[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

While I'd like to be positive about all of this, unfortunately I'm still sceptical about how much better the club could possibly perform under new ownership (I know I'm like a broken record on this, but that's because it's true). Obviously as fans, we'd rather see the club racing for 7th place each season than 17th, but the sad fact is that for a club owner, there's no tangible difference between the two. Finishing 7th won't make them any more money than finishing 17th when you factor in the amounts they'd have to spend on players to get up there. The living proof of this principle plays in black and white stripes at St James's Park; Mike Ashley has accepted mediocrity for Newcastle because he knows full well that there's no way of him making more money than he currently is. The Europa League is another con which costs more money than it generates. The system is rotten.

Unless our friends in China have a way of transforming Albion into a Champions League club - something which every club bar Manchester City has failed to achieve - there's nothing which can be done. Fingers crossed that our prospective buyer is Asia's answer to Sheikh Mansour, because nothing else will be of any real use.

[Stairs]

Well it seems to be going ahead and we as always are only here for the ride (no say in the matter).

At least with JP you (well me anyway) get the feeling that the clubs best interests are at heart.

I think money is available now and spending on players will commence soon.

[Squirrel Regis]

Not sure we can take Newcastle as an example here.
Under JP we were a well run financially sound club but we are always battling against clubs with an owner who was willing to put his hand into his pocket.
I am 100% behind the way JP has run the club to get us into this position but..
Now is the time for the next level. We are not a mid-table championship club punching above our weight we are well in the top 40 richest clubs in the world.
I am both worried and excited what the new owner will bring.
C O Y B

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

But there is no "next level". That's my point. There's just one big block of clubs from 7th to 17th, and the only owners who care about finishing towards the top of that pile are those who are locally-based lifelong supporters of their club (Swansea, Stoke) and those who have impossible ambitions of making the Champions League (Southampton).

[Squirrel Regis]

Yes, I see what you mean ska'd but maybe we need to try and join the likes of Swansea, Stoke etc so that we are in that band and not the bottom 7 clubs who are all in the relegation scrap.
But in essence as you say the reality and glass ceiling is finishing 8th and winning our mini league.
For a long time I wished that we were a mid table premier league club and the reality is just that.
Avoid relegation, finish above the villa, finish as high as possible.
We have already taken the first step of paying premier league wages, now maybe depending upon the new owners the next step is paying premier league transfer fees ?
Time will tell, but I still thank JP for a very good job.

---

As for the new owners, the rumour mill suggests Chinese , you are absolutely right. What is in it for them ?
Can't see us challenging for top 6 place so why would they invest in £20 million pound players so that we can finish 8th not 17th.
And even if they do, the risk I guess is a new owner playing at the I can be a football manager game.
Worrying times indeed.
Is Southampton the new role model, bring in youth players combined with big signings.

[GlassEyedBomber]

I personally think that there's such a jump in prize money from 8th-17th that you would probably be justified spending 20mil on a player to help you get there?

[Dingle-Dingle]

新年快乐

DD

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

I personally think that there's such a jump in prize money from 8th-17th that you would probably be justified spending 20mil on a player to help you get there?

But that's presuming it would take just one player to push you that high, and that the player in question would actually deliver on the £20m you paid for him.  Why bother when you just can let your investment slowly mature with minimal extra expenditure and risk?

Frankly, I'd love to see us have a couple of seasons like Southampton, even if we were doomed to fail at breaking into the Champions League like them (and I firmly believe that the Saints owners will lose interest in the very near future specifically because of that glass ceiling).  It would at least be a thrilling ride, and yes, we might even win a cup if we're lucky.  But realistically, that's as good as it would ever get for us, and I just don't see why anyone would risk it given the catastrophic failures of other clubs trying the same.

---

Yes, I see what you mean ska'd but maybe we need to try and join the likes of Swansea, Stoke etc so that we are in that band and not the bottom 7 clubs who are all in the relegation scrap.

To be honest, Swansea and Stoke are only one bad season away from a relegation scrap themselves.  In fact, when we beat Swansea under Pepe Mel in March 2014 they were perched just above the drop zone, and only narrowly scraped it to 40 points in the end.  That was just over a year ago.  They're not automatically safe.  No one is.

[betterthanbaird]

I personally think that there's such a jump in prize money from 8th-17th that you would probably be justified spending 20mil on a player to help you get there?

A player worth 20m would be aiming higher than us and probably any team from 8th-17th in most cases.

[Tom_Wba]

Don't shoot the messenger but:
"The Dalian Wanda Group is looking to invest in an English Premier League club, having already acquired a 20 per cent stake in Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
The property company, owned by billionaire Wang Jianlin, has been negotiating with owner Jeremy Peace for the past four months.
Pulis is believed to have a £2million break-clause in his contract and could walk away if he is unhappy with any aspect of the takeover."

This guy is seriously rich, its probably a load of junk but wouldn't it be great to see the look on the faces of Villa & Wolves fans who are obsessed about how small we are