true Scrufil! was listening to off the ball am earlier and from what I listened to Brendan Rodgers has high regard for Stephen Bradley and vice versa. they were discussing about Philip Quinns article earlier.
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I wouldn't say Rovers have a lot to fear from this were it true. Celtic are a very conservatively run club, have enormous cash reserves of £30m+ and have a very strong recent record on youth development (Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor & James Forrest all first XI picks). Most SPFL teams also contain Celtic players who never made the grade. There would be no harm in having access to Celtic's resources. Rovers are set up to develop youth and export it to the UK in any event.
Same kit sponsor ? FFS surely you have more than that ? Managers get on well ? Jesus wept. I "Get on well" with some sham fans, doubt it's a basis for a strategic alliance 😁
I mentioned LOI, with Home Farm and Shels as examples feel free to quote LOI examples that worked or quit bull****ting.
"All the obvious ones" 😁😁😁😁😁😁 hilarious, that would be a friendly and copying their strip so 😁
At the bottom of an Indo article on Gavin Bazunu yesterday >>> this;
Quote:
.......Meanwhile, Rovers sources have played down talk of any link-up between the Tallaght side and Celtic.
Reports indicated that the Scottish giants were looking to take a stake in Rovers but no such arrangement is expected to come to fruition.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soc...-37701358.html
Same as what Emmet Malone said a few days ago. The only way they could take a stake is if the members voted for it.
Media reports on the Dermot Desmond investment speculation
Quote:
Shamrock Rovers close to major investment deal with Desmond
Billionaire businessman believed to be ready to invest up to €3m in Dublin club
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soc...mond-1.3810317
https://www.balls.ie/football/shamro...estment-406613Quote:
Report: Celtic Owner Set For Major Shamrock Rovers Investment
https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soc...ing-3-14071173Quote:
Shamrock Rovers close to securing €3 million investment from Dermot Desmond - report
The Dublin club's board and Sydney-based Dubliner Ray Wilson will need to give the deal the green light
The obvious question is what’s in it for Desmond? Nobody invests €3m without getting something in return, even if that something is simply power of some degree.
As long as we don't lose control of the club happy days.
Would Desmond invest that type of money without control.?
I fear that goes with the territory!! Who would invest a significant amount of money not to take the major stake. So Wilson sells up, dilutes his stake or the fans have a big decision to make. This at face value indicates that the fans' ownership is not seen as a particular obstacle "The Dublin club's board and Sydney-based Dubliner Ray Wilson will need to give the deal the green light". Unless the board is seen as respresentitive of the members? They will be the biggest hurdle to overcome so a bit surprising it isnt mentioned more. Any real investment comes with baggage that fans dont like especially if there is significant pride in the fact that fans own the club. Interesting times!
Wilson got 50% for 1.5 million so hardly likely Desmond would fork out 3 million for less. That type of investment could stabilise shams for the next decade (if they don't **** it away). Would be interesting to see if investment is in shams or the player development side.
Certainly good to see someone of his stature consider investing in the League.
Man with pantomime waxed moustache enters stage right.What could go wrong?
Wilson doesn't have 50 % For 1.5million.
He has a lien against the shares until his loan is paid back. If the club pay him back via Dermot Desmond or whoever he is gone
So 1.5m of the 3m goes to Wilson? And then Wilson is gone and Desmond holds a lien against 50% of the club? Or does Wilson stay? And in that case what does DD get out of the deal? Does he also hold a lien and dilute Wilson’s 50% to 33%? I know I’m oversimplifying but trying to underatand how this might work... im a bit simple. As someone above says, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Ray can't sell his stake because it's contractually bound up in the loan which, assuming it's repaid, will see 25% returned to the members. He could presumably sell his other 25% but Desmond would hardly pay €3 million for that so it would have to be voted by the members.
Ray's share of the club has always been diluted by membership contributions. He had 25% originally when the club was taken over and that was diluted to, I think, around 7% by the time the loan was issued a couple of years back. Basically, the more the members paid in, the more shares were issued so the members held a greater share, so the money didn't go to Ray. I presume that's also the way his current shareholding works outside of the 25% that is ringfenced for the loan. I don't know Ray but I can't imagine he wants to leave as a shareholder either.
If Desmond came forward with a reasonable offer would the membership sell up, Or what would it take for the membership to sell? Is it absolutely no deal on a complete takeover or could Rovers fans cope with say 20% ownership? There were supposedly first option buy back for the previous owners as clauses in the Dundalk takeover if the club ever went up for sale again though obviously nobody knows if thats true for sure. Would such an arrangement turn heads at Tallaght. Also is there an impact on the lease agreement or do SDCC get some say? technically if they had a question mark over a new owner, for example, if there was a tax compliance issue, could they pull the plug on the lease. The value of the club must include the access to Tallaght Stadium in some way. Obviously I doubt this would be an actual issue I'm just curious on that tbh. Lots of questions for which there are likely few answers until things run their course. Would Wilson as such a ardent fan play ball even as it was suggested that his interests in the club go beyond his investment is another thing - he was present as being almost philantropic with the money he provided to Rovers.
I dont think 3 million would be significant enough money for fans to be willing to dilute ownership, 10 million might!? Its going to be very different either way than a loan scheme where shares were a type of collateral on the loans' timely repayment. On that does Wilson own those shares until the loan is payed back or is it that he would get those if the loan wasnt paid back on time? The difference is important in the decision making currently wouldnt it? I was skeptical on his motivations at the time especially when he added his own people to the board which would mean that what he said would go in the day to day running of the club at least. He then could have influenced things to how loan payments were going if he wanted to gain his % ownership. Over time and talking to Rovers fans I became less cynical so hence why i'm probably less cynical on this new development tbh.
We are a funny bunch in LoI circles, we all were screaming for serious outside investment for decades, no land grab jobs, or guys who didnt pay anything owed and blagged their way wheeling and dealing - just one person or company to take a proper punt on the league as there is potential and if it happened the floodgates would open for other clubs. We spoke about how it was an easy route to Europe and minimal money would go a long way compared to taking over a 4th tier Scottish or English League club and spend gazillions trying to oust the established order there. We sought the holy grail of European groups stages as it would set a club up indefinitely. Now we pour scorn on potential investment lol and some even rub their hands together waiting for investors to screw a club over, scoff at the prospect of fan ownership models being changed. Point the finger on how group stage money has been spent. Additional outside interest is met with skeptisim at best or putting pride in an ownership model before what could be an additional game changer imo (even with just the name of this particular investor getting involved in the game here and turning heads domestically - it would seriously upset GAA circles). Always looking for ulterior motives - Power having Waterford as a Swindon B team, Dundalk being bled of cash reserves and Peak6 will walk away any day, Desmond looking to get involved but he has to be trying to tie up young players for Celtic. The only motivation of them all is obviously to make more than they spend on their initial outlay and so far in the current era things havent been so shabby on the impact of new owners coming in to the league. Interest has grown as we had once hoped for but no we still are not that pleased about our niche not being so niche anymore lol
If Cork fans were offered investment like that that Dermot Desmond could give would it be a flat sling your hook after the Arkaga experience, even if it meant that taking some risk would kick on the club beyond what fans could do alone financially?
No one (unless they are fools) wants to see clubs in trouble but at the same time there are few that would want rival clubs making a success of real financial injection for obvious reasons. But this is all the type of scenario we wished for and Peak6 arguably broke ground and others are checking out to see what can be gained. Its got to a better situation than worse!!? Certainly this kind of interest would lead to a seachange in the credibility or perception of the league with the sporting public!?
Wait so there was a takeover to some extent. The 50% or whatever wasnt totally based on the loan and would be returned when it was paid. Wilson bought out a 25% stake and could keep it unless he sold on those shares eg back to the members? That's varies quite a bit to what some have argued to be the arrangement on here in the past and quite adamantly too - that when the loan was repayed the club would remain or return to a fully fan owned club!!?