Recently by Frankie 1987

To The Board of SISU,

Over the last few years the loyal and passionate fans of Coventry City have endured no information or little information.

You have been responsible for making a very proud and ground-breaking family club into the laughing stock of the Football League.

You have sold our best players. Despite promise after promise to put things right, these promises are as empty as your bank account.

We are second from bottom of the Championship, 6 points from safety, but still you do nothing!

Do you really think we will swallow the fact that one of the best Scouts in the Football League is unable to find ONE Premier League player that is willing to come to Coventry on loan when the rest of the Championship are signing 3 or 4 each?

Gary Hoffmans formal bid has been received by Coventry City.

We have waited a long long time to hear such good news, but i feel the waiting will go on for a little longer yet.

As I explained in my earlier article, SISU don't give a jot about our Club, they are asset strippers, the plan was to take us into the Premier League by borrowing money from the Bank, with their investments as security.

Then came the Credit Crunch and the investments didn't look so rosey to the Bank, and so our slow journey into the abyss began.

Make no mistake, SISU have got themselves into a huge hole here, they own something that stands them £20 million plus, the Bank have told them to sell it by the end of the season or they will foreclose.

Now Gary has come along and offered them £1 for it, yes, they will take on the considerable debts of the Club, but they will not pay the £20 million SISU owe back to the Bank.

Let me take you back to last time we were in this position.

We had been relegated and not reacted well to it, we were days away from Administration and the possibility of being wiped off the League table.
SISU came along and offered £1 for the club as long as all shareholders gave up their shares for nothing, to some people, like Geoffrey Robinson, that meant losing Millions of pounds, SISU took it to the wire and wouldn't shift, we were half an hour away from goodbye when the shareholders relented and handed the shares over.

They did that because, like us, they love this club more than anything, and would do anything for it.

SISU are a totally different animal, they don't care a cows bum about this club, all they want is a profit on their investment, or at least their money back.

If rumours of the formal offer are to be believed, GH is doing the same as SISU did, and asking them to walk away for nothing.

It will take more than that to persuade such hardnosed people to walk away having failed.

Under such circumstances SISU would no doubt think that putting the Company formed for the purchase of the club into administration and walking away without any liability whatsoever would be the better option.

I think that, such was the reception on Saturday, there will be a compromise and we will win the day.

But hold on tight and expect it to go to the wire.

A very strong rumour persists that the Transfer Embargo that hit The Sky Blues last season has still not been lifted.

Under League rules we were allowed to sign a Goalkeeper because our two senior keepers had come to the end of their contracts and left the Club.

Joe Murphy was a free agent, so he wasn't subject to transfer rules, neither was the young prospect from Northampton Town.

Sources close to the Club have told me that SISU have still not paid money owed to Bolton for our very brief loan signing, and that is the reason why we haven't signed one outfield player, not even on a free transfer or loan.

Until that money is paid we will not be allowed to sign anyone, and although SISU's Bank have agreed to fund the wages and rent, this is only until a sale can be agreed, with the Bank setting a time limit of the end of the season.

Had the Bank not agreed to this, the Club would have gone into administration and the Bank would have lost everything.

It has been well documented that the money "pumped into the club" by SISU, is just a loan, a loan that would be paid back to SISU when promotion to the Premier League was realised.

Unfortunately for SISU their profits have taken a dramatic downturn since their takeover of the club, and so any further investment in the team has not been possible.

But that leaves a huge mess.

SISU cannot sell the Club for £1 because they need to pay the Bank back, Gary Hoffman and his investers will not pay SISU's Bank back, they may have made some kind of offer to pay SISU when promotion is ours, but, as previously mentioned, the Bank have set a deadline of the end of the season.
They could, perhaps, be persuaded to extend that deadline, but that would mean far higher interest rates, something that wouldn't be commercially viable.

So, that gets us to where we are now.

SISU owe 20 million plus to the Bank, and now need to sell something with very little value at all for £20 million, nobody with a Central Nervous System would pay anything like that for our beloved club and take on such huge liabilities.

That leaves Administration, something that should have happened at the end of last season, giving us the summer to regroup and get new people in.

A ten point deduction would not be the end of the world at this stage of the season, if we could get new investment in fast, signed 4 or 5 quality players and bank roll a couple of high profile loans i think we would be ok, and perfectly capable of a top six finish, but as we all know SISU's byword is Brinkmanship, and they will go to the last second to get something substantial out of this deal.

Gary is doing everything he can, all we can do is keep up the protests up and show how much we love this Club.

Tottenham, or Chelsea, or SISU or anyone, they won't defeat us, we'll fight til the day is won!!

PUSB

SISU have challenged Gary Hoffman to "show them the money".

Is that because they are serious about slinging their hook, or is it that they have forgot what a lot of money looks like?

The Company accounts make very interesting reading indeed.

In 2005 SISU'S filed accounts show a balance of £511,611.00, a year later the balance was over £9 million, and in 2007 it rose again to £11.3 million.

Then the bubble burst, after a slight drop in 2008 to £9.5 million their world came tumbling down to just £1.9 million in 2009, falling again last year to just £1.1 million.

The only assets they have left have names and numbers on their backs! and will, in all probability be sold as quickly as possible, starting with the Captain to Leeds, Juke to the highest bidder and Ben Turner joining Birmingham to name but three.

I call on every Coventry fan in the land to turn up to the Norwich game and stage a protest to get these Leeches out of our Club, before they suck us dry, and I also call on every Creditor of the Club to call in their debt immediately.

I would rather start the season on -10 points and with Andy Thorns fighting spirit than watch our mortally wounded club on its knees with the Vultures circling above.

PUSB's

Strong rumours abound that unless there is either new investment in the Club, or a takeover is completed in the next four weeks the Club will be forced into Administration.

The Club have been mortgaging everything in their grasp for months to keep afloat, including securing "payday"loans on forthcoming money from the League, but that will only cover 2 months outgoings, and with no income being generated from gates for a few weeks, things are looking pretty bleak.

The problem with securing any decent kind of loanee from the Premiership has nothing at all to do with the move not being quite right for the player, but the fact that SISU are not willing to guarantee the payments for the duration of the loan, or, indeed, invest another penny in the Club prior to any proposed takeover in the Club.

The only thing they will be interested in now will be stripping enough assets to minimize their losses.

We know how good SISU are at Brinkmanship, they took the Club to within half an hour of Administration to get the deal they wanted, and it will take that kind of nerve to secure a deal to get them out, they are not bothered about Coventry City and have never been interested in Coventry City, all they are interested in is a return on their investment.

This Football Club has a beating heart, a rich history and a very loyal and passionate fanbase, it should not be treated as some kind of high interest account.

SISU, this is one battle you will not win, please go and go now, or face the wrath of the City of Coventry and beyond.

The Nazi's couldn't break the spirit of Coventry, so what chance do you think you have got??

PUSB

So once again we find ourselves on the brink of financial disaster, a transfer embargo and a ten point deduction before we have even kicked a ball in anger.

The way our precious Club, and the fans of our Club are being treated is nothing short of disgusting.

The writing was on the wall a long time ago for SISU, like i said in my last article, why invest in a failing football club if you are not prepared to invest in the infrastructure of that Club and take it forward?

And then, when Gary Hoffman gives them a way out of the black hole that they have created, the Brody Bunch don't like the paper it's written on!

SISU, it doesn't matter who you draft in to sit around your table (Paul Clouting apart) to listen to your weird and wonderful suggestions to "turn this club around". Neither does it matter who you try and prevent from having a voice around that table, because those people are part of the Sky Blue Army, and care passionately about our club and the people that support it through thick and thin.

I am sure I speak for just about every fan of Coventry City when I say, SISU, you are not wanted at our Football Club any more, and you are not welcome at our Football Club any more, this Footbal Club belongs to us, irrespective of who's name is above the door.

You have bought this Club into disrepute and made it the laughing stock of the Football League, you have lied to us and treated with utter contempt, the hard working and loyal fans of Coventry City Football Club,

Please now, do the decent thing, pick up the phone to Gary Hoffman, arrange a meeting as soon as possible, agree to the deal put forward, sign it without delay, and close the door on your way out!

There has been much said over the last few weeks about our beloved team, and sometimes, the answers we were all craving have just raised twice as many questions.

The word I can't seem to get out of my mind is WHY?

WHY did SISU buy Coventry City?

At the 11th hour they rode into town and grabbed us from the abyss, but why?

We have all heard about OPERATION PREMIERSHIP, and also the problems surrounding players contracts and the selling of the "Family Silver"

No one should have been allowed to buy the Club unless they bought the Ricoh.

"But we were in a terrible mess" I haer you shout!

Yes we were, and SISU ensured we continued on the Sky Blue rollercoaster, BUT WHY?

What SISU bought was a Club in intensive care, a Club on the brink, unable to service it's debts, invest in the team, and make any kind of an operating profit.

They didn't buy bricks, they bought a Football Club, or more importantly a Football Team.

Questions they would have asked, as well as discussed within their own Board, would be,

Is this a sound investment?

Can it be turned around?

How many years before we see a return?

How much will that cost?

If everything went to plan with a three or five year plan, what would be the possible projected return?

With everything thats gone on over the last weeks, I am still unable to answer, or get an answer to any of the above.

These are questions that we all ask at times, from being in front of the Bank Manager, asking for a small business loan, to lending your buddy £20 down the pub!

But they weren't doing that, they were taking on a failing business, deep in debt, that required a lot of TLC and expertise.

I have spent the last 10 years turning NHS Trusts around, and I am at a total loss as to WHY SISU would have buying a failing Football Team on the Board Agenda.

I would have told them the following.

First the bad news;

There is a Football Club in the Midlands for Sale, they were in the Premier League at one time, but have now been relegated, the gates have been going down , and with that the income, hence they have huge debts, which are getting bigger by the day,
The team is not doing well either, and have gone from B list Manager to B list Manager, most without success due to the financial constraints on them.

Now for the good news;

They have a fantastic new stadium, the envy of most of the Football League.

The present Directors and investors are willing to walk away and hand their shares back for nothing, such is the love for this team.

All we need to do is, Buy the Club for a £1, invest a set amount of working capital to keep it going while we put stage two into operation.

Stage two, We buy the Ricoh Arena, and with it, not only will we get a fantastic investment that will give us a substantial return, were we ever to sell in the future, but also a huge income from some of the top Bands in the world performing night after night to sell out crowds, as well as all the corporate opportunities and catering revenue.

There is also a sizeable exhibition Centre, which again is massively underused, which we can fully exploit in terms of revenue.

Stage Three, now we are cooking on Gas, use some of the income from the Stadium, together with a further injection of capital and invest in the team.

Get the right Manager in and give him the money and backing to bring in good quality players, along with a few names on loan from the Premiership, this will have us storming up the league, and with it will come the crowds, further boosting the profits.

We can then begin to start withdrawing our original capital, knowing that what we have created is a sound and self sustaining business.

With this will come the huge boost to everyone of an appearance at Wembley in the "Play offs" and then the "Promised Land" of the Premiership, and untold riches.

The Stadium would be full every week, with the best teams in the world playing here, we would be treated as Gods and SISU would see a return on their investment never before seen.

Francis Lee once bought Manchester City, but that was all he did, because that was all he could afford to do, and exactly the same happened to them that is happening to us.

Having said that, Francis Lee very quickly saw the error of his actions and sold the Club before it was too late, something SISU seem to be oblivious of.

So WHY did you buy Coventy City SISU?

Chris Coleman has today turned on the fans that booed on Saturday.

What he obviously doesn't realise is that they were just as much aimed at him and not just Leon Best, who didn't want to get his boots dirty ahead of signing for Newcastle today.

Saturdays performance was clueless, it was every man for himself and we just ran around like headless chickens trying to get the ball back.

Coleman has never acheived anything as a Manager but mediocrity, and Coventry have had enough of that over the last few years.

What is needed now is a fresh approach, a Manager that can take us to where we should be and not just talk about it.

Today we are selling our top scorer (for yet another undisclosed fee!) and it seems replacing him with either an on loan defender or 5th choice at Carlisle Utd.

This is just not good enough.

Ranson, either put up or shut up, we don't want a "yes boy" we want a Manager.

The boo's will only grow, and quite rightly too, we work hard to pay the wages of people who are just not good enough.

WELL after a bright start, we have been well and truly found out this afternoon on the west coast.

While SISU sit in their very plush London offices counting their millions from asset stripping a team so painstakingly built out of nothing, the meagre squad were on the end of a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Blackpool.

IF rumours are to be believed, Gary McSheffrey is no longer on Cookies radar.

For a long time now we have thought that the prodigal would return from his temporary exile near to the dark side.