The Poolie Bunker

Is somebody taking the PISS


https://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/inte ... rd-update/

Who is going to partake in giving hard earned money to the club at this stage?!?!

Mite be one of here like.

Reading that, ..and talk of delay…might I suggest our departing El Supremo GET’s HIS FINGER OUT !!!!

He is also placing the CLUB in breach of contract on many fronts, Total Amateur

It smells like yet another ploy to get the secret shoppers to get THEIR fingers out. It's just another roll of dice from Raj in a game that he has previously played - and lost. Unfortunately in the real world it is no game - his tomfoolery has a direct impact on livelihoods, families and household budgets.

As you say Ploy to him, Reality to others.

Fans buy tickets takeover shockingly falls through and another year of Raj with the ever diminishing budget

Will Raj go?

Yes or No

I say Yes!

Surely all this uncertainty will put people off buying season tickets.

I’ve heard that some of the loyalist, hard core, dedicated Pools fans won’t be renewing their dodgy boxes on this news, sad times

No surprise really - wtf do Raj and the 'interim board' really expect in releasing a shoddy statement without considering the impact that the absence of any detail of the cloak and dagger takeover stuff that is allegedly going on in the background then expecting loyal, long serving fans to cough up hard earned cash?

I get the confidentiality stuff but surely some detail of the current position could be released to the fans rather than asking them to commit to something akin to this Scotch mist, smoke and mirror shite.

Where is our fans rep on the board…

Does this Pearson fella still live on Stockton Road?

At least we know Shelly Hammond was in the town yesterday, May be good news.

Well she can afford to pay off all the money Raj wants, get rid of him and the board and start Pools on a level footing.
Not much to ask is it!

Surely if someone is serious about taking over then what’s to stop them putting some money up front to keep things ticking over until it all goes through? Unless they are worried it won’t go through for whatever reasons of course!

When will this ever end but its happened to many clubs.

Maybe a pause till the future of the club is settled, only a fool would buy one now..

Trigger: I bought one.

..at least it’s not my money.

For that matter it's a mystery to me why none of the prospective owners has gone public. There's no way that it would be a breach of confidentiality in legal terms to put out a press release welcoming the interim board's statement and declaring an interest - without going into any details about the progress of negotiations.

That's what I thought too, if I didn't know that Raj was a much better person than having to resort to skulduggery then I would smell a rat.

That's what I thought too, if I didn't know that Raj was a much better person than having to resort to skulduggery then I would smell a rat.

Like about 14 months ago.
That went tits up big style.!

Surely Raj will give back the money from the club as per accounts that he paid for the plane lying idol at Tees airport. Also that part of the deal should be taking the useless staff Lee Rust, Rose Stoker and John Pearson non of which know anything about Running a Football club and making a profit in any area such as Hospitality.

There’s (according to all the club statements) 2 competing groups bidding to take over pools. If one pops their head above the parapet and says ‘I want to buy the club’, the bargaining position of the other gets much stronger. We know Raj hates people doing this, he referenced Stephen Paylor coming out on social media and saying he was part of the consortium last year multiple times as one of the reasons for him turning the offer down.
The fact there’s still 2 competing groups might also be why the prospective owners won’t cover the shortfall. Normally you see a period of exclusivity with a group to allow a deal to be completed but why would you put money in to cover the club when someone else might end up owning it

NDA's....Raj loves them.

Basically...you can't say FUCK ALL...and if you do the Takeover is off!!!
He's a power freak.
I wouldn't be surprised if he's still here in 6 years time and we are playing in the North East Football Combination League sponsored by Walton's Pet Shop...he STILL 'OWNS' a football club...and STILL increasing the DEBT to him....our Saviour...yeah right!!!

The prospective owners need to be made aware of the impact of a takeover being successfully completed. Whoever takes over the club - on the basis that all vestiges of Raj Singh are history and that none of the interim board members remain - will be warmly welcomed with open arms. There will be dancing in the streets, a full house against FGR, season ticket sales will go through the roof, especially if a positive retained list ensues - and even the grass will flourish at the Vic. Whoever you are, PLEASE get the proverbial ball over the proverbial line - you know you want to!

I don’t do dancing, not even in the street.

There's a statement in the last filed accounts at Companies House saying that Raj has committed to funding the club for 12 months from the date of signing the accounts. They were signed off on the 25th July 2024. Now I'd imagine that statement was to satisfy the NL, sponsors, and suppliers, etc in the main. So if he breaks his commitment on funding and damages those people I'd expect they'd be very wary of ever doing any business with him in any industry going forward.
So, it looks to me that he's cutting costs to save as much as he can without damaging his business credibility, and he wants ST holders to help him do it. Can't see many buying into this ruse myself.
We're about a month down the line and still 2 bidders? Why? I'd guess he's playing them off against each other to get the highest price hence the delay. He really needs to get off the pot choose a bidder and get on with it.
I'm guessing, but I reckon the bidders are playing hardball and have told him they're quite happy to buy the club from the Administrators, if he goes down that route, at a reduced price and hence Raj loses out financially. Two bidders is Raj's worst nightmare imo.
It took Raj 3 weeks to complete the takeover sothis could have been done by now, if there was goodwill and intent.
My ST renewal email will be directed directly to the bin. I'll renew once I'm assured of the status of the club for next season, or depending on the outcome not at all.

How bad are the club at these statements - own goal after own goal. After all Raj’s hysterics and messing about saying club is for sale for years, suddenly we’ve run out of time due to RAJ’s decisions, no-one else’s. It really saddens me looking at social media seeing a proportion of fans blaming each other when only one man has caused this.
The issue can be simplified though. Can the club tell us what date they are aiming to complete the takeover and what the alleged shortfall is. Are the club looking to cover a two week period say? With assurances I’m sure enough fans would buy season tickets to tide us over. At the moment we’re being asked to blindly throw money in a pot, so provide more information.

It’s only an opinion/guess but if the takeover really is only a couple of weeks off, I also can’t see a scenario where Raj pulls the plug. For a relatively small amount of money would he really walk away from a payout? A half-baked statement about season tickets just seems a try it on.

Don't buy a Season Ticket = Raj goes quicker, simple as that.

Why would anyone buy a ST at today's higher end NL price when we don't know what level we'll be playing at?

Exactly, if it goes badly we're bust, slightly better then a points deduction or he sells quickly ,which is in his power and doesn't use this ' Sword of Damacles ' approach. Otherwise it's potentially a league lower or a Phoenix club. Come on Raj do the right thing and you'll be a hero for saving us.

Not trying to dig you out here PTID, but you've defended the club to the hilt for years. If even you think this is stupidity you've got to hope most other people who favour the club will too and won't stump up the cash for a season ticket until he's gone.

especially after putting a gun to our heads by saying buy one to show prospective owners that we care. if only those running the club cared as much as the fans we,d be in a bloody good place now. anyone thinking of buying should inform the club that they,ll get there money the day the takeover is finalised.

It’s a straight choice.

Raj Singh pays until he sells/admin
You pay until he sells/admin

As it looks very clear that there is a problem with these two interested parties, if they ever existed, personally I’d be inclined to keep the money in my pocket until the future is clear.

Some excellent comments this morning.

this is why i differ from many fans. never bothered about club statements as they never seem positive for us and just wind us all up. only good news from them is no news.

You need to be careful if it goes down the admin route as all creditors need to be satisfied to agree a CVA to get out of admin.not only do you have Singh to worry about but also the people he bought off who you still owe money to I believe?
If either of them doesn’t agree to the CVA then you could find yourself in the same situation as us where the national league had rules that a club needed to agree a CVA in order to stay in their league structure. If that still applies then it’s a minimum of a double relegation for you.

I for one think that this is a genuine call for money.

The club must be in dire straits, RAJ is pulling his money out in 2 weeks and i don't suppose that he is gonna leave Pools with a golden handshake.
The clubs bills won't suddenly stop and Pools will have no income to pay them.
I'm fairly sure that if a deal could have been done then it would have been, surely nobody want this situation, there may be some non-disclosure agreements in place at the minute (common business practice).
If any money taken in from season ticket sales is to be ring-fenced as per the statement then Raj can't get his mits on it.
If this money can keep the wolves from the door and allow time to get a deal over the line then great.

I suppose it comes down to if you believe the statement or not.

If Raj told me the sky was blue


I'd pop outside to check

I think you're probably right BUT, the club haven't given much detail in the statement for fans to take hope from and believe them. They said in the previous statement we had 2 groups who hadn't deposited money as proof of funds, why can't they confirm how many groups they are in talks with + if any have now deposited proof of funds? There's no way an NDA works that they can confirm who hasn't deposited money but can't if they have. They haven't provided much clarity on if they expect a takeover to be completed shortly after etc. They're just hoping for fans blind faith, which isn't going to work for most people who can't afford to put money into a club that could just disappear if the club is wound up by Raj Singh.

I see it in simple terms…

You’re asking us to invest a lot of money into a business venture but you’re not prepared to give any information as you’ve allegedly tied it all up in NDA’s. Hmmm.. I wonder how that would do on Dragons Den?

We don't even know for sure who the 'interim board' are as nobody is putting their name to anything. Presumably it's Lennie Lawrence, John Pearson and Andy Steel (per the club website, that still says Raj Singh is chairman!).
It's beyond farcical - persons unknown negotiating with parties unknown over our club's future.
No-one even has the gumption to put their name to an appeal to fans to buy season tickets.

Not sure how we can avoid that by being more 'careful' if Singh gets his skates on and does what he says he will do re finding a buyer and engaging in good faith on a timely basis we will be ok--if he doesnt we are fucked no matter how much care we do or dont take !

The lack of accountability of the chairman has been a hallmark since the Hartley appointment--and as for the 'board' I dont think any of them are people who are taken seriously by a prospective buyer.

This interim board sham is absolute nonsense and purely provides a shield to Raj from getting direct pelters from the fanbase. It's all about Raj- always has been - to pretend he's going to let them negotiate anything on his behalf is ridiculous. Come on Raj- get it SOLD- so we can ALL move on!