Unfortunately The Skunks and us have not been rivals for a few seasons now (although the memory of our run of games against them, will last). If the murdering Saudis and their partners do take over the mags, they will be cock a hoop, rid of Cashley and new money bags owners. Meanwhile we have a (relative) pauper as our owner and to date no real genuine prospect of a change. The only good thing is the lockdown, as the mags taking the piss and loading it over us cannot do it face to face!
Mate, the reality is that we're 6 months down the line and the club has been up for sale for 5 months of them. If FPP were interested in making a bid, we'd know about it from Donald, smug or anyone else. The reality is that they made a deal that they're happy with in November, or the alternative is that we think that Donald convinced them to do a deal that they didn't want. Which one of those is realistic? You can even see from the way MSD (who include two of FPP at their highest level) approached Derby that they have a preferred way of doing things. It's pretty obvious that we are a speculative loan with some good potential one day, but there's a world between that and something you want to buy outright and absorb the risk of taking up two divisions in a sport you've never been involved with.
alternatively they could be interested when Donald quotes a realistic price, along the lines of what he paid for it, not the £40m bandied about?
I remember the dark Mick Buxton days we were going nowhere fast....much like now. The Mags were flying with Keegan, buying superstar players and nearly winning the premier league. This time, we are a division lower and totally and utterly skint. I didn't think back then the gulf would ever be bridged....but it was. This time its worse, but i'm hopeful we can claw our way back, sadly it will NEVER be Donald. We need a saviour because without one, we will drift in this godforsaken league for a long long time.
I would think the club has been up for sale now for at least 12 months. Remember all those interested parties sitting in the royal box during the checkatrade final.
I used to have a business importing 1950's American cars that I'd renovate and sell from a rented gothic folly called Archway House in Sherwood Forest ... crazy days. Sometimes I'd buy a car for £5000, spend £2000 on renovation and £1000 on paperwork and importation. I'd be unable to find a buyer and end up flogging it for less than it had cost me ... ... the alternative was to either keep putting more money in, to keep things running, or let it deteriorate. That's life and the choice Mr Donald has to make imo. Edit: Just had a nostalgia moment and found this .... please log in to view this image
It's a difficult one. I don't want to get into how much he paid or didn't, I think we'll find out more in the next 2 weeks when the accounts come out what the state of play is. But regardless, they were clearly happy enough with his potential valuation to do a convertible loan that will have an agreed share price/valuation built into the loan terms. Honestly all of these things are done in advance, you don't just get to the date you want to convert your loan to shares and find the valuation has doubled, so the convertible stake is worth half the amount of equity you hoped it was. All of this is why you do due diligence, because in effect, you're setting up an agreement to one day possibly buy an asset, so you need to know how much it's worth. In the end they did a deal that both sides agreed on. So again, every indication is that they want to do it this way rather than Donald forcing them. Ultimately if they wanted to buy us outright, I suspect they'd own us by now, because there were ways for Donald to cancel the debt he owes the club in that scenario, so if they only offered say, £15m, he could have cancelled the £25m he owes between his two companies and sold his shares for a small profit or a neutral financial outcome, but a good PR one. So all of that indicates they never made an offer, or I suspect they'd own us.
Spot on that mate. Very dark days. We are a massive football club, SD & CM realise that. They're so far out of the depth its untrue. Their master plan has back fired, they needed promotion, then they make their profit. Now, they dont want to sell at what the club is worth. Sick of hearing Donald's heart is in the right place. That's not what a club of our size needs. We need proper people who know how to run a club of this stature, and they need money behind them. Gap is getting bigger all the time. Just got to hope we get lucky like those up the road.
Was the guy with the beard not this guy, Mark Campbell who was linked with a takeover of us? please log in to view this image
I don't get why people think that one promotion is a master plan, going to the Championship is a financial struggle and perhaps even more so than league one. We would need many better players with an equal amount of income more or less.
If the club is up for sale, it is worth more in the Championship than it is in League 1, and he wants to sell at the price of a Championship club. Yes the higher the league you're in it comes at a higher cost to run, but SD doesn't have anywhere near the money to do that.
Agree, this feels exactly like that early 90's era. We miss the boat as usual while them up the road fall on their feet. They have the usual sky media cronies bigging it up, " unique club " etc , great job for pottchetino to get back into the league, then look at us. Feel very down about football at the minute . Mr Donald needs to clear off, it's obvious he ballsed the fpp deal up and we seem to lurch from one week to the next in limbo
I get where you're coming from, but we're lead to believe that our club is currently debt free. So if that's the case SD will of wanted the Championship price.
Feels like an absolute kick in the bollocks this, the way they are celebrating the takeover is how we should of felt 6 month ago I'm honestly starting to despise Stewart Donald mind
Football has been kicking our fans in the Clem's for decades, it just feels like it's never gonna end. We need a break and a massive one at that.
My sentiment exactly Lozza, I am beginning to despise him more and more. Anyone with a modicum of sense knows something went amiss with negotiations. That’s why so many on the SMB don't believe it