dubai_phil

It MUST be - stage one - coughing/spitting blood (TSF & TSW) Stage 2 & 3 I can't remember but stage four - the hallucinations - the monster trucks, the cement mixers, the Fridges. You mean that was all real??

Without putting any dampners on the party, from the lessons of Let's go Wilde, I actually think the acid test will be Who is first choice keeper? Who is CEO? Who is DoF? Who is Chairman? Who is Manager? Who is in charge of the Academy? Is the plan a wise one to stabilise the club this season and try for the playoffs or is it the spend on PL quality players to do a Leicester even with -10? (Not that I have anything against trying, just think positive realism would be a nice trait to see in the club for a change)

New poster makes shock allegation that Switzerland is a desert and we ignore it......... we're learning!

TBH, IF the FL have some concerns, then SFC will not IMHO be affected. They may of course look much more closely at BT and HOPEFULLY the whole Admin process of Football clubs. Again, the amount of fees being earned per day must be in conflict with the need for a speedy resolution. The actual PROCESS involved does have a conflict of interest. The longer it takes the more the administrators earn. Yes obviously it is a very complex process, but if I was the FL (and no doubt FA) I think that ONCE everything is completed it would be very WISE for them to call an official enquiry to see if there are actually any lessons that can be leanrt or new procedures that they could put in place. In admin, the creditors must be protected, that is the law. However, in Football, there are far more stakeholders involved, players contracts are different to standard employment law, and English Civil Law being all about precedents with legislation mixed in means that there may be room for some tweaks for other poor unfortunate clubs and fans who's clubs are driven into the ground by incompetence

Here's an interesting comment from a lawyer in London I know On average ONLY ONE out of every EIGHT attempted purchases from an Administrator go through to completion

Ah No If it goes through today, as you were the first to post "based on information received" even though you named your source, you would forever be officially status changed to ITK And we all know what THAT does to our credibility on here!

I have not found any "evidence" unlike Frygate. So all of this is assumption and speculation and allegedlyness What I heard were comments made by people working in M&A's in the City I also heard a comment from people who by all accounts could be classed as creditors of SLH/SFC. "That there were concerns about the Pinnacle Bid and whether they would be able to complete" Both of those were second hand but I also heard a similar story about people discussing their concerns from a family friend who would have had daily access to "people close to the affair". The final comment came from a fourth unrelated source following staff meetings at SMS, which is probably how it then came to be noted onto here on (I think) the Wednesday of their final week. I never posted this until the 3rd week, I refused to simply because nobody in their right mind would want to do anything that could have damaged the "MLT" takeover When others started to hear similar and posted on here, we got slated for it. Those comments reached me during the second week of their exclusivity. They all had the same theme. Pinnacle had 4 backers, 3 pulled out. The general theme OF THE UNSUBSTANTIATED RUMOURS was that the one remaining backer had NOT committed fully to the project but wished to see details of the final Due Dilligence and business plan. The rumours also indicated that MLT was active but NOT on the deal/business side and knew (for example) nothing about the fact that the wages needing paying on the final Friday. So if you look for conspircaies or where a stink may be emanating... Add to this the fact that at no time did Fry or anyone else actually SAY that a 500k deposit had been paid. There were comments that a deposit HAD been paid, but never confirmation of an amount. This gave rise to an opinion from a Southampton based contact that maybe, by teaming up with Crouch, a negotiation to use his (probable) loan early in admin as the deposit. So, the Swiss, "The other overseas consortium", MJ, and the Irish were all being forced to pay 500k non-refundable with (allegedly) a clause giving their lawyers "grave" concern. Then Pinnacle gain exclusivity on what appears a wing and a prayer and possibly without the deposit............ But it was all OK because it was MLT.. At no point does any of this shout LOWE, it shouts much else but where could there be ANY benefit to him. I really cannot see he would want to completely destroy the club out of spite (unlike a few on here), he has a need to have a business career, there simply is no way there is any value. he can score his points sniping to the Mail... IMHO the only analysis could I draw is a possible breach of a duty of care or incompetence over the proof of funds for the final bid and the deposit, but as there is no evidence to this in the public domain and anyone with actual factual records will be covered by NDA's, then the whole story will in no doubt stay as "unfounded rumours"

WOW - it really is a big day for the forum gurus... DP gets the scoop on the Mail and Lordswoodsaint gets the headline of the year award! Yesterday, 07:37 AM lordswoodsaints Full Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: stop dreaming of the quiet life cos its a life you'll never know. Posts: 2,077 I'm going for 'swiss roll into town'

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PLEASE NOOOOOOOO DON'T LET TODAY BE THE DAY..... I have to be up at 6am tomorrow to go to a meeting. I am staying in tonight as I am then going to party and see Keane in concert tomorrow DON'T YOU DARE make it today - there is NO way I'll be able to go out, wear my shirt and get smashed to celebrate

I think I should be up for an award at the Sports Journo of the year awards! (He says modestly) Don't get much right but I heard this from my City source and it sounded just plain wrong. It was pretty easy for our google kings to track down the hard facts. Hmm maybe the Mail owes this site a donation - c'mon Sale send in your fiver! I said I was very worried at the start of the process, too many things do not seem right, too many strange rumours popping out - remember the cr*p Weston Saint & I got for pointing out a rumour about Pinnacle's bid. These two so far are the only ones I have dug out anything that could have been called corroborative evidence for. This was simple googling, but still needed to have confirmation that it was one and the same Richard Fry, obviously the Mail have done some homework on that photo. The Pinnacle one was non-attributable I'm afraid as it was a business associate but it turned out to be spot on. Others on here have heard one or two other snippets, but absolutely nothing else seems to have any provable substance. Fry going to BT would not have really been a big issue. Putting him on the web site and then removing it. Now that stinks

Woo hoo - DP gets a scoop for the Daily Snail! Oh and NickG - you're getting more obsessive about MJ than Up is about 19C. In answer to your question, no, allegedly not ONLY him. Read my posts about my sources since before ANY bids were received, my worries existed long before MJ's self publicity stunts - this is his standard operating procedure - anyone trained professionally in Negotiation Skills understands that such an action is on page one of the manual, obviously the man is so clever and all knowing that he didn't need to get to page two.

True, but they tend to go a little quicker if your standard negotiating technique is to hang up on a caller and then not answer your phone for 2 days or more Allegedly

You could move it all the way here if you're really stuck for space. Would fill the gap left by the very pleasant '94 Haut Medoc and above the gap left by the utterly average Kaiken Argie cab Sav, But be quick, I'm hoping Weston finds something pleasant for me to store

Oh you LUCKY sod.... and the weather isn't TOO bad either Have a wee dram of the good stuff for me too while you're up there!

I'm with you on that - from all I have been able to analyse, the final act in the "self defence of Rupert" during his nedia rounds would have been the 2008/09 accounts which were no doubt horrific and told a pretty clear tale and on top of that I would guess the cash flow forecasts of Dave Jones in the early days were grim enough to send 30 or so of the intially interested parties on their way. Going back to the OP, I know I got stick, but I had a weekend in London with friends from the City and was told pretty much what to expect, nothing I have seen since has made me change my mind. I know it isn't evidence to support Alps' case because it was tainted by the MJ link, but if for one moment you take a leap of faith and believe (for a second) that some money men COULD have been talking directly to Fry, then their tales would also make very interesting reading. Unfortunately since MJ tainted the whole thing it just isn't going to get an airing. One word I was told very early - Silverjet although I never bothered to follow it up or google it all, and that joke I told about the goalposts at Fry's home - wasn't from me, it was from "City Types". At the end of this I really don't give a cr*p what he is really like as long as he does actually CLOSE a deal, he will be judged on that, but from what I heard, all HE will worry about is whether he can upgrade his Bentley to an Aston Martin. His standing amongst his peers - well they won't care either IF the deal gets done. I never judge a person on hearsay or first impressions but the course of events has been interesting. In Fry's defence I was told today that ONLY 1 in 8 purchases from administrators actually goes through - eek so 4 more to go yet then (Oh and for the conspiracists - the wild guess from my mate the taxi driver would be that Rupert couldn't release the accounts when he was no longer in the club. He gets removed by Admin so the accounts never become public... and then Richard Fry gets a cushy partnership. Nah not likely isit? The final weird theory would be the whole "delaying any deal until there is only one course of action and one possible bidder left analysis", but I told the bloke in the pub who suggested that idea that he was talking complete b*ll*cks and I wouldn't even consider it)

Freaky. Have just finished watching that on download from a mate. It is absolutely fantastic. It's no X Files but has it's own flow and feel so you don't think you're watching a rip off. The crazy Doc is just a fantastic character, and can't decide whether Dunham is the hottest thing on telly or not, she has something about her..... being stuck here we live on DVD's and downloads and so one big difference is when we get a series we tend to watch 3 or more episodes a night until we reach the end. Doctor Who from Chris Ecclestone onwards then morphed into Torchwood in sync is also actually far better when you see the whole thing over about 3 months non-stop - maybe mildly obsessive but you really see the links in the episodes. Similarly Battlestar Galactica once you get through the cr*p on New Caprica and it gets running again. Just started House, I can't believe I saw Hugh Laurie on Jonathon Ross when it first started in the US and we all laughed at his silly accent. In between I now have all the new Top Gear's - something like 9 series and the anniversary Red Dwarf - all 10 series on DVD, God bless Mr Fibble (when not watching sport of course) On THAT note - bl**dy Abu Dhabi just stole the PL rights from Showtime from 2010, oh b*ll*cks. Showtime were excellent we had every PL game live with English commentary and really good studio stuff, of course those guys down the road want to switch that to one ENglish commentary and all the games with Arabic commentary. That's it 2010 season - I'm outta here or it's Justin TV

Watching second time around. Cameron or 19 was it? - I can never decide which but I think I probably speak for a close on majority of TSW'ers when I say - on balance maybe I could be possibly persuaded to say - I would! Have collected the whole set (up to S5 E6) on trips to Vietnam & Thailand, bad of me I know but it only started being shown here about 2 years ago and only up to Series 3 in the local shops. Meanwhile, yes Thorpie, I contacted my legal advisors this afternoon, as your case is in an appeal situation you can continue to post until a final decision is made in court. Likely to be a close run thing (not IMHO) as to whether The EU appeal or the takeover happen first

I assume you don't mean Argentinian Cab Sav, in which case oops sorry

What a great evening. Now up to series one eposide eleven of House, and ASTONISHINGLY I have news... I've found out what's been wrong with the club these past years. It's Lupus No honestly Really Not just because it's my favourite buzz word from House but also because the symptoms fit From House S1 Episode 10 - Cameron to Chase - Lupus is when the body starts to attack itself.... From Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupus_erythematosus Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs. See that is SO much more believable than Art's too many Bulls in Uran*s or Venus or whatever it was. The really GOOD news is that (from Wiki) With treatment, most people with lupus can lead active lives. and from http://arthritis-symptom.com/lupus/lupus-cure.htm At present, there is no cure for lupus. However, lupus can be effectively treated with drugs, and most people with the disease can lead active, healthy lives. Lupus is characterized by periods of illness, called flares, and periods of wellness, or remission. Understanding how to prevent flares and how to treat them when they do occur helps people with lupus maintain better health. Intense research is underway, and scientists funded by the NIH are continuing to make great strides in understanding the disease, which may ultimately lead to a cure. And of course we all know that there are some very big Swiss Pharmaceutical companies out there - that's it - case solved, back to the Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon

OK, enough of this rubbish from Fry. There are now FAR more critical things at stake. This is Saints This IS a rumoured takeover Page 150 is rushing ever nearer. Perhaps we will finally reach the big milestone on a Friday meanwhile anyone notice if Thorpie's status is now officially changed to BANNED. Must go, re-watching House from series one. Have 4.25 series to go to get back up to date again. Tough call which will be first - me catching up or the takeover. May I be the first to formally state that I am really not looking forward to the "we have the paperwork from the FL but it has a few points for our lawyers to address" type comments, hence the departure to House. Txt me if anything happens

=D>=D>:smt045:smt045=D>

perfect. Perhaps the introduction of a Poll should see us safely past the 100 page mark Do we believe that Thorpie should be granted a stay of execution? Mods? [-o

You have 3 hopes of staying on here No Hope Bob Hope and Envelope Poor old Thorpie, TSW will sorely miss this legendary poster who added so much to the day to day life of this forum. Who could ever forget his legendary uh.... or his award winning...umm... and of course, not to mention his stunning contribution to errrr..

Meanwhile I feel really smug this afternoon After posting on the "What do you wish for tomorrow thread" that I would be focusing on my golf I had a very enjoyable 9 holes, beat my buddy by 5 holes even after not playing for two weeks and shot 18 Stableford points in the first 8 holes before flubbing my final approach into a lake. Completely forgot all about the takeover malarky until I entered the Pro shop and found a HUGE display saying NOUVEAU PINNACLE - now available.. arrghh Not sure which is worse, being reminded of that debacle or seeing FRENCH written in a retail outlet in Dubai.... I'm not racist Just hate the fookin French

actually a box at WHU allegedly Guys this is NOT an easy deal. For one, SFC Ltd is not in admin, so as has been pointed out a number of times this makes the total package more expensive than the actual asset value in cash terms, and the need to dig a bit deeper at the beginning impacts quite strongly on the ROI for an investor. Also, IMHO not ALL the creditors will be taking a "percentage" of the debts, so Football, HMRC and some trade creditors will have to be paid iin full or carried over to the new company. The deal IS do-able but it is "messy" it isn't about nasty skeletons though.