MLSE in Talks to Purchase LEEDS UNITED

[Fred T. Jane]

MLSE's main stock holders are the Teacher's Pension Plan which now owns Bell Canada Enterprises. Throw in some other multi-multi billionaires to boot.

Money won't be an issue and all this would do is make our retiring teachers even more wealthy.

All but a couple of the clubs in the English Football Pyramid do not pay out dividends to neither their owners nor their shareholder/club members as (1) Their shares do not pay dividends, if they're a PLC/Club, (2) Operating Costs are so high that every pence is needed to break even, or simply (3) They're seriously hemorrhaging money.

And I'm sure MLSE's billionaires will love the first serious demand for a $150 million transfer kitty to return Leeds to their Rightful Place in English Football when/if they manage to return to the Premier League by significant figures within the club and its supporters. And if they're stupid enough to cave in to that, I bet they'll love the $150-200 million yearly wage bill that such spending Leeds would get as a result even more.

Simply put, English football is place for two sorts of folks: The absolute richest folks around or folks who love losing cash by the millions. These groups aren't mutually exclusive either, as the 9 ownership groups listed above have found out.

[Neon_Matrix]

MLSE's main stock holders are the Teacher's Pension Plan which now owns Bell Canada Enterprises. Throw in some other multi-multi billionaires to boot.

Money won't be an issue and all this would do is make our retiring teachers even more wealthy.

All but a couple of the clubs in the English Football Pyramid do not pay out dividends to neither their owners nor their shareholder/club members as (1) Their shares do not pay dividends, if they're a PLC/Club, (2) Operating Costs are so high that every pence is needed to break even, or simply (3) They're seriously hemorrhaging money.

And I'm sure MLSE's billionaires will love the first serious demand for a $150 million transfer kitty to return Leeds to their Rightful Place in English Football when/if they manage to return to the Premier League by significant figures within the club and its supporters. And if they're stupid enough to cave in to that, I bet they'll love the $150-200 million yearly wage bill that such spending Leeds would get as a result even more.

Simply put, English football is place for two sorts of folks: The absolute richest folks around or folks who love losing cash by the millions. These groups aren't mutually exclusive either, as the 9 ownership groups listed above have found out.

I expanded on my original post if you want to give it another look over and see if you still believe that the large revenue stream of MLSE could not pay for a Premiership team.

[ferrousoxide66]

Roman Abramovich's takeover of Chelsea was far from a one-time occurence. Since 2005, many EPL teams have been suddenly bought up by people who simply used their wealth to get what they wanted. To recap, there is Malcolm Glazer (Manchester United, 2005), Randy Lerner (Aston Villa, 2006), Alexandre Gaydamak (Portsmouth, 2006), the Drumaville Consortium (Sunderland, 2006), Björgólfur Guðmundsson (West Ham, 2006), Tom Hicks (Liverpool, 2007), George Gillet (Liverpool, 2007), Thaksin Shinawatra (Manchester City, 2007), and Mike Ashley (Newcastle, 2007). That's nine of the twenty Premiership teams and seven out of the 2007-08 top ten (including Abramovich's Chelski).

Let's take a look at these owners...

Abramovich (Chelsea)- Spent £150 million in 28 days in the Summer of 2003 to turn a top-half Premier League side into title contenders. Bought the club, ground, and club's debts with cash, and has funded the club through interest-free loans from himself.

Glazer (Manchester United)- Used a shell company to execute a hostile takeover of the previously-publicly traded club. The £660 million ($1.2 billion) refinancing plan places 100% of the debt load on the club, including £256 million ($512 million) on the clubs physical assets. The club posted a loss of £56 million ($112 million) loss this past fiscal year, mainly because of the club only servicing the interest of the refinancing plan (at 14.5%, a rate higher than the one I got in March for a loan for major repairs to my car) and backloading transfer repayment agreements.

Lerner (Aston Villa)- Owns Aston Villa after buying shares in a non-hostile takeover. Funds the club in a similar situation to Abramovich, but with the current credit crunch (Lerner is the chairman and majority stockholder in MNBA), transfer funds available to the club will be reduced.

Gaydamak (Portsmouth)- Scion of the Russo-Israeli Gaydamak family. Bought 50% of Portsmouth in 2006, and bought out then co-owner Milan Mandaric 6 months later. Funds the club in a similar situation to Abramovich, but Portsmouth posted a £50 million ($100 million) loss this past fiscal year, mainly through a high wage bill.

Drumaville Consortium (Sunderland)- A consortium of 7 Irishmen: Niall Quinn, Charlie Chawke, Louis Fitzgerald, Jack Tierney, Paddy Kelly, Pat Beirne, John Hays, and Patsy Byrne. Bought the club when it was reentering the Coca-Cola Championship and have a limited financial base for transfers.

Gudmundsson (West Ham United)- Bought West Ham and leveraged part of the debt against the club. In a personal financial crisis at the moment because of the financial meltdown in his native Iceland (Prime interest rate is currently ~15%)

Hicks & Gillet (Liverpool)- Each own 50% of the company through a shell company that put 100% of the £500 million ($1 billion) purchase price on the club. Despite the club spending £40 million ($80 million) on transfers this past Summer, none of it came from either's pockets. Plans for the funding of the new Anfield are on hold because neither will pony up the money personally to fund it.

Shinawatra (Manchester City)- Former Prime Minister of Thailand bought the club and its debts with cash, and is funding the club in the same fashion as Abramovich, Lerner, and Gaydamak.

Mike Ashley (Newcastle United)- English Sporting-chain magnate bought Newcastle and half of the club's debts for £134 million. Within 2 months of buying Ashley reportedly put the club up for sale and has balked at spending the cash necessary to bring players to the club to threaten the Top 4.

Now this is a thoroughly-researched post. Well done.

[Jer15]

MLSE's main stock holders are the Teacher's Pension Plan which now owns Bell Canada Enterprises. Throw in some other multi-multi billionaires to boot.

Money won't be an issue and all this would do is make our retiring teachers even more wealthy.

All but a couple of the clubs in the English Football Pyramid do not pay out dividends to neither their owners nor their shareholder/club members as (1) Their shares do not pay dividends, if they're a PLC/Club, (2) Operating Costs are so high that every pence is needed to break even, or simply (3) They're seriously hemorrhaging money.

And I'm sure MLSE's billionaires will love the first serious demand for a $150 million transfer kitty to return Leeds to their Rightful Place in English Football when/if they manage to return to the Premier League by significant figures within the club and its supporters. And if they're stupid enough to cave in to that, I bet they'll love the $150-200 million yearly wage bill that such spending Leeds would get as a result even more.

Simply put, English football is place for two sorts of folks: The absolute richest folks around or folks who love losing cash by the millions. These groups aren't mutually exclusive either, as the 9 ownership groups listed above have found out.

I expanded on my original post if you want to give it another look over and see if you still believe that the large revenue stream of MLSE could not pay for a Premiership team.

I'm sure MLSE will more than be able to afford this venture if they want.....But let's face the fact, they are not known for spending all sorts of money for results on the field of play.

[jr79]

At this point, not many people have the cash and clout to barge in on the EPL and upset the apple cart. Abramovich was a one-time occurence, and I don't see that happening again unless some mysterious oil-laden sheik decides to pump some heavy dosh in a struggling squad, red ink be damned. MLSE is far from that.

The mysterious oil-laden sheik is trying but Tom Hicks won't sell to him

[CC97]

I'm sure MLSE will more than be able to afford this venture if they want.....But let's face the fact, they are not known for spending all sorts of money for results on the field of play.

MLSE was doing okay before the salary cap system, a couple of appearances in the conference finals, a division title, playoffs every season... no, there were no Cups, but they weren't doing too bad at all in the six years they were in charge (without the cap).

After cap is a different story but your point had to do with spending money for results on the field... no longer a relevant point in post-cap hockey.

[BJ Sands]

Leeds was in the top-6 for English attendances. Absolutely bonkers for a League 1 outfit.

Fulham and Sunderland could never hope to attain that kind of support.

I agree with the Fulham part. They're a minnow compared to their London rivals. Other than that...

For one, Leeds was nowhere near the top-6 in English attendance. They led League 1 (and everybody in the Championship) with an average of 25,270. That average, however, would only be good for 14th in the Premiership, well behind Sunderland's 43,344 per game.

Sunderland is certainly as well-supported a club as Leeds United, and that's without having the same proud history in Europe and (increasingly less-so) recent glory. The Black Cats have been a pinball club the last few years but their fans are some of the best in the Premiership. Why do you think they were able to build a 47,000-seat stadium even though nobody expects them to compete with the biggest clubs?

I also realize I might be comparing tangerines to oranges here since Sunderland is two levels above the Whites, but there's no doubting just how rabid the Black Cats' fans are. There's no way to support this, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sunderland drew 25,000-plus if they were in League 1.

Granted, once Leeds makes it back to the Prem (where it belongs), they'll probably fill Elland Road to 100 percent capacity. And, back O/T, Leeds would be a great investment for MLSE. They are the ultimate buy low, sell high proposition.

(In case anybody cares, here's where I got these numbers.)

[Jer15]

I'm sure MLSE will more than be able to afford this venture if they want.....But let's face the fact, they are not known for spending all sorts of money for results on the field of play.

MLSE was doing okay before the salary cap system, a couple of appearances in the conference finals, a division title, playoffs every season... no, there were no Cups, but they weren't doing too bad at all in the six years they were in charge (without the cap).

After cap is a different story but your point had to do with spending money for results on the field... no longer a relevant point in post-cap hockey.

Yes, your right.

No doubt.

I was thinking less about the Leafs though. I know, they are the flagship of MLSE but you need to consider the Marlies, Raptors, and TFC. I know the Raps made the playoffs and the FC are looking good for a second year team, great in fact. But the Rappies really a bargain compared to the Celtics and Pistons.

Also if you take this point outside the field of play (which I know I did not say before) they have more than enough money to build their real estate investments (see: maple leaf square) but when it came time to build BMO Field they asked for government money ($27 mil from the feds, $8 mil from the Provence, and then they took $9.8 mil from the city.....the same city that has big time money problems) when they really didn't need it.

For what too? So that once in a while they can host international games and call it "National Soccer Stadium" even though the pitch has been criticized for being one of the worst in Canada and having recommendations to go to Montreal's Stade Saputo instead.

.......I'm not bitter or anything, lol.

[-kj]

"The FC"?