Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"][quote user="Fat Prophet"]

The problem from D&M''s point of view is that PC has offered too much money, not too little.  £2 million from the Turners (thank you Andrew and Sharon btw) suited them fine, because it wasn''t enough to give them any real clout.  Far be it from me to suggest that''s the reason why theirs was only only approach they have felt able to accept until now . . .  

[/quote]

And the 2 million is a loan that it would seem from mondays statement from the club they want paying back if Peter Cullum came in.  Thanks Andrew and Sharon.

[/quote]I''m sure that would depend on whether they would stay on the board with Cullum, or move on. If they aren''t going to be on the board its entirely reasonable for them to expect the money back.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

Their £8 million is money that''s already been spent, and they had

full control over the spending of it.  Naturally PC expects the same. 

Of course their investment should be protected but that''s a different

issue.  As previously posted, both sides need to reach a compromise.

Everyone is expecting Delia to compromise, but happy for Cullum not to. I don''t agree. Cullum has two options;- bid more money- use fan pressureNo prizes for spotting his tactic.

The problem from D&M''s point of view is that PC has offered too

much money, not too little.  £2 million from the Turners (thank you

Andrew and Sharon btw) suited them fine, because it wasn''t enough to

give them any real clout.  Far be it from me to suggest that''s the

reason why theirs was only only approach they have felt able to accept

until now . . .  Pure conjecture that you can''t ever back up. The Turners wern''t insisting on a controlling interest for their 2m, totally different.

But which is more beneficial to the club, £2 million or £20

million?  It''s a nobrainer.  Club''s best interests first, as I have

said before.

But then its not your 8m, you don''t stand to lose a thing.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

So we come back to the question - "Why won''t the Board talk to Peter

Cullum"? If they haven''t spoken since October, how can they know

whether he is prepared to buy the shares required to take control, or

what value he currently places on the club? The situation now is very

different to 9 months ago and the Peter Cullum should be expected to

factor this into any new discussions.They have spoken - Andrew Turner is on the board, and has been in contact with Cullum (or his merry men). Also Cullum has indicated via the press that he isn''t changing his offer, which they turned down last year.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

He hasn''t mentioned the future BDU.  He has made it pretty clear that

he''s not after a total buyout now, but if he wants to negotiate no one

expects him to put all his cards on the table at once.  It seems he

wants a meeting and the board are not willing to talk unless he makes a

"formal offer" first.  I don''t think that''s very helpful.He is negotiating. Rather than put up more money, and open the discussion around Delia''s shares, he is trying to put more fan pressure onto the board. I say it again, the board HAVE been talking to him, in the form of Andrew Turner. Just because the EDP headline says "talks refusal", it changes in paragraph 1 to "meet refusal" and then says in paragraph 4 that Andrew Turner has been in contact with Cullum. Really, really poor and misleading journalism. The EDP should be ashamed.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

Sorry but this is a disgrace if true.

So now the clubs line is that they will only talk with him if he

makes an offer to buy delia''s shares? She is quoted at a previous AGM

as saying she doesn''t want to sell her shares she wants someone to come

in and put money into the playing staff. He is quoted as saying he

doesn''t want to buy HER shares as well so presumably he is envisaging a

situation where he buys newly issued share capital.

Just like the £56m line this now sounds (on the face of it) like another excuse not to meet with Cullum.

For the record I am not saying Cullum should be allowed to take over

the club at any cost - what he is offering has to be acceptable but for

us not to completely snub his advances and not even enter into

discussions with him is very worrying.

In any event the club needs to say something about what is going on

for their own sake as if this is a PR battle they are losing big time

and there will be open revolt on the terraces if it continues like this.

Its not true Jim. They discussed the offer last year, and Cullum has spoken with Andrew Turner this week. The EDP article is extremely misleading. Delia and MWJ were clear as crystal when they said that if Cullum wants to talk, he has to make an offer that takes into account the outstanding shares amongst other things. He is still refusing to do this, why should they meet up again? It would just be a sign of weakness.

You are also mis quoting Delia. She has said that potential investors have to tick all the right boxes, and that just making an offer for her shares isn''t enough. You can''t seriously expect her to give away millions of her own money, just so Cullum can get the club on the cheap?

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

No.  The only thing that gets diluted is the percentage of the total holding, not the value.As I have said I am not an expert on company valuations, or football club valuations, but surely a stake that is not a controlling stake would be worth less than a stake which is a controlling one. Whilst I agree it seems these shares can have any face value put on them that the owner chooses, it doesn''t seem at all logical to me that the value would be effectively the same. D&M put a huge amount of money into the club, and control that money by having control of the club. Asking them to relinquish that control for no financial benefit, seems to me to be totally unfiar when nobody expects Cullum to put money in and not have control. If it was just about ensuring D&M don''t lose out financially I''m

sure something could have been worked out by now.  My concern is that

this is really about control, not money, and D&M would rather have

total control of a failing club (and risk losing their investment if

it goes under) than a minority interest and an eventual payout in a

successful one.  Putting the club''s best interests first?  I don''t

think so . . .Even if you are right about your thoughts that D&M want to hang on to power (an point of view for which I see no supporting evidence), the financial aspects would still have to be addressed. As of now, Cullum is refusing to address them. He is not offering to buy their shares now or at any point in the future.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

[quote user="Fat Barman"][quote user="Neil_MacLeod"]

People,

            Obviously things are not as plain and simple as you would all like to think, The board have invested in the club and in in many cases put more money into the club then many people on here will ever see in their life, So they want the best return for the investment (Gamble). Im sure that if all of us were in their position we to would want our just rewards as do they...Remember football is no longer just a game its a business...wake up and smell the coffee!

[/quote]Problem is Neil, Delia et al keep saying that they didn''t put money in to make a profit. Delia even said (at the AGM) that she would sell her shares to somebody prepared to invest a large sum in the club - so long as they met her ''fit and proper'' criteria. Without telling us why PC doesn''t fit the criteria, how are we supposed to understand this u-turn? I can understand the Turners would want their loan back, in return for selling their shares (although they could keep their shares if D & M sold 51% of their holdings), but Delia & Michael converted their loans into shares, so would get their money back if they sold at the price they paid - £25 a share.A return on their investment was precisely what they didn''t expect to get. Not many people get rich out of football club - except players![/quote]I don''t see a u-turn Fat Barman. Cullum hasn''t offered to buy her shares, so she can''t sell them to him! She hasn''t said he doesn''t fit the criteria in any way except the bid isn''t good enough - he needs to buy them out, repay the Directors loans and repay the bank loans (which we believe he won''t have to do, just renegotiate them with the bank).

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

[quote user="Fat Prophet"]

[quote user="Big Down Under"]

It seems that people on here think its fair enough that Cullum should get a controlling stake if he puts in 20m for players, but that Delia should allow Cullum to take control despite the fact she has 16m worth of shares invested (or 13m, depending on valuation). Surely people can see thats a bit hypocritical? If its acceptable for Cullum to demand control so he can look after his money, why shouldn''t Delia be allowed the same?

[/quote]

You do not help your case by playing fast and loose with the facts BDU. 

£16m is the valuation placed on club''s total existing share issue @ £30 per share, of which D&M hold 61.2%, ie. just under £10m.  They bought those shares for £25 each which means they paid a little over £8 million. 

Credit to them for putting £8 million into the club.  But if PC is willing/able to put in nearly 150% more, I think there''s no argument as to where majority control should lie.

But let''s address the real issue.  Should the deal be allowed to fail because D&M insist on a buyout now rather than later?  What''s your view?

 [/quote]

FP you are right thats a mistake on my part. But swap 8m for 16m and my point is still to be answered.But let''s address the real issue.  Should the deal be allowed to fail

because D&M insist on a buyout now rather than later?  What''s your

view?1. I don''t see that as the real issue. For me the real issue is Cullum''s ability to stir up the fans but his inability to make a decent bid2. If D&M allow Cullum to buy new shares now, there is no guarantee that Cullum would buy them out in the future. He would already have a controlling stake, and could simply replace one of his people already placed on the board. Then vote himself chairman3. Yes they could negotiate a contract where more shares are issued now, and Cullum agrees to buy out D&M in the future. But then its back to my point on the previous message you didn''t respond to. Why should D&M let someone else have control over their 8m, when everyone seems to think its only fair that Cullum gets a controlling say over his 20m? So YES I see no reason why we should reasonably expect Delia to do anything other than what she is doing, telling Cullum what he needs to bid. The deal is failing because Cullum won''t buy them out, expecting D&M to accept anything else is unrealistic and unfair and a little hypocritical.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

[quote user="Fat Prophet"]

[quote user="Big Down Under"]Sorry Fat Prophet are you saying he should be allowed to take over the club running, without paying for a controlling stake?[/quote]

No.  Read my original post where I say that he will get a controlling stake by paying £20 million for a new share issue.  There''s another whole thread about this somewhere, I think blah started it.

[/quote]Sorry FP there are so many posts and threads on this subject its difficult to keep up.So are you saying that Delia should allow her controlling shares to be diluted and that she should give up overall control of the club without any financial recompense? If so, wouldn''t that devalue her holding significantly? Why should she lose out on so much money, just so PC can gain control of the club cheaply?

[Looks Like Delia Won't Let Go]

[quote user="Fat Prophet"][quote user="Big Down Under"][quote user="ricardo"]

She doesn''t want any of those big boys playing with her doll''s house.

It''s just that simple.

[/quote]If Cullum wants to play Dollies, he should buy the dolls house from Delia.It''s just that simple.[/quote]

Oh gawd.

BDU . . . NCFC ISN''T A DOLLS''S HOUSE!

It isn''t a toy of any kind.  It''s just that Delia treats it that way.

 [/quote]

Tell Ricardo that!

Delia is treating NCFC like a business, insisting Cullum buy her out before she relinquishes control. Insisting it makes a profit. But that is why some people have an issue, thinking that you can still run a football club successfully these days without it being a business. But those people are just out of touch with the modern realities of the game.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

Sorry Fat Prophet are you saying he should be allowed to take over the club running, without paying for a controlling stake?It seems that people on here think its fair enough that Cullum should get a controlling stake if he puts in 20m for players, but that Delia should allow Cullum to take control despite the fact she has 16m worth of shares invested (or 13m, depending on valuation). Surely people can see thats a bit hypocritical? If its acceptable for Cullum to demand control so he can look after his money, why shouldn''t Delia be allowed the same?They can''t both have control. Delia currently does, if Cullum wants it he should make her an offer.Final point - the Board HAVEN''T refused to talk to Cullum, that is just EDP spin. Turner, a board member, has spoken to him this week. Delia and MWJ spoke to Cullum last year about the same offer. They have spoken to him, and told him what he needs to do. Cullum is just using the fans via the EDP as a lever to force Delia''s hand.

[Looks Like Delia Won't Let Go]

[quote user="ricardo"]

She doesn''t want any of those big boys playing with her doll''s house.

It''s just that simple.

[/quote]If Cullum wants to play Dollies, he should buy the dolls house from Delia.It''s just that simple.

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

Sorry Fat Prophet I think you have misunderstood. He does want seats on the board, to go along with his taking control of the club right now. Rather than be on the board himself, he wants to put his people in. So he DOES want to take over the club, but personally take a back seat. Those people on the board would still report back to him.If he wants to take over the club (whether 100% or just a controlling interest) he should make an offer to the existing board / Delia and MWJ to buy their shares.

[Peter Cullum - the reality]

Yellow Hammer,1. She can''t sell up until someone makes an offer to buy her shares. Cullum hasn''t, and has made it clear that he won''t. I agree she can''t afford to bankroll the club in the way we would like or the way Cullum could, but until someone offers to buy her out I doubt she will go, and why should she?2. NCFC is not in as bad a position as you state. We have an excellent fan base, excellent facilities owned by the club, we can afford the loan repayments, we operate at a small profit. I have no idea as to the true ''value'' of the shares, I understand you can''t value football clubs in the same way as other businesses. I can''t trust the EDP''s sources until they say who the financial experts are, why didn''t they say?

[Norwich Board refuses to talk to Cullum]

Seems to me that Cullum is testing the resolve of the Board, and using the fans to put even more pressure on Delia.Two possible scenarios come immediately to mind;1. If he has told Andrew Turner that 20m is all there is right now, and that he has no intention of making an offer for Delia''s shares, for the full board to meet with him would be a sign of weakness. Under these circumstances they shouldn''t meet him until he expresses an interest inm making a formal offer for the shares2. If he has told Turner there might be more money, but he wants to meet face to face with Delia, they should meet with him to discuss.My money is on scenario 1. Hopefully we find out soon in a statement from the board.

[The best compromise for all parties involved]

[quote user="Mr.Carrow"][quote user="Yelverton Yella"][quote user="WEEN_NASTY"]

Why didn''t the EDP ask these questions at the interview?

Surely the journo would have done some research and not probed further into Mr Cullum''s offer?

It seems that PC has told the EDP only what he wanted.

[/quote]That''s exactly what I''ve been saying since the story broke! BTW I haven''t seen anyone turning on Mr Cullum YET and most of us would welcome him taking over the Club, BUT we have yet to see evidence of a clear intention to do so.If PC wanted to he could table a formal offer to NCFC (subject to due diligence, audit etc, etc) and then announce that he had done so (without revealing the terms if he wanted to keep those confidential). At least that way we would know he was serious and the pressure would be on the current Directors to respond.As an aside, it still seems bizarre that the lad who was in my class at the CNS should hold all this power (and money!). Well done mate.[/quote]

The trouble is if he does this and understandably keeps the details confidential then some pillock on here will claim he`s offered £0 per share with absolutely no evidence.  If he doesn`t want to buy Delias shares, but wants a majority stake, then he is obviously asking for his £20m to go into new shares which will dilute the others holdings- but then each shares worth will theoretically by boosted by the new investment/greater chance of success and the cash that goes with it.

It seems to me he wants a majority stake and seat on the board for his £20m, but Delia wants a total buy-out or nothing.  Lets hope they can compromise......

[/quote]Mr Carrow I presume that ''pillock'' remark is aimed at me. Why do you constantly resort to name calling when someone tries to engage you in debate? Why don''t you just address those points I made on the other thread?BTW has Cullum really admitted in the EDP that he doesn''t want Delia''s shares and hasn''t made an offer for them? It isn''t in the online version.

[Is Cullum a liar?]

Can we just stop all this rubbish accusing people of lying? I don''t think its at all helpful.Cullum never said he was bidding for Delia''s shares.He only ever talked about 20m for players.Delia has seemed pretty clear to me, if someone who meets her criteria offers to buy her out so she can take her money back, she will accept. Nobody has done this yet.It is not in Delia''s interests for a new share issue, I don''t think it is in the club''s best interest either. This club has been divided for too long now, we need unity. Having a split board under Cullum''s control wouldn''t help. He should buy out Delia and stop trying to get control of the club on the cheep.

[Peter Cullum - the reality]

[quote user="milan marcus"]

I am amazed that this board is about NCFC because reading all the posts on here I thought it was a Gordon Gecko training camp.  Please stop quoting me company law and plc law and any other law.  The facts are thus:

PC is one of the top deal makers in the city.  I would have thought that he may just have an idea on how to make his proposal work.....don’t you?  As I said there is no need to buy the entire club even if that’s what the company rules say today.  Simply call a board meeting and make a change in the resolution...in fact do whatever it takes to get PC and £20 million into the club.  (as I said please don’t respond with trite regarding company law – if our board want this deal to happen they can make it happen!)

Delia and our board however are doing everything to hang onto power like any other group who love power....the trouble is it is time to let go

I would also add this is nothing about Delia and shareholders losing money.  They will lose far more is PC walks away.  Here is a quick survey for you to work out:

Would you want to own either?

A:            45% of NCFC with £20 million of transfer funds ready for a push to the premiership

B:            100% of a club with no transfer funds / no chance to get into the premiership

Please see the light and embrace this deal.  I want Delia to walk away with her head held high and thanks from the supports for all her effort but she must do this deal and do it quickly.  If she fails then she and the board of NCFC have betrayed us all.

[/quote]Marcus, if I understand you correctly you are saying that forget the rules and laws, if the Board wanted to accept Cullum''s money they would find a way. I think you also said that as Cullum is cash rich, he wouldn''t put the money in as a loan. To be honest I don''t know nearly enough about these rules and laws to know if you are correct, but just want to point out the following (if I have misunderstood you please do tell me where);- Glazer was / is rich, but when he bought Man U all the money he ''invested'' immediately became a loan on the club. Man U are now hundreds of millions of pounds in debt, to Glazer. Not a great situation. The original poster is right to raise this as a concern.You also seem to think that it should be reasonable for Delia to cede control of the club without getting a penny in return, as she will potentially have a more lucrative minority holding in a club worth more. Two points on this;- I would prefer a clean sweep. Out with the old and in with the new. I can''t see how they would want to run the club in the same way, if they did there would be no point getting Cullum, so the board room would consistently be split. I can''t see how this is good for anyone.- Why should Delia cede control without getting her money back, for the same reason why should Cullum put in millions and not get control. Why should her money be under Cullum''s effective control? There would be no benefit to Delia (except for maybe a bigger profit, which she has consistently stated she isn''t looking for) so surely no hunger for her to agree to such a deal.I share your enthusiasm for getting Cullum on board. I want Cullum to buy out Delia. He can afford to, he should do. As a top deal maker he is trying to get control on the cheap, and Delia is rightly saying no.

[Looks Like Delia Won't Let Go]

Mr Carrow once again you dismiss what I say out of hand even though I provide quotes from the articles to back up what I say. You provide no evidence to show why you think there is extra money on the table, its just one huge assumption by you with no evidence to back it up.Tha board have come out and told Cullum that he can''t just put in money for players and get given control, their statement clearly says he has to make a bid that addresses the loan, the shares, the director''s loand AND player budgets.You don''t debate with open minded, rational people. You agree with any anti Delia statement made, when anyone tries to disagree you go round in circles, accuse them of being Doncaster, Delia herself, a friend of Doncaster who lives in Australia, Munby, ''close to the board'' or any crap to try and undermine their points. You have even made a reference to me as a ''pillock'' on another thread. Can I suggest you stop, you are making yourself look very foolish.

[Is there any danger that transfer spending may be put on hold pending the outcome of all this?]

I would hope the board would continue as if nothing were going on, after all if they do remain in control, its them who take responsibility and will have to pick up the pieces. Its bound to be a diversion though.There have been rumours of other investments, ie Delia and her big mouth at the Royal Norfolk Show, if there are other deals on the table they might well be delayed by the Cullum business. But equally, they might progress more quickly now there is competition from Cullum. Its impossible to tell with our level of knowledge right now.However, if there are player deal and/or contract negotiations currently under way the other parties might well hold off signing until its clear whether more money could be on the table or not. This is my major concern right now.

[The best compromise for all parties involved]

There certainly is an offer, but its not to buy the shares, its for Delia to give them away.I don''t want Cullum AND Delia on the board, I can see why Cullum says he wants her to stay on (an olive branch after a very hard-arsed media manipulation, and she is a great brand for the catering business) but if he wants to take control, make Delia an offer to buy her out and move your people in. If we are going to have a change, and I think the one thing we are all agreeing on is that a change is needed, lets make it a full scale change so the club can move on. And do it quickly too.If Cullum is pulling out, I will be very angry with him. He has placed our whole transfer window in jeopardy with his tactics, and if he isn''t going to make a serious bid, what was it all for?

[Looks Like Delia Won't Let Go]

"You have faith that Cullum has made a secret offer over and above the

amount HE publicised".  Please enlighten me as to what that amount is

BDU, because all i can see is the quote "friendly arm-wrestle over

valuations" which everyone else has accepted means that early

negotiations on share price have been made but are understandably being

kept confidential.The amount is 0. I''m not going to mention this again, you are going around and around in circles. Refer back to the Skipper article (from the EDP); On Tuesday, club officials said Mr Cullum would need to find £36m on

top of the £20m to buy shares, pay off a £16m loan and settle

interest-free loans from directors. The original article was entitled ''I''ll put £20m into Norwich City''. He spoke in that article "“The £20m is an investment that is very unlikely to yield a good return

other than emotional, and it''s something I''ve always wanted to do.” Honestly, is it that difficult to read? As for your last points, i agree with every one of them.  Sorry if that

shatters your "anti-Delia" delusion.  But so far you have tried to pass

off as fact that the board were behind Clarkes` approach to Cullum with

no evidence, suggested that Cullum "might be lying", that Delia insists

on full repayment of the debt on sale when it is clearly not that

simple, and tried to claim that Cullum is trying to force Delia out for

nothing when what little evidence we have does not support this.  It

seems to me you have already decided who the "baddie" is in all

this.......Of course Cullum is the ''baddie'' in all this. He puts in a 0 bid for the shares, knowing full well that most fans will only read the headlines about 20m for players. He expected the majority of fans to go off the deep end, and you all have on here for sure. He did all this on the eve of the transfer window, knowing it would have a negative impact on our ability to close deals, becuase he knew this would put MORE pressure on the current board. And its working.I would much rather he was inside the tent p##sing out than outside the tent p##sing in like he currently is though. We need more ''balls'' in the board room and Cullum certainly has that.On the rest of it you have either misunderstood my words, or are deliberately twisting them to try and point score. I''ve been clear where I have made assumptions, more than once, but you still try and make out I meant them as fact - totally ridiculous. I''m not trying to pass my Clarke assumptions off as fact at all. Its a reasonable assumption but still just an assumption.Almost every single post you make is anti board and anti Delia. You want her to be able to walk away, repaid and with her head held high? Start calling on Cullum to make a decent bid then, and stop posting anti Delia rubbish.

[Delia invites investment?]

Currently Cullum hasn''t offered to buy her shares. He has offered to put 20m into the players budget in return for getting control of the club ie he wants Delia to give him her shares. Its time for Cullum to make a decent bid, or explain why he won''t.

[Quote me happy]

[quote user="YankeeCanary"][quote user="jbghost"]

I really must be missing something here. As much as I want this investment in our club I can''t see where this so called offer that Delia has supposedly turned down is coming from. Yes we have the Pinkun front page story about a £5 milllion offer last year.

Could somebody clearly in the know tell the rest of us exactly what the offer was that Delia turned down. It''s a bit like the £20 million offer this week I suspect, Front page cheap journalistic crap which actually is no offer to Delia or any other share holder. I for one would not hand over my shares for nothing however big the injection of cash into the players budget.

 I would like to think Peter Cullum is serious about a takeover bid, unfortunately though the £20 million is nothing but stirring in the press. Lets hope he is actually making a serious offer to but the shares he needs.

[/quote]

You''re not missing anything jbghost. The people who for so long have wished to bury Delia have grasped on to this input like a gang of vigilantes with a rope. They are not interested in a "trial" where the facts may be allowed to emerge unless it''s a hanging judge that also has the same agenda as the angry mob. All they smell is someone else''s money that''s been dangled like a proverbial carrot. If the amount is one, five or twenty million or more, it''s inconsequential. The crowd smells blood and that''s good enough for them. 

Peter Cullum may come through but, so far, all that he has demonstrated is a desire to get the bloodthirsty mob onside and exert more pressure on those that own the shares. With respect to his overtures of last fall I would have to see the detail of that offer before I made a judgement on his motives and the reaction of the current principals. I go to my gut values when I''m trying to form an opinion and, I know one thing for sure, if I had been the major shareholder at NCFC at last years AGM and knew someone had approached me with what I considered an insulting offer to gain control of MY business, I would not have felt obligated to stand up and tell all and sundry anything about the matter whatsoever, particularly if that individual had access to significant financial resources and I wanted to see where the matter might lead.   [/quote]Two very interesting posts that capture the heart of the issue. There has been no offer to buy Delia''s shares, but the mob are out in force anyway.

[Looks Like Delia Won't Let Go]

It really is very straight forward Mr Carrow, the only reason you can''t see my point of view is because it conflicts with your built in anti Delia bias. Why you have to see the world in such straight black and white tones defeats me, surely as an adult you have experienced the fact that nothing is in reality so black and white? Delia is not a saint just the same as Delia is not some kind of demented egomaniacle Thatcher clone.I have looked at the facts as available, analysed them and come to my own conclusions. Whilst I might well be wrong about Clarke, I still don''t see why a prominant national politician would take time in his very busy schedule to take dinner with another very very busy and prominant business leader to ONLY talk about investing in NCFC without knowing the board would entertain a bid from him. Of course there are other possible explanations, maybe Clarke is such a NCFC fanatic that all he wanted to talk about was football (seems unlikely to me) or that he hates Delia so much that he would court outside investment himself to help move her on (I have no idea what he feels about Delia, but this *could* be true). The latter would mean that in all probability Delia and Clarke''s relationship would be seriously compromised right now, and I just don''t believe a current local MP would want that. But you believe that if you think its more likely, it does fit your anti Delia bias.You have faith that Cullum has made a secret offer over and above the amount HE publicised. Despite the fact that this contradicts an article by Skipper that you were refering to. Why? Because it shows Delia in a worse light. You refuse to acknowledge the current situation as a negotiation, despite the fact that Cullum has publicised a bid and the Board countered it. Why? Becuase it shows Delia in a worse light. Try parking your anti Delia bias and have another look at what we know.Now you can''t see the difference between me saying "one of Delia''s criteria is having someone come in and pay off the loan" with me saying "its a bank requirement that on change of ownership the loan is repaid". Why? Because you are trying to paint me as a Delia supporter, to discredit my opinions.For the record;- I don''t support Delia Smith, I support Norwich City- A lot of crap has been written about Delia on this message board, yes I have defended Delia against some of it. I have also criticised her over several important issues.- I would welcome Cullum to the club IF he makes a decent bid. I want him to let Delia (and the rest of the board) walk away with what they put in. He can afford it, its up to him how much he values our club. - I will be angry if Cullum makes such an offer, but Delia rejects it without good reason. That good reason would include investment from other sources, but would not include Cullum not paying off the loan but re-financing it (and therefore leaving one of Delia''s boxes unticked - I believe Cullum can make loan repayments and fund the team).