Takeover talk

[wormley]

Here's a thought, the recent proposed takeover of Newcastle was played out in the media so why is the potential takeover of WH, if indeed it's happening, seemingly going under the media radar?

[EastVillageHammer]

It’s not happening. It never was.

We’re all in purgatory for a while longer.

[Iron81]

In my most humble opinion there is no takeover happening / in progress. I believe what has happened is there has been inquiries made to the club. The “price agreed in principle” was in all likelihood just G&S quoting their price point for a sale. A sale is unlikely to happen until 2023.
As mentioned by some on here already, there is simply no way a sale could be this close without it making the back pages!

[War Pony]

Your only 3 posts on this forum are to say its not happening.

[Georgee Paris]

Your only 3 posts on this forum are to say its not happening.

That’s kinda negative

[bitter-iron-ny]

Nobody really knows how good or bad an owner Cohen would be, he didn't have any control with the Mets, he only has an 8% share so no power.
He has and agreement to buy another 87% for $2.2B, but it hasn't been approved by the other owners yet.

Two major reasons he might not be approved:
1. He settled on Securities Fraud charges in 2013
2. His company is under investigation for allegations of widespread gender discrimination and sexual harrassment.

He may not be a middle-eastern dictator, but he's definitely not a good guy by all accounts.

You don't survive, let alone thrive, in his world if you're a good guy. He's bent some rules and paid the price. MLB will easily approve his purchase of the Mets. There are one, maybe two owners who will vote against him but there is no meaningful opposition. Current owners are in over their heads, despised and ridiculed by their fans for failing to invest in the team (sound familiar) and it is an embarrassing situation MLB is anxious to rectify. Steve Cohen would become the wealthiest owner in the League and as a fan is expected to spend freely on players in free agency. The only open question is whether Cohen can also purchase SNY, the regional sports network that began as a spin off of the Mets and has same current owners. If Cohen does acquire that as well I could see him being in the market for additional content but otherwise am surprised to hear his name linked with West Ham.

If I have a major concern about Jacobs it's that he spent very long stretches of his ownership pinching every penny, more than happy just to collect the money without making any real effort to win until more recent years. He's an owner I'd be worried about putting money into shopping, raising prices as high as the market will bear, and putting the bare minimum into players to safely survive.

I share these concerns. He's brought championships to the Bruins but many of their own fans hate him. He's a notoriously cheap b*stard who was one of the driving forces behind the multiple player lockouts that have plagued the NHL. Really an odd one to be connected with.

[sicknote]

Your only 3 posts on this forum are to say its not happening.

To be fair and I've a lot of respect for psycho and all of the other lads posting itk stuff, but my sources say it's not happening

[JohnSissonsWasMyHero]

I doubt it will progress, but questioning why the club makes the statement at all if a sale is going through?

According to the Daily Telegraph:-

And what happens when they might just promise to become a genuine threat to the established elite at any point co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold decide to sell the club? It won’t be an independent body who judges whether or not prospective new owners will be allowed in, it will be their rivals - those clubs who don’t want serious competition to extend beyond six.

That, to me, is a cogent reason for the current regime to oppose the proposals.

[davids cross]

Here's a thought, the recent proposed takeover of Newcastle was played out in the media so why is the potential takeover of WH, if indeed it's happening, seemingly going under the media radar?

As a rule, I'm more hopeful when it goes quiet.

Bit of a parodox really. Because you assume nothing is happening.

But I kind of feel that the very serious offers will be carried through quietly, especially early on. And the people involved are not in it for their 15 mins of glory in the press.

Like with anything, keep a steady realism. Really hoping for an uplifting takeover of the club but knowing it could come to nothing.

For me, I won't let any owner dictate my love of West Ham. My hatred of them won't infect any view on the players or managers, because they are not to blame for it. They are just pawns like the rest of us.

It's like you have to compartmentalize your affections for the club . And that's pretty sad really.

[Rays Rock]

. He's a notoriously cheap b*stard who was one of the driving forces behind the multiple player lockouts that have plagued the NHL. Really an odd one to be connected with.

Not at all, he sounds like the classic West Ham Utd owner to me.
I ask, Is it all really worth it ? Is it really worth desperately getting rid of one set of tight bastards for another set of richer tight bastards. Tight bastards don’t tend to spend anymore than any other tight bastards just because they’re richer !

If you’re right in the assumption that the people associated in the yank bid also have a chequered history of ownership, there is every chance that in 10 years time we will be discussing the same ownership issues as we are today.
If you also look at US ownership of Premier clubs, it isn’t actually a recipe that makes for a harmonious relationship with club fans. Yes, Liverpool fans are on cloud 9 at the moment due to the Fenway ownership, but how much of that is down to Klopp. But previously they had terrible American ownership that the fans couldn’t wait to get out of the door. Man Utd have gradually declined under American ownership, again much of that is down to losing a great football manager, but nothing they have done since has really arrested the decline. Others not really appreciating American ownership now or in the past are Arsenal, Aston Villa, Sunderland.
Just on that small case history, American ownership does not lend itself to a successful spend easy culture on or off of the pitch.
It possible that we all getting more excited about the prospect of getting rid of GSB rather than really worrying about their replacements. Sure, the new owners will promise anything the fans want to hear right now, but i wonder whether 10 years down the line we will look like Villa, Sunderland or Arsenal rather than the one off success story of Liverpool ??

[JohnSissonsWasMyHero]

It possible that we all getting more excited about the prospect of getting rid of GSB rather than really worrying about their replacements. Sure, the new owners will promise anything the fans want to hear right now, but i wonder whether 10 years down the line we will look like Villa, Sunderland or Arsenal rather than the one off success story of Liverpool ??

I'm not sufficiently interested in those clubs to know too much about the details of their ownership but at least Villa and Arsenal are showing some ambition beyond 16th place in the league, so, in one sense at least, f*** yeah, I'd very much like to look like them.

[Rays Rock]

I'm not sufficiently interested in those clubs to know too much about the details of their ownership but at least Villa and Arsenal are showing some ambition beyond 16th place in the league, so, in one sense at least, **** yeah, I'd very much like to look like them.

They are both naturally huge football clubs, so it wouldn’t take much of a sugar daddy to keep them in the top half of the table. However that feet alone is not anything other than mediocrity especially for Arsenals history. What neither are threatening to do is look nailed on champions league material year in year out.

[JohnSissonsWasMyHero]

They are both naturally huge football clubs, so it wouldn’t take much of a sugar daddy to keep them in the top half of the table. However that feet alone is not anything other than mediocrity especially for Arsenals history. What neither are threatening to do is look nailed on champions league material year in year out.

Fair comment Ray. The only point I'd make is that their prospects still definitely look far better than ours. We don't realistically even look like "nailed on" top ten finishers these days.

[woodford]

Fair comment Ray. The only point I'd make is that their prospects still definitely look far better than ours. We don't realistically even look like "nailed on" top ten finishers these days.

To be really blunt, i'd be a liar if i said we looked like nailed on top 17 finishers. Anyone else start the season without fear of impending doom ?

[YorksHammer]

Here's a thought, the recent proposed takeover of Newcastle was played out in the media so why is the potential takeover of WH, if indeed it's happening, seemingly going under the media radar?

Every proposed takeover of Newcastle gets a fair amount of column inches, it's happened so much now - every summer it feels like - and every time it's well reported. This summer got a lot of extra press because it became public that a bid had been accepted, then they had the issues which were with the Premier League, BeIN (or whichever sports broadcaster it was), and so on.

But, we've had some press reports on the initial round of bids, and the suggestion that it would go higher. A bit of silence since, for sure, but I wouldn't expect to see every single (relatively) minor move in a takeover reported in the papers. I would expect that if a bid was accepted by our lot, formally, then it would be public knowledge and pretty widely reported.

Which isn't to say there haven't been any positive moves in one direction or another since that initial set of reports around the first(?) bid, but that perhaps the bid isn't yet accepted in full - which might well tie in with the 'proof of funds' line we've heard from some outlets.

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

If it did happen and we were taken over, I do wonder how many fans would come back? I think the damage was done with the move and I think a lot of the club was killed off with it.

[Northbank Bar]

greatest cockney.

We at Hammers United will be looking at our members to provide us with a vision of what we see West Ham looking like.We must work with new owners to get as much back as we can,and as many supporters back as we can.We have to get back what we loved and lost.We must ensure the GSB **** show is never repeated.-A lot of work to be done but so so important.

[screech]

If it did happen and we were taken over, I do wonder how many fans would come back? I think the damage was done with the move and I think a lot of the club was killed off with it.

I would return, i would also go back to buying club merchandise for my son again
I have always supported the club and the team but this board i could never support and i haven't spent a single penny at the club for the last 3-4 years but if new owners were to come in i would give them my full support and return to the club..
As long as GSB are still there i won't be

[goa127]

I'm not ITK more a KFA but I can't believe this is anywhere near happening. Just because we want it so bad doesn't make it so, sadly

[Ozza]

If it did happen and we were taken over, I do wonder how many fans would come back? I think the damage was done with the move and I think a lot of the club was killed off with it.

I can only talk about myself, binned my ST after the move, however new owners bring a new belief of change. I hate the current lot with every piece of passion in my body, once their gone I will close the door on my abject dislike of everything that goes on at the club at the moment.

I've also promised a few on here a celebratory pint at a match when they've gone