[halifax_baggie]

Try telling that to the fans who's shares Peace undervalued and bought.  Try telling Blackburn and Wolves fans there was nothing special about Walker and Hayward.  Of course the business strategies of chairmen are relevant to both the club and fans.

I'm not saying Peace has done anything legally wrong, but he saw an opportunity to make money out of West Brom and boy has he taken it.  I believe that our relative success is a side effect of Peace maximising the value of his asset.

One other question in relation to this sale.  At some point during the break-up and restructuring of the various WBA companies I seem to remember being told the ground, and other adjacent properties being put in a separate company from the football club, whilst a further company was formed to hold the various city centre (and other) residential properties that the club had bought (is the London office rented?).  Anyone know the truth of this, and whether all off the various companies are packaged up in this sale?  (Or will JP still have a property portfolio in his back pocket?)

Smacks of envy to me, practically everyone if they had the opportunity would take the risk Peace took, how did Abramovich (ex Communist) get his money, even Tony Blair (ex socialist) took his opportunity to make money.

You can bet that Peace, even if he takes every opportunity to maximise his return, will have done everything within the law.

Our club is in a better position now than it was 10 or 12 years ago, infrastructure, academy, stands, pitch, facilities, team absolutely everything has improved

The point is Peace took a RISK, it may have gone belly up like Leeds, Portsmouth etc.

Welcome to the real world, not one of conjecture and cyniscm

[Standaman]

Try telling that to the fans who's shares Peace undervalued and bought.  Try telling Blackburn and Wolves fans there was nothing special about Walker and Hayward.  Of course the business strategies of chairmen are relevant to both the club and fans.

I'm not saying Peace has done anything legally wrong, but he saw an opportunity to make money out of West Brom and boy has he taken it.  I believe that our relative success is a side effect of Peace maximising the value of his asset.

One other question in relation to this sale.  At some point during the break-up and restructuring of the various WBA companies I seem to remember being told the ground, and other adjacent properties being put in a separate company from the football club, whilst a further company was formed to hold the various city centre (and other) residential properties that the club had bought (is the London office rented?).  Anyone know the truth of this, and whether all off the various companies are packaged up in this sale?  (Or will JP still have a property portfolio in his back pocket?)

The ground and the investment property are referenced in the latest club report and accounts so are very much part of the club's assets. Walker and Hayward might have been special but neither of their families wanted to continue to subsidise their respective clubs and both left them overly dependent on the golden tit. The sugar daddy model is pretty much dead and fans had better get used to the idea.

[WorcsWBA]

The point is Peace took a RISK, it may have gone belly up like Leeds, Portsmouth etc.

What risk has he taken? As I understand it, he's never invested any of his own personal money in the club since he became Chairman (I'm not sure what happened when he first became a director).

Welcome to the real world, not one of conjecture and cyniscm

I'm in the real world of having had my Albion shares compulsorily purchased for a relative pittance. People have every right to be cynical should they feel that way.

[robnewbold]

Our club is in a respective, solid position and a damn site better then it was 12 months ago.
There where some horrendous mistakes made in recent times, but we have come through remarkably unscathed, and held on to our PL Status relatively easily this year.
With the kit and the new sponsor being announced on Wednesday and no mention of a new owner at the moment my guess is that Mr P will be around for another season.

[tambag]

People forgot what it was like under Trev the Shed or Tony Hale.

I still remeber being near the directors box at Crewe and managing to get a word with Tony Hale and I asked him are we going to spend the money on players and he said yes - when all the time we had no money and had to sell Kilbane to appease the bank manager.

[Mr Cynical]

The ground and the investment property are referenced in the latest club report and accounts so are very much part of the club's assets.

Thanks for clarifying.

[divinewind]

People forgot what it was like under Trev the Shed or Tony Hale.

I still remeber being near the directors box at Crewe and managing to get a word with Tony Hale and I asked him are we going to spend the money on players and he said yes - when all the time we had no money and had to sell Kilbane to appease the bank manager.

We don't forget at all, but we also remember the traditions and history of this club before those days.

[Mr Cynical]

Judging from most responses it sounds like we should celebrate a chairman who never invested his own money (or not for long anyhow) has taken in the region of £10m in salary and more besides in various share issues and may now walk away with over £100m from the sale.

I wonder what could have been achieved with JP's financial acumen if his heart was in it rather than just his wallet?

Smacks of envy to me, practically everyone if they had the opportunity would take the risk Peace took,

The only reason I'm envious is because if I was in his position I would be able to do something special for West Bromwich Albion FC  rather than take all that money to keep me warm in Barbados.

[sammyg]

What's everyone's feeling about the take over then? Gut feeling do we think we will be taken over?

[halifax_baggie]

What risk has he taken? As I understand it, he's never invested any of his own personal money in the club since he became Chairman (I'm not sure what happened when he first became a director).
I'm in the real world of having had my Albion shares compulsorily purchased for a relative pittance. People have every right to be cynical should they feel that way.

So you didn't like the world of commerce where you buy and sell shares to make a profit, sometimes you take a loss,  the shares were virtually worthless before Peace took over, you couldn't sell them for more than you bought them. A pittance compared with what you thought they were worth, a share is only worth what someone is willing to pay. If you bought the shares for altruistic reasons, weren't they issued in 1994 to help raise money for the club when they were in dire straights then you can't complain. I believe the shares were £500 and £3000 and came with 10 year rights (correct me if I'm wrong)

Carrying the feeling of disappointment for ever will not allow you to see just how far our club has come

Or would you rather have had the previous chairman who wanted his money back and so we sold Kilban, time to put it behind you and really support the Baggies through thick and thin like we all do

Being such an entrepreneur, with your shares why didn't you put a consortium together to do what Peace has done, afterall you say he only invested a small amount - (can't remember whether it was £250k or £500k)

[WoysWunderful]

imagine wanting to make some money from a buisness you owned? this stuff about peaces wages doesnt make ANY sense, how many of you would be prepared to work for free?!

[PsalmXXIII]

I fail to see what is wrong with a business man entering a business, working his way up, contributing to it's steady success, completely restructuring it, keeping it debt free and then, when he's established and stablised the company, moving on.

I don't know a Mr Peace, I judge him on his work. I have shares in the club still, I still attend shareholder meetings and I'm yet to see where he's done anything wrong.

Without being a majority shareholder he can't sell us, so anyone who wants him gone can't use 'he stole our shares' as something to lambast him for. You look at the majority of businesses worldwide you'll find exactly the same story with regularity. If he'd come in, done nothing and left then by all means you can criticise. But he hasn't. I fail to see any legal, moral or economic reason to think he's done wrong.

We are a business not a recreational activity for someone to play with. Thinking anyone buys a football club to see the club do well and not for the financial game is beyond naive. Abramovic and the Sheik didn't support their respective teams and only care about the team doing well as doing so makes money. And don't throw 'we are a football club with history, etc.' at me. If we aren't a business explain how we make tens of millions a year.

At the end of the day I pose one question to anyone who still criticises JP:

Why does JP, using legal means, making money from the sale of our club, offend you so much? The revenue generated by the club is still in the club, all he's doing is selling the business behind the club to someone else. Legally buying and selling assets of any scale or level is how the world works. The fact he does it legally is better than a lot of large businesses I bet none of you have any problems with.

[Mr Cynical]

At the end of the day I pose one question to anyone who still criticises JP:

Why does JP, using legal means, making money from the sale of our club, offend you so much? The revenue generated by the club is still in the club, all he's doing is selling the business behind the club to someone else. Legally buying and selling assets of any scale or level is how the world works. The fact he does it legally is better than a lot of large businesses I bet none of you have any problems with.

I've had to set aside my fairly entrenched views on Peace.  We are soon to start our sixth consecutive season in the PL.  I think almost everything about the club has improved significantly during his tenure.  I doubt whether it would be possible to find a shorter or smoother ride to where we are today without that sugar daddy (or even with it - see wulfs).  I, kind of, feel proud when I see WBA (nil debt) 3 - 0 (£1bn debt) Chelsea...

I reserve my criticism of Peace for areas such as fan interaction, financial openness and the fact that someone who is a 'fan' can plan to benefit to the tune of £150m after recovering his initial investment many years ago.  As a fan I don't think I could just take all the money and retire to Barbados.  I'd want to find a way to pay my dues and share the benefit.  Maybe I'm weird?  I like £s, but I love West Brom.

[LongBridge Baggie1]

I've had to set aside my fairly entrenched views on Peace.  We are soon to start our sixth consecutive season in the PL.  I think almost everything about the club has improved significantly during his tenure.  I doubt whether it would be possible to find a shorter or smoother ride to where we are today without that sugar daddy (or even with it - see wulfs).  I, kind of, feel proud when I see WBA (nil debt) 3 - 0 (£1bn debt) Chelsea...

I reserve my criticism of Peace for areas such as fan interaction, financial openness and the fact that someone who is a 'fan' can plan to benefit to the tune of £150m after recovering his initial investment many years ago.  As a fan I don't think I could just take all the money and retire to Barbados.  I'd want to find a way to pay my dues and share the benefit.  Maybe I'm weird?  I like £s, but I love West Brom.

Sadly that's why you'll never become a multimillionaire  Just joking I find that admirable

[LiamTheBaggie]

I'll be glad when we get an answer either way to be honest - a boring saga which will only prove to be more than a hindrance in my opinion.

Wasn't the deadline at the end of June?

[sammyg]

I'll be glad when we get an answer either way to be honest - a boring saga which will only prove to be more than a hindrance in my opinion.

Wasn't the deadline at the end of June?

Apparently the end of June, I believe we may here a result on Wednesday perhaps with the new home kit or something

[LiamTheBaggie]

Apparently the end of June, I believe we may here a result on Wednesday perhaps with the new home kit or something

I would hope so - regardless of what the outcome is.

You don't want to head into the meat of your pre-season preparations with a takeover looming in the background.

[sammyg]

I would hope so - regardless of what the outcome is.

You don't want to head into the meat of your pre-season preparations with a takeover looming in the background.

Can't see peace wanting that either , I have a feeling we have been took over , just a gut feeling personally

[LongBridge Baggie1]

Should be sometime this week Mail's article from awhile back said early july at the latest if I remember Correctly

[cuckfield1704]

Apparently the end of June, I believe we may here a result on Wednesday perhaps with the new home kit or something

I will be very surprised if there is a deal and I do not really want one with any of the parties I have seen mentioned.
Also I'm with those on here asking just why should JP, who has already been paid many millions in salary, walk away with another £100m+  for selling our club.
It is a complete clash of negotiating styles and cultures.  Peace.......stubborn, has a price and will not sell unless he gets it and will want to 'see the money'. Those from the other side of the world start by offering next to nothing and work slowly, very slowly, upwards and rarely put the cash upfront.

[A5HB]

The players are back in for pre season training properly on Wednesday I think (despite the pre season schedule on the website saying they were back today) so I'd have thought there might be an update around about then as it's essentially the beginning of the new campaign.

[BobTaylor]

The players are back in for pre season training properly on Wednesday I think (despite the pre season schedule on the website saying they were back today) so I'd have thought there might be an update around about then as it's essentially the beginning of the new campaign.

Good point.

[darbolina]

Unless the whole model of the club and of modern football ownership changed, as fans we will be nothing more than very, loyal committed customers and that's the reality. Provided the club is in good shape (it is) and were relatively successful on the pitch (we are for a club of our size), the owner deserves credit.

 The clubs chance to be run as a mutual/ cooperative by fans slipped away and it's clear we have been more successful with one corporate mind running the club in the past ten years compared tot the ten years before when shareholders were wetting about with the clubs direction. Before Peace, there was simply too much in fighting and conflict within the club for it to have a clear long term strategy.

Whatever the outcome of the takeover talks, I hope we have someone running the club who is committed to a long term vision and not a Randy Lerner style 'kid in a sweet shop' for a couple of years. My personal view is Peace has run the club excellently and has also been a little fortunate to take it over at a time when the premier league brand went through the roof financially. I also believe his time is up and we need a fresh person at the top with new ideas and energy.

Either way, we're in good long term shape ( compare us to Wolves, Villa or Blues not to mention a host of other clubs such as Leeds, Bolton etc....who were above us 10 years ago), we have one of the best pound for pound managers in the country a solid set up (youth team, ground etc) and a squad which has a decent spine to add to.

I hope we finally shake of the inferiority complex web had for 20 years and push on like Suthampton and Swansea have. I think we will with a new owner.

[LiamTheBaggie]

Should be sometime this week Mail's article from awhile back said early july at the latest if I remember Correctly

What the mail know about the Albion could be written on a postage stamp.

[LongBridge Baggie1]

What the mail know about the Albion could be written on a postage stamp.

That's true