Clarification from Paul Barber on Dick Knight Selling his shares

[symyjym]

I couldn't agree more, for that reason plus countless others DK's position as an Albion great should never be questioned.
Making this episode, at best, somewhat cheap.

But that's not the point you made Saving "the Albion could have been a Bloom family initiative but only DK stepped up to the plate".
Saying that is very easy, about a time when there was very little to save.
The fact that DK did step up has to make you doubt his sanity!!.
Calling out the Bloom family for not being that stupid with their money is a bit s***.

What part of my sentence is incorrect? and I am not calling the Bloom family out on anything.

 

[ROSM]

And me

If you can judge a man by the company he keeps......

 

[Buzzer]

If you can judge a man by the company he keeps......

Kapow! That's a cracking reply, sir.

 

[El Presidente]

"Raising concerns" is a very long way from having any influence.

Owning one share out of 64 million is also a long way from having any influence.

 

[Monkey Man]

I may be mis-remembering but I seem to recall Dick Knight being questioned, when he was chairman, about the lack of available funds from the existing directors.

I'm pretty sure he said that he would gladly step aside if someone with more money (and presumably the club's best interests at heart) emerged. That person turned out to be Tony Bloom, whose credentials as a new owner and chairman really couldn't have been better. So it was a great move. Nobody seemed to kick up any fuss about the club being owned by one person at the time, because of who that person is. If it was Sheikh Yamani or the owner of the Milwaukee Meerkats, we would have rightly asked some questions.

It's just a shame that someone as important in the Albion's history as Dick Knight is using his book launch as a way of embarrassing Tony Bloom and dividing fans. It reminds me of the bitterness of Margaret Thatcher when she left office.

 

[El Presidente]

Correct me if I am wrong; the Goldstone Groundsite was sold twice in a matter of months, originally for £9m and then a few months later changed hands again for £18m?

I thought the second sale was for far more than £18m?

 

[Creaky]

The point is that spreading a tiny number of shares across 1000s of fans is not going to make any difference whatsoever. The fans forums already provide this service.

True, although it could quite easily have been the case that the club was sold to someone who didn't have a clue what was needed.

Meanwhile, this flimsy argument of yours that things are easily said in hindsight needs debunking. The Bloom's have been part of the Albion for 3 generations. Quite what Bloom was going to "learn" from somebody who ran the club as a bit of an old boys club, when it haemorrhaged money for over a decade and failed to deliver a stadium under his own business model, really does baffle me.

Slightly contradictory there - as you say the Bloom's had been part of the Albion for 3 generations and seen it get to the point where it was on the point of extinction - is that a recommendation

 

[El Presidente]

It's just a shame that someone as important in the Albion's history as Dick Knight is using his book launch as a way of embarrassing Tony Bloom and dividing fans.

Does DK say anything negative about Tony Bloom in the book though?

 

[Buzzer]

I thought the second sale was for far more than £18m?

£24M wasn't it? I'd love to know if Bellotti or Archer or a controlled company received a 'consultancy' fee in the second sale. Is it libellous to say that I would put money on them having something from that second sale?

 

[Gritt23]

It's just a shame that someone as important in the Albion's history as Dick Knight is using his book launch as a way of embarrassing Tony Bloom and dividing fans.

I don't think it's dividing the fans. Two people we love, to whom we owe a lot, do not see things the same way. If Uncle Dick is saying "don't just let this whipper-snapper forget how important a part the fans play at this club" then they are just words of concern from a caring man who has seen some very dark days at this club.

 

[Creaky]

Does DK say anything negative about Tony Bloom in the book though?

Not that I have read so far - quite the reverse up to the point I'm at.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

I don't think it's dividing the fans. Two people we love, to whom we owe a lot, do not see things the same way. If Uncle Dick is saying "don't just let this whipper-snapper forget how important a part the fans play at this club" then they are just words of concern from a caring man who has seen some very dark days at this club.

I don't think it is dividing the fans either. DK is just telling it like he sees it. There is not enough of that. It is no big deal - and DK gets a few more book sales out of it. TB is a big lad and can handle it. I doubt the club hierachy are losing any sleep over it.

And we all want to know what happens behind the scenes - so where is the drama ?

 

[Goldstone1976]

Does DK say anything negative about Tony Bloom in the book though?

My copy has now arrived. On a quick flick only, there is criticism of the way TB dealt with DK, but not what he was trying to achieve by putting the money in.

e.g. 'Tony...said, "I don't need to do that. I'm going to run the club in a very different way from the way you have. I don't think I need your advice" '.

But also, 'He [Tony] was certainly far better qualified to become my successor than, even say, David Gold - than virtually anyone in fact. But it was the way he was going about it.'

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

'Tony...said, "I don't need to do that. I'm going to run the club in a very different way from the way you have. I don't think I need your advice" '.

And you can't argue with that. Well you can if you want, but he who pays the piper and all that.

 

[Stat Brother]

What part of my sentence is incorrect? and I am not calling the Bloom family out on anything.

It seems to me, you are saying the Blooms could have 'saved' the Albion after Archer, but choose not too.

To which I'm saying 'its not your money for you to spend'.

I apologise if I've misunderstood your sentiment.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

TB is a big lad

Tony Bloom...?

 

[Goldstone1976]

Tony Bloom...?

..

 

[symyjym]

It seems to me, you are saying the Blooms could have 'saved' the Albion after Archer, but choose not too.

To which I'm saying 'its not your money for you to spend'.

I apologise if I've misunderstood your sentiment.

I'm not even saying that. Ray Bloom could have initiated a consortium, but at the time it was left to Liam Brady who brought in DK, who then invited Ray Bloom to sit on the board again.

 

[symyjym]

£24M wasn't it? I'd love to know if Bellotti or Archer or a controlled company received a 'consultancy' fee in the second sale. Is it libellous to say that I would put money on them having something from that second sale?

I think he sold it to his own company first to cover the debt and then sold it on with a massive mark up. I could be wrong, but that is how I vaguely remember it.

 

[Peter Grummit]

The point is that spreading a tiny number of shares across 1000s of fans is not going to make any difference whatsoever. The fans forums already provide this service.

Meanwhile, this flimsy argument of yours that things are easily said in hindsight needs debunking. The Bloom's have been part of the Albion for 3 generations. Quite what Bloom was going to "learn" from somebody who ran the club as a bit of an old boys club, when it haemorrhaged money for over a decade and failed to deliver a stadium under his own business model, really does baffle me.

I for one am in favour of fans owning nominal shares because it gives a formal position to those who wish to hold the Club accountable to their most important stakeholders ie the fans. This is a perfectly healthy, democratic process that most firms and third sector entities are comfortable with. It is not about the number of shares or their value (which bean counters here are inevitably obsessed with). Given the history here, and the quasi-monopoly position any football club has over its supporters, it is the least we should expect.


The 2nd paragraph above is one view of history. My memory recalls it from a different angle. Knight, Perry, Chapman and Pinnock kept the Club afloat through the most impossible financial straitjacket that was Withdean and the need to fund an extortionate Planning campaign. How they persuaded people like Norman Cook to pay £1m for a parking space to keep the Club going. The imaginative wheeling and dealing and campaigning that delivered 3 promotions against the odds and (finally) the Stadium permission.

It is absolutely true that without Tony Bloom's money the Stadium would not have been built, at least not to the same superb spec. And we are all in his debt for this. But his timing was that of the Lizard who knew when to move, and it was 10 years after he was following the Albion from the back of away Director's boxes spending the whole 90 minutes gambling on his phone. It is too simple to say he let Knight et al do all the hard work. My take is just that it is less black and white than most on here portray it. As ever.

PG