The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[mattjpa]

What I found interesting was at the SCG meeting a couple of weeks ago there was an almost unanimous desire for Randy to stay from supporters.

Whilst its an observation it completely contradicts what I hear/see. I couldn't name one person I know who wants him to continue his stewardship. Sometimes its better the devil you know, I get that. But he has made himself the Villain over the last 2/3 years and taken the criticism to get us to where we are, an almost perfect scenario for new ownership. The basis of a good young squad, some superb assets on and off the pitch, a good management structure in place, a low wage bill with most of the higher paid deadwood now shipped out and a massive fan base to build upon whilst still being in the most lucrative league in the world. I'm gutted for him personally because the cup would have been the perfect reward for the money and hard work he has put in but it wasn't to be. Now is definitely the time to move on though.

[mr underhill]

yep American zillionaires who have sunk immense personal wealth into English clubs are so last year.

[dave shelley]

Slightly off topic but, a fortnight ago today, myself and Mrs S were down at the club shop to get some bits and pieces for our grandchildren over here and, of course, Mrs S wanted the toilet!  Whilst I was waiting for her, I was passed by a small wedding party heading for one of the suites in the North Stand.  I noticed they were all Chinese.

At the Burnley game, there were a party of Chinese people, mainly women, sitting in the row in front of us.  I assisted one of the said lovely ladies to her seat as, she was in the wrong row.  Gentleman that I am.

[mattjpa]

You are right, American zillionaires who despite having the means to take a football club to the top of world football make an absolute clusterfuck of it with a series of bad decisions (wasting hundreds of millions of pounds in the process) are definitely 'last year'

[old man villa fan]

Name a single far eastern owner/s who have done well in English football

Didn't the bloke at Cit£h make an absolute killing (no pun intended) on his purchase/sale of the club and despite singing Blue Moon badly didn't see to make too many cock ups in his time there?

Erm didn't he end up doing porridge too

No, too much money.  He has been on the run for years (if swanning around the world freely is on the run) and has just had his Thai passports revoked.  He has a Moldovan passport now.

At his age, he probably does porridge - Jok (rice porridge).

[Holte L2]

Does anyone know he will have appointed as lawyers?  I have a very good friend who will be able to give us some gossip if we can find out which company.

[silhillvilla]

Name a single far eastern owner/s who have done well in English football

Last time I looked Abu Dhabi was well east of Dover!

Without turning this into a geography lesson , AD is in the Middle East not the Far East. Massalama

[Toronto Villa]

Name a single far eastern owner/s who have done well in English football

Last time I looked Abu Dhabi was well east of Dover!

Without turning this into a geography lesson , AD is in the Middle East not the Far East. Massalama

the point being relatively speaking it's far east of Birmingham. And is Asia still referred to as the Far East? Isn't it as antiquated as calling it the Orient? I never hear of Los Angeles being referred to as the Far West.

[aj2k77]

What I found interesting was at the SCG meeting a couple of weeks ago there was an almost unanimous desire for Randy to stay from supporters.

Stay and do what though Dave?

He doesn't want to put any more money in and he doesn't want to put any time in whatsoever. So what would be the point of him staying and see us drifting downwards. He hasn't been on top of things the last few years and we've seen things you shouldn't see at the top. Bullying, lack of coaching, players ostracised then bought back in bizarrely as assistants. These are the sort of things you won't see when someone has their eye on the ball or employs someone to have it.

I get now we have Tom Fox but I also want a Chairman who is still interested and willing to go that extra mile should times need it.

[Pat McMahon]

Does anyone know he will have appointed as lawyers?  I have a very good friend who will be able to give us some gossip if we can find out which company.

Randy uses Squire Patton Boggs

[Toronto Villa]

I think Randy just became he benefactor for the club and appointed a chairman then people would be happy. That is, Randy the bloke who bought the club and was motivated financially to make us compete at the right end of the table. I think if he allowed the manager to spend relative to our revenues every season then that would certainly be a massive improvement on where we have been recently. I don't think anyone expects MON style spending but allowing the manager to spend a net £25-30m every year with the money in the PL today isn't totally unreasonable. It's the fact that we have fucking around at the arse end of the table and most recently going after players that are essentially going to keep us there that most object to.

[silhillvilla]

I don't think you can underestimate the cultural influence a foreign owner can exert over a club, both positively and negatively . Ultimately whether US, Russian, Chinese or British, we are in for another period of upheaval and uncertainty on and off the pitch I fear.

[Pat McMahon]

Why do people think that China is a massive market to sell football shirts too
They arnt going to spend £44 on something they make themselves for about 50p

There is a growing middle class in China who like their designer clothes. The Chinese shopper tourist is big business over here, so it seems reasonable to suggest that this new class of people with disposable income don't want to settle for fugazzi shirts of their respective team.

I'm sure Pat McMahon told me that all the United and Chelsea shirts he saw when he lived in Beijing were fakes. Pat?

I reckon 90% of the shirts I saw in China were fake. Then again, same for the designer handbags. And iphones.

[john e]

Why do people think that China is a massive market to sell football shirts too
They arnt going to spend £44 on something they make themselves for about 50p

There is a growing middle class in China who like their designer clothes. The Chinese shopper tourist is big business over here, so it seems reasonable to suggest that this new class of people with disposable income don't want to settle for fugazzi shirts of their respective team.

I'm sure Pat McMahon told me that all the United and Chelsea shirts he saw when he lived in Beijing were fakes. Pat?

I reckon 90% of the shirts I saw in China were fake. Then again, same for the designer handbags. And iphones.

Most of the designer stuff that isn't fake is still made in China

[Pat McMahon]

As people have said above, it is the owners / consortium which counts, not their nationality. There are good , bad, corrupt, honest business people all over China,  same as here in Europe.

If we have investors like the Evergrande group (property development) that could be good. They took over Guangzhou's football team 5 ish years ago, appointed Marcelo Lippi, invested in the squad and went from also rans to three times league winners and became the first Chinese team to win the Asian Champs League. If we get another Carson Yeung - who is from HK not mainland China, quite a difference - then it may be a cause for concern.

The one general comment I would allow myself about a country of 1.3bn  and Chinese business specifically is that there is no sentiment. Money is all that matters. I wouldn't envisage investment in non-core areas such as the Holte pub or the McGregor statue for example. Also, if things were to go badly I would expect the taps to be completely switched off, well below the low levels Randy has spent since putting the club up for sale.

#fightlikepandas