I feel guilty for my vitriol around the last days of vitriol. I've always said I thought Murray worked incredibly hard for the club, just couldn't understand how they'd[directors] risked so much financially of themselves. Always thought it would come to big losses for each and every individual investor. After the collapse they did all to keep Charlton afloat and support the club financially. Now they've all crystalised a lot of their losses for very little money. I hope there is some come back for them if the club turns it around. Can't imagine Mike Ashley or as the Watford directors didn't, working together with investors so decently.
Bravo to them all. It just makes me more impressed that I support such a unique club, with excellent people involved in it's running. I couldn't care what div we're in, it's a bloody rich experience following Charlton.
Just come in and not had time to read the whole thread but my instant raction is that this is fantastic news. I trust RM implicitly because I believe he loves CAFC as muchg as I do. Some will point to recent errors of judgement but how many of us could've handled a club like ours for the last decade without making any - and let's face it, we've had some pretty good moments along the way.
Thanks Richard for everything you've done so far. Let's see if we can all do it again...
Don't get me wrong, I really do like Dicky and applaud him for all the time, effort and money he's contributed to the club in recent times, I definitely do not question his commitment and desires for the club, but there comes a time when one has to question the ability and sanity of the once dependable rock of Charlton...
His once oak-like leadership has appeared to have dissipated into a thin veneer like surface that shows just how bad someone can get things wrong when they don't know what they're doing..
The final straw for me appeared on the OS today where they're asking for an army of Mrs Mopps to go in and clean the seats, FFS, I ask you, is that anyway to run a professional football club..? Not a disaster I know but it surely defines just how bad things are and what kind of state we're really in...
We're in the shit big, big, time and having the main protagonist for our recent rapid decline now in sole charge doesn't give me a sense of relief or a whole lot of hope for the future...
And before you accuse me of jumping on the anti-Dicky bandwagon, have a read of this blog I penned some four years ago, the writing was on the wall then and it hasn't got any better...
I take the comment below by Mr Murray as one of the most important. The term "interim" surely means "temporary". Forget the supermarket man...Zabeel are back people!
"I shall be appointing a new interim board of directors, and we will now go forward and actively seek new investment."
Good news, but we shouldn't automatically assume that it means that PP now has money to spend on transfers or that we'll even get a better class of free signing. My guess is that this will have little impact on the squad. But kudos to Muzzer for once again sticking his hand in his pocket.
Red - The likes of you are all that is bad about blogging and the internet, it gives cretins a voice. I am not gonna waste energy explaining all the good Minty has done our club to the likes of you, you would not listen because you have an agenda. You seem to take any opportunity to pour negativity on our club, I was hoping you are a wind up merchant! But you add a link to your blog as well, why do you think we want to read your blog. Find a stone a crawl underneath it.
[cite]Posted By: BlackForestReds[/cite]Good news, but we shouldn't automatically assume that it means that PP now has money to spend on transfers or that we'll even get a better class of free signing. My guess is that this will have little impact on the squad. But kudos to Muzzer for once again sticking his hand in his pocket.
This was discussed on another thread earlier today. Murray quoted as saying:
"We are looking at two targets up front and we know we need someone who has proven that they can score goals. Phil hasn’t spent any money on signings in his time here but he has done a great job. If we need to pay a small fee to prise one or two people away from their clubs, then we will do that. We’re working as hard as we can within the resources we have.”
So from that we can assume there is some money (but not very much)
I don't think that there is any ready and waiting buyer in the wings. What I do think is that Mr. Murray has spoken with a good many interested parties over the last year or so and has come to realise that unless something drastic happened in the way Charlton are set up that no investment would happen. I think the big man has taken this action because he realised that a streamlined and lean club would without doubt pull back in those previously interested in investing in the club. I can see a very healthy spell for the takeover thread over the coming months.
Bibble , your appreciation is blurred by the fact you're relieved (as we all are), that something unquestionably positive has occured today and consequently feel uncomfortable with Red's reservations. I share his views, especially since he doesn't omit repeating his gratitude to everything we owe RM.
[cite]Posted By: bibble[/cite]Red - The likes of you are all that is bad about blogging and the internet, it gives cretins a voice. I am not gonna waste energy explaining all the good Minty has done our club to the likes of you, you would not listen because you have an agenda. You seem to take any opportunity to pour negativity on our club, I was hoping you are a wind up merchant! But you add a link to your blog as well, why do you think we want to read your blog. Find a stone a crawl underneath it.
Having supported Charlton for 47 years (that's 20 years longer than Murray) I've been called far worse than a cretin, water of a duck's back to me, and having a diferent point of view to yours doesn't make me a cretin any more than it makes you a cretin for disagreeing with me...
In recent years things at Charlton have been so predictable it's untrue, and now, when it's so apparent that we don't have a pot to piss in we put the one man who's pissed most of the money up the wall, in sole charge of the pot, crazy...
And please don't question my agenda for the club, some of my happiest days were spent running around as a mad arsed tearaway during the third division days of the 70's, luvved evey minute of it and I'd still be a Charlton supporter if we were in the Conference, it's in me blood...
Some people need to wake up and smell the coffee...
well done to them all i think.Im sure the outgoing directors have lost a hell of a lot of money and its thanks to them all we still have the club we know.
Id like to say the EGM will be intresting , which it will but the voting wont all the little people a few thousand votes Mr Murray 8 million ish , cant see why or how anyone would say no ?
Some people need to wake up and smell the coffee...[/quote]
I doubt that Murray is investing yet more money and time in the club as a consequence of megalomania but out of necessity.
The club has been up for sale both officially and unofficially for several years and the only sign of half-genuine interest was from Zabeel with rumours that various other parties were interested. The Zabeel thing as we know quickly fell through and despite some vague rumours that has been that.
The details of the takeover by Murray are yet to be fleshed out but it will cut down on boardroom politics and disputes and shorten the decision making process, but I doubt that it means that Murray has partners waiting to come in/fund the club or even to sell out. If that were the case the new partners/owners etc will be unveiled now.
As for the rest of your post your length of service as a supporter is laudable, but ultimately it doesn't confer wisdom or the right to be dismissive of other perspectives. Murray has dug deep into his pockets on several occasions now and has done so when as a club we are at our lowest ebb. I doubt he'll see his full investment returned, even if does exit with a profit that will be several years down the road. In the meantime be grateful that he's taken the plunge and saved us from an uncertain future.
A year ago when he and several other directors invested money in the club it was made clear that we had funding only until the end of last season, since then we've seen several players depart and thankfully at the top end of their values. If they hadn't or went on frees at the end of contracts think how much worse the situation would be. That we've signed to date only freebies and will operate with a reduced squad is an indication of our plight. I wish for all our sakes that we could attract a deep-pocketed investor but until that happens be thankful that Muzzer has guaranteed the immediate future of the club. Now is not the time to question his loyalty, although I wonder about his sanity...
[cite]Posted By: ShootersHillGuru[/cite]I don't think that there is any ready and waiting buyer in the wings. What I do think is that Mr. Murray has spoken with a good many interested parties over the last year or so and has come to realise that unless something drastic happened in the way Charlton are set up that no investment would happen. I think the big man has taken this action because he realised that a streamlined and lean club would without doubt pull back in those previously interested in investing in the club. I can see a very healthy spell for the takeover thread over the coming months.
I make you right, I think that potential buyers may have been put off last summer by our complicated structure (at the time) and now the streamlined approached with one man in control could make doing business with potential investors much easier. It looks like the right way forward and the comment about injecting new money into the team to make them competitive makes me think (hope) that we're on the way to getting back on the right track.
Say we are going up, say we are going up!!!!.....................................................
this Charlton Athletic Ltd 2010 is a tad strange tho ? are we geting ready for adminasration ? dont freak out just trying to work out why this company has just been set up. How about the assets (Valley and training ground) are "sold " to CAFC 2010 allowing the existing club to go into admin ???? that just dosnt seem to swing does it ? so why on earth is there a new CAFC 2010 set up this month ? any ideas?
People make mistakes. There is no way on earth Murray wanted/wants to harm this club. It is unfortunate those mistakes were howlers, but everything is a gamble, especially in the footballing world.
Big money was spent trying to retain, then regain our status. That shows ambition to me, & if the Murray/the board hadn't done it, they would have been lambasted for lacking ambition.
I think it was unfortunate that we had 2 buffoons, who at one point in time, DID actually seem like good options for managing our club, who ended up pissing the money away, on has-beens & gambles. Yes, Murray sanctioned it, but he was naive in giving the 'managers' too much trust/control over the purse strings. The managers would've made their selections, given their valuations, & Murray believed in them.
I find the run of events to be unfortunate, & feel sorry for Murray, truly Charlton, having made the decisions, & having to live by them.
I feel positive that this news is only in the best interests of the club, & that we can make the first, tentative steps forward, on a much more solid footing. C'mon you Reds!
[cite]Posted By: Goonerhater[/cite]this Charlton Athletic Ltd 2010 is a tad strange tho ? are we geting ready for adminasration ? dont freak out just trying to work out why this company has just been set up. How about the assets (Valley and training ground) are "sold " to CAFC 2010 allowing the existing club to go into admin ???? that just dosnt seem to swing does it ? so why on earth is there a new CAFC 2010 set up this month ? any ideas?
Is it possible that CAFC 2010 Limited is the investment vehicle that will be used by investors already lined up by Murray (probably the people who have provided the finance for him to buy out the other members of the board) to takeover the club once the MBO is complete. It would not surprise me if RM is soon appointed as a director of Charlton Athletic 2010. All speculation, you understand. I do not have a clue!
RED IN SE8 I was thinking the same thing.Mr Murray must have the backers waiting in the wings,howelse could you justify taking sole change of the club with little or no money left in the pot.Trust this works out for Mr Murray,only time will tell.
CrayAddick - as RM is now in sole charge I would think 'One Richard Murray, there's only one Richard Murray' would be pretty apt. CAFC legend imo. Wonder if he could be the first chairman to have a testimonial played for him? Do you think Palace would send a side to The Valley for it? ;)
I think this is great news... trimming down on the executive fat... and it looks like an acceptance of a much smaller return on investment, ie BIG loss on the part of the other board members, but perhaps(prob) a bigger chunk of cash than they would have got had there been an external takeover occured...
Rememeber before when the takeover thread started we would screaming for the board members to get out the way etc... this means that they are now out the way, the debt reduced, one person to deal with and a cheaper option, and at the same time raising a small amount of budget for the team... all in all a good days work..
On top of that you have the opposite situation re budget than the last 2 managers, Donkey and Pardick were both welcomed to the club with a nice budget(frickin millions of pounds) presented to them on a silver platter with a red trim. Whereas Parkinson has had to carve out a squad from not a lot of splash and focus on wages anf frees rather than forking out fees, not an easy task when compared to the money that his predecesors had available. So he wil treat this money like gold dust I reckon...
Rememeber Curbs talking about the change when he signed Sir Clive, the turning point the change, the fact they had gone out and brought someone in with money..
(enters dream world, starts thinking about the valley packed, all sides of the stadium singing songs of freedom and....back to slepp..zzzzzzzzzzzz)
Don't do quoting but wanted to comment on RedZed333's horror at the request for " an army of Mrs Mopps " to clean seats.
Wasn't it barely a month ago that we were racking our brains to come up with suggestions for ways that WE , the fans, could help our Club during these difficult times.....?
Why isn't this a valid means of showing our support ? No-one's twisting anyone's arm but don't feel this deserves the derision you're affording it. Maybe it shows that OUR Club does listen to us.
And I'll bet most that take up the request would help anyway, regardless of the carrot dangled of a match ticket or Legends meal. I would.
[cite]Posted By: Fanny Fanackapan[/cite]Don't do quoting but wanted to comment on RedZed333's horror at the request for " an army of Mrs Mopps " to clean seats.
Wasn't it barely a month ago that we were racking our brains to come up with suggestions for ways that WE , the fans, could help our Club during these difficult times.....?
Why isn't this a valid means of showing our support ? No-one's twisting anyone's arm but don't feel this deserves the derision you're affording it. Maybe it shows that OUR Club does listen to us.
And I'll bet most that take up the request would help anyway, regardless of the carrot dangled of a match ticket or Legends meal. I would.
It's not the touting for an army of Mr/Mrs Mopps that bothers me, Fanny, it's the fact that we need to do so in the first place...
There have been so many cutbacks and redundancies in recent weeks in all quarters and at every level we are finally waking up to just what dire straights we're really in, doesn't exactly bode well for the future and is not a very good way to sell the club to potential buyers either, but none of that is my business really, I'm just a supporter...
And whilst Dicky's commitment and hopes for the future are welcomed and echoed by the vast majority, I guess I'm one of the few pragmatists that judge ideals and hopes by the efforts and the rewards/failures it brings and not simply blind faith...
we are where we are and if a free ticket was up for grabs and I was in the country id go and help...
thanks god we had people back in the day that did a lot more that prance around the stadium with a stella in one hand and a cloth in the other ... int eh old days we needed a shovel and some matches...
We know how far weve fallen and hopefully this is the first sign of a slightly brighter future, getting obstacles to more money coming into the club can ONLY be positive and a bit of help from fans is not unfair to ask..
We can all sit here and cry about "its the fact we have to do it" but thats how it is... time to roll your sleeves up...
REDZED if i were a potential investor and i saw that the supporters had turned out to clean the seats and whatever else they felt might help the club out i would be thinking what an incredible fan base the club had and it would encourage me not deter me from investing.
[quote][cite]Posted By: Half Nelson[/cite]REDZED if i were a potential investor and i saw that the supporters had turned out to clean the seats and whatever else they felt might help the club out i would be thinking what an incredible fan base the club had and it would encourage me not deter me from investing.[/quote]
Agreed, and the last big Valley clean up served to galvanise the fans and bring the club and fans much closer together. We've let that unity slip in recent years and this could be an event that restores the unity. I'd be there also if it wasn't so far and I'd do it for free with the greatest of pleasure. I hope we get a huge turn out to show the club, the press and any potential investors just how much CAFC means to us all. We've had a clean sweep in the the boardroom, now let's have a clean sweep of the stadium.Also why limit it to the seats? How about a few fans in each stand staying behind at the end of each game to help sweep up their respective stand? I'll volunteer to be on the roster for January when I hope to be back for a few games.
Comments
Bravo to them all. It just makes me more impressed that I support such a unique club, with excellent people involved in it's running. I couldn't care what div we're in, it's a bloody rich experience following Charlton.
Thanks Richard for everything you've done so far. Let's see if we can all do it again...
His once oak-like leadership has appeared to have dissipated into a thin veneer like surface that shows just how bad someone can get things wrong when they don't know what they're doing..
The final straw for me appeared on the OS today where they're asking for an army of Mrs Mopps to go in and clean the seats, FFS, I ask you, is that anyway to run a professional football club..? Not a disaster I know but it surely defines just how bad things are and what kind of state we're really in...
We're in the shit big, big, time and having the main protagonist for our recent rapid decline now in sole charge doesn't give me a sense of relief or a whole lot of hope for the future...
And before you accuse me of jumping on the anti-Dicky bandwagon, have a read of this blog I penned some four years ago, the writing was on the wall then and it hasn't got any better...
How hard is it to be a Football Chairman...?
"I shall be appointing a new interim board of directors, and we will now go forward and actively seek new investment."
The mans affiliation for Charlton shows no bounds.
This was discussed on another thread earlier today. Murray quoted as saying:
"We are looking at two targets up front and we know we need someone who has proven that they can score goals. Phil hasn’t spent any money on signings in his time here but he has done a great job. If we need to pay a small fee to prise one or two people away from their clubs, then we will do that. We’re working as hard as we can within the resources we have.”
So from that we can assume there is some money (but not very much)
today and consequently feel uncomfortable with Red's reservations. I share his views, especially since he doesn't omit repeating his gratitude
to everything we owe RM.
In recent years things at Charlton have been so predictable it's untrue, and now, when it's so apparent that we don't have a pot to piss in we put the one man who's pissed most of the money up the wall, in sole charge of the pot, crazy...
And please don't question my agenda for the club, some of my happiest days were spent running around as a mad arsed tearaway during the third division days of the 70's, luvved evey minute of it and I'd still be a Charlton supporter if we were in the Conference, it's in me blood...
Some people need to wake up and smell the coffee...
Id like to say the EGM will be intresting , which it will but the voting wont all the little people a few thousand votes Mr Murray 8 million ish , cant see why or how anyone would say no ?
I doubt that Murray is investing yet more money and time in the club as a consequence of megalomania but out of necessity.
The club has been up for sale both officially and unofficially for several years and the only sign of half-genuine interest was from Zabeel with rumours that various other parties were interested. The Zabeel thing as we know quickly fell through and despite some vague rumours that has been that.
The details of the takeover by Murray are yet to be fleshed out but it will cut down on boardroom politics and disputes and shorten the decision making process, but I doubt that it means that Murray has partners waiting to come in/fund the club or even to sell out. If that were the case the new partners/owners etc will be unveiled now.
As for the rest of your post your length of service as a supporter is laudable, but ultimately it doesn't confer wisdom or the right to be dismissive of other perspectives. Murray has dug deep into his pockets on several occasions now and has done so when as a club we are at our lowest ebb. I doubt he'll see his full investment returned, even if does exit with a profit that will be several years down the road. In the meantime be grateful that he's taken the plunge and saved us from an uncertain future.
A year ago when he and several other directors invested money in the club it was made clear that we had funding only until the end of last season, since then we've seen several players depart and thankfully at the top end of their values. If they hadn't or went on frees at the end of contracts think how much worse the situation would be. That we've signed to date only freebies and will operate with a reduced squad is an indication of our plight. I wish for all our sakes that we could attract a deep-pocketed investor but until that happens be thankful that Muzzer has guaranteed the immediate future of the club. Now is not the time to question his loyalty, although I wonder about his sanity...
Say we are going up, say we are going up!!!!.....................................................
It is unfortunate those mistakes were howlers, but everything is a gamble, especially in the footballing world.
Big money was spent trying to retain, then regain our status. That shows ambition to me, & if the Murray/the board hadn't done it, they would have been lambasted for lacking ambition.
I think it was unfortunate that we had 2 buffoons, who at one point in time, DID actually seem like good options for managing our club, who ended up pissing the money away, on has-beens & gambles. Yes, Murray sanctioned it, but he was naive in giving the 'managers' too much trust/control over the purse strings. The managers would've made their selections, given their valuations, & Murray believed in them.
I find the run of events to be unfortunate, & feel sorry for Murray, truly Charlton, having made the decisions, & having to live by them.
I feel positive that this news is only in the best interests of the club, & that we can make the first, tentative steps forward, on a much more solid footing. C'mon you Reds!
Is it possible that CAFC 2010 Limited is the investment vehicle that will be used by investors already lined up by Murray (probably the people who have provided the finance for him to buy out the other members of the board) to takeover the club once the MBO is complete. It would not surprise me if RM is soon appointed as a director of Charlton Athletic 2010. All speculation, you understand. I do not have a clue!
I was thinking the same thing.Mr Murray must have the backers waiting in the wings,howelse could you justify taking sole change of the club with little or no money left in the pot.Trust this works out for Mr Murray,only time will tell.
CAFC legend imo.
Wonder if he could be the first chairman to have a testimonial played for him? Do you think Palace would send a side to The Valley for it? ;)
Rememeber before when the takeover thread started we would screaming for the board members to get out the way etc... this means that they are now out the way, the debt reduced, one person to deal with and a cheaper option, and at the same time raising a small amount of budget for the team... all in all a good days work..
On top of that you have the opposite situation re budget than the last 2 managers, Donkey and Pardick were both welcomed to the club with a nice budget(frickin millions of pounds) presented to them on a silver platter with a red trim. Whereas Parkinson has had to carve out a squad from not a lot of splash and focus on wages anf frees rather than forking out fees, not an easy task when compared to the money that his predecesors had available. So he wil treat this money like gold dust I reckon...
Rememeber Curbs talking about the change when he signed Sir Clive, the turning point the change, the fact they had gone out and brought someone in with money..
(enters dream world, starts thinking about the valley packed, all sides of the stadium singing songs of freedom and....back to slepp..zzzzzzzzzzzz)
Wasn't it barely a month ago that we were racking our brains to come up with suggestions for ways that WE , the fans, could help our Club during these difficult times.....?
Why isn't this a valid means of showing our support ? No-one's twisting anyone's arm but don't feel this deserves the derision you're affording it. Maybe it shows that OUR Club does listen to us.
And I'll bet most that take up the request would help anyway, regardless of the carrot dangled of a match ticket or Legends meal. I would.
There have been so many cutbacks and redundancies in recent weeks in all quarters and at every level we are finally waking up to just what dire straights we're really in, doesn't exactly bode well for the future and is not a very good way to sell the club to potential buyers either, but none of that is my business really, I'm just a supporter...
And whilst Dicky's commitment and hopes for the future are welcomed and echoed by the vast majority, I guess I'm one of the few pragmatists that judge ideals and hopes by the efforts and the rewards/failures it brings and not simply blind faith...
we are where we are and if a free ticket was up for grabs and I was in the country id go and help...
thanks god we had people back in the day that did a lot more that prance around the stadium with a stella in one hand and a cloth in the other ... int eh old days we needed a shovel and some matches...
We know how far weve fallen and hopefully this is the first sign of a slightly brighter future, getting obstacles to more money coming into the club can ONLY be positive and a bit of help from fans is not unfair to ask..
We can all sit here and cry about "its the fact we have to do it" but thats how it is... time to roll your sleeves up...
Agreed, and the last big Valley clean up served to galvanise the fans and bring the club and fans much closer together. We've let that unity slip in recent years and this could be an event that restores the unity. I'd be there also if it wasn't so far and I'd do it for free with the greatest of pleasure. I hope we get a huge turn out to show the club, the press and any potential investors just how much CAFC means to us all.
We've had a clean sweep in the the boardroom, now let's have a clean sweep of the stadium.Also why limit it to the seats? How about a few fans in each stand staying behind at the end of each game to help sweep up their respective stand? I'll volunteer to be on the roster for January when I hope to be back for a few games.