Charlton Athletic

[the pieman]

IL has recently sold one of his businesses i was told by someone connected to another SL Club at weekend

whether there is any link i have no idea, as i have only just seen this thread, but it wasnt mentioned by the person i was speaking to

[Exiled Wiganer]

I might be wrong but I think the long time Broncos owner David Hughes was involved with charlton?

[Fizz Bomb]

Ian Leneghan has had a connection with London Broncos in the past. Where this leaves any possible future purchase of the D W Stadium l don’t know, does it kill it stone dead as according to F A rules you can only be involved in one club at a time? Can you be the landlord of one club whilst being the owner of another if he stays involved with the Warriors and we happened to purchase the Stadium?

Playing devils advocate maybe he will sell Wigan Warriors, then buy London Broncos (making a profit there because of the difference in club values), move them into Charltons ground and run them as a single Sports Club enabling both clubs to share infrastructure therefor reducing running costs for both clubs. This is what l remember happening when the J J B opened in the 90’s, until the Pathetics. suddenly owned the whole stadium. Isn’t it what was proposed a couplek of years ago by Mr. Leneghan when no one wanted the football club?

He has always been a strong supporter of a London based Rugby League club and even though running a club is not just a matter of having a ground to play at, if you already own an established club with its own ground in the area you must be a good part of the way to becoming viable.

Our problem comes from having an owner who is financially, and much more importantly emotionally committed to the club. It’s not just a case of some one financing the club because if that’s the case everything will be done for the financial benefit of the owner and not what’s good for the club. No one can say that has happened since Mr Leneghan took over.

Time marches on however and things change so maybe this is the start of big changes for Wigan Warriors. I really hope not as l for one really like the direction of our current travel. I hope this 2+2 is as far away from 4 as it’s possible to get.

[EDINBURGH-WARRIOR]

Might be wrong but I seem to remember IL trying to get us to play the Broncos at Oxford when he was involved there

EW

[medlocke]

Wasn't it the reason we signed Tommy Lulu

[DaveO]

The thought crossed my mind that IL might want to take a home game "on the road" to Charlton if he is successful in buying it. I am sure if that happened it wold go down like a lead balloon.

As to links between London Broncos and them playing at Charlton and that coming from the IMG involvement, OK, I am sure IMG will want a London club playing in a decent ground but why would we be happy our owner was involved in any of that?

[PJC]

A question. Does the owner of a club also own the players contracts ?

[morley pie eater]

Report on BBC doesn't exactly tie in with what the Sun claimed:

In September 2020, charismatic US-based Dane Thomas Sandgaard took over the ownership promising to get Charlton back to the Premier League within five years and vowing to rebuild trust with the club's fan base.

It hasn't quite gone to plan.

On the pitch, Charlton slipped to 18th in League One after a 3-1 defeat at Oxford on 29 December. Three weeks earlier, they lost 3-1 at Stockport in an FA Cup second-round replay, prompting the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust (CAS Trust) to say the club was at its "lowest ebb in living memory".

Off the pitch, Sandgaard has not provided the investment anticipated. In October, the club's parent company, Clear Ocean Capital, posted a £6.8m loss for the 10 months to June 2021.

Rumours have been circulating that Sandgaard is trying to sell the club.

Former Charlton chief executive Peter Varney said on social media that Sandgaard has entered a period of exclusivity with a third party.

Former Sunderland director Charlie Methven, meanwhile, has been pictured in the directors' box at two recent Charlton matches. At Portsmouth, he sat with Simon Lenagan, son of Wigan Warriors owner Ian, who used to own Oxford United.

Methven is also named as a director in a company called SE7 Partners Ltd, which was listed at Companies House last month. Ed Warrick, Charlton's new finance director, is also named as a director. SE7 is the postcode of Charlton's ground, The Valley.

Asked specifically about the speculation in an interview with BBC Sport before the Manchester United game, Sandgaard said: "There are so many rumours out there, many of which are conflicting, so I would prefer to focus on the football side at this point."

However, he added: "I am with Charlton for the long term. Don't worry about that."

Sandgaard's plans delayed
The initial issues around Charlton stemmed from the fact former owner Roland Duchatelet still owns the Valley and the club's Sparrows Lane training ground and is demanding £50m to sell them both.

So is Leneghan trying to buy the club or the ground or both?

See more at:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64214102

[Charriots Offiah]

Simon Lenagan was at Old Trafford for last nights game between Manchester Utd and Charlton.

[Suzieb]

What’s this got to do with rugby??????