by Uke »
26 Dec 2013 21:29
multisync1830 Uke A 49% shareholder with 50% of the board and the majority of key staff being 'from his time' is never a passenger! He also remained the club Chairman and so in charge of the board.
Of course he wasn't happy that the cash didn't arrive as planned! but as he could see future investment he was not unduly worried. At no point has he public ally declared he was pissed off, nor should he have.
To use the ship analogy again, if 51% of the engines fail the officer in charge is not going to be unduly worried if a safe harbour is in sight, is he?
It's not all about the shareholding percentages
As I say I let this board know exactly back in September of this potential and it appears I have been proven 100% right so far, so forgive me if I believe my version of what has occurred and not yours.
I like and respect SJM totally but he made a mistake selling to TSI because (IMV) he was up against it and needed to sell but once he went through with the first phase he fully trusted them to honour the deal. That they didn't is irrelevant to any potential deal which may happen soon.
You seem to be trying to paint SJM as some great poker player in all this and I truly believe this isn't the case. TSI are driving this Oman because they want out (also if it does fall through they will keep looking till they find someone or return their shares mid next year
for a £1 The problem which could have arisen was that if the major shareholder refused to underwrite their share of the debt then the other shareholder would either have to stump up on their behalf or face the company going into liquidation.
To use your analogy if the boat is leaking and half those bailing out jump ship, the rest will sink without trace no matter how hard they try....
Which is why they want to get to the port.... If the Oman deal falls through then all those who laughed at Pompey will be eating their words.
In no way is SJM a great poker player, he should never have sold to STI* in the first palace. I never trusted them from the start (see my posts at the time). It was clear from Everton that something wasn't right and I believe that as you say SJM had no choice but to sell. Fortuitously he only sold just over half whether intentionally or not it allowed him influence and to stay as Chairman.
I don't dispute that privately he was livid at being taken in by the conmen and their failure to deliver the promised cash. He would have been informed this around about April/May I would reckon. Publically what else could he say other than "I am not unduly worried". That clearly states something is happening but at the time he was happy all would end well.
If you had a cough, you may be not unduly worried at the moment. It may blow over in a short time. But it doesn't mean it won't become pneumonia and maybe even kill you.
We really don't disagree, both our "versions" match both in terms of timing and narrative. You may have heard more from the man himself.
* one of the few times autocorrect gets to the truth of the matter
