What return does the Skeikh expect?

[Anonymous]

You're a businessman I assume DD so must have heard the expression 'sprat to catch a mackerel'? This is what the City piece of the jigsaw is.

Assuming success, it is the prestige of owning combined with the knock on effect of being able to attract other business partners into bigger business deals/commitments on the back of it.

Call it a loss leader if you will?

As has been said before, it comes back to the oil reserves running out. City in and of itself may never produce the return on his investment into the club, but off the field, I imagine we are just a tiny piece of a bigger game where the returns warrant and merit such investment.

All my opinion of course.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

You're a businessman I assume DD so must have heard the expression 'sprat to catch a mackerel'? This is what the City piece of the jigsaw is.

Assuming success, it is the prestige of owning combined with the knock on effect of being able to attract other business partners into bigger business deals/commitments on the back of it.

Call it a loss leader if you will?

As has been said before, it comes back to the oil reserves running out. City in and of itself may never produce the return on his investment into the club, but off the field, I imagine we are just a tiny piece of a bigger game where the returns warrant and merit such investment.

All my opinion of course.

So what you are saying is that we are effectively a marketing tool for him and the country.

Credible, I suppose. I'm sure the club will move towards being self-sustainable too.

And the other posters who say that you can't make a real profit in football are right too.

If you're playing for the stakes which the Shiekh is, City is small beer.

It's a bit like Nike having an executive box at COMS.

 

[Lindowman]

It's all about developing a brand, using a successful football club to help deliver and develop that brand globally.

MCFC on its own will not be the brand but it will be a part of it along with many other business'.

If for example you chose "City" to be the brand name then this can be attached to almost anything from hotels to chocolate bars. Once the name "City" is mentioned people will then begin to associate the name with the brand and whatever business' happen to be under that umberella.

Start to think of the audacious bid for Kaka?..how many column inches did that achieve for the club?

I'd wager that one bid was responsible for people all over the world finding out who City were and what colours we played in! along with changing peoples perception that there is only one team who truly comes from Manchester.

Once the brand has been successfully developed the returns of the brand become huge and the Sheik benefits accordingly. Imo of course.

 

[inbetween]

Has anyone noticed the sponsor boards at City saying Aabar.com ? That is the investment company responsible for the more public things the Sheikh is doing.

 

[VOOMER]

The return is indirect exposure on Abu Dhabi, they aren't stupid they know the oil is running out and its unhealthy to rely on it so they are seeking to invest in other avenues. An example being that Khaldoon runs a development and investment company which owns an 8% of AMD, 5% of Ferrari and so on, they just want to be more diverse and football is a global stage worth billions.

Had you heard of Etihad Airways before they were brought in as a sponsor to City? They are a major airline and they've only been going for what 10 years maximum? In terms of cash spent what they are spending on City is nothing really to what they'll get in the long term.

Oil running out? They have reserves that may run out in about 1100 years!

 

[somapop]

Tenuous link perhaps, but the mention of 'Dicky Branstons' relationship with Sheikh Mansour is interesting. A hotel tower in the city centre (Albany - now scrapped) was once mooted to be a Virgin branded hotel, so I guess it's feasible for Virgin to be involved in any developments in East Manchester/Coms...

Most would've either have never heard of Abu Dhabi or at least thought of it as a 'little brother/pretender' to Dubai (well, I for one did). Many will know different now.
The Sheikh's resemblance to David Schwimmer helps too.

 

[fbloke]

DD, we have locked horns on this one before and I know we both agree that our owner(s) (Sorry Dam') wont make money at least not for a while,. and when he does it wont be enough to make his investment seem like sound financial judgement.

Think back to my 'Tipping Point' thread, its as much about showing who you are and what you do as well as HOW YOU DO IT!

Thats why I firmly believe that City will break the mould in terms of corporate responsibility with MCFC and its place in NEM.

So no its not about money, at least not quick money.

10 year plan for starters and no running away as thats not the done thing.

I am just pleased we won out with the very best owner(s) possible.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

DD, we have locked horns on this one before and I know we both agree that our owner(s) (Sorry Dam') wont make money at least not for a while,. and when he does it wont be enough to make his investment seem like sound financial judgement.

Think back to my 'Tipping Point' thread, its as much about showing who you are and what you do as well as HOW YOU DO IT!

Thats why I firmly believe that City will break the mould in terms of corporate responsibility with MCFC and its place in NEM.

So no its not about money, at least not quick money.

10 year plan for starters and no running away as thats not the done thing.

I am just pleased we won out with the very best owner(s) possible.

I know what you mean fbloke.

It was the stuff about giving to charity and the like which I disagreed with on your now-infamous thread.

I think this is purely about City's success. Of course The Sheikh wants us to get good press if we can but I think he'll be pretty ruthless in pursuit of his goal.

 

[slbsn]

As I said on Day One as the takeover was announced. This is not and never will be about financial return. The effort, risk, attention and likely return would never make it a worthwhile financial play. Aside from the fact that financial success (by that I mean regular profits and or high resale valuation) at City is near impossible (I've been over this many times), even moderate financial success would return such a paltry amount it would, in all likelihood, be less than the they paid for advisory/success fees on the Barclays trade.

This is all about creating a trophy asset. An expensive polished toy to enjoy at leisure. But we better get a move on because finishing 5th is not that exciting unless you have suffered for 30 years like some of us...

 

[ali benarbia's studs]

he want your love dids dave!!!! and he wants all of our love!!!! he is doing it for us!!!!

i cant get into a royal head to share his thoughts!!!!

i just think he expects the champions league,english premier league and any other cup.....solely to make us one of the biggest clubs in the world!

we have the city,we have the stadium,we have the greatest fans and we now have the vision and finance to take manchester city to the hearts of the community and showcase ourselves to the world!!!!

....but patience is a virtue ;)

(anybody else think his royal highness looks like stephen ireland when he had hair!!!! )