Coventry City owners invite council to talks over Sky Blues returning to Ricoh Arena (9 Viewers)

And that is the problem we face Playing tennis with our Club.
It's just not football.

olderskyblue said:

A poisonous press release, seemingly aimed at trying to force CCC into saying the freehold is not for sale, and thereby SISU will say "it's not us, it's them" thereby trying to increase fans support for SISU.

Unfortunately, it's so so easy to "bat back into their court".

CCC: "if a fair offer came in for the ricoh, that included the freehold, we would consider it" Make an offer SISU and we will consider it.

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olderskyblue said:

Maybe because people hope that just once, he may tell the truth?

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If you always do, what you've always done..

Quite canny of SISU this. After the "protest" outside the council house fans were saying it's not up to ACL it's up to SISU to do all the running. Well, it seems like they are now doing that. I'm glad they've "outed" Lucas too as I've said before she's hiding behind the JR a little too much.

Will it lead to a resolution? Nah, I don't think so and whatever happens some sections are going to be upset. Personally, I hope they can sort something out so Cov can at last return to Cov.

Its about time all of these crap statements ended, pick up the damn phone, it really isn't that difficult is it?
Open letters, statements, who gives a shit. Just bring us home you suited morons!

As the council have used 14 million pounds of our money to prop up a failing business I think it's something that needs a judicial review but if she is honest about us getting back it should not stand in the way of any new negotiation we need action no more rhetoric

RoboCCFC90 said:

Really? Are we making it up as we go along now?

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No, but was it not Joy herself using Shrewsbury FC as one of her examples in her interview with Les Reid. 1999 planning went in, 2007/08 season turnstiles open.

Example - a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation

Her words, not mine.

torchomatic said:

I've said before she's hiding behind the JR a little too much

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Why do you think that torch?

rodders said:

As the council have used 14 million pounds of our money to prop up a failing business I think it's something that needs a judicial review but if she is honest about us getting back it should not stand in the way of any new negotiation we need action no more rhetoric

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So Joy could have arranged to meet with Anne to sort this out then, rather than enter into more rhetoric?

The Gentleman said:

No, but was it not Joy herself using Shrewsbury FC as one of her examples in her interview with Les Reid. 1999 planning went in, 2007/08 season turnstiles open.

Example - a person, action, thing, etc, that is worthy of imitation

Her words, not mine.

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Fisher has also used Rotherham and Brentford as examples but should we be quick to assume these cases as well for our case?

I hope we get back to the Ricoh, I might not love it as much as Highfield Road, but it's a fantastic facility and with the right momentum and atmosphere things could be good there with respect to the Football Club playing there.

Sub said:

seen as SISU have invested millions in a failing business (because of there own failings and mistakes) why should they be given a council owned asset for free or next to nothing?

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I wouldn't just say their own failings and mistakes but SISU have added to the shit pile that was already festering.

Can someone from the Trust reading this page explain to me what steps they can take now to get these two parties talking, CCC and SISU have both said they're willing to talk to on another is there anything that the Trust can do to push this over the line?

I agree but Ann could also have stopped us losing ten points instead of entering into a game of brinkmanship the council have set out their aims we have the team and it's in their power to get us back in coventry

Whilst I've little doubt the intentions are to force the Council into an awkward position, theres no one part of the statement that I particularly disagree with on face value.

RoboCCFC90 said:

Can someone from the Trust reading this page explain to me what steps they can take now to get these two parties talking, CCC and SISU have both said they're willing to talk to on another is there anything that the Trust can do to push this over the line?

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They are right now putting together a statement explaining how the trust has forced both parties to talk about talks.

RoboCCFC90 said:

Can someone from the Trust reading this page explain to me what steps they can take now to get these two parties talking, CCC and SISU have both said they're willing to talk to on another is there anything that the Trust can do to push this over the line?

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I should imagine they are working tirelessly behind the scenes in evading protest. But will take credit as soon as a meeting is announced !!!!

Who said anything. About next to nothing the council and Higgs need to come up in with a price negotiate instead of press statements

Godiva said:

They are right now putting together a statement explaining how the trust has forced both parties to talk about talks.

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I don't think I could take another statement.

very poor article from the Telegraph, surely it's not beyond them to ask the most basic questions of SISU. Or even if SISU won't answer them indicate they have been asked and show that the CT have a grasp on what is going on. it seems a way of SISU trying to fool people into thinking they are open to talks while at the same time clearly stating they are only prepared to talk on their own terms. Why not just come to the table and see what is on offer before sending out snide press releases?

From the first line it's laughable, "Coventry City have today issued a public invitation to council leader Ann Lucas to “sit down and talk” urgently about returning to the Ricoh Arena.". Surely a lot easier to just respond to one of the many public invitations Ann Lucas has made to Sepalla for talks?

"We have repeatedly asked the council to discuss a sale of the Ricoh Arena to the club." Two points here, have they made an offer to purchase the freehold. If they wish to purchase it then that would be a logical step. Also the issue we keep bringing up on here of why do they need ownership of the freehold. As far as I can tell the only benefit is that SISU can debt load against the freehold to get their money back before walking away leaving CCFC with massive debts to pay. I've yet to see any other case presented for ownership of the freehold.

"The senior council officers (Chris West and Martin Reeves) who also serve as directors of Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) have told us that they have no authority to discuss this with us, only the council leadership can do so", statements like this just make SISU look clueless. Why not speak to the council leadership, they have repeatedly offered to talk.

“So it is a very simple question for Cllr Lucas: is she prepared to discuss a freehold sale of the Ricoh?", again can someone from the Telegraph please ask SISU to explain why they need ownership of the freehold which brings zero revenue.

“We can’t wait around much longer and are therefore pushing ahead with our efforts to acquire a site.”, what happened to "we've moved on", it increasingly sounds like they've got nowhere with the plans for a new ground and we're now about 6 months into the 3 year timeframe they originally gave for completion of the project.

The mentions of the JR sound like playground stuff, it's not the attitude you want to take with someone you're looking to do a business deal with. No one in their right mind would do the opposite of what they've been advised by their legal team. Here's an idea, if SISU are so keen for CCC to be able to speak freely why not drop the JR? Also interesting to note that the statement about the JR is very similar to tweets being sent out by Get Cov Back to the Ricoh and Les Reid. If you were the suspicious type you might draw the conclusion that there was some link between the three.

Then we get to the full text of the statement, the interesting thing to note here is that SISU now seem to be issuing statements through the CT now rather than their own website. The first paragraph is cringe worthy and an embarrassment to the club.

They then state "Most sensible people agree that a football club, any football club, needs to own its stadium in order to be financially viable on a long-term basis.". This reads like a forum post where someone puts FACT at the end to prove it's true. On what basis are they making this statement? The CT poll that showed the majority didn't want SISU to take ownership of the Ricoh? The figures we saw from the FL recently that showed only 20 teams owned their own ground? Maybe they have some other evidence in which case it would be nice if they shared it with us.

Why on earth would CCC have commissioned an independent valuation on an asset that isn't for sale? And why would SISU know if they had or not?
"And we’d still like to know the real reason why Cllr Lucas authorised ACL’s rejection of the CVA which cost “my beloved Sky Blues” another 10 points." Not sure what they are getting at here? Wasn't aware that Ann Lucas was a director of ACL.

Overall it's a very childish response and the fact that the CT chooses to print it without questioning any of it's contents is for me very poor. They may not have the resources to do major investigative journalism but pretty much any poster on here could have done a better job of pointing out the gaping holes in the statement.

covmark said:

I don't think I could take another statement.

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Yes but a statement to say that there will be an impending statement. Not the final statement wouldn't hurt the situation ?
As long as it not a knee jerk statement we should be ok !!

Sub said:

how do you work that out ? SISU's failings have cost them money, not the fans, council or ACL its all SISU's failings that they have lost money from the second they took control of the club right up to the point we are at now, poor due dillagence, poor running of the club, their directors they chose that cut the playing squad to the bone that got us relegated ect ect, its all down to them they drove the fans away they got us relegated with cost cutting they moved the club from its home city and all this has cost them millions the finger completley points at SISU here.

Yes the Council have taken advantage with the rent but that was there at the start when they took over, if it was a problem it should of been sorted then but they didnt because they wanted to make a killing and a quick buck but bottled it and now end up losing money hand over fist. i have no sympathy for a company that has made a rod for its own back and is now trying to rip the stadium away from the cov tax payers for next to nothing.

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I agree and really something that should have been sorted from the offset, why it wasn't sorted by the past regime leaves me questioning "Why?" but there is no excuse for SISU not to have done this.

Not so much a new article from the telegraph more a reprint of a sisu statement I agree poor journalism but surely its now up to the council to do what you have done and give their views on each point and start proper efforts to make things happen

rodders said:

Not so much a new article from the telegraph more a reprint of a sisu statement I agree poor journalism but surely its now up to the council to do what you have done and give their views on each point and start proper efforts to make things happen

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If the council do issue a response I hope it's asks SISU to clarify why they need ownership of the freehold, what benefit it is to CCFC and why they have not yet submitted a bid.

The council should respond with Yes the Richo is for sale at this price ( ? ) buy it or go and build your stadium on the outskirts of Coventry and call SISSU bluff



NOPM

I can't wait for NW's take on this. I know how much he likes statements to the press....

Cllr Lucas has not so far confirmed that she will discuss a sale and does not appear to have commissioned an independent valuation to get the ball rolling

chiefdave said:

and why they have not yet submitted a bid.

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Have the council ever said that its for sale? They don't have to sell if they don't want to.

valiant15 said:

Have the council ever said that its for sale? They don't have to sell if they don't want to.

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they do if they want the club back though

sisu want to own a ground for ccfc, nothing wrong with owners wanting that

council are saying you cant have ricoh and you cant build your own within coventry

does that not seem slightest bit unfair?

No they could carry on with an empty stadium propped up by our council tax

Sub said:

it does seem unfair, but does not paying the rent on a legally binding contract and ripping off a charity and moving a football team 34 mile away from its fans seem fair either ?

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means to an end.

RoboCCFC90 said:

The only thing I would say on that Italia and I agree with it all and maybe my question is relevant to most people instead of just yourself, Why do people believe Tim Fisher when he said that the club had 'moved on from the Ricoh Arena' yet are happy not to believe him and dismiss his comments when he says anything else?

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I think you are completely missing the point. The fans don't believe Fisher at all {what has happened to him by the way} , and particularly his statement that we have moved on. They constantly mention his oft repeated line only to ridicule him. Indeed Fisher's assertion that, 'we have moved on', is probably the one thing that both sides of this debate agree is total nonsense.