It will all come down to the question on the ballot. Do you want to: a) cross your fingers and hope for the best with some charming Americans in charge and a bit of spare cash or b) cross your fingers and hope for the best run by a useless, incompetent ((c) Marlow) trust board and a ever-growing pile of I.O.Us?
I must admit my prediction is roughly the same as @DevCs unless the board and investors have badly misjudged the membership. Anyone doing a spreadsheet? I'll go for 77% of people voting going for the sale but only 66% of the total legacy members.
(If it helps, for a small fee - say a couple of pints - I shall happily vote for whichever option you don't want to win. I have a 0% success rate in the 30-40 times I have actually put a cross on a ballot paper!).
Or am I not treating this with the seriousness it deserves?
@floyd said:
Very concerned that we've already taken a cash loan from them. Very concerned at the number of people seemingly won over by warm smiles and platitudes. Must we do this every decade?
The more I think about it the more disappointed and perturbed I am by the Trust taking a loan from a consortium looking to buy the club. @AlanCecil perhaps you could say whether this was discussed and signed off by the full Trust board? Perhaps the terms of the loan could be published? It's really a shockingly poor and naive business decision - at the best.
I was surprised and alarmed that we have taken a loan from these guys already. It does suggest that cash is critically tight if this was necessary at this stage.
Which may be partly due to reportedly paying a substantial transfer fee for Jason McCarthy!
The current financial situation doesn't seem to add up to me.
It was clearly stated last night that we would be pleasantly surprised at how much it cost to sign McCarthy and I have had that verified by another source so that’s another rumour we can knock on the head.
I would just like to point out that I was unprincipled enough to offer to sell my vote first! Not only is @bookertease jumping on my bandwagon he is selling us all very short. Beer? Cash only. Small denominations. Get Jason McCarthy to leave the envelope behind the bins at Asda.
can anybody confirm if some ignorant women put her hand up and asked if the americans would be arriving and leaving by helicopter ? if so she should be ashamed of herself.
Is it too much of a conspiracy theory to suggest that the Board are deliberately saddling us with debt, specifically to the potential investors, so that they can turn round and say that we can't pay it back unless we vote in favour of their majority investment? Why else would they borrow from them and muddy the waters so much at such a critical point in the process?
Given the circumstances, the terms of this loan must surely be made public as soon as possible?
I should bloody well think so...whatever anyone might think about the rights and wrongs of the sale/potential buyers that is just an awful thing to say.
The John Frum cult, one of the most widely reported and longest-lived, formed on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. This movement started before the war, and became a cargo cult afterwards. Cult members worshiped certain unspecified Americans having the name "John Frum" or "Tom Navy" who they claimed had brought cargo to their island during World War II and who they identified as being the spiritual entity who would provide Championship football for them in the future.
I was very surprised there was no apology on the night for what was an awful comment. It would be frightening if this lady had a vote with decision making like that.
It was after the two investors skipping quite well around the subject of owners dying without mentioning anything about the awful events in Leicester.
Which may be partly due to reportedly paying a substantial transfer fee for Jason McCarthy!
Trevor was saying at the meeting that the fee could not be published but that it was far lower than we might imagine and we would be very pleased if we knew what it was. I don't recall any figures being 'reported' but if you know more about this figure can you give us all an insight so we can debate it openly? The 'current financial situation not adding up' as you say, may be partly because we are all using imaginary figures and trying to transpose them into the club's financial reports.
I fully expect soon to be hearing the Jaws or Horror music themes as background to anything I see on the Gasroom regarding new owners or Trust meetings. We need facts if we're to be critical.?
Messrs Luby and Collis referenced their involvement in Dayton Dragons last night.
They i.e. Mandalay Baseball Properties sold the Dayton Dragons in 2014 according to Wiki where they list all their buys and sells and average holding period.
Google The Street How to score Major League returns investing in Minor League Baseball written by Michael Brown June 8 2015 10.14 a.m.
It starts off Here's a "moneyball" formula...
Please could someone post a link to this forum.
You might want to look up the other guy there last night Steve Horowitz of Inner Circle who appears to act as broker for sports franchises or 'sports verticals.'
@ValleyWanderer - I have no idea what the transfer fee was, but it was reported there was one, plus I assume a signing on fee.
If the club is pleading poverty, seemingly confirmed by having to take out a loan with prospective investors, it just seems strange that the Trust is increasing it's debts by paying any transfer however small.
Hopefully we still have some spare cash to keep the crisps stock up!
I think it would add some context to point out that, although the official city of Dayton (which I am a little familiar with) and High Wycombe have fairly similar populations (I think it is 140K-125K in favour of Dayton), the actual Dayton metro area is around 800,000. Also, with Wycombe being close to London, and the country itself being generally more accessible, football fans are more likely to have a different affiliation that takes them away from Adams Park, whereas Dayton is an hour or two from Columbus and Cincinnati by car.
My point is just that, though there are some comparisons between minor league baseball and L1 football, it is an entirely different animal to increase the crowd at a minor league baseball club with a 800,000 catchment area, and no immediate competition, than it is to increase the crowds at AP with a catchment less than half that (even if we take the whole of South Bucks), where many folks already have football attachments that take precedence over Wycombe.
I am not advocating a position either way, just pointing out that crowd growth is a very different proposition between the two clubs. If the Americans do get in the door, hopefully some of those skills would translate, but it would still be an immense challenge.
i was wondering what aspects of owning wycombe wanderers might strike them as 'fun,' but compared with time in Dayton, the answer would be 'literally anything.
@peterparrotface - at a minor league level, people aren't necessarily happy, but it happens so much that it is accepted as the norm, and not outrageous.
Comments
By the way it was confirmed last night that we didn't pay a substantial transfer fee for Jason McCarthy.
I expect a renowned Dev spreadsheet shortly predicting the outcome.
It will all come down to the question on the ballot. Do you want to: a) cross your fingers and hope for the best with some charming Americans in charge and a bit of spare cash or b) cross your fingers and hope for the best run by a useless, incompetent ((c) Marlow) trust board and a ever-growing pile of I.O.Us?
I must admit my prediction is roughly the same as @DevCs unless the board and investors have badly misjudged the membership. Anyone doing a spreadsheet? I'll go for 77% of people voting going for the sale but only 66% of the total legacy members.
(If it helps, for a small fee - say a couple of pints - I shall happily vote for whichever option you don't want to win. I have a 0% success rate in the 30-40 times I have actually put a cross on a ballot paper!).
Or am I not treating this with the seriousness it deserves?
Damn you beat me to it @mooneyman
Looks like he's already worried about the 'wrong' outcome. Oh for a dog in the fight!
But even so we still paid a fee when we are apparently broke. We didn't get him for nothing.
Virtually nothing was the strong implication last night.
The more I think about it the more disappointed and perturbed I am by the Trust taking a loan from a consortium looking to buy the club. @AlanCecil perhaps you could say whether this was discussed and signed off by the full Trust board? Perhaps the terms of the loan could be published? It's really a shockingly poor and naive business decision - at the best.
Tales of the unexpected
I would just like to point out that I was unprincipled enough to offer to sell my vote first! Not only is @bookertease jumping on my bandwagon he is selling us all very short. Beer? Cash only. Small denominations. Get Jason McCarthy to leave the envelope behind the bins at Asda.
can anybody confirm if some ignorant women put her hand up and asked if the americans would be arriving and leaving by helicopter ? if so she should be ashamed of herself.
Is it too much of a conspiracy theory to suggest that the Board are deliberately saddling us with debt, specifically to the potential investors, so that they can turn round and say that we can't pay it back unless we vote in favour of their majority investment? Why else would they borrow from them and muddy the waters so much at such a critical point in the process?
Given the circumstances, the terms of this loan must surely be made public as soon as possible?
Yep she did, it was at the end of her question... shockingly poor
Now god forbid I agree with richie...but that IS disgraceful considering the minute's silence last weekend!
The club should take action over this.
The Trust contacted the person in question and she has apologised.
I should bloody well think so...whatever anyone might think about the rights and wrongs of the sale/potential buyers that is just an awful thing to say.
The John Frum cult, one of the most widely reported and longest-lived, formed on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. This movement started before the war, and became a cargo cult afterwards. Cult members worshiped certain unspecified Americans having the name "John Frum" or "Tom Navy" who they claimed had brought cargo to their island during World War II and who they identified as being the spiritual entity who would provide Championship football for them in the future.
(From Wikipedia)
I was very surprised there was no apology on the night for what was an awful comment. It would be frightening if this lady had a vote with decision making like that.
It was after the two investors skipping quite well around the subject of owners dying without mentioning anything about the awful events in Leicester.
Trevor was saying at the meeting that the fee could not be published but that it was far lower than we might imagine and we would be very pleased if we knew what it was. I don't recall any figures being 'reported' but if you know more about this figure can you give us all an insight so we can debate it openly? The 'current financial situation not adding up' as you say, may be partly because we are all using imaginary figures and trying to transpose them into the club's financial reports.
I fully expect soon to be hearing the Jaws or Horror music themes as background to anything I see on the Gasroom regarding new owners or Trust meetings. We need facts if we're to be critical.?
Messrs Luby and Collis referenced their involvement in Dayton Dragons last night.
They i.e. Mandalay Baseball Properties sold the Dayton Dragons in 2014 according to Wiki where they list all their buys and sells and average holding period.
Google The Street How to score Major League returns investing in Minor League Baseball written by Michael Brown June 8 2015 10.14 a.m.
It starts off Here's a "moneyball" formula...
Please could someone post a link to this forum.
You might want to look up the other guy there last night Steve Horowitz of Inner Circle who appears to act as broker for sports franchises or 'sports verticals.'
@ValleyWanderer - I have no idea what the transfer fee was, but it was reported there was one, plus I assume a signing on fee.
If the club is pleading poverty, seemingly confirmed by having to take out a loan with prospective investors, it just seems strange that the Trust is increasing it's debts by paying any transfer however small.
Hopefully we still have some spare cash to keep the crisps stock up!
@NiceCarrots here: https://www.thestreet.com/story/13178205/1/how-to-score-major-league-returns-investing-in-minor-league-baseball.html
Thank you very much indeed Chris, much appreciated.
“According to Wiki” the source of all robust information @NiceCarrots
Dayton Dragons are the sports team that have the most consecutive sellouts and were sold for £40m right?
I think it would add some context to point out that, although the official city of Dayton (which I am a little familiar with) and High Wycombe have fairly similar populations (I think it is 140K-125K in favour of Dayton), the actual Dayton metro area is around 800,000. Also, with Wycombe being close to London, and the country itself being generally more accessible, football fans are more likely to have a different affiliation that takes them away from Adams Park, whereas Dayton is an hour or two from Columbus and Cincinnati by car.
My point is just that, though there are some comparisons between minor league baseball and L1 football, it is an entirely different animal to increase the crowd at a minor league baseball club with a 800,000 catchment area, and no immediate competition, than it is to increase the crowds at AP with a catchment less than half that (even if we take the whole of South Bucks), where many folks already have football attachments that take precedence over Wycombe.
I am not advocating a position either way, just pointing out that crowd growth is a very different proposition between the two clubs. If the Americans do get in the door, hopefully some of those skills would translate, but it would still be an immense challenge.
i was wondering what aspects of owning wycombe wanderers might strike them as 'fun,' but compared with time in Dayton, the answer would be 'literally anything.
@Shev one thing that always interests me about American sports is the moving of clubs.
Rockford to Dayton is maybe 300 miles East?? Would anyone care in Rockford or is it just accepted?
@peterparrotface - at a minor league level, people aren't necessarily happy, but it happens so much that it is accepted as the norm, and not outrageous.