[Archived] Rovers Sold ??

[MarkBRFC]

God morning Philip. May I offer my sincere aplogies for my totaly uncalled for attack on you yesterday. Obviously it should never have happened and there is no excuse for it. I am truly sorry.

I had thought of PM'ing you to apologise,but as I insulted you in public, it is only right that I should apologise in public.

I hope you can forgive me for this completely over the top reaction, which to be honest is out of character and I cannot really explain why. I can't pretend otherwise than I do find your particular style of posting very irritating in as much as you often give no clue at all as to what you are actually talking about. However that is no excuse, and I should have done what I have done for years and just kept the irritation to myself.

I should also realise that this is a footie message board and it caters for a huge variety of different people from all backgrounds and age groups. In fact the only common bond that unites us all is our love for Blackburn Rovers. We ARE all different in so many ways and we perhaps should ALL bear this in mind and try not to get personal in our posts.

That is all there was to it really, and it should NOT have happened. If I may (in mitigation) offer a plea of temporary insanity due to the worry of possibly losing Mark Hughes?

I know it wasnt intended, but at first (well the way i read it anyway) i thought that all came across as pretty sarcastic.

[Guest Kamy100]

This morning the Lancashire Telegraph are running a story which says that Wiillam's has finally ended his interest in buying Rovers.

[broadsword]

What a PR disaster for him.

[alexanders]

What a PR disaster for him.

It might be a trick to get some action?

[den]

This morning the Lancashire Telegraph are running a story which says that Wiillam's has finally ended his interest in buying Rovers.

Here's the article Kamy.

Interesting comments from Dan Williams:

Daniel Williams said: "Everyone who has looked at Blackburn has said there is no way to grow it from a business point of view".

"At the end of the day, it is an investment and right now, we can't see any way we'd get a fair return on that investment if we took the club over at the present level".

"My heart says yes, but my head says no."

"The only way you could get a return on your investment would be to start selling assets and, being a fan myself, that's not a route I was prepared to go down."

[broadsword]

Very telling remarks.

We are a black hole fopr people to throw money down.

It looks very much like the trustees are lumbered with us.

[EwoodGlory]

What a PR disaster for him.

How is it a PR disaster?

He said from the start he couldn't afford to buy it himself and was looking to get investors on board.

What he has said is what most people have been thinking, there is not a lot of money to be made from the club unless new money making ideas can be brought on board, any investors will obviously need to see a return on their investment at some stage. Unfortunately it doesn't look like there will be another Uncle Jack anytime soon.

If the prices that have been quoted are correct, £40m-£45m for the shares and £15m-£20m investment, then why don't the Trust Fund not give us £10m investment now into the team, to try and push for 4th spot, if we pulled it off they could sell the club and only ask the buyer to provide £10m investment on top of the share price.

[broadsword]

He should have done his research first and realised there was no way anyone would've wanted to invest, as they'd never see their money back.

Before coming riding into town making noises, from what I could tell teh expectation was that he was going to take the club over, it was just a case of negotiating a deal.

To then go back a step and say you can't make any money out of it so we won't invest is a bit embarrassing I would say. So yeah, a PR disaster.

[rovers_rob]

Aside from the differences over valuation, Williams and his partners also had major concerns about the expectation levels amongst the fans.

Talk of challenging the big four', and what it would take financially to make that an achieveable goal in the long-term, made some of Williams' US investors apprehensive about the project.

What the hell is that all about ? major concerns about expectation levels amongst the fans ? What ?

Was it not the players and manager who have been talking about finishing top four and challenging for europe ? What a stupid comment to make. If that was one of the factors - expectation levels amongst the fans - as to why they didn't take over then i'm glad they have pulled out.

We have an ambitious manager who wants to push the club forward as far as he can, he has worked wonders but I AS A FAN am realistic about where we can finish.

Anyway, is it a crime to get excited about your club ? Ok lets not have ANY expectations, stuff it, we are rubbish and we are not going anywhere. Why bother even going to watch Rovers because we are a small club who shouldn't have any expectations.

That comment has really hacked me of.

[EwoodGlory]

Of course there is money to be made out of the business, he's not going to tell the press his ideas of growing it, as someone else could move for the club or do it at another.

He is prompting the Trust Fund to lower the price, or maybe look into some other way of investing.

By making these comments it is also going to be picked up by other sources in the media and it lets other people know we are up for sale.

He could be calling their bluff. If everyone knows the club is up for sale and the Trust Fund receive no offers, they might have to go back to him and do a deal.

[Paul]

"expectation levels amongst the fans"

Dan Williams was a chancer from the word go. To suggest the expectation levels amongst the support are unrealistic is absolute ######, proving we are better off without him. We all know Blackburn Rovers is superb club, standing for real football values, in a small town with a declining potential fan base. Our record over the last 20 years is fantastic, even if you ignore the Walker years, no the fans may like to moan but we all appreciate the effort by everyone at the club to put us where we are today.

[broadsword]

How can money be made out of the business when we are being subsidised by the trust? We can't even stand on our own two feet, let alone turn a profit. Any income the club makes doesn't even touch the sides, it flushes straight through into other people's pockets.

The media already knew we were up for sale, although I suppose it keeps that in the news.

He might be using it as a lever to get a better price out of the trust, but I doubt it. If a business makes a loss, it doesn't matter how cheaply you buy it for, you won't make any money out of it.

I migth be wrong, just my opinion.

[philipl]

Dan Williams should never have gone public in the first place.

[EwoodGlory]

How can money be made out of the business when we are being subsidised by the trust? We can't even stand on our own two feet, let alone turn a profit. Any income the club makes doesn't even touch the sides, it flushes straight through into other people's pockets.

The media already knew we were up for sale, although I suppose it keeps that in the news.

He might be using it as a lever to get a better price out of the trust, but I doubt it. If a business makes a loss, it doesn't matter how cheaply you buy it for, you won't make any money out of it.

I migth be wrong, just my opinion.

Come on, we are not exactly the most forward thinking club around. It really gets on my nerves when I see other clubs doing things that we always seem to miss out on.

How come Derby, the worst team I have seen in the Premier League are attracting investment from the States? Yes they have bigger fan base, but how did they attract it?

How come Everton have signed a new big money extension to their Asian sponsorship deal? Didn't they sign 2 Asian players when the deal first happened, and have toured over there; other teams have done this, why not us? That deal could have been us; their fanbase size over here shouldn't matter to that deal.

How come Birmingham attracted their recent investment, even though it didn't work out, they did it by being in the news all the time, Gold and Sullivan were always talking about it on interviews.

Not sure about this one if Rovers have done it, maybe someone can tell me. Wigan fans that have their mobile number registered with the club have been left a voicemail message from Steve Bruce advertising season tickets. A few extra bums on seats?

The American market. Sports sponsorship deals over there are worth far much more than here, would a pre-season tour help? Chelsea, Celtic and Man United are clubs I know that have done this.

There are a lot of things to think about.

[Boz]

I'm amazed that it has taken him nine months to come up with this conclusion..... "At the end of the day, it is an investment and right now, we can't see any way we'd get a fair return on that investment if we took the club over at the present level".

Perhaps this says all we need to know about this guy. But let's be kind and just say that he's a well meaning fan.

With regards to a partnership with the trustees, as suggested by his agent, oops sorry I mean our resident media guru, they can easily be tracked down and I'm sure they are more than willing to talk to any genuine bidder.

[nicko]

Dan Williams should never have gone public in the first place.

As you know, he didn't. He was 'outed.' Let's not go there.

[b12_simon]

How come Derby, the worst team I have seen in the Premier League are attracting investment from the States? Yes they have bigger fan base, but how did they attract it?

By being founded in a town more than twice the size of Blackburn.

[Brfcrule1]

Hi all,

have to say it doesn't surprise me it's taken too long to do but it seems also the trust need to lower it's expectations otherwise it will get to the stage where the value of rovers will go down and the next party interested will be offering considerably less also 9 months ago they said it was a good investment now after 9 months it is suddenly a bad investment what has changed? with not much money we are 3 points of a CL place with the investment we would be further up and would be challenging for the CL places sounds very much like hot air

Laters all.

[nicko]

I'm amazed that it has taken him nine months to come up with this conclusion..... "At the end of the day, it is an investment and right now, we can't see any way we'd get a fair return on that investment if we took the club over at the present level".

Perhaps this says all we need to know about this guy. But let's be kind and just say that he's a well meaning fan.

With regards to a partnership with the trustees, as suggested by his agent, oops sorry I mean our resident media guru, they can easily be tracked down and I'm sure they are more than willing to talk to any genuine bidder.

It took nine months because he was trying to find ways of doing it.

And when I referred to the possibility of someone putting money in as a 'partnership' it was trying to find out if there was anyone out there...not just Dan Williams.

It does make me smile that the day after that was mentioned somebody goes on to Dan Williams - probably having read the site - and asked what's going on with his takeover.

You will note from a few weeks ago that I said here that this would not happen because of the failure to find a financial ally. Those who considered it could not see any financial sense.

I think it is pretty plain that no-one wants to take on the club, although perhaps you know better.

But if you want to glory in that and knock somebody who tried that's up to you.

[den]

I don't have any problem with the trust asking a high price. Why under value the club? At least, by asking a higher price we should only be attracting the people with real money. What's the alternative - sell the club off to the first bidder who comes along, cash or no cash?

- and if no-one has the dough, we're better off with the trust.

[nicko]

JUST IN CASE YOU NEEDED REMINDING...

For those who need news...

There was a minor development recently when a potential financial ally of Dan Williams met Rovers officials - but the word I have back is that they do not think it is a worthwhile investment.

So, sadly there is no progress.

The bottom line is that the cost of buying - and spending money on players - is too much for all of those who have hovered in the past few months.

It does not take the massive figures mentioned by some, but it is still considered too much by people who want to see a return.

I am not going to fault Williams for trying, but my initial fear was that he had to do it last summer or the moment had gone. That may be the case.

[RevidgeBlue]

This morning the Lancashire Telegraph are running a story which says that Wiillam's has finally ended his interest in buying Rovers.

Thank god for that, now maybe we can concentrate on any serious potential investors if any come forward.

Well done to nicko for initially outing DW's interest but it appears the initial fears of those on the board about DW's crew being "asset strippers" were bang on the money right from the off.

[modes98]

Thank god for that, now maybe we can concentrate on any serious potential investors if any come forward.

I'm worried that in the near future there won't be any serious investors. We need someone in the same financial and supporting passion as Jack.

[nicko]

... it appears the initial fears of those on the board about DW's crew being "asset strippers" were bang on the money right from the off.

Check his quotes...

[RevidgeBlue]

Some miscellaneous points:

1) I can't agree with Bryan's doom and gloom scenario that no-one would ever want to come in for us. The Premier League is currently the most glamorous in the world, is set for increased media exposure worldwide, and there are only 20 Premiership Clubs. If sports ownersip is your bag, we must be a better bet than most.

2) Someone questioned a while back as to why the Trustees didn't do a "Jack Hayward" and sell the club for 10 quid thereby allowing any potential investor more money to spend on the team etc. I think this is a very fair question to ask and I'm sure if Jack Walker was still around, it would be an option of sorts. However I presume the Trustees have to act in the interests of the ultimate beneficiaries of Jack's will , i.e. his family, and giving away an asset worth millions for a few quid certainly isn't doing that. Whether the current asking price is realistic is another question altogether, one I certainly can't answer, but maybe the relative lack of interest so far suggests it isn't?

3) As regards nicko's suggestion about someone going into partnership with the Trustees, another very fair point, one that had crossed my mind before. However could it work in practice? Surely it would only work if the Trustees and the new partner(s) invested equally from now on in. I can't see much enjoyment for any new partner pumping money in whilst the Trustees sat back and did nothing and shared the plaudits. Also there is the potential for conflict even Gillette and Hicks at Liverpool can't get on after a few months reportedly.

Having said that, someone getting a certain percentage stake in the Club with no ingoing amount as such but having to invest a guaranteed sum on the playing side............ who knows? The Trustees might have to get more imaginative if no buyers want to meet their price for selling the club outright.