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Rumours of takeover/investment interest

eling-saint

By eling-saint,
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saintmonkey1979

saintmonkey1979

Posted
Posted
There are all the player sales, this is some slight evidence.

Not really the case though is it. The players play well, other clubs take note, scout them, court them and make an offer. We can't compete with silly wage offers or the chance of honours so the players leave. It would be very naive to assume that we try to sell our best players. All it proves is that we have players that other clubs with greater means want.

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doddisalegend

doddisalegend

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Posted
They're not all alike, you know. Not sure what's wrong with that interview anyway, besides his Twitter antics.

 

Except if you look around at football clubs owned by far eastern business men and you don't find to many good stories.

 

Here's just a few comments that me think err no thanks

 

For Chinese businessman Tony Xia, it didn’t matter whether he bought Aston Villa or Southampton, as long as he bought an English soccer team. mmm inspiring stuff

 

“Now that we have control of Villa, we will leverage this opportunity and use it to further our business in the sports industry.” notice the use of the word we/our not the club

 

In the narrow world of English football where loyalties are fierce and traditions passed down through folklore, Xia has also challenged what he calls soccer’s*cultural "rigidness.”*“Of all the industries I’ve operated in, soccer is the one most resistant to change," he said. there is a reason for that its called the fans other industries don't really have that

 

Typically chairman and owners of English teams steer clear of getting involved in on-field matters. Not Xia.*He’s a regular on Twitter, sometimes sending multiple messages a day to share his thoughts on player trading and the team’s performances. The plan is to one day help support President Xi’s dream of building a winning team. oh yeah a chairmen he uses twitter...no thanks

 

"Now I probably know much better than most when it comes to being a coach of a club, how to arrange training and match tactics," he said. "I’d like to figure out one day how to help Chinese soccer.” oh dear god the tracksuit chairman no thanks

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DuncanRG

DuncanRG

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Posted (edited)

Apologies, missed that last quote. Raises eyebrows for sure, but he's not the first owner to over-reach. I'm just not sure why we're especially sceptical of the Chinese.

 

As for far-eastern businessmen running English clubs, there are plenty of people in a certain Midlands city who will be pretty happy with theirs.

Edited by DuncanRG
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Cartman

Cartman

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Rather have a Far Eastern owner than an American. The latter almost always want to make big profits like in the NFL, MLB or NBA.

Far Eastern owners are more of a mixed bag, there are bad ones but there are also Leicester's owners.

The motivation to buy the club is more important, the best owners tend to want to use a club as a marketing vehicle to promote a much larger business they own (Leicester/King Power) or country they rule (Man City/Abu Dhabi & PSG/Qatar). Amer would likely fit the first definition, 5th largest private company in China, 190th largest company in the world, owned by the 9th richest man in China. In his case, he would have little motivation to use Saints to make a profit as it would be a drop in the ocean compared to his main business, but Saints do have something his company doesn't, global name recognition. In fact, he would have a greater motivation for Saints to be successful rather than profitable as it would increase the visibility of his main business.

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verlaine1979

verlaine1979

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Posted
Rather have a Far Eastern owner than an American. The latter almost always want to make big profits like in the NFL, MLB or NBA.

Far Eastern owners are more of a mixed bag, there are bad ones but there are also Leicester's owners.

The motivation to buy the club is more important, the best owners tend to want to use a club as a marketing vehicle to promote a much larger business they own (Leicester/King Power) or country they rule (Man City/Abu Dhabi & PSG/Qatar). Amer would likely fit the first definition, 5th largest private company in China, 190th largest company in the world, owned by the 9th richest man in China. In his case, he would have little motivation to use Saints to make a profit as it would be a drop in the ocean compared to his main business, but Saints do have something his company doesn't, global name recognition. In fact, he would have a greater motivation for Saints to be successful rather than profitable as it would increase the visibility of his main business.

 

The Premier League has global name recognition, but do we? Considering we've only just returned to having a nationally recognised shirt sponsor, I'd say we're some way away from being a significant marketing opportunity for global businesses. Smacks a bit of the obvious Pompey wind-up of 'we see the benefit in taking the brand global' from back in the day...

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Cartman

Cartman

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The Premier League has global name recognition, but do we? Considering we've only just returned to having a nationally recognised shirt sponsor, I'd say we're some way away from being a significant marketing opportunity for global businesses. Smacks a bit of the obvious Pompey wind-up of 'we see the benefit in taking the brand global' from back in the day...

 

We do, to some extent. Not all of our own making, but just by virtue of being one of the better clubs in the most popular league in the world. More importantly though, it can be increased further by competing regularly at the top end of this league, if a new owner was to feel that the greater media exposure would be of benefit to them and worth the investment.

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cellone

cellone

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I can't see what difference it makes in this day and age which country a prospective new owner/partner comes from. Our only concern is that they want a successful and well run club and that they have the where with all to maintain and improve on that.

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Mallagroth

Mallagroth

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We do, to some extent. Not all of our own making, but just by virtue of being one of the better clubs in the most popular league in the world. More importantly though, it can be increased further by competing regularly at the top end of this league, if a new owner was to feel that the greater media exposure would be of benefit to them and worth the investment.

 

Yes we do. Whether you like the reasons for our global name or not is besides the point. We are known as a club that a large number of transfers across the continent get associated with even if often made up. We are known to buy well so our name is used to add fake interest by agents. We are known to achieve great things despite our status, we are a small club but consistenly we turn up as the second card to your Man utd, Liverpools etc as a good fixture to cause drama because we can and often have since our return to the prem caused an upset. inaddition our academy leavers and prospects turn up interesting news articles whether they 'are' leaving, have left or intend to leave in global news forums that cover the footy news on the continent. Don't underestimate how well known this club now is. It may not be all for the reasons as fans we would wish but we are still a covetable club for businesses that want to increase their PR in the modern age of the football pyramid.

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eelpie

eelpie

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Posted
Rather have a Far Eastern owner than an American. The latter almost always want to make big profits like in the NFL, MLB or NBA.

Far Eastern owners are more of a mixed bag, there are bad ones but there are also Leicester's owners.

The motivation to buy the club is more important, the best owners tend to want to use a club as a marketing vehicle to promote a much larger business they own (Leicester/King Power) or country they rule (Man City/Abu Dhabi & PSG/Qatar). Amer would likely fit the first definition, 5th largest private company in China, 190th largest company in the world, owned by the 9th richest man in China. In his case, he would have little motivation to use Saints to make a profit as it would be a drop in the ocean compared to his main business, but Saints do have something his company doesn't, global name recognition. In fact, he would have a greater motivation for Saints to be successful rather than profitable as it would increase the visibility of his main business.

 

I worry that foreign owners use British clubs to launder dodgy money. Could this happen to us?

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Avenue_Saint

Avenue_Saint

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Posted
Rather have a Far Eastern owner than an American. The latter almost always want to make big profits like in the NFL, MLB or NBA.

Far Eastern owners are more of a mixed bag, there are bad ones but there are also Leicester's owners.

The motivation to buy the club is more important, the best owners tend to want to use a club as a marketing vehicle to promote a much larger business they own (Leicester/King Power) or country they rule (Man City/Abu Dhabi & PSG/Qatar). Amer would likely fit the first definition, 5th largest private company in China, 190th largest company in the world, owned by the 9th richest man in China. In his case, he would have little motivation to use Saints to make a profit as it would be a drop in the ocean compared to his main business, but Saints do have something his company doesn't, global name recognition. In fact, he would have a greater motivation for Saints to be successful rather than profitable as it would increase the visibility of his main business.

 

My thoughts too. Amer do look the most attractive of the options with what little knowledge we have so far

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verlaine1979

verlaine1979

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Yes we do. Whether you like the reasons for our global name or not is besides the point. We are known as a club that a large number of transfers across the continent get associated with even if often made up. We are known to buy well so our name is used to add fake interest by agents. We are known to achieve great things despite our status, we are a small club but consistenly we turn up as the second card to your Man utd, Liverpools etc as a good fixture to cause drama because we can and often have since our return to the prem caused an upset. inaddition our academy leavers and prospects turn up interesting news articles whether they 'are' leaving, have left or intend to leave in global news forums that cover the footy news on the continent. Don't underestimate how well known this club now is. It may not be all for the reasons as fans we would wish but we are still a covetable club for businesses that want to increase their PR in the modern age of the football pyramid.

 

All that's true, but you'd be hard pushed to build a global media campaign out of being known do to well out of transfers and occasionally upsetting much more famous clubs. Only a basic indicator, but the club have about 700k Twitter followers, which is still 100k less than the least successful side in the NFL last year (Cleveland Browns), a sport that has a comparatively tiny global following. Sure, if someone comes in and plows enough money in to get us competing for the top four that will change rapidly, as it did for Man City, but you can buy an awful lot of effective media for the billion pounds of upgrades that have been spent on the likes of City and PSG, so I'm not sure anyone other than a sovereign wealth fund or a football fanatic would bother.

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SKD

SKD

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Posted
Rather have a Far Eastern owner than an American. The latter almost always want to make big profits like in the NFL, MLB or NBA.

Far Eastern owners are more of a mixed bag, there are bad ones but there are also Leicester's owners.

The motivation to buy the club is more important, the best owners tend to want to use a club as a marketing vehicle to promote a much larger business they own (Leicester/King Power) or country they rule (Man City/Abu Dhabi & PSG/Qatar). Amer would likely fit the first definition, 5th largest private company in China, 190th largest company in the world, owned by the 9th richest man in China. In his case, he would have little motivation to use Saints to make a profit as it would be a drop in the ocean compared to his main business, but Saints do have something his company doesn't, global name recognition. In fact, he would have a greater motivation for Saints to be successful rather than profitable as it would increase the visibility of his main business.

 

I'm sold. Get them in ASAP.

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benjii

benjii

Posted
Posted
Rather have a Far Eastern owner than an American. The latter almost always want to make big profits like in the NFL, MLB or NBA.

Far Eastern owners are more of a mixed bag, there are bad ones but there are also Leicester's owners.

The motivation to buy the club is more important, the best owners tend to want to use a club as a marketing vehicle to promote a much larger business they own (Leicester/King Power) or country they rule (Man City/Abu Dhabi & PSG/Qatar). Amer would likely fit the first definition, 5th largest private company in China, 190th largest company in the world, owned by the 9th richest man in China. In his case, he would have little motivation to use Saints to make a profit as it would be a drop in the ocean compared to his main business, but Saints do have something his company doesn't, global name recognition. In fact, he would have a greater motivation for Saints to be successful rather than profitable as it would increase the visibility of his main business.

 

What's good about Leicester's owners?

 

They cheated FFP in the Championship and some how, via the biggest fluke ever, won the league on a shoestring.

 

They haven't done anything clever.

 

I'd sooner have a Yank than an Asian.

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Professor

Professor

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I was as grateful as anyone else for the rescue job by Marcus and Cortese but do I wish the same could have been done by English investors? That has to be a 'Yes'.

I worry that in the long run the use of what were once English football clubs to create the international football league that the Premier League has become will gradually erode the connection of clubs with their home town area. It would be interesting to know how many of the Saints' fans at Wembley lived or had lived, in Southampton or Hampshire, compared to Man U fans connections to Manchester. Ours a lot more, I think.

At one time, that game could have been seen as a contest between Hampshire's best against Lancashire's best but these days it could described as Swiss owners v American owners or Portuguese manager against French manager. There's no going back and I'm sure Ralph Kruger knows that to compete now, the club has to increase its commercial revenue in order to spend more on the team without contravening the FFP rules. I'm told that Brighton & Hove Albion are owned by a Brighton fan. In the past that was common, for example, Jack Hayward at Wolves, Jack Walker at Blackburn, Elton John at Watford and others. But those days have gone and if Brighton get to the Premier League, I wonder how long it will be before their ownership changes.

If China is the country where Southampton can raise its commercial income, then Chinese investment makes sense but let's not pretend this is English football.

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SW5 SAINT

SW5 SAINT

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Posted
I was as grateful as anyone else for the rescue job by Marcus and Cortese but do I wish the same could have been done by English investors? That has to be a 'Yes'.

I worry that in the long run the use of what were once English football clubs to create the international football league that the Premier League has become will gradually erode the connection of clubs with their home town area. It would be interesting to know how many of the Saints' fans at Wembley lived or had lived, in Southampton or Hampshire, compared to Man U fans connections to Manchester. Ours a lot more, I think.

At one time, that game could have been seen as a contest between Hampshire's best against Lancashire's best but these days it could described as Swiss owners v American owners or Portuguese manager against French manager. There's no going back and I'm sure Ralph Kruger knows that to compete now, the club has to increase its commercial revenue in order to spend more on the team without contravening the FFP rules. I'm told that Brighton & Hove Albion are owned by a Brighton fan. In the past that was common, for example, Jack Hayward at Wolves, Jack Walker at Blackburn, Elton John at Watford and others. But those days have gone and if Brighton get to the Premier League, I wonder how long it will be before their ownership changes.

If China is the country where Southampton can raise its commercial income, then Chinese investment makes sense but let's not pretend this is English football.

 

You make some very good points. But to to be honest in a professional game it was never representative of being Hampshires finest against Lancashires best. The best footballers are always going to be drawn to the richest football clubs in the world, wherever they are. Fans have always been another matter entirely, although sadly it would now seem even those who are wealthiest are drawn to the richest and most famous clubs.

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Depressed of Shirley

Depressed of Shirley

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Posted
All that's true, but you'd be hard pushed to build a global media campaign out of being known do to well out of transfers and occasionally upsetting much more famous clubs. Only a basic indicator, but the club have about 700k Twitter followers, which is still 100k less than the least successful side in the NFL last year (Cleveland Browns), a sport that has a comparatively tiny global following. Sure, if someone comes in and plows enough money in to get us competing for the top four that will change rapidly, as it did for Man City, but you can buy an awful lot of effective media for the billion pounds of upgrades that have been spent on the likes of City and PSG, so I'm not sure anyone other than a sovereign wealth fund or a football fanatic would bother.

 

Although the Cleveland Browns are the 47th biggest sports franchise in the world according to Forbes Magazine.

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Hyde and Seek

Hyde and Seek

Posted
Posted (edited)

As its a Private company, may not find out until the Confirmation Statement has been filed. In the meantime the 2016 accounts are due to be filed by the end of the month for the Group (St Mary's Football Group Limited) and its subsidiaries which include its main trading company Southampton Football Club Limited. The 2015 accounts were filed in October 2015 by the way.

Edited by Hyde and Seek
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dogger

dogger

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Posted
Caixin is probably the most respected financial news outlet in China. By Chinese standards, it counts as proper news.

 

I Think there was a report in the Financial Times 26th Feb about this so i would say its quite credible

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doddisalegend

doddisalegend

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If Lander have bought a stake I'm surprised the club and Lander haven't made an announcement you'd think they'd both want people to know?

 

Didn't Lander make announcement in China a couple of months back that prompted saints to release a statement saying no deal had been reached? Any chance the club statement didn't get back to China?

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