Iron Bru › Forums › Blast Furnace › Aidam McCartney’s piece › Reply To: Aidam McCartney’s piece
That’s very kind of you to say. The problem we face is that neither of these guys is particularly likable or trustworthy. There’s no good guy here, though general incompetence is not the same as malice.
With regard to the stadium deal and how it fell apart, it was a pretty simple sequence of events that began in early April (this is based on conversations with a number of parties)
1. Hilton asked Swann for an adjustment to the deal, which I think was about payment schedule.
2. Swann said no, unless Hilton agreed to some conditions, which I believe included proving he had the income.
3. Hilton then came back with a list of problems he suddenly found with the ground. The ransom strip was one of them, and he wanted Swann to get it registered, which would have taken months.
4. Swann said instead of that, he would pay for insurance against any problems that could be caused by the unregistered land while Hilton took care of registering it.
5. Fighting, squabbling, negotiations break down
Hilton, as he keeps flogging, just offered to do the £3m deal “after legals,” which kicks the can further down the road til at least the fall. Given his business history, and the fact that he broke up the last deal and then took the ground hostage, it only makes sense for Swann to ask for a fair amount of money upfront.
I hope nobody takes this as me defending Swann — I got invovled with the club to drive the guy out. He’s miserable and let greed fool him into believing Hilton from the jump. Had he taken the consortium’s deal, he’d be home free with a profit eight months ago and far fewer legal bills.
That said, dealing purely with facts about this deal and case, he’s the one who has the truth on his side.
We don’t, but I don’t doubt Zakarin’s commitment to the club or honesty when stating what he believes to be true. I would with Swann and I am sceptical of Hilton. Though, the latter may be true, I cannot fully place my trust in their best intentions as I would a fan.
Though, I think this strip of land would be sorted by either Swann or Hilton if they weren’t looking for an excuse.
