Takeovers

[Mark .Y. 375]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/6428031.stm

Let me make it clear that I don''t wish this thread to degenerate into a "ditch Delia" type thing. This is just a comment on a football manner and some of the posts on this forum. I have noted the threads about finding new investment into the club and have often read that "none is available", "who would want to put their money into our club", "where are we going to find a Russian millionaire" etc etc.

One of the things I have found in life is that once business "trends" start, they do seem to ripple out. The current trend seems to be to buy a football club, naturally enough the big businesses start with the Prem clubs as that is where most of the money is, unfortunately there are obviously only a limited number and I have thought for quite some time that the ripple may move down into the Championship - particularly those clubs that don''t need huge investment (eg new grounds) to have a fair chance of promotion. I think this phase of the "trend" may now be getting underway.

Does Coventry have something we don''t ? Although our stadium is not brand new like theirs - it is perfectly adequate, they don''t have any great history (nor do we of course) and their league position and squad wouldn''t be perceived as particularly better than ours.

Maybe, just maybe, we could be in for some interesting times over the next couple of years - particularly if the board repeatedly make it known to the media that outside investment into the club would be welcome.

Mark .Y.

 

   

 

[First Jedi 0]

They could always put a classified in www.friday-ads.co.uk

[First Wizard 0]

It''s my opinion Mark, that what Delia says in publlic (flurry of transfer activity etc) is completly different as to what goes on behind  closed doors.

A mother rarely sells her baby, and NCFC is Delia''s child!.

[percyvarco 0]

The consortium looking at Coventry is headed by an ex Coventry schoolboy. A lot of this is probably driven by emotion initally.

[Carlos Valderrama 0]

Apparently, acording to Talksport the man behind the takeover is a life long Coventry fan. Hopkins somebody I think......

[USA Canary 7]

I wish Bill Gates would become a Norwich City supporter...

[Bovril 264]

yeah but dont forget their all ''lifetime supporters'' and what has coventry got what we havent? three words ''location, location, location''

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Why do some clubs seem to attract investment where as others don''t. It''s interesting for sure.

We have to assume that nobody has offered investment in our direction although I doubt the club have been pulling out all the stops to attract some. If it had been offered I''m pretty sure the media would have been on to the case. Think about Davey and that other guy who supposedly wanted to buy into the club.

Southampton have been actively seeking investment all season and have totally failed. So maybe location is a big reason. Portsmouth is an argument against though.

This whole investment in the club thing is beginning to be used like a kind of "cure all magic wand" on these boards. It is no guarantee for success and the more clubs that are invested in the more that will fail. It''s not the win/win that fans seem to think it is and in my experience everything always has a price.

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="1st Wizard"]

It''s my opinion Mark, that what Delia says in publlic (flurry of transfer activity etc) is completly different as to what goes on behind  closed doors.

A mother rarely sells her baby, and NCFC is Delia''s child!.

[/quote]

Wiz my friend.

What is the point you are trying to make?

Since Delia made that "flurry of transfer activity"  statement 7 players have been either bought or loaned and many others have gone the other way. There has only been one months transfer window. Is that not a flurry or even more than a flurry?

Or am I missing something?

 

[blahblahblah 2]

He already does charity work.

[In Dubious Battle 0]

I dread the day that a foreign investor buys our club, the only person i would trust 100% with Norwich City is a city fan. I don''t want our club to sell it''s soul for a few million quid i''d rather watch championship football for another 10 years. Roman Abramovich is an exception  most of these ''investors'' want to see a return on thier money which can only mean that ultimatly money will be leaving carrow road to line somebodys pockets, yes in the mean time they may have helped us to premiership football and signed all sorts of star players but guess what your season tickets aren''t going to be so cheap. And what happens if the club ends up doing a ''Leeds'' do you think they''re going to stick around and pump more money in to save the club? They will sell all they can to recuperate thier investment and leave us for dead. Say what you want about delia and believe me i''m not her biggest fan but i''d have her over a foreign investor any day of the week. Not everything is about success and winning somethings are more important (i know a chelsea fan who informs me that many supporters actually prefered things before abramovich, they may be invincible but they feel that the whole experience of supporting thier club has suffered as a result).

[macdougalls perm 0]

I think you make a very valid point here, SHTTA, it would be hard to resist but you do have to take into account more than simply money. Its hard to say how it would change the experience of watching City but, like you point out, the consequences of failure once you have sold out don''t bear thinking about. I think that things could get very unpleasant at West Ham if they don''t bounce straight back.  

[Tumbleweed 106]

Generally these "investors" are doing so to make money- they see the TV money and they want a slice. They will also proclaim their lifelong allegiance to bring the fans onboard so they don''t get Man Utd type demos. A club like Coventry can probably be bought much cheaper than a Prem club but still has the potential for asset stripping if it gains Prem status. Wealthy people generally do not p***s money away on frivolity- they are hard nosed people who spot and seize opportunities. I agree with SHTTA, and my philosophy is that often its better the devil you know........

[wood 4 the trees 0]

i agree, that would be the end of my assosiation with the club if it was bought out by a foreigner.  Foreign players playing for foreign managers owned by foreigners in the English league??  Not for me thanks;

[Alex Moss 2,167]

[quote user="Say Hello To The Angels"]I dread the day that a foreign investor buys our club, the only person i would trust 100% with Norwich City is a city fan.

I don''t want our club to sell it''s soul for a few million quid i''d rather watch championship football for another 10 years. Roman Abramovich is an exception  most of these ''investors'' want to see a return on thier money which can only mean that ultimatly money will be leaving carrow road to line somebodys pockets, yes in the mean time they may have helped us to premiership football and signed all sorts of star players but guess what your season tickets aren''t going to be so cheap. And what happens if the club ends up doing a ''Leeds'' do you think they''re going to stick around and pump more money in to save the club? They will sell all they can to recuperate thier investment and leave us for dead. Say what you want about delia and believe me i''m not her biggest fan but i''d have her over a foreign investor any day of the week. Not everything is about success and winning somethings are more important (i know a chelsea fan who informs me that many supporters actually prefered things before abramovich, they may be invincible but they feel that the whole experience of supporting thier club has suffered as a result).

[/quote]

Couldn''t agree more SHTTA (lucky there''s no ''I'' in that), I have a friend who''s a Chelsea fan and back in the days of Ken Bates he was crazy about them...Now Abramovich has the club, he thinks there''s no real low points because they always win something each season, any player they want they can pretty much get (eventually)...in other words IT''S NOT EXCITING! IT''S STAGNANT!. He''s almost given up with them now. That''s why I''d dread it if a someone with no other motive than money came in and messed our club up...To be blunt it''d destroy me!

 

[GMF 1,010]

I thought, when quizzed on this matter at the AGM, Delia never actually said she wouldn''t sell, it''s more a case of what''s the point because they don''t need the money. But, more importantly, from the Club''s view point, the transaction of her selling her shares to a third party wouldn''t actually result in cash to the Club.

She also said that they''d welcome new investors into the Club, but there isn''t exactly a queue of people at the door.

 

[Mark .Y. 375]

Some interesting points here, obviously the news of a foreign investment into Norwich would cause a lot of fans to question the motives. A "true fans" investment would be viewed very differently.

One thing I would like to say about the price of season tickets, somebody mentioned that they would rise and I believe that may not be true. I think we are about to see a "trend" where because the Prem clubs are receiving even more TV money, they will reduce their gate prices in exchange for more people into the ground and the hope of a better atmosphere.

Mark .Y.

 

[BBFF 0]

Come on does anyone really think The Smith''s will sell out to anyone, even if he/they were  city fans or not?

 

FOOTBALL MUST COME FIRST

[Smeg 0]

three words that oppose the idea of forigners taking over smaller clubs

"Heart of Midlothean"

[Branston Pickle 4,153]

[quote user="nutty nigel"][quote user="1st Wizard"]

It''s my opinion Mark, that what Delia says in publlic (flurry of transfer activity etc) is completly different as to what goes on behind  closed doors.

A mother rarely sells her baby, and NCFC is Delia''s child!.

[/quote]

Wiz my friend.

What is the point you are trying to make?

Since Delia made that "flurry of transfer activity"  statement 7 players have been either bought or loaned and many others have gone the other way. There has only been one months transfer window. Is that not a flurry or even more than a flurry?

Or am I missing something?

[/quote]

Quite agree - I''m not too sure what it is that people were expecting, but for me we did plenty of business in the transfer window, certainly enough to constitute a flurry by any measure. 

More importantly than the players coming in, we have also sent a number of youngsters out on loan (incl Ryan Jarvis and Hendo who in particular need first team activity if they are to ever come off for us), ditched two of the players regularly used as a scapegoat by supporters (Flem, Robbo), and PG stated that MLJ would be leaving in the summer.  This was all good news!

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="BB FOOTBALL FIRST"]

Come on does anyone really think The Smith''s will sell out to anyone, even if he/they were  city fans or not?

 

FOOTBALL MUST COME FIRST

[/quote]

Well said this lot have no intention of selling out to anybody and will drive this club of ours in to the ground...

Has nobody noticed that Delia & Co have already ripped out the heart of this club???

We may be near enough sold out week in week out but Carrow Road has been like a morgue for two seasons now and there are no REAL signs of things improving next year!!!

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Mark .Y."]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/6428031.stm

Let me make it clear that I don''t wish this thread to degenerate into a "ditch Delia" type thing. This is just a comment on a football manner and some of the posts on this forum. I have noted the threads about finding new investment into the club and have often read that "none is available", "who would want to put their money into our club", "where are we going to find a Russian millionaire" etc etc.

One of the things I have found in life is that once business "trends" start, they do seem to ripple out. The current trend seems to be to buy a football club, naturally enough the big businesses start with the Prem clubs as that is where most of the money is, unfortunately there are obviously only a limited number and I have thought for quite some time that the ripple may move down into the Championship - particularly those clubs that don''t need huge investment (eg new grounds) to have a fair chance of promotion. I think this phase of the "trend" may now be getting underway.

Does Coventry have something we don''t ? Although our stadium is not brand new like theirs - it is perfectly adequate, they don''t have any great history (nor do we of course) and their league position and squad wouldn''t be perceived as particularly better than ours.

Maybe, just maybe, we could be in for some interesting times over the next couple of years - particularly if the board repeatedly make it known to the media that outside investment into the club would be welcome.

Mark .Y.

 

   

 

[/quote]

Coventry and Sheff Weds two clubs who currently have no more than what NCFC has to offer.

If the takeover plans do go through at these clubs however what odds will people give me on City finishing above either of them next season???

[Broken_hearted_canary 0]

I think Cov may be percieved to have a bigger potential crowd than us -  bigger population to draw on i guess as norfolks not exactly hum drummin with people (to be fair, not that i''d want it to turn into london)

i had a premonition the other day, involving me winnin the lotto n buying into ncfc, am now sat waiting for it to happen.

[Rupethebear 0]

Better the devil you know, not so sure Leeds fans are so impressed now Ken Bates is running their club.

For every example of a new saviour e.g. Adam Pearson at Hull there is an example of a club going to rack and ruin a la Brighton, Wrexham or Hearts.

Many clubs struggle for a couple of years following relegation from the prem, look at Bradford City, Wednesday, Forest, Swindon, Barnsley and Man City, they all ended up in the old Div 3/4, many end up in administration!

We have had a tough couple of years but the green shoots are appearing!

[Cluck 0]

Delia''s cosy little train set will go round and round until it finally comes off the rails. She and MWJ will then bale out with a nice wad....and whoever follows on will have the mother of jobs to sort it out. It''s as plain as day.

What about that wicked Russkie Abramovich then?... I hear the sheep bleat.....What about him?  He has I understand invested a large sum of money in trust for the future of the club should he ever leave. Is that so very bad a scenario then?

I don''t give a monkeys who buys the club as long as the lawyers can be fully satisfied that it would not be detrimental to the fabric of NCFC in the long term. We are dying as things are.

NCFC is a football club first and last.....not a soup kitchen for the corporate set....so give us a wave Squealia and drop the latch on your way out..........

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Broken_hearted_canary"]

I think Cov may be percieved to have a bigger potential crowd than us -  bigger population to draw on i guess as norfolks not exactly hum drummin with people (to be fair, not that i''d want it to turn into london)

i had a premonition the other day, involving me winnin the lotto n buying into ncfc, am now sat waiting for it to happen.

[/quote]

mmm Coventry has a population of approx 350,000 people to draw a crowd from... with small surrounding towns in the area such as Rugby, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton and Warwick.  Coventry also have al of the other teams in the West and East Midlands to compete with for their cut of the market (Aston Villa, Birmingham City, WBA, Wolves, Walsall, Leicester, Nottm Forest, Notts County, Derby plus many large non league clubs that bring in 1,000 plus supporters on a regular basis).

NCFC has the whole of Norfolk as a catchm,ent area to itself (1 million+ people)... plus large areas of North Suffolk and Cambridgeshire where we are either the closest club to many peoples homes or their is little competition for us to compete against.

Not difficult to see who has the potential to draw the larger crowds is it???

[In Dubious Battle 0]

[quote user="Cluck "]

What about that wicked Russkie Abramovich then?... I hear the sheep bleat.....What about him?  He has I understand invested a large sum of money in trust for the future of the club should he ever leave. Is that so very bad a scenario then?

[/quote]

Romnan Abramovich''s fortune is tainted it was stolen from the russian workers after the break up of the soviet union, not directly linked to the arguement admitedly but just wanted to make the point.

Also Roman Abramovich is a poor example to use, he is different to all the other investors because he sees chelsea as a hobby where money is no object whereas most of the other investors get involved with the intention of making profit. Therefore with profit being thier primary motivating factor they are hardly likely to leave loads of cash in a trust should they leave?