Sorry Helen, but all those dragons are too Welsh for me - especially the red dragons! I know our greatest Academy export is Welsh, but we are in England
Indeed. Lungo viva calcio. Lungo vive il academia di Southampton. I must say, this Duolingo is getting me somewhere. I did all that without Google Translate and I'm almost sure it's correct.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/sa...nts_could_go_global_in_takeover_deal/?ref=rss Echo article discussing possible takeover. Interesting point is that Markus invested 16 million, but Katharina has invested 53 million....not on here, but many fans seem to think she is taking and not giving. Also points out that she is wealthy but her assets are in the 100s of millions not billions and therefore Saints are a major asset, so I think she should be given credit for her attempts to find the right buyer and indeed to still remain involved.
How much of the money Kat has invested, the 31m loan though, that she wants back. Or does the 53m not include the loan?
One thing that might be noted is that Markus and Katharina have together invested 'only' £69M in Southampton FC. 'Only' is a relative term here, I grant you, but when you consider some of the multi-millions other buyers have invested [Randy Learner, Vincent Tan, Tony Fernandes, for examples] and seen their investments, not progress, or dwindle to much less, you easily appreciate that Katharina is onto a real earner here. And she fully deserves it too. That relatively small, but efficient, investment also gave us the Markus Liebherr Academy complex, which took over £30M alone, and I believe has still to have its final phase built [unless that's already been done]. So well done the Liebherrs, and I hope they retain a small share of Saints forever.
I remain confused by fans that somehow think an owner should just shovel cash into a club, just because....err...not sure really. Kat, Markus etc will have first and foremost bought us as an investment as business, as will any future owner. So, y'know, they kinda want to make money, not bankrupt themselves! Which is entirely fair enough.
Agreed. I think there was a little more to it though, with Markus. And I think football clubs can often get under the skin of owners, to their eventual financial detriment. It just depends on the size of the club and the riches and remoteness of the owners. According to Nicola, acquiring Saints was not a financial decision by Markus. It was about enthusiasm to get into the right project. And boy, did they ever pick the right project. It kind of just so happens that they will have made pots of money in the end for Markus's daughter. And she's 'bought' into the emotion and passion too. The next step for Southampton FC is where the club finally leaves its 'family' origins and becomes the corporate entity in the same category as many other clubs in football from Arsenal to WBA. At the local level everything should feel pretty much the same. Although, if they put a pagoda roof on St Mary's then I might start to worry.
I don't think anyone buys into a football club primarily as a business investment. There must be a million investment opportunities offering far greater potential returns for a lot less risk. Traditionaly, football clubs have been used by wealthy individuals as expensive hobbies, vanity projects, or a means of raising one's public profile. I don't think that model has changed much. Edit; if any new owners were investing purely as a business opportunity, then I'd say that was a reason to worry.
No, sure, I take your point absolutely. I just think fans who don't realise the owners would also like to....y'know....see some return as well, are fantastically daft.
Just read this new thread. Am I missing something? Are Saints really only worth two and a half Pogbas? That seems a very low valuation.
http://www.thisisanfield.com/2017/0...l-talks-record-transfer-deal-virgil-van-dijk/ Suggestion that Liverpool are in talks with VVD (yawn). However, more interested in the comments where it is suggested they should just buy the club. If they buy anymore of our players, Liverpool wouldn't be far off the price, would they? Could take the players and still have a stadium, training ground and PL franchise to sell on.