[Archived] Rovers Sold ??

[Guided Missile]

You would know about the St.Louis story if you read the Sunday People and got the hair out of your eyes...

Which story is that? This one?

Dan Williams, the whiz-kid millionaire who wants to buy Blackburn Rovers, is now in talks to run American side St.Louis United.

The young entrepreneur and his backers are closing in on a sensational move to buy the franchise for St.Louis for £25 million.

But Williams's move is not stopping his interest in taking over at Blackburn where he has been in negotiations with the Jack Walker trustees for six months. He will try to get a Rovers decision in the next few weeks.

Read my post again, my portly stalker. You may find it shows I'm an avid reader of your PR material.

[nicko]

Get in touch with St.Louis United and check your facts...

Or is it that too much trouble?

[Guided Missile]

Get in touch with St.Louis United and check your facts...

Or is it that too much trouble?

The truth is that, contrary to your article, Dan Williams has not been "in negotiations with the Jack Walker trustees for six months."

Possible Takeover:

Tom Finn stated that things were very quiet at the moment and there had been no progress or even activity since the last meeting (13th August 2007).

....and you're asking me to check my facts????????

All I want is an apology to the Rovers fans that you and ginger have misled....

[USRoverME]

Can we instead have an apology for the tripe you have contributed?

by the way, St. Louis, aren't they well behind in the "race" for an MLS side, I would think at this point that Seattle, San Jose and Philly are all ahead of them....

edit: in fact I forgot San Jose were confirmed for 2008... Seattle has been rumored but not confirmed for 2009 (would be almost a promotion situation) , and philly are the front runners for the last '09 spot.

Heh, I have to root for philly, the stadium site is ~ 20 mins from my house.

[EwoodGlory]

Tom Finn stated that things were very quiet at the moment and there had been no progress or even activity since the last meeting (13th August 2007).

Yes, cause everything going on at the Football club is disclosed at a fans forum

[Guided Missile]

Can we instead have an apology for the tripe you have contributed?

by the way, St. Louis, aren't they well behind in the "race" for an MLS side, I would think at this point that Seattle, San Jose and Philly are all ahead of them....

The "tripe" wasn't about St. Louis, San Jose or the city of brotherly love. It was about the total sh!te that nicko has been spouting re. Dan Williams and his proposed takeover of Blackburn. The fact that it is quite apparent that he has never been involved in a credible bid for the Rovers and that his "£25M" bid for the St Louis MLS expansion franchise is total sh!te as well.

Still the burning question I have for you is this. We know where your body is. We know where your heart is.

Tell me where you left your brain?

[philipl]

St Louis has been brought into this as they are reported to be the club the Dan Williams consortium are going to buy.

Guided Missile's style of writing might be perjorative but his statements have pretty consistently matched what I have believed to be true or in the case of Southampton, what another insider was aware of re Dan Williams' approach there.

[nicko]

For those who need to be updated.

1 - Dan Williams's talks with Rovers began in March. Check his quotes in the LET after he was 'outed' in the Sunday People and since. I also have a document that proves this to be the case. You could also see the confirmation of the initial talks in any papers on the Monday after his name was revealed. Their cards were marked by a senior Rovers official. So let's not have any selective memory loss.

2 - St.Louis United will/won't become of interest to anyone until the end of November when they find out if they are to be admitted to the MLS in 2009. Perhaps your man from Hampshire should ring them to ask about that. Try collect call if you want, although I suggest you don't say it's a Mister Missile ringing.

[nicko]

Just to refresh your memory.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2105489,00.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...ticle237687.ece

[philipl]

Nicko, neither of those stories include a direct quote from BRFC or the Walker Trust about Dan Williams. I cannot remember the club ever publicly saying anything in which the words Dan Williams were ever included but I might be wrong.

Can you find anything?

That Sun article you have chosen to quote is an unfortunate OG. It includes this:

And on the website for his company DJW Ventures, Williams says: “The Spring 2007 acquisition of Blackburn Rovers for Ј50m marks both DJW’s highest profile and most significant investment.”

That was patently untrue. I think I can recall other attributions to DW which have also been proven to be inaccurate.

[nicko]

I know who confirmed both of those stories. But as a reporter I believe in protecting sources.

It makes me laugh. You hear moans from people about 'no info from the club' at every turn and when they do some off-the-record card-marking it's still wrong in some eyes.

Check with Rovers if you want. Don't expect me to do all your work for you...

And, by the way, thanks to the Southampton amateur detective for some very good info.

By mistake. If his head wasn't so far up another part of his own anatomy he would have worked something out by now.

It's funny how things work. And funnier still when you can't see the picture under your nose.

[philipl]

I know who confirmed both of those stories. But as a reporter I believe in protecting sources.

It makes me laugh. You hear moans from people about 'no info from the club' at every turn and when they do some off-the-record card-marking it's still wrong in some eyes.

Check with Rovers if you want. Don't expect me to do all your work for you...

And, by the way, thanks to the Southampton amateur detective for some very good info.

By mistake. If his head wasn't so far up another part of his own anatomy he would have worked something out by now.

It's funny how things work. And funnier still when you can't see the picture under your nose.

Excellent political answer Nicko- totally evaded the point and question.

Incidentally, you really don't want anybody to check with the Rovers.

[nicko]

Dan Williams in the LET after he was named in the Sunday People: "We've had a very good dialogue with chairman John Williams and his vice-chairman David Brown but a lot of what has been written is exceptionally premature."

John Williams at the same time: "We've made some progress with a third party but it is very difficult because of all of the formalities involved."

Join the dots...

[EwoodGlory]

Let had an interview with him

DANIEL Williams today insisted he is still interested in buying Blackburn Rovers.

In an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Telegraph, the New Jersey-based millionaire has denied reports his takeover bid is on the verge of collapse.

A story in one of the weekend tabloids claimed that Williams was ready to pull out of a deal, because the pressure of extra outside business contracts' was starting to occupy too much of his time.

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However, the Lancashire-born business tycoon is adamant he still hopes to complete a takeover of the club - hopefully in time to provide manager Mark Hughes with extra funds to spend in the January transfer window.

Williams, 30, and his American-based partners have been talking to Rovers' advisers for several months about the possibility of buying the Walker Trustees' 99.8 per cent stake in the club.

Initially, they were hoping to conclude a deal by mid-August, with the aim being to provide Hughes with extra cash to spend in the summer transfer window, but a series of hold-ups meant they failed to meet that deadline.

Williams, however, insists his takeover bid is not dead in the water, and he claims both he and his partners remain committed to the process.

"We are definitely still interested," said the young entrepreneur, who was at Ewood recently to see Rovers beat Manchester City.

"We are still working behind the scenes to put everything together, and when we have done that, we will get back in touch with the club again.

"My personal plan is to try and get something done before January.

"At the moment, there's not a mad scramble to try and get something done because the transfer window has just closed, and because of that, people are assuming the deal is dead.

"But that's not the case at all."

Williams first became interested in buying Rovers in March earlier this year, but a series of delays, partly due to other business commitments elsewhere, has meant that process has taken longer than expected, leading to frustration and scepticism amongst supporters.

"I can understand the fans' frustrations because this thing has gone back and forth," said Williams, who is also currently in negotiations with the Nigerian government over a contract to build 300,000 new houses in the African nation.

"At first, we didn't think the club was doing its bit and they weren't giving us enough information concerning a right and reasonable valuation.

"Then, more recently, we've been responsible for a lot of the delays because we haven't been able to get everything together that the club has needed from us.

"If we'd have put a bid in by August 1 and then rushed through the due diligence, we might have had a chance (of getting something done before the transfer window).

"But we probably dropped the ball a bit in July and now there isn't that same sense of urgency because there isn't a lot we can do before January.

"It's not as if the club is in financial peril.

"The Trustees are running Blackburn nicely, with John Williams as chairman, and if we came in between now and January what would we do?

"We'd still have John as chairman, and we'd be trying to run the club as well as the trustees have done.

"So there isn't a massive urgency to get things done now, which has perhaps taken the pressure off a bit."

LET Interview

[nicko]

Incidentally, you really don't want anybody to check with the Rovers.

Why not? You seem to have a hot line to the trustees?

[philipl]

First rule of logic,

If all cows are animals it doesn't follow that all animals are cows.

or if DW is a third party, it doesn't follow that all third parties are DW.

I cannot see any corroboration from the club in that LT interview.

[nicko]

Give me peace. I think we all know that Dan Williams is the guy involved. Check back to post 38 for more info.

The point that matters is when he is going to come up with a deal that matters.

Not daft stuff about does he or does he not exist and all that cow-animal stuff.

[EwoodGlory]

Every time Unguided Missile pops in we go through this.

- The club said that they were in discussions with potential investors for the football club, there was a statement on the official website to say so.

- Dan Williams name hits the papers.

- Dan Williams had an exclusive interview with the LET.

If he was not involved in talks the club would of made a statement to say so straight after the LET article. That is for sure.

Nicko never said that Dan Williams had bought the club, he stated that talks have taken place.

The deal may or may not happen but its pretty obvious that some kind of talks have taken place.

[philipl]

But the ever reluctant researcher Nicko has asked us to believe The Sun in support of his arguments which says:

And on the website for his company DJW Ventures, Williams says: “The Spring 2007 acquisition of Blackburn Rovers for Ј50m marks both DJW’s highest profile and most significant investment.”

[John]

For goodness sake.

Nicko is providing us with info close to the club and some people seem continously question it (which they are entitled to do). However, in my view, it is pretty obvious Dan Williams has attempted to buy our club.

Possibly has been a degree of 'spin' within certain newspaper articles on the matter, but any journalist would do the same.

[nicko]

But the ever reluctant researcher Nicko has asked us to believe The Sun in support of his arguments which says:

And on the website for his company DJW Ventures, Williams says: “The Spring 2007 acquisition of Blackburn Rovers for Ј50m marks both DJW’s highest profile and most significant investment.”

Ask The Sun why they used that, don't ask me.

And, by the way, when I am losing an argument I usually find it best to shut up...

[nicko]

For those who have been following this story closely over the past few months it would be worth having a little look at this.

http://www.stlouissoccerunited.com/content...category/15/73/

[EwoodGlory]

And on the website for his company DJW Ventures, Williams says: “The Spring 2007 acquisition of Blackburn Rovers for Ј50m marks both DJW’s highest profile and most significant investment.”

Theres no doubt that it was his website, there are links to his other businesses and his address. If anyone can remember it, it was just something that had been put together quickly, didn't look like it was anywhere near finished.

The domain name was registered Apr 17, 2007 and it looked at the time like it was just under construction, when the link was posted. The only reason people could view it because of Google cache, meaning the page could have been there for only 1 day and then taken down. It's just the fact Google stored it when it did.

A simple explanation could be that he was confident of a deal, put up a very brief article to say whats in the above quote. The website was put up to test for a day and then taken down, ready to put back up on launch date.

Who knows, i'm just saying thats one possibility.

[Guided Missile]

Ask The Sun why they used that, don't ask me.

And, by the way, when I am losing an argument I usually find it best to shut up...

nicko, I don't think that anyone disputes that your ginger mentor strung a gullible member of the Rovers board along for a few weeks, nor that he strung an even more gullible, former Independent journo along for considerably longer. What is in dispute for me is whether a single word that you wrote for the Sunday People was true.

To help you, I've underlined the parts of your story that have been demonstrated to be totally without foundation:

Dan Williams, the whiz-kid millionaire who wants to buy Blackburn Rovers, is now in talks to run American side St.Louis United.

The young entrepreneur and his backers are closing in on a sensational move to buy the franchise for St.Louis for £25 million.

But Williams's move is not stopping his interest in taking over at Blackburn where he has been in negotiations with the Jack Walker trustees for six months. He will try to get a Rovers decision in the next few weeks.

I hope that helps...

[Mozzer]

nicko, i dont know why you have to try explain yourself, when all people do is pick at things you say...you provide solid good information, and many of us like it, its just people trying to pick holes into what you say..

when nicko has information on a takeover im sure he will tell us, now stop picking holes..things change, anything can happen...