11-18-2017, 01:21 PM
The skepticism is understandable, literally no one seems sure where the money is coming from. I think from our perspective, we can only wait and see what happens as there's just no concrete information around to make any judgement. The club was brought so some money must be there, but the high interest loans leave huge doubts. Likewise, we spent huge in the mercato, but again, loans and question marks kept coming through the summer.
I think up to Fassone, the new management has been great. There's a modern thought process in the way they've worked and they have been transparent more than pretty much any other management team in Italy. I actually think Fassone, Mirabelli and others (i.e. new communications director) have done really well since coming on board. Fassone seems convinced there's nothing to worry about financially and I hope he's right. I don't know how deep he's involved, but for now from the club it's all we've got to go on.
However, past these guys the questions come up. In part I think this is down to cultural differences between how Chinese and European (or American) people conduct business, leading to huge questions on who Yonghong Li is and what role a guy like Han Li has. There are a few horror stories of how Chinese entrepreneurs have conducted business overseas and I think there is natural suspicion over investors from the East. This becomes even more questionable when the individual is completely unknown like Yonghong Li. There is a lack of transparency in how business is conducted in China and this leads to suspicion in the press.
At this point, I'm on the fence regarding money in the club. Simply put, I haven't got anything to go on to make any judgement. I have concerns about Yonghong Li and Han Li, but I'm also aware that money has come into the club thus far. I will be hopeful that this situation becomes less debatable over time and what Fassone is saying isn't in question, but for now I think none of us are in any position to judge either way.
I think up to Fassone, the new management has been great. There's a modern thought process in the way they've worked and they have been transparent more than pretty much any other management team in Italy. I actually think Fassone, Mirabelli and others (i.e. new communications director) have done really well since coming on board. Fassone seems convinced there's nothing to worry about financially and I hope he's right. I don't know how deep he's involved, but for now from the club it's all we've got to go on.
However, past these guys the questions come up. In part I think this is down to cultural differences between how Chinese and European (or American) people conduct business, leading to huge questions on who Yonghong Li is and what role a guy like Han Li has. There are a few horror stories of how Chinese entrepreneurs have conducted business overseas and I think there is natural suspicion over investors from the East. This becomes even more questionable when the individual is completely unknown like Yonghong Li. There is a lack of transparency in how business is conducted in China and this leads to suspicion in the press.
At this point, I'm on the fence regarding money in the club. Simply put, I haven't got anything to go on to make any judgement. I have concerns about Yonghong Li and Han Li, but I'm also aware that money has come into the club thus far. I will be hopeful that this situation becomes less debatable over time and what Fassone is saying isn't in question, but for now I think none of us are in any position to judge either way.