Dispatches - How to buy a football club

[SpaceCruiser]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the Madejski Stadium on show in the trailers advertising the programme (Saw it during Camelot on Saturday night) ? If so, why Madejski Stadium? Why not Cardiff, Sheffield United etc, those who were mentioned in this programme?

Still, quite an interesting programme and I was amused when Bryan Robson insisted that he would not be part of any takeover that sells all assets and folds the club as it would ruin his name. Well, after this programme, it looks like it's being ruined now!

Quite interesting to see how much of an involvement Manchester United is alleged to be in, always knew they were dodgy fúckers.

[Tails]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the Madejski Stadium on show in the trailers advertising the programme (Saw it during Camelot on Saturday night) ? If so, why Madejski Stadium? Why not Cardiff, Sheffield United etc, those who were mentioned in this programme?

Still, quite an interesting programme and I was amused when Bryan Robson insisted that he would not be part of any takeover that sells all assets and folds the club as it would ruin his name. Well, after this programme, it looks like it's being ruined now!

Quite interesting to see how much of an involvement Manchester United is alleged to be in, always knew they were dodgy fúckers.

Ill assume that the emoticon is directed at Dispatches, rather myself.

If what you say is right about Saturday night then yes, very poor on Dispatches.

[Friday's Legacy]

Still, quite an interesting programme and I was amused when Bryan Robson insisted that he would not be part of any takeover that sells all assets and folds the club as it would ruin his name. Well, after this programme, it looks like it's being ruined now!

not quite right. he was more than prepared to aid a club in selling their training ground to a super market for a large profit and then helping fund a new training ground on green belt land for a lot less. the only thing he refused to put his hands to was the sale of any clubs stadium, thus making them homeless, possibly extinct. his reputation is firmly in the gutter tonight and i would expect manchester united to sack him from his embassador roll shortly.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Are you sure it's the MdStad - the pics and trailer on the C4 website look like the King Power (nee Walkers.)

But please don't let such a minor point distract from such a powerful and useful programmme.

[SpaceCruiser]

Still, quite an interesting programme and I was amused when Bryan Robson insisted that he would not be part of any takeover that sells all assets and folds the club as it would ruin his name. Well, after this programme, it looks like it's being ruined now!

not quite right. he was more than prepared to aid a club in selling their training ground to a super market for a large profit and then helping fund a new training ground on green belt land for a lot less. the only thing he refused to put his hands to was the sale of any clubs stadium, thus making them homeless, possibly extinct. his reputation is firmly in the gutter tonight and i would expect manchester united to sack him from his embassador roll shortly.

Ah, yes, his ambassador role. He said he couldn't be the manager of the newly purchased club as it would conflict with his role for Manchester United. I was thinking, hang on a minute, hasn't he been a manager of some English club in the recent past, wasn't it Bradford City?

[SpaceCruiser]

Are you sure it's the MdStad - the pics and trailer on the C4 website look like the King Power (nee Walkers.)

But please don't let such a minor point distract from such a powerful and useful programmme.

I thought it looked like Madejski Stadium. Link to trailer, please, so I can have another look?

[Friday's Legacy]

Are you sure it's the MdStad - the pics and trailer on the C4 website look like the King Power (nee Walkers.)

But please don't let such a minor point distract from such a powerful and useful programmme.

it was definitely the madejski stadium but they edited the west stand ever so slightly, moving the players tunnel a few yards left of the halfway line, and the red seats in the upper west were just a handful of seats wide, rather the 50 or so it actually is.

[SpaceCruiser]

Are you sure it's the MdStad - the pics and trailer on the C4 website look like the King Power (nee Walkers.)

But please don't let such a minor point distract from such a powerful and useful programmme.

I thought it looked like Madejski Stadium. Link to trailer, please, so I can have another look?

Never mind I went to look for myself:



On http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches.

Looks like Mad Stad to me!

[Friday's Legacy]

Are you sure it's the MdStad - the pics and trailer on the C4 website look like the King Power (nee Walkers.)

But please don't let such a minor point distract from such a powerful and useful programmme.

I thought it looked like Madejski Stadium. Link to trailer, please, so I can have another look?

Never mind I went to look for myself:



On http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches.

Looks like Mad Stad to me!

it is, as i said, but with some odd choice of editing. even the exec boxes have been removed.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Ok, so it is a generic stadium photoshop that started as a picture of the MadStad.

Doesn't the fact that some people are so concerned about this instead of the issues raised in the programme show something significant?

[SpaceCruiser]

Well, it was a bit misleading as I thought Reading might be involved.

[Tails]

Agreed, Dirk.

Powerful programme. The only shame for me is that its come during a time when we are looking at corruption in the Police/Press/Politicians (again).

I do, however, believe that this will help build momentum for those looking to reform Football within the UK.

[Friday's Legacy]

i'm hoping the findings of this undercover investigation lead to a total revamp of how new owners are vetted, but i just can't see how they can ever get control. 17 of the championship clubs are owned by foreign ownership who fall under different laws so don't have to divulge who is behind the ownership of a club. southampton for example, their owner has been dead for a year. who owns them? reading are one of only 7 clubs run the right way, and that is something i'm proud of, and something those of us that share frustration at our lack of spending should take a moment to reflect about and see the whole picture.

[zummerset]

I am just ramping to my 2000 mong level so didn't watch it but Rzr has sent me a box set to Glee to watch so we had a go and gave up hope for mankind

[paulholsgrove]

Makes you really appreciate sir John madejski, and what he's done for the club, even though some of us have questioned his unwilling to spend.

[Jerry St Clair]

As someone said on the programme, when there was relatively little money in the game it was ok to have an amateurish governance structure. Now it's a multi billion pound game, yet the governance hasn't matured enough to cope.

[Jerry St Clair]

Oh, and LOL at Spacey being surprised that the Madejski is used a generic representation of a Championship ground.

[Mr Angry]

I felt a bit sad for Fergie tonight tbh; his name has been dragged theough the mud simply because of having an association with someone dodgy. There is no evidence that he has done a thing wrong - ffs, we all know managers call in favours all the time, and as he has been around the longest, he has the most contacts. However, I bet his Lady Ferguson will be asking what the "favours of a personal nature" were that the slimeball said he sorted out for him 14 years ago was.........

As for the rest of it, the depths that dodgy ownership go to was what I found compelling; yes, you can understand buying up Premiership clubs, but Barnsley? Oxford? Jeez - there are some people out there with more money than sense, who clearly think that getting hold of a club means making mental profits in less than 5 years, and there are slimy con artists who will feed off the naked greed of those idiots by selling them the dream that if they buy Barnsley they will make their fortunes.

Conclusions? As has been said, Bryan Robson is a busted flush. Thats him totally finished in English football. The FA simply MUST accept that their existing arrangements are totally inadequate to prevent some seriously dodgy people buying into clubs for nefarious reasons; property speculation, money laundering, christ - even people trafficking. It also makes even more urgent the whole question of the transparancy of club ownership and the financial backing given to clubs to attempt to buy their way to the Premiership.

Incidentally, how many loanees DID Cardiff have last season?????

[Tails]

I felt a bit sad for Cameron tonight tbh; his name has been dragged theough the mud simply because of having an association with someone dodgy. There is no evidence that he has done a thing wrong - ffs, we all know ministers call in favours all the time, as PM he has the most contacts. However, I bet his Lady will be asking what the "favours of a personal nature" were that the slimeball said he sorted out for him 14 years ago was.........

[Big Foot]

Is anyone really that surprised that in a land with a corrupt press and government, football is as fvcked as shown tonight?