The land that The Valley sits on is not worth anywhere near £100m, even after redevelopment. This argument has been done to death.
How much land is there? What could be built on it? With rising house prices and close proximity to the station, it wouldn't take much to get £100m sales, which would equate to c. £25-30m land value?
The land that The Valley sits on is not worth anywhere near £100m, even after redevelopment. This argument has been done to death.
How much land is there? What could be built on it? With rising house prices and close proximity to the station, it wouldn't take much to get £100m sales, which would equate to c. £25-30m land value?
Say you purchased the land for £30m and then demolished The Valley at a cost of £3m, you would need to build approx. 200-300 apartments and sell them to get anywhere near £100m. Now factor in the cost of building that amount of apartments, in a heavy residential area and it doesn't look attractive.
Not saying it couldn't happen, but there are much better and cheaper plots of land out there, with just as good transport links that need less work to build on.
The club still has to find somewhere else to play. Unless they're planning a groundshare at the rust bucket, the cost of land/construction is going to dwarf any profits. As I said before, the only alternative would be for someone else to fund a new stadium, which would demand multiple parties and a complex business case - but this country is littered with clubs suffering the cost of separating themselves from the ownership of their ground.
And more to the point, if you can make money by constructing on cheaper land, isn't that where the developers will go?
Nigel has a Wikipedia entry for those who want to know who he is. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy away from the forums, but for such an experienced journalist and eloquent writer I don't get why he persists with a reductive and often poorly reasoned forum debating style when he could engage far more deeply with those with whom he disagrees. Seems more obsessed with condescension and dismissal than debate, frankly. He's pro-regime, anti-CARD, anti-Trust, anti-CL and anti just about any individual that puts their head above the parapet.
Wow, just had a quick look at his relatively short Wiki entry and the mind just boggles quite frankly. How anyone who, on the surface, appears to be an intellectual individual with a UCL entry on his CV, can claim to support this regime is utterly beyond me and beyond any sense of comprehension and reality.
So, we have an owner who thinks that football is just a social event and that fans are stupid; who hires and fires with whimsical ineptitude; who appoints a talentless scout who is just out of nappies; who sends third rate players to the club and demands they are played; who sends emails to managers giving them his knowledge and wisdom on tactics; who appoints a CEO based purely on personal ties and allegences despite her total lack of expertise in the field; who doesn't even bother to attend the business that he owns and who has never graced the paying fan customer with the decency of articulating his business plan for the club!!
This is clearly a perfect example of how someone can attain any level of academia or qualification through study at an esteemed institute, but when it came to good old common sense and reality, was obviously missing in action when such was handed out!
Yes, I get it! They ploughed millions into the club, got us a carpet for a pitch and saved us from administration, blah, blah poksy blah! I get it!! Look where it's got us though and look at the morose state of the place at the moment, as upheld by many an esteemed journalist and pundit!
Tell you what, I'd have taken administration and a points deduction that would have put us into League One anyway!! Someone better than this circus would have come in, I am convinced of that.
Mr Williamson, would you like cream with that Belgian Waffle sir?
Nigel Williamson (aka IncorruptibleAddick) has replied on the Sunday Times' site to Liddle's article as follows:-
I've supported Charlton since 1966 and most supporters do not recognise this description of "the apparent destruction of this once great club".
The "worry" over the future of "Charlton’s beautiful and historic ground" is a figment of Mr Liddle's imagination. Does it have anything to do with the fact that he's a supporter of Millwall, a club that not so long ago sold its own "historic ground" and moved to a new site? Mr Liddle's team visit The Valley in 14 days time. He will be made welcome but he will see a very different and far more positive picture than the one he so luridly paints here.
For the record, the ground celebrates its centenary as Charlton Athletic's home in 2019 and plans are already well advanced for the club to mark the anniversary with a series of commemorative events. Two years after that in 2021, Charlton will still be at the Valley to celebrate another significant anniversary - the centenary of the club's admission to the Football League. Far from the club being "in the hands of people who have no sense of the community history", it is exactly that community history which the programme of anniversary events currently will honour and celebrate.
It's actually an exciting time to be a Charlton supporter and the vast majority are sick to death of the futile and self-destructive protests by a small group of militant agitators. The owner has pumped millions into the club, which was facing the prospect of administration when he rescued it. The club has just appointed an inspirational young manager, the team sits six points off a play-off place and two new signings were in place before the January transfer window had even opened.
Mr Liddle's close interest in his own club's oldest rival is appreciated. But the narrative he tries to present here is just plain wrong.
What a wanker
I was going to write a long and articulate response then saw this and thought yep enough said
We are in the business of playing football, a decent playing surface, capable of a British winter I am afraid is a basic requirement as expected by the football league. Something that seemed to escape the financial reality of the previous regime, who expected poor old Paddy, to create an annual miracle with a hand full of grass seeds. Yes he did ask for that to be addressed, the reality it was not. As it happens I overheard the call to the SMT individual after the fiasco of those water logged games and the league were not happy at all at the situation. It seemed pretty obvious that either a hefty fine and league points might well have been the consequences if the pitch issue had not been addressed. I think that RD had little choice than to invest in the pitch, and he did. Why he did not in his due diligence* I am afraid is his concern?. (*a comprehensive appraisal of a business undertaken by a prospective buyer, especially to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential.) Although I felt RD had the shit end of the stick at the time, there does seem to be a certain pay back there.
Nigel has a Wikipedia entry for those who want to know who he is. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy away from the forums, but for such an experienced journalist and eloquent writer I don't get why he persists with a reductive and often poorly reasoned forum debating style when he could engage far more deeply with those with whom he disagrees. Seems more obsessed with condescension and dismissal than debate, frankly. He's pro-regime, anti-CARD, anti-Trust, anti-CL and anti just about any individual that puts their head above the parapet.
Wow, just had a quick look at his relatively short Wiki entry and the mind just boggles quite frankly. How anyone who, on the surface, appears to be an intellectual individual with a UCL entry on his CV, can claim to support this regime is utterly beyond me and beyond any sense of comprehension and reality.
So, we have an owner who thinks that football is just a social event and that fans are stupid; who hires and fires with whimsical ineptitude; who appoints a talentless scout who is just out of nappies; who sends third rate players to the club and demands they are played; who sends emails to managers giving them his knowledge and wisdom on tactics; who appoints a CEO based purely on personal ties and allegences despite her total lack of expertise in the field; who doesn't even bother to attend the business that he owns and who has never graced the paying fan customer with the decency of articulating his business plan for the club!!
This is clearly a perfect example of how someone can attain any level of academia or qualification through study at an esteemed institute, but when it came to good old common sense and reality, was obviously missing in action when such was handed out!
Yes, I get it! They ploughed millions into the club, got us a carpet for a pitch and saved us from administration, blah, blah poksy blah! I get it!! Look where it's got us though and look at the morose state of the place at the moment, as upheld by many an esteemed journalist and pundit!
Tell you what, I'd have taken administration and a points deduction that would have put us into League One anyway!! Someone better than this circus would have come in, I am convinced of that.
Mr Williamson, would you like cream with that Belgian Waffle sir?
The individual writes his nonsense as a deliberate wind up behind a keyboard. He would never meet someone and spout it without being laughed at/or floored.
Nigel has a Wikipedia entry for those who want to know who he is. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy away from the forums, but for such an experienced journalist and eloquent writer I don't get why he persists with a reductive and often poorly reasoned forum debating style when he could engage far more deeply with those with whom he disagrees. Seems more obsessed with condescension and dismissal than debate, frankly. He's pro-regime, anti-CARD, anti-Trust, anti-CL and anti just about any individual that puts their head above the parapet.
Wow, just had a quick look at his relatively short Wiki entry and the mind just boggles quite frankly. How anyone who, on the surface, appears to be an intellectual individual with a UCL entry on his CV, can claim to support this regime is utterly beyond me and beyond any sense of comprehension and reality.
So, we have an owner who thinks that football is just a social event and that fans are stupid; who hires and fires with whimsical ineptitude; who appoints a talentless scout who is just out of nappies; who sends third rate players to the club and demands they are played; who sends emails to managers giving them his knowledge and wisdom on tactics; who appoints a CEO based purely on personal ties and allegences despite her total lack of expertise in the field; who doesn't even bother to attend the business that he owns and who has never graced the paying fan customer with the decency of articulating his business plan for the club!!
This is clearly a perfect example of how someone can attain any level of academia or qualification through study at an esteemed institute, but when it came to good old common sense and reality, was obviously missing in action when such was handed out!
Yes, I get it! They ploughed millions into the club, got us a carpet for a pitch and saved us from administration, blah, blah poksy blah! I get it!! Look where it's got us though and look at the morose state of the place at the moment, as upheld by many an esteemed journalist and pundit!
Tell you what, I'd have taken administration and a points deduction that would have put us into League One anyway!! Someone better than this circus would have come in, I am convinced of that.
Mr Williamson, would you like cream with that Belgian Waffle sir?
The individual writes his nonsense as a deliberate wind up behind a keyboard. He would never meet someone and spout it without being laughed at/or floored.
I understand he's only been to four games this season albeit for various personal reasons. For someone keen to put Mr Liddle straight on a few things he conveniently omitted that information in his response to the article
He is clearly in love with himself as he is far more intellectual than anyone else he knows. He deserves to be on QI and Question time all by himself at the same time. I would argue against anyone who dares say that he is a self-important smart-arse who patronises and insults anyone who dare have an opposing view and I am also certain that he does not have a tiny knob!
Comments
Not saying it couldn't happen, but there are much better and cheaper plots of land out there, with just as good transport links that need less work to build on.
And more to the point, if you can make money by constructing on cheaper land, isn't that where the developers will go?
So, we have an owner who thinks that football is just a social event and that fans are stupid; who hires and fires with whimsical ineptitude; who appoints a talentless scout who is just out of nappies; who sends third rate players to the club and demands they are played; who sends emails to managers giving them his knowledge and wisdom on tactics; who appoints a CEO based purely on personal ties and allegences despite her total lack of expertise in the field; who doesn't even bother to attend the business that he owns and who has never graced the paying
fancustomer with the decency of articulating his business plan for the club!!This is clearly a perfect example of how someone can attain any level of academia or qualification through study at an esteemed institute, but when it came to good old common sense and reality, was obviously missing in action when such was handed out!
Yes, I get it! They ploughed millions into the club, got us a carpet for a pitch and saved us from administration, blah, blah poksy blah! I get it!! Look where it's got us though and look at the morose state of the place at the moment, as upheld by many an esteemed journalist and pundit!
Tell you what, I'd have taken administration and a points deduction that would have put us into League One anyway!! Someone better than this circus would have come in, I am convinced of that.
Mr Williamson, would you like cream with that Belgian Waffle sir?
So gave up and thought my agreement with this post would do for now.
As it happens I overheard the call to the SMT individual after the fiasco of those water logged games and the league were not happy at all at the situation. It seemed pretty obvious that either a hefty fine and league points might well have been the consequences if the pitch issue had not been addressed. I think that RD had little choice than to invest in the pitch, and he did. Why he did not in his due diligence* I am afraid is his concern?.
(*a comprehensive appraisal of a business undertaken by a prospective buyer, especially to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential.)
Although I felt RD had the shit end of the stick at the time, there does seem to be a certain pay back there.