davieG Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 From the Merc Milan Mandaric says Leicester City are ready to compete in the Premiership nowMilan Mandaric believes that Leicester City are ready to compete in the Premier League. The City owner said the club now has the foundations in place to be able to survive in the top flight of English football for the first time since he arrived at the Walkers Stadium nearly three years ago. Mandaric said the club was in a poor financial state when he arrived but was now ready to return to the top flight. "We are definitely ready for the Premier League now," he said. "If we had done it the first year, or even last year, I would have said no, but a lot of work has been done and it is a work in progress. "We have the base now that is ready. If we got into the Premier League I would be quite comfortable that we can push on. "I think in the Championship we are a very solid club. We need a bit of luck for the rest of the season, but the club is equipped now with the right management, on and off the field, to get into the Premier League. "Of course we will look at the playing staff as well, but the club has the facilities and tremendous support of people who deserve to be in the Premier League, and I hope that happens one day. "The club is in a strong position, far stronger than when I took over, I can promise you that." While Mandaric thinks City are sorted out off the field, the expectancy is growing that, on the field, they can secure a play-off position in their first season back in the Championship. City are up to fifth in the play-off race on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run. They have yet to lose in February and face a crunch test on Saturday at home to fellow promotion candidates Nottingham Forest. The game at the Walkers is expected to be a 31,000 sell-out. However, millionaire businessman Mandaric also revealed the club was still reliant on his own fortune to make up a trading shortfall of between £5-6million a year, and said only promotion to the Premier League would make the club self reliant. "Unfortunately, that is the one area that we need to work on because the club is reliant on me," said Mandaric. "In the Championship, everyone talks about how competitive and exciting it is, which is the case, but the club is losing a lot of money in the Championship. "Somebody needs to support the club, which I am, and we need to go to the Premier League. When you are losing £5m or £6m a year it has to come from somewhere! "The burden on me will only ease when we go to the Premier League. As long as we are in the Championship I will continue to have to support the club." Mandaric admits that pumping money into a football club was not a sound investment, but said his love for football was the reason he continues to use his own cash. "Why would anyone go into this if it wasn't for the love of the game? It is not for money, I can tell you," said Mandaric. "You have to love the game, build something up and feel good about that. Maybe you might get your investment back at some point. "My reward is seeing what the manager, Nigel Pearson, is doing and how he does things. "He has assembled a team and a staff around him who are all doing well. That is my reward. "The exciting thing for us is that we are building now and we are not just fighting for survival like we used to be when I came in. "We are not patching things up with a bandage anymore. We are healthy and we are trying to keep improving." Lees Hoos says Mandaric is building lasting legacy at CityLeicester City chief executive Lee Hoos believes owner Milan Mandaric is building a lasting legacy at the club. Hoos hailed Mandaric for stabilising City after the crippling financial problems which contributed to the club's relegation to League One two years ago. Mandaric arrived in February 2007 with a three-year plan to get City back into the Premier League, and Hoos said City were now in a position to achieve that goal. Hoos added that Mandaric's passionate leadership, coupled with the inspired decision to appoint Nigel Pearson as manager – a decision Hoos had a significant part in – has put City within touching distance of the top tier. He said: "He has stabilised the club. This is the first time in the three years here that we are pushing for a promotion in the Championship as opposed to trying to stay in it. I think you only have to look at the table to see the difference because we have a real shot this year. We have been fighting to stay out of the trapdoor before. "I have only been here 18 months when the club had just been relegated and everyone was very down. "But Nigel was a good appointment who picked everyone up. At the beginning people weren't sure what to expect but I worked with him at Southampton and knew exactly what to expect. The man has delivered. "Milan is a good guy with a good sense of humour. He absolutely loves his football, is very involved and absolutely desperate to get a result here. "He wants to see the club move forward and progress. He shows a lot of passion to make this happen. "If he was just a businessman he wouldn't touch football because there is a lot of heartache, hard work and frustration. There is a lot of pain in the pocket book and what do you get out of it on the money side? "It is not the typical business decision because there is very much an emotional aspect to this game. He is a football man and he understands the sport. "I enjoy working for him and it helps he has a sense of humour. He is demanding, as he has every right to be because he wants people to deliver for him, but I think he is the kind of man who makes you want to deliver for him."
maddog Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 From the Merc A stupid tit thats Hoo he is Is MM really pumping loads of his own cash into the club
MC Prussian Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 A "lasting legacy"? How can he claim to know seeing that Mandaric has been with this club for only three years? Would be much more appropriate to do a retroperspective on Mandaric's reign once he's no longer with the club. A bit of an ass-kisser move from Lee Hoos, innit?
Jon the Hat Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 A "lasting legacy"? How can he claim to know seeing that Mandaric has been with this club for only three years? Would be much more appropriate to do a retroperspective on Mandaric's reign once he's no longer with the club. A bit of an ass-kisser move from Lee Hoos, innit? Mandaric would probably say he left a lasting legacy at Pompey. And this might turn out to be the case shortly...
Lets Be having You Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 Why all the bitching about mandy,for god sake give the bloke some credit,we were in the shit when he arrived,the team was shite,ok he has made a few mistakes but dont we all,i for one am happy the way the club is being run,and yes mandy is putting is own dosh up front the same as we do every week.
hairy Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 My only concern with all this is how the club will repay him and if we get promoted will he look to sell and recoup his loans with an amount of profit. He is not getting any younger and really cant be with us in the long term. That beside I think he has done the job we hoped he would.
ousefox Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 The game at the Walkers is expected to be a 31,000 sell-out Since when was 31,000 a sell-out?
Ozwin Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 Since when was 31,000 a sell-out? My thoughts exactly.
davieG Posted 25 February 2010 Author Posted 25 February 2010 Since when was 31,000 a sell-out? As the highest football attendance was 32,086 without segregation I'd say that's as near to a full house as you can state without being pedantic about it. The opening game against Watford was only 31,022.
CosbehFox Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 The opening game against Watford was only 31,022. That might have been because of ramp-up, H&S and restricted capacity rubbish.
tewkesbury-fox Posted 25 February 2010 Posted 25 February 2010 Taken from one the Portsmouth forums Word on the street is that Milan Mandaric is secretly hawking around his holding in Leicester City Football Club. He has recently appointed the Queen's bankers, Coutts, and is in active negotiations with two prospective buyers
Guest DavidJCW Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 We're making a loss of £5-6m a year? That's still pretty bad and having to rely on Mandaric to support us financially isn't good... Getting to the Premiership can't be the only thing that keeps us stable, we need to be able to get ourselves steady at THIS level to really be able to tackle any situation... as it is at the moment, we're sponging off Mandaric and were he just to up sticks and go, we could find ourselves in a right mess again.
Flynny Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 We really do need to know whether Mandaric's pumping in money or loans, if we're racking up 5-6m a year that's absolutely ridiculous, we'll be in another right mess before we know it if we don't get promoted, maybe even if we do. It's all very well saying 'this is a Premiership club, we'll never be on an even footing if we're not up there'; we're a yoyo club at best historically, with facilities and staff we probably can't afford. If he's sticking in hard cold cash, that's all very well, but how likely is that, really? This is why you get articles berating football clubs whose fans are happy to cheer on investment in the fat years and moan when they get in trouble. It's nothing to do with the fans, it's opaque statements like these. Is there any way Mandaric can be forced to reveal exactly what he's doing?
davieG Posted 26 February 2010 Author Posted 26 February 2010 We really do need to know whether Mandaric's pumping in money or loans, if we're racking up 5-6m a year that's absolutely ridiculous, we'll be in another right mess before we know it if we don't get promoted, maybe even if we do. It's all very well saying 'this is a Premiership club, we'll never be on an even footing if we're not up there'; we're a yoyo club at best historically, with facilities and staff we probably can't afford. If he's sticking in hard cold cash, that's all very well, but how likely is that, really? This is why you get articles berating football clubs whose fans are happy to cheer on investment in the fat years and moan when they get in trouble. It's nothing to do with the fans, it's opaque statements like these. Is there any way Mandaric can be forced to reveal exactly what he's doing? Absolutely spot on. Not that historically it's ever been any different clarity wise but in the past we didn't have clubs going into administration every 5 minutes and owners really did put their own money in or the loans were minimal, short term or non-refundable if profits weren't made.
Flynny Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 Absolutely spot on. Not that historically it's ever been any different clarity wise but in the past we didn't have clubs going into administration every 5 minutes and owners really did put their own money in or the loans were minimal, short term or non-refundable if profits weren't made. Shame football clubs aren't subject to FOI requests. Is there any way at all for us to raise this as an issue and get an answer out of him?
Daggers Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 Is there any way Mandaric can be forced to reveal exactly what he's doing? Didn't work for Ultra and his Market Street floozies - it ain't gonna work for Mandy.
davieG Posted 26 February 2010 Author Posted 26 February 2010 Extract from a Sky article on Portsmouth: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11096_5983487,00.html Owner Sacha Gaydamak, who took control from Milan Mandaric in 2006, funded the club with loans from his own fortune and with further financial assistance from the banks. This is what concerns me about Mandaric, is he really putting his own money like he says in or is it in the form of loans. Until some one can prove the former is the case I'll remain a fully paid up member of SCAM (Sceptics Collective About Mandaric)
Craig Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 For what it's worth, Stringer was asking for ideas on what to ask Mandaric tomorrow. I asked him to find out whether it was investment or loans that he was providing to the club, and Stringer said this.. @craiglcfc good shout, I'll try and get it in. Limited time with him but a very key question. So hopefully Stringer will come up trumps for once and ask him?
Daggers Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 So hopefully Stringer will come up trumps for once and ask him? Because Mandy would never tell a fib, would he?
Craig Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 Because Mandy would never tell a fib, would he? True, i guess.
Edmund Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 For what it's worth, Stringer was asking for ideas on what to ask Mandaric tomorrow. Viagra or carrot juice?
Flynny Posted 26 February 2010 Posted 26 February 2010 I tweeted Stringer a few hours ago when I saw that, can I encourage a few of you to do the same, even if it involves creating an account?
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