You’d like to think yesterday showed them what a sleeping giant we can be.
Tbf nine clubs in the Championship averaged over 25,000 last season. Five of them outside the top six. The relegated clubs will all average between 25-30,000. Birmingham City will average close to 30,000 next season. The season ticket sales and commercial income will reflect these club’s sizes too. The reason being that they are all regional clubs. Charlton’s location means we have huge potential, but that potential has to be fulfilled by the owners or players. What I mean is, unlike Norwich City, Derby County or Sheffield Wednesday, we won’t sell 20,000+ season tickets for lower mid-table or even high mid-table football. Because in that sense, our location works against us. We don’t represent a region or a big one club city. Floating fans can easily catch a game at West Ham, Millwall, Palace, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham or Brentford instead. Or have a day out somewhere else instead.
Therefore, I’d say Charlton Athletic is a potential giant. Not a sleeping one.
I have a little second hand insight into Breners time in MLS as one of my good friends is an executive at a different MLS club. He was initially regarded as quite a good owner for a few years. However it didn’t end well as the last year or so when it became clear he was looking to sell, he pretty much cut the purse strings.
On Friedman, even if the £5bn personal wealth figure is accurate and I'd take all such google numbers with a punch of salt, as a hedge fund manager he knows a lot of other very rich people if and when the owners want to add new finance.
On Friedman, even if the £5bn personal wealth figure is accurate and I'd take all such google numbers with a punch of salt, as a hedge fund manager he knows a lot of other very rich people if and when the owners want to add new finance.
Yep. It’s going to be about ambition now. I think the money is there if the owners want to spend it. Question is do they have the vision now. I’m sure after yesterday they would have been swept up in the emotion and euphoria but once the cold hard figures of what’s required and wanted by Jones come in will they actually have the cahones ?
You’d like to think yesterday showed them what a sleeping giant we can be.
Tbf nine clubs in the Championship averaged over 25,000 last season. Five of them outside the top six. The relegated clubs will all average between 25-30,000. Birmingham City will average close to 30,000 next season. The season ticket sales and commercial income will reflect these club’s sizes too. The reason being that they are all regional clubs. Charlton’s location means we have huge potential, but that potential has to be fulfilled by the owners or players. What I mean is, unlike Norwich City, Derby County or Sheffield Wednesday, we won’t sell 20,000+ season tickets for lower mid-table or even high mid-table football. Because in that sense, our location works against us. We don’t represent a region or a big one club city. Floating fans can easily catch a game at West Ham, Millwall, Palace, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham or Brentford instead. Or have a day out somewhere else instead.
Therefore, I’d say Charlton Athletic is a potential giant. Not a sleeping one.
If they have got dough, reckon yesterday's display off the pitch should be enough to convince them it's worth a punt. Thought I was immense in the Oak....
Be interesting to see our season ticket sales next season. I know of 2 people who have just bought them who I would never thought they would.
I think we'll do really well with sales. Seems to be a real buzz about the place now. Selling out most away games at the back end of the season, selling out both play offs legs v Wycombe, took 40k to Wembley and could've taken far more.
This feels different to 2019, and if we get it right, we can kick on. I'm looking forward to regular 20k+ crowds next season.
Also i hope that by being back in the Championship, it means we can reapply for Category 1 academy status.
Third tier is being down with the dead men. It’s a money pit for clubs of Charltons size and is soul destroying. Tough to escape from and fans eventually drift away. Yesterday showed in more than one way that Nathan Jones has managed to reignite that Charlton passion or whatever you want to call it. The potential is definitely there and yesterday provides an opportunity that none of us thought possible a few months ago. I hope the owners have the wherewithal and drive to see that getting relegated would not only be a missed opportunity but a financial disaster.
Third tier is being down with the dead men. It’s a money pit for clubs of Charltons size and is soul destroying. Tough to escape from and fans eventually drift away. Yesterday showed in more than one way that Nathan Jones has managed to reignite that Charlton passion or whatever you want to call it. The potential is definitely there and yesterday provides an opportunity that none of us thought possible a few months ago. I hope the owners have the wherewithal and drive to see that getting relegated would not only be a missed opportunity but a financial disaster.
Third tier is being down with the dead men. It’s a money pit for clubs of Charltons size and is soul destroying. Tough to escape from and fans eventually drift away. Yesterday showed in more than one way that Nathan Jones has managed to reignite that Charlton passion or whatever you want to call it. The potential is definitely there and yesterday provides an opportunity that none of us thought possible a few months ago. I hope the owners have the wherewithal and drive to see that getting relegated would not only be a missed opportunity but a financial disaster.
The Championship an even deeper money pit.
But to repeat my previous response the prize in The Championship is worth £220 million with all the prestige and glitz that comes with it. We now have a ticket into that lottery. With a good manager and sensible investment I’m hoping we can get close in a few seasons from now.
A couple of months ago I was asked to consider joining a group purchasing another EFL club. I spoke to member of our ownership / board who gave me some very good advice.
Main thing that stuck in my mind is that I was told it isn’t about how much money you have per se. You just need to have enough money to be able to attract other people who have even more money. If that makes sense. And it’s those who make the wheels go round.
And to answer the question - no I didnt do it. A - because my wife would have divorced me if I sold equity in my business only to spunk it on playing real life championship manager. And B - I simply can’t imagine being emotionally invested enough in any club that isn’t called Charlton Athletic.
Doesn’t matter how rich our owners are, there are all sorts of expenditure controls that are slowly, bit by bit, making it harder to buy success in the league. Having rich owners isn’t a hindrance of course, but it isn’t as game changing as it was a few years back. Being able to grow your own talent is a competitive advantage and our academy is an important element in any future success we manage to wrestle from our competition.
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Yep - I got the Companies House updates by email and set about researching both. Other than the addresses @TelMc32 mentions - can find nothing! Only bit of possible info is that 3FS is a common acronym of Family, Friends, and Self-financing, so relates to the three most recurrent financing sources of solo entrepreneurs and startups... so could be a new start-up entity interested in investing...
Never realised you could have an LLC as a director, it's a bit odd. The optimist in me hopes this is a vehicle for investment now we are promoted. In which case some sort of announcement should be forthcoming. Seems to be no way to find out who set these entities up.
Our website last updated its list of owners etc on 1 April 2025 (with removal of Methvan and Parkesy). EFL rules are that it has to do so ‘promptly following any changes’ so I guess look for changes in the next fortnight…though could of course just be one of the existing owners of GFP wanting a board seat at the SE7 Partners subsidiary (which is likely a sign of some issues from my experience - eg they want more visibility of the details)
Our website last updated its list of owners etc on 1 April 2025 (with removal of Methvan and Parkesy). EFL rules are that it has to do so ‘promptly following any changes’ so I guess look for changes in the next fortnight…though could of course just be one of the existing owners of GFP wanting a board seat at the SE7 Partners subsidiary (which is likely a sign of some issues from my experience - eg they want more visibility of the details)
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Interesting they use 'futbol', the Spanish spelling, even though it is a USA entity registering as a director of a UK company.
There are a lot of Latin Americans in the USA and many are interested in football, but still.
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Interesting they use 'futbol', the Spanish spelling, even though it is a USA entity registering as a director of a UK company.
There are a lot of Latin Americans in the USA and many are interested in football, but still.
A lot of North Americans also say “Futbol” to differentiate between Soccer and NFL/College Football
The added complication is that the website reflects ultimate beneficial owner (ie of Global Football Partners) whereas SE7 Partners on Company House reflects the situation regarding GFP’s subsidiary. So it’s a bit of comparing apples to pears.
But the reason for flagging it was that imo, it would be strange for SE7 Partners to have non shareholders of GFP on its board - given the design of the corporate structure, but particularly as these are US LLCs. I would expect any new investors to join at GFP level - unless it was through a UK company (and even then that’s probably unlikely as it would complicate the structure of GFP owning all 2 previous shares in SE7 Partners, and would bring tax implications). It would also be weird if a less than 5% shareholder in GFP was given rights to a board role at SE7 Partners (with the caveat that there is no fixed % for that, and it would depend on GFP’s classes of shares, articles of association etc which are of course murky given its Caymans domicile, but as a rule of thumb, you usually need at least 10% ownership and more often 25% to get board rights from my experience). And any new shareholding in SE7 Partners above 25% would also need declaring to Companies House
So my guess is that 3FS and Futbol UK are each Special Purpose Vehicles set up by one of the GFP shareholders - as most family trusts create LLCs for each investment to avoid contaminating their other investments with the poor performance of one. Of course, we don’t publicly know the names of the specific vehicles each shareholder uses to invest in GFP given its Caymans domicile. But maybe they now want to enact their rights to a Board seat at SE7 Partners to get more visibility of that entity than they get at GFP level, potentially due to higher costs/losses the club are bringing (even before promotion).
I’m just not sure if it’s a currently known shareholder of GFP as per the OS (I would guess most likely Brener and Friedman), or someone new…as you say, the OS would only update if it’s someone new above 5% ultimate beneficial ownership (ie more than 5% of GFP, or a new 5% investor in SE7)
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Interesting they use 'futbol', the Spanish spelling, even though it is a USA entity registering as a director of a UK company.
There are a lot of Latin Americans in the USA and many are interested in football, but still.
Gabriel Brener is a ‘Mexican-American’ so would be the most obvious of the currently known shareholders. though the New York domicile of Futbol UK is strange as he seems to set up most of his investments in Delaware or California (thanks to CAST’s previous snooping for the intel - https://www.castrust.org/2023/07/meet-the-new-owners/)
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Interesting they use 'futbol', the Spanish spelling, even though it is a USA entity registering as a director of a UK company.
There are a lot of Latin Americans in the USA and many are interested in football, but still.
Gabriel Brener is a ‘Mexican-American’ so would be the most obvious of the currently known shareholders. though the New York domicile of Futbol UK is strange as he seems to set up most of his investments in Delaware or California (thanks to CAST’s previous snooping for the intel - https://www.castrust.org/2023/07/meet-the-new-owners/)
It’s the law firm, Duane Morris, with the NY address rather than Futbol UK LLC, who essentially are using DM’s NY office for their agency/admin services.
Futbol, and Duane Morris themselves, are both Delaware registered businesses (LLC and LLP respectively).
Companies House updates this morning confirming the removal of Charlie as a Director of SE7 Partners Limited.
However, two new “directors” have been added in the names of:
Futbol UK LLC 3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Edit: 3FS registered address is likely to relate to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). Similar to using a law firm, they are likely an agent offering admin services and a registered Delaware address.
Can’t see any additional info on either from a quick search, but Delaware is the US state to register in if you want to disclose as little info as possible.
Interesting they use 'futbol', the Spanish spelling, .
Delaware based and the Futbol spelling leads me to believe that particular vehicle of investment would be tied to Brener. 3FS, could it be "3 FriedmanS"? Though I seem to recall there were 5 of them in the initial "& Family"
Comments
On Friedman, even if the £5bn personal wealth figure is accurate and I'd take all such google numbers with a punch of salt, as a hedge fund manager he knows a lot of other very rich people if and when the owners want to add new finance.
This feels different to 2019, and if we get it right, we can kick on. I'm looking forward to regular 20k+ crowds next season.
Also i hope that by being back in the Championship, it means we can reapply for Category 1 academy status.
Main thing that stuck in my mind is that I was told it isn’t about how much money you have per se. You just need to have enough money to be able to attract other people who have even more money. If that makes sense. And it’s those who make the wheels go round.
And to answer the question - no I didnt do it. A - because my wife would have divorced me if I sold equity in my business only to spunk it on playing real life championship manager. And B - I simply can’t imagine being emotionally invested enough in any club that isn’t called Charlton Athletic.
Futbol UK LLC
3FS Football LLC.
Both registered in Delaware US, the first one using US law firm Duane Morris as their registered office.
Still waiting to hear who the new CEO is although I suspect it will be Rodwell or Warrick.
https://www.charltonafc.com/staff
The EFL currently has Carter, Rodwell, Warrick and Elliott listed as Directors, so GFP already represented.
The ownership list has 15 individuals shown including the families of Brener (3 individuals), Friedman (5), Rosenfeld (3).
There are a lot of Latin Americans in the USA and many are interested in football, but still.
It’s Shakira Shakiiira