Things don't look good and as every day passes, it's getting worse. I was under the impression that things would move quite quickly a couple of weeks ago, but it turns out our owner is not only a fool, but a stubborn fool. It's not a good mix.
And just two years ago, he was loved by those on Twitter than believed what he tweeted. Today, it's not a pretty site. Reading through some of the replies to his latest messages is like reading a story gone bad. Some of them are comedy gold too.
But the mess is real. He borrowed all he could and gave nothing. And now, he wants to keep it all. If the rumours are true, he's asking for the value of the Club but only willing to give a minority stake. What does he think will happen .. some other fool is going to give him money to lose?
No theme park. No Chinese talent. No Champions League in the near future. No £400mn in the bank. All of these were red flags, but nobody wanted to believe. But the blame isn't with the supporters, it should very firmly be with the Premier League who said he could buy the Club. They need to shoulder some of the blame. Randy too because like the Premier League, he just saw money and didn't care.
Some of the best
I'll give you a clue, mate, one of the 'wrong things' you did was bring about a situation where a 144 year old club, one of the cornerstones of the English game, is on its knees financially, so spare us the face-saving public introspection. You should be ashamed of yourself #avfc
— Andrew Robins (@pongowaring) June 27, 2018
If you need to take some more think-time Tony that is fine but heard rumours this is affecting you quite seriously. Can you confirm or deny if this is you, many rumours circulating that it is? pic.twitter.com/LLK8y2zbMI
— Bob Lansbury (@SupportAVFC) June 27, 2018
So, Tony, 12 months in. I see you’ve hocked the €8m Amavi transfer for 5.74%. And the €1.75m Carlos Sanchez loan fee. Oh, and you’ve mortgaged the quarry land. Quite the cash grab, eh? All the club’s assets though. Planning to put any in yourself? #avfc #jerknalist #ticktock pic.twitter.com/WwRnPZKDem
— Matt Scott (@Matt5cott) June 26, 2018
There is so much more
It's not just that he's a laughing stock. Even if he were to manage to find backers for a minority stake (not impossible) would anyone take him seriously now? Sure, there would be some that fell for it again and again, but the majority wouldn't. And now there is talk that the League are questioning the competence of the management team. But were they not part of the approval process and what possibly can they do?
It happens to Leeds, it's happened to Blackburn and it looks like it's happening to us. It even happened to The Clowns. We just have to hope that our name still means something on the global footballing stage and that we can attract the right group of people or the right person. It's not rocket science, it's football and this owner lied to get control and simply made too many mistakes from day one.
Had he lied and not made the mistakes, things would be different now. But the red flags .. they were from day one. It baffles me that he was allowed to buy the Club .. but I guess, money makes things easy, even if it's not yours. But that was the clearest red flag of them all.
Keep your fingers and toes crossed people. We need a miracle now and yes, this post isn't telling you anything new, but it's a new post because it was needed. Me, I'm getting ready for the football and I'm not reading this story about how the owner has been publicly shamed in China.