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Charlton back up for sale - Guardian article comment from Gavin Carter p18
Comments
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Maybe true up to a point but I think we can see we are short in key areas and have lost to Wimbedon and Reading in recent friendlies without looking capable of scoring. Now I agree that you can't read too much into friendlies but I think fans have reason to be concerned for the season.Off_it said:I reckon if you went on every football club message board today about 80%+ of them would have threads bemoaning their lack of signings and the need for more investment.
Its just what football fans have become.2 -
All of the above plus we looked very ropey for long periods of last season in what wasMuttleyCAFC said:
Maybe true up to a point but I think we can see we are short in key areas and have lost to Wimbedon and Reading in recent friendlies without looking capable of scoring. Now I agree that you can't read too much into friendlies but I think fans have reason to be concerned for the season.Off_it said:I reckon if you went on every football club message board today about 80%+ of them would have threads bemoaning their lack of signings and the need for more investment.
Its just what football fans have become.
(at the bottom anyway) a weaker league. That means we need to strengthen but, frankly, I think the squad looks worse than it did at the end of last season.1 -
Out of interest, how is the squad worse now than it was end of last season?se9addick said:
All of the above plus we looked very ropey for long periods of last season in what wasMuttleyCAFC said:
Maybe true up to a point but I think we can see we are short in key areas and have lost to Wimbedon and Reading in recent friendlies without looking capable of scoring. Now I agree that you can't read too much into friendlies but I think fans have reason to be concerned for the season.Off_it said:I reckon if you went on every football club message board today about 80%+ of them would have threads bemoaning their lack of signings and the need for more investment.
Its just what football fans have become.
(at the bottom anyway) a weaker league. That means we need to strengthen but, frankly, I think the squad looks worse than it did at the end of last season.3 -
We’ve lost Coady , Dykes , Clarke ,Chambers who were all known quantities , we’re going in to the unknown with our signings who could be good but more than likely are meh1
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And that squad at the end of last season fell over the line with 1 win in the last 9 games , we were guff6
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That isn’t an indicator the squad is worse off though, Boro have signed a few players who are likely to be good but are unknown in the context of Boro. In fact you could say the same about most teamsoohaahmortimer said:We’ve lost Coady , Dykes , Clarke ,Chambers who were all known quantities , we’re going in to the unknown with our signings who could be good but more than likely are meh1 -
The club’s bi-annual Meet The Directors fan meeting will take place on Thursday, August 13th (7pm BST) ahead of the start of the 2026/27 Sky Bet Championship campaign that weekend.
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/ask-your-question-clubs-board4 -
queensland_addick said:As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The club hasn't denied that it's up for sale, but then every club is likely up for sale, at the right price!
What I don't understand is this. Friedman & Brener are supposedly worth a combined sum in the region of $5.5 Billion.
Why on earth do they even need to be seeking additional investment ?They're looking for a sale.The talk of 'additional investment' is claptrap and always has been.
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Of course we don’t know but using last seasons guff signings as the barometer and the calibre of this seasons signings we’ll be in a relegation battle from the off with no promotion wave to give us a flying start .fenaddick said:
That isn’t an indicator the squad is worse off though, Boro have signed a few players who are likely to be good but are unknown in the context of Boro. In fact you could say the same about most teamsoohaahmortimer said:We’ve lost Coady , Dykes , Clarke ,Chambers who were all known quantities , we’re going in to the unknown with our signings who could be good but more than likely are meh3 -
We were always going to be in a relegation battle without spending £30m though, that isn’t because our squad is any better/worse it’s just because we have to build slowlyoohaahmortimer said:
Of course we don’t know but using last seasons guff signings as the barometer and the calibre of this seasons signings we’ll be in a relegation battle from the off with no promotion wave to give us a flying start .fenaddick said:
That isn’t an indicator the squad is worse off though, Boro have signed a few players who are likely to be good but are unknown in the context of Boro. In fact you could say the same about most teamsoohaahmortimer said:We’ve lost Coady , Dykes , Clarke ,Chambers who were all known quantities , we’re going in to the unknown with our signings who could be good but more than likely are meh3 -
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Coady is a big loss in a number of ways. I believe that will become apparent to those who don’t realise it after a couple of games of the new season.TheHerminator said:
Out of interest, how is the squad worse now than it was end of last season?se9addick said:
All of the above plus we looked very ropey for long periods of last season in what wasMuttleyCAFC said:
Maybe true up to a point but I think we can see we are short in key areas and have lost to Wimbedon and Reading in recent friendlies without looking capable of scoring. Now I agree that you can't read too much into friendlies but I think fans have reason to be concerned for the season.Off_it said:I reckon if you went on every football club message board today about 80%+ of them would have threads bemoaning their lack of signings and the need for more investment.
Its just what football fans have become.
(at the bottom anyway) a weaker league. That means we need to strengthen but, frankly, I think the squad looks worse than it did at the end of last season.
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Coady was a massive upgrade on Coventry and he also got the best out of Docherty.se9addick said:
Coady is a big loss in a number of ways. I believe that will become apparent to those who don’t realise it after a couple of games of the new season.TheHerminator said:
Out of interest, how is the squad worse now than it was end of last season?se9addick said:
All of the above plus we looked very ropey for long periods of last season in what wasMuttleyCAFC said:
Maybe true up to a point but I think we can see we are short in key areas and have lost to Wimbedon and Reading in recent friendlies without looking capable of scoring. Now I agree that you can't read too much into friendlies but I think fans have reason to be concerned for the season.Off_it said:I reckon if you went on every football club message board today about 80%+ of them would have threads bemoaning their lack of signings and the need for more investment.
Its just what football fans have become.
(at the bottom anyway) a weaker league. That means we need to strengthen but, frankly, I think the squad looks worse than it did at the end of last season.
I'm not necessarily saying Coady will come back but we definitely need another body in.5 -
So currently you’re saying the squad could be better it could be worse .fenaddick said:
We were always going to be in a relegation battle without spending £30m though, that isn’t because our squad is any better/worse it’s just because we have to build slowlyoohaahmortimer said:
Of course we don’t know but using last seasons guff signings as the barometer and the calibre of this seasons signings we’ll be in a relegation battle from the off with no promotion wave to give us a flying start .fenaddick said:
That isn’t an indicator the squad is worse off though, Boro have signed a few players who are likely to be good but are unknown in the context of Boro. In fact you could say the same about most teamsoohaahmortimer said:We’ve lost Coady , Dykes , Clarke ,Chambers who were all known quantities , we’re going in to the unknown with our signings who could be good but more than likely are meh
fair enough
I’ll say it’s worse and the lack of quality signings is the real worry , we’ve spent less than last season .
im no fan of Jones but he’s being thrown under the bus here3 -
But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money0 -
It’s tough to replicate exactly what Coady brought as his experience was a huge part of it. But it definitely shows the sort of thing we need to be looking for and, frankly, should have found by now.blackpool72 said:
Coady was a massive upgrade on Coventry and he also got the best out of Docherty.se9addick said:
Coady is a big loss in a number of ways. I believe that will become apparent to those who don’t realise it after a couple of games of the new season.TheHerminator said:
Out of interest, how is the squad worse now than it was end of last season?se9addick said:
All of the above plus we looked very ropey for long periods of last season in what wasMuttleyCAFC said:
Maybe true up to a point but I think we can see we are short in key areas and have lost to Wimbedon and Reading in recent friendlies without looking capable of scoring. Now I agree that you can't read too much into friendlies but I think fans have reason to be concerned for the season.Off_it said:I reckon if you went on every football club message board today about 80%+ of them would have threads bemoaning their lack of signings and the need for more investment.
Its just what football fans have become.
(at the bottom anyway) a weaker league. That means we need to strengthen but, frankly, I think the squad looks worse than it did at the end of last season.
I'm not necessarily saying Coady will come back but we definitely need another body in.1 -
The window hasn't closed. You're making a sweeping assumption that the money isn't there when there is 3 weeks left of the windowoohaahmortimer said:But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money2 -
Substack pod worth a listen. Good interview from Cawley. I don’t think we’re immediately up for sale. I doubt much will change, but if a decent offer or deal comes in, they’re taking it. That’s my interpretation.4
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I'm sure if the owners wanted to spend money this summer they would have done so.TheHerminator said:
The window hasn't closed. You're making a sweeping assumption that the money isn't there when there is 3 weeks left of the windowoohaahmortimer said:But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money
To say "there are still 3 weeks left of the window" is like telling a child with no presents on xmas morning that there is still time for Santa to arrive.
Yes, I expect we'll make some signings before the transfer window closes, maybe even 1 this week. But dont believe that the players arriving now are ones we've been holding out for all summer.10 -
No it isn’t. What are you on about?golfaddick said:
I'm sure if the owners wanted to spend money this summer they would have done so.TheHerminator said:
The window hasn't closed. You're making a sweeping assumption that the money isn't there when there is 3 weeks left of the windowoohaahmortimer said:But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money
To say "there are still 3 weeks left of the window" is like telling a child with no presents on xmas morning that there is still time for Santa to arrive.
Yes, I expect we'll make some signings before the transfer window closes, maybe even 1 this week. But dont believe that the players arriving now are ones we've been holding out for all summer.2 -
https://youtu.be/kGex0kLgNok?is=4sc4VJkidMyGsKYMTheHerminator said:
No it isn’t. What are you on about?golfaddick said:
I'm sure if the owners wanted to spend money this summer they would have done so.TheHerminator said:
The window hasn't closed. You're making a sweeping assumption that the money isn't there when there is 3 weeks left of the windowoohaahmortimer said:But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money
To say "there are still 3 weeks left of the window" is like telling a child with no presents on xmas morning that there is still time for Santa to arrive.
Yes, I expect we'll make some signings before the transfer window closes, maybe even 1 this week. But dont believe that the players arriving now are ones we've been holding out for all summer.
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Rothko said:
https://youtu.be/kGex0kLgNok?is=4sc4VJkidMyGsKYMTheHerminator said:
No it isn’t. What are you on about?golfaddick said:
I'm sure if the owners wanted to spend money this summer they would have done so.TheHerminator said:
The window hasn't closed. You're making a sweeping assumption that the money isn't there when there is 3 weeks left of the windowoohaahmortimer said:But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money
To say "there are still 3 weeks left of the window" is like telling a child with no presents on xmas morning that there is still time for Santa to arrive.
Yes, I expect we'll make some signings before the transfer window closes, maybe even 1 this week. But dont believe that the players arriving now are ones we've been holding out for all summer.
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This might have been shared already but,
https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/08/05/charlton-athletic-chairman-plays-down-club-for-sale-report/
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If the owners wanted to purely make money the would have been much better off just investing in Friedman's hedge fund or even a building society account.Instead, they are losing money, around £10m to £13m, a season with no sign of that changing.I think the more likely scenario is that they wanted some fun while having a possible pay day somewhere down the line.It's like four or six of us on here buying a racehorse. It costs us, say, £5k a year but we can afford that. We go to races, enjoy the thrill of being an owner while sipping champagne but it's not going to bankrupt us. It's money we can afford to spend just as Josh Friedman can lose £3m paSure, our horse might win a big race or go to stud and then we'd be quids in but it's not the whole plan.I believe the owners agreed the amount to which they would subsidize the club each year ie their version of £5k a year, and are sticking to it. The financial sustainability rules in the Championship don't allow them to pump in mega $$$ anyway.We're not Wrexham or Birmingham, we have a completely different business model and funding streams regardless of how rich our owners are.All the messaging, post Charlie, has been clear. Slow, steady growth and sustainability. It's not sexy and it requires patience.We can be happy with that or not but it looks nothing like a quick flip model, to my eyes anyway.30
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https://www.castrust.org/2026/08/keep-calm-and-carry-on/
Includes report on meeting with Gavin Carter and members of the CAST board last week - before the Guardian article, so does not quiz him on that but does provide some insight into the financial challenges and current plans.7 -
From my untrained eyes, this seems spot on. And from all that’s happened in the past few days, they’d like to spread the losses between more people if possible, or sell if that’s what a new bidder would preferHenry Irving said:If the owners wanted to purely make money the would have been much better off just investing in Friedman's hedge fund or even a building society account.Instead, they are losing money, around £10m to £13m, a season with no sign of that changing.I think the more likely scenario is that they wanted some fun while having a possible pay day somewhere down the line.It's like four or six of us on here buying a racehorse. It costs us, say, £5k a year but we can afford that. We go to races, enjoy the thrill of being an owner while sipping champagne but it's not going to bankrupt us. It's money we can afford to spend just as Josh Friedman can lose £3m paSure, our horse might win a big race or go to stud and then we'd be quids in but it's not the whole plan.I believe the owners agreed the amount to which they would subsidize the club each year ie their version of £5k a year, and are sticking to it. The financial sustainability rules in the Championship don't allow them to pump in mega $$$ anyway.We're not Wrexham or Birmingham, we have a completely different business model and funding streams regardless of how rich our owners are.All the messaging, post Charlie, has been clear. Slow, steady growth and sustainability. It's not sexy and it requires patience.We can be happy with that or not but it looks nothing like a quick flip model, to my eyes anyway.1 -
But what will we call the horse?Henry Irving said:If the owners wanted to purely make money the would have been much better off just investing in Friedman's hedge fund or even a building society account.Instead, they are losing money, around £10m to £13m, a season with no sign of that changing.I think the more likely scenario is that they wanted some fun while having a possible pay day somewhere down the line.It's like four or six of us on here buying a racehorse. It costs us, say, £5k a year but we can afford that. We go to races, enjoy the thrill of being an owner while sipping champagne but it's not going to bankrupt us. It's money we can afford to spend just as Josh Friedman can lose £3m paSure, our horse might win a big race or go to stud and then we'd be quids in but it's not the whole plan.I believe the owners agreed the amount to which they would subsidize the club each year ie their version of £5k a year, and are sticking to it. The financial sustainability rules in the Championship don't allow them to pump in mega $$$ anyway.We're not Wrexham or Birmingham, we have a completely different business model and funding streams regardless of how rich our owners are.All the messaging, post Charlie, has been clear. Slow, steady growth and sustainability. It's not sexy and it requires patience.We can be happy with that or not but it looks nothing like a quick flip model, to my eyes anyway.5 -
I think we've just had a little insight there into what Christmas Day was like at Golfies house when he was a kid. It would explain a lot.TheHerminator said:
No it isn’t. What are you on about?golfaddick said:
I'm sure if the owners wanted to spend money this summer they would have done so.TheHerminator said:
The window hasn't closed. You're making a sweeping assumption that the money isn't there when there is 3 weeks left of the windowoohaahmortimer said:But from the boards point of view the money was spent badly and they don’t want to risk/waste more money on dross .
thats football a gamble where you’ll lose money or lose money
To say "there are still 3 weeks left of the window" is like telling a child with no presents on xmas morning that there is still time for Santa to arrive.
Yes, I expect we'll make some signings before the transfer window closes, maybe even 1 this week. But dont believe that the players arriving now are ones we've been holding out for all summer.12 -
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Everything is explained now. Henry has blurted out that the owners only committed to putting in five thousand pounds a year each. No wonder we are reduced to likes of Aribo, after losing out to Wimbledon in the race to sign Stockley.0
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Point well made, but inadequate investment now might end in relegation and a much harder sell.SELR_addicks said:queensland_addick said:As usual, the truth lies somewheref in the middle. The club hasn't denied that it's up for sale, but then every club is likely up for sale, at the right price!
What I don't understand is this. Friedman & Brener are supposedly worth a combined sum in the region of $5.5 Billion.
Why on earth do they even need to be seeking additional investment ?They're looking for a sale.The talk of 'additional investment' is claptrap and always has been.
I don’t get their strategy on any sale because valuation will sink if our team struggles.
We will also lose support if we play like we did last season.
Hard to be optimistic, but this is Charlton, who knows ?!2













