1955 was a very good year for handsome, intelligent boys to be born. I hear that those born at the beginning of August are also now known for their virility.
Right year. Wrong month February was the month for the best looking most intelligent people.
I had not heard that and certainly not confirmed. Even so, I see you are not claiming the virility aspect.
I think we all agree though. 1955 was an excellent year for handsome intelligent boys to be born. Probably the best in the history of mankind.
Question, would RD stating that any buyer had walked away due to the running costs and this not being the case, not be in breach of the NDA they signed? Just curious as if I was a potential buyer, surely you would leak the real reason out to increase pressure on him to sell?
Question, would RD stating that any buyer had walked away due to the running costs and this not being the case, not be in breach of the NDA they signed? Just curious as if I was a potential buyer, surely you would leak the real reason out to increase pressure on him to sell?
RD believes NDAs don’t apply to him, only to the buyer. He refused to meet PV’s investor because the latter wouldn’t agree to that.
We’re not for sale. Roland needs some gentle convincing that getting rid is in his best interests. Storming his office worked for Liege fans, not that I’m suggesting we get violent.
His most insane outbursts have usually come after a protest visit to his hometown. Why are some people against a repeat?
We’re not for sale. Roland needs some gentle convincing that getting rid is in his best interests. Storming his office worked for Liege fans, not that I’m suggesting we get violent.
Can we keep a log on here like the updated squad list thread, where it shows all the EFL clubs being bought and sold since they changed the FFP rules as per according to him, send it to talksport next time we know yellow tooth is on and ask them to ask him why these clubs managed to be bought and sold despite you claiming no one is buying clubs anymore now.
I've gone through every Championship club to see when they last had a change of ownership.
Since then 9 current Championship sides have been taken over, 7 were in the Championship at the time. West Brom and Swansea were the two who were in the Premier League when they were sold.
Two were bought a few years before 16/17, us and Fulham, who were a Premier League club when they were taken over in 2013.
The remaining clubs appear to have had the same majority shareholder since 2010 or earlier.
Things might have have been different for us had Woolwich born Trevor Hemmings and his family hadn't been relocated to Lancashire during the second World War.
The owners at Blackburn (Venky's), QPR (Tony Fernandes), Hull (Assem Allam) and Cardiff (Vincent Tan) surely haven't enjoyed the success they imagined or expected, but as I said they've been at their clubs since at least 2010, something is keeping them interested.
You can't just take Championship clubs into account, there will be owners in League 1 and possibly below aiming to get to take their clubs up to this level in the near future. Blackpool were taken over this summer and Sunderland last summer. Michael Eisner bought Portsmouth in August 2017.
What would be interesting to know is which other Championship clubs are up for sale, if any, and how long their owner(s) have been trying to sell.
Hull City is, or at least it was until recently. I'm sure someone else can confirm this. I'm also fairly sure the same applies to Sheffield Wednesday.
We’re not for sale. Roland needs some gentle convincing that getting rid is in his best interests. Storming his office worked for Liege fans, not that I’m suggesting we get violent.
His most insane outbursts have usually come after a protest visit to his hometown. Why are some people against a repeat?
In what was did it work for Liege fans? The 2 year delay would suggest it didn't work so well.
1955 was a very good year for handsome, intelligent boys to be born. I hear that those born at the beginning of August are also now known for their virility.
Yes, 1955, particularly around April was a very good year.
Finally got around to the exact wording in the interview. To me, it confirms something I have been wondering... he did NOT WANT to get promoted and is actually wanting to break-even this year financially, which he is close to doing, and then go back DOWN. He feels he can lose less money in League One. He claimed months ago he was more worried about being in The Championship than League One and the fact he essentially confirmed that again here, tells me he WANTS to go back down.
Agreed. He believes his view is absolutely rationale from the standpoint of a business model and the rest of the world has gone mad. He is probably right but anyone buying a football club should go into it expecting they will likely lose money unless they are in the Premier League.
The problem is, he wants out but appears to expect any potential buyer to pay for the ongoing errors made on his watch in terms of management rotations, poor player acquisitions, handling of outgoing player valuations and as he moved up the learning curve on English football economics. As has been said, he had the option to get out as soon as he realised the EFL had moved the goalposts as regards FFP. However, if he can keep the club on life support by breaking even, despite relegations back to League 1 or even 2, at least it isn’t costing him money.
Whilst I concede having a reasonable level of current operating costs to outline to potential buyers is good, they will have their view on their appetite for annual losses over the near term. They are however more likely to be interested in a reasonable upfront purchase price and what might be considered reasonable for a Championship club is unlikely to be considered reasonable the further down the leagues the club goes.
Promotion back to the Championship was probably his best chance of extricating himself with a reasonable price to defray some of his investment and it looks like he is closing the window on that.
It may not make any difference in terms of changing his stubbornness but I think in the Fans Forum, CAST communications, interaction with the press etc there has to be continued emphasis on his quotes above and the fact that he has no footballing ambition for the club and that he is living in cloud cuckoo land if he is holding out for a price that covers his aggregate losses for the past 5 years. It would be good if any of the buyers who have walked away would reveal the exact price they had offered.
What does Roland do when he's wrong? He finds someone or something else to blame.
I wouldn't get too distracted by his claims around the championship's FFP rules being the problem
If that were the case, why weren't we bought when we were in League One?
Why did he let on that it would be easier for us to be bought when were in the Championship?
Why was the narrative that we'd be more attractive in the higher league? If, in fact, it makes us far less attractive? This is just the same circle of behaviour we've always seen. He doesn't believe he could possibly be the problem, the real problem must lie somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this time, he raised a valid point about rules being a bit off, so the distraction is working a bit more than it normally would. But a distraction it still is.
Can we keep a log on here like the updated squad list thread, where it shows all the EFL clubs being bought and sold since they changed the FFP rules as per according to him, send it to talksport next time we know yellow tooth is on and ask them to ask him why these clubs managed to be bought and sold despite you claiming no one is buying clubs anymore now.
I've gone through every Championship club to see when they last had a change of ownership.
Since then 9 current Championship sides have been taken over, 7 were in the Championship at the time. West Brom and Swansea were the two who were in the Premier League when they were sold.
Two were bought a few years before 16/17, us and Fulham, who were a Premier League club when they were taken over in 2013.
The remaining clubs appear to have had the same majority shareholder since 2010 or earlier.
Things might have have been different for us had Woolwich born Trevor Hemmings and his family hadn't been relocated to Lancashire during the second World War.
The owners at Blackburn (Venky's), QPR (Tony Fernandes), Hull (Assem Allam) and Cardiff (Vincent Tan) surely haven't enjoyed the success they imagined or expected, but as I said they've been at their clubs since at least 2010, something is keeping them interested.
You can't just take Championship clubs into account, there will be owners in League 1 and possibly below aiming to get to take their clubs up to this level in the near future. Blackpool were taken over this summer and Sunderland last summer. Michael Eisner bought Portsmouth in August 2017.
What would be interesting to know is which other Championship clubs are up for sale, if any, and how long their owner(s) have been trying to sell.
Excellent work, would love this asked to the him the other prick at the meetings.
Agreed. He believes his view is absolutely rationale from the standpoint of a business model and the rest of the world has gone mad. He is probably right but anyone buying a football club should go into it expecting they will likely lose money unless they are in the Premier League.
The problem is, he wants out but appears to expect any potential buyer to pay for the ongoing errors made on his watch in terms of management rotations, poor player acquisitions, handling of outgoing player valuations and as he moved up the learning curve on English football economics. As has been said, he had the option to get out as soon as he realised the EFL had moved the goalposts as regards FFP. However, if he can keep the club on life support by breaking even, despite relegations back to League 1 or even 2, at least it isn’t costing him money.
Whilst I concede having a reasonable level of current operating costs to outline to potential buyers is good, they will have their view on their appetite for annual losses over the near term. They are however more likely to be interested in a reasonable upfront purchase price and what might be considered reasonable for a Championship club is unlikely to be considered reasonable the further down the leagues the club goes.
Promotion back to the Championship was probably his best chance of extricating himself with a reasonable price to defray some of his investment and it looks like he is closing the window on that.
It may not make any difference in terms of changing his stubbornness but I think in the Fans Forum, CAST communications, interaction with the press etc there has to be continued emphasis on his quotes above and the fact that he has no footballing ambition for the club and that he is living in cloud cuckoo land if he is holding out for a price that covers his aggregate losses for the past 5 years. It would be good if any of the buyers who have walked away would reveal the exact price they had offered.
I don't totally agree with this as it may be considered too commercially sensitive and may not be the real problem as a price seems to get agreed. However, it would be interesting to know what he uses to increase the price. Eg does he throw in a percentage of the sale price of any youngsters in the academy ?
What does Roland do when he's wrong? He finds someone or something else to blame.
I wouldn't get too distracted by his claims around the championship's FFP rules being the problem
If that were the case, why weren't we bought when we were in League One?
Why did he let on that it would be easier for us to be bought when were in the Championship?
Why was the narrative that we'd be more attractive in the higher league? If, in fact, it makes us far less attractive? This is just the same circle of behaviour we've always seen. He doesn't believe he could possibly be the problem, the real problem must lie somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this time, he raised a valid point about rules being a bit off, so the distraction is working a bit more than it normally would. But a distraction it still is.
If one accepts that Roland genuinely believed that being in division 1 is economically better than the Championship, why did he increase his asking price when we got promoted?
The logical thing to do would be to get rid asap. Even reduce the price to avoid the extra running costs.
What I cannot reconcile is how someone so obviously stupid got to make so much money.
I think we need to protest some how, but while we wait for anyone to think of something that will be effective, I am going to make a small gesture and get a ball rolling.
I have a season ticket, but I am boycotting the first home game unless we are sold. I will also boycott the first televised home game.
I'm going to risk (understandable) criticism for re-posting a previous post because i don't think enough people read it properly, based on subsequent comments here.
It is alleged and insinuated by some that Standard fans various protests had no role in influencing RD's decision to sell. They have presented no evidence to support their claims, just vague references to the timeline of certain events.
Below I re-present the considerable evidence that I have at my disposal. Much of it consists of direct quotes from Duchatelet himself. I urge anyone who wants to pronounce on the merits or otherwise of activity in Belgium, to read and digest them. Post follows...
When CAST started to realise that he was becoming a serious problem, it established contact with the Standard Socios, the equivalent of a supporters trust, and I became the main contact point with their president Jacques Seron. Eventually I visited him in Liege. I have been back over the shed load of correspondence between us.
It is by no means evidence-based to say that Duchatelet sold Standard because of an issue with STVV getting promoted.
Quote from RD, sent to me by Jacques, no link, date around 25 June 2015. (my emphasis in bold) He will remain involved in Charlton, Ujpest Dosza, Carl Zeiss Iena and Alcorcon. And in Belgium? He still denies any direct involvement in the management of the club of Sint-Truiden (which his companion is owner, ed) and ensures that the rise of the Canaries in Jupiler Pro League did not weigh in his decision to sell the Standard. "Anderlecht did a bit of a trick by raising the issue in the Pro League but it stops there," he said. "I would have left the Standard even if Sint-Truiden had remained in division 2."
Perhaps more revealing are his quotes in this article, for which i do have the link:
Personally, the quality of my life and my personal happiness play a preponderant role. I felt it had become a little complicated for me here at Standard. Not only for me but also for many fans who no longer saw me as the leader they wanted to have. It was therefore necessary that I find a solution as well for me as for the supporters of Standard. And I found the ideal solution for the club to go into the hands of someone I trust. "
And it's moved and the flickering voice that he also confided: "The Standard is a club that I love, I leave it but I'm confident for its future.It's going to be okay because we found someone who has the vision, the grip, and the intelligence to lead a club running a club is more complicated than running a normal business and it's more complicated than politics, I wish good luck and good luck to Bruno. Venanzi ".
Roland Duchâtelet returned to RTBF's microphone about the mistakes he made during his presidency, which lasted for four years and exactly one day: "I have not really mastered the communication aspect with the supporters. I've learned a lot in recent years, if I had to do it again, I would buy Standard but in another way I knew the life of a small club with Sint-Truiden but I did not know the life of a big club and all that means at the level of the games of influence, it's still a bit special "
"It was partly a relief and at the same time it was a personal will because the situation was no longer ideal and for the good of the club, the supporters felt that I was not the president of their heart. to the extent that people believe everything that is said on TV, etc ... it's normal to react like that.They have no other sources of information, "he notes again.
Now, getting past the Google mangle if you can, let me ask you all this: Are those the words of a cold, calculating businessman doing a business deal? I suggest, far from it. They sound to me like a man who desperately wants to be adored, and has discovered that he is in fact hated.
Back to Jacques Seron. he's a retired chartered accountant, (albeit in personality with the fire and fury of the leader of the RMT union, whose name I forget). So his mails over the years were peppered with exhortations for us to take a leaf out of Ultras' book, because in Jacques words he is a "coward". Now I didn't think it was effective to do things like busting into his office, especially if all you do when you get there is take turns to rant and scream "merde" at him while he stays silent, drumming his fingers. But look at those comments above. He felt the wrath of the Standard fans, and he didn't try to pretend it was just 2% either. Standard was his big club, a national football jewel in Belgium, and yet he sold it, while still believing he wanted to stay in "football". Liege is only 50kms from S-T. But once he got shot of them, he clearly felt that he could live a quiet life in S-T where he is Mr Big and can feel very pleased with himself sitting in Cafe Stayen every day. Charlton seemed a long way away, and he had Katrien Meire to execute his instructions.
Say we finish 21st this season, stay up and break even and Millwall finish a place higher losing say £10,000,000 in the process, Roly will add their losses to the asking price. He will say I deserve the extra money to reward my greatness and vision.
What does Roland do when he's wrong? He finds someone or something else to blame.
I wouldn't get too distracted by his claims around the championship's FFP rules being the problem
If that were the case, why weren't we bought when we were in League One?
Why did he let on that it would be easier for us to be bought when were in the Championship?
Why was the narrative that we'd be more attractive in the higher league? If, in fact, it makes us far less attractive? This is just the same circle of behaviour we've always seen. He doesn't believe he could possibly be the problem, the real problem must lie somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this time, he raised a valid point about rules being a bit off, so the distraction is working a bit more than it normally would. But a distraction it still is.
If one accepts that Roland genuinely believed that being in division 1 is economically better than the Championship, why did he increase his asking price when we got promoted?
The logical thing to do would be to get rid asap. Even reduce the price to avoid the extra running costs.
What I cannot reconcile is how someone so obviously stupid got to make so much money.
I think we need to protest some how, but while we wait for anyone to think of something that will be effective, I am going to make a small gesture and get a ball rolling.
I have a season ticket, but I am boycotting the first home game unless we are sold. I will also boycott the first televised home game.
Probably all pointless, but it is what it is.
Therein lies the problem as things stand with 10,000 already having given Duchatelet several million pounds in advance sales this season. I am afraid our next big protest opportunity will only come in the close season of 2020 when the appetite to renew will be considerably smaller after a year of struggle and humbling losses as we are outclassed this season due to our small and weak squad. If we could manage a serious season ticket boycott (we don't necessarily need to stop going altogether) I am convinced Duchatelet would take notice and have to consider cutting his losses and selling-up far more seriously than he has done to date.
Yesterday felt pretty depressing but I’ve been convinced for s while now that he ain’t selling. I wonder whether Bowyer and Gallen laying the stark financial realities on the line to him prompted his appearance on talksport - I’m not sure how he can claim to be a socialist yet know that 10,000 fans are going to suffer a miserable season if he doesn’t release a small proportion of his vast wealth in order to give us half a chance next season - a socialist when it suits.
Comments
His most insane outbursts have usually come after a protest visit to his hometown. Why are some people against a repeat?
I'm also fairly sure the same applies to Sheffield Wednesday.
Honestly, the apathy disappoints me.
The problem is, he wants out but appears to expect any potential buyer to pay for the ongoing errors made on his watch in terms of management rotations, poor player acquisitions, handling of outgoing player valuations and as he moved up the learning curve on English football economics. As has been said, he had the option to get out as soon as he realised the EFL had moved the goalposts as regards FFP. However, if he can keep the club on life support by breaking even, despite relegations back to League 1 or even 2, at least it isn’t costing him money.
Whilst I concede having a reasonable level of current operating costs to outline to potential buyers is good, they will have their view on their appetite for annual losses over the near term. They are however more likely to be interested in a reasonable upfront purchase price and what might be considered reasonable for a Championship club is unlikely to be considered reasonable the further down the leagues the club goes.
Promotion back to the Championship was probably his best chance of extricating himself with a reasonable price to defray some of his investment and it looks like he is closing the window on that.
It may not make any difference in terms of changing his stubbornness but I think in the Fans Forum, CAST communications, interaction with the press etc there has to be continued emphasis on his quotes above and the fact that he has no footballing ambition for the club and that he is living in cloud cuckoo land if he is holding out for a price that covers his aggregate losses for the past 5 years. It would be good if any of the buyers who have walked away would reveal the exact price they had offered.
I wouldn't get too distracted by his claims around the championship's FFP rules being the problem
If that were the case, why weren't we bought when we were in League One?
Why did he let on that it would be easier for us to be bought when were in the Championship?
Why was the narrative that we'd be more attractive in the higher league? If, in fact, it makes us far less attractive?
This is just the same circle of behaviour we've always seen. He doesn't believe he could possibly be the problem, the real problem must lie somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this time, he raised a valid point about rules being a bit off, so the distraction is working a bit more than it normally would. But a distraction it still is.
It would be a form of revenge, rather than forcing him to sell though.
The logical thing to do would be to get rid asap. Even reduce the price to avoid the extra running costs.
What I cannot reconcile is how someone so obviously stupid got to make so much money.
I think we need to protest some how, but while we wait for anyone to think of something that will be effective, I am going to make a small gesture and get a ball rolling.
I have a season ticket, but I am boycotting the first home game unless we are sold. I will also boycott the first televised home game.
Probably all pointless, but it is what it is.
It is alleged and insinuated by some that Standard fans various protests had no role in influencing RD's decision to sell. They have presented no evidence to support their claims, just vague references to the timeline of certain events.
Below I re-present the considerable evidence that I have at my disposal. Much of it consists of direct quotes from Duchatelet himself. I urge anyone who wants to pronounce on the merits or otherwise of activity in Belgium, to read and digest them. Post follows...
It is by no means evidence-based to say that Duchatelet sold Standard because of an issue with STVV getting promoted.
Quote from RD, sent to me by Jacques, no link, date around 25 June 2015. (my emphasis in bold)
He will remain involved in Charlton, Ujpest Dosza, Carl Zeiss Iena and Alcorcon. And in Belgium? He still denies any direct involvement in the management of the club of Sint-Truiden (which his companion is owner, ed) and ensures that the rise of the Canaries in Jupiler Pro League did not weigh in his decision to sell the Standard. "Anderlecht did a bit of a trick by raising the issue in the Pro League but it stops there," he said. "I would have left the Standard even if Sint-Truiden had remained in division 2."
Perhaps more revealing are his quotes in this article, for which i do have the link:
Personally, the quality of my life and my personal happiness play a preponderant role. I felt it had become a little complicated for me here at Standard. Not only for me but also for many fans who no longer saw me as the leader they wanted to have. It was therefore necessary that I find a solution as well for me as for the supporters of Standard. And I found the ideal solution for the club to go into the hands of someone I trust. "
And it's moved and the flickering voice that he also confided: "The Standard is a club that I love, I leave it but I'm confident for its future.It's going to be okay because we found someone who has the vision, the grip, and the intelligence to lead a club running a club is more complicated than running a normal business and it's more complicated than politics, I wish good luck and good luck to Bruno. Venanzi ".
Now, getting past the Google mangle if you can, let me ask you all this: Are those the words of a cold, calculating businessman doing a business deal? I suggest, far from it. They sound to me like a man who desperately wants to be adored, and has discovered that he is in fact hated.
Back to Jacques Seron. he's a retired chartered accountant, (albeit in personality with the fire and fury of the leader of the RMT union, whose name I forget). So his mails over the years were peppered with exhortations for us to take a leaf out of Ultras' book, because in Jacques words he is a "coward". Now I didn't think it was effective to do things like busting into his office, especially if all you do when you get there is take turns to rant and scream "merde" at him while he stays silent, drumming his fingers. But look at those comments above. He felt the wrath of the Standard fans, and he didn't try to pretend it was just 2% either. Standard was his big club, a national football jewel in Belgium, and yet he sold it, while still believing he wanted to stay in "football". Liege is only 50kms from S-T. But once he got shot of them, he clearly felt that he could live a quiet life in S-T where he is Mr Big and can feel very pleased with himself sitting in Cafe Stayen every day. Charlton seemed a long way away, and he had Katrien Meire to execute his instructions.
If those protests were such a huge reason for the sale of Liege, why the 2 year delay? Or was it more to do with RD selling on his own terms?