The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Monty]

We have to wait and see, obviously - until the other day, the internet barely knew anything about this guy, let alone us. We will see, but it is all quite a mystery still.

[Villafirst]

Abramovich's wealth will have taken a serious hit in the last 12 to 18 months with the huge drop in oil prices....shame. Tony could well have more cash than Roman. "I'm considerably richer than yow"

[KevinGage]

One thing I will say in all this is it is quite amazing after the last few years that our change of ownership is still such a big deal to respected papers like the Financial Times, Observer, Guardian and Daily Mail (Ok, scrap that last one).

If you'd purposely set out to downgrade our image and status you couldn't have done a better job than Lerner has these past five years.

I appreciate some of this attention is of the car crash variety - the potential for mirth and mayhem at Villa Park.  But compare and contrast with the column inches devoted to the change of ownership at other clubs in recent seasons, particularly some of the smaller pissypants clubs not a million miles away from us.

There are positives to take out of that Daily Mail article. But I'd certainly welcome any additional scrutiny into this deal.

[robbo1874]

I had no idea so many posters on H and V were even vaguely familiar with the ins and outs of Far East business intricacies let alone experts...

When the Financial Times and the Telegraph start raising these issues, you have to listen.

I can't believe how many of us are looking at all these questions and just refusing to think about how this could turn out if it really turns out that this bloke is nowhere near as rich as we've been told he is.

I also suggest a casual googling of Chris Samuelson and Reading, what with him being involved in the deal.

And finally - the person selecting Xia as the winning bidder is Randy Lerner, a man who has elevated misjudging idiots to an artform.

can't argue with much of that Pauliew. The thing I do take issue with slightly is the emphasis on the importance of this guy's individual wealth. It may be the case, as some on here have suggested that he is a front for other investors. So long as the money coming into the club is clean and plentiful, does it matter whether Xia himself is personally wealthy? If we are going to back this bid, we need certainty that the source of the funding isn't dodgy.

Whilst I'd prefer the club not to be loaded up with debt, I'd be more comfortable with it if I could be convinced that the terms are favourable to us and the investors are in it for the long haul. Even more importantly, that they either know what the fuck they want to achieve and know how to do it, or they bring people in who can do that for them.

Have to admit, I'm less optimistic about this deal now than I was when I first heard about it, but the guy deserves an opportunity to demonstrate his credibility. Hopefully the right and proper person test is a lot more robust than it was when the Thais took over Man City and Carson Yeung  bought some over priced Blues.

Only time will tell. I think we'll need to rely on that test to a much higher degree than Villa's (under Randy and Hollis's control) due diligence.

We'd look even more foolish if the sale goes through and then the football league and PL say no. That scenario can't be ruled out.

[robbo1874]

 Ha ha I typed dog shit in my post above and it uploaded as Blues.

You get my point though hopefully.

[eamonn]

Interesting that he gave an interview to the Mail, by far the most popular newspaper online for sport and celebrity traffic. Villa's press people may have advised him it was the best outlet for clearing up questions over the finances behind the purchase.

[mr underhill]

Why get so wound up by what the news outlet was? This isn't about politics it's about football and specifically AV. The only thing that matters is that the guy is genuine

[pbavfckuwait]

We will have to get use to a different sort of ownership to anything any of us have seen in our lifetimes, USA and wealth is very nearly a total open book, China plays to different rules, there are millions of Chinese in business who could not even give you their birth certificate, because they were the second child in a family and if their parents did not have the where with all, they officially did not or do not exist.

As to where he is getting funded, we will probably also never know that, but if he has fronted up to Hollis and Hollis has done what he should have done a proper check, we have to take it that it is there, value for the initial sale anyhow and also if Lerner is to be believed money to go forward. The Football league I think will have no problem rubber stamping it.

We can look forward to interesting times, will they be good or bad, have not got a clue, but for all of our panic and scrutinizing we are not in a position to do alot about it, what I have liked up to now is that there is talk of Aston Villa being ambitious again, something over the last 6 years that has been sadly missing.

[sickbeggar]

Why doesn't he just let his bank say, "Mr Xia has more than enough finds in his bank account to cover the purchase of Aston Villa" like normal businessmen? Surely someone has heard of his bank? I don't know, maybe its a cultural thing but showing the media your receipt from a bank transfer starts the alarm bells ringing again. Trying too hard? Maybe.  Hopefully the fact that he's agreed to pay off the overdraft means the HSBC are involved and happy that all is legit

[john2710]

This is the first attempt at a established club going under a Chinese owner. Bearing in mind that their President recently announced a desire to make China a major player in world football & to bring the World Cup to China. Do we think that within days of these announcements the first attempt at a Chinese ownership is going to be made by some Walty Mitty type or fraudster?

[Ian.]

I'm still trying to remain positive regarding Dr Tony X, however this Samuelson Paulie mentioned is one shady shark. What has he had to do with the sale and is he going to be part of the set up? One quick Google like you recommended has left a very sour taste. I don't like the sound of him at all.

Why would any business man get involved with him? Is he the reason King and DB wanted out?

[Phil from the upper holte]

Saviour or dreamer? Sportsmail talks to Aston Villa’s Tony Xia   http://dailym.ai/258G9iJ via http://dailym.ai/android

[pbavfckuwait]

John China's President has been pushing forward the soccer scenario and how important it is to him personally, but also what he believes will raise the country profile for a good number of years, but as with most things in China it has taken a while to filter through, but it is interesting that he wanted to make the Presidents nephew I think one of the names associated with his companies.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Sorry didn't realise it has been posted

[Walmley_Villa]

Ultimately, whether he has the money or not the key is who he puts in place to the run the club. If he makes the same mistakes by not having football people on the board etc we will be as big a mess as now. That is the key for me, get the best people available for the job. Only then can we start to reverse our decline.