The signs are pointing to the fact that we have been hijacked.

[ron]

As the other thread says, what can we say that hasn't been said already?

...and of course the answer is "not much".

But just to be in the teeth of a crisis that we have seen coming virtually from the first kicks of the season, and to hear the weekly platitudes of a by-now universally discredited manager.....and realise that the only attempt to allay the fears of the fans has been a quick-fix appointment to shore up a failed system .........

....has eventually led to the need to question the new owner's motives in buying the club in much greater depth.

If results are of secondary importance to him, and it seems as though they are, then the $64 question is........well, something to do with FFC being a stepping stone on the way to milking the European market for the gridiron game, partially funded by asset stripping of real estate etc........

...or perhaps he is an egomaniac, or an innocent abroad, or a well intentioned individual who has been badly advised, or whatever else...

But change names, turn the clock back 30 odd years, and substitute gridiron for Rugby League, and all of a sudden, all this has a familiar ring..

Jimmy Hill, or for rather sad reasons nowadays, the spirit of Jimmy Hill, we need you now as much as when our club was looking down the barrel all those years ago.

[Bedford White]

As the other thread says, what can we say that hasn't been said already?

...and of course the answer is "not much".

But just to be in the teeth of a crisis that we have seen coming virtually from the first kicks of the season, and to hear the weekly platitudes of a by-now universally discredited manager.....and realise that the only attempt to allay the fears of the fans has been a quick-fix appointment to shore up a failed system .........

....has eventually led to the need to question the new owner's motives in buying the club in much greater depth.

If results are of secondary importance to him, and it seems as though they are, then the $64 question is........well, something to do with FFC being a stepping stone on the way to milking the European market for the gridiron game, partially funded by asset stripping of real estate etc........

...or perhaps he is an egomaniac, or an innocent abroad, or a well intentioned individual who has been badly advised, or whatever else...

But change names, turn the clock back 30 odd years, and substitute gridiron for Rugby League, and all of a sudden, all this has a familiar ring..

Jimmy Hill, or for rather sad reasons nowadays, the spirit of Jimmy Hill, we need you now as much as when our club was looking down the barrel all those years ago.

I raised this very subject (motives for Khans purchase) back in August. I was told to pipe down with my speculation as I had no evidence to support my fears. But you don't have to be a genius to realise that it's a win win situation for Khan, if FFC goes down and continues to free fall through non investment he'll be able to make a killing on the sale of CC and Motspur Park.

[Berserker]

If it was that easier MAF would have done it

[ron]

If it was that easier MAF would have done it

Perhaps MAF had some scruples about asset stripping, or saw an interest or a pleasant diversion for himself in owning this club...

...now, I wonder if the new bloke has an equal claim over the moral high ground??

[ToodlesMcToot]

So what exactly is at the end of this conspiracy theorist rainbow that would make blowing £150 million worthwhile? I'm intrigued.

[Aaron]

I went through the same thought process as yourself, but it doesn't make any sense.  You cannot make a profit from liquidating the club, especially if you paid £200m for it in the first place.  Furthermore, why would you choose to go out of your way to leave such a sour taste in the mouth of the city you're about to try and bring an NFL franchise to?  It's PR suicide and leaving yourself looking like some kind of pantomime villan.  Not even QPR fans would be happy to see us go out like that I'd expect.

Khan also doesn't make the call on day to day things and doesn't have the knowledge of football politics to know what the right thing is to do, that's what the board are for.  He also hasn't had the chance to chuck any money at the transfer market yet and even if he does, we won't know about it until after it has happened as we're notoriously quiet about this side of things..

Basically, I think it's too early to tell, but my gut feeling is that Khan has bitten off more than he can chew and is probably going to regret his investment come the end of May.

Let's just hope RM can do something about the state of our game..

[ron]

So what exactly is at the end of this conspiracy theorist rainbow that would make blowing £150 million worthwhile? I'm intrigued.

At the end of the conspiracy theorist rainbow lies buried a fellow call Ernie Clay, a few of his imaginative accountants, henchmen, A failed London Rugby League franchise, Football club merger proformas....all kinds of things.......

[TonyGilroy]

So what exactly is at the end of this conspiracy theorist rainbow that would make blowing £150 million worthwhile? I'm intrigued.

At the end of the conspiracy theorist rainbow lies buried a fellow call Ernie Clay, a few of his imaginative accountants, henchmen, A failed London Rugby League franchise, Football club merger proformas....all kinds of things.......

Clay "invested" almost nothing. He was in the tradition of Noades, Mandaric, Bates and Hamman. They got hold of clubs for very little and made personal fortunes caring nothing for the clubs they pillaged.

Khan has paid a fortune for FFC. He may make all sorts of mistakes but it's way too soon to question his motives.

[jarv]

I said very early in the season that nobody would blow 150-200 mill. if wanting to let the club rot.

The problem from the start, before the club was sold is JOL!!!!!!!

Forget conspiracy theories, it is ALL the fault of JOL.

[Fulham1959]

I agree with the more level-headed replies.

We should avoid the 'rush to judgement' scenario.  It's far, far too early to judge the Khan purchase as the beginning of the end.

Same as yesterday . . . I wasn't there, and it's rare that I attend matches, living in Stoke and for other reasons, but . . . did we really expect miracles in the first match after RM's arrival ?  In a way it's maybe good that we lost again as the problems are there for RM to see and even Jol cannot keep coming out with his 'jam tomorrow' platitudes as our dismal form continues.

[ToodlesMcToot]

So what exactly is at the end of this conspiracy theorist rainbow that would make blowing £150 million worthwhile? I'm intrigued.

At the end of the conspiracy theorist rainbow lies buried a fellow call Ernie Clay, a few of his imaginative accountants, henchmen, A failed London Rugby League franchise, Football club merger proformas....all kinds of things.......

Nothing that I've read about this man (Khan) suggests that he's anything but a builder. He made his billions making things and started with nothing.

The kind of people you list don't have the wherewithal to do such things. They're smart in a sinister way, yes, but they don't have the patience to do what he's done.

It's highly unlikely that sucking the value out of Fulham and taking the club for a ride is at all in his character. Wasting £150 million plus the £60/yr that remaining in the PL provides is most definitely not in his character.