My feelings:-
SISU – they blew the future of CCFC many years ago by dropping the offer for the Higgs share to £2 million, a catastrophic strategic error. They were used to playing hardball in a purely commercial environment, and had no political nous whatsoever. It has cost us everything, and I really don’t think these continuing legal actions will ever pay us back.
The Council – their hardline approach continues to damage the football club, but I wasn’t too surprised about bringing Wasps in because the Council couldn’t afford to be held over a barrel by SISU as the only game in town.
Wasps – not fussed about rugby or about them. They hadn’t been a proper London club for at least a decade before they came. I really hoped that the rugby franchise would make the Ricoh more viable, potentially making the whole package (stadium, football club, rugby club) attractive to some billionaire.
Where we are now - in the worst kind of deadlock. Two clubs (or at least their slimy owners) laden with huge debts battling out to the death, to see who goes bankrupt first. It’s not as if this can be resolved quickly, because SISU lit the European fuse knowing it would burn for years and couldn't be extinguished. I can’t see even a billionaire touching either club with a bargepole, and SISU’s “alternative stadium plans” are pie in the sky.
I would just say to Wasps – YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO CCFC! There’s a European investigation under way, and you’re saying that if it finds one of your past dealings was against the rules, you want a third party to indemnify you against the consequences? Get real, and accept that you are now at the mercy of the Eurocrats. And even after that’s over, you’ll still be stuck with Joy Sepalla trying every trick in the book for many years to come. So in the meantime, the only honourable course (and the only way to save any reputation in the city) is to let CCFC play at the Ricoh on fair terms.
Will I watch home games in Birmingham? Can’t say at the moment, I’m too conflicted.
