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Post by march4 on Sept 18, 2014 19:22:23 GMT
That is a good question, but Uncle Peter was still making a good profit from his other businesses and Bet365 added to that. He then sold those other businesses to pay off the loans that were needed to support Bet365. One thing is certain, he was getting frustrated very quickly after selling the club. Within 18moths of the sale, the online part of Bet365 was born and that is when the money really began to flow. And lets not forget, that the Icelanders inadvertently halted a promising improvement under Megson. The club was not about to go bankrupt (that is a myth), however at the time of the sale Uncle Peter could not afford the sort of investment needed to drive the club forwards. As I said earlier, it could well have been that had Uncle Peter remained in charge at SCFC he could have been distracted in helping Denise launch Bet365 and the company might not have thrived. I also feel that a large part of Uncle Peter's passion to support the club on his return was born out of his sheer determination to show those who had previously jeered him that he was a decent bloke and a true supporter of the club. Myth or not, the club was only heading in one direction - we weren't even prepared to pay transfer fees or signing on fees at the time were we? We were able to sign players for small fees and pay their wages, but that was all. We weren't in imminent danger of bankruptcy. And Megson had put together a good, solid team who were charging up the league. Bet365 was born within a few months of SCFC being sold and the profit making internet part was there a year later. Peter Coates was very unpopular amongst a lot of supporters for not spending more of his own money on the club. Had he done as they wished, then he wouldn't have been able to launch Bet365 and we wouldn't have enjoyed the success of recent years. It is an interesting cerebral exercise on a quiet Thursday evening to muse over what might have been!
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Post by Davef on Sept 18, 2014 19:25:15 GMT
That is a good question, but Uncle Peter was still making a good profit from his other businesses and Bet365 added to that. He then sold those other businesses to pay off the loans that were needed to support Bet365. One thing is certain, he was getting frustrated very quickly after selling the club. Within 18moths of the sale, the online part of Bet365 was born and that is when the money really began to flow. And lets not forget, that the Icelanders inadvertently halted a promising improvement under Megson. The club was not about to go bankrupt (that is a myth), however at the time of the sale Uncle Peter could not afford the sort of investment needed to drive the club forwards. As I said earlier, it could well have been that had Uncle Peter remained in charge at SCFC he could have been distracted in helping Denise launch Bet365 and the company might not have thrived. I also feel that a large part of Uncle Peter's passion to support the club on his return was born out of his sheer determination to show those who had previously jeered him that he was a decent bloke and a true supporter of the club. Myth or not, the club was only heading in one direction - we weren't even prepared to pay transfer fees or signing on fees at the time were we? Not only that but we were actively trying to sell our best players. Larus Sigurdsson had been sold and the club were touting Graham Kavanagh's name to other clubs around the time of the takeover. There's a bit of history re-writing going on here by some people. It's certainly true that the Icelandic takeover ended with a group of people who clearly weren't interested in the club, but we were in a right state before they turned up and anyone who was around at the time and sat in that stadium while we were being embarrassed by the likes of Notts County, Wrexham and Bristol Rovers should know that. Megson was doing a decent job at the time he was replaced, but I doubt he'd have been able to maintain it without backing. Maybe he'd have done okay with the support Thordarson got, but that was never an option.
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Post by march4 on Sept 18, 2014 19:26:51 GMT
Myth or not, the club was only heading in one direction - we weren't even prepared to pay transfer fees or signing on fees at the time were we? Not only that but we were actively trying to sell our best players. Larus Sigurdsson had been sold and the club were touting Graham Kavanagh's name to other clubs around the time of the takeover. There's a bit of history re-writing going on here by some people. It's certainly true that the Icelandic takeover ended with a group of people who clearly weren't interested in the club, but we were in a right state before they turned up and anyone who was around at the time and sat in that stadium while we were being embarrassed by the likes of Notts County, Wrexham and Bristol Rovers should know that. Megson was doing a decent job at the time he was replaced, but I doubt he'd have been able to maintain it without backing. Maybe he'd have done okay with the support Thordarson got, but that was never an option. Its just a bit of conjecture, Dave, on a quiet Thursday evening. No attempt to rewrite history, although I guess you would expect me to take Peter Coates' side in such a discussion.
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Post by numpty40 on Sept 18, 2014 19:30:54 GMT
The days before the Icelanders bought the club were as dark as it was possible to get. Anyone who was in the stadium to watch the humiliation of Stoke 0 Birmingham 7 with fat Nev waddling around the 18 yard box surely has nothing but thanks for what the Icelanders did for Stoke.
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Post by march4 on Sept 18, 2014 19:32:05 GMT
The days before the Icelanders bought the club were as dark as it was possible to get. Anyone who was in the stadium to watch the humiliation of Stoke 0 Birmingham 7 with fat Nev waddling around the 18 yard box surely has nothing but thanks for what the Icelanders did for Stoke. Do you not think they made a huge mistake getting rid of Megson?
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Post by sheikhmomo on Sept 18, 2014 19:34:54 GMT
Yeah I can't see the history re-write. They came to make money, chucked a bit at it, realised it wasn't that easy and then behaved abysmally.
Just as interesting a question as to where we would have been without them when they came is where the fuck would we have been now if Coates hadn't won his personal lottery with 365 when they had given up the ghost. I shudder to think.
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Post by numpty40 on Sept 18, 2014 19:42:30 GMT
The days before the Icelanders bought the club were as dark as it was possible to get. Anyone who was in the stadium to watch the humiliation of Stoke 0 Birmingham 7 with fat Nev waddling around the 18 yard box surely has nothing but thanks for what the Icelanders did for Stoke. Do you not think they made a huge mistake getting rid of Megson? Not really, Gudjon at the time was a successful manager that the new owners knew well. To be fair he did a decent job at Stoke.
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Post by Davef on Sept 18, 2014 19:45:47 GMT
Yeah I can't see the history re-write. They came to make money, chucked a bit at it, realised it wasn't that easy and then behaved abysmally. Just as interesting a question as to where we would have been without them when they came is where the fuck would we have been now if Coates hadn't won his personal lottery with 365 when they had given up the ghost. I shudder to think. The history re-write wasn't about the Icelanders.
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Post by Sergeant Muttley on Sept 18, 2014 19:53:53 GMT
I really don't get all this hatred towards Rudge because for me he served us well and played his part in the rise of our club again "He's bald he's bent he's up for fookin rent Johnny Rudge
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Post by sheikhmomo on Sept 18, 2014 20:01:21 GMT
Yeah I can't see the history re-write. They came to make money, chucked a bit at it, realised it wasn't that easy and then behaved abysmally. Just as interesting a question as to where we would have been without them when they came is where the fuck would we have been now if Coates hadn't won his personal lottery with 365 when they had given up the ghost. I shudder to think. The history re-write wasn't about the Icelanders. Which bit then, dave?
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Post by Davef on Sept 18, 2014 20:07:26 GMT
The bit about Peter Coates remaining in charge, keeping Megson and all being well because Bet365 started not long after.
We're all grateful for his return and what he's helped us to achieve, but let's not pretend the club was anything other than a sinking ship in November 1999.
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Post by lordb on Sept 18, 2014 20:21:56 GMT
Myth or not, the club was only heading in one direction - we weren't even prepared to pay transfer fees or signing on fees at the time were we? We were able to sign players for small fees and pay their wages, but that was all. We weren't in imminent danger of bankruptcy. And Megson had put together a good, solid team who were charging up the league. Bet365 was born within a few months of SCFC being sold and the profit making internet part was there a year later. Peter Coates was very unpopular amongst a lot of supporters for not spending more of his own money on the club. Had he done as they wished, then he wouldn't have been able to launch Bet365 and we wouldn't have enjoyed the success of recent years. It is an interesting cerebral exercise on a quiet Thursday evening to muse over what might have been! That's too simplistic. Coates made some appalling decisions that had nothing to do with money.
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Post by JoeinOz on Sept 18, 2014 20:25:40 GMT
Brian Little made the best start any Stoke manager ever made...... as we all know it became a total calamity. Knowing how things were back then it's feasible Megson could have ended the same wsy. No financial support might have worn him down. To take the next step involvrd Megson's dismissal, he left reputation intact and got his pay out. No problem.
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Post by march4 on Sept 18, 2014 20:48:46 GMT
The bit about Peter Coates remaining in charge, keeping Megson and all being well because Bet365 started not long after. We're all grateful for his return and what he's helped us to achieve, but let's not pretend the club was anything other than a sinking ship in November 1999. Oh, no doubt about that. But on a quiet Thursday night, there is nothing wrong with wondering what would have happened if Uncle Peter had hung on for 2 more years with Megson in charge and then the money started pouring in. And as I have said a number of times, any attempt by PC to hang on could well have adversely affected the launch of Bet365 and we could be in the EvoStik league by now. I do sincerely think the Icelanders made a mistake bringing Gudjon in (even though I liked him). By the time it took him to get us promoted, Megson was getting WBA into the Prem. But then again, without Gudjon there would have been no Icelanders in the first place.
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Post by sheikhmomo on Sept 18, 2014 21:02:41 GMT
The other thing to speculate on as part of the Icelandic Adventure is something that was completely out of their control. The cheating of Rob fucking Styles. If Styles' mother had done the decent thing and smothered him at birth the story could have been very different indeed.
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Post by march4 on Sept 18, 2014 21:27:46 GMT
The other thing to speculate on as part of the Icelandic Adventure is something that was completely out of their control. The cheating of Rob fucking Styles. If Styles' mother had done the decent thing and smothered him at birth the story could have been very different indeed. True, we could have been in the Prem within 3 years with a smorgasbord of Scandinavian stars in our team.
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Post by elystokie on Sept 19, 2014 7:20:44 GMT
The other thing to speculate on as part of the Icelandic Adventure is something that was completely out of their control. The cheating of Rob fucking Styles. If Styles' mother had done the decent thing and smothered him at birth the story could have been very different indeed. I spent years in Portsmouth* hoping to bump into that utter cunt, probably just as well I never did on reflection. *He hails from Waterlooville, just outside Pompey.
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