The Gazette has published a story today concerning the sale of Blackpool Football Club. The story was based on two interviews. Note well any discrepancies between the published story and the source material. ____ indicates when the conversation went off the record.
Interview 1:
Letter One:
Hi Matt,
The questions you have posed to me are in the main impossible to answer without giving away my identity which serves no purpose at this juncture. That said I’ll answer as best as I can, maybe add in some talking points that need to be in the public forum and put in parenthesis the real answers that you can’t print or discuss with others in any way, shape or form. _____
1. How long have you been in talks with Karl and what stage are they at? What is Friday's deadline for?
Karl was approached in October of 2017 with an expression of interest into the future of the club. _____ Since that time and running contrary to what has been stated in the High court our repeated requests for relevant financial information in order to do due diligence have not met with success. This basically makes an investment from anyone and anywhere impossible to secure and with another significant amount of money due from the owners to their former partner in less than a month hard to fathom. _____
My stepping into the public eye is entirely due to the lack of response that has been afforded to us as modesty aside the huge amount of work needed to make the impossible, possible cannot be done in a matter of days and I honestly believe we are one of two best options for moving the club forward.
Why do you want to buy BFC?
That’s an interesting question. A genuine lifelong fan from a family of lifelong fans. When my first son was born my first picture with him was in a 53 cup final shirt. My family was good pals with Morty and we’ve got tangerine in our DNA but financial backers share none of that history. For them, as with me, it is a business and we play to win on and off the field. The only way the club can progress is with the support of the town and the council. I can tell you right now that BFC is a tough sell. At best, it’s a museum piece in a has been town and no financial analyst believes the crowds will come back or that Blackpool can compete at the “top table” of English Football. My job is to overcome any objections and to provide a compelling vision of how with sound management Blackpool Football Club and the town of Blackpool can both flourish together if they work together. We are at a watershed moment in Blackpool’s history. The current scenario at the club presents a final opportunity for the fans and the non-supporter stakeholders in Blackpool to make lemonade from lemons.
Are you a football supporter? What is your link to Blackpool?
Think I covered that above Matt.
If you do buy the club, what is your blueprint for the future? How far can you take them? Will you be involved on your own
I cannot answer your question fully as I will not speak for others. And if our bid was successful we are talking about myself and an active investor partner. My blueprint for the club is to make Blackpool the best small club in the world and the world’s favorite second club. This is possible if we manage our resources well on and off the pitch and brand accordingly. Britain is a mature marketplace for football but football as a sport is the world’s fastest growing sport with huge potential for growth in the U.S., China and other areas around the world. I believe we can accomplish that. I also believe that in time we can make Bloomfield Road a 30,000 seat/stand stadium and that we can maintain a presence in or around the premier league. That is far beyond the imagination of many but to me it's a reachable target based on meeting scaleable goals. We have no magic wand, no inexhaustible money tree. We will build on a foundation of sound fundamentals. If you look at the history of Blackpool FC one can see a near unequaled conveyor belt of talent that has been sold on to bigger clubs and success as a club achieved against all the odds. Our job is to build on that heritage by implementing plans that seek to nurture and sustain excellence.
This involves learning from our peers Burnley, Swansea, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and our fiscal betters Liverpool, Manchester City and United. What are they doing right? What can we copy? What can we do better? What can we learn from our investors country’s approach to football? For example, Bournemouth is building a new training facility which not only nurtures current talent but also attracts future assets to the club. Liverpool under Houllier developed a new training facility and that has been further upgraded by Klopp, what can we take and scale to our needs? Investment will always be made in a prudent manner that maximizes returns. A football stadium is only used 25 days a year so that stadium must be used for other purposes to increase revenues.
One thing I can state for all of us is that data will be an important asset in determining our moves in the transfer market. We will not be a rehabilitation center for other club’s players or a final payday for players past their sell-by date. We will be a great club for young players to learn their trade and older players to improve their game. We will not stagnate on or off the field and anyone who isn’t as hungry as us and prepared to work as hard as us in pursuit of excellence will be shown the exit doors.
As far as Mr. Bowyer’s position goes we are huge believers in the powers of loyalty, a unity of purpose and stability. We would prefer to establish we’re all on the same page, get rid of deadwood from the playing staff and then sign the players that the manager deems necessary to get the club promoted.
How much are you willing to pay for BFC? What do you think it's worth? And what is the asking price
We are willing to pay not a penny more than the club is worth. We covered this somewhat in an earlier answer. Sentiment plays no part in business.
The club in League one is worth nothing. Playing at a higher division will be the most significant driver of increased revenues (and also broadcasting income, which would increase from present £6-700k a year to £6-7 million in the Championship). Clubs in the Championship had an average wage bill of £23 million in 2016 which is substantially more than the current BFC budget in League one which in turn is much less than would be needed to reach and achieve a healthy existence in the premier league. This is why it is imperative that good management is in place behind the scenes at BFC.
This is also an area of caution for fans. The club could be sold “for parts” or even put into administration closed down and the land used for other purposes. It would be relatively easy for a Carpetbagger to ride into town secure the club and then sell the land for other purposes before riding off into the sunset millions of pounds richer. It is something I have to be distinctly wary of when seeking investors for this enterprise. I have no interest in that. My purpose is to build a club and revitalize my hometown.
As far as the asking price you will have to ask the Oyston family about that :-)
Has Karl shown any willingness to sell? It appears his father Owen would like to keep control of the club.
Well, I think the raison d'être of this interview speaks to the willingness of the owners to make a deal that benefits the club and the town. As for the second part of your question, I think if one matches rhetoric to actions or for whatever reason cannot match rhetoric to actions speaks to the truthfulness of your statement.
What is your background? What is your current occupation? Are you a wealthy businessman
Not pertinent at this time.
I'm sure you're aware of the conflict between the owners and the supporters. How will you go about resolving that?
We are not going to prolong divisions within the town or the club. Our job is to get the club into the premier league again. We will do that with hard work and as much transparency as is prudent to give. Fans will vote with their feet and their hard-earned money as to the success of our efforts. As for any past missteps by other people. “Not my monkey, not my circus” comes to mind. There are three things I would push for at board level in regards to the past.
1. A testimonial at Bloomfield Road for Brett Ormerod and Gary Parkinson. It needs to be at Bloomfield Road.
2. A new Morty statue the same size as the Armfield statue. The old statue looked nothing like Morty and why smaller than Armfield?
3. A public recognition for Tony Green at the ground. I won’t say why at this point but what he did for an ex-pool great was noble and as good as anything he ever did on the playing field.
As for fan involvement in the future? There’s no one size fits all answer to that. The club will regularly meet with fans and enlist volunteer fans to accomplish club goals. For example, there’s no reason why safe standing shouldn’t be implemented but where in the ground and as to what is the most cost-effective manner for doing so can be a fans project with management coming in to say thank you, verifying data and then implementing the plan.
Bonus Question:
Who should be doing what at this time?
Ha, that’s a loaded question if ever there was one.
1. Owners need to conduct themselves in a professional manner and release requested information to qualified buyers.
2. The council needs to be very clear as to its support for new ownership for the club, and underline the importance of the club to the prosperity of the town. See for example the Swansea study.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-w...s-20895147
Swansea City: Premier League 'worth £58m' to ... - BBC News
http://www.bbc.com
Swansea City's first season in the Premier League generated £58m for the Welsh economy, a new study claims.
Councilor Blackburn being a Blackburn fan and having had dealings with the current owners should recuse himself from the entire process. The council must be very transparent as to what it will and won’t do in regard to the club and its assets so as to discourage any potential carpetbaggers.
3. The fans need to determine a game at Bloomfield Road and ensure it is a sell-out affair. They must also generate national press for this undertaking. Gaughan at the Mail has done well but the coverage has been rather sporadic considering the ramifications for the long-term health of the game. Think of this as a P.R. effort to clear up misconceptions.
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