Paul Douglas to speak to press next week.

[CAMiller]

I expect the announcement will be that TS is handing over the reins to his son and will be taking a minor role at the club

All supplemental questions will be about that

If that was the case wouldn't the club have just called a press conference or issued a press release? I thought this was in response to a request to the club for an interview?

[Brin]

I expect the announcement will be that TS is handing over the reins to his son and will be taking a minor role at the club

All supplemental questions will be about that

Grist, you may well be right but one thing that is 100% factual, Richard doesn't want to take over the reins should Tony step aside. He hates football and has no interest in it and would sell up in a blink of an eye if Tony were no longer here.

If he was asked to see the season out in his Father's absence then that would be just about it nothing more. The club isn't making money, it requires subsidising each and every year so, I fear the club it will go up for sale soon, when I don 't know but get ready for a change.

[Grumpy King of the West]

What gets me is the club is financially sound (we hope), yet seemingly at least on here, to be as popular as a chairman 10 miles away.
And that is worrying.

The club most certainly isn't financially sound. It's up to it's neck in debt. That debt is owed to ASD. When TS says that he has "spent" x millions on RUFC what he actually means is that ASD (his lighting company) has lent x millions to RUFC. Note the word "lent". Not gifted.

Now, the day of reckoning is fast approaching:

1. Debt written off?
2. Debt called in (repayment plan to be agreed - which includes not adding to future debt)?
3. Club sold with debt transferred?
4. Carry on as was, with debt set to incrementally increase?

So, given recent developments, which of the above options do you think has been chosen?

[Brin]

The club most certainly isn't financially sound. It's up to it's neck in debt. That debt is owed to ASD. When TS says that he has "spent" x millions on RUFC what he actually means is that ASD (his lighting company) has lent x millions to RUFC. Note the word "lent". Not gifted.

Now, the day of reckoning is fast approaching:

1. Debt written off?
2. Debt called in (repayment plan to be agreed - which includes not adding to future debt)?
3. Club sold with debt transferred?
4. Carry on as was, with debt set to incrementally increase?

So, given recent developments, which of the above options do you think has been chosen?

Good morning Grumps, nice to see you posting again.

I would say definitely not number 1, that will have to be paid. If anything, I'd say number 2 has been chosen. How that pans out recruitment wise lord knows.

Tony's 81 this year and has his belly full and who can blame him. I'm sure as a business man he's already got a firm involved that can deal with the sale of everything but, just how much is he willing to let go of? If I was buying RUFC, the stadium, team, and job lot would all have to be included so he has absolutely no ties to the club at all and therefore cannot be charging rent etc.

The last time he almost sold up, the rumours were that he demanded to be paid a substantial amount of money per annum to stay on in some kind of capacity, that scuppered the plans so is he going down that road again? If so he'll never sell it.

We know we lack our own modern up to date training facilities and this will need sound investment so, who exactly would want to take over under such circumstances?

[NorthWestCorner]

Good morning Grumps, nice to see you posting again.

I would say definitely not number 1, that will have to be paid. If anything, I'd say number 2 has been chosen. How that pans out recruitment wise lord knows.

Tony's 81 this year and has his belly full and who can blame him. I'm sure as a business man he's already got a firm involved that can deal with the sale of everything but, just how much is he willing to let go of? If I was buying RUFC, the stadium, team, and job lot would all have to be included so he has absolutely no ties to the club at all and therefore cannot be charging rent etc.

The last time he almost sold up, the rumours were that he demanded to be paid a substantial amount of money per annum to stay on in some kind of capacity, that scuppered the plans so is he going down that road again? If so he'll never sell it.

We know we lack our own modern up to date training facilities and this will need sound investment so, who exactly would want to take over under such circumstances?

I do wonder how much the club is worth? There are few assets of any value, aside from the EFL share. The playing squad has maybe Nombe as a fee and perhaps a nominal fees for others like Martha, Hall, Spence and Douglas. I know the stadium is owned by another entity but what is its true value? Its useless aside from the home of Rotherham United FC, so what exactly would TS do if a deal was reached for the club but the new owner only offered 10milion for NYS?

All in all though, I just hope we get some clarity

[Heliosphan78]

Dammed if they do,damned if they don't, club says nowt,people moan, club does something, people moan.
Send a question in if you're interested, see what happens.
At least they're trying to communicate with fans at this crucial time, if we were top 6 this wouldn't be happening.

Basically this ^

[caytonmiller]

I'm sure TS is not worried about how much rufc has cost him or how much it's worth when he sells. It's peanuts in comparison to what his company earns
Club will probably be sold with a contract to rent the stadium for x amount of years at an agreed price. Council funded a % of the ground so will have stipulations in. The ground will be useless to TS without rufc. You never know. In a few years we could have a town with 2 football stadiums and no football team.

[BramleyMiller58]

As Spuddy asked, when is this happening/being broadcast ?

[mellowmiller]

Dammed if they do,damned if they don't, club says nowt,people moan, club does something, people moan.
Send a question in if you're interested, see what happens.
At least they're trying to communicate with fans at this crucial time, if we were top 6 this wouldn't be happening.

The club didn't take the initiative for this communication, the approach came from the media.
Questions from the public are to be forwarded in advance and will no doubt be carefully selected to avoid anything controversial.
If you're expecting to learn anything radical or new I suspect you may be disappointed.

[howdydoo]

I'm sure TS is not worried about how much rufc has cost him or how much it's worth when he sells. It's peanuts in comparison to what his company earns
Club will probably be sold with a contract to rent the stadium for x amount of years at an agreed price. Council funded a % of the ground so will have stipulations in. The ground will be useless to TS without rufc. You never know. In a few years we could have a town with 2 football stadiums and no football team.

What company is this then? Assuming you mean ASD Lighting, I suggest you check again. A valuable company it is but the accounts tell a different story to yours regarding earnings.

Probably ripe for a takeover by the looks of it.

[caytonmiller]

What company is this then? Assuming you mean ASD Lighting, I suggest you check again. A valuable company it is but the accounts tell a different story to yours regarding earnings.

Probably ripe for a takeover by the looks of it.

21 million turnover with 8 million profit. Been stagnant at this for last 3 years Rufc owes asd 5.2 million. It's not even 1 years profit for ASD/TS and that debt has been accumulated over 15 years so why would TS worry about it if rufc is worth any money.
Yes he's a business man but it's still peanuts to an 81 year old bloke. He's had his enjoyment, he's taken the pats on the back. If he walked away and got nothing for Rufc I don't think it would bother him

[howdydoo]

Where have you got these numbers from?

I suspect your confusing gross profit with net profit. ASD are not making money in the current economic climate. They posted their latest financials 29th December. Take a look.

Last time they generated ?8m gross profit, nevermind net profit was in 2023.

[UlleyMiller]

Dammed if they do,damned if they don't, club says nowt,people moan, club does something, people moan.
Send a question in if you're interested, see what happens.
At least they're trying to communicate with fans at this crucial time, if we were top 6 this wouldn't be happening.

Exactly where I'm at.

They're not obligated to come forward, they're certainly not expected to keep people informed on a grand plan because a team sat in a division it belongs in have a dip in form. Everyone was pretty happy in late November, a month of injuries and bad form and it's gone toxic again. The fact Davis has (apparently) requested this is probably a minor side story in itself regarding the relationship between him and the club. In our 'situation', a 30 minute open forum with the manager would be more than enough (and still not an obligation), having senior management for this type of thing is probably just a nod to the noisier elements we get on places like this. Without a couple of wins to take into it it'll be poorly received by anyone already fed-up, regardless what gets said.

Don't expect the PM to attend a presser if your bins are collected late.

[NorthWestCorner]

Exactly where I'm at.

They're not obligated to come forward, they're certainly not expected to keep people informed on a grand plan because a team sat in a division it belongs in have a dip in form. Everyone was pretty happy in late November, a month of injuries and bad form and it's gone toxic again. The fact Davis has (apparently) requested this is probably a minor side story in itself regarding the relationship between him and the club. In our 'situation', a 30 minute open forum with the manager would be more than enough (and still not an obligation), having senior management for this type of thing is probably just a nod to the noisier elements we get on places like this. Without a couple of wins to take into it it'll be poorly received by anyone already fed-up, regardless what gets said.

Don't expect the PM to attend a presser if your bins are collected late.

Surely they do have an obligation though? Or a least a responsibility, if they are good custodians of the club? Lets not forget, they might own the shares but without customers, the business is screwed. And yes of course, there will always be 3-4000 hardcore who will turn up irrespective of the situation but a football club cannot survive on those numbers in this day and age.

I'll give you an example. I go to the matches with between 20 - 25 season ticket holders - we have been there since 2012 at the NYS. Over the past 3 years, this has dwindled down to about 15 people. Of those remaining, at least half of them are considering the future. Myself, I will always go but I am seriously considering whether I renew or simply buy on the day. The main gripe from that group is lack of transparency from the ownership since the Warne years. This year has taken the biscuit in many peoples eyes because of the clear malais from TS and the total lack of visibility. Not may have taken to MH in that group despite him being "one of our own". I think part of that is the results but most of it is the lack of charisma and his engagement with the fans.

Paul Davis is just part of the problem. He doesnt challenge. He is fearful of the door being shut in his face. Some clubs closer to where I live had a real challenge from their local press. Ours is pathetic. I challenged PD about this last year and he just shrugged.

So, all in all we are in a poor situation. But TS is not making it any better and is only damaging the brand. If this display from PD is nothing more than a controlled press statement then, you are right, it wont help. What is needed is some good old honesty - good or bad, and then people can decide.

[mellowmiller]

Exactly where I'm at.

They're not obligated to come forward, they're certainly not expected to keep people informed on a grand plan because a team sat in a division it belongs in have a dip in form. Everyone was pretty happy in late November, a month of injuries and bad form and it's gone toxic again. The fact Davis has (apparently) requested this is probably a minor side story in itself regarding the relationship between him and the club. In our 'situation', a 30 minute open forum with the manager would be more than enough (and still not an obligation), having senior management for this type of thing is probably just a nod to the noisier elements we get on places like this. Without a couple of wins to take into it it'll be poorly received by anyone already fed-up, regardless what gets said.

Don't expect the PM to attend a presser if your bins are collected late.

I'm not certain but I think the initial approach was made by Rob Staton from Radio Sheffield rather than Paul Davis.
Certainly he's been asking people to message him with questions they'd like answers to.
I think Radio Sheffield could be more forthright than Paul Davis would ever dare to be but the cynic in me still expects the questions to be heavily vetted.