Lewis Cox and Jonny Drury discuss what Shilen Patel's takeover means, and why Albion fans shouldn't expect big money signings.
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00:00 And I think that is the case, you know, you associate a takeover with, you know, splurging a load of money.
00:04 But, you know, me, this is sort of taking off my, you know, baggage broadcast journalist hat and putting my fan hat on,
00:12 which is always very much tilted to the side. But. Yeah, because that would be great.
00:19 But after what's happened and, you know, the perilous situation and how close Albion sailed to close,
00:24 you know, sail close to the wind and close to the edge, I'm happy for this new owner to come in, you know,
00:30 not spend big bucks, but just put Albion back on a sound, sound footing.
00:34 And if that means a few years in the championship, obviously promotion, if we can get promotion, fantastic.
00:40 And the riches of the Premier League come with that.
00:42 And you can keep building and keep building like Albion did do in the past and the Jeremy piece.
00:47 But if Shillam Patel and his family come in, steady the ship, make Albion financially sound.
00:52 And if that means they're going to have to be where they are for the next couple of years, then fine by me.
00:57 But yeah, I think Albion fans, if there's an Albion fan out there expecting tens of billions to be spent,
01:02 then you're probably going to be wrong.
01:04 Yeah, absolutely that. Yeah, it's definitely worth hammering that point home.
01:10 I think we remember back to January, we were sort of reporting in the build up and throughout January that,
01:15 despite the grave situation, we didn't expect a fire sale.
01:18 We didn't expect players to be flogged. But let's have it right.
01:23 The financial situation was, without this new investment, without this new ownership, desperate, really.
01:29 Let's have it right. It was. And the only way out was this, was a change in ownership.
01:36 So, but yeah, absolutely.
01:40 I replied to someone online shortly after the news broke and it's just stability and security, isn't it, Johnny?
01:46 It's just having a club, realistically, let's be honest, having a club that doesn't face a potential prospect down the line of administration.
01:55 Look, I'll go back to what we said 10 minutes ago. The proof will be in the pudding.
02:01 We don't know yet, do we? We don't know yet that the Patel Group are going to be good and successful owners.
02:09 We hope and I think we all feel positive and optimistic and confident about it, but we're not fortune tellers.
02:17 So, you know, but stability, security, safety for the club, you know, there's a different conversation to be had if, quote unquote,
02:28 the Holy Grail, you know, everyone's target is promotion, isn't it, to the Premier League via the playoffs, obviously.
02:34 So, first of all, there's finishing in the top six and then there's beating three other clubs in the promotion.
02:41 And that's, let's be honest, it's a hell of a long way away and it feels a little bit secondary at the moment.
02:46 But that's a different conversation because obviously promotion to the Premier League brings a hell of a lot of riches, doesn't it?
02:51 It brings all the broadcast and it's worth, well, how much is Premier League promotion worth these days?
02:56 Is it, you know, it's, you know, dozens and dozens of millions and everything that comes of it.
03:03 But the maybe more bigger reality of just Albion's existence as a championship club, it's now about that safety, stability, security.
03:14 They will be well aware that it's a bit of a slate clean in terms of player contracts in the summer.
03:19 That's worth mentioning again, isn't it?
03:21 That's not an irrelevant, that's big earners that have been at the club for a long time, experienced players are out of contract.
03:27 Now, look, some of them are playing very well, very well at the moment.
03:33 However, there will need to be a sensible decision.
03:36 Talks had and are, you know, Carlos Corbani, staff, Ian Pearce, the new ownership, you know, that they will have that conversation now.
03:43 The financial possibilities, as Carlos always sort of states, have changed now, you know, pre-Patel to now.
03:54 That's clear. However, as you say, they've not changed to the point where let's chuck everyone else a new contract, you know, on existing terms.
04:01 This is let's be prudent where we can with what we've got.
04:05 Look, a lot of players are out of contract, probably a lot of players that the manager will gracefully and on great terms and respectfully be happy to part with, I dare say.
04:17 Look, we know Moat, Kipra, some of them, obviously Bartley, Phillips, fascinating conversations to be had further down the line.
04:26 But it all plays into the bigger financial picture, I think, doesn't it?
04:30 Where the squad at and what the ownership and the head coach are able to do with the squad.
04:34 But the overall point, as you say, Johnny, is let's not expect, should Albion remain a championship club, let's not expect five and ten million purchases throughout the summer,
04:44 you know, totaling to 50 million outlay or something like that.
04:47 The club is still going to have to recover from this.
04:50 That took a hell of a hit, haven't they?
04:52 Financially, let's be honest.
04:53 We know the new bid.
04:56 We talk about the structure of the actual bid.
04:59 Yeah, that's what I want to come on to now, really, because the reported fee that we understand is 60 million pound.
05:05 Now, I'll go around that figure.
05:08 So Albion have got 40 million pound if you if you if you tot up the 20 million MSD loan, the 10 million MSD loan plus the interest.
05:15 Plus, you know, other debts.
05:19 You know, how much is is it the purchase of the club and how much is the purchase of the debt?
05:26 Yeah, well, I remember writing, you know, writing reports over half a year ago now and the kind of initial rough estimations of 50, 60 million was given up.
05:37 There's a bit of a ballpoint figure now.
05:39 What we know at this stage and what we've known for a couple of months now is the the actual club's valuation of the club.
05:47 You're not including debts, and this is the club that obviously like paid, you know, almost 200 million for what, seven and a half years ago from Jeremy, Jeremy P.
05:56 So the valuation is significantly lower than I think maybe we all thought six months plus ago.
06:06 Now, I don't know if that's supply and demand. I don't know if that's what's out there, but I think it's just the way that the way it's gone, the way it's gone in terms of debt, the way that MSD Holdings debt is touching 30 million quid.
06:18 Straight away. That's that's that, isn't it?
06:20 The other debts we know about all the other debts we know about.
06:26 Wisdom Smart, you know, there's that old chestnut, wasn't there that was basically impaired by auditors in the accounts or the fees that aren't really in the
06:36 public sphere that have come to light, like all the fees involved with all of these legals in terms of the takeover, all of that tops up.
06:42 So you talk about that 60 million and as we've reported 40 million in terms of debt, as far as we also understand, it includes running costs for the rest of the season.
06:52 Now, you know, wages, overheads, bills and at least it's not another advance from MSD Holdings paying for that.
07:02 You know, it's the ownership, which is.
07:04 So basically what you're saying in a roundabout way there, Cox, is that if you look at how much he's paid for the club, he's probably got it for a snip, really.
07:13 I know you can't take out of consideration the debt, but if you do take the debt away, he's paid very little for the football club.
07:20 Yeah, yeah. That's how we understand it.
07:22 Yeah. It's quite eye opening, isn't it?
07:25 I think, you know, let's not get without trying to be blasé about, you know, we're in the in the middle of it in terms of onlookers, commentators, fans listening to this.
07:37 West Palm Beach, Alvin, you know, FA Cup winners, you know, Premier League.
07:42 You know, still a big fish in the second tier.
07:44 Yeah, Premier League, up for a decade plus, Yo-Yo in between, obviously massive fish for the championship, all of this.
07:52 But relative to all that, a snip, realistically, which.
07:57 But I was going to use the word baggage, and I don't mean that in an ultra negative way, but in terms of the finances and the debt, there's clearly a lot to take on.
08:05 Wasn't that? That's that's the point.
08:07 So, yeah, the structure of the deal is fascinating.
08:13 I think probably fair to say maybe shows commitment and underlines the level of commitment that they're taking on.
08:20 Look, they know they're taking on a and we talk about it being a snip, but we know they're taking on a club.
08:27 The finances are in a bad, bad shape.
08:30 We know that.
08:32 So, you know, people from other business people from the outside might look at that and be like, wouldn't necessarily want to touch that, you know, wouldn't.
08:40 But potential, I mean, Shilam Patel has used the word potential in his quotes already, hasn't he?
08:46 And, you know, taking the club back where they should be and obviously with that comes a change in valuation and everything.
08:54 So it is fascinating.
08:57 It's hugely and immensely exciting, Johnny.
08:59 I know we have a laugh and sort of about the timings of the the appointment and all of that.
09:05 But what an absolute pleasure it's been to see it come through.