ALKs first 100 days

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Milltown1882
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ALKs first 100 days

Post by Milltown1882 » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:33 pm

Good article on The Athletic - mods delete if not allowed to share it

Effectively, Christmas is cancelled.”

It was the message that Alan Pace relayed to his team as work to complete their takeover of Burnley entered the final weeks of 2020. After a year of talks, now it was time for the final push.

Days earlier, the rival bid headed by Chris Farnell and Mohamed El Kashashy had pulled out after going six weeks without any contact from then chairman Mike Garlick. Meanwhile, Pace and his partners were in the UK working hard. It was frantic.

There was hope there might be an announcement on Christmas Eve, after ALK had returned home for the holidays. The complexities of the takeover and bank holidays meant it became clear the completion and announcement would roll over past Christmas.

Again, there was hope of completion before the Leeds game on December 27 but the wait continued. Pace and his colleagues had arrived back in the UK to finalise everything.

Finally, at midnight on December 31, it was announced that ALK had acquired an 84 per cent stake in Burnley with Pace coming in as chairman.

Since that day there has been a root-and-branch review of everything at the club. Part of this included Burnley sending out a fan survey covering all aspects of the club to gather fan opinions. The owners were delighted with the response, with over 5,000 supporters completing it, three times the expected number. Answers are expected to influence future plans.

It has been a case of lifting up the bonnet to see what is underneath.

Already the owners have launched a global talent search for youngsters, tackled first-team contract issues, announced plans to professionalise the women’s team, undertaken a complete commercial review and improved the Turf Moor wi-fi.

This is the story of how ALK took control of Burnley and how the group has used its first 100 days.

It was during the 1992 clasico when Pace’s football ambitions began. He was in Barcelona completing a master’s degree in international finance at the IESE Business school. An 87th-minute Hristo Stoichkov winner for Barcelona against Real Madrid began a desire to be at the cutting edge of the sport. He had fallen in love with the game.

It wasn’t until 2006, after 12 years at financial firm Lehman Brothers, when he first got the opportunity in football. Friend Dave Checketts owned Real Salt Lake as interim president. Checketts, who will join the Burnley board in June, has been a big mentor for Pace and a long-standing colleague. Pace had a hands-on role overseeing the club and steadying things on the business side and helping turn their fortunes around.

During this period, Pace was also working for Checketts company SCP Worldwide as an advisor for team owners and leagues. He was responsible for the oversight of football assets and assistance in investments in other sports and entertainment, identifying sports franchises that would be great acquisitions and could be acquired.

Pace’s interest in English football came through former Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe when he reached out to Pace to discuss a potential affiliation club in MLS.

Fast-forward to 2019 and the pair were having discussions again. This time, McCabe had come to Pace to discuss sourcing investment from the US. From looking at the business model and understanding it, Pace saw an investment opportunity for himself, identifying the club as a “sleeping giant” in the Championship with a chance of promotion to the Premier League.

Pace stepped down from his role at CitiBank, where he had worked since 2008 to help navigate the business through the US financial crisis, and set up his own company, ALK Capital. Unsure what to name it, he used the first initial of each of his three daughters’ names — ALK.

Described as outcome-driven and a turnaround specialist, and as he has demonstrated in his previous roles, Pace is good at identifying problems and implementing processes and structure to produce results.

Talks continued and an agreement between McCabe and ALK was struck but the deal was on the condition that McCabe won the legal battle with then co-owner Prince Abdullah over ownership. With United chasing promotion, two prices were agreed — one in the eventuality of the club being in the Premier League once the court had delivered its verdict and another if still in the Championship.

Prince Abdullah’s victory in court in September 2019 meant the agreement between McCabe and ALK Capital was rendered worthless. Instead, McCabe was forced to sell his 50 per cent shareholding for just £5 million. ALK was left disappointed. It had worked hard on a business plan. Overnight with the court ruling, the interest ended.

Pace’s interest in football ownership was not over. He met with a variety of owners from clubs in the Premier League and the Championship to get a sense of the market. Clubs in the north appealed to him, seeing it as a hotbed of football. There are also family ties to the area as Pace’s father completed a two-year mission as part of his Mormon faith when he was 19, spending time in Preston, Manchester and Leeds.

That led them to Burnley and conversations with Garlick, which began towards the end of 2019. It was well known that Burnley’s owners had been open to outside investment for some time and there was a sense they had taken the club as far as they could.

When Pace and his team did their due diligence on Burnley, they saw it was a really attractive proposition. They were impressed with the way the club had been run, as a sustainable business. The latest financial accounts, with over £80 million in the bank as of July 2020, provide the evidence.

One of the founding members of the football league, ALK saw the club’s potential to grow, particularly commercially and valued the passion of the supporters in a traditional heartland

Conversations stepped up in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic halted momentum. Pace endured the first lockdown in a flat in London with one of his daughters where he, for a time, considered stepping away. ALK ran scenarios, accepting it would be a tough financial year, to make sure the group would be financially prepared.

The return of football through Project Restart was a massive boost as it provided clarity to the football landscape. There was a feeling the deal could be completed in the summer but various circumstances dragged it out. COVID-19 played its part but Garlick wanted to make sure it was the correct deal for the club. He wasn’t determined to get it done quickly, he wanted it done right. It led to talks progressing into the start of next season.

In October, The Athletic broke the news of a rival £200 million bid headed by Farnell and El Kashashy. ALK had not been informed of any competitive bid from the club but there was confidence internally that they were still front runners. It provided a barrier with the news bringing a distraction. Reports suggesting the deal had been agreed in principle did not help matters either. It was a challenging period with calls made between ALK’s partners and investors to understand the truth of it.

ALK continued positive dialogue with the club, pressing forward with its own bid. ALK still considered itself front runners and never felt the Farnell and El Kashashy bid was under serious consideration.

Inside the club, the two takeover bids were referred to by some as “The American one” and “The Egyptian one”. Majority shareholders, Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz, took the lead with discussions.

Despite the numerous setbacks, Pace remained calm throughout. He was focused on the goal, continuing to plough, showing resilience, determined to make it happen. Football club takeovers are complex and with the purchase supported by private investors and financial institutions, pulling everything together was no mean feat.

Finally, after everything fell into place, he made good on his dream of owning a football club.

Getting your feet under the table at a new club takes time, and that doesn’t help when you have to isolate due to COVID-19 and then contract it. That’s what Pace and his partners experienced during his first month in charge.

Despite that, it was straight to work, with the transfer window open. They were unable to add to the squad in January, which left ALK very disappointed as they wanted to be active.

Plenty of work went in behind the scenes and Ben Davies, who eventually joined Liverpool from Preston, and Stoke’s Nathan Collins were two targets. Given the short time they had, there was an acceptance it was going to be difficult, especially with the tricky January market made more challenging by low player availability.

They learnt a lot, including dealing with demanding agents, and recruitment plans are already underway for the summer window. ALK, Sean Dyche and technical director Mike Rigg are regularly in discussion and contact about that as well as the broader plan for the club.

Pace is pleased with the scouting and recruitment department headed by Rigg and plenty of work is being done behind the scenes in preparation. ALK’s data analytics approach will be introduced as the club continues to evolve, fitting in line with how Dyche, who will have the final say, wants to recruit.

ALK wasted little time implementing it into the academy as another recruitment tool with the launch of AiScout. The global talent search continues with upwards of 10,000 entries. The long-term academy aim is to expand the intake of players. Aided by AiScout, there will be a global search for talent to increase the productivity of players making the first team or being sold on elsewhere for profit. Brexit will make it more difficult to bringing in players from overseas but partnering with a foreign club is another long-term aim that has been discussed.

Meanwhile, the playing squad have largely not noticed much of a difference. Pace is not seen often at the training ground, with tight COVID-19 protocols and ALK wanting to cause as little distraction as possible to a team focused on Premier League survival. The owners are happy with how the team are operating and the performances as they try to get results to secure survival, leaving them to it as they focus on other areas of the club.

They have been proactive with first-team contracts, tying down another five senior players in Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Matt Lowton, Kevin Long, Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley. They were keen to listen to Dyche and act quickly. A contract extension for the manager himself is set to be another priority but the two sides are relaxed over the situation currently.

Off the pitch, ALK have targeted the club’s commercial strategy immediately. Burnley are not at the same level of sponsorship compared to most Premier League clubs. The club brought in roughly £15.7 million in commercial revenue (sponsorships, retail and catering) which, of figures released by Premier League clubs for the last financial year, is the lowest in the top flight. It is clear they have seen a big opportunity to grow. Every commercial contract is under review as part of the process and the US is a sponsorship market ALK knows well and are looking to explore. Tapping into those markets and increasing revenue streams is a process but ALK are attacking it head-on with new innovative ideas.

Burnley ALK
Burnley’s new owners are already making upgrades to Turf Moor (Photo: Visionhaus)
Pace has spoken openly about his thoughts on gambling sponsorships in football. That includes shirt sponsor LoveBet, which has disappeared from advertising on the club’s website, Turf Moor and press conferences in recent weeks. The Athletic understands it will, however, remain on the club shirt for the rest of the season.

The plan to professionalise the women’s team, with the aim of being in the FA Women’s Championship by 2025, puts them in a much healthier position to do so. Without the planned investment it looked a long way off.

The integration of the women’s team has already begun and ahead of their second-round FA Cup victory over AFC Fylde Women last Sunday, they trained at Barnfield for the first time. That continued with preparations for the third-round tie against Sunderland.

Pace introduced himself and the vision for the women’s team over Zoom to the playing squad after meeting face to face with manager Matt Bee at the end of January. Conversations are continuing of the next steps in expansion including looking at whether they can expand training facilities at Barnfield.

Within the infrastructure, Turf Moor, where Pace has an office, has been a key focus as they look to maximise the facilities and upgrade. ALK are making plans to revamp hospitality completely, the concourse area and are set to replace the match-day noticeboard on Harry Potts Way with a state-of-the-art digital screen.

In line with the digital transition, there is a determination to increase the club’s visibility. The launch of the revamped Clarets+ service and the recent push of their eSports team highlight that with investment in the media department planned.

Pace, who has been travelling back and forth between the UK and the US as well as living in a house with some of his partners when in the country, continues house hunting and he has looked at property all over the place. One suggestion was Skipton, as it has a direct train to London, but the Burnley chairman’s response was he couldn’t be the chairman of Burnley while living in Yorkshire.

With Neil Hart’s departure at the start of March, it has added another job onto Pace and ALK’s plate. Pace moved into the executive chairman role and the search continues. It is understood there is not a rush to find a new person for the position, with a concentration on making sure it is the right person for the job.

The message is: watch this space. Only time will tell how they implement their plan. Questions to answer not least in the summer transfer window and the way they financed the takeover but the groundwork is being put in place for future improvements as ALK take this club into a new era.
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Hedontplayforyou
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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Hedontplayforyou » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:48 pm

Pace is pleased with the scouting and recruitment department headed by Rigg and plenty of work is being done behind the scenes in preparation. ALK’s data analytics approach will be introduced as the club continues to evolve, fitting in line with how Dyche, who will have the final say, wants to recruit.

Interesting to read this paragraph!

Also I wonder if we will go back in for Davies and Collins in the summer?

Can’t see Davies being wanted at Liverpool after the summer so could be relatively cheap.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by JohnDearyMe » Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:53 pm

Interesting read. 10,000 submissions via that app, wonder if any were decent and followed up?

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Vegas Claret » Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:03 pm

great read, thanks for posting Milltown

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:51 pm

JohnDearyMe wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:53 pm
Interesting read. 10,000 submissions via that app, wonder if any were decent and followed up?
last information was around 13 or 14
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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Claret Till I Die » Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:10 pm

Chester Perry wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:51 pm
last information was around 13 or 14
So probably more than the amount of academy kids who sign pro contracts.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Chester Perry » Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:29 pm

Claret Till I Die wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:10 pm
So probably more than the amount of academy kids who sign pro contracts.
I think they are all 14 or under

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by ClaretTony » Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:46 pm

Hedontplayforyou wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:48 pm
Pace is pleased with the scouting and recruitment department headed by Rigg and plenty of work is being done behind the scenes in preparation. ALK’s data analytics approach will be introduced as the club continues to evolve, fitting in line with how Dyche, who will have the final say, wants to recruit.

Interesting to read this paragraph!

Also I wonder if we will go back in for Davies and Collins in the summer?

Can’t see Davies being wanted at Liverpool after the summer so could be relatively cheap.
Can't see Davies leaving Liverpool now - he's landed himself a huge pay rise by moving there.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Grumps » Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:59 pm

ClaretTony wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:46 pm
Can't see Davies leaving Liverpool now - he's landed himself a huge pay rise by moving there.
He's not playing though, and if he Carnt get in the side now, he's no chance when dick van dyke returns.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by ClaretTony » Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:06 pm

Grumps wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:59 pm
He's not playing though, and if he Carnt get in the side now, he's no chance when dick van dyke returns.
He won't get a game, he doesn't even get one now, but he's got a contract and can you imagine his reaction if someone offered him a fraction of what he's on now.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by nyclaret » Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:24 pm

ClaretTony wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:06 pm
He won't get a game, he doesn't even get one now, but he's got a contract and can you imagine his reaction if someone offered him a fraction of what he's on now.
Surely he's not earning more than Tarks and Mee?

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by MACCA » Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:50 pm

nyclaret wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:24 pm
Surely he's not earning more than Tarks and Mee?
Apparently he trebled his wages when he moved to Liverpool, but let's not forget he was at Preston, and I dont think they pay that well.

If I was to guess I would say his liverpool deal is 25-30k per week.

It's quite clear we will be in the market for at least 1 CB, him being left sided would have been a real bonus.
I'd not be adverse to seeing 2 of Worrall, Collins and Davies, although Collins is out for the season.

Mr Dyche seems to stick with his targets, so I doubt many if any arrivals will be nsmes we aren't familiar with.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by fanzone » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:00 pm

It's the next 100 days that will be interesting.
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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by jojomk1 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:39 am

JohnDearyMe wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:53 pm
Interesting read. 10,000 submissions via that app, wonder if any were decent and followed up?
I'm still waiting to hear !

Thinking back, maybe I should have put my teeth in and threw away the orthopedic crutches when doing the video on my camcorder :(
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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by NewClaret » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:48 am

Chester Perry wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:29 pm
I think they are all 14 or under
Do you mean on AiScout? I thought all AiScout submissions had to aged 14 or above?

That’s a bit of a flaw for me. Hopefully they’ll find a way for parents to submit younger players with consent.

I’d heard 11 but presumably it’s open and constantly being evaluated? It’ll be interesting to see if it works but I think it’s fantastic to be using technology in this way.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by NewClaret » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:48 am

jojomk1 wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:39 am
I'm still waiting to hear !

Thinking back, maybe I should have put my teeth in and threw away the orthopedic crutches when doing the video on my camcorder :(
:lol: :lol:

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by NewClaret » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:52 am

MACCA wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:50 pm
Apparently he trebled his wages when he moved to Liverpool, but let's not forget he was at Preston, and I dont think they pay that well.

If I was to guess I would say his liverpool deal is 25-30k per week.

It's quite clear we will be in the market for at least 1 CB, him being left sided would have been a real bonus.
I'd not be adverse to seeing 2 of Worrall, Collins and Davies, although Collins is out for the season.

Mr Dyche seems to stick with his targets, so I doubt many if any arrivals will be nsmes we aren't familiar with.
Shame we couldn’t get Davies. Not watched a lot of him, tbh, so going more off reputation (and PNE’s collapse since he left), but to have someone of that experience to come in and cover Mee would’ve been good. At the right age too. Can’t see him playing for Liverpool when they get through their injuries.

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Re: ALKs first 100 days

Post by Swizzlestick » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:57 am

Nixon saying David Baldwin is ‘advising’ ALK with strategy etc.

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