Dick Knights shares, final chapter?

[AmexRuislip]

I might buy it if it is available on Kindle to read while I am on holiday

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...gital-text&field-keywords=dick knight mad man

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I'm not taking sides here because rows in the family make me sad but are you really suggesting that none of the 270 people who applied for shares would otherwise have bought the book? I would have thought that the people who applied for shares would have been among the book's likeliest buyers.

To express an interest in buying shares you had to cut off the triangle on the dust cover and remove a page at the back of the book which needed to be filled in. In hindsight to my post , how many fans purchased two copies , one to mutilate and another to keep as a mint copy ? You had to buy a physical copy of Madman , a kindle version didn't have the prerequisites to apply an expression of interest.

 

[Goldstone1976]

I'm very disappointed in the club for denying supporters this opportunity They haven't, or even making a public statement as to why they are denying it. Because it's a private matter between a shareholder who wishes to sell (DK) and a shareholder who wishes to buy (ANO). It would utterly inappropriate for the club to formally comment on it. Their role is to ensure that the rules contained in the Articles are followed, which is all I can see they have done

See earlier post for more detail.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

No-one, probably?

Not even the uberfans ?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

He certainly has done more for the club than TB has to date

Can't agree with that at all.

Dick stepped up as the figurehead and rescued the club (eventually) from the clutches of Archer, using a lot of fight and cunning, and a 'modest' sum of money (that he later felt entitled to recoup ). Much of the cash which subsequently kept the club afloat during the 'Knight years' was not his but came from other benefactors - notably the Bloom family.

TB on the other hand has put in £200 MILLION as unsecured loans (i.e. he's all but written it off) to fund a world class stadium and training ground, has assembled the best squad of players the club has ever had, and has firmly established the club as a contender at the highest level its played at in 30 years.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I bought the book, it was a cracking read, I love Dick Knight.

But...this "share offer" stunt was misguided. As others have said, the Mem & Arts clearly state that shares to be sold have to be done so at an open market rate, and naturally the bulk of any cost attached to ascertaining that rate should fall on the one seeking to gain by the sale, i.e. the seller. Rules are, after all, rules.

As Life President of the club I don't think he should have made this offer without the agreement of the Board Of Directors. Without that agreement there appears to be a rift and that's a shame given that both Knight and Bloom are held in such affection by the fans.

You just get the impression Knight is miffed that Bloom ousted him as chairman. He needs to get over that; without Bloom's money Falmer would not have got built when it did.

 

[trueblue]

Can't agree with that at all.

Dick stepped up as the figurehead and rescued the club (eventually) from the clutches of Archer, using a lot of fight and cunning, and a 'modest' sum of money (that he later felt entitled to recoup ). Much of the cash which subsequently kept the club afloat during the 'Knight years' was not his but came from other benefactors - notably the Bloom family.

TB on the other hand has put in £200 MILLION as unsecured loans (i.e. he's all but written it off) to fund a world class stadium and training ground, has assembled the best squad of players the club has ever had, and has firmly established the club as a contender at the highest level its played at in 30 years.

Yeah. But apart from that, what's TB ever done for us?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I am grateful for TB, BHAFC is very lucky to have him, no question about it. However I don't subscribe to this idea that he's some kind of selfless benefactor. Being a very clever businessman who made most of his wealth in property, he's secured some very valuable assets in BHAFC, the stadium and the training ground. Of course he will have every intention of getting his money back too.

The 'assets he has secured' are worth less than he has spent on them. You are utterly deluded if you think that Bloom see's his interest in the club as part of his 'hardnosed business'.

TB might not have had this opportunity at all if it wasn't for DK - besides, where was his money when we needed it the most, when fans were passing around charity buckets just for the Albion to stay afloat?

His family's money was keeping the Albion running even then, actually.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I am and will always be team DK. The Man literally saved BHAFC from the brink and without his total dedication to the cause for 15 years from age late 50's to early 70's which must have been exhausting ( and many others ) this club would have gone under. Ok Bloom had the wallet but Knight had the heart, soul, drive and determination to even allow the option of Falmer becoming a reality. The Man is quite simply the greatest chairman BHAFC have ever had

 

[The Large One]

Don't see why it should ever be Bloom OR Knight. It's been Bloom AND Knight. The tragedy is that they haven't been able to work together.

Both have served their club, via their own abilities and strengths, in ways none of us could ever hope to repay - and both are worthy of our gratitude, whatever relatively menial gripe anyone would wish to serve up.

 

[ozzygull]

I love DK for what he did for the club and I also love TB for what he is now doing for the club. Without either of them we would not have the club we support today. Its a shame that there seems to be a rift between the two, but I guess that happens. It does not make me think less of either of them.

When I was leaving the ground on Saturday I saw Martin Perry walking in the other direction. I didn't have the nerve to go up and shake his hand and thank him for everything he has done. I may have recognised him but he wouldn't have a Scooby who I was, so I would have felt a bit of a prat. To me Martin Perry was equally important for us to getting Falmer.

 

[desprateseagull]

will folks who bought DK's book, deemed necessary to have option of buying the (non) shares, get a refund?

 

[Questions]

Can't agree with that at all.

Dick stepped up as the figurehead and rescued the club (eventually) from the clutches of Archer, using a lot of fight and cunning, and a 'modest' sum of money (that he later felt entitled to recoup ). Much of the cash which subsequently kept the club afloat during the 'Knight years' was not his but came from other benefactors - notably the Bloom family.

TB on the other hand has put in £200 MILLION as unsecured loans (i.e. he's all but written it off) to fund a world class stadium and training ground, has assembled the best squad of players the club has ever had, and has firmly established the club as a contender at the highest level its played at in 30 years.

Agree with all the first part but not sure of your 200m figure. Not that that matters really but there were grants involved in the initial build Hansy and no one actually knows the exact amounts that TB got from that area. Anyway when the time comes I don't think TB will be walking away from it all with a massive debt. Mind you, we are talking years down the line here.

 

[father_and_son]

Don't see why it should ever be Bloom OR Knight. It's been Bloom AND Knight. The tragedy is that they haven't been able to work together.

Both have served their club, via their own abilities and strengths, in ways none of us could ever hope to repay - and both are worthy of our gratitude, whatever relatively menial gripe anyone would wish to serve up.

THIS.

As I see this DK is against TB because Tony owns [effectively] the whole club and could sell us down the river in the same way Archer did. Dick promised this would never be allowed to happen again. But Tony isn't Archer and I do believe that DK's fears are unfounded.


We wouldn't be where we are today without both of these amazing men. DK gave so much in terms of blood, sweat and tears. He brought us back from the brink and without him, we wouldn't have a team to support. But DK could only take us so far, he may have millions, but he didn't have the hundreds of millions a football team with planning permission but no stadium need.
Tony took us further on the journey that DK started, but could never have finished. Hopefully he's the man (& the wallet) to take us on the next phase.

I am eternally grateful to both men and could never be #TeamDick or #TeamTony because I am #TeamAlbion.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Agree with all the first part but not sure of your 200m figure. Not that that matters really but there were grants involved in the initial build Hansy and no one actually knows the exact amounts that TB got from that area. Anyway when the time comes I don't think TB will be walking away from it all with a massive debt. Mind you, we are talking years down the line here.

To be honest the figures are too mind-boggling for normal people to even comprehend. It could be 'just' £150m of his own cash, I guess, but what's an additional £50m between mates?

 

[The Large One]

Agree with all the first part but not sure of your 200m figure. Not that that matters really but there were grants involved in the initial build Hansy and no one actually knows the exact amounts that TB got from that area. Anyway when the time comes I don't think TB will be walking away from it all with a massive debt. Mind you, we are talking years down the line here.

To be honest the figures are too mind-boggling for normal people to even comprehend. It could be 'just' £150m of his own cash, I guess, but what's an additional £50m between mates?

Back of a fag packet calculations...

£105m for the original stadium
£25m for the expansion
£20m for the training ground

£30m debt to cover in the past three years alone, plus whatever he was covering in the half a dozen or so years before that.

 

[father_and_son]

To be honest the figures are too mind-boggling for normal people to even comprehend. It could be 'just' £150m of his own cash, I guess, but what's an additional £50m between mates?

Reading the recent report into TB and his gambling empire, the consensus seems to be he is worth around £1 billion (I'm sure only he knows but let's assume its there or thereabouts). So TB has sunk between 15 and 20% of everything he has into this club. I don't believe even DK sunk that proportion of his wealth in, in fact I don't believe ANYONE has ever sunk that much, relatively, into this club.

While the absolute numbers are mind-boggling, so is the scale of TB's generosity.

 

[ozzygull]

But Tony isn't Archer and I do believe that DK's fears are unfounded..

They are quite the opposite Tony is an asset giver, Archer is an asset stripper, as well as a few other things I can't say on a public forum.

 

[Lincoln Imp]

Reading the recent report into TB and his gambling empire, the consensus seems to be he is worth around £1 billion (I'm sure only he knows but let's assume its there or thereabouts). So TB has sunk between 15 and 20% of everything he has into this club. I don't believe even DK sunk that proportion of his wealth in, in fact I don't believe ANYONE has ever sunk that much, relatively, into this club.

While the absolute numbers are mind-boggling, so is the scale of TB's generosity.

I'm sorry but I must respond - DK put a far greater of his wealth into the club than 15 per cent. The money was less than Tony Bloom's but the generosity was eye-watering.

 

[Superphil]

I'm sorry but I must respond - DK put a far greater of his wealth into the club than 15 per cent. The money was less than Tony Bloom's but the generosity was eye-watering.

Very much this