No Administration and No TMH

So does that mean we are still £14 Million in debt?

If we enter administration - what will be achieved? I thought administration was for clubs who couldn't pay their debts - and we (aside from IOR) are debt free?

Sorry if I'm being naïve - but administration just seems the wrong route to take. IOR have suggested, by handing over to TMH, that they will happily walk away - so all we really need is someone to step in and take us over.

Fingers crossed, i didn't want that bastard Murrall anywhere near my club. It's time for Russ to do his fucking job properly and find a suitable buyer. One that isn't going to fuck us over and leave us in the hands of Tommy Agombar or whatever the fuck his name is. Football people my arse.

Someone who lives in Hereford told me about that bloke all I can say is look what happened to them

Difficult to see any kind of bright future for us now. I don't truly believe there is anyone out there genuinely interested and able to "buy" the club. This whole TMH debacle, if it turns out as suggested, should see the League Two CEO of the Year resign his position. Fans owned might be the only real option we have.

So can we start our sack the board.. Ken out protests again?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55610&p=705208#p705208

I knew something wasn't right about them the day they took over.

Honestly, I'd be surprised if we still have a club by next season. IOR tried to sell us to the first person who came along despite him being linked to all sorts of blokes who have been known for wrecking football clubs so obviously they don't give a fook.

Whats happened? Have I missed something?

Over to you Bob...

Surely it's a better story now for the Guardian (David Conn??) now if TMH just step aside. Hopefully he is still working on it as he has written some excellent articles about football finance

Why over to me. I've said nothing or next to nothing on the alleged takeover. We're in a state of limbo and until it goes one way or the other there's nothing I , or anyone else can really say. It's all speculation. The administration rumour is just that and as others have said thats been around for years. This is yet another thread on the "takeover", we've had admin, now we have announcement that no takeover will happen. I like others will just wait and see. I've said that as when IOR took over I was wary and was when TMH took over. I couldn't and can't work out why anyone would want a club that doesn't own its ground and was heading to non league. And why the players signed(even on loan) were rumoured to be on the radar of Murray before he was sacked. And why we keep getting told every Monday that we hope to have 2 players in before the next game, then nothing. All I'm intersted in is what happens on a matchday, then planning to spend more time with my grand daughters next season instead of away games. And a day trip to Calais after we've played Dover which will be hopefully on a Saturday and not a Tuesday.

Time for the fans to act. Hodcroft was willing to wipe the debt, unless this takeover was just a smokescreen for whatever reason. The club will never be in a better position to become fan owned.

Debt free, IOR permitting
A lot of players will be out of contract
New start in Conference, cheaper contracts for new players
At least one saleable asset in Duckworth
Council owned ground offers security
Plenty of examples of other clubs who have dropped and done exactly the same. York/Exeter/Cambridge

I think this is the only way forward. If we don't act soon we could end up becoming the next Darlo with blokes coming in to sell the remaining players who are worth anything, pocketing the money and leaving us in even more debt and an even worse position.

Is/will Duckworth be a saleable asset . He'll be 23 by summer (end of contract) and has he longer on his contract or can he walk.I think it the latter. And although under Bosman we may be entitled to something it won't be much as he hasn't come through our system. And still 8 days to end of window, he may be gone.

The club doesn't have any debt so of course it isn't the only option, far from it, for me it's a last resort if all else fails like the Darlo situation. The best way forward is to find someone fit and proper who wants to buy the club. One things for sure everyine knows it's for sale and everyone knows Hodcroft is willing to walk away. If these blokes aren't the real deal then this could be a lucky escape for the club, it could also show that Hodcroft genuinely has the clubs best interests at heart.

As for administration I fail to see how that is even on the cards thinking logically, it has been stated the club is debt free. Who are the creditors if we are to go into admin?

I concur

Genuine question. Are we debt free

We were 6 weeks ago. Now if TMH aren't in control and IOR still are is there now debt from wages etc.

No administration, no tmh and hopefully no Russ.

A smokescreen for pretending that they wanted to sell in order to try and make us think how lucky we are to have them and to make people think that there is no other option to their ownership and lack of investment? And to get them through the transfer window with no chew?

I can see why people are paranoid but you think they've managed to convince as outside party to play along with the 'takeover' and then make themselves look bad just so we can get through the transfer window without signing anyone?

That seems just a little far fetched.

I wonder when the Shearer picture will be back.

A smokescreen to distract fans from IORs lowest point at the club. Show us better the devil you know. Maybe even to throw this telegraph reporter off the scent.
Russ Green would surely have researched the potential investors before the word takeover went public? It took fans on here less than a few hours to discover the dodgy links. This guy HAS to go.

The "outside party" is, to date, one guy. Even I could afford to pay off one guy if it served a purpose.

Two actually, Russ Green is a named director is he not?

Now if Hodcroft and Green were going to hatch some dastardly masterplan then ride back into town to save the day surely the previous regime would completely remove itself from the club and the new owners. We were told this great new takeover was all Russ's work and IOR have wanted rid of the club for two years. If this is the culmination of two years looking for suitable new owners to take the club forward and all he found was these (as it seems) chancers then he looks really, really bad at his job. He's also made people like Jeff Stelling look like mugs. I don't think either would have been anywhere near the Vic for the last month.

All the evidence points towards IOR wanting out for the last two years and I believe that to be the case.

Hopefully that Boxing promoter guy will still be interested. (If he ever was in the first place)

A less far fetched theory to me, and it is all theory from all of us because as usual with this in we the fans actually know fuck all and are kept in the dark is that Russ can see where the club is heading under IOR and increasingly out of desperation he's jumped into bed with the first people who've shown any real interest.

Why would Hodcroft do this just to avoid signing players in January!? A month long silence normally does the trick.

If it was Kens idea as Ripper suggests then there is now certainly 0% chance the council would sell him the ground (Was probably 0% before like)

The council will sell anyone the ground if they meet the asking price, they aren't bothered about Pools. Remember they have already had a 'positive' meeting with Harris

When people called for IOR to go Ken Hodcroft said that they should be careful what they wished for. As long the financial terms were right and IOR could benefit from writing off the debt and possibly pocketing a bit of cash I reckon us having shite owners would suit Ken very nicely indeed. Bearing in mind that he was prepared to run the club into the ground because the council wouldn't give him the Vic he has got previous for meaning exactly what he said.

What he might not have bargained for is that they are so shite that they won't actually be allowed to take over.

This could be a problem for somebody who didn't want administrators looking at the books too carefully because the prime reason for the club's debt was 'administration costs' that were actually hefty wages for him and his mates. In those circumstances you'd be keen to keep things ticking over for as long as possible to help the deal go through. Of course, I'm not saying that this applies to IOR or Ken Hodcroft, it isn't possible to access any financial details so how could I?

Did Russ Green not attempt to get investors involved previously? Some rich Norwegian if memory serves me right that resulted in him leaving Pools and trying to buy Sheff Wed along with Turner. I might have imagined that but he did leave Pools for a time did he not?
Again I'm going from a terrible memory but I believe this Norwegian gadge was turned down by IOR and turned out to be a bit dodgy in the end.
If Peter Harris & Co do turn out to be how we all seem to expect now, Russ Green's track record with getting investors in doesn't read too well. Almost like a naive granny letting any old door to door salesman into her house.

http://www.givemesport.com/134520-hartl ... eaves-club

His record of getting investment as poor as he is looking out for himself as he wants to be involved in the new owners. Most new owners would take one look at his record here n want to sack him off.

Correct. They were trying to buy pools until Turner swayed them. Again, another instance of how fucking useless and unprofessional IOR have been at times. But hey, Russ must have been doing something magnificent behind the scenes for Ken to have him back...

Couldn't agree more with the last bit of that post either, sir.

But he has won CEO of the year so many times, how can this be possible?

Not nice to say as I think he is a decent man but if these rumours are true I don't think Russ Green's position at the club is tenable anymore.

Agree with that. Then again, if the TMH takeover does collapse and IOR are left looking for new investors, do they have anyone apart from Russ to do the work?

IOR want out and the fans want them out. That's the easy bit. Beyond that it's all uncertainty.

Kind of takes the legs from under from a fans' protest - unless the other forum that Chip has referred to is actually making headway in either identifying acceptable new investors or putting together concrete proposals for a fan-owned club - something that IOR might be prepared to entertain as part of their exit strategy.

Anything is better than waiting for the club to go bust and starting again from scratch like the Loid fans had to.

Well, if Ken Hodcroft ever sees Russ as part of the problem not part of the solution... being mucked about by the latest takeover that never was might just do it. Assuming it does finally fall through.

I dont think Hodcroft gives a shit either way to be honest.

Far too many people involved just looking out for themselves.

Which is precisely why his position at the club has become untenable.