Pace/ALK set to buy Espanyol?

[NewClaret]

Booked to watch my German team Union Berlin for a pre-season game Saturday 2nd August. When i booked, opposition were unknown, it is Espanyol. If they are our hi-profile opposition at Turf, i will drop off my scouting report.

Advertising standards would throw the book at any club describing Espanyol as high profile

I think you’re safe from watching them twice in one summer

[Row x]

Apologies to Cool - I was surprised he would say such things...! Or not say them as the case turned out.

Anyway, Alan is that you...! Hot diggedy dawg, it is isn't it. Dos Cervezas and a bag of Donkey droppings por favor...!

Ah...the old...is that you Alan....a few insults, but nothing concrete in reply

[Stevebfc40]

Advertising standards would throw the book at any club describing Espanyol as high profile

I think you’re safe from watching them twice in one summer

Haha genuinely made me LOL

[ClaretPete001]

Ah...the old...is that you Alan....a few insults, but nothing concrete in reply

I bore myself saying the same things.

We had tens of millions in the bank and now we owe lenders tens of millions. On top of the we have over £230 millions worth of Creditors and precious few debtors to speak of...! .

Commercial revenues haven't improved and nor has turnover, which is almost completely reliant on TV Broadcast revenue.

We had a squad that was capable of achieving 7th in 2107/18 and 10th a couple of seasons later.

We have gone from being the best run club in the PL with tens of millions in the bank and a squad capable of achieving 7th in the PL to one that owes tens of millions and has a squad that won't finish 7th in the PL next season.

What do you want me to say? Monday is Tuesday - Pixie dust created the Universe.

[Row x]

I bore myself saying the same things.

We had tens of millions in the bank and now we owe lenders tens of millions. On top of the we have over £230 millions worth of Creditors and precious few debtors to speak of...! .

Commercial revenues haven't improved and nor has turnover, which is almost completely reliant on TV Broadcast revenue.

We had a squad that was capable of achieving 7th in 2107/18 and 10th a couple of seasons later.

We have gone from being the best run club in the PL with tens of millions in the bank and a squad capable of achieving 7th in the PL to one that owes tens of millions and has a squad that won't finish 7th in the PL next season.

What do you want me to say? Monday is Tuesday - Pixie dust created the Universe.

What was the alternative to ALK?

[TPClaret]

That was the problem we had tens of millions in the bank. We needed to invest when we were in that position of 7th but Garlick spent next to feck all and eventually disappeared with all that money.

[Row x]

That was the problem we had tens of millions in the bank. We needed to invest when we were in that position of 7th but Garlick spent next to feck all and eventually disappeared with all that money.

Exactly

[CyrilEbokiPoh]

I bore myself saying the same things.

We had tens of millions in the bank and now we owe lenders tens of millions. On top of the we have over £230 millions worth of Creditors and precious few debtors to speak of...! .

Commercial revenues haven't improved and nor has turnover, which is almost completely reliant on TV Broadcast revenue.

We had a squad that was capable of achieving 7th in 2107/18 and 10th a couple of seasons later.

We have gone from being the best run club in the PL with tens of millions in the bank and a squad capable of achieving 7th in the PL to one that owes tens of millions and has a squad that won't finish 7th in the PL next season.

What do you want me to say? Monday is Tuesday - Pixie dust created the Universe.

We did go from 7th to 10th and then failed to compete under the same board before they then offloaded us to the Americans to line their pockets with the proceeds that could / should have been invested while our stock was highest.

Both boards have served us well. And both have taken big gambles. And not always in the clubs best interest.

[NewClaret]

That was the problem we had tens of millions in the bank. We needed to invest when we were in that position of 7th but Garlick spent next to feck all and eventually disappeared with all that money.

This is the key point overlooked by so many fans of Garlick which Tony rightly picked up on earlier - the only reason we were being well run was to fund his own exit.

Basically all this ‘well run’ stuff was a mirage. Not having debt or loads of cash in the bank is only of any benefit whatsoever if you’re not owned by someone who will put the their own financial interests before the club and sell out to a leveraged buy out. We were.

But to bring this back on topic, ALK must have access to significant capital to buy Espanyol. I’d say that’s a good thing for us. Reassuring, really. And whatever your views on multi-club ownership, there’s quite possibly a lot of benefits for us.

[CyrilEbokiPoh]

There is a balance between never borrowing. And leveraging yourselves too much.

We were definitely in the other camp with Garlick and co. And I’m sure some of that may be a generational thing. Some because they learnt from Kilby and the years before him. And part of it out of selfish reasons.

I suspect we are closer to the middle now but maybe a bit too far the other way for those of us who are a little more risk averse when it comes to £££

How do 90% of people buy their car, house or other such things. The difference here is ALK are borrowing money to make money. Or speculating too at least.

Theoretically we can all do it.

[boyyanno]

This is the key point overlooked by so many fans of Garlick which Tony rightly picked up on earlier - the only reason we were being well run was to fund his own exit.

Basically all this ‘well run’ stuff was a mirage. Not having debt or loads of cash in the bank is only of any benefit whatsoever if you’re not owned by someone who will put the their own financial interests before the club and sell out to a leveraged buy out. We were.

But to bring this back on topic, ALK must have access to significant capital to buy Espanyol. I’d say that’s a good thing for us. Reassuring, really. And whatever your views on multi-club ownership, there’s quite possibly a lot of benefits for us.

This is quite frankly an absurd statement, not one I'd expect from you. It also completely misunderstands why we were well run in the first place.

We stopped being a well run club when Garlick started hoarding cash for the sale, thats not when we became well run. Prior to that we were exceptionally well-run, proven by the investment in the team, the infrastructure, the success and the fact we achieved it with 0 debt.

I find it remarkebly strange that people would post such crap when it's quite obviously and demonstrably nonsense. You really want to pretend we weren't a well run club when we gained multiple promotions and achieved a place in Europe on a shoestring budget- absolute madness.

Or you think Garlick predicted all our success and eventual sale to ALK when he purchased his initial shares? Hmmmm very believable.

[Row x]

This is quite frankly an absurd statement, not one I'd expect from you. It also completely misunderstands why we were well run in the first place.

We stopped being a well run club when Garlick started hoarding cash for the sale, thats not when we became well run. Prior to that we were exceptionally well-run, proven by the investment in the team, the infrastructure, the success and the fact we achieved it with 0 debt.

I find it remarkebly strange that people would post such crap when it's quite obviously and demonstrably nonsense. You really want to pretend we weren't a well run club when we gained multiple promotions and achieved a place in Europe on a shoestring budget- absolute madness.

Or you think Garlick predicted all our success and eventual sale to ALK when he purchased his initial shares? Hmmmm very believable.

Nobody is saying we weren't a well run club when we got into Europe are they?
Were we well run after that?

[boyyanno]

Nobody is saying we weren't a well run club when we got into Europe are they?
Were we well run after that?

NewClaret is pretending we were only well run because Garlick wanted to fatten the pig for slaughter.

A: Thats not what being well run is
B: Garlick deserves every credit for running this club in a fantastic way up until he wanted to sell as much as he deserves criticism for how it was sold and his part in that too.

But C: We all know you're Nori so I'd rather you didn't reply to me.

[Row x]

NewClaret is pretending we were only well run because Garlick wanted to fatten the pig for slaughter.

A: Thats not what being well run is
B: Garlick deserves every credit for running this club in a fantastic way up until he wanted to sell as much as he deserves criticism for how it was sold and his part in that too.

But C: We all know you're Nori so I'd rather you didn't reply to me.

Have you seen anyone saying we weren't well run prior to the European season

Point c....you're easily led by others. I've had one account...show otherwise 50 quid to whatever charity utc is supporting, otherwise you give 50 quid?

[ClaretPete001]

This is how threads get gaslighted. So, in order:

The original claim was: 'The clubs in a much better place commercially, professionally, and potentially financially (accounts pending) than we have ever been', which is patently absurd.

The alternative to ALK was that Garlick and Co ran the club properly invested in the squad and sold out to someone who could afford to buy it without raiding the club's bank accounts. They chose a leveraged buyout for the money and fair play to them but the alternative was probably available to them...!

And the fact that ALK are in discussion with Espanyol does not mean ALK have money. They bought Burnley without any money.

But I was responding to this: 'The clubs in a much better place commercially, professionally, and potentially financially (accounts pending) than we have ever been', .

[agreenwood]

**** me. Does every thread have to descend into some wanky argument?

[boatshed bill]

**** me. Does every thread have to descend into some wanky argument?

Very likely.

[Row x]

This is how threads get gaslighted. So, in order:

The original claim was: 'The clubs in a much better place commercially, professionally, and potentially financially (accounts pending) than we have ever been', which is patently absurd.

The alternative to ALK was that Garlick and Co ran the club properly invested in the squad and sold out to someone who could afford to buy it without raiding the club's bank accounts. They chose a leveraged buyout for the money and fair play to them but the alternative was probably available to them...!

And the fact that ALK are in discussion with Espanyol does not mean ALK have money. They bought Burnley without any money.

But I was responding to this: 'The clubs in a much better place commercially, professionally, and potentially financially (accounts pending) than we have ever been', .

They were never going to invest in the squad, recent history at the time showed that
Who else was buying it? It had been for sale long enough for another to come forward

[NewClaret]

**** me. Does every thread have to descend into some wanky argument?

Agree, these debates are so tiresome now. I shouldn’t have posted, so my apologies for that pointless contribution.

Boyyanno: for the record, I wasn’t saying that Garlick didn’t do a good job in running the club. Rather, I don’t think we were ever as financially secure as we thought we were whilst being run by a man who was ultimately willing to sell out to a leveraged buy out and take club funds. In my view, you’re only really ever as financially secure as the intentions of your owner and since Garlick turned out not to behave like a custodian he claimed to be, he ruined his legacy for me. Understand if you disagree but we’re well off topic and understandably annoying people going over old ground, so if that clarification doesn’t help we’ll have to agree to disagree.

[fatboy47]

NewClaret is pretending we were only well run because Garlick wanted to fatten the pig for slaughter.

And he's right.

[Chester Perry]

They were never going to invest in the squad, recent history at the time showed that

I am far from sure it does

I have illustrated repeatedly the number of squad cost to revenue was dangerously high when allied to the budget of finishing 17th

prior to the covid interruption the summer of 2020 was perfectly set-up for a an owner (Garlick or ALK/Velocity) to refresh the squad - with cash at the ready (outstanding transfer debt at very low levels and so many contracts coming to an end. Thereby allowing for a significant refresh while maintaining the sustainable approach - it even allowed for a change in manager if that was thought to be appropriate.

The summer of 2018 was were the transfer activity started to go wrong and that carried consequences for a club of our size - The club had tried to implement a different way of approaching recruitment and for whatever reason it did not bring through the churn of profit making sales it was intended to - a reset was needed but the nature of a club such as ours )which wanted to operate within it's means) meant that could not be immediate if the manager was not prepared to sanction the sale of key assets. The delayed restart after the Covid shutdown threw all of the reset opportunities out of the window

I recognise that I am a lone voice in all of this, as I am in not being convinced that Garlick was ever aware ahead of the sale of just how much the club would be leveraged by ALK/Velocity, I have just not seen anything factual to persuade me of a differing view

[ClaretTony]

This is the key point overlooked by so many fans of Garlick which Tony rightly picked up on earlier - the only reason we were being well run was to fund his own exit.

I did not say that at all

[Row x]

I am far from sure it does

I have illustrated repeatedly the number of squad cost to revenue was dangerously high when allied to the budget of finishing 17th

prior to the covid interruption the summer of 2020 was perfectly set-up for a an owner (Garlick or ALK/Velocity) to refresh the squad - with cash at the ready (outstanding transfer debt at very low levels and so many contracts coming to an end. Thereby allowing for a significant refresh while maintaining the sustainable approach - it even allowed for a change in manager if that was thought to be appropriate.

The summer of 2018 was were the transfer activity started to go wrong and that carried consequences for a club of our size - The club had tried to implement a different way of approaching recruitment and for whatever reason it did not bring through the churn of profit making sales it was intended to - a reset was needed but the nature of a club such as ours )which wanted to operate within it's means) meant that could not be immediate if the manager was not prepared to sanction the sale of key assets. The delayed restart after the Covid shutdown threw all of the reset opportunities out of the window

I recognise that I am a lone voice in all of this, as I am in not being convinced that Garlick was ever aware ahead of the sale of just how much the club would be leveraged by ALK/Velocity, I have just not seen anything factual to persuade me of a differing view

Not sure you're saying anything different
The club should have invested when we got in Europe...it didn't
You agree that from 2018 it went wrong

Nobody is saying any different

Long posts, big words, accounting terms...whatever, at the end the club was being run for one outcome...and that didn't benefit the team

I'll ask you, the same as I've asked others without reply

If Alan Pace hadn't bought the club....who else would?

[NewClaret]

I did not say that at all

It was this comment I was referring to:

I don't think anyone ever criticised Mike Garlick for keeping the club financially stable. The criticism came because of him no longer funding the football side as required to build up reserves to sell.

Which I thought was a good summary. Maybe not entirely the same point but linked to what I was saying. Anyway, ducking out of this debate now as it’s off topic and done to death. Apologies if I misquoted you.

[boyyanno]

And he's right.

I don't want to continue a pointless argument but it would be very difficult for you to explain or prove how for example Garlick spending money on the infrastructure of the club (I:E Barnfield) makes sense if he was always fattening the pig for slaughter.

I'll make it clear I disagree with NewClarets wording that we were only run successfully to achieve that end. I don't disagree that that's what it resulted in at the end. But if we can slag him off for how he left and sold the club I don't see why we can't praise him for how well run we were prior.

[Row x]

I don't want to continue a pointless argument but it would be very difficult for you to explain or prove how for example Garlick spending money on the infrastructure of the club (I:E Barnfield) makes sense if he was always fattening the pig for slaughter.

I'll make it clear I disagree with NewClarets wording that we were only run successfully to achieve that end. I don't disagree that that's what it resulted in at the end. But if we can slag him off for how he left and sold the club I don't see why we can't praise him for how well run we were prior.

Bearing in mind, the only criticism of Garlick was his last few years, what has barnfield got to do with it?
That was from a time we all agree the club was being run well

[boyyanno]

Bearing in mind, the only criticism of Garlick was his last few years, what has barnfield got to do with it?
That was from a time we all agree the club was being run well

The post I responded to referenced Garlicks full tenure, not a portion of it.

Now let's get this thread back on topic.

[Row x]

The post I responded to referenced Garlicks full tenure, not a portion of it.

Now let's get this thread back on topic.

Ok
I think it's a great idea

What about my offer of a bet earlier, you up for it?

[ClaretPete001]

I am far from sure it does

I have illustrated repeatedly the number of squad cost to revenue was dangerously high when allied to the budget of finishing 17th

prior to the covid interruption the summer of 2020 was perfectly set-up for a an owner (Garlick or ALK/Velocity) to refresh the squad - with cash at the ready (outstanding transfer debt at very low levels and so many contracts coming to an end. Thereby allowing for a significant refresh while maintaining the sustainable approach - it even allowed for a change in manager if that was thought to be appropriate.

The summer of 2018 was were the transfer activity started to go wrong and that carried consequences for a club of our size - The club had tried to implement a different way of approaching recruitment and for whatever reason it did not bring through the churn of profit making sales it was intended to - a reset was needed but the nature of a club such as ours )which wanted to operate within it's means) meant that could not be immediate if the manager was not prepared to sanction the sale of key assets. The delayed restart after the Covid shutdown threw all of the reset opportunities out of the window

I recognise that I am a lone voice in all of this, as I am in not being convinced that Garlick was ever aware ahead of the sale of just how much the club would be leveraged by ALK/Velocity, I have just not seen anything factual to persuade me of a differing view

I realise that this gets boring for some but you can't let some of these comments go.

How can you possibly say Mr Garlick and Co did not know? The whole deal was structured such that ALK could spend the surplus in the bank (nearly £50 million) and then borrow a good portion of the rest from Mr Garlick and Co to be paid back as and when.

The simple fact is he claimed that £50 million would financially ruin the club during Covid and then did a deal whereby ALK took £50 million out of the bank to buy shares from Mr Garlick and Co.

How could he not know - he did the deal...?

[Jakubclaret]

Not sure you're saying anything different
The club should have invested when we got in Europe...it didn't
You agree that from 2018 it went wrong

Nobody is saying any different

Long posts, big words, accounting terms...whatever, at the end the club was being run for one outcome...and that didn't benefit the team

I'll ask you, the same as I've asked others without reply

If Alan Pace hadn't bought the club....who else would?

Nobody really needed to buy the club it's quite plausible that MG could have run it into the ground & we wouldn't have anybody else to blame. At some point in time moving forwards whatever happened previously needs to be forgotten about as it's history & should remain that way. ALK are now responsible in the here & now & it's irrelevant what happened previously. It's shouldn't be an escapism mechanism going back to something that's dead ALK are now responsible currently & the excuses are now exhausted from the previous regime.

[Clive 1960]

instead of investing in another club Pace needs to invest in the team and sort the cricket field and bob lord stands out ..

[Row x]

instead of investing in another club Pace needs to invest in the team and sort the cricket field and bob lord stands out ..

Leave the bob lord stand alone, thanks

[NewClaret]

instead of investing in another club Pace needs to invest in the team and sort the cricket field and bob lord stands out ..

This is exactly my view.

If this goes ahead, and I don’t think we should assume it is because we’ve been here before with various rumours regarding much more feasible options, I imagine this funding is probably new money in to ALK from that fund Checketts is involved in. That may not be available for us to fix up the CFS, although they did say stadium investment was part of their remit.

But the obvious criticism is that they should invest properly in the things at our own club that are way overdue investment before investing in the multi-club model.

[CyrilEbokiPoh]

I am far from sure it does

I have illustrated repeatedly the number of squad cost to revenue was dangerously high when allied to the budget of finishing 17th

prior to the covid interruption the summer of 2020 was perfectly set-up for a an owner (Garlick or ALK/Velocity) to refresh the squad - with cash at the ready (outstanding transfer debt at very low levels and so many contracts coming to an end. Thereby allowing for a significant refresh while maintaining the sustainable approach - it even allowed for a change in manager if that was thought to be appropriate.

The summer of 2018 was were the transfer activity started to go wrong and that carried consequences for a club of our size - The club had tried to implement a different way of approaching recruitment and for whatever reason it did not bring through the churn of profit making sales it was intended to - a reset was needed but the nature of a club such as ours )which wanted to operate within it's means) meant that could not be immediate if the manager was not prepared to sanction the sale of key assets. The delayed restart after the Covid shutdown threw all of the reset opportunities out of the window

I recognise that I am a lone voice in all of this, as I am in not being convinced that Garlick was ever aware ahead of the sale of just how much the club would be leveraged by ALK/Velocity, I have just not seen anything factual to persuade me of a differing view

What was wrong with 2018? Signing the likes of Hart, Gibson and co. (I think they were that summer). How was that summer such a shift in policy?

The shift we needed around then IMO was looking to be more open to overseas players. Unfortunately Dyche was very hesitant to do so (and his principles were sound - 'good eggs' etc) however it was obvious to me and surely many others, we needed to start looking at different markets. (Not too dissimilar to where we ended up doing under VK!

[CyrilEbokiPoh]

instead of investing in another club Pace needs to invest in the team and sort the cricket field and bob lord stands out ..

They aren't spending Bob Lord money on Espanyol. It will be totally separate.

And like it or not, realistically what ROI are they going to get on the Bob Lord or even CFS. And thats how they will look at it.

The CFS will likely be enforced at some point (H&S I would imagine). But if an investment opp comes up ahead of that, they will take it!

[jdrobbo]

Piece in the Athletic:


Burnley’s owners are in talks over buying a stake in Spanish top flight club Espanyol.

If a deal can be reached, Espanyol would be the second club linked to ALK Capital, the investment vehicle run by Burnley’s owner Alan Pace.

A source with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, confirmed that ALK had been exploring investment opportunities at clubs in Europe for some time.

ALK already have a ‘strategic partnership’ with Scottish side Dundee, while they explored an investment in Belgian club Kortrijk when former Belgium international Vincent Kompany was head coach.

Espanyol are currently owned by the Chinese company Rastar Group, which specialises in toy car production, and have been on the market since their relegation from La Liga two years ago.

They immediately returned to the top-flight via the play-offs and finished 14th last season — avoiding the drop after beating Real Valladolid on the final day of the campaign.

A deal would see Burnley become the latest Premier League side to pursue a multi-club model, and invest in Spain.

Manchester City’s owners, City Football Group, bought Spanish club Girona in 2017, while V Sports, the owners of Aston Villa, own a stake in third tier side Real Union.

Brentford’s holding company Best Intentions Analytics, run by the west London club owner Matthew Benham, bought third-tier Spanish side Merida AD in April this year.

Pace has links to Barcelona, having completed an MBA in the Spanish city, according to his LinkedIn profile.

ALK completed a takeover of Burnley in a £170million ($231m at current rates) deal via a leveraged buyout in December 2020.

JJ Watt, the former NFL star, became a minority investor in the Lancashire club in May 2023.

They were relegated from the Premier League under Kompany in 2023-24 but returned to the top flight at the first time of asking after finishing runners-up to Leeds United in the Championship last season, level on 100 points.

What is Espanyol’s existing ownership structure?

By The Athletic’s La Liga correspondent Dermott Corrigan

Since its foundation in 1900, Barcelona-based Espanyol was controlled by local businessmen, until China’s Rastar Group bought over 56 per cent of the shares in January 2016. The following August Rastar Group — whose main business back in China is making toy cars and video games — increased that stake to almost 100 per cent.

Rastar’s majority shareholder Chen Yansheng is Espanyol’s club president. Including the president’s son Chen Chuanghuang, all its other board members are Chinese, except legendary former player Rafa Maranon.

In November 2024 the club announced a new share issue which will take Rastar’s total investment since 2016 to an estimated €163m. Yet, poor decisions in football and business have hurt. For the current campaign La Liga set Espanyol’s (nominal) salary limit at €8.8m, due to the club having made losses in each of the last four seasons, even while selling key players such as Cesar Montes and Sergi Darder.

During Chen’s presidency, they have bounced between Primera and Segunda — they were promoted back to La Liga for 2024-25, then needed a final day victory to stay up on the final day of the season.

President Chen spoke via TV link at the club’s most recent AGM last December, admitting that the club’s current strategic plan involved “adapting to its current realities”. CEO, Mao Ye Wu also spoke of an intention of “sustainable growth” into the future.

The ownership has often been criticised by fans groups and the remaining few minority shareholders. However Chen has regularly denied any intention to sell and said at the AGM that “our commitment remains as strong as ever”.

[BurnleyFC]

I like Alan and the people he’s brought into the club, but the way in which we’ve been burdened with debt will never sit right with me and unless it ever gets rectified there will always be a level of distrust.

[claretonthecoast1882]

**** me. Does every thread have to descend into some wanky argument?

Sadly while we have some who spend their existence finding fault in everything the club does and bitches about everything then yes they will.

It is the same tiresome people on every thread as well.

[Rileybobs]

Sadly while we have some who spend their existence finding fault in everything the club does and bitches about everything then yes they will.

It is the same tiresome people on every thread as well.

Comments like these and referring to fans who dare hold opposing views to yours as being from Royston Vasey really aren’t helpful. Yes, there are some posters who seem to find a negative in everything this ownership group does, and equally there are those who find a positive in everything it does. I can’t really distinguish between one set being good and the other being bad.

Then there are those who judge situations as they see them, I would imagine that is the vast majority of Burnley fans and I include myself in that. And the owners of our club potentially buying a La Liga club absolutely should be questioned and if people feel it would be detrimental to our club, or indeed to the spirit of the game, then they should absolutely have the right to voice those concerns without people like you condescending their views.

What are your views on this news? Do you have any or would you rather just snipe from the sidelines as usual?

[CyrilEbokiPoh]

I like Alan and the people he’s brought into the club, but the way in which we’ve been burdened with debt will never sit right with me and unless it ever gets rectified there will always be a level of distrust.

Pretty much the same as me. I am not against this per se. But we have to be realistic. His intentions are and will always be for his investment group first. Not BFC.

[Rileybobs]

As for some comments claiming that this news signifies that ALK have some huge financial backing; have you ever heard of a management buyout / leveraged takeover? What makes you think the structure of a potential deal to buy Espanola would be significantly different to the deal to buy Burnley?

[CaptJohn]

Pretty much the same as me. I am not against this per se. But we have to be realistic. His intentions are and will always be for his investment group first. Not BFC.

Correct, he's a business man. He may have developed an affection for Burnley in some way but making money is his ultimate objective. Just look at the Glazers and the way they've made shed loads out of Old Trafford using a similar financial method.

[Clive 1960]

Leave the bob lord stand alone, thanks

Sat in the Bob Lord for year's before emigrating and always said then the wooden seats need changing like they did in Cricket Field stand ..

[jdrobbo]

Sat in the Bob Lord for year's before emigrating and always said then the wooden seats need changing like they did in Cricket Field stand ..

Hi Clive,

Hope you’re doing well out there. Best wishes.

John

[Cooclaret]

Correct, he's a business man. He may have developed an affection for Burnley in some way but making money is his ultimate objective. Just look at the Glazers and the way they've made shed loads out of Old Trafford using a similar financial method.

AP is nothing like the Glazers. That’s laughable.

By buying another European club, they are helping BFC. The Premier League is THE world league, it’s the biggest and best.

(It is over inflated and will need to develop into the European league or pop)

BFC are at the top table, we need to stay there. To do so we need to be able to develop talent internationally, to do that we need to have a European club that can support that, potentially even a USA based club too.

It’s good for our player development, it’s good for our player recruitment, it provides a pathway for young technical players to develop in a less physical and more technically demanding league.

It’s on the doorstep of the world’s best academy, and more than a few that won’t make it at Barca will land there.

I am all for it and all for AP being the chairman for a long time.

[NewClaret]

AP is nothing like the Glazers. That’s laughable.

By buying another European club, they are helping BFC. The Premier League is THE world league, it’s the biggest and best.

(It is over inflated and will need to develop into the European league or pop)

BFC are at the top table, we need to stay there. To do so we need to be able to develop talent internationally, to do that we need to have a European club that can support that, potentially even a USA based club too.

It’s good for our player development, it’s good for our player recruitment, it provides a pathway for young technical players to develop in a less physical and more technically demanding league.

It’s on the doorstep of the world’s best academy, and more than a few that won’t make it at Barca will land there.

I am all for it and all for AP being the chairman for a long time.

I agree with a lot of what you say here.

I’m not really a fan of the multi-club model at all, and beyond preferring additional investment to go in to BFC, one other concern for me would be what it means when it comes to sale. Will we just be lumped in with this ‘group’ forever? AP might base himself here and focus on Burnley, but future owners might not. That’s a worry.

But the other way of looking at this is that we’re sat between being a Championship club and Premier League club. To really establish ourselves something needs to change and I do think this might help.

The exciting part is on the Academy side, as you say, access to a hotbed of talent but also scouting, coaching, etc where I’m sure we could learn a lot from each other. Then there’s an opportunity for our young players to go and learn in a very technical but less physically demanding division. Greater opportunities for staff secondments could really help both clubs.

This is also a club in really nice part of the world so I’m sure when it comes to attracting young players to our Academy, the opportunity to perhaps train or play in Spain could help us attract the best over here.

Done well, it could be mutually beneficial.

Agree also on your US point, that would be another obvious location.

[ClaretLoup]

Just as an aside, Pochettino played over 200 games for Espanyol and managed them for nearly three seasons before moving to Southampton.

[Paul Waine]

Tiempos emocionantes - as Trent Alexander-Arnold might say.

[aggi]

The main thing I've taken from this is that Espanyol are owned by Rastar which is one of the biggest toy car manufacturers in the world. Seems very random.

[Paul Waine]

The main thing I've taken from this is that Espanyol are owned by Rastar which is one of the biggest toy car manufacturers in the world. Seems very random.

I'm guessing when Rastar bought Espanyol, 2015/16, there were lots of Chinese firms buying football clubs in Europe.