[Archived] Rogues Gallery of Football's Worst Owners

[blueboy3333]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/25/becchetti-bates-venkys-10-awful-owners-football-clubs-leyton-orient

The FA should hang their heads in shame.

I didn't even know about Doncaster's. Or York's.  

 

[47er]

Well we are we all agreed our owners are "awful", I think!

But are they wilfully awful and complicit in destroying our club for their own ends?

Or are they hapless victims screwed by agents and other evil-doers on the make?

That's the question!

[Athlete]

15 hours ago, 47er said:

Well we are we all agreed our owners are "awful", I think!

But are they wilfully awful and complicit in destroying our club for their own ends?

Or are they hapless victims screwed by agents and other evil-doers on the make?

That's the question!

There not victims one bit.. Charlatans of the highest order 

[tomphil]

16 hours ago, 47er said:

Well we are we all agreed our owners are "awful", I think!

But are they wilfully awful and complicit in destroying our club for their own ends?

Or are they hapless victims screwed by agents and other evil-doers on the make?

That's the question!

Definitely a large dose of B in there but some pointers to A. Wilfully neglectful and ignorant without a doubt and that has caused huge damage in itself before we look at other theories.

For me though at least one of them was in bed with the other snakes with nothing more than £$£ in his eyes.

[blueboy3333]

16 hours ago, 47er said:

Well we are we all agreed our owners are "awful", I think!

But are they wilfully awful and complicit in destroying our club for their own ends?

Or are they hapless victims screwed by agents and other evil-doers on the make?

That's the question!

I've always thought the latter. Owners with no respect for our club's history but who wanted the reflected glory for themselves and their business. Happy not to get involved and happy to allow others to run the club. Unfortunately they chose the wrong people. I've genuinely seen nothing to disabuse me of that belief.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

The FA don't give a Monkeys...the demise of Coventry City is truly appalling.

[AllRoverAsia]

16 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

I've always thought the latter. Owners with no respect for our club's history but who wanted the reflected glory for themselves and their business. Happy not to get involved and happy to allow others to run the club. Unfortunately they chose the wrong people. I've genuinely seen nothing to disabuse me of that belief.

The Vs were in bed with the other @#/? from day one. How else do we explain the early actions, the lies, the sacking of Big Sam, the alienation if John Williams and the Board.

Hapless victims complete @#/?.

[blueboy3333]

Just now, AllRoverAsia said:

The Vs were in bed with the other @#/? from day one. How else do we explain the early actions, the lies, the sacking of Big Sam, the alienation if John Williams and the Board.

Hapless victims complete @#/?.

I know they were in bed from the start. I'm damn sure they had an agreement too before they bought the club. Something along the lines of Venky's being the name over the door but A N Other running the show. Then when we got relegated because of A N Other caring more about making money than the fortunes of the club, Shebby was brought in to do the deed.. But it was too late by then. Hence why A N Other & Associates, who had lost a lucrative side-line, are still angry to this day. 'We're coming to get you Venky's' etc etc   

Venky's are still ultimately responsible for our demise.

Just my opinion based on all the evidence out there. 

   

[AllRoverAsia]

Just now, blueboy3333 said:

I know they were in bed from the start. I'm damn sure they had an agreement too before they bought the club. Something along the lines of Venky's being the name over the door but A N Other running the show. Then when we got relegated because of A N Other caring more about making money than the fortunes of the club, Shebby was brought in to do the deed.. But it was too late by then. Hence why A N Other & Associates, who had lost a lucrative side-line, are still angry to this day. 'We're coming to get you Venky's' etc etc   

Venky's are still ultimately responsible for our demise.

Just my opinion based on all the evidence out there. 

   

I agree with everything in your post. We sing from the same hymn sheet re Venkys and the A N Others. All scumbags.

[Hanks]

Regarding Venkys I am of the same opinion as both Blueboy and allroverasia, As for A N Others they will just bide there time until they find some other gullible fools to front up another scam at another club, be it here or abroad. As for the FA  they have shown time and time again that the way football clubs are run is of no real interest to them as long as when one club folds or nosedive towards oblivion another one can take there place. There are many other clubs who have suffered at the hands of owners with dubious intentions over the years, Darlington, Carlisle, Plymouth, Bolton, Wimbledon, Bradford, Birmingham and a host of others but the FA have never shown any sign that they intend to do anything about it.

[Oldgregg86]

Are people that niave to believe an Indian business family worth billions got duped into what went on and CONTINUES to go on.

[blueboy3333]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/apr/16/torquay-fans-fear-relegation-losing-home-96-years-plainmoor

Torquay can be added to the list. They are on the verge of relegation to the Conference South and their ground is under threat from some odious chancer who makes promises he can't keep. Interesting ruling from the council re the Plainmoor ACV. I'm sure no money changed hands   . 

'Backed by Supporters Direct, Michael Goulbourne, chairman of the Torquay United Supporters Trust, has listed the land on which Plainmoor is built as an Asset of Community Value and is disputing the council’s interpretation of ACV legislation. Having taken publicly funded legal advice, it informed an incredulous TUST that the ACV had been registered against the lease and not the freehold of Plainmoor, in effect making it redundant. Goulbourne has since contacted the Department for Communities and Local Government for clarification'

[blueboy3333]

Is the Ewood Park  ACV against the freehold or the leasehold?

[Stuart]

Fans of football clubs really should NOT have to be worrying about this sort of thing. The fact that we are highlights the absolute failure of the FA as the custodian of football in this country.

[Paul]

22 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

Is the Ewood Park  ACV against the freehold or the leasehold?

I don't know. Is Ewood freehold or leasehold or both? Clearly I know the difference between the two but I haven't heard of this as a possibility before. The ACV is held over Ewood Park as defined on the, then, most recent OS map. The club argued the offices, bars etc. should not be included so I imagine it is viewed as the actual property.

[Stuart]

It does go to show the levels that some will stoop to when everyone knows the reasons for having an AVC, yet some moralless lawyer will try to find then exploit a loophole. All for the purpose of making money - and all at the expense of football fans.

[Paul]

22 hours ago, blueboy3333 said:

Is the Ewood Park  ACV against the freehold or the leasehold?

As another thought the Torquay ACV is specifically stated as the land. The ACV over Ewood Park does not make this distinction and I would argue Ewood Park is defined as the land and buildings and not one or the other. 

[Dunnfc]

Think I've said it before Paul but the work you do concerning the ACV etc is fantastic. Big thanks from me.

 

[Stuart]

6 minutes ago, Dunnfc said:

Think I've said it before Paul but the work you do concerning the ACV etc is fantastic. Big thanks from me.

 

I hope that the Rovers Trust tap into Paul's experience concerning the renewal.

[Paul]

I've offered. 

[Paul]

@blueboy3333

Sorry to keep returning to this. I've only just had the chance to read the Guardian article properly. After looking at it three times I think I've got my head round this. The two clubs, Torquay and Rovers, are in different situations. I don't know the details of the Torquay position but it should not apply to us.

Rovers own Ewood Park which for these purposes is both the land and stadium. Ewood must be a freehold for the club to own it. If Ewood is leasehold it would mean a very important detail has been hidden from public view for decades. I also think Jack would very likely have made sure the club owned the land before rebuilding the ground. I have no proof but if any part of Ewood is leasehold someone would have dug up this fact in the last seven years. 

Torquay have leased Plainmoor from the local council since 1921. I presume the lease is for the land and not the stadium as the article seems to suggest the club owns the ground.

An ACV provides the right for community groups to bid for the asset. The article states the ACV is registered against the leasehold and not the freehold. The council is considering selling the freehold to Gaming International and so the ACV does not apply. It looks to me as though whoever obtained the ACV didn't appreciate the difference - I don't think I would have done. Possibly the ACV would not have been granted against the freehold as this would have meant the council granting an ACV on property it owned!

How this has occurred is anyone's guess but one of the villains here is the local council.  The council will see an opportunity to raise funds and relieve themselves of responsibility for the land. One might argue the council would take a more sympathetic view if we were not living in a period when national government chooses to savagely cut funding to local authorities?

This appears to be a classic case of the distinction between the spirit of the law and the practical application of the law. 

[blueboy3333]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/12/oyston-family-treats-blackpool-personal-cash-machine-high-court

Belokon v Oystons in the High Court