Notts County

[chavy]

With every "has been" being linked with Notts I'm not surprised the 'fans' (both of them) are getting a bit edgy !! wanting to run before they can walk, springs to mind with this lot.

[Xangsamhua]

With every "has been" being linked with Notts I'm not surprised the 'fans' (both of them) are getting a bit edgy !! wanting to run before they can walk, springs to mind with this lot.

Touch of cynicism there, Chavy. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. Bit of a soap opera really, but for me it's nice to see the old club get a bit of a boost.

Notts County are really a nice part of my childhood rather than my maturity (Aussie Rules has been my passion for many years now). I used to go to Meadow Lane regularly in the 50s until we left Nottingham (and England) and really enjoyed watching them play. We could have Nottingham derbies in those days.

The Arab money has given them a lease of life. It's certainly awakened my interest. It's going to take more than five years though to get to the Championship and a generation to build a good supporter base again. I just hope the Arab money doesn't disappear, like the Icelandic money did at West Ham.

In the meantime, the Notts saga, or soap opera, is entertaining and, after all, they might actually climb out of League Two this year.

[Xangsamhua]

2009 is 50 years since a Meadow Lane match was the opening scene in a famous novel. The book in question is Alan Sillitoe's "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner", subsequently a movie (1962) with Tom Courtenay as Colin Smith (the runner).

The match was between County and Bristol City, with Notts down 1-2 and only 10 minutes to go, described by the narrator, Lennox, as follows:

Movement on the pitch was now desultory, for there was only 10 minutes of play left to go. The two teams knotted up towards one goal, then spread out around an invisible ball, and moved down the field again, back to the other with no decisive result. It seemed that both teams had accepted the present score to be the final state of the game, as though all effort had deserted their limbs and lungs.

http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2008/03/...g-football-man/

Lennox suggests: "They’d even lose at blow football". For Lennox, County's loser status reflects his own dreary life at middle age, epitomised by the fact that Notts County have been relegated more times that any other team in English professional football (14).

So, looking back, the view from and onto Meadow Lane is pretty bleak. Let's see what the new, Arab-funded, dawn will bring. I hope there is a new and better era for the oldest professional club.

[mrbojangles]

The Mighty Dale beat Notts last night. Obviously the money from selling local pies is better than money from Oil

[Xangsamhua]

The Mighty Dale beat Notts last night. Obviously the money from selling local pies is better than money from Oil

Well it was on Tuesday night! Bless the Rochdale pie sellers, and strength to their arm. Unfortunately, it seems that big money is necessary in the higher leagues, which is what County aspire to (realistically or otherwise). This is the way the world is.

[Xangsamhua]

League renews inquiries into Notts County

• Mawhinney says further questions have been asked

• Complex and confusing structure around club

The Guardian, Friday 27 November 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/no...ounty-ownership

Oh dear! Looks like the soap opera's starting up again. County are looking to take over West Ham's position as the FA's Most Interesting Club on the Brink.

[Xangsamhua]

Sven-Goran Eriksson demands 'ambassador' payment from company linked to Notts County

• Swede believes he is due multimillion-pound sum

• Football League has reopened inquiries into club's ownership

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/no...on-notts-county

There seem to be some questions about Qadbak's ability to come up with the money - not just for Sven.

[bkkjames]

:lol:Eriksson wants to lead Notts County into Champions League

Sven Goran Eriksson says he's at Notts County for the long haul.

Former England boss Eriksson wants to be taking on Manchester United and Chelsea within five years – and is already aiming way beyond that.

County’s director of football told the Sunday Mirror: “When we are in the Premier League, the dream will be then to play in the Champions League – and then to win that. It is human nature.

“It is of course easy to sit and talk about it but it’s very difficult to achieve.

“The dream now is to play in League One next season, then you take it higher and higher. But it’s very clear you don’t win the Champions League or Premier League without money.

“So the finance is very important if we are to do what we set out to do. This is a beautiful project and I am totally committed.

[Xangsamhua]

"But it's very clear you don't win the Champions League or Premier League without money." (SGE)

'Fraid so, and presumably he believes the money's there, despite the unhelpful signs of late. The Guardian's the only news outlet I've seen that's running the doom and gloom stories. Others are silent, except the blogs that quote the Guardian stories. These suggest that County supporters have found themselves in cahoots with some questionable characters. Whether the money's all smoke and mirrors or not is the big question.

The fact that the League is reopening inquiries indicates that they're looking for fire beneath the smoke. Hopefully there's nothing there to jeopardize Notts's future, even if that future's somewhat less glorious than Eriksson and Peter Trembling have painted it.

[Xangsamhua]

Notts County closer to Sol Campbell compromise

28 Oct 2009

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=690502&cc=4716

Campbell reacted positively when ESPN Soccernet told the former England star of the latest developments in his unusual case.

"I said at the time I would be happy to agree a confidentiality agreement until the end of the season," Campbell said. "Then the lawyers told me it would be five years, and that was out of the question.

"In an effort to resolve this situation, I would be prepared to sign a confidentiality agreement so long as it is only until the end of the season. It sounds as if we are making progress and I am sure my lawyers will show me the compromise agreement some time later today [Wednesday]."

Campbell now a free agent after ending Notts dispute

Wednesday, December 02, 2009, 19:13

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/football...il/article.html

SOL Campbell is free to resume his playing career after ending his contract dispute with Notts County.

Professional Footballers' Association chief Gordon Taylor this evening confirmed the former Portsmouth, Arsenal and Tottenham defender had reached a settlement with County which sees the Meadow Lane club release the player's registration.

Campbell, 35, joined County in August after being enticed to the club by director of football and former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, but the defender left by "mutual consent" just one game into a lucrative five-year deal.

"Sol Campbell is now a free agent," Taylor said.

"His contract dispute has been resolved and he is free to pursue football in the January transfer window. He can sign for any club he wants now."

Although Campbell is reportedly free to sign for a club immediately, he is not expected to return to action until the new year.

The former England defender has been linked with Championship outfits Newcastle and West Brom and has been training with Arsenal to keep up his fitness, although Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has ruled out the possibility of Campbell returning to the club.

The Magpies are the favourites to land his signature, with Campbell himself admitting in October that he was interested in a move to the north-east.

Edited December 3, 2009 by Xangsamhua

[Xangsamhua]

What's the Guardian on about?

In a report on the Football League's pending approval of Leeds' new owners, the Guardian today included these comments:

Before these developments, and the questions raised by the Guardian about who lies behind Notts County's new offshore structure, the League had maintained that it could not investigate the ownership of clubs in offshore tax havens which guarantee anonymity to shareholders. However, Mawhinney and the League's board have now revised that policy and will insist that all new owners of clubs provide evidence of ultimate ownership to the league's satisfaction, before they are allowed to take over.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/de...football-league

This suggests that the solitary article about Notts's ownership structure, appearing last week and only in the Guardian, was the trigger for the League to alter its process of investigation.

Does this seem likely? And why would it affect Notts County, as the said revised procedures are to apply before the new owners are approved. Notts's new owners were approved on October 20th. Is it likely that the Football League, having read an article in the Guardian, is now going to retrace its steps and start investigating County's new structure again?

Edited December 4, 2009 by Xangsamhua

[Xangsamhua]

McParland: My pride at being Notts manager

Saturday, December 05, 2009, 00:00

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/football...il/article.html

IAN McParland [now at Ipswich] will always be proud to have managed Notts County.

And he said today he would consider returning to the Meadow Lane hot-seat if he was offered the job again in the future, because he loves the club.

McParland made 267 appearances for the Magpies as a striker between 1980 and 1989, scoring 90 goals.

And he was in charge of the club for almost two years, before being sacked in mid-September.

He said: "I played for the club for nine years and there was no one prouder than me when I took on the manager's job, even though it was a tough job.

"I've left the club now but who knows I might be back as manager in the future.

"I would consider it because I think I've been able to leave with my head held high."

The Magpies were battling relegation in League Two when McParland took over in October 2007.

He kept them up and they were fifth in League Two when he was axed after 12 league games this season, four points off the top.

McParland is certain they will win promotion in May, despite fresh stories concerning financial unrest at the club.

[Xangsamhua]

The soap opera continues. Sven is being paid by the club, but wants to know if SCH and Qadbak really have the money. Trembling says Notts are paying Eriksson, but who's paying Notts? If it's Qadbak, do they have enough money to run the football club, but not enough to pay Sven? I've lost the plot (if I ever had it).

Notts County executive chairman airs 'frustrations' over ownership

• Peter Trembling admits club must 'iron out problems'

• Sven-Goran Eriksson still 'passionate about this project'

Matt Scott

guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 December 2009 13.55 GMT

Notts County's executive chairman Peter Trembling, right, insists Sven-Goran Eriksson is committed to the club's 'project'. Photograph: Keith Williams/Action Images

Notts County's executive chairman, Peter Trembling, has admitted for the first time to "frustrations" with how the club is being run. Trembling's remarks come seven days after the Guardian revealed that the club's director of football, Sven Goran Eriksson, is having second thoughts about his involvement with County.

The former England manager has demanded immediate payment of the millions he believes he is owed by Swiss Commodity Holding, a closely connected company in which he was promised shares upon joining the club. "There are frustrations with the parent company, that cannot be denied, and they do need ironing out, and they are being ironed out," Trembling told Soccernet today.

"Sven is most certainly being paid by Notts County, but other issues involving shares and payments linked to the parent company are issues for Sven rather than the football club. Sven is not about to walk out, but I cannot comment about issues outside of the football club."

The ultimate beneficial owners of the club have never been revealed, although it is known to be held through a chain of companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. Although the Football League passed the club's ownership as fit and proper in October, the Guardian also revealed last week that it has renewed its inquiries into County's ownership. The league is concerned about the close links between the offshore entities and Russell King, who is involved in a fraud investigation in Jersey. Trembling has told associates that Eriksson will be introduced to the owners of the club in an effort to keep him on side.

Trembling said: "I sat with him yesterday and he is as passionate about this project at this club as he has ever been. He loves the club, he is an honourable man and he still thinks this could be the best project he has ever worked on, as he keeps telling me."

Eriksson wants the payment as evidence that Qadbak, the BVI company that is Notts County's parent, has access to the billions it has laid claim to. He said this week: "It's very clear you don't win the Champions League or Premier League without money. So the finance is very important if we are to do what we set out to do."

Representatives on behalf of Notts County said last week they had sufficient funds to meet their obligations.

[stevef]

only one nottingham team going to be in the premiership and im sorry to say its the boys in red from the other side of the river

[Xangsamhua]

only one nottingham team going to be in the premiership and im sorry to say its the boys in red from the other side of the river

No need to be sorry. It's good to see Forest doing well. Hopefully they'll be back in the Premier League next year.

For me it would be even better to see County doing well, even in League Two! If they can make it to the Championship in a few years that would be terrific, let alone the PL. An old club like Notts County (and my boyhood club) shouldn't be languishing at the bottom of the Fourth Division. If this Munto deal is what it claims to be, then hopefully we can see both Nottingham sides up there with the big spenders. Like many Notts fans though (judging from the fan sites), I'm losing a bit of faith in Qadback et al. Hope it all turns out OK.

[Xangsamhua]

<H1 style="MARGIN: auto 0cm">The outgoing Football League chairman is eager to see the game come to its senses and accept his salary cap argument</H1>http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/dec/08/lord-brian-mawhinney-football-league

In the above article, mainly about the need for salary-capping, but moving on to his initially opposed, but finally accepted introduction of the "fit and proper person" test, Lord Mawhinney speaks about the Notts County and Leeds ownership "debacles" (Guardian's term). Note he speaks positively of the situation with Leeds, but is silent respecting Notts.

Mawhinney laughs; but it is sobering to point out that his test is flawed. The twin debacles surrounding the ownership of Leeds United and Notts County underlined this weakness – for the Football League could not identify all its club owners.

"I inherited an arrangement which stopped offshore," Mawhinney says. "Before this the league said when you come up against an offshore account [held by a hidden owner of shares in a club] you have to accept it is legal for them to retain their anonymity. But I wasn't comfortable with that. I took counsel advice and was assured that what I wanted to do was within the regulations. I then went to the Football League board and said our regulations permit us to say [to prospective owners], 'If you want to put your money offshore – fine. If you want to remain anonymous – fine. But if you want to play in our league we have to know who you are'."

Under this new policy will the identity of Leeds and Notts County's owners be shared with supporters? Mawhinney shakes his head, confirming that privacy laws mean that only the board and select members of clubs are allowed to know the identity of all owners. "I would like total transparency. That's me personally and I think we're on a journey towards that point. But I am intrigued by the number of people who say, 'Ah, but it's not full transparency' – instead of saying, 'Well done, you've broken through'. Somebody knowing seems to me to be much better than nobody knowing."

It still seems odd that he had not addressed this issue previously. "There is an element here which asks, 'Was this not your No1 priority?' A lot of other things were pressing – and you can only do one thing at a time."

Has the information he discovered about the ownership of Leeds and Notts County alarmed him? Mawhinney hesitates. "I try very hard not to do alarming. We have asked Notts County more questions – and as far as Leeds are concerned we're a couple of documents short. But I think we'll be in a good situation with regard to Leeds."

[Xangsamhua]

The plot takes a new turn in the Notts County saga/soap opera.

Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad stepping in to rescue the maid County from the secretive and double-dealing whoevers.

I wonder how much cash Eriksson and Trembling have between them? Maybe SGE is counting on the millions he says SCH owe him. And the "third mystery backer"??

What a time to be a County supporter. They're even winning some games!

Sven-Goran Eriksson lining up bid for Notts County, reports claim

• Eriksson working with executive chairman Peter Trembling

• Trembling has revealed 'frustrations' with running of club

Jon Brodkin

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 December 2009 02.12 GMT

Notts County are the subject of a fresh takeover bid, involving Sven-Goran Eriksson, it is reported today.

Eriksson, the League Two club's director of football, and Peter Trembling, the executive chairman, are said to have teamed up in an effort to buy out the existing owners. A third mystery backer is also said to be involved.

The reported move comes after Trembling last week expressed "frustrations" with how Notts County are being run. Eriksson last month demanded immediate payment of the multimillion-pound sum he claims he is owed from Swiss Commodity Holding under the terms of his recruitment by the club.

Notts County were bought by the British Virgin Islands-registered company Qadbak Investments in June. Eriksson, the former England manager, joined on a five-year contract the following month.

[Xangsamhua]

The pot is boiling. The plot thickens. What will tomorrow's episode reveal?

Peter Trembling mounts management buyout of Notts County

• League Two club confirms executive chairman's interest

• Sven-Goran Eriksson also said to be involved in bid

Sachin Nakrani

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 December 2009 09.52 GMT

Sven-Goran Eriksson could play a role in a management buyout of Notts County, where he is currently director of football.

Notts County said this morning that its executive chairman, Peter Trembling, is mounting a management buyout of the club. It was reported earlier this morning that County's owners, Munto Finance, have put the club up for sale and the club is saying that Trembling is favourite to take over.

The Nottingham Evening Post reported that Trembling was in London yesterday seeking financial backing to take over the club.

Since its takeover in the summer, the ownership of the club has not been clear. Munto Finance is the direct owner of the club, and it in turn is owned by Qadbak, the company which was thwarted in its bid to take over BMW Sauber.

The club claims that Sven-Goran Eriksson, County's director of football, is involved in the management buyout, but it is not believed that he is central to the plan, nor that he has been involved in any detailed proposal. Eriksson has recently been disquieted by the non-appearance of a multimillion-pound sum that he was promised from the flotation of Swiss Commodity Holding, a resources company whose logo is at the heart of the new Notts County club badge.

This is the latest stage in a turbulent few months for the League Two club. Having been taken over in July, there has been ongoing speculation over the exact ownership structure of County, with the Football League renewing its inquiries into the exact makeup of Munto Finance last month.

That followed Sol Campbell's brief spell at Meadow Lane as well as the sacking of Ian McParland as manager.

[Xangsamhua]

I bitterly regret Notts County sale says trust chief

• John Armstrong-Holmes felt 'hoodwinked' by Munto Finance

• Peter Trembling tries to mount management buyout

• guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 December 2009 00.25 GMT
  

The former Notts County chairman who negotiated and recommended the handover of the club to Munto Finance in the summer yesterday said he feels he was "hoodwinked" into believing that Munto were backed by investors who would make huge money available.

John Armstrong-Holmes, who was also a director of the club's supporters trust, added that he now "bitterly regrets" handing the trust's majority shareholding to Munto for free and writing off the trust's loan to the club of £170,000, which was raised from fans' donations.

In a separate development, Notts County's executive chairman, Peter Trembling, told the Guardian that the money that was promised to the club had not been forthcoming quickly enough from Qadbak Investments, Munto's parent company.

He explained that the "several millions" needed to turn plans at Notts County into reality had not been released. He also, for the first time, hinted at the central role that the controversial businessman Russell King had played in the takeover of the club. "I've been told by Nathan Willett and Russell King however many times that x-many millions are going to be available," Trembling said, "and they haven't been forthcoming thus far." He added that King was no longer involved with the club and he had not spoken to him for between two and three months.

Trembling also cast doubt on the amount of money that exists in Qadbak, whose owners have never been revealed. "I'm convinced that the families mentioned as investors in Qadbak [the Hyat and Shafi families] do have wealth but I don't know how much they've made available to Qadbak," Trembling said.

Armstrong-Holmes is disillusioned about what has happened since the supporters trust effectively gave their shareholding to Munto. "I was told that Munto's backers, Qadbak Investments, were owned by hugely wealthy investors who would take Notts County to another level financially," he said.

"Instead, just a few months later, we have a club that has left several debts unpaid, with county court judgments and a winding up petition having been issued against it, and major questions still unanswered about Qadbak's ownership. Far from believing that the club is now on its way to climbing up the leagues and the bright future Qadbak promised, I am now dreadfully worried about what the future holds."

Armstrong-Holmes decided to speak out publicly following the news yesterday that Trembling, the club's executive chairman and original Munto representative, now claims to be pursuing his own management buy-out of the club from Munto. Trembling has recently cited "frustrations" with the lack of money being made available by Qadbak, the club's ultimate owners and backers of Munto.

Qadbak took over Notts County in July, describing themselves as "a Middle East-backed investment fund based in Switzerland" who would "invest in Notts County in a structured and staged way, to achieve their initial objective of making the club an established Championship side within four to five years."

Trembling subsequently said that very wealthy families based in the Middle East and Europe were financial backers of Qadbak, but they wished to remain unidentified. The season began with evidence of significant money being spent, after Eriksson was hired on a lavish contract and the former England defender Sol Campbell's arrived for a brief stint.

However, in recent months the club's parent company, Blenheim 1862, was issued with a winding up petition over unpaid tax owed to HM Revenue and Customs, and three judgments were made against it in Northampton and Manchester county courts for debts amounting to £8,576. The Guardian also understands that loans of more than £500,000, which Munto inherited when they took over the club, have not been repaid. Trembling explained he hoped to sit down with creditors and work out a payment plan. Armstrong-Holmes said yesterday: "We did our best to run the club with very limited resources available, we tried to lay good foundations for the future, and we never had bad debts or winding up petitions issued against the club in our time.

"I acted as I did in the best interests of the club because I believed, on the information we were shown, that Qadbak had the resources to take the club to another level. I now feel as if I was hoodwinked by Qadbak into agreeing to hand over the shares, because clearly that money has not been made available. And I bitterly regret, in hindsight, recommending the trust write off its loan, to which so many good, loyal Notts County supporters donated money."

Trembling suggested that Armstrong-Holmes had himself to blame in terms of the inquiries he made at the time of the deal: "John Armstrong-Holmes will have done his own due diligence. If that wasn't satisfactory he should have said so. He was satisfied with the paperwork he saw at the time."

In October, the Football League announced that it had been satisfied as to who owned Notts County, and that they had passed the "fit and proper persons" test. However, the Guardian revealed that Russell King, who is the subject of a fraud investigation in Jersey, remained involved with a company closely connected to Notts County, Swiss Commodity Holdings. The league has since sent a series of questions to Notts County to further clarify its ownership. Regarding the questions from the Football League, Trembling acknowledges all the questions have not been answered and he is now hoping to buy the club himself. "We are trying to raise funds for a management buy-out and are hoping that the situation will resolve itself within the next 24 hours."

Looks like Sven's on his way, too. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/de...on-notts-county

[alfieconn]

I bitterly regret Notts County sale says trust chief

• John Armstrong-Holmes felt 'hoodwinked' by Munto Finance

• Peter Trembling tries to mount management buyout

• guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 December 2009 00.25 GMT
  

The former Notts County chairman who negotiated and recommended the handover of the club to Munto Finance in the summer yesterday said he feels he was "hoodwinked" into believing that Munto were backed by investors who would make huge money available.

John Armstrong-Holmes, who was also a director of the club's supporters trust, added that he now "bitterly regrets" handing the trust's majority shareholding to Munto for free and writing off the trust's loan to the club of £170,000, which was raised from fans' donations.

In a separate development, Notts County's executive chairman, Peter Trembling, told the Guardian that the money that was promised to the club had not been forthcoming quickly enough from Qadbak Investments, Munto's parent company.

He explained that the "several millions" needed to turn plans at Notts County into reality had not been released. He also, for the first time, hinted at the central role that the controversial businessman Russell King had played in the takeover of the club. "I've been told by Nathan Willett and Russell King however many times that x-many millions are going to be available," Trembling said, "and they haven't been forthcoming thus far." He added that King was no longer involved with the club and he had not spoken to him for between two and three months.

Trembling also cast doubt on the amount of money that exists in Qadbak, whose owners have never been revealed. "I'm convinced that the families mentioned as investors in Qadbak [the Hyat and Shafi families] do have wealth but I don't know how much they've made available to Qadbak," Trembling said.

Armstrong-Holmes is disillusioned about what has happened since the supporters trust effectively gave their shareholding to Munto. "I was told that Munto's backers, Qadbak Investments, were owned by hugely wealthy investors who would take Notts County to another level financially," he said.

"Instead, just a few months later, we have a club that has left several debts unpaid, with county court judgments and a winding up petition having been issued against it, and major questions still unanswered about Qadbak's ownership. Far from believing that the club is now on its way to climbing up the leagues and the bright future Qadbak promised, I am now dreadfully worried about what the future holds."

Armstrong-Holmes decided to speak out publicly following the news yesterday that Trembling, the club's executive chairman and original Munto representative, now claims to be pursuing his own management buy-out of the club from Munto. Trembling has recently cited "frustrations" with the lack of money being made available by Qadbak, the club's ultimate owners and backers of Munto.

Qadbak took over Notts County in July, describing themselves as "a Middle East-backed investment fund based in Switzerland" who would "invest in Notts County in a structured and staged way, to achieve their initial objective of making the club an established Championship side within four to five years."

Trembling subsequently said that very wealthy families based in the Middle East and Europe were financial backers of Qadbak, but they wished to remain unidentified. The season began with evidence of significant money being spent, after Eriksson was hired on a lavish contract and the former England defender Sol Campbell's arrived for a brief stint.

However, in recent months the club's parent company, Blenheim 1862, was issued with a winding up petition over unpaid tax owed to HM Revenue and Customs, and three judgments were made against it in Northampton and Manchester county courts for debts amounting to £8,576. The Guardian also understands that loans of more than £500,000, which Munto inherited when they took over the club, have not been repaid. Trembling explained he hoped to sit down with creditors and work out a payment plan. Armstrong-Holmes said yesterday: "We did our best to run the club with very limited resources available, we tried to lay good foundations for the future, and we never had bad debts or winding up petitions issued against the club in our time.

"I acted as I did in the best interests of the club because I believed, on the information we were shown, that Qadbak had the resources to take the club to another level. I now feel as if I was hoodwinked by Qadbak into agreeing to hand over the shares, because clearly that money has not been made available. And I bitterly regret, in hindsight, recommending the trust write off its loan, to which so many good, loyal Notts County supporters donated money."

Trembling suggested that Armstrong-Holmes had himself to blame in terms of the inquiries he made at the time of the deal: "John Armstrong-Holmes will have done his own due diligence. If that wasn't satisfactory he should have said so. He was satisfied with the paperwork he saw at the time."

In October, the Football League announced that it had been satisfied as to who owned Notts County, and that they had passed the "fit and proper persons" test. However, the Guardian revealed that Russell King, who is the subject of a fraud investigation in Jersey, remained involved with a company closely connected to Notts County, Swiss Commodity Holdings. The league has since sent a series of questions to Notts County to further clarify its ownership. Regarding the questions from the Football League, Trembling acknowledges all the questions have not been answered and he is now hoping to buy the club himself. "We are trying to raise funds for a management buy-out and are hoping that the situation will resolve itself within the next 24 hours."

Looks like Sven's on his way, too. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/de...on-notts-county

A right old two and eight if you ask me

[Xangsamhua]

I bitterly regret Notts County sale says trust chief

• John Armstrong-Holmes felt 'hoodwinked' by Munto Finance

• Peter Trembling tries to mount management buyout

• guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 December 2009 00.25 GMT
  

Looks like Sven's on his way, too. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/de...on-notts-county

A right old two and eight if you ask me

A real Elliot Ness, Alfie.

Edited December 11, 2009 by Xangsamhua

[Xangsamhua]

The mess is sorted.

Trembling is the new owner.

From the Notts County official site.

Trembling completes management buy-out

Posted on: Sat 12 Dec 2009

Peter Trembling today announced that he has completed a management buy-out of Notts County Football Club.

Trembling has purchased the club from Munto Finance for a nominal sum and takes ownership with immediate effect.

Trembling will remain as Executive Chairman, with support from Sven-Goran Eriksson as Director of Football. Notts Chief Executive Gary Townsend will be asked to join the Board with Sir John Walker remaining as the other Board Director.

Announcing the acquisition, Trembling said:"I would like to thank Munto Finance for the way they have conducted the sale of the football club.

"They have been responsible for changing the outlook of a club which had previously finished in the bottom six of the Football League for four times in the past five years.

"Now we cherish ambitions to secure promotion this year and deliver sustainable progress into the Championship and beyond."

Trembling has already passed and been approved through the Football League Fit and Proper Persons Test and, accordingly, sanctioning of the acquisition from the Football League is not expected to be an issue.

Trembling said: "This is clearly an important day for the club and one which will hopefully draw a line under several weeks of speculation.

"I must stress however that a great deal more still needs to be done if we are to fulfil our ultimate objective of Premier League football.

"We have restructured the ownership of the football club in order to secure new and prolonged investment.We anticipate this will be an ongoing process."

Trembling spelled out the importance of supporters in helping him to complete the management buy-out. And he stressed that the Magpies' faithful have a huge role to play.

"The support and passion of our fans has constantly energised me. From the first day here, I have been able to see their huge appetite to see success. The last few weeks have been the hardest and most stressful of my working career but the support of the Notts County faithful has been the fillip that has driven me to complete what I anticipate being a significant stage on our road to progression.

"I and all the team here at Meadow Lane are all totally committed to repaying that support and faith.

"This is a totally unique project with the world's oldest professional League club and I, for one, am not prepared to walk away from that.

"We have seen our average home crowds double this season and it is absolutely imperative that our support base continues to grow."

Trembling also paid tribute to hard-working staff at Meadow Lane.

"I must thank all my staff at Meadow Lane for their professionalism, loyalty, dedication and commitment in what has not always been easy circumstances over the past few months," he said.

"I would also like to thank the many sponsors, suppliers and our corporate supporters for their continued backing of our club."

"In particular I would like to thank my friend and confidant Sven-Goran Eriksson who has been steadfast throughout and with whom I will now embark upon the urgent process of securing new investment into the football club."

Trembling has also indicated that on securing new investment he will gift the shares that he has acquired to those investors.

[Xangsamhua]

Well, it's been an interesting ride, but it looks like it's going nowhere.

Peter Trembling's in the States trying to drum up investment, but Notts County, with such a small supporter base, doesn't seem an attractive project for investors.

I don't think anyone on this board is interested in the desperate moves of an old club that doesn't seem to have many options any more, so I don't think I'll post news again in this thread unless something really interesting and positive happens.

The brief history of County's dream of glory was interesting as a case study of what can happen when shady dealers and the promise of big money turn a struggling club's head. Money in our time can quickly reveal itself as a mirage. It happened at my EPL club (West Ham) and it's happened to my boyhood club, Notts County.

For those who are interested in these things it'll be interesting to see what happens next at Meadow Lane. Will a gallant knight emerge from the shadows and rescue Dame County from liquidation or, more likely, a place in the Conference?

Notts County manager Hans Backe resigns after nine matches

• Club confirm Backe resigned after change of ownership

• Decision increases doubts over Sven-Goran Eriksson's future

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15 December 2009 12.18 GMT

Sven-Goran Eriksson's future at Notts County looks increasingly insecure after manager Hans Backe resigned from the club after just nine matches in charge.

Backe is understood to have told the players he felt his position was no longer tenable following the recent change of ownership when chief executive Peter Trembling bought the club for £1.

Backe had signed a three-year contract just seven weeks ago, brought in as Ian McParland's successor by director of football Eriksson.

His decision to go follows news that Eriksson has called in his lawyers to help recover the millions of pounds he believes he is still owed under the terms of his original contract.

Eriksson's "ambassadorial" contract with the mining company Swiss Commodity Holding was a key element in persuading him to join the League Two club.

The Swede claims he was promised a six‑figure sum in equity from the company's flotation, and the company were also to be the source of funding to rebuild the squad. However Trembling said all ties with SCH have now been cut.

A club statement said: "The club can confirm that first-team manager Hans Backe has resigned his position at the club. The club wishes to thank Hans for his service and wishes him all the best in the future. Dave Kevan has been appointed caretaker manager and will take charge of the league visit to Bournemouth next Monday."

[Jockstar]

LEAGUE TWO NEWS

Eriksson stresses commitment to Notts County

By Soccernet staff

December 15, 2009

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Sven-Goran Eriksson has dismissed speculation he could be set to leave Notts County following the departure of manager Hans Backe.

GettyImages

Eriksson insists he has no plans to leave Meadow Lane

• Backe announces resignation

Backe, who was Eriksson's assistant at Manchester City and Mexico, was brought in to manage the League Two side seven weeks ago as the club's owners, Munto Finance, looked to ensure their promotion and rise towards the top-flight.

However, the club has since been sold to executive chairman Peter Trembling for £1 and, citing "broken promises" about progress at Meadow Lane, Backe announced his resignation on Tuesday. That led to reports that Eriksson would follow him out of the club, but he insists he remains committed to the project.

In a statement on the club's official website, Eriksson said: "Everyone at the club is disappointed that Hans has chosen to tender his resignation. This has come as a surprise to all of us in the context of recent results on the pitch and the completion of the management buy-out of the club by Peter Trembling.

"I am aware that Hans' decision has led to speculation about my own position here at Notts County. I wish to make it clear that I believe the management buy-out is a positive first step for the club and we look forward to confirming further investments for the future.

"I continue to enjoy my work at Notts County and together with Peter Trembling I hope to progress to the goals that we have set."

[Xangsamhua]

Well, that's encouraging anyway.

[Xangsamhua]

OK, so I said I wouldn’t post any more in this thread unless something really interesting and positive occurred, but I can’t resist cutting and pasting these comments from the Guardian’s Marina Hyde, described by Clive James as “an Oxford graduate who now writes the kind of journalism that would have given her tutor a heart attack.”

Marina “breathes a sigh of relief" that Munto can now be assigned to the past (or will the coals be raked over some more yet?), but finds it hard to believe the greed, mendacity, ineptitude and naivete that made up the Munto-Notts County farce.

The commentators (not included in the post, but accessible at the URL) point out that Notts is not the only club in recent history to taken for a ride (though Notts was particularly vulnerable), and the Football League and the FA are very prone to the baseless claims of wheeler-dealers who see Football as easy pickings for their kind of sleight-of-hand.

Farewell, then, to the unknown knowns of Munto

The Guardian

17 December

Marina Hyde

The Notts County mystery saga has come to an end and the Football League will breathe a sigh of relief

So farewell then, Munto Finance. We never really knew you at all. Quite literally, in fact. The "owners" of Notts County – and I use the term in the postmodern way – have divested themselves of the club they so recently "bought" – and again, try to think of these words as metaphors as opposed to things that mean anything in the conventional sense – and it is now in the hands of their erstwhile executive chairman.

There's a Hallmark saying which runs "strangers are just friends you haven't met yet". And for we students of so many of the delightful characters involved in English football, the sense is very much one of loss – of friends we will now never meet. Who were the merrie men of Munto? We were told they were a Middle East backed investment firm, based not in Sherwood Forest but Switzerland. What we know beyond doubt, because we read it in a press release back in June, is that Munto have "an overall commitment to the community and fans alike – ensuring a solid and long future to enable the club to steadily rise through the tables, eventually depending upon their own resources."

How that enduring commitment will manifest itself now they have got shot of the club is hard to say. But I shall ever after think of them as a consortium comprising Lord Lucan, Shergar, and the descendant of Jesus and Mary Magdalen whose existence has been covered up by the Vatican – the same jovial, all-behind-us-now sort of position we might expect the Football League's chairman, Lord Mawhinney, to adopt. Of which more later.

Other quirks to this most intriguing of set-ups? Well, of course, there is Sven Goran Eriksson, the mild mannered director of football who claims he was to draw most of his remuneration while in the Notts County job for performing an "ambassadorial" role for a Swiss mining company. To this role, the former England manager brought an unparalleled experience in the field of ore … forgive me. I haven't the strength to play along. And anyway, by the time representatives of said mining company were photographed meeting extremely senior North Korean politicans, the entire saga seemed to have been designed to make some sort of monstrously satirical point on modern football. Notts County had ties with the axis of evil.

To pick apart the labyrinthine structure of companies, holding companies, special purchase acquisition companies, and mysteriously connected individuals that owned the club would take a shade more space than we have today, and was certainly beyond the wit of the self-congratulatory Lord Mawhinney. Suffice to say it was a structure which made the Byzantine bureaucracy look like the simplistic chocolate biscuit mill created by the mice on the mouse organ in Bagpuss.

And was about as credible. In Bagpuss, you'll recall, the mice were not in fact churning out an endless supply of biscuits, but merely shunting their single biscuit off the production line before taking it round the back and shunting it off again. The problem is exposed when the eponymous pink-striped hero asks to taste one of the biscuits, forcing the mice to concede that the factory's output is illusory. With Notts County, the illusion of immense plenty appears to have been shattered when management asked for just a taste of the millions promised, and received not so much as a chocolate biscuit to alleviate the various county court judgements against them.

If only Sven had been as inquisitive as Bagpuss. "I am sure that everything is all right," he droned blithely in September. "I don't know where the money comes from … I am not interested. The important thing is that the money comes."

Ah well. All water under the bridge now. And yet, should it be? Surely Mawhinney now has a choice. Surveying this coach crash, will he declare a) what in the name of sanity just happened? It can't be right, and as a result I am going to continue retroactively to demand answers as to how any of this was allowed to occur, because even by the exacting standards of football club hokey-cokey, it was a shaming situation that can't be allowed to happen again.

Or well, thank heavens we don't have to worry about that anymore.

Call it instinct, but one can't help suspecting the latter. The entire Notts County saga is beginning to resemble the investigation into the death of Spinal Tap's drummer John "Stumpy" Pepys, who you might recall died in a bizarre gardening accident. As Nigel Tufnel is moved to explain: "the authorities said … it was really one of those things, you know … best leave it unsolved …"

There are 43 comments on this article. Some are incisive, some insightful, some hilarious.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/20...wn-knowns-munto

Edited December 17, 2009 by Xangsamhua

[Xangsamhua]

The next three weeks are make or break for the magpies. And they haven't kicked a ball in anger since 12 December!

Notts County face new threat from taxman

• Club served with second winding-up petition

• HMRC says bankruptcy proceedings a 'last resort'

Matt Scott

guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 January 2010 22.37 GMT

Peter Trembling, Notts County's executive chairman, said the club's dispute with HMRC had been resolved before an earlier winding-up order. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images

Notts County's future has been plunged into fresh doubt after it emerged that the club have been served with a second winding-up petition by the taxman.

According to an insolvency notice published on Christmas Eve in the London Gazette, a petition was served by HM Revenue & Customs on 27 November. That was just 15 days after County's executive chairman, Peter Trembling, said the club had "resolved the dispute" with HMRC over a six-figure tax debt that had been the subject of a previous petition due to be heard in court on 18 November.

A spokeswoman for HMRC said yesterday: "Bankruptcy proceedings are a last resort. We provide time to pay for viable businesses."

Unless County can find the funding to cover their tax obligations, the latest dispute will head to the high court in London on 27 January. There lawyers for HMRC will press for the club to be placed into administration.

Trembling, who could not be contacted yesterday, claimed publicly when he completed what he described as a "management buyout" last month that the Meadow Lane club have sufficient funding to continue operations until the end of the season. But the latest winding-up petition would seem to cast doubt on that announcement.

Indeed, the club's apparent cashflow difficulties will have been worsened by the postponements of two home matches in recent weeks. The loss of the Boxing Day match against Grimsby, who would have expected to bring a travelling crowd of between 1,000 and 2,000, was compounded by the deferment of the FA Cup third-round tie against Forest Green Rovers on Sunday. That match also carries the incentive of a potential £67,500 in prize money and the promise of a possibly televised fourth-round tie against Premier League Wigan Athletic. Trembling also reportedly planned to use it as an opportunity to entertain potential investors in the club.

The recent turmoil at Meadow Lane notwithstanding, Sven-Goran Eriksson, the director of football, remains involved. But despite his ongoing commitment he has conveyed for the first time his feeling that he has been "let down" by the club's former owner, Qadbak. That British Virgin Islands-registered company pledged millions of pounds in transfer funds to Eriksson when it used Russell King, the businessman who is under investigation for his alleged involvement in a multimillion-pound fraud in Jersey, to recruit him.

Speaking on the BBC's Sportsweek, Eriksson expressed in bullish terms his belief that the club's fortunes will rise again. "The project to get Notts County in to the Premier League in five years is on hold unfortunately for the moment because things went bad," he said.

"But hopefully in just a couple of weeks it will take off again. That's what we are hoping and that's what we are working very, very hard for. I still believe it's possible. What is needed is funding. It's money. It's very easy if you want to reach the Premier League from the position we are in you need money of course.

"When I signed we saw and we believed that everything which was said was true but obviously it wasn't. Of course I feel let down. But you can't talk so much about it you have to find other people, and real people.

"It's been too many bad things about Notts County during these six months but hopefully in a couple of weeks' time things will change."

Precisely how that will change is unknown but the Magpies are reported to have received a six-figure sponsorship commitment from Ludo, a Norwegian mobile telecoms firm, in December.Eriksson is believed to have been instrumental in those sponsorship negotiations, having visited the company's founder, Idar Vollvik, at his home in Marbella last month.

When asked why he is still involved, Eriksson said: "Because of the challenge to take a team from 19th place in League Two up to the Premier League, that is the biggest thing you can do in football, if we can do it. Because of the challenge, it is very easy [to stay]."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/04/notts-county

[Xangsamhua]

A bit dated now (October 2009), but amusing nevertheless. I wonder where County stand now?

It might interest potential investors.

Magpies flying high in Fifa rankings

Posted on: Thu 29 Oct 2009

Notts County are ranked as the 23rd most popular team in the world, according to the statistics recorded by the fashionable football computer game Fifa 10.

They were placed 16th not too long ago and have been consistently more played than the majority of elite clubs from around the planet. They are also the 10th most popular team in England.

A host of Premiership teams, international giants Italy and Argentina, Scottish front-runners Celtic and Rangers, as well as every East Midlands club, including Nottingham Forest and Derby County, trail behind the Magpies.

Standings are calculated based on the teams that gamers from all corners of the earth are controlling and it goes to show that the Magpies have captured the world's imagination.

The news of Sven-Goran Eriksson's arrival and high-profile recruitments in the likes of Kasper Schmeichel have spread across Europe, Asia and as far as Australia to make Notts a household name in most, if not all, continents.

Millions of gamers have already racked up nearly 59,000,000 matches and a large chunk of these have seen gamers attempt to play out the club's ambitions of reaching the upper echelons of the footballing ladder.

The top-25 most popular teams are shown below, and County can be seen rubbing shoulders with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Fifa 10 team ranking:

1. Real Madrid

2. FC Barcelona

3. Manchester United

4. Chelsea

5. Arsenal

6. Liverpool

7. Inter

8. Manchester City

9. Bayern Munchen

10. Milan

11. Tottenham Hotspur

12. Juventus

13. Olympique de Marseille

14. Newcastle United

15. Spain

16. England

17. Aston Villa

18. Leeds United

19. France

20. Olympique Lyonnais

21. Brazil

22. Paris Saint-Germain

23. Notts County

24. Valencia CF

25. FC Girondins de Bordeaux

http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/page/NewsDe...1840688,00.html

[Xangsamhua]

Notts County seal investment deal

Page last updated at 19:15 GMT, Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Notts County have secured a deal with an investor that will clear their debts and provide them with extra funds.

The terms of the investment, and the identity of the investor, will remain confidential until final due diligence is completed within the next 28 days.

The League Two outfit faced the prospect of finding £2m by Wednesday after HM Revenue & Customs served them with a second winding-up petition.

But HMRC have informed the club they are satisfied with the current deal.

Executive chairman Peter Trembling and director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson had been in talks with new investors since the former took over the club from Munto Finance back in December.

Trembling told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I am extremely relieved and absolutely delighted we have managed to get it finally done and dusted in the timeframes.

"We have now secured a deal that will secure the long-term future of the football club - not only in terms of survival but in terms of progressing our plans for bringing a higher level of Notts County.

"We can't say too much about it at the moment but it is a group of investors who will, over a period of time, invest we think significant funds into the football club."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...nty/8476737.stm

[Xangsamhua]

Notts County seal investment deal

Page last updated at 19:15 GMT, Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Notts County have secured a deal with an investor that will clear their debts and provide them with extra funds.

The terms of the investment, and the identity of the investor, will remain confidential until final due diligence is completed within the next 28 days.

The League Two outfit faced the prospect of finding £2m by Wednesday after HM Revenue & Customs served them with a second winding-up petition.

But HMRC have informed the club they are satisfied with the current deal.

Executive chairman Peter Trembling and director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson had been in talks with new investors since the former took over the club from Munto Finance back in December.

Trembling told BBC Radio Nottingham: "I am extremely relieved and absolutely delighted we have managed to get it finally done and dusted in the timeframes.

"We have now secured a deal that will secure the long-term future of the football club - not only in terms of survival but in terms of progressing our plans for bringing a higher level of Notts County.

"We can't say too much about it at the moment but it is a group of investors who will, over a period of time, invest we think significant funds into the football club."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...nty/8476737.stm