Oh to be a Hibs fan

[iainmac]

11 hours ago, farin said:

Wouldn’t buy a used car from any of them . 

 

 

The guy on the left thought that disgraced Cardinal Keith O'brien was "most likeable",  which brings into question his judge of character. Maybe Ronnie is  a "wrong' un" as well? 

[Dazzle]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term. It wasn't that long ago we were in a similar position where Romanov looked like a white knight but things turned out badly. So I predict it will all end in tears by the end of the 2023 season. If not sooner. 

[JackLadd]

7 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term. It wasn't that long ago we were in a similar position where Romanov looked like a white knight but things turned out badly. So I predict it will all end in tears by the end of the 2023 season. If not sooner. 

 

We were crippled in debt when Vlad came along. Vlad transferred it to his bank, £10m if I recall. 

[Bazzas right boot]

Strange one. 

 

Folk comparing it to us are a but off imo, we were ****ed and had no real option  but to get Romanov on board. 

 

Hibs were OK. 

Seems like a big thing to risk, relative stability for a complete change. 

 

The risk/ reward seems far higher for them, high risk with not as much reward on offer on the face of it , unless the guy is the real deal, ofc. 

 

It may have just been farmer was fed up as well and there might not be much change at all. 

 

Could be the guy is at it, but the fact hibs had no pressing need to make the change, imo makes this unlikely, unless farmer sold out to the first bidder, but given his relationship with hibs that also  seems unlikely. 

 

Really don't know what to make of this. 

 

[Satchmo]

I think the guys taking a speculative punt in the possible sale of John McGinn. If he gets sold for big money, he gets his money back and has a big investment in Hibs. Even if McGinn goes for half the reported £50 million, still almost breaks even.

[Inch Hearts]

1 hour ago, iainmac said:

 

The guy on the left thought that disgraced Cardinal Keith O'brien was "most likeable",  which brings into question his judge of character. Maybe Ronnie is  a "wrong' un" as well? 

 

Well out of order.  O’Brien was well loved by many innocent people in Edinburgh and left devastated what came out.

 

The yank has nothing to gain buying them.  I think he will sell the barn and build a golf course and a hotel.  Seeing Farmer the way he is is personally upsetting knowing how good he is to the catholic community but he needed to sell now as his kids didn’t want to be left with that shitty mess of a club. 

[Inch Hearts]

Just now, Satchmo said:

I think the guys taking a speculative punt in the possible sale of John McGinn. If he gets sold for big money, he gets his money back and has a big investment in Hibs. Even if McGinn goes for half the reported £50 million, still almost breaks even.

 

Who owns Villa?  The guys pal maybe? 

[bigdav]

5 hours ago, Bridge of Djoum said:

The boy on the right looks trustworthy.

The old tache looks the happiest i've ever seen him. He's thinking yaas i've got out this sh*thole with my pockets lined ?

[Voiceofreasonfortheseason]

I am sitting here on holiday in Canada and there is mention of this on the news networks, doesn't mean a thing but the guy is held in high regard over here. Sold his companies on to the big TV networks so might explain the interest.

[Guest ToqueJambo]

6 hours ago, Hearts Daft said:

We should still be open to investment from outside sources.

 

We are and have had lots of additional investment already. We're just not vulnerable to a takeover of this type.

[Calebs Grandad]

7 hours ago, Kiwidoug said:

While I have the greatest respect and admiration for our eastern friends, I hope this guy robs them blind.

 

They've got form.  Remember the golden generation who, like Raith and Livingston, won the league cup?  What happened to all the transfer fee cash for them.

 

Trip to Harrods for the Mrss petrie and farmer.

I’m in agreement Doug. Peru, Australia, USA then nip over to Lochend to spend £6m he hasn’t a hope in hell of recouping. Had this been us the alarm bells would be ringing. 

[Beast Boy]

Mr Gordon will need a man he can trust at the academy, to eh... handle the transfer of players when they are ready to progress their careers and move on. There’s only one man for that job imo:

(Think his old man has a ‘soft spot’ for the club too... )

[Beast Boy]

4 hours ago, Inch Hearts said:

 

Well out of order.  O’Brien was well loved by many innocent people in Edinburgh and left devastated what came out.

 

The yank has nothing to gain buying them.  I think he will sell the barn and build a golf course and a hotel.  Seeing Farmer the way he is is personally upsetting knowing how good he is to the catholic community but he needed to sell now as his kids didn’t want to be left with that shitty mess of a club. 

 

O’Brien was a sexual predator who ruined lives. This is public knowledge.

[red]

Fair play to them. Farmer & Petrie appeared to have no desire to take them forward. This guy may well have the answers. I’m comfortable where we/AB and Craig Levein are taking us at this moment in time however this apparent “good news” puts even more pressure on CL to get it right! It’s game time and I’m happy with the challenge!

 

The futures maroon 

[Seymour M Hersh]

No doubt they will all be fisting their sisters and the like for a few days in celebration. I look forward to the cold light of dawn moment for them. 

Edited July 3, 2019 by Seymour M Hersh

[Beast Boy]

6 hours ago, CJGJ said:

In his BBC interview he states the 'seven figure sum'  can be used as the club wants including transfer fees and wages but does become a bit coy when pressed about it

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/48847172

 

Not going to the manager is the ‘take home’ from that interview. Okay, my revised theory:

 

Gordon is spending £6m in total. £3-4 million on the purchase of the club. He will receive a wage from the club that will be five figures. He will put the remaining £1-2m in to their academy to try and maximise the chances of producing good young players to sell on for profit. He will receive a percentage of any sales. A salary and player sales is his strategy for making his money back, and eventually a profit. ?

 

 

[Finlay James]

45 minutes ago, red said:

Fair play to them. Farmer & Petrie appeared to have no desire to take them forward. This guy may well have the answers. I’m comfortable where we/AB and Craig Levein are taking us at this moment in time however this apparent “good news” puts even more pressure on CL to get it right! It’s game time and I’m happy with the challenge!

 

The futures maroon 

 

There is no challenge mate.  What AB and CL are doing for us is miles ahead of the Hibs version.  They won't go forward with this model whereas we will.

[Independence]

54 minutes ago, Icon of Symmetry said:

 

O’Brien was a sexual predator who ruined lives. This is public knowledge.

This and should never be forgotten.

[Ricardo Shillyshally]

So let me get this right.....

 

Their supporters have failed to back their fans ownership scheme and as a result, they are now losing the stability of a very wealthy and passive owner to a foreign investor.

 

I won't be losing any sleep over that. 

[SMJ_1874]

1 hour ago, Icon of Symmetry said:

 

O’Brien was a sexual predator who ruined lives. This is public knowledge.

And protected by the church for years until they could no longer hide this to their detriment. Abusive man and a charlatan who fooled the masses 

[Ricardo Shillyshally]

2 hours ago, Voiceofreasonfortheseason said:

I am sitting here on holiday in Canada and there is mention of this on the news networks, doesn't mean a thing but the guy is held in high regard over here. Sold his companies on to the big TV networks so might explain the interest.

Aye, CNN are at the Kirkgate doing a vox pop just now. Huge news.

[Martin_T]

Haven't read through the whole thread, but I would reiterate that I'm not in the slightest bit worried or concerned that Hibs are about to pull away from Hearts for a number of reasons:

 

- For starters our club has been receiving a 'seven figure investment' annually since 2014 via our FoH subscriptions. With that money we've rebuilt the club and finished the stadium.

- Our model is one of fan ownership, meaning that all money generated by the club will be reinvested into the club

- By contrast 'investors' look to get a return on their investment. Be that by increasing the value of the underlying assets, increasing profitability or reducing costs. It's very difficult to balance all three in a Scottish football context with perhaps Fergus McCann being the only person to have successfully done so. Typically as we've seen from numerous previous examples in a Scottish football context, ourselves included with Romanov, Dundee under the Marrs/ Di Stefano, Livingston under numerous owners, Motherwell under John Boyle, attempting to do anything other than control costs, results in financial ruin.

-The record of American owners in the UK of football clubs is patchy at best. Manchester United have regressed under the Glazers, Aston Villa were a mess under Randy Lerner, Arsenal have regressed under Stan Kroenke, Derby County, Fulham and others did not live up to the promise following US backed takeovers. The unqualified success is Liverpool under Fenway Sports, but then perhaps the advantage they had was a strong track record of successful ownership of the Boston Red Sox. In a Scottish context, neither of the Dundee clubs look to be going anywhere fast under their American owners.

- Talk of the Europa League is fanciful, Aberdeen have never really come close despite several seasons in a row of consistent qualification, in addition to having their own ' Seven figure investment'. Yes Rangers qualified, but ran up an 8 figure annual loss to do so. Not a chance that Hibs new owner will even consider doing that.

-Ultimately this is an indirect admission by Hibs that their own attempt at FoH is an abject failure.

 

I'd still rather be in our position, every day of the week.

 

[Prof]

Banker/businessman buys Edinburgh football club and promises large investment to challenge OF and win SPFL. Now where have I heard that promise before?

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

I don't think we should bury our heads.

 

Aberdeen Hibs and even Killie through Billy Bowie all investing. We need to keep working hard 

[GorgieFifeLife]

8 hours ago, Bridge of Djoum said:

 

At least try hide it, chief. 

Sorry? Try and hide what?  I am assuming that because I acknowledge a good investment for Hibs I must be a fan of theirs. If that is the case I think you need to grow up.  Competition is good and keeps you sharp.  He has stated his aim is to win the league which is the kind of ambition you look for from an owner.  He must be intending to make a significant investment to achieve this goal.

[WheatfieldWarrior]

7 hours ago, Olly Lee's left boot said:

Strange one. 

 

Folk comparing it to us are a but off imo, we were ****ed and had no real option  but to get Romanov on board. 

 

Hibs were OK. 

Seems like a big thing to risk, relative stability for a complete change. 

 

The risk/ reward seems far higher for them, high risk with not as much reward on offer on the face of it , unless the guy is the real deal, ofc. 

 

It may have just been farmer was fed up as well and there might not be much change at all. 

 

Could be the guy is at it, but the fact hibs had no pressing need to make the change, imo makes this unlikely, unless farmer sold out to the first bidder, but given his relationship with hibs that also  seems unlikely. 

 

Really don't know what to make of this. 

 

 

Look like Farmer was getting on in years and needed to offload the Hibs on to some one younger.

 

Most likely this will make little difference to how Hibs perform - you need to put in big, big money to change the outcome in this league, and I don't see that here. 

[PTBCAL]

8 hours ago, iainmac said:

 

The guy on the left thought that disgraced Cardinal Keith O'brien was "most likeable",  which brings into question his judge of character. Maybe Ronnie is  a "wrong' un" as well? 

 

Have you heard something re Ronnie ?

[Sarah O]

Cannae believe we are sharing a  OUR CITY, with Manchester City of Scotland. 

 

 

[Nobreath]

8 hours ago, Dazzle said:

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term. It wasn't that long ago we were in a similar position where Romanov looked like a white knight but things turned out badly. So I predict it will all end in tears by the end of the 2023 season. If not sooner. 

 

It will end in tears without the glory. 

[WheatfieldWarrior]

3 minutes ago, Sarah O said:

Cannae believe we are sharing a  OUR CITY, with Manchester City of Scotland. 

 

 

 

So Hibs are now going to buy McGinn back for £50M?

[Montgomery Brewster]

9 hours ago, Bridge of Djoum said:

The boy on the right looks trustworthy.

? FTH

[BangkokHearts]

Tesco Easter Road.

 

Tick tock.

[Shanks]

So it only takes £6m to buy a tin pot club.  I wish we had saved the FOH money and then used it to buy that shithole and then complete Mercer's dream.

[Finlay James]

Hibs guys on Facebook giving it "Hibs are loaded" chat.  I don't think they realise the financial mess they were in and this guy seems savvy so won't be throwing money around.  It really is just same old for them.

 

Genuinely nothing to see here.

[Brave Hearts]

7 hours ago, Inch Hearts said:

 

Well out of order.  O’Brien was well loved by many innocent people in Edinburgh and left devastated what came out.

 

The yank has nothing to gain buying them.  I think he will sell the barn and build a golf course and a hotel.  Seeing Farmer the way he is is personally upsetting knowing how good he is to the catholic community but he needed to sell now as his kids didn’t want to be left with that shitty mess of a club. 

 

Nothing is ‘well out of order’ with iainmac comments.

 

But the things that Cardinal O’Brien  done were certainly WELL OUT OF ORDER

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/disgraced-cardinal-keith-obrien-prevented-inquiry-into-sexual-abuse-8781698.html

 

 

 

[jambo-rocker]

A strong Hibs tends to lead to a stronger Hearts.

 

We welcome the chase.

[Tom Hardy’s Dug]

Has the guys passed the fit and proper test for owners?

 

Havent sen any reports on that or that this is subject to that - odd?

 

Osnt there a conflict of interest on that point given Petrieis ‘high up’ in the body running Scottish football...?

[Locky]

Just watched Dempster's interview regarding foreign investment in Scottish football.

 

While very good at her job obviously, is it just me or does she sound like a bumbling mess when she talks? If it wasn't for the subtitles I genuinely think I'd struggle to piece together what she's trying to say.

[Kiwidoug]

1 hour ago, GorgieFifeLife said:

Sorry? Try and hide what?  I am assuming that because I acknowledge a good investment for Hibs I must be a fan of theirs. If that is the case I think you need to grow up.  Competition is good and keeps you sharp.  He has stated his aim is to win the league which is the kind of ambition you look for from an owner.  He must be intending to make a significant investment to achieve this goal.

Failed miserably but keep trying.

[Julie1957]

Remember Notts county and Bristol Rovers.

[Tom Hardy’s Dug]

19 minutes ago, Longshanks said:

So it only takes £6m to buy a tin pot club.  I wish we had saved the FOH money and then used it to buy that shithole and then complete Mercer's dream.

 

Maybe we have ?

[Rudolf]

36 minutes ago, WheatfieldWarrior said:

 

Look like Farmer was getting on in years and needed to offload the Hibs on to some one younger.

 

Most likely this will make little difference to how Hibs perform - you need to put in big, big money to change the outcome in this league, and I don't see that here. 

Farmer charged Hibs £5M after arranging a deal to wipe out around £9M that was due to LBG on their mortgages. When this was done, Hibs announced they were 'debt free' although the £5M was repayable to Farmer at £500K per annum for 10 years.

 

They've been paying this (mainly through their HSL scam) for 3-4 years so circa £3 to £3.5M outstanding.

 

Farmer is now 79 and frail. He's not likely to be around for another 6 or 7 years to get his money back, so this deal is perfect for him and his family as well as Petrie who'll also get a chunk of dough for his shares.

 

HSL look like they've been royally shafted. They'll never achieve the 51% they were supposedly after, all they've done is pay Farmer back some of his loan to them that seemed to be the actual purpose of HSL anyway with Hibs director's on their board. They kept the scam going though, fair play to them on that front.

 

And they call us gullible

 

 

[Shanks]

7 minutes ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:

 

Maybe we have ?

 

[Nookie Bear]

8 minutes ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:

 

Maybe we have ?

 

Looking forward to the Scooby Do style unveiling at the press conference where they announce the club is bankrupt.

[GorgieFifeLife]

20 minutes ago, Kiwidoug said:

Failed miserably but keep trying.

Get a grip.

[davemclaren]

1 hour ago, GorgieFifeLife said:

Sorry? Try and hide what?  I am assuming that because I acknowledge a good investment for Hibs I must be a fan of theirs. If that is the case I think you need to grow up.  Competition is good and keeps you sharp.  He has stated his aim is to win the league which is the kind of ambition you look for from an owner.  He must be intending to make a significant investment to achieve this goal.

Not necessarily, words are cheap. 

[better_call_saul]

20 minutes ago, GorgieFifeLife said:

Get a grip.

 

Bye now.

[Who_put_the_ball_in...]

Basicly Farmer is old and needed shot of the club. He tried to sell it to the fans but they only raised a small amount of what was needed so he punted it to a random guy from Peru. 

[scott herbertson]

Not much is really known of his intentions from what I have read. He could be the genuine article, and this is his hobby business. Or he coul dbe out to make money for himself. If I was a Hibs fan, i would be looking carefully at the ownership structure and any changes he makes, particularly in terms of buying more of the shares , separating the ground ownership of the stadium and east mains from the club itself etc. These are tell tale signs if his intentions are not good.

 

However, on the surface good news for them. Which is not good news for us IMO. We'll just have to make him realise what a poor investment he''s made by beating them over and over as per usual.

 

[Beast Boy]

1 hour ago, jambo-rocker said:

A strong Hibs tends to lead to a stronger Hearts.

 

We welcome the chase.

 

This is very true. 2005/06 had some real highlights for Hearts supporters, but one of the things that is often forgotten, is it coincided with what Hibs fans thought was going to a period of dominance for them. They had assembled a team of talented youngsters who were maturing in 2005 and they were to go on and swing the Edinburgh football pendulum back in their direction... we smashed 4 goals past them a few times and got the cigars out. 

 

Whether this guy manages to improve Hibs remains to be seen, but the benchmark is £1.4m p/a to come close to us. That’s before you take in to account our higher turnover outside of FoH.