Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan claims he has taken the club as far as he can after outlining his intent to sell the Championship outfit.
The outspoken Eagles chief, who bought Palace out of administration in 2000, has made no secret of his disdain for various aspects of the modern game.
His disillusioned mindset peaked in the close-season when a League transfer tribunal awarded the club only £700,000 following 16-year-old John Bostock's move to Tottenham.
Bostock, reportedly courted by the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona, is regarded as one the country's top young players and it would appear the fee received for a starlet brought through the club's academy looks to be the final straw.
Jordan said: "Without a shadow of a doubt, this is my last year. I've taken the club as far as I can.
Cheated
"It's my specific intention to find a buyer this season. I will do nothing to affect manager Neil Warnock and I will be absolutely committed to the club and I will find a responsible buyer.
"I am not de-motivated by the team, manager or fans. But I have been disillusioned with football for a long time.
"I kept my sanity by pumping millions of pounds into my academy, feeling the saving grace of my club was finding players who would be chomping at the bit and honoured to play in the first team.
"But that's been taken away from me as well. Bostock was one of the best players my academy has produced in the last 10 years - and he has been sold for a packet of crisps.
"Bostock was the gem of gems and had Manchester United and Barcelona courting him. I got £700,000 by the tribunal - the system that is meant to represent me."
EDIT: Please can someone tell me how to quote properly? Please
Comments
I would suspect that this is about
a) keeping the Bostock story going in the press
b) looking for Palace fans and the tanning parlours of SE London to say "please don't go, we love and need you" so Mr Jordan can repeat his love for CPFC and stay.
In any case who is going to buy the club off him? Paul Kemsley? Ron Noades?
For quoting use the BBCode at the bottom of the screen.
Its no secret he has been looking to sell up for about 3 years now, but nothing has been forthcoming,
Will be sad in a way to see him go, football needs complete knobheads in it to make it amusing, and when they pair them up with clubs you can't stand, it makes it all the more enjoyable.
Does he really?
He says obvious and populist things like
Agents are bad (forgetting that he had shares in a agency)
Big clubs are bad (hardly original thought there)
The FA are incompetent (wow, shocking new news)
All Premier League chairmen are tossers (Brave statement. So brave he had to rang the CEO of another South London club to help limit the damage)
And that is without mentioning his racist comments about his Asian girlfriend.
Personally I think his ghost writers and him find a populist topic and then spout off about it in the same way as Jon Gaunt, Richard whatshisname in the Sun or Rod Liddle in the Times only with less style or grace
I've always been of the opinion that yes, he's worth a few quid by anyones standards, but nothing like the amounts he would have us all believe.
As much as I hate that orange **** I really don't blame him BUT on the other hand it is worth sniggering about as well
I hate to say it, but some of his comments make me laugh and some of them do need saying in the football world, peopled as it is by cowed morons (although some of his comments, especially towards a certain rival club in south London are usually guff).
I actually think I might miss him when he's gone!
The football world will certainly be a more boring place.
the ground isn't his to sell.
Ah, thanks- that answers my question then.
Noades sold to Paul Kelmsey (sp) the former Spurs director with the intention that Jordan would then buy it off him.
It appears there was a falling out and now Kelmsey leases the ground to CPFC although the time on the lease has been extended at a higher rent.
What isn't clear is how Palace are financed. Some Palace fans believe that CPFC has considerable debt but that is is guareenteed by Jordan.
Presumably Jordan would want the new buyers to take over the debt and get some or all of his original investment in the club (about £10m) back.
Or he may be willing to write off the money he as invested as long as someone takes away the debt.
But without any real assets like a ground who would want to take on a club in debt (other than Mark Goldberg)
How big is the debt? Who knows. £20+ according to some Palace sources but there seems to be little or no evidence for that so it is just speculation.
So is there a Palace fan out there willing to buy with that sort of cash or an overseas buyer? Not as easy to find as some may think so Mr Jordan may be left with the club whether he likes it or not.
Presumably there is a freehold purchase option for anyone who buys Palarse and takes over the lease?
Perhaps but that then is another £15 - £20m to find on top of any debt.
He has property interests in Spain and we all know how that's nose dived in the last year or two and is set to get even worse.
Hard times around the corner here in The UK too.Yes he sold his phone empire for a tidy sum it's true but 'was' all the profit his to keep and what were the capital gains taxes on the sale?
He didn't/doesn't even have the where-with-all to buy Selhurst....nah IMHO he's not got the clout he makes out by a long shot!
Addicted are you around to give your two pennarth, you're usually well clued up re this kind of issue?
Assets are the Holmesdale stand and a few decent kids plus Watson who is not bad and the goalie.
Tango man would probably want at least 25 mil for the Club, another 12 mil for the ground which probably needs about 20 mil to refurb.
Who is daft enough to buy Palarse? Southampton would be a much better option, Brum or Wolves. Even us!!
Watch this space. Who can believe that QPR have been bought by the money-men.