I totally agree with you Ken I am astounded that any developer could think that the area around the Valley is a lucrative place to build homes. I love the place, but my God have you seen how run down it is these days? The Valley is more than just where we play our football, it is the emotional link between many of our supporters and the Club. I don't often think of David Whyte or Lee Cook, but I do often think of my first trip to the Valley.
Moving to another part of Greenwich would be much more acceptable than moving out to some part of Kent, which was a possibility before the last take-over. It's not that I want to leave The Valley, but since I started supporting Charlton, in the Gliksten era, we always seem to have been skint, except for the period when we had an exceptionally astute manager in Curbs. He wasn't only astute, he was happy to work on very limited resources in order to build up the club in the long term. I don't remember him ever complaining about his limited budget, and he still succeeded. Apart from that time we always seem to have been in trouble, so what do any prospective buyers see in a move to the peninsula that would make us more viable? I hope that we wouldn't sell the Valley then rent the new ground, that would be asset stripping, wouldn't it? Let's see what the next leak brings!
Unfortunately I guess that this is what the proposed takeover is all about. Cathedral and Development Securities have lease on some land which they can develop and need a lead tenant to sell the other bits of the site to other potential occupiers. Greenwich Council probably do not want to allow housing on the site but are willing to allow "sports and entertainment use" to go with the nearby O2. A lead tenant for the site who can then offer other land for development whether it be retail, housing or even a replacement for Sparrows Lane which could then be developed might make sense to the developers. You will have to remember this is just business to them it is nothing to do with heritage, love for the Valley, the club or anything else. If they can turn a buck on the transaction then it is worthwhile. The bureaucrats at Greenwich town hall have maintained their housing targets and the need for an entertainment complex. Do not think about the community asset since these guys will happily wait that one out for the CAST team to realise that they cannot afford to buy the Valley. Yes it is hard and for someone who has known the Valley from days as a school kid in Erith in the sixties it is part of my life. However, it is not part of the buyers life, merely something which will keep them earning money for the next few years and endearing themselves to their shareholders. I am afraid we may have to live with this as the fate of the club.
If you'd said seventies, I'd have said 'snap'. Like Volly, I still vividly remember going to the Valley with my Dad for the first time for a 0-0 draw with Bournemouth. As I said before, it's changed out of all recognition, but it's still our home. Plus I imagine any money made between selling the Valley and building the Warf will go to the new company, not the club, so we move to clear the debt and carry on from zero. Not a fascinating proposal.
There is very little chance of developing Sparrows Lane, Greenwich Council have refused all PP on sports fields in New Eltham
Here's an interesting fact considering our opposition today.... Mr Fernandes the current very rich owner of QPR had a list of three clubs he was interested in buying a few years ago...... No 1 was Narwich which he thought was overpriced by it current owners, QPR which it seems he regretted buying almost as soon as he was handed the keys and then.......... yes....... you guessed it .......... us....... the word bugga comes to mind ....... a bloody good owner and nice man from what I've heard. I was told this about 3 years ago by somebody who works in the sports finance industry but was asked to keep it under my hat at the time.
More news from the Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...n-sports-owner-Josh-Harris--CHARLES-SALE.html
Interesting. Exciting if it comes off, but sadly the whole zabeel thing has made me a cynic too Then again, I wear rose tinted specs
Very interesting, but given the source, I'll not be holding my breath. The Mail is a nasty, untrustworthy rag, and I want to see this printed in a newspaper!
MULTI-MILLIONAIRE Josh Harris has withdrawn his bid to buy Charlton Athletic, despite completing the due diligence process. The businessman, who also owns the New Jersey Devils ice hockey club and the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team, could not agree on a price with owners Michael Slater and Tony Jimenez. The figure had been set at around the £18million mark, but detailed discussions on related matters had failed to be resolved and Harris pulled out earlier this week. A spokesman for Harris - who had not publicly confirmed his bid - has has declined to comment on the matter. From the SLP
Very worrying times in my opinion. People have made compelling and understandable arguments against the take over, mainly surrounding potentially selling The Valley and renting a new stadium on the penninsular. However, it would seem from what you read (to be taken with a pinch of salt, but its not like we have any information from the club to go on) that the sticking point is the fee. So with owners that appear reulctant to cut their losses and move on and equally as reluctant to invest in the squad I agree with Mike Tyson (theres a sentence I never thought I would say), we are up the creek without a paddle. I am not entirely sure what the owners expect to get for the club, with no investment in the playing staff and so many senior squad members out of contract in a little over 6 months time, the value of the club is not going up any time soon. Could this ACV the trust have got played a factor at all? I do not ask to point fingers at the trust as I feel they are to blame, I ask because I havent dedicated enough time to fully understand an ACV. As I have stated on other threads, I have full appreciation and admiration for what the current administration did for the club. They took us from the brink of administration (again if you believe what you read), installed a cult hero as manager and allowed him the funds to get us out of League 1 and survive in the Championship. But their actions are beginning to hurt the club and it is time for them to cut their losses and move on.
I love the Daily Mail. I buy it every day What I read into the latest aborted takeover is that the odds on us being relegated just shortened dramatically. There is no money in the kitty which = no new players arriving in January. Oh dear.
More from the Mail, I didn't know that the Club owns land by the O2. Could this be a porky? From Charles Sale's mail column: Charlton sale off table American billionaire Joshua Harris has pulled out of talks to buy Charlton, who are being kept afloat by Mayfair property developer Kevin Cash. It is understood Harris, who owns basketball’s Philadelphia 76ers and ice hockey’s New Jersey Devils, and associates withdrew their interest at the due diligence stage. Charlton’s claim to own land on the Greenwich peninsular near the O2 Arena is said to be an issue. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Mesut-Ozil-betting-scandal--Charles-Sale.html
Never heard of that in my life. My dads due to go for a Christmas drink with Chris Roberts. Will ask him if he knows anything.
i think the ACV thing effectively ended the deal. a new owner with their own plans would want to do things their way - to make us a financially profitable. why would he buy us if he couldnt? he would not want to be told you cannot do X, Y, Z... (where X = move ground) by a handful of spiteful ex employees with chips on their shoulders. dont get me wrong, i love it down the valley, but the choice of staying there with current owners scraping by and never progressing, versus a plush new ground, heavy investment and still existing sways it for me.
S.I.G.- It might have been that, in which case I agree with you, it might have been the price, who knows. Have we got a lot to blame the trust or thank the trust for? Given the secretive nature of our owners we'll probably never find out what problems appeared at such a late stage. The take-over clearly had the backing of Chris Powell, and he will have to decide now whether or not he feels able to manage CAFC under the present regime.
