Ashley rumour

[Bladesman]

Seb Coe?

Yes, that is the one.

 

[YorkBlade]

Do you talk to him, (The Prince) often then Hal?

I personally don't think the timing is odd at all, just after a healthy set of numbers and i would imagine there is a price A and a price B scenario....if indeed true.

What is it they say, Everything is for sale at the right price? I wouldn't rule anything out with the Prince. There are loads of questions I would like to ask, (maybe you could save some up Hal for when you next speak to him?)...

Why hasn't McCabe been paid up regarding the land behind the Kop etc?
Has the Newcastle takeover had any bearing on him personally or SUFC or will it in the future?
Why did he decide to take a back seat in the running of SUFC?
What really is the "Youth Policy"
Does he plan to add to "United World" or will he offload parts to finance others?

I talk to lots of people at United and some that have left. The kind of access they have offered me in the past few years is quite incredible.

I'm happy to store up some questions for the Prince, he's currently deciding if he'll come back on with us for a YouTube interview, if he does I'll ask him any questions people have.

 

[Yogi]

Mike Ashley is a surprise for me! Can't see that myself. I think we may see an “investor” or two but I can’t see a full scale “takeover”. My conversations with the Prince have been along these lines, he is looking for multiple investment rather than one big takeover. The timing of these rumours is also odd, the club could be in the Premier League next season and then the value is very different. I'm afraid I don't have anything concrete on this. Time will tell.

Ashley been linked with nearly every club that might be on the market this year but there’s not been any concrete bids reported he’s either surveying the market in depth or he’s a recognisable name that adds clicks/views to any generic takeover/club for sale story someone might happen to be writing.

 

[Harry's Game]

The spanner in the works could be McCabe who still owns parts of the ground, he will want his say and of course his pound of flesh...

The easy way for a new owner to get McCabe onside is to give Scarborough the contract for the redevelopment of the stadium.

 

[Upton_Blade]

As for Mike Ashley, I would have him at BDTBL in a heartbeat, especially over any "American consortium" that would immediately saddle us with a shit load of debt.....just watch what happens to Burnley over the next few years....

Exactly this. They used the same "model" that the Glazers used to buy Man U. Unfortunately for them they aren't Man U and if/when they get relegated they will be right royally fooked.

On a side note it'll be interesting to see how long Man U remain the massive global pull they are now if their "performance" on the pitch continues.

Any Blade who is of the mindset that any change of ownership can only be an improvement on that which we already have , may want to reconsider that opinion . If in doubt , have a word with a Burnley supporter for whom the only tangible results of their new benefactors short time in office has been the sale of Chris Woods , the sacking of Sean Dyche and the servicing of a £90 million debt at approximately 4 times the normal commercial rate .

The exact people McCabe had already signed to sell us to the day after him winning the court case if he had but hey ... there's no bigger Blade!

 

[Deaneandagana]

Do you talk to him, (The Prince) often then Hal?

I personally don't think the timing is odd at all, just after a healthy set of numbers and i would imagine there is a price A and a price B scenario....if indeed true.

What is it they say, Everything is for sale at the right price? I wouldn't rule anything out with the Prince. There are loads of questions I would like to ask, (maybe you could save some up Hal for when you next speak to him?)...

Why hasn't McCabe been paid up regarding the land behind the Kop etc?
Has the Newcastle takeover had any bearing on him personally or SUFC or will it in the future?
Why did he decide to take a back seat in the running of SUFC?
What really is the "Youth Policy"
Does he plan to add to "United World" or will he offload parts to finance others?

You missed 1 out…

Has the strategic plan been formulated yet?

 

[Panini]

Why hasn't McCabe been paid up regarding the land behind the Kop etc?
Has the Newcastle takeover had any bearing on him personally or SUFC or will it in the future?
Why did he decide to take a back seat in the running of SUFC?
What really is the "Youth Policy"
Does he plan to add to "United World" or will he offload parts to finance others?

I don't believe the land behind the Kop with the Scarborough hoardings on it was part of the proceedings or has ever been up for sale, at least not as part of the transfer of club/asset ownership to PA. McCabe kept it out of the conversation iirc.

I think we all know you wouldn't get a straight answer to Q2 although Q3 partly answers it. I also don't think PA necessarily owes us transparency here, he's entitled to some level of privacy and any impact on SUFC would be obvious. He doesn't need to justify being in the background any more than he needed to justify being more in the foreground. He's owner, not chairman.

Q4 seems easy to answer even if won't be the answer people want to hear. My interest is more about whether the decreased playing budget means more funding will go towards the academy infrastructure with a view to getting Cat 1 status, which seems crucial for a club putting its faith in youth development.

Q5 he might not even know the answer to himself. 3 (I think) United World clubs have been relegated in the last 12 months and although 2 of them won't feel a huge drop in revenue, we will. And we're the jewel in the crown. There are definitely costs to SUFC, for example Beerschot aren't likely to be paying all Coulibaly's wages, but there was nothing in the accounts to suggest we're financing other clubs.

It's a tricky one, if Beerschot invest in their academy and develop European players who move to us with work permits etc that they couldn't have obtained with us (or they couldn't have joined us at all) but "we" or PA contributed some of the capital in the first place, is that a cost? And if yes, are we ok with it? Are we even asking this question only because we've been relegated, we need every penny and there's a bit of paranoia that money is going out of SUFC. Even if this is true, which there's no evidence of, it's a drop in the ocean compared to what poor first-team recruitment costs.

Overall it's very rare for any business owner to produce details of their business plan when asked. Of course football is different but it's not that different when it comes to making and losing money. I think we've been quite spoilt by how much info PA has given us, whether off his own back or with YorkBlade giving him a platform.

I think there's also a sense of frustration because we've had the kind of info in the recent past that we'd never had before. Apart from PA's Wilder interview, it was all a very nice extra. We would've coped without it. Now there are more pressing issues - at least as we see it - it's frustrating that it coincides with PA having a lower public presence.

 

[LJBlade]

"Developing Youth" was the Prince's way of saying no money will be available for transfers unless, it comes from those Youth players developed.....I doubt for a second he really gives 2 fucks whether Will Osulu for example becomes a permanent fixture in our matchday squad or we sell him for £5m and use the cash to buy someone else.

Personally I think the Prince will be gagging to sell and after we have just released a decent set of accounts he will stand a good chance of getting a fairly decent return. Plus there is the Newcastle angle, HRH disappeared off the scene as the Staveley fronted bid for the Toon was being completed, could be bollocks but I wouldn't be surprised if his hand was being somewhat forced.

As for Mike Ashley, I would have him at BDTBL in a heartbeat, especially over any "American consortium" that would immediately saddle us with a shit load of debt.....just watch what happens to Burnley over the next few years....

The spanner in the works could be McCabe who still owns parts of the ground, he will want his say and of course his pound of flesh...

Which parts does McCabe still own?

 

[Slug]

Yes, that is the one.

The Seb Coe led consortium was going to be funded by Americans Josh Harris & David Blitzer (They own the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA) who are already joint owners of Crystal Palace.
Now I’m sure they would have happily moved on from Palace in order to upgrade to Chelsea but I can’t see them being so keen to ditch Palace for us!

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

Unsure if old or new rumour. But The Star is reporting it today. Regardless, throws up interesting issue. How is the Prince gonna get back his investment?

Even though he is reported to have personally invested £28m plus give a few personal guarantees (he is alleged not to have invested during and since Prem days), his strategy of developing youth will only yield in the long term (if at all). If not promoted this year, we will start the process of reducing player costs over the next few seasons and end -up with a mixture of cheaper League One and youth players. Hardly a platform for developing a promotion winning side especially against richer clubs. And hardly an attractive proposition to any potential buyer in 2 or 3 years.

Does he sell now to get a decent return, or hang around hoping that he can get a better return if the strategy on youth, and the United World model works?

He has invested, over £100m since he owned the club and he could choose to do what he wanted with the prem money. It was spent on players.

 

[Champagneblade]

I talk to lots of people at United and some that have left. The kind of access they have offered me in the past few years is quite incredible.

I'm happy to store up some questions for the Prince, he's currently deciding if he'll come back on with us for a YouTube interview, if he does I'll ask him any questions people have.

This feels like more of an end of season thing and perhaps that way it could also become a yearly event.

I'd say anything before the season ends would be a distraction; it's either going to come over as getting ahead of himself or not believing in the team and management.

 

[Sean Thornton]

He has invested, over £100m since he owned the club and he could choose to do what he wanted with the prem money. It was spent on players.

£100m?

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

£100m?

Actually more - 2x prem. CBA working out the actual figure. Fact is he's invested a lot and could have walked with the cash.
People need to be careful what they wish for.
I certainly don't yearn for a Glazier / Abramovic.

 

[Blade56]

Judging on our past stewardships (including those still in hiding and out of prison) we must rank as one if not the most neglected club with potential like ever. The promotions, crowds, play-offs, cup runs etc we’ve achieved on a feckin shoestring is second to none.

I’ll give credit to PA he gave it all he could with his limited finances but did he had a sporting vision, he was ‘politically aware’, he was a competent legal and financial businessman that saw off the shark McCabe was.

I can’t see Mike Ashley taking us on, why would he? But if he did I’d give him and his wonga a chance, at least he has a track record of PL and EFL under his belt unlike our current board. Money alone is not enough, you need football in ya blood, look at our tuna murdering neighbours in S6, the likes of Ashley would relish grinding them underfoot and making us an average but constant force in the PL imo.

My guess is all the speculation will only come to fruition if we got into and won the playoffs. Otherwise it’s like Rodley said next season

 

[Snowflake]

Unsure if old or new rumour. But The Star is reporting it today. Regardless, throws up interesting issue. How is the Prince gonna get back his investment?

Even though he is reported to have personally invested £28m plus give a few personal guarantees (he is alleged not to have invested during and since Prem days), his strategy of developing youth will only yield in the long term (if at all). If not promoted this year, we will start the process of reducing player costs over the next few seasons and end -up with a mixture of cheaper League One and youth players. Hardly a platform for developing a promotion winning side especially against richer clubs. And hardly an attractive proposition to any potential buyer in 2 or 3 years.

Does he sell now to get a decent return, or hang around hoping that he can get a better return if the strategy on youth, and the United World model works?

Didn’t we get promoted with L1 players and some youth ?

 

[Sean Thornton]

Actually more - 2x prem. CBA working out the actual figure. Fact is he's invested a lot and could have walked with the cash.
People need to be careful what they wish for.
I certainly don't yearn for a Glazier / Abramovic.

The PL money is the clubs. Not the Princes. Separate legal entities.

His investment has been in the form of shares and as dividends aren’t an option, how could he have walked away with the money?

(This is not a criticism of him btw)

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

The PL money is the clubs. Not the Princes. Separate legal entities.

His investment has been in the form of shares and as dividends aren’t an option, how could he have walked away with the money?

(This is not a criticism of him btw)

Pretty crap investment then if there's no way for him to ever recoup any money.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Pretty crap investment then if there's no way for him to ever recoup any money.

Selling. Always been the plan.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

Selling. Always been the plan.

I'm sure you know a lot about bean counting, but I simply can't believe Prince couldn't get money out of the club if he wanted to. Makes no sense.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I'm sure you know a lot about bean counting, but I simply can't believe Prince couldn't get money out of the club if he wanted to. Makes no sense.

Okay.

 

[JJBlade]

Extractors rather than investors is a more accurate description of the typical Yank takeover model , whereby Chuck and Bubba arrange a huge loan at a ridiculous interest rate from their banking buddies then dump it straight on the club as a debt .

Once installed , they pay themselves and other pals and family members large fees and dividends for ‘consultancy’ and such spurious none existent contributions and are laughing all the way to the bank . Not so the club and it’s fans , who suddenly realise that they have been totally shafted and in a much worse state than they were before their rootin ’ tootin’ Knights in Ten Gallon Hats rode over the horizon .

This methodology has long since been outlawed on the American sporting scene for very obvious reasons , but clearly not obvious enough for our own inept and hopelessly naive administrators and politicians who are charged with the task of regulating our national game .

Any Blade who is of the mindset that any change of ownership can only be an improvement on that which we already have , may want to reconsider that opinion . If in doubt , have a word with a Burnley supporter for whom the only tangible results of their new benefactors short time in office has been the sale of Chris Woods , the sacking of Sean Dyche and the servicing of a £90 million debt at approximately 4 times the normal commercial rate .

Yes
It's the Mafia of various nationalities way of doing business.

Become a partner in a legit business and offer "Protection"

Then take their cut, their families cut, take out loans in the company name, run up bills using the company's credit line.

And when no more credit can be obtained, whoosh, they're gone, leaving the company to go under.

And I'm not sure what the difference is between that and what some of these football investors do