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Post by cj on Jun 21, 2020 21:33:45 GMT
That was a good interview from Wael.
But the thing I enjoyed the most was when he said "this is my club now".
He means business that's for sure. Cleared our debts, training ground on the way and if rumours are true then some stadium news coming soon. I hope all his haters will eat some humble pie.
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Post by althepirate on Jun 21, 2020 21:50:02 GMT
That was a good interview from Wael. But the thing I enjoyed the most was when he said "this is my club now". He means business that's for sure. Cleared our debts, training ground on the way and if rumours are true then some stadium news coming soon. I hope all his haters will eat some humble pie. Yes it was a good interview. He looked like a man with the weight taken off not put on his shoulders.I always felt he was very sincere, but through the silent, inactive times I started to wonder about that. Now we have seemed to have reverted back to the takeover time and the hope has returned. He has cleared the slate of debts we should do our bit now and clear our slate of doubt and criticism and all pull together imo. utg.
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Post by swissgas on Jun 22, 2020 1:46:09 GMT
May I refer your honour to my Fruit Market thread post made at 8.36pm on December 19th 2019. My Honour? Have I been demoted???!!! Gashead LJ! Your Lordship! Please! ;-) I just had a look at that post. Its just crackpot supposition - a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory that is already out of step. Wael has capitalised the debt which is what? Step 5 according to you. The Mem hasn't been sold and we're not ground sharing at Twerton Park. Why don't you want to talk about the current news? Not your conspiracy theory from December. Please accept my humble apologies Your Lordship. As requested here are my thoughts on the events of the last few days. I didn’t get much joy at Royal Ascot but now have a fair chance of winning the Unpopularity Stakes ! The capitalization of the Dwane Sports loan and the writing off of the interest is excellent news. It is something I’ve been advocating for a long time because it is a genuine demonstration of commitment. There is no point in re-hashing all the arguments but I was surprised and disappointed when the interest bearing debt finance model was revealed and perhaps those who argued at the time “it doesn’t matter” will now accept, as Wael has done, that for a host of reasons equity finance opens up far more opportunities for achieving business success. The statement from the club was also excellent. It was probably the most coherent and businesslike announcement we have heard from Rovers over the past ten years. I don’t think Wael wrote it himself I think he at least had help from someone with the ability to string words together but that is not a bad thing. Some of us have been saying for years that no one is good at everything and if you are running a business and find your own skill set is lacking in certain areas you bring someone in to help and I think that is what Wael has done. As Rovers fans we want the club to be seen to come across in a professional way, we want to be getting behind an organization which takes pride in what it does, and this statement achieved that. Now I am going to upset you. I’ m sorry but I didn’t like the follow up interview with Ali Durden because we were back to the old smirking smugness and Wael avoided the serious questions which Ali put to him. The written statement was clear and lucid but this interview was woolly and fumbling and while I’m sure Wael’s avid supporters will say “but he didn’t want to give too much away “ I can’t buy that after such a promising statement had been released the day before. This was a chance for Wael to follow up with a strong and passionate statement of intent regarding outside investment and a new stadium but IMO he flunked it. I hope I’m wrong, I hope he does have a clear and workable plan to address financial and stadium issues but that interview is concerning. Back in December last year I thought the Fruit Market opportunity could be slipping away so began a series of posts and actually started a thread proposing how we could “ make Rovers great for once”. At that time we didn’t know that Wael would be receiving an inheritance so my plan was based upon the need to sell the Mem and the need for him to roll over his share of the proceeds into a recapitalized BRFC which would bring in new investors so that we were in a strong position to negotiate a deal with the FM developers. The situation is certainly different now but we don’t actually know how much cash Wael has at his disposal to meet the club’s trading losses, pay for the training ground, and be in a strong position to negotiate a deal at the FM. Those who want to will merrily believe that Wael has sufficient cash to do all these things and that he wouldn’t have embarked on this new direction if he didn’t. I take a different view and would cite his jumping into Rovers in 2016 with no proper plan to follow as the reason for my concern. I am afraid he may only have enough cash to do half a job and that in his desire to keep it as “my club” there is a danger he may undo all the good which the loan capitalization has done. We know Wael reads the forum and I thought putting the bit in the statement about the debt finance and interest charging causing supporters unnecessary but understandable concern was a very nice gesture from him. I would say to Wael now that if you want what is best for the club please think carefully about your responsibilities as owner and in particular about the amount of cash which will be needed to fund all the things you want to do. If there is any doubt in your mind then commission a business plan from Deloitte or some similar professional firm and ask them to work out exactly what is going to be required. If necessary seek outside investment and if you have to, in the best interests of our club, be willing to cede the majority stake which you covet now but which will be of no use at all if you don’t have the resources to follow this project through to completion.
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Post by Topper Gas on Jun 22, 2020 6:53:05 GMT
Unless all the recent rumours about a deal being done for the FM site then something must be proceeding on that front, until those plans, the financial ones, are explained it seems a bit early to decide Wael's simply gambled £20m of his inheritance without any sound plan for the future?
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Post by darkbluegas on Jun 22, 2020 7:08:39 GMT
My Honour? Have I been demoted???!!! Gashead LJ! Your Lordship! Please! ;-) I just had a look at that post. Its just crackpot supposition - a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory that is already out of step. Wael has capitalised the debt which is what? Step 5 according to you. The Mem hasn't been sold and we're not ground sharing at Twerton Park. Why don't you want to talk about the current news? Not your conspiracy theory from December. Please accept my humble apologies Your Lordship. As requested here are my thoughts on the events of the last few days. I didn’t get much joy at Royal Ascot but now have a fair chance of winning the Unpopularity Stakes ! The capitalization of the Dwane Sports loan and the writing off of the interest is excellent news. It is something I’ve been advocating for a long time because it is a genuine demonstration of commitment. There is no point in re-hashing all the arguments but I was surprised and disappointed when the interest bearing debt finance model was revealed and perhaps those who argued at the time “it doesn’t matter” will now accept, as Wael has done, that for a host of reasons equity finance opens up far more opportunities for achieving business success. The statement from the club was also excellent. It was probably the most coherent and businesslike announcement we have heard from Rovers over the past ten years. I don’t think Wael wrote it himself I think he at least had help from someone with the ability to string words together but that is not a bad thing. Some of us have been saying for years that no one is good at everything and if you are running a business and find your own skill set is lacking in certain areas you bring someone in to help and I think that is what Wael has done. As Rovers fans we want the club to be seen to come across in a professional way, we want to be getting behind an organization which takes pride in what it does, and this statement achieved that. Now I am going to upset you. I’ m sorry but I didn’t like the follow up interview with Ali Durden because we were back to the old smirking smugness and Wael avoided the serious questions which Ali put to him. The written statement was clear and lucid but this interview was woolly and fumbling and while I’m sure Wael’s avid supporters will say “but he didn’t want to give too much away “ I can’t buy that after such a promising statement had been released the day before. This was a chance for Wael to follow up with a strong and passionate statement of intent regarding outside investment and a new stadium but IMO he flunked it. I hope I’m wrong, I hope he does have a clear and workable plan to address financial and stadium issues but that interview is concerning. Back in December last year I thought the Fruit Market opportunity could be slipping away so began a series of posts and actually started a thread proposing how we could “ make Rovers great for once”. At that time we didn’t know that Wael would be receiving an inheritance so my plan was based upon the need to sell the Mem and the need for him to roll over his share of the proceeds into a recapitalized BRFC which would bring in new investors so that we were in a strong position to negotiate a deal with the FM developers. The situation is certainly different now but we don’t actually know how much cash Wael has at his disposal to meet the club’s trading losses, pay for the training ground, and be in a strong position to negotiate a deal at the FM. Those who want to will merrily believe that Wael has sufficient cash to do all these things and that he wouldn’t have embarked on this new direction if he didn’t. I take a different view and would cite his jumping into Rovers in 2016 with no proper plan to follow as the reason for my concern. I am afraid he may only have enough cash to do half a job and that in his desire to keep it as “my club” there is a danger he may undo all the good which the loan capitalization has done. We know Wael reads the forum and I thought putting the bit in the statement about the debt finance and interest charging causing supporters unnecessary but understandable concern was a very nice gesture from him. I would say to Wael now that if you want what is best for the club please think carefully about your responsibilities as owner and in particular about the amount of cash which will be needed to fund all the things you want to do. If there is any doubt in your mind then commission a business plan from Deloitte or some similar professional firm and ask them to work out exactly what is going to be required. If necessary seek outside investment and if you have to, in the best interests of our club, be willing to cede the majority stake which you covet now but which will be of no use at all if you don’t have the resources to follow this project through to completion. I wouldn’t put too much store by the Ali Durden interview. He’s a great bloke but don’t think he’s the man to get to the bottom of a story. There’s a reason why the staff are at Radio Bristol after 20 odd years. Secondly does “someone” think there’s oil in the ground at the Memorial Stadium because “someone’” seems bloody desperate to get their hands on the site.
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Post by gasaholic on Jun 22, 2020 7:40:43 GMT
This is an extract from a lecture Hani al Qadi gave at Yale University which may shed some light on the families strategic thinking behind investments.
"When someone looks in the desert ahead to see if there is an opportunity, you have to determine if it is a mirage or if it is for real,” Al-Qadi said. “Ignoring politics is a key guiding principle in successfully fulfilling these transactions, just as Warren Buffett advised back in 1994.”
Minimize debt and be liquid. When operating in challenging circumstances, the adage “Cash is king” makes the most sense, he said. Financial swings can ruin those who carry too much debt, but frequently investors forget to look to other means. “It is important that when there is a downturn that business can withstand that downturn,” he said. “You don’t want to invest in something where the first downturn is going to kill you, and liquidity can help.
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Post by chewbacca on Jun 22, 2020 9:11:45 GMT
This is the clubs biggest opportunity since the Mem purchase. It's a huge statement of intent but needs to be capitalised on, we cannot let the club get into that position again and expect to be bailed out. For me the new ownership structure means a clean slate, no debt also is a clean slate. Although we still have plenty of the "old" faces this new structure there is now only one leader. There's no "Hani said this...", "Ken said that..." or "Hamer did this...", there is realistically Wael and only Wael with people around him that will help and are reportable to him. It's an exciting time for sure, and I hopeful this will lead to more news.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2020 3:10:19 GMT
So when the thing you've been complaining about for the last 3 years is resolved you just shift the goal posts and make your gripe about something else? Indeed LJG, Humble Pie Lite seems to be the choice of a couple of posters. With respect, if Wael had run the club properly the last few seasons he could have saved himself the best part of 20 million to put towards a new stadium. He's bailed the club and himself out- hence the humble pie lite and the hope that going forward he has better advice than he was getting to end up with players on 3.5 year contracts soaking money up like a sponge. To answer LJG it's not so much shifting the goalposts, just pointing out to those who now think we are going to challenge City that in the grand scheme of things Wael is still unlikely to hold a candle to Lansdown and others in the investment stakes. He might be throwing more money at the club but what is our upper limit? Still mid table championship at very best at the moment imo. Of course that will be a dream in the short term for most Rovers fans, long term it's going to need more investment.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2020 3:12:46 GMT
We’ve taken a big step forward no doubt, but we are still very much in City’s shadow and will continue to be unless someone with Lansdown’s wealth buys in to the club. Talk of catching City is still extremely premature. It can be done. Brentfords owner Matthew Benhams estimated wealth is smaller than Waels, yet they have been punching above their weight in the upper echelons of The Championship for a few years now, in a ground that isn't that much better than The Mem really and also of similar capacity. They're moving into their brand spanking new stadium whenever next season starts. I would say they are the benchmark. Good example that, although let's see how Brentford go from here, they are competing against a parachute payments club in Fulham so they have their work cut out.
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Post by oldgas on Jun 23, 2020 5:07:34 GMT
To be fair, though, if DC had come to you and said, 'for me, I've promoted the club twice, and I know we can get a third, and, for me, this is the bloke that holds the key to it, for me,' what would you have done? I agree he's ultimately responsible, (and of course it's not just about Bennett) but you're giving him grief for backing the manager, when at the time lots on here were complaining that he wasn't backing the manager. He can't win, can he. A fans vote on the matter would have been very interesting. I get where you and Topper are coming from and you are right that DC’s extra clout would have made him a voice to be listened to and respected....but I do think that minimises the scale of the error. 4K a week for 3.5 years. Repeat that again and again until it really sinks in how outrageous that is for a club at our level. Even if Alex Ferguson recommended it the man at the top has to lay down a marker in terms of there being a limit because there is always the risk (in our case it was the actual outcome) that the player goes on to be a flop and we have to carry that financial burden. The risks are greater than the chance that Bennett would turn out to be a world beater, especially when you look at his previous record before coming here, it was an absolute car crash of a signing every which way round. As an aside it’s also interesting that DC would be arguing for such a contract because when he turned up he said there would be no more contracts of the like given to players like Gary Kenneth. So it was a shame to see DC eventually succumb to the same sort of thinking. Bennetts was a panic signing, Bodin had gone and they had apparently done nothing to scout a replacement in the months leading up to his being sold, and I think they knew he was on his way for some time because he was unwilling to sign a new contract. I suppose we should be grateful we didn't sign that Miller bloke after the Snake left, plenty on here were clamouring for him and he turned out an unmitigated disaster when Posh signed him. Who remembers the circumstances of Ellis leaving? Got taken at the last minute when they must have known what was going to happen (Hurst seemed to be good mates with DC) yet we'd done nothing to replace him and ended up with the panic signing of Payne, and at a decent cost if memory serves. I don't know about anyone else, but I can see a pattern emerging here.
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Post by Slide away on Jun 23, 2020 5:12:05 GMT
Indeed LJG, Humble Pie Lite seems to be the choice of a couple of posters. With respect, if Wael had run the club properly the last few seasons he could have saved himself the best part of 20 million to put towards a new stadium. He's bailed the club and himself out- hence the humble pie lite and the hope that going forward he has better advice than he was getting to end up with players on 3.5 year contracts soaking money up like a sponge. To answer LJG it's not so much shifting the goalp³osts, just pointing out to those who now think we are going to challenge City that in the grand scheme of things Wael is still unlikely to hold a candle to Lansdown and others in the investment stakes. He might be throwing more money at the club but what is our upper limit? Still mid table championship at very best at the moment imo. Of course that will be a dream in the short term for most Rovers fans, long term it's going to need more investment. You do realise that Waels actions were purely a paper transaction? So to say he "could have saved him self 20 million to invest in a stadium" is pretty wide of the mark.
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Post by baggins on Jun 23, 2020 5:18:29 GMT
Indeed LJG, Humble Pie Lite seems to be the choice of a couple of posters. With respect, if Wael had run the club properly the last few seasons he could have saved himself the best part of 20 million to put towards a new stadium. He's bailed the club and himself out- hence the humble pie lite and the hope that going forward he has better advice than he was getting to end up with players on 3.5 year contracts soaking money up like a sponge. To answer LJG it's not so much shifting the goalposts, just pointing out to those who now think we are going to challenge City that in the grand scheme of things Wael is still unlikely to hold a candle to Lansdown and others in the investment stakes. He might be throwing more money at the club but what is our upper limit? Still mid table championship at very best at the moment imo. Of course that will be a dream in the short term for most Rovers fans, long term it's going to need more investment. I'm not sure many of us, if any of us, are honestly thinking that we're now in a position to challenge City. I guess with Wael in charge, you'll never be happy. Which is a shame because what he's done has made a huge difference.
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Post by tommym9 on Jun 23, 2020 8:57:31 GMT
A fans vote on the matter would have been very interesting. I get where you and Topper are coming from and you are right that DC’s extra clout would have made him a voice to be listened to and respected....but I do think that minimises the scale of the error. 4K a week for 3.5 years. Repeat that again and again until it really sinks in how outrageous that is for a club at our level. Even if Alex Ferguson recommended it the man at the top has to lay down a marker in terms of there being a limit because there is always the risk (in our case it was the actual outcome) that the player goes on to be a flop and we have to carry that financial burden. The risks are greater than the chance that Bennett would turn out to be a world beater, especially when you look at his previous record before coming here, it was an absolute car crash of a signing every which way round. As an aside it’s also interesting that DC would be arguing for such a contract because when he turned up he said there would be no more contracts of the like given to players like Gary Kenneth. So it was a shame to see DC eventually succumb to the same sort of thinking. Bennetts was a panic signing, Bodin had gone and they had apparently done nothing to scout a replacement in the months leading up to his being sold, and I think they knew he was on his way for some time because he was unwilling to sign a new contract. I suppose we should be grateful we didn't sign that Miller bloke after the Snake left, plenty on here were clamouring for him and he turned out an unmitigated disaster when Posh signed him. Who remembers the circumstances of Ellis leaving? Got taken at the last minute when they must have known what was going to happen (Hurst seemed to be good mates with DC) yet we'd done nothing to replace him and ended up with the panic signing of Payne, and at a decent cost if memory serves. I don't know about anyone else, but I can see a pattern emerging here. Some shockers in there. Hopefully the scouting work that TW is putting in will pay off. For me it already has with the signing of JCH, but we'll need a few more gems like him if we're going to challenge.
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Post by warehamgas on Jun 23, 2020 9:14:57 GMT
This is the clubs biggest opportunity since the Mem purchase. It's a huge statement of intent but needs to be capitalised on, we cannot let the club get into that position again and expect to be bailed out. For me the new ownership structure means a clean slate, no debt also is a clean slate. Although we still have plenty of the "old" faces this new structure there is now only one leader. There's no "Hani said this...", "Ken said that..." or "Hamer did this...", there is realistically Wael and only Wael with people around him that will help and are reportable to him. It's an exciting time for sure, and I hopeful this will lead to more news. Totally agree. I said earlier that it was fantastic news and almost the best I can remember after 50+ years and that it’s not a plan just a statement of intent. Now, as Wael said, it is his and he can act without others stopping him. What we need to see now is some implementation of these intentions towards a plan and then it being carried out. No champagne yet but to see the training ground actually being built gives a lot of hope that things are beginning to happen. We’ll see but it looks better than it has done for a few years. UTG!
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Post by poorblue on Jun 23, 2020 9:17:00 GMT
A fans vote on the matter would have been very interesting. I get where you and Topper are coming from and you are right that DC’s extra clout would have made him a voice to be listened to and respected....but I do think that minimises the scale of the error. 4K a week for 3.5 years. Repeat that again and again until it really sinks in how outrageous that is for a club at our level. Even if Alex Ferguson recommended it the man at the top has to lay down a marker in terms of there being a limit because there is always the risk (in our case it was the actual outcome) that the player goes on to be a flop and we have to carry that financial burden. The risks are greater than the chance that Bennett would turn out to be a world beater, especially when you look at his previous record before coming here, it was an absolute car crash of a signing every which way round. As an aside it’s also interesting that DC would be arguing for such a contract because when he turned up he said there would be no more contracts of the like given to players like Gary Kenneth. So it was a shame to see DC eventually succumb to the same sort of thinking. I'm not itk but who actually knows that £4k is the salary figure. For a start as I understand it all players pay is related to 1) Basic pay 2) score bonus 3) clean sheet bonus 4) appearance bonus 5) Promotion bonus etc. Therefore if he is/was not performing that well in the first team the club could simply stop playing him and save say 50% of his salary. Still paying him a lot of money but just maybe not a true reflection on his ability simply a cost saving exercise?
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Post by Topper Gas on Jun 23, 2020 9:36:03 GMT
Swindon suggested they could only afford to meet 25% of his weekly wages so that sounds like he was on £4K+ p.w, plus the fact he's still here suggests something is putting off other club's signing him?
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Post by Midsomer Murderer on Jun 23, 2020 9:43:23 GMT
Swindon suggested they could only afford to meet 25% of his weekly wages so that sounds like he was on £4K+ p.w, plus the fact he's still here suggests something is putting off other club's signing him? And that he is sh**
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Post by gashead1981 on Jun 23, 2020 10:15:00 GMT
My Honour? Have I been demoted???!!! Gashead LJ! Your Lordship! Please! ;-) I just had a look at that post. Its just crackpot supposition - a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory that is already out of step. Wael has capitalised the debt which is what? Step 5 according to you. The Mem hasn't been sold and we're not ground sharing at Twerton Park. Why don't you want to talk about the current news? Not your conspiracy theory from December. Please accept my humble apologies Your Lordship. As requested here are my thoughts on the events of the last few days. I didn’t get much joy at Royal Ascot but now have a fair chance of winning the Unpopularity Stakes ! The capitalization of the Dwane Sports loan and the writing off of the interest is excellent news. It is something I’ve been advocating for a long time because it is a genuine demonstration of commitment. There is no point in re-hashing all the arguments but I was surprised and disappointed when the interest bearing debt finance model was revealed and perhaps those who argued at the time “it doesn’t matter” will now accept, as Wael has done, that for a host of reasons equity finance opens up far more opportunities for achieving business success. The statement from the club was also excellent. It was probably the most coherent and businesslike announcement we have heard from Rovers over the past ten years. I don’t think Wael wrote it himself I think he at least had help from someone with the ability to string words together but that is not a bad thing. Some of us have been saying for years that no one is good at everything and if you are running a business and find your own skill set is lacking in certain areas you bring someone in to help and I think that is what Wael has done. As Rovers fans we want the club to be seen to come across in a professional way, we want to be getting behind an organization which takes pride in what it does, and this statement achieved that. Now I am going to upset you. I’ m sorry but I didn’t like the follow up interview with Ali Durden because we were back to the old smirking smugness and Wael avoided the serious questions which Ali put to him. The written statement was clear and lucid but this interview was woolly and fumbling and while I’m sure Wael’s avid supporters will say “but he didn’t want to give too much away “ I can’t buy that after such a promising statement had been released the day before. This was a chance for Wael to follow up with a strong and passionate statement of intent regarding outside investment and a new stadium but IMO he flunked it. I hope I’m wrong, I hope he does have a clear and workable plan to address financial and stadium issues but that interview is concerning. Back in December last year I thought the Fruit Market opportunity could be slipping away so began a series of posts and actually started a thread proposing how we could “ make Rovers great for once”. At that time we didn’t know that Wael would be receiving an inheritance so my plan was based upon the need to sell the Mem and the need for him to roll over his share of the proceeds into a recapitalized BRFC which would bring in new investors so that we were in a strong position to negotiate a deal with the FM developers. The situation is certainly different now but we don’t actually know how much cash Wael has at his disposal to meet the club’s trading losses, pay for the training ground, and be in a strong position to negotiate a deal at the FM. Those who want to will merrily believe that Wael has sufficient cash to do all these things and that he wouldn’t have embarked on this new direction if he didn’t. I take a different view and would cite his jumping into Rovers in 2016 with no proper plan to follow as the reason for my concern. I am afraid he may only have enough cash to do half a job and that in his desire to keep it as “my club” there is a danger he may undo all the good which the loan capitalization has done. We know Wael reads the forum and I thought putting the bit in the statement about the debt finance and interest charging causing supporters unnecessary but understandable concern was a very nice gesture from him. I would say to Wael now that if you want what is best for the club please think carefully about your responsibilities as owner and in particular about the amount of cash which will be needed to fund all the things you want to do. If there is any doubt in your mind then commission a business plan from Deloitte or some similar professional firm and ask them to work out exactly what is going to be required. If necessary seek outside investment and if you have to, in the best interests of our club, be willing to cede the majority stake which you covet now but which will be of no use at all if you don’t have the resources to follow this project through to completion. Swiss I don't think Wael was smug or smirked during the interview in a negative way, he obviously knew he was going to get questioned again about the FM. He can't announce what isn't written in stone. If he followed up with a positive "X is happening" and it doesn't, you would be the first to castigate him for it. Essentially, we dont know what Wael is now worth, and how much of that is actually usable cash, quite frankly, that isn't our business, but I would think that its a substantial amount to capitalise near on £20m and invest £2-3m in a training complex says to me his personal fortune would exceed £100m at least. Thats an awful amount to invest/lose for less than that.
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Post by LJG on Jun 23, 2020 10:15:15 GMT
My Honour? Have I been demoted???!!! Gashead LJ! Your Lordship! Please! ;-) I just had a look at that post. Its just crackpot supposition - a conspiracy theory. A conspiracy theory that is already out of step. Wael has capitalised the debt which is what? Step 5 according to you. The Mem hasn't been sold and we're not ground sharing at Twerton Park. Why don't you want to talk about the current news? Not your conspiracy theory from December. Please accept my humble apologies Your Lordship. As requested here are my thoughts on the events of the last few days. I didn’t get much joy at Royal Ascot but now have a fair chance of winning the Unpopularity Stakes ! The capitalization of the Dwane Sports loan and the writing off of the interest is excellent news. It is something I’ve been advocating for a long time because it is a genuine demonstration of commitment. There is no point in re-hashing all the arguments but I was surprised and disappointed when the interest bearing debt finance model was revealed and perhaps those who argued at the time “it doesn’t matter” will now accept, as Wael has done, that for a host of reasons equity finance opens up far more opportunities for achieving business success. The statement from the club was also excellent. It was probably the most coherent and businesslike announcement we have heard from Rovers over the past ten years. I don’t think Wael wrote it himself I think he at least had help from someone with the ability to string words together but that is not a bad thing. Some of us have been saying for years that no one is good at everything and if you are running a business and find your own skill set is lacking in certain areas you bring someone in to help and I think that is what Wael has done. As Rovers fans we want the club to be seen to come across in a professional way, we want to be getting behind an organization which takes pride in what it does, and this statement achieved that. Now I am going to upset you. I’ m sorry but I didn’t like the follow up interview with Ali Durden because we were back to the old smirking smugness and Wael avoided the serious questions which Ali put to him. The written statement was clear and lucid but this interview was woolly and fumbling and while I’m sure Wael’s avid supporters will say “but he didn’t want to give too much away “ I can’t buy that after such a promising statement had been released the day before. This was a chance for Wael to follow up with a strong and passionate statement of intent regarding outside investment and a new stadium but IMO he flunked it. I hope I’m wrong, I hope he does have a clear and workable plan to address financial and stadium issues but that interview is concerning. Back in December last year I thought the Fruit Market opportunity could be slipping away so began a series of posts and actually started a thread proposing how we could “ make Rovers great for once”. At that time we didn’t know that Wael would be receiving an inheritance so my plan was based upon the need to sell the Mem and the need for him to roll over his share of the proceeds into a recapitalized BRFC which would bring in new investors so that we were in a strong position to negotiate a deal with the FM developers. The situation is certainly different now but we don’t actually know how much cash Wael has at his disposal to meet the club’s trading losses, pay for the training ground, and be in a strong position to negotiate a deal at the FM. Those who want to will merrily believe that Wael has sufficient cash to do all these things and that he wouldn’t have embarked on this new direction if he didn’t. I take a different view and would cite his jumping into Rovers in 2016 with no proper plan to follow as the reason for my concern. I am afraid he may only have enough cash to do half a job and that in his desire to keep it as “my club” there is a danger he may undo all the good which the loan capitalization has done. We know Wael reads the forum and I thought putting the bit in the statement about the debt finance and interest charging causing supporters unnecessary but understandable concern was a very nice gesture from him. I would say to Wael now that if you want what is best for the club please think carefully about your responsibilities as owner and in particular about the amount of cash which will be needed to fund all the things you want to do. If there is any doubt in your mind then commission a business plan from Deloitte or some similar professional firm and ask them to work out exactly what is going to be required. If necessary seek outside investment and if you have to, in the best interests of our club, be willing to cede the majority stake which you covet now but which will be of no use at all if you don’t have the resources to follow this project through to completion. So to sum up - now that the thing you've been complaining about for months has been done, you've decided (much like your co-conspirator who started his own thread) that's not actually the thing that caused you concern. You now realise (how could you not?) that your concern all along has been interviews. You said debt. You meant interviews. Easy mistake to make. And apparently not even the substance of the interviews themselves but more specifically the facial expression of Wael during interviews. What a completely rational and non-revisionist point of view to have. Thanks for sharing. Are you absolutely sure this definitely makes sense?
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Post by Hugo the Elder on Jun 23, 2020 10:24:30 GMT
Please accept my humble apologies Your Lordship. As requested here are my thoughts on the events of the last few days. I didn’t get much joy at Royal Ascot but now have a fair chance of winning the Unpopularity Stakes ! The capitalization of the Dwane Sports loan and the writing off of the interest is excellent news. It is something I’ve been advocating for a long time because it is a genuine demonstration of commitment. There is no point in re-hashing all the arguments but I was surprised and disappointed when the interest bearing debt finance model was revealed and perhaps those who argued at the time “it doesn’t matter” will now accept, as Wael has done, that for a host of reasons equity finance opens up far more opportunities for achieving business success. The statement from the club was also excellent. It was probably the most coherent and businesslike announcement we have heard from Rovers over the past ten years. I don’t think Wael wrote it himself I think he at least had help from someone with the ability to string words together but that is not a bad thing. Some of us have been saying for years that no one is good at everything and if you are running a business and find your own skill set is lacking in certain areas you bring someone in to help and I think that is what Wael has done. As Rovers fans we want the club to be seen to come across in a professional way, we want to be getting behind an organization which takes pride in what it does, and this statement achieved that. Now I am going to upset you. I’ m sorry but I didn’t like the follow up interview with Ali Durden because we were back to the old smirking smugness and Wael avoided the serious questions which Ali put to him. The written statement was clear and lucid but this interview was woolly and fumbling and while I’m sure Wael’s avid supporters will say “but he didn’t want to give too much away “ I can’t buy that after such a promising statement had been released the day before. This was a chance for Wael to follow up with a strong and passionate statement of intent regarding outside investment and a new stadium but IMO he flunked it. I hope I’m wrong, I hope he does have a clear and workable plan to address financial and stadium issues but that interview is concerning. Back in December last year I thought the Fruit Market opportunity could be slipping away so began a series of posts and actually started a thread proposing how we could “ make Rovers great for once”. At that time we didn’t know that Wael would be receiving an inheritance so my plan was based upon the need to sell the Mem and the need for him to roll over his share of the proceeds into a recapitalized BRFC which would bring in new investors so that we were in a strong position to negotiate a deal with the FM developers. The situation is certainly different now but we don’t actually know how much cash Wael has at his disposal to meet the club’s trading losses, pay for the training ground, and be in a strong position to negotiate a deal at the FM. Those who want to will merrily believe that Wael has sufficient cash to do all these things and that he wouldn’t have embarked on this new direction if he didn’t. I take a different view and would cite his jumping into Rovers in 2016 with no proper plan to follow as the reason for my concern. I am afraid he may only have enough cash to do half a job and that in his desire to keep it as “my club” there is a danger he may undo all the good which the loan capitalization has done. We know Wael reads the forum and I thought putting the bit in the statement about the debt finance and interest charging causing supporters unnecessary but understandable concern was a very nice gesture from him. I would say to Wael now that if you want what is best for the club please think carefully about your responsibilities as owner and in particular about the amount of cash which will be needed to fund all the things you want to do. If there is any doubt in your mind then commission a business plan from Deloitte or some similar professional firm and ask them to work out exactly what is going to be required. If necessary seek outside investment and if you have to, in the best interests of our club, be willing to cede the majority stake which you covet now but which will be of no use at all if you don’t have the resources to follow this project through to completion. So to sum up - now that the thing you've been complaining about for months has been done, you've decided (much like your co-conspirator who started his own thread) that's not actually the thing that caused you concern. You now realise (how could you not?) that your concern all along has been interviews. You said debt. You meant interviews. Easy mistake to make. And apparently not even the substance of the interviews themselves but more specifically the facial expression of Wael during interviews. What a completely rational and non-revisionist point of view to have. Thanks for sharing. Are you absolutely sure this definitely makes sense? I have been saying for years that all those attacking Weal had absolutely no evidence to support their negative bullshit rumours and that's now even more since the one thing they had a good point about (the debt) has been removed. They are now just making up new unfounded sh** and claiming THATS the problem. In truth, as many of us suspected, there is just an anti WAQ agenda because he has ruffled a few of the old guards feathers. Its interesting that Helpline, The Community Trust and the commercial side of the club appear to have had no such issues, or if they have, they have had the decency to conduct themselves in a much more befitting manner than the SC and PC.
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