Charlton Athletic are to announce the shock closure of their women's team.
The club's entire women's section - senior teams, academy and centre of excellence - are to be scrapped.
The decision is part of drastic cost-cutting measures being carried out following the club's relegation from the men's Premier League last season.
Women's team manager Keith Boanas confirmed to BBC Sport: "All the staff involved in the women's set-up have had their employment terminated."
An official club statement is to be made next week but on Friday, Charlton chief executive Peter Varney released a statement outlining a "significant level of cuts" at The Valley.
Comments
Women's football is crap to watch, it will never be a decent sport, they must have been costing the club money that they weren't recouping and, to be honest, I would rather they got shot of them than us carry on funding something which is doomed to failure anyway. Obviously pretty grim for the players, but to start saying 'we're the only ones who have won trophies in the past few seasons' is, frankly, a ludicrous argument. Those trophies were worth no more than something my Sunday team would have won.
Be honest - when was the last time anyone on here mentioned the women's team - other than taking the piss?
Savings obviously have to be made, and this sort of thing brings home the reality of relegation and the effect it has on people other than our 'superstar' players, many of whom will be retaining their Premiership wage packets.
Alongside Arsenal Charlton has the highest profile in the ladies game.
Madness. Marcus Bent probably earns more in a week than the cost of the women for a year. Make him redundant!!
Not that committed, obviously.
Oh the irony.
(what's the odds on the Tango one "rescuing" them to bring them back home to Croydon?)
The fact is running a ladies team drains our club of cash, over £100k plus every year, with no real return other than a bit of a PR exercise. The men's side is the sole focal point of our club, its what 20k+ people pay there money on. The vast majority of those paying supporters have zero interest in the women's side.
In business terms, our set up is having to be streamlined. By axing the womens team we will probably keep in a necessary job 8-10 other club staff. What is valued to the club is the community work, which is largely self-funded, and is crucial to not just local presence, but getting boys and girls involved in Charlton. That won't, and musn't be changed, but dropping a loss-making women's team is a sacrifice that can be lived with.
The standard of the game and its ability to self finance are irrelevant. In playing terms it maybe comparable to closing a Conference or even lesser league club but in profile terms it is significant. CAFC took over a major name in the women’s game and benefited from the profile of many of its players representing their country. How much will this save?
Corporate double standards never cease to amaze me. The club has promoted itself as a champion of the women’s game promoting itself across educational and community programs and now it appears it just decides to walk away. You can hear the comments - Poor Charlton cannot even afford a women’s team anymore? Just how bad are finances? They introduced all those training & career development programs, what happens to all those people? What happens to the girls football camps? What will these girls do now?
This decision calls into question the integrity of the club and its board. I can see Murray wringing his hands and hear his expressions of sadness supported by Varney’s cries of financial necessity, tough times call for tough decisions but the club has promoted itself as one of integrity playing its part in all aspects of the game.
This a fundamental breach of trust by the club. They set a standarda and an expectation. The club has moved a very long way from its goals. If I were Simon Jordan I would be writing out the cheque now.
Grapevine49
Could they not have downsized it as part of the overall cuts so that the basis of the women's section would still be there in a year's time - especially from a PR point of view, given that some of our now ex-players are going to be playing for England in the Women's World Cup this year. The board will be praying they get knocked out early, and certainly that they don't go on to win it...
I have no axe to grind, but on the face of it it seems a big decision for a club so keen on playing the whole 'community card' and is probably indicative of the other cuts being announced next week.
The Women's team may well cost 100k to run, I wouldn't want to (or couldn't) fund it out of my pocket, but you have to put that in the context of a club turnover of many millions.
The Club have made great capital, albeit not financially, from the successes of the Women's team over the year. This decision will portray the club in a very poor light.
When things improve after we are promoted this year do the Club think they will be able to reinstate the Women's team? I'd think that they'd have trouble attracting any players to a Club that has such little regard for their position.
How about this for a solution: Instead of having a big media campaign to get premiership footballers to give up a days wages for Nurses (who I think should be paid properly by HM Government, not from charitable donations) that the fist team players at the club could get together and fund the Women’s team. Maybe we could even get a donation from Herman’s singing on fee at Portsmouth.
Rant over.
Love and peace, Alex
sadly all down to money again.
Watched the cup final on TV, but then I'm only a Johnny come lately.
As you say; all down to bottom line on the balance sheet. The 'intangibles' don't count
I wouldn't put it past him.
This is a shame but lets face facts. If we fail to recover our Premier League status, the club cannot afford such luxuries as a womens team. If we keep or sign a player who can gets us back there by saving the womens team costs then it probably has to be done.
What would worry me more is if we dispense with our scouting staff including those working in the local community. Avery old friend of mine used work as a teacher in the Greewich area in the late fifties/early sixties and he told me that the local scouting staff who used to watch the lads at his school were dispensed with. Small wonder the club failed to get back for nearly thirty years.
$hame.
I think an analogy can be drawn with the Womens Section. Even after 7 consecutive seasons in the Prem we were still often the afterthought on Match Of The Day or ITV equivalent. The success of the ladies gave the Club publicity which it otherwise wouldn't have got.
The marketing strategy has been largely based on the image as a family and Community Club making sport (and football in particular) accessible to all especially those who otherwise wouldn't get involved.
Badger is absolutely right. My own daughter's Charlton interest has been sustained in part I think because she aspired to play for Charlton Ladies. I came home earlier to be directed straight to teletext by an annoyed daughter. My earlier Marcus Bent comment was in fact hers! My daughter plays on a Sunday and two other members of her team had links with Charlton Ladies.
It's easy to say oh it's only the women but the repercussions and ripple effect are more than you might think.
If Charlton Women was losing money then maybe an issue, but to shut down the whole shebang cos of relegation pangs a little of 'jobs for the boys' but 'none for the girls'
Personally, I agree with 'Len Glover' - too many Charlton players let us down last year, JT, JFH and MB to count three and the board chucking money at a variety of managers, maybe they should all dib into their oversize wallets ?
It really is a no brainer and there is no room for sentiment in the harsh economic world we are in these days.
Having said all that, if the cost is truly "only" £100k per year just think what a fantastic gesture it would be if our first team squad were to each forego a tiny percentage of their weekly salary in order to keep them afloat, even if just for one year. Then again, these are footballers we are talking about here .........
Can't they just reform as a new team under a different name, find a ground to play at & get on with it? Why do they need such strong links with us? Why should CAFC continue to give them monry - if they are so good & demand to see them is so high - they'll be alright.
Storm in a teacup about a team that evidently only a miniscule % of our fans bothered to go & see on a regular basis.
I draw analagies to CIFC - a supporters team from a few years back, playing nationally against other supporters teams - we got a little bit of support (some kit) from CAFC - but by & large we got on with it off our own bat without badgering for or expecting to recieve money from CAFC, and this was one hundred times more of a Charlton thing than the women's team - we were real Charlton fans representing the club.
Every who is saying it is a disgraceful decision, apart from Badger has also included 'i admit i've never seen the women play / i haven't got much time for the women's team'. If it comes to December and we've an injury crisis and Pardew moans in the press he wasn't able to bring that extra pro in because the salary set aside for that went towards running a womens team that 42 people watch, then i know what the reaction will be.
Although i have no interest, i want womens football to continue to grow and evolve. But it must also be able to stand on its own two feet and support itself. And if it can't currently do that, then it is attempting to grow too much to soon.
Arsenal Ladies are the biggest and best ladies set up in the country, dominate the game, yet crowds are normally below 200 despite it being just £2 entry (£10 a season ticket). To the level where it wants to be, the game just simply cannot support itself at the moment.