Could happen, I suppose. It'd be stupid of me to rule it out. But, it wouldn't make sense to me personally from what I am told. But then again, I am told whatever someone wants to say and nothing more... ...in all seriousness, I really do not believe this to be the case.
Ben Smith (I believe) at the BBC reported back in the late winter that plans were being made for the eventual sale of the club.
Better get some decent oilskins then, because there'll be a terrible **** storm coming your way if you start with the "told you so's".
The sale of our best players is as clear a signal as you could have to confirm that Katarina has no interest whatsoever in the footballing aspect of the club. Given the size of the transfer fees it seems wholly improbable that a significant proportion of this is going to be reinvested. There may have been a debt at the club but we have now reached the stage where this much have been substantially wiped clean and the investments made by the family largely recovered. It does seem like the club is being asset stripped and if this is correct it surely makes no sense to spend money on bringing in more players. Koeman's position much be extremely difficult and he is being left with little room to re-build the team as I can't see anyone wanting to join a club where there is such uncertainty. The board must take the blame yet it almost feels like the prime mover is recovery of the investment and the football is marginal importance. I would not be surprised if the club went up for sale and whilst the attraction of one of the best footballing sides in England is now a distant memory, the stadium and academy must ensure that there is a degree of attraction is buying us. My fear is that the academy would be sold off as this most be an extremely prized and value investment. It is the only thing that keeps most Saints' fans hopes alive. I can't believe that directors of clubs like Man Utd, Man City or Arsenal might be sniffing around especially with every other Saints asset appearing to have a price.
I would have thought that it would have made sense to have replacement lined up before selling your players. You don't sell a squad and then try to rebuild with 7 first team players moved on. If the stories of player unrest and the desire to sell the squad was known back in May, measures should have been in place to ensure that replacements had been identified. As it stands, it will be extremely difficult to tempt anyone to join us. In my opinion if Katarina was serious about the club as a footballing proposition the squad would not have been allowed to have been dismantled with such ease. We never lost this many players when we got relegated from the Pl the last time. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of commitment and the club's statement about Chambers rings hollow if the story about J--Rod and Morgan is correct. It's an absolute shamble and whilst not too much of a surprise given Poch's reluctance to nail his name to the mast when Cortese left, the way that the club has been allowed to be ripped apart cannot be excused. This is not the action of anyone who cares about the football club as a sporting entity. I'm staggered by the speed as which Southampton has been dismantled and it does send out the wrong message as both our effectiveness as a football team and the business acumen with which the club is being run. I thought Rupert was bad enough but I would never have anticipated things would disintegrate as thoroughly as they appear to be with the new season only a matter of weeks away.
But if you get bought by some oil barons (as City did)- would it be worthwhile if your club invested £100smills into the club?
The transfer fees aren't arriving all in one big bag of cash. They'll be over 2 or 3 or 4 years. Plus, she can dip into the £80m the club get from Sky every season anyway.
Yet another long post from Ian, where I don't agree with a single word of it. Asset stripping the club? After buying Wanyama and Osvaldo and investing all that money in the training centre? Controversial approach to asset stripping.
asset stripping can take many forms. a number of care home companies were sold to venture capital firms. They separated the land and buildings from the care side of the business. they then sold the land and buildings for a huge profit and they were leased back to the care homes. the care business ran into difficulties as they could not afford the high rents. the care homes went bust. Not saying this is what is happening, but it is an example of how value can be extracted from a business without a full sale. Cortese's model of aiming for a champions league spot is a very costly plan. Being a mid table selling club could be much more lucrative. Anyone remember Rupert Lowe - that was his plan!
She hasn't invested a penny of her own money in the club so 100% of what the club sells for would be profit. I don't think there's much evidence or motive for an asset strip, but it would be diabolical if she did pocket some of our transfer budget, considering that money isn't hers and never has been.