The following statement has been issued by the club:
The board of Charlton Athletic plc was today informed by Zabeel Investments that it will not be proceeding with the proposed acquisition of Charlton Athletic plc. Zabeel Investments has informed Charlton that the decision not to proceed was taken on the basis that its focus moving forward will be on domestic opportunities in Dubai that complement the current Zabeel Investments portfolio.
This, combined with the current debate around foreign ownership of football clubs and the worsening economic climate in the UK, contributed to the decision by Zabeel to pull out. Furthermore, Zabeel Investments has made it clear to Charlton that this decision was not made as a result of any discoveries during the due diligence process.
Contrary to press reports, Zabeel Investments has confirmed to Charlton that it has not approached any other club since it made an indicative offer for Charlton on October 10th, not has it authorised any approach on its behalf.
Some initial thoughts
The FT report we highlighted earlier this week noted a crucial meeting in the UAE about the effect of the global economic crisis took place on the Saturday after the takeover bid was announced. It is also evident that to some extent the bid has been a casualty of the political storm about foreign ownership.
I think that the future for the club is now as bleak as it has been since 1984. Although we may escape relegation, it is a real threat, given poor performances on the pitch. If we were relegated, we would face a double whammy of losing the parachute payments and also a sharp fall in season ticket sales. Indeed, even if we stayed in the Championship, season ticket falls would probably decline sharply after this season's poor performances. Hopefully, the club can avoid administration.
In my view this takeover was the last best chance to take the club to a higher level. At least the club should survive, but the already low expectations of Charlton fans will have to be lowered even further. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
13 comments:
That's about the worst news i could read today!
If what you have posted is accurate, the current board must now take firm action to prevent the continued decay of our on-pitch fortunes. Pardew must be sacked and a new man put in place. I favour Allardyce, but suspect we couldn't afford him and he wouldn't be interested in us. Therefore (gulp) we must go back to Curbishley (and i never thought i would say that)
Why makes you think Curbs would be interested?
I don't think Curbs would be interested. And I think that the board will stick with Pards for now as we slip down the table.
'Anonymous' He's unemployed.
'Wyn' The board that have done so much good for Charlton must see where we are heading. I hope they were waiting for the outcome of the takeover before acting. Now is the time.
Don't you think your being overly negative Wyn, "bleak as 1984"??? Ok we had a poor start but don't forget it's only October and in 1984 we had a rubbish board and didn't own the Valley.
'Bleak as it has been since 1984' which is slightly different wording. Up to now the club has grown organically backed by initiatives such as Valley Express. I don't see where the further organic growth is going to come from. Indeed, if results and performances are poor, as they have been for some time, we are going to lose supporters - particularly against the background of an economic crisis where people have to watch their discretionary spending.
I'm with you Wyn,we are staring at the abyss.The team are playing without confidence or belief,the same malaise that Pardew saw grow at West Ham.We can not afford to sack him so the board have to make better use of what we have.Kunsella would seem to have motivational abilities & these must be used for the good of the club.It's going to be a long winter.
The withdrawal of the offer is very bad news indeed. I've been trying to tell myself we can't miss what we've never had but I'm really disappointed.
Worse than that are Pardew's latest comments, specifically those about individual players. He clearly has no remaining appreciation of the game, his squad and their abilities or attitudes. If he achieves 21st place or higher I'll be stunned and contrite. We will need 52+ points to stay up that's 39 points minimum from 34 matches, that requires goals to be scored and there is no evidence of how that's going to happen. 'Bumpy ride' a masterful understatement!
Save Our Songbirds.
I would have thought that history shows that that Charlton is a club that shows its best when it is facing a real challenge - well now we have (another) one. Let's face it being handed success on a plate courtesy of a sugardaddy's cheque book was never the Charlton way.
The fight back starts now - if I was Burnley I'd be very scared!
agreed wyn - things look bleak
where are we going??? time will tell
i agree with sm - the fight back has to start - and from the top
the board have been misled / whatever - don't let pardew take us down
JOIN THE REDVOLUTION !!!!
" I don't believe in beatles . . . I just believe in me. Yoko and me. That's reality. The dream is over."
So back to work my friends. Starting with Burnley.
It could of course be worse gents. They may have pulled out after Christmas, or next Autumn, when we'd saddled ourselves with lost of expensive new signings we couldn't afford.
Or we could have been bought with an orange faced man with a girly haircut.
Fear not friends I have a cunning plan that wily fox would have been proud of. I'm convinced I have the winning lottery ticket number this Saturday...
Come on you Addicks!
Pembury Addick
note to self: next time we are 7th in the Prem, but lose to Bolton after a poor performance, don't beat myself up too much...
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