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We're desperate for it, which is why anyone who buys us must be thinking long-term success and return on investment and willing to lose quite a bit of money in the next year or two.

Isn't the problem that people want an owner that will be able to put money into the club (i.e not Ashley or Freddy), wouldn't a fans' consortium do just the opposite? We wouldn't be able to plug the club with money if needed, which it probably would. I don't see the parachute payment and the money from player sales being enough to stablise us. Yeah, I know and I agree. The hypothetical Real/Barca scenario would be more beneficial in the long-run. Even if we are condemned to the Championship for a couple of years, if we can become financially stable and viable, then promotion into the Premiership will mean that we can actually spend money too because of our fanbase. We're not like other teams who need someone to shoulder their spending sprees. The infrastructure at the club is still very strong. We've got a short-run financial problem. If this can be solved, then a Real/Barca style ownership is possible.

Depends on how much he sells the club for and whether he's going to write off that £110m or not, innit?

That'd mean relegation will only cost him £4m. Lucky bastard.

Gotta get a fans' consortium sorted out, go Barca/Real style now because that's the only way this club becomes relatively self-sufficient in the short-run.

How much did Ashley pay for the club? £134m for the all the shares plus taking on the £80m debt, am I right? That means he paid about £210m for the club. He's put £110m in at interest-free rate into the club. I imagine he'll sell for £100m and change the interest on the debt to something more standard (7% or something). It depends on how willing the new owners will be to finance a spending-spree of sorts because we're already losing money every month. Fake edit: Or is what .com saying is that he'll just forget about the £110m he's put in and just sell the club for £100m straight, taking the £110m as a loss?

Either Ashley is in some serious financial trouble or he's just a major idiot for selling now when losing £30-40m this year but getting us promoted will instantly mean that our valuation rises by more than what he'll lose this year.

Just doing some research on club finances and found out that Man Utd's wages when they won the Premiership in 06/07 was £74m. Our wages right now are £74m.

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Why not go Barca/Real style? Fan membership, yearly payment, elections for Prez etc.

I'm guessing Parky means as part of a consortium. I think anyways. Consortiums worry me because if one partner wants to fuck off, then the whole club is in trouble. Even at Liverpool, where they only had two people owning the club, they're going through a lot of trouble right now. I suppose it might be different if everyone who's part of the consortium is local, but I'm still worried.

I'm not sure. How much is he worth? £50-75m? He won't have enough to get us started. We'll have to borrow massive sums of money again and if we get in financial trouble, we'll really be fucked this time.

That's blatantly not true. im pretty sure ive heard that before to be honest I'm 100% sure its not true. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/5291486.stm

Even if you're retired, you can still be called up. And if you don't show up, you get suspended from playing for your club.

They should have this before the CL final. The neutrals don't care if it's after. Saying that, I'd rather Everton won.

Excellent shout.

This thread will go bananas when he gets his debut.

19% say they're not renewing, 15% say they'll buy. How representative do you think this poll is? If so, our crowds might still be pretty high next season, assuming Shearer stays.

I'm really liking Never Gonna Give You Up. The more I hear it, the better it gets.

One of my favourite players at the club. I hope he stays.

Gourcuff signs for Bordeaux. Erm, why did Milan include an option to buy in the loan? Wouldn't you want to see Gourcuff play in the same team as Pato and Kaka before giving up on him?

Cunt There's no strangers to love...

Yeah, let's discount what they did in the other 58 matches that they played then.

I know. I wrote something to explain that but deleted it (in the previous post). His style of play means that he's going to be excellent until he's 35. He's not fast, he doesn't have incredible strength and generally, his game is not a physical one. He's not going to lose his passing ability which is why he'll be around for a long time.

The greatest of a team is defined over more than one season though isn't it? I know where you're coming from, but years from now people will be referring to this team as the 'treble-winning side' like how the '99 Man Utd team are referred to. The spine of the team, scarily, is still really young - Pique, Toure, Iniesta, Messi and Xavi - so it's scary to think what they can achieve in the next few years if they remain motivated.