[Archived] Rovers Sold ??

[RoversFanUSA]

Well i was just watching BBC world over here and just heard that Rovers might be bought by rich americans. In a way im excited but also a little sad seeing as there has been a rich english tradition and so much up till now has been owed to Jack Walker and really i wouldnt want that to change. So i guess i have to say yay that were gonna gets a lot more money but they (who ever buys Rovers) better not change any of the good stuff or else... (slowly waves fist at whoevers thinking of buying Rovers!!!!)

P.S. They also better get us our damn shop back!!!

[RevidgeBlue]

I don't understand all the negativity on here regarding the latest developments. Imo we are only going to be able to continue to thrive and hopefully move forward by embracing new ideas and more particularly investment.

It will still be our club for heavens sake - noone even knows the identity of the people with their hands currently on the rudder - the Trustees - so I don't understand why the change of ownership is such an issue for many. Of course it would be far more of a concern if Uncle Jack was selling the Club directly but as sadly the great man is no longer with us (except in spirit) that's not the case.

Circumstances change all the time and you have to adapt accordingly or be left behind. I'm sure the Trustees would sell the Club if they felt someone else was better equipped and more inclined to try to take the club onto the next level. I hope (and am reasonably confident) they wouldn't just sell it to any Tom Dick and Harry just to get a loss making business off their portfolio. If anything does happen I think we have to show great appreciation for the substantial support the Trustees have shown us since Jack's death and look eagerly ahead to our latest adventure.

Could be exciting times ahead.

The key to it all in the short to medium term is retaining the services of Mark Hughes and his coaching staff. If anything happens you would imagine it would also be beneficial to retain continuity at Boardroom level. However if that were not to happen let's not forget that we've been relegated, promoted, won a Cup, and nearly relegated again under the current regime indicating it's the manager and players on the pitch that make most of the difference, not the faces in the Boardroom.

[Florida Rover]

Here is a collation of the news today(so far) to save you from looking hither and yon.

A decent summary from the Independant(more balanced than most)

From the Times

I have to believe as astute as John Williams is that these news reports are not leake info but rather info he wants out there in the public.If you consider how he conducts our transfer business,he never lets the 'cat out of the bag' unitl we are signing them.It would not be shocking if things wee further along than we expected.For me,the sun rises and sets on Mark Hughes and ALL of his backroom staff as well as JW and if we can keep them together AND get serious financial clout well good to even great things could be ahead for our favorite football club.

[brfc fan]

I am quite sentimental about having the Walkers as owners but everyone moves on and this is the way football is going (like it or not).

Fact is, we need investment if we are consistantly going to challenge for top six and ultimately top four.

I suppose you're right.

I am a bit excited though!

[Beta Ray Bill]

Could be sorted by August according to The Mirror.

Nice that Gordon Taylor is worried about the sale of top clubs to foreign owners, as this suggests he regards us as a top club!

[neekoy]

Now some of the 'smaller' clubs are being looked at, what is the odds now that the FA SUDDENLY becomes concerned with foreign ownership and bans it before August?

[Paul Mellelieu]

Could someone explain why someone would want to buy the club, because I can't see how they could make any money from purchasing the Rovers.

[Manc Rover]

Could someone explain why someone would want to buy the club, because I can't see how they could make any money from purchasing the Rovers.

Basically, the prem is a lucrative global brand and will get even bigger over the next few years. We only see it from an English point of view and our amazing TV packages, but the money to be made from global TV companies is absolutely huge. To these investors, as long as you're in the premiership, there's money to be made and can also help their own existing business interests.

From another perspective, they are generally playboys with money to burn and they simply want a piece of the action and all the kudos that owning a premiership club brings with it.

[JAL]

When JW comes out with a comment like we aren't going to be able buy a twenty goal a season striker for 500,000, does this mean the pot is well and truly empty and Rovers desperately need an injection of cash to move the club forward, then yes, i'd say bring on the change it seems the only logical step without having to mortgage the club up to the hilt.

[mattym]

Nice little read from the Independant.

Independant Report

[Eddie]

Paul Allen would be my first choice.

[gbax]

If it is Paul Allen, he started Microsoft with his mate Bill Gates, so should be able to sort our internet club shop out!

[Uddersfelt Blue]

When JW comes out with a comment like we aren't going to be able buy a twenty goal a season striker for 500,000, does this mean the pot is well and truly empty and Rovers desperately need an injection of cash to move the club forward, then yes, i'd say bring on the change it seems the only logical step without having to mortgage the club up to the hilt.

I don't think that JW is saying that the pot is empty at all.

What he is saying is that if we are to be able to buy players who can compete at the top level then we will have to pay accordingly. Clearly there is a limit to how much we can pay but it will be a helluva lot higher than 500k

As for the takeover then clearly the Trustees have decided to sell the Club so we might as well get ready for new and exciting times at Ewood.

Caca would be a start to get a few more bums on seats

[herbergeehh]

Seeing Newcastle, Aston Villa and especially West Ham making themselves big by giving good, but not fantastic Premiership players 60-80k a week - I gotta say I rather want 10th-12th place the next five seasons than jumping on the same bandwagon. Sickening..

[Martin]

I would hate to think that we would ever go stupid over wages. It will be a sad day when we offer the likes of Lucas Neill £72,000 per week, Scott Parker £65,000 and now perhaps Darren Bent £75,000. That can not be sustainable - I don't care how much money you have.

[bob]

Well from my point of view it’s a sad day when we sell I think the club atmosphere of being a family club will change forever, the players all say what a nice club it is Bellers said he thought it was a great club, Bentley has said the club has helped in massively and I think this will undoubtedly change when the bottom line is the most important thing!! Not saying it’s not run as a good business at the moment or JW (who I think does a great job) is not doing the best to save money but I just get the feeling that revenue is not the highest priority at the club and that the fans and club sustainability is. I think all this foreign investment is a bad thing and am sure in years come it will come back to bite us hard and all these clubs will be left debt ridden. Nothing we can do about the takeover just hope JW and the Jersey board have enough common sense to get some long term commitment and leave the club financially sound if this yank or whoever comes in and decides to leave after a year or two! I think as a season ticket holder I would rather see us in the premiership for the next 10 seasons finishing mid table than sell out to some greedy yank to burden us with debt trying to achieve a champions league spot that we are not going to get unless we spend 10’s an 10’s of millions and leave us counting the cost when they don’t make a profit after 3 years. Trying not to be negative but looking long term the only reason a foreign buyer would be interested in us is for cash or a hobby and middle age Americans just don’t follow ‘Soccer’ and have very little interest in anything apart from the big three US sports. Quick thrills ahead maybe but long term I fear for the club…..

[key76]

Could someone explain why someone would want to buy the club, because I can't see how they could make any money from purchasing the Rovers.

I would have thought it is not the current club/brand/income stream that is attracting American investors although they probably view the current income from UK & foreign TV to be nice the even bigger bucks will surely start accruing when internet and mobile streaming of games across the world becomes more commonplace.

It would make sense that Paul Allen is interested given his background that he would know that the technology is in place for this to start happening sooner, rather than later. I may be wrong but getting in now will allow any American investor to build the Rovers brand in the US ready for the time when this happens.

[SuperStella]

Interesting article on Paul Allen; didnt realise he had Hodgkins Disease

http://www.answers.com/topic/paul-allen

[philipl]

The club changed from when everyone gathered in that smokey little 100 Club under the Nuttall Street stand after a game to when the Jack Walker stand was built with its separate players' lounge etc.

Apart from missing the great man himself, did the matchday experience change that much when Jack passed away?

I come back to the fact that the Trustees hands are completely tied by Jack's will as tightly or as loosely as he wrote the will. I understand he did foresee a new Jack Walker so its not impossible for the club to be sold but the new Jack Walker has to show to the Trustees that he is better able to look after the club than they are.

[Eddie]

Interesting article on Paul Allen; didnt realise he had Hodgkins Disease

http://www.answers.com/topic/paul-allen

I was talking to my dad about him yesterday and he mentioned that it was the fact that he thought he was going to die that turned him into such a good investor (from the point of the view of the business that he is buying).

[philipl]

It would be nice to think it would be Paul Allen. Perhaps John Williams (a Southampton lad originally) managed to hook up with his people as the Southampton deal folded. Certainly the comments about family values etc which Allen made about Southampton apply very realistically to Rovers.

One thing I noticed on google is that our Rovers, the Mars Rover and this site are vying for top spot on search for Rovers. Hopefully, Allen associates Rovers with high quality as a result and hasn't had any bad experiences there.

Octopus is frequently in the Grand Harbour here in Malta. Always think it looks much nicer than Abramovic's Pelorus.

[Hughesy]

Could anyone create a mock up of our new kit with Google or Microsoft or windows as our new sponsor!!

Come on Mr Allen - snap us up and spend big! Hughes with £50 million would be dangerous to the rest of the league!

[RevidgeBlue]

Could someone explain why someone would want to buy the club, because I can't see how they could make any money from purchasing the Rovers.

Presumably because if you want the worldwide kudos that goes with owning a successful premiership side we are one of the better bets outside of the top four.

Long tradition, outstanding manager, it wouldn't take unlimited funding to push us up another level and there is no mountain of debt to pay off first before you start.

[Gumbi]

Octopus is frequently in the Grand Harbour here in Malta. Always think it looks much nicer than Abramovic's Pelorus.

I saw the Octopus when I was in Malta 2 years ago. Pretty impressive.

[RevidgeBlue]

When JW comes out with a comment like we aren't going to be able buy a twenty goal a season striker for 500,000, does this mean the pot is well and truly empty and Rovers desperately need an injection of cash to move the club forward,

Those were my thoughts exactly when I read that quote.

If JW had said "You can't generally get a 20 goal a season man for 5m" that would also have been accurate but would have been a more reassuring indication of where we were looking.

Meanwhile today's LT also confirms that the trustees would ideally like to seal a deal to sell their shares by the beginning of August as that could free up extra funds for use by Mark Hughes in the transfer window.

The timing of this is unfortunate in a way, all the better targets may well have been snapped up before anything is concluded.

Although the article does still claim sparky will be given funds to strengthen the squad whilst talks continue.