CONFIMRED - The final countdown

[Sutekh]

Yeah only thing interesting and unexpected on that statement is the 22nd April date. Why not extend to end of season?

But suspect they will on 22nd April

Anyway a couple of weeks if this nonsense

We would only have 1 game left after 22nd and my guess would be that the league positions will be set (playoff's) by then and not include us, so as not to affect any further results

2 games !

26th April - Bristol Rovers (a)
03rd May - Barnsley (h)

[morganb]

The Board recognised that these matters are further complicated by the structure of assets held across different companies, and various competing security interests, and therefore deemed it appropriate to allow more time for them to be resolved.

If Couhig had got as far as just needing Dai's signature to complete surely the "complicated structure of the assets" had been overcome in September

I also thought I'd read previously that all the due diligence paperwork etc. got locked in a "war room" so could be used by future bidders

Plus are the "competing security interests" another way of saying "Couhig"?

[rabidbee]

In so far as the league are able to put any pressure on any party, this keeps the pressure up, I guess. Not only because of the short deadline, but also because it’s another chance to put the situation back in public focus, rather than let it dribble on a month.

[rabidbee]

The Board recognised that these matters are further complicated by the structure of assets held across different companies, and various competing security interests, and therefore deemed it appropriate to allow more time for them to be resolved.

If Couhig had got as far as just needing Dai's signature to complete surely the "complicated structure of the assets" had been overcome in September

I also thought I'd read previously that all the due diligence paperwork etc. got locked in a "war room" so could be used by future bidders

Plus are the "competing security interests" another way of saying "Couhig"?

Complicated structure of the assets means Dai no longer has absolute control over all elements of the club, he has to negotiate with a third party.

[Sutekh]

The Board recognised that these matters are further complicated by the structure of assets held across different companies, and various competing security interests, and therefore deemed it appropriate to allow more time for them to be resolved.

If Couhig had got as far as just needing Dai's signature to complete surely the "complicated structure of the assets" had been overcome in September

I also thought I'd read previously that all the due diligence paperwork etc. got locked in a "war room" so could be used by future bidders

Plus are the "competing security interests" another way of saying "Couhig"?

Yes it had been overcome but for Couhig, new negotiating bloke still needs to look and advise if the resolution works for him or not and if not develop his proposal to resolve.

"Competing security interests" I presume refers to the liens that RC has in place on each asset.

[blueroyals]

Some parts of the statement hint at the EFL's plan of action

Why 22nd April and not 5th May? Somebody earlier said that the EFL will need to vote on a suspension, so they probably need to get their ducks in a row before hand. None of this mess gets resolved in the next 3 weeks, the EFL know that, so it's purely performative.

The 22nd decision will be with a view to issuing a public "final warning" and spelling out what will happen on the 5th - so they can put their own spin on it, rather than it being leaked in the press beforehand.

Speaking of the press there will be a sudden interest from the mainstream media when suspension happens. The final 2 paragraphs of today's statement is an attempt to get out ahead of any criticism, they know what is about to happen and want to start setting the record straight before the press get a sniff

PR spin or not, multiple extensions work in the EFL's favour in case of appeal, it shows they've been accommodating and understanding of our situation.

[tmesis]

Speaking of the press there will be a sudden interest from the mainstream media when suspension happens. The final 2 paragraphs of today's statement is an attempt to get out ahead of any criticism, they know what is about to happen and want to start setting the record straight before the press get a sniff

There are two myths that keep getting repeated.

One is that Dai was rejected in his bid to by Hull. He wasn't.

The other is that he was allowed to buy the club after folding Bejing Renhe and KSV Roeselare. They folded in 2020 and 2021.

People keep knocking the EFL for not doing anything, but nobody seems to come up with anything they can legally do. And now that they've gone for the nuclear option, which is about the only thing they can do, people are saying that's bad too.

At the moment the EFL appears to be nudging us towards a cliff we were heading for anyway. If this doesn't force a sale then it's likely almost nothing would.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I think the EFL's hands were genuinely tied at the time. I seem to remember it took a long time for them to approve, and when they did they made caveats about extra supervision. I bet they didn't trust them. But you can't block owners without having a disqualifying condition to pin it on.

When they say proof of funds test, I do wonder if they need to look harder at legitimacy of funds too. It seems pretty fair to say a lot of Dai's wealth was made out of corruption/white collar crime. He's a crook. I imagine with a closed society like China is was quite hard to look at this, but it's all coming out now.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

But have you considered Amarillo Roadblock might be a better user name?

You would impugn the Roadkill name, proudly borne for a dozen generations? How very dare you

[Extended-Phenotype]

An opportunity for the EFL to reassure the fans, confirm there is a buyer and clarify how far along the deal is, wasted.

Still no evidence the “other man” is Robert Platek, leaving only Twitter rumours and copypasta journalism as the source of this name, and we have heard nothing of any progress since the other rumours that a conflict of interest might have scuppered any deal, even if there was one.

My gut is telling me the deal went cold long ago, if there was one at all.

[windermereROYAL]

Why would the club ask for a 19 day extension? that seems to be very specific.

[morganb]

Why would the club ask for a 19 day extension? that seems to be very specific.

They've given up selling the club for Lent. This ends on 17th but then it is the Easter long weekend so 22nd was settled upon.

[Stranded]

I think the EFL's hands were genuinely tied at the time. I seem to remember it took a long time for them to approve, and when they did they made caveats about extra supervision. I bet they didn't trust them. But you can't block owners without having a disqualifying condition to pin it on.

When they say proof of funds test, I do wonder if they need to look harder at legitimacy of funds too. It seems pretty fair to say a lot of Dai's wealth was made out of corruption/white collar crime. He's a crook. I imagine with a closed society like China is was quite hard to look at this, but it's all coming out now.

The one thing you could lay at the EFL is they said at the time that the club would be subject to enhanced financial scrutiny - it would be good to understand what that actually was, as if they were truly keeping a very, very close eye on spending etc then I'm not sure how we got here.

Yes we had various soft embargos etc but they were ineffective as, as soon as lifted millions that we didn't have was splurged on sub-standard players.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I think the EFL's hands were genuinely tied at the time. I seem to remember it took a long time for them to approve, and when they did they made caveats about extra supervision. I bet they didn't trust them. But you can't block owners without having a disqualifying condition to pin it on.

When they say proof of funds test, I do wonder if they need to look harder at legitimacy of funds too. It seems pretty fair to say a lot of Dai's wealth was made out of corruption/white collar crime. He's a crook. I imagine with a closed society like China is was quite hard to look at this, but it's all coming out now.

The one thing you could lay at the EFL is they said at the time that the club would be subject to enhanced financial scrutiny - it would be good to understand what that actually was, as if they were truly keeping a very, very close eye on spending etc then I'm not sure how we got here.

Yes we had various soft embargos etc but they were ineffective as, as soon as lifted millions that we didn't have was splurged on sub-standard players.

Think they must regret that statement; it's the clearest sign that they were not altogether happy with the Dais at the point of sale. You don't require additional scrutiny if you're approving a good guy. But as I said, there probably weren't enough grounds to block it

[traff]

Some parts of the statement hint at the EFL's plan of action

Why 22nd April and not 5th May? Somebody earlier said that the EFL will need to vote on a suspension, so they probably need to get their ducks in a row before hand. None of this mess gets resolved in the next 3 weeks, the EFL know that, so it's purely performative.

The 22nd decision will be with a view to issuing a public "final warning" and spelling out what will happen on the 5th - so they can put their own spin on it, rather than it being leaked in the press beforehand.

Speaking of the press there will be a sudden interest from the mainstream media when suspension happens. The final 2 paragraphs of today's statement is an attempt to get out ahead of any criticism, they know what is about to happen and want to start setting the record straight before the press get a sniff

PR spin or not, multiple extensions work in the EFL's favour in case of appeal, it shows they've been accommodating and understanding of our situation.

This makes sense.
Also noting that they have made it crystal clear that they were in no way to blame for Dai acquiring the club.
The cynic in me sees this as laying the groundwork to avoid any incriminations if we are expunged.

[rabidbee]

An opportunity for the EFL to reassure the fans, confirm there is a buyer and clarify how far along the deal is, wasted.

Still no evidence the “other man” is Robert Platek, leaving only Twitter rumours and copypasta journalism as the source of this name, and we have heard nothing of any progress since the other rumours that a conflict of interest might have scuppered any deal, even if there was one.

My gut is telling me the deal went cold long ago, if there was one at all.

The EFL won't want to breach any confidentiality, nor will they want to be accused of having given false assurances if the deal subsequently collapses. We just have to take some confidence from the fact that they've agreed to an extension.

[Snowflake Royal]

I think the EFL's hands were genuinely tied at the time. I seem to remember it took a long time for them to approve, and when they did they made caveats about extra supervision. I bet they didn't trust them. But you can't block owners without having a disqualifying condition to pin it on.

When they say proof of funds test, I do wonder if they need to look harder at legitimacy of funds too. It seems pretty fair to say a lot of Dai's wealth was made out of corruption/white collar crime. He's a crook. I imagine with a closed society like China is was quite hard to look at this, but it's all coming out now.

The one thing you could lay at the EFL is they said at the time that the club would be subject to enhanced financial scrutiny - it would be good to understand what that actually was, as if they were truly keeping a very, very close eye on spending etc then I'm not sure how we got here.

Yes we had various soft embargos etc but they were ineffective as, as soon as lifted millions that we didn't have was splurged on sub-standard players.

It wouldn't be how we spent money imo. It would be whether the alleged funds to run us materialised. And clearly that wasn't a problem because we were massively overspending.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

No announcement due from the club according to James Earnshaw but "work going on behind the scenes".

[LUX]

This is very distressing for a lot of people for whom RFC has been an important part of their life for many, many years. Like me, I guess, obvs.

[Sutekh]

No announcement due from the club according to James Earnshaw but "work going on behind the scenes".

What, to bring us the usual announcement?