Thames Sports Investment

[Royal Lady]

I have no idea what you're on about with the first part of your post. If the club don't know when the PL are going to sanction this, why say next week? If they think saying "next week" placates any twitchy fans, then they're wrong - esp when they say "next week" every week!

And as for the money Anton has "put" in - do we know how much this is? It's also in the form of loans, so if it goes wrong, we'll still have to pay it back. However, surely until it does go through, we can't look to buy anyone else - unless it is within the restraints imposed by SJM - for fear that TSI doesn't go through and we're left to try and afford it all....

If things are close and as far as they are concerned all is good, then there's no reason not to say they expect things to go through soon. And refusing to say anything about a timescale is only going to cause people to get more worried. As it is, they say they hope / expect it'll be next / this week... whatever, and it's just a question of the PL saying yes.

It's not like we've been given a hard date.

I don't care how he's put the money in, even if he's owner it's unlikely to be free. The fact is he has invested in us before the deal goes through. That is a very important and encouraging sign to me.

I'll say again, if the club have no more idea than we do of when this is likely to go through - surely it's better for them to be honest and just say "we have not yet been given any indication by the PL as to when this might be completed. As soon as we know, we'll be sure to let our fans know" or something? Continually saying "next week" gives a degree of expectation, which DOES disappoint the fans, when "next week" keeps coming and going.

[Royal Lady]

And I take the point about having more money anyway due to the promotion - but with SJM still "in charge" until such time as a takeover is confirmed by the PL, I am of the opinion (LOL ) that SJM will be reticent in allowing much of it to be spent - until McD is given confirmation by the new owners as to how much he has in his budget - how can he go out and spend it and surely, until everything is ratified, it would be tempting to fate to tell him his budget now.

[Cypry]

Cypry quote :


^ this - i'm not expecting us to spend big anyway on signings. Everything indicates that we can expect to see "Reading type" signings - one of the strongest rumours is around McCkeary (on a free). Anyone hoping for us to blow millions on players this Summer will, I suspect, be sorely disappointed.....we might make one "marquee" signing, but I don't expect more than one "big money" signing (at least, big on the Reading scale)....

Our circumstances are massively different now from a month ago. Money isn't so much of an issue regardless, and things are very different to last time we went up (nothing to spend on a media centre etc)....

Both Norwich and Swansea have shown that 1st year survival is more than achievable without blowing the bank.....we'll attempt to do the same, with or without TSI....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


.....Norwich spent £14m and Swansea spent £11m....so I guess Reading will need to break their "Reading way"approach....as we have never spent those amounts before in a season ...Reading do not have the strength in depth for the Prem so I'd hope that they spend sufficiently this summer..because if they don't, January is a long way away ,and by that time, it could be too late to do any further spending

YEs, but there's a difference between sensible spending and breaking the bank. I'd argue that, given the amount on money coming into the clubs, that is exactly the Reading way - and this Summer we'll probably spend something like the same. This time the PL money is bigger, and we don't have to spend on infrastructure to meet PL requirements, so there is more money generally available (even without TSI). SO yes, we might spend more than we have done before, but it'll be within sensible limitations. When I see people suggesting that Gylfi is still within our reach and Anton should simply go out and get him whatever the cost, then there will be some sorely disappointed people about....

[Snowball]

Like some, the elastic finish-date worries me a tad, but, what about investment?



We normally finish a Championship season with a 4 Million debt.

This year we also invested in a new contract for Jimmy, signing Roberts and bringing in Cwyka and Connolly

Did we pay for Jason? Is he on (guessing here) £30K a week?

I'm not clear what we paid for Jason, if anything, a transfer fee, or an arrangement, or a signing-on fee
but he would have been a snip at 1.7M Anyone know? Plus10 weeks at 30K = 300K

So my guess is we have an extra debt of 300K to 1M, plus a few hundred K across the others.

So we BEGIN with minus 6Million or close to that.

"NOT" filling the black hole is thus 6 million quid this season
(add in McDermott's hike in salary, and hikes to his staff and
maybe we will have reached 7-8M by the time
the Premier League season starts EXCLUDING new signings.

[exileinleeds]

I am surprised that no one has commented on BZ appearing at the end of the season...is it not possible that he came over not just to see the club, but to talk to the FA? It is also likely that they asked for stuff....which the club says we have given them. Perhaps the delay is caused by nothing more than FA lawyers getting documents translated and checked?
I don't think anyone knows who does the fapp (snigger) or what their workload is like. It appears to the uninformed that the FA have been quite busy in the last few weeks...perhaps there is less urgency for them than for us.

I am confident that SJM is no fool, and has done his own research and planning....and that everything is going on in the background regardless.

Almost certainly the budgets will be done- but many clubs will be delaying decisions until such trivia as leagues are decided- and also the Euros. We must know that many clubs will be looking at players who do well- and Chelsea, for example, might decide to buy *insert name of new wonderkid* and that impacts on which of their squad becomes available.

If I were to make a bet, it would be that we do not sign any players before August who are currently playing in the Prem. Any that we do sign will get a fair chunck of fans saying .."bit shit. Not good enough for the prem...." and then be proved that playing in a better squad, that uses their skills, very average seeming players, become actually very good. It is the Reading way.

[Rex]

Perhaps those doing the FAPP are on holiday, out boozing and schmoozing and just cannot get their act together.

[moo]

The season isn't even over yet a lot of people seem to be ignoring this!

[Royal Lady]

The season isn't even over yet a lot of people seem to be ignoring this!

Indeed - including RFC it would seem.....

[robinsfriday]

Well we all saw how long it took the FA to approach Roy Hodgson so I wouldn't hold your breath.

[moo]

The season isn't even over yet a lot of people seem to be ignoring this!

Indeed - including RFC it would seem.....

The transfer market doesnt seem to be a lot like the property market at times, one player moves and several follow. Tought for it to properly work if the fate of dozens of teams isn't yet decided.

[Royal Lady]

Just googled Premier League Fit & Proper Persons Test and found this from The Telegraph from 2009:

The Premier League now asks members to publicly declare the names of anyone who owns over 10 per cent of the club. The Football League asks for names of owners of clubs but does not currently make them public. The Premier League also seeks assurances about where money is coming from to fund a club.

An important difference remains that the Premier League applies the test before a takeover is approved whereas the Football League garners information only after a deal has gone through.

Premier League fit and proper person test – disqualifying events in full:

A person shall be disqualified from acting as a director and no club shall be permitted to have any person acting as a director of that club if:

Either directly or indirectly he is involved in or has any power to determine or influence the management or administration of another club or Football League club
Either directly or indirectly he holds or acquires any Significant Interest in a club while he either directly or indirectly holds any interest in any class of shares of another club
He becomes prohibited by law from being a director
He is convicted on indictment of an offence set out in the Appendix 12 Schedule of Offences or he is convicted of a like offence by a competent court having jurisdiction outside England and Wales
He makes an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or becomes the subject of an Interim Bankruptcy Restriction Order, a Bankruptcy Restriction Order or a Bankruptcy Order
He is a director of a club which, while he has been a director of it, has suffered two or more unconnected events of insolvency
He has been a director of two or more clubs or clubs each of which, while he has been a director of them, has suffered an Event of Insolvency.
Schedule of offences:

Conspiracy to defraud: Criminal Justice Act 1987, section 12
Conspiracy to defraud: Common Law
Corrupt transactions with (public) agents, corruptly accepting consideration: Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, section 1
Insider dealing: Criminal Justice Act 1993, sections 52 and 61
Public servant soliciting or accepting a gift: Public Bodies (Corrupt Practices) Act 1889, section 1
Theft: Theft Act 1968, section 1
Obtaining by deception: Theft Act 1968, section 15
Obtaining a money transfer by deception: Theft Act 1968, section 15A + B
Obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception: Theft Act 1968, section 16
False accounting: Theft Act 1968, section 17
False statements by Company Directors: Theft Act 1968, section 19
Suppression of (company) documents: Theft Act 1968, section 20
Retaining a wrongful credit: Theft Act 1968, section 24A
Obtaining services by deception: Theft Act 1978, section 1
Evasion of liability by deception: Theft Act 1978, section 2
Cheating the Public Revenue/Making false statements tending to defraud the public revenue: Common Law
Punishment for fraudulent training: Companies Act 1985, section 458
Penalty for fraudulent evasion of duty etc: Customs & Excise Management Act 1979, section 170
Fraudulent evasion of VAT: Value Added Tax Act 1994 section 72
Person subject to a Banning order (as defined) : Football (Disorder) Act 2000, Schedule 1
Forgery: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 1
Copying a false instrument : Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 2
Using a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 3
Using a copy of a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 4
Cheating the Public Revenue/ Making false statements tending to defraud the public revenue: Common Law
Punishment for fraudulent training: Companies Act 1985, section 458
Penalty for fraudulent evasion of duty etc: Customs & Excise Management Act 1979, section 170
Fraudulent evasion of VAT: Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 72
Person subject to a Banning order (as defined): Football (Disorder) Act 2000, Schedule 1
Forgery: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 1
Copying a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 2
Using a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 3
Using a copy of a false instrument: Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, section 4[/i]

[Royal Lady]

The season isn't even over yet a lot of people seem to be ignoring this!

Indeed - including RFC it would seem.....

The transfer market doesnt seem to be a lot like the property market at times, one player moves and several follow. Tought for it to properly work if the fate of dozens of teams isn't yet decided.

huh? I thought you meant the delay by the PL in the FAPP test - my point was, that RFC seem to think it's going to be concluded "next week" for the past few weeks it seems - yet maybe the PL haven't even started looking properly yet because the PL isn't over yet....

[STAR Liaison]

I don't think it is very different to the fit & proper person but it is now the directors and owners test

http://www.football-league.co.uk/static ... 912,00.pdf

premierleague.custhelp.com/app/.../a.../ownership-and-directors-test

http://www.premierleague.com/content/da ... 011-12.pdf Section D

[Royal Lady]

That's the FL one and says it is primarily self-certification - and the link I posted said that the FL do theirs after someone has taken over! I can't really see what the hold up would be - certainly, it would seem he should pass all the sections regarding convictions etc and as he's never owned a football club before, then some of the questions aren't relevant.

[Victor Meldrew]

I'm with RL on this.
The club once again has failed in it's PR as so often it has in the past.
What they don't seem to realise is that fans cling to every word that chairmen,owners,managers and players say because we are always desperate to hear the latest news.
Remember our chairman saying when we got to the Prem. that the ground would be extended-not "might be" or "depending upon certain matters" but that it would definitely be extended.
Now he has spoken about "next week" on more than one occasion,it seems almost every week.
The Russian has already spoken of "spending big" and "the ground will be extended if we stay up after the first season back" so I hope his words do mean what has been said.

Hopefully all of this is just casual comment from the chairman and that the deal will be completed in the next of next weeks and at worst at least a month or more before the new season starts but in any event in time for Brian to get cracking in the transfer market.

[Rex]

Just sit back, let things evolve either way and clamour for the news when it happens. Strangely i am calm about any of this. It would be fantastic if/ when this happens. Currently more emphasis on the IF but again, we cannot influence any of the process or time-frame as frustrating as it is to some.

[Ian Royal]

I have no idea what you're on about with the first part of your post. If the club don't know when the PL are going to sanction this, why say next week? If they think saying "next week" placates any twitchy fans, then they're wrong - esp when they say "next week" every week!

And as for the money Anton has "put" in - do we know how much this is? It's also in the form of loans, so if it goes wrong, we'll still have to pay it back. However, surely until it does go through, we can't look to buy anyone else - unless it is within the restraints imposed by SJM - for fear that TSI doesn't go through and we're left to try and afford it all....

If things are close and as far as they are concerned all is good, then there's no reason not to say they expect things to go through soon. And refusing to say anything about a timescale is only going to cause people to get more worried. As it is, they say they hope / expect it'll be next / this week... whatever, and it's just a question of the PL saying yes.

It's not like we've been given a hard date.

I don't care how he's put the money in, even if he's owner it's unlikely to be free. The fact is he has invested in us before the deal goes through. That is a very important and encouraging sign to me.

I'll say again, if the club have no more idea than we do of when this is likely to go through - surely it's better for them to be honest and just say "we have not yet been given any indication by the PL as to when this might be completed. As soon as we know, we'll be sure to let our fans know" or something? Continually saying "next week" gives a degree of expectation, which DOES disappoint the fans, when "next week" keeps coming and going.

But they do have an idea. They've provided all the information and it's just a matter of time. So they can quite easily say they expect it to be soon.

I don't see many people worried in the slightest.

[Friday's Legacy]

The Daily Mail are supposed to be running a story this week about the takeover.

Sounds like quite a frank interview, and they spoke with CS regarding the 25m fee for 51% stage 1 of the takeover - not apparently accurate.

TSI are paying "12.7m for 51 % then 12.3m for the rest by 30th sept 2013."

[Royal Lady]

That won't tell us when the deal is ratified though will it? Of course CS is going to make all the right noises.

[Uke]

The Daily Mail are supposed to be running a story this week about the takeover.

Sounds like quite a frank interview, and they spoke with CS regarding the 25m fee for 51% stage 1 of the takeover - not apparently accurate.

TSI are paying "12.7m for 51 % then 12.3m for the rest by 30th sept 2013."

The change in proposed price is interesting

Perhaps TSI made SJM a new revised offer that he couldn't refuse