Zabeel bottle it

Zabeel have pulled out of the proposed takeover of Charlton Athletic. In an announcement that will dismay Charlton fans and make us the subject of further ridicule, Zabeel have provided a list of excuses, only half of which stand scrutiny today.

1) The Due Diligence exercise justified the Indicative Offer. If the offer was good enough to be made two weeks ago and the due diligence process has qualified it, this is a massive change of heart and seriously questions Zabeel's motives.

2) They will concentrate on domestic opportunties in the Middle East; maybe the case, time will tell.

3) Concern over foreign ownership of UK clubs. This has become more high profile in recent months what with Thakshin Sinawatra's problems but it must be a relatively minor concern today, just as it was a fortnight ago.

4) The economic climate. Again, the outlook is not good but it's hardly nose-dived in two weeks. This an an investment business who should have a reasonable view of the economic outlook. Zabeel would have been benefitting from the depressed value of the Charlton stock in any case and, let's face it, we were a cheap option in relation to their previous targets.

5) They are saying there has been no interest in any other clubs. Time will tell on this one too, but if they do move for someone else, they will attract a huge amount of criticism from all corners.

They have milked a lot of publicity for themselves through this process but will ultimately look like poseurs and time-wasters if they do not follow through with an English club. Maybe they have had a hard look at the economic situation and decided it's too risky for them.

Bottom-line has to be that maybe it's for the best. If they have bottled this over the economy, then they probably didn't have the vast resources to waste that many have assumed and we may not have found ourselves in any better position than QPR appear to be in under their fanstastically wealthy owners.

Perhaps our players will respond positively to it and get on with the business of winning games starting with the Chav Troglodytes on Saturday.

My biggest disappointment is for the Charlton Board who have been lead-up the garden path by men of less honour and integrity than themselves.