Charlton Athletic Takeover Attempt - The right move?

I noticed the recent article on the Kent Live news that the rumoured Charlton Athletic bid from the Australian Football Consortium (AFC) had stalled owing to a lack of capital raise.

While any move to oust Duchatelet as owner should be seen as a good thing I can’t but help think that if a consortium has trouble in even raising the suggested purchase price then questions must be raised as to their ability to maintain the ongoing financial commitment that is required for a football club.

Let’s not kid ourselves here.  Breaking even is an admirable goal and might be achievable but currently not many clubs do achieve this.  The Deloitte 2016 annual review of football  gave an average annual loss for the 2014/15 season of £1.7m for League One clubs and £0.5m for League Two clubs.

Charlton’s losses run even larger than this and given the term of existing players’ contracts, the commitment made to the training ground and the size of the Valley generally such losses cannot be curtailed immediately.

In fact the AFC’s website states that “A critical component of AFC’s strategy will be to invest heavily into the training facility so that the club can attract and develop local talent and provide them with the opportunity to represent their club at a senior level.”

Given all this, any investor would need a sizable war chest just to allow the club to continue in its current form.  This is just not going to come from a scratch investment company such as AFC. The last thing that fans want is a nervous wait while the company struggles with a whip around in order to avoid bankruptcy.  

Any debt to finance these losses would need to be raised from external commercial lenders such as banks (rather than a benevolent owner) at commercial rates and with suitable security over assets such as the football stadium.

I'm no Duchatelet fan but while I'm sure that the AFC has a board with the necessary football experience (unlike our current CEO and owner) we need to ensure that they have the adequate resources to go along with it.

Sources

Kent Live Article

http://www.kentlive.news/charlton-athletic-takeover-talks-australian-investors-attempting-to-raise-more-cash/story-30314448-detail/story.html

Deloitte Annual Review of Football

https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html

A Tour of Deptford's Pubs and Other Drinking Establishments

I’m afraid the football at the Valley has not been much to write about this season and I fear that it won’t get any better with the current owner and CEO in place so I will be joining the protests for the last game of the season this Sunday.

It’s become a tradition of mine to go on a pub crawl with a few friends after the final game and this year will be no exception.  I’ve chosen Deptford this year as its not far from Charlton and has added or refurbished a number of establishments over the last two years.

You can catch a 177 from just outside the Valley or a 53 from near the White Swan pub in Charlton Village, or use the railway.  Either way it’s only a 20-30 minute journey.

Brookmill ale selection

A five minute walk south of Deptford Bridge DLR station you’ll find the the Brookmill on Cranbrook Road.  It was refurbished and opened as a Gastro pub in August 2016.  They have a nice selection of 3-4 usually London ales, from Wimbledon, Bellevue, Twickenham and Brockley to name a few.  It has a high walled garden which is a perfect sun trap in the afternoon.

Returning to the DLR a short walk west just past Deptford High Street brings you to the Royal Albert.  One of the better Antic pubs it has three to four real ales, plus the usual craft ales and a decent menu which is a cut above the standard pub fare.

The Royal Standard on Tanner’s Hill is worth a mention but I have yet to venture there.

Going up Deptford High Street towards the Thames you’ll find another Antic pub, the Job Centre.  It’s been rather quiet the last few times I visited, probably overshadowed by its lack of

There has been a proliferation of new venues where the railway line crosses the High Street.  On the right hand side down Resolution Way there is a trendy bar called Buster Mantis.  I haven’t tried this yet as a little further along is Deptford’s first Brewery, Villages Brewery.  The tap room is open on Friday evenings and Saturday from noon.  I recommend it for a choice of beers different from the usual brewery line ups.  I particularly like the Pontoon, a south pacific red ale which combines citrus flavours with a biscuity caramel malt finish.

Little Nans Bar cocktail list 

On the other side, right next to Deptford railway station is a collection of bars and street food outlets that are all worth a visit.  The area is pedestrianised so you can sit outside and there is a a good vibe to it.  First there is Little Nan’s bar an eclectic mix of cocktails served in tea pots, fresh cake and snacks .  Next door is

Archies that does delicious grilled cheese sandwiches with house made pickles and craft ale to wash it down.  However, my favourite is Frankie goes to Bollywood, an alternative twist on Indian food.  Dining at each is informal with good service, quality ingredients and won’t cost the earth.

Tandoori Fried Chicken and Bhangras & Mash
at Frankie Goes to Bollywood

Towards the top of the high street is Wine Makers wine bar and restaurant.  It’s a small establishment offering wines, homemade charcuterie and a compact but thoughtful and changing menu.  Being fairly new is quite packed of an evening but from the reviews it’s a welcome addition to the Deptford scene.

For a more traditional pub I would recommend the Dog & Bell tucked away on Prince Street, a stone’s throw from the Thames and five minutes north of Deptford High Street.  I would choose this as my local. They always has a great selection of well looked after and constantly changing real ale at good prices (£3.20-£3.40).  The new Landlord has kept up the ale but spruced up the pub and it has a nice friendly local atmosphere.  Don’t forget to try a pork pie with your pint.

A little further afield towards Surrey Quays is the Black Horse on Everlyn Street, opposite the old fire station.  Again a change of ownership has seen this pub transformed with plenty of craft beers and an amazing collection of spirits served by friendly staff.  The freshly made sour dough pizzas are a must try.

Either way there is something for everyone in Deptford.

A Poisoned Chalice

So it looks like Karl Robinson is about to take the hot seat at the Valley.

I'm pretty indifferent about the manager these days but I'm amazed at why anyone would want to go and work under such a toxic management and ownership regime such as Charlton, so it must be a sign of desperation for anyone willing to take on the role.

It doesn't really matter who they are, we know the same result as long as our incompetent CEO Katrien Meire and meddling clueless and impatient owner Roland Duchatelet are in charge.



What should be more surprising is that the Charlton board would consider someone who also took their team down to League One last season and are currently languishing in the relegation places.

Instead of attending our FA cup fixture I will be hosting a Christmas stall selling my home made gin kits (see advert below) at the Woolwich Equitable pub on 3 December and will donate the cost of the match ticket to the Charlton Protest Fund.

For details of how to donate see here http://charltoncard.tumblr.com/post/139650202571/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cards-protest

Come and say hello if you're also not going to the match.

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A Poisoned Chalice

So it looks like Karl Robinson is about to take the hot seat at the Valley.

I'm pretty indifferent about the manager these days but I'm amazed at why anyone would want to go and work under such a toxic management and ownership regime such as Charlton, so it must be a sign of desperation for anyone willing to take on the role.

It doesn't really matter who they are, we know the same result as long as our incompetent CEO Katrien Meire and meddling clueless and impatient owner Roland Duchatelet are in charge.



What should be more surprising is that the Charlton board would consider someone who also took their team down to League One last season and are currently languishing in the relegation places.

Instead of attending our FA cup fixture I will be hosting a Christmas stall selling my home made gin kits (see advert below) at the Woolwich Equitable pub on 3 December and will donate the cost of the match ticket to the Charlton Protest Fund.

For details of how to donate see here http://charltoncard.tumblr.com/post/139650202571/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cards-protest)

Come and say hello if you're also not going to the match.

_____________________________________________________________________

Advertisement

Gin Wizard Botanical Kit

Make your own craft gin at home within 48 hours.  No distillation or complex equipment required.  See Ginwizard.wordpress.com for more details

Prices from £5.95

Deloitte Annual Review of Football

While Charlton fans are waiting for our new manager to be appointed, I thought it might be worthwhile pointing out that the accounting firm Deloitte have issued their Annual Review of Football Finance, a summary of which can be found here  :-

www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html

I wrote about the Financial Fair Play implications for Charlton falling down to league one in this blog a short while ago and the latest Supporters Trust newsletter also has an article on the subject.  The key point is that clubs in this division are subject to a Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) player wages must be no more than 65% of turnover (there are of course plenty of exceptions for newly relegated clubs, definition of turnover etc).  See more on this topic here:-

wrongsideofthethames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/financial-fair-play-all-change-as.html


The task of complying with those rules is shown clearly on page 26 and 27 of the Deloitte summary.  It shows total League One revenues to be less than a quarter of the Championship.  Despite the SCMP, wages in League One breached the cap but this may be down to the exceptions from larger clubs such as Wigan dropping down and does not necessary signify a breach.

The challenges for Charlton Athletic are huge and the delay in announcing a new manager cannot help the situation.

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Ticket Chaos at the Valley

First a happy Clive Mendonca Day to all Charlton fans.

Well as usual another Tuesday at Charlton Athletic didn’t let us down, this time it appears with shenanigans in the ticket office.  Sources state that the head of ticketing Mandy Anderson- Myers has quit apparently after a disagreement with the chief financial officer.

It would be a fair assumption to make that this was over resources for the upcoming season.  As the club is relegated to league one revenues fall and so cuts have to be made in all areas.  This happened last time the club was demoted and should not be an unexpected development.

So was Anderson-Myers right to protest?  To start with there is the issue of up to 2,400 refund requests for all those in the North Lower whose view was obscured by the posts and netting.  It appears that the club is dithering on its response with Anderson-Myers appearing to have passed the buck to another department according to various sources on twitter.  I wouldn’t hold my breath for a resolution any time soon, but fans should keep on insisting on a refund for a clearly unacceptable situation.

Looking towards to the new season, clearly, the more season tickets sold by a club prior to the start of the season, the fewer resources they require to issue tickets throughout the season.  The latest on season tickets sold from Dansk_Red on the Charlton Life forum is 3,429 at the back end of April.  This may have now risen to 4,000 but is well below last year’s 10,000 plus tickets.  Most of this is down to an effective campaign to boycott season tickets by CARD (see @CharltonCARD and www.facebook.com/CharltonCARD for details ).  This means at least an additional 6,000 tickets to issue for each game.

This of course makes a big assumption that all those boycotting actually do buy individual match tickets and of course that attendances are static which undoubtedly will not be the case.  Last year's average attendance at the Valley was around 15,000-16,000.  Putting the boycott aside I would normally expect this to drop to around 11,000-12,000 which from memory was the crowd size last time we were in League One.

Assuming an effective boycott then individual match day ticket sales will actually be the lower than the season just gone.

The introduction of the ticketing website with print at home tickets and bar code scanning to enter the ground mean that less staff are required as the process becomes more automated.  This is not a complete panacea as there is a need to monitor and restrict ticket sales for high profile games such as Millwall or Leeds to ensure proper segregation but again it requires less resources.

On the subject of ticketing many fans have said that they will only be buying away tickets so that they can continue to support the team without putting money into the owner’s pockets.  I will be doing the same but you should be aware that Football League regulations state that the away club may receive a commission of 5% for tickets sold so if you really don't want to give money to the regime it might be better to buy on the day at the away club.

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Article on Duchatelet's influence at St Truiden

John Chapman the Belgium football writer (look for him on twitter under @BelgoFoot, he is worth a follow) has been a good source of information on the goings on in the Duchatelet network.

While Duchatelet has now sold Standard Liege John still provides information on St Truiden.  The latest snippet is a report from Sport Foot Magazine.  You can read the original article here:-

http://sportmagazine.levif.be/sport/foot-national/duchatelet-a-discute-avec-des-coaches-pour-saint-trond/article-normal-501551.html

If your language skills are a little rusty and you use Chrome as a your browser you can "right click" on the article to translate it into English, otherwise copy and paste into Google Translate.

The gist of the article is that it appears that Mr Duchatelet has a strong say in the running of the club despite St Truiden being owned by Mr Duchatelet's partner and him having no formal position at the club.

There are rules in the Belgium league that prevent the ownership of more than one football club so previously when he owned Standard Liege he could not be involved in the ownership or running of St Truiden.  However, now that Standard has been sold he could legitimately take over the reigns at St Truiden with a formal shareholding or directorship.

If the report is true then to flatly deny such influence when there is no formal connection with the club is frankly disingenuous and a barrier to any sensible minded person taking up any role with responsibility at the club.

The fact that Roland is doing this should be no surprise to Charlton fans.  Despite repeated assurances by the directors to the contrary we have seen the impact of Roland's meddling at the Valley.  The more this goes on, the greater the lack of credibility in the eyes of anyone looking at Charlton.  Given the alleged actions at St Truiden I doubt very much that any decent manager would want to join the club even if their contract gave specific assurances.  Perception is everything Roland!

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