Man City chairman confirms
investment talks
Manchester City chairman John Wardle has confirmed he would be
willing to stand aside should negotiations over a £75million
takeover reach a positive conclusion.
Wardle revealed talks with an unnamed party, which could lead to a
significant investment in the Eastlands outfit, are at 'an early
stage'.
After spending the best part of two years scouring the globe for
additional funds, it is welcome news for chief executive Alistair
Mackintosh, who has come under fire by some sections of the City
support for failing to secure a much-needed cash injection.
Mackintosh is aware that Wardle, who together with JD Sports
business partner David Makin, has invested £20million of his own
cash into City, is not in a position to provide the club with the
extra financial push that would propel them into the upper echelons
of the Premiership where he believes they belong.
And, although Wardle's association with the Blues has lasted a
lifetime, the 62-year-old would be happy to relinquish control if
it meant a brighter future for the club.
'Hopefully, something comes of these talks because I would be
prepared to pass the baton on if it allowed the club to get back
into the honours,' he said.
'The board are aware that we need further investment to maintain
our challenge in an increasingly competitive and high-finance
Premier League.
'With the new TV deal commencing next season, we are all conscious
of the importance of the current campaign. We would welcome the
arrival of anyone who could take the club forward with open
arms.'
Wardle announced the news to City's annual general meeting this
morning.
Although talks with numerous parties have taken place over the last
few months, none offered the potential for the kind of significant
investment seen recently at Aston Villa and West Ham, clubs of
similar size to City.
'A lot of opportunities have been brought to the table, every one
of which has been treated on a confidential basis,' revealed
Mackintosh.
'But today we felt, as we were sitting in front of our
shareholders, it was important to give them an accurate and
up-to-date picture of the situation.'
No timescale has been put on the negotiations and, while there is
quiet optimism they will eventually bear fruit, it appears there is
no urgency for them to succeed.
Having brought the club's external debt down to £35.5million,
City's board privately feel the club is progressing well and reject
absolutely the suggestion made by Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck that
the Stamford Bridge's £21million purchase of Shaun Wright-Phillips
rescued the Blues from a dire financial position.
They also refute the claim the non-ownership of their home ground
makes them less attractive to investors, arguing that, as their
lease on Eastlands lasts 250 years, the only people for whom the
land itself would be an issue are those who would want to sell it
off anyway.
It is apparent Wardle, who received the unqualified backing of
manager Stuart Pearce last week, has reached a point where he feels
he cannot take the club any further.
Exasperated to be told by a fan recently that 'it was better in the
old days when we were in Division One', Wardle cannot believe, for
all City's failure to win a major honour in the past three decades,
any genuine supporter would grumble at a current five-year unbroken
top-flight stay, the club's longest for more than a
decade.
