[Archived] Rovers Takeover Thread

[bluebruce]

After unsucessfully trying to sell our clubs for so long surely it's time to give Rothschild the boot and look for someone who might have the contacts to bring us in a serious buyer!

This is an excellent suggestion. I also recommend that we investigate the possibility of selling our soul to the devil.

[brfcmad1979]

This is an excellent suggestion. I also recommend that we investigate the possibility of selling our soul to the devil.

I was extreme in saying Joorbichan but honest Alf the big issue seller in Suncthorpe could do a better job of finding prospective buyers than Rothschilds are doing!

[cruz]

I was extreme in saying Joorbichan but honest Alf the big issue seller in Suncthorpe could do a better job of finding prospective buyers than Rothschilds are doing!

Bulls gonads

[benlloninho]

I'm sure this has been pointed out many times in other threads on this messageboard, but the reality is that BRFC isn't very marketable. Small fanbase, small town. Only a true fan would invest in this club because it would most likely turn out to be loss generating venture. If you look at all the clubs that have been taken over, you will notice that they all have one thing in common. And it isn't the fact that they are overachieving .

[LeChuck]

Portsmouth and Derby kind of go against that theory.

[Sandiway Blue]

I think the 3 letter word between brfc and 1979 says it all....

[gumboots]

Portsmouth and Derby kind of go against that theory.

Both big places though. Portsmouth have a small ground but a big potential fan base and Derby is in that East Midlands conurbation where again the potential for expansion if you do well is huge

[Sandiway Blue]

Portsmouth and Derby kind of go against that theory.

Derby regularly bring in crowds of 30,000 and that is through the worst period in their history.

Once Pompeys new stadium is built they will fill it every week and are also in a massive catchment area.

Sadly Rovers hit their peak 14 years ago and even then we couldn`t sell out every week.

[brfcmad1979]

Derby regularly bring in crowds of 30,000 and that is through the worst period in their history.

Once Pompeys new stadium is built they will fill it every week and are also in a massive catchment area.

Sadly Rovers hit their peak 14 years ago and even then we couldn`t sell out every week.

If we had sustained the sucess though do you not think that would be differant now? You would have kids wandering around in Rovers tops not Chelski ones!

[Sandiway Blue]

If we had sustained the sucess though do you not think that would be differant now? You would have kids wandering around in Rovers tops not Chelski ones!

Maybe but to do that you would have to have sustained success over a generation,i`m talking a major trophy every 12months for a good 10 years.

As much as we all loved Jack Walker to bits,his one failing was not strengthening when we won the league.

Sadly hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[novella]

There is only so far this whole take over business will go. uefa or the FA will step in and make wage caps or spending limits. I would personally prefer rovers to run things the good old fasioned british way. I can see things going very badly for man city once the arabs playtime is over. Its not always greener on the other side.

[DingleBaiter]

Do you bark at the moon also brfc mad?

What criteria would you give to you new agent then? C'mon, you criticise Rothschilds but - as City have just shown - anyone can find a buyer; not many can find the right one.

Seems the multi-faith room wasn't enough for the Arabs.

I've always said we should go for the Emir of Qatar; he's invested money elsewhere in Blackburn and we'd get more on the gates too - great success!

[brfcmad1979]

Do you bark at the moon also brfc mad?

;

might do

but my point is Rothschilds arn't getting the job done so get someone else in to do it!

[gumboots]

Depends what brief they've been given. find a certain kind of buyer - well, they could still be working on it and just not have found one that fits all the specifications. Find any kind of buyer might be slightly easier but would we like it?

[Sandiway Blue]

might do

but my point is Rothschilds arn't getting the job done so get someone else in to do it!

Trouble is there are certain criteria that potential buyers have to satisfy before they can think about taking over Rovers,as set in Jack Walkers will.

[brfcmad1979]

Trouble is there are certain criteria that potential buyers have to satisfy before they can think about taking over Rovers,as set in Jack Walkers will.

God i'd love to know what is in that will.

[The1mattjansen]

Have you ever wondered just what Rothschilds can be expected to do? What are the chances of knocking on somebody's door asking them to buy a football club, and them turning round and saying "yeh go on then, i've been looking for somewere to burn £100m or so".

If anyone wanted to buy Rovers then they would find us!

[Majiball]

Depends what brief they've been given. find a certain kind of buyer - well, they could still be working on it and just not have found one that fits all the specifications. Find any kind of buyer might be slightly easier but would we like it?

Trouble is there are certain criteria that potential buyers have to satisfy before they can think about taking over Rovers,as set in Jack Walkers will.

And thats why its mission impossible. You have to take your hat off to Jack he was very shrewd. I do get the impression that his family would have dumped us at the first oppurtunity. I also have an inkling that us being in the premiership is in it. Complete guesswork but I would not be surprised.

[DingleBaiter]

might do

but my point is Rothschilds arn't getting the job done so get someone else in to do it!

How can you tell what the 'job' is? It's not just a case of getting any old buyer in - it's not ebay you know?

They have a very limited brief I'm sure, plus given the economic factors plus certain things they want to maintain at Ewood will preclude a lot of potential buyers.

So, why don't you get ring Thaksin up - would you be happy with him coming in? Do you understand business at all? Do you want an owner to come in and leverage the club into further debt a la Glazer/Liverpool? Do you want Mike Ashley? Although Villa seem to have a great owner, they've still leveraged the club too.

Rovers want to achieve two things with the sale - pull out from the Trustees/clear the debt whilst maintaining the legacy of Jack Walker (as best at that can be). It's simply foolish to sell for selling's sake; and it certainly doesn't follow that by selling the club will have the money to compete at the level most fans just assume a takeover will bring.

[Rover down South]

Portsmouth and Derby kind of go against that theory.

Down on the south coast there is a choice between Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton & Bournemouth. Further west you have Plymouth etc.

This is why I support Rovers!! Seriously though, Portsmouth have a very big catchment area. Saying that, most people I know down here support Man Utd & Liverpool. Oh & Abhramovic's millions unearthed quite a few Chelsea fans. Funny how investment = top players = more supporters. I should imagine there will be a few more City fans emerging over the coming years.

Anyone know who Richard Branson supports?? I'm sure he's a rover!!

[Gav]

But that was with Hughes: he had he ability to turn poor-avergae players into decent-good premiership players. We dont have the luxary of relying on Ince and future managers to work miracles

Exactly, we need a backer, and soon.

[DingleBaiter]

And thats why its mission impossible. You have to take your hat off to Jack he was very shrewd. I do get the impression that his family would have dumped us at the first oppurtunity. I also have an inkling that us being in the premiership is in it. Complete guesswork but I would not be surprised.

The problem basically is this; Jack was unique in every way - a complete visionary ahead of his time, look how football has gone in the interim. People blamed him for setting the moneyspinning in the Prem, it brought a lot of jealousy - but it's ok for Man City to be whored out it seems?

Although Jack had his own expectations and way of doing things, he ultimately wanted only two things for Rovers - to be as successful as possible with his support, but also to be ultimately self-sufficient. The problem we have is the fact we're a small club, in an economically deprived area, with miserable fans and a generally depressing locale. What possibly can we sell ourselves as? We're not media friendly. We haven't massive assets. We're not fashionable, or instantly marketable. Added to that we've one thing above anything that most clubs desperate to sell lack - a moral compass, a legacy, a history, an identity. Maybe it's the latter that's putting people off ultimately, but the former factors certainly won't help either.

As regards Jack's family, they're simply never interested and never where. Certain elements enjoy the status and acclaim it brings them, without wanting (or needing) to do any work. The club had a reshuffle a few year back by shuffling Burnley Bob and Matthewman (who IMO always thought he was going to get the top spot) to bring a more professional management approach, starting with JW becoming chairman as well as CE, Finn becoming MD and a Trustee finally taking an executive appointment too.

At this time, they put a lot of store and focus into marketing the club and trying to engage support with various strategies - but sadly it failed. Maybe it was because the average Rovers fan they were looking to bring in was always happier moaning and watching Al Jazeera TV in the pub?

So, Rovers can do one of two things. Manage their way out of the increasingly separatist Premiership, with the rich getting obscenely richer, or they can sell out. They're trying to do their best with expanding the Academy to bring more home-grown players in over the next few season, but ultimately we need cash NOW so as not to fall too far behind.

Unless we bring in the Emir of Qatar, or some Eastern European tycoon, it's going to be 'as is' I fear. Interesting to note the lass who brokered the deal for Middle Eastlands was also a front for DIC. Maybe we should have told her we had a prayer room (even if it's being moved to the Riverside) - think that would have brought Peter Kay and his Arab friends here instead of City?

[Majiball]

Fair enough, I'd always wondered if Jack's investing heavily in the club and that he spent so much time here may have built some sort of ill-feeling from certain members of his family. Nothing to base it on, just one of those feelings which was fuelled by there absence.

Curiously what do you fear may happen???

Don't suppose you have any details on the 5 year plan??

[DingleBaiter]

Fair enough, I'd always wondered if Jack's investing heavily in the club and that he spent so much time here may have built some sort of ill-feeling from certain members of his family. Nothing to base it on, just one of those feelings which was fuelled by there absence.

Curiously what do you fear may happen???

Don't suppose you have any details on the 5 year plan??

I think when you're part of a family with 750 million nicker down the back of the sofa, there's not much ill-feeling.

It was only ever just Jack (with stars in his eyes) involved in the Rovers, but this thing about his family's absence at Ewood since is a myth. His family still go, but none of them had anything like the passion or interest he had. Of course there are always the hangers-on, but most of the family have their own interests and fingers in a few pies, so it was always a lame duck expecting any element of involvement there. To be fair to them though, they're often (wrongly) assumed as Trustees and blamed for anything not right at Ewood, and this isn't exactly fair.

Jack never spent all that much time at the club, he was only allowed a small number of days here (100 per year or less I think?) due to being a tax exile, whilst the rest of the Walker family all still live locally.

For the avoidance of doubt - and I wish more people understood this; the Walker family and the Trustees should be considered two completely separate entities. The powerbase at Ewood is Jack's old best mate, and the board. The Walker family still attend as a social event and for other reasons, but not really as a business.

Personally, I can't see a buyer coming in that fits the profile coming in the near future. Maybe this time next year they will re-assess their goals, but ultimately Ince fits the template they're looking for - especially if he integrates the Academy lads whilst at the same time not spending much. With the transfer funds received somewhere in limbo, they MAY reduce the debt of the club and potentially improve the attractiveness of the club, although I guess the effect of this is negligible. Debt hasn't scared off investors in other clubs, in fact used debt as a tool to buy into clubs, but it's the relative paucity of capital and marketability that's a dead legger IMO.

Nearest thing they have to a five year plan is the overhaul of the Academy, whereby they're looking to bring in more home grown players into the first team over the next few years, with a few transfers in - just as Boro do so well.

[allrovertheworld]

Just reading the above posts which make alot of sense. I know I am gonna get blasted for saying this but i would rather play in the Championship with the dingles, Preston and the like, than be taken over by anyone. If being sold to an overseas based compay or someone completely unconected to the club is our only option for staying competative in the prem or even surviving then I don't want to be part of that at all.

Spoke to a City fan today who is actually upset about them being taken over again and wasn't happy when Frank took over. He was worried about the youth system mostly and the general 'cheapness' that he thinks the club has become over the years.

We really are selling our national game off and its becoming a joke.

The only real pleasure I get from footy is the live games.