I had a call from the club today (and a subsequent email) from someone called Christos Apostolopoulos, "Commercial Sales Executive", a contact for season ticket holders. And trying to promote packages as my birthday is later on this month, for which I politely declined - just watching us play MK Dons on the 25th will be bad enough!
Is this someone new?
He called me when I bought our season tickets. He said: "Welcome to the club" which I found a bit of a strange line considering I've been supporting Charlton for decades. Maybe I should be the one welcoming him to the club.
I know it's mental saying this but I think Mike Ashley would be excellent for us. We'd not agree with all of his decisions (renaming the stadium) but I think we'd end up in a much better place than we have been for a few years.
Can't believe I typed that.
No matter what any new owner renamed The Valley as, it would still be the Valley to us & no doubt all/most of football
I know it's mental saying this but I think Mike Ashley would be excellent for us. We'd not agree with all of his decisions (renaming the stadium) but I think we'd end up in a much better place than we have been for a few years.
Can't believe I typed that.
No matter what any new owner renamed The Valley as, it would still be the Valley to us & no doubt all/most of football
Valley Parade has been "named" for a long time but I have never heard anyone ever call it anything other than Valley Parade. The same is/was true of Odsal.
I live in Bradford before someone says they have never heard anyone call it anything
I actually think Ashley would be ideal at the moment. I appreciate what people say ref his spending in the premiership however he could put a great squad together in league one for the price of a leg for a premiership player
People kicked off over the badge being covered up for a day. Can't imagine the reaction if Ashley wanted to rename the stadium people fought tooth and nail to win back.
People kicked off over the badge being covered up for a day. Can't imagine the reaction if Ashley wanted to rename the stadium people fought tooth and nail to win back.
Interesting question - would you rather the club/current owner of the club owned the stadium but renamed it due to sponsorship, or would you rather it was called The Valley and RD owned it.
(Ignoring the fact we'd all rather that RD didn't own it and it wasn't renamed.)
People kicked off over the badge being covered up for a day. Can't imagine the reaction if Ashley wanted to rename the stadium people fought tooth and nail to win back.
Number one priority is a competent owner, like Ashley, to get us out of L1 isn't it? Right now, I don't care about the rest, as long as we're still playing at the Valley, which is what really matters and was fought for.
If having a branded stadium boosts turnover, then as turnover boosts the player wage budget, bring it on, but if it costs us in turnover with people turning their back on the Club, then don't bother with it. To forego any income is to harm our chances of promotion as the squad won't be as good.
Don't think RD has naming rights over the Valley btw. TS can have it sponsored.
Anyone buying us is obviously going to be doing so to try and get us in the premier league and then sell us on for profit and tbh I would back Ashley to do that with a higher chance of success than I would any other prospective owners of the sandgaard ilk who want to make a foray into owning a football club.
Jesus. Are people really seeing Ashley as a reasonable replacement for Sandergaard?
There has been uproar about the treatment of staff, look at the treatment of Sports Direct Staff under Ashley's watch......
Newcastle fans despise him. We would simply be jumping from a sinking ship to a burning one.
Newcastle fans despise him from nothing other than their own delusions of grandeur.
I can't agree with that.
His net spend on transfers was something like £3m a year while others spent millions, and while they were getting a load in TV money etc, plus he used them for however much free advertising.
He was like a Glazers-lite type in that respect.
He appointed the likes of Kinnear, McClaren, Pardew (recently sacked by L1 Southampton) etc. They got relegated twice under his ownership.
There are worse owners, but there are far better too.
So he kept them in the prem for the vast majority of his ownership and isn’t good enough for some Charlton fans?
Maybe it’s not Newcastle that are the deluded idiots.
Anyone buying us is obviously going to be doing so to try and get us in the premier league and then sell us on for profit and tbh I would back Ashley to do that with a higher chance of success than I would any other prospective owners of the sandgaard ilk who want to make a foray into owning a football club.
Ashley isn't an idiot though. He buys things dirt cheap and builds them up. The issue is we are not dirt cheap.
Given what RD wants for the Valley and the training ground, plus what TS allegedly wants as well, plus what we're currently losing each year, plus what it would cost to get us into even being being a top half championship side i think even a conservative estimate would put that outlay at close to 75m, and even more to get us to the PL.
RD - 40m (probably wants even more) TS - 5m (he'd want far more but i doubt he'd get it) 2 years losses stuck in league one - at least 16m Players to build a squad to get us out of league one - 2-3m? Players to get us into the top half of the championship - 10-15m? Players to get us promoted to the PL - another 20m? (especially when competing with clubs who have parachute payments).
Would Ashley be bothered with that kind of spending without any hope of a return unless we got to the PL which would be at least 4-5 years away. And of course there's no guarantee we'd get there.
Anyone buying us is obviously going to be doing so to try and get us in the premier league and then sell us on for profit and tbh I would back Ashley to do that with a higher chance of success than I would any other prospective owners of the sandgaard ilk who want to make a foray into owning a football club.
Ashley isn't an idiot though. He buys things dirt cheap and builds them up. The issue is we are not dirt cheap.
Given what RD wants for the Valley and the training ground, plus what TS allegedly wants as well, plus what we're currently losing each year, plus what it would cost to get us into even being being a top half championship side i think even a conservative estimate would put that outlay at close to 75m, and even more to get us to the PL.
RD - 40m (probably wants even more) TS - 5m (he'd want far more but i doubt he'd get it) 2 years losses stuck in league one - at least 16m Players to build a squad to get us out of league one - 2-3m? Players to get us into the top half of the championship - 10-15m? Players to get us promoted to the PL - another 20m? (especially when competing with clubs who have parachute payments).
Would Ashley be bothered with that kind of spending without any hope of a return unless we got to the PL which would be at least 4-5 years away. And of course there's no guarantee we'd get there.
Only Mike Ashley knows if he thinks it's worth it for the return he'd get or even has the appetite to even try.
I don't think he'll care about the stadium though personally. Why pay whatever ridiculous sum Roland wants for it when you can just pay for the existing lease the club has? Makes no financial sense for where we are at the moment.
Who’s ready to support the team at the SportsDirect.com Valley?
It will always be The Valley to me. Anyone with a right mind will call it that regardless. So I wouldn’t have a problem with it, I’m afraid it’s the sign of the times.
People kicked off over the badge being covered up for a day. Can't imagine the reaction if Ashley wanted to rename the stadium people fought tooth and nail to win back.
But he wouldn’t be covering the badge up would he?
Comments
It would be sometimes painful, but short of an oligarch, would be exactly the medication we need.
I live in Bradford before someone says they have never heard anyone call it anything
Charlton might be an easier less pressurising challenge for him in comparison to Newcastle.
I remember he was linked with Derby.
He obviously wouldn't want to lose money but he could certainly afford the league one losses for a year or so.
His ownership experience might help to attract players
(Ignoring the fact we'd all rather that RD didn't own it and it wasn't renamed.)
If having a branded stadium boosts turnover, then as turnover boosts the player wage budget, bring it on, but if it costs us in turnover with people turning their back on the Club, then don't bother with it. To forego any income is to harm our chances of promotion as the squad won't be as good.
Don't think RD has naming rights over the Valley btw. TS can have it sponsored.
Given what RD wants for the Valley and the training ground, plus what TS allegedly wants as well, plus what we're currently losing each year, plus what it would cost to get us into even being being a top half championship side i think even a conservative estimate would put that outlay at close to 75m, and even more to get us to the PL.
RD - 40m (probably wants even more)
TS - 5m (he'd want far more but i doubt he'd get it)
2 years losses stuck in league one - at least 16m
Players to build a squad to get us out of league one - 2-3m?
Players to get us into the top half of the championship - 10-15m?
Players to get us promoted to the PL - another 20m? (especially when competing with clubs who have parachute payments).
Would Ashley be bothered with that kind of spending without any hope of a return unless we got to the PL which would be at least 4-5 years away. And of course there's no guarantee we'd get there.
Only Mike Ashley knows if he thinks it's worth it for the return he'd get or even has the appetite to even try.
I don't think he'll care about the stadium though personally. Why pay whatever ridiculous sum Roland wants for it when you can just pay for the existing lease the club has? Makes no financial sense for where we are at the moment.
seems he’s trying to masquerade as Rui Pinto now!
🙃