American loans 09:00 - Feb 28 with 2654 views | Kennington | Don’t know if this has been covered before as I’m not usually one for pouring over club finances but bloody hell what is going on at saints? Mortgage against SMS and the training ground? This is almost as bad as the club situation in the mid 2000s. And if this is true then as soon as fans come back if there isn’t a mass protest against Gao then there never will be. Appreciate though it’s hard for football clubs right now, but premier league clubs still have huge telly revenue and should be much more protected than other businesses. This is simply Saints having a truly appalling owner. There are globally tens of thousands of people with wealth that could transform the club, yet we get a billionaire that is piling debt onto the club. Gao out! https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/2021/feb/22/sign-of- | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 10:13 - Feb 28 with 2588 views | Ron11 | When you read articles like that, it puts the Gao situation into perspective - why did the FA allow his take-over to happen in the first place? And then we wonder why players like Danny Ings suddenly appear to want to move on. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 10:29 - Feb 28 with 2571 views | JaySaint | Im sure the Admin of this site will tell us it is nothing to see and Gao is a good owner | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 10:34 - Feb 28 with 2563 views | Sadoldgit | I didn’t realise that Gao also owned Derby and Sunderland? If we have made a massive mistake it would appear that we are not the only ones. | ![](/images/avatars/21649.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 10:45 - Feb 28 with 2546 views | JaySaint |
American loans on 10:34 - Feb 28 by Sadoldgit | I didn’t realise that Gao also owned Derby and Sunderland? If we have made a massive mistake it would appear that we are not the only ones. |
if you didnt realise that, then football is not for you. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 10:57 - Feb 28 with 2526 views | kingslandstand1 |
American loans on 10:29 - Feb 28 by JaySaint | Im sure the Admin of this site will tell us it is nothing to see and Gao is a good owner |
Just "paper talk" | ![](/images/avatars/1701.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 11:25 - Feb 28 with 2494 views | dirk_doone | Gao had to take out a loan himself in order to pay Kat. He doesn't have any money so there's not much he can do. He was lured in by Kat and her advisors with the prospect of a business where assets were produced or bought cheaply and sold for enormous profits. Superficially, that's how it would have seemed to him. He's not a particularly astute businessman. His business in China was failing and in the end he was forced to sell the majority shareholding in it, with the share price plummeting. I feel a bit sorry for him. He's been taken to the cleaners. The only shrewd move he made was to force Kat to delay the sale of van Dijk until after he'd taken over before he would agree to pay her. The extra money that delay made may well have saved the club from administration and relegation. [Post edited 28 Feb 2021 11:33]
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American loans on 11:32 - Feb 28 with 2480 views | Saintsforeverj |
American loans on 11:25 - Feb 28 by dirk_doone | Gao had to take out a loan himself in order to pay Kat. He doesn't have any money so there's not much he can do. He was lured in by Kat and her advisors with the prospect of a business where assets were produced or bought cheaply and sold for enormous profits. Superficially, that's how it would have seemed to him. He's not a particularly astute businessman. His business in China was failing and in the end he was forced to sell the majority shareholding in it, with the share price plummeting. I feel a bit sorry for him. He's been taken to the cleaners. The only shrewd move he made was to force Kat to delay the sale of van Dijk until after he'd taken over before he would agree to pay her. The extra money that delay made may well have saved the club from administration and relegation. [Post edited 28 Feb 2021 11:33]
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It sounds to me like Kat has done the dirty on us too. She sold up to someone without the required money and somebody who has a history of failed businesses. There were also major concerns about his past. Surely she could have waited for someone better to come along, with ambitions and with some spare cash. This sale was clearly not in the best interests of the club. But did she care? It doesn't seem like it. Considering Marcus bought the club for a much lesser price, she made a huge profit and took the money, regardless of who it was from. [Post edited 28 Feb 2021 11:35]
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American loans on 11:35 - Feb 28 with 2469 views | dirk_doone |
American loans on 11:32 - Feb 28 by Saintsforeverj | It sounds to me like Kat has done the dirty on us too. She sold up to someone without the required money and somebody who has a history of failed businesses. There were also major concerns about his past. Surely she could have waited for someone better to come along, with ambitions and with some spare cash. This sale was clearly not in the best interests of the club. But did she care? It doesn't seem like it. Considering Marcus bought the club for a much lesser price, she made a huge profit and took the money, regardless of who it was from. [Post edited 28 Feb 2021 11:35]
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He was the first buyer she could find. Like the players sales: it was first come, first served. | ![](/images/avatars/1800.gif) |
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American loans on 12:01 - Feb 28 with 2429 views | BLEEDRED | Geo would not pass the fit and prober test now, he never proved where the money came from. He has nothing to do will the club, everything goes through Nelly who is based in London. The club states they are losing £3 million a month some believe it is much worse than that and between £6 and £10 million a month, all players will be for sale at the end of the season. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 12:04 - Feb 28 with 2424 views | Kennington |
American loans on 10:34 - Feb 28 by Sadoldgit | I didn’t realise that Gao also owned Derby and Sunderland? If we have made a massive mistake it would appear that we are not the only ones. |
Are you comfortable with us in the same sentence as those clubs? Those clubs are the bottom of the very deep football financial barrel. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 12:05 - Feb 28 with 2418 views | dirk_doone |
American loans on 12:01 - Feb 28 by BLEEDRED | Geo would not pass the fit and prober test now, he never proved where the money came from. He has nothing to do will the club, everything goes through Nelly who is based in London. The club states they are losing £3 million a month some believe it is much worse than that and between £6 and £10 million a month, all players will be for sale at the end of the season. |
Indirectly, the club has paid the cost of the quarter of a billion pounds that has gone into Kat's bank account. | ![](/images/avatars/1800.gif) |
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American loans on 14:01 - Feb 28 with 2327 views | Sadoldgit |
American loans on 12:04 - Feb 28 by Kennington | Are you comfortable with us in the same sentence as those clubs? Those clubs are the bottom of the very deep football financial barrel. |
I am not comfortable with any dire financial situation, which most businesses are in due to the pandemic. | ![](/images/avatars/21649.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 14:07 - Feb 28 with 2320 views | JaySaint |
American loans on 14:01 - Feb 28 by Sadoldgit | I am not comfortable with any dire financial situation, which most businesses are in due to the pandemic. |
how many other top clubs are in the same bracket? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 14:39 - Feb 28 with 2299 views | DorsetIan | The issue here is that, even in a world where borrowing money is a generally as cheap as chips, because we are so exposed financially and because our owners can't or won't help, we are forced to borrow at these sorts of rates. (And that's 'secured' lending too!!). You can blame Kat for selling to him, but the more we find out, the more it becomes clear that the era of Gao's ownership is not characterised by a sustainable business model. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 14:51 - Feb 28 with 2287 views | 1885_SFC | I remember Gao saying “I am not treating Southampton as a pig to be fattened and sold.” He's true to his word. We're down to picking meat off the spare ribs! | ![](/images/avatars/1748.gif) |
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American loans on 15:02 - Feb 28 with 2278 views | 1ASIN12 |
American loans on 10:29 - Feb 28 by JaySaint | Im sure the Admin of this site will tell us it is nothing to see and Gao is a good owner |
He will no doubt blame the fans for not helping Saints out by spending their hard earned cash in the cub shop. [Post edited 28 Feb 2021 15:47]
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American loans on 15:23 - Feb 28 with 2254 views | Kennington |
American loans on 14:01 - Feb 28 by Sadoldgit | I am not comfortable with any dire financial situation, which most businesses are in due to the pandemic. |
How many premier league clubs though are in this mess? I’d hope most of us would think we’re more viable than Burnley? Premier league clubs have had their main revenue - tv, unaffected by covid. They should actually be a rare outlier of prosperity at this time. We’ve had the discussion on here before that it is quite possible for premier league teams not have any fans at all at a match and still be fine. Of course covid makes things worse, but this situation goes way beyond covid. This whole scenario is a grossly mismanaged clusterfük with absent owners, mediocre players that just give up and now an American bank hovering on the background with no doubt extremely high interest repayments being demanded and default will mean that St Mary’s will end up going the way of Coventry. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 15:49 - Feb 28 with 2218 views | TripleNiemi |
American loans on 14:39 - Feb 28 by DorsetIan | The issue here is that, even in a world where borrowing money is a generally as cheap as chips, because we are so exposed financially and because our owners can't or won't help, we are forced to borrow at these sorts of rates. (And that's 'secured' lending too!!). You can blame Kat for selling to him, but the more we find out, the more it becomes clear that the era of Gao's ownership is not characterised by a sustainable business model. |
We (Saints) are not a 'pig to be fattened' - quite so. We are a pig that is in fact starving to death. Fit and proper persons test my aris. | ![](/images/avatars/26082.gif) |
| Ready and waiting to mop up those European places...... |
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American loans on 15:51 - Feb 28 with 2215 views | Ron11 |
American loans on 12:01 - Feb 28 by BLEEDRED | Geo would not pass the fit and prober test now, he never proved where the money came from. He has nothing to do will the club, everything goes through Nelly who is based in London. The club states they are losing £3 million a month some believe it is much worse than that and between £6 and £10 million a month, all players will be for sale at the end of the season. |
That is why I do not understand how the FA sanctioned the deal. Did they not check Gao's suitability as a Premiership club owner....or were they lied to? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 08:59 - Mar 1 with 2019 views | Sadoldgit |
American loans on 14:07 - Feb 28 by JaySaint | how many other top clubs are in the same bracket? |
You don’t think that every club has been affected financially by the pandemic? | ![](/images/avatars/21649.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 09:23 - Mar 1 with 2004 views | Kennington |
American loans on 08:59 - Mar 1 by Sadoldgit | You don’t think that every club has been affected financially by the pandemic? |
All have been affected, but I don’t recall other mid table teams securing loans against their stadia and training grounds. That is another level of risk that no fan should be happy with and should really want answers to how it’ll be sorted. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 10:15 - Mar 1 with 1960 views | Sadoldgit |
American loans on 09:23 - Mar 1 by Kennington | All have been affected, but I don’t recall other mid table teams securing loans against their stadia and training grounds. That is another level of risk that no fan should be happy with and should really want answers to how it’ll be sorted. |
I am no financial expert as I assume not many people on here are. I was also not present in the board meeting when the decision to do this was made so I don’t know the reasoning behind it. Do you? Perhaps it was the best option open to them for what they needed? I really don’t know, but I don’t understand why it has to be seen as something hugely negative when we have no idea of the reasons behind the decision. It seems it is just another stick to beat the club with. | ![](/images/avatars/21649.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
American loans on 11:59 - Mar 1 with 1901 views | dirk_doone | I think the club has shown astute financial management by not accepting any offer which involved giving their bank account details to a Nigerian princess. | ![](/images/avatars/1800.gif) |
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American loans on 12:18 - Mar 1 with 1884 views | Kennington |
American loans on 10:15 - Mar 1 by Sadoldgit | I am no financial expert as I assume not many people on here are. I was also not present in the board meeting when the decision to do this was made so I don’t know the reasoning behind it. Do you? Perhaps it was the best option open to them for what they needed? I really don’t know, but I don’t understand why it has to be seen as something hugely negative when we have no idea of the reasons behind the decision. It seems it is just another stick to beat the club with. |
I’m no financial expert either, but taking out a loan of more than double the value that it cost to build St Mary’s should ring alarm bells for any fan. We've been here before and it ended last time with passing around the bucket and administration. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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American loans on 13:12 - Mar 1 with 1857 views | Sadoldgit |
American loans on 12:18 - Mar 1 by Kennington | I’m no financial expert either, but taking out a loan of more than double the value that it cost to build St Mary’s should ring alarm bells for any fan. We've been here before and it ended last time with passing around the bucket and administration. |
A lot has changed since St Mary’s was built! All I am saying is before we jump to conclusions about whether this was a wise decision or not, we need to know the reason for the decision. | ![](/images/avatars/21649.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
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