TNT CAS Trust News
WINTER EDITION NUMBER 15
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STEVE AVORY:
DECEMBER 2017
THE FUTURE IS IN SAFE HANDS
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Welcome
to the 15TH Edition of CAS Trust News AS WE CELEBRATE the fifth birthday of CAS Trust we recognise that the mood is a bit more upbeat than it was in our last edition in April when the club was striving to avoid its lowest finish for forty four years. In our October survey of supporter opinion we found that 44% of respondents felt more optimistic than they had in October 2016, and 55% felt that the club’s senior management had learnt from its past mistakes. I am in that camp. We are no longer subjected to an absurd merry-go-round of inappropriate managers and uncommitted players. Meddling in team selection is apparently a thing of the past. Provocative statements from the owner and CEO have largely dried up. Not surprisingly the measure of stability that this has provided has led to improvement on the pitch and 55% of our respondents now think that the team will at the very least make the play-offs. However we need to view this positivity in a broader context. Despite the improvements 79% of respondents still felt negative about the future of Charlton Athletic under Duchatelet’s ownership. 70% (80% of CAS Trust members) felt that protests should continue and 80% (90% of members) supported the approach and actions of CARD. Worryingly, 75% of respondents reported that they didn’t feel as enthusiastic about all things Charlton as they used to. And I am in that camp too. My first Charlton game was on Boxing Day 1961. We beat Sunderland 2-0 at The Valley and it was a thrilling experience. I clamoured to be allowed to go again the following week and I’ve been clamouring to go ever since. Yes, I know there are other things in life, but, let’s be honest, few of them compare. I am still attending games but I’m not doing
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so with a spring in my step. I’m not out of my seat at every goal like I was even when we were struggling in 1974 or 2011. And, despite the relative success this season, when I look around me what I see are vast numbers of empty seats. In the 2010/11 season the average gate was 15,582 despite the generally dismal football on display. The following promotion season it rose to 17,428 and, as the team punched above its weight in the first Championship season, it was watched by crowds of 18,503. Last season – which in many ways was similar to 2010/11 – attendances were down to an average of 11,162. This season it is under 11,000. That is over 4000 people no longer attending. And they are the reason why we remain convinced that the situation is irretrievable for Duchatelet, irrespective of what Karl Robinson might achieve with the team. Too many long-term fans have turned away in dismay at their club becoming a laughing stock, a plaything and an experiment. Rumours continue to circulate about a possible sale of the club and there seems to be little doubt that some serious discussions have been taking place. Charlton supporters don’t have delusions of grandeur and we don’t demand instant success but we do want to watch a committed team representing a club we can be proud of. CAS Trust is strongly of the view that, provided he or she showed some ambition and a healthy respect for the club’s supporters and traditions, a new owner would be warmly welcomed by the majority of Charlton fans. After four years of instability I suspect that most fans would also like to see Karl Robinson being backed by a new owner. Board Chair: Richard Wiseman Vice chair: Steve Clarke Treasurer: Nigel Kleinfeld Richard Hunt Heather McKinlay Alex Clarke Andy Buckland
One of the joys of supporting a football club is seeing young players emerge through the Academy and represent the first team. We at Charlton have been blessed in recent years by a stream of young players to whom we can sing “He’s one of our own”. A great deal of credit for this must go to Academy Director Steve Avory who was kind enough to be the guest speaker at our AGM this year. On pages 4-8 you can find a summary of some of the insights he gave us. Our October survey asked for supporters’ opinions on the issue of safe standing at football matches. Although a majority of respondents were in favour of the introduction of safe standing areas, 45% felt that they didn’t have sufficient information to express an opinion. On pages 9 - 11 we have tried to fill in the background. We also have an update on what is happening in East London. On pages 14-16 we bring you news of recent events at Leyton Orient, courtesy of our friends at Leyton Orient Fans Trust. From just across The A12 Richard Hunt brings us (17-19) the latest developments in the saga of The Olympic Stadium in the light of the publication of Sadiq Khan’s inquiry into the escalating costs. We close this edition with some indulgent personal memories of December 1992. Whether there is a change of ownership or not, CAS Trust will continue to represent Charlton supporters. The more members we have the greater our influence can be. There is an application form at the back of this magazine. Why not give it to someone you know who just needs a bit of encouragement to getting round to signing up ? Richard Wiseman, Chair
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Additonal photos - CAFC, Getty Images Keith Gillard, Ken Sinyard,Tom Morris/CAFC Except where indicated copywright CAS Trust 2017
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ACADEMY MAN Charlton Academy Manager Steve Avory kindly agreed to be guest speaker at our AGM this year. Here are some of the answers he gave to CASTrust members:
Was he any good in those days ? As a matter of fact I tried to encourage him to play for the school cricket team but he wasn’t having it. He was a good all round sportsman and he was humble, a good learner and he was driven and competitive but I wouldn’t have predicted he would reach the heights he did. He had a solid family behind him in middle class Crawley. I remember him saying that when he joined Crystal Palace how tough it was adapting to life with young players from a different background who could be quite hard on him. He found the training and playing environment a culture shock. The Palace manager at the time (Alan Smith) took him under his wing and said he’d be proud of him if he was his son, but that he was too nice and he needed to toughen up. And he did. How did you arrive at Charlton Athletic ? I had got my coaching “A” licence in 1985 at the 4
age of 29 and was coaching at schoolboy and county level. I saw a route into coaching at the higher level through the English Schools FA who at that time ran the national under 16 team. So I knew there was a chance of working with the very best young players. While still teaching I became assistant manager of the under 16 national team in 1990 and manager from 1991 to 1994. After finishing my national stint I continued to teach but became Centre of Excellence Director at Brighton up to 1998. Mick Brown was Charlton Academy Director in those days and he asked me to go full time at Charlton. I resisted and initially took a part time role coaching the Under 16’s. Eventually I accepted the Charlton offer and went full time as Assistant Academy Manager in January 2001. It had taken quite some time to convince me to go full time in football. I was in a very secure job at the time and football seemed precarious by comparison. I wanted to join a club with a history of developing young players and Charlton offered that with Paul Walsh and Lee Bowyer as examples of young players who had come through the ranks. When I arrived Scott Parker, Paul Konchesky and Jon Fortune were breaking through. I saw Charlton as an academy that had a genuine interest in developing young players and where there could be a pathway for them. I worked for seven years with the 9 to 16 age groups and then with the Under 18’s from 2007/8. I became Academy Manager in 2010. What are the biggest changes you have seen ? We are really moving forwards in terms of facility development. For most of my time at
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PHOTOS :GRAHAM CHADWICK/CAFC
Steve, could you start by telling us about your playing days ? That will take about one minute. I hit the dizzy heights of Mansfield Town’s under 18’s as a schoolboy but I wasn’t offered a professional contract. I became a PE teacher and played semi professional instead. In 1978 I moved down South and while I was living in Bexleyheath I played in the Kent League for a few clubs. Then I moved to Sussex and played at the same level until I was 39. My first teaching post was at Hurstmere School in Sidcup and I then moved to Hazelwick School in Crawley where I was Head of PE and incidentally taught Gareth Southgate.
Charlton I have coached players on nothing more than a sixty by thirty-five metre dimly floodlit astroturf area but now we have two full size, floodlit 4G pitches of the very best quality. We have twenty six Academy full time staff compared with six in 2010. I think we’ve proved that, regardless of the quality of facilities, if you can deliver with quality coaching and create the right environment the players will come through. Do the new facilities help in attracting new players ? It is enormous for us in terms of our ability to recruit players in the competitive environment of London. There are many players out there but many clubs very active in attempting to recruit the best. A boy or a parent now sees a training ground that has a modernised look about it. Undoubtedly that first impression can significantly attract. I do think parents look at other aspects, in particular the coaching, the people that will work with their son and the care and interest you show in them. It is important to have dialogue with parents so that they can buy into the philosophy of the Academy and support the development pathway. We are developing their boys as people as well as players and we maintain a disciplined environment because young players may not like discipline but they don’t like it if there’s no discipline. Have we had a golden age with Gomez, Lookman and Pope etc ? It has been a very productive past five years and we can’t expect a Lookman to come through
every year, but golden ages do return. It all depends on recruitment. We have 25-40 scouts now including two full timers looking at schools and grass roots football in Kent, Essex and SE London in particular. We can’t sign a boy until he’s 9 but we have a pre-Academy at under 7 and under 8. The preparation for a ‘ golden age’ starts young. I can show parents the statistics which prove there is a pathway to the first team form a very young age. Callum Harriott, Tarique Holmes-Dennis and Joe Gomez all joined us as nine year olds. Jordan Cousins, Chris Solly and Ezri Konsa came to us as young as 11 and 12. When I look back to the England Under 16 teams I managed in the 1990s, less than 20% went on to careers in the game so we have to manage expectations, but the long term development pathway does work for clubs and players. Are we still pursuing category 1 status ? Yes. With the new developments – and I see no reason why they won’t be completed - we will have everything in place and we hope to apply for category 1 at our next audit within three years. It would need greater investment because we would need to add to the staffing, but it would be a great advantage because at present, once our boys reach sixteen, they can only play other category 2 clubs in the games programme and they need more of a challenge. I also believe that we have proved over the last five years that we are competitive at u18 and u23 and we deserve to be playing against some of the category 1 teams. Nevertheless, even if we do stay category 2 it won’t hold us back in terms of developing players.
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Some clubs (eg Huddersfield) have disbanded their academies at schoolboy level. I don’t really understand it as they were very competitive at National category 2 level. I fervently believe in youth development and also that a professional football club should serve the immediate area with opportunity for youngsters to attain the highest level in the sport. We must continue to show a return on investment, because the academy is part of the business model but I am confident we can. I’ve never ever felt pressure to produce players for sale. At Charlton the academy is there to produce players for the first team whereas at some other, bigger clubs it is to produce players but not necessarily for the first team. I personally don’t find that as appealing. When our young players do break through they often comment that they feel an affinity with the supporters. They feel valued and appreciated. We nurture and encourage a Charlton passion with our players that resonates with the fans‘ passion and desire for success. Karlan Ahearne-Grant I think he is on the up this season, more mature and it is good that he has the continuity of training with the first team squad every day. I know Karl is working closely with him as he does with all the young players. I didn’t think Karlan was ready in 2015 when he went on loan to Cambridge. There was an idea he might go on loan the previous year to Plymouth when he was only seventeen but I resisted that. I couldn’t see the rush. I saw his first game at Cambridge. He missed an early one on one and after that his confidence drained. The manager took him off after seventy minutes and didn’t start him again. It was a learning curve for Karlan but also for the staff at Charlton. The loan experience has value but my opinion is that it can take over the thoughts of a young player and those advising him. Timing is all important and also choosing the correct club. Let’s not forget we now have a Development Squad at Under 19 – 23. We must also develop them in our own environment and prior to the Elite Player Performance Plan there was a dark hole for this age band which is why U21 and now U23 football was created. 6
Joe Gomez Joe joined us via the pre-academy and we signed him as a 10 year old. He was good but he wasn’t outstanding, that came much later. He wasn’t very good at heading a ball even at 15, particularly when there were bodies around him. I give all the credit for his improvement in this aspect to Paul Hart who was a brave, tough central defender who had suffered a few broken noses in his time and who convinced Joe that he “needed to find a way”. Joe was in the same cohort as Kasey Palmer and was also probably
before the game, although he might claim that he did ! As soon as the game started everyone picked out Ademola. Paul made sure that within two weeks we had offered him a scholarship and he didn’t demand anything more at that stage. We now wonder what his opportunities will be at Everton. He didn’t see himself going there for under 23 football but I think he’s had to settle for quite a bit of that. A very exciting talent. The game has to make sure it allows the likes of Ademola opportunity at the very highest level because he is an ‘A’ category player. Regan Charles-Cook I’ve seen him twice playing for Woking recently and he is more than comfortable at that level. He is coming to a critical time as he is a third year professional and the manager’s decision becomes important. In Karl we have a manager who will listen to my opinion but obviously he will assess him and others against what he has in his squad. We will also need to be discussing players like Aaron Barnes, Josh Umerah, Brandon Hanlan and Archie Edwards as they are also now Under 21’s.
approached by other clubs at 15 / 16 but his family could see the pathway through a scholarship to the first team at Charlton so he stayed. We all know what happened next and we are all very proud of his most recent achievements at national level. Ademola Lookman I don’t know why it took so long for him to be scouted and thank god we did ! All I know is that he was playing for a junior club called Waterloo in Peckham. My head of recruitment at the time, Paul Senior arranged a game against a London FA team. He didn’t mention Ademola
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Terrique Anderson I rate him which can be seen by the fact that we gave him a two year contract. He is now fully recovered from a long term knee injury. He isn’t going to get much bigger but he is rapid and he’s got the right desire and work ethic and working hard on improving his chance to goal ratio. Diego Poyet I had a close affinity with Diego. He was one of the lads who worked on the dimly lit Astroturf area I mentioned earlier. He came to us aged thirteen and he was a good lad to work with – a true leader. He was probably the best defensive midfield player I’ve worked with. He wasn’t the quickest but he had a knack of reading the game so well and being in the right place. I wanted him to stay at the club and I think he should have stayed. However he made the decision and doesn’t regret the move. It’s disappointing
because he should at least be playing at the level we are at if not higher. I have good memories of working with an excellent young man. The Loan System I don’t see that it is normally necessary for players at eighteen or nineteen to go out on loan. I accept that playing with men against men will toughen them up but what is the rush ? In Phil Parkinson’s day we just had a reserve team under Mark Kinsella playing in a poor league and many of the young professionals weren’t playing enough football. I felt there was a dark hole from 18-21 as mentioned earlier. The introduction of Under 21 and now U23 football was the best thing to happen in my opinion. It has worked for us. Now Jason Euell is working with them day in day out and we certainly have very competitive approach and demand a winning mentality, which I what I hear critics say doesn’t happen. I would have preferred it to stay at under 21 but they changed it to under 23 so that the category one clubs which have such huge squads could give their players more games. Our teams are usually under 20. Once you are 22 or 23 you should be playing first team football at some level so a loan might be appropriate but at eighteen or nineteen I just don’t see there is a rush. Agents Boys aren’t allowed to have an agent until they are sixteen but you do see agents hanging around parents of boys below that age. How do the authorities stop that ? I do believe it’s been swept under the carpet to some extent. Sometimes parents ask me about agents. I won’t recommend one above another but I will give advice on the quality of these people and there are very professional agents that exist. Players and parents have to make the right choice. I always recommend that parents look for guidance from the PFA because as soon as a boy becomes a scholar he becomes a member of the PFA. We have to be very careful about anyone at the academy getting involved with agents and I am very clear about that. I will have none of it. I wouldn’t tolerate an agent getting involved with 7
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Valley Gold Back in 2010 I thought there was a real danger of the academy closing and Valley Gold was instrumental in keeping us afloat. Since then it has grown and grown in significance. When we were in the Premier League our youth teams were invited to tournaments all over Europe and most of those were funded by the Premier League for transport and accommodation. Now those invitations have dried up but the Valley Gold contribution allows us to take teams to tournaments at home and abroad plus to get the under 23s and u18s on pre season training camps. The two minibuses provided by Valley Gold are in constant use every day because we have a full-time school project with The Harris Academy in Eltham and the boys have to be taken from home to school and back home again. Parents, players and staff are well informed on the Valley Gold support and indeed some are members. With this financial support our supporters are assisting youth development and I know how much the supporters value a home grown player. Player welfare We have an education and welfare department under Joe Francis who is an experienced teacher and there are support networks in place. In terms of mental health, safeguarding and health and safety we are stronger than ever – not just in the academy but in the wider game. I am aware of the research about the dangers of heading footballs but it is part of the game. The amount of time we spend on heading technique for the younger boys is very little. However it is a technique that has to be developed. Where would Joe Gomez be if he hadn’t mastered heading the ball. ? Our 4G pitches are the best they’ve ever been. They make commercial sense particularly in the lower leagues, but nothing beats grass. A lot of senior players resist training on them because of joint issues but the young players have been 8
brought up on them in the training environment, so have a different mentality towards the artificial surface. One of our 4G pitches is the same size as The Valley and we have a special upgraded artificial goalkeeping training area next to it. Are you confident that the training ground development will be completed in the next twelve to eighteen months ? Well, the ownership is the reason for the development and I see no reason to believe it won’t be completed. It started with those two 4G pitches which we use every day. The second phase was the renovation and new drainage system for the grass pitches, which are fantastic. The community now has one 4G pitch and so does Footscray Sports & Social Club, all part of the development. To get category 1 status the new building will be essential. The plans look fantastic, it really will be a first class facility that will benefit the first team and Academy. How do you see your future ? There was a time towards the end of the 1990s when I was coaching the England C (nonleague) team and I considered about going into the senior game via non league management but I just so much enjoy working with young players. It is so satisfying to help develop young players and I feel you can genuinely coach rather than train them and I am a coach who loves being able to assist learning. A lot of the players really appreciate what you’ve done for them and keep in touch. Only about a month ago I was watching the u18s and I saw a recognisable figure on the touchline opposite. It was Jonjo Shelvey who had come to watch our Under 18’s on a weekend off and say hello. Earlier in the season, Joe Gomez and Kasey Palmer attended our 23’s game at Greenwich Borough. They don’t forget their roots. So, I’ll be happy to finish my career here. This is a fantastic club and when you have been here almost 18 years you become very attached. It means a lot to me.
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PHOTOGRAPHS: SAFESTANDINGROADSHOW.CO.UK
a coach or any other member of staff for the benefit of recruiting a player and that is made quite clear to all staff.
UP STANDING As part of our October survey of Charlton supporters we asked respondents for their opinions on the issue of “safe standing” at football matches. Our first question was: “Do you think you have sufficient information to express an opinion for or against safe standing ?” Those who did feel sufficiently well informed voted 78% in favour of the idea of having a safe standing area at The Valley. There was some small variation according to age, as 87% of people under 25 were
in favour whereas 64% of over 65s were in favour. There was very little variation when gender was taken into account (men 78.5% in favour; women 76%). However, perhaps the most important group was the 45% of respondents who said that they did not think they were sufficiently well informed to express an opinion. The purpose of the article on the next two pages is to try to offer those people some more information.....
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What is safe standing ? Safe standing does not have anything to do with the dark days of the 1980s with vast crumbling terraces and occasional crash barriers. Safe standing is offered in a designated area of the ground where rail seats are fitted. People stand behind a metal safety barrier and in front of a seat which is locked in an upright position (see picture).
prices without losing revenue. This should make the game more socially inclusive – in particular by improving access for younger people. Some people feel that they can no longer attend away games because of the likelihood of people standing in rows in front of them. A safe standing area would have seats in front of it for those who prefer to sit.
Are rail seats already used in other grounds ? Rail seating areas are commonplace on the continent, particularly in Germany. Since 2016 Celtic have operated a safe standing area for 3000 fans at Celtic Park.
Isn’t it illegal to stand while watching football in this country ? No it isn’t. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) clarified in 2008 that “at no point has it been argued that the individual spectator commits an offence by standing in a seated area”. However, anyone standing in a seated area will be in breach of a club’s ground regulations. Charlton’s regulations say: “Nobody may stand in any seating area whilst play is in progress. Persistent standing in seated areas whilst play is in progress is strictly forbidden and may result in ejection from the Ground”.
What are the advantages of safe standing areas ? The main argument in favour is that there are a large number of football supporters who simply prefer to stand while they watch a game. Football is a passionate sport and being able to stand together with other fans increases the camaraderie and passion. If this can be accommodated in a safe way then this can surely only enhance enjoyment. Conversely, people currently stand in areas not designed for standing which is inherently unsafe. If they were offered safe standing areas this problem would be solved immediately. Safe standing areas can accommodate more spectators than seated areas. This means that clubs can lower admission 10
Why do ground regulations insist people must sit ? This has its roots in The Football Spectators Act 1989 which stipulates that “The Secretary of State may, by order, direct the licensing authority to include in any licence to admit spectators to any specified premises a condition imposing requirements as respects the seating of spectators at desig-
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nated football matches at the premises; and it shall be the duty of the authority to comply with the direction.”. This Act followed The Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster. Originally it was planned that all Football League clubs should convert to all-seater status. This was subsequently amended to include just the top two divisions. Charlton aren’t in the top two divisions. Does that mean we can have safe standing ? No it doesn’t. Charlton were required to be all seater in 1995 as the club was then in the top two divisions and, once a club has been required to be all-seater, it must remain so. How come Celtic can have safe standing ? Because The Football Spectators Act 1989 only covered England and Wales. Nevertheless The Scottish Premier League did initially require all-seater stadiums but relaxed this in 2011. SPL clubs can apply to pilot safe standing if approved by their local authority. This is what Celtic are currently doing. Aren’t Shrewsbury introducing safe standing ? Shrewsbury are an unusual case because they have an allseater stadium but were never required to have one. It was their choice to go all-seater when their new ground was built in 2007 and therefore they can revert to standing if they wish. Together with their
supporters’ trust they have recently raised £60k to insert rail seats and are now applying to their local authority for permission. They are aiming for it to be in place by the end of this season. If Charlton aren’t permitted to have safe standing why are CAS Trust campaigning for it ? Because we would like to see a situation where a licence could in theory be issued for a safe standing area if the club so wished to implement it. This wouldn’t actually need a change in the law but it would require the Secretary of State to permit a licence to be granted for The Valley which didn’t insist on all spectators being seated. This would require a change in the government’s position. What is the club’s position ? At the Fans Forum on 23rd June Katrien Meiere said that Charlton Athletic have nothing in principle against the installation of safe standing at The Valley.
What is the government’s position ? Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said in November 2016 that “all seater stadiums remained the best means of ensuring the safety and security of fans”. In February 2017 she added that the government were “unconvinced by the case for safe standing but it would monitor how it was working at Celtic” Who is currently in favour of safe standing areas ? In February 2014 the majority of English Football League clubs voted in favour of introducing safe standing areas. In March of this year the Sports Ground Safety Authority agreed to establish a process whereby clubs not subject to all-seater status could introduce safe standing. EFL Chief Executive Shaun Harvey commented: “Our objective remains to secure the opportunity for any of our clubs to have standing accommodation at their stadiums and we will continue
to lobby on this basis.” The Premier League clubs discussed the issue for the first time in June this year and agreed to establish a fact finding exercise. A number of individual clubs have expressed support – including Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Watford, Burnely, Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury. The Football Supporters Federation national supporter survey asked in 2012 whether respondents thought “supporters should have the choice of sitting or standing, including having areas specifically designed for safe standing.” 92% voted in favour. The Liverpool Supporters Trust (known as The Spirit of Shankly) canvassed nearly 18,000 supporters this year and found that 88% were in favour of safe standing areas at football stadiums. As we have seen above, 78% of Charlton fans who felt well-informed enough were in favour of a safe standing area at The Valley.
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ACCORDING TO KARL...
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“ We are only passing through your club. We have to treat it with care because we can quite easily ruin it” www.castrust.org/join
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Richard Wiseman catches up with events at Leyton Orient
East
Our friends in the
to be easy were quickly extinguished with their mid-August 6-1 defeat at Bromley. It has got worse. Since beating Guisely in early September they went fourteen games without a win and manager Steve Davis paid the price for the slump. They have just appointed Justin Edinburgh as his replacement. At Wembley in May 2014 the O’s under Russell Slade missed promotion to The Championship on a penalty shoot out, and Barry
“The passion and ingenuity of the protests seemed to have been an attraction”
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Hearn subsequently sold the club to Becchetti. Twelve months later, having gone through four managers, the club was relegated to League Two. The following two seasons were characterised by further turmoil and Orient lost the place in the league they had held for 112 years when relegation to The National League was confirmed in April this year. By this time the club had gone through another five managers. On more than one occasion the salaries
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MOST CHARLTON supporters will have felt a great deal of sympathy for the plight of fans of Leyton Orient as their club imploded over the last three seasons under the bizarre and erratic ownership of Francesco Becchetti. The O’s currently languish in nineteenth place in The National League just three points off the relegation zone. They started brightly with four wins in their first seven games but any idea that non-League football was going
of players and staff had been paid late. There were persistent rumours of meddling in team affairs. Becchetti himself was fined by the FA and banned for six games for aiming a kick at assistant manager Andy Hessenthaler after a game. In March a winding up petition had been served on the club for unpaid taxes. Becchetti had stopped attending Orient games in November 2016 after a joint demonstration against irresponsible owners had been held by Orient and Blackpool fans outside Brisbane Road. As the club dropped inexorably towards relegation he appeared to lose interest. This behaviour gave supporters a glimmer of hope. In the words of Leyton Orient Fans Trust (LOFT) vice-chair Tom Davies they thought he “might be persuaded to part with his plaything, now he was throwing it out of his pram”. Some Orient fans argued that the protests accelerated the degradation of the club. They felt that Becchetti was provoked by them into pulling the plug. But Davies’s view is different: “Even if our protest had prompted his massive sulk, that merely demonstrated how unfit Becchetti was to run our club. What sort of owner is this thin skinned and petulant ?” With the threat of administration or even liquidation hanging over the club LOFT had to plan for the worst. They called a special general meeting in March and a resolution was passed to set up The Leyton Orient Regeneration Fund. Within a few months the fund had reached £175k - including thousands of donations from fans of other clubs all over the country, often via bucket collections at matches. LOFT were very clear that the money would not be used to pay the debts
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of Bechetti while he remained in charge, even though some of these debts were to staff and local small businesses. It was clearly stated that the fund was there purely to help regenerate the club in the event of administration, liquidation or negotiated sale involving LOFT. It was a great day for the club and supporters when a willing buyer emerged in the shape of long term fan Nigel Travis who formed a consortium called Eagle Investments 2017 Ltd and purchased the club in June. Travis, who was born and brought up in the Leyton area, is chief executive of the Dunkin Brands Group – best known for their Dunkin’ Doughnuts. Crucially, he was able to persuade Texan hedge fund entrepreneur Kent Teague to join him in the enterprise and to provide substantial finance. Although representatives of LOFT did meet Travis in Boston earlier in the year they do not claim any credit for the brokering of the deal. However, as Tom Davies points out, the publicity LOFT created and the professionalism of their actions in representing creditors in court cases against Becchetti will have played its part in convincing Travis of their seriousness. Kent Teague observed that one of the things that impressed him as he got to know the club was the demonstrations. Far from putting off investors, the passion and ingenuity of the protests seemed to have been an attraction. The raising of £175k will surely also have reassured the new regime of the expertise and good will that would be available on takeover. Travis has agreed to the principle of supporter representation on the board of the club and LOFT are currently in the process of negotiating with all interested parties about the details of how a representative should be elected. However, board representation is not contingent on any investment by supporters and, as such, the fan eventually chosen will sit in the boardroom because of Travis’s benevolence rather than 16
as of right. Nevertheless, LOFT recognise both the symbolic value of this and the fact that this is just a beginning. They see it not as a reward but as a welcome responsibility. Tom Davies describes a club transformed. There is a new sense of transparency. The media operation is open for business and the club are putting themselves about in the community again. With Martin Ling returning and David Mooney back in the starting line up there is a real sense of “we’ve got our club back”. However, he recognises that there is an immense amount still to do: “the new regime is entering a building that has been, to all intents and purposes, trashed by its previous occupant”. The football isn’t great (“uncompromising and physical”) but it is pleasant to stand on open terraces again. He doesn’t expect the new owners to throw money at the club but imagines there will be some strengthening in the January window. Which leaves the regeneration fund. The money raised thankfully wasn’t needed as a result of liquidation. There will be no Leyton Pheonix. There was no negotiated sale involving LOFT. Use of the money is tightly constrained by the mandate given to donors and there is a possibility that larger donations (over £100) might be returned. LOFT and the club continue to look at ways in which the cash might be used to benefit Leyton Orient and its community. There is no rush to conclude this. There are more pressing matters at the moment
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OLYMPIC STADIUM FOR ANYONE ONLY just joining the debate about The Olympic Stadium and West Ham United it might be useful to give a little history. CAS Trust has been centrally involved right from the very start in the campaign to obtain transparency about the terms of the contract signed between the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and West Ham (WHU). Our main reason for leading on this was that we feared that the generosity of the deal would be a real threat to Charlton Athletic. Let me be absolutely clear – We have no issue at all with West Ham occupying the stadium. They are welcome to it. What has been our concern all along is that the favourable financial conditions under which they occupy the stadium
mean that they can afford to set ticket prices at a level which could entice fans who might otherwise go to watch Charlton and other clubs. We note that the BBC’s annual Price of Football survey shows that West Ham’s cheapest season ticket this year is not only the second cheapest in The Premier League but also cheaper then eighteen Championship clubs and ten in League One. They even charge £26 less than Maidstone and Dover (albeit for fewer games). With excellent transport links from Kent to East London this is a real threat to football south of the river. Again, we couldn’t complain if our club’s prices were undercut by an efficiently run competitor, but this is not the case. West Ham can do this purely because the taxpayer is
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Football fans were not the only people to have been critical of the deal. John O’Connell – Chief Executive of The Taxpayers Alliance – described it as “this shabby deal” and, when London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced last year that he was setting up an independent inquiry into the spiralling costs of the stadium, O’Connell added: “It is now down to those in charge of the inquiry to get to the bottom of how West Ham were gifted the deal of the century” The big news since we last reported on the stadium in Trust News has been the publication this week of the independent report commissioned by Khan. I was interviewed as part of the enquiry and I was very impressed by the thoroughness of the questions and the direction in which they seemed to be leading. The report was prepared by forensic accountants Moore Stephens who conclude that: “ In our opinion the decision to transform the stadium and to contract with West Ham was made on incorrect financial estimates and an insufficient appreciation of the critical commercial and financial risks. It is our opinion that the financial estimates were incorrect not because they were estimates but because there were errors in their calculation, compilation and presentation” One of the main drivers of the escalating costs of the stadium is the extraordinary expense of operating the retractable seats which need to be removed for athletics and other events. The Moore Stephens report comments: 18
GRAPHICS COURTESEY BBC NEWS, GETTY IMAGES, AND THE OLYMPIC STADIUM COALITION WEBSITES
subsidising both the capital and the running costs of the stadium. Two years ago CAS Trust joined with supporters trusts from thirteen other London clubs to form the Olympic Stadium Coalition. After a long legal battle (using the Freedom of Information Act) we were successful in April this year in our quest to ensure full public disclosure of the deal West Ham had negotiated. • £15m towards the conversion costs of £323m • rental of £2.5m a year (halved on relegation) • a share of any naming rights fee • no contribution to match day overhead costs • no contribution to policing costs • goal posts and corner flags supplied.
“The relocatable seating now represents the largest annual expense. These costs are in excess of £10m per annum, which is over 300 times greater than the figure budgeted. The cost is not just limited to one year, but is an ongoing issue as the movement of seats is required every year, and this level of operating cost is not expected to be reduced without a new solution for seating being implemented at considerable additional capital expense.” On the income side there has still been no success in selling the naming rights for the stadium. Whether this is due to incompetence or the damage done to the image of the stadium it is hard to say. The crowd problems experienced at the start of last season won’t have helped but the ongoing disquiet hanging over the whole enterprise will hardly be attractive selling point to potential sponsors. “What has been presented is simply staggering” said Khan “Boris Johnson clearly panicked when faced with legal challenges about West Ham and Newham’s joint bid to take ownership of the sta-
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dium and then decided to re-run the bid process with the taxpayer taking all the risks and footing almost the whole bill. You simply couldn’t make it up. The fact that he also failed to properly examine the transformation costs or the entirely inadequate estimates for moving the retractable seats leaves us squarely in the dire financial situation we are in” A statement on the Mayor’s website added “the review says the investment by the public purse will not only never be recovered but has forecast that, unless further action is taken, the stadium will continue to lose up to around £20m every year.” The statement also explains that the stadium’s losses have been funded by the LLDC “backed by the current Mayor” since July 2017 “so that the World Athletics and World Para Athletics Championships could take place and that West Ham could begin their season. Without this funding the stadium owners would have entered administration and the current Mayor would have been liable under his predecessor’s agreements to pay significant damages to the events
organisers.” “Sadiq Khan through LLDC will now take over full control of the stadium” continues the statement “and is already taking steps to move it towards a more secure and stable financial footing. He will seek to work with West Ham, UK Athletics and other stadium partners to address the flaws in existing arrangements to the benefit of the taxpayer and all connected with the stadium”. The Mayor’s website also comments that “the former Mayor tied the taxpayer into binding contracts with West Ham United and UK Athletics, severely limiting the present Mayor’s options” so some will wonder how he will be able to “address the flaws in existing arrangements”. However, The Olympic Stadium Coalition has identified some very practical solutions which would help The E20 Partnership return to financial viability and we will be seeking to present these to politicians in the very near future. Watch this space !
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Richard Hunt
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Richard Wiseman shamelessly rehashes an article published in that notorious scandal rag Voice of the Valley in February 1993.
LONDON WEEKEND TELEVISION and all the Sunday papers credited Charlton’s historic match-winning goal against Portsmouth on December 5th to Colin Walsh. Sources close to the club, however, are now prepared to reveal the sensational news that the coveted honour of scoring the first goal back at The Valley belongs not to Walsh but to hitherto unknown Hillingdon & District Sunday League goalkeeper Richard Wiseman. Wiseman, whose last goal for Charlton was an imagined bullet header in off the lamppost at the top of Lansdowne Lane in 1989, was as surprised as anyone by his last-minute call up to the team. “I didn’t know I was playing until ten to three” he admitted. “I didn’t have time to get nervous. The boss just told me that as long as 20
I didn’t play my natural game everything would be fine” A mysterious Bulgarian umbrella injury to Walsh opened the door for the local balding custodian. In order to forestall panic among team mates and crowd he took to the field in a cunningly constructed Colin Walsh face mask and used his left foot as often as possible. The fact that no-one in the 8,337 crowd spotted the late substitution is tribute to Wiseman’s undeniable skill and proof that most of those in attendance were misty-eyed with tears. He attributes his explosive start to the game to a change in his usual pre-match ritual. For the last seven years he has warmed up by sitting in a traffic jam in Catford or waiting on Bromley-by-Bow station. However, before this game he had a swift drink in the Anglesea
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM MORRIS AND CAFC: REPRODUCTION OF PROGRAMME BY KIND PERMISSION OF CAFC.
Credit where it’s due Arms and a couple in The Earl of Chatham. Then a short march to Charlton Village followed by a final pint in The Bugle Horn. A nostalgic trot down Lansdowne Lane completed the preparations. Despite scoring the all-important goal Wiseman was critical of his overall performance. “I’m sure Walshie would have scored with that free kick I put against the post” he admitted. He is also under no illusions about his future at the club. “The management brought me in to do a job. My years of experience of walking past The Valley on the way to the station stood me in great stead for this particular match. But Colin
will be back next week as I’ve got to take the cat to the vet on Sunday” Students of football trivia are delighted by the astonishing revelation of Wiseman’s introduction to top flight football, and many are studying their videos of The London Match with renewed interest. Is that Darren Pitcher playing the ball into Wiseman’s path or is it John LeCorney ? The number nine certainly looks like Carl Leaburn but he’s playing like Ron Baker. Further announcements are awaited.
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