MORE FUN AND FROLICS IN THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The national press confined it to their archives. But Coventry’s pre-Christmas takeover has only just happened – on two levels. As sort-of-predicted in this column, Ray Ranson, backed by “SISU Private Equity Funds”, struggled to get the 90% of Coventry shares ‘his’ deal demanded (the remaining 10% would then be compulsorily repurchased). Minority-shareholders, holding 28.6% of the shares, were mysteriously reluctant to swap their financial outlay and voting rights for SISU’s “non-voting, non-participatory” shares…and a penny.

January 7^th was the, unexplained, deadline for shareholders to return certificates. And City ex-Chairman Joe Elliott wanted it all over by Christmas. But along with the usual practical problems with share registers - deaths not notified (football hardly a priority at such times), addresses out-of-date - the required 62% of minority-shareholder support wasn’t forthcoming. Cue emotional blackmail.

Ex-director Michael French handed a debut to the “If you don’t hand over your shares, the club will die” line. And Ranson added: “It is irrelevant what people paid…in administration the shares would be worthless.” As worthless as the shares SISU were offering instead – an irony which escaped him.

Elliott said keeping shares would leave Coventry “on the brink of disaster” and drove to ‘Sky Blues Legend’ Jimmy Hill’s Brighton home to collect the chinned-one’s highly-symbolic single share. Hill pleaded: “Having shares makes no difference” (more irony-deficiency). “Handing them over does.” Adding: “It could be an exciting time for the club…thanks to the generosity of others.” He didn’t specify whose generosity. Surely not SISU? Generosity??

Coventry Supporters Trust, as per their remit, concentrated on loss of voting rights and successfully urged Ranson to meet shareholders. ‘Media co-ordinator’ Natalie Cox noted wisely: “Most did not invest for financial reward but to attend AGMs, view accounts and ask questions. They want clarification of SISU’s vision.” And in a Coventry Telegraph article dripping with sarcasm about the club’s scare-tactics, Dave Wardale asked pointedly: “Why won’t you offer a decent price if the shares are so important?”

The club’s tactics were soon exposed as ingenuous. They didn’t get their 90%…yet Coventry still exist. Ranson “was delighted with the amount of acceptances, so close to Christmas” (Why? Is Coventry’s Christmas post bad? All my friends received their cards…I’ll leave you to speculate how long that took) adding, significantly, that missing the deadline simply stopped SISU making an “unconditional” offer, not withdrawing. The deadline simply became April 11^th…January 7^th simply wasn’t vital.

Such behaviour is nothing new, of course. And it’s a shame shareholders couldn’t hold out – if understandable (QPR’s minority-shareholders, holding 31%, rejected an equally derisory offer from Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone – though Bri and Bern weren’t issuing [club] death threats). That might have made future bidders hesitate at ripping-off supporters. Coventry’s survival is laudable. That aspect of it is not.

Is Kia Joorabchian nuts? Wasn’t West Ham enough?? There’s “enjoying a challenge.” But Southampton? Three directors resigning at December’s AGM was par for the course. Yet Joorabchian reportedly wants into this mania, an ego-drive, driven by one ego in particular.

Ex-Chairman Rupert Lowe is a ‘Rupert’ stereotype. A ‘hockey-playing rugger fan’ who’d never attended a football match before 1996 and whose public-school background eats into his every move.

Ironically, since his painful-sounding ‘reverse-takeover’ of Southampton in 1997 (cheaper than a stock market float), one of his least upper-class-twittish decisions was his least popular, hiring Redknapp, the relegation-avoidance expert, to avoid relegation in 2005. Unfortunate on two counts. The Pompey connection, sectarian nonsense to a ‘Rupert’ but not to an experienced football club chairman. And because Redknapp wasn’t “allowed to manage as he’d like” – a phrase, we now know, with multiple connotations.

Saints’ league-position fell in reverse proportion to club debts, which saw Lowe lambasted. He responded by removing boardroom opponents. But they’d sold shares to Jersey-based ‘property-tycoon’ Michael Wilde, making him Saints’ largest shareholder. Lowe, feeling threatened, refused Wilde a seat on the board. So, armed with his new friends and a jargon-friendly manifesto “Planning for Success”, Wilde ousted Lowe and his supporters in June 2006.

They remained critics of Wilde’s regime, which failed to fulfil promises of ‘new investors’ for their ‘success-planning’, even while Championship clubs were prime investment targets. Lowe’s camp attended Saints’ 2006 AGM, Lowe silent while his underlings asked all the awkward questions (shades of public-schooldays?).

Wilde’s supporters blamed Lowe’s sniping for the never-identified ‘investors’ withdrawing. Meanwhile, Lowe branded ex-League Chairman Keith Harris – tasked with selling Lowe’s shares and contractually-obliged a namecheck in takeover tales – “a disgrace” adding: “I stood down on the understanding that my shares be sold immediately for a proper price.” He’d said: “in the club’s interests” at the time.

“Lack of new investment was the only reason” behind Wilde’s February 2007 resignation, “and the board’s willingness to accept it.” Lowe said: “No-one can blame me for the last nine months”, as fans blamed him for the “previous nine YEARS.”

No sensible investor would get involved. Businessman Tom Scott bought Lowe’s dad’s 2%, Scott falsely branded a catalyst for a Lowe-comeback. Michael Nank, spokesman for ludicrously-rich Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, said: “Paul has no interest in any football club” which Saints directors translated into: “Oh yes he has” – pantomime an appropriate analogy.

Eventually, even SISU were considered, uniting Lowe and Wilde in opposition - they weren’t THAT mad. SISU’s proposals, again ungenerous to shareholders, were rejected “in their current form” (Rupe hated the font?). Three directors, honourable if hopeless, resigned. And Wilde was back in favour, somehow. “Mistakes have been made by all” he understated nicely.

Lowe commented (surprise!). His ousting was now an “injustice”, adding, to barely-suppressed laughter: “all I have done is watch quietly from the sidelines.” He was sharply reminded that the relegation and £3.3m trading losses in his last year, even after £14m transfer income, had started Saints’ mess.

Joorabchian walks into what others run from - Saints manager George Burley, a veteran of Derby and Hearts farragoes, appears a soulmate. So though reports of his interest have been rubbished, he remains a logical next chapter in Saints’ illogical tale.

BTW: A quote from a (pinches of salt at the ready please) Harry Harris source “close” to ‘arry Redknapp this week: “Harry doesn’t need the money because he’s made quite a bit already.” Hasn’t he, though? (Mind you, for the first time in my and many peoples’ life, I found myself nodding my head when Mark Lawrenson said he thought Redknapp might still take the Newcastle job).

And the Telegraph web-site at the weekend carried an article on “Why Harry Redknapp turned down £5m a year.” The author? Alex CROOK.

I have no comment to make at this time.

‘MotorMurph’ is written by Mark Murphy.

Entry Filed under: MotorMurph Column

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