Silence over takeover talk ends

The long silence surrounding the proposed takeover of the club by a mysterious "Middle Eastern consortium" has been broken with an annoucemnet this morning to the Stock Exchange.

"The board have concluded that the best interests of the club are served under the current ownership. As a result all talks regarding possible offers for the company have now been discontinued. The board of Charlton is committed to the long-term success and future of the company, including the provision of appropriate funding, so to ensure that the club is well placed to challenge for Premier League status."

The interest shown in buying Charlton during the Summer was, I guess, understandable bearing in mind our fall from the Premiership and the fact that we would have looked like good value for a side with potential of quickly regaining our top flight status. You have to wonder as to the intentions of this consortium bearing in mind they have failed to move quickly or decisively enough to take control. Perhaps it was pure opportunism looking for a quick return and the current Board have driven too hard a bargain or not been convinced that the intentions of their would be suitors were in the best interests of the club. Either way, the timing of this announcement is interesting as we are on the cusp in terms of a possible return and now might be a gamblers play in terms of the point at which to take a risk on best price versus quickest gain - a play-off place looks a good bet and we probably have a better chance with the squad we have than anyone around us.

Sometimes better the devil you know...