Peter Varney was Chief Executive Officer at Charlton Athletic during the club's most recent glory years, from 1997 to 2008, with the Addicks competing in the Premier League from 2000 to 2007, and in the 2000/01 campaign.
The fortunes of the South London club have taken a drastic turn for the worse since, and it appears very likely that they will head into next season as their seventh campaign in eight playing in League One.
Current owner Thomas Sandgaard has taken an unorthodox approach to running the club, having never been involved in football at board level previously.
Long term staff have left Charlton since his takeover and standards have continued to drop on the pitch.
Sandgaard has been vocal about not wishing to pay any transfer fees until the end of next season as part of a plan to breakeven, which in turn has decreased the Addicks' chances of returning to the Championship anytime soon.
That lack of investment has led to rumours that the club may be for sale again, although the stadium and training ground are still owned by Roland Duchatelet, and Varney took to Twitter to send what seems like an important message to Addicks supporters.
He wrote: "If you care about Charlton even if you feel disillusioned at present please buy your ticket for the Brighton cup game and come with the mindset to create a passionate atmosphere as it is very important to showcase the club on that night."
Varney has been public about attempts to seize control at The Valley in the not too distant past, most recently alongside local businessman Andrew Barclay in 2020, which has led Charlton supporters to believe that this message may suggest that potential new owners could be in attendance.
The Verdict
Changes of ownership are often not a straightforward process, but if an interested party is able to satisfy the EFL's owners and directors test promptly, then negotiations tend to speed up considerably.
Sandgaard appeared to have honest intentions when arriving at the helm in 2020, but a disregard for the challenge at hand, and naive actions like appointing his son, with no previous experience in football, as Director of Analytics with a large say on recruitment has certainly turned a significant portion of the supporter base against him.
The Addicks have been on a long term downward spiral since Duchatelet took over in the 2013/14 season, and Sandgaard has been unable to arrest that slide, a familiar face from a more successful era, in Varney, would be welcomed back to the club by supporters.