How to buy a football club - Dispatches
- Thread starter Bobbins
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Bobbins
Well-Known Member
Watch the end then switch to C4+1 for the start.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
Didn't really say much or accuse any clubs of anything and said nothing that most fans probably had suspicions about anyway, basically just a bunch of half-arsed of SAF bashing by the end. Waste of time really.
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RHYDAL
Well-Known Member
Much ado about nothing. Very little substance.
Our clubs are up for sale if the price is right. Not a huge scoop there.
And if you're unscrupulous you can get around the lax rules the league have in place to stop dual ownership.
Only story I saw is that your captain fantastic is a mercenary with no scrupples.
Nothing to see here.
Our clubs are up for sale if the price is right. Not a huge scoop there.
And if you're unscrupulous you can get around the lax rules the league have in place to stop dual ownership.
Only story I saw is that your captain fantastic is a mercenary with no scrupples.
Nothing to see here.
fitz
Well-Known Member
Don't have +1 in the kitchen where I am stuck cooking for myself
I assume it's the usual dispatches bollocks of posing questions without attempting to seek answers?
Blue Maniac
Alzheimers sufferer
Sounds like I needn't have worried earlier. Still glad I switched it off though.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nessman-break-FA-rules.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Former England captain Bryan Robson has recorded among a group of football investors apparently telling would-be businessmen how to break FA rules by buying two clubs.
Robson, secretly filmed by undercover reporters posing as investors, brags that struggling clubs can bought cheaply and sold on for hundreds of millions of pounds.
He reels off the names of teams such as Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield United and his 'big-money' punt Sheffield Wednesday as potential targets.
His associates tell the fake businessman how to flout strict FA rules on club ownership simply by setting up funds that buy teams on behalf of somebody else.
The loopholes that can apparently allow rich money men from foreign countries to cash in on the English Premier League.
The Manchester United legend, who won 90 England caps and captained his country, was filmed on Channel 4's Dispatches saying: 'Football's a business.'
The comments will come as an insult to millions of fans around the country paying out thousands of pounds each year to follow their sides.
The effect on the clubs could be disastrous as they may face financial uncertainty and poor results as rich business 'toy' with the fans' beloved teams.
The debate on club ownership in recent by a host of foreign buy-outs of British football clubs with Manchest CIty, Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Portsmouth among those now in the hands of overseas owners.
Die-hard fans complain that super-rich owners are unconcerned with the proud heritage and traditions of British clubs.
But Robson, who won 90 England caps and captained his country, says the key to making millions is to buy a club on the cheap, win promotion and then sell within a few years.
Robson adds on the programme: 'Build it up from nothing and say it was worth £3million when you bought it and now you can sell it for £150m - that's great business by you.'
The former footballer is employed by the London Nominees Football Fund - a group 'investing in football clubs, players, franchises, merchandising and sponsorship in this outstanding growth industry'.
But the investigation apparently shows Robson and members of the fund explaining ways to break the strict rules governing football club ownership.
FA rules state that clubs only have to confirm the identities of people with a shareholding of 10% or more. It is understood that one of loopholes is to set up different funds owned by the same group that have separate shareholdings.
The 54-year-old even lists a string of clubs for investors to target. He says that Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday could be lucrative.
Robson adds: 'But it's how you name it, because you're only allowed to own one club.'
Reporters pretended to be representing Indian and Chinese businessmen and were told by Robson that he could use his relationships with former team-mates and managers to help with transfers.
Robson, London Nominees chief executive Andrew Leppard and lawyer Steve Burkill attended meetings in Thailand where the former West Brom boss was managing the national side until last month.
As seen in the programme, Leppard apparently explained that one club could be bought through the fund and another club hidden in a sub-fund.
Football League chairman Greg Clarke, who was also interviewed for the programme, said: 'We don't want people having the ability to affect results, squad selections, source of managers across a number of clubs - and that's why multiple club ownership is beyond the pale.'
Asked if he is confident that he knows who the true owners are of every club in the Football League, he added: 'No I'm not. There's a process of validation that lets the Football League know who the owners are. Who the owners of the owners are gets more difficult. And who the owners of the owners of the owners are gets even more difficult.'
Joe Sim, chief adviser to the Thai FA and a friend of Robson, says in another meeting: 'Once you have put £5m into the fund, I'll arrange for you and me, we have dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson, then Sir Alex Ferguson will tell you that he is going to lend me the players.'
Lawyers for the Manchester United manager confirmed Sim is a friend but said: 'He has never discussed the possibility of loaning any Manchester United players.'
A spokesman for London Nominees said: 'Any suggestion Bryan Robson would participate in any breach of League rules is strongly denied.'
Former England captain Bryan Robson has recorded among a group of football investors apparently telling would-be businessmen how to break FA rules by buying two clubs.
Robson, secretly filmed by undercover reporters posing as investors, brags that struggling clubs can bought cheaply and sold on for hundreds of millions of pounds.
He reels off the names of teams such as Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield United and his 'big-money' punt Sheffield Wednesday as potential targets.
His associates tell the fake businessman how to flout strict FA rules on club ownership simply by setting up funds that buy teams on behalf of somebody else.
The loopholes that can apparently allow rich money men from foreign countries to cash in on the English Premier League.
The Manchester United legend, who won 90 England caps and captained his country, was filmed on Channel 4's Dispatches saying: 'Football's a business.'
The comments will come as an insult to millions of fans around the country paying out thousands of pounds each year to follow their sides.
The effect on the clubs could be disastrous as they may face financial uncertainty and poor results as rich business 'toy' with the fans' beloved teams.
The debate on club ownership in recent by a host of foreign buy-outs of British football clubs with Manchest CIty, Manchester United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Portsmouth among those now in the hands of overseas owners.
Die-hard fans complain that super-rich owners are unconcerned with the proud heritage and traditions of British clubs.
But Robson, who won 90 England caps and captained his country, says the key to making millions is to buy a club on the cheap, win promotion and then sell within a few years.
Robson adds on the programme: 'Build it up from nothing and say it was worth £3million when you bought it and now you can sell it for £150m - that's great business by you.'
The former footballer is employed by the London Nominees Football Fund - a group 'investing in football clubs, players, franchises, merchandising and sponsorship in this outstanding growth industry'.
But the investigation apparently shows Robson and members of the fund explaining ways to break the strict rules governing football club ownership.
FA rules state that clubs only have to confirm the identities of people with a shareholding of 10% or more. It is understood that one of loopholes is to set up different funds owned by the same group that have separate shareholdings.
The 54-year-old even lists a string of clubs for investors to target. He says that Birmingham, Leicester, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday could be lucrative.
Robson adds: 'But it's how you name it, because you're only allowed to own one club.'
Reporters pretended to be representing Indian and Chinese businessmen and were told by Robson that he could use his relationships with former team-mates and managers to help with transfers.
Robson, London Nominees chief executive Andrew Leppard and lawyer Steve Burkill attended meetings in Thailand where the former West Brom boss was managing the national side until last month.
As seen in the programme, Leppard apparently explained that one club could be bought through the fund and another club hidden in a sub-fund.
Football League chairman Greg Clarke, who was also interviewed for the programme, said: 'We don't want people having the ability to affect results, squad selections, source of managers across a number of clubs - and that's why multiple club ownership is beyond the pale.'
Asked if he is confident that he knows who the true owners are of every club in the Football League, he added: 'No I'm not. There's a process of validation that lets the Football League know who the owners are. Who the owners of the owners are gets more difficult. And who the owners of the owners of the owners are gets even more difficult.'
Joe Sim, chief adviser to the Thai FA and a friend of Robson, says in another meeting: 'Once you have put £5m into the fund, I'll arrange for you and me, we have dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson, then Sir Alex Ferguson will tell you that he is going to lend me the players.'
Lawyers for the Manchester United manager confirmed Sim is a friend but said: 'He has never discussed the possibility of loaning any Manchester United players.'
A spokesman for London Nominees said: 'Any suggestion Bryan Robson would participate in any breach of League rules is strongly denied.'
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
All it did was spend ages going on about how most football clubs in the Prem and the Championship aren't owned by British owners. We already know this, surely? And who cares anyway?
And then here's how you could get round the fit and proper rules if you want to, but doesn't suggest that anyone ever actually has done. As if we didn't know that financial rules and laws have loop holes and such which get exploited in just about every line of work, every day.
Then it went on about how the people who franchised the bar at Old Trafford were crooks and that was it.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
Oh and the reporter who was making out he was a bigwig clearly knew nothign about football and how it was run anyway. He even referred to Barnsley as Barnsley Town. :icon_lol:
RHYDAL
Well-Known Member
The one thing that did make me snigger was how they advised employing a PR agency to manage fans expectations.
You know the sort of thing......tell them there's a big pot of money for signings which doesn't materialise, and then get in a load of frees and loanees.
Sound familiar?
You know the sort of thing......tell them there's a big pot of money for signings which doesn't materialise, and then get in a load of frees and loanees.
Sound familiar?
TornadoShaunUK
Well-Known Member
It certainly will do to Sheffield Wednesday fans at the moment.
I didn't watch it but I heard this was all filmed around April this year. Obviously after our takeover. Apparently other clubs mentioned include Cardiff, Leeds, Derby and Crystal Palace. No potential for success in Forest or Coventry I take it?
Hazzman
New Member
Sounds like Cardiff tbh....I am not joking either.
Motown Fox
Well-Known Member
This quoted below was the result of discussions about that Dispatches program on a Sheffield Forum I go on from time to time. Wish I had gone on whilst it was ongoing - loved to have seen how each set of fans dealt with issue.
Not a surprise as Sheff Utd were the team the Dispatches Consortium were looking into buying and Wednesday were also previously mentioned and Milan is doing the exact thing that was planned i.e. buy for a knock down price and sell for a huge profit once they get in the Premiership (some chance of that happening).:icon_bigg
Dispatches thread..
Not a surprise as Sheff Utd were the team the Dispatches Consortium were looking into buying and Wednesday were also previously mentioned and Milan is doing the exact thing that was planned i.e. buy for a knock down price and sell for a huge profit once they get in the Premiership (some chance of that happening).:icon_bigg
Dispatches thread..
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