Mike D part 2

[Sippo]

SWINDON TOWN: ‘We don’t accept Trust criticism’
Comment
 
Mike Diamandis
What financial commitments have you (Mike Diamandis) made to Swindon Town?

Basically I bought 52,000 shares secretly for a laugh.

When Steve McMahon got the sack they promised him he would get his shares back but the club was in such a mess no-one would buy them.

I started going to meetings and began to learn very quickly that the club was in serious trouble.

Sir Seton had given Rikki Hunt £2.5million and that was about to fix the club but with a £1.5million hole it was also about to fail.

I went to a board meeting when they were supposed to be talking about how they could raise £800,000. The reason Sir Seton wanted me there was to sort everyone out. So I said with the hole of £1.5m what good is £800, 000.

 We needed to put this club into administration and use the £800,000 for a CVA (Creditors Voluntary Agreement).

That was the fateful night, we invited the administrators in and the first CVA took place.

Sir Seton turned up here the next day and said I want you to stay, I said how do you pay me Sir? He said I have no money to pay you so he sold 10 per cent of the club to me for £1 and the deal was when I made the club worth what he had paid for it I would get paid. I am still waiting.

Since your arrival what have you done to keep the club afloat?

The next thing we did was to get rid of the board.

I found St Modwen and Terry Brady came in and we left the arena. Eventually though we got them (Ian Blatchley and Danny Donegan) on a legal technicality. They messed it up (because they hadn't held an AGM within the necessary 18-month period) and we elected ourselves and got them out.

Simultaneously I was negotiating with St Modwen because we needed a lot of money to make the club survive. They (St Modwen) agreed to come up with half the money and Sir Seton came up with the other half.

I was very lucky for a few weeks. The council said they wanted this new stadium.

We got the money off St Modwen and the next day council leader said he was against it. Thank heavens he didn't say that before.

When we first took over there was no infrastructure, no accounts department, so Dunwoody used to take all the debtors and creditors because no-one would give any credit to the football club.

I personally bought the whole of the superstore. We came out of administration on May 21, 2002 and we had to order the shirts for the season to open the superstore.

I got accused by the fans of profiteering so tore up that contract and passed it all back. Although the credit side was totally through Dunwoody.

They would not give us a bank account so they gave me one and I forced them to give the club a back account.

What is your response to claims made against yourself from the likes of Bill Power, BEST Holdings and Michael Wilkes?

Ever since then we have had different attempts from people to help us. Bill Power, BEST etc but ultimately we have not been able to find the right people.

We don't accept the criticisms of the Supporters Trust. I have never met Mike Wilkes, he does not know me.

At the end of the day I have not realised the press worked the way it has. It is very, very hard to deal with the press, the club and supporters.

If your press is negative enough the fact you are in automatic promotion does not work. You need two of those three things to work together.

To be on a board I could not see what the Trust were going to bring. But I sat and listened. Any amount of fans' forums are important from time to time but to be on a board I could not see what they would bring. What money could they bring in to the club?

Can you take us through the Dennis Wise situation?

The highlight is we got relegated and through just a fluke I met Dennis Wise's unofficial agent.

On one meeting he said he would come and we needed something great to happen and Dennis was great.

We sold more season tickets with him - 2,700 with him.

For me the only cross word I had with him was on the day he went to Monte Carlo.

On the Saturday night when Leeds lost to Luton I said to my wife I am going to get a call about Dennis tonight.' By 6pm he was on the phone asking if it was okay for him to got to Monte Carlo (to talk about joining Leeds) and saying it was in the contract.

It was not in the contract but I said he could go because I had got fed up with every three weeks him being linked with leaving.

We started losing and I was beginning to see a different side to him. When we started not winning he started going berserk.

He went to Monte Carlo and I was at Reading versus Arsenal and the phone kept going. I kept being told a deal was done.

Suddenly I got a phone call saying they wanted to meet me.

The guy said they would give me £25,000 for the contract but I said it's either £230,000 nett or they would give £325,000 gross. Your call!' They said no, so I said no deal'. I got in my car and started driving home. I got home and poured out large malt and fell asleep.

Then Dennis was on the land line and has a go at me for not letting him go.

We did the deal the next day. That was the only cross word I had with Dennis.

The only problem I did was I would not let him go for nothing. If I had I am sure you guys you would have been questioning what was in it for me.

In the end a deal was done and I got £325,000 for Dennis for the club

[Sippo]

So Mr D, wheres the £325k gone???!

[Batch]

To be on a board I could not see what the Trust were going to bring. But I sat and listened. Any amount of fans' forums are important from time to time but to be on a board I could not see what they would bring. What money could they bring in to the club?

 :-))(

[stfctownenda]

So Mr D, wheres the £325k gone???!

Exactly what I was going to say, I love these interviews with Diamandis hes digging holes for fun.  I say more open and honest comments exact amounts for all players sales would be great.  Get out of our club now greedy fucking idiot  :x

[Samdy Gray]

What a fucking arrogant wanker.

[janaage]

"It was not in the contract but I said he could go because I had got fed up with every three weeks him being linked with leaving"

Brilliant reason for letting a decent manager leave the club.  Because Mike D got fed up with DW being linked to other clubs.  What a great managerial decision.  I can just imagine it now, Mike D turns on SSN "Noooooo, I can't take this anymore, Dennis has been linked to another club....okay okay he can go, just get this off my tv!!!!"

[Sippo]

Now now Sam, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have a club, superstore...

He's a swindon fan don't forget, and has the clubs best interests at heart.

 :-))(

[janaage]

Yeah if I remember correctly loads of Swindon fans went to that Reading Arsenal match!!   :|

[Samdy Gray]

It was not in the contract but I said he could go because I had got fed up with every three weeks him being linked with leaving.

So he let Wise go because he got fed up with news stories. What a fucking retard.

Sir Seton turned up here the next day and said I want you to stay, I said how do you pay me Sir? He said I have no money to pay you so he sold 10 per cent of the club to me for £1 and the deal was when I made the club worth what he had paid for it I would get paid. I am still waiting.

There it is ladies and gents. We all knew it already, but the Diamond Geezer finally reveals what's keeping him at this football club. Money. He can try and play it down all he wants but thats a clear open admission that he's in it because of greed.

[Fred Elliot]

Basically I bought 52,000 shares secretly for a laugh.

Sorry but I find that comment quite insulting, and I feel he is taking the piss out of myself, my club and the rest of the fans

[janaage]

This guy really has no "PR" skills at all does he?  Every time he opens his mouth he sounds like a arrogant idiot.

[Sippo]

To be honest, and I don't think I'm the only one, but this whole saga is getting beyond a joke, getting, boring and tedious. They could come out and name the investor but I still wouldn't trust them. The statements/interviews they have released have really pissed me off even more. They are treating us fans like morons, when we know how badly the club has been run into the ground. The board are a disgrace. No once have they said where the money has gone. The £325k from dennis wise saga...where's it gone? Thats a third of the cva....why did they not just pay some of the debt off?

I woke up this morning in a great mood. Now after today Its pissed me off. I need a big big drink!!

[ghanimah]

Basically I bought 52,000 shares secretly for a laugh.

Sorry but I find that comment quite insulting, and I feel he is taking the piss out of myself, my club and the rest of the fans

Agreed, when I read it on here I first thought Sippo (sorry Sippo) had added that comment in himself as a personal summary of some of what Mike D had said, I couldn't believe it was an actual quote

[Kinky Tom]

I was sure this was going to be some sort of parody spoof when I read that line about buying shares for a laugh, ignorant prick...

[Barry Scott]

I got about halfway through the interview and conclued someone was having a laugh. Can't believe it's real.  :shock:

I'll read it again and get some insight into the workings of the man who kept the club alive.