Charlton secretary dismisses fears League One club could go same way as Bury

| 31 July 2020

The south-east London club dropped out of the Sky Bet Championship after failing to win any of their final seven games.

Charlton secretary Chris Parkes has dismissed talk the Addicks could follow Bury by being expelled from the EFL.

Manchester-based businessman Paul Elliott took control of East Street Investments (ESI), the company that owns Charlton, from Tahnoon Nimer last month, but the EFL – who expelled Bury last August following the collapse of a proposed takeover – has not yet approved the deal.

Charlton held talks with the EFL this week as the latest takeover of the club rumbles on, and Parkes said the meeting provided "some clarity".

"There was a virtual meeting with the EFL on Wednesday, which I attended in my role as club secretary," Parkes wrote in a letter sent to Charlton staff and published on the club website on Friday.

"Unfortunately, I can't go into the details of the meeting but it did help provide some clarity.

"Following the meeting there are further actions for the club to update the EFL on. The dialogue with the EFL will continue and by my reckoning the new ownership will be approved.

"Having sat in that meeting, I can confirm there was not one mention of the club being expelled from the league.

"I know some people have compared our position to the sad situation at Bury but this is a completely different set of circumstances."

Elliott would become Charlton's third new owner in seven months after Nimer bought the club from Roland Duchatelet in January.

Charlton were relegated from the Sky Bet Championship last week as Lee Bowyer's side failed to win any of their final seven games.

Parkes added: "The situation is far from perfect and like all staff and supporters I just want this current state of limbo that the club is in, to come to a satisfactory end but in the meantime we have a new season to prepare for, which should be our focus.

"We aren't in administration and everyone is getting paid, as Paul Elliott and his consortium continue to pay the bills to keep the club running.

"I know things are difficult at the moment. The relegation hurt us all and the current ownership limbo has left everyone confused and worried about the future of our great club.

"I can honestly say that I don't believe we are in any danger of not kicking off the 2020-21 season, as some have suggested."