The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Hookeysmith]

Some sad obsessed Nose has found evidence that he owned/lived at a residence in Boston for a time at the house owned by his Professor.

I think we should all just sit back and let the Small Heath Scrutineers do our digging. They've got our backs on this one.

Just like the only possible reason Villa supporters said that the Yeung takeover looked suspect was because we wanted it to be the case.

I don't recall Villa fans digging around the internet to unearth a scoop. We just hoped he'd be like the Kumars and he was.

They definitely did. There was plenty of it in the BCFC thread on this very forum.

Yep, there was plenty of it going on.

There are a number of differences. If I recall correctly, at the time of their takeover, a lot of knuckledraggers were whooping and salivating over their impending success, making plans for the Champions League, rubbing their hooves in fervent anticipation at finally being "bigger dan da viy-ull!"

All I've heard from Villa fans is caution. Some of us are choosing to take it at face value, a wait-and-see approach; others are rightly probing for information about this bloke and his businesses. Healthy scepticism. In the end, we can't do anything about any of this, all we can do is wait.

And yet, there's this twisted idea that some of the more literate members of the great unwashed are doing us a favour because they know a thing or two about dodgy characters from China. That we should listen to them, because what they have to say will be in some way balanced, objective, sane. That our clubs have anything in common other than we share a city, and we both have Chinese owners. These are people who spent money on a mock funeral and flew a plane over Aston celebrating our demise, for Christ's sake.

All fans of that rabble ever want is for Aston Villa to be dragged down to their level. It consumes their every waking moment, and probably their darkest, blood-blackened dreams. Our takeover was on their message boards hours before it appeared on ours. I was contacted by several crowing noses before any Villa fans, who I assumed had paused to take in what was happening at their club. They were all over it like cockroaches in a Small Heath pantry.

The apes are hoping and praying Dr X will be a charlatan, just like their Hong Kong hairdresser is a charlatan, and they're dressing it up as a quiet word of caution. I don't need some dribbling halfwit from Sheldon to tell me anything about my club, no matter how obsessed he is with us.

They may yet get their wish, this may end badly, but consulting them about Aston Villa is like asking an Israeli his opinion on Palestine. We'll find out in due course ourselves. 

Superb  many clappy thingies

[footyskillz]

Dr xia is a far different proposition to that yeung character.  Also there is the vested interest of the Chinese president and China wanting to develop football. I for one see this take over in a far more positive and encouraging sign! 

[andyh]

"They were all over it like cockroaches in a Small Heath pantry"

truly, the best phrase I have heard this decade.
Congratulation that man.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Dr xia is a far different proposition to that yeung character.  Also there is the vested interest of the Chinese president and China wanting to develop football. I for one see this take over in a far more positive and encouraging sign! 

The Chinese president is a Man United fan. Remember when he visited Blighty last year?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chinas-president-dream-visiting-old-6655216

[ROBBO]

It really comes down to how much money he has got unfortunately and that's something that no-one appears to know. You can spend a modest amount to get us promoted but to get anywhere near top four you need serious money. Leicester is a one off and I will be very interested to see how they go next year.

[mr underhill]

I don't think he's going to be stumping up the rhino on his own.

[bob]

Does TBAR have to fold now? Do they all emerge, blinking into the sunrise, having handed back their service revolvers, unsure of what comes next but shaking one another's' hands with the certainty that they have lived through the forging of a new future but that they'll never see each other again?

That must be how this story ends, or else what? They keep going, typing bouncing-tit emoticons at the moon until Dr Tony starts to fail and they can get the operation up and running again?

So in Erdington or Brisbane when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over Walsall and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the Edgbaston reservoir, and all that road going, and all the people dreaming in the immensity of it, and in Dudley I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars'll be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all the rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Admin, I even think of Old Admin the father we never found, I think of Admin.

All my love,

R. Lerner (aged 54 1/4)

hahaha

[bob]

The Bird's Nest comment sounds a bit odd, certainly. I don't think it passes the sniff-test.

I also think Hollis' comments around Xia's companies being instrumental in moving half a billion people from the countryside to the cities is needless hyperbole. First, it's around 250 million over the last 25 years or so and and, secondly, 'instrumental' would do to be defined. Played a small part in a process of gigantic proportions more likely. Overselling just invites further scrutiny.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by China when doing business. I've seen CEOs of massively large corporations get weak at the knees after being given the grand tour. The scale of things makes it hard not to be overwhelmed and it sounds like Hollis has drunk the kool-aid especially with silly cliches like the Chinese not settling for being number two etc. The Chinese are not supermen; they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

None of this reflects on Xia himself as far as I'm concerned. Xia will have proven what he is all about by the end of summer.

Yes, all this kind of talk is unnecessary and creates suspicion.

"The Chinese don't come second." Well, they can't all win, can they?

Then our Tone says we are going to be the best club in the world in 8-10 years. It just makes me think he doesn't understand the situation.

[footyskillz]

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/aston-villa-just-latest-pawn-chinas-geopolitical-game/

Fascinating read and what I was trying to express in earlier posts about how China are be coming major player

[Salsa Party Animal]

for me, it sound great and too good but I will remain wait and see approach and if everything go well I will get half season ticket  in November.

[footyskillz]

Dr xia is a far different proposition to that yeung character.  Also there is the vested interest of the Chinese president and China wanting to develop football. I for one see this take over in a far more positive and encouraging sign! 

The Chinese president is a Man United fan. Remember when he visited Blighty last year?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chinas-president-dream-visiting-old-6655216

Like David Cameron he's getttinh teams mixed up ! Went to city staduim not old Trafford!  I think I read on hete that he was due to come to Birmingham  but he was persuaded to go to Manchester instead. I'd be intetrested in betting Cameron  now turning up with China president coming down to lotus villa park I can see them both now turning it up for all sorts of reasons !

[Dante Lavelli]

absolutely, only in football does it seem to be the norm to be rewarded beyond most people's wildest dreams for failure. Incentive, incentive, incentive!

I'm not sure about.  In most industries people are given contracts and the companies are obligated to pay them pretty much indefinitely.  You'll only get the sack for gross misconduct and the like, whereas managers are only ever 10 games from the sack...  Compared to the players, I'd say that managers are underpaid based on the level of responsibility and the job's insecurity.

[AVH87]

'We did not target only on Villa'

'we signed the deal a long time ago, when I was there watching a game of villa. it was some approval process (this is vague in Chinese but I try to be accurate) involved so we waited till yesterday to announce this'

'we paid 75mil pounds as the first installment. Once the club back to PL, another 40M will be paid. for sure there will other things involved'

'we will decide on the managerial choice in 2 weeks. they have their opinion on manager and players (which mean who to buy)'

'we have 6 managers to choose from, including Di Mateo and Perrson. We know reduce the number to three. the manager has to have experience with Championship, but will need to have european leagues ambition and experience'

'we have clauses in the contract with manager. anytime the club is not within the first 6 positions of the league, we can sack him'

'we will recommend a few talents chinese youth players to the club, but the coach has final decision. We will not just send them to the club '

'my plan is to take Villa back to PL as soon as possible', he then pointed the shirt that the journalist wears (Arsenal), 'like this club, I want to see my club to stay in Champions league every season'.

'in 8-10 years i want Villa back to its best time - to become one of the best clubs in europe'

'I beleive in Villa- they have the best fan base - if we exploit it well - it will form the base of the best club of the world (he didnt use 'one of the best' in this sentence)'

If you don't include a source, I'm going to have to assume you made this up.

Seems to be an interview that Xia did in Chinese with their equivalent of the BBC: http://news.xinhuanet.com/sports/2016-05/19/c_128998839.htm

[footyskillz]

I believe you and thanks for trying to translate !

[Edvard Remberg]

'We did not target only on Villa'

'we signed the deal a long time ago, when I was there watching a game of villa. it was some approval process (this is vague in Chinese but I try to be accurate) involved so we waited till yesterday to announce this'

'we paid 75mil pounds as the first installment. Once the club back to PL, another 40M will be paid. for sure there will other things involved'

'we will decide on the managerial choice in 2 weeks. they have their opinion on manager and players (which mean who to buy)'

'we have 6 managers to choose from, including Di Mateo and Perrson. We know reduce the number to three. the manager has to have experience with Championship, but will need to have european leagues ambition and experience'

'we have clauses in the contract with manager. anytime the club is not within the first 6 positions of the league, we can sack him'

'we will recommend a few talents chinese youth players to the club, but the coach has final decision. We will not just send them to the club '

'my plan is to take Villa back to PL as soon as possible', he then pointed the shirt that the journalist wears (Arsenal), 'like this club, I want to see my club to stay in Champions league every season'.

'in 8-10 years i want Villa back to its best time - to become one of the best clubs in europe'

'I beleive in Villa- they have the best fan base - if we exploit it well - it will form the base of the best club of the world (he didnt use 'one of the best' in this sentence)'

If you don't include a source, I'm going to have to assume you made this up.

Seems to be an interview that Xia did in Chinese with their equivalent of the BBC: http://news.xinhuanet.com/sports/2016-05/19/c_128998839.htm

That is also very close to the BBC interview, though a bit more information (about be able to get rid of managers).

Xia:"So what is your best advice for me?"
Lerner:"Make it cheap to sack managers"