Charlton Athletic are at the back of the pack as far as preparation for 2022/23 is concerned, having only confirmed their new manager, Ben Garner, yesterday.
A lethargic summer window in 2021 held the team back enormously in the opening few months of the season and they are arguably never fully recovered from it, finishing in an underwhelming 13th place.
On 30th May, Thomas Sandgaard suggested, when speaking to the club's website, that a new manager and, crucially now, new players would have arrived by the time the squad jet off to Spain for their pre-season tour on 16th June.
When pressed on that state of affairs by the South London Press, and whether new signings would be announced in the next week, the Charlton owner responded slightly differently.
Sandgaard said: "So will we have any signings before we go on the trip to Spain? That’s hard to say.
"We’re obviously working hard.
"Between all the things we were doing today (Wednesday when Garner was announced as boss), we were discussing all the names and thoughts we had among the four of us.
"It was very productive.
"But that doesn’t mean we get anybody signed tomorrow.
"It is one of the hardest things to predict.
"I’d say it is nearly easier to predict the football result of the next game than it is predicting who we get in and when.
"It’s quite a big puzzle.
"We have big faith in our negotiating mastermind here, Steve Gallen.
"He’s the best negotiator I’ve ever met."
Another answer from Sandgaard that says something but absolutely nothing at all at the same time.
It does not suggest that any deals are close.
The Verdict
The comments suggest that Charlton are not confident of having any new signings over the line by the time they leave for their pre-season tour next Thursday, which is not good preparation.
At the rate that they are going, with it remaining unclear if Garner's backroom staff from Swindon Town are to join him at The Valley, the Addicks are set to start the season at a disadvantage, not dissimilarly to 2021/22.
Garner is set to implement a very bold possession-based style of play at The Valley, it could take the bulk of pre-season to get those methods across to the current squad, so it is very counter-productive if the club conduct the majority of their transfer business in the final fortnight of the window, which unfortunately at the moment, looks more likely than not.