Tranmere fury after club put up for sale on
eBay
LIVERPOOL — Users logging on to Internet auction site eBay on
Thursday found unfashionable English football club Tranmere Rovers
up for sale.
The club, based in Birkenhead and existing in the shadow of
Premier League giants Liverpool and Everton, was put up for sale
there by Dornoch Capital, a US firm charged with finding a buyer
for the League One team.
According to the BBC, the auction, which invited starting bids
of 10 million dollars, drew attention to Tranmere's lack of debt
and its potential for creating "revenue growth" through
sponsorship, television revenues and "upgrading the fan
experience".
In the past, pranksters have jokingly listed footballers and
their clubs as 'for sale' on eBay, but this time Tranmere chairman
Peter Johnson admitted there was no element of spoof.
Johnson was furious that his decision to seek outside investment
had been made public in such a bizarre manner. He immediately
contacted Dornoch Capital to ask for the eBay listing to be
removed.
"We were appalled," Johnson told BBC Radio Merseyside. "It's
totally inappropriate. We immediately e-mailed them and said 'take
it off right away'.
"You can imagine how shocked we were to wake up this morning to
find out we were on eBay.
"It's not a second-hand bike we're selling. One has to think of
supporters and the ability to run the club."
Tranmere, managed by former Liverpool and England star John
Barnes, have been up for sale since last season, but Johnson
insists he is not so desperate to find a buyer than he would come
up with the eBay idea as a publicity stunt.
"Putting it on eBay is not the right way of doing it and we
would certainly have not let them if they'd asked us, so we're
pretty furious," he said.
"If they can find the right buyer then he can takeover at
Tranmere but its got to be the right buyer and I don't think
putting it on eBay is going to find the right buyer."
AFP
