It is a big dilemma. Next year, I will have two children in high school. Getting them of to a good start in life is the only priority. Still, I don't feel like something like what happened in Florida could happen here. The Principal of the local High School was named the top Principal in Illinois. And the Superintendent of our High School District was named the top superintendent in the country this year. So, we are blessed in that regard. I think Trump was right to go after the accesories which allow one to create an automatic weapon. I could support legislation banning automatic weapons all together, but I fear once the process got started it would go to far. The right to bear arms is a basic American freedom. Can't mess with that. First I've heard about the teachers being armed. Don't think I like that idea. Sounds like a lot could go wrong there. I am all for Air Marshalls. Something like this happened at Northern Illinois University some years ago. This helped along 'conceal and carry' legislation in Illinois, which is more liberal than moderate these days. Hard to tell which way the ball will bounce from here.
Cheers mate. Thanks for your point of view. Its an easy question for someone without the perspective of living the USA way of life. Personally, the idea of requiring someone who's raison det're is to teach education to teaching education plus the ability to kill in the classsroom is just a step too far for me. Cam't imagine its so easy either if you're the parent of a kid of a 20-ish year old about to hit the classroom this year for their first year of a lifetime career. It's easy to be blasè about this mate if you're not living the life of an american. Not so easy for the rest of us who struggle to understand why a nation values holding on to their guns above their children. I don't live your lifestyle and its unfair for me to judge you guys on it but thanks for your input Hefty.
A lass on Tw@tter said if someone hits you with a big stick you, 1. Give that person a stick to defend themselves. 2. You give the teachers a stick to control the kids. 3. You take the stick away. That's how f*cking simple it is.
Mind you it's probably best to assume it's bollocks and expect the worst case scenario because that's usually what we get. I think that'll be my mental approach to any potential takeovers, sick of having my hopes dashed by Short and Sunderland.
Agreed, but what a lovely thought to have a genuine, self made and brilliant businessman who knows and understands the importance and symbolism that a City and it’s people have to its club in charge. It would be a dream come true of this had legs. We wouldn’t be chasing down City but we’d be a well run, properly financed and viable club.
How 'bout an installment plan? https://rokerreport.sbnation.com/20...ers-could-take-over-the-club-from-ellis-short
As far as I'm concerned that'd be lurching from an extremely wealthy owner who has no idea what he's doing to a collective of owners with little to no money who have no idea what they're doing.
That letter is being ripped to bits on Twitter and facebook, for a start we don't know how much the debt is so have no idea what so ever how much we'd actually have to part with each week, it's almost certainly significantly more than the 40m he estimates. Secondly we don't just owe money to Short, we'd be taking on the bank loan which has a set in stone payment plan which includes 8 million a year in interest. On top of that we are losing 3m a month in operation costs. Thirdly, 72 pounds a month is nearly as much a month for gas and electric which people are having trouble paying. I really think you underestimate the level of poverty in the area. Food banks cover the region. People aren't just skint, even working families are acquiring debt at a staggering rate. We're at the back end of heavy austerity measures, interest rates keep going up and the way the Tories are handling BREXIT we're heading for a recession. The payment estimate in that letter is completely unrealistic and underestimated. Even if it was right it would still be far too much to expect people to pay. It's romantic but not happening imo. Finding someone to head and put a consortium together or an outright buyer is our best bet.
I could only see it happening following administration and debts being cleared. Currently the figures are too high, but if, and this isn't the way you'd want it to go, the club is verging on going to the wall, a buy out for a reduced figure of a League 1 club could be feasible, I think. There'd be effectively no cost to buy, the operational costs would be lower and the wages would have taken a huge cut. The issue then is what happens with the ground and the academy. In all openness, if no-one comes in to buy and the club goes down it does look bleak. Will Short actually just let it die? I'm starting to really think that he would. Don't get me started on brexit again. I'm trying to ignore it entirely.
Not sure if wages would be cut, wouldn't there have to be a double relegation clause on contracts?...I'd be surprised if there was
A lot can change down the line. Done the administration chatter to death, it's just depressing now. From here on it's each day as it comes for me
Jones, O'Shea and Gibson are all out of contract (Rodwell aside I'd have thought they were some of your higher earners) and you have 5 big earners out on loan whose wages you are footing some of - i suspect some or all of them will be moved on in the summer. The majority of your squad are on much reduced fees already. Even without a second clause I would think your wage bill will be much reduced next year - plus you still get the parachute payments in full I think? It's making sure the attendances are high enough that the stadium doesn't become a burden but I would have thought that is unlikely. If a take-over with some hope appeared the attendances would shoot back up. It isn't league position, it's lack of hope.
Can't see any scenario in the recent past where we would be negotiating to sign a player and talking about what if we end up in league one. Wouldn't be against a fan ownership model but the one I see working well locally is Hearts. They bought the lot for £1m or something after that Lithuaniun nutter got them £40-£50M in debt and folk now pay £20pm towards it. A wealthy shareholder Ann Budge providing substantial loans initially and running the business side quite a bit. They don't vote on players or owt but it does have the feeling of a mutual where everything genuinely seems to be done for the good of the club. Having said that I do prefer a day at Hibs for the atmosphere! Can't see how any of this is possible for SAFC at the moment for lots of reasons, but things change and if it was a viable option with a good chance of succes and a framework I'd be fairly up for it.Realistically progress would be slow but more satisfying perhaps.Would people be happy with that or want a fast rise back up the leagues under a foreign owner say?
Just realised, if 40k fans bought the club and a ran up 160m of debt like Short had every one of those fans would be in for an extra 4k each just to bail ourselves out. Get Baz and Tees in as a colourful debt collection duo
