CAFC non-executive chair Gavin Carter (GC) and Chief Operating Officer and Finance Director Ed Warrick (EW) answered CAST members' questions at a webinar on Thursday hosted by CAST chair Heather McKinlay (HM) and vice chair Heather Alderson (HA).
GC described his Charlton background. He grew up in Tonbridge and was aware of Charlton even though his father was an Ipswich fan. He started attending as a twelve year old during the Premiership years and particularly relished the 4-3 at Aston Villa and the 4-2 at Arsenal.
EW is a Peterborough supporter and, having witnessed his team surrendering a four goal lead at Hillsborough in the play-offs two years ago, is mindful of managing expectations. His background is in housing - land purchasing for housing associations and property investment for charities. He became a consultant for a number of clubs on stadium matters and was introduced by Charlie Methven to the new ownership group. He started at Charlton in a purely finance role but has gradually expanded into operations.
In answers to questions submitted in advance and from those attending this is what they said:
The Valley
GC explained that ownership (or at least security of tenure) of The Valley and Sparrows Lane were high on the agendas of CAFC and Global Football Partners and they are intent on building "the best possible relationship" with the landlord and the EFL. He said that there is "no danger of us playing away from The Valley". The ownership also understand the special relationship between Charlton fans and The Valley. Negotiations will remain confidential.
EW added that these things always take a long time but that the club are continuing to invest in The Valley - for example the new pitch and safe standing.
The Pitch
EW said that the roots of the new pitch (which cost £1m) hadn't had quite enough time to bind between seeding and the first home pre-season game and that this had been exacerbated by the very wet weather. The ground staff had worked very hard and lighting rigs had been hired to improve matters and, now that the weather was improving, the pitch is looking much better. He noted that the team had got some great results at The Valley despite the pitch not being perfect.
Financial Sustainability
EW said that, as the person who reports on the numbers to the owners, he is only too aware of financial sustainability. The size of the club means that the cost base is high (eg The Valley is expensive to maintain). Player squad costs would obviously increase with promotion but so would central and broadcasting income. Fixed costs would remain largely the same and opportunities for commercial development with businesses in South East London and Kent would increase.
When asked whether the owners would be prepared to continue funding to the levels necessary in The Championship GC stressed that the last thing everyone would want would be to come straight down again. Nevertheless, he was determined not to risk the long term future of the club by overspending and the key was to "invest appropriately" and take advantage of the opportunities a Championship profile would bring. EW concurred with this and stressed examples of clubs who had tried to compete with "parachute" clubs and had got into difficulties.
GC noted that the club had reached the top tier twice before without spending unsustainable amounts.
In terms of the £13.5m loss last year EW said that he "didn't feel good" signing off the accounts but that not all the loss was cash loss. GC stressed that the ownership came into the club with "eyes wide open" and that some of the costs last year were "one time change costs" which were typical with new ownership of a business. He was satisfied that this process is now largely concluded.
Senior Management Team
GC said that a full and diligent process was undertaken for recruitment to all major positions and that an appointment to Head of Recruitment was imminent. Nathan Jones had been consulted on this. He didn't wish to "disrupt the season" with appointment of a new CEO but this will be concluded "in due course" and he was confident we will be happy with the outcome.
He said that the club had not really had a senior management team before the current ownership and that the owners deserved the best SMT possible. He stressed that it had taken time to find Nathan and get the deal done.
Kit & Other Sponsorship
Next season's kit sponsors had been agreed before Charlie Methven left and will be revealed next Thursday. Other major sponsors are currently being finalised. GC expressed his gratitude to current sponsors who are investing more than ever.
The Academy
EW said that everyone was incredibly proud of the Academy and that it is a "living, breathing, complex part of the club and not just a line in my spreadsheet". He said it enables us to "grow the club through the leagues" and that, the bigger the club gets, the more it allows investment in the Academy. We are very lucky both in our catchment area and the Academy staff who work so hard with very young people.
GC confirmed that there was commitment to the Academy "right from the top". He stressed the advantage we had over our competitors in that we could show a pathway to the first team and point to Nathan's commitment to developing young players.
EW said that applying for Category One status was still "discussed quite a lot" internally but there were costs involved and it needed to be asked whether it is the best use of investment at present. The focus was currently on good coaching and outcomes (eg the seven Academy graduates on the pitch against Burton).
The Women's Team
GC confirmed that, being in the USA, the owners were very familiar with the success of women's football and were committed to developing it at Charlton. He noted that the current structure of the women's game in England is "difficult" and "the landscape of the game" is currently being reviewed with various reforms being discussed. Because of our history in the women's game we have a leading role in those discussions. HM commented that CAST is involved in discussion with the ownership about developing the women's team and is committed to increasing awareness and support.
Both GC and EW have two daughters.
The Fan Zone, Floodlighting and Safe Standing
EW: The Fan Zone has already doubled in size because it is so popular. Future plans are still being developed. The current floodlights are "compliant" but not ideal and improvements have been discussed at ownership level. EW said that he loves the fact that the safe standing area adds to the atmosphere and that "The Covered End when full is a most impressive sight". GC said that he would like to sample The Covered End but that, given recent home performances, he is too superstitious to change his seat.
EW said that on the first day of next season The Valley would look "more different than on any other first day" and that fans could expect a "more engaging experience".
Charlton TV
EW confirmed that CTV cannot broadcast play-off games in countries where there are arrangements for the game to be broadcast but can do if there are no arrangements. Therefore "there is not a square inch in the world" where the next three games cannot be broadcast.
GC said that he was really impressed with Terry, Greg and Brownie whose commentaries and analysis were constantly improving. There are no plans to change Charlton TV at present but we do have to follow EFL regulations.
Ticketing
EW said he was very aware of the problems which had been encountered by fans this week and apologised to all who had experienced difficulties getting tickets. He said system provider, Seat Geek, had apologised to the club for their IT issues which had "cascaded down". He said it is important that fans were happy and satisfied with every engagement they had with the club and that he was keen to hear and understand the issues and to put them right. He stressed that delaying general sale by a further 48 hours meant that every season ticket holder should have had the opportunity to purchase their own seat.
GC said he regretted that the system was not as user-friendly or intuitive as it could be and that it will be improved. It had come under unprecedented demand (EW said it had sold 19,000 tickets in two days). GC expressed his thanks to the ticket office staff who were working very hard and had taken the brunt of some fan frustrations when it wasn't their fault at all.
EW said it was unlikely that extra tickets would be made available by Wycombe for Sunday's game if they did not sell out in home areas but that the question would be asked. There will be a screening in The Meantime Fans Bar. If Wycombe take-up for the second leg is low, the club will look at home fans accessing The Jimmy Seed Stand but a decision might not be made until very late.
Both are foreseeing a sellout at The Valley for the home match and pent-up demand has been much stronger compared to 2019.
The Valley Sponsorship
GC said that The Valley would always be The Valley but that there might be a sponsorship associated with it. Agreement of a sponsorship deal would be taken in consultation with the Charlton Advisory Board. He said it was important to be "pragmatic" about it and that the board would be "fiscally irresponsible if it didn't evaluate all possibilities". He recognised that stadium sponsorship might be controversial or unpopular but that owning the club was "not a popularity contest" and that the right decisions had to be made for the longevity of the club. He asked fans to "assume positive intent" when considering board and ownership decisions.
EW stressed that four of the top six clubs in League One did have partners for their stadia and that any partnership had to be "appropriate".
The owners as fans
GC said that the owners’ fandom had increased and that they were enjoying "the journey" and having more fun than they probably expected. There is a very active WhatsApp group during games. He complimented the Museum on doing a "fantastic job" educating the owners on the club's history.
Travel to The Valley
EW said that the club had a good relationship with RB Greenwich but that it was unlikely that any club protestations about parking would change borough policy. He noted the need for the club to be "more visible" about how to access the stadium by public transport. There was the possibility of liaising with local surface car parks and, if attendances grew, speaking to SE Trains about provision of extra rail transport. He noted that CAST were advising on parking options.
ACA and Mount Pleasant
GC said that ACA was still a shareholder in CAFC. They are no longer listed as an owner because their investment is under 5%.
The club have a memorandum of understanding with Mount Pleasant and a good relationship with the Jamaican FA.
What is our Footprint / Identity?
EW said we are a South East London and Kent club but that isn't exactly a "snappy description". Although we are not a one-club town we are nevertheless the single club in quite a large area of London and the challenge is really to embed our identity in the community. He said that currently you could walk through Greenwich and not realise CAFC was nearby. With the development of Woolwich and The Elizabeth Line we had the chance to raise the visibility of the club and supporters could play their part in that. He wanted every pub in Greenwich to have a Charlton calendar behind the bar.
GC said that away fans often comment that Charlton is their best away day and EW said he always looked forward to it as a Peterborough fan.
Best moment of the season so far?
EW: Matty Godden's last minute penalty against Wrexham. “I wanted 23,000 people to leave The Valley happy and it was the moment when we (including the owners) really started to believe.”
GC: Orient away because the fans were so good and it was great hearing people say "I think we've got our Charlton back". He also loved the visit of the Scandis - Claus, JJ, Pringle, Svensson and Hermann Hreidersson - “who were my heroes growing up”.
EW: “I was originally a bit sceptical about the value of having ex-players at the games but it has provided a real buzz. The heritage makes Charlton special.”
GC: “It is only just getting started. There are plans for a former players match and a golf day in September.”
Future Plans for the Jimmy Seed Stand
GC: The majority of clubs have home fans behind both goals and we wanted to give ourselves the option of arranging that at The Valley on occasions when away support was minimal, like it was for Burton last Saturday. That is why we alerted season ticket holders in two blocks of the West Stand that there might be a possibility of them needing to relocate for some games next season. We thought it was only fair that they were aware of the possibility before purchasing their season ticket and we offered them the option to relocate to any other area at no additional expense.
Will the players get Bluewater vouchers if the club gets promoted?
EW: I think they'll get a little more than that! Joking aside, Bluewater now have commercial arrangements in place with the club and have LED advertising screens at the ground – all after a Tik Tok meme.
Final words
EW thanked CAST for arranging the webinar and said that this kind of event was really helpful. He noted that there were some questions which there hadn't been time to ask and he agreed to provide written responses. GC thanked the two Heathers and said that he was really pleased about the close relationship which exists with CAST and other supporter groups. It is an exciting time and "everyone can play their part".
HA thanked GC and EW for giving up their time and reminded everyone about the Fans’ Sticker Book which is being developed along with Fans for Diversity. You can see the book so far on the CAST website and you can be included if you send your match day picture to merch@castrust.org