December 12, 2007
Ever since Steve Donner started dropping hints about the identity of the potential new Rhinos investor, I've been thinking about who it could be.
So, I've made a list of all the clues that have been dropped and the rumors that have been circulated.
- Last week Steve Donner mentioned that the investor was back in England trying to close a big deal he had been chasing for six months
- Members of the Stampede have been saying that an English Premier League team was involved
- Steve Donner mentioned a few weeks ago that he had the potential investor at the previous night's Amerks game. After that, I heard that Steve was in the company of a 30-something British gentleman that evening.
- Steve Donner has described the investor as a true fan of the game
- Steve Donner also mentioned that he has met with the potential investor in New York City
So, I started looking at rumored Premiership club takeover bids from this season and what did I find but this article from June 18th.
Daniel Williams is a 30 year old UK native who now lives in New Jersey. And he is reportedly heading up a group that is looking at taking over EPL club Blackburn Rovers.
If Williams is indeed the potential investor that Steve Donner has been talking about for weeks, he would appear to be a person with the types of connections that would be needed to pull the Rhinos out from the financial hole that the club currently finds itself in.
Although, I would still prefer someone who has deeper pockets as opposed to Williams who appears to be more of a Larry Quinn type that has contacts and can get other people to spend money.
But, if Williams pulls off his deal for Blackburn and he is the Rhinos new investor, it would also fall in line with USL president Francisco Marcos' desire to get every USL 1st Division team to align themselves with a big time European club.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
