Another billionaire wants to buy us...

[Yosh]

We played very attractive footy under Smith and nobody showed up. Our fanbase is ridiculously fickle. Would rather sit by and watch us be bad under "one of the boys" than have a club that's run competently.

What is up with that by the way? Is it the culture of the city ir something else? Can't think of any other fan base like that in the world... Everyone likes winning...

 

[cram]

What is up with that by the way? Is it the culture of the city ir something else? Can't think of any other fan base like that in the world... Everyone likes winning...

Short answer, the thing that makes the culture strong also weakens it. Siege mentality can breed strength and resilience but it can also mean that the culture becomes insular and won't look outside if it's own to breed success. No one understand us, you have to be born here to understand and everyone's against us are some of the mantras of this culture. This of course is not a culture mutualy exclusive at the Knights many organisations experience it.

 

[Noname36]

What is up with that by the way? Is it the culture of the city ir something else? Can't think of any other fan base like that in the world... Everyone likes winning...

What Cram said, and also I think it has a lot to do with our successful period occurring when we had a lot of locals at the club. People seem to think that if we get back to that success will occur again. That view though doesn't take into account the fact that the locals we had at the time in Johns, Buderus, etc were good enough to carry us. We don't have the luxury of those type of players anymore.

 

[Misanthrope]

Community engagement, lol. If we play some attractive footy and start winning the crowds will turn up.

Community engagement is something that poorly performing clubs use to keep themselves afloat. If people think that fans won't turn up to watch a wildly successful club play because nobody's patted them on the back and said how valuable they are, they're dreaming.

Manchester United don't have fans all over the world because they're great at community engagement. They've established a brand renowned for excellence and marketed themselves accordingly. They do pre-season tours and the like to keep their 'fans' abroad happy, but make a fortune in doing so.

If we are successful on the field, we'll be successful off the field.

 

[slotmachine]

Community engagement is something that poorly performing clubs use to keep themselves afloat. If people think that fans won't turn up to watch a wildly successful club play because nobody's patted them on the back and said how valuable they are, they're dreaming.

If we are successful on the field, we'll be successful off the field.

Agree completely.

No one came to watch the Smith years, but 15th, 9th and 7th isn't "successful" in my books.

If by some miracle we had a run like Manly/Storm and made top 4 for years on end (while playing fun footy) they'd need to build a new stand to fit everyone in even if Matt Gidley spat in the face of every 50th person through the gate.

 

[Newie is God's Country]

Would be good if we could have a team that ignores the board unless it involves them in a direct way. Completely puts them to the side. A good football board stays out of the team's way. I think a siege mentality might serve us well. It has worked for Manly for a decade. A team that plays for their fans. Not the political off field bullshit

 

[hugzy]

The thing worried me the most about this takeover is when the guy said "I will consult the fans and make sure theyre part of the decision making process"
Paraphrasing what he said on triple m

That usually ends in absolute disaster. Eg. Fans wanted alex ferguson sacked in 1990 and ronaldo sold in 2006 (soz i cant think of better examples in nrl)

 

[Newie is God's Country]

Well The Mole is reporting that Koukash deal for Knights is edging closer to completion and could involve player swap deals between Salford and Newcastle as part of the plan. The sister club arrangement is the new era of modern sport it appears. Manchester City own two sister clubs in Melbourne and NYC now. It is brilliant business. You can literally loan players out and tweak your salary cap to fit the team's needs. For example City signed Lampard to a deal with NYC and then loaned him out to City. It was all a legit and legal ploy to get around the FIFA Fair Play foreign player quota restrictions.
In reagards to League I am not sure how it works but basically we could loan Aku and Gidley to Salford and free up cap space. It could also mean Hagan could be out the door before he gets a chance to settle in cos Marwan does things his way and picks the people who work for him. Stone had better perform as well cos he might not even see the season out. This is the man who sacked Brian Noble who is essentially England's answer to Wayne Bennett.
This of course is all still speculative at best. However Tony Adams is the best in the business at breaking a story and usually doesn't go to press until he is almost certain something is about to happen. Just saying. Fingers crossed.

 

[Yosh]

Sounds grand! Lampard just scored against Chelsea, so Man Citeh's getting something right lol!

If Salford do take on Kidley and Uate, that'd be huge!!

 

[Knight Vision]

well the mole is reporting that koukash deal for knights is edging closer to completion and could involve player swap deals between salford and newcastle as part of the plan. The sister club arrangement is the new era of modern sport it appears. Manchester city own two sister clubs in melbourne and nyc now. It is brilliant business. You can literally loan players out and tweak your salary cap to fit the team's needs. For example city signed lampard to a deal with nyc and then loaned him out to city. It was all a legit and legal ploy to get around the fifa fair play foreign player quota restrictions.
In reagards to league i am not sure how it works but basically we could loan aku and gidley to salford and free up cap space. It could also mean hagan could be out the door before he gets a chance to settle in cos marwan does things his way and picks the people who work for him. Stone had better perform as well cos he might not even see the season out. This is the man who sacked brian noble who is essentially england's answer to wayne bennett.
This of course is all still speculative at best. However tony adams is the best in the business at breaking a story and usually doesn't go to press until he is almost certain something is about to happen. Just saying. Fingers crossed.

epic

 

[Burns]

English billionaire Marwan Koukash has ruled out buying Wests Tigers after whittling down his NRL club shopping list to "one or two" remaining options.
The one-time Palestinian refugee, now a wealthy businessman and racehorse owner, has publicly stated his intention to buy an NRL club.
The owner of English Super League club Salford is expected to fly out to Australia in October to finalise the deal, however he says he still hasn't made up his mind which club to buy into.
But he has ruled out buying the Wests Tigers.
"It's not something that would be of interest to me, no," Koukash told Sky Sports Big Sports Breakfast on Thursday.
The 55-year-old said the club's joint venture structure - the source of infighting between the Wests and Balmain factions - had been a turn off.
"That's too complicated for me. I'm going to pass on that," he said.
Asked if he'd spoken to the Newcastle Knights, the outspoken businessman said it was "no secret" he had an interest in the club.
"It's definitely one of the clubs that I'm looking at," he said.
Koukash rescued the cash-strapped Salford Red Devils in 2013 and helped the one-time wooden spooners move up to 10th spot this season.
Owner of Melbourne Cup runner Mount Athos, he spent a large part of his childhood in a Jordanian refugee camp before moving to Kuwait and England.
In the next 18 months, Koukash said he had a "big interest" in making the move to Australia.
"Some people call me crazy, but I love the sport (rugby league)," he said.
"I can't see myself not being involved ... in the best rugby competition in the world."


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...tigers-bid-20140925-10lp50.html#ixzz3EHVI2nLd

Koukash wants us bad. Yet from what was reported earlier in the Newcastle Herald this week, the NRL aren't looking to sell us for at least 12 months. We're going to miss out on this aren't we?

 

[macavity]

Koukash wants us bad. Yet from what was reported earlier in the Newcastle Herald this week, the NRL aren't looking to sell us for at least 12 months. We're going to miss out on this aren't we?

Yup, the NRL are going to f**k us out of it.

 

[Spot On]

Koukash wants us bad. Yet from what was reported earlier in the Newcastle Herald this week, the NRL aren't looking to sell us for at least 12 months. We're going to miss out on this aren't we?

He won't miss out if he wants us that badly. He can provide any sweetner the NRL may desire to have his club. If he really wants it, he'll get it.

If there's too many hoops to jump through and the desire to buy the Knights is not so great then he'll take the other option which is....... Gold Coast??? I'd be shocked if he bought in to a club that has the smallest membership base in the league and piss poor crowds. He's been whinging about the trouble he's had getting crowds to Salford so I cannot see why he'd buy the same problem here.

What other clubs may be for sale?

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Anyone else a bit worried that he'll buy just "Any" club and doesn't want us specificially.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Nope

The guy is savvy and wants to by a club that wont be a shitfight to make a success of. As has been said, the titans dont fit that bill

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Fact he'll take just anyone doesn't sit right with me, especially after his bratty antics when they lost that match.

 

[perverse]

Fact he'll take just anyone doesn't sit right with me, especially after his bratty antics when they lost that match.

I thought it was reasonable that he held the players accountable for their shit performance. He's drawing a line in the sand at Salford, making it clear that sub-par efforts are unacceptable at the club. We could use a bit of that.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Bloody oath pervy. Accountability is a good thing and something our club lacks imo

 

[Burwood]

He's too brash. Sacks Noble within 12 months, cans the end of year presentation after a loss, appears to have gotten the fans offside with a drop in attendance. It's fair enough to have high expectations for the team and to have accountability, but I think he is going about it the wrong way.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

I thought it was reasonable that he held the players accountable for their shit performance. He's drawing a line in the sand at Salford, making it clear that sub-par efforts are unacceptable at the club. We could use a bit of that.

Over Circus's, seriously a guy who bags out fans on social media and cancels functions because a team cops a touch up, which every team gets flogged once in a while.

Guy will spend more time in the media then our actual side will.