3 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

I'm surprised at the hostility to the Ratcliffe bid in this thread ... if he's serious, then surely it's a pretty good scenario to have an owner that just wants to be the best, without needing a "return on investment" ?

Agreed, I'm pro-Ratcliffe bid. American investment in European football pretty much lead us to the non-relegation super league and people wanting massive profits out of "franchises" 

26 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

I'm surprised at the hostility to the Ratcliffe bid in this thread ... if he's serious, then surely it's a pretty good scenario to have an owner that just wants to be the best, without needing a "return on investment" ?

Exactly, some blinded fools in here, he stated I make my money other ways, I reckon he’d go full Roman 04, just to show he can….

Edited May 3, 20224 yr by Ballack & Blu

4 minutes ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Exactly, some blinded fools in here, he stated I make my money other ways, I reckon he’d go full Roman 04, just to say he can….

He`s maybe not American enough.

58 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

I'm surprised at the hostility to the Ratcliffe bid in this thread ... if he's serious, then surely it's a pretty good scenario to have an owner that just wants to be the best, without needing a "return on investment" ?

I don't really care at this point but when I saw this:

Wanting the club to be held in the same regard as Real Madrid is a really nice thing to say but it's also a bit naive and it's like a populist saying. Snake oil of promising castles and rainbows to me. Again I got no preference but the other guys don't sound to be so high in the sky with their statements.

Edited May 3, 20224 yr by Gol15

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

I'm surprised at the hostility to the Ratcliffe bid in this thread ... if he's serious, then surely it's a pretty good scenario to have an owner that just wants to be the best, without needing a "return on investment" ?

It's the way he's done it. If he had followed the correct procedure like the other bidders, maybe he would have been welcomed with open arms. But all this is just causing disruption which we do not need.

1 hour ago, dkw said:

If he had wanted PR he would have been involved in the whole process for months rather than just a few days.

Why are you calling him a Rat?

As I said, it's the way he's gone about it.

Why wait until 2 weeks after the final bids deadline?

Edited May 3, 20224 yr by SW6Blue

1 minute ago, SW6Blue said:

As I said, it's the way he's gone about it.

And that makes him a Rat because? Circumstances change, maybe he couldnt bid then and can now, maybe he was working to try and get a bid in but couldnt. Non e of these things make him a Rat.

As someone who was suspicious of American owners from the start, if Ratcliffe had gone through the same process as every other potential owner I would have 100% backed him. However, the fact that he waited for the preferred bidder to be announced shows his true colours. I'd rather take a Clearlake-funded consortium over someone who thinks he's above the law.

1 minute ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

As someone who was suspicious of American owners from the start, if Ratcliffe had gone through the same process as every other potential owner I would have 100% backed him. However, the fact that he waited for the preferred bidder to be announced shows his true colours. I'd rather take a Clearlake-funded consortium over someone who thinks he's above the law.

Exactly

I'm not against Ratcliff, in fact, I think that if what he's said was to be true then it is the best bid. However, I am cautious regarding the way he's done it. He's put together a bid out of the deadline, with probably little detail regarding his plans, no information as to how he's going to let Nice go, and has not gone through the PL vetting system. On the other hand, if he had not provided all the information his bid would have been dismissed by now, surely. So I'm sitting on the fence as we've got no information regarding the process and it is just all speculation.

Trust in Roman to make the right call for our clubs future, all we can do.

Well, he's not giving up anyway.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/may/03/jim-ratcliffe-talks-chelsea-fan-groups-todd-boely-buy-club-abramovich

11 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

As someone who was suspicious of American owners from the start, if Ratcliffe had gone through the same process as every other potential owner I would have 100% backed him. However, the fact that he waited for the preferred bidder to be announced shows his true colours. I'd rather take a Clearlake-funded consortium over someone who thinks he's above the law.

And thats fair, but none of that makes him a Rat as someone called him.

Reading his reasoning for not bidding initially it was all round the stadium costs and time period, so it seems something has changed that has convinced him to bid for the club. 

Edited May 3, 20224 yr by dkw

7 minutes ago, dkw said:

And thats fair, but none of that makes him a Rat as someone called him.

 

Isn't being a Man U fan reason enough? 😁

22 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

As someone who was suspicious of American owners from the start, if Ratcliffe had gone through the same process as every other potential owner I would have 100% backed him. However, the fact that he waited for the preferred bidder to be announced shows his true colours. I'd rather take a Clearlake-funded consortium over someone who thinks he's above the law.

Is there a law for keeping his bid quiet? Ive now seen a few on here claim its not serious but reading into things he has been in the process the whole time just lied to the media then put a late bid in etc

To all of the people here pro-Ratcliffe, while he’s saying the right things I just can’t get behind it now that I’ve thought about it. An eccentric Man Utd supporting billionaire coming late with a disorganised bid to buy the club has red flags written all over it. One of the very few positives of new ownership under the Boehly group was they’re proven in creating a stable and well run sport franchise, far too many unknowns around Ratcliffe and the chaotic circumstances around the bid does nothing to reassure me that this isn’t how he’d run the club.

3 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

To all of the people here pro-Ratcliffe, while he’s saying the right things I just can’t get behind it now that I’ve thought about it. An eccentric Man Utd supporting billionaire coming late with a disorganised bid to buy the club has red flags written all over it. One of the very few positives of new ownership under the Boehly group was they’re proven in creating a stable and well run sport franchise, far too many unknowns around Ratcliffe and the chaotic circumstances around the bid does nothing to reassure me that this isn’t how he’d run the club.

Not really sure how you've come to the conclusion that a Ratcliffe-owned club would be chaotic? He is a self-made billionaire, hailing from very poor beginnings, the one thing we can assume is his business acumen. Not sure why he left it so late with his bid, only he will know. My guess is his bid will now fail but he has given notice that he is in the market now for a Premier League club, maybe Spuds as Joe Lewis is clocking on a bit? As it is we appear to be getting good owners but rest assured investment companies are not in the business of buying a football club to do anything but increase their own wealth. 

Possibly a case of wanting to deal with the organ grinder rather than the monkey ?

Billionaires are wired differently and seem to walk more to the beat of their own drum rather than someone else's ... Roman included !

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it turned out Roman quite likes how Ratcliffe has gone about this ... 

In house terms, it's like trying to do a deal with the owner directly, rather than going through the "normal process" via an estate agent etc etc.

20 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

To all of the people here pro-Ratcliffe, while he’s saying the right things I just can’t get behind it now that I’ve thought about it. An eccentric Man Utd supporting billionaire coming late with a disorganised bid to buy the club has red flags written all over it. One of the very few positives of new ownership under the Boehly group was they’re proven in creating a stable and well run sport franchise, far too many unknowns around Ratcliffe and the chaotic circumstances around the bid does nothing to reassure me that this isn’t how he’d run the club.

We're not a sports franchise that word makes me shudder lol

Nothing chaotic about a late bid, Always happens with a hot potato and there was rumours of unknown bidders, American bank making out a consortium of Americans is the best bid which was one of the first bids makes it seem a bit meh

If you read up youll see that other bidders are waiting in the wings and a lot of it is to do with the gov so ratcliffe coming in late would just delay stuff a tad longer if at all and he has spoken to loads of club seniors

They are all also being made to sign binding docs as to spending which would put any owner into court for ages if not fulfilled, After all a bidding war is good for the Ukrainian gov and our gov regardless as more money to the victims etc

35 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

To all of the people here pro-Ratcliffe, while he’s saying the right things I just can’t get behind it now that I’ve thought about it. An eccentric Man Utd supporting billionaire coming late with a disorganised bid to buy the club has red flags written all over it. One of the very few positives of new ownership under the Boehly group was they’re proven in creating a stable and well run sport franchise, far too many unknowns around Ratcliffe and the chaotic circumstances around the bid does nothing to reassure me that this isn’t how he’d run the club.

Why is it disorganised and chaotic? So youve seen the bid documents?

Sir Jim has been meeting with supporters groups to quel their fears about his offer. Apparently the largest concerns are that he skipped the due process every other bidder went through, making his bid and plans an unknown, as well as how this might affect the time frame a deal needs to be done by with PL and government approval needed.

Apparently their is a real risk that, if we go past May 31st without a sale, the club will be placed in to administration and therefore deducted points for next season.

The Clearlake-Bohely bid have until the end of the week to provide all they need to provide to complete the takeover or rival bidders come more to the forefront. They now have to convince Roman they are the right new owners for his club and pass the PL and government approval tests.

Edited May 3, 20224 yr by axman2526

8 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Sir Jim has been meeting with supporters groups to quel their fears about his offer. Apparently the largest concerns are that he skipped the due process every other bidder went through, making his bid and plans an unknown, as well as how this might affect the time frame a deal needs to be done by with PL and government approval needed.

Apparently their is a real risk that, if we go past May 31st without a sale, the club will be placed in to administration and therefore deducted points for next season.

The Clearlake-Bohely bid have until the end of the week to provide all they need to provide to complete the takeover or rival bidders come more to the forefront. They now have to convince Roman they are the right new owners for his club and pass the PL and government approval tests.

I reckon the club wont go into admin as that will be bad optics for the gov so most likely they greenlight the nicely presented bid but like others have said the british ownership factor will also get boris's attention

Would be nice to hear from raine/roman soon for some clarity

13 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

Possibly a case of wanting to deal with the organ grinder rather than the monkey ?

Billionaires are wired differently and seem to walk more to the beat of their own drum rather than someone else's ... Roman included !

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it turned out Roman quite likes how Ratcliffe has gone about this ... 

In house terms, it's like trying to do a deal with the owner directly, rather than going through the "normal process" via an estate agent etc etc.

 

5 minutes ago, dkw said:

Why is it disorganised and chaotic? So youve seen the bid documents?

 

13 minutes ago, Kantesmini said:

We're not a sports franchise that word makes me shudder lol

Nothing chaotic about a late bid, Always happens with a hot potato and there was rumours of unknown bidders, American bank making out a consortium of Americans is the best bid which was one of the first bids makes it seem a bit meh

If you read up youll see that other bidders are waiting in the wings and a lot of it is to do with the gov so ratcliffe coming in late would just delay stuff a tad longer if at all and he has spoken to loads of club seniors

They are all also being made to sign binding docs as to spending which would put any owner into court for ages if not fulfilled, After all a bidding war is good for the Ukrainian gov and our gov regardless as more money to the victims etc

A late bid is fine but it becomes chaotic when it’s been done THIS late and bypassing the proper procedures. Any delay in the sale could see us screwed, Ratcliffe isn’t stupid, he will have known that Raine had chosen Boehly when he spoke to Buck on Thursday. If he was truly serious he would have done this weeks ago, we were all aware of the date we need the sale to go through by and it was well publicised roughly when Raine would choose their preferred bidder.

If his bid was put in at the right time then I’d be happy for him to be the owner but the way he’s gone about it just seems a mess and isn’t in our best interests.

I just wish we knew what is going on.

Is the Ratcliffe bid actually being considered or is it Boehly all the way?

If it is solely down to Roman to decide, I trust him to make the right decision.

But do we even know for sure who is making that final decision?

I'm backing Todd, one of the main criteria for a successful bid was a history of running an already successful franchise. I'm not a baseball expert, but from the sounds of things him and his people are doing a good job with the dodgers.