Personally as of today I would be happy to start and end the season with the current manager, the current squad and finish 21st. However, that isn't living within our means, it will require funding.
As cryptic as ever.
Agree! Airman Brown if you know something I suggest you come out with it otherwise stop feeding the paranoia which has manifested itself on CL over the past few weeks. It's not particularly helpful and could in fact be quite destructive.
I'd be more worried about our club if we were signing loan players from the prem on £10k a week.
I think we are all underestimating the strength of our current squad. We my have had a few better individual players during our two years in the championship but I feel we currently have a stronger squad overall currently than in either of those years. My view is that if we added 3-4 quality players to this group we would make the top 6.
Looking at the teams in this division probably every team has a "star" player that is better in his position than what we have but generally I think there are probably only 8-10 squads stronger currently than ours. The majority of these 8-10 all have issues. All three demoted teams are in this group and are all weakening their squads as they try and shed costs or deal with player expectations. Then you have the group that finished in and around the play offs last season. These have either ownership issues (Birmingham, Cardiff), or budget issues (Borough, Hull). Leicester seem to have waken up to the financial reality of the division they are in, which leaves Blackpool who I think will have a good year.
The championship last season from positions 10 to 21 were Brighton, Watford, Derby, Burnley, Leeds, Ipswich, Millwall, Palace, Peterborough, Forest, Bristol City and Barnsley. With our current squad I can see us nestling near the top of this mini group i.e. comfortably in mid table.
Shudders and the Massive are both strengthening, but they are playing catchup on us in any case.
We are right to be concerned about ownership issues and potential infighting at board level and I'm as frustrated as the next fan that we've not added to our squad. But what I think is being underplayed is the fact that we've not lost any of the "dream team" i.e. those that played 30+ games for us last season. A lot of teams that are active in the market in our division are largely active in order to replace first team regulars from last season. We can all point to areas of our team that could do with strengthening, but from our dream team are there many, if any, that will be found majorly wanting in this division? I suppose only time will tell )
A lot of sense is expressed here. If the club is in financial difficulty once again, if the 'directors' are merely a bunch of money grabbing and persuing mercenaries, so what ? ... So long as the TEAM management and players can do the business and we survive this season .. that is the main issue. All the CL fans and posters weeping, wailing and speculating aint gonna alter a thing.
It is all a bit cryptic but I think people are saying that we won't break even in Div 2, so will need external funding, and it is not clear where that will come from.
Airman works for the club dude, he will only give us what he can and we are grateful - when will people get that..?
Yes I realize that thanks. What I am trying to say is that unless he knows something concrete maybe its best he doesn't say anything. Posting ambiguous messages here on CL really isn't helping the situation is it?
Not sure what more you need Rick to say. He's said it as have others.
There is a problem. A serious problem.
Promised funding isn't going to arrive. Unless other sources of funding, which can only be new backers or selling and not replacing players, we will struggle to complete the season.
Not compete, complete.
Not just no new players but sell some of the current squad.
And if neither can raise enough money then its Admin
That's what read from what Rick/Airman is saying (and he can tell me if I've got it wrong) and what the Famous five have been getting at for a couple of weeks.
So basically were making a loss, we have had extra funds which are purely short term fixes to a potential long term problem, but at the same time we need to strenghten our position in the championship which will require more money, so we either sit tight and hope for extra backing from somewhere, or we spend what we don't have and hope we get in a stronger position before our finances collapse around us.
Personally as of today I would be happy to start and end the season with the current manager, the current squad and finish 21st. However, that isn't living within our means, it will require funding.
Seems to me that the funding will have to come from selling whatever we can, for whatever we can get. 'Slash and burn' spending in all areas to decrease costs. Hope for an extension from creditors, and thereby stave off administration.
I was using Wayne Bridge as an example, i know we do not need full backs. My point is we need 3-4 players of his quality, someone up front and two additions in midfield would be good. From what i hear Brighton have Bridge on a deal that means they pay 10k a week of his 100k a week salary, so that is not doing a Portsmouth is it, it is doing a good piece of business and that is what we need to do..........a good piece of business......... and soon
The development of CAFC as an educational institution could be the club's salvation. I can easily see that in within a very short time span, professional sporting clubs will take on Educational Academy / Public School type status with parents paying big fees to send their offspring to get not just a sporting but a good all round education along the lines of Millfield and many major US colleges. The 'graduates' from such institutions will be in demand not just as sportsmen/women but within industry and commerce generally. The old 'empirical' notion that the disciplines learnt in sport are invaluable in all walks of life remains as true now as it ever was.
Yet we're still investing in the academy and bringing in Prothero it all doesn't add up for me.
The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton:
Whilst I'm not a regular poster on here, I am a regular visitor and as with many on here I am very confused. What is posted on here by bonafide, knowledgable and well respected posters should not be sneered at or dismissed but I don't necessarily get the 'cryptic' messages. It is apparent that certain posters are employed in some means by the club and their identity is known so why don't they just tell it exactly as it is without causing confusion? I may be wide of the mark and this post is not intended to offend or provoke but is it possible that somebody 'in the know' just spells it out loud and clear for the rest of us?
Not sure what more you need Rick to say. He's said it as have others.
There is a problem. A serious problem.
Promised funding isn't going to arrive. Unless other sources of funding, which can only be new backers or selling and not replacing players, we will struggle to complete the season.
Not compete, complete.
Not just no new players but sell some of the current squad.
And if neither can raise enough money then its Admin
That's what read from what Rick/Airman is saying (and he can tell me if I've got it wrong) and what the Famous five have been getting at for a couple of weeks.
Things have changed since last monday evening then, from reading the above. Life is never simple when it comes to Charlton Athletic Football Club.
Not sure what more you need Rick to say. He's said it as have others.
There is a problem. A serious problem.
Promised funding isn't going to arrive. Unless other sources of funding, which can only be new backers or selling and not replacing players, we will struggle to complete the season.
Not compete, complete.
Not just no new players but sell some of the current squad.
And if neither can raise enough money then its Admin
That's what read from what Rick/Airman is saying (and he can tell me if I've got it wrong) and what the Famous five have been getting at for a couple of weeks.
Sorry but "Famous five" or not this is basically (admittedly unintentional) scare mongering . Please tell me why any of us should believe that any of the points you mentioned above have any degree of truth to it?
Whilst I'm not a regular poster on here, I am a regular visitor and as with many on here I am very confused. What is posted on here by bonafide, knowledgable and well respected posters should not be sneered at or dismissed but I don't necessarily get the 'cryptic' messages. It is apparent that certain posters are employed in some means by the club and their identity is known so why don't they just tell it exactly as it is without causing confusion? I may be wide of the mark and this post is not intended to offend or provoke but is it possible that somebody 'in the know' just spells it out loud and clear for the rest of us?
This is exactly what I was getting at. Would the "Famous five" who apparently have connections with the club please spell out loud and clear for the rest of us mortals exactly what the hell is happening instead of fueling the CL fire (so to speak) with all these cryptic messages.
Personally as of today I would be happy to start and end the season with the current manager, the current squad and finish 21st. However, that isn't living within our means, it will require funding.
Thats interesting I (and probably everyone else on here) assumed TJ was "playing championship manager" by blocking CPs transfer targets and pursuing his own. I hadn't considered he might be trying to balance the budget by touting our current team around.
Pure guesswork but its unlikely that the "mysterons" +TJ & MS are a cohesive group. If the club require more funding, then you would assume they would all have to fund their own share. Perhaps TJ has funding issues (he's struggling to fund Lepe) and can't front up his share of the cash. I think from memory he has a 30+% stake which means he can block a fair amount at board level particularly if one or two of the other 9%'rs are getting cold feet.
If all that is going on at the moment is some hard nosed negotiating re the split of the shares in the business then its frustrating whilst this lasts, but hopefully not damaging. If we shed a few of last seasons dream team by transfer deadline day then that would be a huge worry. We'd be back to the days of selling at the wrong time and for the wrong (football) reasons and all of the good feeling surrounding the club in the last 12 months would be gone in an instant.
Pretty much everyone on here is more in the know than I am, but the communication last year (i.e. 5 year plan, we don't have to go up this season but we do need to progress etc) isn't being backed up by the concerns expressed at the moment. I understand we may not be in a break even position in this division but surely we are in a better financial position than we would have been if we'd stayed down.
Seriously - the mood amongst the people in the know changes daily on here . One day it's hope the next we are doomed. You can see why people are confused .
I'd like to know if we are paying interest to our creditors as was the deal with restructure that made us a viable club (in the championship) are there any other outstanding debts, and if they were gone by whatever route would the club be viable in the champs or below?
I'd much rather have Wiggins than Bridge- sometimes people always covert what their neighbour has and doesn't appreciate what they have. Time to worry when we start shedding any of our current stars....but that hasn't happened yet!
I was using Wayne Bridge as an example, i know we do not need full backs. My point is we need 3-4 players of his quality, someone up front and two additions in midfield would be good. From what i hear Brighton have Bridge on a deal that means they pay 10k a week of his 100k a week salary, so that is not doing a Portsmouth is it, it is doing a good piece of business and that is what we need to do..........a good piece of business......... and soon
I think the likes of Wayne Bridge, or any other fast fading 'star', are the last type of player we need.
He hasn't a good season for years and hasn't made much of an impact in his recent loan spells, albeit in the Premier League.
You could also upset the balance of what seems to have been a very together squad last year by bringing in someone who will still be earning a lot more than the rest of them.
Given this current financial situation, if we have to manage this season with the squad that finished the last one then so be it.
What is there to say if they sat down with the mysterious funder with the 5 year plan taking into account all the out goings incomings , failure to get promoted last season etc.And it came to X amount and the funder gave them all of the X amount to fund the club only to then realise it wasn't funding the club but other things ?.That to me would be the one of the reasons if I was a backer that would make me withdraw my funding .Just throwing another thing into the ring ,I don't know rather worrying really
"This is exactly what I was getting at. Would the "Famous five" who apparently have connections with the club please spell out loud and clear for the rest of us mortals exactly what the hell is happening instead of fueling the CL fire (so to speak) with all these cryptic messages".
What part of the phrase "employee of the club" do you not understand? He would probably be in breach of his contract if he said any more.
As for whether you should believe people, well, let me just tell you why you should believe Rick Everitt:
1. No fan has committed more energy, with spectacularly successful results, to CAFC than Rick. Just as an example I can tell you that if hadn't been for Rick I'd have given up at Selhurst. So there might have been a Valley Party, but no ad campaign. And a similar story is probably true for many other people here who are tarnished with the phrase "respected poster"
2. As he pointed out to one Bangkok Dave in another thread, he's worked with Richard Murray for 21 years. He knows what a successfully run club looks like, and the other kind.
3. Stop and ask yourself this: In the last eighteen months since the new board were installed, were these kind of warnings around? No, they were not. And don't say that it was because of success on the field. That's also true of the period when SCP couldn't buy a win. So why now? What on earth would be the motivation of Airman Brown or anyone else to start talking about financial issues now? its not as if he has the money for a boardroom coup.
Having said all that, I will concede one thing. An employee of a business sees things from a certain end of the business. Often things look black, but then moves are made further up which resolve things. Maybe it will be the case this time. I bloody hope so.
Not sure what more you need Rick to say. He's said it as have others.
There is a problem. A serious problem.
Promised funding isn't going to arrive. Unless other sources of funding, which can only be new backers or selling and not replacing players, we will struggle to complete the season.
Not compete, complete.
Not just no new players but sell some of the current squad.
And if neither can raise enough money then its Admin
That's what read from what Rick/Airman is saying (and he can tell me if I've got it wrong) and what the Famous five have been getting at for a couple of weeks.
Perhaps then, instead of having to sell a player or two, or not bring in a couple, we should trim the non-playing staff down !! The Calisle boos made an very intersting point last season, mentioning the number of "hangers-on" taht we employ - and I have to agree with him. Any given Saturday, at around 2.30pm, you will find our manager, our assistant manager, our goalkeeping coach, our fitness coach & our physio, all standing around putting the players through their paces. Now, we have also added someone to specifically train our U21's and he has brough in at lesat 1 other person to help him !! I say, get rid of at least 4 of those & spend the money on a player or two !!!!!
Not sure what more you need Rick to say. He's said it as have others.
There is a problem. A serious problem.
Promised funding isn't going to arrive. Unless other sources of funding, which can only be new backers or selling and not replacing players, we will struggle to complete the season.
Not compete, complete.
Not just no new players but sell some of the current squad.
And if neither can raise enough money then its Admin
That's what read from what Rick/Airman is saying (and he can tell me if I've got it wrong) and what the Famous five have been getting at for a couple of weeks.
Perhaps then, instead of having to sell a player or two, or not bring in a couple, we should trim the non-playing staff down !! The Calisle boos made an very intersting point last season, mentioning the number of "hangers-on" taht we employ - and I have to agree with him. Any given Saturday, at around 2.30pm, you will find our manager, our assistant manager, our goalkeeping coach, our fitness coach & our physio, all standing around putting the players through their paces. Now, we have also added someone to specifically train our U21's and he has brough in at lesat 1 other person to help him !! I say, get rid of at least 4 of those & spend the money on a player or two !!!!!
Yeah, let's sack the kit man too. He's probably on £50,000 a week and the lads could wash their own kit.
Just joining in with the joke. It was a joke, wasn't it?
Ok then maybe its best if this "employee of the club" says nothing from now on and leaves the board to get on with it. If something serious is around the corner we will all hear about it soon enough.
Comments
A lot of sense is expressed here. If the club is in financial difficulty once again, if the 'directors' are merely a bunch of money grabbing and persuing mercenaries, so what ? ... So long as the TEAM management and players can do the business and we survive this season .. that is the main issue. All the CL fans and posters weeping, wailing and speculating aint gonna alter a thing.
Is that it, those in the know?
Happy to be proved wrong of course. :-)
There is a problem. A serious problem.
Promised funding isn't going to arrive. Unless other sources of funding, which can only be new backers or selling and not replacing players, we will struggle to complete the season.
Not compete, complete.
Not just no new players but sell some of the current squad.
And if neither can raise enough money then its Admin
That's what read from what Rick/Airman is saying (and he can tell me if I've got it wrong) and what the Famous five have been getting at for a couple of weeks.
Right or not?
'Slash and burn' spending in all areas to decrease costs.
Hope for an extension from creditors, and thereby stave off administration.
My point is we need 3-4 players of his quality, someone up front and two additions in midfield would be good. From what i hear Brighton have Bridge on a deal that means they pay 10k a week of his 100k a week salary, so that is not doing a Portsmouth is it, it is doing a good piece of business and that is what we need to do..........a good piece of business......... and soon
The development of CAFC as an educational institution could be the club's salvation. I can easily see that in within a very short time span, professional sporting clubs will take on Educational Academy / Public School type status with parents paying big fees to send their offspring to get not just a sporting but a good all round education along the lines of Millfield and many major US colleges. The 'graduates' from such institutions will be in demand not just as sportsmen/women but within industry and commerce generally. The old 'empirical' notion that the disciplines learnt in sport are invaluable in all walks of life remains as true now as it ever was.
Yet we're still investing in the academy and bringing in Prothero it all doesn't add up for me.
The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton:
I may be wide of the mark and this post is not intended to offend or provoke but is it possible that somebody 'in the know' just spells it out loud and clear for the rest of us?
Pure guesswork but its unlikely that the "mysterons" +TJ & MS are a cohesive group. If the club require more funding, then you would assume they would all have to fund their own share. Perhaps TJ has funding issues (he's struggling to fund Lepe) and can't front up his share of the cash. I think from memory he has a 30+% stake which means he can block a fair amount at board level particularly if one or two of the other 9%'rs are getting cold feet.
If all that is going on at the moment is some hard nosed negotiating re the split of the shares in the business then its frustrating whilst this lasts, but hopefully not damaging. If we shed a few of last seasons dream team by transfer deadline day then that would be a huge worry. We'd be back to the days of selling at the wrong time and for the wrong (football) reasons and all of the good feeling surrounding the club in the last 12 months would be gone in an instant.
Pretty much everyone on here is more in the know than I am, but the communication last year (i.e. 5 year plan, we don't have to go up this season but we do need to progress etc) isn't being backed up by the concerns expressed at the moment. I understand we may not be in a break even position in this division but surely we are in a better financial position than we would have been if we'd stayed down.
He hasn't a good season for years and hasn't made much of an impact in his recent loan spells, albeit in the Premier League.
You could also upset the balance of what seems to have been a very together squad last year by bringing in someone who will still be earning a lot more than the rest of them.
Given this current financial situation, if we have to manage this season with the squad that finished the last one then so be it.
"This is exactly what I was getting at. Would the "Famous five" who apparently have connections with the club please spell out loud and clear for the rest of us mortals exactly what the hell is happening instead of fueling the CL fire (so to speak) with all these cryptic messages".
What part of the phrase "employee of the club" do you not understand? He would probably be in breach of his contract if he said any more.
As for whether you should believe people, well, let me just tell you why you should believe Rick Everitt:
1. No fan has committed more energy, with spectacularly successful results, to CAFC than Rick. Just as an example I can tell you that if hadn't been for Rick I'd have given up at Selhurst. So there might have been a Valley Party, but no ad campaign. And a similar story is probably true for many other people here who are tarnished with the phrase "respected poster"
2. As he pointed out to one Bangkok Dave in another thread, he's worked with Richard Murray for 21 years. He knows what a successfully run club looks like, and the other kind.
3. Stop and ask yourself this: In the last eighteen months since the new board were installed, were these kind of warnings around? No, they were not. And don't say that it was because of success on the field. That's also true of the period when SCP couldn't buy a win. So why now? What on earth would be the motivation of Airman Brown or anyone else to start talking about financial issues now? its not as if he has the money for a boardroom coup.
Having said all that, I will concede one thing. An employee of a business sees things from a certain end of the business. Often things look black, but then moves are made further up which resolve things. Maybe it will be the case this time. I bloody hope so.
Just joining in with the joke. It was a joke, wasn't it?