7 July 2009: Liebherr

That's Markus Liebherr, the new owner of Saints. He's very rich and has bought the club for 12.5 million pounds, or one of Christiano Ronaldo's knees.

He is leaning on a small tank, which is what he used to destroy Rupert Lowe and all his works.

We just have to speak very quietly and don't let on that 'League One' is not actually the top division in English football...

Footnote: As of right now, Google News has zero articles if you search on "Markus Liebherr". Wonder what it will reach in a day or two?

7 July 2009: Waitrose

Away from Saints, we were in Chicago last weekend.

And while I don't have time to go into the whole Taste Of Chicago debacle (but let's just say if we'd have known that the 2008 event featured four people being shot, one fatally, we might have not gone and thus avoided the stampede when a Saints-like rumour of 'THEY'RE SHOOTING GUNS" was being loudly dispensed from the mouths of hundreds of people running full-pelt away from the event, combined with the police advising "get out of town now"), it was certainly a time of ups and downs.

Ups included seeing a show by the wonderful, and I mean fantastic, Improvised Shakespeare Company, who are based in Chicago and who improvise a Shakespeare-style play based on audience suggestions (and on any props that happen to break during the performance); seeing Moody Bible College campus; eating at Giordano's (of course!). Downs included having to wait for ages for the commuter train out of town after the Taste debacle, getting a little ill after eating too much Giordano's, and the frozen chicken they served me at IHOP.

But as the photo above shows, if you go to Borders in Michigan Avenue in central Chicago, you can get an interesting selection of magazines to peruse while enjoying your peppermint tea and Rice Krispie square. In particular, a wide-ranging selection of BBC magazines and several well-known UK football periodicals led to an extended stay, but the most interesting is the one almost clipped out of the photo above. Let me give you another photo:



Yes, it's Waitrose Food Illustrated. Included an article on a guy in China who made his own bacon (yes, it's going to happen in Kokomo as well, as soon as we source some decent organic pork). I had no idea it had any kind of circulation outside the UK. In fact, I had no idea it had any kind of circulation outside of Waitrose.

Interestingly, I have a cousin-in-law who's something of a somebody within Waitrose/John Lewis, and the two photos above have as a result now made their way within the Waitrose organisation, along with a suggestion that they should do a story on me making sausages. Sounds a little unexciting to me, but I'll happily trade them my story for a supply of those yellow corn-fed chickens and made a Gressingham duck.

7 July 2009: Expectation

Yesterday, today was tomorrow. That means that today, tomorrow is today. So the takeover of Saints should happen today. Right?

Well, actually, maybe yes. The latest Daily Echo report states that today is, most likely, the day and that an announcement should come later. The report also adds what amounts to a disclaimer:

There always remains the chance of last-minute complications but the remaining couple of glitches are expected to be ironed out this morning so that a formal announcement of the club’s new ownership can be made later in the day.

Always the chance of last-minute complications? What, with Saints, where everything runs so smoothly and always to plan?

Update 10.05am eastern: BBC Radio Solent report in their 3pm news bulletin that the deal is "on the brink of being completed", along with news that "all issues have been resolved" and "contracts are now being drawn up". BBC Sport website also reporting the same thing. Expect the SaintsWeb forum to crash.

Update 11.13 eastern: Solent in their 4pm bulletin report that essentially the deal is done and that funds are being transferred, but that transfer may not be complete until tomorrow morning. Nothing new from the Echo or other sources, but as Radio Solent is aimed mainly at listeners over the age of 200, they tend to keep excitement to a minimum and are the least likely of any media to sensationalise a story... still, it's never over until the fat lady sings, as they say...

Update 1.08 eastern: The Echo continues to state other bidders are still in the running, but concede all details have now been ironed out with the Swiss bid. Meantime, Solent's 5.15 sports bulletin featured their Sports Editor reiterating the earlier news, stating that all that remains is for the contracts to be signed and the money transferred. He said that he had thought it might happen this afternoon but it was now more likely to finally happen tomorrow.

Tomorrow? Should have seen that coming...

Update 1.50pm eastern: Solent just reported that one Markus Liebherr is the money-man behind the takeover. Not his company, nor his family, nor his family's company - doing it himself. Everything on course to complete tomorrow, state Solent.

Update 2.15pm eastern: Daily Echo article states it'll be done tomorrow. Always tomorrow. Always tomorrow. BBC article also updated with details of Markus Liebherr as the name behind the takeover.

6 July 2009: Cheesemakers

Blessed are the Cheesemakers. The Swiss ones, anyway.

BBC Radio Solent reporting (3pm UK time, 10am eastern) that the Swiss bid for Saints are awaiting a contract from the Football League (what contract? That's another story, I'm sure) to close out the deal. They're expecting it to all be wrapped up today or tomorrow.

Hang on, "close it out today or tomorrow"? Sounds like Pinnacle... surely that can't happen again...

Update 1.17pm eastern: The relevant thread on the Saints web forum has now reached a hundred pages, equating to five thousand messages posted on it (since it began on 19 June) and has had (as I write this) 241,518 views. And don't forget, to view it you have to be a registered user so that number doesn't include casual Pompey scummers looking for a classy football club, nor does it include Google's many crawlerbots. Oh, actual news? No, nothing new, the buyer is a member of the Liebherr family, but (it seems) not the Liebherr Holdings company itself. So: not today then, maybe tomorrow?

It's always tomorrow with Saints.

2 July 2009: Takeover

No, not that one.

Plymouth Argyle were today taken over by a consortium of Japanese and local Plymouth businessmen. Yasuaki Kagami (he's the Japanese one, by the way) now owns 38% of the club, while a couple of others, including new chairman Sir Roy Gardner, own 13%, thus adding up to 51% and overall control. Gardner becomes chairman with Paul Stapleton stepping down to vice-chairman, and existing directors Tony Wrathall and Robert Dennerly also remain on the board.

Gardner, interestingly, used to be the Manchester United chairman. Not sure what that means for Argyle, but it sounds good.

Meantime Saints fans watch on in awe as a simple takeover is performed without any arguments with the Football League, fake consortiums, firesales (and now giveaways) of best players, points deductions, administration and now doubts over whether there will be enough players to put out a team for the new season. Latest rumours include Pinnacle thinking of coming back into it, the "overseas bid" being completed sometime next week and even Rupert Lowe pretending to be Dan McCauley and riding in on his white horse in shining armour to save the day.

Sounds unlikely, but then so does Plymouth Argyle attracting major interest from Japan.

1 July 2009: Manager

False rumours of Press Conference at St Mary's. Speculation anyway was that it was just to confirm that Mark Wotte is remaining as manager with Killer as his assistant (presumably unpaid for now, and also without contract, but hey someone has to pick the team for Saturday's friendly against Eastleigh).

But it had been hoped that it might be news that the Swiss or "other overseas consortium" have made it.

Update: Daily Echo Twitter feed states: "Questions are flooding in again, but as is usually the case, no press conference at #saintsfc". So that's that then.

30 June 2009: Withdrawn

Breaking rumours from Southampton are that the Pinnacle bid for Saints, spearheaded by Matt Le Tissier, has been withdrawn. More as and when it's substantiated...

Update 8.49 eastern: Daily Echo now reporting this too. Apparently Marc Jackson's bid has also been withdrawn (no surprise given that he's a complete chancer who also did the same thing with a fake bid for AFC Bournemouth), thus leaving the "mystery overseas bid" as the only one left. Rumour is that this is the Swiss bid, but whether they'll be able to (or even just want to) complete by end of week remains to be seen.

If not, the firesale will continue, and if wages are not paid then the club gets wound up, starting at the end of this week.

Update 9.24 eastern: Le Tissier said in a statement released to Sky Sports News: "It is with great regret and frustration, due to ongoing issues with the Football League, that I and in turn those behind the Pinnacle consortium have decided to withdraw our interest in purchasing Southampton football club.

"With the ongoing issues with the Football League persisting, our backers have simply refused to provide the requisite funds to complete the takeover.

"I hope beyond hope that (administrator) Mark Fry can find a buyer for the club. We were unaware of the issues with the Football League when we entered into our agreement to purchase the club, and them coming to light so late in the day has resulted in our backers' decision not to proceed with the terms on offer."

Update 9.44 eastern: Just noted a story from earlier today from the Echo, where Mark Wotte (still Head Coach) said his contract ran out at end of today, so he would revert to being Academy Director at that point; similarly coaches Dean Gorre and Michael Svennson both have contracts that expire today, meaning that as of tomorrow there are no coaches for the first team. Stewart Henderson, who coaches the youth team, would be the most senior coach on the staff and so might lead the coaching sessions, but who knows? Kelvin Davis - captain and goalkeeper - is also out of contract as of today, and is expected to sign for West Ham as a free agent tomorrow. So maybe having no coaches won't be a problem - there'll be no players to coach. All looks pretty bleak to be honest: winding up seems to be occurring in all but name.

Update 10.19 eastern: The normal sign of a big Saints rumour day has occurred, perhaps a little later than expected: the Saints Web Forum has crashed with a database error.

Update 10.38 eastern: Word is that the Football League, not content with removing the right of appeal for the 10 point penalty, are also going to enforce a further 10 point penalty because of the slowness of the takeover process and another 7 points because wage payments have been missed, leading to Saints beginning next season in League One on -27 points. Or, to put it another way, already relegated to League Two... and that's why Pinnacle's financial backers have pulled out. Well, would you pay an alleged fourteen million pounds for a relegation-bound team headed for division four? Answer (1) no because it's a bad investment (Pinnacle bid) and (2) no because you don't even have fourteen quid (Marc Jackson).

Update 11.35 eastern: Mark Fry, the Administrator, has released a surprisingly positive statement in which he says he isn't surprised that Pinnacle pulled out but he's hopeful of a sale. Other news is that the club employees have now been paid (presumably as a result of David McGoldrick's sale) and the Swiss bid may now be one of two, the other being an unnamed overseas bid. Rumours that Marc Jackson may still have another backer are continuing, and depressing: doesn't he know when to shut up?

Update 1.23pm eastern: Matt Le Tissier said on Solent that he was disappointed the backers pulled out and that it's basically the fault of the Football League. However, on the relevant Saints forum thread (requires registration I believe) the club historian Duncan Holley ("Fitzhugh Fella" on the boards) has been spilling a few beans about how both MLT and Tony ('Pinnacle') Lynam had frank discussions with him over the weekend about how MLT had convinced the group to accept the deduction in the interests of the club, and how very possibly there never was a consortium (consisting of one or more people) with any real money to take over - even to the point of sending threatening txt msgs to Duncan late Saturday night to stop him from posting these details on the messageboards. As one poster pointed out, if a multi-million pound consortium takeover can be put off by one angry opinion on an internet site, then perhaps it's just a house of cards after all. And here it comes, tumbling down.

Update 1.29 eastern: Just a word on Mr Holley, he's someone who generally knows what's going on and doesn't post gossip, preferring facts: he's a statistician, after all. Direct quote: "When it is right I will post the e mail etc and the full story on Pinnacle but suffice to say I don't think there was a cat in hell's chance of them being serious and Fry and Co have been stitched up."