Suspended Sky Blues life president Joe Elliott and former vice chairman Gary Hoffman have made bids on behalf of the property tycoon (Haskell) ahead of tonight’s disclosure of the administrator’s findings.
In an interview with local BBC radio, Elliot said Haskell's attempt to buy Coventry has been a long time in the planning and should be viewed as "extremely serious." The proposed bid, if accepted, would also see Haskell's group take a 50 percent share of City's Ricoh Arena stadium.
Coventry City could be taken over by an American called Preston Haskell IV. It really is Gatsby season http://t.co/j5irAZ5c8O
With reported debts in the region of £60 million (BBC Sport), the midlands club have been in dispute with the company who own their stadium, Arena Coventry Ltd, and have been facing the possibility they might have to leave the city they take their name from.
Should this bid be successful and all aspects meet the Football League's due diligence requirements, Coventry fans would have renewed optimism about the club's future.
Why Would Haskell IV Be Interested?
Coventry have suffered a monumental fall from grace over the last decade or so and now find themselves a jobbing midtable team in English football's third tier. But it wasn't always thus.
Having reached the top flight in 1967, they stayed firm—through the dawn of the Premier League era—for 34 straight years until being relegated in the 2000-01 season. Their most famous day came on May 16, 1987, when they beat Tottenham in a memorable FA Cup Final (exactly 26 years ago Thursday, as pointed out by the BBC report).
During their time rubbing shoulders with clubs like Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool, Coventry drew regular crowds around the 20,000 mark. Those numbers have slipped with their fall from grace, but Haskell IV clearly sees potential in bringing them back.
Coventry were formed way back in 1883. They have a grand tradition and a brand most football fans will be familiar with. The term "sleeping giant" is bandied around freely, but there's certainly potential for growth were City are concerned.
Who is Haskell IV?
BBC Sport have put together a quick reference guide to the man who would be Coventry's new owner in its report. An Economics graduate from USC, he is the son of billionaire Preston Haskell III, who owns a share of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team.
Haskell III is the founder of The Haskell Company, a wildly successful construction firm in the U.S. whose website boasts revenues of $590 million and reportedly has quite the flair for entertaining.
A Time Life report from 2011 reads, "Texan billionaire Preston Haskell has gained a reputation over the past few years for throwing the most lavish New Year's Eve parties the country has ever seen."
His son Haskell IV has been living and working in Moscow, Russia for the last 20 years. This Bloomberg profile speaks of his diverse business interests, which include him being the founder of Office Solutions and co-owner of a property business in Moscow called Forum Properties.
Whatever he's up to, it's clearly bringing in the dollars. Even if it wasn't, his father could probably lend him a few.
Before the Coventry story emerged, Haskell III reportedly showed interest in buying another club in financial disarray, Leeds United (The Times).
American Owners in English Football
If the deal goes through, Haskell IV will join a host of other American owners who are banking on English football clubs.
There are currently five Premier League teams under American majority rule—Manchester United (the Glazers), Liverpool (John Henry), Arsenal (Stan Kroenke), Aston Villa (Randy Lerner) and Sunderland (Ellis Short).
The implication here is that owning an English football club with global reach makes for an attractive addition to a portfolio for the American businessman. The downside for U.S. soccer is that the money being poured by these men into teams abroad is not being spent on teams at home in the MLS.
Coventry fans won't care about that. They just want their club back where they think it belongs. Haskell IV might well have the capacity to make that happen.
The Championship: Chaos at Ricoh Arena as Coventry Sack Chris Coleman
May 5, 2010
Coventry City have sacked manager Chris Coleman with immediate effect. The Welshman, who took charge at the Ricoh Arena in Feb. 2008, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract, was summoned to Ray Ranson's office on Tuesday morning, after a board meeting that decided his fate.
Coventry ended another disappointing campaign in 19th position, just two places outside the dreaded relegation zone. The horrible 4-0 defeat at home to Watford on Sunday, seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
It wasn't long ago when Coventry were sniffing around the playoffs and looked odds-on to complete the overwhelming Midlands presence in the top six, but while West Brom, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester continued the fine form, Coventry ran out of steam.
An 11-match winless streak, compounded by the thrashing at the hands of an average Watford side in front of the home crowd, was deemed unforgivable.
It was clear that the former Fulham boss was struggling to motivate his players, and while Watford were banging the goals in, Coleman cut a very depressed and defeated figure.
By the sound of the noises coming from Ray Ranson regarding the transfer budget, it didn't sound like there would be much. With that being the case, he would be left then trying to motivate and get an underachieving team to achieve more.
With that being the only option, it seemed Coleman's fate was sealed.
Ranson however, confirmed that the decision reached was not a knee-jerk reaction to the 4-0 defeat, but rather a result of a careful assessment of the past two years, while reflecting a deterioration in form towards the end of the season for the second year running.
"It is true I enjoyed a very close working relationship with Chris and it's been a pleasure to work with him since his arrival in February 2008. The board would like to place on record their thanks for his efforts over two and a half years"
"We will not be rushed into finding a successor and the board will explore every avenue to appoint the right manager to take Coventry City Football Club forward," Ranson said.
Coleman's Coventry reign started off pretty impressively as he steadied the ship after Ian Dowie had left the club in a shambolic state.
They survived relegation by a single point on the final day in 2008, but after an equally demoralizing 4-1 defeat to Charlton, they relied on results elsewhere that eventually saw Leicester relegated to League One.
As fate would have it, that same Leicester side regrouped, gained automatic promotion the following season, and now sit proudly in the playoffs ready to fight their way into the top tier, while Coventry continue to dilly-dally and flirt with relegation.
Former player and manager, Gary McAllister, has emerged as one of the early favorites to retake the helm at the Ricoh Arena.
The former Scotland captain enjoyed a memorable playing spell with the Sky Blues between 1996-2000 before returning to the club as player/manager in 2002, resigning 20 months later to be with his wife while she underwent treatment for cancer.
Others in the frame include Phil Brown, Gareth Southgate, Alan Curbishley, and former West Brom and Celtic manager, Tony Mowbray.
Whatever happens, it looks set to be an interesting couple of months for Coventry.
