[Archived] FL Chairman none too impressed

[philipl]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/9275561/Blackpool-v-West-Ham-play-off-final-is-worth-90m-to-the-winner-but-financial-storm-clouds-continue-to-gather.html

Clarke plans talks with the relegated trio of Bolton, Wolves and particularly the Venky’s-owned Blackburn. “I know relatively little about Venky’s other than they turned up, two sons walked on the pitch, waved their hands and 12 months later they are relegated and everyone says the club’s run badly.

"It is showing signs you associate with a seriously distressed club. We will get their future financial forecasts. They will talk to us about how they are going to fund the club, what their aspirations are. I won’t fly out to India that’s for sure. We’ve got better things to spend money on than me flying out to India.

“We have some great foreign owners. At Derby County, the American owners run the club well, behaving ethically and responsibly. John Berylson runs Millwall well. He’s very knowledgeable. I’ve sat next to him at lunches and he’ll say: ‘What do you think are the causes of the English Civil War?"

The League checks out all potential owners. “We get reports,’’ continued Clarke. “Often it says: ‘No criminal convictions, not been struck off as a director, but there’s loads of scuttlebutt and rumour’. Those doubts won’t stand up in a court of law. The guy’s got potentially £1 billion and he’s saying to us: ‘OK, you’re going to besmirch my name by saying I’m not a fit and proper person. Go and speak to my QC and we’ll see what evidence you have against me.’ We get threatened a lot. If it was money-laundering, and we could prove it, we’d say ‘no’, and be straight on to the FSA, police and say ‘money-launderers, get after them.’ But we have to be careful what we say and act only on fact, otherwise we’d get sued.

I think this could be fun!

[Clitherover]

If only the Premier League gave half as much of a crap.

[ABBEY]

nowt will change.

[Rover Down Under]

Getting them to even pick up the phone is going to be difficult. He may very well have to fly out to India eventually.

[philipl]

Getting them to even pick up the phone is going to be difficult. He may very well have to fly out to India eventually.

As I understand it, Rovers would be denied a license to participate in the FL if that were the case.

[tomphil]

Welcome to the real football world venkster's.

[ebenrocks]

Hate to say it, but maybe if the Football League will give more of a ###### than the Premier league did, and possibly get those scumbags removed from our club, then maybe getting relegated was the best thing that could have happened to Blackburn

[bradeagle]

Do they have the power to do anything though?

[Exiled in Toronto]

I like the cut of this fella's jib

[Ricky]

As you understand it Phil?? Sheesh!

Could you possibly explain to me how Birmingham have been allowed to play this season then?? Pretty sure their owner is in prison or on bail at the moment. How about Portsmouth and all the goings on there.

[gumboots]

As you understand it Phil?? Sheesh!

Could you possibly explain to me how Birmingham have been allowed to play this season then?? Pretty sure their owner is in prison or on bail at the moment. How about Portsmouth and all the goings on there.

doesn't mean nobody answers the phone at the club and gives answers though does it? if our lot won't answer the phone or communicate in any way and have nobody left at Ewood to do it for them, that's where the problems start

[philipl]

Rovers are leaving the Premier League and HAVE TO APPLY to join the Football League.

It is possible that what was apparent and knowable for the PL in October/November 2010 is different to what the FL would be expected and responsible for finding out today.

For me the key paragraph in the Henry Winter interview is:

The League checks out all potential owners. “We get reports,’’ continued Clarke. “Often it says: ‘No criminal convictions, not been struck off as a director, but there’s loads of scuttlebutt and rumour’. Those doubts won’t stand up in a court of law. The guy’s got potentially £1 billion and he’s saying to us: ‘OK, you’re going to besmirch my name by saying I’m not a fit and proper person. Go and speak to my QC and we’ll see what evidence you have against me.’ We get threatened a lot. If it was money-laundering, and we could prove it, we’d say ‘no’, and be straight on to the FSA, police and say ‘money-launderers, get after them.’

This process is not going to be a walk in the park for Venky's.

[OJRovers]

If scuadamore was so relaxed about it in the premier league I don't know what the FL are going to do differently

Under the current rules inept incompetence is not deemed wrong, which IMO makes a mockery of the 'fit and proper' test.

Realistically you've got to be a convicted criminal to fail.

[Ricky]

Which is exactly the same process Birmingham went through last year and their owner had already been charged with money laundering at that time. As I said, it didn't stop them.

I'd bet a decent amount of money on us having no problems being allowed to play in the football league.

[Majiball]

So the premier league have done bugger all, except say they've done nothing wrong.

The FA have done bugger all either.

And now magically you expect the football league to stand up to them?

Unless we can 100% prove something we won't say bugger all. People have been trying to get dirt to stick to our slippery owners for months and nothing has been reported. Good luck with that one.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Plenty of teams with off the field issues haven't been stopped from playing. Also we are a founder member of the Football League, there is no chance we will get booted out.

[Dan]

I like the cut of this fella's jib

I am thinking the same, the Premier League don't give a rats arse unless your one of their money making so caller top clubs.

[broadsword]

Will be interesting to see how we deal with HMRC.

How about having a chief exec in place, that must be a pre-requisite, no?

But yeah, I like the sound of this guy already.