Don’t Fear The Reaper
This article is a guest contribution written by Matthew Brown-Bolton. If you’d like to have an article considered for publication here on The Scratching Shed, please use the online form .
Touching the void.
Ken Bates’ departure is far from certain. As many have pointed out :-
A)He’s an obstinate individual who enjoys going to court
B)He’s an obstinate individual who enjoys going to court
C)He’s an obstinate individual who enjoys going to court
Add to that the fact that Russian Oligarchs and DotCom Billionaires are thin on the ground, even moreso now than in the good times of 2005.. and you do tend to give credence to the doom mongers who see no future other than with Ken at the helm of the leaky ship. Lack of investment in the team, a continued drain of talent, and total disregard for the view of the fans.. the prognosis isn’t good.
The other point that gets raised is one of the more difficult ones ” What happens when Ken erm.. Expires. Well it happens to us all, as difficult a point to talk about as it is. The answer is quite complex. And yes somewhat morbid to discuss, but I think it bears investigation. And bear with me as a non-expert in probate law.
The nub of the answer is relative to the ownership structure in place. Ken Bates ” according to the press is the majority shareholder and owner of the club. If that is a simple equation, and hes really just the guy who owns the business – then on his expiry the club ownership passes to the executors of his estate.
If Ken is a petty sod, he could have gone as far in his will as to divvy up the club, and liquidate its assets to remunerate the beneficiaries of his will. More likely though as a businessman I’m sure Ken would understand the inherent value of the business and ensure its maximum value is realised either via passing ownership to his Wife or Children most likely.
There are 2 recent examples we should pay attention to
Her tenure has been `colourful’ to date, sacking the chairman in October last year, and lambasting the players. (sound familiar)… She shows no signs of moving on. Given the proximity of Marseilles to Monaco, one wonders if she’s attending personal seminars in football club chairmanship delivered by our own irascible scamp of a chairman? If she starts striking `vampire’ poses outside the Stade Olympique ” Marseilles fans better get worried.
I can’t imagine Ken or a minute would put his own personal fortune at risk, so albeit this is guesswork ” I’m going for something like Option 1 as the most likely avenue we’d end up going down, with Harvey appointed as the `trustee’ to run
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