A load of Red Bull

An amazing £75m price tag has been put on Charlton by its eccentric Belgian owner, according to fanzine Voice of the Valley. An article by fanzine editor Rick Everitt claims that the figure was given by chief executive Katrien Meire in a new year phone conversation with Austrian-based energy drinks Red Bull who have been looking for an English club to add to their portfolio of New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig.

Apart from the ridiculous price (which could have been an opening gambit), more than four times the £18m Roland Duchatelet paid for the club, Red Bull have higher targets on their list including West Ham United and Swindon Town, so it doesn't look as if it will be Red Bull Charlton any time soon, a move that would not have gone down well with Addicks fans.

Everitt writes, 'The club's 2015/16 accounts are likely to show a thumping operating loss and a debt of around £50m to Duchatelet's Staprix company at June 30th last year. While that in part will be mitigated by substantial player dealings in 2016/17, significantly a reported £8m guaranteed from the sale of Ademola Lookman to Everton, the club will make another heavy operating loss in League One.'

Everitt faces his own loss after the postponement of last Saturday's game against Scunthorpe when it was revealed that pipes under the pitch had not been connected to any heat source. Voice of the Valley was due to be sold before the game, but now the living room of his bijou Ramsgate cottage is full of unsold copies. However, such is the enthusiasm of Charlton fans for the fanzine that several hundred have bought copies online to be sent by post. You can get yours here: Voice of the Valley