3 days to Takeover Day

Another sleepless night. The family are ill, and the little ‘un was up all night so it gave me plenty of time to think about the impending takeover. I mean there are now only 3 shopping days to go before t-day.

So what do we think? I see Charlton Life has had a stab in the dark at potential buyers, but honestly there is not a dickie bird of gossip out there and really it could be anyone couldn’t it?

The club have been busying itself clearing the decks, we know that much. They settled with Iain Dowie before the planned date of a Premier League tribunal hearing. Shame in many ways, because how much fun would we have had finding out about all the Dowie stories?

Peter Varney has indicated that he doesn’t yet know if he will be asked to continue with the new ownership, but one would have thought he would like to. Richard Murray may well have seen his last game as owner, but most of us hope and expect him to still be involved, maybe as chairman.

Despite my late night over-thinking I really don’t expect the takeover to make the major sports wires. No Arabs, No AEG, no American sports team owners, no Russian billionaires.

Perhaps a handful of British business men with an eye on potential, not hugely wealthy but with enough money to clear debts, fund a mini-entrance into the January transfer window and hopefully enough to secure the club’s future, which is really all I’ve asked Santa for.

Is Dennis Wise involved? I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he is. He is connected, maybe not well connected but I do get the impression that he sees himself as the next Niall Quinn. He has been around the club for a while now, and his involvement would worry me, yet equally the alternative may be administration or someone like Peter Risdale.

Whoever it is, buying a football club has notoriously been bad for investors and sadly a lot of these people have more ego than money. Charlton have also been on ‘the market’ for some time, but we can only hope that Varney and Murray pass the Baton onto someone we can trust.