Bye-bye Charlie Boy

Delighted to see that Thomas Sandgaard has pulled the plug on asset-stripper Charlie Methven. We have dodged a bullet here. 

Sandgaard has said that the terms of the agreement hadn't been met and he couldn't let it drag on. Methven has said they had agreed a price of £8.5m and that the money was ready to go. Who to believe?

The fact is, we are ten days beyond the exclusivity deadline and a deal had not been closed. Methven was shit-stirring last weekend via "a well-known Charlton businessman" and trying to get fans to pressure Sandgaard to do a deal. The nonsense about Sandgaard holding out for another 2% didn't sound realistic, especially if they had "three billionaires with £53m ready to go." Saying Sandgaard had failed a commitment to pay a first installment of £17m to Duchatelet for the Valley and Sparrows Lane was also horseshit. Sandgaard may well have had an option for that - he spoke about it once before, but it has never been provisioned as a liability in the accounts and we know he agreed an increase in the annual lease in exchange for an extended lease, so a purchase commitment made no sense. If he had committed contractually to buying the assets, does anyone think he would have kept it to himself when it would have given him overwhelming fan backing?

I suspect Methven's US backers were still struggling to raise the funds and more likely were nipping Sandgaard to try and reduce what they needed to raise.

Worth remembering that Sandgaard wants to cut his losses. Project Break-Even isn't a rumour. If Methven and Co had met the price I think he would have grabbed it. More likely they hadn't and he was unimpressed at being abused by Methven.

The reliable Ben Ransome at Sky (pretty sure he is a Charlton fan too) has also reported similar but has mentioned backing of Methven's bid by US businessmen Gabriel Brener and Joshua Friedman. I don't doubt this but I can't believe they were any more committed than a minor stake in the investment company's "fast burn." If they were, this wouldn't have drifted on. They are probably the "three billionaires" Methven was bragging about, although neither qualify. Brener is worth less than Sandgaard and Friedman is CEO of an asset management company and an internet search suggest he has less money than Methven.

So goodbye to Scott, Rodwell and Warrick. We can also expect to see "SE7 Partners" shut down before taking breath. Holden has said he is interested in extending his time with us and Sandgaard moved quickly today saying he was looking at strengthening his contract. That is a good move which will be well received by fans and should help us finish the season on a high.

It could also be, of course, that Sandgaard has an increasingly better second offer. If that proves to be the case, it surely had to be more positive for us than what Methven's backers were threatening. I will say it again, he doesn't want to be on the hook for our running costs going forward and I can't see that changing. There remains a deal to be done.