Ok. So here is what Duchatelet told us earlier. Please take this with a pinch of salt.
There are still two interested parties, the Aussies and a British one. He is selling the lot. Would have kept the Valley but only four of the ex-directors approved this. He loves Richard Murray. "He is a super guy." He hates Peter Varney and CARD. The latter have misled the majority of fans. He would have led us to the Premier League otherwise. "You have missed an opportunity." He is no longer interested in football.
We've missed an opportunity??? {…} huh Deluded old fucker, that probably eats pizza with a knife and fork
I know that you didn’t mean to be personal Harry, but I sometimes eat pizza with a knife and fork.
Question?. Errm - If an Aussie got sent off playing for Charlton, does he get sent back to the Colony to serve out the 3 game ban?, or dont that apply now. Jus askin
@ozziedave no disrespect intended, but I didn't get the same impression you did at all. I thought the response here was overwhelmingly positive, bearing in mind that our previous experience with foreign owners was such a disaster.
I get the feeling that of all the world's nationalities that might be buyng Charlton, yours was probably at the very top of the acceptable list, as we have more in common with you than anyone.
I might have been a little too sensitive about the class issue. My club Adelaide Utd has just been taken over by the Dutch after we had terrible local owners who would buy in cheap overseas players and play juniors, sell them off if they wanted a pay rise. Surprisingly we got one title from it because at least they had a decent manager Guillermo Amor who played for Barcelona. so now we are owned by the Dutch, have a German manager but nobody cares because our club is in the best place its been for a while.
Bruce, you’re coming across as a bit of a wanker and giving us Aussies a bad name. Racism? Australia almost takes Gold. Having said that, if you follow AUFC you have my sympathy.
Aussie Al
I'm not a wanker Aussie Al just someone who's not scared to throw a grenade and see what reaction you get from it and I have to say on the whole I think I've not got the mood quite right. Hard to know exactly from such a long way away I just like to think that there will not be a disrespect of our football culture if there is an Aussie takeover of the club because there have been a few who don't seem overly keen on Australian players, Kewell, Australian National Team playing at The Valley.
Normally, I wouldn't introduce myself to a new bunch of people by lobbing a hand grenade at them, but if that's how you go through life, I expect you're used to the reaction you've been getting by now.
There's no issue with Australians as such. We've just had a Belgian owner, who employed useless Belgian staff and lumbered us with useless Belgian footballers. The only qualification they had was their Belgian passport. People are just wary of a repeat performance, where being Australian is more important than actually being any good.
As for Australia playing at the Valley, I'd love to see international football in SE7.
So to summarise the past few pages, we've upset an Australian gentleman who was trying to help by not being massively positive about an Australian takeover. Which makes sense. Because we won't be properly excited by any takeover that isn't headed by Chris Powell after he's won every single lottery on the planet in one day, flanked by Keith Peacock as Technical Director, Curbs as Director of Football and Steve Brown in some kind of not-letting-us-down capacity.
The reality is we've been burned by the last two takeovers so fewer people are falling into the 'anyone but..' philosophy now. The spivs rescued us from the brink of administration to great fanfare, got us in Chris Powell, took us strolling up the league with an exciting new team, and then promptly used up the last of their supply of kindnesses from strangers and took us to the brink of administration again. Which Roland rescued us from, with much excitement to be found in us being owned by the 18th(?) richest man in Belgium who had a team full of Champions League-level players to parachute in on loan to save us from relegation before re-designing our team with his lovely, lovely money, with only the quiet voices of a couple of helpful Belgian posters heralding the Charlton apocalypse. Except Roland didn't help us, he sacked Powell, assumed that 'second division' was equivalent in every country and sent us wonder-failures from the Hungarian leagues and the reserves of his Belgian teams. He literally sent young players over as work experience kids, and expected them to play. Four years, one relegation and several protests later and I think we can be forgiven for looking towards the negatives before embracing the positives in takeovers.
You can't win though. Name an owner, you can find a flaw. Australians? Sure, they seem nice, but where's the money? Developing Australian players? We still remember Anil Koc and Christophe Lepoint thanks very much. RedHenry's mystery Saudis? We'll spend our way up the leagues! But what about all those human rights abuses? Do we want that associated with the club? Red Bull then. All the money, definitely (probably) fewer human rights abuses! Except they'll change the kit and the crest and the name and the history and they'll call us Crystal Red Bull to tie in with a new drink they've designed and they'll change every mention of 'Jimmy Seed' to 'Cherry Total Zero Edition'. So not that either. British consortium? Might be Mike Ashley! What if Alex McLeish is involved? Donald Muir looks like Sean Dyche cosplaying as Rod Stewart!
So chill ozziedave, we've been hurt before, we hate everyone. Except you, you're alright.
I have read ozziedave with interest and welcome his post. As a fan base we are resilient enough to contemplate his perspective without getting our knickers in a twist surely? I make him right about how weird our class system must seem to those who have not grown up with it. The class system is so interwoven into UK society that it is so up close and personal and less evident to those of us who live here, to a visitor there is no surprise that the class system smacks them in the face and they perceive evidence of it frequently. If I were to comment on Australia (I have never been there) I would no doubt comment on the depth of racism throughout their society there. It is only in recent times that Australian society is coming to terms with the appalling treatment of the original Australians, treatment that was enthusiastically initiated by the British. Welcome ozziedave and keep posting.
'Only one Napkin with the rules for the panel that sits on 'fit and proper' test. So if got more than one to process it slows things down - at least that is what I was told....'
Does anyone know who, or what sort of people (solicitors? / accountants?) sit on this panel? Surely they should have the capability to deal with 2 cases at the same time if ever the need arrises?
It would be ludicrous to have multiple panels for such a specific issue, they would be sat round twiddling their thumbs for months on end when no takeovers are happening, then everyone would say thats whats wrong with English football.....
Would think the Sunderland one might need a bit more research and due diligence than us... After all, Eastleigh chairman taking over Sunderland doesnt fit right in my eyes, whereas Charlton taken over by Billionaire (in Aus dollars) , might be a bit easier to give the nod to. However, with our experience of RD, maybe not so easy.
Would think the Sunderland one might need a bit more research and due diligence than us... After all, Eastleigh chairman taking over Sunderland doesnt fit right in my eyes, whereas Charlton taken over by Billionaire (in Aus dollars) , might be a bit easier to give the nod to. However, with our experience of RD, maybe not so easy.
not if they come on here and read about what racists they are
It would be ludicrous to have multiple panels for such a specific issue, they would be sat round twiddling their thumbs for months on end when no takeovers are happening, then everyone would say thats whats wrong with English football.....
Agree, but if it's just certain criteria they're looking at, surely it can be done by a 3rd party a bit like the conveyancing on a house or business in other industries.
It may be a rare occurrence, but I think it's important that each one is done without delay.
'Only one panel that sits on 'fit and proper' test. So if got more than one to process it slows things down - at least that is what I was told....'
Seems a little at odds with a line from the Abramovich story yesterday, which stated that the Fit & Proper test is done annually...I take it that this one is even more of a rubber stamp job than the one to welcome in brand new owners!
Does anyone know who, or what sort of people (solicitors? / accountants?) sit on this panel? Surely they should have the capability to deal with 2 cases at the same time if ever the need arrises?
If it's like a lot of advisory panels, it won't be their day job so it will need to be scheduled around that. Also there are probably statutory timescales you need to give them to read the submitted pack. I can't imagine two takeovers pop up at once very often so probably date ordered.
Having done it for local government in a previous life, panel and committee admin is a ball ache and can lead to delays just because of statutory process. Unlikely they'll call an extraordinary session for little old charlton
Leaving aside the obvious points about the quality of the outcome, it doesn’t seem the fit and proper persons test took any time at all when it was applied to Duchatelet - and that was over Christmas.
Does anyone know who, or what sort of people (solicitors? / accountants?) sit on this panel? Surely they should have the capability to deal with 2 cases at the same time if ever the need arrises?
I only know their first names - Simon, David, Amanda and Alesha.
So much information in such a short amount of time and still no absolute clarity.
There having been much talk of "it's all done" and "it will be announced when we know what division we're in" play-off elimination brought no official update and deal still isn't done.
Andrew Muir wasn't at the Shrews away game but his main broker, Gerard Murphy (more of him later) was.
@No.1 in South London reported, after the Shrewsbury defeat, from the training ground that no one in the management or playing staff had any idea of what was happening with the contracts. Kashi had said his good byes, the loanees were all looking elsewhere and Konsa wanted away.
Lee Bowyer thanked the fans for their backing and apologised for the team's failure on the OS. He made it clear that he was unclear on his future but was clear he wanted the managers job but only the managers job, clearly.
@Airman Brown and Richard Cawley from the SLP appeared to be singing from the same hymn sheet, perhaps because, as Airman later hinted, the Aussies have been briefing the press.
Their news was that the "Aussies expect (my emphasis) to complete #cafc takeover in next two to three weeks maximum, depending on timescale for EFL approval." The Sunderland takeover was cited as a reason for the hold up of the Charlton fit and proper test.
It was also reported that the convicts our antipodean cousins want to re-introduce best practice within the club, including a proper managerial appointment process, and so will be interviewing a range of potential bosses including Bowyer. Also that they will not appoint a manager just because he is Australian, contradicting the rumours of Harry Kewell as as done deal.
@jac52 won the 2017/8 Charlton Life Sherlock Holmes award for discovering that a new UK company, Echidna Acquisitions, had been registered by Gerard Murphy on April 30th with the Australian Football Consortium as the shareholder. This would appear to be a vehicle to be used to buy Baton, the company that owns the football club (CAFC Ltd) and the Valley and Sparrows Lane (CAFC Holdings).
Speculation continued that any deal included Duchatelet holding on the the Valley and having contingent payments on player sales. @nth london addick and @Davidsmith re-stated their view that the Aussie "don't have the money" and this was the reason for the delay. The lack of contact with the seven bond holding former directors was given as more evidence that a deal was far from done. Others, namely, @Airman Brown, saw this as less significant as with no leases and no loans against assets, the approval of said directors is not required.
Then this weekend, 19/20 May, there was an avalanche of first hand information from the two main parties. ROT spoke to Duchatelet in Belgium. The Duck Taped one still insisted that there were two parties, British and Australian, involved but said he is selling the whole club including the Valley. He did say he would have kept the Valley but only four of the ex-directors approved this. He is no longer interested in football.
Then @JamesSeed remembered he knew one of the key players in the takeover and arranged a drink with the person who we aren't going to name at Jim's request (although you can work it out if you try).
The detail is on his blog http://jimmyseed.blogspot.co.uk/ but since this is a summary the key points were they hope it will happen this week (commencing today) subject to the EFL. They see it as a long term project and are ambitious for the club to reach the premiership. Delays have been to problems from the Spivs time in charge although they didn't comment about their relationship with RD.
The deal will be for the club, lock, stock and barrel. Roland wants to sell, and isn’t looking to hang on to any assets.
Charlton won't be a nursery club for Australian footballers. If any Australian footballers sign for Charlton it will only be because they are capable of playing at the appropriate level or higher. The target is more potential fans in Oz and the Oz ex-pat community in London.
They have spoken to Bowyer and want to appoint a manager ASAP. SCP also in their sights but Kewell isn't.
They're genuinely looking forward to establishing contact with fans groups like the Museum and Bromley Addicks as well as the Community Trust.
So deal not done but Aussies getting everything in line for when/if it is. WIOTOS.
That's all folks but watch this space.
Watch @AFKABartram rip this off and not credit it : - )
Comments
Normally, I wouldn't introduce myself to a new bunch of people by lobbing a hand grenade at them, but if that's how you go through life, I expect you're used to the reaction you've been getting by now.
There's no issue with Australians as such. We've just had a Belgian owner, who employed useless Belgian staff and lumbered us with useless Belgian footballers. The only qualification they had was their Belgian passport. People are just wary of a repeat performance, where being Australian is more important than actually being any good.
As for Australia playing at the Valley, I'd love to see international football in SE7.
The reality is we've been burned by the last two takeovers so fewer people are falling into the 'anyone but..' philosophy now. The spivs rescued us from the brink of administration to great fanfare, got us in Chris Powell, took us strolling up the league with an exciting new team, and then promptly used up the last of their supply of kindnesses from strangers and took us to the brink of administration again. Which Roland rescued us from, with much excitement to be found in us being owned by the 18th(?) richest man in Belgium who had a team full of Champions League-level players to parachute in on loan to save us from relegation before re-designing our team with his lovely, lovely money, with only the quiet voices of a couple of helpful Belgian posters heralding the Charlton apocalypse. Except Roland didn't help us, he sacked Powell, assumed that 'second division' was equivalent in every country and sent us wonder-failures from the Hungarian leagues and the reserves of his Belgian teams. He literally sent young players over as work experience kids, and expected them to play. Four years, one relegation and several protests later and I think we can be forgiven for looking towards the negatives before embracing the positives in takeovers.
You can't win though. Name an owner, you can find a flaw. Australians? Sure, they seem nice, but where's the money? Developing Australian players? We still remember Anil Koc and Christophe Lepoint thanks very much. RedHenry's mystery Saudis? We'll spend our way up the leagues! But what about all those human rights abuses? Do we want that associated with the club? Red Bull then. All the money, definitely (probably) fewer human rights abuses! Except they'll change the kit and the crest and the name and the history and they'll call us Crystal Red Bull to tie in with a new drink they've designed and they'll change every mention of 'Jimmy Seed' to 'Cherry Total Zero Edition'. So not that either. British consortium? Might be Mike Ashley! What if Alex McLeish is involved? Donald Muir looks like Sean Dyche cosplaying as Rod Stewart!
So chill ozziedave, we've been hurt before, we hate everyone. Except you, you're alright.
And still there's no takeover.
I make him right about how weird our class system must seem to those who have not grown up with it. The class system is so interwoven into UK society that it is so up close and personal and less evident to those of us who live here, to a visitor there is no surprise that the class system smacks them in the face and they perceive evidence of it frequently.
If I were to comment on Australia (I have never been there) I would no doubt comment on the depth of racism throughout their society there. It is only in recent times that Australian society is coming to terms with the appalling treatment of the original Australians, treatment that was enthusiastically initiated by the British.
Welcome ozziedave and keep posting.
Cawley:
'Only one panel that sits on 'fit and proper' test. So if got more than one to process it slows things down - at least that is what I was told....'
After all, Eastleigh chairman taking over Sunderland doesnt fit right in my eyes, whereas Charlton taken over by Billionaire (in Aus dollars) , might be a bit easier to give the nod to. However, with our experience of RD, maybe not so easy.
It may be a rare occurrence, but I think it's important that each one is done without delay.
Just sell the club
Having done it for local government in a previous life, panel and committee admin is a ball ache and can lead to delays just because of statutory process. Unlikely they'll call an extraordinary session for little old charlton
Patience is a virtue!
I think Simon is the leader.
However, your racism comments and us supposedly disliking Aussies, is so far wide of the mark I'm incredulous.
In terms of sport and particularly cricket, the Aussies are the bullies and cheats, so it seems to me that your describing yourselves more than us.
A very disappointing post and one of the most ignorant I've read on here for many a long day.
I think you should apologise.
Where to start? Where to finish?
So much information in such a short amount of time and still no absolute clarity.
There having been much talk of "it's all done" and "it will be announced when we know what division we're in" play-off elimination brought no official update and deal still isn't done.
Andrew Muir wasn't at the Shrews away game but his main broker, Gerard Murphy (more of him later) was.
@No.1 in South London reported, after the Shrewsbury defeat, from the training ground that no one in the management or playing staff had any idea of what was happening with the contracts. Kashi had said his good byes, the loanees were all looking elsewhere and Konsa wanted away.
Lee Bowyer thanked the fans for their backing and apologised for the team's failure on the OS. He made it clear that he was unclear on his future but was clear he wanted the managers job but only the managers job, clearly.
@Airman Brown and Richard Cawley from the SLP appeared to be singing from the same hymn sheet, perhaps because, as Airman later hinted, the Aussies have been briefing the press.
Their news was that the "Aussies expect (my emphasis) to complete #cafc takeover in next two to three weeks maximum, depending on timescale for EFL approval." The Sunderland takeover was cited as a reason for the hold up of the Charlton fit and proper test.
It was also reported that the
convictsour antipodean cousins want to re-introduce best practice within the club, including a proper managerial appointment process, and so will be interviewing a range of potential bosses including Bowyer. Also that they will not appoint a manager just because he is Australian, contradicting the rumours of Harry Kewell as as done deal.@jac52 won the 2017/8 Charlton Life Sherlock Holmes award for discovering that a new UK company, Echidna Acquisitions, had been registered by Gerard Murphy on April 30th with the Australian Football Consortium as the shareholder. This would appear to be a vehicle to be used to buy Baton, the company that owns the football club (CAFC Ltd) and the Valley and Sparrows Lane (CAFC Holdings).
Speculation continued that any deal included Duchatelet holding on the the Valley and having contingent payments on player sales. @nth london addick and @Davidsmith re-stated their view that the Aussie "don't have the money" and this was the reason for the delay. The lack of contact with the seven bond holding former directors was given as more evidence that a deal was far from done. Others, namely, @Airman Brown, saw this as less significant as with no leases and no loans against assets, the approval of said directors is not required.
Then this weekend, 19/20 May, there was an avalanche of first hand information from the two main parties. ROT spoke to Duchatelet in Belgium. The Duck Taped one still insisted that there were two parties, British and Australian, involved but said he is selling the whole club including the Valley. He did say he would have kept the Valley but only four of the ex-directors approved this. He is no longer interested in football.
Then @JamesSeed remembered he knew one of the key players in the takeover and arranged a drink with the person who we aren't going to name at Jim's request (although you can work it out if you try).
The detail is on his blog http://jimmyseed.blogspot.co.uk/ but since this is a summary the key points were they hope it will happen this week (commencing today) subject to the EFL. They see it as a long term project and are ambitious for the club to reach the premiership. Delays have been to problems from the Spivs time in charge although they didn't comment about their relationship with RD.
The deal will be for the club, lock, stock and barrel. Roland wants to sell, and isn’t looking to hang on to any assets.
Charlton won't be a nursery club for Australian footballers. If any Australian footballers sign for Charlton it will only be because they are capable of playing at the appropriate level or higher. The target is more potential fans in Oz and the Oz ex-pat community in London.
They have spoken to Bowyer and want to appoint a manager ASAP. SCP also in their sights but Kewell isn't.
They're genuinely looking forward to establishing contact with fans groups like the Museum and Bromley Addicks as well as the Community Trust.
So deal not done but Aussies getting everything in line for when/if it is. WIOTOS.
That's all folks but watch this space.
Watch @AFKABartram rip this off and not credit it : - )