[Archived] Rovers Might Have Been Sold?

[BPF]

Wait,

I've just read all of this properly.

All of you are on the verge of crying because our prospective BILLIONAIRE owner, owes £7000 in rent!!??

Pathetic. Interesting how the landlord has taken this long to come out and no doubt obtained money for this story.

Also not filing with Companies House? I'm guilty of that too. After setting up several businesses that I lost interest with, it is easier not to file because Companies House just closes them for you and then there are no fees payable.

[ewoodpo]

This is the part that has been bugging me since the guy came on the scene why hadn't anybody heard of him back in India.

Owning 900 acres of land is no big deal in a country like that, my family own a couple of hundred acres out there and we ain't no millionaires folks

I smell a RAT and a big one the club need to get out whilst they can trust me if you have any sort of investment in India the local collectors heard of you.

According to his company website, Mr Ali has been self-employed since the age of 16, following in the footsteps of his family, which has 150 years' experience in private sector lending across Asia.

His company CV says Mr Ali's expertise is highly recognised in the financial world and that he acts as adviser to royalty and many high net-worth individuals.

Mr Ali has told the BBC he hails from Bhongir, a town with a population of 50,000, near Hyderabad in India. It is here, he says, his family owned 900 acres of farm land, making their money through agriculture.

However, Joseph Anthony who writes for The Hindu newspaper says that Mr Ali is seemingly an unknown figure in his hometown - surprising given his apparent wealth.

Mr Antony made inquiries with the revenue authority in Nalgonda, the district to which Bhongir belongs.

'Responsibility'

He was told by the Collector and District Magistrate - the highest revenue authority in the district - that they had never heard of Ahsan Ali Syed.

[deryck guyler's spoon]

Erm, why? Who's to say that the Trust don't know about all of this already?

You have read the article havn't you?

[T4E]

Goldberg's a joke. "Shocking revelations?"

Nobody gives a s**t mate, just glad the Pakistan cricket team have ensured this story gets the publicity it deserves.

I almost expected to find out that Syed had been plying Salman Butt with rupees to get his players to bowl no balls. Atleast then I would have known how to feel about it.

It all sounds very small fry - I'm not sure if that's good or bad. If it wasn't for Pompey and their situation I doubt any of us would bat an eyelid at this. We're in a lucky position to be able to learn from the mistakes of others, one way or another. I just hope we choose the right path.

[broadsword]

Bad PR for Syed. If this is true, why didn't he go back and square it away before started to do business in public?

[ewoodpo]

Agree totally BPF. Now please stop posting common sense. You know we love nothing more than running round shouting "The sky is falling", "The sky is falling"!

The sky isn't falling, but you do need to wake up and smell the coffee this takeover might not happen BRFC won't go out of business without it.As I've already said in the past in a country like India you have money you make sure that everybody knows it.Is this guy Saurin Shah/Dan Williams in disguise?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

BBC article on Syed

OH DEAR!

(Big sigh)

[ewoodpo]

Bad PR for Syed. If this is true, why didn't he go back and square it away before started to do business in public?

Bryan,the story has to have some substance otherwise why would the BBC go with with it? I'm sure their lawyers are fully aware of lawsuits especially when they come from rich people who can afford big fat greedy lawyers.

[S15]

Bryan,the story has to have some substance otherwise why would the BBC go with with it?

Lol.

[Amo]

Lol.

Panorama, anyone?

[Guest Kamy100]

Oh my, didn't expect to wake upto anything like this.

They do not put Mr Ali in a good light, even if the amounts are small, they raise questions of credibility. I made a mistake when checking out Mr Ali, I believed what his company report and didn't even check his background in India. I am going to contact people in Mumbai to see what they have to say about Mr Ali, hopefully hear back from them before I leave tomorrow.

I am hoping that the Trust and Rothchild's haven't dropped the ball big time on this one, I had always assumed that that they would have vetted every aspect of Mr Ali before letting him look at the books (they have done this on all other bidders and they have not gone through the door) maybe they have and are not concerned about what has been alleged in the BBC report. 1864 will confirm that everything in he background suggests the club is on the verge of being sold, now of course the mystery bidder could be further along than we think and the club is being sold to them but that seems far fetched because something would have leaked. So either the trust/rothchilds have dropped the ball big time or are aware of these allegations but are happy to sell to Mr Ali, for that to happen he would have had to "shown them the money".

I have also put these allegations to WGA just now, told them that this raises a whole bunch of concerns and that Mr Ali needs to respond to them, with honesty and no PR spin.

[nicko]

So the source of the stories about Syed is a spurned landlord in London. Not a rival bidder, not some spin against the guy. That's quite illuminating.

The BBC guy has done a very good job tracking more information and has certainly raised some questions that those who are well-paid to sell Rovers obviously failed to find. Well done to him.

The obvious question is why a billionaire lived in a wee flat in London for so long...that is almost more significant than forgetting to pay the rent.

However Syed must have some money behind him or the Trustees would surely not have let him see the books. Is it all his? Or is there someone else involved here?

Fascinating stuff...almost as fascinating as watching some of the Syed Cheerleaders getting their pom-poms in a twist in record time.

No more info on the rival bidder, but I bet he/she/they are laughing themselves silly today.

[S15]

No more info on the rival bidder, but I bet he/she/they are laughing themselves silly today.

It?

[1864roverite]

Wow, its another part of the "MASSIVE" media hyped negative press about a potential owner of a Premier League club.TBH I ws expecting something much more jucier, something with depths of research and something that would have seen Mr Ali and co linked with the likes of Gadaffi, Salman Rushdie, the ayatollah and saddam hussain.

Just where else is this exclusive and earth shattering news being reported ?

I dont know the honest truth about the takeover, only what me and Kamy have discussed (and even that is only relatively minor stuff) and have heard from at least 2 TWO different sources and you would have thought between them they would have been aware of such a skeleton in the cupboard. Furthermore, I am intrigued that neither Rovers, their lawyers, Rothschilds and their own banking investigation team have found themselves usurped by a WBA supporting @#/? who has used such huge headline hugging news that is has warranted FAFF ALL reporting space in any other media circles.

What does that tell you ?

[Guest Kamy100]

Julia Thiem has got back to me "We are not commenting on these allegations at this stage".

[tonyoz]

What does that tell you ?

Only one guy had the tenacity and skill to unearth the facts?

[47er]

So the source of the stories about Syed is a spurned landlord in London. Not a rival bidder, not some spin against the guy. That's quite illuminating.

The BBC guy has done a very good job tracking more information and has certainly raised some questions that those who are well-paid to sell Rovers obviously failed to find. Well done to him.

The obvious question is why a billionaire lived in a wee flat in London for so long...that is almost more significant than forgetting to pay the rent.

However Syed must have some money behind him or the Trustees would surely not have let him see the books. Is it all his? Or is there someone else involved here?

Fascinating stuff...almost as fascinating as watching some of the Syed Cheerleaders getting their pom-poms in a twist in record time.

No more info on the rival bidder, but I bet he/she/they are laughing themselves silly today.

Easy for you to look on this from a position of detached amusement Alan because its not your club. I'm on here and so are most others, because of my undying emotional attachment to Blackburn Rovers.We might argue and squabble a fair bit but that happens in families. I can't look on all this calmly because I want it too much.

Imagine it were Partick Thistle........

[S15]

Julia Thiem has got back to me "We are not commenting on these allegations at this stage".

Silly moo.

[philipl]

Can anyone else click through to that Adrian Goldberg page from within the BBC web site?

It looks like the page is being taken down at the moment as there are unclickable links.

Could be a technical glitch or something else.

[broadsword]

Furthermore, I am intrigued that neither Rovers, their lawyers, Rothschilds and their own banking investigation team have found themselves usurped by a WBA supporting @#/? who has used such huge headline hugging news that is has warranted FAFF ALL reporting space in any other media circles.

What does that tell you ?

It tells me that you've got a problem with bad news about the club - you've got a situation you want to be true, and anyone telling you different gets rubbished. Honestly, calling someone a "@#/?" - is that really necessary? I know as supporters we're meant to be partisan, but you'd put Tito to shame.

Blackburn Rovers aren't really headline news, football takeovers happen all the time. However, if this story unravels further, it will doubtless become more prominent.

Mr Syed now has a case to answer. I would rather we hear his side of the story and assess that and the impact on his attempted takeover. If it's bad news, then I'd rather he didn't take over the club. Better to do that, than to take someone at face value, rubbish any detractors no matter what they say and end up believing in something that may be total fantasy, and a dangerous one to boot.

[nicko]

Easy for you to look on this from a position of detached amusement Alan because its not your club. I'm on here and so are most others, because of my undying emotional attachment to Blackburn Rovers.We might argue and squabble a fair bit but that happens in families. I can't look on all this calmly because I want it too much.

Imagine it were Partick Thistle........

I am not really amused, more amazed.

Funnily enough Thistle have had many jokers and impostors down the years too.

[tonyoz]

Can anyone else click through to that Adrian Goldberg page from within the BBC web site?

It looks like the page is being taken down at the moment as there are unclickable links.

Could be a technical glitch or something else.

This still works for me Philipl:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11163004?

[roversmum]

this one, Philip?

The 5 Live Investigates pages are still up on Facebook too - well, I seem able to access them.

[philipl]

OK - just tried the 5live football player and that is taken down due to technical difficulties.

[imy9]

The really confusing part of this is that Syed has concluded at least two £300 million plus deals in the last couple of years, so obviously his company has the funds, that and the Trust would not have allowed him to get to the due diligence stage if funds were not in place.

Surely Syed is smart enough to realise that if you are about to purchase a Premier league football club then it would be smart to clear £70K worth of debts?