Tony Jimenez
So there you are waiting for a knight in shining armour and a bloke with a load of porn mags stuffed up one sleeve and a wad of cash up his other turns up. Then the next minute
a cheeky cockney chappie appears at your knee doing his best impression of a Harry Enfield character with a range of You Tube video's proclaiming future players and a brown envelope of used twenties. What is a Charlton fan to do.
Dennis Wise has been seen many times at The Valley this season, probably secretly recording video of Izale McLeod, but more than likely just watching a game of football. He recently joined Chalfont St Peter to help out with
"community initiatives" and has today been widely tipped to replace Sven Goran Eriksson as Notts County's Director of Football.
We know about Wise but what about his side-kick Tony Jimenez?
Of Spanish descent Jimenez was born in Brixton in 1965 and made his money in property development at home and particularly abroad in Spain and Dubai. A fluent Spanish speaker he spent a lot of time in Spain, particularly southern Spain where he helped build a North L
ondon based sports management and promotions company into a large concern citing many footballers and managers as clients. He was close to Juande Ramos and brokered the deal that saw Ramos move from Seville to Tottenham in October 2007.
Jimenez is an executive season ticket holder at Chelsea, considered to be one of the Blues more nouveaux fans and via connections he worked his way through a side door to become a bit-part of the new establishment within Abramovich's Stamford Bridge. He was already close to Gus Poyet and got to know Dennis Wise and the three of them were said to be a tight boys club.
Jimenez with his likeable manner, valuable social skills and impressive contact list became known in the game as one of it's best fixers. Players, managers, chairman, investors would all turn to him for advice. Mike Ashley became involved in Jimenez's close circle through his friendship with fellow property tycoon and ex-Spurs vice chairman Paul Kemsley and it is via Kemsley that Jimenez is also well associated with Sir Alan Sugar and Sir Philip Green. It sure is one well tangled web.
Recently before it was announced by Newcastle United that
Jimenez had left the club, it was reported that Jimenez took Mike Ashley out to Dubai to meet serious potential buyers of the club but allegedly Ashley embarrassed himself and the deal fell flat. Following that episode Ashley and Jimenez's relationship became very strained, around the same time as Kevin Keegan was awarded £2m following a Premier League arbitration tribunal that offered a damning verdict on Ashley's regime at Newcastle.
It might be these potential Newcastle suitors that Jimenez is backing in any proposed takeover of Charlton and remember it was Jimenez who was said to be nurturing last year's Zabeel Investments bid.
If it is relevant at all, the question is do we want muck or brass?