backofthenet

3 minutes ago, meme said:

"Samuelson was instrumental in getting Dr Xia interested in the Villa project and introduced the new owner to Wyness. "

quote from bbc

He was also instrumental in finding some Russian guy who no one had heard of to takeover reading, the guy then disappeared back to Russia an Samuelson then tried to buy the club on the cheap after they booted him off the board

he was also last linked with attempting to takeover the mighty Bristol rovers

15 minutes ago, terrytini said:

I can tell you as a matter of absolute fact that a very large number of very well known High Street businesses, from Estate Agents to Car Dealers to Builders Merchants to allsorts have been investigated for money laundering.  Very few have been prosecuted though, so they rightly retain their good name (such as it is ) and reputation.

Whether that helps assuage your fears, I don't know.

I don't doubt what you say in the slightest but everyone on the board is an associate of Samuelson!

if dr xia was the driving force behind the takeover where are his associates that he works with on a daily basis?

like I stated I hope that my fears are unfounded but I remain sceptical 

2 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Possibly the Chinese business man who owns Recon and has just proved beyond doubt his cash reserves to the FA?

I hope so but why the need for a Swiss financier who has been involved in several other failedtakeovers who has been investigated for money laundering and a couple of his mates, I'm afraid this part of the takeover worries me

4 minutes ago, meme said:

Samuelson isn't dodgy simply for owning a financial company. I'm sure every financial company on the globe has done some questionable dealings in the past. He simply did a task at Reading for what his company, and many other companies around the world, are built to do.

Well the FBI certainly thought he is dodgy, I really hope your right but the fact that everyone on the board apart from xia is or has had business dealings with Samuelson before makes me wonder who it actually is that's gonna be running our club

12 minutes ago, bobzy said:

What have Chris Samuelson and Jamie Banfill done then?

Well I'd Google Chris Samuelson an Everton fc an then reading fc an draw your own conclusions, either way he is not here for the love of Aston villa, no one has heard of banfill, but he is apparently an associate of samuelsons 

6 minutes ago, bobzy said:

Which "extremely dodgy members"?

Well Chris Samuelson for one plus 'his associate' the previously unknown Jamie banfill

 it I will afford myself a small shandy for now an cross my fingers

Is it just me that remains incredibly sceptical especially given the extremely dodgy members we have on our board

i still fear we will be hearing the words 'refinancing' or 'seeking new investment' sooner or later

5 minutes ago, villa_southerner said:

So what does everyone think of Tommy Elphick......?

Spoke to a Bournemouth fan the weekend who reckons he's a great captain an very decent player at championship level, would be sad to see him go

20 hours ago, useless said:

The last time Dorrans scored 10 goals was in 2010. If we going to add to central midfield I'd rather it be someone in the vane of Barry/Parker, maybe a younger version if possible.

Aaron mooy has Gotta be worth a punt for me, but wouldn't break the bank an he is a solid centre mid, hits a mean free kick too, I watch a lot of A league soccer an id say he is pretty much the best player in the league

I've seen a lot of Aaron mooy an Aussie midfielder, he currently plays for Melbourne city, he put in a decent shift against England in the friendly, he's a decent player, scores goals an surely wouldn't break the bank, easily good enough for the championship in my opinion 

3 minutes ago, Zatman said:

also have the Asian Champions League to tempt Bacuna

lol is that the champions league he was talking about, silly me!

1 hour ago, Deisler123 said:

I think Xia will be somewhere between Type 2 and Type 5, depending on how rich he is and if Villa can return back to PL asap (in 1st attempt).

The longer it takes Villa to return back to PL, the less financial confidence and beliefs Xia may have on Villa.

PS: There is no news at all about him wanting to buy a club in China. No one wants to sell Super league clubs at the moment - perhaps he can buy a club in the 2nd division and build up from that.

It is highly possible that Xia is aiming to buy a club in India - for his business development in India.

 

 

ive watched indian football, they have recently launched an indian super league, im sure nicholas anelka managed one of the clubs last year (maybe mumbai), theres only about 6 teams though an to be honest it was prettry awful stuff, they do also have a another indian premier  league which is shocking

a guy called jamie banhill will also be on the board, he is in  the same company as samuelson which makes me very edgy

Tamworth fc lived there for 5 yrs an watched them regularly when they got up to the conference

also have a bit of a soft spot for athletic bilbao, love the fact you can only play for them if your from the basque country 

Just now, Deisler123 said:

Especially the degree he did in the US was a research degree. I got my PhD in an English-speaking country too, and I know writting skills are more important than how well you speak English.

i stand corrected then, maybe it is the case then that he is quite a shy individual who is extremely private, i think i would get annoyed at people constantly questioning my self worth and asking for proof

id still like someone to ask him the questions about samuelson though

2 minutes ago, mwj said:

Why don't you learn mandarin for a few years first, and get back us on that one...  

Other points are more valid though, I guess we'll find out once the takeover is complete...

yeah i get what your saying an given that i failed basic french however millenia ago it was when i went to school id expect someone with a havard masters who spent alot of time in the US to be a little better versed

does this not all look a bit amateurish though?

considering he spent alot of time in the US an also time in the UK, his english is pretty bad

if you look at the other big takeovers like man city an chelsea, these guys breezed in with their management companys doing all the talking and didnt need to do any trying to convince the joe public, this poor guy seems stressed as hell having to dea\l with all this crap

an where an why is samuelson an his mate banhill hiding while all this is going on?

there are still questions that need answering in my opinion

having re-read that reading article again though is it not possible that samuelson may have approached (or even been approached by) lerner offering to find him a buyer with his price being a place on the new board

i dont really have a clue how business works or even what benefits he will get apart from a comfy seat

23 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Dunno - but it's quite usual for a director to be paid for their services if not part of their directorship. Just saying, if you read that whole article on the BBC site, Samuelson's role more than ever comes across as a financial advisor, albeit he clearly enjoys a position of power at a football club.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chris-samuelson-former-reading-fc-11355076

this article is the story, this guy wants power an the money

1 hour ago, Jareth said:

Samuelson quite vocal and open about the Reading situation here - quite possible he has been identified as the villain of the piece, when maybe it was Zingarevich?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27735136

 

Did he not also pay himself or his company a fee for organising the loan?

52 minutes ago, Sam3773 said:

Reading some things in the media (opinions, not news) and a number of people don't think this deal will get across the line due to the concerns people have, lack of funds, etc.

What happens then? Back to the other party who is rumoured to be Larry? I know we're bad but announcing two new owners in the space of a month or two would be f&@king atrocious.

Don't get me wrong, I think and hope all will become clear with the Doc' and he will become our minted new owner. Just musing about what might happen if the FL tell him no.

i think we are damned if we do and damned if we dont, it depends which is the lesser of 2 evils, ive thought long an hard about this an my feelings are that id take lerner rather than havin bodymoor heath in hock to fund transfers or debt

14 minutes ago, Godders said:

You mean the same Mr. King who likely knew that Dr Xia was the preferred bidder, and left the club saying the takeover would be great news for AVFC??

i really do hope thats the case but im afraid that having a couple of chancers like samuelson and banfill lurking in the background dosnt back that statement up

6 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

Absolutely.

1 hour ago, MikeMcKenna said:

Purely my opinion but it all seems so half cocked. Having said the above, I haven't yet seen any grounds for the league to deny other than possibly proof of funds. We have to assume that Hollis has this but according to one article, payment is being made in stages. I thought I read something about an initial payment of £40 million up front. If Tony Xia is a Billionaire or has access to Billions why the need for staged payment? I may be totally wrong but Tony Xia seems like a front man, with a weak back story, but I don't think for the Chinese government. In an interview he said something about not expecting so much publicity and I think he is surprised at the digging that has been done into his background. Over the years I have visited China many times on business and they are always very discreet and definitely like to keep a low profile. Somethings just don't add up. That Samuelson is involved is my main worry. 

i completley agree with this and i dont think im the only one who is hoping this deal colapses, i know we should take anything the evening mail says with a pince of salt but samuelson an banfill are both directors of the same company socfin group and they have both been seen at the villa v newcastle game along with dr xia, dr xia was also photo graphed in the villa changing rooms with those guys names on shirts behind him

weather we like to admit it or not they are heavily involved in this takeover an i reckon young dr xia is just their front man, they hoped we would just fall down all gooey eyed as soon as he started waving million pound notes around, from what ive seen on message boards it seems to have worked

Im really hoping that if Mr King is out there an he is concerned he may have some idea what to do about it, maybe lodging an objection to the FA

4 minutes ago, hippo said:

My issue (which I have said 3 or 4 times now) - is that the last takeover he brokered the ownner did a bunk and the club ended up administration.

Disclaimer

I know he isn't on the villa board - I know he may not be involved at all - this is in response to speculation he may be.

 

well for my tuppence worth i think he is very much involved in this deal, i would like to think he may have been around for a while as an advisor for xai an then buggered off to take over bristol rovers but no i think if this deal goes thru he will be sat on the board an that makes me feel very ill at ease

its also worth adding that when the reading thing went tits up he did then try an form a consortium himself to take over the club which failed

i just have a horrible feeling this xai isnt the guy we are hopin he is an that when its time to start restructuring this club we could find our training facilities an ground are being used to fund it

am i just being paranoid? i bloody hope so

31 minutes ago, hippo said:

was he not also involved in some other attempted takeovers, i heard some talk he was involved in tryin to takeover rangers an mallorca as well, the latest takeover he was linked with was that of the mighty bristol rovers!!, now if this guy ends up on our board (which is being touted, remember there is a pic of a villa shirt in our changing rooms with his name on) that is one hell of a step up to be looking at taking over a team in league 2 to a team thats just been relegated from the premier league

my concern is this, if lerner an hollis knew that the club was pretty much sold why did they bother cutting so many jobs from the club unless the potential new owners had already requested this be done

if xia has oodles of cash why would he need samuelson (who is a financier) unless samuelson is financing the deal for xia, xia then goes awol leaving samuelson to get the club on the cheap and strip its assets

samuelson is clearly here to make money, i really dont think he gives a rats ass about aston villa fc

there is alot that really troubles me about this takeover an im sort of startin to hope it dosnt happen