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Swans in talks with potential investors

Discussion in 'Swansea City' started by Taffvalerowdy, Oct 28, 2014.

  1. swanseaandproud

    swanseaandproud Well-Known Member

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    we have beaten in recent times Man city,Man utd,liverpool,arsenal, Chelsea and spurs and we are currently above most of them so why not with the right investment cant we compete with them. ..I grew up in the era that the teams to beat then were PNE.wolves A. villa and they were the best sides in the land. why cant we look towards being a club that can do as well as them with the right investment...
     
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  2. PGFWhite

    PGFWhite Well-Known Member

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    That's the conundrum. For Clubs like Leeds it was "s**t or bust" - when it failed they lost everything. The key for us is either trying, but having something to fall back on, or not trying at all. There are huge decisions to be made by the Clubs Board.

    If we don't try, what will be the consequences? Will we stagnate and go backwards and then regret never trying? Will the Fair Play rules kick in with us sitting pretty as a solvent Club with fresh investment and fresh impetus? We could be in the right place at the right time, just as we were when we came into the Premiership with clubs like Bolton and Blackburn having exhausted their cash reserves.
     
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  3. roofjack_22

    roofjack_22 Well-Known Member

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    Im afraid this is "" As good as it gets"" daiswan. To risk what got us here against a"" possible "" rise of a few places seems a bad decision .Were making money in a high profile league , you know any other teams that are accomplishing that .And the only thing we dont have that those teams have are investors ....coincedence,
     
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  4. Dragonborn

    Dragonborn Active Member

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    You have a point, Roof. I'd love to see us competing wth the elite one day but we're well off at the moment and I hate to say it probably always will be. I can't see a club our size ever being able to generate the type of income required to buy the best players (as opposed to very good players) because we don't have the fan base. Let's be honest, what's the biggest ground we can realistically fill? 30 odd thousand?

    As for foreign investment, will that make a difference to the extent envisaged by some here? Three words - Financial Fair Play. The sums won't add up to take us that far imo. I may be wrong about that but if I'm right is it worth changing what we are as a club? We'll end up just like every other team in this League with greasy Asian owners or fat Yanks at the helm so be careful what you wish for. At least the Supporters Trust seem to be cool on the idea.

    At the moment I'm not convinced but would welcome it if it was very limited in scope and didn't change who we are as a club.
     
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  5. swanseaandproud

    swanseaandproud Well-Known Member

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    Agree we wont while we are at the liberty because we are restricted and held back but if we had a stadium of our own with a 32k to 40 k capacity then we could easily compete. If you look at our catchment potential then it is better than anything chelsea.man city man utd . spurs and many others have got and if you become successful then we would attract outside the boundaries like theses clubs are doing at the moment. the potential is huge where we are but we need the right investment and we certainly need our own stadium where we are in control of our own destiny....
     
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  6. swans-cartoonhead

    swans-cartoonhead Well-Known Member

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    Trust the board to have the best interests of the club at heart - they aint done much wrong so far! Can't see why so many are up in arms about a sell off of a small amount of shares! Trust Huw and co - they know what they are doing!
     
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  7. keith gatebroth

    keith gatebroth Well-Known Member

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    If our board each sold some of their shares in the club,depending on how much,couldn't that possibly make the Trust the biggest shareholder?
     
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  8. keith gatebroth

    keith gatebroth Well-Known Member

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    SCFC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swansea City Football 2002 Limited.

    Shareholders owning 10% or more of the issued share capital in the ultimate holding company as of 18/6/14 are:

    Chairman: Huw Jenkins 12.5%

    Vice-chairman: Leigh Dineen

    Directors:
    Mr & Mrs Martin Morgan 22.5%
    Brian Katzen 20.0%
    Swansea City Supporters Society Ltd more than 21.0%
    Robert Davies 10.0%
    John Van Zweden
    Done Keefe
    Steve Penny
    Gwilym Joseph
     
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  9. PGFWhite

    PGFWhite Well-Known Member

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    I assume that the ultimate aim is for the Trust to get 51%, but in the current climate the Trust could not compete with a rich investor who could outbid them if shares become available.
     
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  10. Nosugarman

    Nosugarman Member

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    If "This is good as it gets" what is the alternative? To stagnate and then go backwards as others have, with eventual relegation meaning poorer players, poorer standard of football, smaller crowds, less finance meaning further decline and eventually ending up where we came from. Or do we look for outside investment to cement our position in the Premier League, increasing the capacity at the Liberty and improving our commercial income. I know which I would prefer and getting sensible outside investment doesn't mean we have to sell our soul to the devil like other clubs have.
     
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  11. Dragonborn

    Dragonborn Active Member

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    The Supporters Trust will never be allowed more than what it has now imo, let alone another 30%. I don't believe that was anyone's intention either.

    As it is I suspect the existing 21% may be putting off some suitors. Whether that's a good or bad thing is a matter of debate.
     
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  12. roofjack_22

    roofjack_22 Well-Known Member

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    If we can stay in the Premier without foreign investment , thats good enough for me sugarman. Accomplishing anything past that is a bit of a reach. The best thing SCFC can do for itself , and for the entire Leagues , is exactly what we have been doing......surviving the Premier every year , not only within our means , but actually at a profit.
     
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  13. trundles left foot

    trundles left foot Well-Known Member

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    Anybody actually thought that the cupboard may be a bit bare and and we may need a bit of this investment. As long as the club remains in control of those at the helm now I see no issue. Lets not forget we already have foriegn investors in the club at the moment. Not every club that has had forgiegn investment has gone tits up. There are some very good investment opportunities out there for us. We have trusted those in charge of our club up to now, why should we doubt them on this.


    I was told that we sign no further players towards the end of the window as ther was no money left. How true that was i don't know.
     
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  14. ValleyGraduate12

    ValleyGraduate12 Aberdude's Puppet
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    Agree. As far as I'm concerned as long as those in charge have enough power among them, along with the 21% held by the trust if needed, then I don't see a problem with a new investor if it helps take us to the next level both on and off the pitch provided those currently in charge remain in charge.
     
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  15. swanseaandproud

    swanseaandproud Well-Known Member

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    This is true and even though the trust has a seat on the board the trust have no voting rights whatsoever and will never be a major share holder, They cant even sell their shares to outsiders for a profit.
    As for staying in the premiership long term with no investment roof then we would not last very long as we will never be able to attract players in the future that have the right qualities we would need. The cost of running a premiership club today and rising rapidly is out of control and even though we are a stable club financially it is getting harder to stay in front and thats why the club is seeking outside investment...
     
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  16. PGFWhite

    PGFWhite Well-Known Member

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    I suppose that means the Trust is a pretty toothless entity when it comes to crunch decisions?
     
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  17. roofjack_22

    roofjack_22 Well-Known Member

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    We managed to average around 10th place since being up in The Premier , playing a good team game and actually making money . Everyone wants to be us and suddenly we want to be someone else .. Way far ahead of ourselves , lets just concentrate our time and effort on staying out of a relegation battle and out of a finacial problem.
     
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  18. swanseaandproud

    swanseaandproud Well-Known Member

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    Yes but at least we have someone there and nothing can be said regarding the future of the club without us knowing, Don't get me wrong the trust is a valuable assets and is involved with everything at board level but it dont have a vote on major issues.
     
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  19. Matthew Bound Still Lurks

    Matthew Bound Still Lurks Well-Known Member

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    If additional shares are made available as a part floatation then how can the trust be prevented from buying them ? the lack of funds would probably the main factor but a block by the Board why ? The Trust currently hold 21% which equate to a 100,000 shares and with a member on the Board it does have a voice .What will determine the future will be if many existing Board members decide to sell and to who , as a block then we could be in trouble but individually then the status quo could be maintained .The more join the trust the more financial clout it'll have if in the event that a , more shares become available or the worst nightmare we become in embroiled in having to establish a fighting fund.
     
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  20. swanseaandproud

    swanseaandproud Well-Known Member

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    Time is moving on rapidly roof and from the very first season to now we have seen Players change clubs for £85m and seen players wages shoot up to some on £250k/£300k/ week and that filters down to the smaller clubs like us being asked to pay silly wages like Bony £52k/week and Other players wages from £15k - £35k/week. these are massive sums the club has to pay every week and that is before win/draw bonuses. You can see why the club are desperate for some investment and jinx and the board are working their socks off trying to keep the club as stable as possible and they are doing a remarkable job but its getting harder and harder with the spiralling out of control costs of running a successful premiership club. I hate the way football has got out of hand where the super rich clubs are having an impact on the rest of us....
     
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