There’s two very different issues at play. The difficult issue is; finding someone to buy their investment, particularly as they are not advertising it for sale. The non difficult issue is finding someone (tomorrow) who could do a better job at running the Club. I could name a 1000 people who could do that. Me, Big Lil, most people on this site etc… why? 1. I’m assuming none of the names I’ve mentioned would be able to put a penny of investment into the Club. That puts them in exactly the same position as the current owners. No change. 2. None of the people I’ve mentioned would take money out of the Club without explaining why they had done it. That makes them better than the current owners. 3. The people I’ve mentioned would be taking day to day decisions on the Coaching/playing side that would have the long term interests of the Club at heart. That makes them better than the current owners. 4. The people I’ve mentioned would give a toss about the relationship with the supporters and the town and would be busting a gut to improve that relationship. That makes them better than the current ownership. A good start would be Conway et al declaring their intention to leave.
I personally don't think Paul Conway 'cares' whether he owns the club or not. I don't think there's any emotional attachment whatsoever - good or bad. it's an asset on the balance sheet to him. part of the portfolio. if someone came in with an offer that matched his value, I think he'd sell in a heartbeat. see OGC. bought for $23m, sold for $100m (to someone even worse, by the way). i just doubt there are many people out there at the moment, if anyone at all, that would match his value. if people think he's going to just give it away though, through some sense of philanthropy to the Club, they probably need to think again. only chance I see of that is if he genuinely sees it as a dead duck, and cuts his losses.
Because they have a Pier and we only have a bridge over the rail tracks, which has been closed on MATCH days since the late sixties.
I'm totally disillusioned and will likely not be renewing. Not sure if I will even attend again this season. If/when we go down I think we could see one of the most dramatic year on year drops in season ticket holders in years.
It wouldn't surprise me, thousands of people sat next to each other but a few kids can't kick a ball at a crossbar
It was. It has to be agreed with local authorities, safety panels and all that jazz. Which is why at some stadiums I've seen fun and games on the pitch at half-time but not at others. At Peterborough they had fans trying to land a football in a skip for example. We recently re-introduced the flagbearers, the family area and Toby's Kids Club. Fanzone was set to be next. But I'm assuming all that will be gone regardless, now we've gone into plan b restrictions. But as ever, we are still waiting for 100% clarification on many issues. I don't blame authorities or the EFL for that either. I blame the government who decide things at the drop of a hat and give football clubs (and other business) a week to sort things. I'm not here to get into any other kind of discussion either, because clearly there's a lot being said in this thread, regards issues I have no control of. But things such as the ones I've just addressed, they weren't allowed for a period of time and was out of our hands.
Last season? It really isnt beyond us to be competitive if luton,blackpool,milwall,hull and preston can be.
I do not get all this moaning about the match day experience , it has always been about watching the reds for me, I have always arrived at the ground at about 15 minutes before kick off, watched the first half & the stretched my pins at half time , pee & a natter about the match so far, watch the second half & go home , if I wanted a pint before the game I would go in the Mount in my early years or currently the East Dene , no problem . Regarding the ownership , I would love to see the back of this lot, I said it at the time when they came in that you have to be careful what you wish for but I think selling the club might not be that easy , there was hardly a queue up Grove st when Patrick wanted to unload & in these Covid times the attraction of buying us might be somewhat muted , we will see what the future brings
We'd have been better off selling Helik and Woodrow, and keeping all of the backroom staff that we'd lost, not letting the CEO leave on a Bosman (which will never stop bemusing me), and not trying to completely change the playing style at the club overnight. The frustrating thing about the way the club is running, particularly when Conway is involved in the day to day running of things, is that so much emphasis is placed on developing young players to sell on, it actually has a detrimental effect on the young players at the club. We came very close to breaking Andersen before signing Solbauer, we're damaging a number of young midfielders now.
Which is why I feel more and more pressure needs putting on them to leave. They aren't going to just lock the doors and walk away because they lose their initial investment but when they are under pressure to sell they're far more likely to find a buyer than when they don't even want to sell. It's the only reason they're the owners in the first place. Patrick was under pressure to find a buyer
The position is far weaker than when Patrick sold. Last time round relegation wasn’t inevitable and the John Stones sell on monies had just landed. This time the prospect of relegation looks pretty nailed on and the balance sheet cash has disappeared. If they were looking for a sale the potential purchase price for the club can’t be that high. The assets are rapidly depreciating and the business losing potentially £3m over the course of the next year. If assets (players) can’t be realised for cash the current owners will have a dilemma of how to finance the following year.
Will be very difficult to turn down bids for anybody in January, especially if the next three games go as you'd expect. My only worry is if how many underperforming, overpaid players do we have that we can't sell and can't afford?
I'd be quite happy to drop down to L1, get new owners in, clear out most of the playing staff and just start again. I'm struggling to muster a single good thought about any aspect of the club at the moment. 40 years of support in jeopardy.
