I can't argue with any of the above in the absence of info from the Aussies. Perhaps replacement potential investors did their own DD and came up with 'you've gotta be kidding me!'
I've sent a message saying it might be a good time to make their own statement.
Roland will have to bolt and run at some point, i'm sure he has a deadline on his side. The Aussie's are waiting. The problem with this situation is the club and its well being which is now really suffering. Not just those that work for the club but the fans, customers, suppliers, the stadium. Every day that goes by all this gets worse and worse and the recovery time for the future stretches. Delaying may save money for the new owners in the short term but will cost them eventually more on recovery. Hopefully they see this and must embrace not just the money but the job in hand to rebuild the club with all the potential
The club SIMPLY isn't worth £40m. It's worth, right now £1, with RD writing off a significant part of the debt and to stop losing money each month.
It's a business that each month costs more to run that it generates in cash. RD will never be able to change that because the fans won't come to the ground, the assets have been stripped and young players won't want to join or stay at a club where the fans hate the owners.
Give up RD. Sell it for £1. Get a sensible repayment plan in place from the new owners who can then use funds to build the playing side back up, hopefully bring the fans back, get out of League 1 and hopefully onwards and upwards.
I bought a business this year in March. Last year it was a bigger company than mine. They wanted £16m for it. It was losing money despite the size of it and the historical asset base. By October their owner wanted £4.5m for it. Still nobody bought it. I closed the deal in March this year for ZERO consideration, the bank wrote off half it's debt, the old owner lost a sizeable amount of money. It now trades in profit because the old crap was removed from it and it's my best asset as it is has no old financing costs or debt with it. I have to repay a sensible amount to the bank in 2 years' time, plus a profit share.
The deal is very much like the Charlton deal. Many people looked at the company because of its prestige and industry reputation (old reputation). They came in and offered anywhere between £4 and £6m for it. Then when they were asked to prove funds, they couldn't or didn't.
I'm telling you the Aussies wanted to pay £40m because the people brokering the deal would be getting a fee. The people they could/might attract would have deep pockets if they could buy Charlton for £40m and fund the next 5 years.
It isn't going to happen because CAFC loses money every year, the players have mostly all been sold and football financing is crazy.
RD will have to basically give CAFC away if he wants out. Nothing else will happen.
I can't argue with any of the above in the absence of info from the Aussies. Perhaps replacement potential investors did their own DD and came up with 'you've gotta be kidding me!'
I've sent a message saying it might be a good time to make their own statement.
It's reached a stage where they have no choice but to make some form of statement ... after seeking a high profile at the end of last season (wearing scarfs at a game, etc), it now appears to most of us that all they have is empty promises.
I am not saying this is entirely their fault, but the fact remains that they have failed to fulfil their intentions despite many months having passed.
If, as may be the case, they are not willing to meet Duchatelet's unrealistic price, then say so. Most of us would be happy to accept such an explanation.
But if, as some have said for a while, they no longer (ever?) have the funds, then stop bullshitting us.
Scene: the office of local estate agents, Floggit and Scarper. Sitting at his desk is Mr Scarper, talking on the phone.
"Hello! This is Reggie Scarper your estate agent. Hope you're having a great day. Just to let you know that the buyers have confirmed they're proceeding and are happy that you have accepted their offer. So that's great. They just need to complete the paperwork at their end. So, we would advise you to make a firm decision as to which buyer you go with - either these buyers, or the other two that you keep mentioning to us - and work hard with them to secure the deal to make sure everything goes through.
Yes, you've told us there are another couple of buyers still interested. One has made an offer and the other one... well, you say you haven't heard back from him since he said he was having a long, hard look at the brochure. But you're sure he's simply waiting to make an offer? Great.
What? Yes, of course, you can tell all your friends and family that the sale's going ahead. But if you do, make sure you're totally clear and unambiguous. The last thing you should do is leave people in doubt as to what's going on.
Sorry? What's that? You're worried that the initial buyers are taking a long time? Yes, well, if you remember, when we advised you that it wasn't a good idea to sell off everything you could, in order to make some extra cash, you went ahead and did that, didn't you. Perhaps it would be a good idea to stop doing that now.
What's that? You're saving some more money by not paying your cleaner? Well, I'm sure you know what you're doing, but I am not sure that really sends out the right message, in terms of how desperate you are to sell. It might even make the buyer consider that waiting even longer would be worthwhile, because they could drive the price down.
Is there anything else we can help with right now? Oh there is? OK, when would you like to discuss this further? What? The end of November? Unless the sale goes through before 3 October? Why those dates? You've just made them up? Look, this really isn't helping.
Sorry? What do you mean "why is it all so complicated?" Look, these things take time. It's perfectly simple. Let me give you an example, so that it becomes clear for you. Imagine you're trying to sell a football club, but, unfortunately, you're a mad, psychopathic Belgian who doesn't listen to advice... Hello?
@JamesSeed I have made it quite clear who told me on god knows how many occasions but because it came from the dirty side of town it was thrown out as not reliable ,
I think the fact that it has been stated on here that GM answered and email of how who and what is required to join the consortium
The fact they are still actively searching for investors
Shows that my pal the coach who works for the shit chalet family and was able to be present in communications between those discussing these things was right and so was those involved in the deal who held reservations over their ability to complete
There’s no point wondering what would’ve been with the Aussies that horse is well and truly refusing to jump the hurdle
Months ago I was told there were two others looking still and one who hadn’t gone away from the out set
I still haven’t seen anything to disprove this theory and nor had anyone else
But presumably your 'The Aussie bid is off. Mic drop!' post was based on info from that same source? I'd treat what they tell you with a big pinch of salt tbh.
@JamesSeed I have made it quite clear who told me on god knows how many occasions but because it came from the dirty side of town it was thrown out as not reliable ,
I think the fact that it has been stated on here that GM answered and email of how who and what is required to join the consortium
The fact they are still actively searching for investors
Shows that my pal the coach who works for the shit chalet family and was able to be present in communications between those discussing these things was right and so was those involved in the deal who held reservations over their ability to complete
There’s no point wondering what would’ve been with the Aussies that horse is well and truly refusing to jump the hurdle
Months ago I was told there were two others looking still and one who hadn’t gone away from the out set
I still haven’t seen anything to disprove this theory and nor had anyone else
I am sorry to say I, for one do not believe any of it now, I dont believe the Aussies are still in the hunt, and as much as there could well be enquiries about the club, £40 mill is just asking far to much.
Look at the history of this, look how long it has dragged on for, and were still no further as I see it, than we were end of last summer. If all the tales on this post were made on paper, it would of papered my front room and finished my hallway,
If Duchatelet was in that much of a rush to sell the club, no way would I have expected him to be hanging around months and months later, still waiting for proposed buyers to get their finger out, were being given some untruths and a runabout, something just dont sit right with me over this so called take-over.
If the Aussies were not still in the hunt I feel sure they would have said so by now.
I wouldn't be surprised if any potentisl new bidders or those lurking in the shadows are just biding their time & waiting to pick us up on the cheap under a "distressed sale" or suchlike.
Personally I would be quite happy if this saga drags on a few more months but it ends up with RD taking a significant haircut.
I wouldn't be surprised if any potentisl new bidders or those lurking in the shadows are just biding their time & waiting to pick us up on the cheap under a "distressed sale" or suchlike.
Personally I would be quite happy if this saga drags on a few more months but it ends up with RD taking a significant haircut.
@JamesSeed I have made it quite clear who told me on god knows how many occasions but because it came from the dirty side of town it was thrown out as not reliable ,
I think the fact that it has been stated on here that GM answered and email of how who and what is required to join the consortium
The fact they are still actively searching for investors
Shows that my pal the coach who works for the shit chalet family and was able to be present in communications between those discussing these things was right and so was those involved in the deal who held reservations over their ability to complete
There’s no point wondering what would’ve been with the Aussies that horse is well and truly refusing to jump the hurdle
Months ago I was told there were two others looking still and one who hadn’t gone away from the out set
I still haven’t seen anything to disprove this theory and nor had anyone else
I am sorry to say I, for one do not believe any of it now, I dont believe the Aussies are still in the hunt, and as much as there could well be enquiries about the club, £40 mill is just asking far to much.
Look at the history of this, look how long it has dragged on for, and were still no further as I see it, than we were end of last summer. If all the tales on this post were made on paper, it would of papered my front room and finished my hallway,
If Duchatelet was in that much of a rush to sell the club, no way would I have expected him to be hanging around months and months later, still waiting for proposed buyers to get their finger out, were being given some untruths and a runabout, something just dont sit right with me over this so called take-over.
If the Aussies were not still in the hunt I feel sure they would have said so by now.
@JamesSeed - did you get a response from GM? Looks like they need to get their fingers out pronto.
This.
Better hurry up or the mystery, non existent! load of cobblers party will get their hands on it!
.................Or just wait till next summer and pay half of what you offered this summer.
I genuinely don’t believe that they were ever going to purchase us at the price agreed as they did not and do not have the funding in place to follow through on the deal .
And I do believe that others are still showing an interest and it’s for this reason shit roland two shit cheap Belgian chalets for sale is hanging around like a hard to reach shit clinker that makes your eyes water when you find it
No offense, but who told you that? They may be right, or they may be wrong, but unless you say who told you it's hard to judge really. But yes, they may still be struggling to make up the numbers, I wouldn't know. I guess we may not look a very attractive proposition to some, investment wise, especially if you're trying to attract funding for a five year plan. Duchâtelet won't care about that. He just wants his money back. What a bloody mess.
The Australians themselves have made it perfectly clear that they are seeking investors to buy the club. Ergo, they do not have sufficient funds to do so. As for, '...they may be struggling to make up the numbers...' , there is no 'may' about it. At present,they don't have the money: that is empirical fact.
Oh really? How much is "the money" then? Source? and beyond the headline figure which presumably you have sourced, how is it/was it affected by, e.g.:
- the sale of players after the overall price was agreed - what happens to sell-on fees for such as Gomez or Lookman? - is the price you will provide to us, all to be paid now, or in stages, or perhaps based on future performance, such as FAPL status?
Looking forward to the interesting empirical facts that shed light on these questions.
I call bullshit. So according to Rolands latest mouthpiece two separate parties have agreed a price for the club. One party has completed DD and the other is about to do so. He then goes on to talk about further fans meetings in November is we have not been sold. All smoke and mirrors me thinks.
Point of order. The OS news item clearly states that the second party has completed due diligence. Might be fiction of course.
I wouldn't be surprised if any potentisl new bidders or those lurking in the shadows are just biding their time & waiting to pick us up on the cheap under a "distressed sale" or suchlike.
Perhaps that's the Aussies' intention?
A bit of a dangerous game for a buyer to be playing with a football club potentially "on the brink" imo. If it all goes wrong, they can still walk away relatively unharmed, while the Club does from worse to even worsed
I don’t know why I keep checking this maybe I am proving the theory of insanity by doing the same thing expecting a different result. All I can say what has happened to my club has broken my heart. And sadly I don’t think the Aussies are going to be the ones to fix it.
I wouldn't be surprised if any potentisl new bidders or those lurking in the shadows are just biding their time & waiting to pick us up on the cheap under a "distressed sale" or suchlike.
Perhaps that's the Aussies' intention?
A bit of a dangerous game for a buyer to be playing with a football club potentially "on the brink" imo. If it all goes wrong, they can still walk away relatively unharmed, while the Club does from worse to even worsed
OK, let's try a little analogy.
You contact me privately and tell me that you want to sell your bijou French pile. I come and take a look and like ti. Then you tell me the price. On checking, I find it's over the market benchmark by 25%. When i go back to you, you admit that you forgot to show me that you have converted the basement to a bomb - proof firing range which cost you €200k to install. I point out that I have no need of a firing range in my cellar. You then say that if you do not sell soon, you will be in deep financial shit. You might expect my sympathy. But would you really then expect me to pay your sale price?
I can't argue with any of the above in the absence of info from the Aussies. Perhaps replacement potential investors did their own DD and came up with 'you've gotta be kidding me!'
I've sent a message saying it might be a good time to make their own statement.
But if, as some have said for a while, they no longer (ever?) have the funds, then stop bullshitting us.
They have stopped bullshitting us. Silence reigns.
The only scenario that makes any sense is that the Aussies have a price in mind that is below what RD wants. They are willing to wait it out and have been caught by surprise (repeatedly) by just how stubborn RD is.
I think they thought RD would drop the price once the season was over, there was no income and promotion hadn't been secured. He didn't.
They then though he'd drop his price once the transfer window closed and he was looking at months of out-goings with no possibility of selling domestically. Once again he stuck to his price.
I think they're hoping that once the international window closes and there's no possibility of any new cash (either player sales or sell-on clauses) until the new year that he'll drop his price. At this stage they can wait him out. With the windows closed there is no great time pressure on the Aussies, but RD's losses mount up by the month.
I think they'll get the club for the price they want sometime either late September or late October. In the meantime they can afford to let RD simmer.
Why would you buy it after the window closes? Wouldn't it make sense to let RD pay the running costs until December? Or if the Aussies put a statement out saying they have walked away due to the price surely then RD would have to reduce it
Why would you buy it after the window closes? Wouldn't it make sense to let RD pay the running costs until December? Or if the Aussies put a statement out saying they have walked away due to the price surely then RD would have to reduce it
Ideally any new owner would want to give themselves time to get themselves settled and work out the what they need to do in the window. From their point of view the first week of December would be ok I guess, but any existing owner would be pushing to get the deal done before pay day and another large expense.
I'm predicting September or October purely on the basis that reality will have to dawn on RD at some stage and once it does he will sell very quickly. Any monthly costs between the date things happen and any theoretical perfect date for the buyer can easily be factored into the price paid. So if the Aussies were willing to pay £30m on Dec 1st, then you just make the price £28m on October 1st and nobody is any better or worse off.
RD has been incredibly stubborn, but once he accepts that he's got accept the deal on the table then it will happen very fast.
Once the transfer windows close all he's got to look forward to are mounting monthly losses and more and more hassle from CARD/ROT/Belgium20/etc.
The only scenario that makes any sense is that the Aussies have a price in mind that is below what RD wants. They are willing to wait it out and have been caught by surprise (repeatedly) by just how stubborn RD is.
I think they thought RD would drop the price once the season was over, there was no income and promotion hadn't been secured. He didn't.
They then though he'd drop his price once the transfer window closed and he was looking at months of out-goings with no possibility of selling domestically. Once again he stuck to his price.
I think they're hoping that once the international window closes and there's no possibility of any new cash (either player sales or sell-on clauses) until the new year that he'll drop his price. At this stage they can wait him out. With the windows closed there is no great time pressure on the Aussies, but RD's losses mount up by the month.
I think they'll get the club for the price they want sometime either late September or late October. In the meantime they can afford to let RD simmer.
There is no such thing as an only scenario when you're dealing with Roland. Almost anything is possible. They don't have to make sense when he's involved:-)
If I had a pound for every house buying analogy we had on this thread the club would be bought, Yann would be back and the staff would have had their bonuses by now!
Think I've said it before elswhere(?). The really frustrating thing with the whole 'Aussie' saga is that (I feel) they royally mugged us off back in May.
They pitched up at The Valley, adorned in their finest CAFC regalia, masquerading like antipodean saviours, giving us all the impression that it was imminent!
Now hindsight is a beautiful thing, but their modus operandi at that time was both naive and gullible. Getting the hopes up of the faithful was an incredibly arrogant, and at the same time immature, thing to do when they clearly hadn't crossed the line and 'made the deal'.
Sadly, that imminence has manifested itself in the finest of takeover traditions!
If I had a pound for every house buying analogy we had on this thread the club would be bought, Yanm would be back and the staff would have had their bonuses by now!
Think I've said it before elswhere(?). The really frustrating thing with the whole 'Aussie' saga is that (I feel) they royally mugged us off back in May.
They pitched up at The Valley, adorned in their finest CAFC regalia, masquerading like antipodean saviours, giving us all the impression that it was imminent!
Now hindsight is a beautiful thing, but their modus operandi at that time was both naive and gullible. Getting the hopes up of the faithful was an incredibly arrogant, and at the same time immature, thing to do when they clearly hadn't crossed the line and 'made the deal'.
Sadly, that imminence has manifested itself in the finest of takeover traditions!
'Mugged us off' implies that it was a deliberate act designed to make mugs of us, when it was anything but that. Over optimism maybe. Over enthusiasm maybe. Certainly not an attempt to mug us off, although it makes a great soundbite.
Think I've said it before elswhere(?). The really frustrating thing with the whole 'Aussie' saga is that (I feel) they royally mugged us off back in May.
They pitched up at The Valley, adorned in their finest CAFC regalia, masquerading like antipodean saviours, giving us all the impression that it was imminent!
Now hindsight is a beautiful thing, but their modus operandi at that time was both naive and gullible. Getting the hopes up of the faithful was an incredibly arrogant, and at the same time immature, thing to do when they clearly hadn't crossed the line and 'made the deal'.
Sadly, that imminence has manifested itself in the finest of takeover traditions!
Perhaps, but why did Murphy go to Shrewsbury, where he wouldn't have been seen without a little detective work? They thought it was happening is the answer, IMO. Nothing in any of the pictures I took that day show that he was in any way made welcome by Murray, who appeared to ignore him.
The only scenario that makes any sense is that the Aussies have a price in mind that is below what RD wants. They are willing to wait it out and have been caught by surprise (repeatedly) by just how stubborn RD is.
I think they thought RD would drop the price once the season was over, there was no income and promotion hadn't been secured. He didn't.
They then though he'd drop his price once the transfer window closed and he was looking at months of out-goings with no possibility of selling domestically. Once again he stuck to his price.
I think they're hoping that once the international window closes and there's no possibility of any new cash (either player sales or sell-on clauses) until the new year that he'll drop his price. At this stage they can wait him out. With the windows closed there is no great time pressure on the Aussies, but RD's losses mount up by the month.
I think they'll get the club for the price they want sometime either late September or late October. In the meantime they can afford to let RD simmer.
There is no such thing as an only scenario when you're dealing with Roland. Almost anything is possible. They don't have to make sense when he's involved:-)
To a certain extent I'm ignoring RD in my predictions as he's proven impossible to predict. The Aussies are hanging around for a reason, and I don't believe they're simply hoping for extra investors to magically appear. So they must believe the RD will eventually drop the price and are willing to wait him out, secure in the knowledge that nobody is gazump them in the meantime by matching RD's crazy price.
RD has the money to play chicken indefinitely, but the cost cutting at The Valley seems to indicate he's getting fed up losing the amount he has been losing each month.
Comments
I've sent a message saying it might be a good time to make their own statement.
It's a business that each month costs more to run that it generates in cash. RD will never be able to change that because the fans won't come to the ground, the assets have been stripped and young players won't want to join or stay at a club where the fans hate the owners.
Give up RD. Sell it for £1. Get a sensible repayment plan in place from the new owners who can then use funds to build the playing side back up, hopefully bring the fans back, get out of League 1 and hopefully onwards and upwards.
I bought a business this year in March. Last year it was a bigger company than mine. They wanted £16m for it. It was losing money despite the size of it and the historical asset base. By October their owner wanted £4.5m for it. Still nobody bought it. I closed the deal in March this year for ZERO consideration, the bank wrote off half it's debt, the old owner lost a sizeable amount of money. It now trades in profit because the old crap was removed from it and it's my best asset as it is has no old financing costs or debt with it. I have to repay a sensible amount to the bank in 2 years' time, plus a profit share.
The deal is very much like the Charlton deal. Many people looked at the company because of its prestige and industry reputation (old reputation). They came in and offered anywhere between £4 and £6m for it. Then when they were asked to prove funds, they couldn't or didn't.
I'm telling you the Aussies wanted to pay £40m because the people brokering the deal would be getting a fee. The people they could/might attract would have deep pockets if they could buy Charlton for £40m and fund the next 5 years.
It isn't going to happen because CAFC loses money every year, the players have mostly all been sold and football financing is crazy.
RD will have to basically give CAFC away if he wants out. Nothing else will happen.
I am not saying this is entirely their fault, but the fact remains that they have failed to fulfil their intentions despite many months having passed.
If, as may be the case, they are not willing to meet Duchatelet's unrealistic price, then say so. Most of us would be happy to accept such an explanation.
But if, as some have said for a while, they no longer (ever?) have the funds, then stop bullshitting us.
"Hello! This is Reggie Scarper your estate agent. Hope you're having a great day. Just to let you know that the buyers have confirmed they're proceeding and are happy that you have accepted their offer. So that's great. They just need to complete the paperwork at their end. So, we would advise you to make a firm decision as to which buyer you go with - either these buyers, or the other two that you keep mentioning to us - and work hard with them to secure the deal to make sure everything goes through.
Yes, you've told us there are another couple of buyers still interested. One has made an offer and the other one... well, you say you haven't heard back from him since he said he was having a long, hard look at the brochure. But you're sure he's simply waiting to make an offer? Great.
What? Yes, of course, you can tell all your friends and family that the sale's going ahead. But if you do, make sure you're totally clear and unambiguous. The last thing you should do is leave people in doubt as to what's going on.
Sorry? What's that? You're worried that the initial buyers are taking a long time? Yes, well, if you remember, when we advised you that it wasn't a good idea to sell off everything you could, in order to make some extra cash, you went ahead and did that, didn't you. Perhaps it would be a good idea to stop doing that now.
What's that? You're saving some more money by not paying your cleaner? Well, I'm sure you know what you're doing, but I am not sure that really sends out the right message, in terms of how desperate you are to sell. It might even make the buyer consider that waiting even longer would be worthwhile, because they could drive the price down.
Is there anything else we can help with right now? Oh there is? OK, when would you like to discuss this further? What? The end of November? Unless the sale goes through before 3 October? Why those dates? You've just made them up? Look, this really isn't helping.
Sorry? What do you mean "why is it all so complicated?" Look, these things take time. It's perfectly simple. Let me give you an example, so that it becomes clear for you. Imagine you're trying to sell a football club, but, unfortunately, you're a mad, psychopathic Belgian who doesn't listen to advice... Hello?
Hello?"
End credits
- the sale of players after the overall price was agreed
- what happens to sell-on fees for such as Gomez or Lookman?
- is the price you will provide to us, all to be paid now, or in stages, or perhaps based on future performance, such as FAPL status?
Looking forward to the interesting empirical facts that shed light on these questions.
All I can say what has happened to my club has broken my heart. And sadly I don’t think the Aussies are going to be the ones to fix it.
You contact me privately and tell me that you want to sell your bijou French pile. I come and take a look and like ti. Then you tell me the price. On checking, I find it's over the market benchmark by 25%. When i go back to you, you admit that you forgot to show me that you have converted the basement to a bomb - proof firing range which cost you €200k to install. I point out that I have no need of a firing range in my cellar. You then say that if you do not sell soon, you will be in deep financial shit. You might expect my sympathy. But would you really then expect me to pay your sale price?
I think they thought RD would drop the price once the season was over, there was no income and promotion hadn't been secured. He didn't.
They then though he'd drop his price once the transfer window closed and he was looking at months of out-goings with no possibility of selling domestically. Once again he stuck to his price.
I think they're hoping that once the international window closes and there's no possibility of any new cash (either player sales or sell-on clauses) until the new year that he'll drop his price. At this stage they can wait him out. With the windows closed there is no great time pressure on the Aussies, but RD's losses mount up by the month.
I think they'll get the club for the price they want sometime either late September or late October. In the meantime they can afford to let RD simmer.
Or if the Aussies put a statement out saying they have walked away due to the price surely then RD would have to reduce it
I'm predicting September or October purely on the basis that reality will have to dawn on RD at some stage and once it does he will sell very quickly. Any monthly costs between the date things happen and any theoretical perfect date for the buyer can easily be factored into the price paid. So if the Aussies were willing to pay £30m on Dec 1st, then you just make the price £28m on October 1st and nobody is any better or worse off.
RD has been incredibly stubborn, but once he accepts that he's got accept the deal on the table then it will happen very fast.
Once the transfer windows close all he's got to look forward to are mounting monthly losses and more and more hassle from CARD/ROT/Belgium20/etc.
"Do your ispy book Sam,
there's still another thousand pages to go."
They pitched up at The Valley, adorned in their finest CAFC regalia, masquerading like antipodean saviours, giving us all the impression that it was imminent!
Now hindsight is a beautiful thing, but their modus operandi at that time was both naive and gullible. Getting the hopes up of the faithful was an incredibly arrogant, and at the same time immature, thing to do when they clearly hadn't crossed the line and 'made the deal'.
Sadly, that imminence has manifested itself in the finest of takeover traditions!
RD has the money to play chicken indefinitely, but the cost cutting at The Valley seems to indicate he's getting fed up losing the amount he has been losing each month.