t a huge amount of traffic but even still.but Ollywozere advised that this was incorrect:The damage was elsewhere, unfortunately, including a press backdrop and an exit gate.
To be fair to those in the boardroom, it seems most of the damage and theft occurred elsewhere. Those in the boardroom have offered to pay for what they had, but a decent amount was taken from elsewhere.
For example, someone helped themselves to a fair amount of champagne, dropping and smashing some of them as they made off (Yohann Thuram levels of handling!)Mick Everett had good news about the games console:
https://twitter.com/Addickted05/status/1297286427626151936
"Just been contacted by one of our fans who tells me the games console is on it's way back to The Valley.Seems organisers did own investigation & came up with the goods. Fair play to them, they were upset that this happened in 1st place. Note the console was never in the boardroom"and later on Smiffyboy posted a picture of it being put under the front gate, although personally I think it might've been a better idea to drop it off at reception on Monday.Finally, @Airman Brown pointed out...I’m afraid bad behaviour by a minority is the price of organising this kind of invasive protest and it’s naive to think otherwise. It’s why CARD had previously pulled back from staging an occupation. We knew it would be hard to stop this kind of thing or worse happening. But I’m not criticising those who decided to do it.
Most toilets will be locked most of the time except on matchdays. Fans wouldn’t necessarily be aware which were not.
Seeing The Funny Side
In amongst all the back and forth about the rights and wrongs of the press statement and the events it was responding to, a fair amount of humour still flew about. Six-a-bag-of-nuts shared a weird mental image:... Without wishing to deflect or trivialise the debate, does anybody else find it faintly hilarious that there is a Playstation in the boardroom?
I now have a mental image of Murray, Chappel, Whitehand et al hunkering down to a spot of Crash Team Racing, with Sherry and Crisps, whilst Dowie was out losing the teamI think the reasonable takeaway from today's events is clear.
If you're going to crime, crime big.
Don't take the wine, pinch the games console, or piss in the sink. Do working class crimes, get working class punishments.
Why not go white collar? Make sure you swipe four white Range Rovers for you and your mates and take out a lease on a cushy London flat with river views. You'll get pilloried just the same, for a time, but the return is so much better....Go big? Call that big? You need to think internationally!...AN APOLOGY
At the Nottingham Forest home game I did not pay for a lemonade I bought my son in Crossbars....This morning my family woke up to hacks from The Guardian, The Daily Sport, Morning Star and Salvationist camped outside our front door seeking comment and photos.
A can of Sprite has been returned to the club this morning.And after many people pointed out the SMT's far more lethargic response to the various range rovers going AWOL aliwibble snarked:...if I was CAST I'd be very tempted to make a statement along the lines of "we thank all those who attended Saturday's protest and made it a success, and the club staff for their assistance in preparations for it.... However, if CAFC is going to investigate the unauthorised removal of club property, perhaps they could start with the much higher value items that seem to have gone missing in recent months, namely several club range rovers to the value of x hundred thousand pounds....Similarly, Airman Brown was amused by people demanding another press release confirming the games console's returnI'm just enjoying the idea of Sky Sports adding to their current ticker "Charlton fans return stolen games console" - the news cycle doesn't really work like that.
Media Coverage:
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-matches-donation-made-by-protesting-charlton-athletic-fans/
BBC Sport: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53875458
Sky Sports: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11684/12054368/charlton-athletic-fans-occupy-boardroom-in-ownership-protest
Talk Sport: https://talksport.com/football/efl/749450/charlton-fans-occupy-boardroom-protest-owners-efl/
Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-8654169/Charlton-fans-OCCUPY-BOARDROOM-Valley-protest.html
Daily Star: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-boardroom-takeover-paul-elliott-22562402
The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/12471920/charlton-fans-protest-takeover-storming-club-boardroom/ (or webarchive version)
Sport Bible: https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-charlton-fans-protest-inside-the-valley-stadium-and-refuse-to-leave-202008226 -
Monday 24th August Part 1 - What is this, scumbag owner whackamole?SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- It's been suggested that the UK bidder with an NDA is infamous former Gateshead owner, Joseph Cala
- The Museum have confirmed that they've moved items for safekeeping in preparation for the worst case scenario
- The EFL have finally agreed to meet CAST but not until mid-September
- It appears the EFL have yet to set a date for Elliott's ODT appeal
- The transfer embargo continues to vause problems
- Sandgaard was on TalkSport with @Airman Brown
- Mihail's been answering questions about a few operational matters
Cala's back?
Remember back in May, when Joseph Cala was trying to get himself associated with the club? Well apparently he's popped up again:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1297771393459920896
"Believe the UK-based bidder in an NDA over a potential #cafc takeover is Joseph Cala. His name first came up around the end of May. Previously involved at Gateshead and linked to abortive approaches for Morecambe (2017), Bury (2019) and Portsmouth (2012)."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1297771873267261442
"Would be fair to say that he isn’t likely to win a popularity contest as a contender for Charlton, based on his reputation."https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1297773454343708673
"Interview with Cala here from his involvement at Morecambe:
https://www.thevisitor.co.uk/news/meeting-mr-cala-my-surreal-afternoon-morecambe-fc-656212"Cala's time at Gateshead does not make happy reading either:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1297772922078019585
"Brief research into Cala’s time at Gateshead does not inspire confidence"
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1297777070672502784
"More on Cala’s time at Gateshead. We’ve seen this before... 🤔
#cafc #SaveCAFC"
Sounds a bit familiar:
https://twitter.com/twoht/status/1166440937486278656
"That'd be the same Joseph Cala who couldn't own Gateshead because he failed the Owners & Directors Test but carried on as though he did anyway until they came within a few days of going bust after less than a year, yes?"
(quoting this tweet relating to Bury's problems last year)A journalist who writes for several of the local papers in that neck of the woods could not believe it:
https://twitter.com/MarkCarruthers_/status/1297785139083321344
"Surely even the @EFL couldn’t allow this to happen. Any @GatesheadFC supporter would happily give them a million reasons to not pass this. Took the club to the brink of going out of business and it only survived because of a supporter-led consortium @GatesheadFCSoul @Heed_Army"
(quoting this tweet from @airmanbrown )Wonder if we could borrow this banner
Ben Ransom had further background:
https://twitter.com/BenRansomSky/status/1297820327716757507
"My first experience of him was going up to Morecambe when he was one of two people claiming to own the club - as I remember it (perhaps incorrectly) he’d taken up residence at the stadium. Then again his name was given to Sky Sports as someone interested in taking over Bury."and Benjy provided corroboration of the Bury link:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1297797185346576384
Digging into the Cala Corporation also flags up problems:
https://twitter.com/uttley_stephen/status/1297847543540469762
"SEC authorisation was revoked in 2016 for failure to file timely returns, company was involved in developing offshore casinos to avoid US laws. He's failed my fit and proper test already - but probably need to give the EFL another 6 months."Richard Cawley is less certain about the Cala link though:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297813608076906496
"The identity of the UK party interested in buying Charlton is unknown. They have signed an NDA but think they'll have to reveal exactly who is fronting the offer for them to be taken seriously by ESI. At the moment approach is via a third party."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297816843995041793
"Cala was interested months ago and probably still is. Whether it is him in relation to this, I don't know. Fact is I don't think ESI know who is behind the UK party."Protest Hangover
Following Saturday's protest, the i paper had a good write-up:
https://twitter.com/ev_bartlett/status/1297864926405500929
"A fanbase with a long history of activism is coming together again as a long-running takeover battle and financial uncertainty threatens the future of Charlton Athletic
✍️ @W_F_Magee reports on the #SaveCAFC protest over the weekend
https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-athletic-takeover-protest-esi-thomas-sandgaard-owner-600859"https://twitter.com/ev_bartlett/status/1297870112486301697
"Desperate times call for desperate measure at Charlton
#CAFC #SaveCAFC"
That last bit had been mentioned in one of the writer Will Magee's tweets about the protest over the weekend, but I didn't want to highlight it in the Bitesize until I'd checked it out with the Museum trustees. The Museum commented as follows:
https://twitter.com/CHATHMuseum/status/1297821889738559488
"Following reports the trustees would like to make clear that the musuem, an independent registered charity, aims to protect and preserve the heritage of #cafc.
We have, and will continue to, take all necessary steps to protect the items in our collection 1/2"https://twitter.com/CHATHMuseum/status/1297822832005713920
"2/2 All of the museum's collection belongs to the museum or are on loan from fans.
None of the collection belongs to the football club.
We'd like to thank fans for their continuing support.
@mattjobob @MMarian_lx @CAStrust @CafcFacts @CharltonCARD @SandgaardThomas"Can't argue with this assessment from the CAFC Facts & Stats twitter account:
https://twitter.com/CafcFacts/status/1297829578455560192
"When the museum trustees feel that they have to take drastic action to preserve the clubs history and heritage, then it goes to show how bad it has got at Charlton Athletic Football Club in 2020. #cafc #SaveCAFC #ESIOUT"
(quoting this tweet from @CHATHMuseum)There was also an update from nth_london_addick about the next steps from his group:...the WAR is being fought on all fronts we have direct action - indirect action- we have Serious Fraud Office investigating and the SRA investigations
To do this we may have to be holding open discussions and talks with people that many dislike it may not sit pretty with you but realise that there are reasons why, and we have never hidden them.
I can assure you that all information is then independently scruitinised and discussed openly with all fan groups and other fans whom have actively shared information that they come across...
More On The EFL
The transfer embargo continues to cause problems:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297818621058723840
"Charlton not getting any joy from the EFL - at least yet - in their attempts to sign Adam Matthews.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/efl-wont-play-ball-with-charlton-over-adam-matthews-deal/"The EFL have finally agreed to meet CAST:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297844273401024512
"The EFL are set to meet with CAST and CARD to hear their concerns and issues surrounding the running/ownership of Charlton Athletic.
Plans were already in place before Saturday's protest.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/efl-set-to-meet-charlton-athletic-supporters-groups-to-hear-concerns-over-running-of-the-football-club/"https://twitter.com/bentegg/status/1297890932503785474
"Just to be clear card are not involved"although as ever with the EFL, they seem not to be in any rush:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1297848989560246272
"EFL MEETING NEWS | We do now have a formal meeting in the diary with @EFL - agreed last week with date and time forthcoming this morning. Don't hold your breath, though - it's not till mid Sept so plenty can happen before then. #cafc"Dont worry I dont expect the meeting to be any longer than a few minutes:
CAST / CARD: So can you tell us what is happening with regards to Charlton? EFL: Sorry we're not going to provide commentary on clubs, is there anything else we can help you with today?Meeting CAST is not the only thing the EFL appears to be dragging their feet on:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297921159829295111
"As it stands, don't believe the EFL have set a date to hear the OADT appeal for Paul Elliott.
He appealed the decision almost instantly (had 14 days to lodge it).
If he was to be rejected again on appeal then it would surely take ESI version 2 out of the picture?"The conversation then segued into what basis the injunction had:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297922488379281408
"The claim is that PE has put a six-figure sum into the club to keep it going - and we're talking high six figures, now low.
I think the also thing at dispute is whether ESI mark 1 can block the deal if PE gets EFL approval."(That should say "not low", not "now low")As is common in takeover discussions, ForeverAddickted appreciated this housebuying analogyGood way of viewing it and hopefully the judge will see it this way too...
https://twitter.com/mpezet/status/1297926217291698182
"I mean, I would have thought the legal term for that is "tough luck, pal". If I don't own a house yet and I pay for the roof to be repaired but then the sale falls through then I'm an idiot for paying out before I own it, no? Maybe some legal eagle can clarify? #cafc"and this reflects a common concern:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297922944979664898
"I don't know whether he could potentially get the injunction because EFL not ruled yet.
Both parties seems confident of winning the case, which you'd expect them to be saying."There's been a lot of further back and forth as to whether it's better for us if the EFL hear Elliott's ODT appeal before the injunction hearing or afterwards, and whether it's likely to succeed. ISawLeaburnScore explained that the ODT may not be the only factor affecting Elliott's case:...You also need to "come with clean hands" given this is an equitable remedy (ie. Elliott cannot be considered to have behaved unreasonably) and he also needs to show he has a cause of action (ie. that he has grounds to make a claim). Even if the sale contract is bomb-proof I think he has got an uphill task.2 - It's been suggested that the UK bidder with an NDA is infamous former Gateshead owner, Joseph Cala
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Monday 24th August Part 2 - The final few bits and bobsMore On Sandgaard
Thomas Sandgaard was on TalkSport again, this time along with @Airman Brown. You can listen here from about 18 minutes inRichard Cawley tweeted out a few select snippets
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297865044508790788
"TS: "I'm very encouraged by the dialogue we've had with Lieven [de Turck]. I can't see why they would turn it down. It will be a deal that is better than they've been looking at in recent years.""This was the point where my heart sank. As SEdegenerate aid on twitter https://twitter.com/SEdegenerate/status/1297896287887646720
""I can't see why they would turn it down"
He does realise he's talking to Roland Duchâtelet"And this bit got some people a bit overexcited:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297866048239292418
"TS says he has had "pretty good dialogue" with Andrew Barclay and Andrew Muir."This is where we end up with the ultimate takeover!!and JamesSeed had a bit of background about contacts with the Aussies:... When Thomas Sandgaard came along, and it was obvious he was another Good Guy, I passed info on and they agreed to get in touch. Tbh I wasn’t sure TS would be interested either...
I massively hope those guys get together, with or without Barclay (who would be a big bonus of course), because you’d be looking at the sort of backing that would genuinely make us a stable and progressive proposition in the medium and even long term. Tbh it’s the dream ticket in my opinion...@Gammon has also done an interview with Sandgaard:
https://www.bobsgammon.co.uk/post/stability-excitement-and-positivity-an-interview-with-thomas-sandgaard
Some Discussion Of Operational Issues
There have been a bunch of questions relating to sell-on clauses for former players, either because it's possible that they'll help cover running costs while we're in ownership limbo, or because people suspect that they're an incentive for certain people to attempt to continue their involvement in the club. Richard Cawley has been trying to find out:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1297948187437797381
"Charlton still have sell-on fees in place for Joe Gomez, Nick Pope, Karlan Grant etc."Not everyone is convinced that Cawley's entirely in the know on this, so Mihail's been asked about it too:
https://twitter.com/johnmartin54/status/1297929709909684224
"@MMarian_lx this is a #cafc question I would prefer to ask you as a director, rather than asking a third party. You will know about our sell-on fees for Gomez, Pope and Grant, whereas Rich only may know - or may have been told in confidence. Have we cashed them in already?"
(quoting this tweet asking Richard Cawley about the sell-ons )And there have been more questions on operational matters:
https://twitter.com/davidjarvis25/status/1297950919678668801
"@MMarian_lx With the club in takeover talks and boardroom limbo, who would make a decision on player sales?
Equally, where does season ticket money go at the moment?"and for this he said:
https://twitter.com/mmarian_lx/status/1297951566876606471
"Players are first team department, but they get approved by one of the directors, either Claudiu or myself. ST money goes to wages, HMRC or other football clubs that we owe money to (so, to the club’s stability, basically)"
Media Coverage:
Gammon's blog: https://www.bobsgammon.co.uk/post/stability-excitement-and-positivity-an-interview-with-thomas-sandgaard
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/efl-wont-play-ball-with-charlton-over-adam-matthews-deal/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/efl-set-to-meet-charlton-athletic-supporters-groups-to-hear-concerns-over-running-of-the-football-club/
i Paper: https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-athletic-takeover-protest-esi-thomas-sandgaard-owner-6008591 -
Tuesday 25th August - A moderately quiet day for a changeSUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Another attempt at getting trending on twitter, this time #SandgaardIn
- It's rumoured that Sandgaard has made an official offer
- Questions were raised about the lack of comment from Paul Elliott
- Prague Addick gave an update on the dossiers that a group have been working on
More on Sandgaard
Charlton fans had another go at getting a hashtag trending on twitter, this time #SandgaardIn, although it was a bit less successful given the focus on the Harry Maguire conviction:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1298305992543870976
"OUR CLUB | Long overdue for things to take a turn for the better at #cafc. We want the Great Dane to secure this deal and bring back stability and football ambition at The Valley. 🙏 #SandgaardIn. Please RT."
https://twitter.com/hjmckinlay/status/1298316477490245647
"Already had the pleasure of speaking a couple of times with @SandgaardThomas - genuine, responsive and passionate for #cafc. We want #SandgaardIn" (quoting this tweet from CAST )There was an also an interview with Sam Cooke from CAST with the Empty Seats youtube channel, talking about Sandgaard and the other goings on at Charlton:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1298312694286692354
"Hear @sam_s_cooke discuss #cafc and our hopes for #SandgaardIn"
(quoting this tweet from the Empty Seats Youtube Channel )Meanwhile it seems that DubaiCAFC had further inside information:I believe TS has made an official offer now through the right channels. Which basically in-line with what he said on Talksport.. now down to all parties to agree..
They still don’t see Elliott/Farnell being an issue.TS said something along the lines that he has put an offer together that will give all the parties what they wanted. The implication being the offer isn't what they were asking for but was a compromise he thought was realistic.Hard to deal with people that are so stupid and greedy - easy for this to fall through..There was some discussion as to whether Sandgaard's optimism was based on having seen the agreement between Elliott and Nimer that the court case will likely hinge on, and bobmunro reckonedIf indeed a written agreement exists, then yes TS and his lawyers would likely have seen it. TS wouldn't however be at liberty to divulge that or any of its contents as the injunction is a matter between ESI1 and ESI2.
The message coming out from the club (Mahail) is that they do not see Elliotttt and Farnell as an issue, and I take reassurance from that.On the subject of whether Sandgaard has spoken to the ex-directors Airman Brown saidCan't speak for Murray, but suspect he will have been in touch. The three threatening legal action had not heard from TS when I asked at the weekend.On a slightly sillier note, ross1 joked:Better get the TS takeover done before 8th September, otherwise once England thrash Denmark he may pull out of the dealwhile on twitter, Tom Waters suggested a priority signing:
https://twitter.com/TomWaters/status/1298330000429584386
"Rumour has it that the first bit of business @SandgaardThomas is going to do is sign the highly rated @johnnie_jackson to his band. #cafc 🎸🎶"https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1298371478321168384
"We already have the first gig booked! Lol."
Where's Wally Elliott?
The continued failure of Paul Elliott to give any kind of public explanation of his side of the story was perplexing Chris_from_Sidcup:We're constantly told he's invested money yet the man himself has not said a word.
If i'd invested high 6 figures into the club i'd certainly be making that public knowledge, yet he's disappeared off the face of the earth. Wouldn't you talk to Talksport or to Cawley or to Ben Ransom if you were him in order to get your side of the story out there? Why hasn't he?
Can only assume that either a) he hasn't invested anything at all or b) any money invested was by someone linked to him (like El Kashashy)and Henry Irving had some answers, although he had to be discreet about their source:I have been told the figure put in by Elliot/t is £500k
I say "by Elliot" but I suspect "via Elliot" is more accurate.
I don't know whose actual money it is but there doesn't seem to have been a loan, just an investment into a company he didn't own.
He's been offered it all back plus a little extra but has said "no"....I would actually take league 1 mediocrity for a season with TS and bowyer just to see Paul Elliott go bankrupt again. Please destroy him in courtIt's League 1 mediocrity for a season however this pans out.I will be surprised if any of the previous parties really want their affairs picked over in court, even a civil one.
Fan Action
A number of Lifers have been working on a set of dossiers drawing together a load of useful information relating to this saga, and PragueAddick gave some details of how this was progressing:We decided that the most urgent target for their attention was the EFL. We also felt that we would need them to get there via CAST, otherwise they might end up with Debbie from Customer Service. I'm pleased to report that CAST have got all three to the attention of John Nagle....and a little later on he provided a further updateA couple of other fan sites and blogs have also produced summary timelines of events so far for people to refer to:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1298269942958055430
"£1 IS ALL IT TAKES | Succinct summary of the state of #cafc as the clock ticks down to season start. Thank you @DanielPascoe_
http://esi-out.co.uk"https://twitter.com/NotTheEFL/status/1298357499142316036
"We’ve seen a lot of #cafc fans asking for a timeline of what’s happened at the club all in one place. 📈
Check it out here, there’s plenty to scroll through: https://theefl.co.uk/charlton
#SaveCAFC"
Media Coverage:
Charlton Vital Football: https://charlton.vitalfootball.co.uk/a-deal-they-cant-refuse-thomas-sandgaard-gives-a-takeover-update-it-looks-to-be-in-th
1 - Another attempt at getting trending on twitter, this time #SandgaardIn
-
Wednesday 26th August Part 1 - Ooh look, it's another leaked document!SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- @Henry Irving posted a copy of a document purporting to be a solictor's letter from Laurence Bassini's representatives to Matt Southall
- Allegedly Southall transferred liability for the £1.2m he supposedly owed to Bassini onto the club, and offered him a permanent role
- Apparently the deal with Roland included payments of £1.5m/year for staying in the Championship for 2019/20 and 2020/21, as well as £8m if we got promoted to the Premier League before June 2022
- @PragueAddick has been trolling Farnell with one of the dossier snippets
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan has tweeted in support of #SaveCAFC
The Southall-Bassini document
The big story of the day was @Henry Irving publishing a document that he'd been passed that purports to be a letter from Laurence Bassini's solicitors to Matt Southall demanding over £600k for services rendered. As ever, while not wishing to impugn @Henry Irving's integrity, we don't know the precise source, nor whether the letter or attached documents are real or the whole picture regarding Southall's dealings with Bassini or other parties, so a degree of scepticism is warranted. The PDF document can be downloaded from here but if you don't fancy wading through nearly 30 pages, he's summarised it in the posts in this thread:
https://charltonlife.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/89745/southall-bassini-and-the-purchase-of-charlton-athleticOnce the general cursing and outrage had died down, discussion generally focussed on a few specific points.The £1.2m Debt
First, the £1.2m that Southall had apparently agreed to pay Bassini for the introduction to Roland Duchatelet. Invoices relating to this were leaked back in March, although we didn't include them in the bitesize as they contained unredacted bank details. At the time, we couldn't understand how Southall's debt would be the club's problem, and that confusion continued in some of the initial responses as ElliotCAFC demonstratedDisgusting - surely legitimate grounds here to bring him to court for his actions? How can you shift your own personal debts on to a football club?and bobmunro wonderedI'm not an expert on fraud, but would the SFO be interested in this? Looks like fraudulent activity to me......As the then Chairman, he might argue that he had the authority to do so, but given that the majority shareholder of ESI was Panorama Magic, one might argue that novation would have to be approved by the Board, ie including Nimer. I would expect the owners of CAFC (hopefully Sandgaard, represented by Freshfields) to be able to successfully argue that Southall had no right to novate a personal debt to the club and to leave the scheming bastard facing his own personal ruin....Although the Companies Act gives directors powers to bind a company, this applies only where directors act in good faith and will not apply to transactions in which the director is a party. You should always ensure that each party to a transaction has secured the appropriate authority (or ratification) for such transaction......Where is the novation agreement - para 18 says it's "evidenced in correspondence and is also witnessed by Mr Thomas". This is the stuff of fantasy. You cannot novate debt like that and expect it to be enforceable. This is not CAFC Limited's problem and unless there is documentation not referred to or disclosed here which changes this, it warrants a PFO from us...Not being a legal type myself, I can't say for certain what a PFO is, but I suspect it may be a marginally politer version of the reply in Arkell vs Pressdram, as Private Eye would say.As well as the legal niceties of this, supaclive pointed out there may also be tax implications:You can't have CAFC pay ESI / Southall's bills without approval or creating a massive tax liability as a benefit in kind....There also appeared to be a number of holes or discrepancies in the letter too. As ValleyGary saidI notice it says Southall didn’t sign any of the contracts. So you don’t need to sign any official contractual documentation for it to still be legally binding?...Bassini's solicitors letter seems to claim that that by the agreement at 'Annex A' Southall also made ESI and even CAFCL liable to pay Bassini, because the agreement is in the name of "Matt Southall (East Street Investments)". However, the 'Annex A' agreement is is dated 18th August 2019 but according to Companies House ESI wasn't incorporated until 13th November 2019?: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/12312818Point 6: Takeover completed 2nd Jan after 'attaining EFL approval'. That never happened though I thought?. EFL never approved the deal?Plus, in all the detail, BowSelecta made a good spot:Not sure this has been highlighted yet, but the “witness” in all of this is Glenn Thomas (paragraph 12). He is the former Chief Executive of Bury FC...The Negotiation Of The Sale Terms
The appendix apparently showing how the terms of the deal were arrived at also caused a fair few raised eybrows. Callumcafc paraphrased as follows:Southall: we propose a twenty five year lease with option to buy at £40m.
Lieven: we would prefer fifteen years with option at £50m within the first five years
Southall: ok!
No red flags / alarms going off in Lieven’s head during this interaction?Seems like RD has no interest in how they arrived at the figure.
All he cares about is that he has a document that proves someone is willing to pay him what his deluded mind thinks the valley is worth however unlikely it is that he'll actually be paid that amount....This is where Nimer came into it. Southall representing that they are not too concerned on the price because Nimer is stinking rich.
It's certainly what many fans thought.
I don't know if Nimer was party to this or not....While we're on the subject of Nimer, thickandthin63 saidi am stunned that at no stage in these supposed negotiations,is Nimar,the majority shareholder mentioned.Surely Southall would not be entitled to agree to all these conditions of his own back,to agree 1.250000m in fees without consulting and gaining the approval of the majority shareholder is ridiculous,and then,once again pass the debt to the company without any consultation or legal agreement must be unlawful and would not stand scrutiny....in fact I’m pretty confident those terms aren’t quite final. Don’t believe the £8m PL bonus stands in that way in the final document, another version of which I’ve seen. It was reduced.
One problem with the whole thing is that there are multiple unsigned versions of documents.There appears to be nothing in the agreement re transfer sell on fees going to Duchatelet which is surprising but one bit of good news.I think you need to have all the documents to understand the deal, so I’d be cautious. Remember that there is a charge secured over the football club and a guarantee. That means there is a debt, I assume.Reaction Beyond Charlton Life
The Charlton Times blog has also run with the story, highlighting it on their twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/CharltonTimes/status/1298616994988806144
"Proof that Matt Southall transferred £1.2m debt he owed to Laurence Bassini onto the club.
Credit to @BenHayes77 for this one, as I've taken it from a document he posted on the Charlton Life forum.
#CAFC #SaveCAFC"
and having a go at doing their own summary:
https://twitter.com/CharltonTimes/status/1298651486977744897
"Haven't covered everything, but I've done a quick post to try cover the main points from the document:
https://charltontimes.co.uk/southall-passes-1-25m-of-debt-onto-club"Later on they contacted Southall for comment, and he denied both owing the money to Bassini and passing the debt on to the club:
https://twitter.com/CharltonTimes/status/1298690023445889026
Meanwhile CAST are hopeful
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1298666232179232768
"Let's hope this is a sign that it is all coming tumbling down for the "dubious characters" involved at #cafc @CliveEfford @mtpennycook"
(quoting this post from CharltonTimes)5 - @Henry Irving posted a copy of a document purporting to be a solictor's letter from Laurence Bassini's representatives to Matt Southall
-
Wednesday 26th August Part 2 - Final roundupFarnell And The Dossiers
After @PragueAddick's post explaining how work was going on the dossiers on Tuesday, he trailed a snippet from one of them on twitter about Chris Farnell:
https://twitter.com/HunterPrague/status/1298574987767537665
"Little taster from the @Chris_Farnell dossier. He likes to boast that Ronaldo was one of his clients. But it seems that CR regrets that, given CF's advice landed him in court. Please DON'T retweet, it might cause Farnell reputational damage.#SaveCAFC
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/real-madrid/story/3172197/real-madrids-cristiano-ronaldo-i-trust-in-my-advisers-regarding-taxes"... you don't normally go from being Manchester United's lawyer of choice, representing Roberto Martinez and others, to Matthew Southall in one fell swoop do you?He may have been living off a reputation from Hill Dicks or Evershed's Manchester offices, where he would have had the backing of a team around him. Not just on the legal side, but the full weight of the Firm's reputations in the region and their operational/admin support.
I've seen lawyers move on to their own boutique businesses and take some clients with them. They then struggle because they don't have that backing, don't have the business acumen and they aren't as good as they actually thought they were.There was a little questioning about the long term impact, as Uboat said:... I think if TS takes over and all is well we’ll forget about these clowns overnight....We haven’t forgotten Parker leaving yet, and that was 16 years ago ;-)
... These ‘businessmen’ are going to celebrate with the payday from TS (if it all happens), but they’re all very naive if they think we will instantly forget and move on. They all owe us a lot more than money!
More on Sandgaard
After @Airman Brown's comments that he didn't think Sandgaard had been in touch with the ex-directors, observers of a couple of their twitter feeds thought they might be detecting positive signs. As carly burn saidI think they're warming to him.
https://twitter.com/DavidWhite51/status/1298307049554612230
"Rock on, Tommy #SandgaardIn"He’s not the only one.
However, this tendency to look for signs in the slightest little nuance of twitter is starting to make some people a tiny bit overanxious. Sandgaard is still being bombarded with questions about the progress of the bid, and in normal times this tweet would be seen as good news:
https://twitter.com/sandgaardthomas/status/1298670032570875905
"Definitely still optimistic about making this happen."but the apparent downgrade from absolute certainty of success was making some people nervous, although as ForeverAddickted observed:Just seen its the bloke who messaged Thomas that used the word "optimistic"
So can see why Thomas used it back in agreementAlso it's impossible to be certain until he owns the club - optimistic is the best he can do I guess!Given hoof_it_up_to_benty has been fairly pessimistic about the likelihood of Sandgaard being successful, this seems like progess:If TS hasn't bailed out by now he must be pretty serious.Maybe he's getting bored reassuring people and thought he'd leave us hanging for a few hoursThis. Leave the poor bastard alone for a while. We must be coming across as a needy teenage girl looking for constant reassurance.although aliwibble thought that was unfair:As a former needy teenage girl, I object to that comparison!
The #SaveCAFC Campaign
This has been quiet for a bit, but we now have the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan:
https://twitter.com/MayorofLondon/status/1298673938902462472
"Charlton is a club with a proud history of doing great work for the community via @CAFCTrust. I hope the current issues are resolved so all fans can look forward to watching them play at their stadium, The Valley, for years to come. #savecafc @CAFCofficial"
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/greenwich-council-chief-well-oppose-any-plan-to-move-charlton-athletic-out-of-the-borough/The responses seemed to be equally divided between thanks, asking him to take action which is probably outside his remit, and decrying his intervention as a lame publicity stunt. However, it is useful to have the Mayor's Office onside, given that it does have a role in certain planning decisions in London, so may help deter efforts at property development at the Valley or Sparrows Lane:
https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/planning-applications-and-decisions/what-powers-does-mayor-have-planning-applications
And Finally.
Some fans have been feeling unable to devote the time or mental energy to this battle, but as PragueAddick saidRight now it reminds me of the Valley Party in the way we have several different groups, with different tactics- including the right ones for dealing with criminals - and many more finding their way to support. I’ll say it again, Charlton Life has made this possible. Everyone who posts a link, everyone who retweets a relevant mesage, is playing their part in getting rid of this vermin. Then they will be gone, there will be footie again, and some stroppy pensioner with time on his hands and limited opps to get to the Valley will be boring everyone about the German Model :-:smile:
...Whatever each of you feel comfortable doing. Its enough, its great, and we will win, because what we have been good at as a fanbase is coming together when the hour came to stand up and be counted.6 -
Thursday 27th August Part 1 - "Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying ..."SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Sangaard has spoken with CAST, and said of the takeover "I can't imagine it won't happen"
- More details of the transfer embargo emerged, including the fact that youth players who've played less than 90 minutes each are being counted as "first team players"
- The OS put up an interview with Marian Mihail
- There's been further discussion of the Southall Bassini document, but no actual new developments.
- The Charlton situation gets looked at on the Price of Football podcast.
More On Sandgaard
CAST posted up an account of their online meeting with Sandgaard:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1298899421074259968
"We had the opportunity to speak / meet with @SandgaardThomas last night. Reinforced our already positive views. Read more here 👇👇and keep 🤞🤞 #cafc
https://www.castrust.org/2020/08/cast-meets-thomas-sandgaard/"This of course prompted further takeover discussion, and Addicktion posted a detailed comment based on their experience of how mergers and acquisitions usually work:I work within mergers and acquisitions at the moment, albeit at a junior level, and I thought it may be worth me explaining how a typical deal process would work for us given the confusion about an offer being made/being at advanced due diligence....I guess all I can say is don't expect to hear anything this side of the bank holiday! (Although I hope I'm completely wrong on that!!) In TS we trust!!!I think TS was hopeful of shortcutting the process but has not been able to do so. I like his approach to the assembled cast of crooks but that doesn’t mean it will work. Never trust Roland.
I haven’t watched the interview yet but I will say that I have spoken extensively to the UK agency, as have others. Cala wasn’t a guess.while @carly burn wonderedI love the way TS appears to be approaching this, but could he be falling into the age old trap of thinking that this is in some ways similar to many of the countless business deals he's struck in the past?
Football is never so simple. And when you find the cast of cheats,crooks and clinically insane characters that we've currently got holding the cards it must be the hardest of uphill struggles.He has a great attitude but I can’t help thinking his confidence is also a function of his lack of longevity, I.e. that it may be rooted in underestimating the complications and the stubbornness of RD.... We won’t really know until Elliott is goneOne specific bit of the Sandgaard interview caused particular comment. As @Davo55 said:... the EFL have got a “sweet spot” for Charlton? Really? If that’s so, I really hope we never get on their wrong side.If TS is successful in buying the club I am sure the EFL will be just as happy as Charlton fans in that some of the focus will also move away from them. Hopefully they will then get on and address the shortfalls in their regulations.The Community Trust is a massive asset in this respect. CACT, aside from anything else, would represent a very large stick with which politicians would rightly beat the EFL and demand change.More On The Transfer Embargo
It seems that the transfer embargo is even more of a nightmare than we initially thought, according to the latest from Richard Cawley:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1298917391108370432
"More detail on Charlton's transfer embargo.
Basically the EFL say that club already have 23 first-team players as they count anyone who has featured at senior level.
Only way a player can come in is if one goes.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/exclusive-lee-bowyer-opens-up-on-efl-transfer-embargo-and-reveals-why-charlton-cant-sign-players/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1298917393687891968
"LB: "We should be able to bring in at least three players because at the moment some of those players aren’t part of the first-team squad in my eyes."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1298917395034185728
"LB: “As it stands we can’t bring anyone in – even if we had all the money in the world. We can’t sign anyone. I’m being told ‘just be patient’ but it’s driving me mad."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1298920631552147456
"Could put Charlton in a position where they need to release a young player or two - even though they don't want to do that - to free up a space.
Would cost them more in that scenario too as you'd be paying up contracts."There is some degree of irony in the position we now find ourselves in:
https://twitter.com/DezBryant25/status/1299175198953017344
"So during our last @efl transfer embargo, we had 10+ first team players injured, couldnt sign anyone, and had to play under 23 squad players. And now because of that decision, we are now not allowed to field a first team 11 without using under 23 squad players again? #SaveCAFC"It's fair to say this announcement caused a lot of discussion. Although @Henry Irving didn't think we could complain:Unpopular opinion but on this the EFL are right.
We're under an embargo so of course we can't sign players.
It's a punishment for the shit management by Southall et al.
No fair on Bowyer or the fans but if we call for the EFL to take a firm stand against bad owners we can't complain we they do just that.I agree to an extent, but what really bugs me about the EFL in all this is the disregard they show to supporters of clubs.... The EFL could keep rogue owners in check with a bit more openness and transparency. In January when MS was telling us he was going to be bringing in all kinds of players, the EFL knew he was lying to us and that the club were under an embargo. They could have released a statement. In July the EFL issued a rare statement about CAFC in which they stated the club knew the consequences of failing to comply. But they did not see fit to share them with supporters, who on the back of what happened last year to Bury were understandably very concerned....No matter whether you think the decision is fair or not, I think we'd all agree with this from CAST:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1298935535336030208
"Crazy times. This is why we need to get this sale sorted #cafc."
(quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)There was a significant level of confusion in discussions about how much of the restrictions were a result of the transfer embargo, and how much were just the League 1 wide squad cap coming into effect. @Scoham reckoned:This sounds like a rule across League 1 though, Bowyer said even if we had all the money in the world we wouldn’t be able to sign players. They’re counting youngsters with 15 minutes in the league cup as senior players.It's almost as if they make these rules up as they go along.There's the FFP rules and the hastily contrived L1 & L2 salary caps to constrain total player salary costs so why is an arbitrary squad number maximum required as well? It's almost as if either: EFL don't believe the other rules are effective, or don't remember they're in place at all... Steve Gallen's probably forgotten more about assembling a good quality squad than the entire EFL board and senior management could learn in a dozen lifetimes.As further details emerged, this decision just seemed even more ludicrous:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1298937352660881408
"One of the players who counts as part of Charlton's 23-man squad is Junior Quitirna, who came on as a 62nd-minute sub in the EFL Cup v Forest Green in August 2019."Do you think Quitana would have been given 30-mins in a Cup game had it been known that it would suddenly result in him being classed as a senior player?...Surely it should be applied to League games only? - that way there can be a decent balance between kids getting opportunities without them taking up the slot of a potential signingIf it is nothing to do with the embargo it is ridiculous. Clubs will think twice before giving young players a chance which would not be good for football in general. I mean a young player could come in and show he isn't quite ready, and then he becomes an issue which is wrong.This twitter conversation between Matt Wright and @KBslittlesis should hopefully help clear things up. This was Matt's initial take:
https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1298938366898171904
"I've got some sympathy for the EFL here. They need a common method to apply across clubs - it's not their fault prolonged lack of investment in #cafc's squad (dating back to Duchatelet) has left it so small/reliant on youth, often before they're ready for regular 1st XI football"and @KBslittlesis explained the current thinking on here:
https://twitter.com/KBslittlesis/status/1298969538520920064
"Mmmm have been reading @CharltonLife & it appears my first thoughts were correct. It has nothing to do with the embargo. Its because theres a limit of 23 players in the squad who made 1st team appearances & we're on the limit because of the injuries we had last season 😫"This bit explains the club's current position:
https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1298981471848263681
"That's part of it but it's not quite right (as I understand it).
The embargo is creating the conditions, as per Rich's story.
We want new signings. EFL says no, due to embargo - one out, one in.
We say we don't even have a squad of 23. EFL says yes you do - the kids count"while this bit explains the restrictions if we weren't under embargo:
https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1298981684864405511
"While there are new rules limiting squads to 23 players (some places have said 22?), players who are U21 don't count, which largely applies to all those kids mentioned.
Happy to be proved wrong tho."I've tried finding the details on the EFL website, and had no joy, but Matt's understanding tallies with this Telegraph report from a week or so ago:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/08/19/exclusive-efl-cap-squad-sizes-help-ease-financial-pressure-clubs/ (behind a paywall, but there's a local text version here)The frustration here is palpable:
https://twitter.com/KBslittlesis/status/1298988667612958720
"Why the need for these extra rules though? It just confuses the issue. Nobody seems to be able to give a definitive answer. As if the issues at #cafc aren't bad enough 😳"while Benjy Nurick sounds absolutely livid:
https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1299003639164329985
"This is a scandalously bad take from the EFL. Unnecessarily harmful to one of its member clubs. The EFL can claim it wants to help but this says otherwise.
Harmful and irrational in too many ways for just one tweet🤦♂️
👇👇👇
#cafc #SaveCAFC"
(quoting this tweet from Richard Cawley)https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1299003640770830336
"Some players included in the #cafc "23 man squad:" James Vennings, Aaron Henry, and Junior Quitrina.
Combined they've played 243 minutes. Total. Less than 90 mins per player.
All very talented and could go far, but "First-team players?" Don't think so mate.
#cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1299003642352029696
"Who does the EFL's decision hurt?
1. Charlton-not able to put together a competitive squad
2. The academy boys-Bowyer unable to play them now due to fear of "first team player" label
3. English Football-based on the success of the #cafc academy, read point 2
#SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1299003643560001536
"Now let's take a look at some PL rules on young players and academy members.
What's that? No limit on U21/academy players in a team's squad...
Good to see the EFL going against the grain to make a logical decision 👍
#cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenjyNurick/status/1299003644734369797
"Good on Bowyer for standing up and saying something. He's right...this is pathetic from the EFL.
Oh yes, and all this on a day when the EFL announced Charlton (and Wigan) as "Community Clubs of the Year"
Couldn't make it up... #cafc #SaveCAFC"Although at least @LouisMend is able to see the funny side:
https://twitter.com/LouisMend/status/1299025340090724352
The challenges facing Lee Bowyer as a result of these restrictions are explained in an interview with Richard Cawley:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1298942970314530816
"Lee Bowyer reckons Charlton still need 10 signings to compete with the fancied sides in League One this season.
Talks here about wanting "a finisher" to replace Lyle Taylor.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-boss-lee-bowyer-we-still-need-to-make-ten-signings-to-compete-in-league-one-this-season/"2 -
Thursday 27th August Part 2 - "... you've got more rabbit than Sainsbury's..."Marian Mihail Interview
I'm not sure whether this is part of some charm offensive, or was produced in the vain hope that fans might ease up on bombarding him with questions, but the club have released an interview with Marian Mihail, conducted online by Olly Groome:
https://twitter.com/CAFCofficial/status/1299013855700488193
📺 Club Director @MMarian_lx sat down with @ollygroome for an in-depth interview, providing an update on the current takeover process as well as clarification on a number of other issues. #cafc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_2c_qQvD9A"
If you lack the time or inclination to watch the whole thing, then@MattF has kindly provided a brief summary of what was said.Due to the nature of Zoom/Skype interviews, Olly's part in proceedings got more attention than he may have anticipated. @ForeverAddickted mentioned:I'm finding Olly's facial expressions interesting during this interview...you can see the concern on his face, understanding how things are working at other times
People have said that he maybe should have walked with the way the club was being ran but part of me wonders if even people like him (actually involved at the club) know the full story...... It can’t be easy to conduct an interview with your boss while asking the questions the fans want answered by him, kind of rules out the Paxman approach.... I felt he [Mihail] was at times being very careful not to be caught in a lie. When asked about whether ESI owns the club he responded that it did as far as he was aware, that to me is quite an interesting clarification from a director of the club and is perhaps an indication of quite how messy this business is....Meanwhile over on twitter, Matt Wright had taken note of Olly's clothing choices for the interview:
https://twitter.com/mattjobob/status/1299036345277591552
"Love @ollygroome still in official #cafc gear even when he's working from home. Charlton runs through him like a stick of rock"
(quoting this tweet from @CAFCOfficial)Opinions on Mihail were a bit more divided, with @kidbrookeaddick being impressed:Watched the whole interview and I must say that Marian comes across very well and honest and actually wish that he would remain once we are taken over.I fully agree, however, as much as I want to have every faith in Marian he has to understand that I (and possibly quite a few others), can’t feel 100% confident in doing so. Nothing to do with you personally Marian but we’ve been lied to so much over the last decade that we are obviously going to be constantly suspicious of just about everyone and everything.🤔I’m surprised any of us want Mihail at the club medium to long term. As others have said he’s employed by ESI by Nemer and working with Florica.
I would suggest strongly that he is being used as the ‘good cop’ to buy time and favour. That’s why’s he’s been so present on Twitter.A few of the answer caused a bit of confusion. @CharltonByBlood questioned a discrepancy on the stage Sandgaard's bid was atI'm confused. MM interview said that TS is at the advanced due diligence stage whereas Thomas himself has said an offer has been made... so what one is it?Interview was recorded Tuesday.
Maybe things have moved on since then.On the subject of the Turkish bid mentioned, a conspiracy theory was floated that it might be an effort to bump the price up, but @Henry Irving had some inside information...My info is that the Istanbul interest is real but I'm not sure I like the people involved. Doesn't mean they haven't got money or don't know football but there are things that would put some fans off them from the start...From a look at Mihail's twitter account@charlton_hero may have spotted something relevant:Marian follows 38 people on Twitter, a majority being Charlton related. He also follows this bloke -
Good find. His LinkedIn shows he's based in Istanbul...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/uralakuzum/?originalSubdomain=trFinally @Blucher gave a bit more detailed critique which ended on this plaintive note:I think I am need of another ebullient interview with our friend Thomas.The Southall-Bassini document
The Bassini solicitor's letter to Southall continues to trigger a load of questions about its contents. @Stig was confused about the size of the introduction fee:Please excuse my ignorance, perhaps one of the city types on here can enlighten me, but why on earth would anyone pay £1¼m to someone for an introduction? It was public knowledge that the club was for sale and surely it's not that hard to make contact of need be...I'm not a City type, as you know but I have done M&A in the advertising field, with globals such as WPP and Omnicom as my clients, and I can say with confidence that it is the most preposterous financial proposal of its type I have ever seen... Unfortunately, it does not of itself make the piece of paper "illegal". Just laughable. But because it is demonstrably laughable, a court might conclude that it is part of the wider picture that concludes it is a claim with no merit.... A 15 year lease would need to be lodged with Land Registry, there is no lease lodged with Land Registry so our lease is certainly no longer than 7 years from the sale date, this part must have changed....There are pending, incomplete applications at the Land Registry for new leases over The Valley and Sparrows Lane. I would assume the part about there being new 15 year leases at £200k pa rent formed part of the final deal.And this interesting question from @balham red has yet to be answered as far as I can see:Do we know what help Southall was looking for from LB on 21 Oct on WhatsApp? The forwarded email string looks like they had a deal agreed in principle already....Also interesting that LB omits the actual help request on the screenshot.although it did trigger this glorious piece of snark from @carly burn:I'm sure Lee Amis will be able to clear this up. He always said people hadn't heard the full story. ;-)Surely if there was any credibility to Bassini's claim, he would have petitioned to have the club wound up by now. My guess is that he was just trying it on in the hope the club would panic and cough up.You can always rely on @Blucher for a long detailed post on legal questions, and this one merits digesting at your leisure:1. The alleged ‘Introducer’s Agreement’ between BPL and ‘Matt Southall (East Street Investments Ltd.)’ looks to have more holes than a colander...
2. The alleged novation looks highly dubious....
3. Did Southall have authority to bind the club ...
4. It is hard to imagine a more flagrant breach of fiduciary duty by a director...
5. In more general terms, although the full facts have yet to emerge, where there has been a flagrant breach of the rules on transactional conflicts of interest, there may be grounds to set aside an affected transaction... 6. ...there should be plenty of scope for encouraging the authorities to take action against the individuals concerned, including in the form of director disqualification proceedings.And over on twitter, @Airman Brown reminded us:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1298852575656185859
"For everyone who finds the #cafc story too complicated to follow, this is really the key image, taken at Bolton last year. It should have told us everything we needed to know - and it should have told Roland Duchatelet too."
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1298856706513022977
"Duchatelet could have had £30m-plus from any number of solid individuals who wanted to purchase #cafc, but instead he decided to tie himself with these people, encouraged by Richard Murray. It beggars belief that he is that stupid. "And Finally
A couple of podcasts have been discussing football governance in general and Charlton in particular this week. The Guardian Football Weekly Extra podcast was talking about the FSA's Sustain The Game campaign, which CAST have been vocally supporting. The Price of Football Podcast (on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify) had a bit on Charlton specifically (from 29m30), and also had an interview with Damian Collins, the former chair of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, talking about his ideas on how to reform football governance (from 39m30)
2 -
Friday 28th August - now with all the wittering on about parish councils removed....SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- Sangaard interview with Richard Cawley in the SLP suggests he could be coming to London as soon as this weekend
- CAST have produced their weekly update
- Ben Hayes was trying to organise a send-off for Bowyer and the players at Sparrows Lane just before they leave for the pre-season friendly at Selhurst
- The new Voice Of The Valley is now out in the post to subscribers
More On Sandgaard
There was another interview with Sandgaard in the SLP this morning:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299258603614941184
"Spoke to Thomas Sandgaard earlier this week about how his deal for Charlton was developing.
He's keen to get to London and mentioned that could even be this weekend.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-set-to-fly-to-london-as-he-eyes-completion-on-charlton-athletic-takeover/"https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299258932859465728
"Also asked Sandgaard if he'd be prepared to bring other investors - like Andrew Barclay and Andrew Muir - on board.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-answers-whether-he-would-be-ready-to-bring-other-investors-into-charlton-deal/"The bit in the second piece about Crystal Palace's Steve Parish raised a few eyebrows. As @Dizzle saidTS better realise that despite his ‘friendship’ with the Palace chairman, the only thing we want off of them is 3 points when we get back to playing them in the leagueParish is a good person to talk to, not mega rich, but a smart operator, sorted out the mess they inherited at that lot, and has progressed the club.As much as we’d all hate to admit it, Crystal Palace are being run exactly how we want Charlton to be run. Huge investment in training ground, smart purchases (Eze being a fine example), selling at the right time and comfortably staying a premier league team. All done sensibly without billions being thrown away and managers being discarded 3 times a season. Speaking to Parish about how they’ve done it makes perfect sense...
God I wish that wasn’t Palace I was just talking about.... At a fan level we can be as tribal as we want. At a (hopefully soon) board level I would consider it foolish were the new CAFC owner not to reach out for advice.... Learning from Parish's take on running a club doesn't stop him reaching out to Varney for any specifics with regards to Charlton, or even from offering Peter a role.
Sandgaard's proposed travel plans were also a subject of much debate, given the current on-going travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As stackitsteve said:You would think he wouldn’t travel over unless he felt it was close to done. But he’ll have to quarantine for 14 days first won’t he?Not sure why he would need to travel over, especially with 14 day quarantine. His lawyers can sign the papers.Where would he have to quarantine? If the deal goes through he can claim the Valley is his house and spend a fortnight playing on the club Playststion in the boardroomHe needs to hold up a scarf in front of the west stand.
While the actual details of Tuesday's court case had yet to be confirmed, the Sandgaard interview also triggered some questions about how it would play out. Scoham asked:In the SLP interview TS talked about potentially getting it done the day after Elliottt’s court case. MM said there were two parts to that, so is that even possible? How many different outcomes are there on Tuesday’s court case?I don't know but if the judge rules there's no validity in Elliot's claim at the first hearing maybe it stops there.I asked this just after the interview and it got lost. Hopefully someone can enlighten me as to the implications of the injunction being just against Panorama Magic.
Does it mean for instance that Southall is still part of the gang?I haven't seen this answered on the thread, but as I understand it, because of the size of Panorama Magic's shareholding if it decides to sell then Southall has no say in the matter but has to sell too. This is the "drag along clause" that people keep talking about. As a result there's no point suing Southall as well, as it'd just mean you'd have two sets of opposing barristers to deal with in court, and whose costs you'd risk having to pay for if you lost.Even if there is a positive outcome to the case, ross1 wasn't sure the matter would be resolved quickly:If he is to complete deal on Tuesday, assuming Elliot case ends satisfactory for the club, he still has to wait for the EFL to inform him if has passed the OADT.It is virtually impossible for him to fail. He passes all the requirements and has the money.Sandgaard on the OADT: “I’ve provided information for application to my attorneys. It is very straightforward, a much easier process than we thought."
Just makes you wonder what on earth was going on with Farnell & ElliottI'm sure we've all got our own views on that one, but it's probably inadvisable to air them on a public forum.
More From Marian Mihail
If the purpose of the interview released on Thursday was to stop Mihail being bombarded with questions, it appears not to have worked, as this twitter exchange demonstrates:
https://twitter.com/Rob_Waghorn/status/1299111396110741506
"@MMarian_lx in your closing statement you said the priorities have shifted. Shifted from what? The priority should always be the future of the club and that our children have a club to support in the future. #cafc"https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1299305523326726151
"When you relegate, your focus is usual on getting back up. This isn’t the case anymore, focus is on survival (as a company+maintaining EFL membership). This is what I meant"And following up another reply to that:
https://twitter.com/Rob_Waghorn/status/1299320073757372417
"Exactly.The club is where it is due to the embargo caused by ESI. Money was taken by Nemer & his associates as well as Southall so you have done ok.Just let TS take it from here & we can be a club again. Also don't congratulate yourselves on not selling the sell on clauses.#cafc"https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1299321474889789442
"Money taken out by Tahnoon is an untrue statement and you know it."The cynic in me notes he's silent on the point of Nimer's associates here.https://twitter.com/Rob_Waghorn/status/1299328799948107776
"Also Marian i was lead to believe by a certain lawyer that very little if any money was paid by PE to TN for ESI due to what had been taken out. Could this be part of the issue PE has with TN. Im guessing it is. #cafc"And when did we start taking "a certain lawyer"'s word on anything? Anyway, this led to another follow-up, this time about the infamous Bassini claim:
https://twitter.com/andrewhall64/status/1299372737992032258
"do you know about the £1.2million personal debt placed on CAFCL books by an ex director of CAFCL?"https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1299393167767281667
"The person alleging a similar claim understood at that moment that the “transfer” he implied is invalid and ceased to chase the club for it. That’s in the past now"So it looks like that's one less thing to worry about. Later on, Mihail was asked by a fan who keeps their twitter account locked if Jonathan Heller got paid more than £40k, and if so why, to which he replied:
https://twitter.com/MMarian_lx/status/1299392610839261186
"I can confirm one of his companies was paid £10k(+vat)/month and that these payments stoped in March, because he failed to produce a contract. I cannot go into details on how it will (if ever) be recovered."Mihail slowly starting to drip feed infoPerhaps suggesting things are getting close to completion if he's more relaxed about putting things out
Other Takeover News
The proposed Turkish bid is still pretty much a mystery, although if it is headed up by Ural Akuzum (see Thursday 27th August Part 2 for details) then the signs are still not looking positive. @Scoham forwarded on the views of a Turkish Charlton fan:A Turkish Charlton fan on the prospect of that takeover...
https://twitter.com/erolfedayi89/status/1299245319948046336
"As Turkish fan myself. specially this guy being an ex director of Galatasaray no thanks Turkish football is very corrupt and can just see this being another ESI! Also lets no forget Galatasray practically went bankrupt and are still in alot of debt Also some #Galatasaray #cafc"
(quotingand @PragueAddick wondered if a famous ex-Romanian international was a connection:Gheorghi Hagi was and is massively popular in Turkey due to his highly successful late career spell with Galatasaray.
This needs to be investigated further. I am on it, as are others.
Meanwhile, the scrutiny of cryptic comments from certain ex directors looking for clues of takeover progress continues. @Scoham flagged up this latest one:
Fan Stuff
CAST have produced their weekly update, most of which should be familiar to regular readers:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1299397564517801984
"WEEKLY UPDATE | Just a bit going on as usual at this club. We still don't have a link for Tuesday's court case, but do please note the dress code in any case. #cafc
https://www.castrust.org/2020/08/what-is-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update-efl-meeting-in-diary-more/"Ben Hayes had a cunning plan to show support for Lee Bowyer, his staff and the squad:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1299371254995202048
"The players are due to leave from Sparrows Lane for Sellout at 11.45 am tomorrow.
Bowyer sounded very down about the embargo etc so would be great if fans, socially distancing, could be there to cheer the team off.
Short notice I know but we have a few fans local to SE9 #cafc"and CAST were right behind him:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1299398313037492229
"Great idea. Lets show the squad we're right behind them. #cafc"
(quoting this tweet from Ben Hayes)Ben also had an update on the fundraising from last weekend's protest:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1299374336525176832
"Update on #cafcquid. Was at the Valley today and was given another £27 that had been left at Sam's feet plus another £1 posted by Denise Thorpe of Nth Yorks.
With the 8 old £1 coins the bank took that makes £36 extra for the fund.
#cafc @CharltonCARD @CAStrust @SandgaardThomas"
(quoting this tweet from Ben Hayes)Meanwhile @PragueAddick and co are continuing their research, and have had some outside help
https://twitter.com/HunterPrague/status/1299383931846918146
"Fellow #SaveCAFC fans: We've received great support and help today from these guys @FootballMatte18 They deserve a follow (not to mention beers at the Valley when we've rid it of vermin) #CrooksOutOfFootball"https://twitter.com/FootballMatte18/status/1299390836795469825
"Our privilege to be standing with a great club & such passionate committed fans. Edward Burke said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” He didn’t have to worry with Charlton fans! You are true fighters! Massive respect #SaveCAFC 🔴⚪️"
(quoting this tweet from HunterPrague)And @Airman Brown confirmed that the new Voice Of The Valley was on it's way out in the post
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1299358647294853124
"VOTV160 is safely on its way! #cafc http://votvonline.com"Everytime I read a TS interview, I feel so confident.
Then I load this thread and panic myself out of it becoming a done deal in that unique Charlton way!
Media Coverage:
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-set-to-fly-to-london-as-he-eyes-completion-on-charlton-athletic-takeover/
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/thomas-sandgaard-answers-whether-he-would-be-ready-to-bring-other-investors-into-charlton-deal/
Daily Mail: https://twitter.com/MailSport/status/12991119892188733493 -
Saturday 29th August Part 1 - a few bits and pieces before all the excitementSUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:
- CAST announced the ESI2 v ESI1 court hearing (more correctly known as Lex Dominus v Panorama Magic) will be 2pm Tuesday
- The team coach send-off went down well apparently
- Sandgaard was in the Director's Box at Selhurst!
- Tom Lockyer has signed for Luton, so that means we now have space in the squad for Adam Matthews
Tuesday's Court Case
The details of Elliott's hearing requesting the injunction have finally been released:
https://twitter.com/CAStrust/status/1299611926473908225
"COURT HEARING | Once again before Judge Pearce. Once again on Microsoft Teams. Once again no recording/ screen shotting. This time please follow the dress code and cover torso.
Lex Dominus (Elliott) v Panorama Magic (Nimer)
Kick-off 2pm Tuesday
#cafc"
Looks like we'll be getting a live-tweeted account of proceedings, although for avoidance of confusion later on, Richard Cawley wasn't the infamous Topless Man in the Southall v ESI hearing:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299615235318444032
"I'll be tuning in. And this time I'll definitely get dressed. Won't make that mistake again."
(quoting this tweet from @CAStrust)While it has been assumed for some time, this confirms that Lex Dominus is the company that was supposed to be taking over ESI, which means that the details in the case may provide evidence of the suspected conflict of interest relating to Chris Farnell's involvement. For those who've lost track @ISawLeaburnScore reminded us:So Lex Dominus Limited, incorporated 29/10/18 and left dormant thereafter. Farnell resigned as a director and transferred his shares to Elliott on 06/06/20. PE now sole director and shareholder since that date.and Cafc43v3r added...the deal was announced on the 10th.
Farnell owned the company who have been alleged to own it until the 6th.
Marian said the deal had been done at least a week before it was announced. So at the latest the 3rd.
So therefor Farnell sold ESI to a company he was the only director of at the time.It should be noted that Farnell claims he wasn't involved in the sale, although as Airman Brown pointed outNixon was very clear at the time that Farnell was the person calling the shots. He was quickly contradicted by the Mail, but I think Nixon's source on this would be reliable.I also think Elliott was called off the substitutes' bench after the late May bank holiday because the original plan had been to install Jenkins.There was some question over Jenkins involvement, and some wondered if it was a tactic to thwart Bassini, but Airman Brown saidIt's been stated in court that heads of terms were agreed with Bassini in April. Farnell was already involved with Nimer at that stage. Bassini then seems to have been involved in trying to broker a sale of the club in May (at around the time it was reported he was interested in buying it!).
Meanwhile the speculation over Elliott's motivation and likelihood of success continued. Gary Poole wondered:Am I right in thinking that the application for an injunction might be legal posturing on Paul Elliott’s behalf, ie the injunction might not be granted to stop the sale, but the application may help in a subsequent case to get proceeds from a sale to TS from TN / ESI?
If so and the worst happens and the court does give the injunction, could this be revoked if TS were to agree a price with both sides for purchasing CAFC with the money held by solicitors and then paid to whichever side the court rules in favour of?Yes it might well be a tactical move to enhance their prospects in future litigation.
And yes, if an injunction was granted, there could still be a subsequent commercial deal agreed between the parties to settle the matter.
Essentially the injunction should be viewed as a legal pause button. If Elliott wins on Tuesday he wins a pause on a sale of ESI/the club for a defined period of time to a third party. This doesn't prevent (a) a consensual settlement or (b) the period of time expiring.In reply, Gary Poole expressed their appreciation of @ISawLeaburnScore's legal advice (which has come in handy repeatedly on this thread, I have to say) by parodying Bassini's attempt at getting the club to pay his bill:@ISawLeaburnScore I’m getting worried that I might be getting close to using up my free half hour of legal advice from you. If that is the case I do have a contract written by my 7 year old that says Paul Elliot will pay your bill, he hasn’t actually signed it but I assume it will suffice - so feel free to bill him at leisure and I will keep the questions coming ;-)...I think it's important to remember that even if Tuesday gives us the worst possible outcome and Elliott gets his injunction, this is not legal recognition that he either presently or in the future owns or will own ESI or the club. It gives him two things : (1) time - time to complete the transaction that he will have to convince the court he has entered into in whatever manner specified in the contract and (2) leverage - he gets a legal foot in the door that will cost money to budge so it buys him a seat at the currently overflowing negotiating table....
Fan Stuff
The cover of the new Voice of The Valley was revealed:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1299653288917381122
"REVEALED: here's the front page of new VOTV160 which will be landing on well over 600 UK doormats from Saturday (29/8) - and is also winging its way to Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, NZ and the Far East. You can order your own copy now at http://votvonline.com #cafc"
PragueAddick provided an update from the CL sleuth team and had a request for someone with specific knowledge:... Is there anyone who can lend a hand to the CL sleuth team who might have specialist knowledge to help uncover what one of them has termed "shadow property" ownership? Please DM me if so...and Ben Hayes passed on reports back from the delegation that went to Sparrows Lane to see the team coach off:
https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1299669880711663622
"Report from someone at Sparrows Lane this morning.
"Decent turnout - saw Andy Marshall at the front saying thank you.
LEE LEE LEE BOWYER ringing out as they left. Shouted for him to hold on in there."
#cafc #SaveCAFC"https://twitter.com/BenHayes77/status/1299670428290605057
"Lovely touch too by @TraceyLeaburn and the club to remember @jeanking33 who we lost yesterday."
More On The Transfer Embargo
The squad for the preseason friendly against Palace was scrutinised for indications of any long term changes, both by Richard Cawley:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299683377696694272
"Tom Lockyer not in the Charlton squad.
No injury, so looks like he is off.
He had a clause which allowed him to leave for nothing following relegation - but there was only a month's window for that to trigger to still apply."and on the main thread. ForeverAddickted saidIts interesting that Matthews shows on the line up without a (T) against his name, so effectively isnt a trialist...while BR7_addick reckonedHe’s at an age where can’t mess about financially, the only explanation is there’s a deal in principle for him, and that can’t happen without takeover and embargo lifted etc etc. I’m off now to temp fate and update the predicted XI for 20/21 thread.although @bobmunro had a funnier ideaThat bastard Elliotttttttttttt has nicked all the Ts.Richard Cawley had further updates just prior to the Palace game:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299694372850675714
"A little more on Tom Lockyer here.
He didn't train with Charlton yesterday and misses their pre-season friendly at Palace today.
Looks set to announce a move to a new club in the next few days.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/tom-lockyer-set-for-charlton-athletic-exit-as-defender-misses-crystal-palace-friendly/"then afterwards:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299727200191754240
"Tom Lockyer is signing a three-year contract at Luton Town."https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299732996996632578
"Quotes from Lee Bowyer on Tom Lockyer's move to Luton Town.
He says that should mean Charlton can sign Adam Matthews.
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/luton-town-land-charlton-defender-tom-lockyer-but-defenders-exit-set-to-lead-to-adam-matthews-signing/"and had further good news after the postmatch excitement
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299736347465388033
"Bowyer saying that five or six deals ready to go if Charlton's embargo gets lifted."
More On Sandgaard
Saturday morning seemed to be a fairly average one by Sandgaard's recent standards, bigging up the fanbase:
https://twitter.com/SandgaardThomas/status/1299650581494104064
"The greatness of Charlton is inherent in every fan’s story.
https://charltontimes.co.uk/this-is-our-club-stories-from-our-fans"and getting himself acquainted with our history:
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1299679688135266304
"Pleased to receive an order for Battle for The Valley from @SandgaardThomas - went out yesterday with several others, including one to Romania (from a long-standing #cafc fan, before anyone asks!). You can still order copies at http://votvonline.com."
and then eagle-eyed viewers spotted something in this tweet from Richard Cawley:
https://twitter.com/RichCawleySLP/status/1299718736912543746
"Dougie Freedman and Steve Gallen sat not far apart. Got slightly different budgets to work with...."
More in part 2...
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