Just met Shilen Patel!

What a lovely bloke.

I was in the club shop this afternoon and in walked the very understated Mr Patel.

If you didn’t know who he was you’d never guess he was the owner, a very understated man, absolutely none of the “Billy Big B o ll ox” about the man.

He was strolling amongst the merchandise and chatting with the shop manager and then with a family who had their handicapped son with them.

He spent time chatting with them and having photos taken which was lovely to see.

Then as I was looking at some gear I literally almost bumped into him and so I took the opportunity to speak to him.

He had all the time in the world to chat and to find out about me and my Albion history, I did my very best not to bore him senseless though!

I shook his hand and thanked him for what he’d done for our club and he said it was “a joy and a privilege” to be the owner.

I told him that I hope the club gives him everything he hopes for and deserves and that he’s around for a very long time.

I found it quite emotional actually.

I like to think I’m a decent judge of character and especially after shaking hands and looking someone in the eye as I did today.

I think we are extremely lucky, Shilen comes across as a genuine and humble bloke and has time for everyone.

A seriously impressing human being.

Made my week tbh.

Excellent news Mick and good to read. Did you take the opportunity to grill him over his point by point action plan for us moving forward or did you go all fanboy shy 😃 ?

Absolutely brilliant, so nice to have an owner who is invested not just financially but emotionally in the club. Just had a chuckle thinking about what the conversation would have been like if you bumped into Lai 😂

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Albionic68

Excellent news Mick and good to read. Did you take the opportunity to grill him over his point by point action plan for us moving forward or did you go all fanboy shy 😃 ?

---

Neither tbh 68.

I don’t think it’s fair to “corner” a person in that way.

I just felt the strong urge to thank him for what he’d done and as I said, I actually found it pretty emotional, if I’d stayed much longer he’d have been reaching for a tissue to dab my eyes.

Just a very nice bloke who hopefully gets the rewards he deserves and the enjoyment he deserves.

To see the way he especially went out of his way with the disabled lad and his family was heart warming.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DaveP67 is back!

Absolutely brilliant, so nice to have an owner who is invested not just financially but emotionally in the club. Just had a chuckle thinking about what the conversation would have been like if you bumped into Lai 😂

---

Extremely short…..in more than one way Dave!😂

Talking of Lai, I mentioned him during my chat with Shilen and said how I thought we were going to disappear under him and Shilen had the class not to get drawn into slagging him off.

That says a lot about him as a bloke in my opinion.

Shilen Patel interview in the Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...-championship/

Glad for you that you bumped into him and he sounds a decent fella. Think we may have very much fallen on our feet here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by soulman101

Shilen Patel interview in the Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...-championship/

---

A good read that. I like the fact that he is very family and community orientated as well as appreciating the history of the club. Nice also to read of his commitment to the Academy and his desire to both develop and retain more young talent. Not all promising youngsters make it of course, but too often we have let young players go.

He is clearly ambitious but comes across as realistic in this regard and understands the need for medium/ long term planning and getting the foundations right first.

Interesting to read also that Andrew Nestor, his business partner, had forecast that the ins and outs over the transfer window should net us an extra 6 points this season with 20% less spend.

Thanks for posting👍

Thanks for sharing that Mick. Glad it was a pleasant experience.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mickd1961

What a lovely bloke.

I was in the club shop this afternoon and in walked the very understated Mr Patel.

If you didn’t know who he was you’d never guess he was the owner, a very understated man, absolutely none of the “Billy Big B o ll ox” about the man.

He was strolling amongst the merchandise and chatting with the shop manager and then with a family who had their handicapped son with them.

He spent time chatting with them and having photos taken which was lovely to see.

Then as I was looking at some gear I literally almost bumped into him and so I took the opportunity to speak to him.

He had all the time in the world to chat and to find out about me and my Albion history, I did my very best not to bore him senseless though!

I shook his hand and thanked him for what he’d done for our club and he said it was “a joy and a privilege” to be the owner.

I told him that I hope the club gives him everything he hopes for and deserves and that he’s around for a very long time.

I found it quite emotional actually.

I like to think I’m a decent judge of character and especially after shaking hands and looking someone in the eye as I did today.

I think we are extremely lucky, Shilen comes across as a genuine and humble bloke and has time for everyone.

A seriously impressing human being.

Made my week tbh.

---

Two impressive points - going into the club shop where there’s fans - and engaging in conversation with the handicapped person. Some players think they are too big to do that!

Seems like a genuine guy and you can tell by his body language he’s interested in the club and not just on the make! Great to see and the fans will love him in return!