Geoff Bielby on Burnsy

Just like you when I asked about deposits and payments before. I think how the Americans intended to pay for us is important irrespective of whether the Allams were greedy or not.

We'll find out how greedy, or stupid, or greedy and stupid they were when the details come out, if ever. According to the club that may be in September.

 

Did the agreement include the SMC or not? Did Assem Allam make that clear? Was it ambiguous? Could the Americans afford it? What were the Americans offering did that change? Do the Allams want to sell? Do the Allams feel conned? I can speculate like the best of them.

The Americans and the Allams haven't agreed a sale. The club say negotiations will continue in September. The Americans via some leaks have said they've walked away and the deal is dead.

The only way any blame can be laid at anyone's doorstep is when you know what happened. We are a long way from that now.

 

It seems they were a long way off any sale if they were only going to discuss how the Allams would be getting their loans repaid last week.

 

It's notable when talking about honour, that these alleged leaks come from one side. I guess it could equally be speculated that the allegations as presented could be about leaving those leaking it as unwitting bargaining tools on behalf of the buyers.

Like others, I've seen enough of these things spun badly, so would rather wait for facts.

 

Thank you I will.

 

How do you think our current injuries would affect the sale price? Do you think it is reasonable to move the goal posts to take them into account?

Which is why the deal should have been signed before the window opened. All players were fit in late June. Injuries have only been a factor since pre-season started.

 

Of cause we are speculating, but OLM I suspect knows more than we do. All I will say, is having seen the Allams perform, I know where I would put my money, on who out of the 2 parties had integrity.

 

But do you think the goal posts should move to take account of them?

Since May the goalposts have moved twice we've been told. To me it doesn't seem to be many changes. The price went up when we got promotion. Is that surprising? Tom and Elmo signed new contracts. Is it surprising the price would change to take account of that? The price went up when the pound collapsed. Is that surprising? Assem Allam then wanted another £6 million for the SMC. That is surprising, but the question is why? The additional money in dollar terms is less than was offered in June. They hadn't started discussing the payment schedule according to OLM.

Perhaps if the Americans had paid £100 million upfront in June we would have been sold, or perhaps not.

 

It's inevitable that information from one side of a deal only relates to the opinions of that side. There is no independent arbiter that creates a sanitised version that everyone should believe.

If Burns or Bielby or OLM or whoever are being played by the Americans to advance their future plans then that's surely a good thing - much more preferable to them actually walking away never to return to the negotiating table.

 

So let's summarise: An agreement was never reached - if it had been documents would have been signed and the transfer of ownership started. We have a statement by the Chair of an anti-Allam group stating that Allam wanted an extra £6 million for the SMC. We have heard nothing from the Allams'. That's all we know at this stage - the rest is just pure speculation.

Can we now perhaps let it go and concentrate on what is important which is the football?

 

Yes you can. Please go ahead.

 

We have a statement of the only member of the pro Allam group speculating.

 

I wouldn't waste your time. He is an idiot.

 

It's a question of trust.

Once acceptable depending on circumstances.

Twice no.

 

OLM does know more than we do. He's said he has no idea how the club was going to be bought, how much up front and when the rest would be paid. He also said that was going to be discussed on the Thursday before the contracts were signed on the Saturday. Having seen the way Assem Allam performs agreeing when and how he was going to get paid would be pretty high on his list of priorities. He doesn't seem to be the type of person who would agree it over the phone on Thursday and sign the papers on Saturday. In fact I'd say he was exactly the opposite.

 

Thanks for your intellectual input - very useful. Adds a lot to the debate.

 

As you say it depends on the circumstances. In some circumstances three or four times may be acceptable.