Mark Goldberg

Mark Goldberg is an English football club chairman and manager, whose third spell as manager of Bromley came to an end in February 2016.

Business

Goldberg originally made his fortune in the IT recruitment industry, becoming a multi millionaire. He sold his company in 1997.^[1]

Football

Crystal Palace

In 1997, he was linked with purchasing Premier League club Crystal Palace, a club he was a fan of, from long-time chairman Ron Noades. At first this was thought to be simply speculation but soon developed into a serious story. Noades offered the club and its Selhurst Park stadium to Goldberg for £30million (with a £3million option to be used for playing staff), considered by most to be an extortionate amount for a club that was likely to be relegated from the Premier League. Nevertheless Goldberg had agreed to this deal and went out to raise funds. He came back to Noades after he had run out of time on the £3million option claiming he had only £22.8million, an amount that led Noades to suggest that Goldberg could purchase just the club and not the stadium for that total, and the club would be handed a ten year lease to continue playing there. However it soon came to light that Goldberg only actually had £18million, gained from promises from investors, and so was loaned £5million from Noades to make up the complete total.

The deal went through and Goldberg was installed as Palace chairman. His first move was to change the manager, with the long-serving Steve Coppell moved to Director of Football and Italy international Attilio Lombardo and the soon-to-retire Tomas Brolin taking over as player-managers. This was considered strange, as Lombardo did not speak English and was the side's star player. The duo did not last long in these roles, and Goldberg then appointed none other than former owner Noades, alongside coach Ray Lewington, as caretaker manager.

The club were relegated from the Premier League, finishing bottom of the table by a big margin.

In order to "secure further investment" in the club, Goldberg installed former-England Head Coach Terry Venables (who had started his managerial career at Palace, then left in acrimonious circumstances) as Palace Head Coach. Palace stormed to the top of the First Division with the side putting together some strong performances. However the club was now surrounded in unrest with Goldberg's financial backers withdrawing their support.

The club's highest earners, Venables and Lombardo, were allowed to leave in hope of reducing the wage bill significantly. Steve Coppell resumed the role of manager as the club slid towards liquidation. Goldberg left the club in January 1999.^[1] He was replaced by Peter Morley and the club put in administration.^[2]

Goldberg himself lost his entire fortune and was declared bankrupt in 2000.^[3] The Goldberg family helped him climb out of this and he returned to a normal life working in agency.

Bromley

Goldberg's brother-in-law, Jerry Dolke, had become chairman of non-league Bromley and during the 2005-06 season the pair announced the controversial decision that Goldberg would replace the highly successful and highly popular George Wakeling and his management team, who had led to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, and then secured survival by a long distance.^[1]

Goldberg's start in management was successful, leading Bromley to promotion into the Conference South division via the play-offs. His first pre-season included a tie against the youth team of Crystal Palace and his competitive start was good, with Bromley topping the Premier Division after his first eleven games and reaching the First Round of the FA Cup before losing 4-1 to League One side Gillingham.^[3]

Goldberg left Bromley during the 2007-08 season, to be succeeded by Simon Osborn, but returned to the club at the end of the season. In January 2011 he again left the club due to an internal disagreement.^[4]

On 18 June 2011 Goldberg returned to Bromley after the appointment of a new club chairman, Ashley Reading.^[5] Goldberg agreed to step down as manager on 4 February 2016.^[6]

Playing football

In April 2009, Goldberg suffered serious damage to his knee ligament while playing for Bromley Veterans in an Isthmian Veterans Cup semi-final. This injury caused him to be absent from the dugout for at least the remainder of the 2008-09 season.

As a young man, Goldberg played two seasons of football in the United States at the College of William and Mary (1982–1983). He was recruited by William and Mary head coach Al Albert. Goldberg's teammate at William and Mary was world-famous political comedian Jon Stewart.^[7]

Personal life

Goldberg's son, Bradley, is a semi-professional footballer. He is currently playing for Bromley.

His daughter, Lauren-Rose, is a singer and songwriter. She has appeared on shows such as The X Factor, The Jonathan Ross Show and ITV daytime programme This Morning, performing alongside Leona Lewis.

Honours

Club

Bromley

• Conference South; 2014-15
• Isthmian League playoff winners; 2006-07
• Kent Senior Cup (2); 2005-06,2006-07
• London Senior Cup; 2012-13

References