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King of Deals versus the Queen of Culinary Hearts. The re-match starts right now.

2nd September 2008 By Rick Waghorn Leave a Comment

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It promises to be a fascinating return match – the 'King Of Deals' versus the 'Queen Of Culinary Hearts'.

And how each side plays it now that the moderating influence of the Turners has gone is going to be intriguing.

For that was one of their biggest assets; that they had a foot in both camps; old and new.

That whilst their Central Trust 'up-bringing' was clearly something that would have seen them walk the same corridors of corporate power that Peter Cullum will have walked for all his adult life, the Turners will also have picked up petrol from a forecourt in Drayton and will have seen a Pink 'Un bill in their travels; they might even have been quizzed by a Taverham shop assistant as to why on earth anyone ever bought David Strihavka…

They bridged two worlds; one 'City'; one Norfolk and 'country'. That was always why they ticked so many of the inheritance boxes; that's why they made sense.

In the eyes of Delia and Michael Wynn Jones, they passed the 'local' test; they did 'community'; they 'got' Norfolk. And the way things are done in this unique corner of the world.

From the very outset, the club's current owners have seen none of that in the Towergate chief; the 'deal maker's deal maker' has none of that in his armoury – however much his schoolboy appearance at Carrow Road makes for great PR.

Andrew and Sharon Turner were the bridge that crossed the great cultural divide that separates the Smiths on one bank, Cullum on the other.

Without them the two sides will eye eachother ever more warily; with ever greater suspicion as the question of the Canaries' long-term future is thrown straight back into the melting pot again by this morning's sudden resignation of the heirs apparent.

Cullum's next move will be very, very telling.

Under the 'Wall Street' rules that applies to the takeover king of the boutique insurance market, there will have been sly smirks and high fives to greet today's announcement from Carrow Road; the Smiths position is weak, vulnerable, ripe for a renewed approach. City's winless start to the new campaign merely leaves them on their knees; with no way out now that the Turners have bowed out.

Time to apply a little more of a squeeze…

That, I suspect, may prove to be Cullum's undoing. Wynn Jones may be the son of a Harleston rector, but he is Oxford-educated and 'the network' that he developed there some 45 years ago may well have developed into some very big players in the City; people who have seen the Cullums of this world come and go for a generation.

In short, don't expect Delia to walk quietly. Or give the 'King Of Deals' an easy ride.

The fact remains that if Cullum refuses to budge from that original '?20 million for players plus complete control' offer of last autumn then we're about to go round the same block as last summer; that why should Delia and Michael – and, indeed, every small shareholder at the football club – give their shares away for nothing to a billionaire?

That's the immovable object that will continue to shape and under-pin every twist and turn that comes over the next fortnight. 'You're a billionaire, why should we give you our club for nothing?'

And that's not an unreasonable question.

That's the question that Cullum's banks of PR suits have to wrestle with; how do they get their man in with his coat of shining white armour intact? How do they bundle the nation's favourite chef out of the door with her dignity and bank balance intact?

Because if Andrew Turner was the one who pleaded for quiet diplomacy last time around; played the 'Don't say anything that might upset him…' card; without that restraining influence, the Smiths might be all too tempted to reveal what kind of deals the 'King Of Deals' is prepared to pull. Principally at her expense – but at the expense of every other small shareholder at the football club.

Of course, Cullum might have had enough already; having witnessed the passions, the hopes and above, the expectations his cheque book brings he might have decided that he'd be better off giving the Mrs a yacht in the Med for Christmas than a football club in Norfolk…

Is there a third way? A third party that is out there in the same corporate jungle that Cullum inhabits who would be willing to play ball, to give the 'King Of Deals' a rival for the Canaries' affections?

Wynn Jones has 'a network' – that network will be hard at work as we speak; trying to work out whether Towergate really are the only show in town. If Cullum has got company, that's when the fun really starts…


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Filed Under: Column, Rick Waghorn

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