[Archived] Rovers Sold ??

[thenodrog]

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

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

I thought you were into protecting your sources?

[Guided Missile]

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/

A few of points that are clear from that site, nicko.

1. St. Louis doesn't have a "soccer team" in the MLS

2. Jeff Cooper and his band of "investors" have put the website up to try and attract investment and secure a franchise

3. I didn't see the name Dan Williams mentioned in connection with the scheme.

4. Jeff Cooper is trying to raise $450M to develop a stadium that will attract the MLS to grant him an expansion franchise That's a bit more than the £25M that ginger is offering, as he "closes in" on the deal.

5. I will bet you a pound to a pinch of sh!te that the board of Brentford is the farthest Jeff Cooper is going get in "soccer"

I personally think it is more likely that you will get a Pulitzer prize before Dan Williams buys either Blackburn Rovers or a "soccer" franchise in St. Louis.

[nicko]

I was hoping you would expose yourself as the amateur that you are.

Thanks.

You still haven't worked it out.

I would point it out, but it's too much entertainment watching you fail to figure this one out.

Two people linked with St.Louis United, two people linked with Southampton after flirting with fans for more information.

Are you getting warm yet?

St.Louis United is a project, aimed at getting a football club and a massive development together ahead of a possible MLS franchise. The date for that decision is November 30, which you should have read eaerlier.

The whole development would be worth fortunes, the football club - and the cost of running it - would be around £25 million.

Penny dropped yet?

[Guided Missile]

I was hoping you would expose yourself as the amateur that you are.

Thanks.

You still haven't worked it out.

Penny dropped yet?

This St. Louis scheme is a total pipedream that may or may not work out in 2009 or later and reminds me of the movie "Field of Dreams". In the 12 years I lived in the US, kites like this were flown daily by bigger bullsh!tters than you and Dan Williams put together. It all culminated with Enron and Worldcom and then people woke up.

I was hoping that you would respond to my previous post about your People article but I think you would rather talk in riddles than admit you've been done like a kipper...

[nicko]

If you were less full of your own self-importance you could check on the St.Louis bid for an MLS franchise. You would also know the date.

You would also have, just possibly, figured out the relationship between Jeff Cooper and Dan Williams.

As a well-informed Southampton fan you should also know Cooper's movements over recent weeks, who he has been talking to, etc, etc.

You would also know what game he was at, whose tickets he used and if he has made a bid.

Or is that too much of a riddle for you?

[Guided Missile]

nicko, I'm trying hard to get the penny to drop, but I think I need help. I'm looking for the words Williams, St and Louis in the articles below.....

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian....xml&coll=7

Commissioner Don Garber said in March, when scouting PGE Park as a possible venue for a new franchise, that the MLS most likely would consider adding a team in just one of the two cities by 2010. Portland has a chance at winning one of two open slots to field a team by 2010. Should that not pan out, the city could take home one of two additional franchises the league wants operating by 2011 or 2012.

Reports in the past week indicated the league soon will name Seattle as its next expansion site. League officials denied an agreement has been finalized. But MLS officials said they remain in discussions with an investor group that includes movie studio executive Joe Roth and Adrian Hanauer, managing partner of the Seattle Sounders.

Franchise No. 14, the San Jose Earthquakes, begins play next year. The MLS expects to name its 15th and 16th franchises by the end of March. New franchise owners must pay a $30 million entry fee.

http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fus...p;art_aid=24114

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

On Tuesday, Major League Soccer, which hopes to have as many as 16 teams registered before the 2010 season, issued a statement about its expansion plans, . Of the three new franchises, one, San Jose, has been confirmed as entrant for the 2008 season. The Seattle-Post Intelligencer claims that its city is favored to win one of the remaining two slots, with the last one going to an Eastern Conference team. It's unclear when MLS will announce its two newest expansion franchises. The paper claims that if Seattle succeeds, a team would be ready by the 2009 season.

"MLS does not have a set deadline to make that announcement," MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche said of the 15th and 16th franchises. "Thus, it may be early 2008 before both teams are announced."

[Guided Missile]

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 marked it in bold this time. Still waiting for an answer....

[bluebruce]

Ffs Missile, I think even I've figured out what Nicko is getting at. I have one question though, how in the hell are a non-MLS side supposedly worth 25 million?

[Guided Missile]

St.Louis United is a project, aimed at getting a football club and a massive development together ahead of a possible MLS franchise. The date for that decision is November 30, which you should have read eaerlier.

The whole development would be worth fortunes, the football club - and the cost of running it - would be around £25 million.

Penny dropped yet?

Just before I go downstairs for a beer, I think you need to look at the reality of this stadium in St. Louis. According to your ginger mate it is worth £25M and to you fortunes.

The planned ground will have a capacity of 4,000 less than Turf Moor and a team maybe playing in the MLS, in front of 10,000 people, tops...mostly 14 year olds.

20 home games (ha ha) a year at $50 a pop including hot dogs and I make that a turnover of around £5,000,000.

A football club worth £25M....yeah.

Penny dropped yet????

[philipl]

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...

Yes, I have thrashed you...and you have written one thing that was true today.

[EwoodGlory]

The planned ground will have a capacity of 4,000 less than Turf Moor and a team maybe playing in the MLS, in front of 10,000 people, tops...mostly 14 year olds.

20 home games (ha ha) a year at $50 a pop including hot dogs and I make that a turnover of around £5,000,000.

A football club worth £25M....yeah.

Penny dropped yet????

Might want to think about sponsorship.

Not to many teams in the MLS, so when you get their the sponsorship is worth a lot.

[Tris]

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...

I think you can drop the bodyguard act now - Nicko appears to love / be hooked on this forum as much as everyone else!

[nicko]

Ffs Missile, I think even I've figured out what Nicko is getting at. I have one question though, how in the hell are a non-MLS side supposedly worth 25 million?

If St.Louis is accepted as an MLS franchise there will be a two-fold business opportunity. First, to buy the club and do something with it. The second is a massive building project, basically building a new suburb. There are fortunes to be made on that side.

The football club is a £25 million project to set up and finance.

The building project is what appeals to the money men - and makes the whole plan attractive.

I'm glad you worked it out, it wasn't that hard.

Cooper and Williams are not rivals...they are working together.

You would have thought such a worldly person as Mister Missile would have figured.

[nicko]

Yes, I have thrashed you...and you have written one thing that was true today.

I'm afraid, as usual, you are talking to yourself.

[RevidgeBlue]

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.

This is very rehashing very old ground.

Tom Finn confirmed at one of the Fans Forums a few months ago that Dan Williams had been in discussion with Jersey so I think we should be extremely grateful that nicko brought the "interest" to our attention in the first place.

I don't blame nicko for putting a positive spin on the original "interest" he has to get a paper to print his story or he doesn't get paid!

That said, in the light of all the other available bits of evidence that have come to light since, I personally put DW's "interest" in the "Michael Knighton envelope"

Guided Missile is also getting a bad press on here. To be fair to him he got a bad press also on the Southampton fansites before apparently exposing the person or persons purporting to be Daniel Williams wanting to buy Southampton operating under dual identities from the same ip adress which corresponded with his stated business address. After that everyone appeared to side with GM on that particular issue.

[philipl]

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:

I hope that helps...

Revidge, I think you are absolutely right to put DW in the Michael Knighton category.

And to treat this whole DW thing as ancient history- so ancient it was probably already dead before Nicko "broke" the story.

The "member of the Rovers board" referred to above is probably the gentleman in his '70s who many years ago retired from the Rovers board.

As far as I can see, the allegations made by GM have not been answered in the same way as my observation and question were evaded.

[philipl]

This St. Louis scheme is a total pipedream that may or may not work out in 2009 or later and reminds me of the movie "Field of Dreams". In the 12 years I lived in the US, kites like this were flown daily by bigger bullsh!tters than you and Dan Williams put together. It all culminated with Enron and Worldcom and then people woke up.

I was hoping that you would respond to my previous post about your People article but I think you would rather talk in riddles than admit you've been done like a kipper...

I don't know whether nicko has helped DW by publicly linking him to Mr Cooper when the paper trail appears to have been arranged so as to keep them separate. All part of the journalist's profession.

DW made his money from internet publishing so he must know a huge amount about internet editorial control. A serious internet publisher would never let a web site like that DJW Associates page get anywhere near the world wide web.

A serious internet publisher raising finance for new ventures wouldn't dream of writing that Blackburn Rovers had been acquired for 50m in the Spring of 2007 as a statement of historical fact in any circumstances whatsoever until it had been cleared by the lawyers and that statement would never get past lawyers on either side of the Atlantic.

The Ewood Glory apologia for that web site being carried by Google so extensively was just a bit too familiar - I have seen that line of reasoning used before in the defence of an internet scam. A terribly unfortunate coincidence blighting a wholly innocent error.

It is convenient for Nicko to ask us to believe him by citing that Sun article and then hiding behind the Sun's editorial decisions when questions get asked about its content. Of course journalists don't talk with each other and give leads and stories to the other side when it suits them.

Then Revidge, I think it might have been you who got agitated about another highly amateur looking web presence which talked about having a Ghana housing contract? My memory may be serving me badly here but a very similar contract turned up on another and unconnected American company's web site when the relevant Minister for Housing crossed the Atlantic to visit them.

I have this nagging concern that people many thousands of miles from Blackburn who have heard of the riches of the English Premiership are being encouraged to do something supported by occasional red top reports, all of which appear on the internet under the authoritative banner of a respected group of newspapers.

I don't know, this damned flu keeping me up at night.

[nicko]

I don't know whether nicko has helped DW by publicly linking him to Mr Cooper when the paper trail appears to have been arranged so as to keep them separate. All part of the journalist's profession.

I PUT SOME FOOL OUT OF HIS MISERY...THE GREAT DETECTIVE COULD NOT SEE WHAT WAS UNDER HIS NOSE...

DW made his money from internet publishing so he must know a huge amount about internet editorial control. A serious internet publisher would never let a web site like that DJW Associates page get anywhere near the world wide web.

WHAT?

A serious internet publisher raising finance for new ventures wouldn't dream of writing that Blackburn Rovers had been acquired for 50m in the Spring of 2007 as a statement of historical fact in any circumstances whatsoever until it had been cleared by the lawyers and that statement would never get past lawyers on either side of the Atlantic.

HE SAYS IT'S NOT HIS SITE...LOOK BACK AT THE TIME AND DATE...

The Ewood Glory apologia for that web site being carried by Google so extensively was just a bit too familiar - I have seen that line of reasoning used before in the defence of an internet scam. A terribly unfortunate coincidence blighting a wholly innocent error.

It is convenient for Nicko to ask us to believe him by citing that Sun article and then hiding behind the Sun's editorial decisions when questions get asked about its content. Of course journalists don't talk with each other and give leads and stories to the other side when it suits them.

I PICKED OUT THE SUN ARTICLE THE DAY AFTER THE SUNDAY PEOPLE NAMED DAN WILLIAMS BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF MANY ON THE SAME DAY. IF YOU READ THE PAPER YOU WOULD KNOW THAT. AND, YES, I KNOW WHO THE SOURCE OF CONFIRMATION WAS.

Then Revidge, I think it might have been you who got agitated about another highly amateur looking web presence which talked about having a Ghana housing contract? My memory may be serving me badly here but a very similar contract turned up on another and unconnected American company's web site when the relevant Minister for Housing crossed the Atlantic to visit them.

SO, DAN WILLIAMS'S COMPANY ISN'T BUILDING HOUSES IN AFRICA...THIS JUST GETS BETTER

I have this nagging concern that people many thousands of miles from Blackburn who have heard of the riches of the English Premiership are being encouraged to do something supported by occasional red top reports, all of which appear on the internet under the authoritative banner of a respected group of newspapers.

SORRY, I CAN'T WORK THAT OUT.

I don't know, this damned flu keeping me up at night.

We'll put it down to the fever, eh.

My stance on this subject was to say nothing until there was a further genuine development. Some smug ass from Southampton thought he had a new lead yesterday. He was put out of his misery.

There will be no more from me on the subject until there is something to tell.

On a serious note, your club needs investment. Not hot air.

[philipl]

I don't know whether nicko has helped DW by publicly linking him to Mr Cooper when the paper trail appears to have been arranged so as to keep them separate. All part of the journalist's profession.

I PUT SOME FOOL OUT OF HIS MISERY...THE GREAT DETECTIVE COULD NOT SEE WHAT WAS UNDER HIS NOSE...

Not my battle Nicko- just an observation.

DW made his money from internet publishing so he must know a huge amount about internet editorial control. A serious internet publisher would never let a web site like that DJW Associates page get anywhere near the world wide web.

WHAT?

The launch of young entrepreneur Dan Williams was a web-based graduate recruitment operation wasn't it?

A serious internet publisher raising finance for new ventures wouldn't dream of writing that Blackburn Rovers had been acquired for 50m in the Spring of 2007 as a statement of historical fact in any circumstances whatsoever until it had been cleared by the lawyers and that statement would never get past lawyers on either side of the Atlantic.

HE SAYS IT'S NOT HIS SITE...LOOK BACK AT THE TIME AND DATE...

To quote Ewood Glory: 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.

The Ewood Glory apologia for that web site being carried by Google so extensively was just a bit too familiar - I have seen that line of reasoning used before in the defence of an internet scam. A terribly unfortunate coincidence blighting a wholly innocent error.

It is convenient for Nicko to ask us to believe him by citing that Sun article and then hiding behind the Sun's editorial decisions when questions get asked about its content. Of course journalists don't talk with each other and give leads and stories to the other side when it suits them.

I PICKED OUT THE SUN ARTICLE THE DAY AFTER THE SUNDAY PEOPLE NAMED DAN WILLIAMS BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF MANY ON THE SAME DAY. IF YOU READ THE PAPER YOU WOULD KNOW THAT. AND, YES, I KNOW WHO THE SOURCE OF CONFIRMATION WAS.

And that Sun article includes as its centre piece a quote from a web site which you say isn't DW's but others are convinced is- very strange choice of reference

Then Revidge, I think it might have been you who got agitated about another highly amateur looking web presence which talked about having a Ghana housing contract? My memory may be serving me badly here but a very similar contract turned up on another and unconnected American company's web site when the relevant Minister for Housing crossed the Atlantic to visit them.

SO, DAN WILLIAMS'S COMPANY ISN'T BUILDING HOUSES IN AFRICA...THIS JUST GETS BETTER

No another logic flaw on your part- if you remember you and Dan trumpeted two contracts in Africa. I am saying it looks rather like one of them went elsewhere

I have this nagging concern that people many thousands of miles from Blackburn who have heard of the riches of the English Premiership are being encouraged to do something supported by occasional red top reports, all of which appear on the internet under the authoritative banner of a respected group of newspapers.

SORRY, I CAN'T WORK THAT OUT.

Think about it.

I don't know, this damned flu keeping me up at night.

[EwoodGlory]

A serious internet publisher raising finance for new ventures wouldn't dream of writing that Blackburn Rovers had been acquired for 50m in the Spring of 2007 as a statement of historical fact in any circumstances whatsoever until it had been cleared by the lawyers and that statement would never get past lawyers on either side of the Atlantic.

I don't know who made the website for DJW Ventures so I don't know if they are a serious internet publisher or not.

I am a web designer, I wouldn't dream of doing the above, but being in the industry for many years I have seen things like this happen.

It could have been a mock-up for a design of the site for some people to look at.

I wasn't try to make excuses for them, just saying it was a possibility.

Make sure you drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest

[Guided Missile]

DW made his money from internet publishing so he must know a huge amount about internet editorial control. A serious internet publisher would never let a web site like that DJW Associates page get anywhere near the world wide web.

WHAT?

A serious internet publisher raising finance for new ventures wouldn't dream of writing that Blackburn Rovers had been acquired for 50m in the Spring of 2007 as a statement of historical fact in any circumstances whatsoever until it had been cleared by the lawyers and that statement would never get past lawyers on either side of the Atlantic.

HE SAYS IT'S NOT HIS SITE...LOOK BACK AT THE TIME AND DATE...

My stance on this subject was to say nothing until there was a further genuine development. Some smug ass from Southampton thought he had a new lead yesterday. He was put out of his misery.

And on the website for his company DJW Ventures, Williams says: “The Spring 2007 acquisition of Blackburn Rovers for £50m marks both DJW’s highest profile and most significant investment.”

The smug ass from Southampton would love to hear how nicko or Dan Williams can explain the following publically available information from register.com:

Domain Name: djwventures.com

Registrant:

Daniel Williams

39 Gulick Road

Ringoes, nj 08551

US

Email: d.williams@princetonglobal.com

Registrar Name....: REGISTER.COM, INC.

Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com

Registrar Homepage: www.register.com

Domain Name: djwventures.com

Created on..............: Tue, Apr 17, 2007

Expires on..............: Thu, Apr 17, 2008

Record last updated on..: Mon, Oct 29, 2007

Administrative Contact:

Daniel Williams

39 Gulick Road

Ringoes, nj 08551

US

Phone: +1.2159831571

Email: d.williams@princetonglobal.com

[philipl]

I don't know who made the website for DJW Ventures so I don't know if they are a serious internet publisher or not.

I am a web designer, I wouldn't dream of doing the above, but being in the industry for many years I have seen things like this happen.

It could have been a mock-up for a design of the site for some people to look at.

I wasn't try to make excuses for them, just saying it was a possibility.

Make sure you drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest

Thanks

[Fife Rover]

This "battle" is getting highly entertaining, and in fact a naughty little thought has just occured to me.

I reckon that the collected posts on this thread with a bit of judicious editing to include only the relevant material, could become a saleable item. Quick BRFCS, slap a copyright on the thread and you might have a best seller that can defray the costs of running the site.

[thenodrog]

On a serious note, your club needs investment. Not hot air.

Exactly Alan! But hoisting you by your own petard ........ all DW appears to possess is said 'hot air'.

BUT who (and why) will anyone from half way around the globe want to invest in a finacial lame duck, small town club that is very very unlikely to ever show adequate returns...... apart from an Uncle Jack type figure? btw in nearly a century and a half we've only managed to find 1 or 2 of those at the most.

[nicko]

Exactly Alan! But hoisting you by your own petard ........ all DW appears to possess is said 'hot air'.

BUT who (and why) will anyone from half way around the globe want to invest in a finacial lame duck, small town club that is very very unlikely to ever show adequate returns...... apart from an Uncle Jack type figure? btw in nearly a century and a half we've only managed to find 1 or 2 of those at the most.

Because he's a fan. Otherwise he would have gone elsewhere a long time ago. His backers come, go and change. They don't think it's a good business idea. It's NOT. They don't share his interest in your club. But if you want to run your club and you have money and contacts you keep trying to get it together.

Remember all of your 'hedge fund' hysteria was based on info I had dug out. It didn't help him, it scared them and eventually they took a back seat. There have been other and several potential allies since. I've not named them because I don't want to start a fresh round of babbling.

Williams has had lots of approaches from clubs, agents and the like , some serious and some otherwise since I tracked him down. He comes back to the one that he wants.

There has been plenty happening behind the scenes, but as I said before, too much talk and not enough money on the table for anybody's liking. But don't knock somebody who is trying and wants to do it for the right reasons.

You had one major benefactor in your history. He won't pass this way again. Accept it. As I recall he took some persuading to actually come on board and waited until he had made his cash in business. That was a good plan.

So keep it in perspective and keep it real.