We have a case of brinkmanship. Eccles has his tail up at the moment. His investment has paid off and the club's in the Prem. The billionaire shareholder that he and Flabio invited to join them as a shareholder has got the "QPR bug" (we can all sympathise with Mittal on that) and Eccles has so far not had to shell out on players. BUT, the longer this goes on, with QPR in limbo, underinvestment on players etc the more QPR wlll suffer - both the club and the team - and it then becomes difficult for the Goons, and Eccles will lose his position. Good players will not want to come to an unstable club. If the team starts off the season badly, it'll soon be a favourite for relegation. NW will go, sacked or jumps. Mittal may look at other clubs. Eccles will have a club like an overripe fruit in his hands. So where is the tipping point? Where is the latest point at which we have stable owners, get really good players, in order to stay in the Prem? Can't be far off. Next three weeks at the most? So Eccles can continue to play hardball for the next week or so, but if he refuses to negotiate or invest by early/mid July, it could all go rotten for him, the team and all the fans. Oh, and neither Eccles nor Flabs would want to hear the reception they'd receive at LR in those circumstances... The Goons and the Mittals are negotiating over what could be a wasting asset - Just hope it concentrates their minds.
And does the £35-40 million debt figure include the (ABC Loan) which is now owed to Flabio or at least an offshore company he reportedly owns. And what is the cost of buying out that loan would it just be a straight forward amount or are there buyout clauses.
It was reported the total club debt is £35-40 million, so I don't think the two sides are that far apart. I still expect Bernie to be gone by Christmas...(hopefully a lot sooner)
Just a thought. There are quite a few people on here saying that Ecclestone should sell out to Mittal. They thought he should have taken £30m, they think he should take the £50m. They complain that Ecclestone is a very rich man but won't put his hand in his pocket. However Mittal is far, far richer. So why didn't he put his hand in his pocket and make a sensible offer? Ecclestone is berrated for being rich (note the comments about his spending on his daughters) but nobody says anthing about Mittal being even richer. I still think that there is something strange going on with Mittal. Hope I am proved wrong. I don't want it to be a case of "out of the frying pan - into the fire".
We all want what's best for QPR, Bernie & Flav with Flav running things hasn't got a very good track record. If Bernie wants to sell, which appears likely, Mittal is in pole position (no pun intended). Money buying out money. The difference appears that Mittal is willing to put money up for players, Bernie, apparently at present, isn't. The ethics of both sides may be far from palatable but football is full of such characters and if QPR are suddenly propelled Man City-like into the top four who is going to take the moral high ground and denounce the owners? Over to you Eamon...
I think the difference between Ecclestone/Briatore and the Mittals is a lot more than that frankly. Bhatia's comitment to QPR in comparison to the Goons is obvious, not least in the amount of time and effort he has invested in the QPR in the Community Trust and the fact that he actually bothers turning up to matches and speaking to fans. Without the Mittals we would never have gotten any stability in the way the club was run, Briatore would never have been told to take a back seat, and in turn we would of never got in Warnock. The fact that the Mittals have come out and said that they think that the ticket rises for next season are unacceptable also tells you a lot I think.
Sooperhoop said: "The difference appears that Mittal is willing to put money up for players ..." It's a case of wait and see on that one. I still think that us fans are being played. Someone tells us that they will put money into the club if they get control, and then put in two offers that they know will be rejected. Can't see the point in that. I can see them taking over and then saying "Yes we said that we would spend £50m (or whatever it was) on players ... but we've had to pay out an extra £50m to take control."
Come on guys, just because Mittal has money doesn't mean he's going to bend over and take one up the arse. If you went in to the shop to buy a pint of milk that would on any other day be 50p, but the shop keeper said that will be £10, would you buy the milk? You've got the money so why not??? Well we are talking about 100 million here and we all know that there is no way the club is worth that much, not even in the premiership. The ground and players don't come to anywhere near that, throw into the equation we are bleeding money and will do for some time. The only thing they need to settle on is how much of the TV revenue that we receive are the goons entitled to walk away with. So I suggest some of the moaning minnies on here put thing into perspective before saying Mittal should cough up because he can afford it, because I doubt you'd be held to ransom if it was your own money.
Whether Mittal is willing to spend more money on players or not is almost immaterial to me. Bhatia and Saksena made the club far more stable. They were influential in getting the right manager and letting him run the club. With Briatore run things can we look forward to having another 5 managers this season?
Eamon, you have a point - if Mittal wants to buy the club for the sake of buying the club, he could do it today without breaking sweat. However, he is a businessman: he has amassed that fortune for a reason. He will, and has done so in the past, bought companies for the bare minimum and has made a success of most of them. I think he wants to buy QPR for the least amount as possible. Be under no illusions, this is, for the Mittals, a business proposition, first and foremost. Agreed, they may be the lesser of the two evils, but who knows for sure? I really don't mind who is in charge of the club, for as long as the club comes first: if we need to buy players; show warnie the money. If ground improvements are needed, do them and so forth. Under the current regime, Loftus Road is a nicer place to come to, there maybe parts of the ground with antiquated latrine facilities, but things are changing, improvements are being made. A boardroom takeover, if it happens, needs to happen before the bolton game, and definately not during the season. It does affect the players and staff. The fans become anxious. Its not good for anyone. COYRsssssssss
You're right, there's no harm in being sceptical when dealing with billionaires, Eamon. They've made their money by a history of hard dealing, and when two come up against each other as now, it's the Mountain meeting Mohammed. I don't think they have that much time - weeks - if the club's foray into the Prem isn't to be damaged, possibly irreparably. They do the deal, or Eccles has to start spending...
Not forgetting of course that Mittal already owns about 30% or so, and as I gather, Paladini about 8%. So we're actually talking about Mittal negotiating the purchase of Ecclestone Briatore's 62%. The £50m offer cannot be too far away considering the £35m or so debts involved. As for Eamon's point about Mittal being richer, what does that imply if not superiority in business? They both grew up poor and in their game Mittal's the far bigger player and they both know it. If Mittal let's Eccles cream him, what's that saying to vendors in future business deals ? Mittal's a soft touch for a free hand out when he wants something? Yes Eamon, you may yet be proven right about Mittal. It could be we'll find to great cost that he's a wolf in sheep's clothing... But that's not the issue here and now is it? Right now, we (including yourself) are all convinced that the Goons are bad people when it comes to the stability and welbeing of our club. And right now, Mittal is the only force on our horizon that presents an alternative vision and the willingness and ability to take over. They win what seems to be the vote of the majority of Rs fans on this board (and other sites and associations), not simply because of the resources they represent - but more because of their track record over the past two or three years. In that time they've walked the walk by bringing positive change and much needed stability to the club. By comparison, the Goon Show has done just about nothing of value and everything to upset the culture and success we the fans crave. Without the current interest of the Mittals, what chance QPR at any level?
