Crowd troubles
What are the thoughts on attendance on Saturday?
Ordinarily with a good prevailing wind of optimism there’d be 20,000 at The Valley on Saturday, but I don’t reckon it will be anywhere near that.
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Aug 4
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Make some noise
Looks as if 1,000 Addicks will be allowed into The Valley on Saturday.
Charlton are one of 10 teams that will are be given test case status to house fans this coming weekend, although Luton chose to opt out this afternoon.
The game at The Valley will also be attended by members of the local council and Sports Ground Safety Authority to monitor procedures, with the ambition to admit up to 8,000 fans for home games post October.
Crewe football special
Crewe Alexandra away actually would have been a decent trip for Addicks on opening day. An hour and a half from Euston, Gresty Road five minutes around the corner from the station, a pint in the Cheshire Inn on the way to the ground. Ugh, normal times — please come back!
21 years since we played at Gresty Road, 60 years since we were at Lincoln City, our second away trip. The more familiar names of Doncaster Rovers and Sunderland, the Addicks’ first two home games. Sunderland possibly our biggest home crowd of the season might be the game used as a trial to let fans return post Covid, although that was slated as September and we have just one home League game in that month.
EFL bungle Sheffield Wednesday’s punishment
Looks as if the Independent Disciplinary Commission’s report into Sheffield Wednesday’s cheating of Financial Fair Play will report that it decided against EFL’s immediate 12-point deduction because the EFL took too long to bring charges and initially pursued the wrong case first. (Read more**)
Conor Washington joins the circus
Chatham lad Conor Washington becomes Lee Bowyer and Steve Gallen’s second mid-season signing.
I wonder if the EFL are allowing signings on a case by case basis as long as we keep within our budget and show evidence of a plan to move to a secure ownership?
A lot of out of contract and loan players have moved on and I will be surprised to see us start the season with both Dillon Phillips and Alfie Doughty. Remembering the transfer window doesn’t actually close until October 16th.
Farnell terminated by the club
I was awake way before the alarm this morning feeling restless. I avoid looking at the phone because I know that is the day starting. But, first glance of the phone and I’m leaping out of bed.
Solicitor Chris Farnell was terminated by Charlton today as ESI v1 wrestle control of the club back from Chris Farnell and Paul Elliott aka ESI v2. Both Farnell and Andrei Mihail were removed as directors of ESI on Friday.
The EFL
Most half-prudent organizations would buy similar domain names to avoid copycat attacks or brand reputational damage, but not our friends at the EFL.
This website is a work of art, blissfully put together by some clever and provoked football fans, some I believe Addicks. Take a read and watch the football club stories, including Charlton’s, but let me warn you they will not warm your heart, they will only fire your anger.
Wednesday docked 12 points. But not yet
What a farce. The EFL covering themselves in glory again.
Now I will say we finished 2nd from bottom after 46 games and deserved our fate. You are where you are. We had our chances but blew it. Bowyer and his team got blood out of a stone and somehow managed to win 48 Championship points with a middling League One squad, a ridiculous and hugely distracting ownership saga, a long and debilitating injury list, our best player refusing to play, and a transfer embargo just one of the many behind the scenes troubles.
EFL response
After the last EFL missive which ended with something tacky like: “The League will not provide a running commentary on this matter but will update as appropriate.”
Well Addicks took the bait and have bombarded the EFL all week demanding regular updates and it appears that a meeting took place, and the EFL gave an update to Rich Cawley.
Running out of time
In between work stuff today, I was drafting a post entitles ‘No time to waste.’ This was on the premise that the club are rapidly out of a commodity that no one owns…. time.
Yesterday VOTV highlighted this with Rick’s most recent article. Well worth a read as always. Click here.
But, then the sand in the hourglass sped up very tellingly tonight when the EFL made a statement laying the issues out in a couple of paragraphs. The ESI have failed to “demonstrate that the requirements of the EFL regulations are met.” The EFL are now demanding a meeting “with the current majority owner of ESI and also the proposed new owners, as it seeks to clarify the ongoing ownership issues at the club in the context of the EFL regulations.”
As we were
Our last two games, no hopes, and no points, so as we were then.
Positives to move on with? We didn’t lose to Millwall in injury time, and more seriously we played very well against Brentford. The absolute form team in this division who had been brushing teams aside pre and post lockdown.
Sympathy for Wigan’s plight
As we totter on the edge of administration ourselves we should have every sympathy for Wigan’s fans and players after the Latics became the first professional club in England to fall into administration during the Covid-19 crisis.
It looks to me like another case of a murky and obscure flipping of control of a football club. Our friends at the EFL look culpable again after approving the takeover just last month by an entity called New Leader Fund (NLF) from a Hong Kong operation called International Entertainment Corporation (IEC), a Cayman Islands-registered company which owns a hotel and casino in the Philippines.
Our very own TV series
Another week. Another week of isolation, and another week of Tahnoon Nimer keeping his hands firmly in his pocket.
Staff got paid at Charlton this week, thankfully, but that money again came out of the current account leftover from the days of Duchatelet and whatever funds have been given to the club by the EFL.
The players have deferred their salaries by 25% to help the continual financing of the club, and non-playing staff were furloughed. Although those operating the website and social media platforms carry on working in earnest. That your Excellency, an oxymoron if ever I saw one, is what you call commitment and responsibility.
The final day
Although it’s not is it, although whether it’s the start or the middle, no one knows.
It would have been the final game of the season today. Elland Road hosting noisy and anxious hopes, dreams and tears. The final of nine games now suspended.
Two days
That is how long the EFL have given Charlton, headed by Nimer Tahnoon, to respond to their investigation of ESI’s takeover of the club in January.
The EFL made the declaration today that they’ve commenced formal investigations to ascertain whether breaches of EFL Regulations and/or other misconduct(s) occurred in relation to the takeover of the club from Roland Duchatelet.
What a mess. ESI bought the club for just a £1 and took on the ongoing liabilities, with an agreement to pay a further £55m to purchase remaining assets including The Valley and Sparrows Lane in the future. ESI said there was a legal obligation do that by June.
Chicago Addick 