CHINESE WHISPERS

By Jamie Summers

Just in case you haven’t been awake in the last 24 hours, we’re informed that Kate Middleton has given birth to a child which will one day be our future King.

Hurrah.

Slightly closer to home (and also just a tiny bit more relevant, I think) there was one particularly interesting piece of news last week which, despite being picked up on by some, went surprisingly under the radar by County standards.

This was news which came from former County-man, Steve Bellis. It could be potentially quite big news, at that. Just fancy.

Bellis spoke at a sponsors’ evening at Edgeley Park arranged by current Commercial Manager Phil Brennan last week. He confirmed that people once connected to County’s former Chinese affiliate club, Stockport Tiger Star, are interested in bringing a consortium of businessmen over to invest in the Club.

How serious any talk of a takeover could be and what that may or may not have in store for the Football Club is anyone’s guess. Naturally, as County fans we have all immediately taken a cautious approach to the news; ‘once bitten, twice shy’ and all that, after all.

However, Steve Bellis’ credibility is not in doubt.

He retains huge respect amongst the County faithful for the stellar work he did during his time as Commercial Manager at Edgeley Park and that is something which perhaps lends that little extra integrity to the situation.

Not without reason, foreign ownership has come under huge criticism in recent years. Hicks & Gillett at Liverpool, Venky’s at Blackburn Rovers, Vincent Tan’s colour changing at Cardiff City, the multitude of owners at Portsmouth and the repulsive spending over at City have all helped to fuel the movement to resist English clubs passing into foreign hands.

Usually, it can be argued that there is an ulterior motive for people choosing to buy a Football Club, and that the club’s interests aren’t usually at the heart of such motives; but that isn’t always the case.

I’m not too sure anyone ever truly ‘invests’ in a Football Club, because an investment is a payment likely to see a return. More often than not, money sunk into football is never going to be seen again. It disappears into a dark abyss of greed and misfortune.

Although there are many – too many – examples of foreign owners damaging the fabric of the English game, there are also examples of where it has gone well.

Take Fulham as a case in point; they were taken over by Mohamed Al Fayed in 1997, when they were in what is now League One.

Despite having one of the richest Football Clubs in the world literally on their doorstep (Chelsea), adorned with a star-studded squad and one of the most talented managers in world football, The Cottagers are about to embark upon their thirteenth consecutive season in the Premier League.

Al Fayed recently sold Fulham for around £200 million to Pakistani-American businessman Shahid Khan, who pledged to continue to work of the previous 16 years. Although talk is cheap, a Fulham-supporting mate of mine has only good things to say about Al Fayed (excusing, perhaps, that bloody bizarre Michael Jackson statue) and is cautiously optimistic about Khan.

There are further examples of foreign ownership going well; a case can be made for the success of Sunderland and Aston Villa under their American ownership.

Stood at the other end of this football-obsessed bar, there are also some reminders that ‘home’ ownership isn’t always a guarantee of the Holy Grail of success.

Before their return to the top flight, Newcastle United fans consistently made headlines for their vehement objection to the tenure of businessmen Mike Ashley.

I’m sure no-one needs reminding that since the 2015 Group brought County out of administration back in 2010, we’ve suffered 2 relegations in the space of three seasons, and now find ourselves skulking around the grimy gutters of non-league insignificance.

Foreign ownership doesn’t always end in failure, just as home ownership doesn’t promise success.

County’s association with China began almost a decade ago in 2004, when Bellis was integral to establishing a partnership with Liaoning Tiger Star in the North-East of the country.

County took 50% ownership of the Chinese outfit, which changed its name to Stockport Tiger Star, while former Chelsea manager John Hollins became their manager. The idea was that both clubs would benefit from the partnership; County would tap into the huge Chinese market and Tiger Star would hopefully climb the Chinese leagues.

At first, the partnership was a huge success, helping Stockport County to become a huge name in parts of China.

County made two pre-season trips to the country. In 2004, The Hatters attracted over 20,000 supporters to one of our matches whilst on tour, which was greater than the crowd that Manchester United enjoyed and three times the figure which saw Barcelona play in China in the same year.

Now, it has been hinted that there could be a 10 year anniversary tour of China in the offing for County, where supporters and Club sponsors would be invited to attend and watch the Hatters play on the other side of the world.

Almost a quarter of the world’s 7 billion people live in China, and the Liaoning Province, where Tiger Star were based, is home to almost 44 million people itself.

It’s easy to see why the Club saw potential in branching out in the first place.

This prospective news doesn’t necessarily mean the club is about to be taken over by wealthy Chinese investors (we can dream, can’t we?). But if it does prove anything, it’s that although the name of Stockport County may have dropped off the radar over here, it’s still alive in China.

It is to be expected that news of a takeover, or even interest, is met with scepticism and suspicion by County fans. We’ve had so many false dawns when it comes to investment. Understandably, we’re tired of being promised the Earth and being delivered nothing but disappointment and embarrassment.

After Melrose, 2015, Newton, Conduit, etc. it is old-hat now. I, along with most County fans, was swept away in the hype of Tony Evans’ proposed takeover of the club back in 2011, and look where that landed us.

Now, every time talk of a takeover comes along, it is immediately a case of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf.’

We’d be foolish to collectively set ourselves up for another stinging fall. We should take this little snippet of news with a pinch of salt, and treat it with wary caution.

But Steve Bellis rightfully garnered a reputation for the tremendous work that he invested in County over many years.

As with all Chinese Whispers, nobody really knows whether it could be significant or another non-starter.

Perhaps it is cause for some much-needed, restrained, sensible and cautious optimism about our future.

Time will tell, I suppose.