The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Chris Smith]

I honestly do not know what to make of it. Everything seems so vague both in terms of the exact status of the ne owners and to the alleged criticisms that have since surfaced. I am trying to remain open minded until I see something more concrete rather than the mixed messages coming from various sources with no way of really being able to judge the credit of the claims.

[paul_e]

Hollis has been at the club a matter of months.

I suppose he almost qualifies as a long serving club official based on the longevity of some of our recent appointments. But why is the opinion of a man who admitted on taking the job he has little interest in football much less Villa now venerated?

You misunderstand me, I don't have much to say about Hollis either way as a Villa employee, it's his various management positions at KPMG that make me trust him to have done his homework.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

I honestly do not know what to make of it. Everything seems so vague both in terms of the exact status of the ne owners and to the alleged criticisms that have since surfaced. I am trying to remain open minded until I see something more concrete rather than the mixed messages coming from various sources with no way of really being able to judge the credit of the claims.

I feel like a leaf in the wind. Boggling.

I await to be told what to think by that bastion of veracity - kippaxvilla2

[Walmley_Villa]

From Beijing AP:

"BEIJING (AP) — The little-known businessman who bought Aston Villa is hoping to improve both the English club and Chinese soccer in general.

Xia Jiantong, who goes by the English name Tony, told The Associated Press he intends to use cutting-edge management theory and sports science to bring Villa to the pinnacle of the European game — and then bring those lessons back to China.

"In China's going-out strategy, it's been proven that buying foreign firms with know-how and then bringing that back to the domestic industry has been the most efficient route," Xia said, adding that he would establish extensive programs for Chinese players to train at Aston Villa.

Improving Chinese soccer, he said, "is actually our biggest objective."
Xia bought Aston Villa, which was relegated from the Premier League after a dismal season in which they finished last, for $87 million. He denied that the deal involved any government or corporate backers aside from his business conglomerate, the Recon Group.

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently urged the country to become a global soccer superpower and several high-profile firms have bought stakes in clubs, including Atletico Madrid and Manchester City. But until now, no one had acquired entire clubs.

To help improve the game in China, Xia said he is already in talks to bring junior high and high school players to train in Birmingham this summer.

A soft-spoken businessman who studied at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Xia heads the Recon Group, which owns Lotus Health Group, the world's second largest maker of the food additive monosodium glutamate. Lotus lost $78 million last year, according to Shanghai stock exchange filings. Another subsidiary produces digital hardware for urban infrastructure.

Xia said he considered eight prospective clubs, including teams in Spain and Italy, before settling on Villa, which he said attracted him with its "mature" academy system.

He said he pledged to deploy better technology to monitor players' on-field performance, track statistics and gauge physical workloads to minimize injuries — areas in which he said other clubs he visited performed better than Villa. He also intended to use data to award financial bonuses to players.

"This isn't different from management science," Xia said in one of several allusions to his business experience.

He compared Aston Villa to an undervalued business suffering from "several years of substandard management" and could achieve its potential with better direction from the top.

Questioned about his lack of soccer credentials, Xia said he has looked into the business for 10 years and has diligently studied the second-tier English Championship, the league in which Aston Villa will compete in next season.

"I actually think I have better foundation in football than other business areas we've recently entered," Xia said.

He targeted a swift return to the Premier League but ruled out "burning money" to bring success like Manchester City, whose Qatari owners have pumped in millions. Although he has publicly stated he would spend 50 to 60 million pounds on player transfers, Xia backed away from the figures on Friday, saying he would consult with the new coach he was in the process of hiring.

"We want Villa in its genes to be sustainable and healthy, including in academy development," Xia said. "If you look at all the money-burning clubs they're showing problems right now. On the international level, Spain and Germany couldn't sustain their success with just one superstar."

Xia said he is now down to three final coaching candidates — one of whom is believed to be former Chelsea manager Robert Di Matteo — but declined to comment, saying he would announce the selection next week.

After hiring someone, Xia said his first order of business will be to fix the atmosphere around the relegated club.

"This year, Spurs were so good until they lost the chance for the title and lost to a relegated team," he said. "So in sport, it's crucial to consider spirit, psychology, leaders' attitudes. Especially for Villa now, the biggest priority for us is to fix everyone's confidence, from the players to the coaches."

[ozzjim]

I try and see positives in things but if this was a deal on ebay i would have hour the dispute button by now.  He's clearly tottaly bonkers and not got anywhere near enough money for his ambitions.

[Ian.]

I honestly do not know what to make of it. Everything seems so vague both in terms of the exact status of the ne owners and to the alleged criticisms that have since surfaced. I am trying to remain open minded until I see something more concrete rather than the mixed messages coming from various sources with no way of really being able to judge the credit of the claims.

Well the next few months will give us a clue, other than that we're all guessing. Might as well try and enjoy a bit of relief than supporting a team losing every week....until August anyway.

[Dave Cooper please]

I'm holding onto the line that Swiss Tony is just the front man for the real money men, and I will continue to ignore all the Twitter (and H&V) scare stories until we see who becomes manager and what sort of war chest (because it has to be a "war chest") he gets.

It'll be fine, you'll see.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

I try and see positives in things but if this was a deal on ebay i would have hour the dispute button by now.  He's clearly tottaly bonkers and not got anywhere near enough money for his ambitions.

I don't think that word applies to this situation at all!

[Percy McCarthy]

Another innacuracy by Hollis was the 'biggest football deal to come from mainland-China' thing. What about the share of Man City bought for $440m?

[Pat McMahon]

So what has been shown to Hollis, a man the Birmingham Post has referenced as having

"a CV awash with high-profile roles for KPMG in the Middle East, the Far East, the USA and Europe demonstrates that it’s been professionally challenging – and equally rewarding, that has convinced him to say

 "You start putting the bits together and it all looks exciting. I genuinely think it will be transformational for Aston Villa and the city of Birmingham."

1. Hollis is right to be impressed and we will all be content.
2. Hollis has been bamboozled. Has happened to better men than him.
3. Hollis is under no illusions but priority is to fulfil the remit of his employer.

Number 2 made me chuckle Scott. China is awash with the skeletons of westerners who went into business with Chinese partners. Have you read Mark Kitto's book or Mr China?

[Proposition Joe]

'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 '

Hmm, bye-bye KMac then if this is true, given his team selection statements in his games as caretaker this season.

[PaulWinch again]

The lack of clarity and apparent contradictions are certainly a concern. We really need some sense of what is going on soon.

[LeeS]

Where is Pelty? Can he shed any light on the amount of due diligence done and what it revealed?

[curiousorange]

Erm...I wouldn't be massively upset if the Football League do a thorough job on their fit and proper persons test.

[old man villa fan]

We need to pull out of this deal now, its a giant fkn pisstake! The guardian are reporting renaming VP as lotus Villa Park.
lotus is a brand of fucking toilet paper, im afraid, very afraid.

If Lerner wants to sell to this guy and it gets ratified by the leagues, there is nothing we can do about it.