Charlatans

[EastTerracer]

why was it that their involvement ended up being voted through?

I can only speculate but perhaps there were no better alternatives and the character of the brothers had not revealed itself at that time.

[Tony]

It's rather going over old ground. The club needed urgent new investment and the consortium of investors was prepared to inject significant money to invest in the infrastructure and team. The consortium consisted of a number of wealthy investors with good business records. The alternatives were stark. No one wanted to pick up the pieces if the investment was rejected. The brothers' management style may not be to everyone's liking but if you are putting in that amount of money you get to call the shots. This time last season we were 2nd in the table, crowds were up significantly but the 3G pitch and new floodlights had not materialised due to escalating building costs. What really happened between brothers and investors towards the end of the season is not entirely clear but it led to a screeching reversal of funding for the team and wholesale departures and reorganisation of day to day management of the club. The fact that we are relatively thriving on the pitch is testament to the new management team. However, the future of the club still has question marks hanging over it until the ownership/investment issues are resolved. When the club accounts are published towards the end of February we may find some clues to how much had been spent on the first season in charge and everyone can have their own opinion on whether it was value for money. I am not sure who the Linked In posts are aimed at. Anyone coming to invest in or buy the club will make their own assessment. The fundamentals haven't really changed. If you want to get promoted out of this league you need to spend big, possibly not in the season of promotion if you can sneak through in the play offs, but certainly if you want to stay in the NL for more than one season.

[Shepperton Supporter]

Thanks Tony for a balanced view on things. As you say we don’t know all the details and the accounts might give further clues. What’s apparent is that the team are playing better than most of us thought at the start of the season and results have exceeded expectations. Where we go from here will depend on how successful we are in retaining the better players and recruiting wisely. Long term, addition funds are needed, you cannot mark time in football as the standards continue to rise as does all the costs! The club needs to plan ahead to try and anticipate where investment is required.

[RogerSW]

The brothers latest pearls of wisdom on LinkedIn. This time, the investors are the problem.

Three myths I learned the hard way as a football club owner:

1. MYTH: Win and they will come.

REALITY: Packed stands hinge on atmosphere, not just trophies. A family-friendly “event” trumps Tuesday nights in the dead of winter, no matter the scoreboard.

2. MYTH: Spend big, win big.

REALITY: We caved to investor pressure and spent on ‘going pro’—no playoffs. Cut costs (by more than 50%), rebuilt hunger, and soared. Money alone doesn’t buy passion or points.

3. MYTH: Business brilliance translates seamlessly.

REALITY: In football, everyone’s an “expert,” irrational investor demands run rampant, and passion often drowns reason. Stick to your principles—resilience beats reckless spending.

At the end of the day, football is about people. Recruit wisely, on and off the pitch, and your strategy will flourish.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/ur ... 444961281/

Good that learning the size of investment and going for short term success aren't the most important things.

Maybe also getting rid of/losing volunteers significantly increases the cost base and negatively impacts the community of a football club to its long-term detriment?

[EastTerracer]

The brothers continue to dish out to the investors in the latest LinkedIn missive.

Listen to investors, don’t pander to them. Fede Sandler is so right and this is one of the biggest lessons I learnt in football.

Without solid infrastructure and diverse revenue streams, football is just a ticking time bomb. That is why during our first 90 days as owners of Hampton & Richmond FC we developed business case on the back of solid infrastructure.

We had a game-changing vision—a revamped stadium, built with Quarterback's brilliance, that would power long-term sustainability. But some investors banked on sporting success, and suggested we should bet it all on getting to promotion play-offs to attract revenue and further investment. We caved. Funds went into “professionalizing” the playing squad moving us away from our infrastructure plan.

Still, we managed to inject over £1M to revive crumbling facilities—£150K went just to electrics. Most fans will not have realised it, but we’re proud to have elevated their matchday experience and secured the future of the Beveree stadium for years to come.

Our proposed stadium revamp included a true community hub:

Community Hub: A vibrant space for locals and fans.

Upgraded Academy & Fan Zone: Boost student programs and matchday hospitality.

Gym Access: Exclusively for academy students and season ticket holders.

Modern Facilities: Media tower, club shop, offices, tunnel, and bar.

Terraced Social Zone: Expanded F&B, open beyond matchdays.

Revamped Changing Rooms: Better comfort, better performance.

Enhanced Pitch: New floodlights and irrigation for top-tier play.

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames loved it—offering a 125-year lease if we followed through.

Lesson learned? Always hear your investors, but never abandon your vision.

Huge thanks to Cheré Falconer , James Garvey at Quarterback, and the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames for believing in a brighter future for the club.

These designs reflect our vision. We chose black for longevity and easy refresh. You’ll see the old club crest here—it’s been upgraded since.

Still not clear to me what actual infrastructure they spent £1M on. The much touted electrics was £150k so what was the rest ? Perhaps the pitch works ? Really the sums don't add up as I thought they only raised about £1.5M. So that would only have left about £0.5M for the so-called professionalisation of the squad.

I wonder why the business case was not developed before they took on the club. Perhaps then the difference of approach with investors that they claim here would have been averted as investors would have known the strategy up front. Seems to me the brothers have to take responsibility for that lack of clarity of vision. Also, all the investments were pretty small so why were they so easily deflected from what they now claim would have been the right approach ?

The pictures of the proposed redevelopment are actually quite interesting (available via the LinkedIn page) but the money raised by the brothers from the investors would never have paid for that so to claim this was a viable alternative strategy is hogwash.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/ur ... 231674368/

[Lord Elpus]

I read this LinkedIn article earlier today. Truly odd stuff isn't it. Well they haven't elevated my match day experience. It'll take more than a pizza van and an outside drinking area to do that.
After a game on Saturday where we were consistently outsung by a relatively small number of opposition fans, I'd settle for a bit more singing, a few less of the completely unnecessary stewards who have no idea how to steward a non league game and a few of the old faces back in the ground who can galvanise the crowd a bit more. We are in real danger of turning into a hollow Dulwich type matchday experience. Finally, "never abandon your vision??" How many times have they been recently?

[EastTerracer]

Truly odd stuff isn't it. Well they haven't elevated my match day experience. It'll take more than a pizza van and an outside drinking area to do that.

Yes, it's certainly is odd to claim that you have elevated the match day experience for supporters but that they will not have noticed it !!

[EastTerracer]

Anyone know what the current lease length on the ground is ? Would the 125 years referenced in the brothers post have been an extension ? Of course, the lease length would have been a moot point given the brothers Champions League ambitions.

[Tony]

I suspect a fair amount of pitch rolling in advance of the accounts being published by the end of February. Us supporters won't ever know what discussions went on between the investors about strategy but there will be two sides to this story. As we know the 3G never happened due to missing the 2023 close season window and then the escalating costs of the project due to the cost of living crisis which rendered it unviable. But it was also the case that we were signing more expensive players before the start of the 23-24 season, and this was before the 3G project was abandoned, so it was clear that we were looking to push for a play off place by increasing the player budget and "professionalising" the club with more staff etc. The obvious question is whether this level of cost was sustainable if we didn't win promotion and without the 3G. That depended on whether the investors were prepared to continue with the plan for another period of time and clearly the answer was "no" and now we have a situation where the brothers and investors appear to have fallen out.

[Tony]

Anyone know what the current lease length on the ground is ? Would the 125 years referenced in the brothers post have been an extension ? Of course, the lease length would have been a moot point given the brothers Champions League ambitions.

I believe it was renewed for 40 years around 2014/15. if it has been further extended after that I don't know.

[Adam]

Anyone know what the current lease length on the ground is ? Would the 125 years referenced in the brothers post have been an extension ? Of course, the lease length would have been a moot point given the brothers Champions League ambitions.

I believe it was renewed for 40 years around 2014/15. if it has been further extended after that I don't know.

Back in October 2023 the planning section on the online version of the Richmond & Twickenham times had a notice regarding a 125 year extension of the lease.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Council of the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames intends to dispose of the above-mentioned open space land at land at Beveree, Station Road, Hampton TW12.
For clarification: in this instance "intention to dispose" refers to the Council's intention to grant; (i) a lease to the football stadium with an area of circa 1.208 hectares (2.985 acres), and; (ii) a licence to use the practice football pitch, car park and accessway with an area of circa 0.651 hectares (1.6 acres), for a term up to 125 years.

A plan showing the location and extent of the area to be disposed may be inspected during normal office hours at the Customer Services Centre, Civic Centre, 44 York Street, Twickenham
TW1 3BZ.
Objections to the intended disposal must be made in writing addressed to: The Assistant Director (Property Services), Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, Room 217, The Town Hall,
Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU by no later than
16th November 2023.
DATED this 19th day of October 2023

[EastTerracer]

Interesting, the notice is archived here but I can't find whether that lease was ever granted.

https://publicnoticeportal.uk/notice/pl ... 5a964aa5b1