Very disappointing news for all Charlton supporters today. Amid frenetic social media activity in recent days aimed at trying to save Charlton Athletic from the jaws of the EFL and to find a new, honest, responsible and capable owner for the club, best-bet Andrew Barclay has reluctantly admitted defeat and pulled out.
Barclay came with serious financial clout but, more importantly, the blessing and support from Super Charlton fan, Peter Varney. Ultimately, Varney's backing may have done for Barclay's bid but Barclay was only full of praise today for the work Peter has done in trying to support him. Varney confirmed this afternoon in a Tweet that Roland Duchatelet had failed to even acknowledge, let alone return any of their attempts at dialogue and with no chance of a deal on the assets, Barclay was throwing the towel in. Barclay was clear from the outset - and even that was when he needed to break cover because ESI were not playing ball - that he wanted to own the whole club. He rightly wanted surety around the Valley and was keen to invest heavily in Sparrows Lane in order to bring the Academy up to Class 1 status to improve the flow-through of talent into the club.
It's very clear where the blame lies here. Richard Murray fell out with Peter Varney long before Duchatelet arrived. The rights and wrongs of that are subject to conjecture but I know that Varney has never put himself before CAFC and his track record in everything he has done for the Club, including leading us into the Premiership and re-developing the Valley is second to none. Richard Murray, who was the owner and Chairman during this period may well harbour resentment that Varney gets more of the credit for this. When Duchatelet's plans based on FFP fell apart and he began to look to exit the club, Murray poured poison into his ear about Varney which lead to Varney being blanked first by the hopeless Meire and then ignored completely by Duchatelet when Peter was brokering a possible buyout.
Whatever the merits of their fall-out, the behaviour of the pair has been very transparent as far as Charlton are concerned. Murray has hitched his wagon to every rotten owner we have had since then and Varney has attempted at every opportunity to try to bring better ownership to the club. Murray has continued to lord it in the Directors Box whereas Varney has continued to buy a season ticket and sit with his friends and family in the stands.
Murray's own importance at the club has declined during these years along with his health and his financial significance. His Board membership and various titles have ebbed away over time and as fans we had to suffer his silence as the "voice of the fans" under Duchatelet when he failed spectacularly to say anything to rein in the worst excesses of Katrien Meire. The fact that Duchatelet is still not even prepared to speak to Varney is Murray's doing and we should not forget it.
Murray is also busy in the background with a rival low-lying consortium whom it is believed may be interested in a property play and a relocation from the Valley which would enable Duchatelet to pursue a redevelop the Club's historic home in SE7. Neither should be allowed to get away with this.
Barclay's withdrawal leaves us with one last hope - Thomas Sangaard. Sangaard only broke cover in the last week or so - also because he was having trouble connecting with Roland Duchatelet. He appears in a hurry and is saying he will do whatever he needs to in order to takeover. He wants the assets and the football club. He says he is ready to buy from ESI, sort out the ex-Directors loans and pay for the assets from Duchatelet. In order to do that he would need to part with something close to £65m. That would be before any investment in the club and the team.
Sangaard may be moving to the UK but he runs a multi-national medical devices business in the US and he will need people at the club to carry out his plans. We need a CFO, a CEO and strengthening in a number of areas outside of the team to repair the damage done by Duchatelet and continued by the ESI conmen. Due Diligence or operational discovery, as may be more likely under Sangaard, could well uncover a bigger mess and involve a lot of litigation. No-one knows for sure what side-deals Matt Southall did whilst at the wheel. Laurence Bassini has already said he will sue us for some ridiculously large 'consultancy fee' and there may be more yet to crawl out of the darkness.
Barclay has wished Sangaard well and hopes he can carry it off. However, to me it looks like a pipe dream. You have to ask yourself, why would anyone pay £20-30m more than the assets are worth when it's pretty obvious the current owner is simply trying to avoid taking a loss for his years of mismanagement? A man who already a billionaire to boot. Why too would a Danish national, 24 years resident in the US want to risk a huge chunk of his personal fortune that he has worked his life to build on a League One football club in south-east London? Especially when it comes with all these other unknown risks.
It would be great if Sangaard could do this and clean the slate of six years of ownership and operational misery but there are many hurdles yet to clear and he will need to be prepared to pay tens of millions over the value. Even if he were to, would we really be happy seeing Duchatelet, Southall, Nimer and God knows who else, benefit from their greed, conniving, opportunism and the damage they have wreaked on the club? It's far more likely that he will draw the line somewhere and that may be with the intransigent Duchatelet. What's certain is that the Freshfields law firm he has engaged will be making these risks and avaricious sums very clear to him.
If Greenwich Council could move to Compulsory Purchase the Valley and back someone like Barclay, it would be the right way forward but it's unlikely and in any event would take too long for the club. I have now arrived at the reluctant conclusion that Administration is the best and most likely way ahead. It would crystallise Duchatelet's £65m losses and wipe away all the responsibilities and obligations that ESI have accepted and loaded onto the club. It would likely mean a 12 point deduction to start in League One but the way would be clear for someone to deal with the Administrator and acquire the club for what it's worth - very little - and free of debt. It might also mean we need to find somewhere else to play but that's an option that may be forced on us anyway sooner or later by Duchatelet and one that a number of would-be owners are also advocating simply for the development opportunity alone.
So, pray for Sangaard but remember Murray's role in all this and be prepared to get behind the club if and when Administration becomes a reality.
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