Sandgaard exit underway

Glad I am a man of leisure or I wouldn't have been able to keep abreast of yesterday's drama. There was so much to take in and a hell of a lot of noise and conjecture around it. It looks like there is some way to go yet before we can really take a view on what's happening but it seems fairly clear that the Thomas Sandgaard era is coming to a long expected conclusion - two and bit years of failure.

For what it's worth, here's how I see it;

1) Sandgaard's announcement of four high level appointees through the club's website was in direct contrast to everything we have seen from him since the outset. He has run the senior team on a skeleton staff including his partner and son in addition to short-lived appointees like Roddy, Mumford and Jokat. He even told the FF last week that he had been scouring the planet for a year looking for a couple of senior positions with two recruitment agencies and couldn't find a CEO. A week later and four appointees are named. Unbelievable. So much so that it's only realistic to see this as appointments being announced on behalf of someone else. It doesn't fit 'break-even' either.

2) The appointees - Dean Holden a rumoured permanent manager was announced - so much for this "taking weeks rather than days" - Hayes got two games. Holden's club interview yesterday gave away that he has been negotiating this position for some time, suggesting longer than when Garner was sacked. 

Andy Scott has been appointed Technical Director - a role that sits uncomfortably alongside Steve Gallen and that of Martin Sandgaard, given Scott's previous roles at Notts Forest. Rick Everitt reporting that Scott's contract may be only for six weeks - so perhaps he is advising on January transfer activity at least initially?

Jim Rodwell in as COO. This was Tony Keohane's title, so we can live in hope although Rodwell's previous career is chequered to say the least and Sunderland fans don't speak well of him. Still much better than we do of Keohane.

Finally Ed Warwick nominally as FD to replace Emma Parker who has a bigger job at Palace to go to.

3) Next up was the news I suspect Sandgaard and all the other involved would rather we didn't know just yet. That a shell company was set-up on Friday with Companies House in the name of SE7 Partners. It has two Directors named currently - Ed Warrick, the nominal FD, and Charlie Methven, the controversial and unpopular ex-public Tory schoolboy and former Sunderland CEO who did a fine imitation of of the clueless David Brent in Netflix's brilliant Sunderland til I Die series. 

Perhaps the naming of the shell company wasn't intended to be a secret for long, given the highly anonymous name, but whatever, the cat would appear to be out of the bag and that long vacant CEO role would appear to have a name pencilled in.

4) So what about the Valley and Sparrows Lane? This depends on two factors - Duchatelet's willingness to sell at a fair price and someone with the money to acquire it. I don't see any compelling reason for RD to sell - it's just an investment for him and one that he can sit out and wait as land prices rise or for someone willing to pay over the odds. However, there has been talk for awhile that it was back on the table so I guess much will depend on whether new owners have the funds and see it as a necessary purchase to reunite the club and have full control. 

5)  So who will the owners be? That's the 64m dollar question. Mohamed Mansour has spoken via the press in the last week (Telegraph and Guardian) about his continuing interest in acquiring a UK football club - the Eqyptian business lives in London "and loves it.". He was formerly a bidder for Chelsea and currently owns a Danish side riding high in their top league. He certainly has the funds - worth £2bn. To give Mansour more credit, Sandgaard has been adamant there is no deal with Mansour, in just the same way he told us that Charlie Methven wasn't involved in any way with what's happening at the Valley despite attending the last few home games.

It begins to look like Peter Varney's interest has been out-manouevred, although Sandgaard has always been able to sell to whomever he wants to, so there was no particular drive to do it before this evening's Brighton cup-tie but no doubt Sandgaard will be enjoying Peter's embarrassment if his interest now comes to nothing as per last time. Perhaps there was never anything more concrete about Varney's interest than trying to convince a prospective buyer to weigh in?

A Daily Mail online article late yesterday suggested Methven was being backed by a consortium of American and Qatari businessmen. Not sure what to make of that but it is the Daily Mail, so hardly a ringing endorsement and I wonder why it would take both American and Qataris? Mixed ownership is never ideal and might suggest a lack of funds if it needs two of them. Maybe one to run the club and another focusing on the assets? Probably a step too far - Mansour looks a clearer bet and Charlie Methven has been name-dropping him on recent visits to the Valley.

6) So what next? First we have to get this game out of the way tonight. I expect a far larger Charlton crowd to make their feelings known about Sandgaard. Hopefully that will echo around the stands and end any lingering doubt that he might cling on for a minor face-saving stake and potential interference.

I suspect things will move fairly quickly from here given the apparent rush to make appointments yesterday and the fact that SE7 Partners is going to need explaining sooner rather than later.

Given that this is us, it's worth restating that SE7 Partners is nothing more than a registration with Companies House at the moment. It could simply be a vehicle to pay Warrick and possibly Methven if announced in a role or perhaps even as a consultant aiding a purchase. However, it does look like more than that and both will be under pressure to explain.

I expect Methven to be appointed as CEO on announcement of new ownership before Christmas with all the hope and reassurances that they can give us about their long term plans acquire the assets, to get to the Premier League within five years and possibly Europe. Hopefully they won't tell us 'football is easy.'