[robnewbold]

I see a convoy of trucks heading for the Hawthorns anytime soon!

[staticboy]

Well Lai, how do you feel now?

[baggies_24]

If no investment is forthcoming in the summer this lot will be getting relegated no doubts about it.

[gazberg]

Here is the bloke who is responsible for the clubs downfall.

This season he put his appearance/vanity/ego whatever ahead of the clubs success and here we are.

This bloke is poison. I fear he will be here for some time to come as well.

[Maresca Was A Baggie]

Dear Mr Lai I'll give you £50 for the club and that's being generous

[Droitwich Baggie]

Dear Mr Lai I'll give you £50 for the club and that's being generous

 
1 pence is the going rate. And he has to give the hand shake and bow, PERSONALLY !

[Maresca Was A Baggie]

Well Jeremy promised to sell to someone that would take us to the next level. By this time next year we may have surpassed his expectations and moved 2 levels  - Down!!

[gazberg]

Well Jeremy promised to sell to someone that would take us to the next level. By this time next year we may have surpassed his expectations and moved 2 levels  - Down!!

What a coincidence it just happened to be the bloke who offered Jezza the most money as well 

[wba_1996]

End of the day he sanctioned the £8m for Dike in Jan, it’s not really an investment issue whilst we’re in the Championship. The issue is that he just doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. And the people he’s got running the club on the day-to-day are probably about as bad as you can get as far as professional football goes, he sacks them and then appoints people just as bad.

This club is going backwards until this misguided idiot stops leaving it in the hands of the Dowling’s and Gourlay’s of this world.

[Baggies]

I've said it before, but I smile at the fact he is going to lose millions on this investment - silver linings and all. To think Xi Jinping is also having a crackdown on China's Billionaires as well - you deserve this Guochuan, I wish I could be a fly on the wall.

[baggie82]

End of the day he sanctioned the £8m for Dike in Jan, it’s not really an investment issue whilst we’re in the Championship. The issue is that he just doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. And the people he’s got running the club on the day-to-day are probably about as bad as you can get as far as professional football goes, he sacks them and then appoints people just as bad. This club is going backwards until this misguided idiot stops leaving it in the hands of the Dowling’s and Gourlay’s of this world.

Dowling recommendation to appoint Wilder in the summer is looking pretty shrewd now and Val record in charge of this squad gets better every game that passes with Bruce in charge. I haven't changed my mind that the constant sacking of managers every six months has ruined us, especially this season. As you note, even more bizarre given Dike was just signed for big money and the window closed.

[Baggies]

End of the day he sanctioned the £8m for Dike in Jan, it’s not really an investment issue whilst we’re in the Championship. The issue is that he just doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. And the people he’s got running the club on the day-to-day are probably about as bad as you can get as far as professional football goes, he sacks them and then appoints people just as bad.

This club is going backwards until this misguided idiot stops leaving it in the hands of the Dowling’s and Gourlay’s of this world.

Cracking post that nails the issue.

Despite what many say, investment isn't the main issue - it's how clueless he is and the poor boardroom level appointments he keeps making.

Nice but hapless family friend Xu Ke
Useless wide boy Luke Dowling
The anonymous Li Puyue

Now we have Ron "back to basics" (back to the 90's) Gourlay

[Dynamo10]

No shadow of a doubt that we'll be in the wilderness for quite some time as long as this man owns our football club.

Mr Lai, you have single-handedly undone the hard work of those before you. It is all well and good stating you wanted to run the club in a sustainable manner but you have proven time and again that you do not have the capability to do so. The recruitment of players have been shambolic, the performances of certain stalwart players has been even worse and whilst our rivals have built on what they have, we have done the complete opposite without any hesitation.

It is about time you forgot about saving face in your homeland and do the right thing by yourself, the club and its supporters. Take the hit on what you paid and get as far away from here as you possibly can.

[darbolina]

Lai's ownership slowly killing the club . Time the fans made him aware how unwelcome he is i think

[baggie96]

We either need to go up and stay up so he can recoup his money or sink lower and lower so he has to take whatever he can. Unfortunately the latter looks more and more likely.

[Dynamo10]

We either need to go up and stay up so he can recoup his money or sink lower and lower so he has to take whatever he can. Unfortunately the latter looks more and more likely.

No chance we see the Premier League again whilst he's still about.

[gazberg]

No chance we see the Premier League again whilst he's still about.

More likely to see the Northern Premier League the longer he's here.

[ttree30]

Is this guy really a businessman? Or is he akin to those Russian oligarchs who end up making fortunes because they’re in with the gang at the top, rather than because they have any business ability at all?

I have rarely seen something run quite as badly as West Bromwich Albion over the past three or four years. It has been a wonder to behold.

[Baggies]

Is this guy really a businessman? Or is he akin to those Russian oligarchs who end up making fortunes because they’re in with the gang at the top, rather than because they have any business ability at all?

I have rarely seen something run quite as badly as West Bromwich Albion over the past three or four years. It has been a wonder to behold.

It stands a chance that his fortune owes as much to luck and connections as it does to business acumen yeah. That is true around the world but particularly so in countries like China and Russia.

Then again Ron Gourlay was a success outside of football, but at Reading and now here he has seen sides he is involved with tank.

Football is a unique business and being over confident in your own ability due to non footballing successes is a recipe for disaster. Too many executives fail to fully grasp that.

[paulosull]

What worries me is that realistically we are going to be stuck with these bang average players for at least two or three more seasons. Can see no club that will be really interested in any of them especially with the wages they are on. Parachute payments next season will be swallowed up by what looks like these ridiculous salaries, if we don’t get up next year can only see a fire sale of prized assets the likes of Dike and O’Shea to cover short fall. Can even see sale of ground and training facilities on table, club looks like it’s in a right mess.

[tlms-p23]

The fact the ownership is so opaque really muddies the waters - it's hard to know how much the declining value of West Brom as an asset is an issue for Lai (if he owns it outright) or the company he fronts (if he is just the frontman).

If he's the frontman of a group with a diverse portfolio of interests and the others are doing okay, the on-pitch failure, declining value and nose-diving fortunes of West Brom may be an inconvenience, but what is a £100m decrease in a fringe asset if the rest of your £4bn pot is doing well? Explains his 3+yr absence while leaving the club in the hands of a series of goons. Just not bothered. The stakes aren't high.

It's not 2016 anymore. China aren't interested in UK football investment and Lai + cronies no doubt have bigger, more lucrative fish to fry away from the volatile world of football. What does it matter to them that West Brom are a mess on their watch?

The aforementioned goons have left us in an almighty mess, with a total absence of financial or squad management. We aren't beggars at the feast in the Championship, we're more monied than the vast majority. We've just pi$$ed our financial advantage up the wall on bargain basement swill. £15m Grant. £15m Diangana. £8m Zohore. £20-30k a week for half the squad on long contracts.

[paulosull]

The fact the ownership is so opaque really muddies the waters - it's hard to know how much the declining value of West Brom as an asset is an issue for Lai (if he owns it outright) or the company he fronts (if he is just the frontman).

If he's the frontman of a group with a diverse portfolio of interests and the others are doing okay, the on-pitch failure, declining value and nose-diving fortunes of West Brom may be an inconvenience, but what is a £100m decrease in a fringe asset if the rest of your £4bn pot is doing well? Explains his 3+yr absence while leaving the club in the hands of a series of goons. Just not bothered. The stakes aren't high.

It's not 2016 anymore. China aren't interested in UK football investment and Lai + cronies no doubt have bigger, more lucrative fish to fry away from the volatile world of football. What does it matter to them that West Brom are a mess on their watch?

The aforementioned goons have left us in an almighty mess, with a total absence of financial or squad management. We aren't beggars at the feast in the Championship, we're more monied than the vast majority. We've just pi$$ed our financial advantage up the wall on bargain basement swill. £15m Grant. £15m Diangana. £8m Zohore. £20-30k a week for half the squad on long contracts.

clearly bloke isn’t interested but if we lose parachute payments who is going to pay those players on 20 or 30 k a week when Championship prize money is pittance and inevitable dwindling match day revenue.

[Maresca Was A Baggie]

I wonder if Mr Lai knows where Cambridge or Fleetwood are? Best he invest in a road map for 2023

[gazberg]

Please sell up and sod off before you lose all your money.

[tex]

sell up to who? not sure anyone would see this as a good investment