archram

A 29-year-old Spanish businessman has acquired Derby County from the English second division. He is a former professional boxer who left his career and has now launched himself into the challenge of football: "A very interesting opportunity has arisen for us, I am moved by challenges and I said why not. I want to make Derby County a success. I have some partners in a holding company and we decided to buy together. I think the response from the fans has been very good, and I have noticed good words. In the end their luck will be mine. I would have understood that they doubted me because of my age but they have not been like this ". He tells us about the competition, he believes that economically it is far above Spain and to prove it he gives us some figures: "The second Spanish division cannot be compared economically with the English one. Any team that rises from the Championship to the Premier has 170 million euros. euros. That is the objective. Second, we received about forty million euros in television rights " The coach is the mythical Wayne Rooney and Erik says that he has been very surprised by his great predisposition and his sense of humour. As for signings, he says he would like to take his countryman Fernando Llorente.
Contrary to saying nothing till the deal was finalised Alonso now intends to take a full page ad in every paper in every geographical location on the planet.
Alright the last bit was added.
 

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12273765/marcus-maddison-charlton-midfielder-considering-quitting-football-after-bolton-loan-cut-short
 
His demons are clearly known in the game.
I hope he gets the help he needs.

I didn't like it much when it went quiet during the Sheik takeover.
I don't really like it much when Alonso talks about £20 million players and the Champions League
I have decided to confine my immediate worrying to avoiding relegation this season, once we are safe, I will review my options and pick something else to worry about, there always plenty of choice when you support Derby. ??
 

Because he was asked a question which other teams have you spoken to and he responded with those 2 which he had. Bet if he hadn’t mentioned Cardiff and it came out later some would find a problem with that. There might be issues but  let’s not find them where none are. 

There are legitimate questions which is fine and understandable. I would hope that we all have them , then there is making mountains out of mole hills like the Cardiff thing. Must be a balance between the two ? 

Bugger all we can do worrying about it, it’ll happen either way.

Surely they showed they had the character etc in the second half, despite being a goal down, against all conquering top of the table Norwich? 
 
A team without the fight would have crumbled and probably conceded more rather than giving the best team in the league a run for their money. It wasn’t effort or attitude that was lacking yesterday. It was quality and decision making.
We are of course in serious poo but I was encouraged by the second half performance. If only we could create clearer chances and put them away (simple?).
 

Wow...... I've been a DCFC fan for over 50 years, and I've never known till now that I'm obliged to hold people to account if they are failing in their jobs.  I do apologies for this oversight......

Which is why I created the describe the perfect Derby owner thread, so far it’s been a limited response with basically everything Mel wasn’t and a few one liners. 
My friend @DarkFruitsRam7 wrote quite a description though, credit to him.
Dare I say I’m not sure some know what they want until what they have they no longer want and at times their initial demands are contradicted.
I’m not sure there are that many people out there willing to take a football club on during a pandemic, this has been awful timing for Mel trying to sell with his own health issues. 

Maybe so, but I honestly don't know anything about the guy, never heard of him or this Matt Southall he is mates with (I thought Southall was an ex- Everton goalie!) These days everyone is an amateur detective and a lot of what I see on twitter and here is a feeding frenzy of trying to find out every possible bad thing about him and condemn him for it.
I don't think football is a democracy, no, in fact if I take a step back I think it is probably run by some people who are pretty corrupt. But I obviously don't care about that enough to boycott it any more than I don't care enough to stop buying stuff off Amazon or watching Sky Sports. So I suck it up and generally keep my mouth shut on this side of the game.
I don't think the comparison with politicians works well. Politicians are publicly elected officials placed there to represent us, but football club owners? No they are the guys with the money and/or the ambition. Football clubs are private companies accountable to shareholders not to fans, who at best are the ever-woolley "stakeholders". 
Again, I return to the statement that if you find that morally unacceptable, then walk away from it.
Or at least wait until there is something to be vocal about. There really isn't yet, is there? 
You may all be proved right in the long or even the short term, but at least give the guy a chance.
I am not sure the football club owner exists that would meet the exacting standards of some of our fans.
 

"Close friend"
Do we actually know that? Are all friends/associates to be classed as "close friends" for the purposes of highlighting a point?
He didn't say that on the interview I saw on sky, he merely said that they have money and will spend on the club what is required to be successful without being reckless. "If it takes £20m or if it takes £150m then ok"
It's always better to listen to an actual interview than go on a headline tweet.

It’s natural to have concerns or nervous as Marco Gabbiadini said, would be surprised if Alonso himself didn’t have concerns. 
Ultimately unless any significant number of fans feel that strongly against him buying the club to protest (I’m not one), we have to judge the man as he says by the work he does and not his words.
Fans have been wrong to pre judge players, managers in the past, we have also been right. 
I personally try to go in to any kind of signing/appointment now with an open mind but not without reservations if needed. 
 

I think there is a big difference between being concerned and some of the vitriolic rubbish I have read on this thread, yes.
I think the very phrase "holding to account" smacks of an entitlement that I just don't think we as fans have, but if you feel we must  hold him to account, shouldn't we at least wait until he's done something? 
What is the "standard befitting of football club owners" and how many would actually pass such a test? Would Chelsea's owner?
I just feel that fans these days get hung up on far too much. Really, if you only want ethical ownership,  maybe professional football is not the sport for you.

I'll not speak for ariotofmyown he can do that well enough for himself, But any DCFC supporter worth their salt wants the best, The best being honest players who pull on that shirt to give their best match in match out, A Manager that has the ability to attract the best talent available who WANT TO PLAY FOR DCFC and not just be here because it's a final pay day, A Manager that can motivate, That can match if not better the oppositions Manager, A Manager that has the players 100% attention on and off the pitch, An owner that is true to his word, That wants desperately as much success as the supporters do, Not being haulled up in the court of justice where football scullduggery is involved, To be proud to go to Pride Park, To feel that Buzz again, To tell your workmates your friends and your foes that "were back baby".
I'll not be there to watch, I'll be elsewhere, But I can assure you all my attention will be focussed on kick off times where DCFCs match days are concerned.
Be patient Boys and Girls don't ever forget...This is Derby County.

FWIW here is my two peneth...
Mel clearly wants out (for a number of reasons) he's given it his best shot and not quite got us over the line.  Fair play to the guy, he invested his time, energy and considerable wealth into the club and given us more good times than bad.
He has tried to find us the best new owner possible and settled on Erik Alonso who is talking the talk at least.  My personal view is no one really wants to own a football club to lose £X million so his intentions will be in the right place, whether he succeeds or follows through with any promises time will tell - but its the start of another journey and hopefully we'll enjoy the ride.

If I've ever learnt anything from football, it is not to worry too much. Time seems to move quicker in the game than real life. 
I remember getting back to the car as a 13 year old after another loss at home, worrying about the contracts of players such as Michael Johnson and Peschisolido, the average age of the squad and what the hell we were going to do with no money. 
All completely wasted energy.
The funniest part is that we're almost back in exactly the same position 20 years later. Mortgage on the stadium, little investment in the playing squad, potential takeover, thin squad, lots of youth coming through, and hardly any big earners left in the wage bill. 
All we can do is turn uo and support the lads, and if the ownership is that bad, wave some A4 paper at them. 

Exactly this. There are no guarantees in football and for every ten investors, only two are "succesful" - if success is measured on a scale of only promotion is good enough.
The other eight aren't all crooks or were rubbish. They just tried and failed. 
Overall the last seven years have been more enjoyable on the pitch than they haven't and I like others am just sad that it didn't work out for Mel. Have met him a few times I feel he is a decent guy who only ever wanted the best for this club.
There is no magic formula for success. I have just rewatched the review of the 13/14 season (I know!)
Leeds were in the High Court, look where they are now. Wigan, alternatively, were riding high. Look how divergent their future paths have been.
There's nothing guaranteed in football but we journey with hope, that's what we enjoy. 
For those of you that just enjoy wallowing in the misery, this may well have been your season, but beware, things might get better! 

What will be will be. Whether it’s a new manager, new signing or new owner, we can speculate, worry, wail and gnash our teeth as much as we want, but we won’t know whether it turns out good, bad or indifferent until we see what transpires.
Its quite understandable why there is some concern as we’ve had some dodgy owners in the past and we’ve seen what has happened elsewhere. However, I do tend to think some of the comments on here and elsewhere are a bit like people are just trying to make sure they can say ‘I told you so’ when/if it goes wrong and look clever. 
The only thing I’m particularly feeling at the moment is sadness that Mel is selling up. Football has ups and downs and I don’t really blame Mel for where we are. He’s backed his managers, he’s backed people he trusted to run the club, he has hired managers who should’ve done better than they did. Everything he’s done, and invested, has been with the best of intentions. The only thing I think he got really wrong was sacking SMC twice. But even then, I always work on the basis that nobody sets out to make errors, so I don’t hold it against him. 
I’m sure whatever happens, it will be interesting.

Definitely needs to learn how to pronounce Derby. Odd that he speaks English as much like an Indonesian as a Spaniard. Shades of Joey Barton. Hopefully he’ll be saying ay up me duck in no time 

Didn't they live on the moon with the Clangers?

Football club ownership is a lose/lose situation, doesn’t matter what they do, you’ve done it wrong.
They will be asked to sit in the corner, be quiet, just sign the cheques, but wait, why are they so quiet, we demand answers.
Cut back spending, be sensible, wait a minute we still want that £10m striker and £5m defender, and a £8m keeper....oh and don’t forget that £7m midfielder....but don’t you dare take us close to that FFP limit, no football club should be losing money.
Bored now, we need a new owner, anyone just get rid...wait not him, we don’t want him Jesus, but get rid asap.
Hold on, why’s this guy wanting to buy a second tier football club, I smell something fishy, what’s his intentions, why us, why not one of those football clubs that actually make money like erm...errrrrm....
Honestly, I could be the richest man in the world, sat in trillions in the bank account and I would never touch a football club, even Derby. 
I could turn us into the next Man City and some would still have something to complain about, winning leagues, competing in Europe but yeah that David bloke what a @#%! for killing the atmosphere and turning us into a tourist fan club, all those fake fans over in Asia. I want to see us lose games, can’t remember the last time I saw us get a classic Derby tonking.
Now imagine football clubs owned by football fans, oh my, a group of Newcastle fans are looking to buy a stake in their club. Can already see the fall out there, desperate to get rid of Ashley they donate all they can, then Ant and Dec disagree over firing the manager, Cheryl Cole storms off wanting her £5.68 back as she thought one of the fans would be appointed manager.
Would not touch with a barge pole.

If you're looking for happy people you've come to the wrong place! 
 

I really can’t weigh up some fans. In the Abu Derby County thread there was some much made of the silence and fan’s demanding information. Alonso does 2 interviews which are quite frank and open and folk still aren’t happy ?‍♂️?‍♂️?‍♂️?‍♂️

Isn't that just describing what the EFL process is for taking over a club? 
Ie, when they get a proposal, their standard questions start with.... 
1. Where's the money coming from? 
I suppose a headline such as "efl subjecting Erik Alonso to standard due diligence process with no additional questions whatsoever" is a bit dull tbf ?

I'm a tired middle aged man. I don't have reserves of rage to bring to bear on topics around what might go wrong, or what should have been done. I'm sad that Mel is walking away, sad for us and for him, that the effort in sweat and treasure he's put in to getting us promoted never worked out. Blame him if you want, but few of us could or would have done better. He deserved to sit in the executive box at Old Trafford and The Emirates and watch our team mix it with the best again. I'll always respect him and wish him well.
The new guy is a clean slate, a fresh start. We have a new season over the horizon and if we can just win a couple more games and stay up, positives in the academy and the managers office and hope for the future.
Good luck to him, and I hope the takeover and the relegation battle conclude successfully in this next couple of weeks.
Up the Rams. It's all about the hope.