by readingbedding » 15 Dec 2009 18:58
by Super_horns » 15 Dec 2009 19:13
by Tony Le Mesmer » 15 Dec 2009 20:35
Dirk Gently Agree with all of that - a ground is a tangible asset which makes a club much more likely to be asset-stripped (q.v. Brighton, York, Wrexham etc), and often the earliest warning of troble is when an owner separates the ownership of club and ground (as Scalley has recently done at Gillingham).
by Dirk Gently » 15 Dec 2009 20:55
Tony Le MesmerDirk Gently Agree with all of that - a ground is a tangible asset which makes a club much more likely to be asset-stripped (q.v. Brighton, York, Wrexham etc), and often the earliest warning of troble is when an owner separates the ownership of club and ground (as Scalley has recently done at Gillingham).
My job is buying and selling property for pension fund trustees. at my last company, dealt with the purchase of Valley Parade when they were at Championship level, the chairman Gordon Gibb moved the ground to his pension fund and rented it back to the club. Only the start of their troubles really. Just a few years after spending £15m on new stands he bought the lot for £3m.
A certain recently relegated SE London club also went about selling off their training ground and surrounding property in the same way this year. Had a good chat with their chairman, they were a lot closer to complete financial collapse than was reported. But im not allowed so say who, Data Protection n all
by Wycombe Royal » 16 Dec 2009 09:12
by Super_horns » 16 Dec 2009 09:35
by (.)Boobies(.) » 16 Dec 2009 09:47
by Wycombe Royal » 16 Dec 2009 09:52
(.)Boobies(.) Transfer embargo due to be placed on Plymouth [if it hasn't been already]
by Dirk Gently » 16 Dec 2009 09:53
Wycombe Royal(.)Boobies(.) Transfer embargo due to be placed on Plymouth [if it hasn't been already]
It has already, 2 days after they announced plans to increase their stadium capacity to 46k.
by (.)Boobies(.) » 16 Dec 2009 09:55
Wycombe Royal(.)Boobies(.) Transfer embargo due to be placed on Plymouth [if it hasn't been already]
It has already, 2 days after they announced plans to increase their stadium capacity to 46k.
by Arnie_Pie » 16 Dec 2009 10:57
by (.)Boobies(.) » 16 Dec 2009 11:47
Arnie_Pie Some of Watfords plight could have been avoided by selling us Tommy Smith and not Portsmouth, who are yet to pay......
From timesonline
Portsmouth owe money to Chelsea over the signing of Glen Johnson, since sold to Liverpool, and to Tottenham Hotspur over the acquisitions of Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul, but the Premier League says the payments due to Watford, over the summer signings of Mike Williamson and Tommy Smith, are the most pressing.
by handbags_harris » 16 Dec 2009 13:20
Super_horns Lets just hope these men can actually start actin like grown ups and come up with an agreement to to save the club...
Thay's if they care about WFC and us fans at all in between their big egos and personal disputes.
Daft thing is Lord Ashcroft for example has quite a bit of dosh but clearly is only interested in the ground but would lose a lot if we did enter administration.
The Russos would be winners out of such a situation.
by handbags_harris » 16 Dec 2009 13:38
Watford Tom In a nutshell, last night was our AGM in which 3 board directors (including Jimmy Russo) resigned. They have loaned the club £4.88million (secured against the stadium) which they have called in and set a deadline of close of business today to be repaid. If loans not repaid, we will surely have to appoint an administrator.
Why has this happened? It’s a confusing mess and there’s not a lot of news coming out of the club. My take on it is this – which is part rumour and part fact. The Russo’s, as board members, faced a re-election vote last night where they have to be re-elected to the board. The vote is based on the number of shares you own. The Russo’s only have around 30% of the shares but former chairman Graham Simpson, who has close ties and allegiances with Lord Ashcroft, together own around 54% of the shares. Simpson has beef with the Russos (they removed Simpson as director at an EGM last year) and it was a well known rumour that Ashcroft and Simpson would, through their combined majority shares, vote the Russo’s off the board at the AGM. The Russo’s, probably legitimately annoyed that despite only owning 30% of the shares, they’ve put in 100% of the funding for the club, jumped rather than be pushed.
The loans the Russo’s had made were secured against Vicarage Road (in hindsight a clever move by them), and once they resigned, they called their loans in right away – to be paid by the end of the day. Barring a miracle, Watford can’t get that money. I think the Russo’s have engineered a situation where they can either make an offer for the club when it is in administration, or Lord Ashcroft/Simpson will have to plough money into the club.
Understandably, most fans are upset by the news. Even the scenario above (Russo’s using this to buy the club), is drawing criticism of using the club. Alas, as always it’s the fans who will suffer.
More news will come out surely, but my gut feeling is that it’s brinkmanship.
by Tony Le Mesmer » 16 Dec 2009 13:47
by Dirk Gently » 16 Dec 2009 22:51
Tony Le Mesmer Given the money owed by Pompey to Watford, could you not get a scenario where Watford could launch a winding up petition against Pompey in order to save themselves?
by Harpers So Solid Crew » 17 Dec 2009 08:08
by The whole year inn » 17 Dec 2009 08:18
Harpers So Solid Crew How can pompy owe money for defoe still???? Thats fecking pizz poor management.
by (.)Boobies(.) » 17 Dec 2009 08:48
by Jerry St Clair » 17 Dec 2009 12:23
Dirk GentlyTony Le Mesmer Given the money owed by Pompey to Watford, could you not get a scenario where Watford could launch a winding up petition against Pompey in order to save themselves?
It'd never get through, though. Under a rule change made this year, the PL have the power to withhold TV payments due to one of their clubs and pay that money direct to creditors - I don't doubt they'd do this if push ever came to shove.
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