Thetownend.com

There is the first two pages of a four page interview with Mike Diamandis in today's Adver.

It's not online yet, but a few quotes:

"The most demoralising and negative influence in the football club is the TrustSTFC board"

"I believe it (the Trust) serves no purpose and I believe that the recent farce that they are heading up a bid to raise the money (to take over the club) is the biggest load of nonsense I have ever read"

...and so on.

Of course. We should all shut the fuck up and do what we are told, and not dare to question the business accumen of such a fine group of professionsals.

Fuck off mike. We, as a united group of fans have put more money into the club that you ever will you fucking cock.

You may want to reconsider publically abusing an 800 strong group of your loyal CUSTOMERS

For fucks sake, what good is going to come from comments like that?

oh very deary me :shock:

I wonder if this was run by the clubs media expert Bob's Fault, or maybe the clubs CE who should surely be running the show.

I bet the Adver changed his references though, because in an interview he will have clearly said "Football Trust".  They should have printed it word for word and not corrected it and watch him squirm when the Football Trust come knocking with a slander or maybe libel claim.

Did he mention anything about relocation to J17 ?

Or did they ask him why he was running the club when he was banned ?

I bet they didn't !!!

Me thinks Mike is a bit scared of what will be uncovered should the takeover proceed.

Yes, calling 800 people a waste of space, I struggle to think what purpose other than trying to stoke up the complete removal of seats in the Arkells he had in mind when saying that.

What a dick!  We really cannot get rid fast enough IMO.

I say keep it up Mikey D .. hes done more for consolidating the members of the trust with his interview and statements than anyone else by showing his true colours .. Diamandis OUT!

oh fuck off mike, i think thats is a very bad move on his part saying things like that, i mean everyone is entitled to their own opinions and if Mike d doesnt think  that the trust taking over the club is a good idea then thats his opinion, but if ever there was a saying of "choosing your words carefully" i dont think diamandis has heared of it.

CUNT

Anyone up for doing a "Fuck of Diamandis you cunt!" banner for boxing day? :mrgreen:

Seeing as Mike has a strong dislike of the 'Football Trust', maybe a Simon Jordan style approach would be better

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,435-2398242,00.html

He really is a fucking clown, isn't he?

He's doing an awful lot for SSW isn't he?

This is the bloke who is SSWs' advisor?

My advice is to get another advisor!

You've got to question SSWs' judgement in allowing this half wit the influence he has.

To paraphrase Tim  (from The Office):

"You're a cock, You're a cock, you're a cock"

Read a letter yesterday from the Hearts Trust to mad Vlad (there chairman) yesterday completely different circumstances but couldnt help feeling the same sentiments.

Mike D when will you get through your thick skull we are the people that have followed this team through the good and the bad, the warm and the cold and invested our hard HONEST money year after year, this isnt your club and never will be its ours.

If he honestly thinks this is going to deter us hes in for a big shock the pressure is firmly on and there showing signs of crumbling they dont have much left to throw at us they have used up the managers backing, board members in pubs and now the mystery man finally speaking, well Diamandis I would pay to see your face next home game when the sea of orange grows, we will not back down its time for you to walk, you and your fellow board members are a disgrace to this club why dont you all just fuck off to Junction 17   :evil:

fucking hell, does this man have a brain. The trust is themost demoralising and negative aspect of the footballl club? What about lying to shareholders, being up to our shoulders in debt, and playing in the bottom level of english football??? I view them as a teeny bit worse

Things like that make my hangover so much worse, toss piece.

Not the whole article yet, just the back page leader...

Swindon Advertiser Sports Pages

SWINDON TOWN: Taking the Mike

Friday 22nd December 2006

By Steve Butt

SWINDON Town's mystery man Mike Diamandis has finally stepped out of the shadows and promptly slammed TrustSTFC and their fans' consortium bid to takeover the club.

In his first-ever interview with the Swindon Advertiser since his involvement with Town began back in 1986, Diamandis has revealed his frank and honest view on his dealings with the football club.

Diamandis, a long-term friend and advisor to the club's majority shareholder Sir Seton Wills, described the fans' consortium bid to buy the club as nonsense'.

He also revealed in detail how he has restructured the club's finances since 2000 and claimed that he is an innocent party in the Department of Trade and Industry's investigation into his business affairs.

And in a two-part interview concluding in tomorrow's Advertiser, Diamandis also revealed his vision for the future and said he would love' to be at the healm at a financially-sound Swindon Town Football Club, boasting a brand new super stadium.

:fu:  :fu:  :fu:  :fu:

This is unbeleiveable it really is - something needs to be done about this bloke he is appearing from the shadows trying to big himself up giving interviews to anyone that will listen, he obviously beleives he can win people over by speaking out.

This bloke is the cancer at stfc and by the sounds of it if he is not removed soon then it may become terminal

There will come a time I beleive where supporters just can't take anymore and feel that demonstrations against these people are the only way.

But let's concentrate on getting a sea of orange around the CG let these people know we view the consortium & Bill Power as the ONLY way forward for our FC and we as supporters want this to happen, but with people like Diamandis putting obstacles in the way he will only make life harder and make people more determined.

I've struggling to remember hating an individual as much as this - how fucking dare he say that - how long have we been here Mike? How long will we be here Mike? FUCK OFF

This is the day it's got nasty

As i have said all along guys-Diamandis has now shown his full colours

He will do ANYTHING to hold onto this club and i mean ANYTHING. Even if that means taking us out of business

Keep up with the orange- but i fell something more militant may be required to get rid of him

Meh! And? We need to keep our efforts focused on trying to get the club out of the sorry mess in which certain un-named individuals have dumped it, and, as ordinary fans, keeping up the Orange wave!

Isn't it about time we heard chats around the ground about Bill Power that will really get to them

see he clearly admits there is an investigation into his business then by the DTI.

diamandis can suck my fucking cock.


the only nonsense around at the minute is the bile spouting from his mouth, please feel free to FUCK OFF OUT OF OUR CLUB!

More bullshit up now - http://www.thisisstfc.co.uk/news_headlines_Story.asp?NewsID=6167

UN-fucking-BELIEVABLE!

This is getting nasty, not a surprise.  I expect Paul D to be on the radio on the next few days, as he's got to be allowed to have a chance to reply to that personal onslaught.

Vive le revolution.

Whole article now up. Next part in tomorrow's Adver.

Swindon Advertiser Sports Pages

SWINDON TOWN: 'Trust's bid is utter nonsense'

Friday 22nd December 2006

Mike Diamandis, advisor to Swindon Town's majority shareholders, the Wills family, emerges from the shadows to talk to Advertiser sports editor Steve Butt.

SWINDON Town's mystery man Mike Diamandis has experienced more lows than highs since joining the football club's ugly fight for survival.

For over a decade the Newbury-based businessman's only interest at Swindon Town was to service the football club's printing and publishing needs.

But back in 2000, when the club was left in financial turmoil following the departure of Ian Blatchly and Danny Donegan, the Greek's role at the club changed significantly.

In the years that followed he helped oversee two periods of administration and saw a Willie Carson-led consortium force out Donegan & Co through the High Court.

Diamandis, a long-term and close personal friend of majority shareholder Sir Seton Wills, was asked to help rescue the club from death.

Even the man himself finds it hard to describe his exact job title at the County Ground but he maintains that he is purely an advisor to Sir Seton Wills and the football club.

And, talking to the Swindon Advertiser for the first time during his long-standing relationship with the club, Diamandis has:

# SLAMMED TrustSTFC and their fans' consortium takeover bid.

# DEFENDED his financial dealings at and away from the County Ground.

# REVEALED how he has restructured the club's precarious finances.

A confusing last few weeks has finally seen TrustSTFC submit their proposal to takeover the club.

But having consulted with the club's lawyer Trevor Watkins, Diamandis slammed the proposals and questioned the merit of TrustSTFC's sole existence.

Speaking at his Newbury home, Diamandis said: "I personally feel that the most demoralising, and negative influence in the football club is the TrustSTFC board.

"I believe it serves no purpose and I believe that the recent farce that they are heading up a bid to raise the money (to take over the club) is the biggest load of nonsense I have ever read."

Going back to the initial fall-out between the club and TrustSTFC, Diamandis expressed his disappointment at the way the fans group acted, saying: "I spoke to Paul Davis at length on many occasions but he insisted on a full board meeting.

"So I set up a full board meeting and everyone was there including Sir Seton Wills and we all listened to him again for hours "And really we just don't feel we have got anywhere with TrustSTFC, not the supporters, but the TrustSTFC board.

"For many, many years we know that their membership was only 200 people.

"So for a football club with an average attendance of 7,000 that's not really a material amount of people.

"Recently they've done a deal to join for a pound a head and I think now they are up to 600. But I feel it is a group that is more reflective of an old fashioned shop steward movement where a man stands up and shouts the odds and everyone puts their hands up.

"They always finish any criticism of Sir Seton's' board to say that the only person they really dislike is Mike Diamandis.

"A peace talk was organised by Cliff Puffett and they all sat down and Sir Seton spelled out to them that he had 100 per cent faith in his board and that they spoke for him.

"A two-line statement was agreed to be put out and that would be it but Paul Davis couldn't resist it, on his website was his full interpretation of the meeting.

"He didn't say in that statement that Sir Seton had absolute faith in his board so I felt the obligation to respond on behalf of the club."

Diamandis has been the subject of fierce criticism from some fans' sections and while he admits the comments hurt him, he branded it garbage'.

On TrustSTFC's takeover bid Diamandis says they must provide evidence of their means to take the club forward.

"Bill Power was given all the financial information to invest in our football club, he has it now, it hasn't changed much," added Diamandis, who holds a third stake in the holding company of the football club.

"I don't know why they need due diligence. If only they showed us they had any money.

"We did brief the Trust before their AGM but they have just gone on their own crusade. My private, genuine concern is who are they? I don't know how much money they have got.

"They showed me a photocopy of an unnamed person who has an high network account but whether it is £100,000 or millions of pounds I don't know. I dont know who it is. We are supposed to believe that this photocopy is proof of funds of an unnamed person who may or may not be Bill Power.

"Sir Seton Wills is from an old Wiltshire family, a family that was asked to become involved when the club had all of its troubles 10 years ago.

"Sir Seton actually played on the County Ground as a kid and I'm delighted about that.

"I just think that anyone that wants to replace that family, with anyone of less worth is mad.

"I also cannot see why we should have a member of the Supporters Trust on the board.

"There are many supporters groups which we have set up monthly meetings with to keep them all informed with what is going on.

"The main supporters group have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds and haven't criticised at all anywhere in the public arena."

Much of the criticism directed at Diamandis is that he pulls all the strings at the County Ground - an accusation he vehemently denies.

"My role at the club is where any board-type decisions are made by all the members of the board I would attend with everybody else.

"Other than that, if anything else happens which is unusual I would be involved in that process - whatever that is.

"That would range from the replacement of Dennis Wise, the leaving of Dennis etc.

"Again with Paul Sturrock, I spoke to him while he was on holiday and after I put the phone down I said to my wife I think we've just done a deal with Paul Sturrock'.

"I can't describe it any other way to you because the football club runs itself.

"It makes all its decisions within its budgetary structure.

"Occasionally I would be asked a point of view but we have a weekly meeting where we discuss everything together, usually at Newbury.

"The attendees of that meeting are all of the managers and I generally meet Paul Sturrock once a week, which is something Paul has introduced, not myself.

"It's something Paul did with his old chairman and I think it's great.

"Since we have had all this struggle I understand the club has a media meeting every day. That's how we do it at the moment."

And as for his dealings at the club, Diamandis insists he has always acted in the club's best interest. He claims he has consistently raised around £750,000 every year he has been balancing Town finances.

Diamandis says he is also proud of several transfer deals he has negotiated including Sam Parkin's move to Ipswich, the deal taking Rory Fallon to Swansea and compensation for Dennis Wise leaving to join Leeds.

"In the last 12 months I have done two of the best transfers in the Football league, raised £1million from Bill Power, not bad to keep the football club going."

And he wants to assure fans that he believes he has nothing to hide from the Department of Trade and Industry's reported investigation into his financial affairs.

"I don't have anything in relation to the DTI," claimed Diamandis.

"An ex-employee of mine who I am involved with in serious mitigation has put a bundle of papers together which relate to the past. He was unaware I had taken legal advice on the matter and he sent it off (to the DTI). I had contact with the DTI because of this letter that is doing the rounds. And they are very upset that their letter to him is being circulated.

"I believe in 1993 I kept trading for 18 months while my balance sheets were insolvent and I filed my balance sheets 18 months too late.

"And for that I got into trouble - it was not and is not a criminal act.

"If I had committed manslaughter I believe that I would be more protected by the publicity laws and human rights laws than I am about a small misdemeanour which was not a criminal offence and is being maximised by my adversaries, who are fighting over land.

"This is what this is all about, land. This is not about football.

"They (DTI) get three whistleblowers a day, so that's a thousand a year.

"They are busy chasing people who are still disqualified.

"The guy I spoke to at the DTI said We didn't know when we spoke to you that you had already been investigated'.

"He said We can't give you an absolute there's nothing there but we don't think there is'.

"As far as I'm concerned there is nothing going on in my life."

11:01am today

I am starting to believe something like this needs to be done.  Its not aggressive chanting just if we could get sustained chants going of 'theres only one Bill Power' maybe before the game, at half time and end of the game alongside the orange revolution then we could put out message across in a vocal non aggressive manner  :beers:

that fucker makes my bloody boil. we're sposed to believe every little vitriolic utterance that dodgy cunt spouts? not likely mate.

Hahahahhahaha Mike Diamandis comments in the adver are hilarious. He's lost the plot with his rant and scored a massive own goal in the process. I think I know where the statementfest(tm) came from now.

I pity Ben Lambert, he was at least trying to heal the gulf between fans and the board. May as well give that up.

What a lover of the cock

I'll give it a proper read when the Adver comes through my door later (and when I have properly woken up!).

My initial reaction is that obviously this is no way to treat a customer. If Vodafone issued a statement saying that, or even implying that, a large portion of their customers were irrelevant then I think there'd be a big outcry. Unfortunately this football club is not a listed company and due to the nature of football has no natural competitors. This is what makes the statement so clever if you will. Mike D has slammed the Trust in every way possible. There are still people out there that do not believe in the Trust (which I think is fair enough) but do not necessarily side with the board either. This will just serve to strengthen the current regime's position.

I'm more than fed up with the constant statements that the financial position is OK, that the finances have been restructured, that the CVA payments are all ok, when there is no evidence to suggest it is. In fact, there's always more evidence that this is not the case, but never entirely conclusive because I cannot attend AGMs. Even for those that have, the lack of information and accounts makes them have very little additional knowledge about such material.

If this is just my initial reaction, I'll have to remove all fragile items from my house because I might go a bit mental later.

I would urge everyone to boycott ouzo and kebabs with immediate effect.

They always say 'Beware of Greeks baring gifts'.

Get this guy out now. He is singlehandedly destroying our club

so he's saying selling SSP was a good thing, haha.

that guy seriously has soem issues.

I'd like to say thanks to the Adver for giving Diamandis so much publicity.

Obviously a slow news day, then lads !!!

Anyway, they've just provided me with a new dart board !!! :D

cant really blame the adver can you

Is he having a fucking laugh? Ok, Fallon was a good deal at £300k but SSP was worth much much more than the reported £400k.

Mike Diamandis, you are a prize cunt!

You can...A more constructive interview wouldn't have gone amiss, by asking a number of questions which have been posed on this forum in the last few days after the interview which he gave on RS a couple of days ago.

It's just turned into the Diamandis publicity machine...front and back page, with another two pages as well...plus more tomorrow.

Hope I see him at teh game tomoz, I fancy brekkie in a cell

i can promise you that the interveiw was done on his terms.when a bloke who has been involved at the club since 1986 decides he will speak to the local paper for the 1st time 20 years later you have to agree that the adver are likely to bite his hand off

You can see all the elements of a strategy being lined up here....the attempt to show a divided fan base, with the good old supporters club on side,  getting Sturrock on board....etc.   Its ifascinating that Diamandis has finally been smoked out, and so now it starts to get close up and personal.....

   We need to get  as many fans as possible to sign up to the Trust....we need to get mor visual displays of orange at home games, and we need to try and expose the DTI stuff into the public domain....i

I'm amazed at this, I can see now why he keeps out of the spotlight if bent rants like that are what he gives out.  I'm so angry I could join the trust - unfortuantely I already have - but I hope a lot of other people feel the same.

I wonder if he's hoping for a shredder for Christmas

I'm delighted about that too Mike, but so has Tails, now get back to the fucking point.

The thing is, I'll put good money on the vast majority of the Supportes Club being against the current Board, bar Nigel Bennett.
Good old Iris is spitting dust at the moment about this lot.

I agree the pressure needs to be turned up even more.  3000 orange hats at the next game, then 4000 until you have to pick out the person not wearing orange.

Failing that we could ask MI5 to make him vanish.

So have I. And I set up a goal, and was delighted

Which makes me better than SSW FACT!

ANOTHER statement!!!!!

http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10341~946382,00.html?ptvParm=

already a thread on that one chris, I appreciate its hard to keep up though :wink:

i'm as furious as the next man about mikey d's comments but my main concern is that people will pick up a newspaper today, read his comments and take them as gospel.

there are far too many people around swindon who lack the ability to think for themselves, this is going to work positively for the club and negatively for the trust.

the backlash to the orange revolution last weekend was minimal but i can see it becoming greater on boxing day - i think this is the time to step things up a notch.

Having a response to todays adver comments on a big orange sheet would be good. Keep combining any free stuff (is there any more for boxing day?) with information would be the best plan me thinks.

It is starting to get nasty. I'd check your car breaks before you go anywhere PaulD and co.

More orange items to be distributed before the Wycombe match, and I believe there will be a response to Mr Diamandis' comments.

I'm sure many fans will comment, I think he has scored yet another own goal  - I expect the trust membership is climbing as I type

I wouldn't mind betting there are peaks when a Diamandis statement get's released  :soapy tit wank:

Fuckin' hell, isn't it just !!!

what rubbish...

Im irrelevant....so it the 350+ I pay for my season ticket pointless as well?

Oh, well done on those two transfers. Selling our top goal scorer mid season in a relegation battle worked wonders for us didnt it you cunt? Plus its been public stated that we lost roughly 200k by going down....so only really made 100k on Fallon. Great business. I'm sure at the start of the season we would have all taken relegation Fallon sold for 300k rather than stay up and lose Fallon for nothing.

What aload of bollocks and I havent even read the whole thing yet, its about time we took more action....

As for negative effect on the football club, the teams lost one in the last 7....how we must be putting them off and having a negative influence

Go and buy a fuckin kebab van diamandis, that's where you belong, get the fuck out of this club, you're the one taking this club down the pan!!

Thats a two way thing bruv. One trust dude is mates with some real nasty cunts.

:oops:

Erm, we could kind of do without the "heavy mob" stuff at the moment - it's getting heated enough as it is, without that kind of stuff

And I scored  :face: at the Town End :beers: so I must be up for sodding chairman...

Viva, my friends, viva, and keep on keeping on

Donkey

Relax Paul its a flippant comment on a forum not a threat thats clear to anyone id have thought.

Fair point - over heightened sensibilities. But I do know you and you're a right nasty sod  :D

and anyway im not on the trust board im just a member

Second part now online.

Swindon Advertiser Sports Pages

Diamandis is confident

Saturday 23rd December 2006

MIKE Diamandis claims Swindon Town Football Club's future is bright, writes STEVE BUTT.

He also revealed that he now considers the club's accounts to be almost up to date' and declared that the looming CVA payment is under control'.

And as the man who acts as an advisor to the football club's majority shareholder Sir Seton Wills he is excited about taking Swindon Town to the next level by emulating local rivals Reading Football Club.

He insists Town are a better product' than Reading were when they moved from Elm Park to the Madesjki Stadium and revealed that the club still intends for property developers St Modwen to play a key part in any redevelopment.

The Newbury-based businessman also said that he would love to be at the helm when Swindon Town Football Club was turned into a rich' brand.

He said: "If we can make the whole thing work, why would I give it up?

"I would like to stop worrying about the club going bust.

"So my ambition for Swindon really is to be a successful Football League club, that is self-funded and to regenerate where the County Ground is, a facility to emulate a 20,000-seater stadium, hotel and conferencing, maybe a theatre."

11:27am today

Swindon Advertiser Sports Pages

My vision for Town's future

Saturday 23rd December 2006

By Steve Butt

MIKE Diamandis predicts a bright future is on the horizon for Swindon Town Football Club although he admits the thought of failure scares him.

After years of juggling the books Diamandis claims the prospect of a new super stadium in Swindon is closer than ever but he insists that a cash investor is needed to see the project through.

With speculation linking several takeover bids for the club, Diamandis concedes that both he and majority shareholder Sir Seton Wills may not be at the helm for much longer but the Newbury-based businessman insists that the club will only be sold if they find the right people to take the club forward.

Speaking publicly for the first time since becoming an advisor to the club and the Wills family back in 2000, Diamandis is proud of how he has played a key part in keeping Swindon Town afloat and he admits it would upset him greatly not to be the man to see the job through and make the club a rich' brand.

Diamandis claims that club accounts are now in order and reassured fans that the final CVA payment is in hand and will NOT spell the end of Swindon Town.

He also revealed that St Modwen are still a major player in the stadium plans and that the short-term target for the club is to gain promotion to the Championship.

"If we can make the whole thing work, why would I give it up?" said Diamandis, who made his money in the printing and publishing.

"I would like to stop worrying about the club going bust. The part that frightens me is that the prophecy could come true.

"I do feel that with all the names I am being called, if you failed to raise the money then you could be that person holding it together at the wrong moment."

"As a fan I would like us to be in the Championship at least because it is a better product.

"I'd love us to be a successful business and for me to be associated with that success."

But despite Diamandis' rosy view on the future of Swindon Town Football Club, he does have a stark warning for everyone if no suitable backers are found.

"How do I see the future without any benefactors?" he added. "I couldn't carry on for another five years raising this money every year and I have a fear that if we run it to cash-flow balance we could fall out of the Football League.

"The horrible trouble with being a football club is that there are no guarantees. If you spend your budget, do everything correctly, you can still lose.

"After the play-off year, when we decided to rebuild the team, the following year was a disaster and certainly was a learning curve for all of us."

The recent rise of Reading Football Club has impressed Diamandis and he says Swindon Town should follow suit.

Diamandis added: "The ideal future for the club is that we do get a brand new complex. At Reading, at Elm Park in the last year the average gate was 2,700 and the turnover of the company was £2million.

"In the first year at the Madejski the average gate was 8,400 and it grew a little bit every year.

"In fact they moved into a new stadium in the year they went down.

"Reading today, 10 or 11 years later, will turn over £45m without the hotel revenue.

"They reached from £2m to £13.5m profit in a year in the holding company in nine years flat.

"Then they went to the Premier and it went to £45million. At the end of this year it will be £55million.

"I think Swindon is still a much better brand than Reading ever was when they started and that is because our average (gate) is now 7,000, as against the 5,000 when we took over in 2000.

"Around us now there are seriously strong brands within striking distance like Reading, Southampton, Bristol is about to get a new stadium and Oxford's got one.

"Our stadium is a 19th century building, and we just haven't got the facilities to maximise non-matchday and matchday revenues.

"So my ambition for Swindon really is to be a successful Football League club, that is self-funded and to regenerate where the County Ground is, a facility to emulate a 20,000-seater stadium, hotel and conferencing, maybe a theatre.

"That would cost us about £45million of which more than half would be privately funded, the other part of it, the stadia, could be rebuilt and handed back to the council as an asset of the people.

"That could all be done by us, by my management team and get the club prepared for the future."

A new super stadium may be closer now than ever before in Diamandis' eyes but the club remains seriously in debt. Diamandis knows a major cash injection is needed to take the club forward but claims that the club's finances are to date under control.

"When Ian (Blatchly) and Danny (Donegan) left they took the account records with them. So we had no records. We started reconstructing them with Ross Brooke & Co, who worked for nothing because Mike Brookes' father-in-law is a life-long Swindon Town fan.

"They all worked for us for nothing and the accounts are just about up to date now.

"People are asking to see the accounts all the time, I don't know what they expect to find.

"When you study the accounts, the Wills family are the largest creditors.

"You have to understand that. "When we came in we were minus £14million, we did the CVA and were minus £9million. But when we studied the £9million most of the debt is to the Wills family.

"So what I have done is to give up that debt because they are shooting themselves in the foot as the only asset they have is the football club and they have wrecked the balance sheet because they are the main creditors.

"We put £5 and a half million of his (Sir Seton Wills) debt into what is called a loan note' and it can only be triggered by development. It doesn't gain interest and it can't be activitated by the creditors.

"I'm moving it from where it is in current liabilities into share capital and that in effect takes out the debt.

"It's financial engineering, it is a great way to restructure the balance sheet.

"The CVA is not a problem. We are renegotiating with them and we do not evisage it being a problem.

"The letter we have from them states that it is only envisaged' that we would make the final payment after the five-year period."

Diamandis' main business interest is in Dunwoody Sports Marketing, who also cater for the club's printing and publishing need, but he insists their is no conflict of interests.

"I have been doing 1986 so that's around 20 years isn't it?

"And when the club couldn't afford a website, before the football league set up this deal, I provided them with a website. After the deal some guys benefited a lot from this contract - I didn't.

"I currently provide the club with all the printing material it requests from me.

"They owe me £136,000 at the close of business last month I think, which I've paid the VAT on but they haven't decided to pay me anything this year as yet or last year.

"When I was employed as manager the Wills family paid me the salary of £80,000 a year, which I have chosen not to draw. I do intend one day, when we (the club) are rich, to draw it but I'm not going to draw it now."

But Diamandis' main concern now is the future and he remains enthusiasticly upbeat on the subject.

"The old council regime that I was involved with the rescue of the football club didn't value the football club," added Diamandis. "This new, lighter thinking (at the council) does spell a bright future for the football club."

He also confirmed that the club's development partner St Modwen are still very much on the scene.

He added: "St Modwen are still very much involved. We have a JV (Joint Venture) company with them and it is hoped that, should any new development take place, it would be done through that JV company.

"I do feel that there are challenges ahead for us to keep the club in the Football League and financed correctly.

"But I do feel for the first time since Shaw Tip site failed that there is an absolute willingness of the council to do something soon and that motivation is driving me on and certainly the Wills family too.

"We will go the moment we feel that the person coming in behind us is better suited.

"I love a challenge. The only way that challenge would go would be if someone much wealthier than us, came along because the cash flow would be that much easier."

11:28am today

rubbish. so the CVA is covered is it? yeah right  :-))(

And the accounts are nearly ready - just like they've been for the last five years!

Be cautious of the JV plans

And don't talk to strangers, kids.

Will the JV produce the kind of payback against outlay if they redeveloped the CG rather than a complete new build elsewhere ?

what's a JV and why should be cautious about it?

either way it's nice to know the club have got into bed with another company and not told us for a few years.

Joint Venture

St Modwen and the boys at SN1

St Modwen have lent money to the club and hold a debenture over it. They need to realise that debt and the only way to realistically do that is through a development programme.

Now which would earn a construction/development company more money.

A redevelopment or a complete new build ?

New build?

A complete new stadia rather than a redevelopment of the CG

St Modwen can only get their investment back if:

- STFC repays the debt in cash
- they build a stadium and then long term lease it
- they build a stadium and then sell it on
- they get a deal over developing something other than a stadium and make a return on their dosh by building something (houses/shops/industrial) that adds value
- they get a deal on building a new stadium and associated back door housing etc on another cheap site (as Shaw was, as J17 probably would be)

No doubt they want their pound of flesh. At the moment the only way I can see it happening is with the hotel/conference centre additions to the CG. Apart from SSW doing other land deals like Hungerford Marina that is.

I know that Fred, I meant a new build would earn them more money.

I look like a right thicko now, thanks :D

No

I do now


Sorry

 :D

so in theory any takeover would have to pay off st modwen aswell???

probably wrong so please let me know

Not necessarily. It would depend on how the deal was structured.

I don't know what St Modwen's interest in the holding company is. They certainly are a joint venture with the Wills family in Shaw Park Developments Ltd, but that is unrelated directly to STFC.

"The value of investments can go down as well as up. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance."

I thought the plan was for POwer to take on the St Modwen debt in full (I could be wrong).

The article is laughable.  So they are at an advanced stage but in an interview Diamandis decides to throw in that maybe they could include a theatre.

Is it just me or does the development sound like it'ss be not much different to the current proposals?  The give away was the bit where he discussed needing £45m to finance it and then the Council can get the stadium out of it - so the essentially still want to be given the land to profit from.  I can almost see now a plan coming out with houses etc on the green spaces but with bigger gardens or something equally daft so they can shade it in green.

They haven't even spoken to the local Councillors or residents yet.

I also love the way that he gets so excited about how clever he is to have converted loans into loan notes, like it's saved us from crippling debts.  Then he mentions they can be called in once development gets the nod - well, given you also state development is the only way of saving us long term, then we'll still be paying the fucking money back won't we (or go bust as seems your two options).

So we have a £5.5m loan note to SSW and what I would estimate to be about £3m in debentures through St Modwen (who are claiming interest I believe).

and he'll be claiming all his owed salary when we are rich!  Is he serious (or does he expect a huge pay off from a ground development?).  

I can now see why we have such ongoing financial problems, he seems to confuse turnover with profit.  Reading broke even at best last season and were still expecting not to make money this year.  their revenue has indeed gone up quite dramatically this season (TV revenue & Prem payment) but their costs have also escalated.  Without Madejski they would be in a worse state than us.  If he thinks just generating money is profit then we are in trouble.

I hate that man sooooooooooooooooooo so much :evil:

He's got GRID (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay-related_immune_deficiency)

Exactly!

What makes me even angrier is that the club have happily taken money from the RAF (which I understand is not entirely to do with the Trust) but yet still have the audacity to make these statements.