Espanyol

[randomclaret2]

Bob Lord didn’t have a branch in Barcelona, not to my knowledge anyway.

I believe he made a mean Chorizo

[Row x]

Bob Lord didn’t have a branch in Barcelona, not to my knowledge anyway.

He didn't
But.. it will be easier to contact Pace in Spain, than it would have been to contact lord, even if he was only in one of his shops.

[Hedontplayforyou]

I just don’t like any of this Espanyol stuff. You do get the feeling that we will become second fiddle in this “relationship”.

Could ALK sell Burnley to then fund Espanyol? After all Barcelona is where Pace fell in love with football.

[Cooclaret]

Help needed here please.
Velocity Sports Ltd the sports investment arm arm of ALK Capital Group have bought Espanyol for €130 million from Chinese owned group Rastar.
In return part of the deal brokered was that Rastar werre given 16.5% in share ownership of Velocity Sports Ltd at a value of £65 million does that mean we are now part owned an funded by the Chinese?

We’ve always been in bed with the Chinese.

[The Shire Claret]

As Burnley Fans we are all very tribal and love our club and most grew up in Burnley and the surrounding areas...

So for many fans , it's hard to digest and process seeing these 2 people that have stated their unwavering love and commitment to the club wearing another clubs colours...

but in their Paradigm and way of life they have ...

Doesn't bother me at all

[claretonthecoast1882]

As Burnley Fans we are all very tribal and love our club and most grew up in Burnley and the surrounding areas...

So for many fans , it's hard to digest and process seeing these 2 people that have stated their unwavering love and commitment to the club wearing another clubs colours...

but in their Paradigm and way of life they have ...

Doesn't bother me at all

You also know that if it was Tony Bloom who owned the club, the ones moaning would be perfectly fine with his part ownership in teams in Scotland, Belgium and Australia.

[forzagranata]

According to Spanish media reports this morning - Spain's authorities have not yet given approval to the takeover by ALK.

And their manager is not keen on the Tresor deal.

https://www.lagradaonline.com/rcd-espan ... -fichajes/

[ClaretAndJew]

[123EasyasBFC]

According to Spanish media reports this morning - Spain's authorities have not yet given approval to the takeover by ALK.

And their manager is not keen on the Tresor deal.

https://www.lagradaonline.com/rcd-espan ... -fichajes/

It doesn’t quite say the manager isn’t keen, it says he has other positions of importance first.

[ClaretPete001]

I think Londoners supporting Man Utd are fans for those brought up in East Lancashire the club is part of the fabric of who we are and what it means to be from the area.

Alan Pace may in some other context understand what it means to go on Turf as a 6 year old with your Dad and then to do so with your son at the same age but he can't feel the same way about Burnley as we do because that's not his experience of the club.

To bond with your Dad on Turf, then go through the rite of passage travelling away with your mates to bonding with your own sons and then having a more fraught relationship with the club as you get older and realise how vulnerable it is - is not being just a fan: it's something more than that....!

[aggi]

According to Spanish media reports this morning - Spain's authorities have not yet given approval to the takeover by ALK.

And their manager is not keen on the Tresor deal.

https://www.lagradaonline.com/rcd-espan ... -fichajes/

I think the expectation was at the time that the approval would come some time after the transfer window shut.

I liked this line from the translated version:

A defensive pivot and a central pivot appear on his list of priorities. Tresor, therefore, would be the icing, not the base of the cake.

[GetIntoEm]

JJ watt was at spurs

[ClaretAndJew]

JJ watt was at spurs

I know.

Easy transfer to Spain from London.

[Ightenhill_Claret]

Coming soon - from the team behind From The Bee Hole End...

We present Desde El Prat, the numero uno podcast de Espanyol.

First episode features an interview with Russell Balon, Director de Interacción con los Fans.

Plus, we meet the new members of the Junta Consultiva de Aficionados! How FAB!

WhatsApp Image 2025-08-18 at 13.51.53_5c8f3e7c.jpg (169.16 KiB) Viewed 1136 times

[123EasyasBFC]

Coming soon - from the team behind From The Bee Hole End...

We present Desde El Prat, the numero uno podcast de Espanyol.

First episode features an interview with Russell Balon, Director de Interacción con los Fans.

Plus, we meet the new members of the Junta Consultiva de Aficionados! How FAB!

WhatsApp Image 2025-08-18 at 13.51.53_5c8f3e7c.jpg

And people call the interactions from Burnley and espanyol fans on X embarrassing.

[Ightenhill_Claret]

I bet you're fun at parties...

[burnleymik]

It's a critical time for us a club and for our Chairman plus the big investors to be focusing on their shiny new toy doesn't sit well.

[forzagranata]

JJ doing the whole 'drink a few beers with the fans' routine looks very fake when he has already done it with one set of fans.

The Multi Club Ownership model can work but I am not sure the 'celebrity fan' part of it can work as well with multiple teams.

Still they can have Mike El Magico.....

[CoolClaret]

JJ doing the whole 'drink a few beers with the fans' routine looks very fake when he has already done it with one set of fans.

The Multi Club Ownership model can work but I am not sure the 'celebrity fan' part of it can work as well with multiple teams.

Still they can have Mike El Magico.....

"...they've been around since nineteen hundred..."

[Ightenhill_Claret]

Siempre adelante. Juntos.

[123EasyasBFC]

Would there be the same concerns about the owners support of the club had Burnley of won and espanyol lost at the weekend?

[claretonthecoast1882]

Would there be the same concerns about the owners support of the club had Burnley of won and espanyol lost at the weekend?

On upthepericos yes

[KRBFC]

You also know that if it was Tony Bloom who owned the club, the ones moaning would be perfectly fine with his part ownership in teams in Scotland, Belgium and Australia.

There’s a huge difference though, Bloom has bankrolled those clubs from his own pocket and Brighton are the main team, his main focus. Are we just the cash cow? The little brother to Espanyol?

[KRBFC]

JJ doing the whole 'drink a few beers with the fans' routine looks very fake when he has already done it with one set of fans.

The Multi Club Ownership model can work but I am not sure the 'celebrity fan' part of it can work as well with multiple teams.

Still they can have Mike El Magico.....

Agreed it’s very American though

[The Shire Claret]

There’s a huge difference though, Bloom has bankrolled those clubs from his own pocket and Brighton are the main team, his main focus. Are we just the cash cow? The little brother to Espanyol?

Financially it's very much the other way round ...

We bring in a colossal amount more than Espanyol

[KRBFC]

Financially it's very much the other way round ...

We bring in a colossal amount more than Espanyol

I’m aware of that, that’s why I asked if we’re simply the cash cow to support Espanyol.

[The Shire Claret]

I’m aware of that, that’s why I asked if we’re simply the cash cow to support Espanyol.

Then we are playing the big brother role if that's the case...

A lot of speculation right now but I don't think I get the idea that these guys are going to be a fan of making losses, so giving each clubs players for free etc ... isn't going to work for them

Hopefully it will work the other way

[Orangebernard]

Whether you are pro or anti ALK surely everyone can agree that ALK through VSL are in the business of buying and managing football clubs to make a profit for the shareholders of those organisations. They are not fans of either Burnley or Espanyol, they don't feel the way we do or Espanyol fans do about our respective clubs, they are involved solely to make money for themselves. They used Burnley Football Club assets to acquire loans to buy their personal shares in Burnley, not their own money. They also used the cash in Burnley Football Club's bank account to buy their personal shares, not their own money. They are on the cusp of acquiring Espanyol as a result of gaining experience of running an elite football club and the money it generates and of course because, like Mike Garlick, The Rastar Group want out of Espanyol, they are not fans of Espanyol. Wouldn't it be nice if we stopped bickering about ALK because I'm pretty sure they give no more thought to our feelings than they will to those of Espanyol fans. ALK show scant regard for history, tradition, passion and the feelings of football fans demonstrated time and time again, they are doing what they believe will enhance the assets they own with one purpose in mind - to make money for themselves. We'll never know if we would have been in a better position on the pitch had Mike Garlick still been Chairman or whether 'John Smith', a multi-billionaire from Brierfield, had swooped in before ALK but we do know where we are both on and off the field presently. So lets stop arguing for and against ALK and as Burnley, and indeed Espanyol, fans all concentrate on analysing the financial activities and supporter related issues and holding ALK to task to ensure there is a viable football club in Burnley for our kids and grandkids to support once ALK decide to move on. Of course, ALK may choose to ignore supporter concerns on ticketing, CFS moves, Player profile boards, finanicial worries but that doesn't mean we should stop questioning them but I'd hate to think that we might end up like Sheffield Wednesday, Reading or Derby or any of the other clubs where fans are the ones left to fight for their clubs very existence due to owners whose primary concern is their personal wealth over history, tradition and passion.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Whether you are pro or anti ALK surely everyone can agree that ALK through VSL are in the business of buying and managing football clubs to make a profit for the shareholders of those organisations. They are not fans of either Burnley or Espanyol, they don't feel the way we do or Espanyol fans do about our respective clubs, they are involved solely to make money for themselves. They used Burnley Football Club assets to acquire loans to buy their personal shares in Burnley, not their own money. They also used the cash in Burnley Football Club's bank account to buy their personal shares, not their own money. They are on the cusp of acquiring Espanyol as a result of gaining experience of running an elite football club and the money it generates and of course because, like Mike Garlick, The Rastar Group want out of Espanyol, they are not fans of Espanyol. Wouldn't it be nice if we stopped bickering about ALK because I'm pretty sure they give no more thought to our feelings than they will to those of Espanyol fans. ALK show scant regard for history, tradition, passion and the feelings of football fans demonstrated time and time again, they are doing what they believe will enhance the assets they own with one purpose in mind - to make money for themselves. We'll never know if we would have been in a better position on the pitch had Mike Garlick still been Chairman or whether 'John Smith', a multi-billionaire from Brierfield, had swooped in before ALK but we do know where we are both on and off the field presently. So lets stop arguing for and against ALK and as Burnley, and indeed Espanyol, fans all concentrate on analysing the financial activities and supporter related issues and holding ALK to task to ensure there is a viable football club in Burnley for our kids and grandkids to support once ALK decide to move on. Of course, ALK may choose to ignore supporter concerns on ticketing, CFS moves, Player profile boards, finanicial worries but that doesn't mean we should stop questioning them but I'd hate to think that we might end up like Sheffield Wednesday, Reading or Derby or any of the other clubs where fans are the ones left to fight for their clubs very existence due to owners whose primary concern is their personal wealth over history, tradition and passion.

Of the 92 clubs in the 4 divisions how many are owned by a supporter of that club ?

[Rileybobs]

Coming soon - from the team behind From The Bee Hole End...

We present Desde El Prat, the numero uno podcast de Espanyol.

First episode features an interview with Russell Balon, Director de Interacción con los Fans.

Plus, we meet the new members of the Junta Consultiva de Aficionados! How FAB!

WhatsApp Image 2025-08-18 at 13.51.53_5c8f3e7c.jpg

Boutros Boutros-Ghali

[claretonthecoast1882]

Boutros Boutros-Ghali

One for the transfer thread ?

[Orangebernard]

Of the 92 clubs in the 4 divisions how many are owned by a supporter of that club ?

You’ve totally missed my point. I’m not saying that as supporters we can do anything at all about who owns the club currently but we can hold them to task. There is one thing for certain about ‘successful’ people and that is they don’t like to be questioned or challenged but that shouldn’t stop anyone from doing it. It doesn’t matter where the current owners are from but it does matter what their motives are.

[claretonthecoast1882]

You’ve totally missed my point. I’m not saying that as supporters we can do anything at all about who owns the club currently but we can hold them to task. There is one thing for certain about ‘successful’ people and that is they don’t like to be questioned or challenged but that shouldn’t stop anyone from doing it. It doesn’t matter where the current owners are from but it does matter what their motives are.

What was the last owners motive ?

[Vegas Claret]

I know.

Easy transfer to Spain from London.

he flew on a private jet, it doesn't matter where we played tbh

[Orangebernard]

What was the last owners motive ?

We’ve been through the last owners motives on numerous threads. My point is that no one should be shocked or surprised by our current majority shareholders turning up at Espanyol or any other club they acquire as their only motive is to make money.

[Row x]

Pace has been tweeting about Burnley ladies victory yesterday.
He hasn't forgotten about us yet

[The Shire Claret]

People are sometimes scared or fear what they don't understand...

[claretonthecoast1882]

We’ve been through the last owners motives on numerous threads. My point is that no one should be shocked or surprised by our current majority shareholders turning up at Espanyol or any other club they acquire as their only motive is to make money.

So the same as every business owner and worker in the world they want to make money ?

You keep holding them to account though..... on the internet

[ashtonlongsider]

My son and grandchild ( both long standing Burnley ST holders) went to the Espanyol-Athletico match last night. He went with a pre conceived idea that Espanyol were a bit of a second rate club living in the Giants shadow. His opinion was totally different this morning. He said the ground is very tidy. It has a museum, a big club shop with huge queues, their fanzone really is a fanzone and they have a massive shopping mall attached to the stadium. He said it's a million miles away from Burnley. He also said the potential and ceiling is enormous it just needs a winning team.

[ClaretTony]

We’ve been through the last owners motives on numerous threads. My point is that no one should be shocked or surprised by our current majority shareholders turning up at Espanyol or any other club they acquire as their only motive is to make money.

Absolutely, their intentions have always been ,multi-club ownership to help make money. They were trying to buy Spezia around the time they bought us and prior to buying us they tried to buy Southampton and then Sheffield United.

[Goliath]

My son and grandchild ( both long standing Burnley ST holders) went to the Espanyol-Athletico match last night. He went with a pre conceived idea that Espanyol were a bit of a second rate club living in the Giants shadow. His opinion was totally different this morning. He said the ground is very tidy. It has a museum, a big club shop with huge queues, their fanzone really is a fanzone and they have a massive shopping mall attached to the stadium. He said it's a million miles away from Burnley. He also said the potential and ceiling is enormous it just needs a winning team.

We really are the minnows in this relationship. It's worrying.
I'm fact this whole ownership strategy has been worrying from.the start. Premier league money has been bailing us out.

One bad season in the Champ and we will see what they are really made of

[NewClaret]

My son and grandchild ( both long standing Burnley ST holders) went to the Espanyol-Athletico match last night. He went with a pre conceived idea that Espanyol were a bit of a second rate club living in the Giants shadow. His opinion was totally different this morning. He said the ground is very tidy. It has a museum, a big club shop with huge queues, their fanzone really is a fanzone and they have a massive shopping mall attached to the stadium. He said it's a million miles away from Burnley. He also said the potential and ceiling is enormous it just needs a winning team.

Charter Walk needs rebuilding, maybe the plan is to move us to the town centre, then we’ll show ‘em

How come you went if you don’t mind me asking? Did you go in Burnley gear? Just curious if fans recognised the shirts, etc.

I’ll tell you my take away from last night was how relatively easily Pace could elevate Espanyol right up that league. Tresor would make a real impact there, I think, for example. A lot easier than he’ll find doing here with Burnley.

[forzagranata]

It really is quite sad seeing Espanyol fans getting so excited online that JJ Watt wore an Espanyol scarf and drank a beer with them.

It's the exact same routine he did when he came into Burnley - just he was drinking on the street in Barcelona and not in the Royal Dyche. Many Burnley fans reacted in the same way.

How fake does this look? And when they buy another club and JJ turns up with a beer in hand - how fake will that look?

I've no problem with celebrity investors or necessarily with multi-club ownership (although there are many potential pitfalls) but I am not sure the 'celebrity fan minority owner' trend can be convincing in the multi-club set up.

If ALK buy a Polish club next is he going to turn up eating pierogi and downing a vodka with their fans?

[PremierLeagueClass]

It really is quite sad seeing Espanyol fans getting so excited online that JJ Watt wore an Espanyol scarf and drank a beer with them.

It's the exact same routine he did when he came into Burnley - just he was drinking on the street in Barcelona and not in the Royal Dyche. Many Burnley fans reacted in the same way.

How fake does this look? And when they buy another club and JJ turns up with a beer in hand - how fake will that look?

I've no problem with celebrity investors or necessarily with multi-club ownership (although there are many potential pitfalls) but I am not sure the 'celebrity fan minority owner' trend can be convincing in the multi-club set up.

If ALK buy a Polish club next is he going to turn up eating pierogi and downing a vodka with their fans?

If you think something that brings enjoyment to others is really quite sad then it probably says more about you than it does them…

[123EasyasBFC]

It really is quite sad seeing Espanyol fans getting so excited online that JJ Watt wore an Espanyol scarf and drank a beer with them.

It's the exact same routine he did when he came into Burnley - just he was drinking on the street in Barcelona and not in the Royal Dyche. Many Burnley fans reacted in the same way.

How fake does this look? And when they buy another club and JJ turns up with a beer in hand - how fake will that look?

I've no problem with celebrity investors or necessarily with multi-club ownership (although there are many potential pitfalls) but I am not sure the 'celebrity fan minority owner' trend can be convincing in the multi-club set up.

If ALK buy a Polish club next is he going to turn up eating pierogi and downing a vodka with their fans?

If you have no problem with celebrity investors then why do you have such a problem with him drinking in the pubs in Burnley and then doing the same with espanyol fans? Is it really that deep. When JJ Watt is next over in Burnley after his NFL stuff and he’s doing the rounds in the pubs again is that a bad thing? Does it really matter?

[Claretnick]

I’ll tell you my take away from last night was how relatively easily Pace could elevate Espanyol right up that league. Tresor would make a real impact there, I think, for example. A lot easier than he’ll find doing here with Burnley.

Ah but who's income stream would he be using theirs in La Liga or ours from the Premier League?
The pressure will be really on for us to survive this season, will the board be as patient with Parker as they were with Kompany if we get off to a really sticky start....
Thing is they may have jumped the gun last night if the Spanish authorities don't approve the sale.

[daveisaclaret]

If ALK buy a Polish club next is he going to turn up eating pierogi and downing a vodka with their fans?

Probably. He will probably have loads of fun doing it too.

JJ Watt is a great bloke, I've liked him for a lot longer than he's ever heard of Burnley, but if anyone thought there was anything more going on here than Watt being offered a chance to make some money by coming over and enjoying spending time in our town/football club then that's on them.

[Orangebernard]

So the same as every business owner and worker in the world they want to make money ?

You keep holding them to account though..... on the internet

I’ve already done more than holding them to account on the internet I’ve joined BFCISA who I know number membership in the hundreds and growing rapidly. Groups of supporters properly organised and motivated by the right reasons can have a positive effect for club owners. Maybe you should also join from the coast.

[jrgbfc]

My son and grandchild ( both long standing Burnley ST holders) went to the Espanyol-Athletico match last night. He went with a pre conceived idea that Espanyol were a bit of a second rate club living in the Giants shadow. His opinion was totally different this morning. He said the ground is very tidy. It has a museum, a big club shop with huge queues, their fanzone really is a fanzone and they have a massive shopping mall attached to the stadium. He said it's a million miles away from Burnley. He also said the potential and ceiling is enormous it just needs a winning team.

I went to the stadium in June for the England game and yes its tidy and new but just reminded me of the soulless lego grounds we have in this country.
Give me a ground like the Turf that's part of the town and surrounded by pubs any day!

[Holmechapel]

If you have no problem with celebrity investors then why do you have such a problem with him drinking in the pubs in Burnley and then doing the same with espanyol fans? Is it really that deep. When JJ Watt is next over in Burnley after his NFL stuff and he’s doing the rounds in the pubs again is that a bad thing? Does it really matter?

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions but I feel like Burnley are some little kids toys from last years birthday and soon or later they’ll be better and shinier new ones to play with and we’ll finish up like the dummies down the M65.