Nobody is doubting what Ricky did in the 80's but, although, every Charlton fan should be grateful for these actions they do not give him a free hand to carry out a guerrilla war against the current owners just because he is pissed that they disposed of his services. Slater did not claim that the club was not up for sale he just said that it had not been offered to anybody for £40m and as far as I can tell it wasn't Ricky who produced evidence but a Sky reporter. I gather this evidence proved that the current owners have invested £5m in year one, £8m in the promotion season and £6m or £7m last season........ yes we should all hate them for that!
Nobody has ever disputed this club owes Rick a debt of gratitude but that has been paid back in spades by previous regimes and he has certainly made a pretty penny or two out of it!. I am objecting to his questionable motives and methods which have gone beyond the good of CAFC but are personal and quite vindictive. Do we know why Rick was sacked? was it an unlawful sacking or fully justified? Rick has dined out and feathered his own nest on the Valley campaign for too long, lets not forget he was one of many, I was there so I know. Some at CAFC wont allow a word said against him but in recent months he has proved to be quite untruthful, spiteful and damaging to the club. One must not forget that Rick was part of the regime that took us into the 3rd Division, got us close to administration and all the time was paid for it. The previous board were hopeless and it must be said who were they listening to? ( he was in marketing)? they had to sell us and we should be grateful that we were bought!!, did he resign in protest at the new board coming in? no, of course not, he took the money and one must assume wanted to work with the board because they paid him. When he acts beyond his employment remit and gets canned all hell breaks out. Maybe he should put away that crown of thorns and thibnk about the club first then himself. Rick has not unearthed some Watergate scandal here, he really has just said what ever board does on selling a club, shown the potential buyer its options. Is Ricky suggesting that under Murray no plans or feasibility reports were commissioned upon moving the club away from the Valley? Is Ricky suggesting that Murray sold the club on the strict understanding that the Club remained at the Valley? and put a lien on the Club staying at the Valley? Ricky was part of a failing regime and was quite properly removed, and it is obvious that he is now at war with the board and is not worried who gets hurt. That is not the actions of a genuine CAFC fan but a disgruntled bitter man. How many PL chairman are supporters of their clubs? Mark Hulyer is a prime example of never letting your heart rule your brain.
Good post typical, and I agree with a lot of what you say. The problem that developed over a number of years under the previous owners was that a group of fans, and yes, you could argue that Rick was one of them, got up the arses of the previous Board, and started to act like they were better than the rest of us. It was there for all to see in the West Stand on match days.i can tell you for a fact that when the new owners took over, quite a few snooty noses were put out of joint among this little group of Uriah Heeps. The reason I have lost faith in the current owners is that they have allowed a potentially lethal situation to arise on players contracts, whereby all but four of our squad can talk to other clubs from Jan 2014 and leave for nothing next summer. This is suicidal. It must have an effect on a players motivation, as well. Just imagine..Chris Solly, Yann, Rhys Wiggins, Lawrie Wilson (ok, maybe not Lawrie)...all walking away for nothing.
Must have a massive effect on the players motivation... We're not one of the top Championship clubs so we cant be paying big wages so a lot of the team must be concerned about their futures
Yep, I said before the season started that this was the elephant in the room, and we'd find out shortly how it was going to affect on-field performance. It's the managerial staff as well as the players.
I believe players can only talk to clubs abroad from January. From June they can talk to domestic clubs, unless the club gives prior permission.
Well thats not true. Not going to go in to examples I've given before. Different arguement for a different day.
i've just read it. in the most important parts things like " we've decided not to say this part out of respect" and stuff like that. nothing in there isnt already freely viewable in the accounts published each year. its just phrased in terms to make the average fan panic. most clubs are run with some form of debt. why would you build up credit and then not use it? it also confirms what i thought - yes the financial fair play will impact us, but, it will also impact every other club. being the 12th most commercial club in the championship doesnt worry me. i think what is happening with us now with all the contracts up at the end of year will be the start of a transition to times where players are paid less on average. why sign them up now when at the end of the year they'll be happy with lower wages - they will look around from January to find that the other clubs are also offering less. And as a player, would you really want to move from London to blackpool, blackburn, leeds, sheffield for a few hundred quid more? we'll be ok. we're just reshaping into something that will finance itself.
Sat in Greenwich Have you ever known a situation at a club where all but four of the entire squad are out of contract this summer ? Is the reason this has been allowed to happen that the owners have lost interest/ want out/ gone skint ? You can't possibly think it will all be alright on the night. .
The amount of people who think everything is hunky dory on this site truly baffles me. Let us look at the facts: Over 20 players out of contract in ten months time. Peter Varney, Steve Kavanagh,Wendy Perfect,Matt Wright all have left the Club,Peter Varney has settled out of court,Steve Kavanagh is taking the Club to court. Annual loss of 7 million pounds. No players other than loans and frees brought in. Button being sold behind Powell's back because Charlton couldn't pay Spurs the deferred payment. Club for sale but despite a number of interested parties, no sale has happened. I usually like to look on the bright side but even the most one eyed person has got to admit that the garden is not rosy.
And your point is dicky? Is this worse than when this board took over? Facing administration, division 3 and hurting. Crap manager and falling attendances. If we carried on with Murray and his failing regime we could have been in major trouble. Even in denial, it has to be accepted the current board got us out of a real hole. And of course, pointing the finger now at those in charge seems hypocritical by the trust when the lasts board could not get shot of us fast enough, so in a way they sold us to this shower and must be responsible in a way. Why didn't the trust act then!, or was they happy because they had their man in place who could tell tall tales and make CL look like they were part of the magic cafc circle. I will be the first not too say I have not got a bloody clue why the better players contracts have not been renewed, but looking at that sorry bunch on Saturday, I would seriously consider renewing just 5 contracts (and CP is not guaranteed anything-there I said it) and getting in better stock rather than extending a wage bill on players, that as painful as it sounds, are not good enough. The board managed to get in 18 players that were decent enough to get us out of that pub league that erm, not this mob got us into and now I think it is time to find 12 more. Time will tell. It's all very well coming at this with big ideas, grandiose plans, and intellectual posturing, but the cold hold facts are that this board are a better option that the idiots that ran the club previously and unless you and your mates over on CL have 40 million then dream on.
We all know that the garden is not rosy and that the cupboard is quite bare but will it help if the fans declare war on the owners who are pumping £6m into the club every season?
As a keen follower of the U-18's and U-21's I'm sure Dickp appreciates the investment which our owners have made in our Academy. And to be fair, what are they getting back? Is Gower CLEARLY better than Cousins, Jordan and Poyet? Sordell Clearly better than Pig? Slater, Jiminez and possibly Protheroe were at the last U-21 game which we won 6-1, and Pig scored 4 (or was it 5?), and may be wondering why they are making this investment.
those staff members could just be cut backs. the club still functions just as well without them so it could be that the "bloat" is being offloaded. hard to say that about good employees but when your running a business its the money that talks. the annual loss this year was marginally less than last. we'll see at the end of the season. FFP has a knock on effect other than just saying you cant lose X amount per year. it'll affect every member of staff at the club - the pay will be proportional (e.g LESS) to the amount coming through the gates and the shop etc. talking to the players now when they're still in the mindset of working without FFP guidelines will only make them ask for more than they're already on. when the contracts of all players negotiated without the FFP around run out, you'll find that the asking price is considerably lower all round.
Except for the best players. That is the point. Someone like Gower will happily accept lower wages because that's all he'll get anywhere, but the likes of Solly will be offered more, and if he's not under contract we'll just have to whistle.
There is no "bloat" at Charlton these days ! We have just let a player go to a League One club because we could not make the scheduled repayment on him. We have got one senior keeper, one senior striker, and nine geriatric midfielders. There is also the basic issue of human motivation. If you had busted your balls for an employer for x years but knew your contract was coming to an end and nothing was being discussed, it's human nature that you would start considering your options, as well as possibly lacking a bit of motivation to carry on with that effort. Why track back 60 yards and risk injury by putting in a crunching tackle when you could potentially double your money on a free transfer soon. Good players like Solly would leave for "nothing" for the club but would get a massive signing on fee from their new club. That's the way it works. Those conversations will already be unofficially taking place with Sollys agent now. " tell Chris West Ham will give him £1m if he signs". Tempting for a 22 year old bloke.
