A fan on the Board is a terrible idea, IMO. Give the new owner a fair wind to appoint his own people to positions - hopefully highly experienced & competent professionals. We haven’t heard from the Mercury for at least 10 years to my knowledge, so the timing of this plea is *strange*
Mine would be @DickPlumb He’s like a new man these days, socking it to them over on CL. Plus, his thespian skills would come in handy at Board meetings.
Takeover latest: No to Chris Powell coming back, under any circumstances. Time for the Wet Wing of our fanbase to move on from this frankly bizarre adulation. If Powell did come back then personally my enthusiasm for Charlton would severely dim as a result. The reports are that Muir has a managerial shortlist to interview, and that Bowyer is on it. The only other manager I would want other than Bowyer is Mick McCarthy, who has a proven record of rebuilding clubs. Other than that, Bowyer has earned a crack IMO. Fan on the Board - under no circumstances. Will just become another platform for attention seekers. Hard to believe the so called "Mercury story" yesterday, particularly when the paper doesn't exist. Its been used as a vehicle to promote a familiar agenda, namely that Charlton somehow can't survive without the input of "certain fans". Players - the No.2 priority after appointing Bowyer. Plenty of good talent out there including players released by Championship clubs. Powell proved it can be done in 11-12 with £1m ...up to Muir to back Bowyer to do the same, otherwise its hard to see many STs shifting.
If they're going to put a fan on the board, every person who wants to do that should have a week's rotation during the season. They get no perks or freebies and have to do this in their spare time...
I really don't think we should go back to Chris Powell. Give Bowyer and Jackson a go. I think that as soon as two ****s goes we will shift quite a few more STs.
The Aussies have been the most persistent potential buyers. Roland refused to speak to Varney's consortium, Donald Muir baulked at the asking price, There was reported to be a Chinese approach 2years ago, and more recently a Saudi interest. So if the Aussies walk away, as some would like, where is the next buyer coming from, who will pay Roland's extortionate price?
The bottom line regarding Andrew Muir seems to be this - Does he have the money to buy Charlton ? Not just that Does he have the money to get Charlton out of Division 3 ? Even after 14 months of takeover talk, that is still the great unknown unknown, as Don Rumsfeld might have put it.
More lies from Murray. https://www.castrust.org/2018/06/richard-murray-two-parties-still-negotiating/ Who are this British Consortium?
Only a day ago I was sceptical about the talk of decisions being taken by the current owner regarding next season, but it has been confirmed now that preparations are underway. www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5b224389baf3f/lee-bowyer-to-continue-in-his-role-as-charlton-athletic-caretaker-manager Time to complete the take-over and get a new senior management team installed without doing more harm than good to Charlton's prospects of promotion next season has now just about run out. It is looking like we will be going into next season with a caretaker manager. Several other senior positions including Chief Executive Officer and Finance Director remain vacant. Can these jobs be done effectively by somebody in a 'caretaker' capacity as well? And if so, for how long? It stands to reason that not having permanent staff in those positions and not having a permanent manager who is able to plan for more than just the immediate future is going to damage Charlton's chances of getting back into the Championship, and even of improving on the position of last season. If a new permanent CEO and other senior management figures are appointed by Mr Duchatelet, then all realistic hope of a take-over during the next three or four months is over. A large majority of our squad has only one season left on their contracts. Unless they are offered acceptable new deals they can walk away next summer for nothing. I cannot see how those contract negotiations can be carried out unless there are competent people in senior management positions at the Club. For that reason and others, even if there is a take-over around the Christmas / New Year period the incoming owners are going to be in a much more precarious position than they would be if the take-over had happened now. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The first six weeks of this summer closed season was the best possible window of opportunity for the take-over to happen. Now that chance seems to be gone. Our 2018-19 season is now at serious risk of becoming a season not of new opportunities, but a season where all long term decisions are put off indefinitely. A season spent waiting in limbo, in a competitive league where standing still and not planning ahead is the same as falling behind compared to other Clubs. And a season where even the take-over (when it eventually comes) is more likely to mean more decline than a positive new start. Every month that passes from now until next summer lowers the value of the Club as players come closer to being able to leave for free. Basically, by the time Charlton Athletic is sold it won't be worth anything. Debts to Duchatelet will probably be £10m to £15m higher than they are now. Season ticket sales are likely to be at an all time low. The atmosphere around the Valley may well deteriorate again if the progress of last season is reversed. The value of the Club will continue to fall. By next summer RD will be lucky to get £20m for it, never mind £40m+ Duchatelet will lose, the Club will lose and the fans will lose.
Does Murray realise what a sad and pathetic figure he cuts these days? "Not party to the negotiations"....but always on hand to defend Duchatelet. And what has Billy Clarke and Aston Villa's finances got to do with with the chaos at Charlton this week? Please God, Murray goes out the door at the same time as Duchatelet.
