Waking up yesterday and loading up the official site, I nearly spat my morning coffee all over the place, as i'm sure everyone who was trying to have a drink when the news broke did. A 'Middle Eastern Consortium' are going to take over Notts County? Is this some sort of a joke? This just doesn't happen to this club, does it? A side who finished 87th in the football league last season. But as the news sank in and the jubilous posts of amazement on the NCM messageboard appeared by the minute, it stopped seeming too good to be true. This was what we had been waiting for.
But, the dust has settled, our moment in the footballing limelights, the headlines on BBC Sport, Sky Sports, even Al Jazeera have passed and we're now a group of fans coming to terms with possibly the most important and stunning news in this football club's long history. Rather than jubiliation, posts have begun to turn towards intrigue and suspicion, questions are being asked, and rightly so.
Why would a consortium of rich businessmen, lets forget the Middle Eastern part for a bit as there is, as of yet, no indication that a rich Middle Eastern sheikh has decided to buy the club, want to get involved with a side who have flirted with non-league and oblivion over the past few years?
The details we have so far are sketchy, understandably so, not even 48 hours have passed since the initial announcement. Before we start to get the party hats and streamers out, a number of questions need answering. This isn't to say they won't be, the supporters' trust is still to vote on the issue, and more information is likely to be made available to aid members' decisions when ballot papers are sent out next week. The first thing that surely needs to be addressed is who exactly is in this consortium, beyond the initial two men who have been appointed onto the club board, Peter Trembling and Peter Willett. Are we really going to be banrolled by the Al Thani family, the royal family of Qatar, for who's investment company Peter Willett works? Or is it a group of Western businessmen and associates of Willett who happen to be based in the Middle East?
Then there's the all important question of figures. We are unlikely to get an actual figure, but confirmation of John Armstrong-Holmes' "substantial" comments, and the "multi-million" pound investment that has been mooted on local news will be necessary. Are these investors in it for the long haul, are they willing to stick through the twists and turns that the unpredictable world of football will throw our way, and continue to invest sensibly in the club at the required level?
Perhaps most importantly is the intentions of the businessmen, as there could be any number of different selling points and motives for these people to purchase the football club. It could quite easily be a prestige thing, particularly if someone such as the Al Thani family are involved, due to the club's prestigious history and unique selling point. However, rumours that the same consortium, headed by former Everton commercial director Peter Trembling, had enquired about Southampton, make this less likely. Do they simply want to own a football club, as so many wealthy foreign investors do, but decided against a club with the levels of debt that are harboured by those in the Premiership and, indeed, Southampton?
The most likely situation would be, in NCM's opinion, that these investors are looking for a return and to make some money out of the club. If they are willing to invest the rumoured sums into the club and continue to hold a great interest in the club's fortunes, then no Notts fan would begrudge them this. Rumours of plans to build a hotel and casino on the club's land, probably on the car park behind the Kop stand, could well be true, but would surely not represent enough of a return for a group of men who are committed to a "multi-million pound" investment? They could be looking to tap into the potential the club holds, before selling it on when some success has been gained and the club has perhaps reached the Championship, but if this is truly a group of extremely wealthy people, then that would also seem less likely, with the likely profit not huge by the standards of the Middle East. That would be a more likely venture for a single investor, such as Adam Pearson at Hull City.
If most of the answers to these questions become clear in the next couple of weeks, then we can really begin to look forward to a bright new chapter in the future of our club. There is, as of yet, no reason to doubt the investment or even the intentions of those involved, but it would be sensible not to get carried away until more facts come to light and the people who are truly behind the bid become known, because it is extremely unlikely that Trembling and Willett are the main financial backers, rather than just the consortium's figureheads.
NCM believe's the vote will go in favour of the takeover, barring a collapse or some kind of huge piece of information, and the club will enter a new era. It is up to those men who are leading the bid to ensure that us fans enter it with complete excitement, and without the slight feeling of trepidation at the back of our minds.
One thing's for sure, the next few weeks promise to be some of the most interesting and eventful in the club's history. Enjoy the ride.
But, the dust has settled, our moment in the footballing limelights, the headlines on BBC Sport, Sky Sports, even Al Jazeera have passed and we're now a group of fans coming to terms with possibly the most important and stunning news in this football club's long history. Rather than jubiliation, posts have begun to turn towards intrigue and suspicion, questions are being asked, and rightly so.
Why would a consortium of rich businessmen, lets forget the Middle Eastern part for a bit as there is, as of yet, no indication that a rich Middle Eastern sheikh has decided to buy the club, want to get involved with a side who have flirted with non-league and oblivion over the past few years?
The details we have so far are sketchy, understandably so, not even 48 hours have passed since the initial announcement. Before we start to get the party hats and streamers out, a number of questions need answering. This isn't to say they won't be, the supporters' trust is still to vote on the issue, and more information is likely to be made available to aid members' decisions when ballot papers are sent out next week. The first thing that surely needs to be addressed is who exactly is in this consortium, beyond the initial two men who have been appointed onto the club board, Peter Trembling and Peter Willett. Are we really going to be banrolled by the Al Thani family, the royal family of Qatar, for who's investment company Peter Willett works? Or is it a group of Western businessmen and associates of Willett who happen to be based in the Middle East?
Then there's the all important question of figures. We are unlikely to get an actual figure, but confirmation of John Armstrong-Holmes' "substantial" comments, and the "multi-million" pound investment that has been mooted on local news will be necessary. Are these investors in it for the long haul, are they willing to stick through the twists and turns that the unpredictable world of football will throw our way, and continue to invest sensibly in the club at the required level?
Perhaps most importantly is the intentions of the businessmen, as there could be any number of different selling points and motives for these people to purchase the football club. It could quite easily be a prestige thing, particularly if someone such as the Al Thani family are involved, due to the club's prestigious history and unique selling point. However, rumours that the same consortium, headed by former Everton commercial director Peter Trembling, had enquired about Southampton, make this less likely. Do they simply want to own a football club, as so many wealthy foreign investors do, but decided against a club with the levels of debt that are harboured by those in the Premiership and, indeed, Southampton?
The most likely situation would be, in NCM's opinion, that these investors are looking for a return and to make some money out of the club. If they are willing to invest the rumoured sums into the club and continue to hold a great interest in the club's fortunes, then no Notts fan would begrudge them this. Rumours of plans to build a hotel and casino on the club's land, probably on the car park behind the Kop stand, could well be true, but would surely not represent enough of a return for a group of men who are committed to a "multi-million pound" investment? They could be looking to tap into the potential the club holds, before selling it on when some success has been gained and the club has perhaps reached the Championship, but if this is truly a group of extremely wealthy people, then that would also seem less likely, with the likely profit not huge by the standards of the Middle East. That would be a more likely venture for a single investor, such as Adam Pearson at Hull City.
If most of the answers to these questions become clear in the next couple of weeks, then we can really begin to look forward to a bright new chapter in the future of our club. There is, as of yet, no reason to doubt the investment or even the intentions of those involved, but it would be sensible not to get carried away until more facts come to light and the people who are truly behind the bid become known, because it is extremely unlikely that Trembling and Willett are the main financial backers, rather than just the consortium's figureheads.
NCM believe's the vote will go in favour of the takeover, barring a collapse or some kind of huge piece of information, and the club will enter a new era. It is up to those men who are leading the bid to ensure that us fans enter it with complete excitement, and without the slight feeling of trepidation at the back of our minds.
One thing's for sure, the next few weeks promise to be some of the most interesting and eventful in the club's history. Enjoy the ride.