First a disclaimer. I've never met or in any way communicated with TJ. But I know a man who does, somebody who lurks on here and with whom I had a chat yesterday. He obviously feels there's another side to the story compared to the majority assessment on here. No way has he asked me to do this, but based on what he said, I thought I'd try to imagine myself into TJ's shoes.....
“Right well for starters, I shouldn’t even be wasting my breath. My attitude is, you lot want to dispute with me how this thing should be run, lay your money down, take your stake, and see you in the boardroom. But just this once, I’ll make an exception.
Let’s start with the money, shall we. Because without money, there ain’t a CAFC. I’ve put a shed load into this club, and I put in more this month. So this club aint going into admin or anything like it.
I read a lot of bollocks here over the summer. Like Solly going to West Ham. So who do yer think was that little geezer who scored that screamer against Blackpool then? It wasn’t Simon -bloody- Francis was it? If this club was so close to financial collapse why do you think I told Celtic to do one when they were sniffing around Kermorgant? Some of you had some good info on Stephens in the window. I can tell you Villa offered towards the top end of your rumours. I told them to do one too. Isn’t that what you lot wanted? A bit of big balls in the transfer market? Yeah alright , there was a bit of changing of minds during the summer, but you know what, football clubs have cash flow problems every summer, and that means you have to change your mind. But that one about five of them in the boardroom together, including Sam Baldock? That’s a load of bollocks. Baldock wanted way more money than he’s worth, and anyway, you really think five players sit dutifully together in a boardroom waiting to sign, like a bunch of Ukrainian navvies? And let me tell you, Ricardo Fuller ain’t here for charity either. Where d’yer think the money’s coming from for that?
I dunno where all this stuff about Chris Powell ‘being next’ is coming from. I’ll just say this, the bloke does a great job, but he read that Ron Atkinson quote about what directors know about football, and took it to heart. Geezer won’t talk to me about the game. I mean you lot, you all sound off about the team selection and the tactics and that. Well, if you’d put as much money down as me, you’d expect to at least get a weekly audience with the manager wouldn’t ya? I mean, every chairman of a business has a regular meeting with his MD. Some football club chairmen aint interested, but I am. It’s obvious to anyone that I love the game, look at my Spanish interests, look at my transfer deals. People tell me we don’t communicate, well sometimes I wish people would communicate with me
Look I aint a Charlton fan. But I bought into this club because I reckon it had the potential to get back to the Prem, more so than other clubs looking for investment. Once I get them there, I can sell and make a profit. But that’s all right, ain’t it, because that’s what you want, right? To be back there? Of course I need it to happen soon, because I ain’t made of money. If any of you are, there’s an empty seat in the boardroom. I mean I don’t wanna talk too much detail, but we’ve got a player budget for this year which is about mid-table. Same as Palace. And you know what? Zaha will be off, summer at latest, because they can’t balance the books otherwise. They don’t make any secret of it. You might say, can we finish second if we’re only 12th in the salary league, and my answer is look who’s top of that league. Blackburn. Runnin’ around like headless chickens. If you don’t mind me sayin’ so I reckon I can run a club better than Venky’s and I’m backing SCP to be a better manager than Steve Kean. And we’ve done it before. Did you know that Huddersfield’s wage bill last year was 50% higher than ours?
You’re all getting steamed up about these guys leaving, so I suppose I better say something. But I’ll just go back to what I said earlier. I’m the boss. You don’t like it, buy me out. Those three didn’t have the dosh to buy me out, so we do it my way. Look I don’t live in Blackheath,or even in Britain (Mr taxman, take note) and this is a business, not an organic collective farm. Same for any of you, you don’t like what the boss decides, you know where the door is. By the way I’ve never met that Rick Everitt, so you’ll have to talk to Slater about him.
What else you got? Oh yeah, this Trust malarkey. Same story. Trust brings a couple of million, you got a seat at the table. Better work out what happens when the share capital is increased though..and I suppose you won't be good for any short term loans when the TV money is late. And don't come with any 'non-negotiables' about the Valley either. I aint got no plans there, but you think when some fund invests in M&S they tell M&S, "you close Bluewater over my dead body"?
Right, that’s enough questions. You can sing what you like before the game, but once the whistle blows you better get behind them. And while I’m here you lot better raise your own game too. Outshouted against Palace by a bunch of spotty 15 year olds singing continental songs? Let’s be ‘avin ya!”
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Comments
Are you imagining he said all this? Or he did?
If so, is it true about the bowling?
and as long as it's not leveraging up non friendly debt then it's all good but if he thinks he'll make dough on us then good luck to him but i'm a seller
1. the apparent fallout with Cash and related strategic differences
2. the logistics and risks of running a football club without key executives except a part-time CEO
3. the necessity of short term loans to keep us going
4. the search for new investors now, and not just a lucrative sell-out when we regain Prem status
5. our ability to retain key playing talent in the January window without additional funding in the next 10 weeks
6. the criticality (or otherwise) of Chris Powell remaining manager
7. why he chooses not to engage and communicate with the fans who represent an important part of projected revenue streams
Genuinely interested on your take on these tricky issues.
Having said that, you have elsewhere made the very good point that some of the recent management/staff upheavals don't seem to make good business sense. Your M&S/analogy is a fair one, but I think an investor in M&S would voice concern about a series of senior-level departures, and the 'markets' would be pretty jittery about it. No chairman/owner (of a plc) would be able to deflect it by saying "that's all down to the CEO". (I know you know this, BTW...)
Indeed, were the trust simply an investment fund (with no loyalty to CAFC), it would probably steer clear of CAFC from a purely financial/investment standpoint, given the lack of transparency + the upheavals.
The current regime has clearly done some good things, and it's their right to run things as they like. A description you could pretty much have applied to the Glicksteins...
Just briefly for now, as I have to go earn a crust myself, I don;t write this because I believe it to be the whole story or that I agree with the sentiments. It may be what people call 'a version of the truth' but it has as much merit as the darker versions for me, simply because I'm not in that boardroom myself to make the judgement. Probably the truth lies somewhere in the middle. My idea is to ensure that the other side gets put forward, in part because of criticism from some posters towards those who have heard and tried to raise some of the issues which you yourself list.
I'll reply to your specific points later on.
Personally, I was feeling more positive before Airman confirmed his dismissal and implied tensions between TJ and CP and behind the scenes issues - I suspect many people have reacted similarly, which perhaps explains the anti TJ trends.
I'll ask around.
If it comes to it we can have a big sale of players in the transfer window to spin on a while longer.
We will always be anxious about what is going on because this is our club. We support from cradle to grave and, where we can, pick up a few stragglers along the way to staedily grow. We know that the current regime are not Charlton fans, but they are certainly football fans. Richard Murray was a Wolves fan but, like the current regime, he put his money down and pulled us through when we desperately needed it and there's been no doubting his allegiance over the years as Charlton became his labour of love.
A great friend is also involved in football and grew up a West Ham fan. If you were ever in his company, you would hear and see the passion that he has for his current club (and a couple of others over many years) and the Hammers rarely get a mention. I'm not sure I could ever be that way about another club, but I don't work in the industry so I don't see at first hand the way that you can become embedded in the club you are at and the community you work in.
I don't think anyone here is under any illusion that we would have been in serious trouble, if this takeover had not have happened when it did. I know, before TJ/MS came on the scene, that we were hoping against hope that Gold/Sullivan would lose out on West Ham because we were their next choice and there was no other option out there for us.
Knowing this and seeing the investment in the team, the protection and additions to that team and the academy...I do think that Prague isn't far wrong in his interpretation above and I won't be labelled an ostrich, rose-tinted or other such term for thinking we have done well so far under this ownership.
I am not happy that three very well respected men have lost their jobs. All three have been huge supporters of the club over the years and at least two of them always will be. Knowing him through a friend, I would always back PV in anything he needed.
Having worked with global businesses over 27 years though, I also know that business can treat you very badly particularly when the equity ownership is in the hands of a few/or one and the management style is autocratic. It's not a style that I would be comfortable with, but as Oz says, it has worked for many over the years. If the money/power is in the hands of just one person then this is likely to be the world in which we have to live if we work for this person.
One thing that stuck out from the Powell at Ashford thread was Powell making a point about the owner putting in good money for the Fuller deal, and it's obvious that that is true. Ok he may not conduct business in the way a lot of us see as the Charlton way, or indeed what we see as particularly ethical at times, but it's been made very clear by that without TJ et al admin was looming. Like many I heard things this summer that were worrying, and it's clear that all the problems are far from solved. Whilst we may not like the fact they're here primarily for the profit, that being the case means we can be sure that they will be working hard to ensure that the club doesn't go belly up, as if it does so does all of their investment.
As it stands today the owners have supported Powell in building a championship winning squad, and he has not lost any of that squad despite bids coming in for some of them. Not only that but the squad was strengthened. Not as much as some of us would have liked for sure, and probably even for TJ's liking (as promotion to the premiership at some point is clearly a very big part of the plan). The clear negative side to this is that three people with Charlton's very best interests at heart have been forced out of the club. That will sit will with none of us, but they are the owners and it is their prerogative to run the club they own as they see fit. I'm not saying people shouldn't speak up against it, but I also am not comfortable with labelling TJ as an awful owner considering where we were a year and a half ago and where we are now.
The main thing that concerns me is with regards to this 'spinning players' theory which I reckon to be very close to the truth. Do we know that any loans taken out aren't secured against the clubs assets? Would that be possible?