Just when you find yourself wondering when even the smallest scrap of positive Charlton related news will arrive to brighten the gloomy mood, along comes yet another sizable kick in the bollocks. News filtered out yesterday via the South London Press that the 'impending' takeover by American Billionaire (it hurts to even write that), Josh Harris, has fallen through. To rub salt in the wounds, it would appear that despite the due diligence process being completed, the sports loving yank could not agree a fee with Jimenez and Slater. Quite what sort of figures they are expecting is anyone's guess, but I can only hope they are not being greedy for their own personal gain over the future of this club.
I don't imagine there are a long line of billionaires queuing up outside the Valley ready to write huge cheques for the betterment of our club, so to allow this deal to fall through is something that needs some level of explanation from our current owners, especially if there is a good and valid reason why they may have stood firm on this deal. Not that I'll be holding my breath; neither Jimenez or Slater seem to feel the need to speak with us, the fans, despite the whirlwind of rumours and speculation that arise from the silence.
But if you'll allow me to play devils advocate for one moment, whilst the association with a billionaire sounds nice, we did not know what Mr. Harris' intentions would have been for our club. Be careful what you wish for, and all that. You need only to look at Hull City to see an egotistical and rich owner who wants to change the name and identity of the club despite universal, angry objections from the fans. In recent times, Cardiff City have changed from their traditional blue shits to red at the request of their Malaysian owner against the wishes of the club's supporters. Above all else I want a club to support, but I would also be heartbroken to have to leave the Valley or change the identity of my club to suit someone with no natural love for Charlton.
Furthermore, whilst I make no attempts to be an apologist for the way Jimenez and Slater conduct themselves, I do need someone to explain to me how it makes any logical sense for them to allow us to slowly run into the ground and potentially loose any investments they have put into the club when they purchased it?
Unless I'm missing something, it would be like cutting their noses off to spite their own faces if Charlton went under. It's clear they don't have the money themselves to bankroll a club with the infrastructure and size of Charlton, but they must be confident a good deal can be found, whether by investment or by selling up to a new owner...or incredibly bad businessmen (I'm aware there is a strong case for the later).
Still, in the absence of any imminent financial input from somewhere, the future for Charlton is looking pretty dark. Chris Powell is in as much need of new players to bolster his squad as he is in a new contract for himself and many of his players.
Charlton fans are equally in need of a lift...
think you hit the nail on the head with the last sentence of the first paragraph - they will without a shadow of a doubt be greedy. I no longer live in the UK, but what sort of fan protest might happen? Similar to Blackburn trying to get rid of Keen - but no boycot, players need the fans, just lots of banners asking questions of the two muppets
ReplyDeleteI would happily support the "Charlton Dodgers" playing in blue and beating teams in the champions league!
ReplyDeleteClearly you're right in saying that it makes no sense for Jiminez and Slater to run in the club into the ground. As you say, this may indicate that there is a good prospect of finding a buyer at their asking price.
ReplyDeleteA more worrying alternative interpretation is that they're now both looking at losing money, but can't face up to it, so are desperately clinging on to the hope that they can find a buyer willing to pay enough to get them out of this miss. A bit like a gambler that keeps on playing rather than cutting his loses, in the misguided hope that he can win it all back.
Of course, I have no idea what the reality of the situation is. I'm just hoping that it's closer to the former scenario than the latter.