A few thoughts.
It's good, in my mind, that smeone comes forward and reveals themselves. It's also good that it's not Hoffman or Elliot - it shows there are other people out there! Never heard of him before but it proves the point - why would I, until and unless he got involved? So it shows there would be others out there too. Whatever happens with this particular group, that gives us hope in the 'who would take us over?' question that gets asked. There'd be *somebody* prepared to fund us.
A few words of caution.
His business has been sold for £208mil, how big a proportion of that did he get? If he got all of it, he's in a strong position. If it was shared between 20, say, then it's still not a small wedge, but would affect his buying power in terms of how much cash he has to throw down the loo. Now as part of a consortium that's not necessarily an issue, but him breaking cover still desn't assuage the concern that the consortium doesn't have the means to fund the club going forward. Not yet, anyway.
On that note, handing Ryton over to SISU worries me, immensely. If the consortium is flush, it could buy Ryton, use it until an alternative is found, and then sell it on. To not be able to do that suggests capital may be limited, and also suggests we're in danger of repeating the mistakes that saw us end up at the RIcoh, where we sell an asset without adequately replacing it. I don't think we should accept the loss of Ryton so readily as we seem to be doing. It's ours, and it's the only thing we have, that ties us to our past... let alone use of it for training!
I'm reassured about the 'detailed discussions' about the SISU debt, bizarrely. It suggests it's not as simple, from his POV, as just handing over a relatively small pot of cash and then bogging off. It suggests a deal might be able to be worked out that keeps everyone happy. That being said, the margin is tight where SISU are happy, but the club isn't shafted.
I worry about the 'good relationships with Wasps' line. Couple that with Italia banging on, and I can understand the tinfoil, that people are trying to move SISU on for whatever reason. I agree, we all want SISU moved on, but I'd be slightly concerned that in some cases (not this chap's, I hasten to add) there might be some pushing in certain areas for reasons not necessarily in CCFC's best interests. I can already see JR9 in the offing, based on some of the statements and things that come out. If that were the case... it wouldn't be over till it was over.
On to Wasps / Ricoh. I accept pragmatically, a deal has to be done to stay at the RIcoh in the short/medium term. I'd say long-term any self-respecting football club has to be looking for its own home however, if for nothing else, as a means of cultural identity. You'd hope that as the motivation for doing this is pride in the club and the city, that philosophically he'd agree, even if pragmatically, short term, Ricoh deals have to be done.
If Joe Elliott could restrict himself to advising on who is worth forging relationships with in the city that'd be lovely. Please, please, please stop him from saying anything about the calibre of the people who would end up on the board of the football club. If he praises them, you know we're doomed!
But it does show that, even if we were to go pop, there would be people willing to come forward to ensure CCFC doesn't die completely. That's a positive thing... but with caution.
