Bill 1,788 Posted December 9, 2007 What on earth is going on down at poorman road ? Surely if this investor chappie was serious about getting our dimwitted neighbours into the Premiership he would have coughed up a few shekels before the loan window closed and bolstered the squad. Points lost now cannot be made up after January''s transfer window.Of course if you are to believe the suffok simpletons then it''s a pretty much done deal. ''Evan ''elp us'' is bunging red chops enough to pay off NU and ruffling mad jim''s head before giving him £12m (!) in January. " Here you go young Jim, fella me lad, and don''t spend it all at once "Reality suggests a much harsher deal. The paupers are, thanks to the gross incompetence of their inep chairman, pretty much a sneeze away from admistration and have to take whatever is on the table however uncomfortable - without the Darren Bent windfall they would have posted up yet another two and a half million or more loss. Their income dropped yet again from £16.4m to £15.3m as their season ticket holder numbers have decreased year in year out. Odd how no no one else seemed to be clamouring to get involved. Still at least if they do end up like Brighton, Leeds or Cardiff they know who to blame - though maybe that''s why Marcus Evans is not so forthcoming with pics !.The debt to Norwich Union is still owed by the club, only in this case it is owed to MEI (Marcus Evans Investments Ltd). The £12m is invested in the sense that it is buying new shares that supersedes any others. Shares that also give it first dibs on any dividends payable. So for £6m MEI have aquired the right to squeeze the binners for the £32m previously owed to NU. Hopefully this isn''t an asset stripping excercise and the training ground won''t be sold off (and leased back ?) in order to meet that debt. I suggest there maybe amusing times for City fans as the binners finally get to grasp the full implications of the red faced buffoon''s reckless gambling in years gone by.Watch this space ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Pirate 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Don''t care about what happens off the pitch but Saturdays result at Charlton could not have been better !Stuffed by former Ipswich players, missing a penalty, Counago scoring an absolutely brilliant goal which.........er.............counted for absolutely nothing ! QUALITY !!! [;)] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted December 10, 2007 [quote user="Canary Pirate"]Don''t care about what happens off the pitch but Saturdays result at Charlton could not have been better !Stuffed by former Ipswich players, missing a penalty, Counago scoring an absolutely brilliant goal which.........er.............counted for absolutely nothing ! QUALITY !!! [;)][/quote] Lets not forget Johnathan Fortune Sticking one onto alan Lee! that works well for us as fortune will be suspended for our game with them, and the added bonus is that he spanked alan Lee one right in the face! he''d of floored Floyd Mayweather with that shot!jas :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a1canary 0 Posted December 10, 2007 I certainly am watching the space - fascinating stuff. I don''t think there''s anything sinister in the lack of loan action though. I think they''ve just decided to get the deal done in time for the Jan transfer window since until the last few games at least the team had been performing well. What does baffle me though is why Evans chose the binners. Assuming he wants to do a Mandaric, he needs a club with a solid fan base and as little debt as possible or at least with a well managed debt. He might have the fan base IF he could get them up, although there are better options, but why you would take on a club with the amount of debt they have, which they are struggling to service, is the question that really baffles me. If he was a fan that would be different but he isn''t. If he wanted to do a Mandaric a la Portsmouth (which you have to assume is his intention) then there are far better options. Bristol City, Wolves, Hull, us. All have the potential with nothing like the financial problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syteanric 1 Posted December 10, 2007 [quote user="a1canary"]I certainly am watching the space - fascinating stuff. I don''t think there''s anything sinister in the lack of loan action though. I think they''ve just decided to get the deal done in time for the Jan transfer window since until the last few games at least the team had been performing well. What does baffle me though is why Evans chose the binners. Assuming he wants to do a Mandaric, he needs a club with a solid fan base and as little debt as possible or at least with a well managed debt. He might have the fan base IF he could get them up, although there are better options, but why you would take on a club with the amount of debt they have, which they are struggling to service, is the question that really baffles me. If he was a fan that would be different but he isn''t. If he wanted to do a Mandaric a la Portsmouth (which you have to assume is his intention) then there are far better options. Bristol City, Wolves, Hull, us. All have the potential with nothing like the financial problems. [/quote] i''ve got a funny feeling he is doing it for money and Ipswich are an easy target...Lets get 1 thing clear.. Evans OWNS the debt.... it is now between Ipswich town and Marcus evans... Supposing u owed the local newsagent £100 for unpaid news paper bills and agreed to pay it back at £1 a week... i then came in, bought that debt off the newsagent and said "ok, u can pay it back at a rate of £1 per week but i want an intereste payment of 100% ontop of that" you''d not be happy..he can now do this with Ipswich.. he could set his own interest rate, 1% or 100% if he so chooses.... also, he could walk into Ipswich tommorow and say "i want the 40million pound Debt repaid to me with 100% interest by Friday" Ipswich would then have a few days too find 80million quid... they''d wind up.... I''d still be VERY worried if i was an Ipswich fan by the fact that evans controls the debt rather than trying to consolidate it or buying the club and coming up with a quick repayment package....jas :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The King of Prussia 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Well firstly by Championship standards they DO have a solid fan base. Secondly, the debt will be the chief attraction to him: he has acquired an asset nominally worth around £30 million for £6 million. If they go up then he is laughing, if they don''t it may be more interesting. This is not a done deal yet is it? Sheepy and Morley have the shares to get it through - but if they are below half way when push comes to shove might the mysterious Mr Evans look at Coventry, or Southampton, or Cardiff? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 1,788 Posted December 10, 2007 Re read the first post A1.Those behind the bid to take over the binners are hard faced businessmen. Why on earth would they wish to speculate on some chance of promotion ? That is not what they are about. Of course they are going to come out with some vacuous tosh about ''getting the club back on it''s feet'', it goes with the territory.What they have acquired at a very cheap price is the ability and control to put the squeeze on the binners to carry on coughing up to them as they dictate. Previously NU, with limited control of the club, could not put that squeeze on the club.Find a man with a good job and prospects or a man on death row hoping for a reprieve then tell me who you can get the best terms from.As to their doing well that is the whole point. It was great position to build on. A paper thin squad with an appalling away record was going to falter sooner or later, why not wade in as we have done and ensure that come January you are in a position to keep the momentum going not trying some rescue action.As to whether off field activities are of any interest I would suggest that they determine what happens on the pitch. It was the off field activities that caused the two binners to be a The Valley and not poorman road and what caused such hapless lightweights as Harding and Roberts to be turning out for the binners.Finally, I know it''s easy to laugh ............................... so why notha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The King of Prussia 0 Posted December 10, 2007 THe other reason "NU" and Barclays couldn''t put the squeeze on is that it would be horrendous from a pr pov if they shut down a football club (cf the opprobrium the Co-op aqre attracting). A mysterious businessman from the caribbean with links to the arms trade is not going to bother about that, is he? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chabal 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Alot of green eyed monsters around today lads, all very amusing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a1canary 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Yes, fair enough city1st, i didn''t get down that far! I can appreciate the business case for acquiring a £32m creditor for £6m! This also explains why a financial basket case of a football club might be attractive to a hedge fund (Southampton) which i was equally baffled by. Provided you have a satisfactory fan base, you get a reliable source of income (football fans), plus a yearly lottery ticket that will pay out big style should the club strike the premier league jackpot. Have i got that right? I don''t see it being a huge problem for the club though compared to their current position and assuming the new owner of the debt doesn''t turn round and ask for it all back as you say. There''s sure to be something to protect against that in the small print of the deal though? Oh, hang on, this is sheepsha**er we''re talking about...! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 1,788 Posted December 10, 2007 As to the done deal " And with the deal being backed by the current board members andinvestor Michael Spencer, together representing around 49% of theexisting shares, the vote is likely to prove a formality."Not sure why Evans would look at Coventry, Cardiff, or S''oton. This is simply a money making exercise not ''an investment in football'' that has happened upon the binners.Basically an existing company (part of Marcus Evans group) will own the old company set up to run the club. The latter company will simply wither away. The club ITFC will STILL owe the new company £32m !Ipswich Town FC will still owe nearly £40m with little means to repay that money. Until now. The new company can shift that debt around the other companies.Although there are three old directors and three new directors on the board the new directos have the voting rights (control). These are serious businessmen. They deal in money. They are not there to fulfill the wishes of a bunch of rural hillbillies, they are there to make money. Thta''s why it''s gone rather quiet down the A140. Shame our chairman didn''t have such ''ambition''.RIPswich Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
