Although I am yet to fully digest the latest Voice of the Valley it is evident that Rick Everitt has delivered a more nuanced critique of ESI. There are questions to be asked why the deal is only partially complete with Roland's company apparently having the right to fix 'ownership plates' to valuable items at the training ground and The Valley.
I have never really got my head round the company structure at Charlton. Indeed, I got caught out once when I was asked about it on Radio Five. In any case, I am not a corporate lawyer, or a lawyer of any kind. However, I did look again at the mortgage on The Valley and Sparrows Lane and it is very comprehensive, covering the following items among others:
- Sam Bartram statue (I don't think fans would react very well to an ownership plate being attached to that)
- Valley seats/steps (any ownership plate on my seat is coming off)
- Bartrums [sic]
- Sky Box and East Stand box
- Valley pitch
I certainly don't want to start a panic, and I am confident that all these issues will be settled given time. However, a willingness to ask pertinent questions is justified.
Another difficulty I have is that my knowledge of the Gulf states, their extended families and their financial structures is virtually zero. My only contact is changing planes in Dubai. However, I am meeting an Addick on Tuesday who has lived in the region and he may be able to enlighten me.
Expectations management
Rick Everitt comments that Matt Southall is relatively inexperienced and he should be cut some slack when he makes mistakes. One mistake that has been commented on was raising expectations to too high a level, although I cannot recall any reference to signing so-called 'marquee players'.
In my view the way that the new owners are proceeding is entirely sensible, given the limitations of the January transfer window. I also favour a sustainable and prudent five year plan. The big wins were giving Lee Bowyer a contract and retaining Lyle Taylor. Roland would have offloaded him for anything Brentford were prepared to offer.
The Chicago Addick has called for better expectations management, something that is easier said than done, particularly when it comes to football management. Let me quote two recent examples from my own experience.
After honing her skills in the United States, a 18-year old granddaughter has a good job here in the UK. Quite reasonably she wants to get on the property ladder and can get a mortgage. There is just the small matter of the deposit which is quite large in Berkshire. So both the bank of Mum and Dad and the Bank of Grandad had to open. It wasn't an expectation I had at 18 or even at 27 when I got my first mortgage, but it's a different world.
Recently the vicar of our parish church had to go on paternity leave at age 60 and I had to chair a meeting without his presence. Knowing how intense doctrinal arguments can be, I bought a copy of the Church of England lectionary which in particular tells me which vestments should be worn every day of the year. It usually kicks off over vestments, but the issue was not raised. A ruling I made on Ash Wednesday was received without a murmur. It wasn't until the next day that I started to receive abusive e-mails after I had endorsed a planning application relating to the churchyard.
The point here is that expectations management is never easy and it is particularly difficult with football fans who have very short-term horizons and excessive expectations (just think of the pain currently being felt by supporters of Arsenal and Manchester United). As Rick Everitt suggests, at some point it might be useful to have a 'Meet the Board' meeting and this time without Johnnie Jackson as a human shield.
Happy Candlemas.
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