Minhosa

The headline price will already be agreed. It will almost certainly change (or the terms of the deal will) after DD. That's completely normal. Due Diligence is actually quite an expensive exercise in it's own right so the two parties will almost certainly have outline agreement on price otherwise AS etc would not have gone to the cost of engaging forensic accountants, lawyers and the countless other people surrounding the deal. The fact it's not fallen over yet is incredibly positive and would indicate that there may be a degree of flexibility from Ashley just to get the thing done. This would be a marked change in his normal approach ('my way or the highway'). I'd question whether or not there could be another party also doing DD though. That may well be the case. As with everything involving Ashley, it's unlikely to be straight forward nor clean cut. What is overwhelmingly positive is that its now very clear that these are TAKEOVER talks and not INVESTMENT talks which is what he'd hinted at many times previously, most recently in that contrived bullshit with Sky Sports. In my mind, that would be worst case scenario, even worse than the status quo.

Bloke is a prize cock. Great fit for them.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Brighton and Huddersfield spend big in January. Brighton, I would say, are almost certain to sign a big money forward.

Yeah I was surprised when I heard that. He gets stuck in but doesn't seem the type who picks up loads of cards at all. Maybe he's been done in pace/last man type scenario's?

:lol:

My feeling is that we'll only know what either Ashley or Staveley (or any other potential buyer) wants us to know. It won't be long until the messages they want us to read filter through. In particular if it looks like the deal may fall through. Wouldn't be surprised to see Staveley make use of the anti-ashley sentiment if she needs to. Both have played this game many times before and both will be more than familiar with how to play the PR angle.

They won't be doing due diligence without having a fee or fee range agreed. Probably even Heads of Terms imho. Nobody let's anybody look under their bonnet without first knowing that the potential buyer has the readies and is going to pay roughly what you want for it. So fuck knows what the chronicle are talking about with that nonsense. It'll either be a yes or a no from PCP soon. It won't drag on much longer, again imo. Still wouldn't be surprised for it to be someone else and an announcement out of the blue.

I'd be very surprised if that was the case. There would likely only be a maximum of one pre-purchase visit of any of the facilities by the buyers. They may choose to send in surveyors or whatever but even that is not certain.

My money is still on Ally McCoist.

Douglas RT’ing some inference about Saudi too. Maybe we’ve found Staveley’s source of funds.

The issue is the Ltd companies not any specific person. The Ltd company will have the liability not Ashley personally. This isn’t fraud or opaque wrongdoing per say. It’s a grey area of tax law that we will have been advised upon. It may well be challenged in the courts and found to be legal.

e But isn’t he known for being c*** in takeover deals, ‘he parks his tanks on your lawn’ is a quote that springs to mind. Obviously it’s the other way round but he’s still likely to be a c***! He's got a huge reputation for being incredibly difficult to work with. He's known to be a total renegade when it comes to custom, practice and good business manners too. Essentially, he's ripped up the rule book in many respects and has the financial muscle not to give two f***s about the consequences. I know someone very senior up in the commercial property world in London who dealt with him in the (relatively) early Sports Direct days and he's got some fairly eye opening views on dealing with MA. One thing is very clear to us all is the ego maniac in him and how thin-skinned he has been towards any sort of personal criticism or slight. Didn't Pardew get fined for saying 'Mike's not a football man' or 'not from the football world and doesn't understand it' when he was here? . He's basically a man-child. I'm 100% certain the AO campaign personally affected him. He may be wealthy and successful, but he cannot seem to handle criticism at all and when it gets leveled at him he tries to take all the blame in a man up type front, but it comes across as forced and him wanting people to like him. The buck stops with me, sorry Kevin, Alan and Sam, sorry Chris etc. Its fake as fuck. God I hate the cunt! 100%. Hazard a guess he's been bullied at school and has spent his life trying to prove everyone wrong and wanting to be liked. He's obviously insecure when he appoints 'yes men' or those in the professional grave yard because he wants to be seen to do them a favour, for them to love him and give him loyalty back because he's their saviour. Kinnear, McClaren, Pardew - all yesterdays men, the grateful dead. Led to believe 'Mike' believed in them when nobody else did. What a man. He appears to appoint people based on boosting his own self-esteem rather than competence. Rafa was Charnley's appointment as far as I'm aware.

Agree with much of that. My gut feel is that the 'books' won't be the issue here and he's done many positive things in terms of the financial management of the club. I would hazard a guess that he's probably trying to swerve the liability for the HMRC issue though using the 'everyone in the industry was at it' line. The price being agreed in principle isn't the issue really. I'm sure it probably has been. It's what the due diligence process has done to the price (or, more likely, the terms of the deal) that will be stumbling blocks for sure. There is always a looooong way between the outline price agreed at the beginning and the fee that ends up being paid when the business, it's processes and it's liabilities are better understood. The price will almost certainly be based upon the EBITDA number established by the clubs accountants and his advisors but this number will be challenged by any buyer during DD as, undoubtedly, Ashley will have wanted to make the club appear to have a higher EBITDA and would have added back much of the stuff he's taken out by way of commercial revenue ('SD only paid £2 and a bag of Slazenger squash balls but it's really worth £20m per year so please value us on this and not how I did it' etc etc) and any personal benefits taken from the club such as paying for his chopper etc etc. These will all be up for discussion with give and take needed on both sides. One thing is for certain though, the old adage of 'time kills all deals' is true and could be a factor here.

e But isn’t he known for being cunt in takeover deals, ‘he parks his tanks on your lawn’ is a quote that springs to mind. Obviously it’s the other way round but he’s still likely to be a cunt! He's got a huge reputation for being incredibly difficult to work with. He's known to be a total renegade when it comes to custom, practice and good business manners too. Essentially, he's ripped up the rule book in many respects and has the financial muscle not to give two fucks about the consequences. I know someone very senior up in the commercial property world in London who dealt with him in the (relatively) early Sports Direct days and he's got some fairly eye opening views on dealing with MA. One thing is very clear to us all is the ego maniac in him and how thin-skinned he has been towards any sort of personal criticism or slight. Didn't Pardew get fined for saying 'Mike's not a football man' or 'not from the football world and doesn't understand it' when he was here? .

Yeah - same purpose but different term here in the UK Kanj. We do have PSA's with the same meaning/interpretation though.

The big issue is whether we have signed Heads of Terms with anyone ahead of Due Diligence. In most cases that would happen. Heads of Terms outline the principals of the deal (fee's to be paid, staged payments, debentures, securities etc etc) and then due diligence would seek to look under the bonnet, make sure there are no showstoppers with a view to the deal being completed. In the event there are concerns from the buyers then either the terms are adjusted or the deal dies. It could be the case the MA has agreed differing HoT's with various potential buyers and has chosen to negotiate again after DD. We're all blind but, given our experiences under Ashley, it's always safe to assume that he's likely to be the biggest factor in any deal being delayed or falling over, not the potential HMRC liabilities which would simply see an agreed amount put into an escrow account until resolution with formal agreements upon what happens to those monies when the matter is settled (i.e: who get's what's left over, probably MA and who picks up the excess if the bill comes in too high). As mentioned above, it looks a relatively simple deal on paper. That is until you factor in Mike Ashley. What this does tell us though is that the potential buyer(s) are not whimsical like he was. This may either mean they're looking for some sustainability and don't seem to be seeking a 'flip' should the likes of Amazon/Facebook get involved in a TV bidding war but it could also mean that they're an investment house looking at returns and less about the 'football' club. The identity of Staveley's backers is going to be key. We really need to know what is driving them and whether they're buying the business based on short term returns or whether they have genuine intentions for us. As soon as Ashley is gone (whether that's now or in a decade's time) the intentions of the money men will be key. Not the person fronting it in particular.

Preferred Backstreet Boys tbh.

I can't think what he'd have to do to attract criticism from me but when I look back at the Ashley reign and the hopeless shithouses he's employed in this position, I'll be forever grateful to Rafa for coming and staying which buys him so much more leniency from me. Love the man.

One of the biggest myths going. If anything, he tries hard to hide during games and is very good at it. Absolutely. Yep. Has an incredible to hide when he should be looking to take possession. If there were medals for being in the oppositions shadows this cunt would be in the guinness book of records.

I live in London now HTT, come down and I'll fill you in on what I've heard. As if you'd get a word in......

Can't Adam Johnson come out and do it on day release? Did a cracking job mentoring the Under 15's.

Will more than likely be the limited company if it's questionable or a grey area. In fact, it'll more than likely be the Ltd company in most instances I would think.

With NUFC playing badly some might say it was a good day for burying bad news.

That’ll confuse some people on here like, all of that sense. He's got some patience like, I know Yorkie said we are a mid table side, but we really aren't, this side would get relegated with a lesser manager. Totally agree with that. Rafa is the difference.

Rafa: - Even game - a game we were controlling, one goal to win it or lose it. - Gave the ball away too easy in the middle for their goal. - Two teams knew what they had to do, just small details between us. - Not precise enough and need to improve upon it. - 'We know our strengths and weaknesses' - when asked about our attacking threats.