Friday's EFL pronouncement about the state of play with ESI and therefore Charlton Athletic Football Club made grim reading. The message was clear that the EFL are fed-up being messed about by ESI in both it's formats and they aren't prepared to wait much longer for answers to key questions. The tone and wording would have been familiar to Chris Farnell because it was similar to the one he received before Bury exited the football league.
ESI V1 (Nimer & Southall) never provided sufficient evidence of 'source of funds,' which was why a transfer embargo was slapped on the club in January and why Nimer, ultimately, had an excuse to scuttle off. It's also Southall's last line of defence, that Nimer let him down on promised funding, although his evident grasping greed would have scared anyone off giving him access to any more money.
ESI V2 (Farnell & Elliott) have still not provided information the EFL have repeatedly requested and I believe that centres around 'proof of funds.' This is in stark contrast to Tweets from Farnell suggesting he has been working closely with the EFL all along and has provided all the information requested. Clearly someone hasn't been telling the truth and I think we all know now who that was if we didn't already know.
The EFL demanded an urgent meeting and in the absence of news to the contrary, I believe that will have happened or being scheduled to happen very soon. Either the EFL get satisfactory answers and approve the takeovers - the first one needs to be approved before they could reasonable ratify the second - or the EFL will have to take further steps. They cannot prevent the sale of ESI or the club as part, but they can take further sanctions which would be catastrophic for ESI and the club. A points deduction would seem to be the lightest form of punishment but we could equally be thrown out of the league.
Whatever happens, the statement and reaction to it suggests that it has had a galvanising effect on the fan-base. Those fans already settled on the idea that Farnell thrives on the chaos and destruction of football clubs are now convinced he needs to be removed and it also looks like the waverers have also made their minds up. There is a wave of fresh activity aimed at encouraging ESI to quit.
Farnell, his business IPS Law, as well as the stooge Elliott have been receiving a lot of unwanted supporter attention this week that will be causing them inconvenience if not sleepless nights. One plucky Addick who lives in Hale Tweeted a picture of Farnell's offices and said she had called in and asked to see him over his intentions for the club. He wasn't available but he called her later and was relatively angry and threatening about her having posted a picture of his offices and his cars. Given that the addresses, numbers and email details of all of the protagonists appear to be circulating widely, I suspect she is the least of his worries.
So, Charlton Athletic FC appear to be in a no-win situation. Either ESI fail to pony-up and the club faces a damaging sanction, or they do manage to show proof of funds and the shambolic ownership continues as a League One side until they do cash in and move on to infect someone else. My money is still on the former.
The huge frustration for us supporters is there are limits to what we can, realistically, do and the elephant in the room is that Roland Duchatelet still holds the keys to the castle. Irrespective of who owns the club, it will forever be at risk all the time it does not have control over it's ground and training facilities. Duchatelet shows no sign of any pressure to sell and all the time he hangs out for an unrealistic price, he is only likely to attract wasters like Nimer and Southall who will never be able to follow-through on a purchase. He isn't going to need the £50m he wants in his lifetime, so the Valley and Sparrows Lane remain inheritance assets for his family if he doesn't get what he wants. He will be satisfied that they will appreciate in value whatever happens in the long run.
In the circumstances then, the only other potential driver here is Greenwich Council. The pitch has long been registered as an Asset of Community Value and the work of the Club and it's Community Trust are highly valued in the Borough and beyond. The last chance may be for the Council to force a compulsory purchase on Duchatelet. If that could be done at market rate (I am no planning expert but I believe legislation around this would support that), then the Council would be free to secure the lease or sale of the ground in due course to the club's owners. That would unite the club once more and ensure that Council Tax payers were not out of pocket. Both local MP's have written to the EFL on behalf of their constituents and I am sure they would be equally supportive of the Council if a compulsory purchase order was made.
With ongoing operational costs, demand for replacement players and fans still reluctant to buy new season tickets, August looks to be crunch time for ESI and Charlton Athletic.
ESI V1 (Nimer & Southall) never provided sufficient evidence of 'source of funds,' which was why a transfer embargo was slapped on the club in January and why Nimer, ultimately, had an excuse to scuttle off. It's also Southall's last line of defence, that Nimer let him down on promised funding, although his evident grasping greed would have scared anyone off giving him access to any more money.
ESI V2 (Farnell & Elliott) have still not provided information the EFL have repeatedly requested and I believe that centres around 'proof of funds.' This is in stark contrast to Tweets from Farnell suggesting he has been working closely with the EFL all along and has provided all the information requested. Clearly someone hasn't been telling the truth and I think we all know now who that was if we didn't already know.
The EFL demanded an urgent meeting and in the absence of news to the contrary, I believe that will have happened or being scheduled to happen very soon. Either the EFL get satisfactory answers and approve the takeovers - the first one needs to be approved before they could reasonable ratify the second - or the EFL will have to take further steps. They cannot prevent the sale of ESI or the club as part, but they can take further sanctions which would be catastrophic for ESI and the club. A points deduction would seem to be the lightest form of punishment but we could equally be thrown out of the league.
Whatever happens, the statement and reaction to it suggests that it has had a galvanising effect on the fan-base. Those fans already settled on the idea that Farnell thrives on the chaos and destruction of football clubs are now convinced he needs to be removed and it also looks like the waverers have also made their minds up. There is a wave of fresh activity aimed at encouraging ESI to quit.
Farnell, his business IPS Law, as well as the stooge Elliott have been receiving a lot of unwanted supporter attention this week that will be causing them inconvenience if not sleepless nights. One plucky Addick who lives in Hale Tweeted a picture of Farnell's offices and said she had called in and asked to see him over his intentions for the club. He wasn't available but he called her later and was relatively angry and threatening about her having posted a picture of his offices and his cars. Given that the addresses, numbers and email details of all of the protagonists appear to be circulating widely, I suspect she is the least of his worries.
So, Charlton Athletic FC appear to be in a no-win situation. Either ESI fail to pony-up and the club faces a damaging sanction, or they do manage to show proof of funds and the shambolic ownership continues as a League One side until they do cash in and move on to infect someone else. My money is still on the former.
The huge frustration for us supporters is there are limits to what we can, realistically, do and the elephant in the room is that Roland Duchatelet still holds the keys to the castle. Irrespective of who owns the club, it will forever be at risk all the time it does not have control over it's ground and training facilities. Duchatelet shows no sign of any pressure to sell and all the time he hangs out for an unrealistic price, he is only likely to attract wasters like Nimer and Southall who will never be able to follow-through on a purchase. He isn't going to need the £50m he wants in his lifetime, so the Valley and Sparrows Lane remain inheritance assets for his family if he doesn't get what he wants. He will be satisfied that they will appreciate in value whatever happens in the long run.
In the circumstances then, the only other potential driver here is Greenwich Council. The pitch has long been registered as an Asset of Community Value and the work of the Club and it's Community Trust are highly valued in the Borough and beyond. The last chance may be for the Council to force a compulsory purchase on Duchatelet. If that could be done at market rate (I am no planning expert but I believe legislation around this would support that), then the Council would be free to secure the lease or sale of the ground in due course to the club's owners. That would unite the club once more and ensure that Council Tax payers were not out of pocket. Both local MP's have written to the EFL on behalf of their constituents and I am sure they would be equally supportive of the Council if a compulsory purchase order was made.
With ongoing operational costs, demand for replacement players and fans still reluctant to buy new season tickets, August looks to be crunch time for ESI and Charlton Athletic.
Spot on thank you Dave. Expulsion sounds the only option to progress a compulsory purchase order. But wouldn't that would be a first for any council and surely that would mean they'd have to commit taxpayers money and then resell (risky). If CAFC are expelled I'd love it if GBC could levy huge business rates on RD. That might force him to sell on his assets rather than just sit on them and gain interest. Raise his rates and bleed the bugger for the community, instead of vice versa.
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