One good reason would be because a second season in the PL would have brought in additional millions because of a third year of parachute payments. Ehab doesn't care about the club, it's all about the money.
The Allams collect interest from their loans to Hull City at the rate of 4% per annum. This gives them an income of between £3 and 4 million a year. This is much more money then they would get from a bank. As they own the football club it means this return is safer then investing it on the stock exchange. They accepted at least two bids for Hull City which would have given them a significant profit from their ownership. They know that selling Hull City in the Premier League will make them more money than selling us in the Championship. Last time we got promoted they overspent by something like £20 million. If we hadn't got promoted we would have owed a bank around £10 million at the same time as owing the Allams £70 million. It was a gamble which luckily paid off. It looks like its a gamble they are not going to make this season. I wouldn't be surprised if the sale of our highest paid players is designed to ensure we can stay within our budget if we don't get promoted whilst giving us a good enough chance of getting straight back into the Premier League. The Allams are not stupid. they know the only way they can recover their loans is by City getting promoted. In the meantime they'll ain for promotion whilst staying within whatever budget they've set. Just my opinion of course.
Hedging their bets is probably the correct interpretation. Although only Livermore and Snodgrass left in the mid-season - replaced by a bunch of loanees , indicates to me that the Allams were undecided/unsure of what they really were trying to accomplish - at least the time-frame of their plan. No doubt in my mind that asset stripping was on the cards as early as the rejection of the name-change failure, and the perceived lack of love coming to them from the fans leading to their self-imposed exile from the executive match-day box.
Why would they invest long term, it's common knowledge they want to sell? They make the minimum investment they can while trying to provide a squad that will be able to attract buyers.
Hope you can clarify something for me Obadiah. Serious questions. 4% is an excellent return in today's financial climate. Their 70 mill is working well for them. Do we know the values of the un-consummated offers made (which failed) and the bottom line to the Allams should they have gone through ? Presumably there were 2 levels - one if promoted, one if still in championship ? How long would it take ( including the 4 % dividend and parachute payments/or PL revenue) to clear the money owed to the Allams) ?
Well said, and possibly the most accurate assessment. The Allams are businessmen, they want their "gift" back along with a tidy profit. To achieve this they need three things: Promotion (or a likelihood of promotion) Assets (a squad with re-sale value) And a strong financial forecast What they have done pre-season shows this: Sold valued players at market price Let aging players on decent wages go Looking to strengthen the team on the cheap (Campbell and Muzuach for next to nothing, loans ) Add some value to the squad (Stewart, more likely a couple of others like him) My guess is we will see three more loans come in, and three cheap squad players. The aim been top 4 around November/December time so they can say to potential buyers "We are likely to go up, we have a young developing squad, and low wages"
I had a post rolling around my head all day. You just wrote it for me here. I think that's spot on. Strap in for a bumpy ride.
I got quite excited by your usage of a split infinitive, but then disappointed by the lack of evidence or anything beyond a hint that some movement may be taking place. A straight up serious question for you Yorky's, have you heard a whisper or rumour from a good source?
Love it. Just like saying "I just flew a Gypsy Moth across the Pacific Ocean. Next year I'll be landing on the moon."
This thread's gone mental. Let me help to tip it over the edge. The Allams are not selling. Never were. The club is an asset to be inherited and it's only after then we'll maybe get new owners. They're doing reasonable business and making enough profit at the moment, there's no reason to offload the asset. It's a cold and heartless business and you already know that we are irrelevant.
You're silly. You don't even live on the right end of the planet. On a more serious note, what evidence?
The fact they accepted an offer from the Dai Yongge family, wrote farewell notes in a programme, and the deal only collapsed because of issues around the F&P test.
