What is happening at our club? – weekly update – EFL meeting in diary & more
Another action packed week. There are now only 15 days until the start of the League season and our ownership and financial situation is far from sorted out. Nevertheless, Thomas Sandgaard's enthusiasm and optimism are infectious and we remain hopeful...
The week began with the "Bid for a Quid and Bought for a Pound" event attended by over 500 supporters on Saturday. The event brought national attention to the scandal of football clubs changing hands for £1 and Charlton fans were joined at The Valley by fans from Wigan, Brighton and Peterborough. £646 was collected in pound coins placed beneath Sam Bartram's statue and this sum was swiftly doubled by a donation from Thomas Sandgaard. The donations will be passed on to Covid-19 charities.
Supporters from the group CAFCFans4Fans staged an occupation of the boardroom and issued a statement which concluded:
"Football only exists because of fans. It has been taken from us by crooks, cheats and conmen. It has been officiated and regulated in a way that benefits these types of people, this needs to change with immediate effect"
Will Magee covered the event in the i:
On Monday CAST received a communication from the EFL offering to meet CAST in mid September. While we are pleased, after six months of lobbying, to have succeeded in gaining a meeting we are disappointed that it will not be held for another three weeks. As we know from the content of these updates, three weeks is a long time in Charlton and it is hard to say at the moment what the crucial issues will be by then. Nevertheless, we are interested to hear from all Charlton fans about what questions they would like asked and what issues should be raised. Please email your questions to secretary@castrust.org by Fri 11 September.
On Wednesday a document emerged that appeared to show that Matt Southall had attempted to novate (ie transfer) a personal debt to Laurence Bassini to Charlton Athletic FC Ltd. It also cast doubt on the "obligation" for ESI to pay £50m to Roland Duchatelet in five years time. For those interested it can be seen HERE and we are grateful to Henry Irving of Charlton Life for his summary.
It has now been clarified that Paul Elliott's application for an injunction to stop Panorama Magic disposing of its shares will be heard on Tuesday September 1st at 2pm via Teams. We will share log in details when they become available. Remember it is illegal to record court proceedings or to take screen shots. Our dress code advice if you are attending is to cover the upper torso if at all possible.
On Wednesday Thomas Sandgaard spent an hour with the board of CAST:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/08/cast-meets-thomas-sandgaard/
On Thursday the club published an in depth interview by Olly Groome with club director Marian Mihail. The main news from it is that two bidders are at advanced due diligence stage - Sandgaard as we know plus an Istanbul-based investment fund.
https://www.cafc.co.uk/news/view/5f47c587ce9a2/watch-club-director-marian-mihail-interview
Also on Thursday the club held a meeting with CAST and other supporter groups about the practicalities of spectators returning to The Valley. Full details will no doubt be published soon but in the meantime here are a few bullet points:
- Capacity under review - likely to be between a quarter and a third initially
- West Stand lower will be unused, but Jimmy Seed Stand will be open for home fans
- Social bubbles of maximum 6 from up to 2 households. 2 seat gap between each bubble
- Not all season ticket holders will necessarily be able or willing to attend. 3500 purchased so far.
- Match day tickets may be available based on loyalty points.
- Face masks at all times except when in seat
- Phased departures and fewer turnstiles
- No sharing of tickets due to track and trace
- Away games will be on Valley Pass
- Doncaster will be trial game
Meanwhile Lee Bowyer is frustrated by the restrictions placed on him by the transfer embargo:
“We’re working behind the scenes to try and make some spaces available but it’s not easy. I’m being told ‘just be patient’ but it’s driving me mad. I can’t even do my job properly at the moment.”
Over 1250 Charlton supporters have joined CAST in the last three months - no doubt motivated by the parlous state of affairs at our club. This has pushed our total membership to over 2600 making us one of the largest supporters' trusts in the country. Together we are stronger. You can join here for just £5 adult, free for U16s:
https://www.castrust.org/join/
If you are concerned about the future of our club sign up to the OUR CLUB campaign here. At the moment, we aren't asking for money, just your details, though we may need to fund-raise soon:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/05/sign-up-if-you-love-charlton/