There is a Fans Forum meeting today at 3-00pm with the Chair of the meeting being Lieven De Turck. He is the person from Duchatelet's side who is handling the Takeover. The discussion will be all about the Takeover. Minutes will be produced.
Some more actual information do we dare to hope? Or just more vague flim-flam to keep the peasants quiet....
I honestly don't know who is on it. Fans, hopefully. But how they are selected / picked / vetted? Who knows. Perhaps you have to be of the Blood Royal (you might have burned your bridges there...) Or perhaps a "super-fan" who hasn't missed a game home or away since 1947. Maybe you have to pass a 'fit and proper' fan test devised by Katrien "office dress-code" Meire. Could be like a secret society of pugilists. "First rule of Fans forum..." Then again, maybe not.
1. When are we getting a permanent manager ? 2. When are we getting a CEO? 3. Who is conducting transfers without the above? 4. Why has it taken twice as long to sell Charlton as the time spent to sell Wigan and Oxford combined?
All good questions. None will be asked at the fans forum meeting. I doubt whether Lieven De Turck will even allow questions from the gutter - sorry, from the floor. In fact I'm not sure this guy even exists. They probably built him in one of RD's electronics labs. Wouldn't be surprised if he has a CE mark and 16 AA batteries up his backside. And even if he hasn't, he might as well have.
This has been posted on the official website; www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5b4642efe6562/club-answer-questions-from-fan-representatives-about-takeover _____________________________________________________________________________________ The current situation There were several parties interested when LDT first took over the process (January) but only two reached agreement on price. The Australians, and another consortium who can’t be named at this stage because of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), have agreed a price. Other parties who expressed an initial interest did not pursue their interest. Some of the parties dropped out immediately as the running costs were too much, but the two parties currently involved continued Reasons for previous delays in the process have been due diligence on matters such as historical loans, securities and debentures. The club is satisfied the Australians have the money to purchase the club. The Australians haven’t been granted exclusivity. It is possible the other party could still purchase the club but they still have certain issues of their own to resolve. The club can’t go in to more detail on these issues because of the NDA. The sale agreed with the Australians does NOT include Staprix retaining The Valley or Sparrows Lane. There are no issues with regard to former director's loans. LDT was not aware of any issue with HMRC. The only issue holding up the process is EFL approval. _____________________________________________________________________________________ The process with the EFL As part of the regulations the Australians need to lodge a series of documents with the EFL before they get formal approval. The documents prove financials, include a director’s test etc. Around one month ago, the first document was lodged with the EFL but not all required documents have yet been submitted to the EFL. There are one or two still outstanding. There has been no need for anything to be resubmitted. LDT said he could not give any further information about the documents that were missing. LDT said he thought that the Australian consortium is a complex set up and may be seeking to reduce its complexity. The documents have to be lodged by someone at the club or with the club copied in. The Australians have been sending their documents to the EFL with LDT copied in. The club can’t put a timeline on it but they hope that the documents can be lodged very, very soon. The Australians have people in place in the UK at the moment. _____________________________________________________________________________________ On the impact on the first team The current owner has started preparation for the new season and Lee Bowyer has targeted promotion. Lee Bowyer has had a meeting with the potential new owners. While Lee Bowyer knows what he can spend for every deal though he gets approval. He is working with Steve Gallen and Roland Duchatelet. _____________________________________________________________________________________ On potential player sales There is an agreed mechanism in place in the contract with the Australian consortium to cover any player sales. _____________________________________________________________________________________ On season ticket sales Season ticket money isn’t coming directly into the club. The bank who have taken the credit cards payments will only release it game-by-game to cover themselves should the club not be able to play a game. This is not something LDT has experienced previously. _____________________________________________________________________________________ On being cost conscious As part of the club being more cost conscious they are reviewing contracts and negotiating with suppliers. An example of being more cost conscious is in the last month the energy bill reduced by more than 11% compared to last year. This is all to make running costs bearable for the current owner and also any potential new owner A fan asked if it was true academy players breakfasts had been cut, he said this went against what the club stood for and could be a PR mistake and goes against the club filling its role in the community. LDT said the breakfasts had been cut as part of the club being more cost conscious but that it was something he would look into following the meeting. ______________________________________________________________________________________ The meeting was attended by representatives of Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust, City Addicks, Maidstone and the Weald Supporters Group, Bromley Addicks, the Reminiscence Group and Valley Gold. The meeting was also attended by Charlton Athletic Head of Communications Tom Rubashow. The above notes were produced by the club and approved by a fan representative from the meeting. ______________________________________________________________________________________ The above text has not been altered by me except in the following two respects; I changed the lower case 'not' to a capital 'NOT' in the point about the take-over not involving Staprix not retaining the Valley or Sparrows Lane. I only did this because I think this is an absolutely crucial point which needed emphasising. I have highlighted a few sections in red. Again items which I consider to be of great importance.
Thanks for that write up @lardiman So the delays are being caused by the Aussies. And the Aussies never put this bit in the public domain. Interesting.
Mr De Turck (to whom I owe an apology for suggesting he was a robot) stated that the only issue holding up the [take-over] process is the EFL approval. The EFL approval appears to be stalled because of some missing documents. The way I read this, it looks like those missing documents are something to do with the Club, not documents that the Australian Consortium has yet to provide. Perhaps I am misinterpreting that. Maybe they should look down that narrow gap between the back of the desk and the wall. Or on the scanner plate of the photo copier. Whenever I lose a document it is nearly always in one of those two places.
“The Australians were required to lodge a number of documents with the EFL...not all documents have been lodged with the EFL” They would have been better off getting their paperwork in order, as opposed to hijacking the play off games 63 days ago in their scarves. And they never mentioned their part in these delays.
The bank clearly doesn’t have much faith in these parties. Holding onto the ST money in case they don’t get paid. Deary me...
A Duchatelet representative so who knows what to believe..? Most significant point for me....."The only issue holding up the process is EFL approval" Not the first time that's come up...So has the hold up been down to those two rich board members rumoured of getting knocked back by the EFL because of their links to PL Clubs..? RD's lapdog says "Australian consortium is a complex set up and may be seeking to reduce its complexity", or could it be a case that the Aussies are still trying to fill their "complex set up"..? Ultimately....."The club is satisfied the Australians have the money to purchase the club." #nonsense
What a farce this whole takeover saga has become. I don't believe a word that either side say anymore.
Steady, that sort of talk causes great offence. Also, if the bank is holding on to the ST money, who if anyone if financing new player buys ? The FF seems to have totally missed this ?? Are we seriously being asked to believe that wantaway Duchatelet is paying for new players ?!
It seems odd that the S/T money is not being released to the club by the bank. I'm not sure what to read into this. It might tempt some to buy a ticket knowing that the money doesn't go straight into Roland's pocket. So if Roland's representative is telling the truth the Aussies are still in a mess, but no doubt the Aussies will leak something different today
