Tony’s Statement.

[Damo70]

Sounds promising, saying that the way things have gone down over the last few years it’ll probably be Sascha Gaydamak.

Or we will be taken over in a spoof publicity stunt by  Sacha Baron Cohen.

[mr underhill]

and be forced to play in claret and blue mankinis

[Damo70]

If you think Pontins Brean Sands and Prestatyn are bad you should have a dekko at Pontins Pakefield.  Illegal immigrants pay extra not to be dropped there.

I have fond memories of my one and only visit to Pontins Brean Sands in 2002. My son had just started walking and whilst trying to enjoy a drink and the entertainment in the family bar my wife and I had to constantly take turns to go after him on his many excursions out to the amusement arcade next to the bar as he was fascinated by all the flashing lights. We used to go to a cafe opposite the camp every morning for breakfast. My wife used to have the king size breakfast every morning and I used to have a fantastic beef madras they used to make!

[paul_e]

Also, don't get excited about a sale. It won't be to a philanthropic zillionaire if that is what people are hoping for.

I don't want someone loaded right now, someone who can run the club properly and stop us from cycling through wasting money before being reduced to digging down the back of the sofa and being sold.  Once the club is running properly and we have a decent structure in place then I'll happily take someone with the wealth to build on it but we need to learn how to act like a proper football club because our fucking ridiculous management has been embarrassing for years.

[TheMalandro]

Also, don't get excited about a sale. It won't be to a philanthropic zillionaire if that is what people are hoping for.

I don't want someone loaded right now, someone who can run the club properly and stop us from cycling through wasting money before being reduced to digging down the back of the sofa and being sold.  Once the club is running properly and we have a decent structure in place then I'll happily take someone with the wealth to build on it but we need to learn how to act like a proper football club because our fucking ridiculous management has been embarrassing for years.

I'll take somebody who can manipulate the shitty rules.

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

and be forced to play in claret and blue mankinis

At least there won't be any arguments about the colour of the sleeves.

[The Edge]

and be forced to play in claret and blue mankinis

Already bought mine for my holidays.

[A Northern Soul]

Also, don't get excited about a sale. It won't be to a philanthropic zillionaire if that is what people are hoping for.

I don't want someone loaded right now, someone who can run the club properly and stop us from cycling through wasting money before being reduced to digging down the back of the sofa and being sold.  Once the club is running properly and we have a decent structure in place then I'll happily take someone with the wealth to build on it but we need to learn how to act like a proper football club because our fucking ridiculous management has been embarrassing for years.

I'll take somebody who can manipulate the shitty rules.

What you’d hope for is someone who is savvy in English Football administration and be able to hold a sensible conversation with the EFL saying “we’ve stopped the club going into administration (thus avoiding not/under paying creditors and staff) but we cannot carry the can for the chancer who has not only driven a massive hole into the FFP position but has also forward sold much of our 1819 cash flow at a hugely discounted rate. Thus, in the unlikely event we were to get promoted please take all this into account and apply some leniency”. Beyond this present a sensible and balanced business plan for the season. This may or may not reduce the risk of having to sell all of our major playing assets at a low end price, or at all.

[Des Little]

and be forced to play in claret and blue mankinis

Already bought mine for my holidays.

Is nice? You like?

[cheltenhamlion]

Does anybody with even the vaguest of ITK links think we'll honestly get taken over this summer ?

I'm praying so but i refuse to let myself get too excited

Yes.

Confidence level?

Extreme.

Not too doubt you as you're normally bang on the money but I recall you saying that Bruce resigned earlier this summer!  Was it rejected??

Eh? Bruce has never resigned or even tried to. I was pretty confident his arse was going to be shown the door rapidly post Wembley defeat until our finances started to resemble Enron.

Does anybody with even the vaguest of ITK links think we'll honestly get taken over this summer ?

I'm praying so but i refuse to let myself get too excited

Yes.

Confidence level?

Extreme.

Not too doubt you as you're normally bang on the money but I recall you saying that Bruce resigned earlier this summer!  Was it rejected??

Eh? Bruce has never resigned or even tried to. I was pretty confident his arse was going to be shown the door rapidly post Wembley defeat until our finances started to resemble Enron.

Apologies Chelten, it wasn't you who claimed that towards the end of May in the Bruce Out thread.

I would hope not (unless a post got misconstrued or piss taking). Because that is otherwise a load of bollocks I typed!

[olaftab]

Also, don't get excited about a sale. It won't be to a philanthropic zillionaire if that is what people are hoping for.

OK but how about a complete absent minded fool with buckets and buckets of cash?

[george avfc]

IF the club is sold imminently, as reports suggest we will be, then surely the incoming new owners would not want one of their first acts to be the sale of Kodija/Chester and homegrown wonderkid Grealish?
You would think they would want to come in on an charm offensive, not bash us over the head!
again, IF the club is sold, presumably all of the current and pending financial concerns will be gone and we will be back on an even keel, negating the immediate need to raise funds to pay for the day to day running of the club?
The only (!) issue then is the impending FFP situation, which doesn't hit us until March 2019 (?). Would the new board take the view of seeing where we are in January and in the meantime  continue to negotiate with the EFL, as has been mentioned in a previous post, to minimize the potential punishments handed down.
If we are doing well in the league come Jan, then we could take a view on it.
A few 'IFS' in the above

[cheltenhamlion]

Nah. If it gets flogged then it is to people that will run as a business and not a rich blokes new toy. Might save us from getting our pants pulled down on sales but won't prevent the sales from happening. We are too far gone financially for that.

[Ads]

Unless the owner was phenomninally rich, whereby perhaps some accord could be reached with the EFL over FFP...

The reality is if the owners are stupidly rich or have enough to keep injecting capital to keep us going without having to put a lien over the Trinity Road crockery to pay a tax bill, the problem they face is the same; a deficit in FFP that cannot be legitimately bridged without sales.

But what they can do is have a Spurs Lite policy. Spurs have become a relevant club after 10 years of flogging their best players, to a point where Walker could be sold for £50m and Trippier already be at the club

If anything has been learnt since 2006, and by us and not our owners, its that €£¥$ is less critical in many respects than the accumen we desperately need to use whatever money we have, wisely.

A transfer policy of flipping over young players and selling at a high profit is the only real way, sort of some third world human rights abusing hydrocarbon multi billionaires buying us, to get ahead.

Invest in scouting, youth and coaching; no more Ross McCormack. £12m of his fee spread across 2 or 3 youngsters, whose talent could be realised and being sold on up the chain at a high premium, would give us the money for a promotion push.

We tried it in 2013/14. Ashely Westwood (spits) bought for £1m and sold for £6m, but didn't buy enough quality, had a poor manager and the whole demeanour and nature of our struggles proved too much. Doesn't mean it was the wrong plan, just the wrong people implementing it lead to too much bilge being signed.

I'll suffer another year down here, we may have no choice, but I think some genuine upper echeclon leadership, regardless of how rich they are, might finally be the tonic for us.

[Steve67]

The only way to maximise income through selling home grown talent is to get a manager who invests in playing them, nurturing them, coaching them. Is that Steve Bruce? No.

Good post Ads, other than what I have written above.  Bruce will not, in my view, nurture the young talent we have, enough for them to earn us our fortune. We only have to look at Keinan Davis to see that. Arguably, Bruce was given one last crack at buying our way to promotion but with no money might change tact and prove me wrong.  Will be an interesting season.