RICHARD MURRAY, the chairman of Charlton Athletic plc, gave warning yesterday that even financially stable clubs such as his could face difficulties unless the FA Premier League addresses a perceived lack of competitiveness and takes steps to “maintain supporter and corporate interest”.

Murray announced an operating profit of £4.7 million and a net profit of £1.3 million in the club’s annual report to the Stock Exchange, which covers the year ended June 30, 2005. However, although things seem healthy at The Valley, where 97 per cent of seats were filled last season — leading to a 12 per cent increase in match-day revenue — he is concerned that Chelsea’s financial dominance and the moving of fixtures to satisfy the demands of television risk alienating many supporters in the long term.

“It may well be that with the apparent resources at the disposal of Chelsea, they are likely to be the dominant force in Premiership football for many years to come unless a similar level of investment is made in other Premiership clubs,” Murray said. “It is not in the interest of any club in the top flight that the competition becomes predictable because that will have an effect both on the level of supporter and corporate interest in the league.

“The lack of widespread competition for the Premiership title and the spread of matches across three days with a variety of kick-off times is something we must debate now as this could have an adverse effect on future attendance figures. The consequences may have a significant effect on future commercial development at the majority of the Premier League clubs. At our club we have seen a reduction of some 1,500 season-ticket holders during the summer of 2005 and similar situations exist at other clubs.

“No business can afford to ignore its customers and that is something that football must heed if it is to avoid a sharp wake-up call. We have already seen a number of matches televised live this season where there were large gaps around the stadia and, if this pattern continues, there is a genuine risk that there will be an effect on the broadcasting revenues that all clubs receive.”

In Charlton’s case, broadcasting revenues of £23.5 million represented 58 per cent of turnover.

Charlton, though, have an advantage over many rivals in that the population of their catchment area is due to grow thanks to plans for the development of the Thames Gateway. “The regeneration of our local area and the South East region provide us with a unique opportunity to expand our support and commercial operations,” Murray said.

“There are 500,000 homes being built in the Thames Gateway region, plans are now in place for the development of the Greenwich Peninsular and the Millennium Dome, and the construction of a new bridge connecting the east and south of London has been approved by central government and is now the subject of public consultation.”

The club have taken steps to maximise support in their traditional Kent hinterland, launching the “Valley Express” bus service to home matches last season, which was used by up to 2,000 people for some games, and are preparing to make room in the stands for more spectators. Planning consent has been given by Greenwich Council for an expansion of the capacity of The Valley from 27,000 to 31,000, with an eventual target of 40,000.

Murray also reaffirmed his faith in Alan Curbishley, the manager. “Despite the disappointing end to the season, we can again be pleased with the team’s overall performance and the achievements of Alan Curbishley and his staff,” he said. “Since gaining promotion to the FA Premier League in 2000, the club has not finished lower than fourteenth position and is now widely recognised as an established Premiership club.”