man....we're up, we're down, we're up. And still no official announcement. I'm looking forward to the day everyone talks about the games again.
Rumor on other message boards is that it's done, but has to be approved by the FA and they'd be turning in the paperwork for approval today. Rumors about future ground enlargement/redevelopment have been mixed in with this... a story from Friday's Daily Mail rehashes stuff we've already seen, but also notes:
"We believe the new investment coming into the Club will be the most important for years; will save QPR from the perilous financial position we have found ourselves in over the past years; and should put the Club in an excellent position to move forward." Yeah, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Absolutely! I think we can be certain that SOMETHING is going to change this week. It will certainly be positive, but what I'll be very interested to see is... 1) What will Caliendo and Zanotti be getting, or how will they still be involved 2) What concessions has Gianni made from his original "hand shake" deal 3) Who else is involved with Briatore This is going to be a huge week
I'm guessing those two won't be actively involved, will be paid for their shares, and will have their unsecured loans paid back under certain conditions (presumably involving promotion to the Premier League). It'll be interesting to see what info is made public. Yep... huge week.
The BBC now has a story up that mostly quotes the new story on the official site. They say the resignations today came "after major shareholder Antonio Caliendo and his backers agreed to sell their stake in the club."
There should be a flood of national media following now, with the same quotes. I'll be listening to BBC London tonight - it should be one of the big stories on the sport show from 7 (2 ET). http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/
The Takeover was indeed discussed on BBC Radio London. No new information from it, just a pretty good interview with Paul Finney from the Independent R's. He gave a fans perspective of the situation. Said that the news is good, but we've been promised the moon before and got a disaster. I'd say the mood is definitely tempered optimism at the moment.
Glad to hear it. Over on the Indy R's site, Bill Power said a thank you to Finney for his statements on the radio. Good reading. Of course, there's still plenty negativity and moaning to be found there, too.
Good stuff The Ealing Gazette has released an up to date story with a nice summary of what is expected to happen... http://icealing.icnetwork.co.uk/spo...objectid=19664553&siteid=67372-name_page.html
Just beat me to it! If the new owners can pay off ABC and loan the club the same money at 6.5 percent instead of ABC's 11 percent, that should go a long way toward helping the club balance the books.
Small story in today's Daily Mirror. No new news, but includes a quote of Finney's from yesterday's radio show.
Michael Mancienne speaks in today's Daily Mail. Nice quotes from Michael: He's training with the England U-21s and could get his first cap at that level tonight against Romania. Blackstock is also on that squad. There are more quotes in the article about getting the chance to play for the England U-21s and meeting Stuart Pearce for the first time, etc.
Interesting to get some player opnion on the takeover. Makes you wonder, with the bad start, if it's been somewhat of a distraction. Gregory certainly must be thinking about it a lot. He's had a very good relationship with Paladini, and I'm sure the news that Gianni will remain Chairman is a relief for Gregory. There's no doubt that the squad needs strengthening, and not just from loanees. So I don't think that the players will be looking over their shoulders too much if there's more money to spend. Hopefully there will be some solid news on Briatore's plans this week and the players can get back to playing some decent football at Burnley on Saturday.
good god please please please let this be true. it's a mark of being a QPR follower that even now I won't believe it completely until it's officially announced. As for GP staying on, IMO if Gregory wants it, then I'm fine with it. GP seems to have let Gregory have his head (to use a horse riding term) if you will with the squad, and JG is IMO the best thing QPR has going for it at the moment. Give the man what he needs, and I truly believe he'll give us as good a chance to get back to the Prem as anyone can. super curious about ground redevelopment possibilities, we've all been to Loftus Road, I don't see how they can increase capacity easily.
UUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRss! I don't either. I suppose that the South Africa Road Stand could be rebuilt, since there is a little room behind it, but that would be a stretch. Maybe it could be spruced up a little. Otherwise, I'd say a new ground could be more of an option.
What I've read in some quarters is about a redevelopment of the Ellerslie Road Stand to a two-tier stand.
Hmm - I think that in some ways that's the hardest thing to do. While the building would go up, I'm not sure how anything new can be added with the area so thin behind the stand. It's next to impossible to move in the alley behind the stand as is, how would they get 8,000 more people into the upstairs? I'd love to see the R's stay at LR forever, but the space is just so limiting. Cramming more people into it might just make the place even less comfortable. Not that I go there for comfort...
Too bad the buyout can't include buying all those pesky houses on Ellerslie Road! Yeah, there is very little room on the Ellerslie Road side. I think I've only had seats over there twice, but it's tough to get a beer at halftime... or to do anything over there, for that matter.