Thetownend.com

Just heard on Beeb Swindon that ex-QPR Chairman Bill Power is now a director of STFC, having put a million quid into the club.

Mark Devlin was interviewed, explaining that there is more to come and how the investment came about.

Are we attempting to fill the blackhole here, or is this money for investment in the team? (He asked out loud....)

Sounds like a ray of light, in an otherwise dreadful season either way....unless its another hoax

Nope - it's on the Official Site now:

http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10341~821767,00.html

Lots of speculation now that as Bill Power is Ian Holloways BIG MATE .. that Holloway will be the new manager of Swindon

 :dance:

Cheers TT, i think you'll excuse my cynical post, due to all the usual load of bull posted on STFC forums :roll:

Great news though, hopefully paving the Hollo-way

Adver headline sorted - Feel the Power

Get in - what great news.

Well done Mark D for bringing this guy in. Fucking hell I'm happy today.

Some good news  :D  makes a change!

fantastic news, seems we are starting to get things right in the boardroom, well done mr devlin,

just need to sort the tossers on the pitch now.

Holloway,Iffy,Reeeeeeeeeeeves and Woan -
say aye to that!!!

Hopefully this will be the start of the rebuilding job we need to do over the summer - who knows, in years to come we might look at this time as being the start of a new age? Blimey, I've allowed the wave of optimisim to get the better of me. Reg, get over here and be cynical.

Fuck Reeves and Woan, this club needs a change in management.

I'd welcome Mr Holloway but he'd need to be able to bring his own backroom staff in.

Inclined to agree Jan - nothing against Iffy Reeves or Woan (got a lot of time for all of them and certainly think Iffy and Reeves have the potential to have a bright future ahead of them in management). Just that we need to rebuild the club from top to bottom and part of that might need to be clearing out the playing staff, management, chairman etc. This is a great opportunity for a fresh start.

Exactly a new direction and fresh start is what's needed.  Thanks for your efforts Iffy, Woanie and Reeves but we need a new team (management wise) in and hopefully someone like Ian Holloway will be at the head of that team.

Someone needs to think of a song for Saturday at Ashton Gate.

Needs to include:

We're going down but we've got a million pounds ...

Absolutely brilliant news and the sort of news I'm sure we are all happy to hear after recently. Nice one.

Good news. For a change!

Great as we need the money. Let this be a start of good things to come.

8)

He even paid off King. Sweet!

WOW, GOOD NEWS WAKES OST FROM HIS 'END OF SEASON RELEGATION IS IMINENT' APATHETIC COMA!!!!!!!

The next step has to be the appointment of Holloway. He is a top man.

Sorry Iffy :(

all these Holloway comments are getting me excited!!!  Surely we can't bring a man like him to a club like ours???  I'd love it if it did happen though!

WE'VE GOT THE POWER!

this is certainly good news and could very well lead to the appointment of ian holloway, but i'm wary that people are putting two and two together and coming up with five...

see the luck i've had
could make a good man
turn bad.

you are such an indie kid mr hiphop 8)

Ace, good news at last, there is hope afterall  :D

Jesus H Christ, good news about STFC.  Does this make us wone of the richest clubs in League 2?

I feel the need to get even more drunk than originally planned on Saturday and start singing "We've got the Power".

a few changes to the barrell of money song may be required as well.

Back page of the wiltshire edition of the daily press......Is a picture of him with his arms out stood on the pitch  :D  From that picture he looks strangely like curly watts of corrie. And the headline reads 'TOWN SAY : THANKS A MILLION!'.

We’ve got the Power!
27th April 2006

EXCLUSIVE: BILL Power is to plough ‘significant’ investment into Swindon Town and wants to see the club firmly established as a Championship outfit.

The 52-year-old former Queens Park Rangers chairman will officially join the County Ground board of directors on May 15 yet he has no intention of becoming a member of the ‘prawn sandwich’ brigade.

Power, who made his fortune in the satellite communications industry, has pledged that he’s in it for the long haul and his goal is to help transform the club.

That means progress both on and off the pitch.

The Swindon Advertiser can reveal that negotiations stretching back four months have finally borne fruit and Power will adopt a very much ‘hands-on’ approach at the County Ground.

Power's initial investment into the club is thought to be around £1 million and it is very unlikely to be a one-off injection. He says he is in it for the long term.

Power and Devlin were chairman and chief executive respectively at Loftus Road before being ousted in a bitter boardroom battle by QPR’s current supremo Gianni Paladini.

Devlin has persuaded him to join the Town set-up to ease the financial burden on major shareholder Sir Seton Wills and Power cannot wait to get started.

It is clear that a budget will be in place to assist manager Iffy Onuora in the summer but Power is looking beyond that.

He said: “I see this as a club with terrific potential.

“I would like to ‘properly’ retire in 15 years or so, look back at this club and say ‘I helped transform that. I do see similiarities between this club and QPR.

“I believe this club can be successful and don’t see any reason why Swindon Town shouldn’t be firmly established in the Championship.

“It won’t happen overnight but that has to be the very least we hope for and aim for.

“It is a long-term plan and I’m looking forward to it.”

Devlin is delighted to welcome his former QPR colleague on board.

He said: “It is fantastic news for the club.

“I believe Bill’s addition to the board will make a crucial difference

--------------------------------------

Iffy to stay in charge?

This is great news!  :D

Hopefully carson will finally fuck off as well!

Can Power fit the Bill at Town?
27th April 2006

SO just who is Bill Power and why does he want to be part of Swindon Town’s future? In an exclusive interview, he tells JON RITSON that his hopes and dreams are firmly grounded in reality.

BILL Power’s only regret about joining Swindon Town is that he didn’t get involved sooner.

And far from barricading himself in the boardroom with the ‘suits’ and the prawn sandwiches, you’re more likely to find him nattering to fans over a pint and a pie in the pub.

Oh, and be warned. If you have a go at him on an internet message board, there’s every chance he’s already logged on and eager for a debate.

Nor is he depressed by the state of the club he is joining, he is positively brimming with excitement about the future.

The 52-year-old Londoner, born a stone’s throw from his beloved Queens Park Rangers, made his fortune in satellite communications, will be very much ‘hands on’ at the County Ground, especially as he’s planning to retire from business in the not-too-distant future.

And far from being depressed by the state of the club he is joining, he’s excited about the future for Swindon Town.

He said: “Why Swindon? Well, I’d kept in touch with Mark Devlin since our days together at QPR. He invited me down to Swindon, I talked to the people at the club and felt it was something I wanted to be part of.

“I knew Swindon needed help and felt I had something to contribute.

“I am a relatively wealthy man but this isn’t going to be a case of an endless pot of money being thrown at the situation.

“Budgets are in place for next season and I am hoping that the funding I put in will put us back on an even playing field.

“First and foremost though I am a fanatical football fan.

“I’m more at home in with the fans, shouting and screaming at the referee rather than sitting in a suit in the director’s box.

“I believe the relationship between a club and its fans is key.

“I’m quite happy to meet with and talk to people, over a pint and cheese sandwich in the pub.

“Or it might be that it’s on the message boards.

“I’ve never been afraid to get stuck into those.

“Fans want facts not innuendo and rumour and I’d like to think that 99.9 per cent of QPR fans would tell you that that’s what I was about.

“They might not always like the answers that you give them but I firmly believe that successful clubs, although there’s always the odd exception, have all got good relationships with their supporters.

“I am not afraid to tell the truth and what fans want is to know that the people running their club are pulling in the same direction.

“I’ve heard all the horror stories about the problems the club has had but let’s try and move forward now.”

Investment is all well and good but Power appreciates that what fans really want is success on the pitch.

It doesn’t suddenly mean that Iffy Onuora has millions to splash around on players but Power hopes he can be the difference between Town landing ‘realistic’ targets and missing out.

He said: “Let’s say that the manager has spotted the next Wayne Rooney and it will cost £100,000 to land him. Hopefully he would be landed.

“My only real regret is that I wasn’t able to get involved sooner to be honest.

“I suppose the message to the fans is to stick with us.

“This is a big club for League One, should the worst happen it would be an even bigger one in League Two, and we want to take it forward.”


Who is Bill Power?



Bill Power, 52, was born just over the road from his beloved Queens Park Rangers.

The son of Irish parents, he grew up on the White City estate which overlooked Loftus Road. Hence began his love affair with a Hoops side that featured the likes of Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh.


He began his working life as an electrician before he and his business partner made their respective fortunes by setting up a satellite communications company. Among their clients are governmental departments from numerous countries.


While Bill’s business was booming, his club certainly wasn’t. He contacted QPR and made an initial investment of £200,000, eventually becoming both a shareholder and director.

Another shareholder was former Italian football agent Gianni Paladini.

The pair would eventually assume control at Loftus Road after toppling the previous board but their relationship turned sour with matters coming to a head in August 2005.


Power was ousted by Paladini at a board meeting, a meeting which also saw then chief executive Mark Devlin leave the club.

 8)

interesting to see his comments about interaction with fans. devlin's started using the forums and it seems likely that mr power will follow suit.

in fact, didn't devlin say that using message boards/forums at qpr was power's idea?

Are you He-Man?

Interesting question. Would it be worth seeing what Iffy can do when he actually has a tranfer budget?
If he can find players like Paul Smith, Hammuer Bouazza, Toumani Diagouraga and Lee Peacock when he has no money to spend, what could he do with a couple of hundred grand in the kitty?

Personally I think it's time for us to change Manager but I wouldn't necessarily think it was the end of the world if Iffy were to stay on.

So we've got an Irish QPR fan on the board of Swindon Town now?  Couple that with a scottish jockey who supports some other club too!

Things are never straight forward at the CG are they?

bloody fantastic !  He sounds like he means business too. can't remember the last time i felt this optimistic !

Fuck me this is absolutely incredible.  The million pounds will secure our payment of the CVA. I feared next season may be our last.

Will the club finally have some direction now?

:o Fuck me, i just read my own post :shock:

No, that's I've got the Power.

We've got the Power was a line, maybe the title of a dance track many moons ago.

snap

What great news to wake up to! This is great in so many ways because it sounds as though money will be spent on players. We also now have a director with football experience which is something we have been lacking for a while. I think another important thing is it might show SBC that STFC is a going concern - they may be more inclined to help us out a bit more with regards to the stadium plans.

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/qprlsa/vpost?id=1083612

Those comments are well good. I'm still waiting to wake up and this will be a dream.

What fantastic news   8)

Just what the doctor ordered in every sense of the word.  I don't think I've felt this optomistic about the Town in over three years.

Impressed with the QPR fans thoughts on him seems like a real gentleman.

Looks like Iffy might be staying put.

WESTERN DAILY PRESS

TOWN SAY: THANKS A MILLION!

10:05 - 27 April 2006

Swindon Town will today announce the appointment of a new director who will pump £1million into the cash-strapped club - with the promise of more to follow. The news is an enormous and timely boost for Town, whose ex-manager Andy King yesterday revealed plans to take the club to a tribunal over unpaid wages.

However, new director Bill Power said he had already paid King off.

Former QPR chairman Power has been brought to Swindon by deputy chairman Mark Devlin, who was chief executive at Loftus Road alongside Power.

The 52-year-old is a multi-millionaire who made his fortune through satellite communications company Datasat. He will formally join the board on May 15. His money will be used to help keep the club afloat - it is currently losing between £500,000 and £1million a year - and buy new players.

Last night Power said: "I am not Roman Abramovich but I can afford to put in the sort of money that will make a difference at Swindon - and I am more than happy to do that.

"The initial investment is a million pounds but we want to push it on and improve everything for everybody." Power also threw his support behind rookie manager Iffy Onuora and said he wanted to work with supporters' groups.

"I like Iffy, he has lots of plans and I want to go along with those plans. I am looking forward to working with him, " he said.

King, Onuora's predecessor, was sacked in September but under the terms of his contract was entitled to a year's salary from that point. The Daily Press understands his salary was not far below £100,000.

King claimed he had not been paid since November and Devlin confirmed that was the case.

However, Power yesterday said he had paid King off, avoiding the costs of going to court.

"That problem has already been resolved, " he said. "Andy has actually been paid off now so hopefully that is that. I have helped myself there because we wanted to clear it up quickly." Swindon are likely to be relegated to League Two on Saturday and King told the Daily Press that, with that in mind, he did not wish to comment until Monday.

They seem genuinely gutted about it all.

Also Kingy was on £100k???  Bloody hell no wonder the board went for Iffy on his £27.5k salary.

he was on well paid scout!

dammit i'm gunna have to support a unibond team now, i hate these clubs with massive investment :P

Just spotted that, and it's only his wage from November onwards isn't it!

More...even better...

Looks deffo Iffy will stay. Like Bill Power's comments about buying and keeping players as well. Great stuff.

Western Daily Press

POWER RIDES TO ROBINS' RESCUE

09:30 - 27 April 2006

Bill Power did not ride into the County Ground on a big white horse yesterday, but his arrival at Swindon Town had all the hallmarks of a knight in shining armour. It would have been enough that the former QPR chairman, who will become a Swindon director on May 15, announced an initial £1million investment into the cash-strapped club with more to follow.

However, the 52-year-old multi-millionaire also said he had paid off former manager Andy King, who is threatening to take Swindon to court over unpaid wages.

Even by the Wiltshire club's recent standards, it was a dramatic day.

Londoner Power, who made his fortune through his satellite communications company Datasat, has been brought to Town by deputy chairman Mark Devlin.

The duo were at Loftus Road together - Devlin as chief executive and Power as a director and then chairman - before both were forced out in a power struggle last summer.

And Power has already starting making the kind of noises that will make a lot of people at Swindon happy.

His money will be used both to keep the club afloat (it is losing between £500,00 and £1million a year) and also to sign new players. He said Swindon would no longer be a club that had to sell players to stay afloat.

Power also gave his immediate backing to rookie manager Iffy Onuora, whose efforts to keep Town in League One look likely to fail.

He also stated his intention to work with supporters groups, who have often felt alienated.

Power said: "I am not Roman Abramovich but I can afford to put in the sort of money that will make a difference at Swindon and I am more than happy to do that.

"The initial investment is a million pounds but we want to push it on and improve everything for everybody.

"The more we can keep the fans happy, the more they will turn up every week, the better for everyone.

"I know this might sound cheesy, but I am football fan and I know what it's like when you love a club and you hear all these little rumours.

"I don't want rumours - I want us to explain as much as we can and involve as many people as we can.

"The Supporters' Trust is brilliant and has done some incredible things for the club, and I hope we can expand on that." Power is a die-hard QPR fan and he sees no reason why Swindon should not be seen as being on the same level as the west London club.

"I have not got rose-tinted glasses on and the reality is that the club will probably be relegated, but Swindon are a big club, " he said.

"Swindon are exactly the same as QPR. We've had the same success over the years - we have been in the Premiership but dropped back. We've won the League Cup as third division sides. As with QPR, if Swindon get any sort of success the crowds will come back." Asked about his relationship with Onuora, Power added: "I have spoken to Iffy several times and he had a very difficult task with the problems that he had to deal with when he came in.

"I think he has done a good job and I don't think there is anything to worry about there.

"I like the guy, he has lots of plans and I want to go along with those plans. I am looking forward to working with Iffy." Onuora's predecessor, King, was sacked last September but under the terms of his contract he was entitled to a year's salary from that point. The Daily Press understands King's salary was not far below six-figures.

King had not been paid since November but Power yesterday said:

"That problem has already been resolved. Andy has actually been paid off now so hopefully that is that and good luck to Andy. I have helped myself there because we wanted to clear it up quickly. These are the little things that worry the fans, and quite rightly. " The Daily Press contacted King but he said he did not wish to comment until Monday, by which time Swindon's fate for the season should be resolved.

Power said his main role at Town would be to help Onuora sign new players. "That was the part of the job at Rangers which I enjoyed, " he said.

"I was like a schoolboy in a sweetshop!

"We (Swindon) recently put an offer in for (Cheshunt striker) Jermaine Beckford but he wanted to go to a higher level and good luck to him.

"We are not suddenly going to spend a million pounds on a player. But if there are players that will improve the squad that we can afford, we can move for them.

"I think there is already a very good squad there - someone like Paul Smith is a real leader, the kind you need.

"Sean O'Hanlon is as good as any centre-back in the division and I sincerely hope we will be able to hold on to players like that.

"Players like O'Hanlon will not be going for the sake of saving money now and if I had been involved a little bit earlier - and if we could have persuaded Rory Fallon to stay - we would have been able to keep hold of him."

No I think they're saying his salary was near £100k, around £8,300 a month pre tax.

Still a bloody lot for the history he had as a Manager, hardly a £100k Manager.  I like the way he is not commenting until Monday, I'm expecting a bit of a bashing from him.

Fuckin great news to wake up to! Im already visualising a record breaking season next year!

[lifetimered]sack the board...useless the lot of them....never do anything [/lifetimered]

 8)

fucking hell im in shock! we actually have an investor!  :beers:

Fucking great news about the investment. Not so sure about keeping Iffy on though, to be fair until the Stockport game I thought he'd done a decent job but since then it's been a disaster.

Holloway would be too good to be true though I guess.

But superb news and well done to Devlin!

How nice to get up  to good News :D

This is a victory for all the 'thisis' lads that were planning the protest :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

I wonder if that is still going ahead?

stockport???tbf i know we are going down but there is a one in a million chance we could stay up.i suppose they have to make the right noises regarding iffys position until its all over

Sorry not Stockport, Rotherham.

quote from a qpr mate

"yes, top guy got sacked by Paldini, ill health though but die hard QPR fan,
thinking about it that could have been the reason for the ill health!"

Fucking ace news  :D

im flying out to tenereife tonight and was dreading the fact we can be relegated while im out their.now i want to put this season to bed and look forward to next season something i could not do yesterday.. i cant wait for next season my ban has been overturned im gonna be watching the town again lets hope its a good season

Just spent the last half an hour running around my house shouting BILL POWER at my housemates. Think I may have confused them a bit.

now thats quite nice to hear.  :soapy tit wank:

been thinking about this all day and it's fuckin fantastic news. dont want to get carried away but how can't i? it's been so long since something good happened to us that it's almsot unbelievable.

That's how I feel.  It's a bit disorientating.

Sort of feeling like celebrating but don't really know what to do with my self now.

Just listening to his radio interview and he sounds like an ace bloke. Probably insane to put his money into our club though.

I suspect his motives - I heard that he was putting a mini-bar against each players peg in the changing room so that they don't miss a round  :beers:

:soapy tit wank: Jim,you are evil :wink: .Lets just bask in a bit of good news for a bit,don't sully it already :) .

tbh i'm fairly surprised it hasn't happened sooner. There is a lot of potential at the club and it's never really been exploited. Just being the only league club in wiltshire, which has nearly 700,000 people is a major plus point.

Know i'm a bit late to this, but what excellent news.

Like many others, I was really worried about next year with the final CVA payment to make in 2007 of about 900k. With the money troubles we have now I could never see us making that.

Feel so much happier now  8)  8)

Having read and listened to all the interviews it is GREAT news

At the very least it means the club wont go bankrupt which might have happened if we go down at the end of this season

As it happens .. even if we do .. we have a better chance of keeping the better players .. we have a good foundation to start League 2 life with and it fills everybody with enthusiasm ahead of next season

A new management / coaching team - hopefully Holloway would bring us some joy -- hopefully!

Anyway something to look forward to at last and who knows maybe we can solve this stadium lark too

Got to be Jennifer Rush - The Power of Love

We're heading for something
Somewhere I've never been
Sometimes I am frightened
But I'm ready to learn
'Bout of the power of love
The power of love
Sometimes I am frightened
But I'm ready to learn
'Bout of the power of love

Surely that can be adapted to say "The Love of Power"

Looking just now on powers Q & A on the official site.......very very positive!  Fingers crossed he will  make a positive impact.  :beers:

Yes, and he's stated that Iffy will stay. Nothing about Holloway in there just a rumour although it would be nice if he came.