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NSC's Most Stalked
In amungst The Sun's 7 page feature on tonights Champions League Final is a half page column on Tony Bloom
Most of the words you would have read before, but its funny to see us crop up in the nationals on the day of thebiggest club competition in The World, well Europe
Future's Bright for 'The Lizard' | The Sun |Sport|Football
Future's Bright for 'The Lizard'
IAN McGARRY - The Inside View
Published: Today
HIS poker rivals have nicknamed him 'The Lizard' because they say he has alligator blood.
It's a term used in pro circles for a player who is fearless in battle and ruthless with opponents.
So why is Tony Bloom gambling £80million on making Brighton & Hove Albion great again?
That's Brighton - the team which escaped relegation to League Two this term by the skin of their teeth.
A club whose homeless status has made them the nomads of the English game for the last 12 years, while fighting for planning permission to build a new stadium.
According to 39-year-old businessman Bloom, though, it's simple. This wasn't a decision. It was a calling.
He said: "Most business decisions I have made to date have been relatively unemotional.
"But this one is not done for business reasons. You don't put money into a football club or a football stadium if your primary goal is to make money.
"I've supported Brighton for over 30 years. My dad and my grandad supported Brighton before me.
"Without a new stadium there is every chance that Brighton might not exist in the near future and I could not allow that to happen.
"Putting the money up to secure a new stadium at Falmer guarantees the club's future.
"That is my legacy so that my children and grandchildren and those of all Brighton supporters will always have a football club in our city."
Bloom's assessment of what might happen is accurate and stark. A glance across the Football League is a bank manager's nightmare.
When a club like Southampton goes into administration, is anyone below the Premier League immune?
Thanks to Bloom, Brighton are - and nine days ago he converted existing loans into shares to become the majority shareholder.
He is putting up £80m as an interest-free loan to make the new stadium a reality.
For the club, battling against financial hardship and a bleak future at the Withdean, this is their Roman Abramovich moment.
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Yet Bloom said: "People like Mr Abramovich choose which club they want to buy and then support it - and you have to respect that.
"It's a lot simpler in my case. I wouldn't dream of putting my money into any other club except my football club... Brighton.
"Every real football fan has their passion for the game fashioned by their support for a team. Mine is Brighton. Always has been and always will be."
For Bloom, leading the Seagulls is picking up a torch his grand-father carried in the Seventies.
Harry Bloom was vice- chairman from 1971 to 1980 when the club appointed Brian Clough and Peter Taylor to manage the club.
Clough's stay was short but Taylor stuck around to help build a team. Alan Mullery then took up the reins to lead Brighton to promotion to the top flight in 1979.
The 1983 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United was to be the peak of their most successful period - but the club's fortunes have ebbed like the tide ever since.
As well as a fine poker player, Bloom has been very successful betting on sport over many years but this is, without doubt, the biggest punt he has ever taken.
Most of the words you would have read before, but its funny to see us crop up in the nationals on the day of thebiggest club competition in The World, well Europe
Future's Bright for 'The Lizard' | The Sun |Sport|Football
Future's Bright for 'The Lizard'
IAN McGARRY - The Inside View
Published: Today
HIS poker rivals have nicknamed him 'The Lizard' because they say he has alligator blood.
It's a term used in pro circles for a player who is fearless in battle and ruthless with opponents.
So why is Tony Bloom gambling £80million on making Brighton & Hove Albion great again?
That's Brighton - the team which escaped relegation to League Two this term by the skin of their teeth.
A club whose homeless status has made them the nomads of the English game for the last 12 years, while fighting for planning permission to build a new stadium.
According to 39-year-old businessman Bloom, though, it's simple. This wasn't a decision. It was a calling.
He said: "Most business decisions I have made to date have been relatively unemotional.
"But this one is not done for business reasons. You don't put money into a football club or a football stadium if your primary goal is to make money.
"I've supported Brighton for over 30 years. My dad and my grandad supported Brighton before me.
"Without a new stadium there is every chance that Brighton might not exist in the near future and I could not allow that to happen.
"Putting the money up to secure a new stadium at Falmer guarantees the club's future.
"That is my legacy so that my children and grandchildren and those of all Brighton supporters will always have a football club in our city."
Bloom's assessment of what might happen is accurate and stark. A glance across the Football League is a bank manager's nightmare.
When a club like Southampton goes into administration, is anyone below the Premier League immune?
Thanks to Bloom, Brighton are - and nine days ago he converted existing loans into shares to become the majority shareholder.
He is putting up £80m as an interest-free loan to make the new stadium a reality.
For the club, battling against financial hardship and a bleak future at the Withdean, this is their Roman Abramovich moment.
Advertisement
Yet Bloom said: "People like Mr Abramovich choose which club they want to buy and then support it - and you have to respect that.
"It's a lot simpler in my case. I wouldn't dream of putting my money into any other club except my football club... Brighton.
"Every real football fan has their passion for the game fashioned by their support for a team. Mine is Brighton. Always has been and always will be."
For Bloom, leading the Seagulls is picking up a torch his grand-father carried in the Seventies.
Harry Bloom was vice- chairman from 1971 to 1980 when the club appointed Brian Clough and Peter Taylor to manage the club.
Clough's stay was short but Taylor stuck around to help build a team. Alan Mullery then took up the reins to lead Brighton to promotion to the top flight in 1979.
The 1983 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United was to be the peak of their most successful period - but the club's fortunes have ebbed like the tide ever since.
As well as a fine poker player, Bloom has been very successful betting on sport over many years but this is, without doubt, the biggest punt he has ever taken.
