Delia invested in us because she didn't want us to go into administrative. Attanasio isn't rich enough to just bankroll it like a Saudi baron or Roman Abramovic , he's in the Financial investment business which means he wants a sizeable return on his investment. I don't want my club to be just another Sports ball franchise like Watford however moronic the suggestion
Positive reading I'd say. As pointed out elsewhere, Delia has had much greater flack for her stewardship in the past and refused to sell to people she didn't think were appropriate. The Delia Smith "fit and proper test" is far more stringent than an EFL one, if she's on board with this, and hopefully not out of the club's hierarchy entirely as a result, I think that's promising.
To answer DD, baseball like cricket, is a summer game, so there would be a bit of overlap at the beginning and end of seasons which could be handled via video conferencing. My guess is that this is a testing of the waters introduction. What has attracted them to us? Well a team which has won the Championship twice in a row to gain promotion twice shows potential that is being held back by our lack of PL funding beyond parachute payments. Perhaps this suggests a situation where a moderate injection of cash (by PL standards) could just make a difference should we be promoted again. Our infrastructure investment also makes us attractive as does our relatively low wage structure compared to teams in a similar situation. This wouldn't attract the interest of Saudi billionaires, but it could interest someone who wants to ease into a new situation without a huge time or money commitment initially. Smith and Jones know they can't go on forever and this could offer a way forward with nephew Tom still in the picture as the board moves through staged transitions - evolution not revolution.
A good example of the American multi sports ball franchise is Fenway sports group who own the Boston Red Socks , The Pittsburgh Penguins & Liverpool. At least other than Wimbledon the English franchise teams aren't forcibly relocated. L.A Raiders fans springs to mind
I googled Annatasio and that was part of his description, he's a Jewish businessman from the Bronx New York that invests in sports franchises , the fact he's a man and grew up in NY is also irrelevant.
I think on balance I’d prefer “an investment” than a “takeover”, even though the latter would mean a greater chance of very high levels of spending. I think an investment would more likely be more balanced and would be a steady growth which would suit the fans and club’s culture better. Of course it can still all go wrong, that’s just my bet. Any investment will definitely mean spending. You don’t buy an English football club to hold and just see how it goes - the profit is made by investing, getting to the Premier League and keeping the club there.
He isnt rich enough to just bankroll, but £7/800m is rich enough to increase our wage bill. By all accounts he is good at getting the right people in to run a club. If that means improving our scouting network to allow us to find gems and then pay them more to keep them, great! Our issue isn't being able to afford to buy good players. It's being able to afford to buy AND pay them. So we end up getting the next level down and paying them less. His money might allow us to spend a little more (including what we would previously have held back for wages) and then perhaps give them a little extra to keep them if they are good. His return would come much faster if we stayed in the PL. Hence speculating to accumulate. Anyway, it's a fingers xd situation. I'd rather be positive. Loads of people have been whinging about a lack of investment. Here we are with a opportunity for just that, from a man worth 2000%+ more than our current owner and people are STILL finding things to complain about. Lets just be positive and hope (if it happens) that it works out.
I just find it difficult to believe that someone that owns other Sports franchises just wants to invest millions into my club because he cares about us . Call me cynical but this smells like a take over and we will join the numbers of clubs bought by foreign businessmen as a way of enriching themselves. A few years ago the club asked us to dig deep and help fund the academy from our own pockets . That academy and any other assets the club own could soon be the property of someone who has no connection to Norwich or even England. Literally just another soulless Sports ball franchise. Even if he pumps money into the club for better players he and his other investors will demand a return on their money . Meaning a sizeable chunk of a player sale will leave the club's coffers into their pockets . When we sold Buendia Godfrey and Maddison at least we knew the money went back into the club and not used to buy a private jet for Delia . I can take relegation in my stride because I understand we aren't just another Foreign owned franchise and even bottom half teams have squads costing 10 times more than ours . We are a self funding club that brings through academy players , developing players and selling them on for a profit if they do well . If we are going to sell out we may as well do it properly and get an Arab oil tycoon to buy us as a play thing to go with his yellow Ferrari.
As ever, devil is in the details. To suggest a scenario... Delia/Michael could maintain 50% ownership, with the agreement that that becomes a fan-held stake if they choose to relinquish it. Whether that's through Tom Smith or a supporters club, etc. They step back from their current active roles, and let Attanasio shake up the business side of the club in the way he has with his baseball team. Attanasio could buy the other 50%, for say £50m, and make £20-30m available for transfer spending. Combined with business improvements, that propels us to the Premier League again, and helps us establish ourselves in the Prem. After 5 years, when we've become semi-established in the Prem, his 50% stake is worth £100m (not unreasonable given Burnley sold for £170m), and he can cash out at that point £20m better off, or continue to grow the asset. That kind of scenario I'd be happy with, obviously that somewhat short-term buy-and-sell approach does create issues if Attanasio isn't as picky as Delia as to future investors, but if 50% of the club is locked into safe hands then that offers some protections. If it turns out to be a leveraged buyout, such as that experienced by Burnley, then I'll start to worry.
Isn't in Germany that has a 50+1 rule for owning clubs with fans always being in control? I expect any part of the investment will be some sort of inflated sponsorship deal to get 'brand exposure'
26k fans at a game were we had already been relegated, had nothing to play for and a likelihood of getting thumped can't be too bad an advert. Plus the fact that we have been promoted several times in the past few years. He will have seen the infrastructure at the academy too.
