Hi guys,
Apologies for having neglected this forum – as Razil stated we have a fairly small working party and organising the plethora of activities means that it’s just impossible to get round to absolutely everything. Razil flagged this to me as I’ve spent a lot of time working on ACV and I just wanted to clarify a couple of points;
“The club should never rule out leaving the Valley again” – if the Valley achieved ACV status it would mean that if an owner “wishes” to sell the ground he has to give us advance notice – initially six weeks and at that point if we say we intend to bid (and the merits of a bid would not be of any relevance at that point) we are given a further six months to rally the troops and put a proposal together. I completely agree that I can foresee a proposal that, begrudgingly perhaps, we could as a supporter base see was best for the club but it’s this right of at least notice and the opportunity to organise ourselves which I think is important and I’m surprised that any Charlton fan would disagree that that is a good thing. “Move now? No. Never move? Never rule out the option” – spot on.
VolauVent you’ve said on one thread “What is Richard Murray's view on the Trust ? Presumably someone would ask him, because at face value a Trust takeover would seem his least likely route to ever getting his money back” and then on this you’ve said “ACV = Richard Murray stooges” – so which is it ? Are we harming Murray’s chance of recompense or are we doing his dirty work for him ? You seem quite contradictory and the reason for that is that neither is correct. Why would ACV have anything to do with Richard Murray ?
“Any solution to our current problems that involves a Trust and RMs involvement is not the answer” – Again, Richard Murray has nothing to do with the Trust. The Trust have no plans to “take over” the club.
“You say the fans have a right to bid for the valley, bid with what?” – who knows – perhaps we wouldn’t want to bid at all. Perhaps we would see the proposal as terrible and to the detriment of the club and in which case wouldn’t you like the opportunity (and six months) to mobilise Charlton’s support base? I think you do us a dis-service if you don’t think Charlton fans can achieve great things against great odds when push comes to shove.
“Why didn't you file this petition in 2011?” – The Trust did not exist until December 2012
“The barracks also has some sort of protective petition from memory” – not under the localism Act. Greenwich borough only has two Assets of Community Value, a sports centre and some playing fields (the old John Roan ones next to Sutcliffe I think).
“I am not dismissing it in principle but your motives and practices stinks.” – You can never please everyone, but we’ll keep on trying. I apologise if you feel you weren’t consulted as you see fit. We have had stalls at Club day, and the match last week in the pouring rain, plus we’ll be there again this week. Anyone is free to come and see us and discuss their feelings on this. You can sign the petition either for or against ACV - one of the thousand signed petitions has been against the proposal. If we had overwhelming negative feedback we’d withdraw the application immediately but the feedback prior to submission and since has been overwhelmingly positive.
“there is a section of our support who love nothing better than setting up yet another committee” – neither myself, nor Barnie (I think) nor most of the chaps who are members of the Trust board are on any other committee and I have no intention (or free time!) to be. I think I know who you are referring to Volauvent but he is not a member of the board of the Trust (I’m not actually sure if he’s a Trust member at all) although I have to say I have no problem with him at all and have a lot of time for everything he’s done/is doing for our club.
“the Trust business. I question the motives of some involved. The whole idea feels a bit like peeing into the face of a hurricane. Its a response to our situation I suppose, just one that will always be hopelessly underpowered” – since incorporation on eight months ago we’ve garnered 700 paying fans, we want this number to increase of course but that is an impressive figure given we haven’t had a “crisis” situation which is normally the catalyst for exponential growth. We aren’t saying we’ve achieved our goals, far from it but I think the numbers we’ve accumulated shows the potential that this thing has.
“Get your trust either on a democratic footing or wound up ASAP” – Not sure we could be any more “democratic” – we are governed by Supporters Direct’s model rules and regulations, hold elections in which anyone can stand and are incorporated at Companies House as a legally registered entity.
Do we wish ACV was stronger (for instance conferring the right of consultation or purchase at market value) - yes, maybe, but we can only use the tools available to us. It’s very easy to point out the flaws in everything but never offer a solution but right now I can’t see any better way of ensuring Charlton fans have a say in the future of our home.
It’s a little disappointing as I truly believe that the core principle, that the fans should be consulted over any proposed sale of the ground and have the opportunity to organise themselves is one which should resonate with Charlton supporters. I just hope we haven’t clouded people on this boards thoughts around ACV because we’ve made a mess of communicating directly with not606 and again I apologise for that.
Cheers,
Craig