[Archived] Rovers Takeover Thread

[Iceman]

Ive heard from a guy that there is somebody out of the USA who has made an enquiry to the walkers,about buying into Rovers,and that he is preparing a joint bid with a chinese consortium.now whether this is the same chinese consortium being talked about recently,im not sure of.

[Beta Ray Bill]

Ive heard from a guy that there is somebody out of the USA who has made an enquiry to the walkers,about buying into Rovers,and that he is preparing a joint bid with a chinese consortium.now whether this is the same chinese consortium being talked about recently,im not sure of.

Now is that the smell of bovine excrement?

Or does someone in South Africa just happen to be in touch with a wealthy American businessman who knows some Chinese rich guys who happen to be interested in buying an English team.

Answers on a postcard to....

[nicko]

nicko how about the chinese party? are they still interested?

Yes, that is still possible. But they will not be doing it as part of a Chris Ronnie bid.

The Ronnie twist took my breath away last night...will do a few pars tomorrow [hopefully] to shed more light on it.

[PAFELL]

Yes, that is still possible. But they will not be doing it as part of a Chris Ronnie bid.

The Ronnie twist took my breath away last night...will do a few pars tomorrow [hopefully] to shed more light on it.

Can you not give a little bit more on this - good / bad twist - outrageous, pathetic etc?

[nicko]

Can you not give a little bit more on this - good / bad twist - outrageous, pathetic etc?

Usual script, fill in any missing details in the morning.

It is all rather odd. Strange, unexpected. Pick your own word.

If the Sunday People does not use it in full I will put it on here.

There is a lot happening elsewhere, so it may be abridged.

[Hughesy]

Looks like another Dan Williams. Is there still interest from the Chinese nicko? Any news on anyone else seriously interested??

[nicko]

Looks like another Dan Williams. WILLIAMS OFFERED MORE, STAYED AROUND FOR A WHILE AND WOULD PROBABLY BE GREETED LIKE A LOST SON IF HE RESURFACED.

Is there still interest from the Chinese nicko? THERE IS SOMETHING TO THAT BUT IT'S NOT GONE FAR

Any news on anyone else seriously interested?? APART FROM THE CLUB SAYING THERE ARE 'SEVERAL' INTERESTED PARTIES I HAVEN'T HEARD OF ANY AND DON'T THINK THEY CURRENTLY EXIST

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

The Ronnie twist took my breath away last night...will do a few pars tomorrow [hopefully] to shed more light on it.

We await with baited breath.....................................

[nicko]

Bait no longer.

A guy called Garry Cook is taking over at Manchester City as executive chairman. He has come in from Nike where he was a big noise. The Thais are staying and want him on board to make more money off the pitch. They also want top stars and a top boss.

It turns out that Cook wants to bring in Chris Ronnie as a director at CITY - they are mates for the past 20 years - and this surprise development seems to appeal to the JJB man.

However I also learned that Ronnie has MET Mark Hughes, SPOKEN to Rothschilds and has got a provisional team together for Rovers.

So he's been busy.

My gut feeling is that the Man City move may be easier to do and therefore that would be his more likely destination. But the Rovers interest is not over yet.

However the rest of the team he had in place for Rovers may yet want to put a bid together. But that is just a possibility.

[Iceman]

Man City or Rovers?mmm,difficult choice Mr Ronnie.he has spoken to Hughes?what would he be doing talking to Hughes for.maybe 'Mark if i take over,then you wil have 50mil to spend' i reckon he wil be off to City,as it wil be less of a hassle for him.

[Blueboy Downunder]

that is kind of worrying, that ronnie has spoken to sparky, especially if city are after a top boss and ronnie is wanted on the board at man city. i just wish we knew what the heck it was that they had a chat about.

[philipl]

I am sure the Ronnie/Sparky conversation was done with the knowledge and support of the Board. If SGE is too laid back and insufficiently high profile for Thaksin, Sparky is hardly going to fit the bill especially as its an open secret that City talks with Scolari and Mourinho are under way.

My guess is that Sparky's demeanour and public request for a backer at yesterday's game was because the Ronnie bird has flown.

[roversmum]

Great. So we are all supposed to be pleased and delighted that a prospective and useful looking buyer is on the verge of deciding to go to City then. Even more of a waste of my money

[Iceman]

I dont think its a certainty that ronnie wil land up at City.Nicko doesnt sound 100% sure bout where he wil land up.who is to say that a potential buyer is not already closing in,and his name is not Chris Ronnie.Nicko did Ronnie speak to Rotschilds before or after this whole City or Gary Cook moving in.im guessing he spoke before he knew bout this City thing.

[PAFELL]

I am sure the Ronnie/Sparky conversation was done with the knowledge and support of the Board. If SGE is too laid back and insufficiently high profile for Thaksin, Sparky is hardly going to fit the bill especially as its an open secret that City talks with Scolari and Mourinho are under way.

My guess is that Sparky's demeanour and public request for a backer at yesterday's game was because the Ronnie bird has flown.

My guess is that Sparky's demeanour and public request for a backer at yesterday's game was because the Ronnie bird has flown.Or an extremely large hint to the trusties - antway Mark Hughes has mentioned on and off for the past few weeks about the need for investment - before Ronnie came forward. Things might also be different if Rovers get into the Intertoto and this would mean Man city lose out - Rovers in Europe may be more enticing to a investor.

[nicko]

that is kind of worrying, that ronnie has spoken to sparky, especially if city are after a top boss and ronnie is wanted on the board at man city. i just wish we knew what the heck it was that they had a chat about.

About being a director if Ronnie's group took over at Rovers...

[nicko]

I dont think its a certainty that ronnie wil land up at City.Nicko doesnt sound 100% sure bout where he wil land up.who is to say that a potential buyer is not already closing in,and his name is not Chris Ronnie.Nicko did Ronnie speak to Rotschilds before or after this whole City or Gary Cook moving in.im guessing he spoke before he knew bout this City thing.

Twice to my knowledge although nobody is confirming it because of 'confidentiality' clauses.

The Cook move came on Friday as far as I know.

So it's an either or, although I suspect it's more City than Rovers as we speak.

Should he choose City then it's no great loss to you if that's where his heart is...

[Iceman]

Nicko just out of interest sake,and i know u doing a fabulous job.but if Ronnie has spoken to Rotschhilds would it not be a bad thing for us if he chose City in the end?im assuming if he spoke to Rotschilds,before Cook made his attentions clear to entice Ronnie,would Rotschilds have said um no you are not what Rovers are looking for.who makes these decisions as to who buys Rovers?john williams,the walkers or Rotschilds?or a combination of the 3.

[philipl]

Nicko just out of interest sake,and i know u doing a fabulous job.but if Ronnie has spoken to Rotschhilds would it not be a bad thing for us if he chose City in the end?im assuming if he spoke to Rotschilds,before Cook made his attentions clear to entice Ronnie,would Rotschilds have said um no you are not what Rovers are looking for.who makes these decisions as to who buys Rovers?john williams,the walkers or Rotschilds?or a combination of the 3.

None of them do. The Trustees do.

[Blueandwhitemike]

Nicko, i have a question.

Did you get to speak to Chris Ronnie or hear much about his plans for the club?

Particularly his motivation for choosing Rovers?

Many on here are worried about how a business man could come in and get a return on his 'investment'.

We really find it hard to see how anyone could come in and give the manager extra millions and then at some point make this money back..... just doesn't really seem possible to most of us.

To me the only hope for a better owner is one doing it for fun/vanity, willing to put cash in without getting much back in return...and that seems very unlikely.

I know you alluded to plans that Dan W had... but we don't really know what they were, and how they could make the seemingly impossible, possible.

Thanks for all your time and fantastic info you give us on this site

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Anyone else find it rather galling that a club who not so long ago won the Premiership and finishes consistently in the top 10 of the *best league in the world * has to tout itself through the media like at present to find a new owner

I hate to say this but we appear to be attracting some strange attention from faceless 'consortiums' who many fans believe will not have the best interests of the club at heart.

Why do the Walkers/trustees really want rid of Rovers when the club appears to be,at long last, washing its own face financially and (from the outside atleast) appears to be as stable if not more so than at any time?...did Jack himself forsee a time when the club would run itself without any help from the Walkers full stop....has that been plan A all along and now we have reached the end game?

Or,when Jack passed away, did the Walker family interest go with him full stop,is it really as simple as that? or is it that they simply from a businees point of view have been blocked all along from making any financial return on the club by Jacks will and have had enough?

Whats really behind the up for sale sign down at Ewood these days?

So many questions...........

[philipl]

Anyone else find it rather galling that a club who not so long ago won the Premiership and finishes consistently in the top 10 of the *best league in the world * has to tout itself through the media like at present to find a new owner

I hate to say this but we appear to be attracting some strange attention from faceless 'consortiums' who many fans believe will not have the best interests of the club at heart.

Why do the Walkers/trustees really want rid of Rovers when the club appears to be,at long last, washing its own face financially and (from the outside atleast) appears to be as stable if not more so than at any time?...did Jack himself forsee a time when the club would run itself without any help from the Walkers full stop....has that been plan A all along and now we have reached the end game?

Or,when Jack passed away, did the Walker family interest go with him full stop,is it really as simple as that? or is it that they simply from a businees point of view have been blocked all along from making any financial return on the club by Jacks will and have had enough?

Whats really behind the up for sale sign down at Ewood these days?

So many questions...........

aargh- the answer has been given so many times.

The Trust has an obligation to do the best by the club.

When Jack died, the funds set aside seemed more than adequate to do the job but the EPL has grown exponentially so that £6m a year no longer does a decent job in breaching the income deficit of sitting in a small, unfashionable, poor town.

So the Trustees are acting in the best interest of the club in trying to find a new benefactor (lets use the word Sparky used yesterday and forget the term investor).

But if we don't find the benefactor, the Trust will continue running the Rovers to the best of its ability and have said that they are not putting more money in for the time being as the TV deal has given the club a chance to be self-sufficient at the moment. John Williams has also intimated that funding of individual investments will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

[nicko]

I don't think it's a secret that the Trustees want to sell. It's just not what they are interested in...they have done their time and would like to move on, but they obviously have responsibilities and restrictions on who taks over.

There is no harm in advertising this and the only problem is that no-one has ticked the boxes to make a hand-over happen.

I don't think either Dan Williams or Chris Ronnie had any plans to make money on the venture, but just the buzz of running a football club and coming up with new ideas.

That's not to say the current ideas are wrong - but it will at some stage soon need an extra impetus.

You have a set of players that will have to be revamped in time to keep it as successful as it is just now.

You have a manager who won't take being an also-ran.

So, it's not a crisis. But it would be a help if someone came along with a few bob and a genuine lasting interest.

Why would anyone buy a club these days? There is no sensible answer, you just have to hope that any buyer does so for football reasons.

Right now that looks unlikely. But look at Stoke...Peter Coates is a local guy who has come up with some money late in his life and has spent it wisely.

It happens, but sometimes you have to wait.

[gbax]

John Williams discussed the clubs situation with a buyer at the Awards Evening and that although there had been interested parties there was no buyer for the near future. I spoke to him one to one later and he stated that no-one had come close to meeting the Trustees requirements. Make of this what you want, but that's what he said!

[Tris]

I don't think either Dan Williams or Chris Ronnie had any plans to make money on the venture, but just the buzz of running a football club and coming up with new ideas.

Come on - who are you trying to kid? That's a truly ridiculous statement.

Liverpool v Man City today, both clubs have "new" owners who may or may not have had plans to make money in the long term - who knows? In the short term the "buzz" of running their respective clubs has involved spending tens of millions of £££ and then "coming up with new ideas" (ie new managers) and therefore alienating 90% of the fanbase!

With the resultant hate mail, vitriolic graffiti, public slagging off in the phone-ins and forums, adverse chanting in the grounds which reaches our living rooms in glorious surround sound, and of course the slating from your colleagues in the sports pages of every newspaper...

You can champion the cause of people like Dan Williams and Chris Ronnie all you like - maybe it sells papers for you in this area now that the People prints an edition so localised that your "scoops" don't even reach Manchester or Liverpool. Which of course explains the now weekly "exclusive taster" which you peddle out on this site every Saturday night in order to shift a few extra local rags the next day.

However as you are slowly finding out, the JW trust is the best possible owner for our club right now, and it's going to take something extraordinary to change that position.

Jokers like Dan Williams don't stand a chance - because they ARE in it to make money, and there is quite simply no money to be made from BRFC.