letsallsingtogether
Well-Known Member
And that is the problem we face Playing tennis with our Club.
It's just not football.
It's just not football.
Coventry City owners invite council to talks over Sky Blues returning to Ricoh Arena (7 Viewers)
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RoboCCFC90
Well-Known Member
Maybe because people hope that just once, he may tell the truth?
If you always do, what you've always done..
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
Quite canny of SISU this. After the "protest" outside the council house fans were saying it's not up to ACL it's up to SISU to do all the running. Well, it seems like they are now doing that. I'm glad they've "outed" Lucas too as I've said before she's hiding behind the JR a little too much.
Will it lead to a resolution? Nah, I don't think so and whatever happens some sections are going to be upset. Personally, I hope they can sort something out so Cov can at last return to Cov.
Will it lead to a resolution? Nah, I don't think so and whatever happens some sections are going to be upset. Personally, I hope they can sort something out so Cov can at last return to Cov.
The Gentleman
Well-Known Member
No, but was it not Joy herself using Shrewsbury FC as one of her examples in her interview with Les Reid. 1999 planning went in, 2007/08 season turnstiles open.
Example - a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation
Her words, not mine.
olderskyblue
Well-Known Member
Why do you think that torch?
olderskyblue
Well-Known Member
So Joy could have arranged to meet with Anne to sort this out then, rather than enter into more rhetoric?
Sub
Well-Known Member
seen as SISU have invested millions in a failing business (because of there own failings and mistakes) why should they be given a council owned asset for free or next to nothing?
RoboCCFC90
Well-Known Member
Fisher has also used Rotherham and Brentford as examples but should we be quick to assume these cases as well for our case?
I hope we get back to the Ricoh, I might not love it as much as Highfield Road, but it's a fantastic facility and with the right momentum and atmosphere things could be good there with respect to the Football Club playing there.
RoboCCFC90
Well-Known Member
RoboCCFC90
Well-Known Member
Can someone from the Trust reading this page explain to me what steps they can take now to get these two parties talking, CCC and SISU have both said they're willing to talk to on another is there anything that the Trust can do to push this over the line?
Sky Blue Sheepy
New Member
Whilst I've little doubt the intentions are to force the Council into an awkward position, theres no one part of the statement that I particularly disagree with on face value.
They are right now putting together a statement explaining how the trust has forced both parties to talk about talks.
sky blue john
Well-Known Member
I should imagine they are working tirelessly behind the scenes in evading protest. But will take credit as soon as a meeting is announced !!!!
Sub
Well-Known Member
how do you work that out ? SISU's failings have cost them money, not the fans, council or ACL its all SISU's failings that they have lost money from the second they took control of the club right up to the point we are at now, poor due dillagence, poor running of the club, their directors they chose that cut the playing squad to the bone that got us relegated ect ect, its all down to them they drove the fans away they got us relegated with cost cutting they moved the club from its home city and all this has cost them millions the finger completley points at SISU here.
Yes the Council have taken advantage with the rent but that was there at the start when they took over, if it was a problem it should of been sorted then but they didnt because they wanted to make a killing and a quick buck but bottled it and now end up losing money hand over fist. i have no sympathy for a company that has made a rod for its own back and is now trying to rip the stadium away from the cov tax payers for next to nothing.
covmark
Well-Known Member
I don't think I could take another statement.
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
very poor article from the Telegraph, surely it's not beyond them to ask the most basic questions of SISU. Or even if SISU won't answer them indicate they have been asked and show that the CT have a grasp on what is going on. it seems a way of SISU trying to fool people into thinking they are open to talks while at the same time clearly stating they are only prepared to talk on their own terms. Why not just come to the table and see what is on offer before sending out snide press releases?
From the first line it's laughable, "Coventry City have today issued a public invitation to council leader Ann Lucas to “sit down and talk” urgently about returning to the Ricoh Arena.". Surely a lot easier to just respond to one of the many public invitations Ann Lucas has made to Sepalla for talks?
"We have repeatedly asked the council to discuss a sale of the Ricoh Arena to the club." Two points here, have they made an offer to purchase the freehold. If they wish to purchase it then that would be a logical step. Also the issue we keep bringing up on here of why do they need ownership of the freehold. As far as I can tell the only benefit is that SISU can debt load against the freehold to get their money back before walking away leaving CCFC with massive debts to pay. I've yet to see any other case presented for ownership of the freehold.
"The senior council officers (Chris West and Martin Reeves) who also serve as directors of Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) have told us that they have no authority to discuss this with us, only the council leadership can do so", statements like this just make SISU look clueless. Why not speak to the council leadership, they have repeatedly offered to talk.
“So it is a very simple question for Cllr Lucas: is she prepared to discuss a freehold sale of the Ricoh?", again can someone from the Telegraph please ask SISU to explain why they need ownership of the freehold which brings zero revenue.
“We can’t wait around much longer and are therefore pushing ahead with our efforts to acquire a site.”, what happened to "we've moved on", it increasingly sounds like they've got nowhere with the plans for a new ground and we're now about 6 months into the 3 year timeframe they originally gave for completion of the project.
The mentions of the JR sound like playground stuff, it's not the attitude you want to take with someone you're looking to do a business deal with. No one in their right mind would do the opposite of what they've been advised by their legal team. Here's an idea, if SISU are so keen for CCC to be able to speak freely why not drop the JR? Also interesting to note that the statement about the JR is very similar to tweets being sent out by Get Cov Back to the Ricoh and Les Reid. If you were the suspicious type you might draw the conclusion that there was some link between the three.
Then we get to the full text of the statement, the interesting thing to note here is that SISU now seem to be issuing statements through the CT now rather than their own website. The first paragraph is cringe worthy and an embarrassment to the club.
They then state "Most sensible people agree that a football club, any football club, needs to own its stadium in order to be financially viable on a long-term basis.". This reads like a forum post where someone puts FACT at the end to prove it's true. On what basis are they making this statement? The CT poll that showed the majority didn't want SISU to take ownership of the Ricoh? The figures we saw from the FL recently that showed only 20 teams owned their own ground? Maybe they have some other evidence in which case it would be nice if they shared it with us.
Why on earth would CCC have commissioned an independent valuation on an asset that isn't for sale? And why would SISU know if they had or not?
"And we’d still like to know the real reason why Cllr Lucas authorised ACL’s rejection of the CVA which cost “my beloved Sky Blues” another 10 points." Not sure what they are getting at here? Wasn't aware that Ann Lucas was a director of ACL.
Overall it's a very childish response and the fact that the CT chooses to print it without questioning any of it's contents is for me very poor. They may not have the resources to do major investigative journalism but pretty much any poster on here could have done a better job of pointing out the gaping holes in the statement.
From the first line it's laughable, "Coventry City have today issued a public invitation to council leader Ann Lucas to “sit down and talk” urgently about returning to the Ricoh Arena.". Surely a lot easier to just respond to one of the many public invitations Ann Lucas has made to Sepalla for talks?
"We have repeatedly asked the council to discuss a sale of the Ricoh Arena to the club." Two points here, have they made an offer to purchase the freehold. If they wish to purchase it then that would be a logical step. Also the issue we keep bringing up on here of why do they need ownership of the freehold. As far as I can tell the only benefit is that SISU can debt load against the freehold to get their money back before walking away leaving CCFC with massive debts to pay. I've yet to see any other case presented for ownership of the freehold.
"The senior council officers (Chris West and Martin Reeves) who also serve as directors of Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) have told us that they have no authority to discuss this with us, only the council leadership can do so", statements like this just make SISU look clueless. Why not speak to the council leadership, they have repeatedly offered to talk.
“So it is a very simple question for Cllr Lucas: is she prepared to discuss a freehold sale of the Ricoh?", again can someone from the Telegraph please ask SISU to explain why they need ownership of the freehold which brings zero revenue.
“We can’t wait around much longer and are therefore pushing ahead with our efforts to acquire a site.”, what happened to "we've moved on", it increasingly sounds like they've got nowhere with the plans for a new ground and we're now about 6 months into the 3 year timeframe they originally gave for completion of the project.
The mentions of the JR sound like playground stuff, it's not the attitude you want to take with someone you're looking to do a business deal with. No one in their right mind would do the opposite of what they've been advised by their legal team. Here's an idea, if SISU are so keen for CCC to be able to speak freely why not drop the JR? Also interesting to note that the statement about the JR is very similar to tweets being sent out by Get Cov Back to the Ricoh and Les Reid. If you were the suspicious type you might draw the conclusion that there was some link between the three.
Then we get to the full text of the statement, the interesting thing to note here is that SISU now seem to be issuing statements through the CT now rather than their own website. The first paragraph is cringe worthy and an embarrassment to the club.
They then state "Most sensible people agree that a football club, any football club, needs to own its stadium in order to be financially viable on a long-term basis.". This reads like a forum post where someone puts FACT at the end to prove it's true. On what basis are they making this statement? The CT poll that showed the majority didn't want SISU to take ownership of the Ricoh? The figures we saw from the FL recently that showed only 20 teams owned their own ground? Maybe they have some other evidence in which case it would be nice if they shared it with us.
Why on earth would CCC have commissioned an independent valuation on an asset that isn't for sale? And why would SISU know if they had or not?
"And we’d still like to know the real reason why Cllr Lucas authorised ACL’s rejection of the CVA which cost “my beloved Sky Blues” another 10 points." Not sure what they are getting at here? Wasn't aware that Ann Lucas was a director of ACL.
Overall it's a very childish response and the fact that the CT chooses to print it without questioning any of it's contents is for me very poor. They may not have the resources to do major investigative journalism but pretty much any poster on here could have done a better job of pointing out the gaping holes in the statement.
Sub
Well-Known Member
Fisher threatend to liquidate the club and refused to pay the rent on a legally binding contract, what else could they do apart from take them to court for money owed? SISU started the game by refusing to pay the rent and now have had thier bluff called they have taken CCFC away from its home city and cut their own throat on the income, but its ok the fans will be back after three games and we are building a new stadium because the boat has sailed on going back to the ricoh
ointlaugh:
sky blue john
Well-Known Member
Yes but a statement to say that there will be an impending statement. Not the final statement wouldn't hurt the situation ?
As long as it not a knee jerk statement we should be ok !!
RoboCCFC90
Well-Known Member
Sub
Well-Known Member
do you or are you employed by SISU or a company that SISU have hired?
how many times has Anne lucas asked to meet seppalla only to be met with she is a private person and doesnt meet people ?
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chiefdave
Well-Known Member
If the council do issue a response I hope it's asks SISU to clarify why they need ownership of the freehold, what benefit it is to CCFC and why they have not yet submitted a bid.
olderskyblue
Well-Known Member
I can't wait for NW's take on this. I know how much he likes statements to the press....
torchomatic
Well-Known Member
Cllr Lucas has not so far confirmed that she will discuss a sale and does not appear to have commissioned an independent valuation to get the ball rolling
covcity4life
Well-Known Member
they do if they want the club back though
sisu want to own a ground for ccfc, nothing wrong with owners wanting that
council are saying you cant have ricoh and you cant build your own within coventry
does that not seem slightest bit unfair?
Sub
Well-Known Member
it does seem unfair, but does not paying the rent on a legally binding contract and ripping off a charity and moving a football team 34 mile away from its fans seem fair either ?
covcity4life
Well-Known Member
I think you are completely missing the point. The fans don't believe Fisher at all {what has happened to him by the way} , and particularly his statement that we have moved on. They constantly mention his oft repeated line only to ridicule him. Indeed Fisher's assertion that, 'we have moved on', is probably the one thing that both sides of this debate agree is total nonsense.