ESI Ownership shenanigans bite size thread - now dormant

Sunday 9th August Part 1 - Miscellaneous Weekend Edition

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. 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)
2. Marian Mihail explained why his brother failed the ODT
3. 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 It may already be slightly out of date.
4. 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.
5. @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.
6. Fans have been doing further digging on the links between Dave Jones, Bury and a company called SJ Global

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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:

and @Gary Poole asked:

to which @bexleyaddick suggested:

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:

For some reason @bobmunro is feeling quite positive:

and @Stig had an interesting take which is sadly too long to quote in full:

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 reply

which was received with varying levels of derision. As StrikerFirmani pointed out:

while Isawsummersplay said

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 43mins

And Saturday's i-paper clearly hadn't done their homework properly:

Monday 10th August Part1 - "In, out, in, out, shake it all about..."

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. Farnell and A.Mihail have been removed as directors on Companies House
   
2. Farnell claims he's still the club lawyer though (and continues to have weird text conversations with fans)
   
3. The CAFC Companies House confirmation statement caused some confusion in relation to the December share issue.
   
4. Nothing further announced with regard to Dave Jones as yet and Lee Bowyer has gone fishing (literally, not metaphorically)
   
5. 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)
   

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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:

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:

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:

@ISawLeaburnScore gave a bit more context:

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:

while @ForeverAddickted was confused :

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:

and @Cafc43v3r backed them up with this:

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/"

although @stoneroses19 had a useful reminder for us:

and @Airman Brown followed up with some words of reassurance:

Tuesday 11th August - "...you do the hokey-cokey and you turn around..."

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. The current CAFC board have backed Gallen and Bowyer, and say they won't bring in Dave Jones
   
2. It looks like there may be a fight brewing between ESI v1 and ESI v2
   
3. @BDL organised a twitter storm that made #SaveCAFC the top UK trend for a while
   
4. The EFL's successful appeal against the suspension of Macclesfield's points deduction raised questions about their handling of disciplinary matters
   

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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.amp

After all the bated breath about possible good news, Henry Irving felt that this counted:

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:

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:

Belv was puzzled:

but mattinfinland had a possible explanation:

@Stig, in a post discussing EFL governance that's a bit too long for here said:

and JamesSeed followed up

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

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/53751242

Markg2004 made a point that occurred to several of us:

SteveKielyCambridge was concerned:

but PeanutsMolloy was a bit more bullish:

Chris_from_Sidcup had a question about how binding it actually might be:

and Redrobo followed up with:

Randy Andy said

but SCT1980 had a more nuanced assessment that is worth reading in full, and ends:

Off_it was cynical about the circumstances surrounding the drafting of the agreement:

while Henry Irving had a theory:

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 here

At 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 grateful

while 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 Council

However 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-afternoon

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:

Then 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:

That last bit may not go down well in all quarters, as sillav nitram said, slightly tongue in cheek:

but there seemed to be a general consensus along the lines of MuttleyCAFC's take:

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
#WIOTOS

I 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-577591

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 cynicism

and Bedsaddick's suspicions:

to Covered End being cautiously pleased:

and the disconcerting sight (for frequenters of past Match threads) of golfaddick feeling positive

Although like @Rufus_Ambition, many of us were somewhat confused:

There was some discussion about Sandgaard's finances, and as Scoham pointed out:

although J BLOCK wasn't exactly overwhelmed:

Vfrf was less worried about that

and mart77 agreed

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:

while PemburyAddick reckoned:

and I'm not entirely sure whether MuttleyCAFC was joking here:

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:

IanJRO is planning ahead:

while 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:

Comments From Sangaard Himself:

Friday 14th August - A quieter day thankfully

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. Update on the transfer embargo - limit of £1.3k a week in wages
2. 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.
3. 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:

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:

As colthe3rd said

Although dickplumb had a more obvious answer:

while Henry Irving went for the slightly more absurd option:

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:

although Athletico Charlton had mixed feelings about this:

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:

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:

There 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:

while soapboxsam went with a historical reference for their critique of it:

and shuffs67 observed:

He'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.

And @BDL appeared briefly on Sky Sports News, which can be seen here

More On Range Rover-gate
As a follow up to a @Bangkokaddick's question in the last post _MrDick pointed out:

and on the question of whether it was allowable to sell on one or more of the carsCardinal Sin advised

although as far as YA69ZKZ went Rob7Lee said

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 below

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/

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:

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:

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."

@Airman Brown explained further here:

and in a detailed post, Alwaysneil discussed how Murray's relationship with Roland may be affecting all this:

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:

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:

which led Rothko to suggest:

and Henry Irving concurred:

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:

@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:

which is vaguely reassuring I suppose.

Sandgaard's general positivity in this interview seems to tally with whatDubaiCAFC has been hearing:

and even though JamesSeed is still a bit worried:

DubaiCAFC reckons this hasn't been an issue as yet:

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:

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:

CAST 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:

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.html

Wednesday 19th August - "...guess who's back, back again..."

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. 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
   
2. Same report also suggests that two other groups apart from Sandgaard have signed an NDA, one from the UK, one from Turkey.
3. 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:

although cafcfan has concerns that it may not be that easy:

and ISawLeaburnScore reminded us:

Blucher has flagged up a number of relevant factors

and ISawLeaburnScore reckoned

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)

although SCT1980 thinks this might be a legal tactic:

and as Blucher points out this does leave us reliant on the EFL:

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:

ISawLeaburnScore added:

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? #ElliottOut

Interestingly 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-deal

and 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:

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:

but Garrymanilow wan't convinced, particularly with regards to the training ground:

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 joked

I have to admit I've completely forgotten who the Kocs are at this point, so can't enlight further on this

In 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/

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
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 said

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:

and @RodneysMiddleName had another assessment of Sandgaard's approach:

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:

although as @PeanutsMolloy said

Speaking from personal experience, @RichmondSE10Exile thought it would still be a worthwhile investment

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 reckoned

and as @Dippenhall pointed out:

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:

while @Blucher was unsurprisingly more interested in the legal angle:

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 thread

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)

Sunday 23rd August Part 1 - Club for a Quid protest special

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. More than 500 fans turned up at the Valley for the protest, including one or two from Brighton, Wigan and Peterborough
2. Nearly £650 was raised from the coins put on the Sam Bartram statue, and Thomas Sandgaard matched that with a donation on JustGiving
3. Fans managed to get into the ground and a small group occupied the boardroom - police were called but no arrests made
4. CAFCFans4Fans issued a statement demanding immediate change of the ODT from the EFL, and threatening occupation of their offices if that didn't happen
5. 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"

and a couple of somewhat larger items (images taken from this tweet and this tweet)
 

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"

and masicat brought 3 generations of the family along:

(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-Paul

and ME14addick:

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

while the piper popped up to play "Valley Floyd Road" in the West Stand. AFKABartram described it as

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"

Sunday 23rd August Part 3 - The Protest Aftermath

A 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 explained

Exiled_Addick reckoned:

while RodneyCharltonTrotta seemed to think the Comms Team have complete autonomy on what they put out on the various club channels:

to which Ollywozere replied

SporadicAddick had suspicions about whose viewpoint needed balancing:

Meanwhile 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:

and PragueAddick added what he'd heard from another of them:

Just to complicate matters, LouisMend said

While not having attended themself palarsehater had heard:

but Ollywozere advised that this was incorrect:

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

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:

And after many people pointed out the SMT's far more lethargic response to the various range rovers going AWOL aliwibble snarked:

Similarly, Airman Brown was amused by people demanding another press release confirming the games console's return

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-20200822

Monday 24th August Part 2 - The final few bits and bobs

More On Sandgaard
Thomas Sandgaard was on TalkSport again, this time along with @Airman Brown. You can listen here from about 18 minutes in

Richard 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."

ForeverAddickted got a little bit ahead of themself:

and JamesSeed had a bit of background about contacts with the Aussies:

@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 )

Mihail replied:
https://twitter.com/mmarian_lx/status/1297947889667366913
"Still with the Club."

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-600859

Wednesday 26th August Part 1 - Ooh look, it's another leaked document!

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. @Henry Irving posted a copy of a document purporting to be a solictor's letter from Laurence Bassini's representatives to Matt Southall
   
2. Allegedly Southall transferred liability for the £1.2m he supposedly owed to Bassini onto the club, and offered him a permanent role
3. 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
   
4. @PragueAddick has been trolling Farnell with one of the dossier snippets
5. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has tweeted in support of #SaveCAFC

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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-athletic

Once 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 demonstrated

Davo55 went through some of the arguments:

while HardyAddick had found this extract from a legal article

ISawLeaburnScore had a few fairly trenchant observations from a legal standpoint

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:

There also appeared to be a number of holes or discrepancies in the letter too. As ValleyGary said

while micks1950 pointed out some timeline discrepancies

and Markg2004 didn't think this condition had been met either:

Plus, in all the detail, BowSelecta made a good spot:

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:

Leeds_Addick reckoned

and Covered End speculated

While we're on the subject of Nimer, thickandthin63 said

Going back to the sale terms, Airman Brown warned

LeeValley was relieved about one thing

but Airman Brown said

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)

Thursday 27th August Part 1 - "Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying ..."

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. Sangaard has spoken with CAST, and said of the takeover "I can't imagine it won't happen"
2. 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"
3. The OS put up an interview with Marian Mihail
   
4. There's been further discussion of the Southall Bassini document, but no actual new developments.
5. The Charlton situation gets looked at on the Price of Football podcast.
   

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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:

@Airman Brown followed up:

while @carly burn wondered

and @Airman Brown reckoned

One specific bit of the Sandgaard interview caused particular comment. As @Davo55 said:

although as far as @robinofottershaw was concerned:

and @PeanutsMolloy pointed out:

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:

@Gary Poole thought it highlighted EFL inconsistency:

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:

and @charlton_hero thought:

while @StigThundercock was not impressed:

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."

As @ForeverAddickted said

and MuttleyCAFC agreed

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/"

Friday 28th August  - now with all the wittering on about parish councils removed....

SUMMARY FOR THOSE WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS:

1. Sangaard interview with Richard Cawley in the SLP suggests he could be coming to London as soon as this weekend
2. CAST have produced their weekly update
3. 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
4. The new Voice Of The Valley is now out in the post to subscribers

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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 said

but @Rothko reckoned we need to take our anti-Palace goggles off for a minute:

and @RC_CAFC agreed :

while @RichmondSE10Exile pointed out:

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:

as well as an explanation of why Sandgaard would come over:

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:

@Redrobo was a bit confused:

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:

and @Chunes pointed to a bit from the Sandgaard interview:

I'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."

As carly burn said:

which gave @Talal grounds for optimism:

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:

and @PragueAddick wondered if a famous ex-Romanian international was a connection:

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"

And Finally...
Final word of the day goes to mendonca, who said

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/1299111989218873349