The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Damo70]

Not sure what to make of this quote from Xia in one of the papers today, "Villa Park is a very historic stadium, so we will not callously destroy a club's history.  But we want to use Villa's history and its substantial fan base around the world to also promote Lotus Health.  It would be a great advert for both brands". 

New shirt sponsor and stadium name on the way?

no problem with the shirt , he can f''k off with a ground name change.

Have we started a petition yet to stop the club being renamed The Lotus Health Lions?

[paul_e]

The problem is all the negatives are based on rumour or are demonstrably false.

The doctorate thing seems to be a rumour based on very little.
The bird's nest thing, as has been said, was probably due to the oylmpic forest and something got misunderstood.
The 1 company not 5 is wrong and I have no idea why it's not been challenged - teamax are a recon company and are registered, lotus are a recon company and are registered, so the 1 company thing is clearly wrong.  It seems to have come from someone calling recon and speaking to an employee but with no info on who they are why does it become gospel and without knowing the actual questions that were asked.

To me it seems that there's a bit of a 'hole' in the info available about him and the internet has filled it with scare stories and rumours and they've been escalated to fact with far less scrutiny than is being suggested for Xia to face.

There's not a single thing you've listed there that explains away anything.

The birds nest stadium thing "lost in translation"? That's no explanation whatsoever.

It wasn't 'five companies' it was 'five listed companies' and regardless of whether you've found another one, that is still not five. "The takeovers of the others haven't gone through yet " line we heard the other day is also utter nonsense - until those takeovers do go through, they don't 'own' them.

The 'offices in x countries' thing too - look at the xwho Web site, no addresses for these offices, just email addresses.

I am not saying this bloke is a crook but contrary to what you said, none of the things people are worrying about have been explained.

Do you find it surprising given the above that people are concerned? This is a bloke who apparently employs 35,000 people in 70 countries yet he and his companies are almost non existent on the Internet. Don't you think you'd find chatter about those companies from some of those 35000 employees?

One of the few things on the Internet about this bloke is a well known anti corruption campaigner calling him out.

All the above and you're still not concerned? This isn't some pissy club like Albion or Blues he's buying, it is our club and this bloke is shrouded in uncertainty. Sorry, but until some of these issues get clarified then I'm staying in the sceptical camp.

You're missing my point completely.

The birds nest thing is a nothing story, that you're all latching onto as proof that the guy is some kind of charlatan despite it not being him that said it and him not ever trying to make that suggestion.  We don't know why Hollis said it but for some it being used to show that he's a bullshitter, I'm sorry but that's nonsense.

The 5 companies thing, I've found 2 so the "there's only 1 company" is very easily proven wrong by someone who knows nothing of the stock exchange and doesn't speak chinese.  I agree it's not 5 but there could easily be another 3 that I just haven't looked for let alone found and more importantly the story in the financial times is definitely factually inaccurate and yet it forms a big part of the negative styory about Xia, so why is that provable lie given more credence than the things that have been said officially that haven't been proven one way or the other.

Who is this well known anti-corruption campaigner, has this same person called out Mansour, Abramovich, the Glazers and Ashley who have all been linked with a whole bunch of dodgy shit?

I'm not saying that I'm not concerned, what I'm saying is why does a stranger on the net saying bad things about Xia get more credibility than Hollis, Lerner and Xia saying good things?  Seems to me that some people are so unwilling to believe something positive might be happening that they're determined to find things to be upset about.

[Clark W Griswold]

I have to say it does all look rather murky. Not sure what Hollis and co have been doing if it turns out to be the case. To be honest I'm not sure what they've been playing at to not have their facts in order and the information correct on the website and in interviews even if it does all turn out to be innocent, which I really do doubt. I'm clinging onto the hope that he's just a front for something bigger but not sure why it would be played that way.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

the birds nest thing is important

it was a large prestigous project that hollis said he was responsible for and he wasnt, lost in translation my arse.

hollis got it from somewhere and is a halfwit for not checking it first

[Clampy]

I don't think it matters that much in the slightest really.

[ChicagoLion]

You would have to believe that Hollis undertook buyer Dilligence and saw proof of funds for the purchase and development.This is the same information you would expect the league to consider.
I think that there is too much interest from the media for this one to slip through.
This will not provide  100%certainty but give some comfort. Until the spending and recruitment starts we will have no idea.

[Malandro]

Which interview did the bird nest comment come from? I've not seen that at all.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

I don't think it matters that much in the slightest really.

so within 24 hours of the takeover being announced the club is lying about the business achievements of the potential new owner and that isnt concerning?

the 5 listed companies is another lie but dont worry it was probably lost in translation or something

two whopping lies within two days so what else has been lied about?

what next? the 35000 employed is really 3500 and was a typo

[peter w]

Watch that Hollis interview again. Any amateur psychologist worth his salt will spot the bit where he scratches his cheek when explaining Dr X's many achievements. I think they edited out the bit where he strokes his chin and says "Ooh, Nessie."

That's more behavioural science than psychology. I'm an amateur behaviourist and can pick up and tells given by body language which the person is completely unaware of the non verbal communication little things like a scratch says. When watching the interview the cheek scratch was the thing that struck me more than the words.

I won't go into the various of head and neck scratches but Hollis wasn't sure 100% what he was saying was correct, but where the scratch was and the brevity showed he was inclined to believe Xia, or even that he wants to believe him.

[steamer]

you would like to think that Hollis is not stupid with the C.V he has.
However, this is Aston Villa and we are Villa fans, we are allowed to be skeptical.
Chinese operations and Businesses are not as straight forward or transparent as most Western organisations, this is not being racist, but is a reality. I think I saw a quote earlier about, China being full of the bones of Western business men.
Given the vagueness and questions about his organization,  I think we are right to hold back with the mass celebrations and wait until we have a better understanding of who is actually backing the transaction and what their credentials are.
He has not yet passed the due diligence, (I know) and we are already hearing about stadium naming rights.
I am with Paulie in the skeptical camp.

[Louzie0]

Try reading the interview in the Guardian thread.
It should address your concerns and cheer you up!

[paul_e]

the birds nest thing is important

it was a large prestigous project that hollis said he was responsible for and he wasnt, lost in translation my arse.

hollis got it from somewhere and is a halfwit for not checking it first

Why is it important, what does it matter to his ability to improve us as a club?

You yourself say that Hollis got it from somewhere but we have no idea where.  There's plenty of simple explanations that fit into that which don't mean the Xia has lied to him on purpose but for some reason everyone is ignoring those and assuming he orchestrated this. For me I'd like to see if anyone can explain why he'd do that and why he'd think it wouldn't come out as a lie.

[Steve R]

Is he a proper Doctor or one like Doctor Fox?

You don't spend 6 years at Harvard just to be called Mr X

[Chico Hamilton III]

Is he a proper Doctor or one like Doctor Fox?

You don't spend 6 years at Harvard just to be called Mr X

Phoney Tony

[Clampy]

I don't think it matters that much in the slightest really.

so within 24 hours of the takeover being announced the club is lying about the business achievements of the potential new owner and that isnt concerning?

the 5 listed companies is another lie but dont worry it was probably lost in translation or something

two whopping lies within two days so what else has been lied about?

what next? the 35000 employed is really 3500 and was a typo

It only matters if you're looking for things to be continually angry about. Let's just see what happens eh?