All of this rings absolutely true. I don't know why so many people have an issue with Textor when it's plain to see that the problem is Harris and Blitzer. Textor is a minority investor with a relatively limited say in how things work. He's plainly more ambitious than both Harris and Blitzer, but he's constrained in what he can do and to what extent he can influence our plans due to his very limited status. I don't blame him for his French ventures; at least he can drive his latest club forward without being hindered by his partners.

As a minority owner, Textor cannot independently just put money into Palace to fund transfers or anything else without permission from the majority owners, who would presumably have to match his appetite for progress by putting in equivalent funds of their own (or by increasing Textor's share of the club) and don't want to. Textor is right that we should be building on the foundation of last year's success. That Harris and Blitzer seemingly have no desire to do that is hardly his fault.

If Parish and Textor had a meeting this week, one would hope the subject was "what are we going to do about Blitzer and Harris?" Although the relationship between Parish and Textor appears to have been adversarial to date, it seems they have a common interest in that both recognise the need to invest in the team, a view not, as I said, shared by the majority owners of the club. If Parish and Textor could put their differences aside and improve their personal relationship, it would serve us all well.

To repeat what I've been saying for some time now, Harris and Blitzer really need to either a). get serious about Palace, and start really supporting the club rather than simply trying to increase the capital value of their asset, or b). sell the club to someone who has genuine ambition to see progress beyond simply the building of new facilities. The HFs anti-Textor position demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about how the club is run from a financial perspective.

(And by the way, would whoever started this thread please learn the f***ing difference between poetry and competition? It's VERSUS. Not verses.)

Edited by sydtheeagle (20 Jan 2023 9.41am)

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.

Interesting perspective Syd; however, if reports are to be believed, Textor now owns 40% of Palace which is more than Blitzer and Harris combined - aprox 18% each was my understanding with Parish c10%.

As an aside, it strikes as a remarkable coincidence that a big banner appears amongst the HF when Textor is in the ground. I wonder who might have put them up to that especially highlighting the issue of trust?

Net net, the whole scenario is unfortunate to put it mildly; hopefully it also doesn't get in the way of the new stand re-build.

While I don’t disagree with this, the question then is why Textor is building a portfolio of clubs rather than focusing on increasing his stake in Palace. The Premier League is where the big money is and is surely a better investment opportunity than Brazil, Belgium or France. And more high profile.

If, as it seems they have, Harris and Blitzer have little interest in Palace, then selling their shares to Textor would give them the exit they have been wanting for some time. And also free themselves to invest elsewhere as they wanted to in Chelsea.

The real ownership structure of most football clubs is rarely transparent. It strikes me as odd that the minority shareholder that is Steve Parish has more influence than Textor. And surely, before pumping the reported £90m into Palace, Textor would have done sufficient due diligence to understand Parish’s strategy and approach to the transfer market. A difference in risk appetite perhaps.

Old, Ungifted and White

Exactly my fear. Wasn't he trying to fob us off with the new Brazilian wonder kid?

If Textor doesn't have the money and I suspect that is the case then American business strategy is to go onto the offensive.

Blame Parish for not spending money he has not made available to Parish or as Becky so eloquently puts it try's to sell us crap from his other clubs and then complains about Parish's lack of ambition.

I am really concerned now if Textor has north of 40% as some reports suggest then Parish is in a dangerous position and could easily be ousted.

One more point

I used to play cricket with a relative of a Kray victim - a Cornell, he was.

In life, as in football, I'm always on the victim's side of the fence.

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)

Neillo, regarding your observations, my thoughts are:

...because you cannot buy (Palace) unless you have a party willing to sell or, if you have a party willing to sell, you are able to meet the asking price. We know that, compared to Harris and Blitzer, Textor's fortune is far, far smaller. I would imagine acquiring a PL club is beyond his reach.

This is not entirely correct. The big, big money is in qualifying for Europe, and the PL is the most difficult (and expensive) league in Europe from which to do that. Palace is the 26th biggest club in the WORLD in terms of revenue but because we play in the PL, our chances of European football are effectively zero. Textor's French club, which probably has revenues a fraction of the size of Palace's, was bought for far, far less than we would cost to acquire but affords him a very good chance of qualifying for European football. That's the Return on Investment a smart buyer would look for.

Of course. 100% correct. In Textor they have a ready-made buyer and I'm sure they'd love to sell the club to him tomorrow. The trouble is, Textor doesn't have the money to buy it so your point is moot.

It's not odd. Harris and Blitzer are not interested in running Palace. For them, it's an investment. They have therefore "hired" Parish to run the club day-to-day on their behalf. Therefore, even though Parish himself owns only a very small share of the club, as CEO he makes decisions representing the entire voting block comprised of himself, Harris, and Blitzer. The combined percentage of those three obviously is far more influential than Textor alone.

On this point I agree with you entirely. Either a). Textor didn't do a very good job of due diligence, b). he believed that once he came in, he would be able to be more influential than he has been, or c). he was fleeced by Harris, Blitzer, and Parish who saw a chance to part an enthusiastic fool from his money to secure additional investment. Either way, in terms of what he personally wants to gain, Textor has bought a pup.

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.