Tony Fernandes is one of the three known interested parties who are bidding to buy West Ham. He runs Air Asia. This is from his Twitterfeed during yesterday’s game.
Tony Fernandes is one of the three known interested parties who are bidding to buy West Ham. He runs Air Asia. This is from his Twitterfeed during yesterday’s game.
The sooner the better, hopefully before the next game!!
My heads spinning.
This morning I woke up thinking Intermarket were almost certain to take us on.
This afternoon I read in the Sunday Mirror that a deal had been struck with Sullivan and Gold.
This evening it looks like Tony Fernandes is clipping our heels.
Tonight I shall be going to sleep confused and still just as clueless.
Saulie I would hardly believe the day and date on the front page of the mirror. Its a disgrace of a rag that employs the worst excuses for "journalist" to ever bang their head on a keyboard and call it a story. The only thing that can be said about the quality and reliability of their output is that "paper never refused ink!"
Come on Celtic, it's not like you to water down your words! LOL.
Its my new years resolution, I am trying to be more understanding and respectful of journalists. As soon as the mirror hire some I will extend that courtesy to them too!
They've never been any good since Andy Capp left!
Has this guy something to do with the Lotus F1-team?
Yes, he's funding it I believe.
The majority of the funding is coming from Proton, the Malaysian owner of Lotus who are almost half owned by the country's government. Fernandes only investment is through sponsorship of the team by his air line Air Asia
He is the face of the new Lotus F1 team and his company Air Asia are sponsors of the team for the coming season. Fernandes was approached as he is the most recognisable Malaysian business man in Europe. As Bernie "puddin bowl haircut" Ecclestone has proved, involvement with F1 doesnt stop you owning a football club!
As much as I am desperate for a Fernandez takeover; didn't he state that he was not involved in any bids just a few days ago? I can't remember what the exact words were so maybe he is one of the investors in the Intermarket bid? Or maybe he knows who is behind that bid? Just so long as it isn't Sullivan.
Just a thought, but could he know about a Sullivan deal and think they 'care'?
I stand by my words that absoloutely nothing will happen tommorow regarding a bid. Skysports will have nothing to report and all our hopes will be dampened as usual. We are West Ham fans, GOOD THINGS DO NOT HAPPEN!
Bloody hell mate, I hope they've got you well strapped down. You're obviously about to top yourself at any moment! Good things do happen to West Ham by the way, just not very often lately!
well then, tell me what good has happened, and I want things that we can be proud of this year?
Good things do happen at our beloved fc. We are mass producers of exquisite ENGLISH talent, even though we have to sell our best players the majority of the time!
Also our philosophy on the way play football. We play the game how it is supposed to be played, on the ground, not the long ball hoof that the likes of bolton etc seem to adopt
I think you have just agreed with my statement 'even though we have to sell our best players'. When have we had a decent chairman?, not an excellent, not a good, but a decent chairman who can give us periods of stability without it leading to trouble? It is all good playing football the way it's blah blah blah but where has it got us exactly. I may be sounding angrier then I actually am, but are you not aware that fans paid the same price today as they would a premiership game to see us crumble like we have on numerous occasions this season. If we have a bid launched tommorow I will be VERY suprised, and if it is accepted I will be AMAZED, and if they are decent people who care about the club I will strap myself down to prevent topping myself. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!
I hope this guy does get control. He may not have a lot to invest in us but he seems like his heart is in the right spot and may gain further investment in time. At least he would make decisions for the betterment of the club. It seems Gold and Sullivan are trying to shake up the ownership wrangle which can't be a bad thing. At least it might force CB Holdings into making a decision.
I think it was a very good sign that both Green and Upson played today. Green in particular looked like a different player for some reason.
I see the mirror has now grabbed this tweet and made a story out of it, but the really good news is that according to them we are 7th in the league. So happy days!
lol rather happy about that aswell
If the Mirror says it, it must be true!
January 7 is D-Day as far as I know,exciting heh!
Aussie as you are ahead of us perhaps you will be able to lest us know when we get taken over before we do!Lol!!
i pray and hope this isnt another false dawn…………………….
Hi Everyone! Wanted to start the New Year in the right way by actually adding some thoughts to this super website and getting involved, not just reading everyone else's comments from afar! My West Ham credentials: I was born in Whitechapel – sound of the Bow Bells! – and was season ticket holder in the West Upper from 1997-2003 before moving to LA for work six years ago. I follow the Hammers avidly, or at least as best I can from here (7am Fox Soccer Channel/Setanta games and dodgy links are my saving grace!), and always make sure all trips to London coincide with at least two home games!
Hello LA HAMMER, good to see another supporter from Kalifornia. Im 400 miles to the north. Hoping to wake up monday with some good news with the ownership situation
Welcome LA Hammer, nice to see another brit supporting west ham in Kalifornia. I will be checking the internet to see any updates when I wake up on monday, hopefully some stable ownership
Best game I've ever been to: I think it was in the 97/98 season when we beat Spurs 4-3 at home and Don Hutchison scored a great late free kick to win it for us. Worst game: There have been too many, although one that stands out is losing to Wrexham at home in FA Cup. Best goal I've ever seen at Upton Park: THAT Di Canio v Wimbledon goal almost 10 years ago. I still recall it frequently in my day-dreams!
Looking forward to lots of great chat and debate. Truly, this is the best Hammers website out there – with the most sensible, informed supporters – and I'm excited to get stuck in…
Celtichammer: I always enjoy reading your posts and agree fully that the Mirror is a ludicrous publication. So unless a buyer comes out of leftfield, we are down to the Porn Kings,Tony F. and his tweets and the mysterious Intermarket Group (they sound like Blackwater!). I wonder if Tony F is part of the Intermarket group, as has been suggested before. I'm not necessarily against the Davids, but for two guys who have a combined wealth of almost 900m, you wonder why they never really made Birmingham a true powerhouse in football. The good news is they are West Ham fans thru-and-thru, so maybe they would be more inclined to splash the cash on a club they love. But I cannot believe CB/Stranmur will accept that low-ball offer. Time will tell. Isn't tomorrow the Intermarket offer?
Once the chance to get the club on the cheap passed them by Gollivan cooled their interest. When pushed the admitted that their transfer "warchest" amounted to £8M which isnt going to buy you a whole lot.
That is true — cheap. We need a lot more than that to get out of this pickle! Three quality players is a minimum. Depending on what happens with Upson, I would go for two defenders (RB, CB) and a striker. Midfield I think we have enough for the moment. Fingers crossed for a big announcement tomorrow, or at least the beginning of one…
Jimenez is poo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eloquent as always Chris!
But I agree, he hasn't done a thing and I, like many (including Zola), had high hopes he would turn out to be a great aquisition. For someone so experienced he's been terrible.
Just look at it this way he is only on loan!!
Hope the Fernandes thing comes to something. Stopping the rumours and getting a couple of solid signings in this month could steady the ship. It was concerning to see Behrami's comments that the players' confidence is a bit hit by the club's instability. I suppose it was naive to expect anything else.
Next week hopefully something doesn't just start to materialize but actually happens. We need time to strengthen. Its gonna be shaky enough with the usual transition period so we don't the luxury of time to let things settle, Already other teams are starting to make moves on players like Scott Loach, Kris Boyd, Joe Ledley and many others that would be useful to us at a resonable price. Not only is it worry that clubs are sniffing around our best players but also that we will spout our usual hype, leave it late and panic buy some unknown players and talk them up as targets we had all along.
My colleague just flew Air Asia and said they charge like a wounded Bull,even for water,way to get rich Tony!
Aussie, over here in the states most airlines are nickel and diming the customers. Charging for suitcases as well as food. I think its a sign of the times, sadly.
Was their this much anticipation, when BG bought the team? I wasnt get the information off the net then
Mate plenty,but what so-called Billionaire goes bankrupt,an Icelandic one who unfortunately had plans to have us in the champions league in 5 years,2 years on we will do well to survive in the premier league.
How fickle we are, with such short memories.Tony Fernandes will give us more of the same Icelandic promise that will be all words with no substance – the same with G&S. Straumur have saved, yes saved us from administration and certain relegation – GET REAL PEOPLE!!!
OLAS, whilst it may prove to be the case, all the current potential owners offer us some hope. I agree that someone in the current ownership setup has probably saved us from administration ( Straumur maybe protecting their most valuable asset or maybe Scott Duxberry &/or others ensuring the ownership structure keeps the club sufficiently seperate from the Bank maybe?) but Straumur got us into this mess in the first place, albeit because of the global recession. I have several times voiced my opinion that anyone buying the club with corporate cash will want a good return on that cash ultimately, as Liverpool prove, but short of a very rich Hammers fan with a mega personal fortune to spend, that is about the best we can hope for. It should at least provide badly needed stability and some investment to keep us in the PL. Maybe I am naieve, but I think Scott Duxberry, although maybe a spindoctor extrordinaire, has done a superb job in recent times especially, and I'd like to see him retained.
Scalyback, I think it was actually BG and Eggy that got us into this mess … not Straumar. I have no problems with relegation and selling off half the squad, Upson, Parker, Green, Cole and Berahmi and being sold as a fizzy pop team if it means we get credible owners and clear our debts … however as it stands there is just no money available to go out and buy … Dux did say that in June, GFZ will have all the TV money to invest in the squad … I am optomistic we’ll manage to stay up … but that is all dependant on injuries … one of those things that only time will tell ..
In the first line of your reply did you mean “whilst it may prove [not] to be the case”? If it is I can understand that people may think that any of the potential suitors may offer us some hope without really knowing much, or indeed anything about any of them, other than what they read in the papers, but vivid in my mind still is the Icelanders take-over and all their shallow and as it turned out hollow promises but that only became evident with the passage of time – as I think you meant in your linea-primera. Straumur are currently managing a 1.5 billion dollar portfolio (you can get that info from their site if you are prepared to wade through hours of boring cr4p http://www.straumur.net/) so I doubt very much if West Ham @ circa 50 – 120 million £’s are their most valuable asset, although a significant one none the less. I don’t mean to try and teach your granny to suck eggs as it were but Straumur are bankers and very successful one’s too, don’t let the global down-turn and the subsequent collapse of the Icelandic banks & economy fool you – they regrouped and very successfully reshaped/reinvented themselves to survive when many others couldn’t – research for example how much money Roman Abramovich lost; don’t believe much of the ill-informed hype myself. They [Straumur] said they would keep out of footballing matters, for obvious reasons, (unlike a certain Eggert Magnusson, brought in for his football expertise, who proved not to know the difference between sh!t and clay, when it actually came to it) so the bankers are leaving it (and quite rightly so) to the current and then incumbent management. But what they did say is that they would put together a TWO YEAR business plan for West Ham and so far they have done reasonably well and will continue to do so, in my opinion, until such times as they find a buyer who will pay for the club what the club is worth on the current market. They said that they would hang onto the club for as long as it takes in order to get a FAIR price, if the vagabonds and thieves try to steal it whilst they think ‘we’ are desperate Straumur will quite understandable hang onto us until there is a little recovery in the market, which I think is commendable. What worries me about our so called ‘fans’ and the 21st centuries rush to have it all and have it right now, is that we will jump from one frying pan straight into another. ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY – LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP (again) Thus grief still treads upon the heels of pleasure: Married in haste, we may repent at leisure.
Oh and by the way Straumur never got us into this mess in the first place it was Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. Also don’t believe all the nonsense surrounding Duxbury or Terry Brown for that matter – do your own honest and transparent research don’t just leave it to reading the tabloids view to sell papers, or those that only re-write cr4p they have learned from others who knew nothing too – you may be suprised
WestHam are Straumurs most high profile asset so in the public consciousness that makes us their most valuable asset. Straumurs rationalisation plan is heavily based on not only protecting but growing the value of these assets. Failure to protect WestHam (i.e. keep them in the Premier League) will have serious impact on investor confidence (rightly or wrongly) which will cost Straumur a considerable amount more than what it will cost them to sign the players to keep us up.
I agree in large part with the sentiment of your post but to blame BG is both short sighted and reactionary. If it wasnt for BGs actions to protect the club we would have been drawn into the serious legal issues he has encountered. It was his method of exchanging loans for equity in the club as a means of legally writing off the money he gave us that has provided the blue print that the likes of Abramovich have followed since.
The only danger we have ever faced in regard to administration came from the auditors refusing to sign off the accounts with the blunts compo claim unresolved. We have never had issues with regard to bank loans going bad or being called in. The simple fact that our loans ammount to less than half our yearly turnover is proof of that, and while the bankers got nervous they never had the legaly authority to call in those loans.
What is in our best interest is also in Straumur's best interest and because of that they will do what is required to protect the club and as you rightly say they will under no circumstances allow someone to get the club on the cheap. Anyone who's interest is driven solely but getting the club for a knockdown price does not have the best itnerests of the club at heart, despite what the tabloids and the official Gollivan slobbering love affair of a website Kumb might try and make fans believe.
Thanks for the reply Celtic, even if I am accused of being short-sighted and reactionary, so forgive me if the following sounds a little defensive – West Ham maybe high profile to them by us (in our opinion) but I would like to see your proof of their sentimental view of us in terms of added value because it does not exist. In the world of money there is no room for emotion so “the most valuable asset”, I remain unconvinced? The rest of your first paragraph I would whole-heartedly agree with, but did I voice an opinion to that contrary, I think not? So apart from you displaying your apparent knowledge I fail to see what that has to do with the current debate, other than that I agree with you – they are not fools. BG thought he could take over a premiership club and buy into the world renown & fame that that would bring him – he was naive to say the least. He is now a fallen man in the world of finance not in any small part to the mis-management of his own and others peoples money and his obvious naivety. That previous statement (of mine) maybe a little simplistic of me and I don’t want to become a bore by explaining further, this is a football blog after all, true nonetheless as it is. Administration still remains a real possibility to us but that would not automatically mean the disappearance of the club but would set us back very many years a la Leeds. If they are unable to get as much for the whole as they could for the some of its parts… – it is a real problem faced by many clubs not just ours. And the Liverpool thing hey what’s 150 million amongst friends? It actually happens to be more in the region of 600 million, but when you’re trying to further your argument that’s a mere drop in the ocean isn’t it? Oh and by the way Abramovich lost billions in the world monetary collapse, he too had to baton down the hatches, he is no fool either.
OLAS, thats some very informative reply … I am happy that the club has to get its books in order and that is what Straumar and Dux having been trying to achieve … I think the club have to take some portion of the blame in regards to the sceptism held by most of the fans … A simple we have no money but we ain’t selling cos we don’t have too will suffice, however, GFZ does’nt know, Berahmi says the players don’t know and even matty Upson the club captain doesn’t know what is happening in regards to his own future …
The players are scrapping hard and I believe they’ll fight till the end but we have lost Ashton … a significant CF by any clubs standards … there is no left sided balnce in the midfield and both full backs are struggling … we simply need to stop selling and i think we’ll be safe …
Last summer Dux laid out a plan and we have heard very little from them since … Why sell Collins to fund the Chamakh deal if Chamakh isn’t comming ? I understand the continued stripping and the need to survive … I just think the club could be a bit more informative … double edge sword or not …
Firstly you are correct about the error in my opening line, good spot!
I don't think either of us are that far apart, although maybe I'm guilty of being a bit too simplistic in how I express my fears, and who is to blame. As Celtic has said already our club might not be the most valuable asset, but it is a high profile one. It is also an asset that could substantially devalue were we to be relegated for instance. I do not think that any of the current bids bring instant salvation, but if Straumur do hold on, then they need to address the perception that we are in trouble financially, Not too long ago the Chair (I think) of C&B stated that a transfer kitty would be made available if needed. Now it seems that the kitty will have to be from sales? If that is wrong then they should say so because rumour or not it is impacting adversely on the club. CONTINUED IN NEXT REPLY
CONT'D I am not an accountant or corporate lawyer, and do not really differentiate between BG, his son, Straumur or C&B. Someone amongst them was in charge when the banking crisis struck. I have to say they have had very little go right for them since they bought Brown out, what with the Tevez affair, needing to fight relegation year 1, and the thieving blunts compo claim, and most has been beyond their control, so staying with them for a little longer to enable the right buyer (for the Club) to come along holds no fears for me. However, we have to be realistic and say they will sell at the best price for Straumur. If an asset stripper came along with a price they like, they would sell, even if it meant West Ham suffered. Cont'd
PART 3 Lastly, as regards SD, I have tried hard to get to the heart of what his part in the amatter has been. Without a reliable source in the organisations at the right level it is all but impossible to do so. That does not mean that I believe everything (or anything) I read in the press. Along with most of us we can only form opinion based on sites such as this, where there are people, such as yourself and Celtic, who are better placed through training or profession to see through the spin & tabloids antics and get to the truth. Please don't assume that everyone with differing opinions or less well informed opinions just believes what they read in the gutter press. All that said, I found your post interesting and informative; thanks!
Scaly thanks again for the well thought out reply and in no way was I attempting to big myself up in my observations or in my reply either – I have enjoyed the debate as too with Celtic, these kind of debates are informative and make this site what it is. The observation of the first line shows that I not only read your original post but took it on-board and thought about it because it provoked me to reply is testament to your thoughts in that first response
OLAS, I find myself agreeing with you again! I have to confess I misread your first response about SD as being anti him, so I'm pleased to see that is not the case. I also enjoy a good friendly debate and long may this blog continue. It is by far & away the best of the bunch. Cheers
Behind the cloak and dagger approach to business would it be a fair guess that Tony Fernandes is part of the consortium namely Intermarket,that comprises wealthy Hammers fans interested in buying the club?
I am not sure what to think about what Tony has put on twitter as i see two sides to it, my 1st side is the hopeful side that he may become our new owner or has information on others that will be buying the club, my other side sees this statement as maybe something to say that everything is going to be ok and that he BELIEVES west ham will have new owners but has nothing cocrete. It is a tough one to look at to be honest but i hope it is the 1st side of me that is correct. Intermarket are lodging their bid today so we could hear more about that but i think that this week could well be a big week for us hammers and maybe we will be taken over and gain stability at the club. From then we can look to bring about 3 or 4 players in to help us out with numbers and overal to get us out a relegation battle. But we don't want to spend loads, i think we should try and get top bargains and have quality players coming in for less money. Heres hoping for further news.
Fingers crossed for this week alright. However, I'd say we'd be lucky to add more than 1-2 new players. There's no point in just bringing in bodies if they're not the players Zola really wants. Also, for the stability of the club I think it's imperative we hold onto Upson, Cole, Green, and Parker. Even if we manage this and add a RB, we should be okay to stay up. Then we will no doubt have a very busy summer!
Hope so mate, I think a right back and another striker is what we need, id like us to sign nicky shorey and put him in at right back then push faubert further forward into midfield, or do a swap deal + money with upson going to man city and we get richards + £10 million but that seems a tad unrealistic. I think we should try our luck with balloteli as he is top class and would be a great signing for the club. Imagine this team:
Green
Shorey
Tomkins
Upson
Ilunga or daprela
Behrami
Parker
Noble or Collison
Diamanti
Cole
Balloteli
Then we would have a much stronger subs bench with the likes of franco and others on their who can come on and help when we need. I can still dream haha but this is very unlikely. Nevermind, hope we have new owners soon.
Braderz, who would you see as bargains … we spoke before about a few, Shorey, Beatie and maybe Cambell … anymore thoughts. What has supprised me is the Quasie situation .. 20k a week and still on the books, was he not better than Kovac for example ?
If we think that times is hard for WHU. Give a thought to those MUfans who have now heard that the Glazers are looking to a £600m loan in bonds & shares to help them reduce their overall debt. With L'pool looking to build a new stadium within 3years. Tis the season to be jolly and good will to all men.!Lol!!
Time will tell so Watch this Space!
Fishy I have stated for a while that the Glazers know that they will not raise the near 3/4 of a Billion pounds they need to refinance this year and have therefor done a deal with 3 NY based hedge fund management companies to take a 60% stake in the club and this sounds like the first stage in selling this to the fans as being anything other than an utter disaster for the club and its fans.
Thanks Celtic, I just put that in to let others know that other clubs were in a similar position as if they do not read the news elsewhere. (Not that I care much about MU & the like only WHU).
Happy New Year and let us hope this will be a new decade for us all!Lol!
Could be anyone making mischief on a false twitter……..even SJ, he's gone AWOL lately!
Hi all, happy new year. Not been able to post over the break but have managed to read 'most' of the posts.
Today 'could' be a big day in our history. Let's all hope it is.
Straumer, had good intentions, I believe, but the financial meltdown was unforseen. So, who will buy us if anyone.
No one has mentioned that swear word yet 'Kia Jorabchian' lets hope all the mystery surrounding Intermarket has nothing to do with him. I still think Tony Cottee has something to do with a bid. Personally I hope so cos' he does love this club as much as we all do.
Frenandez, appears ideal on the surface but so did the Icelanders so lets just keep our fingers crossed whoever comes in it moves us forward and not sideways or worse still downwards.
Yesterday exposed us for what we are, VERY thin on quality.
Green – better than has been but could be better.
Faubert – OK, again getting better but still not good enough for prem'
Tomkins – talented but has wobbly moments
Upson – good but at fault for Eduardos goal
Deprella – Impressed, hope he gets a run in 1st team after that
Daimanti – good goal but flatters to decieve, he rugby tackles EVERYONE not keen on him
Kovac – getting better but again not prem' class
Stanislas – Sorry, needs to go back to Southend, and stay there !!
Behrami – World class, back to his dominant best
Jiminez – should read Boogers, good god way out of his depth
Nouble – chased everything but ran out of steam on the hour, needs more time
On the bench we had no experience at all except Da Costa, If we don't but or loan at least 3 players this month, we will struggle but as I keep saying, there are some rubbish teams down with us. It's going to be squeeky bum time.
Paul, I think were looking at a squeaky bum time … its gonna be close … firstly dependant on our injury situation .. the Cole senario doesn’t bode well … why bring back Sears unless Hines is out long term ? but hey … if your propper Claret n blue … it’ll all be good fun
Welcome back Paul. Just wanted to add I have posted previously about the game and I pretty much agree with every player assessment you gave. The only difference for me is I actually like Diamante although he frustrates the hell out of me half the time. I think he will continue to adjust though and his plus points will overtake his bad habits. (He'll probably never know how to tackle though)!! Point taken. Cheers. Ray
I am in the minority here I think. I think that the problem we have with Jiminez is that his footballing brain is quicker than those playing for us up front at the moment. When he controls the ball he always makes space for himself and looks up for the positive pass. Time and time again yesterday when he had the ball he looked up and no one was moving for him leaving him to either go backwards or lose the ball trying to get forward.
His form is far from excellent at the moment but I think he is struggling to find a place in the team where his skills can be best used. He may well never make the grade with us but I don't think that is all down to him. I'd like to see him and Cole play together to see if he has it or not.
Nasher, I agree with your thoughts … we had a similar thing with Mascherano who then tipped up at Liverpool and was world class … Tevez even took til the new year to settle and really only after March did he go on a goal scoring spree …
I thought at Wolves on the opening day Cole Dyer and Jimi looked promising … they’ve never played together again since …
Nasher, that is a very good and very observant counter view-point. However it does beg the questions – what is he doing at West Ham then if he is that good? Why did Milan "get rid of him"? If he is that good why is he not able to readjust his style of play to the current team and what about his work ethic?
We were effectively playing with 10 men yesterday had he put in a Parker-like shift things may have been so different. The Premiership is a gruelling place to be and no team can afford to carry a passenger not matter how good they may potentially be – ask the Manure fans about Berbatov
Fair point OLAS but sometimes I think the teams general naivety upfront is masking some of his better play and making him look ineffective.
I do however agree that if he is good he should be able to influence the game more than he has done to date
OLAS where would you play him then … GFZ saw something in him … and if we are blunt in the truth then he hasn’t got much wrong with players … I totally disagree with you and think he fits a set system … we just haven’t the luxury of the other pieces of GFZ puzzle that he was trying to assemble in pre season … I think a front three of Dyer, Ashton and Jiminez would have been awsome, especially with peperahmi, Parker and Cllison diiging in behind them … should Balotelli and Mancini arrived there too were other designed to deliver an attractive fast one touch passing game … for me he just doesn’t suit where we are and what we have left to field
I just don't get a good feeling about the Sullivan & Gold possibility, as said here, 8 million, although a fortune to me, is nothing in the football world and ok, they didn't do anything perticularly wrong at Birmingham I don't think they have the means to take West Ham any further than where we are right now. I find it strange that although depending on the comic of your choice, we are between 30 million or 1 Billion in dept, our club doesn't have the tax man after it, our club seems to be able to pay it's players and, our players ( the majority anyway ) still seem to be fighting for the club. Like everyone else, after so many false dawns and promising seasons being followed by ones where we have struggled to, or failed to keep our premiership status I would love to see an enthusiastic and wealtyy owner take the club over but if it's just a change of name above the door I think it might be a case of better the devil you know.
Maybe that £8M is to pay a stud fee to mate Wayne Rooney with one of the former Hammerettes so that in 18years we will have a superb player who is a die hard WestHam fan!
Might have to pay the £8M to the Hammerette rather than the stud though! Also I have serious doubts about his ability to perform with someone that young.
haha very true!
Now 12 o'clock and no sign on intermarket bid. I will reiterate that no bid will be made today IMO, and yes, Skysports will remain very quiet.
No news is good news mate, you have to remember once a disclosure agreement is signed they are not aloud to announce it too much, they must keep themselves on the low key so that everything goes through swiftly without the media taking control to much, just keep the faith mate, i think that will hear more throughout this week.
But surely if they have said they are making a bid today, then somebody e.g Skysports would investigate further. I don't have faith when it comes to West Ham boards i'm afriad, I can't see the permanent struggle coming to an abrupt end, I can see Straumer practically ending us as a club unfortunately. Done with the optimism.
Very subtle Tony – Showed his hand a bit early maybe?
im in suspenders……whoops no suspence !!! im like a cat on a hot tin roof…….come on boys get your cheque books out !!!!!
hi all,
first time on here read debates regularly and thouroughly enjoy the banter and comments that are made.
Really hope something happens soon involving these takeover bids and we get some stability at the club. If we do get a bit of money to spend zola has got to be smart unlike in the summer we need proven premier league players not a load of foreigners who havent got a clue about english football. Whilst i beleive franco has done ok. diamanti has shown glimpses of class (setpieces etc) i think he looks a very average player and a luxury which we dont need right now although has potential to improve in future. As for jiminez useless send him back to inter and da costa is not a patch on collins. We need to take a leaf out of fulhams book and get players in who know the prem league and can adjust straight away, Shorey would be a good buy as would sol campbell benjani and michael johnson possible from man city and possibly a cheeky bid for david bentley from the spuds would be good. However this all depends on whether a takeover actually happens fingers crossed!!!
Hello essexhammer, welcome to a mad world of debating lol, i look forward to reading your views on situations. I think we have got to start thinking that something will deffiantely happen, with three pottential buyers, surely we will have new owners, i would like either intermarket or fernandes in charge of the club as i am not sure if G&S will be benefitial for the club. Once we have our new owners we can then look at bringing in some players but will take one step at a time, Keep faith as i am sure we will hear more news about this takeover soon.
All good things come to those who wait – or so they say. we have been told that Intermarket will make a bid today and as above Tony Ferndandes says that WHU will have stability soon. OK it is 12noon+ However remember everyone is still getting over a New Year hangover so negotiations may still take a little time to complete. Patience everyone the champagne is on ice and waiting to be popped.
Watch this Space!Lol!
Couldn't put it any better mate. Lets wait and see, and fingers crossed that will hear about a complete takeover soon.
Once all is agreed announcements will be made to the Stock Market.
Remember WH do not annouce till all the I's are dotted & T's crossed.
Perhaps why SSN have not said anything yet.
Could well be very true, id like to think we would hear something sometime this week, my fingers are crossed and just waiting for the full confirmation on SSN and our clubs official website. Very anxious to hear news. Im holding out for this one.
Likewise, sometime this week than today is a more likely timeline
If Inters bid has been forthcoming this morning. However anytime may be Hammerstime. KEEP LISTENING & WATCHING!Lol!
i will do lol, news now all the time to read further stories but we want concrete news now so il keep looking out for some more news.
If we pick the team based on consistent performers then its looking like this.
Green
?????…Upson(just)….?????…Daprela(maybe) considering it was Arsenal.
Behrami..Parker…Kovac(maybe)…????
………Cole……????………
Just a few to buy then.
Sorry last few games Upsons made mistakes,yesterday he got out jumped by a
midget.
Forgot to add Diamanti, sorry I know hes not everyones cuppa but he played some great through balls yesterday and he has flair.
Does anyone know if Stanislas has played on the right?
Coz on the left he contributes nothing,yesterday crosses=0 hope we are not going back to right footers on the left,left footers on the right.Nooooooooooooooooooo!
Did everyone notice sears pace when he came on, lightning!!! he seems to of gained yards,he should of came on earlier.
Hello Chris – happy new year. I think the best I have seen Stan play was when LBM was on the pitch with him and they kept swapping sides throughout the game. It seemed to confuse the opposition. But no I haven't seen him play on the right wing. I agree it would make sense but perhaps we don't have a left footed midfielder and he is the best of the right footed ones????
Great to see Sears pace but we desperately need for some of our players to spend this week on a rack to make them taller. We look the shortest arsed team in the prem at the moment!!!!
I hope we have Parker back for Wolves (ok more than hope – I am praying on bended knees). I also hope that Cole is back in the next couple of weeks. I would go with him and Franco up front once they are fit and well. 4-3-1-2 with Diamanti just behind in the centre. I know it isn't 4-4-2 but do you agree?
Happy new year to you kim,I think Franco's a good player,but I don't think his the greatest partner for cole,I would agree Diamanti's best position is tucked behind the striker,I would go with Cole Sears/hines and Diamanti behind.
Always like Freddie, always worn his claret & blue heart on his sleeve and think he could benefit working alongside CC, I'm hoping that when he gets one he'll get a hat full but not sure
Players like Stanislas, Tomkins, Deprela, Sears and Nouble are only getting a game because our squad is so thin.
These lads 'should' be given more time to develop, as a relegation scrap is too much pressure for them. We have sold reasonable squad team players to reduce the wage bill but they have not been replaced.
We do have a good core of Green, Upson, Parker, Behrami and Cole but outside these the rest are not Premier standard with the exception of Collison who I rate very highly. But agian, he should be used now and again so he dosn't 'burn out'.
If we don't buy 3-4 players of genuine quality in the window we will loose the 'core' players mentioned above in the summer and who knows where we could end up.
I really fear for the club at the moment, we really need a cash injection, and soon.
Would love to be optimistic but this is West Ham after all !!!
OLAS will reply here as its getting a little cramped to keep posting under the same heading.
Firstly there is not now nor (barring dire unforseen circumstance) a chance of us going into administration. Our debts are around half our turnover which is amongst the lowest in the Premier League. Liverpool & ManU have debts roughly 3 to 4 times their turnover and no one is pointing them towards administration.
Secondly BG didnt buy WestHam because he wanted to get on the next series of Celebrity Big Brother! He bought the club because he has a deep and abiding love of the game. He played at a semi professional level in his youth and the chance to own WestHam was one he took because in his knowledge for the game he recognise a great club that could be brought to the heights it deserved. His spending on players under curbs shows he didnt buy the club to make money out of it!
As for WestHam being Straumur's most valuable asset, it is. I dont mean in a strictly dollars and pounds sense but in the last 10years the single most important indicator of economic development/decline/improvement has become the consumer confidence forcast. Traditionally it was the US Non Farmer Worker Pay figures, interest rates, consumer price index. inflaction and a host of other (and honestly much more important) figures.
However the shift in how we live our lives and the instant reactionary response between markets (which consumers dont really understand) and the general public (which the markets cant predict) has become the single most important driving force in the world economy. The biggest cause of the depth of the current economic recession is the publics refusal to admit the possibility of a problem whereby through sheer force of will the carried a boom cycle 3years past its natural life span, forcing things higher so they could fall faster and further than ever before.
So how does this effect WestHam? Well Straumur took a battering in the value of its asset books (although I still maintain that their nationalisation was politically motivated and not financially necessary) which caused its investors and creditors to panic. Now all banks have creditors, normally in the form of bond holders so newspaper stories banging on about Straumurs creditors like they are the only ones in the world to owe people money are simply designed to illict panic and sell papers. NatWest may as well start handing out Kung Po chicken with every new account so deeply in debt to the Chinese. The nationalisation of Straumur legally protected them from creditors calling in loans but realistically Straumur could have reached agreement with these creditors without the need for court protection which actually hamstrung their ability to renegiotate the terms and amounts of these bonds/debts.
This meant they had to deal with their creditors/investors en masse which meant drawing up the rationalisation plan which had to be agreed upon by all parties. Key to this was instilling the belief that Straumur were still equipped to protect the assets they owned and the value of the shares these people were swapping their debts for. Virtually none of these creditors has a view of the entire spectrum of Straumurs assets, but they can all see WestHam. They are on the tv, in the papers, on the web, they are the trophy asset of the whole organisation and their fortunes impact on the conciousness of the investors.
All it takes is for a small number of these investors/shareholders to become concerned by Straumurs inability to protect a trophy asset like WestHam to spark a panic and ruin the progress (impressive though it has been) of the banks rationalisation plan. I dont mean to sound flippant or glib but its much harder to stop a flock of sheep from panicing than it is to stop an individual sheep from panicing. The moratorium means that Straumur has to keep all of the people happy all of the time and WestHam is key to doing that.
Hope that makes things clearer.
Actually CH it makes my head hurt lots. I do logistics in the live events industry for a living and have a single layered way of looking at things…… As you are obviously a banker/trader/financial bod of sorts – can I ask you a question which is totally not related to the hammers?
I totally believe that the problems we have as a nation at the moment could have been averted if the original problem with Northern Rock was sorted internally – ie. if the main clearing banks had not been keen to get rid of the new kid on the block. If the government had got involved at that point and told the banks to lend each other money and then off-load toxic debts from overseas I believe we would have been able to sort out our high street banks without having to fund them to this ridiculous degree.
Am I correct or just very naive?
In a large part Kimse you are bang on but then there are so many simple actions that could have been taken which would have prevented this mess that it beggers belief.
To be honest I envy your ability to look at a problem from a single angle, unfortunately with me it has to go considerably deeper. People have a habit of asking me why sub prime lending was invented a few years ago an by the time I explain that it was the community housing act introduced by the Carter administration in the US some 30years ago which precipitated the handing out of subprime mortgages they have usually fallen asleep!
As for Norhtern Rock if the government had stepped in at the very start, siezed control of the bank, even on a temporary basis, issued a goverment guarantee that all deposits were secure and began a managed and staged winding down of the bank then I believe the credit crunch in the UK would be far less damaging than it has turned out to be. Northern Rock had to be allowed to fail, but in a manner that didnt hurt its depositors, even now its existence undermines confidence in the british governments ability to properly regulate and control its banking sector.
Just seen that both of us are reluctant to return to work after the break and have defended our Z Man on another site.
I disagree about the government seizing control of NR. The main banks (clearing as they were known only a couple of years ago) should have played the game and then given NR a severe slap. The main high street banks have not suffered as they should in my opinion and they haven't learnt a lesson at all.
I never work the first couple of weeks of the year, sometimes not until feb. As for Northern Rock they should have been allowed to fail. The bank was run with criminal abandon and by any standards was never going to recover from the failed risks it had taken.
You only need to look at the recovery in the US to see what benefit can be had from allowing a bank or two to go bust if only to bring the rest into line.
The good thing about our club is that we have so many legends we would have to own an octagonal ground. Still – what a problem to have!
[...] Trying To Tell Us Something, Tony? « West Ham Till I DieI stand by my words that absoloutely nothing will happen tommorow regarding a bid. Skysports will have nothing to report and all our hopes will be dampened as usual. We are West Ham fans, GOOD THINGS DO NOT HAPPEN! … [...]
Jiminez……….my god what did we do to deserve this lazy, clueless plodder….if there isnt a more ambitious, hungry, willing youngster within the club who would at least LOOK like he's involved and enjoying it, then boy are we in trouble!! His contribution against The Ars was woeful..just off to look at his OPTA stats which will just confirm all I need to know!! I mean, fair enough, if you ARE having a bad time of it at least RUN and TACKLE and BLOCK and CHALLENGE and get about the pitch….right, feel much better now for getting that off me chest!!