So... looking back... what went wrong for you with the fake takeover? Ashley BS, Arab BS, Press BS? Or just Ashley not wanting to sell? Here's a rare decent article from the gazette : https://www.shieldsgazette.com/spor...-dawns-misplaced-hope-the-inside-story-549814
its a huge gamble 350 million for a relegation side … sunderland already has better facilities and the potential to build on an already superior stadium in terms of its facilities .. whether we like it or not the club is not money in football has **** all to do with the number of fans in the stadium anymore.. tv removed our advantage in that area … wee just a **** club that's stood still for 20 years so 350 million plus new training center and a hell of a rebuild from top to bottom .. even our u19s are ****e I comparison to our competition …350 million plus Christ knows how many million to get us top half is clearly too risky in whats already a league filled with quality
I don't think they were serious - if they were it would have got done because Ashley would take a good deal. Regardless though I think unless someone offers more than we're worth, I can't see any real motivation for Ashley to sell really. He's doing well out of owning the club.
so none of the potential buyers have been serious and they all just like a big piss take hhhhh I think I know whos taking the piss
Does anyone seriously think fatty with ever sell? If being massively unpopular was actually the slightest bother to him, he'd have sold years ago. The sad thing is worthwhile for him to stay as its a **** tonne of free advertising for the business he's actually bothered about.
I'm sure lots of them go into it serious but quickly realise they have to pay over market value. The likes of Staveley and this lot, I'm not so sure I'd believe them. Indeed if I was of a suspicious mind, I'd suggest they are linked to him in some way. The timing of their supposed purchase is interesting shall we say
Ashley's not an MP, his position at the club isn't dictated by popular opinion. So, us fans have absolutely no influence on his decision to remain or stay. I don't buy for one second the absolute nonsense about him wanting to "spite" fans or anything like that. We aren't worth as much as Ashley wants, it's that simple and honestly that is his right as a football club owner. What he is telling potential buyers is very open, he is happy to own the club and make yearly financial returns on his investment, however, if you really do want to buy this football club here is the asking price. Take it or leave it. So, the potential buyers are serious, of course. The owner is serious when he says the club is up for sale. But million pound negotiations are very difficult and can break down very easily, only made worse with the FA getting involved and demanding extra documentation and communication. Sunderland are absolutely racked with debt and in a **** league, but the price will be low and they have absolutely fantastic facilities. I would be ecstatic if I was a Mackem. To stay realistic about this ownership proposal however you need to look at some home truths and this would apply to any potential "investment group" who shown interested in Newcastle. The new Sunderland owners and any potential Newcastle owners are simply a group who are given a portion of finances and told to find something that can bring returns, there is no Mr Big, there's no number 1 who can, in a panic situation, summon up a hundred million pounds for a striker and a center back. Even if you have an Arab billionaire as the main backer, or some American tech genius, these investors can pull out of the group and you can be wracked with administration just as quick as you were given instant success. So, in truth, it doesn't really matter what the net worth of one of the main backers is, if that man is not directly going to be visiting your club regularly or putting a close personal friend in a position of power (like the City owners have), you will not be receiving that mans backing. You are likely receiving funds from interested parties with far less money who are also members of the investment group. Otherwise, Michael Dell would have just bought Sunderland himself two weeks ago.
Nobody in their right financial mind is going to take on a debt to the fat man, he's too ruthless, unpredictable and hard to deal with. If we had a £110m borrowing or serviced overdraft at Barclays, and therefore the actual cost to purchase NUFC was around £240m, we'd already be sold. Sadly it's the 'by the balls' nature of the loan "owed" to Ashley that creates such a huge problem, because NUFC is never, ever, ever "worth" £350m (£250m valuation + £100m loan repayment). The Radcliffe story is better than the Gazette; Jim Radcliffe, worth about 10x what Ashley is, preferred to pay £88m for OGC Nice. They have a lovely stadium, facilities, location. Can they get into the CL every year? Easily, with a bit of clout. You could turn Nice into France's version of Atletico Madrid for well under the buying price of NUFC. There are similar opportunities in Holland, Germany, Portugal before you'd ever bother with a team in the "race for 7th". Is the PL money worth it? Not much longer. Salaries rise, player costs rise, agents fees rise, TV money is plateau-ing. Part of me thinks he'll screw it up, like he has with HoF and Debenhams for different reasons. But a small optimistic part of me thinks we'll just wake up one day and he'll be gone. This can only happen when he wants to. When he does, he'll restructure or write off the loan and break away. I heard that his City advisors suggested he hold on til at least next Summer, 1-2 years was the rumour around Feb. Next Summer could have a lot of benefits; kit deal expires, Fun88 deal expires, cheap manager and a pot of cash to spend if you look at NUFC spending cycles.
