You are a legend Mr Clowes. Now, please plan for the next stage

[Comrade 86]

2 minutes ago, kevinhectoring said:

It was the stadium he bought first and he got it for a song - in fact at one stage he even indicated he’d bought the club in order to protect the value of the stadium ! 

Care to provide a citation? I don't recall him saying anything of the sort.

[MadAmster]

47 minutes ago, kevinhectoring said:

So allegedly DC won’t sell unless he continues to be involved. I wonder whether he’d sell the club but not the stadium. It was the stadium he bought first and he got it for a song - in fact at one stage he even indicated he’d bought the club in order to protect the value of the stadium ! 

The Pride Park deal is thought be worth around £23.5m Source thebusinessdesk.com/eastmidlands/news/2060386-developer-acquires-pride-park-and-announces-takeover-bid

I know MM paid £80M and £23.5M is a "song" in comparison but £23.5M (I'd always thought he'd paid £22M) is about the right price.

[Gerry Daly]

I don't think we need to worry about this for now though its fun to speculate I suppose. We need to put one foot in front of the other and see where it takes us. My personal hope is that Mr Clowes enjoys his project and at some point gets his money back and then some. That will happen naturally I think when we get to the position of challenging for promotion to the Prem. I say 'when' because we are one of the biggest clubs outside of the Prem and its the natural order of things. Its just a question of how long, it could be 2 years it could be 10. In terms of Mr Clowes planning, I think that will evolve as we evolve. We just don't know if he would want to carry on owning the club if somebody made him a really good offer, but my guess is he would sell provided he felt it was also in the clubs interest   

[ossieram]

1 hour ago, RoyMac5 said:

Why?

Why not?

[RoyMac5]

57 minutes ago, ossieram said:

Why not?

He never wanted to own the Club, he said.

[RoyMac5]

2 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Because he wants to ensure that his principle aims of restoring the club's footing and delivering a sustainable future are both achieved.

Did that really require explaining?

Really? 

Did you think that might be the only reason? 

[Archied]

Football is in a state , where and how it’s being driven has to a great extent destroyed the true sport that it was , obscene money for players and wages , fans disconnected from players and more and more from clubs , massive debts and let’s be honest it could at some point come crashing around our ears ,, ,

im sorry but the original poster and his post / thinking is a major player in this being pushed further and further, jeez even to the extent that a true fan like clowes who bought the club to save it is now backhandedly questioned as to whether he bought the club to protect his investment in the ground which by the way was about the only way the club was going to survive in time if he didn’t buy the ground then the dodgy yank was out , deal off and hope Ashley actually wanted the club even for buttons or as a phoenix,

sorry Kevin hectoring but fans with your views and demands are a big part of the problem🤷🏻‍♂️

[RoyMac5]

30 minutes ago, Archied said:

Football is in a state , where and how it’s being driven has to a great extent destroyed the true sport that it was , obscene money for players and wages , fans disconnected from players and more and more from clubs , massive debts and let’s be honest it could at some point come crashing around our ears ,, ,

im sorry but the original poster and his post / thinking is a major player in this being pushed further and further, jeez even to the extent that a true fan like clowes who bought the club to save it is now backhandedly questioned as to whether he bought the club to protect his investment in the ground which by the way was about the only way the club was going to survive in time if he didn’t buy the ground then the dodgy yank was out , deal off and hope Ashley actually wanted the club even for buttons or as a phoenix,

sorry Kevin hectoring but fans with your views and demands are a big part of the problem🤷🏻‍♂️

I see that baseball is being ruined too. Or is it?  "Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani has made history by signing a record-breaking $700m (£558m) contract with the LA Dodgers... His recent elbow surgery did not stop the Dodgers from offering the eye-watering 10-year deal - smashing Mike Trout's $426.5m 12-year deal contract signed in 2019, previously the largest in Major League Baseball (MLB)." 

[Ambitious]

1 hour ago, Archied said:

Football is in a state , where and how it’s being driven has to a great extent destroyed the true sport that it was , obscene money for players and wages , fans disconnected from players and more and more from clubs , massive debts and let’s be honest it could at some point come crashing around our ears ,, ,

im sorry but the original poster and his post / thinking is a major player in this being pushed further and further, jeez even to the extent that a true fan like clowes who bought the club to save it is now backhandedly questioned as to whether he bought the club to protect his investment in the ground which by the way was about the only way the club was going to survive in time if he didn’t buy the ground then the dodgy yank was out , deal off and hope Ashley actually wanted the club even for buttons or as a phoenix,

sorry Kevin hectoring but fans with your views and demands are a big part of the problem🤷🏻‍♂️

Unless people suddenly stop watching football there will never be any danger of it failing. The projections at the very top level make the current situation look modest. 

[Crewton]

7 hours ago, Big Trav said:

A couple of American investors looking to get into football and turn Derby into the ‘next Wrexham’

10,000 crowds and League 2 football? 

Where's the catch? 🤔

[europia]

9 hours ago, Gerry Daly said:

I don't think we need to worry about this for now though its fun to speculate I suppose. We need to put one foot in front of the other and see where it takes us. My personal hope is that Mr Clowes enjoys his project and at some point gets his money back and then some. That will happen naturally I think when we get to the position of challenging for promotion to the Prem. I say 'when' because we are one of the biggest clubs outside of the Prem and its the natural order of things. Its just a question of how long, it could be 2 years it could be 10. In terms of Mr Clowes planning, I think that will evolve as we evolve. We just don't know if he would want to carry on owning the club if somebody made him a really good offer, but my guess is he would sell provided he felt it was also in the clubs interest   

Yes, at some point a wealthy Arab Sheikh turn up and make Mr Clowes a very generous offer.

Oh hang on.........

[MadAmster]

The title of the thread reads.... You are a legend Mr Clowes. Now, please plan for the next stage

If there is to be a "next stage", Mr Clowes will have the direction of the "next stage" firmly in his head and probably on paper as well. In which case he has already planned for the "next stage". Thinking there isn't a mid term plan in place is, IMO, disparaging towards David Clowes.

IMO, any next stage will require:

1. Promotion to the SBC and staying there the first season otherwise we won't be attractive to prospective buyers

2. Any new buyer having to commit, in the contract, to keep the club financially viable and insisting on the same when they sell it on

 

[kevinhectoring]

22 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Care to provide a citation? I don't recall him saying anything of the sort.

Did you watch the lengthy ‘get to know the new owner’ video interview that was done a few weeks after the acquisition? Pretty sure the interviewer was Owen Bradley and that it was shot in what might have been DC’s ample back garden. 
 

[You’ll remember Mm refused to sell the stadium unless the purchaser paid at least enough to clear the MSD debt (about 23m if I recall). (The last valuation on the stadium at that stage was £80+m!) At that stage Kirchner clearly didn’t have enough to buy the stadium and the club, so DC stepped forward and took the stadium - one assumes for about £20m. Kirchner then retired from the process and DC was the only game in town, (apart from the Ashley vulture who had fallen out with q). DC then bought the club]
 

Back to the interview: DC let it slip in a brief comment that he wasn’t originally intending to buy the club. But he added that once Kirchner was out of the process, the effect of DC buying the club on Q’s terms shored up the value of the stadium (which by then he had already purchased from MM) This was because buying the club on those terms maintained the club/stadium lessee as a going concern. They moved quickly on but it was  gobsmacking that he said it, also that they broadcast it in those terms. I commented on it at the time on here. 
 

I’ve no idea whether that interview is still available somewhere. It’s worth a careful listen if it is 

[kevinhectoring]

22 hours ago, MadAmster said:

The Pride Park deal is thought be worth around £23.5m Source thebusinessdesk.com/eastmidlands/news/2060386-developer-acquires-pride-park-and-announces-takeover-bid

I know MM paid £80M and £23.5M is a "song" in comparison but £23.5M (I'd always thought he'd paid £22M) is about the right price.

MSD lent 20m against the stadium and MM guaranteed the debt. MM refused to allow the stadium and the club to be ‘reunited’ unless MSD was repaid by someone other than him. That’s why DC bought the stadium for 23m - it was the amount needed to clear the MSD debt. 
Bold of you to put a value on the stadium. I’d hazard that if the club is out of business for prolonged period, the stadium is a liability. And that if the club is operational, the value of the stadium turns on the div we are in 
 

Edited December 11, 2023 by kevinhectoring

[Comrade 86]

19 minutes ago, kevinhectoring said:

Did you watch the lengthy ‘get to know the new owner’ video interview that was done a few weeks after the acquisition? Pretty sure the interviewer was Owen Bradley and that it was shot in what might have been DC’s ample back garden. 
 

[You’ll remember Mm refused to sell the stadium unless the purchaser paid at least enough to clear the MSD debt (about 23m if I recall). (The last valuation on the stadium at that stage was £80+m!) At that stage Kirchner clearly didn’t have enough to buy the stadium and the club, so DC stepped forward and took the stadium - one assumes for about £20m. Kirchner then retired from the process and DC was the only game in town, (apart from the Ashley vulture who had fallen out with q). DC then bought the club]
 

Back to the interview: DC let it slip in a brief comment that he wasn’t originally intending to buy the club. But he added that once Kirchner was out of the process, the effect of DC buying the club on Q’s terms shored up the value of the stadium (which by then he had already purchased from MM) This was because buying the club on those terms maintained the club/stadium lessee as a going concern. They moved quickly on but it was  gobsmacking that he said it, also that they broadcast it in those terms. I commented on it at the time on here. 
 

I’ve no idea whether that interview is still available somewhere. It’s worth a careful listen if it is 

I'll have a listen again, but what you've written above does not imply he bought the club to 'shore up' the stadium value, only that in buying the club, the value of the stadium was 'shored up' as you put it. That's rather different to stating categorically that he ONLY bought the club to protect the value of his stadium investment, which I think is a somewhat disparaging and unfair observation.

[MadAmster]

1 hour ago, kevinhectoring said:

MSD lent 20m against the stadium and MM guaranteed the debt. MM refused to allow the stadium and the club to be ‘reunited’ unless MSD was repaid by someone other than him. That’s why DC bought the stadium for 23m - it was the amount needed to clear the MSD debt. 
Bold of you to put a value on the stadium. I’d hazard that if the club is out of business for prolonged period, the stadium is a liability. And that if the club is operational, the value of the stadium turns on the div we are in 
 

If there's no pro club to play in it, the stadium would be bulldozed and the buyer would pay whatever the value of the land is. When you look at what PP cost to build, add in inflation, take away whatever depreciation due to age, add in L1 football and just above £20M is probably about right. Back in the PL, both the club and the stadium would be worth more than DC paid. So, not bold, just massaging figures and thoughts and coming to a possible value.

[MadAmster]

1 hour ago, Comrade 86 said:

I'll have a listen again, but what you've written above does not imply he bought the club to 'shore up' the stadium value, only that in buying the club, the value of the stadium was 'shored up' as you put it. That's rather different to stating categorically that he ONLY bought the club to protect the value of his stadium investment, which I think is a somewhat disparaging and unfair observation.

He bought the club as he loves DCFC as much as we do. 

[Caerphilly Ram]

Quotes from David Clowes;

"People ask why I did it. It was purely to save the football club, no more. There is no ego with me. I'm passionate about Derby County - it means everything to me.

"It was a no-brainer that we got involved."
 

Taken from this interview;

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65959914.amp

It does cover in that interview that he had a deal for the stadium “good to go”, parallel to the doomed Kirchner takeover, Clowes himself states it was only ever intended to save the club he loves, as evidenced by the line he wouldn’t sign off on the stadium deal until Kirchner had got the club out of admin. If he only wanted to buy the stadium he’d surely have just done so regardless of the progress Kirchner was or wasn’t making, right?

He also said (in that same interview?) the plan is to be established within the championship in 5 years (and that he’s aware things don’t always run to plan in football which I take to mean he’s realistic the timescale could alter). So on the OPs point, Clowes has very much already been planning for the “next stage”, it might differ to your proposed American Investors narrative but he’s not sat there playing with his train set.

Audio of the interview available here;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fy119y

Edited December 11, 2023 by Caerphilly Ram

[Raich Carter]

On 10/12/2023 at 17:58, Crewton said:

10,000 crowds and League 2 football? 

Where's the catch? 🤔

From average attendances of 4,000 in 2020... It's not about the 'today', it's about the 'tomorrow' / growth. And as we know from Man U fans, fans can be from anywhere. I think the whole 'local' thing is on the slide.

I, quite rightly, had no choice but to support DCFC 'cos I'm from here. Same for my son. Zero choice. None. Not an option.

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

On 10/12/2023 at 10:55, Big Trav said:

I have heard that Clowes is looking for investment and in talks with 1 that I know of. A couple of American investors looking to get into football and turn Derby into the ‘next Wrexham’ with a certain Derby supporting global superstar as the face of the club. Clowes will not Sell unless he is involved in the running of the club still. 

George Clooney confirmed. Pride Park to be renamed 'The Nespresso Dome'

Edited December 11, 2023 by JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta