Revealed: Fulham owner Shahid Khan wants to buy Tottenham and relocate Jacksonvi

[mike_corkcity12]

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/revealed-fulham-owner-shahid-khan-wants-to-buy-tottenham-and-relocate-jacksonville-jaguars-to-white-hart-lane-10380385.html

Fulham owner Shahid Khan is considering selling the club and buying Tottenham in a deal that could also see his NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, move into the new White Hart Lane.

Standard Sport understands Khan's plan is at an extremely formative stage, with only informal discussions having taken place with advisers over the possibility of a dramatic deal that would change the football landscape in London.

No contact has been made between Khan and Spurs, while a new stadium has been part of chairman Daniel Levy's grand plan for the north London club since he took over in 2001 and he has no desire to sell.

Spurs unveiled their blueprint on Wednesday for a 61,000-capacity stadium that will host two NFL matches per season over a 10-year period from the planned opening date in 2018.

Tottenham's new link with the NFL will appeal to Khan, whose Jaguars team have a four-year residency at Wembley, which expires in 2016.


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In November, Khan insisted that "we have no plans to move at this time" but also admitted that "going overseas has been a win-win... [extending the annual visits] is something we are going to look at in a couple of years... it is in the realm of possibility but nothing's decided".

It is believed that Khan has been encouraged by the upturn in financial results the Jaguars have enjoyed since coming to London.



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They generated the least income of all 32 NFL teams when he took control in 2011 but are projected to rise around 10 places, thanks largely to the increased income from higher ticket prices and larger gates at the 90,000-capacity Wembley than at their  EverBank Field venue in Florida, which holds 67,000.


It is believed that Khan would prefer a more permanent residence, assuming that the rest of the NFL's owners do not object to further matches being played overseas.

Tottenham will be worth an estimated £1billion when their state-of-the-art stadium is built. Khan's net worth, according to the Forbes list, is $4.6bn (£2.99bn) and he is understood to have paid approximately £150m for Fulham when he took over at Craven Cottage two years ago.

Speculation has persisted for a long time that Spurs owner Joe Lewis and Levy would look to sell up once they had built a new stadium, but Khan would need to first find a buyer for Fulham before making an offer.

[Wearethewhites]

Laughable

[mike_corkcity12]

Fayed to buy the club back at a discounted price and lead us back to the Premier League? :D

[FFC1987]

No idea what to make of this!

[snarks]

That is putting 2 and 1 together and making 18. So what the story boils down to is that Khan has an NFL team, Spurs have signed an agreement with the NFL, ergo Khan wants to buy spurs. No discussions have occured no approach has been made. Sensationalist story telling at its best.

[Blanco]

I don't believe it!

[Domino 1879]

Stand by for conspiracy stories.    Fulham to become 'feeder' club.  CC developed for housing.   Michael Jackson statue resurrected at WHL................

[SKSW6]

So;

No talks
No desire to sell Spurs
No one in the NFL realistically thinks London can have a permanent team
Khan's said time and time again that he doesn't want to move the Jags
The lease on matches at the new WHL is for 10 years
Would Khan really spend 1/3 of his wealth on a team?
Is he that much of an idiot to buy us at a sky high price when we were still in the PL, then sell us at our lowest after only 2 years and when we now look on the up?

I'm annoyed with myself that I spent the time to justify why that article's clearly a load of nonsense.

[MJG]

Ok so just to let people know the FST have contacted club and awaiting a response. True or not I'd hope they say something.

[Rhys Lightning 63]

So;

No talks
No desire to sell Spurs
No one in the NFL realistically thinks London can have a permanent team
Khan's said time and time again that he doesn't want to move the Jags
The lease on matches at the new WHL is for 10 years
Would Khan really spend 1/3 of his wealth on a team?
Is he that much of an idiot to buy us at a sky high price when we were still in the PL, then sell us at our lowest after only 2 years and when we now look on the up?

I'm annoyed with myself that I spent the time to justify why that article's clearly a load of nonsense.

Don't be so sure about that, Roger Goodell, who is the commissioner of the league (the head guy) sees it as his legacy to put a team overseas. He is all in favour of it

[SKSW6]

So;

No talks
No desire to sell Spurs
No one in the NFL realistically thinks London can have a permanent team
Khan's said time and time again that he doesn't want to move the Jags
The lease on matches at the new WHL is for 10 years
Would Khan really spend 1/3 of his wealth on a team?
Is he that much of an idiot to buy us at a sky high price when we were still in the PL, then sell us at our lowest after only 2 years and when we now look on the up?

I'm annoyed with myself that I spent the time to justify why that article's clearly a load of nonsense.

Don't be so sure about that, Roger Goodell, who is the commissioner of the league (the head guy) sees it as his legacy to put a team overseas. He is all in favour of it

I know they keep going on about it, but there are so many logistical problems that I don't think any of them think it's actually feasible, at least not any time soon. In that case it's not particularly relevant to us.

[mike_corkcity12]

Shahid Khan: The billionaire who could ditch Fulham for Tottenham has a true rags to riches story

Business magnate Shahid Khan, who has revealed his ambitions to sell Fulham and buy Tottenham, can tell a true rags to riches story.

At 16 he left his native Pakistan to study in the US and on his arrival there he stayed in a YMCA for $2 a night and washed dishes to get by.

Today, the 64-year-old has a net worth of $4.4 billion and 300-foot superyacht, according to Forbes.

His wealth, which is entirely self-made, stems from his ownership of auto parts giant and two major sporting teams – the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and Championship side Fulham.

An engineer by trade, his career took off when he invented a revolutionary bumper for trucks that became an industry standard.

After setting up a business with a loan and his own savings in 1978, he bought a company he used to work for called Flex-N-Gate. He turned it around and built it into a business that makes around $4.9 billion in sales.

The entrepreneur, unmistakable with his jet black moustache, has been complemented on his business acumen, having out-manoeuvred rivals and moved early to secure deals with Japanese auto makers in the 80s.

A naturalised US citizen, Khan fell in love with American football soon after arriving in the States.

The super fan first tried to get a foothold in the sport by buying a 60% stake in the St Louis Rams in 2011 but the deal fell through.

He realised his dream a year later when he bought the Jaguars for $770 million in 2012.

He has been keen to boost the NFL brand outside the US and was part of a deal to bring the Jaguars to Wembley for four seasons.

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Khan, who prefers to be called 'Shad', turned his attention to Fulham in 2013 after meeting former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

He snapped up the side for an undisclosed sum, which has been estimated at between £150 and £200 million.

Khan is using his business brain in his management of the Championship club.

He has pledged to take the side back to the Premier League but has said he won't break the bank to do it.


http://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/shahid-khan-the-billionaire-who-could-ditch-fulham-for-tottenham-has-a-true-rags-to-riches-story-10380453.html

[Berserker]

Wouldn't be surprised as I doubt he wants to keep a Championship side for too long if we don't get promoted soon

Alot of people haven't been sure of his motives, but  maybe they are beginning to become a but clearer

[blingo]

2+2 = 5 laughable. So he spends 200m and is going to sell at a loss of at least 100m? I can't believe that anyone would be silly enough to believe this BS journalism.

[mullers]

If I was Levy I'd want to speak to Khan as he's one of the very few who has experience of English and American football. He also knows a bit about playing and moving NFL games to another country, and building a suitable stadium for both sports. This is another way of calling the talks 'formative'; The story has a basis of truth built up with exaggeration and supposition

[Burt]

Normally I would say that there's no smoke without fire but all this journo-talk about extremely formative stages, informal talks with advisors, etc. I think it must be steam from a pile of horse poo as opposed to smoke.

[jj____]

So;

No talks
No desire to sell Spurs
No one in the NFL realistically thinks London can have a permanent team
Khan's said time and time again that he doesn't want to move the Jags
The lease on matches at the new WHL is for 10 years
Would Khan really spend 1/3 of his wealth on a team?
Is he that much of an idiot to buy us at a sky high price when we were still in the PL, then sell us at our lowest after only 2 years and when we now look on the up?

I'm annoyed with myself that I spent the time to justify why that article's clearly a load of nonsense.

Don't be so sure about that, Roger Goodell, who is the commissioner of the league (the head guy) sees it as his legacy to put a team overseas. He is all in favour of it

Gooddell works for the 32 owners of the teams in the league, it would take a lot for the owners to agree to such a move.  Logistically it doesn't make sense and most fans are adamantly opposed to the idea.

[Wimbledon_White]

So;

No talks
No desire to sell Spurs
No one in the NFL realistically thinks London can have a permanent team
Khan's said time and time again that he doesn't want to move the Jags
The lease on matches at the new WHL is for 10 years
Would Khan really spend 1/3 of his wealth on a team?
Is he that much of an idiot to buy us at a sky high price when we were still in the PL, then sell us at our lowest after only 2 years and when we now look on the up?

I'm annoyed with myself that I spent the time to justify why that article's clearly a load of nonsense.

Don't be so sure about that, Roger Goodell, who is the commissioner of the league (the head guy) sees it as his legacy to put a team overseas. He is all in favour of it

Gooddell works for the 32 owners of the teams in the league, it would take a lot for the owners to agree to such a move.  Logistically it doesn't make sense and most fans are adamantly opposed to the idea.

Imagine being a Jacksonville fan and being told that your beloved club is moving across the ocean to London. Astonishing such things are allowed to happen.

[MJG]

Quote from Mr Woodcock to me via email is

Total nonsense and complete fiction.

[FPT]

I wouldn't believe this in a hurry, just by reading the story.

- "Standard Sport understands Khan's plan is at an extremely formative stage, with only informal discussions having taken place with advisers over the possibility of a dramatic deal that would change the football landscape in London."
Compare that to the overdramatic headline. Shahid Khan apparently wants to buy Tottenham, yet is only apparently at "extremely formative stage," that's not quite wanting to buy Tottenham, remove the Jaguars and sell Fulham, aided by the very next line in the story:

"No contact has been made between Khan and Spurs, while a new stadium has been part of chairman Daniel Levy's grand plan for the north London club since he took over in 2001 and he has no desire to sell."
So no contact has been made and Daniel Levy has no desire to sell anyway - so this story is going nowhere after three sentences.

The story then goes on to discuss the greater financial benefits from having games at the 90,000 seat stadium Wembley and the EverBank Field in Jacksonville which seats 67,000. Tottenham's blueprints for their new stadium is 61,000. The Jacksonville Jaguars' average attendance currently is 63,000, so this makes no sense whatsoever - on average, one of the worst teams in the NFL still has a higher attendance than the stadium that Shahid Khan apparently wants to move them to? So where's the financial benefits? This story is falling apart.

Tottenham, post stadium building, would be worth £1bn, so Shahid Khan would be putting a third of his wealth into buying Tottenham in order to decrease his attendance average?

Then we come to the very last sentence: Speculation has persisted for a long time that Spurs owner Joe Lewis and Levy would look to sell up once they had built a new stadium, but Khan would need to first find a buyer for Fulham before making an offer.

Let's just compare that to earlier on in the story: while a new stadium has been part of chairman Daniel Levy's grand plan for the north London club since he took over in 2001 and he has no desire to sell.

Now, I may be overanalysing this, talking nonsense or whatever. But to me, the Evening Standard has made a story up making it sound semi reliable because it has a "believable" thread by linking the NFL man who owns a London club and has had his franchise play in London, to the team that has just had a new stadium authorised or whatever which includes holding two NFL games a year.