04/25/24
July 12, 2013
Jacksonville Owner Buys Fulham FC: Shahid Khan, owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, has bought Fulham FC of the English Premier League.
posted by Mr Bismarck to soccer at 08:52 PM - 11 comments
And Tim Tebow has signed with them.
posted by NoMich at 12:00 AM on July 13, 2013
Tebow would be perfect to stand next to the statue of Michael Jackson that Mr. Al Fayed had erected. It gets lonely standing out in the rain, snow and gloom of night ... besides, "standing around" will be the job description Tim has in new England.
posted by jjzucal at 12:19 AM on July 13, 2013
It's too early to judge Khan's time owning the Jaguars, but so far the results have been underwhelming. He'll find it tougher to succeed in the Premiership than in the NFL, thanks to relegation and unstoppable inflation in soccer salaries.
posted by rcade at 08:22 AM on July 13, 2013
I asked a Jacksonville lawyer who was tweeting about the Jags whether the stadium contract is a legitimate obstacle to the team being moved, as fans are told often. He replied, "The contract is not tough obstacle. But they aren't going anywhere. The capital investments and foundation built here are permanent."
I'm not reassured. Khan could make his franchise's valuation jump $500 million overnight by moving to Los Angeles. Until somebody else takes that opportunity, it'll be a huge threat to the smallest NFL market losing its team.
posted by rcade at 08:35 AM on July 13, 2013
A business deal, no doubt.
As opposed to every other franchise purchase?
How about some focus on making the Jags relevant?
Why does his life have to stop after purchasing the Jags? I mean other than the suicidal ideation that must come with it.
posted by yerfatma at 08:38 AM on July 13, 2013
Dodi dad divests, dodges Diana descendant due date.
posted by beaverboard at 08:53 AM on July 13, 2013
"Fulham sale adds to the alarming US takeover of English football," writes David Conn, Guardian columnist and Manchester City supporter, apparently without irony.
Appreciate that he likely did not write the headline, but funny in its sky-is-falling-sensationalism nonetheless. Particularly in light of the fact that if you could choose to take issue with owners coming from a culture of unbridled capitalism as opposed to ones with wealth coming out of an oligarchic kleptocracy or places with no real history of wealth creation but vast natural resources wealth and dubious human rights records and treatment/views of women, you got to go after the first category, right?
Comments thread is pretty funny as well. Apparently, American ownership of EPL teams means that the Americans will look to strip the clubs of assets and bleed them dry (not exactly sure how this would be done, but Bain) and/or use the clubs to make money (the horror!) and that relegation will be relegated to the scrapheap of history. And maybe they will add a "moneyball" or something to the last 5 minutes of each half where each goal counts as two. Okay, I made that last one up.
posted by holden at 09:18 AM on July 13, 2013
My friend mentioned yesterday that if the Yanks get another five clubs they'll have enough votes to replace penalties with the "Pepsi Choice Of A New Generation 12 Yard Refreshment Zone Super Kick", but I don't think any people who don't have a headline and a deadline are too worried about Americans buying the clubs.
Blackburn Rovers supporters probably wish they'd been bought by Americans.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 10:21 AM on July 13, 2013
Americans will look to strip the clubs of assets and bleed them dry . . . and/or use the clubs to make money
One of my few complaints about the Football Weekly podcast is this seems to be accepted wisdom among most (all?) of the guests. I don't know if it's specific to the Guardian or if its endemic in English football, but you're following a sport where the only teams with a chance of winning are all owned by foreign billionaires. I love stories of community-owned clubs as much as the next guy and I'm happy to shun the MK Dons even though they've done nothing to me, but if you're going to believe in fairy tales, why does it matter what kingdom the prince comes from?
posted by yerfatma at 11:30 AM on July 13, 2013
Will somebody (anybody?) with money please buy Derby County?
/It's not the disappointment, it's the hope I can't stand.
posted by owlhouse at 06:36 AM on July 14, 2013
A business deal, no doubt.
How about some focus on making the Jags relevant?