Charlton are now a 'distressed asset' according to Rory Smith, football correspondent of the New York Times, writing in the latest issue of Four Four Two.
He warns fans hoping for a brighter post-Roland future, 'Such circumstances attract the speculators and the snake oil sellers, the wolves and the vultures. Many don't have the reserves of patience or cash required; others don't realise quite what they are taking on, or try to bail out once things turn sour.'
Sadly, I have to agree with this analysis. Charlton's position in the league, and its reputation and "brand" are now so low that a take over is likely to attract only the mad or the bad. We can only hope that there is some saintly, rich benevolent Charlton supporter out there, who is willing to invest fortune , body and soul into saving and reviving the club. The previous owners (Kevin Cash or whoever) now look as if they were at the saintly end of the sectrup compared to what we have now or who might follow. Worrying times.
ReplyDeleteAllegedly that man is Peter Varney, although he is simply a deal broker rather than investor with a Charlton heart. Whilst we look to Varney as a saviour he did bring in the Spivs and that near ended in admin.
DeleteI know very little about "the Spivs", but they did invest in the club, bring in SCP, get promotion and, decide to bail out/sell on when they couldn't support the club financially any more.
DeleteAn alternative view is that they sold at the best time to benefit from their investment.
The pity is that they sold to the Regime. My fear is that the next owners will be badder than "the Spivs" or even worse madder than the Regime.
Its difficult for the individual fan to know how what to do for the best, but my decision is to stay away from the Valley until there is a change in ownership. The worry for the club and its supporters is that many like me may never find a reason to return.