The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Richard E]

Everton are and will always be in Liverpool's shadow. We darken the sky for our neighbours.

Man City were in the same position a few years ago. However, as someone stated, we are a more attractive buy than Everton.

I read a rumour on here that they initially tried to buy Man U but their approaches were (rudely) rejected by the head honchos (probably Sir Booby).  As a result they bough Man City out of spite rather than them thinking they were necessarily 'the' team they needed to buy.

I suspect that is an urban myth but it would be brilliant if it was true.

[mr underhill]

TBAR starting to cream their jeans over a report in The Telegraph that Micky Arison is in for the Villa with the guy from Oracle. Where's London Boy when you need him.

[brian green]

The sale of London Bridge is true. Perhaps the Arabic script for "Yanited" and "Citeh" looks very similar.

[Brend'Watkins]

TBAR starting to cream their jeans over a report in The Telegraph that Micky Arison is in for the Villa with the guy from Oracle. Where's London Boy when you need him.

Micky Arison....this could go on and on and on and on.

[Chris Jameson]

Michael Knighton is buying Villa for £5 million and has insisted Keane is a member of the coaching staff. He plans to bring in Arthur Albiston and Brian McClair to assist. Knighton will be owner/manager. As Jaap Stam couldn't be persuaded to come out of retirement, Senderos is seen as the perfect bald central defender to replace him.

That's my reading of the current situation.

[Breezeblock]

TBAR starting to cream their jeans over a report in The Telegraph that Micky Arison is in for the Villa with the guy from Oracle. Where's London Boy when you need him.

Micky Arison....this could go on and on and on and on.

I'll acknowledge that one, bravo! <clappy man emoticon>

[not3bad]

Michael Knighton is buying Villa for £5 million and has insisted Keane is a member of the coaching staff. He plans to bring in Arthur Albiston and Brian McClair to assist. Knighton will be owner/manager. As Jaap Stam couldn't be persuaded to come out of retirement, Senderos is seen as the perfect the bald central defender to replace him.

That's my reading of the current situation.

I won't believe it until he's PKUOTP (Playing Keepy Uppy On The Pitch).

[paul_e]

Everton are and will always be in Liverpool's shadow. We darken the sky for our neighbours.

Man City were in the same position a few years ago. However, as someone stated, we are a more attractive buy than Everton.

There are 2 differences:

1. Man City had just moved to a fantastic new stadium, Everton's ground is in desperate need to upgrading/replacing but has no space to expand.
2. I'm not convinced Everton really are for sale, same with Newcastle, both are reluctant sellers as far as I can see, whereas Man City (and now us) are openly in need of a sale.

[adrenachrome]

Michael Knighton is buying Villa for £5 million and has insisted Keane is a member of the coaching staff. He plans to bring in Arthur Albiston and Brian McClair to assist. Knighton will be owner/manager. As Jaap Stam couldn't be persuaded to come out of retirement, Senderos is seen as the perfect the bald central defender to replace him.

That's my reading of the current situation.

Could be on to something there, Chris. I remember Keane went through a shaven headed phase.

Maybe Lambo has got fed up with his callow coffured dandies and LamboKeano are going down the bald bastard route.

[DB]

Everton are and will always be in Liverpool's shadow. We darken the sky for our neighbours.

Man City were in the same position a few years ago. However, as someone stated, we are a more attractive buy than Everton.

There are 2 differences:

1. Man City had just moved to a fantastic new stadium, Everton's ground is in desperate need to upgrading/replacing but has no space to expand.
2. I'm not convinced Everton really are for sale, same with Newcastle, both are reluctant sellers as far as I can see, whereas Man City (and now us) are openly in need of a sale.

I meant that City were in same boat as far as being in Manure's shadow...but City were a much better position to Everton to be bought out of the 2.

[Chris Jameson]

Expect to see plenty of this. Good times are coming.

[Brend'Watkins]

Everton are and will always be in Liverpool's shadow. We darken the sky for our neighbours.

1. Everton's ground is in desperate need to upgrading/replacing but has no space to expand.

You see I don't get this.  As it stands they can't expand but what's to say they buy make an offer that can't be refused for houses around the ground where they want to expand, even compensate those who remain for the inconvenience of bigger crowds.  It might mean taking a few streets out of terraced houses with limited market value, a cost of £10 - £15 million or so in total.  Then they can refurbish/expand on the current site over a few seasons with minimal disruption.  It may sound simplistic  I know as Stadia developments have supermarkets/hotels and other stuff as part of any brand new development  showing more salable assets for the club making the club worth more.  Those developments could come in time.  This has  probably been looked at already or has it?

[pauliewalnuts]

You see I don't get this.  As it stands they can't expand but what's to say they buy make an offer that can't be refused for houses around the ground where they want to expand, even compensate those who remain for the inconvenience of bigger crowds.  It might mean taking a few streets out of terraced houses with limited market value, a cost of £10 - £15 million or so in total.  Then they can refurbish/expand on the current site over a few seasons with minimal disruption.  It may sound simplistic  I know as Stadia developments have supermarkets/hotels and other stuff as part of any brand new development  showing more salable assets for the club making the club worth more.  Those developments could come in time.  This has  probably been looked at already or has it?

Thing is, though, it's the price to buy the club plus the price of buying up those houses (and the lengthy process involved - Liverpool bought up houses one after the other for years around their ground, they pretty much killed it as a residential area, strangled it, according to annoyed residents), plus the price of doing up or rebuilding the stadium, and all that to get you to where Villa are already.

Plus, then you are always going to be running the second biggest club in the city, whereas there's nothing short of some sort of catastrophic meteor strike on B6 that could ever make Villa not the biggest club in Birmingham.

Everton are a great club, with almost as much tradition as us, but the fact is, they have enough "yeah buts" about them to put people off buying the club.

[fbriai]

You see I don't get this.  As it stands they can't expand but what's to say they buy make an offer that can't be refused for houses around the ground where they want to expand, even compensate those who remain for the inconvenience of bigger crowds.  It might mean taking a few streets out of terraced houses with limited market value, a cost of £10 - £15 million or so in total.  Then they can refurbish/expand on the current site over a few seasons with minimal disruption.  It may sound simplistic  I know as Stadia developments have supermarkets/hotels and other stuff as part of any brand new development  showing more salable assets for the club making the club worth more.  Those developments could come in time.  This has  probably been looked at already or has it?

Thing is, though, it's the price to buy the club plus the price of buying up those houses (and the lengthy process involved - Liverpool bought up houses one after the other for years around their ground, they pretty much killed it as a residential area, strangled it, according to annoyed residents), plus the price of doing up or rebuilding the stadium, and all that to get you to where Villa are already.

David Conn wrote an interesting article on the Anfield saga a year or so ago: Anfield: the victims, the anger and Liverpool's shameful truth

[andyh]

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