Article Taxonomy: Takeovers

Articles on football club takeovers and related issues

Barnsley takeover has great potential

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Outgoing Barnsley owner Patrick Cryne is terminally ill with bowel cancer and does not expect to see the end of the season.  His poignant programme notes for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie (actually written by his wife Jean) justifiably attracted widespread and sympathetic attention on the internet and my thoughts go out to him and his family at this time.

At the match against Aston Villa in the 66th minute supporters in all four stands stood with their mobile phones illuminated and sang the name of their 66-year old owner.

The Northampton riddle

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Northampton is a propserous and growing town in middle England, close to the M1.  Some of the countryside and villages in Northamptonshire is really attractive and houses built of honey coloured stone attract half the prices they would in the Cotswolds.

Has the ‘bubble burst’ for Chinese owners?

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I am always suspicious of articles which claim that the bubble has burst or is about to burst in relation to the Premier League.   If I was given a pound for each time I had read such a story, I could afford a good meal out on the proceeds,

Bolton should escape points deduction

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Bolton Wanderers should escape a points deduction after Sports Shield, the company that owned 37.5 per cent of the club, entered voluntary liquidation.

The EFL have announced that they will ‘review’ the situation with an announcement expected in September. However, it would be a great shock if they took any action against Bolton.  If a club appoints receivers, a ten point deduction is automatic.  If the parent company (in this case not even a majority one) appoints receivers, it becomes a matter for discretion.

Morecambe’s troubles continue

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Following an ownership fiasco involving an absent new owner who turned out not to have the readies (yet again), Morecamble were in serious financial trouble last season with players not being paid.

After the Shrimps’ new Brazilian owner Diego Lemos went AWOL, Italian businessman Joseph Cala claimed to have bought the club.  He turned up at the Globe Arena and started giving it large, before Lemos returned as if he had never been away.

Chairman Gao has no readies

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Southampton fans have contacted me to express their concerns that their new Chinese owner, Chairman Gao, has no money to invest in the club having borrowed large sums to acquire it.   Given that from the perspective of now minority ‘partner’, Katharina Liebherr, the whole point of the takeover was to provide much needed investment, this has to be a concern.   Instead of going to the next level, the Saints may find it harder to stay at the present one.

Barnsley targeted by Chinese billionaire

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The long march of China into English football has been going for some time now, but I have to admit that Barnsley was not on my short list of possible targets.   However, it is being reported that they are in advanced talks with Chien Lee, the billionaire who is a majority shareholder in Nice and has been seeking an English club.  He made his money with a hotel chain and an investment group.  

Southampton is latest Chinese owned club

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Southampton has become the third Premier League club to receive Chinese investment.   Property magnate Jisheng Gao paid £200m (some reports say £210m) for what is believed to be a 80 per cent stake in the club, about the same amount as Paris Saint-Germain paid for Neymar.   However, it is a decent profit for the Liebherr family who bought the club for £13m in 2009.  It is a reminder that one way of making money out of a football club is through capital appreciation.