| Given Gao is now gone... 17:56 - Jan 4 with 6583 views | franniesTache |
I can safely share some bits i knew about him and the club, some are boring, some are interesting, but they probably put more of the why he bought us into perspective.
It's worth saying the reason i know this is because one of my family worked with him on it, and were even invited to watch games from his box.
So the reason for the initial purchase of Saints by Gao was originally for two reasons, neither of which had anything to do with the football team.
Gao bought us at a time when football was a priority for the Chinese government and his intention was to use our academy model to set up Chinese football academies to help the sport grow in the country, the second was to create "football business programmes" partnering with Southampton University, to train and create an education system and model of revenue based around football.
Both of these key aims collapsed when the chinese government changed their policy towards football, and that was the point when he stopped putting money into the club.
Gao was never going to put billions into Saints, his intentions were to use Saints to create favour in China and to create business connections in Southampton, primarily with the university.
One thing that was never mentioned much was that he was also a devout buddhist and his religion and Katherine's religion were one of the reasons she trusted him as a buyer.
Anyway like i said it's a bit dull maybe, but should give some insight into why he bought us in the first place, and maybe give us an understanding of the things that make us attractive to other buyers. |  | | |  |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 18:14 - Jan 4 with 5436 views | Saintsforeverj |
Thanks for this. Chinese football academies? Doesn't sound like he bought us to take us forward to win things. [Post edited 4 Jan 2022 18:17]
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 18:16 - Jan 4 with 5410 views | saint68 |
Thanks FT, there was clearly a good intention initially but it fell flat..no further questions or comments as far as I'm concerned about Gao. | |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 18:18 - Jan 4 with 5402 views | TripleNiemi |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 18:14 - Jan 4 by Saintsforeverj |
Thanks for this. Chinese football academies? Doesn't sound like he bought us to take us forward to win things. [Post edited 4 Jan 2022 18:17]
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Believe the term we were sold was 'Next Level' was it not? Certainly suceeded in taking us to that..... |  |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 19:56 - Jan 4 with 5260 views | DorsetIan |
It makes perfect sense, and I think the only person who is going to be even slightly surprised that Gao never intended to invest will be Nick.
I also suspect that drilling down through his purported reasons for the purchase, the more basic one was that he wanted to curry favour with the Chinese government. And he simply dropped a massive bollock on that objective at Saints' , and ultimately his, expense.
But at least he didn't take us down. | |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 20:35 - Jan 4 with 5140 views | kingslandstand1 |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 18:18 - Jan 4 by TripleNiemi |
Believe the term we were sold was 'Next Level' was it not? Certainly suceeded in taking us to that..... |
But who was it that told us that, or was it just to get us on his side to start with?
Certainly reading the official statement about the new guys seems optimistic, but please don't let us all start reacting like the Geordies [Post edited 4 Jan 2022 20:36]
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 20:38 - Jan 4 with 5130 views | kingslandstand1 |
Fascinating insight FT, and thanks for that. Can understand now why you didn't let too much on with your previous "teasing" post! | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 20:54 - Jan 4 with 5079 views | franniesTache |
Funny thing is Gao did actually invest in the club, he spent a lot on infrastructure and made some great business connections, the problems come when you judge a Chinese businessman by our standards, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a billionaire in China if the government don’t want you to spend that money you don’t.
There were also some f*ck ups on our side too, we could’ve purchased the concrete site but didn’t file the request in time and missed it and allowed a lot of better staff to leave the club when we were trying to sell before covid, leaving us with a much worse team because we wanted the books to look good.
One of the reasons I’m actually hopeful for this new buy out is I know just how badly the clubs been being run the last two years, and hopefully this will kick it up the arse a bit | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 21:51 - Jan 4 with 4961 views | SaintNick |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 19:56 - Jan 4 by DorsetIan |
It makes perfect sense, and I think the only person who is going to be even slightly surprised that Gao never intended to invest will be Nick.
I also suspect that drilling down through his purported reasons for the purchase, the more basic one was that he wanted to curry favour with the Chinese government. And he simply dropped a massive bollock on that objective at Saints' , and ultimately his, expense.
But at least he didn't take us down. |
Gao made it quite clear from the start that he wasn't going to pump in millions so im not sure why you would think that im slightly surprised that he was ever going to.
ASs Frannies Tache has mentioned Gao invested in the infrastructure during his time and tried to build the club up before the chinese government intervened it was just never going to be money pumped into player signings which is what most people judge an owner by.
As FT said mistakes have been made in the club and depending on who you speak to determines how many were mistakes that could have been avoided and how many were not mistakes.
We will never know the full story, so i go with the facts, when Gao came to the club we were in the premier League, when he left we were still there , so from that respect he has not been a disaster. |  |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 22:15 - Jan 4 with 4920 views | ronan006 |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 21:51 - Jan 4 by SaintNick |
Gao made it quite clear from the start that he wasn't going to pump in millions so im not sure why you would think that im slightly surprised that he was ever going to.
ASs Frannies Tache has mentioned Gao invested in the infrastructure during his time and tried to build the club up before the chinese government intervened it was just never going to be money pumped into player signings which is what most people judge an owner by.
As FT said mistakes have been made in the club and depending on who you speak to determines how many were mistakes that could have been avoided and how many were not mistakes.
We will never know the full story, so i go with the facts, when Gao came to the club we were in the premier League, when he left we were still there , so from that respect he has not been a disaster. |
Interesting although Buddhism isn't technically a religion , you can be a Christian and also a Buddhist. |  | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 22:31 - Jan 4 with 4882 views | Poirot |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 20:54 - Jan 4 by franniesTache |
Funny thing is Gao did actually invest in the club, he spent a lot on infrastructure and made some great business connections, the problems come when you judge a Chinese businessman by our standards, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a billionaire in China if the government don’t want you to spend that money you don’t.
There were also some f*ck ups on our side too, we could’ve purchased the concrete site but didn’t file the request in time and missed it and allowed a lot of better staff to leave the club when we were trying to sell before covid, leaving us with a much worse team because we wanted the books to look good.
One of the reasons I’m actually hopeful for this new buy out is I know just how badly the clubs been being run the last two years, and hopefully this will kick it up the arse a bit |
What about the plot of land that became available next door to that ?
https://www.lsh.co.uk/find/properties/hampshire/southampton/2013013
It would appear southern gas network are only interested in selling to a property developer when it would be very useful to own some of that soone to be demolished site.
Katrina apparently came across Solak as they both have residence in zurich. [Post edited 4 Jan 2022 22:35]
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 06:26 - Jan 5 with 4694 views | barry_sanchez |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 18:18 - Jan 4 by TripleNiemi |
Believe the term we were sold was 'Next Level' was it not? Certainly suceeded in taking us to that..... |
Ah now you see "next level" is an elastic term, falling off a cliff to the beach below is moving to the next level, slipping from the escalator steps to the one below again is the next level...................
They genuinely think we're stupid, what club apart from City and Chelsea has broken the glass ceiling? And they were big clubs before their money came in regardless its just people have cognitive dissonance with that part of reality. |  |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 06:47 - Jan 5 with 4674 views | JaySaint |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 06:26 - Jan 5 by barry_sanchez |
Ah now you see "next level" is an elastic term, falling off a cliff to the beach below is moving to the next level, slipping from the escalator steps to the one below again is the next level...................
They genuinely think we're stupid, what club apart from City and Chelsea has broken the glass ceiling? And they were big clubs before their money came in regardless its just people have cognitive dissonance with that part of reality. |
Leicester | |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 07:18 - Jan 5 with 4647 views | barry_sanchez |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 06:47 - Jan 5 by JaySaint |
Leicester |
Leicester will never be able to consistently break into the top 6, neither will Leeds, Villa, Everton, no where near enough money spent (Everton wasted theirs and £500 Million is pocket money to get to the top). | |
| He who is silent and bows his head dies every time he does so. He who speaks aloud and walks with his head held high dies only once.
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 07:49 - Jan 5 with 4586 views | kingslandstand1 |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 06:47 - Jan 5 by JaySaint |
Leicester |
Leicester were a def success story, but so were Blackburn back in the Jack Walker days of the 90's. They don't get a mention now as even competing for the top 6 this season, let alone top 4.
The season after they did the unthinkable players started to look elsewhere and go to "bigger" clubs apart from Vardy who was, and still is, a God up there so loved the adulation
I think if all of a sudden we did a Leicester I'd absolutely love it and milk it as they did, but I'd also expect to drop down a peg or 2 after a couple of seasons as they did, and indeed we did after our European tour in which I still believe we should have at least got to the knock out stages | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 08:49 - Jan 5 with 4500 views | saint901 |
I know little about Mr Gao or Mr Solak so am grateful for the news here.
I do know that football fans have unrealistic views on what a new owner will (or will not) do for a club.
As we see in Man City and now Newcastle, and have seen in Chelsea (£1.5bn in debt to their owner) and others, buying Prem League success is an enterprise affordable only to sovereign funds or billionaires.
Further, most millionaires/billionaires have paper wealth rather than available ready cash and freeing up cash to put into a club is a tricky business. Add in the (easily evaded) fair play rules and it will be a while before any investment manifests in new players.
However an interested owner is better than one who has lost focus and intent and over the longer term is a positive move. | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 10:35 - Jan 5 with 4385 views | PaleRider |
Thanks for the insight FT. One minor point though is, if Gao did invest into the club why does it not show up in the accounts? If I'm wrong and it is in the accounts please point me in the right direction. | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 10:37 - Jan 5 with 4374 views | DorsetIan |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 21:51 - Jan 4 by SaintNick |
Gao made it quite clear from the start that he wasn't going to pump in millions so im not sure why you would think that im slightly surprised that he was ever going to.
ASs Frannies Tache has mentioned Gao invested in the infrastructure during his time and tried to build the club up before the chinese government intervened it was just never going to be money pumped into player signings which is what most people judge an owner by.
As FT said mistakes have been made in the club and depending on who you speak to determines how many were mistakes that could have been avoided and how many were not mistakes.
We will never know the full story, so i go with the facts, when Gao came to the club we were in the premier League, when he left we were still there , so from that respect he has not been a disaster. |
You've spent the last few years making excuses for him and particularly saying that he would have invested were it not for the Chinese govt. You had no evidence for saying that and FT has confirmed that it wasn't true.
You were at it again yesterday stating:
"Gao hasn't been able to invest how he would have liked"
and
"Gao Jisheng is said to be worth £4 billion, although getting that out of China has been the problem, not Gao's willingness to spend it"
Nobody know how much Gao would have spent were it not for the Chinese restrictions but you've been consistently trying to give the impression that his investment would have been significant. | |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 10:53 - Jan 5 with 4348 views | SouthSeaSaint |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 22:31 - Jan 4 by Poirot |
What about the plot of land that became available next door to that ?
https://www.lsh.co.uk/find/properties/hampshire/southampton/2013013
It would appear southern gas network are only interested in selling to a property developer when it would be very useful to own some of that soone to be demolished site.
Katrina apparently came across Solak as they both have residence in zurich. [Post edited 4 Jan 2022 22:35]
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Poirot,
This is the concrete site mentioned in an earlier post by Franniestache which may well have suited Saints if they hadnt been tardy in their interest.
Perhaps the Gas Holder site would be a better option for the club to consider.
Separately Franniestache made mention about the club being poorly run in the last couple of years.
I wonder if he wouldnt mind expanding on this.
Is this at the top level or further down the management chain? | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 11:44 - Jan 5 with 4282 views | franniesTache |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 10:53 - Jan 5 by SouthSeaSaint |
Poirot,
This is the concrete site mentioned in an earlier post by Franniestache which may well have suited Saints if they hadnt been tardy in their interest.
Perhaps the Gas Holder site would be a better option for the club to consider.
Separately Franniestache made mention about the club being poorly run in the last couple of years.
I wonder if he wouldnt mind expanding on this.
Is this at the top level or further down the management chain? |
I still have friends in the club so i don't want to go into too much detail, but it's safe to say their abject disappointment and despair at the running of the club is an open joke amongst our group that go | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 12:22 - Jan 5 with 4227 views | washington_saint |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 11:44 - Jan 5 by franniesTache |
I still have friends in the club so i don't want to go into too much detail, but it's safe to say their abject disappointment and despair at the running of the club is an open joke amongst our group that go |
Quite surprised at that FT.....Semmens seems like a very solid guy with a plan.
Likewise, all businesses have been hit hard by COVID these last 2 years - its caused turmoil at small, medium and large businesses and has been the biggest market changer in my 35 years in the employment market.
COVID has shown organizations have to adapt and change and what worked 3 years ago is highly unlikely to work now. That's what is so intriguing about this takeover for me: it's a very different approach and it may or may not work but at least we will no longer be treading water. | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 12:33 - Jan 5 with 4209 views | PaleRider |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 12:22 - Jan 5 by washington_saint |
Quite surprised at that FT.....Semmens seems like a very solid guy with a plan.
Likewise, all businesses have been hit hard by COVID these last 2 years - its caused turmoil at small, medium and large businesses and has been the biggest market changer in my 35 years in the employment market.
COVID has shown organizations have to adapt and change and what worked 3 years ago is highly unlikely to work now. That's what is so intriguing about this takeover for me: it's a very different approach and it may or may not work but at least we will no longer be treading water. |
I may be a bit naive but I think the new owners may have a sustainable model that brings a modicum of success. At the end of the day, businesses are sustainable because of success, not the other way round. This is something that all clubs need unless they have the mega-rich owners with unlimited piles of cash.
Re. the running of the club - many businesses have been too slow to adapt and I think that, for all his good points, Semmens is an example of just such a businessman. This was exacerbated by the previous owner's lack of interest over the last couple of years. Stagnation is just slow death by another word.
So as a result, I'm cautiously optimistic and hope that we give the new owners a fair crack of the whip. | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 13:58 - Jan 5 with 4129 views | DellHero_Would |
I agree Mr Clint. My reading of this is that we’ll be able to spend that extra bit we’ve been missing this last 3 or 4 years. If you look at the last 2 windows we only really needed an additional 30 million to fill gaps, which is nothing these days.
I don’t see this investment company spending (wasting) 200 million as some of the other clubs have done recently with little return on the field for that type of money. | |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 14:26 - Jan 5 with 4072 views | Poirot |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 10:53 - Jan 5 by SouthSeaSaint |
Poirot,
This is the concrete site mentioned in an earlier post by Franniestache which may well have suited Saints if they hadnt been tardy in their interest.
Perhaps the Gas Holder site would be a better option for the club to consider.
Separately Franniestache made mention about the club being poorly run in the last couple of years.
I wonder if he wouldnt mind expanding on this.
Is this at the top level or further down the management chain? |
This is still be advertised for sale, thought FT as on about the land directly opposte the itchen stand ? Now the club might have some capital it should consider obtaining the advertised land. Land being availble is a total one off and if you wanted to increase the chapel stand and lose car parking it go on this site across the road. | | | |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 14:41 - Jan 5 with 4043 views | SaintNick |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 14:26 - Jan 5 by Poirot |
This is still be advertised for sale, thought FT as on about the land directly opposte the itchen stand ? Now the club might have some capital it should consider obtaining the advertised land. Land being availble is a total one off and if you wanted to increase the chapel stand and lose car parking it go on this site across the road. |
I dont know what Sport Republic intend, but buying the concrete site was in the plans of Gao, Im not sure it would be in those of Sport Republic.
The idea would be to build leisure facilities ie bars and restaurants etc rather than extend the ground,
St Mary's would be fairly easy to extend on 3 sides but the most difficult stand to extend would be the Itchen due to the corporate facilities and offices below, this making it more difficult to raise the roof and also access to an upper tier | |
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| Given Gao is now gone... on 14:50 - Jan 5 with 4017 views | franniesTache |
| Given Gao is now gone... on 14:41 - Jan 5 by SaintNick |
I dont know what Sport Republic intend, but buying the concrete site was in the plans of Gao, Im not sure it would be in those of Sport Republic.
The idea would be to build leisure facilities ie bars and restaurants etc rather than extend the ground,
St Mary's would be fairly easy to extend on 3 sides but the most difficult stand to extend would be the Itchen due to the corporate facilities and offices below, this making it more difficult to raise the roof and also access to an upper tier |
Not that any of it matters anyway as there's absolutely no need to increase a ground that we currently don't sell out | | | |
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