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Many hurdles yet to clear, but is Attanasio the man who’ll take this club forward?

Many hurdles yet to clear, but is Attanasio the man who’ll take this club forward?

29th May 2022 By Gary Gowers 16 Comments

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There are, of course, too many unknowns to get overly excited at the moment, but the fact there appears to be some interest in investing in Norwich City from someone with no links to murderous Middle Eastern regimes or Vladimir Putin has to be a positive sign.

Having blathered on endlessly around self-funding and how, in my view, it’s sadly incompatible with being a Premier League football club, it would be quite the stretch for me to find something negative in the news the lads from Archant sensationally broke on Friday afternoon.

There had, earlier in the week, been one or two rumours circulating online around some USA businessmen being given the tour of Colney etc – and fair play to those who were literally in the know – but not until Friday afternoon, when that first tweet dropped, did we dare believe.

EXCL: A group of Americans are in talks to invest in #NCFC.

Full story👇https://t.co/QhPEmjEWyH

— Connor Southwell (@cjsouthwell1902) May 27, 2022

Quite where it goes from here I’m not sure but fair play to Archant for breaking the story.

Interestingly, if a proper working relationship between club and local press had been existent, this may have been one that could have been released at a time suitable to both given the commercially sensitive nature of any prospective deal, but when the two are not formally communicating that’s impossible.

As someone who’s spent his whole life desperately trying to steer clear of the corporate jungle, I have only a rudimentary understanding of what any deal, if it were to come off, would look like, but luckily Gary Field – an expert on these matters – has filed an excellent MFW piece on the options available to both parties.

If you haven’t read it, it’s here.

But what the whole thing does appear to signify is that Delia and Michael have budged from their once reported position of ‘we’re not selling’.

Quite how this enquiry came about only time will tell, but we were led to believe that a filtering process has been in place at the club where any offers deemed credible were passed on to Delia and Michael.

In the words of finance director Anthony Richens: “As you’re probably aware, clubs are approached quite regularly, from a different variety of people. What we tend to do is vet those enquiries … a lot of them aren’t credible but any that we believe are credible or for consideration, we, of course, passed to Michael and Delia.”

That, in itself, was interesting as it was the first admission from within the club that offers have been received. It also quashed the ‘no one out there is interested in investing in Norwich City’ argument.

So, maybe Mark Attanasio – the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team – has decided he’d like to extend his portfolio of sports clubs across the Pond, was searching for a club that would fit his criteria and stumbled upon Norwich City.

Although, apparently, not known for his lavish, reckless spending, Attanasio has turned the Brewers into a competitive franchise despite them being regarded as one of the smaller outfits in the MLB and Milwaukee itself being only the 31st-biggest city in the US.

I also read (but can’t locate it at the moment) that in terms of ‘size’ – the metrics of which were unclear – the Brewers are considered the 24th-biggest in the MLB, so his experience has been around enabling a small-ish outfit to punch above its weight and compete.

Clearly, there are column inches and web pages waiting to be written that will give a far greater insight into Mr. Attanasio’s history, record and methods, but that initial glance suggests someone who would be a decent fit for our football club.

So now we wait.

I suspect we’ll hear nothing official in the next few days and so that void will be filled with wild speculation, but let’s hope serious discussions are taking place behind the scenes that will hopefully lead to something good for this football club.

And fair play to Delia and Michael, who I’ve spent weeks lambasting, for doing the very thing that we pleaded with them to do – namely, to explore options beyond them just passing the reins to nephew Tom.

I’m acutely aware that to think too far ahead is unwise at moments like this. Deals of this ilk are complicated and come with many obstacles and numerous reasons to collapse, but such has been the nightmare of the last nine months, we should be allowed to dream.

Given the Milwaukee connection, and with Martin’s permission. I’d like to leave you with this, which in said dream will be played post-match at Carrow Road following a win…


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Filed Under: Column, Gary Gowers

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Comments

  1. Jim+Davies says

    29th May 2022 at 9:19 am

    While not holding my breath, I think it might be significant that such a large party were here from the States. It would seem to indicate serious intentions on both sides.

    From the little knowledge gleaned from the press and the web, it also seems like he might be the sort of investor we were hoping for. At least, he’s not involved in corporate hospitality or arms sales, nor a human rights abusing Middle East state or invading Russian!

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  2. JohnF says

    29th May 2022 at 10:00 am

    I must admit as a big critic of the self funding model and Delia’s apparent stubbornness in refusing to accept the reality of the premiership I was pleasantly surprised to see that she appears to have shifted her position giving us all fresh hope.
    I did as much checking as possible on line and from what I found yMark Attanasio seems a very good fit for our club.🤞

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  3. Keith kennedy says

    29th May 2022 at 10:16 am

    No doubt that this has been on going for weeks as is the nature of these matters which has moved on a few notches by the visit of the family to Colney and Carrow Road. In line with what Webber said about expect some exciting news in 2 or 3 weeks time it could well be that we could be close to a deal.being done As in all matters it could fall at the last hurdle but this guy and his ethics seems to be s good fit for Norwich As they say watch this space

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  4. AlexB says

    29th May 2022 at 11:19 am

    Hi Gary

    Both articles this morning have been an enjoyable read.

    These talks must be close to a conclusion so some are saying or why would such a large numbers of the Brewers Board and family turn up.

    It will all depend on what conditions the present majority shareholders demand from said interested group that will make or break a deal.

    Webber said expect something special in 2 to 3 weeks so does this mean that Archant have got the news out before the club or this group wanted or that a completion date is much close than weall think only time will tell we can only hope for a good outcome to take the club forward.

    Since the news that city have been in talks with possible investors none of the Daily Papers have run with it seems to be a real lack of outside interest especially from those that have knocked city all season

    Breaking News

    Lester Piggott has died aged 86 R,I.P

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  5. 1x2 says

    29th May 2022 at 11:34 am

    First, the most important news Happy days were part of my childhood/ younghood. Every Saturday first came Happy Days and after a couple of hours started english 1st division game which to you starts 3pm and to us 5pm. That 5pm game is a significant part of our culture, or lets say its still something to never forget because you cant compare great old days to todays social media, game time whatever and so on stuff.

    About that baseball dude, I have no idea. Only wondering why american sports investors are so keen now about english football market? In american sports, the league is always closed and outside that not much professionalism possibilities. I do like to watch sometimes MLS, its entertaining which is synonymous with american sports. Baseball, surely 1 of the most boring sports never invented. We have here a very similar game which is played on the country side. The league players here are professionals or half professionals. Attendances are slightly over 1000, but in final games basically the whole town travels to away games. I have also been forced to play that game, because of schooling. It didnt matter how much we complained it was part of the school system. The ball is very hard and if you catch it a little bit wrongly, you can forget using your hand for a couple of days. There have been some awful head injuries during the games, just like in baseball.

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  6. Gil says

    29th May 2022 at 12:16 pm

    Let’s hope in a couple of years that you’re not attaching the Jerry Lee Lewis/Rod Stewart song:
    What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has made a loser out of me)

    1
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    • Gary Gowers says

      29th May 2022 at 12:21 pm

      Martin’s one step ahead of me! See his article tomorrow morning.

      Reply
    • brian says

      30th May 2022 at 12:04 pm

      glass half empty ! part of the be careful what you wish for brigade !

      Reply
  7. Keith B says

    29th May 2022 at 12:21 pm

    I think the timing of this is very significant. From the potential investors’ point of view they wouldn’t be expected to roll up and instantly turn us into a mid-table PL team – had they arrived a year ago that’s what many fans would have demanded.

    They would instead have an opportunity to try to fund a squad that can not only win promotion but also be tough enough to have a chance of staying there. Our current squad may be capable of doing the first bit, with a bit of a tweak, but definitely not the second. It might take 2 seasons rather than 1, but that’s where we are at the moment anyway.

    Personally though, and looking at the bigger picture, I’m dismayed at this news. I’m utterly p*ssed off at the way a large number of our clubs (and indeed our businesses in general) are being taken over by oversea investment. I’d be very disappointed if City becomes yet another one. The Americans may not be as brutal as the Russians, Chinese or Saudis, but they are still a pretty loathsome lot.

    It does partly depend of course on the nature of the deal. I’d be very surprised if this leads to a full takeover but clearly there is a question about what they get out of it.

    It looks as though it will be an interesting few weeks.

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  8. canarylad says

    29th May 2022 at 4:02 pm

    Any sale,investment will hinge on the stowmarket duo remaining in position , think that was in the original article on friday, maybe wrong there.

    If honest I cannot see this happening Delia will not go and enjoy a retirement with a bulging purse, at 80 years. millions would dream of it .

    Reply
  9. volcanopete says

    29th May 2022 at 4:57 pm

    I’m a little worried about the potential for the sort of debt/equity swap which has helped to get Burnley into so much financial stress and whether this would involve the sale of the ground,Asset stripping in so many words.We will see.

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  10. Richard says

    29th May 2022 at 6:23 pm

    This is potentially excellent news if it all works out.
    The difficulty for years has been getting the right investor. Thank goodness we did not go along with the Di Stefano’s or Similar and have only been willing to countenance those of a suitable type for our club. At some point the risks involved will have to be taken. It feels that the time is now.

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  11. Andy Grey Rider says

    29th May 2022 at 7:02 pm

    The Brewers, the Braves!
    Which one is it?
    OTBC

    Reply
    • Gary Gowers says

      29th May 2022 at 9:54 pm

      Oops… sorry mate. Well spotted.

      Reply
  12. KevH says

    29th May 2022 at 10:27 pm

    It must have been quite sobering to see the gulf between Norwich and Spurs, however if nothing else at least Attanasio will know what lies ahead if he buys – both before the Championship season, and before any further advancement to the Premiership!

    It’s quite possible his consortium was already watching, from the swashbuckling Farke Championship days – who in sport wouldn’t be interested in that!

    He seems to expect success from the teams his consortiums own, and both the hockey team and the baseball team have had regular success in their respective leagues.

    Quite a successful man from quite a successful family – here’s hoping!

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  13. Mike Reynolds says

    30th May 2022 at 10:49 am

    Interesting piece on BBC Five Live #wakeuptomoney today (Monday) on American interest in Norwich and how and why Championship Clubs are good value for American Sports Clubs owners. Will be on BBC Sounds no doubt

    Reply

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