Have been away on holiday this last week but read this forum from time to time. Kind of let me stand back a little.
The prime function it seems to me of TF is not stadium locating but division management, and that works very well judging from what I see on here. What he says often has an element of truth, and that seed of truth enables fans/media to take different slants on things and there by be disunited and looking at all sorts of the periphery. He lets out little snippets, briefs the SCG and massages their egos and has quiet chats with others who spread his message (yes I know others seem to also). He points the finger elsewhere, aggressively if necessary, throws in phrases he knows will annoy, others that he knows panders to others, It propagates division, ensures there is no real unity against the owners
Both sides of the media make their points, have their agenda, create headlines then frankly do not dig at all, do not get answers to the real questions. Why are SISU still here, what keeps them here..... its all very well saying they are digging heels in but why? Far too much of what is put in print is unsubstantiated opinion - so from that point of view doing FOI's is something better even if it gives us the answer we expect.
I don't think building a new stadium is the priority any more. So frankly not surprised there is no evidence from the FOI's. I think building a combined training and academy base might be the plan and it is all about wealth extraction. Is BPA important to them ? TF talks about stadium, hotel, retail etc but that requires investment protected from the football club, it requires a commonality of thinking/planning that seems now contradictory at best and partnership with others - so not just "political embargos" preventing it what ever that means
I don't believe Wasps will kick us out but I don't think they will rush to give us any better deal either. The rent may well go up. So TF is comfortable with that risk. That means no pressure to get a stadium built
Then there is the sale of Ryton, I think the plan is actually to generate the funds to invest in a training ground & Academy site. The Ryton sale provides the down payment, add to that the probability of grants being available, the possibility of using player sales (justified by saying "building for the future"), the reduced budget against the increased loyalty payments and you have the potential for creating value in the land assets for the club that can be sold probably with a premium to clear the ARVO debt. I wouldn't think any potential buyer would take on the debts of Otium (loans or preference shares) only the assets, ARVO have a charge over all the assets. So not asset stripping no, and not ready to leave yet either.
It could also be a reason why the Trust interest right now was so unwelcome, right now the value of Ryton is its current use not its development use, you cant have a professional team with nowhere to train, buy the assets of CCFC now and it is millions less than it could be. The reaction to the Trust letter was in my opinion, unprofessional, over the top, deliberately misleading and very calculated. Some of the reaction to the enquiry by the Trust on here and in the media quite ill informed and in my view was amusing had it not been so desperate and sad - the one thing it did illustrate was how divided the fans were, preferring to in fight. Division management - is working and TF is a master at it. Don't look here look over there.
Oh and the value of Otium is £1 not hard to provide proof of funds at that level - as Ian 1779 said on another thread its the working capital that is key - but if Cashflow neutral or positive how big a key?
If the above thought on Ryton is correct, the question would be do we forget the stadium, encourage the Ryton sale, expect new training facilities, trust CCFC/SISU to get it built and cross our fingers SISU then sell - history says that's risky. (that probably also means fan ownership will not happen though)
Final thoughts are, its correct all sides need to be held to account, it is correct that some blame lays elsewhere BUT that doesn't actually provide solutions, that will take compromise humility and looking forwards not back. We all know what we expect CCC & Wasps to compromise on what is it that SISU will?