It doesn't bloody matter what "we wish for" .....

[REDOXO]

I would not be surprised if something has gone to a higher takeover/investment level. 
 

I think SL is very much aware that JL really doesn’t seem that interested and as such there is no reason to continue being the benefactor. 

Of course due to FFP it doesn’t matter how much money people have it doesn’t make a whole deal of difference until we can create new/more revenue  as a club  

The silence from the board and the Lansdowns recently had been deafening and as I have stated in the past is indicative of a possible deal! 
 

Despite what I read on here Bristol Sport with the stadium is quite a tasty proposition for the right people! 

 

[ralphindevon]

2 hours ago, marmite said:

I always thought Steves plan was to hand the reins to Jon and for him to take us forward (Or backward).

I don’t think that’s ever been the plan, certainly not in recent years.

Steve has talked about sounding out potential buyers for some time now.  For better or worse, I don’t think we can be far off something happening 

[Eddie Hitler]

52 minutes ago, Miah Dennehy said:

I'm looking forward to a 'Unlucky da Gas' video.

 

Maybe, just maybe.

[phantom]

4 hours ago, glynriley said:

Just that a group of Americans who had made their money in “tech” were hoping to takeover, the whole shebang, ideally this month. The new CEO has been brought in early specifically to oversee it all. 
 

Could be horse . Who knows?

Much more than just a group of Americans. 

Luckily very knowledgeable City connections too

2 hours ago, Andy082005 said:

I’m going to say it’s horse shit 

The new CEO hasn’t been bought in early either. There’s a handover period 

 

I assume what he meant was the new CEO will be dealing with any new parties rather than Richard Gould, you are correct that there is a handover period in process 

[phantom]

1 hour ago, REDOXO said:

... with the stadium is quite a tasty proposition for the right people! 

You may be surprised to know that the stadium is a bit of a stumbling block due to the limitations in making the ground bigger to sustain top flight football 

[phantom]

4 hours ago, Robbored said:

SL has said publicly that he’s nearly 70 and is looking to sell. That’s not a rumour and I certainly haven’t heard of any from any source that’s interested buying the club - but then any negotiations on that take place at a level that’s above the heads of us regular fans.

You don't assume people that use social media are just "regular fans"? 

That would be very naive to assume 

We know that there are multitudes of professionals of all ages on this board 

[chinapig]

18 minutes ago, phantom said:

Much more than just a group of Americans. 

Luckily very knowledgeable City connections too

I assume what he meant was the new CEO will be dealing with any new parties rather than Richard Gould, you are correct that there is a handover period in process 

Please tell me the reference to "tech" doesn't mean a bunch of crypto bros!

[phantom]

7 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Please tell me the reference to "tech" doesn't mean a bunch of crypto bros!

Thankfully not 

Personally I wouldn't read too much into that reference 

[Show Me The Money!]

I still it baffling how an ex owner of a massive investment company can’t find and investor to buy the club

[Robbored]

1 hour ago, phantom said:

You don't assume people that use social media are just "regular fans"? 

That would be very naive to assume 

We know that there are multitudes of professionals of all ages on this board 

Of course. However the point I’m making is that selling/buying a football club involves very wealthy people most, if not all move in social circles way beyond the average fans social circles.

I daresay that an ordinary professional finance advisor would find such negotiations beyond their skill set.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, Show Me The Money! said:

I still it baffling how an ex owner of a massive investment company can’t find and investor to buy the club

Quite a few reasons.

1) Prospective new owner investors inheriting the current FFP position, will that make it more or less attractive? A new owner would have to stick with the current spending plans for one- it's the rules but is it a situation that entices people in our current position.

2) Will they want to come into a League in which 3 sides have £40m in T.V. revenue gap alone- then the higher FFP losses at the higher level- £22m for each higher season in the PL. Does £39m in 3 year losses combined wirh 3 sides in any given year getting £10-15m more than that in TV money alone on relegation.

Happy to calculate some figures later or Friday- remember too q wide in the PL are more likely to be profitable due to the huge T.V. revenue. Which only builds their advantage.

3) It is also about selling to the right person. Would we want SL to sell to someone who mortgages against rhe assets for example, who takes out high interest loans to top up cash flow e.g.

Or do a Lai at WBA who has borrowed off the club and gone all MSD. Allams at Hull were great- until they weren't.

There are definitely significant pull factors...but a number of complicating factors too.

One example. I believe that a combination of a prior profit, higher loss limits and Parachute Payments, that West Brom could have had an FFP advantage of £105m over us in 2018-19, going into it.

£105m. Let that sink in, you as an investor can only put in so much...is it suddenly as attractive?

Quite possible to lose huge sums each year just to tread water at this level. Reading's owner seems happy to do just that for example.

£44m in Upper Loss Limit differences

£40m in revenue a lot of which would be Parachute Payments.

A cumulative pre tax profit of £32m in the prior 2 seasons

Maybe I'm understating it!?

Assuming our FFP allowances the same at that time as West Brom, they had a £140m advantage over us going into that season FFP wise.

Others can do the sums! Maybe I'm double counting in places, miscalculating- conflating losses with expenditure.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[REDOXO]

15 hours ago, phantom said:

You may be surprised to know that the stadium is a bit of a stumbling block due to the limitations in making the ground bigger to sustain top flight football 

It doesn’t surprise me that a purchaser is considering the size and the plans for the entire arena and all of its activities, that is a fact. It’s clear that one stand of the main arena is simply not big enough and looks out of place. To the extent that can be rectified I’m sure is under consideration for the fiftieth time by all concerned 
 

However if a top flight position was attained to what extent attendance as a revenue stream would effect a possible sale, and overall revenue who knows! City wouldn’t be the smallest. Nevertheless size matters in life, but when you tag on Rugby and other sports particularly those that might have some cross advantages and daily uses to certain buyers it’s still a nice package. 

[Merrick's Marvels]

So now we know why SL's building a bloody netball thing next door. So some yanks can throw a few hoops! 

[GrahamC]

2 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

So now we know why SL's building a bloody netball thing next door. So some yanks can throw a few hoops! 

What was the line from the cheerleader in Fargo? “Go bears!”

Forgot, we have already got them, I honestly saw a transfer in L2 this week where the player joined Harrogate from Pittsburgh Riverhounds, I mean, what the actual ****?

USA! USA! (that will be us old codgers in the Dolman).

[Bristol Oil Services]

18 hours ago, sglosbcfc said:

I'd rather stick with the Lansdowns personally. People that actually care about the club. 

Unless of course we could get taken over by wealthy foreigners like Rovers, with an open cheque book to fire them all the way to um mid table League One. 

That was the point of my outburst yesterday, we don't have any say in it! Nor does any of us "wishing" anything make a jot of difference. 

Steve is old, one day he will breath his last - what do we do then, pretend he hasn't died? Steve Lansdown and Bristol City isn't Tito and bleedin Yugoslavia! Fer frigs sake. Mind, he might be Alan Curbishley and Charlton Athletic. 

But there's nothing we can do. Steve is old, he will die (at some point), Jon won't take it on, someone else will. And if we go to pieces and drop like a stone, chances are we'll have enough about us to bob between the top half of L1 and the bottom half of the Championship for another decade or two. Just like we've always / mostly done.

But in a better ground, with 27,000 seats. 

 

[Red-Robbo]

18 hours ago, Miah Dennehy said:

I'm looking forward to a 'Unlucky da Gas' video.

 

I think Unlucky Da Gas every time I drive through Horfield.

14 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Quite a few reasons.

1) Prospective new owner investors inheriting the current FFP position, will that make it more or less attractive? A new owner would have to stick with the current spending plans for one- it's the rules but is it a situation that entices people in our current position.

2) Will they want to come into a League in which 3 sides have £40m in T.V. revenue gap alone- then the higher FFP losses at the higher level- £22m for each higher season in the PL. Does £39m in 3 year losses combined wirh 3 sides in any given year getting £10-15m more than that in TV money alone on relegation.

Happy to calculate some figures later or Friday- remember too q wide in the PL are more likely to be profitable due to the huge T.V. revenue. Which only builds their advantage.

3) It is also about selling to the right person. Would we want SL to sell to someone who mortgages against rhe assets for example, who takes out high interest loans to top up cash flow e.g.

Or do a Lai at WBA who has borrowed off the club and gone all MSD. Allams at Hull were great- until they weren't.

There are definitely significant pull factors...but a number of complicating factors too.

One example. I believe that a combination of a prior profit, higher loss limits and Parachute Payments, that West Brom could have had an FFP advantage of £105m over us in 2018-19, going into it.

£105m. Let that sink in, you as an investor can only put in so much...is it suddenly as attractive?

Quite possible to lose huge sums each year just to tread water at this level. Reading's owner seems happy to do just that for example.

£44m in Upper Loss Limit differences

£40m in revenue a lot of which would be Parachute Payments.

A cumulative pre tax profit of £32m in the prior 2 seasons

Maybe I'm understating it!?

Assuming our FFP allowances the same at that time as West Brom, they had a £140m advantage over us going into that season FFP wise.

Others can do the sums! Maybe I'm double counting in places, miscalculating- conflating losses with expenditure.

 

Or, to sum it all up in a sentence: It's not easy selling a company that will always lose money. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

I think Unlucky Da Gas every time I drive through Horfield.

 

Or, to sum it all up in a sentence: It's not easy selling a company that will always lose money. 

Well yes.

Will always lose money at this level, and a chasm of how much they can lose/spend v Parachute clubs.

[Ska Junkie]

27 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Well yes.

Will always lose money at this level, and a chasm of how much they can lose/spend v Parachute clubs.

How have clubs / how do we break the cycle? Other clubs have managed it somehow.

Are people (who I normally take as ITK) stating we are currently in the realms of a takeover @phantom@glynriley? 

[phantom]

15 hours ago, Robbored said:

Of course. However the point I’m making is that selling/buying a football club involves very wealthy people most, if not all move in social circles way beyond the average fans social circles.

I daresay that an ordinary professional finance advisor would find such negotiations beyond their skill set.

You would be very surprised

[glynriley]

2 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

How have clubs / how do we break the cycle? Other clubs have managed it somehow.

Are people (who I normally take as ITK) stating we are currently in the realms of a takeover @phantom@glynriley? 

I'm not ITK in the slightest mate. Just a text yesterday with the information I posted.

Thought the timing of that text, coupled with @Bristol Oil Services post were a bit coincidental, hence sharing what I'd been told.

Probably bollyhocks.

[Mr Popodopolous]

25 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

How have clubs / how do we break the cycle? Other clubs have managed it somehow.

Are people (who I normally take as ITK) stating we are currently in the realms of a takeover @phantom@glynriley? 

In fairness I'm a bit short termist in my view there, ie thinking of the here and now.

When the club in a better financial position, with more room to go for it which could be as soon as this summer, then it would automatically become a more attractive proposition IMO.

Big pull factors...decent attendances and a significantly larger latent/untapped one if we get it right. Facilities are good, impressive in fact, big city club and a relatively wealthy city at that, if utilised even more strongly probably could squeeze more revenue still out of the facilities. Strong youth setup too.

Wariness I have with US owners is, are they going to want to do some kind of Leveraged buyout? That could endanger us while we remain a Championship regular.

We could look to restart the trading model but do it differently or get ourselves into a financial position where we don't strictly need to sell- as far as possible. Did read a while back that increasing numbers of Championship clubs are formally or informally on the market and perhaps the Parachute issue is driving some of the problems of owner fatigue and wider discontent among increasing numbers of Championship clubs fans.

Hull sold in a very good financial position as their owners were just not spending, Parachute Payments too of course. Coventry owners barely spend, lots of room for a prospective owner at both of these to throw a bit of cash about.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous

[Merrick's Marvels]

30 minutes ago, phantom said:

You would be very surprised

Christ, Les Kew's coming back. A sell-on clause, you say. What on earth's that?

Edited January 6, 2023 by Merrick's Marvels

[Ska Junkie]

On 05/01/2023 at 15:55, phantom said:

Perhaps have read back through one of the many hundreds of pages already discussing this?

Rumours have been around for a number of weeks now.....

Would you care to share those 'rumours' Phantom? Just for discussion, obviously. 

[Ska Junkie]

50 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Christ, Les Kew's coming back. A sell-on clause, you say. What on earth's that?

You can borrow my spade MM, unless he's still about.

[BigTone]

2 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

You can borrow my spade MM, unless he's still about.

My mate is married to Les Kews God daughter so I'll ask her the question of where to dig him up

Oooh, does that make me ITK ???

[Merrick's Marvels]

5 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

You can borrow my spade MM, unless he's still about.

He's still about Ska - as in alive and also attending games! In the Dolman, I think. 

Fair play to him, all cheap gags aside. How many others have kept going, once their time in the boardroom is over? 

[Ska Junkie]

Just now, Merrick's Marvels said:

He's still about Ska - as in alive and also attending games! In the Dolman, I think. 

Fair play to him, all cheap gags aside. How many others have kept going, once their time in the boardroom is over? 

Thanks MM, I'll put the spade away then! 

Fair play to him, still watching the crap we have to put up with, at his age. 

[BigTone]

Just now, Ska Junkie said:

Thanks MM, I'll put the spade away then! 

Fair play to him, still watching the crap we have to put up with, at his age. 

And I'll be more diplomatic when I ask my mates wife !!!

[Lanterne Rouge]

3 hours ago, Ska Junkie said:

Thanks MM, I'll put the spade away then! 

Fair play to him, still watching the crap we have to put up with, at his age. 

He likes somewhere nice and quiet for his afternoon nap these days.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just on a financial bit. May or may not be any guide or precedent.

Millwall reportedly asking in the event of a sale for £80m. Mentions US investors. They are balking at that price!

Have we any inkling as to what we would want asking price wise? Clearly our infrastructure is superior, but London location can be an advantage for players or loanees.

The multi sports model may also appeal but then again the current FFP position being inherited is markedly superior at Millwall as opposed to us- Coventry too if their takeover goes through, Hull as well when they were taken over and Sheffield United's will be fantastic.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Mr Popodopolous