The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[rob_bridge]

Abramovic used the purchase of Chelsea to move to the UK, raise his profile & to seemingly legitimise his business activities at a time when many of his associates were being arrested / sent to Siberia. A highly dubious character but aren't most self made men? I doubt many Chelsea fans are too concerned about where the money comes from. Who had heard about him before he dragged Chelsea out of the shit?

This guy sounds equally dubious.

I can image Falcao being persuaded to sign for Monaco whether he wanted to or not.

Not that many might remember how much of a basket case Chelsea were before Abrahmovich rolled into town. I've always disliked them - so to me it's a real shame they were rescued with dodgy Russian money.

Ken Bates has always, rightly, got stick for his involvement in Chelsea being in the state they were - though I've never been sure why Matthew Harding has always been given such a positive press.

Harding bailed them out first time around in the mid 90's.
 
And died in a helicopter crash - so must have been a great bloke.

[CyprusVillain]

I thought Cyprus & Greece's problems were compounded by the fact nobody was paying or wanted to pay tax. Business & rich individuals have the options to move elsewhere, whilst in the main ordinary citizens do not.

I remember walking out of Wembley, after Chelsea had beaten us in the FA Cup semi-final & thinking to myself I'd hate our club / fans to become an image of that arrogant, classless club. Taking the moral high ground is all well & good but if the alternative is drifting in the wilderness for years I can understand why many would be tempted.

I would be surprised if Lerner would go anywhere the likes of this guy, I suppose it depends on how desperate he is to sell & who else wants to buy?

Tax evasion is widespread in Cyprus - partly because of the shitty public services that people get in return. Bare in mind that Cyprus is the only country in the EU that does not have an NHS.....

The ability to tax evade is the competative advantage that the Cypriot International Financial Centre Tax Haven has offered to the rest of the world sinse the 1970s.

But this arrangement also has severe consequences for the societies that offer these facilities - Cypriot football must be the most corrupt racket in the European game.......

On a side note - no prizes for guessing on what small eastern Med island the family of General Mubarak his there ill gotten gains or Slobodan Milosevic circumvented UN sanctions in the 1990's......

[Russ aka Big Nose]

Abramovic used the purchase of Chelsea to move to the UK, raise his profile & to seemingly legitimise his business activities at a time when many of his associates were being arrested / sent to Siberia. A highly dubious character but aren't most self made men? I doubt many Chelsea fans are too concerned about where the money comes from. Who had heard about him before he dragged Chelsea out of the shit?

This guy sounds equally dubious.

I can image Falcao being persuaded to sign for Monaco whether he wanted to or not.

Not that many might remember how much of a basket case Chelsea were before Abrahmovich rolled into town. I've always disliked them - so to me it's a real shame they were rescued with dodgy Russian money.

Ken Bates has always, rightly, got stick for his involvement in Chelsea being in the state they were - though I've never been sure why Matthew Harding has always been given such a positive press.

Harding bailed them out first time around in the mid 90's.
 
And died in a helicopter crash - so must have been a great bloke.

OK. Cheers.

[mattjpa]

just waiting for Legion to put his head in the middle of the orange dot.....

[rob_bridge]

I thought Cyprus & Greece's problems were compounded by the fact nobody was paying or wanted to pay tax. Business & rich individuals have the options to move elsewhere, whilst in the main ordinary citizens do not.

I remember walking out of Wembley, after Chelsea had beaten us in the FA Cup semi-final & thinking to myself I'd hate our club / fans to become an image of that arrogant, classless club. Taking the moral high ground is all well & good but if the alternative is drifting in the wilderness for years I can understand why many would be tempted.

I would be surprised if Lerner would go anywhere the likes of this guy, I suppose it depends on how desperate he is to sell & who else wants to buy?

Tax evasion is widespread in Cyprus - partly because of the shitty public services that people get in return. Bare in mind that Cyprus is the only country in the EU that does not have an NHS.....

The ability to tax evade is the competative advantage that the Cypriot International Financial Centre Tax Haven has offered to the rest of the world sinse the 1970s.

But this arrangement also has severe consequences for the societies that offer these facilities - Cypriot football must be the most corrupt racket in the European game.......

On a side note - no prizes for guessing on what small eastern Med island the family of General Mubarak his there ill gotten gains or Slobodan Milosevic circumvented UN sanctions in the 1990's......

Only been to Cyprus once - 13 or 14 years ago and was surprised at how many (that there were any) Russians there were in Nicosia.

A couple of bellends thought that due to my very short hair (at the time) I was a squaddie and took a dlsike to me.

[CyprusVillain]

Only been to Cyprus once - 13 or 14 years ago and was surprised at how many (that there were any) Russians there were in Nicosia.

A couple of bellends thought that due to my very short hair (at the time) I was a squaddie and took a dlsike to me.
[/quote]

The large number of Russians on the island is something of a clue as to the colour of the money which passes through here - my university classes are packed out with their offspring - great kids mostly.

To be fair to Cypriots their society is a very peaceful place......

The only time I have witnessed a situation where trouble might have erupted in downtown Nicosia was when my 13 year old son (in his villa shirt) insisted on staring out a bluenose (in full bluenose strip).  Said bluenose was 20 stone plus, sweating profusely in the midday sun and would have had a heart attack if he had decided  to take it further and given chase.......

It tends to be the foreigners who cause all the problems.

[kippaxvilla2]

Imagine, just imagine that season ticket sales were well down on previous seasons and imagine if today was a deadline for 9 month season ticket payment plans. 

I wonder what could possibly be used to boost sales.

A bit more than a speculative link to a shady character.

I'd hope, just speculating really.

[nigel]

Without scrolling back.
This was in the Independent:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/controversial-kazakhstan-businessman-frontrunner-to-buy-villa-9457082.html

There is a paragraph saying that, apparently, there are 6 - 8 interested parties, but this chap's the front runner.

Don't know anything about him.

[kippaxvilla2]

Is it just me?

[Whiney MacWhineface]

Won't somebody PLEASE tell me how Mafeking is getting on?

[Toronto Villa]

6-8 parties interested if true is encouraging and not altogether unexpected. And there will be late entries beyond that number. Just because this bloke is allegedly the front runner today means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

[kippaxvilla2]

Without scrolling back 8 years,  I just found this - good times ahead?

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner became chairman of Aston Villa on Tuesday, completing the second American takeover of an English Premier League soccer club.

Villa chairman Doug Ellis and four members of his board resigned after Lerner increased his stake to almost 90%, the level at which he can legally buy the remaining shares in the Birmingham club.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Villa announced the appointment of Lerner as chairman and retired Gen. Charles C. Krulak, Bob Kain and Michael Martin as non-executive directors.

Earlier, Lerner's takeover vehicle, Reform Acquisitions Ltd., told the exchange that it had raised its stake in the club to 89.69%.

Lerner submitted a $118.8 million bid on Aug. 14 to buy Aston Villa, one of English soccer's oldest clubs. Lerner plans to take the club off the stock market and into private ownership on Oct. 17.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill said he will meet with Lerner later this week. Lerner is scheduled to fly to England this week for Villa's games against Scunthorpe and Charlton.

Villa, established in 1874, hasn't won the English league title since 1981.

Lerner is the second American owner of a Premier League team, and the fourth foreign owner. Last year, Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer took over at Manchester United.

Ellis stepped down after 35 years of running Villa over two stints. He was chairman from 1968-75 and from 1982 until Tuesday.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Lerner sold the Browns to someone who is under investigation by the FBI, do not expect him to have a conscience

[john e]

Imagine, just imagine that season ticket sales were well down on previous seasons and imagine if today was a deadline for 9 month season ticket payment plans. 

I wonder what could possibly be used to boost sales.

A bit more than a speculative link to a shady character.

I'd hope, just speculating really.

To be honest I doubt there is one person that has rushed down the ticket office to renew on the basis of a few dodgy links to new owners

Reading why some of our own posters have renewed on here suggests it's nothing to do with any sort of building excitement they have regarding the coming season

[rob_bridge]

Won't somebody PLEASE tell me how Mafeking is getting on?

Waiting for Barry to not take the penalty and Kenwright to sell Everton.