Hoffman will pay £1 for the sky blues if agreed (3 Viewers)

FORMER Coventry City vice chairman Gary Hoffman offered to buy Sky Blues for £1.
But if current owners Sisu agree to the deal he has promised to provide £20million to cover their running costs and strengthen the squad plus another £10mil lion to buy a half-share in the Ricoh Arena.

Hoffman's group offered to buy 100 per cent of the football club for £1. He then went back in with a written offer that included payments to owners Sisu if City get promoted to the Premier League in the next three seasons. The club's board and owners said the second offer did not comply with Football League rules because it was not on letter headed paper or signed.

Hoffman insisted that the investors he has lined up for City are not time-wasters.

"I want to put the facts straight because most fans are fed up with rumours and I want to tell them where we have got to on this,"

"Above all, we should all be getting behind Andy Thorn and his team ahead of the new season.

"As far as the offer goes, yes I made a verbal offer on behalf of investors about six weeks ago. I met the chairman, Ken Dulieu, to do this. Having not heard anything after a week, I chased and the offer was rejected.

"I then put an offer in writing, handed the offer letter over to the chairman and explained who the investors were * well known people from the UK and some overseas investors; football people and business people with great reputations.

"I said in the letter that proof of funds would be provided through legal representatives. The chairman said he would explain to the board that it was a serious and formal offer.

"I had already explained and put in writing that, as well as the offer to Sisu for 100 per cent of the shares of the club, the investors were prepared to invest over £20million in the club and, additionally, exercise the option as soon as possible to buy 50 per cent of the stadium. In total it is likely they would be prepared to invest over £30million.

"The offer, I am sure, was unpalatable to Sisu because we were proposing that all the up-front money went into the club and stadium.

"Even so, it was more generous than what Sisu offered shareholders three years ago when they took over.

"Shares that had been in families for decades were taken off them with no recompense because they were promised a brighter Sky Blue future. Geoffrey Robinson and others were forced to write off all their investment and Sky Blues supporters gave up their shares for nothing.

"Sisu have put money in and we were all grateful for that but we are no further forward.

"I did not receive a reply to my letter so chased after a week again.

"The reply I got was that the chairman had presented the proposals to the board and explained why the letter was not, at this stage, signed by the investors. But he said he had been instructed by the shareholders * Sisu and Leonard Brody * to write back saying they would not consider it unless it was on letter headed paper! How ridiculous.

"In the letter I had offered to work together on a way forward that was in the interest of all stakeholders. But I got no response to the substance of my proposals, just that it needed to be on letter headed paper.

"The investors were reluctant to do this because previous correspondence had been mistakenly copied on to people that should not have seen stuff. So the investors have said to me that the ball is now in Sisu's court if they want to talk about the way forward and they have taken the offer off the table until we are approached by Sisu."

He added: "These people are not time wasters and nor am I. I have spoken to many potential investors and brought forward serious ones. But they are frustrated by lack of response and having to chase * it is a waste of their time!" Asked to expand on his reasons for leaving the board earlier this year, Hoffman said: "The specifics should remain confidential, but everyone knows that the catalyst was the loan of Conor Thomas to Liverpool. It was grabbing at short-term money by offloading someone with long-term potential * a recurring feature that I was worried about.

"In reality, I should have probably resigned at the beginning of last year like Mike Parton * another serious businessman * but I wanted to stay to help Ray Ranson and stabilise things.

"Everyone can guess that I did not have a great relationship with Sisu.
That was because the board was often misled and given inaccurate information. Sisu only gave us month by month and week by week promises rather than a plan for the year or three years that would have enabled Ray and the management team to do their job.

"I was also concerned by the way in which people were being treated.
There are lots of good people who were trying to do the right thing that have left the club."

Joe Elliott was suspended as the club's life president last month after being accused of collaborating with the takeover bid but Hoffman said: "I thought that was ridiculous, because Joe is Sky Blue through and through.

"He was the one who drove the length and breadth of the country helping Sisu get share certificates off Sky Blue supporters three-and-a-half years ago.

"The then board, who were being asked to write off lots of money, didn't throw him off because they knew he was acting in the best interests of the club. I have helped Sisu get money in over the last couple of years and so has Joe. We are just trying to act in the best interest of the club and I am surprised that the local people on the board went along with his suspension." sion."

Hoffman claims that another reason for him leaving the board was because of their communication with the supporters.

"I applaud saying more to fans about what is going on," he said, "but the transpar ency has been extremely selective.

"There has been lots going on that they have not been transparent about.
For example, there was too much mortgaging of the future, which is a bit like buying your house on a credit card * ultimately it has to come to an end. I won't go into detail but I objected to it several times."

He added: "Superficial tweeting does not help either * it just gives a sense of keeping in touch but hasn't really kept people up-to-date with key developments on or off the pitch."

Hoffman confirmed that manager Andy Thorn has the full backing of him and his investors, and was recommended by Ray Ranson to become manager when Aidy Boothroyd was sacked.

"I think Andy was a great appointment," said Hoffman, who hinted that there may be a way back for Ranson.
"Of course when Ray Ranson recommended him as manager most of the board would not have understood what he had done with Ray as chief scout in signing some great young players.

"Interestingly, I have been talking to Ray for a couple of years about convincing him to be Director of Football with Andy Thorn and Steve Harrison looking after day to day matters."

As for the three star players who have walked away from the club this summer, Hoffman claims City missed their chance to get them signed up, saying: "It is a shame we haven't kept Marlon King, Keiren Westwood or Aron Gunnarsson. There were opportunities to get them tied up in the past that were missed because of money. But it is good to get the two new goalkeepers. Ray Ranson and Andy Thorn always regarded Joe Murphy as a natural replacement if we lost Westwood."

Asked what he feels the future holds for the club if City and Sisu fail to find fresh investors themselves or do business with his people, the life-long City fan fears the Sky Blues could end up in administration, taking a tenpoint hit and the likelihood of being relegated to League One like Southampton did in 2009.

It is likely that Hoffman and his people would step in if Sisu put the club into administration, but that is less than ideal as it would mean City being deducted points that would seriously hamper any promotion bid.

"If Sisu found investment I would be the first to applaud them," said Hoffman, who remains an associate director of the club.

"The board said that the players' wages budget would be the same as last year but that is not the signal they are sending out.

"As it stands the club will be looking at a number of options including cutting the wage bill drastically so that Sisu does not have to invest too much more, although getting to breakeven will probably take nine months and an extra £4-£5million of invest ment.

"This is not palatable for anyone and is the road Southampton went down.

"Administration is bad news for everyone but some investors will be waiting for it but, for the time being, Sisu clearly don't want that. Rather they will hang on, manage month to month, reduce the wage bill and hope for a fairy godmother. In my ex perience they rarely come along.

"So my investors are waiting in the wings but they have been frustrated with waiting for re plies and with the reaction we got to what was a serious pro posal of significant investment in the club.

"Above all, I just feel sorry for the situation everyone finds themselves in. I just hope for a good start to the season, although I know it will be difficult."

ericagradus said:

Thank you for this. Can you confirm where you are getting your quotes from?

Click to expand...

Yep no problems its the CET