If we had to have a foreign owner...

[Moosheep 0]

Ok, a hypothetical question. If Delia & MWJ were to sell out to a foreign billionaire investor, which of the following would you prefer, and why?1. Far East2. US3. Russian4. Middle East(I think that covers all the main major investors in  English football)Having thought up the question I am now struggling to answer it myself. I''d probably go for US as the lesser of the evils. I think I would prefer people in charge who are owning the club as a business investment rather than some kind of status symbol which I think would be the case with the others.

Moo

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

I wouldn''t see their ethnicity as the most important thing. It would depend on the individual, and their intentions.

[mrs miggins 0]

I fear if we had an American investor, they would would fire a hundred canaries out of a canon or something before kick off as they like a spectacle....so we''d be better off with an investor from the Far East...they''d only sacrifice one.

.....bit of casual racism

[lake district canary 4,836]

[quote user="Moosheep"]Ok, a hypothetical question. If Delia & MWJ were to sell out to a foreign billionaire investor, which of the following would you prefer, and why?1. Far East2. US3. Russian4. Middle East(I think that covers all the main major investors in  English football)Having thought up the question I am now struggling to answer it myself. I''d probably go for US as the lesser of the evils. I think I would prefer people in charge who are owning the club as a business investment rather than some kind of status symbol which I think would be the case with the others. Moo[/quote]

None of those.  I, like you prefer - and am proud -  to support a club that is run on a business like basis and not off the tails of some foreign investor.   If it makes us less able to compete at the top level then so be it.   On balance, huge investors do more damage to a club than good, imo, quite often changing an ethos at a club out of all recognition, quite often for 5 minutes of success - or less.    

Can anyone name me one club of our size that has really benefited.  Southampton maybe?   I don''t know, but for every success there appears to be a lot of failures out there.  Cardiff are a laughing stock. QPR, Ipswich, Portsmouth and others have all been down the route of big investors, foreign or otherwise.  

[Molly Windley 76]

Selling out to a Billionaire investor with no prior links to the club city or county would rip the soul out of what NCFC are to me. If the club was bought out by an overseas investor I would seriously think about my support for the team, they would no longer be "my" team.Cannot see it happening unless we spiral into debt as Delia and MWJ are in it for the love of the club and not the money. They are both getting on, have no children and have no reason to try and "cash in" on their shareholding. They do not need the money what are they going to spend it on?Once your club turns into someone elses franchise its gone forever, think on before you wish for this to happen.

[Dubai Mark 0]

I like many others would really hate this to happen, but would I am sure get used to it if it meant a few trophies in the cupboard. Seriously, I like the fact that our majority shareholders are real supporters with a clear passion for the cup and who have had a real roller coaster ride since becoming involved, it all feels real.

That said, if......if it did ever happen, then for me and invester from the UAE would be my preference, tied in with a twinning with one of the professional club''s over here so I could then go and watch the Dubai Canaries......just as long as down the road dont become the Abu Dhabi Binners!  ....aah that wont happen, they are already Abu Dhabi Citeh !

[Herman 11,136]

Aren''t there any very rich Europeans?

[Dubai Mark 0]

I really must check spelling before I post.....a passion for the club of course, but a cup would be nice now wouldnt it! 

[SwindonCanary 457]

knowing their love for the club, when Delia & MWJ do decide to go, it''s sure to be a very difficult decision for them to make. Hope it''s the right one !

[Trevor Hockey's Beard 606]

I agree with " None of the above".

Instead, how about Delia and MWJ selling their shares to us the fans so that we become a supporter owned club.

I realise that it is a stupid idea - after all no supporter owned club has ever achieved anything anywhere in the world - have they?

[Darth Catbeard The Old 0]

None, I''d be happy for us to become a fan owned club. Even though they have invested in the past DS/MWJ no longer do so we wouldn''t lose income. We could continue to run the club as a co operative while protecting it''s future and stopping it becoming some insane, arrogant, selfish billionaires plaything. It will always be our club, I''d never be able to accept a Fernandez/Tan/Allam/Yeoung etc No matter how much personal wealth they''d invest (Less, a lot less than most fans contribute relative to how wealthy they are by the way!)

We''d never be able to improve upon our position now but to do that we''d need to find owners as passionate and respectful as the current ones who would be willing to take a back seat and let the football people run the club and who also had a vast fortune to invest. This person doesn''t exist btw

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

I''d rather the club was given to a supporters trust.  Or perhaps a golden share which would allow the supporters to vote down major changes.

 

Big money owners are a lottery, whether or not they''re foreign, but the trouble is that eventually your owner is going to change.

 

Jack Walker bankrolled Blackburn to the Prem title.  But after he died, the shares were eventually sold to the Venkys.  Similarly Notts Forest had a rich owner who injected £75m for little return.  After he died it was sold to some rich Kuwaitis who have been mixed so far, although they have spent enough to get Forest into the playoff zone at the moment.

 

Abramovich has been great for Chelsea - before he bought them, they were more on a par with Spurs or Everton, whereas since they have been title contenders most years and won the Eurpoean Cup.  But what happens when he''s had enough ?

 

Man City is the most bizarre one, where the owner apparently rarely comes to the UK but is happy to channel vast amounts not just into the club but regenerating a poor part of Manchester.  Again, what happens in the long term though ?

[Dubai Mark 0]

For me Man City is the least bizaar and very understandable......why?....because its about money and in particular brand "Abu Dhabi", also brand "Etihad".......they have so much wealth and a desire to market their City globally that they will throw big money, huge money at a project they believe will achieve their aim.....and in this case Citeh are the beneficiaries. The power of the EPL to expose your brand globally, particular linked to a big club is stunning, its reach is phenominal.......... 

[Juggy 0]

"None of those. I, like you prefer - and am proud - to support a club that is run on a business like basis and not off the tails of some foreign investor"

The fact remains that MWJ and Delia are now 72 years old. They were in their early fifties when buying the club.

At some stage in the not too distant future they will need to step aside and sell their shares to somebody wealthy enough to buy them.

The onus is on them to try and judge the type of character that they proceed to sell too, but that is often easier said than done. And whoever they sell too could quite easily sell the shares on to somebody undesirable.

There isn''t much that you or I could do other than hope that we don''t end up with a lunatic like Tan or an asset stripper like the Portsmouth fellow. What could Delia and MWJ realistically do to prevent this? They can only go by the impression they get, and by putting trust into somebody. They are lovely people, but they once thought it fit to appoint Glenn Roeder as our football manager.

As for the ''nationality'', there have been terrible foreign owners and terrible British owners over the years. For every Tan there has been a Bates. People are all the same.... incompetent and competent people of every race, nationality and religion, and good and bad people too.

I''ve got a lot of time for John W. Henry the American Liverpool owner. I''d take him over Mike Ashley, for example. Al Fayed was brilliant for Fulham, seemed to suss out the business quickly, managed to make the club sustainable and always knew when to invest in the team. He also gave McNally his first chief exec job.

Throughout football from the top to the bottom you can find plenty of examples of crooked British people running clubs into the ground, just like you can find plenty of examples of crooked and incompetent foreigners.

Watch this documentary about Luton Town for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi4hNLvZVPM

Almost ran out of business by a LOCAL property developer!

[Juggy 0]

"For me Man City is the least bizaar and very understandable"

Chelsea is understandable also, Abramovich needed an excuse to move himself and some of his assets to London to avoid being imprisoned and having his wealth confiscated by Putin (like other obligarchs). We are a safe haven for outcast Russians.

[Dubai Mark 0]

Good stuff Le Juge, its great to have a thread like this that sticks to the topic.

So, does anyone have any suggestions, examples that have happened elsewhere and been a success? AS mentioned previously we know about the peoples clubs in Germany, what other options are there?.......I am now getting a little panicky with the reminder of our owners ages....perhaps they have a plan?  

[lake district canary 4,836]

"The fact remains that MWJ and Delia are now 72 years old."

72 years old doesn''t mean much imo. There are people in their seventies who have more drive, energy and enthusiasm than some people half their age. A musician friend of mine is 85 and still working professionally and one of the most enthusiastic people you could meet about his chosen interest.   Its all down to whether Delia and MWJ are enjoying what they are doing.  Once a football club is in your blood you don''t walk away and those two have demonstrated that they are totally committed to the cause.  So it is not inevitable imo that they will move on any time soon.  That said, if the right person did come along, then they may feel it is right to step aside - but who "the right person" may not be obvious and may not appear for another ten or fifteen years.....

[Rolf Harris 33]

[quote user="lake district canary"]"The fact remains that MWJ and Delia are now 72 years old."

72 years old doesn''t mean much imo. There are people in their seventies who have more drive, energy and enthusiasm than some people half their age. A musician friend of mine is 85 and still working professionally and one of the most enthusiastic people you could meet about his chosen interest.   Its all down to whether Delia and MWJ are enjoying what they are doing.  Once a football club is in your blood you don''t walk away and those two have demonstrated that they are totally committed to the cause.  So it is not inevitable imo that they will move on any time soon.  That said, if the right person did come along, then they may feel it is right to step aside - but who "the right person" may not be obvious and may not appear for another ten or fifteen years.....

[/quote]Delia?

[lake district canary 4,836]

[quote user="Ches right hand man "][quote user="lake district canary"]"The fact remains that MWJ and Delia are now 72 years old."72 years old doesn''t mean much imo. There are people in their seventies who have more drive, energy and enthusiasm than some people half their age. A musician friend of mine is 85 and still working professionally and one of the most enthusiastic people you could meet about his chosen interest.   Its all down to whether Delia and MWJ are enjoying what they are doing.  Once a football club is in your blood you don''t walk away and those two have demonstrated that they are totally committed to the cause.  So it is not inevitable imo that they will move on any time soon.  That said, if the right person did come along, then they may feel it is right to step aside - but who "the right person" may not be obvious and may not appear for another ten or fifteen years.....[/quote]Delia? [/quote]

No, but does this look like someone who is not enthusiastic about what she does? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9otXE1u1aUY

[Katie Borkins 1]

Well, old Bor is all about the headlines. Give me a middle eastern billionaire with links to the arms trade, rumoured affiliation to Al-Queda and some of them weapons of mass destruction, stick him in the Director''s box with a few naked and open-minded WAGs and I might renew my season ticket.

[Juggy 0]

"72 years old doesn''t mean much imo"

Well it does, it means they are getting on a bit.

The last 18 years with them has gone very fast, in 10 years they will be 82.

I''m not saying that they are keen to sell right now, only that we have to mindful that they won''t be here forever.

Their continued involvement will likely to depend on their health (touch wood and good luck to them). But if one gets ill, would the other really want to carry on alone? I doubt it personally.

Whether we can be fussy or not will probably depend on the economy, which so far has seen no real recovery at all. People with money are willing to spend it when they see real confidence in the economy, at the moment all we see is uncertainty.

[PurpleCanary 6,391]

[quote user="Its Character Forming"]

I''d rather the club was given to a supporters trust.  Or perhaps a golden share which would allow the supporters to vote down major changes.

 

Big money owners are a lottery, whether or not they''re foreign, but the trouble is that eventually your owner is going to change.

 

Jack Walker bankrolled Blackburn to the Prem title.  But after he died, the shares were eventually sold to the Venkys.  Similarly Notts Forest had a rich owner who injected £75m for little return.  After he died it was sold to some rich Kuwaitis who have been mixed so far, although they have spent enough to get Forest into the playoff zone at the moment.

 

Abramovich has been great for Chelsea - before he bought them, they were more on a par with Spurs or Everton, whereas since they have been title contenders most years and won the Eurpoean Cup.  But what happens when he''s had enough ?

 

Man City is the most bizarre one, where the owner apparently rarely comes to the UK but is happy to channel vast amounts not just into the club but regenerating a poor part of Manchester.  Again, what happens in the long term though ?

[/quote]I floated this notion - which as far as I know hadn''t been suggested before - on the NCFC official message-board back in 2007 or 2008, and have mentioned it here a couple of times since. I think (well, I would, wouldn''t I?) it''s a good idea but - a bit like a just deal for the Palestinians - not one I expect to see become reality for quite a while. At the moment it is only wishful thinking but its time may come.

[TexasCanary 0]

Of course there is always the corporate ownership route, say RedBull. They would only want to change the name, change the colours and rebuild the ground closer to London.

[Waveney Canary 0]

I don''t care if they are from Mars as long as they get shot of hapless and mcnasty to make way for the second coming.

[Surfer 1,547]

Someone Dutch. Close enough geographically, and likely to want to continue (or rescue) our reputation for decent football.

[coachkemp 0]

ken bates...

I am joking!