Abu Derby County

[jono]

On 30/10/2020 at 12:28, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said:

It's a difficult thing for some fans to navigate. 

Can you still love your club if it's being run by people involved in the running of states in which human rights abuses regularly take place? 

Some people won't care, some will. It's a complex question. Winning at any cost isn't of any interest to me. I'd rather thar our club wasn't a PR vehicle for that sort of state, if that meant not winning a few trophies then so be it. 

I kind of agree with you but with half the team and a big chunk of fan/punters going to ski in the desert on a regular basis there is so much hypocrisy around, I just don’t know what to think these days. Gays get hung in public from cranes in the Middle East amongst a load of stuff. Saudi Arabia is responsible for the jobs of thousands of skilled British workers in the aircraft industry but cut people’s heads off legally. 

perhaps we just stand back from international politics and keep the circle and terms of reference tight. Do they pay their bills ? , do they treat DCFC employees and fans with respect. Do they follow Uk law when in business in the UK ?
 

I just don’t think there is a simple answer to it all. 

 

[Rampage]

7 minutes ago, jono said:

I kind of agree with you but with half the team and a big chunk of fan/punters going to ski in the desert on a regular basis there is so much hypocrisy around, I just don’t know what to think these days. Gays get hung in public from cranes in the Middle East amongst a load of stuff. Saudi Arabia is responsible for the jobs of thousands of skilled British workers in the aircraft industry but cut people’s heads off legally. 

perhaps we just stand back from international politics and keep the circle and terms of reference tight. Do they pay their bills ? , do they treat DCFC employees and fans with respect. Do they follow Uk law when in business in the UK ?
 

I just don’t think there is a simple answer to it all. 

 

They are not from Saudi Arabia are they.

[Rampage]

10 hours ago, alexxxxx said:

Can't see anyone pouring hundreds of millions in to Derby to make us a champions league team don't worry about that.. There's all sorts of ffp rules to prevent that aha. 

Aha. - you are Alan Partridge and I claim my £5 aha

[Rampage]

4 hours ago, Ambitious said:

In fairness, I'm not even sure that this guy has the capital to come in and throw ridiculous sums of money around. We literally have no idea how rich he is, however, I think it's all-but-confirmed that he's not a major part of the UAE royal family. It's not the end of the world. Mel Morris, for all the good work he has done, has drained his own pocket dry. The loans to keep up cash flow highlight that much, so hopefully this guy is worth to £500m (as printed) and has cash in the bank rather than money tied up in assets. 

As long as he can keep us competitive and afloat, I don't think I'll be entirely bothered when Mbappe doesn't turn up on January 1st. 

How much is Mel wanting for the Club. Newcastle United bid was only £300 million. If Mel bought the Stadium for £80 what is the Club worth.

[Rampage]

3 hours ago, IslandExile said:

Have you won the lottery?

Please can I borrow a few quid?

Get in the queue, IslandExile.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

31 minutes ago, hintonsboots said:

Still can’t understand how the EFL can appeal against the decision of an independent tribunal. What’s the point of the tribunal and it’s verdicts. ????

This is my genuine concern, I think things are being done to purposely delay our take over. Slightly paranoid I know and probably way off the mark; but as soon as rumours of take overs surfaced the EFL whacked a charge on us.

Although, one could argue that the EFL charge may have prevented us being taken over by Gabay, so it aint all bad.

[Van der MoodHoover]

6 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

My Norwegian friends do find this hilarious! For so many decades considered the uncultured country bumpkins, and now the ones with the wealth. Both such beautiful countries I think I'll retire in one or the other.

Though while flogging the oil to us, the Norwegians drive electric cars. I think the highest ownership per capita of Teslas in the world! ?

Don't forget creating one of the worlds largest sovereign wealth funds for the benefit of all future generations of their citizens. And avoided the lure of blowing the lot on the tempting Oslo to Trondheim with a Bergen leg HS2 type nonsense project.

Meanwhile we spaffed all ours on "wealth creating" tax cuts that have got us to where we are today........

[not intended to be a political comment so hope those nice mods don't embargo me] ?

[Ambitious]

6 minutes ago, Rampage said:

How much is Mel wanting for the Club. Newcastle United bid was only £300 million. If Mel bought the Stadium for £80 what is the Club worth.

Impossible to know, but it won’t be a lot. £80m with the stadium thrown in? I doubt it will be above £100m but then again it won’t be profitable unless we get promoted. 

He could sell some of the younger players and make a bit of profit, but really he’s buying a business that makes losses in the hope they can get it together for 9 months. 

[Rampage]

7 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

Impossible to know, but it won’t be a lot. £80m with the stadium thrown in? I doubt it will be above £100m but then again it won’t be profitable unless we get promoted. 

He could sell some of the younger players and make a bit of profit, but really he’s buying a business that makes losses in the hope they can get it together for 9 months. 

Was he offered £50 million and stuck out for £60 million relatively recently but did not get it. Not sure if this is true or not.

[brady1993]

Putting who he is or what his connections are to one side for the moment, I'm conflicted. Before I say the following these views are my own and I don't judge those who are getting excited at the possibilities, I completely get it.

Personally I find the idea that Mel Morris laid out to be immensely appealing i.e. building towards a team that is heavily fueled by it's academy and uses the academy judiciously in order to forward the club whilst aiming to be a good footballing team. Essentially what Southampton did. In my view, executed properly it would be a stable means of growing the club that meant we weren't overly reliant on continuous investment. Also I will admit I really do find the idea of going up the "hard" way like what is outlined above appealing but I am coming from the viewpoint that journey matters more than the destination because ultimately it's very unlikely we ever challenge for winning the premiership.

A large part of me doesn't want to become a club that just throws money around willy nilly with a chairman that demands instant success especially if it comes at the cost of some of the talented academy lads not getting their chance. It'd feel shallow if the success came and if it doesn't it could risk the health of the club especially if the new owner gets bored. I've been critical of Mel Morris on occassion but I've never once doubted that he wasn't doing what he thought was the best for the club and doing everything he could to move us forward.

On the other hand judicious investment used well to compliment how the academy develops would greatly accelerate how quickly we can move forward and how far we can go. Thinking to the summer and with a bit of extra laying around we almost certainly get a striker in.

If it goes through it remains to be seen how the new owner will set his stall. My hope is that MM has done his homework and it's someone who's a good fit. I'm just wary about the whole thing.

[jono]

52 minutes ago, Rampage said:

They are not from Saudi Arabia are they.

Fair does, I was being very broad brush in response to other posters. Hence my suggestion that in football terms we should maybe leave international politics as something not applicable running a business in the uk, according to Uk morals and ethics. ( yes in general terms it is a blind eye, but Everything else is so intertwined that if you covered every base nothing would get done. ) 

[jono]

46 minutes ago, Rampage said:

Was he offered £50 million and stuck out for £60 million relatively recently but did not get it. Not sure if this is true or not.

It’s prestige and excitement for those sort of people. I don’t think they look for a return in quite the same way as normal business folk. It’s a grander scale of a beach club in Mykonos that I know. Competing Arabs seeing who can have the biggest champagne bill at 400 quid a pop. Mel could easily sell the club, keep the stadium or do whatever depending on who and how much. He isn’t a mug 

[Mostyn6]

I’d rather us ride this out with Mel, and make better decisions. Employ managers who can get teams to overachieve. 
 

Id rather us be competitive in the championship, as we have in last 5/6 years, than be a Crystal Palace fighting relegation and being boring every season. 
 

Fans get no benefit financially being in the PL. I’m not interested in seeing opposition world class players drubbing us either. 
 

There is a right way of doing it, I’d hoped Mel would finally suss it. 
 

Ive never called for big spending. I’m all for good coaching and motivating, as they will bring success, whereas spending doesn’t. 

[Spanish]

1 hour ago, jono said:

I kind of agree with you but with half the team and a big chunk of fan/punters going to ski in the desert on a regular basis there is so much hypocrisy around, I just don’t know what to think these days. Gays get hung in public from cranes in the Middle East amongst a load of stuff. Saudi Arabia is responsible for the jobs of thousands of skilled British workers in the aircraft industry but cut people’s heads off legally. 

perhaps we just stand back from international politics and keep the circle and terms of reference tight. Do they pay their bills ? , do they treat DCFC employees and fans with respect. Do they follow Uk law when in business in the UK ?
 

I just don’t think there is a simple answer to it all. 

 

Simple we can rely on the fit and proper test which has been proven to be foolproof 

[Rampage]

7 minutes ago, jono said:

It’s prestige and excitement for those sort of people. I don’t think they look for a return in quite the same way as normal business folk. It’s a grander scale of a beach club in Mykonos that I know. Competing Arabs seeing who can have the biggest champagne bill at 400 quid a pop. Mel could easily sell the club, keep the stadium or do whatever depending on who and how much. He isn’t a mug 

Mel...what a guy.

[Van der MoodHoover]

33 minutes ago, brady1993 said:

Personally I find the idea that Mel Morris laid out to be immensely appealing i.e. building towards a team that is heavily fueled by it's academy and uses the academy judiciously in order to forward the club whilst aiming to be a good footballing team. Essentially what Southampton did. In my view, executed properly it would be a stable means of growing the club that meant we weren't overly reliant on continuous investment. Also I will admit I really do find the idea of going up the "hard" way like what is outlined above appealing but I am coming from the viewpoint that journey matters more than the destination because ultimately it's very unlikely we ever challenge for winning the premiership.

 

they still do....this is the Southampton academy mission statement

"Our academy vision is to produce a first team year-on-year made up of 50% Academy graduates who are world-class in their technical ability on the field and behaviours off the field competing on the European stage."

They currently boast 20 internationals across all of their age groups (from U15 up) and cite James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw, Harrison Reed and Calum Chambers as their most recent successes.

Its a worthy ambition to emulate them - note that their model relies heavily on selling them at peak value which is something historically we have been a bit hit and miss at.

[brady1993]

2 minutes ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

they still do....this is the Southampton academy mission statement

"Our academy vision is to produce a first team year-on-year made up of 50% Academy graduates who are world-class in their technical ability on the field and behaviours off the field competing on the European stage."

They currently boast 20 internationals across all of their age groups (from U15 up) and cite James Ward-Prowse, Luke Shaw, Harrison Reed and Calum Chambers as their most recent successes.

Its a worthy ambition to emulate them - note that their model relies heavily on selling them at peak value which is something historically we have been a bit hit and miss at.

It's exactly that what I'm talking about. I think it's a model that if we get right will lead to long term sustainable achievement and success.

[BondJovi]

13 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

I’d rather us ride this out with Mel, and make better decisions. Employ managers who can get teams to overachieve. 
 

Id rather us be competitive in the championship, as we have in last 5/6 years, than be a Crystal Palace fighting relegation and being boring every season. 
 

Fans get no benefit financially being in the PL. I’m not interested in seeing opposition world class players drubbing us either. 
 

There is a right way of doing it, I’d hoped Mel would finally suss it. 
 

Ive never called for big spending. I’m all for good coaching and motivating, as they will bring success, whereas spending doesn’t. 

The problem with this is staying competitive whilst being financially sound. Especially with the FFP cycles. 

I honestly believe the appointment of Cocu was Mel trying to do the right thing. I love the vision behind it. Sadly I believe it has taken too long to realise this and previous blunders have come back to bite us. Regardless of your opinion on Cocu, the team is better placed now moving forward.

I am not sure any manager, any owner would buy into your idea.

[Carl Sagan]

1 hour ago, Van der MoodHoover said:

Don't forget creating one of the worlds largest sovereign wealth funds for the benefit of all future generations of their citizens. And avoided the lure of blowing the lot on the tempting Oslo to Trondheim with a Bergen leg HS2 type nonsense project.

Meanwhile we spaffed all ours on "wealth creating" tax cuts that have got us to where we are today........

[not intended to be a political comment so hope those nice mods don't embargo me] ?

I was in Tromsø for the first time last year and hopped on the bus from the airport into the city. It was winter so you could see the sense that the Norwegians would tunnel through the mountain to avoid the weather extremes. What I hadn't expected was to find roundabouts inside the tunnel with roads going off everywhere. Amazing infrastructure. And everywhere I went (very remote arctic countryside) there was always high-speed 4G on my phone. Are there any wealthy Norwegians to invest in the club?

[Topram]

Must be close if it reports it could be done by Wednesday