ESI Ownership shenanigans bite size thread - now dormant

Nothing much happening apart from the SLP publishing their report on the latest goings on and a Guardian Sports journalist suggesting that we might be in for a new CEO:

Understand former #barnsleyfc CEO Gauthier Ganaye has been approached by representatives of Charlton majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer over taking a similar role at #cafc. Nimer has asked chairman Matt Southall to resign.

Friday 20th March - And the saga continues

Statement on the OS confirms the removal of Southall and Heller from the club's board, and the appointment of Claudiu Florica and Marian Mihail.
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5e747a1e6a5ff/matt-southall-and-jonathan-heller-removed-from-the-clubs-board

While Claudiu Florica has been discussed previously, there's some confusion as to who Marian Mihail is.
The two additions made by Tahnoon Nimer to the Charlton Athletic board are Claudiu Florica and Marian Mihail, whom I'm told is a Romanian lawyer.

Initial googling brings up this guy, who is a former Romanian footballer and manager but @cafcfan has found this guy who looks like a better bet: https://ro.linkedin.com/in/marian-mihail-04975751 (screen shots if needed here, here, here, here, and here)

ETA:The details on the OS here look consistent with what @cafcfan has found:
https://www.cafc.co.uk/club/club-overview/ownership

Media coverage:
BBC Sport:
After Southall's statement: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51968452
After the statement on the OS: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51974845

The SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-athletics-former-directors-ready-to-ramp-up-legal-proceedings-to-unpick-esis-takeover-deal-with-roland-duchatelet/

Sunday 22nd March - nothing much happening this weekend

Dodger on twitter has been in contact with Heller:
I didn't get the chance to meet with JH he called me explaining his reasons which I totally understand, over the past week or so I've diluted down many Questions and concerns regarding the club and JH has agreed to answer here are the questions (EMAILED) sorry if I've missed any

I've had a response from Jonathan Heller and I will respect his request not to Publish his Answers on Media platforms,

I can confirm I've had a conversation with @dodgercafc and also seen some very, very interesting documentation. Can't say any more at this moment but - as always - when I can it will be in the SLP and on our website.

Media Coverage
The Sunday Times: A surprisingly sympathetic article from Rod Liddle - paywalled & local text version

More From The Gazeta Sporturilor Investigation
In the second part of the Gazeta Sporturilor investigation Southall claims to have recorded the conversation that led to the allegation he was trying to hire someone to do harm to Nimer's lawyer (this was the letter we have been treading carefully around over the last few days), and this recording shows it was nonsense. He also says he agreed not to come into the club providing funds were quickly injected to pay wages, but he rejects the suspension. Meanwhile Heller claims that Nimer and co broke Company Law in the UK in the way they reconstituted the board, and provides more background on ADBD. Southall provides more information about the issues with the EFL, and has a theory about the link to Dinamo Bucharest which doesn't really stack up.

@SWEnglandAddick kindly provides an English translation here and here

Twitter spat
Southall apparently reappeared on twitter this afternoon, and suffice to say he did not get a warm welcome. Will deal with that separately as it's going to be screenshot heavy, particularly as he's now claiming his account was hacked at 13:36 this afternoon.

Media Coverage:
Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8144329/Unhappy-Valley-Sacked-Charlton-board-members-hit-cash-strapped-club-huge-bills.html

Wednesday 25th March - this is just getting silly now...

More from the Romanian media
This time it's ProSport, with a report that features a video taken in the controversial riverside flat, apparently after Southall has vacated the property. I wonder who could possibly have given them that?

An English translation of the report (via Google Translate) is here.

Meanwhile the criminal case against Claudia Florica has been stopped, but he's been ordered to pay roughly $10m and has had an order to have his assets seized made against him, although this is appealable. Whether this is sufficient for him to fail the EFL's OADT we wait to see.

An English translation of this report (via Google Translate) is here.

The Evening Standard are claiming Nimer is trying to sell up?!
In an exclusive article, the Standard says Nimer has held preliminary talks to sell the club, and is apparently looking for at least £2m. Chris Farnell (Nimer's lawyer) has denied Nimer is looking to sell, as has Nimer himself on Instagram.

This prompted another rant from Southall on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MattSouthall84/status/1242810447570653186
"1/2 I may not be the fans favourite because of your personal attacks on me. But Im telling you now Nimer, there’s no way you’re selling the club and flipping it for your own personal gain, because all allegations you have made against me you still can’t substantiate."

https://twitter.com/MattSouthall84/status/1242810470152704008
"2/2 as I said to you over the phone many times Nimer, allow INDEPENDENT auditors to come in and audit your accusations against me."

Progress of the legal moves by the ex-directors
https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1242769772267409408
"VOTV has learned that the #cafc ex-directors have received no response to their legal letter and that there is a second deadline next week at which point they will seek an injunction to reverse the sale of CAFC Limited. Source is adamant they will proceed."

https://twitter.com/airmanbrown/status/1242776285736304640
"Can also now confirm that the three #cafc ex-directors set to seek the injunction are Derek Chappell, Bob Whitehand and David Sumners, whose outstanding loans total £2.65m. They are also likely to seek costs. Others not involved at this stage."

More "leaks" of financial documents
Another recently created twitter account (@laracafc) is tweeting what appears to be invoices from a company called Bloom Properties Ltd to Matt Southall at CAFC for hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of consultancy fees, supposedly for "the introduction and assistance in the purchase of CAFC". (I'm not going to include the images here, as if they are real they contain the bank details of the company issuing the invoice, and the 3rd in the series of 4 is missing). If real, it is also unclear whether these invoices have actually been paid by the club. As with the consultancy fees that Southall is supposed to have been paid, I would have thought that this is a liability that applies to ESI, not the football club.

And who are Bloom Properties Ltd? A bit of digging on the Companies House site yields a familiar name to those who've been following the stories of failing football clubs in recent years:


For those not familiar with Bassini's shenanigans at Watford and Bolton, @WRICURKINCAM provides a bit of a summary, and @Airman Brown helpfully provides a photo, which also features a familiar face.

Friday 27th March - Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more...

More on Laurence Bassini
"Laurence Bassini says he is set to commence legal action tomorrow against CAFC and Matt Southall over consultancy fees he alleges he is due in regard to the takeover of the club."

"Laurence Bassini says he is ready to buy Charlton Athletic and has submitted proof of funds to Chris Farnell. Says he is ready to spend around £40million to purchase the club and freeholds of land."

More on the "obligation" for ESI to purchase The Valley and Training ground
"My understanding of the "legal obligation" for ESI to purchase The Valley and TG is that the six months mentioned is when the option starts. It then runs until 2025. So a five-year window before Duchatelet is able to force the completion through."

"If there is no obligation - and I know Rich has a very good source on this - it makes CAFC Limited's position more favourable to a buyer not less. I wonder how good Nimer's guarantee on RD's loan is looking right now... #cafc"

Bitesize inception
If you're wanting something a little less detailed to explain what's been happening to your friends without their eyes glazing over, CAST have produced a bitesize post of their own, summarising the week's events.

Tuesday 31st March - nothing dramatic but a few informational bits and pieces

New Statement on the OS
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5e830e88a814e/a-statement-from-the-board-of-directors
Please see below a statement from the club's Board of Directors, HE Tahnoon Nimer, Claudiu Florica and Marian Mihail.

We appreciate this is a difficult time, the COVID-19 crisis has changed the world for everybody.

For Charlton fans, there has been uncertainty around the future of the club with a lot in the press and posted on social media. Going forward, the Board of Directors will look to keep you as up to date as we can through the club’s official media channels.

We must begin by reiterating that our commitment is to Charlton Athletic. The club is not for sale and the majority shareholder, His Excellency Tahnoon Nimer, is not looking for a buyer. These are tough times for any professional football club and we are 100 percent focussed on seeing Charlton through this difficult period. This will require investment and the first instalment of that investment will come in April.

The club has submitted documents for EFL approval to demonstrate the source and sufficiency of funds. The club has also submitted documentation for the new directors, Claudiu Florica and Marian Mihail, for the Owners’ and Directors’ Test. The EFL remain supportive and have informed us what remains outstanding. The club will remain in contact with the EFL with the aim of providing the necessary information as required by the League as soon as possible, so we can successfully conclude matters.

We will get everything sorted and football will return but, until then, we wish all Charlton players, staff, fans and their families the very best in these trying times.

The Board of Directors"

Some reaction to the statement
"The club have also indicated they will be paying existing creditors but will be reviewing all new creditors from the start of this season on a 'case-by-case basis'."

"Understand Roland Duchatelet’s lawyer has now acknowledged the letter before action from the #cafc ex-directors two weeks ago, but still no response from Tahnoon Nimer or his reps, despite the latter issuing a club statement today claiming to remain in discussions with the EFL."

When asked "are we surprised?" he responded
"I'm not, but you'd think if you were planning to put money into a business you'd want to clarify whether you actually own it first."

Club Accounts to June 2019
According to this post on the OS,the club have applied for an extension for filing their accounts due to the Covid 19 crisis, but have supplied a copy of the accounts here.

@Airman Brown has summarised some of the important points.
""#cafc debt to Roland Duchatelet stood at £67m last June, newly published accounts for 2018/19 state."

"Usual caveat - this includes what he paid the previous owners for the club in January 2014. RD left that sum on the books as debt and charged the club interest on its own purchase price."

"Operating loss for 2018/19 was £11.9m compared to £13.3m in 17/18, mainly the result of additional income from play-offs and reduced operating expenses. Turnover was £7.9m, up from £7.3m. Staff costs were £10.4m from £10.2m, probably reflecting player bonuses"

"Club reports it has received £4.2m for player disposals since June 30th last year and paid out £221k. This is up to date as the accounts were not finalised until March 24th."

"Profit on player disposals was £2.9m in 18/19, down from £4.0m in 17/18"

Media Coverage:
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/tahnoon-nimer-promises-to-invest-funds-in-april-and-denies-any-intention-to-sell-charlton-athletic/

Friday 3rd April - still pretty quiet really

More Bitesize Inception
CAST have published their weekly summary of events here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/whats-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update
Most of it will be familiar to regular followers of this post or the Shenanigans thread, but there are a couple of new bits that relate to their own contact with various parties.

"The EFL have also (on Wednesday) replied to CAST confirming that: they are currently engaged with CAFC to acquire the relevant information to satisfy ODT requirements with respect of the new directors CAFC remain under a registrations embargo while dialogue continues as the EFL seek assurance that the necessary finances are available to fund the club until June 2021.

(We are disappointed that the EFL did not respond to our specific question about whether new documentation had been submitted. We also are not sure whether there is any significance in the fact that they say "assurance that the necessary finances are available" rather than making any reference to the source of funds.)

CAST have also been in contact directly with Director Marian Mihail who claims that "Tahnoon has confirmed that a £1m injection will come at the end of the month for the April expenses" and that "at least until the league is resumed we will work like this, month to month, in order to prioritise paying salaries and actual debts like loan fees instead of financing the bogus debts that keep appearing". He added that "we are still waiting for some guidelines from the EFL and the PFA about players' salaries and we are consulting with other clubs to see what measures they are taking"."

More on the EFL
@EricBanterna received a very similar email from the EFL today, which suggests nothing has changed in the last few days since they responded to CAST, but if you're interested, you can see it here:
https://charltonlife.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/3858485/#Comment_3858485

CAST have also produced a summary of the official report into the Bury debacle commissioned by the EFL, and discuss how it may be relevant to our current situation. (This was actually produced last week, but didn't get flagged up in the thread at the time)
https://www.castrust.org/2020/03/what-can-we-learn-from-bury/

More from CAST
The Supporters' Trust have arranged to put fans' questions to the club on a regular basis, and are canvassing for the first load of questions:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/put-your-questions-to-the-club/

They've also posted their own weekly bitesize update here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/whats-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update-2/

New VOTV coming soon
"NEW VOTV159 is currently being put together and is set to be posted out at the back end of next week. The limited print run is only available for home delivery and copies are available to order online, together with more info, at http://votvonline.com #cafc"

This is likely to have a more coherent overview of events so far, as well as the regular features I should imagine.

Media Coverage:
SLP: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/charlton-chairman-nimer-has-promised-bowyer-that-clubs-future-is-secure/
(ETA 13/04/2020 - photo of the paper removed, and link added instead)

Friday 17th April - Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in

More from CAST
The Supporters' Trust have published the answers received from Marian Mihail to the first set of questions sent to the club here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/what-is-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update/

For those wondering why certain questions weren't asked, it may be that they were held back for future weeks as explained here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/keep-the-questions-coming/
However if the answers to the first set of questions has triggered more questions for you, or you want to be sure that a specific concern of yours is dealt with, it's best to email these questions to the address at the bottom of that page, rather than assuming that someone else has already asked the same question.

New VOTV has now been posted out
"Biggest ever VOTV mail out of about 600 copies now safely in the post. I’ll be walking past the local pillar box on my daily exercise (!) at 4pm so still a chance to get a copy out tonight. http://www.votvonline.com/

For those of you that don't have a subscription and normally purchase at the ground, you can buy one-off copies on the VOTV site.

Tuesday 21st April - I hereby dub thee "TalkSport Tuesday"

Nimer and Southall were on Talksport this morning
The audio is in two bits - starts at 19:20 in this one and then continues here

TalkSport have also tweeted out a video clip of Jordan taking Southall apart here:

Dazzler very kindly provided a summary of the Nimer call and the Southall call if you don't have the time/inclination to listen to the whole thing.

Allegedly a CAFC player contacted TalkSport afterwards
"A #cafc player has got into contact with TalkSPORT, saying £3mil was left in the bank from Roland and it’s now gone. They’ve signed a 25% deferral but told they won’t get it back. They’ve called the club currently a mess and no one is happy."

Some commentary on the TalkSport call
Louis Mendez has also summarised the call in a twitter thread and points out the following:

Former CAFC Comms guy Jimmy Stone reckons
"Listening to @talkSPORT and Tahnoon Nimer & @MattSouthall84 are both absolutely in this for themselves.
No one has the best interests of Charlton Athletic Football Club here.
@Sjopinion10 has just excruciatingly exposed Southall’s ineptitude live on air. #cafc"

"Charlton Athletic are in real danger of being in a similar situation to Bury.
This is 115 years of history being destroyed by a group of complete crooks.
The only hope is that the club’s ex-directors can reverse the sale. #cafc"

Lyle's back on Instagram again.

Not sure any of us can really disagree with that (and that was before the Talksport thing this morning)

More from CAST
CAST have posted up the questions sent to Marian Mahail yesterday re finances and the EFL process here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/questions-for-the-directors/
plus an update on the work going on in the background to try to deal with the current crisis:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/protecting-the-future-of-charlton-athletic/

Southall's re-opened his twitter
I could spend all day on the various comments and responses (and might do later if things quieten down) but probably the most important bits are:
"I’m getting alot of questions, which I completely understand, along with all of the fans frustration at this extremely testing time both at the club and in the wider world, which is understandable as accusations have been made."

"So I’m prepared to have zoom call with 3 nominated fans, and once nominated, I will DM the the link to the call to take place Friday. Please decide amongst yourselves who you want to be on the call. I won’t be answering any further questions at this time. #cafc"

Media Coverage:
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-efl-investigation-takeover-east-street-investments-a4419836.html

Wednesday 22nd April - Deadline day

Mihail on the OS re the EFL case
At about 6pm this evening, an open letter from Marian Mihail to CAFC fans was published on the official Charlton website. I think it's safe to say this has not been met with universal acclaim.

"Really not that bothered about the behaviour and intentions of various individuals anymore. Want to see some actions now. Actions like proving the source and sufficiency of funding properly. #cafc "

In addition, it's been alleged that Mihail and Florica failed to attend a club Senior Management Team meeting today, which given the current circumstances is surprising to say the least.

More on the former directors' legal case
"UPDATE: the three former #cafc directors have now told ESI, CAFC and Roland Duchatelet that their legal action to reverse the takeover is proceeding. Only Duchatelet's lawyers ever responded to the letter before action."

"My understanding is that the case is that sale was not valid in the first place because it involved a contract the seller was not entitled to enter into. Duchatelet could make it go away by paying out £2.65m plus costs, but then other claimants might appear, so potentially £7m+."

"Can only report that the ex-directors are very confident of their case - the time it will take and what the resolution might be are not things I can usefully comment on, but will hopefully help concentrate some minds."

Voice of the Valley also has a new blog post arguing that the situation we're in is quite different from 1984.

Media Coverage:
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-exclusive-takeover-efl-tahnoon-nimer-matt-southall-a4420886.html
Sky Sports:https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11684/11960877/charlton-athletic-what-is-happening-with-the-recent-takeover

Friday 24th April - Zoom! You chased the day away...

More from CAST
CAST have published the replies to the latest set of supporters' questions they've collated and sent to the club.
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/marian-mihail-responds-to-supporter-questions/

Certain aspects of the replies are not exactly instilling confidence

As it's Friday, CAST have also produced their weekly update:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/04/what-is-happening-at-our-club-weekly-update-2/

More from Talksport on Farnell/IPS Law
Presumably Farnell demanded a right of reply from TalkSport after they broadcast claims that he'd been ousted from "Matt Southall's company" as he showed up on the Jim White show this morning. Audio starts at about starts about 19:25, or you can just read the summary of what was said

This appearance on TalkSport triggered a reaction from one of the Southall camp




As I can't read arabic, I have no clue as to what the first one says, and while it's been circulating for a few days, I'm not sure if we've nailed down exactly who the other owner/partner is.

More on the former directors' legal action
Bob Whitehand, one of the directors involved in the suit, responds to David White's comment from yesterday
"Cheers mate. Thanks for the support. We will continue to do all we can to protect our position."

And what about the proposed zoom meeting with Southall?
Well dodgercafc has locked his twitter account and CAFCfansforfans have gone quiet, and there's no sign of Southall indicating which fans he would be talking with, so at the moment the only definite outcome is that I've had that flaming Fat Larry's Band song going through my head all bloody day.

Media Coverage:
BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52413943
Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/charlton-matt-southall-misconduct-championship-news-a4423386.html

Tuesday 28th April - Money makes the world go around...

April wages to be paid?
Jimmy Stone (ex CAFC Comms) tweeted
"Charlton’s staff have received their payslips for the month so it seems like wages will be paid for April.
A big relief to many of them. #cafc"

Other fans sound a note of caution though
"Payslip doesn't mean payment. If it was me I wouldn't be convinced until it's in my account."

"Very true, big difference between running payroll have having the funds to complete BACS"

For those of you curious as to why getting a payslip doesn't necessarily mean you'll be getting paid, there's a summary of how the process often works. @Sarrf_London also points out

Sarrf_London said:

A payslip is a legal commitment to pay tax/NI on your behalf, so legal repercussions start 21st May.  All made more poignant by recent HMRC advances on MTD where pay and deductions need to be filed by date above.  Big penalties for non-compliance, not sure how long can be stalled before becomes criminal.

In addition, if you're assuming that if they do get paid that money has actually been forthcoming from Nimer, it's also not clear whether this is largely due to the Government's furlough scheme coming up trumps.

ETA 30/04/2020 - Wages _have_ been paid
Confirmation this morning that Charlton’s staff were paid for the month of April.
A shame this needs to be tweeted as it’s the bare minimum you’d expect from an owner. A relief none the less. #cafc

Media Coverage:
Daily Mail:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8262509/MARTIN-SAMUEL-Tahnoon-Nimer-taking-Charlton-way-Bury-EFL-change-rules.html

Monday 4th May - I've got a bad feeling about this...

More re the EFL
According to the OS, both Mihail and Florica have now had their applications under the Owners and Directors Test approved:
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5eb04bdd27b94/owners-and-directors-test-update-claudiu-florica-and-marian-mihail

In addition, another leaked document is being circulated, this time apparently the letter sent by the EFL in April requesting a load of information about the progress of the takeover and the submission of various documents relating to earlier ODT applications. The segments shown below were posted by Dodger on twitter, who’s made his profile private so I can't link to it directly. It's being assumed he's been fed this by someone in the Southall camp, possibly Amis or Heller, but I've not seen any evidence for that at this point.

Jackson talks about the early days with ESI
The Charlton Live podcast had an interview with Johnnie Jackson in this week's show, and they've tweeted out a segment where he talks about the first signs that all was not right with the new owners, if you've not got time to listen to the whole show.