[Archived] Rovers Might Have Been Sold?

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Goldberg interviewed by Graham Liver on Radio Rovers this morning.

Basically, Goldberg says that they don't dispute that Syed might have the funds that he needs for the takeover. Goldberg doesn't make any accusations, but is simply asking whether, based on the evidence from the programme, Syed should be passing any fit and proper test. He says that the PL should look at him closely. That's it really. He doesn't really accuse Syed of anything, just rustles up some dodgy evidence that wouldn't stand up in a small claims court.

I can't see this programme having much sway with Rothschild's or the trustees. They will go beyond any evidence from last night's programme. Nothing to get worked up about here IMO.

I think this is the point many people missed. The actual allegations made in last night's show werent particularly concerning in themselves, however the lack of clear knowledge about Syed and the misinformation which seems to have been given from his end does lead to one or two suspicions as to his character.

I dont detect any amount of anti Rovers bias neccesarily as i feel that if this show had been about any other football takeover I think we'd probably have similar queries.

The tone is clearly set against Foreign investment in British football, but can we blame him? If this wasnt Rovers being taken over I dont think Id be too in favour of another club being taken over especially after the Pompey farce.

In fact im rather relieved that this is the best the BBC could come up with. If they had been this thorough with any potential Portsmouth investor Im confident they could have run a short series of 5Live investigates just entirely centered around that. We probably know more about Syed then the vast majority of football fans know about their owners. Which is a good thing.

[Sparky Marky]

It's so easy - no one is telling me that Roth's / Rovers have missed the Beeb's alleged findings !

Yes, but as you also must know, the broker in the this case(rothchilds) are also in mind of closing the deal to secure their commission.

[Iceman]

so if Syed remained silent, the Landlord would not have knows he was in the country or in negotiations to buy Rovers? What are the main objectives of Rothchilds, are they there to look at his financial ability and strength, or are they there to look at things on a smaller scale as well?

[adopted scouser]

Goldberg ? Whoopee

[LeChuck]

Yes, but he needs to clear his name firstly and then the question is why is this Goldberg out to get this guy's blood when he doesnt even have a knife on him?

Whoever the next foreign owner without an easily traceable history was always going to receive this treatment, the fiasco at Portsmouth made sure of that.

[thenodrog]

It would be funny if Syed didn't release a statement but just sent a cheque to the letting agency with 100k and said keep the change.

Yeah....... And funnier still if it bounced?

Has anyone got a phone number for the richer group waiting in the wings who are proven to be loaded?

Rothschilds I'd imagine.

[tony gale's mic]

We probably know more about Syed then the vast majority of football fans know about their owners. Which is a good thing.

Do we?

Abramovich was famous in Russia and had a close relationship with Boris Yeltsin - prior to his takeover a quick Google search would have found lots about him.

Lerner, Glazer, Hicks and Gillet all owned American sports teams before they came and a lot can be found out about their business history and how they made their billions.

The current Man City owner is the president of the UAE.

All of the above are all featured on rich lists, are well known businessmen and while they vary in terms of how good they are for their club, all were well known and established before they took over their clubs.

All we know about Syed is that he claims to be worth billions yet doesnt feature on any rich lists, noone knows who the hell he is, we don't know really how he made this money, all we know is that he lived in London for a bit, didnt pay his bills and has suddenly started making deals in Ireland, Australia and Blackburn.

[Sparky Marky]

Sounds like a right chancer doesn't he?.....He probably has enough to buy us, but bugger all to spend and therefore, what's the bloody point?

[John]

I have remained fairly cautious about this takeover, mainly due to the fact that we don’t know anything about Syed.

It’s a natural stance to take - the main issue I have, is due to the lack of apparent information out there, it is very hard to accurately gauge his true motives for wanting to buy the club.

He has come out with some very well scripted quotes about his plans, however, it is difficult to apply any verification to this due to not knowing anything about the man, his companies, and business ethics.

[Iceman]

Sky have now picked up on this

Basically the same as what's already being discussed, so nothing new

[MikeB]

Yes, but as you also must know, the broker in the this case(rothchilds) are also in mind of closing the deal to secure their commission.

Roth's are not 'white van men' who'd sell their mothers for a dime!

I'm also looking to make money and clients have to be able to foot their bills and therefore if I smell a rat any prospective dealings are binned very quickly. I was 'stung' once and that was once too often and I vowed never again.

The point that I'm again trying to make is that it's very easy and quick to uncover the clear and obvious warnings - I don't buy it that the Beeb have but Rovers / Roth's haven't.

[Miker]

Uhhhh last I checked there is PLENTY of information available online about his company "Western Gulf Advisory", what they do, why they do it, how they do it and how successful they are.

[AggyBlue]

Uhhhh last I checked there is PLENTY of information available online about his company "Western Gulf Advisory", what they do, why they do it, how they do it and how successful they are.

How about where they do it or where they have done it?

[brian_gallagher85]

Indeed Miker, along with plenty of newspaper cuttings from many different countries around the world regarding their various dealings. I can confirm that the story regarding the McCabe investment is from an actual Irish newspaper and a very trustworthy business one at that.

This whole takeover appears to be rubbing quite a lot of the nations media and press up the wrong way as they, (like most people on here), can't pin anything on Ali at all. If he can prove to the club that he has the finances in place to complete the takeover and move the club on then that's good enough for me.

[Iceman]

Roth's are not 'white van men' who'd sell their mothers for a dime!

I'm also looking to make money and clients have to be able to foot their bills and therefore if I smell a rat any prospective dealings are binned very quickly. I was 'stung' once and that was once too often and I vowed never again.

The point that I'm again trying to make is that it's very easy and quick to uncover the clear and obvious warnings - I don't buy it that the Beeb have but Rovers / Roth's haven't.

How did the BBC find out about this? surely, they were tipped off by somebody, who obviously did not give Rothchilds or Rovers the information. You dont just see a guy, and then suddenly say right, he owes x amount of money to a landlord etc. Why was the BBC given the info, before the club and Rotschilds? its obvious, that somebody wants the deal to look as if Syed is not fit(perhaps he is not fit), but if the info was given to the club and Roth, then they could have kept this as part of the NDA.

ill say it for the 4th or 5th time now, its a legal situation now. Accusations have been put forward, and counter arguments or whatever will now need to come from the Syed camp. He has the right to state his case, but this will be done by 1st consulting his lawyers. The "no comment" is normal, you dont just jump right in there, facts and all other evidence will be gathered by his team to clear his name. If it remains quiet, then the club, Rothchilds and the trust, will be checking him out, and will make a decision based on what he has to say.

It does look dodgy right now, but if he comes out of this with his reputation in tact, then he will surely want to prove a point to all the doubters. if no statement is forthcoming, and he stops his persue of Rovers, then whatever the BBC has revealed, would have to be applauded, because we could easily do a Pompey.

[modes98]

How did the BBC find out about this? surely, they were tipped off by somebody, who obviously did not give Rothchilds or Rovers the information.

I did wonder about this and thought it might be a fellow bidder or interested party.

[nicko]

I did wonder about this and thought it might be a fellow bidder or interested party.

The initial tip-off must surely have come from the landlord...and from there they have tried to track down Syed - the London Years.

He is seven grand down and that is a fair old grudge for those types. He will have been chasing his money ever since. He would also be the guy with access to the mail that pointed to unpaid bills in other areas and this county court judgement.

Nobody explained where Syed had been before - the Colchester address issue.

Or where he went after - did he go to St.John's Wood?

All very odd.

But the thing that matters is how he has so much money now.

[Iceman]

I did wonder about this and thought it might be a fellow bidder or interested party.

the reason im questioning this is, for starters, the information would become public knowledge. Now, with the NDA agreement in place, if this info was given to the club, nobody would have known about this.

Syed would then have to state his case to the club etc, and he wouldnt be under pressure to make a statement. If the club were not happy, the DD process would just have stopped and we would have told him to forget about purchasing the club. Now, his team are busy with DD, and while the club asks questions, his team will continue to finalise the checks.

The initial tip-off must surely have come from the landlord...and from there they have tried to track down Syed - the London Years.

He is seven grand down and that is a fair old grudge for those types. He will have been chasing his money ever since. He would also be the guy with access to the mail that pointed to unpaid bills in other areas and this county court judgement.

Nobody explained where Syed had been before - the Colchester address issue.

Or where he went after - did he go to St.John's Wood?

All very odd.

But the thing that matters is how he has so much money now.

correct me if im wrong Nicko, but i was under the impression, that Syed was supposedly at University at the LSE in the mid 90's. the story that came out, was that he was in England 5 or 6 years ago, and left that apartment in such a state.

[T4E]

If he didn't go to LSE, why did he say that he did?

[BuckyRover]

That is my understanding also.

[T4E]

Every University of LSE's standing (consistently ranked in the world's top ten academic institutions) has problems with chancers saying they went there so I cannot believe the LSE's Alumni in the news listing on its own web site is not hard wired into their Academic records office. If you dig down, there is more than two pages of press clippings about Ali Syed (all of which have appeared on here at one time or another) spread over many weeks on the LSE's own web site- they have had plenty of time and opportunity to have checked him out.

Philip - are you saying that this means it is likely he did go there, or he didn't? The LSE thing bothers me more than anything else that has been said - if he didn't go there and is claiming he did then it paints him as a chancer desperate for status. That is EXACTLY to sort of person we need to avoid having any sort of authority at our football club.

[Iceman]

its interesting, that if you search Ahsan Ali Syed on the LSE website, then you get at least something. Somebody should be able to verify that, he had attended, right?

http://search.lse.ac.uk/search/search.cgi?query=ahsan+ali+syed&site=LSEWebsiteOnly&collection=lse_external

[broadsword]

Did Syed actually state that he went to the "London School of Economics", or did he just state "LSE"?

He could well have gone to the Lahore Sect of Eel-catchers.

[Iceman]

Did Syed actually state that he went to the "London School of Economics", or did he just state "LSE"?

He could well have gone to the Lahore Sect of Eel-catchers.

or maybe Lets See Ewood!

[ewoodpo]

Did Syed actually state that he went to the "London School of Economics", or did he just state "LSE"?

He could well have gone to the Lahore Sect of Eel-catchers.

Bryan, I'll give you a bit of a geography lesson looks like you need it, Lahore is in Pakistan not India.